The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 387 Old acquaintance

After finishing his speech, the guy who was clearly the head of the secret service was very proud of himself, and his eyebrows kept twitching involuntarily. This time, he had directly wiped out a base of bandits in the Jin Kingdom. Even if it was just a small base, it was still a great achievement.

For years, those bandits had been lying low for some unknown reason, and their whereabouts could never be found. The imperial court had reprimanded the spies many times, and they had long been holding back their efforts, but unfortunately, all their efforts were in vain. Who would have thought that he would actually find a flaw in their defenses today?

Most importantly, with this opportunity, as long as we plan carefully, we will surely be able to catch more bandits, grow stronger, and create new glories.

At this moment, one of his subordinates asked, "Sir, does the Sixth Prince mean that the people our men capture must be publicly executed in front of everyone, so that the world knows that anyone who dares to defy the imperial court will only face death?"

Daxing City is too far from here, so we have to transport them to Chang'an, which is the largest city in our Jingzhao Prefecture. Only by cutting off these people's heads there can we deter the rebels.

However, Shangzhou City is not close to Chang'an. These past few years, the bandits have been elusive, and there will inevitably be many troubles along the way. If we are not careful, all our previous achievements could become crimes.”

"How could I not have imagined that the bandit army always believed in saving their comrades? They would never let these people go."

You can rest assured. Before leaving, the Sixth Prince signed an order to transfer three thousand elite cavalrymen and one hundred heavy cavalrymen to escort these rebels. These men will arrive within two days and then they can escort the rebels to Chang'an.

However, this is rather troublesome, as these rebels will have to spend money on food and drink along the way.

This time, I'm going to pull off a surprise attack. You go and gather a group of martial arts masters, have them change their clothes, pretend to be those rebels, and have them escorted by these cavalry.

If you encounter bandits on the road, you can take advantage of the situation and capture them all.

As for these real rebels, they're a long way off, why bother? Tomorrow morning, you few will come with me and slaughter all these rebellious bandits, leaving no survivors.”

"My lord, what will happen when the time comes for the public execution in Chang'an? What will we do without these people?"

“Use your brains. When the time comes, just grab some lowly people from the villages outside Chang'an to behead these rebels. It will be effortless and won’t cause any trouble later.”

"Your Excellency is wise; it is indeed a brilliant plan. I admire you greatly."

"Hahaha, it is the Sixth Prince who is wise. After the Fourth Prince died, the Sixth Prince's prestige soared, and he was even more appreciated by His Majesty the Emperor."

Compared to other princes, we have a greater chance of inheriting the throne. As long as we serve the Sixth Prince well, we will all be loyal subjects of the emperor, enjoying endless wealth and honor. Therefore, this plan cannot afford to fail.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu felt a greater desire to kill the head of the secret service. Using the captured rebels as bait to lure out more people was a thought that anyone could come up with.

However, the rebels who were used as bait killed him without a second thought, and then inhumanely prepared to capture some civilians to take his place. Judging from his nonchalant remarks, this guy must have done a lot of similar things, such as killing innocent people to claim credit.

If such a criminal were to live even a single day in Wu Chengyu's hands, Wu Chengyu would feel he was betraying his identity as a transmigrator.

As for the Sixth Prince, Wanyan Honglie, in the original novel, especially before the fall of the Jin Dynasty, he was considered the last pillar of the Jin Dynasty.

But in fact, he was never the first choice in the competition for the throne. The reasons for this are complicated. His current surge in popularity is still due to Wu Chengyu.

The Fourth Prince, Wanyan Hongyu, who was poisoned by Wu Chengyu and eventually suffered kidney failure, was poisoned after returning to the Jin Kingdom following the Song-Jin peace talks. He lingered on for more than a year before finally succumbing to his illness.

This man was originally the most shrewd and capable of the Jin emperor's sons, and the most likely to inherit the throne. So, because of Wu Chengyu, Wanyan Hongyu died a very tragic death, which gave Wanyan Honglie an opportunity to consolidate his power, something that Wu Chengyu did not expect.

However, the most important thing right now is how to rescue the captured rebels.

The head of the secret service was right about one thing: the rebel army believed in rescuing their comrades. However, this was not a wise strategy from a military perspective. As the saying goes, "A merciful general cannot command an army." Sacrificing more people to save a few captured comrades was not a good deal.

But this is what Hong Niangzi has always insisted on, and it is one of the reasons why the righteous army has always maintained its morale and cohesion despite the hardships and difficulties over the years.

In Hong Niangzi's words, the rebel army had nothing but a breath of hope, and once that breath was gone, the rebel army would truly have no hope left.

Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, sacrificing a few people, making choices is the simplest, but also the most ruthless. Hong Niangzi's philosophy reminded Wu Chengyu of the most famous six words: "Never abandon, never give up." This is the true foundation of the righteous army becoming a strong army, and it has nothing to do with how much martial arts Wu Chengyu gave them.

In terms of magnanimity, Wu Chengyu admitted that he was no match for his wife.

The situation is simple: the rebels who need to be rescued will soon be killed, and then a group of martial arts scoundrels and three thousand cavalrymen will be waiting for Hong Niangzi to lead a rescue team. More importantly, there are one hundred heavily armored cavalrymen.

When the Western Xia Dynasty was first established, it was able to withstand the pressure from the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. The heavily armored cavalry, the Iron Falcons, played a crucial role in this success, serving as a true weapon of mass destruction.

However, even with the full strength of the Western Xia state, it could only train three thousand people. The resources required to train a single heavy cavalryman were terrifying, and their destructive power was equally terrifying.

If Hong Niangzi's men encounter these hundred heavily armored cavalrymen on the plains, along with three thousand elite cavalrymen as their wings, they will surely suffer a great loss. It is possible that the rebel army will lose all the wealth it has accumulated over the years.

Fortunately, Wu Chengyu arrived, and this time he felt that he hadn't been a husband for nothing.

After the people inside finished their discussion, they all rested. Wu Chengyu also found a sheltered roof to hide under. The most important thing right now was to rescue the captured rebels. Sure enough, the next morning, the head of the secret service hurriedly left the county government office with a dozen or so men and ran to a drill ground in the east of Shangzhou City, which was originally the garrison of the Shangzhou City Guard.

Shangzhou City was not large, and the city guards numbered only a few thousand. There were more than one training ground, which was used as a prison to hold the rebels. There were more than a hundred city guards and some spies guarding the prison.

As soon as the head of the secret service arrived at the drill ground, he immediately issued orders to bring out all the imprisoned bandits.

After about half an incense stick's time, about twenty or thirty rebels, covered in wounds but only given simple bandages, were forcibly pushed into the training ground while still in shackles.

The small base in Shangzhou City was just a transit point, with about one or two hundred people on weekdays. When the base was captured, most of them died in battle, and some of the seriously wounded were beheaded on the spot and are now hanging on the top of Shangzhou City. Only those who were not seriously wounded but unable to resist were captured.

Wu Chengyu also quietly slipped into the training ground. At a glance, he raised an eyebrow. Why was it that every time he acted alone and encountered a problem with the rebel army and wanted to take action, he would run into an old acquaintance?

That's right, I'm talking about you, old man Liang. I didn't expect this old guy to have such a big role, actually appearing in the ranks of the captured rebels. Why are you always so unlucky?

However, it was true that Old Man Liang had suffered some injuries, but his complexion was still okay. At this moment, he was hunched over and hidden among the rebel prisoners, completely inconspicuous, just a little old man. This also shows that Old Man Liang's identity had not been discovered by the Jin spies.

This guy is a veteran of the rebel army, and he has been in charge of external liaison work and the transportation of various supplies for many years. In fact, he may know more about the rebel army's information than Hong Niangzi.

If this guy were to betray the enemy and the Jin spies were to extract information from him, it would be a true catastrophe for the rebel army. The Jin would gain control of the locations of their bases throughout the country, their spies, and their communication channels.

If the Jin spies knew who he was, they would have arrested him, imprisoned him alone, and tortured him severely. They wouldn't have just put him with the other rebels and prepared to kill them all.

"Listen up, you damned lot! I'm giving you one last chance. If someone is willing to surrender, I'll let bygones be bygones. If you can tell me something I don't know, you'll get promoted and make a fortune."

Zhang Ahu is the best example. If he hadn't surrendered, I really wouldn't have known that there were such shady rats hiding in Shangzhou.

Now this Zhang Ahu has gone to Daxing City with the Sixth Prince, and he will rise to prominence in the future. If you want to be like him, take a few steps forward.

"Otherwise, if you still insist on resisting, you will all die here one by one, without exception."

As soon as he finished speaking, the head of the secret service looked at the rebel army with anticipation. He saw that the rebel prisoners had different expressions. Some were angry, some closed their eyes and waited for death, and some, although slightly afraid, gritted their teeth and refused to take a step forward.

Wu Chengyu also applauded these people. If anyone were to betray them now, he would definitely kill them later, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Now I finally understand how this base fell. Sure enough, no matter what kind of team it is, there will always be some traitors.

Just then, the hunched-over old man Liang suddenly took a few steps forward and spoke. The rebels present all glared at him angrily, wishing they could tear him apart. The head of the secret service looked delighted, while Wu Chengyu watched with amusement.

What kind of trouble is this old man up to?

Wu Chengyu absolutely did not believe that Old Man Liang would betray him. All of this guy's relatives died at the hands of the Jin people. He joined the rebel army when he was young and crawled out of piles of corpses for many years. If he hadn't been lucky, he would have been buried somewhere long ago. How could he possibly surrender?

The Jin spy looked at Old Man Liang, his earlier joy slightly diminished. He was an old man in his fifties or sixties, dressed in rags, hunched over, unremarkable in appearance, and showed no signs of martial arts training. He was probably not an important figure, and there was no point in surrendering such a guy.

Little did Wu Chengyu know that when he first met Old Man Liang, he could tell that there were traces of martial arts training in his palms and that his palm skills were quite solid.

Later, Wu Chengyu got along well with Old Man Liang, and Old Man Liang would sometimes personally deliver the resources needed by the Qianlong Cave in Ziwu Ridge.

Wu Chengyu taught Old Man Liang a set of internal energy cultivation techniques. The power was average, but it was mainly used to heal old injuries and prolong life. It belonged to the category of Taoist cultivation techniques.

Taoist techniques excel at concealment. Old Man Liang has been practicing for several years, and his current skill level is still unknown. However, he has managed to eliminate all traces of his martial arts training. At first glance, he looks like a little old man, definitely not a martial artist.

Although the head of the secret service no longer values ​​Old Man Liang, he still has to keep his word.

"You're smart. Surrendering is the right thing to do. At your age, you should at least have a peaceful end."

However, surrendering isn't enough; you need to give me some information I want to know.

Old Liang bowed and said, "Sir, the information I know is quite secretive. It concerns Lady Hong. Could you let me get closer?"

Upon hearing the name "Red Maiden," the head of the secret service's eyes lit up, and he quickly urged her to step forward.

Wu Chengyu was also prepared to act at any time. He didn't want to kill Old Man Liang to silence him; anyone with eyes could see what Old Man Liang was up to.

However, from the moment Old Man Liang made his move, Wu Chengyu had no choice but to take action as well.

(End of this chapter)