The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 89 Relief
Soon, all of Liu Zhu's henchmen were killed. Tang Jin dragged Liu Zhu, who was like a dead dog, and called the Guo siblings to go around to the back of the main hall. After a while, a chilling scream came.

Xiao Yi looked around and saw the firelight illuminating the corpses scattered all over the ground, their blood already congealed into a dark brown color.

The imperial guards were all uneasy and had different thoughts, but they looked at him with great respect.

The world's admiration for martial arts today is far greater than when he was a stuntman.

"You wielded the whip quite well." Wang Chengxun bowed to Xiao Yi with a complicated expression, took a deep breath, and sighed, "It almost cost me my life."

Where is Lord Li?

"I'll go look for it."

Wang Chengxun straightened his disheveled robes, went around to the back of the hall, and dragged Li Hongjian out.

"Lord Li, you protected the families of the Wang and Cao families, and I consider you my benefactor. I have come here to give you credit, but you... alas!"

Li Hongjian covered his face with his sleeve and wept uncontrollably.

"I was so stupid! I reacted too slowly just now. A moment of lapse in judgment almost cost me my life..."

"What's the use of crying now? If you had obeyed when I first came, you would have already done me a great service."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongjian cried even louder.

Xiao Yi, impatient with the old man's whining, cleared his throat.

"Ah, who is this? Nephew, please introduce this young general."

Looking at Li Hongjian with the lingering fear of surviving a disaster, his hands trembled uncontrollably as he bowed.
Wang Chengxun said, "Xiao Yi is Marshal Guo's trusted and beloved general."

"General Xiao! Please accept my bow to express my gratitude for saving my life."

"Mr. Li, you needn't be so polite."

Xiao Yi casually handed the whip back.

Li Hongjian refused to accept it, waving his hands repeatedly and saying with a forced smile, "I am ashamed, I do not know how to use a whip, keeping it would be a waste. General Xiao's whip skills are divine, this whip should belong to the general, as a fine horse is given to a hero."

"You're too kind. If you don't know how to use a whip, why are you carrying one?"

"I never fight with anyone; this is just for decoration. Of all the weapons, this nine-section whip is the most expensive. It is made of fine iron with an octagonal face, and double rings are forged from refined copper. The lotus-shaped band at the tip of the whip and the iron tenon at the head of the whip are things that only a skilled craftsman could make."

"I understand, it's expensive."

"General, you are an expert, that's right."

Xiao Yi's face suddenly darkened, and he said, "Li Gong's downfall is all because of this one word, 'noble'."

Li Hongjian shuddered in fright, then quickly said, "To be honest, General, the imperial treasury gold is right here. I am willing to offer it all to Lord Guo."

"late!"

Xiao Yi's tone grew increasingly cold.

"You know to protect the Wang and Cao families, but not the Guo family? You have made a grave mistake, yet you show no remorse and still covet wealth. Now that a golden opportunity is before you, why did you not order the execution of Liu Zhu?!"

"Pfft."

Li Hongjian was horrified and knelt down, bursting into tears.

“I…I was too slow…I get dizzy and confused when I’m anxious, and I can’t make any decisions…I wanted to submit to Lord Guo, but I didn’t have time to react. You all acted too quickly…”

Wang Chengxun glanced at Li Hongjian sideways, then suddenly burst into laughter in anger.

Xiao Yi guessed that he might be thinking that the imperial court was so useless that Wang Yin could win even if he raised an army.

Wang Chengxun still stepped forward to help him up, saying to Xiao Yi, "Look at you, you've frightened Lord Li. This is the Emperor's brother-in-law."

"So what if he's the emperor's brother-in-law? If he wants the commander-in-chief to let him go, he'll have to make a contribution first."

"I will make meritorious contributions, I will make meritorious contributions with all my might."

"Where are Li Ye and Su Fengji?!"

“They…they fled two hours ago.” Li Hongjian cried, his face full of bitterness. “At noon today, Li Ye summoned me and said that Murong Yanchao had died in battle, and that generals such as Hou Yi, Yuan Yi, and Jiao Jixun had fled and surrendered overnight. Guo…Guo Gong is about to enter the city. He plans to go to Shanzhou first and asked me to lead the Imperial Guards to escort the gold and follow him.”

"Damn it!" Li Chongjin exclaimed. "I'm going after them!"

"No, appease the Imperial Guards first."

They dragged Li Hongjian out of the main hall, where they saw Zhang Mantun, Lü You, Fan Si, Wei Liang, and Li Chongju each leading a large group of people, all of them with excited expressions.

Li Chongju is indeed capable. In the short time it took for Wang Chengxun to persuade Li Hongjian and Xiao Yi to capture Liu Zhu, he had already gathered half of the Imperial Guards of the yamen to come. If Liu Zhu had been a little slower, he probably wouldn't have been able to get close to Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi said, "Liu Zhu has brought disaster to the country and has already been executed. Lord Guo is benevolent and only punished the ringleaders. Tonight, all those who obeyed Vice Commander Li's orders and restored order will be innocent!"

It is said that Li Hongjian's order to rectify the chaos was a great favor, and more importantly, it gave the Imperial Guards a legitimate reason to act.

Sure enough, the soldiers relaxed.

"We are willing to abandon darkness and embrace light, and follow Lord Guo to purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"All generals, listen to my command."

"exist!"

"Tell the city gate commanders that the court has exonerated the general and eliminated the treacherous faction. They have ordered the commanders to restrain their troops and not to act rashly. You will lead the Imperial Guards to take over the city gates in turn. First, go to Cao Gate. Wei Liang, you will stay behind with fifty Imperial Guards. Select fifty men from the original garrison to assist you. The rest of you should disarm and wait in the hidden bunker. If there is any resistance, kill them without mercy."

"Here!"

"Fan Si, you stay and guard the Song Gate."

"Here!"

"Upon reaching Weishi Gate, Liu Tingrang is transferred to guard the East Water Gate, and Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin are transferred to guard the West Water Gate. Guo Shouwen is ordered to remain in his original position. Lü You, you guard Zheng Gate."

"Here!"

"Li Chongju, Liangmen."

"Here!"

"Zhang Mantun, Sour Jujube Gate".

"Yes, sir!"

“Brother Chongjin, please guard Fengqiu Gate. The commander-in-chief is likely to enter through this gate, and you will assist in welcoming him.”

"it is good."

Xiao Yi reserved the city gate where Li Chongjin had the best chance of making a contribution.

Li Chongjin was also grateful for this kindness. He clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, glanced back at the main hall, and said, "Take good care of Fifth Sister and Third Brother."

"Don't worry... Brother Chengxun, I'll trouble you to lead the troops to the Kaifeng government office, take Liu Zhu's seal, draft a proclamation to reassure the people, and seal up the documents and registers in the office."

At the end, Xiao Yi was still a little worried, but he really couldn't tell who else it was, so he instructed, "Make sure it's sealed." Wang Chengxun smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry."

"Anyone who disturbs the people, takes advantage of the chaos to loot, or spreads rumors will be executed without mercy!"

The group responded with a resounding "Yes, sir!" and strode away.

The Imperial Guard headquarters was much quieter now.

Xiao Yi looked behind him and saw that there were only a few soldiers left.

"General, I am Shoutao, a former comrade of Hua Nong. Just now, I saw you wield your long whip with such skill... it was like being a god! I am filled with admiration!"

“I know you. Go and bring those carriages back to the ceremonial hall. Unload the boxes and keep a close eye on them.”

"Here!"

After giving these instructions, Xiao Yi felt extremely thirsty. He walked to the stone railing next to him, scooped up some snow, and was about to put it in his mouth.

"Drink this."

Turning around, Guo Xin was standing there.

She still held a sword in one hand, the tip of which was dripping with blood, and handed over a water pouch with her other hand.

"Thank you."

Xiao Yi took it and gulped down a big mouthful. The water was just the right temperature, which felt very comfortable, so he simply poured it all down his throat.

Guo Xin said, "Slow down, don't choke."

"So thirsty."

"Busy working?"

"Not yet, the gold hasn't been inspected."

"All he thinks about all day is gold; he's obsessed with money."

"Who doesn't love money?"

Xiao Yi smiled and answered casually, without explaining that the gold was for Guo Wei to reward his troops.

The truth is, Guo Xin understood without explanation, and said softly, "Are you relieved now? You protected the people of Kaifeng from being plundered. You... do have a bit of a chivalrous spirit."

"I wouldn't call it that. I'm not familiar with the people of Kaifeng. I just do some things on the side."

"Hmph." Guo Xin muttered under her breath, "You clearly think you're something special."

Xiao Yi sensed that she seemed to have something to say, glanced towards the lobby, and asked, "Why don't you go vent your anger?"

"After being stabbed once, I feel a bit weak."

Guo Xin looked somewhat bewildered, lowered her head in disappointment, and murmured, "What's the point of tormenting my enemies again? My mother can't be brought back to life... More than hatred, I should blame myself, shouldn't I? For being so immature..."

Xiao Yi remained silent.

He was a little tired, so he leaned against the stone railing to rest, watching the snowflakes gradually cover the corpses and bloodstains on the ground, as if concealing the cruelty of a chaotic world.

Guo Xin sniffed, stood beside him, and gradually calmed down.

"Um... I wanted to tell you... Actually, I don't blame you for lying to me, I blame myself for keeping lying to myself... The day I hit you, it was just... I was too sad..."

"I know, it's okay."

Xiao Yi turned to look at Guo Xin, offering comfort with his gaze.

He felt that her eyes were bright, no longer obscured by hatred and pain.

"You know this and that all day long." Guo Xin snorted again, looked up at him, and subconsciously said, "Why do you keep your eyes so bright... It's so annoying."

As she spoke, she deliberately met his gaze, then turned her head away after a moment.

Xiao Yi also withdrew his gaze and looked up at the sky.

On a snowy night, even the moon couldn't outshine the stars in her eyes.

After a while, Guo Xin suddenly let out a soft cry.

"Oh, you're injured?"

Xiao Yi looked down and, through the crack in his armor that Liu Zhu had cleaved open, he could see a shallow scar on his well-defined body, extending from his left chest to his abdomen. Fortunately, it didn't bleed much.

"It's nothing, I just got cut by the blade's wind. I'll go take care of it."

"Oh, you..."

Xiao Yi took the treatment of his injuries very seriously. He ordered the Imperial Guards to boil salt water and bring some medicine for his wounds. He then went to Nie Wenjin's official residence, sat down, and cleaned and applied medicine to his wounds.

The door creaked open, and Guo Xin peeked in, then covered her eyes and slipped out.

"What are you doing here?" Guo Xin asked casually as he walked in, "Are you injured?"

"It's nothing." Xiao Yi asked, "Are you done with your work?"

"Tang Jin is still cutting, feeding the dog as he cuts. That dog thief is still alive, but he's lost his soul, he's weak, and he smells fishy, ​​it makes me dizzy... I'll apply medicine for you."

"Don't touch me, I'm fine, what if you get infected?"

"I've washed my hands."

"Don't touch it, get away."

"Oh." Guo Xin scratched his head and said seriously, "My enemy should have been captured by my own hands, but instead you got injured."

"You can't capture him because your martial arts skills are lacking."

"I must say, you're quite skilled with all kinds of weapons."

Xiao Yi's wound was soaked in salt water, causing him great pain. He groaned in pain, but gritted his teeth and endured it. He casually joked, "I'm not wielding a weapon, I'm wielding style."

"what for?"

"Never mind if you don't understand."

"I know, it's just bragging, shameless."

"Ah."

Looking up, Guo Xin finally smiled as usual.

Xiao Yi smiled, then received a light punch to the chest.

Some things, well, I've come to terms with them...

(End of this chapter)