Chapter 51: Imperial Envoy
Zhang Xuan read the information in his hand and smiled bitterly.
Yu Wenzhi got off the ship in Yangzhou, but Zhang Shihe did not leave immediately. He respectfully saw Yu Wenzhi off and replenished his supplies. Then he led 300 elite soldiers south the next day to convey the imperial edict. Such a situation, of course, could not be concealed from Li Chunfeng and his son, who had established a stronghold in Yangzhou. It was unknown how the news was quickly conveyed.
This is a sign of a life-or-death situation.
If it was Yu Wenzhi who came in person, Zhang Xuanning would feel that he had a chance of survival, because Yu Wenzhi could accommodate Zhang Xuanning. But if it was anyone else, it would be very dangerous - accepting Zhang Xuanning's surrender would not benefit Zhang Shihe at all, so at a time when he could choose to kill him or not, if he could endure the bad words from the county magistrate, the situation would inevitably deteriorate.
The only advantage was that it was Zhang Shihe's first time as an imperial envoy, and he enjoyed the power in his hands and the officials serving him along the way, so he did not come very quickly.
Thinking of this, he immediately made up his mind.
There were six boats covered with gray cloth, without any lights, and the boats were densely packed with soldiers temporarily living inside. Zhang Xuanning and his men were all gathered at the bow, making their clothes rustle in the night wind.
There were 1,200 soldiers on this trip, and the original barracks were already equipped with the best weapons due to the remaining 600 soldiers and substitute soldiers.
Although there are 300 elite soldiers on the Wuya ship, they will still be dead if facing 1,200 soldiers. The only concern is that the attack must be swift. The battle cannot last too long and cause the plan to be leaked, and there must not be major damage, because this is the ship representing the imperial envoy.
Li Bo and Li Chunfeng were also on the boat, standing next to Zhang Xuanning. Zhang Xuanning smiled calmly and said, "This is the last night to reach Kuaiji City. Once the boat is opened, it will take only fifty miles to reach Kuaiji City. We can take it tonight and pretend to be imperial envoys tomorrow. I think most of the county officials should come to welcome us!"
"That's right. Only in this way can we take it down in one fell swoop." The two looked over and saw a temporary dock a few miles away on the left bank. It was crowded with people. It was obviously the officials serving along the way. Li Bo had been in the officialdom for a long time and said with a smile: "We will act at the end of the yin and the beginning of the Mao (5 a.m. Beijing time). At this time, the officials who came to see us have already gone back. It is also the darkest and most tiring time before dawn. Besides, if we seize this boat at this time and go down the river, it will be as fast as a galloping horse. Even if the officials here know that something is wrong, they will not have time to report it. When we reach the river , it will be almost morning. We can summon the officials of Kuaiji City and take it down in one fell swoop to avoid more trouble at night."
Zhang Xuanning nodded and smiled. The six ships were anchored in a remote location far away. The imperial envoy was at a farther location. Occasionally, there were patrol teams patrolling nearby, but this was just to get the job done, so they did not discover the six hidden ships.
Zhang Xuanning's gaze moved from the boat to the soldiers below, and then to the two banks. Although it was night, he could still see the nearby farmlands. His heart was full of longing. If they could win today, the hundreds of thousands of people in Kuaiji County and millions of acres of fertile land would be under their control.
Especially at this time, there was actually a lot of uncultivated land, which could be awarded to military and civilian officials.
At midnight, the banquet was over, and the officials went back home. The entire Wuya warship began to quiet down. Li Bo was also an expert. He used his power to see some things. He sighed and said, "I didn't expect that the most elite imperial guards couldn't keep alert. There weren't many defenses on the ship."
"Zhang Shihe is not an official imperial envoy, he is just delivering the imperial edict for Yu Wenzhi. Maybe that is why he wants to have fun with the imperial guards and have more friendship. After all, Yu Wenzhi is in charge of the imperial guards now. Although he is constantly eliminating dissidents and placing people in positions, he is also recruiting and buying . Zhang Shihe is probably the same!"
As Xu Xu spoke, the Wuya warship fell completely silent. After waiting for some time, Li Bo looked at the stars in the sky and saw that it was already getting light. He nodded and said, "It's almost time."
"Slow boat approaching, commanders of all ships, listen to my orders." Zhang Xuanning said after giving the order.
After whispering the order, the six ships approached. However, when they were close to the ship, the guards on the Five-toothed Ship finally noticed them and shouted, "Who? Who is coming?"
"Kill them!" Zhang Xuanning was the first to leap into the air. In mid-air, a yellow light appeared on his sword. This leap contained the power of thunder and lightning.
The guards on the opposite side were caught off guard, but they were imperial guards after all, so they immediately raised the alarm.
With a "clang" sound, the whole ship shook, and two imperial guards rushed out. Zhang Xuanning had already landed on the ship. With a flash of his knife, the heads of the two imperial guards flew out immediately. He did not stop and rushed into the cabin like lightning.
As soon as he rushed in, he saw a cabin door opened, and seven or eight imperial guards rushed up. Although they were naked and had obviously just gotten up, each of them was as brave as a tiger or leopard, and rushed up with all kinds of weapons in their hands.
Zhang Xuanning secretly praised in his heart, they were indeed the imperial guards, they must be brave and valiant. But at this moment, he was not afraid at all, he rushed forward, the people who rushed forward fell to the ground with blood splattered, and the imperial guards, who were originally so powerful, immediately fell into chaos after several people were killed.
Our own army behind has been divided into six groups, each occupying a position and pouring in. This can maximize the advantage in numbers and cut off the enemy's organization in the first time, dividing it into several small groups.
Zhang Xuanning killed several people in a row without entering the room. He just swung his knife at the cabin. Wherever his true energy reached, the wooden boards near the cabin suddenly broke like tofu. When he pulled back the knife, blood splattered. With Zhang Xuanning's current martial arts, he could certainly not hide the movements behind the wooden boards. As long as he got close to the boards, he could kill them. Unfortunately, even for a giant five-tooth ship, the cabin was extremely small, so those who were hit had no way to resist, and he killed dozens of people immediately.
After killing dozens of people in a row, Zhang Xuanning had exhausted all his true energy. He knew that he was still a little short of reaching the innate realm of a first-rate master, so there was an obvious gap in his ability to recover his energy during the battle.
He just flashed through a small corridor and suddenly bent backwards.
Only the sound of "chi chi" was heard, and nearly ten long arrows flew past the top of his face a few inches as he leaned back. They immediately penetrated into the wooden board behind him, leaving only a few arrowheads outside.
"So it's the imperial envoy? No wonder he dared to shoot arrows in the cabin. Isn't he afraid of hurting his own people?" Listening to the screams behind him and looking at the more than 20 imperial guards in front of him and a middle-aged man in the middle, Zhang Xuanning said leisurely, and the yellow light on the knife slowly lit up.
When the middle-aged man saw the knife light, his expression suddenly changed: "Shi Wuji, Zhang Xuanning?"
"It is me, Your Excellency, I beg you to cooperate with me, or I will give you my life!"
"How dare you! You are just a captain, yet you dare to attack the imperial envoy and openly rebel!" Zhang Shihe screamed.
The door at the back opened, and more than a dozen imperial guards rushed in like wolves and tigers.
Zhang Xuanning rushed forward with his long sword, and kicked out with lightning speed, hitting a guard who was rushing in front of him in the chest. The sound of the sternum breaking was thrilling. The guard spurted blood from all his orifices and was thrown backwards. Several people behind him were immediately knocked to the ground, and they all vomited blood.
Most of the evil energy had been digested, but the last bit was still condensed and difficult to dissipate. Although he knew that it would be of great benefit once it was dissipated, he still had to resolve it as soon as possible for the sake of the three expeditions to come. Therefore, this attack forced out a large amount of evil energy. This evil energy was extremely vicious, almost equivalent to a blow from half a grandmaster, and it instantly made five or six imperial guards lose their combat effectiveness.
At this moment, there was shouting and noise on the ship, and it was obvious that the battle had reached a fierce level.
Zhang Xuanning was proud of the fact that he was wearing double armor, and his martial arts had reached a nearly first-rate level, so he sneered and rushed forward. With the burst of internal force, his speed in an instant was so fast that it was difficult to detect with the naked eye. He killed anyone he saw with his long sword, blood splattered everywhere, and several imperial guards were immediately hacked to death on the ground.
The guards were all shocked, as they had just come out of their rooms at this moment. Not only were their weapons incomplete, but their coordination was not ready either. However, it was their responsibility to protect the imperial envoy, so they had no choice but to go ahead.
With a "puff" sound, Zhang Xuanning finally met a good opponent. The two swords collided. Zhang Xuanning was shaken, while the man retreated several steps, but was not injured. He was shocked, and during this period of time, more than a dozen guards behind him roared, each raised their long swords, and attacked in a coordinated manner.
Zhang Xuanning immediately felt a lot of pressure and was trapped in a tight siege. After killing several people, he realized that things were not going well. He sneered again, and with a "bang", the wooden board broke and a room was instantly opened. The two imperial guards who followed him came forward, but they immediately flew backwards and fell to the ground, dying.
The room was even smaller than the corridor, allowing only two or three people to fight, and the imperial guards' siege collapsed immediately.
"Shi Wuji, the emperor values you very much and does not want to kill you. He came here this time to summon you to see him. You will be given great wealth and honor. Why do you have to rebel?" Zhang Shihe's voice came from the opposite side.
Zhang Xuanning smiled hoarsely, adjusted his internal energy in an instant, his eyes flashed with cold light, stared at Zhang Shihe, and said calmly: "The Imperial Envoy seems to think I am an idiot. Regardless of whether the emperor intends to promote me or not, I attacked the Imperial Envoy today, which is an unpardonable death penalty, so I have no choice but to go all the way."
As he spoke, he sneered, and his long sword emitted a yellow light and rushed forward.
The imperial guards immediately rushed over. At this moment, the sound of killing had weakened. A group of people rushed in. It was obvious that they were Zhang Xuanning's men. Zhang Shihe's face changed and he shouted, "Shi Wuji, how many people did you bring?"
Zhang Xuanning was even more adept at wielding the sword this time. Wherever he went, several imperial guards fell to the ground. Upon hearing this, they burst into laughter and said, "Your Excellency, I have brought a group of elite soldiers with me. What do you think?"
While he was speaking, Zhang Xuanning's soldiers had already rushed over and started killing them on both sides. The imperial guards fell to the ground one after another. Of course, the counterattack of the imperial guards was also quite terrifying, and an equal number of bodies of Zhang Xuanning's soldiers also fell to the ground one by one.
The situation suddenly reversed. Zhang Xuanning put away his sword and said with a sneer: "Zhang Shihe, listen, if you surrender immediately, I will spare your life. If you resist, I will kill you without mercy!"
As soon as the voice stopped, the battle here suddenly quieted down. Zhang Shihe's face changed drastically, but slowly, he showed a firm look: "I am a member of the Yuwen family. If I die, I will be a ghost of the Yuwen family."
"Very good, kill them!" Although he knew that almost all of Zhang Shihe's family was in the hands of the Yuwen family and could not turn against them, he still admired his courage. After all, it was a matter of life and death. Therefore, with a command, a hundred people each rushed forward. The imperial guards fought desperately, but after all, they were powerless. After a moment, the boat immediately became silent.
Zhang Xuanning slowly went up to the deck. The Wuya giant warship was indeed extraordinary. At this time , people on the shore had been alarmed, but they hurriedly ran to their county to report. They thought that by the time the officials came to check it out, the morning was almost over.
The boat started moving slowly down the river, and a little dawn had already appeared.
"Despite the sudden attack, four times the force, division and encirclement, we still lost 104 people and 60 were seriously injured, which is equivalent to a loss of 200. The fighting power of the imperial guards is indeed terrifying." Zhang Xuan stared at Zhang Shihe who had been beheaded, and said depressedly after listening to the loss report.
In the dawn light, Zhang Shihe's head had its eyes open, as if he was extremely unwilling.
"It's not that exaggerated. These people are the elite of the Imperial Guards, which is why they suffered such a loss. After three expeditions to Goryeo, the Imperial Guards suffered heavy losses and are no longer as brave as they were in the past. Most of them are new recruits now." Li Bo took a look and said, "If all of them were as brave as this, these 200,000 Imperial Guards could sweep across the world and be invincible."
Zhang Xuanning thought about it and said with a smile: "Uncle Shi is right."
At this time, on the boat, the imperial guards were stripped of their clothes and stabbed one by one, and then their bodies were thrown into the river. Zhang Xuanning was watching from above, but he turned a blind eye and just looked at the vast land. At this time, the night sky covering the earth had lit up, and there was surprisingly no sail or boat on the wide river. Only the river water was surging, flowing from west to east.
Although the sun has not risen yet, its light is already shining from the east, making the river water glow faintly.
"Soldiers, put on the uniforms of the Imperial Guards, and we will go to Kuaiji City as the Imperial Guards. When we arrive at the dock, will there be officials waiting for us?" Zhang Xuanning received another report and said with a smile, "We actually found a large amount of wealth on the ship, which was obviously looted along the way. There are also 3,000 taels of gold, especially a full set of weapons for the Imperial Guards, which can be considered a small fortune."
He added: "Fortunately, we attacked at night, so the crossbows and the like were ineffective. Otherwise, even if we could have taken the city, we would have lost half of our troops."
"This is an obvious thing. According to official customs, we should have waited long ago. Once the ship docks, you can see almost all the officials in the county, and we can catch them all in one fell swoop." Li Bo said with a smile.
An hour later, the sun was shining brightly. The blood on the deck had been washed away and all the bodies thrown into the river. Fortunately, the imperial guards did not wear the same clothes, so the three hundred soldiers also changed into the imperial guards uniforms. Li Bo was also well versed in etiquette, so he immediately instructed what flags to hold and what positions to stand, and made a general arrangement.
Another half an hour later, a pier suddenly appeared about five miles . Seeing the ship coming, several boats on the pier came forward. When they saw the Wuya ship and the imperial envoy's mark on the ship, they hurried to escort it. A speedboat hurried back to report to the officials at the pier.
Well, although these navy ships are not strong, there are still more than a dozen of them, which is just enough to take them down.
Zhang Xuan looked carefully and saw that the decks of other warships were heavily guarded, and there were also three thousand soldiers on the dock. It was obvious that they were here to protect the imperial envoy. He had an idea in his mind that if he had not been attacked in advance, he would have been captured immediately if he had come here in response to the emperor's order.
At this moment, on the imperial envoy's ship, according to Li Bo's instructions, a large flag was officially raised, and the other side immediately beat drums to welcome them. The military and civilians had already lined up, making the atmosphere of the entire dock even more solemn.
"It's approaching!" The huge warship slowly approached the dock. Zhang Xuanning watched coldly and saw the music playing below to welcome the imperial envoy. According to Li Bo, according to the rules of the welcome, they must reach the middle section before going off the dock. Going directly on like this would obviously arouse suspicion immediately.
"The Imperial Envoy has arrived!" Li Bo, wearing the official uniform of the Imperial Envoy, walked down the hall under the protection of the royal guards, looking dignified and majestic. He was originally an official of the imperial court and had friends with important officials. His bearing was completely that of an Imperial Envoy. When several officials saw him, they immediately admired him. If Zhang Xuanning came forward, they would be suspicious at first sight. This was not a matter of age, but a long-formed bearing and a special feeling.
"The imperial edict has arrived. All subjects should listen to it." Li Bo slowly unfolded the imperial edict, which glowed brightly in the sunlight.
"Long live the emperor!" At this time, all the officials and soldiers knelt on the ground one by one, not even daring to raise their heads.
