All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Although this list is not as accurate as the Black Family Army's list, it includes some of the major powers and wealthy families in the capital, including the Bai family.

However, when a large number of allied troops entered the city and arrived at the location on the list, they found that most of the place was already empty, and they even saw some corpses scattered everywhere. The warehouse had been completely emptied.

At first, they thought that other allied forces had gotten ahead of them, but when they inquired, they found that all the government offices and warehouses in the city, as well as the vaults of several large banks in the capital, had been robbed long ago.

This alarmed all the Allied forces, who began searching for suspicious individuals and even arrested a large number of Qing officials who managed these government offices and warehouses, demanding to know who had gotten there first.

The officials were also completely bewildered. Finally, they took out the letters they had received, which read in both Chinese and English: "The British Empire hereby formally informs you that the property in the Qing government's treasury has been officially taken over by us. No one is allowed to approach it, or they will be killed without mercy."

The letter was received on the morning of the 14th. At that time, there was continuous artillery fire outside the city, and the various government offices inside the city had long been paralyzed. These important government offices of the Qing government were indeed guarded by many Qing soldiers, but they were quickly defeated and scattered and fled.

At that time, British troops had indeed begun to appear in the city, but there were also a large number of Boxers and Qing soldiers in the city, and they were engaged in street fighting with the British troops. They had no time to take over these government warehouses.

As for the officials who were not afraid of death, they tried to go out to ask for help, but they were shot dead one by one by those who were being watched. Even when the Allied forces entered the city and found them, they still thought that the Allied forces had stolen the silver from their treasury.

Upon receiving this news, the Allied forces initially suspected that the British had gotten there first. However, as many target warehouses in the capital turned out to be empty, the Allied forces realized that an army had indeed gotten there ahead of them and looted the warehouses of various Qing government offices, as well as the homes of many princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials.

The reason it was identified as an army is because the operations almost always took place between the 13th and 14th, with the latest being the early morning of the 15th. With so many targets and such a large number of targets, small-time robbers could never have accomplished this.

Even at the Ministry of Revenue, this army encountered over a hundred Qing soldiers guarding the premises, only to be mowed down by two machine guns. What bandit would possess a machine gun?

Moreover, that period coincided with the Allied forces' fierce attack outside the city. Under the cover of gunfire, this army successfully stormed the city before the Allied forces could enter.

Upon receiving this news, all the commanders of the Allied Forces became nervous, fearing that there was still a large number of resistance forces in the capital. However, they were clearly overthinking it. On the afternoon of the 16th, the Allied Forces had almost taken control of the entire capital and began to control the major government offices and intersections in the capital, but they did not encounter any large-scale resistance forces.

On the 17th, the allied forces ordered their soldiers to conduct a thorough search of the capital.

In reality, the allied forces that entered Beijing at this time consisted of seven countries and numbered less than 20,000 men, while the Imperial Guards inside and outside the capital numbered over 100,000, and the Boxers numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, they were all small fry; some were trying to protect themselves, while the majority scattered and fled, completely routed and without any fighting power. The allied forces used only three days to almost completely eliminate the resistance forces in the capital.

While it was called a carpet search, in reality, it meant the Allied forces were looting house to house. Since the silver of the Qing government offices had been robbed, there must still be a lot of wealth in the civilian population. So, large numbers of soldiers began to storm into the homes of ordinary people, and the people of Beijing were now in deep trouble.

From the 16th to the 17th, the gunfire in the capital was incessant. Any civilians who resisted were shot, women were raped, and many Allied soldiers killed for their own amusement. The capital was engulfed in flames of war.

Many members of the Black Family Army who witnessed this scene from the shadows were filled with rage and wanted to take action immediately. However, no orders came down from the higher-ups. The orders they received were that after 3 a.m. on the 17th, unless they received any other orders beforehand, they were not allowed to take any action.

Even if they witness their loved ones being killed right beside them, they cannot lift a finger. Every member of the Black Family Army is an elite handpicked from the best of the best. From the day they enter the training camp, they are trained as members of the Black Family Army, and their duty is to obey orders!

This order was the result of discussions within the Black Family Army's operations command center, not Bai Jingqi's order. In fact, Bai Jingqi is only issuing the overall three-step strategic plan now; some combat missions and other arrangements are handled by the Black Family Army's established leadership.

The reason for letting these allied forces burn, kill, and loot for three days before taking action was that only in this way would they lower their guard and give the Black Family Army enough time to prepare. In these three days, the Black Family Army had already figured out the location of the command posts of the seven allied forces, and even the deployment of each allied force.

The coalition's three-day open looting operation initially kept them somewhat on guard, as they were worried about an attack by a clandestine army. However, by the second day, they had completely let their guard down. Firstly, after a day of searching, they hadn't found a single thing. Secondly, with coalition soldiers everywhere, why would they be afraid of some petty thieves?

Moreover, the streets are now filled with soldiers from various countries carrying large bags of looted valuables. If you don't rob them now, someone else will. Thus, a frenzied looting spree officially begins.

On August 17th, the Allied forces' open looting continued for the second day. All the restaurants in the capital were full of foreigners. They had no choice; they had come in such a hurry that they hadn't brought enough military rations. Besides, even if they had some dry rations, nothing beats the pleasure of eating out for free.

So that day, the taverns in the capital were in chaos. The foreign devils ate their fill in the greasy food in the various restaurants, and everyone picked up big glasses and drank themselves into a stupor. The looted valuables were carelessly thrown in the corners of the restaurants. In this hot weather, they didn't need blankets. They just lay down on the ground drunk and fell into a deep sleep, ready to get up early the next day and continue robbing!

Unfortunately, these foreign devils never imagined that this night would be the death day for many of them. More than a thousand Black Army soldiers stationed in the capital had been waiting for this moment, and were watching them through the dark windows as they slept.

That night, Bai Jingqi, who had not taken action for a long time, also prepared to take action himself. His first target was a missionary named Fan Guoliang. After the Allied Forces captured Beijing on the 15th, Fan Guoliang issued a "proclamation" allowing Christians to rob for eight days at will. The stolen goods under fifty taels could be kept directly, while those over fifty taels had to be handed over to the church.

Following Fan Guoliang's orders, thousands of traitors began to burn, kill, and loot their comrades. Several days later, these same people even led the Allied Forces into the Forbidden City, where they began to smash, loot, and burn it. The infamous burning of the Old Summer Palace was a result of these traitors leading the Allied Forces in a retaliatory looting of the Qing imperial palace.

Fan Guoliang had already memorized this person's name on the Black Family Army's kill list. At present, Fan Guoliang was leading the French Allied Forces to plunder a prince's mansion. He was sleeping in the mansion that day. In addition, there were nearly a hundred French soldiers sleeping haphazardly in various corners of the mansion.

At 1:15 AM, Bai Jingqi, dressed in black, silently climbed the wall and disappeared into the night like a shadow…!

Inside a restaurant just three miles from the Prince's Mansion, a dozen or so foreign devils lay sprawled out. Two night watchmen sat dozing by the entrance, and the candles on the counter flickered as if welcoming the Black and White Impermanence. One wonders if the foreign devils were subject to the King of Hell's jurisdiction.

Just then, two dark figures darted out from the doorway. They seemed to be wearing special cloth shoes, making no sound at all. Almost simultaneously, the two figures covered the foreigners' mouths, and two daggers were plunged into their hearts at the same time. The daggers spun around in their hearts a few times, and the two foreigners struggled in their arms for a moment before finally coming to a complete stop.

The two men slowly lowered the foreigner without making a sound, as if they had practiced this many times before.

The two smiled at each other, revealing their white teeth, and slowly walked into the house, bathed in the moonlight outside the door.

This scene was playing out almost simultaneously in several taverns in the capital. Some succeeded, while others failed. Soon, gunshots rang out, and with a loud explosion, the capital was once again engulfed in flames...!

Chapter Twenty: Heavy Casualties

Heavy casualties! "Bang! Bang!"

Two gunshots shattered the tranquility of the Prince's Mansion, and hundreds of foreign devils, brandishing long guns and shouting in broken French, rushed towards the gate.

Hearing the gunfire outside, the officers dared not make any rash moves. They left thirty men to guard the area outside the palace, while the others lined up and ran toward the place where the gunfire was most intense.

The remaining thirty men dared not sleep any longer and guarded the various gates leading in and out of the Prince's Mansion. Inside the mansion, only Fan Guoliang's gate remained, where two French soldiers stood guard with their rifles at the ready.

The gunshot just now wasn't fired by Bai Jingqi, but it gave him the perfect opportunity, drawing all the soldiers inside the palace outside.

At this moment, Bai Jingqi was on the roof beam above them. He frowned, listening to the gunshots and explosions that rose and fell throughout the city. He couldn't help but feel a little irritated. He knew that these gunshots meant that the number of casualties in the Black Family Army was rising, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

The assassination plan, known as "Operation Three O'Clock," lasted for two hours from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. The operation involved approximately one thousand people, with the exception of a few dozen combat commanders and staff officers.

Three hundred people completed the targeted elimination mission. The remaining seven hundred people will be divided into areas and, like him, will choose their own targets within their respective areas. After this night, it is unknown how many of these one thousand people will be left.

But he had to do it. A century of humiliation was unfolding before his eyes. As a Chinese, he couldn't just stand by and watch these foreign devils swagger around, rob, and run away.

Since the decision has been made, let's start the war!

With that in mind, Bai Jingqi no longer hesitated. With a hook hanging from the roof beam, Bai Jingqi's figure, like a bat walking in the night, quietly moved across the wall above the two French soldiers, and then landed on the ground behind one of the soldiers.

Before the soldier could react, a dagger pierced his heart. At the same time, Bai Jingqi threw another dagger at the throat of another soldier. The force of the dagger was so great that it almost pierced through the soldier's entire throat.

A moment later, two limp corpses fell into Bai Jingqi's arms. He slowly placed the two bodies at the door. Five seconds to deal with the two men, a smug smile appeared on Bai Jingqi's lips.

Twenty years of rigorous training have given him almost complete control over his body. Over the years, he has likely taken the lives of no fewer than a hundred people. Now, killing people seems to affect him without the slightest emotional response.

But what he knew even more clearly was that although dealing with ordinary people now felt like child's play, no matter how skilled he was, he was still just an ordinary person. He couldn't be invulnerable to spears and swords. So his role wasn't to fight, because it was best to avoid such physical confrontations.

The higher one's status, the greater one's responsibilities. Bai Jingqi knew very well that if you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. If he got his shoes wet, the Bai family might fall apart quickly, and the Black Army would be completely out of control. His life would no longer belong to him.

After dealing with the two French soldiers, there was no further reaction in the room, clearly indicating that the other side was unaware of the danger.

Perhaps missionary Fan Guoliang never imagined that, under the heavy protection of the French army, someone would try to assassinate him. In his eyes, the Chinese were just a bunch of spineless cowards with no fighting ability.

Indeed, that was pretty much the case. In June, under the command of Prince Duan of the Qing Dynasty, tens of thousands of Boxers launched an attack on Fan Guoliang's Xishiku Church. The attack lasted for two months without success. At that time, there were only a few dozen foreign soldiers inside the church. They shot and killed wave after wave of Boxers until the arrival of the Allied forces of the foreign powers, which resolved the crisis at the Xishiku Church.

This incident also made Fan Guoliang completely lose all fear of the Qing government. At this moment, all he wanted was to make money and get his hands on all the silver in the homes of the Qing princes, nobles and high-ranking officials. Historically, Fan Guoliang made millions of taels of silver, but now, he could only get money from the King of Hell.

Hearing the increasingly intense gunfire inside the city, Bai Jingqi felt he should go and check it out. He thought his skills could save many of the Black Family Army soldiers facing dire straits, so he kicked open the door.

As soon as I stepped into the room, I saw a bearded foreigner dressed in Chinese clothing sitting in a large armchair in the living room, legs crossed, reading a book. He looked completely relaxed, clearly not taking the gunshots outside seriously at all.

The bearded man was somewhat surprised to see Bai Jingqi. Upon seeing Bai Jingqi's Asian face, he immediately reprimanded him arrogantly.

"Get out!"

Bai Jingqi was too lazy to waste words with the other party. He took a few steps forward, drew a specially crafted long dagger from his back, and the bearded man saw the long dagger in Bai Jingqi's hand. His shock and surprise flashed across his face, and he quickly raised his hands to block it.

Bai Jingqi smiled and raised the long dagger, stabbing it fiercely into the man's chest. The tip of the sword passed through his palm with almost no resistance and pierced deep into his heart. With a casual twist, the bearded man's face turned ashen, his eyes widened, and he breathed his last.

Bai Jingqi drew his long dagger, wiped the blood off the man's body, and slung it back over his shoulder. He glanced at the bearded man's face, spat on him, and then turned and walked away without looking back.

Upon reaching the door, he even dragged the two soldiers inside and kindly closed the door behind him.

Half an hour later, Bai Jingqi appeared on a street. Not far away, flames were raging and gunfire was deafening, clearly indicating that a battle was taking place ahead.

He casually climbed onto the roof of a house and looked into the distance. Six foreign soldiers were chasing a man in black towards him. The man in black had his arm hanging down, clearly injured. He staggered toward Bai Jingqi's street.

Bai Jingqi watched him walk into a dead end with a cold gaze. Clearly, this member of the Black Family Army was not familiar with the terrain, and judging from his appearance, he was not very old, probably a member from a later period.

Six foreign soldiers quickly followed. Looking at the dead end not far away, they excitedly shouted. They raised their rifles and stopped a dozen meters away from the Black Army, all pointing their guns at the young man.

The Black Family soldier turned back to look at the six long spears, his eyes filled with despair. He roared hoarsely at the six foreign soldiers.

"You foreign devil, I'll fuck your grandma! My life has been worth it, I'll come back in my next life to kill your whole family! Come on! Shoot!"

"Bang bang... bang bang bang bang!"

As six gunshots rang out, the young Black Family soldier closed his eyes, awaiting death. But long after the gunshots, he realized that he hadn't been shot.

He opened his eyes and looked around. All he could see were several corpses lying haphazardly on the dimly lit street, while the surrounding streets were empty.

The young man was somewhat incredulous. He stumbled and carefully walked to the six corpses. By the dim moonlight, he saw that each of the six heads had a bloody hole in the middle. He immediately realized what was happening and looked up, but the roof was empty. At this moment, the young man understood completely.

He had been rescued by someone, and the other person was on the opposite rooftop. Although they were only seven or eight meters away, in the darkness, the other person fired six shots in quick succession, killing him with every single one. The marksmanship was incredible. The only person who could appear to save him on this night was one of the Black Family Army's own.

At this moment, the young man's gaze became even more determined. The Black Family Army was full of hidden talents, and one day they would overthrow the Qing Dynasty and accomplish a great feat!

Bai Jingqi did not show himself in front of this young man. In fact, many members had only heard of the name "Black Seven" but had never seen him in person, so such a meeting would be meaningless.

Bai Jingqi's figure was like a ghost in the night, sometimes rescuing people, sometimes taking care of a few lone foreign soldiers. Finally, as dawn broke, the gunfire in the city gradually subsided.

He glanced at his pocket watch; it was almost five o'clock. The mission would officially end at five, so it was clearly nearing its end. After the mission concluded, the Black Family Army members who carried out the mission would return to their underground hideout.

Over the years, there have been hundreds of these small basements in Beijing. They are divided into groups of five, with five groups forming a team. All the basements are pre-assigned, and if any of the five people are captured, the team leader will be contacted immediately to move to a new basement.

Two hours of assassination mission, I don't know how the results were, but his performance tonight was pretty good. Thirty-three people died at his hands, and he saved five Black Family soldiers who were in dire straits. That's enough!

After this mission, there will be a temporary break. There is enough medicine and food in the basement to last them for a month. If there are no further missions, they will start trying to leave the city in small groups over the next month. The second phase of the strategic mission will then officially end.

Having prepared for so long, all for these two hours tonight, Bai Jingqi knew that what would happen in these two hours would definitely be recorded in history books decades from now; he was making history.

Bai Jingqi returned to the underground command room at six in the morning. He quickly wiped his face but did not rest. He was waiting for reports on the battle results of each squad and the situation in the city.

This would determine the next steps in the plan. He ate a piece of bread and slowly finished a cup of tea. At the long table, several operations staff officers were clearly not in the mood for tea and were nervously writing and drawing on the map, recording the situation.

Until eight o'clock in the morning, messages gradually gathered in the command room through special channels. Bai Jingqi looked at one report after another, and the worry between his brows never disappeared.

His worried expression wasn't because the plan had failed; on the contrary, the three-point plan had been executed very successfully, exceeding his expectations.

The Allied forces are expected to suffer more than 4,000 casualties, including nearly 150 officers. The number of foreign troops in Beijing is less than 20,000. Such a feat is enough to shock the world.

His worried expression stemmed from the heavy casualties. Of the thousand-strong operation, fewer than three hundred made it back to the basement, most of whom were wounded.

Fewer than fifty people were unharmed. Of the wounded, it is estimated that some will eventually die. The medicine in the basement is not enough to treat fatal wounds. This loss is too great for the Black Family Army.

What Bai Jingqi didn't know was that the Black Family Army's attack had completely shaken the entire coalition forces, and at this moment, the coalition forces from various countries on the ground were frantically gathering their troops.

This night was a nightmare for the entire coalition forces. Soldiers in the camps were destroyed by explosives and even machine gun fire.

In the streets and alleys, without any warning, daggers slit their throats. Some tavern owners had even drugged their drinks. Dozens of soldiers watched helplessly as their comrades had their throats slit by daggers. The memory was too horrific.

These attackers were all fearless, their marksmanship and combat experience were in no way inferior to He Yi's. They even fought hand-to-hand, and the small-statured He Yi was able to take on three opponents at once. They were full of endless danger. All of this happened too suddenly, and the chaos continued until dawn.

This night was unforgettable for the people of the capital. Although they kept their doors tightly shut, the sounds of gunfire and explosions outside continued from midnight until dawn.

As dawn broke, they cautiously opened the door and saw countless foreigners lying haphazardly on the street. Their feelings were incredibly complex; they were both apprehensive and excited, and all sorts of rumors were flying around.

The allied forces quickly began to impose a complete blockade on the capital. Now that they were completely sober, they dared not be alone. They began to occupy the streets in groups and, under orders from the higher-ups, began to conduct a thorough search of key areas.

However, they clearly underestimated the Black Family Army. The Black Family Army, which had been deployed for several years, was not so easy to find. Of course, some Black Family Army groups were found by following the bloodstains. In the end, the scattered gunfire and resistance were quickly quelled.

Throughout the 18th, the capital was filled with an atmosphere of fear and paranoia. The Allied forces suffered heavy casualties, including a 53-man Italian unit that was completely wiped out, with only three surviving by feigning death.