The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Chapter 137 King Wu enters the workshop!

With the faint shouts of soldiers coming from behind, Li Xiang and Liu Zhi took advantage of the darkness to evade the search from behind and the flames and smoke as they ran wildly through alleys and houses.

Suddenly, a raging fire broke out in the pile of unattended houses to the south that had not been on fire before.

This must have been set by Wang Xuance and his men! Li Xiang had a sudden inspiration.

"Liu Zhi, stop just running."

He reached out and tore down the dried vines and bundles of grass from the top of the wall, then picked up the oil-soaked hemp bundles he had just collected, which belonged to the prisoners, and shoved them into Liu Zhi's hand. He spoke very quickly: "Set fire to all the abandoned courtyards, woodsheds, and warehouses along the way. Don't burn them fiercely, just set the beams and pillars ablaze."

Liu Zhi understood in an instant: "Does Your Highness intend to deliberately amplify the fire?"

"right."

"The bigger the fire and the thicker the smoke, the soldiers on duty in Longqing Ward and the military officers in the ward will definitely come here first."

"The larger the fire gets, the faster the Imperial Guards will rush to its aid!"

The two said no more and flew past the empty courtyards.

Liu Zhi skillfully started the fire and blocked the courtyard gate to prevent the fire from receding, while Li Xiang picked up dry branches and set fires as he fled.

Fires broke out one after another in the abandoned courtyards. What was originally a single, localized fire quickly spread into a vast sea of ​​flames. The crimson flames dyed the entire night sky of Longqingfang red, and billowing black smoke rose straight into the heavens.

On the other side, outside the alley entrance.

Zheng Huai'an reined in his horse and stopped, his face ashen, his chest and abdomen heaving violently with rage.

The scout knelt before him and reported in a panicked voice, "General! Thick smoke has suddenly billowed up ahead! We haven't been able to find any trace of the imperial grandson, Li Xiang!"

"General! We've lost track of the deposed crown prince on the south side; it's too dark!"

"General, the enemy may have already discovered our intentions; one of our forces must be a feint!"

"General, what should we do next?"

The deep darkness, billowing smoke, and the feints from both sides completely trapped Zheng Huai'an in place.

He was already furious after being tricked twice by Li Xiang with a false crossbow, losing an elite cavalryman. Now, with all the intelligence coming his way, his mind went blank and he was completely overwhelmed.

At this point, their weakness of having too few men was fully exposed: about twenty armored soldiers, plus about ten men who had been planted in the neighborhood to keep watch and set fires, were more than enough to deal with the guards watching over the deposed crown prince.

However, if the news were leaked and the deposed crown prince escaped the mansion, their limited manpower would be completely insufficient to conduct a thorough search.

A thorough search of an entire neighborhood would require at least several hundred people. And the King of Wei isn't even the emperor yet!

"Splitting the forces!" Zheng Huai'an gritted his teeth and shouted, "Two cavalry units, two men each, and the rest of the troops also split into two groups, one pursuing the western flank..."

South side!

"We must not delay His Highness's important business! Better to pursue the wrong person than let him go!"

With the military order given, the elite armored soldiers were immediately split up, and the already short-staffed armored soldiers were divided in two.

Zheng Huai'an personally led the main force westward on horseback, following the firelight to pursue Li Xiang's trail. However, the further they went, the more scorching the heat became. All the surrounding houses were on fire, flames swept through the streets and alleys, and the thick smoke made the men and horses neigh repeatedly.

The sound of their footsteps was no longer the only sound; gradually getting closer, there was also the loud crash of fire buckets colliding and the shouts of soldiers running around relaying orders.

He looked up and realized that, at some point, the fires to the east and south had gone out, leaving only a large, ever-growing fire to the west. All the security forces in Longqing Ward had been mobilized for this last remaining fire.

His warhorse trotted restlessly, resisting stepping onto the edge of the inferno. Zheng Huai'an suddenly raised his hand to shield his face from the oncoming heat, then froze, a chill running through his body.

wrong.

That's completely wrong!

"We've fallen for their trap!!"

He suddenly realized, "We've all fallen for their trap! No wonder the fire kept getting bigger—it's that brat! It's that brat who started all the way here, lighting the beacon fires to summon troops!"

"I'm afraid both of these routes are feints! The deposed crown prince, Xu, is still at home!"

"Immediately issue the order to recall all troops and launch a full-scale assault on the deposed crown prince's residence!"

"The guys behind seemed to realize they'd been tricked."

Feeling that it had been a long time behind him, and he could no longer hear the sound of horses' hooves, soldiers' footsteps, or shouts, Li Xiang turned his head and said to Liu Zhi.

"Then—" Liu Zhi's expression changed instantly.

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

Li Xiang looked around and noticed that the tall walls of Longqing Ward were now almost within reach. The many abandoned houses on the west side of the ward were engulfed in flames, while the other two sides were now quiet.

He thought for a moment, then immediately said, "Let's go, to the gate!"

If they could get close to the gate, they might be able to persuade the guards to open it and ask the patrolling guards outside for help.

With such a large fire, shouldn't the Imperial Guards have sent troops to Longqingfang?

The two men crouched low against the wall, using the thick smoke to conceal their figures, and quickly made their way towards the west gate.

Just as the gate was in sight, Li Xiang suddenly heard a dull, loud crash ahead, which made his head tingle slightly.

What was that sound?

"This is—someone is banging on the door!" Liu Zhi, a veteran of many battles, made the judgment instantly.

The second and third loud bangs of the door being slammed rang out in succession, followed by the cracking sounds of wooden tenons breaking and iron locks bending through the smoke and fire.

The orderly, heavy marching steps and the clanging of armor plates swept in with the night wind.

A disciplined troop of government troops, clad in armor and armed with weapons, filed into the neighborhood. The soldiers carried swords and shields, their formation imposing and menacing.

The leading veteran general was clad in the armor of a third-rank general, with a resolute and sharp face, graying temples, and a golden tiger tally hanging at his waist. His aura of battlefield killing was overwhelming. He was none other than Qiu Xinggong, the right golden guard general!

"General Qiu!" Liu Zhi, who had been in the palace for a long time, naturally recognized Qiu Xinggong. Seeing Qiu Xinggong ride into the ward, he immediately went to greet him with great joy.

"Halt!"

"General, I am Liu Zhi, a guard from the Right Army Commander's Office who is in charge of protecting the deposed crown prince. There is an urgent military situation in the ward, and I request that you proceed immediately to quell the unrest!"

Qiu Xinggong was still confused about the situation in the neighborhood when he saw a rather familiar-looking man approaching. With a wave of his hand, he stopped his men who wanted to stop Liu Zhi, and looked down at Liu Zhi with narrowed eyes.

"You are—a member of the Imperial Guard of the Right Military Command? Are there rebels in the ward? Why should I believe you?"

In Chang'an, right under the emperor's nose, where would a rebel army come from? Qiu Xinggong subconsciously didn't believe Liu Zhi.

"Rebel soldiers are setting fires while fully armored; I suspect their target is my father."

Li Xiang emerged from the shadows, and Qiu Xinggong was startled.

How could Qiu Xinggong, the Grand General of the Right Golden Guard, not recognize the imperial grandson who had recently given His Majesty several headaches?

"The grandson of the emperor says—someone intends to harm the eldest prince?"

"Absolutely true, it's extremely urgent!" Li Xiang nodded.

Qiu Xinggong's eyes darkened suddenly, and the killing intent of a veteran general surged within him. He no longer hesitated.

"All troops, listen to my command!"

Qiu Xinggong drew his sword, its cold light piercing the night.

"Abandon all firefighting efforts, draw your weapons and form ranks, march immediately to the deposed crown prince's villa! Slaughter the rebel army and capture the bandit leader alive!"

"Look!"

""

More than a hundred Golden Guard soldiers responded with a thunderous roar!