BXBX NOVEL Chapter 369 - 369: Ambush
The next day, Li Yu went to the courtyard behind the government office. It was a two-in-one house with a garden at the back. The men lived in the courtyard. Auntie Xue brought the girls to live in the two-in-one courtyard and raised chickens and ducks in the back garden. The corn was also peeled off and dried. It was packed in sacks and filled two houses.
Li Yu looked around and instructed Uncle Dashui and Uncle Li, Aunt Xue, and the others, “The world isn’t peaceful now. You have to watch the door and not let anyone in casually. Especially those girls at home, you have to be careful. If there’s anything, come to the government office and tell Ruyi or Ji Xiang.” The few of them said respectfully, “Yes, Madam. Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.”
Li Yu returned to the government office. After noon, Zhou Jia asked Tiezhu to send back a few sets of soldier clothes. The black rough clothes looked quite firm. When Li Yu saw the black clothes, she remembered that she had not returned the token Chu Sihai had given her. Li Yu also wanted to go to the street to take a look, so she greeted Ruyi and brought Gu Yu out.
Gu Yu pointed at the Intoxicated Immortal Restaurant and said to Li Yu,
“Madam, look, the Intoxicated Immortal Restaurant has become cold.”
“That’s right! After those rich merchants in the city fled, the lively Intoxicated Immortal Restaurant building became like this.”
“Let’s not talk about the Intoxicated Immortal Restuarant. I heard Tiezhu and Mr. Qian muttering that even Willow Flower Alley is no longer lively.”
“The two of them went to Willow Flower Alley together?” Li Yu looked at Gu Yu in surprise.
“Aiya!” Gu Yu looked at Li Yu’s red face. “Madam, what are you thinking? Mr.
Qian and Tiezhu helped Master settle those refugees in West City.”
“Hehe.” Li Yu smiled awkwardly. “I was thinking too much.”
The two of them turned down a street and realized that there were still many commoners pushing and carrying their belongings on the street. They rushed into the city with their families. The pedestrians on the road were also in a hurry. Their faces were no longer as calm and smiling as before.
When Li Yu arrived at the entrance of the Qian Manor, she happened to see Chu Sihai and Chu Feng rushing out. When the two of them saw Li Yu, they smiled. Chu Sihai cupped his hands and smiled. “Madam Li, what a rare guest. Please come in.”
Li Yu smiled and returned the bow. “Head Shopkeeper, I see that you’re quite busy, so we don’t have to go in and sit. I came today to return the token to you.”
“Alright, thank you for your help, Madam.” Chu Sihai cupped his hands and smiled.
Li Yu took out the token and handed it to Chu Sihai. “When I found General Shen, he had already caught the spy, so this token was useless. I only thought of returning it to you today.”
Chu Sihai took the token respectfully and bowed to Li Yu. “Thank you, Madam.”
“Head Shopkeeper, you’re too polite.” After Li Yu bade farewell, she brought Gu Yu back to the government office and asked Old Madam Liu and the others to make some dry rations and biscuits. She stir-fried some oil tea noodles and placed them in case of emergencies.
Zhou Jia returned from the front office and said to Li Yu, “The Qi army is about to arrive. Head Shopkeeper sent a secret guard to kill the Crown Prince of Great Qi. I heard from Head Shopkeeper that Ouyang Xiong is the descendant of Great General Ouyang. He said that he’s resourceful, knowledgeable, and good at using people.”
That was good. There was only one soldier and a nest of generals. The general was resourceful and had a high chance of winning in Yunzhou. However, would it be so easy for Chu Sihai to send people to someone else’s land to kill the Crown Prince of Great Qi? Li Yu asked curiously, “Are they going to Qi Country to kill the crown prince?”
Zhou Jia shook his head. “I didn’t make myself clear. How about this? This time, the Qi State sent troops to attack Great Yong. The Crown Prince of the Qi State is supervising the army in Yunzhou. The Great General, Yang Huaiyi, is leading the army. Yang Huaiyi is also the elder brother of the Qi State’s noble consort. The prince under the noble consort’s knee is young and intelligent and is very doted on by the Prince of Qi.”
“If we kill the Crown Prince, won’t the Prince of Qi make his beloved son the Crown Prince?”
“Yu’er, you don’t know that the Prince of Qi has three legitimate sons. The Crown Prince was appointed as the Crown Prince at a young age. He has been the crown prince for almost 30 years. The officials of the Qi Kingdom privately teased him that he was an old Crown Prince. Also, the rRght minister of the Qi Kingdom is the crown prince’s maternal grandfather. Even if the Crown Prince dies, the son of the noble consort won’t be the next Crown Prince.”
Li Yu understood. Chu Sihai and the others wanted to kill the Crown Prince and make the princes of the Qi Kingdom kill each other for the throne. They would also cause conflict between the Right Minister and the General of the Qi Kingdom. It was a delay tactic.
“It’s a good plan. Can the secret guards succeed?”
“I’m not sure either.” Zhou Jia held Li Yu’s hand, secretly worried that Chu Sihai would come to Li Yu for help.
On a deserted mountain path on the Tianjia Ridge outside the Tianjia Dam, Yun Yi and Yan Niang were dressed as Qi subjects. The two of them were wearing washed-out linen clothes. The two of them pushed and pulled a handcart filled with food as they struggled forward. The soldiers supervising them at the side used a horsewhip to whip the slow-moving commoners from time to time.
Yun Yi and Yan Niang pushed the handcart and secretly recorded the number of provisions. Yun Yi looked up at the covered carriage in the distance and his eyes darkened when he thought of his mission.
In a house not far from the city wall of Yunzhou, General Ouyang was listening to General Tian’s report. “General, the citizens along the wav in Xinqfu Town
have all entered the city to settle down…”
Suddenly, a scout barged in and reported loudly, “General, the Qi army is only a hundred miles away from Yunzhou. The one leading the troops is Yang Huaiyi, and the supervisor is the Crown Prince of Great Qi, Wu Jin. The informant says that the Qi army will probably set up camp near the Yang family village.”
Even the old crown prince had come to earn military merits. Did the Qi people really think that Yunzhou City was meat on their chopping board?
Ouyang Xiong recalled that Chu Sihai had already sent someone to assassinate the Crown Prince of the Qi Kingdom. He would take advantage of the chaos when they were setting up camp to let the secret guards take action. If he could kill some Qi soldiers along the way, it would be an unexpected gain.
Ouyang Xiong made up his mind and swept his gaze across the generals sitting together. He stood up and looked at General Yun Can. “General Yun Can, lead 2,000 cavalries to attack the Qi soldiers. Remember, don’t fight. After disturbing the Qi soldiers, return to the city immediately. I’ll meet you at the city gate.”
“Yes.” After General Yun Can agreed, he gathered the troops and galloped away.
In the government office, Zhou Jia also received the quarterly report. “Sir, the
Qi army is only a hundred miles away from us.”
Zhou Jia instructed, “Send more people to patrol and pay more attention to those quiet alleys. I’m afraid there will be local hooligans taking advantage of the situation. Once you discover that there are local hooligans taking advantage of the situation and capture those who refuse to be persuaded and send them to perform hard labor.”‘
“Yes, sir.” The prefect hurried away.
General Yun Can sped along with 2,000 cavalrymen and arrived at the Yang family village in less than an hour. The formerly lively Yang family village had become a wasteland. All the houses had been burned down by the hard-walled officials and soldiers. There were dilapidated walls everywhere. General Yun Can waited quietly with his men in a small forest outside the Yang family village.
After a while, they heard the sound of countless iron hooves pounding on the ground in the distance. A moment later, a team of cavalry scouting the way quickly sped over. Everyone waited quietly for them to enter the village. General Yunshen waved his arm and drew a circle. All the cavalry were on guard. Seeing that the team of cavalry was getting closer and closer, General
Yun Can led the cavalry to outflank them. The soldiers raised their crossbows.
After the mechanism sounded, the crossbow bolts tore through the air and the Qi soldiers on the horses fell from their horses..