diymy Chapter 12 Jinshi of the 26th year of the Longxing reign
Chapter 12 Jinshi of the 26th year of the Longxing reign
"Brother, I heard that Lin Ruhai is an imperial envoy. Killing an imperial envoy is a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!"
"When that time comes, that old eunuch surnamed Guan will hide in the Prince's mansion, and we brothers will all become scapegoats!"
"Boss..."
"Shut up!"
The man in black tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife. "We are the Prince's personal guards, we obey orders without questioning right or wrong! Before we left, the Prince said—Guan Yu's words are his orders!"
He paused, then added, "Think of your family in the capital."
Everyone fell silent.
If the prince takes action, he might be able to save their family. If he doesn't, given the prince's ruthless nature, their entire family will die.
"They're here!"
The man in black stared ahead as three horses galloped towards them under the starlight.
The sound of horses' hooves pounded against his heart. He silently counted the rhythm in his mind, took a deep breath, bent over, and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands, raising it slightly to gather his strength.
With a "crack," Liu Feng lashed the horse's cheek with his whip, and the horse cried out in pain and bolted forward like a madman.
It's getting closer, we can see it now!
To think you could stop a galloping horse with just a waist knife is simply courting death!
Liu Feng sneered inwardly and swung his knife at the man in black blocking the road.
Just then, the man in black suddenly twisted his waist to dodge the falling knife, and at the same time, he slashed the horse's front hoof with his waist knife.
The horse let out a miserable cry and collapsed.
Liu Feng acted faster than he thought, immediately leaping off his horse, rolling on the ground, and then turning around to slash out with his sword. The man in black rolled away to dodge the attack.
The two salt soldiers following behind Liu Feng reacted much slower. When their horses were pierced by the spears, they only had time to pull the reins to the side. They didn't have a chance to jump off their horses and were directly crushed under the fallen horses, letting out painful screams.
The spears of the men in black were also broken by the force, and several assassins who were too close were also crushed under the horses. In an instant, screams and wails filled the night.
Liu Feng was surprised to find that these assassins had spare long guns, and Lin Ruhai and the other two following behind were also attacked.
One salt soldier's horse was pierced by a spear, and both man and horse tumbled into the roadside bushes, knocking down an assassin in the process. Another salt soldier's horse, startled, threw him off and ran away.
Lin Ruhai's horse broke down at this crucial moment and stood still, refusing to move.
Before the men in black could charge, Liu Feng lunged forward, slamming the back of his blade hard against the horse's rump, and roared, "Run!"
As he spoke, he swung his sword backhand and slashed at the black-clad man who had caught up with him.
The horse, in pain, galloped forward like an arrow, carrying Lin Ruhai and disappearing into the night.
The man in black wanted to give chase, but Liu Feng held him back, so he had to focus on dealing with Liu Feng first.
"court death!"
The man in black vented his anger on Liu Feng, wanting to finish the fight quickly. His sword strikes were heavy and domineering, and every strike that hit Liu Feng's waist knife made his hands go numb and his arms ache.
"clang--"
Liu Feng staggered back a step from the shock. Damn it! Weren't most people in ancient times night-blind? How come all these people he bumped into seem to have night vision, chasing after him and beating him up? This is infuriating!
With a quick roll, Liu Feng narrowly dodged the black-clad man's fatal blow. Damn, this swordsmanship is simple yet ruthless, with a military feel to it. Could these people be from the military?
If you can't beat someone, you have to find a way. Liu Feng grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it directly at the other person's face.
The man in black instinctively dodged, and Liu Feng took the opportunity to roll into the bushes. Something bumped against his waist, and when he reached down, he found it was a spear!
During his months in Xuzhou, Liu Feng not only served as Lin Ruhai's personal guard but also practiced marksmanship according to that manual. Although he didn't reach a level of perfection, he was still able to defeat the salt soldiers in battle.
An inch longer, an inch stronger; when dealing with a man in black wielding a waist knife, you can easily grab him!
Liu Feng gripped the gun barrel tightly, sprang to his feet with a graceful somersault, and thrust his gun straight into the black-clad man's chest.
The man in black hurriedly raised his knife to parry, but Liu Feng followed up with another shot, each shot faster than the last, relentlessly thrusting until the man in black could only retreat and dodge, powerless to fight back.
"Corporal, help me!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Liu Feng saw the last remaining salt soldier being chased and hacked by the remaining two assassins, running frantically toward him.
In the chaos, the salt soldier tripped over the corpse on the ground, scrambled to Liu Feng's side, grabbed his leg, and cried out, "Sergeant, save me!"
When Liu Feng was hugged like that, his body swayed violently, and the moves of his spear became completely chaotic. The man in black immediately seized the opportunity and dodged the range of the spear's attack.
Liu Feng was furious. He kicked the salt soldier away and was about to chase after the man in black when two other assassins rushed over. He had no choice but to deal with these two first.
These two were far inferior to the man in black; after only a dozen or so rounds, Liu Feng pierced their hearts with a single blow.
Before Liu Feng could even catch his breath, he heard the salt soldier's scream behind him. He turned around and saw the salt soldier being impaled in mid-air by the man in black using a spear. He hadn't expected the man in black to also be able to use a spear; this was bad!
The man in black flicked his wrists, and the salt soldier's corpse hurtled towards Liu Feng. Liu Feng dared not take it head-on and dodged it.
The man in black had already charged forward, his spear thrusting straight at them like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair.
Both men wielded long spears, and they instantly engaged in a fierce battle, one attacking and the other defending.
The man in black had a powerful arm, and every time the gun barrels clashed, Liu Feng felt a sharp pain in his hand. The gun barrel was repeatedly knocked open, and several times the man almost knocked his weapon away with the tip of his gun.
Liu Feng was constantly being pressured and was in grave danger. Just when he was about to give up, Liu Feng gritted his teeth, spun around, withdrew his gun, and launched a desperate counterattack.
The spear tip thrusts backward, swift as lightning.
The man in black thought Liu Feng was trying to escape and instinctively gave chase. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late; there was no way to avoid it. His eyes flashed with ferocity. Without flinching or dodging, he thrust his spear straight at Liu Feng's heart!
"Pfft—"
Two spears pierced the opponent's heart simultaneously!
Liu Feng groaned and coughed up blood, never expecting that the man in black would choose to die together with him.
With his last ounce of strength, he thrust his arms forward with tremendous force, the spear piercing straight through the man in black's back.
Blood gushed from the man in black's mouth, his body convulsed violently, and he collapsed to his knees. His head slowly drooped, and he was lifeless, but his hands still gripped the gun barrel tightly and refused to let go.
Liu Feng had exhausted all his strength. His body slumped, and he slowly knelt down, his head drooping limply...
When the people of Yangzhou woke up, they found the city under lockdown.
The Great Qian Dynasty has been established for over a hundred years, and only a little over a decade ago did the White Lotus Rebellion lead to the closure of a city, causing widespread panic.
The roads leading to the Salt Commissioner's office were all blocked.
Looking at the salt soldiers with murderous expressions, General Manager Wang knew in his heart that Lin Ruhai had ultimately won the protracted power struggle in the Lianghuai Salt Administration.
"Master!" The steward rushed over. "I've found out that the city is under lockdown to capture the rebels who attempted to assassinate the imperial envoy."
Mr. Wang was startled: "Someone is trying to assassinate Lin Ruhai?"
"All the salt soldiers who escorted Lin Ruhai out of the city were killed, and Lin Ruhai was the only one who managed to escape with his life."
The steward looked terrified. "Luckily, Lin Ruhai is alright. Otherwise, all the officials in Yangzhou, along with the salt merchants, would have been caught."
Just as Mr. Wang was about to nod, the butler added, "By the way, the Bai family has been surrounded by salt soldiers, who say they were also involved in this."
"What?"
General Manager Wang's face instantly turned deathly pale. "Quick! Go to the Salt Merchants' Association and summon all the other merchants immediately! Be quick!"
"yes!"
......................
At this moment, Lin Ruhai was sitting in the main seat of the second hall of the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office. He had just encountered an assassination attempt, and Lin Bo dared not let him go to the salt field in person. He sent someone to send him back to the city.
The salt commissioner drinking tea on the guest chair was not wearing an official robe, but rather a scholar's cap and robe.
The salt commissioner put down his teacup, looked at Lin Ruhai who was flipping through the files, and said sarcastically, "With these things, your official robes will be stained red. Congratulations."
Lin Ruhai ignored him, closed the file, and stared at him: "There's something wrong with these accounts. At least a million taels of silver are missing every year. Where did this money go?"
The salt commissioner was taken aback: "Lord Lin, you truly deserve to be called the third-ranked scholar; you've discovered even such a hidden matter."
At this moment, the steward came in from the back room and knelt down on both knees in front of the salt commissioner: "Master, the madam, the young master, and the young lady have all been settled."
The salt commissioner nodded slowly, without saying a word.
"This old servant will go first to protect the young master and young lady, and serve the master again in the next life!" The steward took out a porcelain bottle, pulled out the stopper, and drank it all in one gulp. Soon after, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and after convulsing for a moment, he stopped breathing.
The salt commissioner closed his eyes, stood up, and bowed deeply to Lin Ruhai, thanking him for showing mercy and giving his family the last bit of dignity.
"Where's the money?" Lin Ruhai asked in a deep voice.
The salt commissioner remained silent for a long time, his fingertips slowly tracing the scholar's robe he wore, and said, word by word, "I am a scholar who passed the imperial examination in the twenty-sixth year of the Longxing era."
Lin Ruhai was taken aback at first, then his mind went blank.
In the twenty-sixth year of the Longxing reign, the emperor was on a northern expedition, and the crown prince oversaw the state affairs...