Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 020 Some People Deserve to Be Punished (Part 2)
In the first month of the lunar year, the outdoor temperature in Beijing has already dropped below zero. It is even colder at night. Generally speaking, people of this age rarely go out at night unless it is necessary.
But on the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month, a team of about 130 to 140 people marched towards the northwest at a very fast speed.
This is of course the team of Zhu Youdong, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Youdong, who was only four years old, could not ride a horse. On the one hand, it was for speed, and on the other hand, riding a sedan chair in pursuit of speed was simply asking for trouble. So at this moment, Li Shizhong rode the horse, holding Zhu Youdong in his arms and moving forward at a high speed.
Not only Zhu Youdong, but also Zhang Shize, Li Chunzhong, and Wang Chengen, all of them were adult guards riding horses and carrying the things forward.
Because the crown prince was very young, he did not have his own residence and lived with the crown prince. So the crown prince's guard team only had 40 people at the beginning. However, Zhu Youdong, who liked to bully the minority with the majority, borrowed 50 people from the Liaodong Li family and the Duke of Ying's Mansion. Minus the one with a broken leg, plus four children and Xiong Tingbi who came with him, the whole team had a total of 144 people.
"Your Highness, can you bear the cold wind? Do you want to take a break?"
"Haha, how can I feel cold in your arms when I am in Shizhong's arms? But the brothers who are running are a little tired. Let's take a break for a while."
"Yes, I obey your command."
Yes , Zhu Youdong’s troops were not a pure cavalry unit. There were only ten war horses in the whole team, and even these were brought by Li Shizhong from his home.
"How far are the retainers of the Duke of England's palace from us?"
"Uh, about four or five miles."
"Damn, we've only run over 20 miles, and we've already fallen behind by 4 or 5 miles. Oh~~ The guards of the Duke of Ying's Mansion seem to be useless."
Shaking his head, after complaining about the Duke of Ying in his heart, Zhu Youdong looked at the thirty-nine guards around him with satisfaction: Not bad, they can actually keep up with the speed of the Li family servants. It seems that in terms of physical fitness, these guards are not inferior to the regular Ming field army.
After everyone sat down and took a breath for about a quarter of an hour, the guards of the Duke of Ying came up. Zhu Youdong looked around and said, "Everyone come here."
He first personally brought a stool for Xiong Tingbi, then sat down himself and said, "Mr. Xiong, how do we fight tonight? I would like to ask my student for advice."
How can I describe Xiong Tingbi's mood at this moment? A little excited, but also a little scared.
Needless to say, he was very excited. After this fight tonight, his relationship with the Crown Prince would be ironclad, which would bring countless benefits to his future career.
He, Xiong Manzi, was from Huguang, and was a natural member of the Chu Party. In the current situation of the Ming Empire, with the Zhejiang Party in power in front and the Donglin Party pressing in the back, his future career does not seem to be very bright. This time, when the crown prince was selecting teachers, if those idiots in the Hanlin Academy had not thought that they would have to sit on the bench for too long and were not willing to do so, how could he have gotten his turn?
In fact, not only Xiong Tingbi, but also Zhang Yicheng (a nerd and a loner) and Sun Chengzong (who started his career too old) were all people who were not favored.
As a result, after just one or two hours of contact this afternoon, Xiong Manzi knew that he had picked up a treasure: as long as someone like Taisun lived to adulthood and successfully ascended the throne, he would definitely be a wise ruler in the future.
So, after hearing that the Crown Prince was going to attack Lijiazhuang tonight, he took the initiative to follow.
Of course, he was terrified: the crown prince was very good, but he was only the crown prince after all. Although the Li family was notorious, he was the uncle of the emperor. Moreover, the Empress Dowager Cisheng was still alive.
However, Xiong Tingbi still had a strong will: I've already made the move, why am I still hesitating!
So when Zhu Youdong asked him what he was going to do tonight , he thought about it for a moment and then asked, "What does the Crown Prince want to achieve? Fight to vent his anger, or win the battle and take back all the land occupied by the Li family?"
"Haha, then of course I have to take back all the land. If possible, I would like to charge some interest."
"Okay, it's refreshing to follow the Crown Prince. Then I think the goal of this matter should be to annihilate all the people in Li's manor."
"Hahaha, Mr. Xiong's words really resonate with me. Li Shizhong, is there any problem on your end?"
Li Shizhong had no problem, as Zhu Youdong had told him that they were here to kill people tonight. But when Xiong Tingbi said he wanted to annihilate them all, Zhang Shize was frightened: "Your Highness, are you going to kill people?"
"Of course I have to kill people. Otherwise, why do you think I brought so many people here? If we really want to fight, do I need to borrow people from your family? The forty guards under my command are more than enough!"
"But……"
"Hey, Shize, when you went back to your family to ask for your loved one, what did the Duke of England say?"
"Well...after my grandfather and father listened carefully to my explanation of the whole story, they readily assigned some people to me. They also asked me if fifty people were enough."
"Hahaha, that's right. Okay, everyone, let me make it clear to you. Tonight, all those evil slaves in the Li family farm will not be spared! Not a single one can escape! We have come this far, it is impossible to withdraw halfway. I am young and cannot go to the battlefield, so I will supervise the battle from the rear tonight. If anyone dares to retreat , hehe, do you really think that I am only four years old and I dare not kill people with my own hands?"
After everyone looked at each other, they all bowed their heads and said: We will definitely serve the Crown Prince!
With the unity of thought, the next thing will be easy. Li Shizhong had actually fought in Liaodong before, so it was easy for him to attack the defenseless Zhuangzi in the hinterland of the capital.
Li Gao's manor on the Red River side has a mansion with a radius of only two or three hundred meters: it is true that the Wuqing Marquis family is now very wealthy, and it is almost impossible for the owner to live in such a manor. So the mansion is also quite simple, with a total of three houses and a circle of walls.
Fifty servants of the Liaodong Li family served as the vanguard. They did not need torches, but only relied on the moonlight and the reflection of the snow to sneak to the vicinity of Honghe Lijiazhuang. Then the servants climbed up the wall skillfully and dealt with the big yellow dogs in several corners. After that, everything went as smoothly as cutting melons and vegetables .
In the darkness, the Li family servants skillfully entered each room, and then quietly swung their knives along with the snoring in the room. Then, with an occasional muffled groan or two, the entire village fell completely silent.
"Your Highness, we have searched the manor house thoroughly and killed 25 people in total. Eunuch Wei has also been rescued."
Didn't they say there were more than a hundred people involved? Why are there only so few? Ah, that's right, the others are probably tenants of the manor, scattered around the manor, right? Well, these guys will be my own tenants in the future, so it's better to kill fewer people.
"Woo woo, Your Highness, I am incompetent and had to come to your rescue late at night. I am so grateful to you!"
"Okay, Lao Wei, hurry up and find some clothes to put on. It's very cold out here. By the way, go and see if there's any of the village head among these heads."
"Yes... Your Highness, it's this bastard named Li Yue!"
"Okay, it's good that the person in charge is killed. Tsk, Shizhong."
"Please give me your instructions, Grandson."
"Haha, I forgot to ask your men to leave some alive. Well, let all your brothers come out, and then let my guards and the Zhang family's retainers go in, and see how much treasure we can find."
"this……"
"Don't worry, I won't mistreat your servants. Old Wei, Zhang Shize, give the order. Everyone go in and look for loose property. No matter how much you find, you must hand it over to the public when you come out. Mr. Xiong will be responsible for the distribution. If anyone dares to hide it, he will be beheaded!"
