In the blink of an eye, more than ten days have passed, and it is already the end of January in the sixteenth year of God's blessing. "" The weather was not good that day. The sky was covered with clouds early in the morning and the wind was cold. By late afternoon, the sky was already dark as if it was midnight. Soon it started to rain lightly mixed with snow seeds. There are very few pedestrians on the roads in Jianye City. Even if there are pedestrians occasionally, they walk quickly and have no time to pay attention. When the storekeepers on the street saw this scene, they also sent their waiters to close their doors early and go back to the back room to warm themselves by the fire. Went to warm ourselves by the fire and drink wine. By dinner time, what was falling in the sky was no longer snow seeds and light rain, but continuous sheets of goose feather snow. But in the blink of an eye, the ground was already white.
At the west gate of the palace, six elite soldiers from the Palace Division wearing armor and holding spears stood upright in front of the gate. In order to keep warm, they wore a long red coat outside the armor. This long coat also had a layer of deer sewn on the collar and shoulders. The skin was thought to be waterproof and looked particularly powerful. People in Jianye City often called him "envoy" to distinguish him from other Wu soldiers. These envoys are all the best in the front department, and they are all warriors who have experienced hundreds of battles. When King Wu Lu Fang went on an expedition, these elite soldiers of the front department who served as guards were the central guards of the King of Wu. They were responsible for this task. The responsibilities of carrying royal equipment and the final commando are definitely not the "royal soldiers" of later generations who can only look good but cannot go into battle. However, in this heavy snowy weather, there was no one within dozens of steps within the reach of the lights in front of the palace gate. These well-trained envoys unconsciously relaxed a little, and lightly stamped their feet from time to time to keep themselves from freezing. The blood in the numb hands and feet became more active and warmer.
A twenty-four-five-year-old man with a scar on his right cheek looked at the sky and asked the eldest old envoy: "Tou Du, it's time for the changing of the guard. Why don't those guys come out? Is it possible?" Have you forgotten?"
The old envoy snorted coldly and said in a low voice: "Second son of the Yun family, stand up straight for me. The changing of the guard will be handled by the captain. This is the west gate of the palace city. Anyone who sees it is not you. Well deserved.¡±
"In this weather, at this time, even the birds know how to hide in their nests to take shelter from the wind. Who else will come to our place! We are so scared, so scared!" Although the envoy named Yun said something harsh, his body shape was still instinctive He stood up straight, obviously his head was very prestigious among these people.
As if to confirm the words of the old envoy, a burst of voices came from the palace. Several sentries couldn't help but look at each other. Who else wants to leave the palace at this time and in this weather? Is there something urgent that cannot be done?
, while these people were thinking, a voice came from the tower, and several envoys recognized it as Captain Huang, who was in charge of the gate. Although the rank of the captain guarding the palace gate was humble, his position was extremely important. Therefore, they are all specially selected honest people, so Captain Huang always behaves businesslikely towards everyone.
"Who is going to leave the palace at this time? Do you have a token or letter?"
"This is it, open the door quickly!" The voice was quite sharp, but it was not a female voice. It should be one of the eunuchs in the palace who was about to leave the palace.
"It turns out it's you! Please wait a moment, the general will open the door immediately!" There was a rare hint of surprise in Xiaowei Huang's voice, and soon the city gate was half-opened. The six envoys saw a group of people escorting a chariot out of the door. A few sharp-eyed people also saw Captain Huang meticulously bowing to the back of the people in the crack of the door. This is an extremely rare thing. On weekdays, even senior officials such as Privy Chen and Gao Shangshu come in and out of the palace, but they never see him like this. The envoys couldn't help but wonder who the big shot in Chengyu was.
Lu Fang was leaning on the chariot. The chariot was made very exquisitely. The thick curtain blocked the wind and snow outside. The soft mink fur and the heater inside formed a very comfortable little world. It was carried forward by four strong men. As the porters moved forward, the carriage trembled rhythmically, as if it were a special hypnotic device, causing Lu Fang to fall into a state of half-dream and half-awake.
Suddenly, the Chengyu suddenly stopped, and Lu Fang also woke up from this half-awake drowsy state. He sat up straight, lifted the curtain inside the blinds, and asked in a low voice: "What's going on? Where are you? ?Why did you stop?"
Shi Shude, who was outside Chengyu, bent down and leaned against the blinds and replied: "Your Majesty, there is Chonghuafang ahead. A tree fell on the road and blocked the road. It must have been crushed by the snow!"
"Yes!" Lu Fang nodded and said in a deep voice: "Send an edict to the governor of Jianye later and ask him to recruit some people tomorrow to clear the snow on the roads in the city!"
"Here!" Shi Shude responded. Lu Fang lay down again in the car, and there was a sound of people in his ears. It was obviously the accompanying envoys who were moving away the tree that fell in the middle of the road. Lu Fang's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened and he sat up suddenly. An ominous omen flashed in his mind. The next moment he realized something was wrong.
? ?It had only snowed for two or three hours, so how could the tree be crushed? It was clear that someone deliberately cut down the tree and placed it in the middle of the road! "
Lu Fang pushed open the side window of Chengyu and shouted loudly: "Be careful, there is an assassination attempt!"
Almost at the same time, a burst of gunshots came from the wall nearby, and the dense lead bullets knocked down Lu Fang's guard who was moving the fallen tree to the ground. Lu Fang happened to see the firelight spraying from the wall of the square. The strong firelight burned on his retinas that had not yet fully adapted to the strong light, creating a feeling similar to the exposure of a black and white photo, which made Lu Fang burst into tears for a while.
"Kill them all! Leave no one alive!" Zhong Yangui was the first to jump off the wall and rushed towards the small team. Behind him were more than a dozen tough dead soldiers. On the right side of the attacker A piece of white silk was tied to his arm as a mark to distinguish between friend and foe. These people rushed to the fallen tree and pounced on the few remaining people who had not yet fallen beside the fallen tree. Whether they were standing or lying down, they slashed them with knives and chopped them into pieces before stopping.
"Quickly, send His Majesty to Chonghuafang first! There is a wall there, you can withstand it for a while!" Shi Shude shouted loudly. As he spoke, several guards were already supporting Lu who had emerged from the chariot not far away. As Shi Shude said, the wall of Chonghuafang, used as a high-level prison, is much higher than other walls in Jianye City. It is two feet high, which is enough to resist attacks from the outside. There are still some slaves inside, and if they are temporarily organized, they can resist for a while. Now there are gunshots. If you hold on for a while, the city defense troops in Jianye City will come.
Zhong Yangui struggled to pull out the horizontal knife from the ribs of a guard envoy. The envoy held the blade tightly with both hands. The force that the deceased erupted before death was so great that Zhong Yangui wanted to cut off the opponent's ribs. Only with your fingers can you take out the horizontal knife completely. Behind him, a dozen of his men were standing up from the bloody corpse of the victim. They were covered in blood like demons crawling out of hell.
"Lang Jun, look, those guys want to run away!" An assassin pointed at Lu Fang and his group who were running towards Chonghuafang and shouted.
"No, they want to enter the square! Stop them!" Zhong Yangui immediately made the correct judgment. He yelled and led his men to catch up. The two sides were about the same distance from the square gate, but Zhong Yangui's side was He is a nimble and agile player, but on the other side is the burden of Lu Fang, who is about to catch up. The leader of the accompanying guard gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "The King of Wu usually feeds you, so let's wait for today!" After saying that, he led four of his men back to fight to the death, leaving only two or three people to support Lu Fangfang and rush to the gate. go.
Zhong Yangui originally wanted to bypass these broken guards and continue to pursue Lu Fang, so as not to cause any surprises, but these accompanying guards were already as strong as ten, and they were determined to fight to the death. Even with several times more people, they might not be able to do it. It¡¯s easy to ask for. Zhong Yangui had no choice but to whistle, surrounded them, killed these five people first, and then continued to pursue Lu Fang who fled into the workshop.
Lu Fang and his party rushed to the gate of the workshop. It was already dark at this time and the gate was closed tightly. No matter how loudly his subordinates yelled and cursed, no one came to open the gate. What they saw was that the assassins not far away had gradually cut off the rear by virtue of their numerical advantage. The five people huddled together and couldn't hold on much longer. Lu Fang was like an ant on a hot pot. Just when he had no choice but to do so, the last guard suddenly saw a gap in the wall of the square not far away. It was only four to five feet high from the ground. He pointed at the gap and shouted loudly. He said: "Your Majesty, go over there quickly, let us build a tower, and you and Eunuch Shi can climb over the wall on top of us!"
Lu Fang was stunned when he heard this and said: "What about you two?"
The leading guard said anxiously: "I don't care so much anymore. We are meant to protect His Majesty. As long as His Majesty escapes, he can take more care of our families!" After that, he pushed Lu Fang and rushed to the gap. Tuo dragged Lu Fang and Shi Shude over the wall, and the two guards rushed towards the assassins who had killed all five of them with knives.
Inside the square wall, Lu Fang and Shi Shude looked shabby, their gorgeous robes stained with weeds and mud. They looked like two thieves captured by Marquis Wu. They could not tell that they were the most noble figures in Jianye City. At this time, the sound of fighting coming from outside the wall gradually subsided. It was obvious that the assassins had killed all the guards behind them. Soon these assassins would be chasing after them. The two of them could only save themselves by holding on until the city defense army arrived. life. At this time, both Lu Fang and Shi Shude's heads were spinning rapidly.
Shi Shude whispered: "Your Majesty, go to the north quickly. Mrs. Shen's residence is over there. She has good swordsmanship and can also protect you!"
Lu Fang shook his head and said: "No, you can't go to Liniang's place. These assassins have obviously planned for a long time and are coming for me. They naturally know where Liniang lives in the square and will guess that when I enter the square, they will go there." Go aside. Liniang's swordsmanship has not seen blood for many years, how can?Can't resist these wolf-like assassins. "
"Then? Where should we go?" Shi Shude asked.
"Go to the south. They are going to Liniang. I will go to the north. At least I can buy some time!" Lu Fang stood up and walked to the south as he spoke. Shi Shude was about to follow him, but Lu Fang stopped him and whispered. Said: "Don't follow us. The two of us have too big a target together. It's better to go separately. You go to Liniang's place first and let her get away. Don't be harmed by these assassins!"