Chapter 746: Cutting Off the Root Cause
Zhang Bu had always been thorough in handling matters. Last night, he quickly assembled over thirty archers, while the Qiu family mobilized all the twenty-odd servants who had come to Hainan initially. These men were either experienced in combat or had received formal military training. Cao Jixiang, believing he was not good at fighting, left everything under Zhang Bu’s command, instructing them only to follow his orders at first.
Before entering the palace, Cao Jixiang had no real skills—just a reputation as a troublemaker in the neighborhood. Though not skilled in fighting, he was ruthless and would use any means to win a fight. He simply copied the tactics of street thugs, striking suddenly and unexpectedly during verbal exchanges. After a barrage of arrows, only four were knocked down, but almost everyone around Gu Pingan was injured.
In this critical moment, Gu Pingan didn’t dare give them another chance to shoot. Ignoring his bloody right hand, he drew his sword and held it across his chest, shouting angrily, “They’re just a bunch of scoundrels! Send two to kill them, and the rest, follow me!”
Cao Jixiang, who had started off victorious, saw his guards charge bravely at Gu Pingan with swords. This time, he didn’t dare be overconfident and let the Qiu family’s servants take charge of blocking and fighting. Just as he was about to remind Zhang Bu not to let the enemy escalate the situation, he realized Zhang Bu was nowhere to be seen. Looking closely, he saw that Zhang Bu had already blocked the two guards who were about to kill someone. At that moment, he, who had retreated among the archers, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Pingan focused only on the archers, ignoring the other men in various short robes, assuming they were just conscripted laborers. However, after a few rounds, he noticed that though they were unskilled, they fought methodically, which surprised him more and more. In the midst of the chaos, he saw a tall man slash down one of his guards sent to kill someone, causing his heart to leap. He immediately shouted, “Scatter! Fight on your own!”
Although the Qiu family had fallen, Qiu Guoyong knew that ordinary servants could be dismissed, but these surviving servants who had fought in battles were the foundation of the family in times of crisis. Thus, they were usually given the best treatment, and he instructed them not to neglect their martial skills, organizing drills from time to time. As soon as Gu Pingan finished speaking, Qiu Si, the leader, also shouted, “Divide up and intercept them! Don’t let a single one escape! Brothers, show us your real skills!”
With that roar, he stepped forward abruptly, crashing into the arms of one of the bodyguards. He used his left shoulder to block the blade swung at him in panic, then immediately thrust his own sword straight into the opponent’s chest, killing him on the spot. The blood sprayed all over his head and face, but he kicked the corpse aside and rushed at his next opponent like a demon. Not only him—those servants of the Qiu family, who hadn’t fought in years, also regained their fighting spirit amid the chaos and became more aggressive. They were already outnumbered by Gu Ping’an’s side, and with such fierce fighting, the situation became overwhelmingly one-sided.
Seeing that the enemy was organizing themselves to intercept the scattered bodyguards, and that the largest man was charging at him with a sword, Gu Ping’an finally felt fear. He liked killing but hated being killed. At this point, he no longer cared whether he could complete Gu Xingzu’s task. Seizing an opportunity, he charged forward at the risk of taking a sword strike to his arm. As he ran quickly toward the Mahavira Hall, hoping to use his familiarity with the area to escape, he suddenly saw the young man who had shot arrows shamelessly during the initial negotiations standing at the entrance, along with five or six archers.
With pursuers behind and blockers ahead, Gu Ping’an charged forward without hesitation. This sudden attack startled Cao Jixiang, who hurriedly ordered an arrow barrage. But unlike the first coordinated shot, which had been unintentional, now, with only twenty steps between them, Gu Ping’an moved with fierce determination, wielding his sword so swiftly that all five or six arrows missed completely. Before the archers could draw their bows again, he was already just a few steps away. Seeing the sword coming toward his chest, he instinctively ducked and drew the dagger given to him by Zhang Qian before leaving, raising it to block. With a clang, his wrist went numb instantly. Before he could react, he was kicked in the chest and flew through the air.
Landing heavily, he ignored the severe pain in his chest and back, forcing himself to look up. He saw that Gu Ping’an only had a broken sword left in his hand, while Zhang Bu stood with his back to him. He didn’t have time to wonder who had kicked him out; he just focused on the battle. Seeing Gu Ping’an, armed with a broken sword, utterly unable to defend himself against Zhang Bu’s fierce attacks, he grinned, wiped his mouth, and then noticed his back was covered in blood, with a metallic taste in his mouth.
“Damn it, we almost lost our lives in the end! If only we had sent archers to ambush at the entrance—why come here in person?” After a fierce battle, the Qiu family’s retainers managed to defeat almost all of Gu Xingzu’s personal guards at the cost of four dead, three seriously injured, and almost everyone else sustaining injuries. Yet, only Gu Ping’an and two others were captured alive. With several wounds on his body, Gu Ping’an was tied up and brought in, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Cao Jixiang. If it weren’t for these people who appeared out of nowhere, everything would have gone smoothly today! “If anything goes wrong, prepare to lose your heads!” “Oh, still trying to act tough at the brink of death!” Remembering how he himself had nearly lost his life, Cao Jixiang was filled with rage. He slapped Gu Ping’an hard in the face and said viciously, “Don’t think I don’t know who you are—you’re just a lackey of the Marquis of Zhenyuan! With this incident, the Marquis of Zhenyuan is bound to have his title revoked and be imprisoned!” This time, Gu Ping’an finally recognized the voice and his expression changed drastically. “You’re from the palace!” “That’s right. I was sent by Eunuch Zhang!” Cao Jixiang smiled darkly. “Brother Zhang, tell those pretending to be drunk to stop lying on the ground and get up—they’re the chiefs of several villages and the best witnesses! And those two Jinyiwei soldiers saw everything clearly—they saw these people using their official positions to bribe the chiefs of the six Li tribes, getting them drunk before trying to kill them! Send more people to free the servants and monks in the back rooms—they must have heard something too!” Although Gu Ping’an was just an ordinary general of the Gu family, he was always thorough and careful in handling matters. When leading the team to Qiongzhou Prefecture, he had already sent people to investigate Zhang Yue’s entourage, concluding that they wouldn’t react quickly and wouldn’t be able to deploy capable people. Who would have thought he would end up defeated by a minor figure under Zhang Qian? After hearing Cao Jixiang’s cold commands, he saw several of the Li people, who had seemingly been completely defeated, slowly getting up. Bleeding heavily, his face turned even paler before he finally spat out viciously, “Don’t think you’ve won! There are still changes in Chengmai County—whose side will prevail is still uncertain!” With that, he roared at the two captured guards, “Even if you’re captured by them, you’ll still suffer a cruel death. Don’t forget your families…”
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a heavy blow to his left cheek, and immediately something was forced into his mouth, leaving him unable to clench his teeth anymore. He angrily raised his head and saw that one of his bodyguards had already fainted, while another Jinyiwei was crouched there trying to pull something out of his mouth; the third bodyguard, like him, had failed as well. At that moment, someone suddenly grabbed his chin tightly.
“Want to die before achieving your goal? Not a chance!” Cao Jixiang glared viciously at those eyes filled with anger and said slowly, “There’s some trouble in Chengmai County? Pah! You just wanted to buy off a few Li people to cause trouble in the county office. We saw that coming! As for you… Hmph, though I’m not from the Eastern Depot, I can still make sure you can’t survive nor die! With solid evidence and witnesses, it doesn’t matter if you confess or not—no matter how strong you are, you won’t withstand the torture!”
At that point, he paused briefly before adding maliciously, “Forgot to tell you—I heard from the Eastern Depot that biting off one’s tongue to commit suicide isn’t a foolproof method. As long as the tongue is removed in time, one won’t die from suffocation. As for excessive bleeding… the medicine for Li people’s knife wounds is very effective. With proper treatment, even those who want to die can’t!” He continued, “You’re the bodyguards of Marquis Zhenyuan. As long as someone recognizes you, you won’t be able to escape!”
If not for the object firmly stuffed in his mouth, Gu Pingan would have cursed loudly. But after struggling a bit, he was knocked unconscious with a blow to the back of the head. Soon after, Cao Jixiang’s men rescued the Li chiefs one by one. Some were suspicious, some confused, and most were on guard. Yet when it came to speaking convincingly—talking to people as if they were human and to ghosts as if they were spirits—Cao Jixiang was no less skilled than Gu Pingan. He claimed to be the real imperial envoy, who had been ambushed by bandits along the way. He also revealed he was from the palace and promised that all the positions and brocades he had previously given away would still stand. Gradually, everyone became satisfied and stopped arguing.
Early in the morning, the eight gates of Guangzhou’s inner city were opened one by one, and long queues formed of people waiting to enter the city. Since most of them were those who came early every day to sell vegetables, firewood, or engage in small trades, many noticed something unusual when it came to paying taxes to enter. Especially the main city gate, Guidem Gate, directly opposite Guidem Bridge over the moat, was heavily guarded.
Guide Gate faced Guide Straight Street. To the east of the street was the territory of Panyu County, and to the west was that of Nanhai County. Since it was located south of the Hao River, with the provincial capital’s main gate at its end, the street was lined with red-lacquered buildings and picturesque pavilions. Across the river lay Haopan Street, a place inhabited mostly by wealthy merchants, making this street the most prosperous area in all of Guangzhou. Other city gates often lacked even a full garrison, but here there were always at least two commanders with 100 soldiers on duty, and on this day, six commanders with 300 soldiers guarded the massive gate.
Guangdong had not seen war for many years. In the past, these soldiers merely wore brown coats for show, but now they stood upright and straight. Good news stays local, while bad news spreads far and wide. The incident of Commander Li Long arresting Deputy Commander Guan Dongzhou had already become widely known. Earlier, it was said that the commander had gathered all his subordinates at the military headquarters, so now each officer was given strict instructions, and no one dared to slack off at such a critical time.
But what exactly had happened in the city last night?
Throughout the night, the sound of galloping horses would occasionally wake people from their deep sleep. Those fortunate enough to live near the Xu family could see the torches that illuminated half the sky without even opening their windows. When the quiet morning arrived, some curious people passed by the Xu family’s house and saw two pale seals firmly stuck on the dark door, bearing the seals of both the Military Command and the Provincial Administration.
While others were still shaken by what had happened last night, Zhang Yue was riding swiftly toward Huangpu Town with a few trusted followers. Recalling the question Zhang Qian had asked him upon leaving in the morning, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“No matter how clever Gu Xingzu is, he probably couldn’t have predicted your most ingenious move! Yuanjie, are you his conscience? How did you know he would definitely take the sea route?”
“The wind direction is changing now. It used to take only five or six days by sea, but by land it’s nearly 1,800 li—only to end up crossing the sea again. Gu Xingzu is the kind of person who knows how to enjoy life; why would he choose the harder path? As the Marquis of Zhenyuan, it’s enough for him to show off in front of Li Long, but his usefulness at the docks is far less. Since officials and commoners aren’t allowed to go to sea, Guangzhou originally had no ships going straight to Qiongzhou Prefecture, so they had to use the Huangpu Town docks. Back then, you and I worked together to put that place in order—neither the local merchants nor the new sea traders dared to act recklessly. Besides, there were humans and horses involved; aside from Xu’s ship that was already prepared, who else would dare take him aboard? If I seize that ship, how could he have made it by land overnight last night? Since he’s so confident, he must believe he can firmly control Li Long!”
After leaving the South Gate, Zhang Yue tightened his grip on his horse’s flanks, and the sturdy horse immediately galloped at full speed, moving as swiftly as the wind. Since taking office in Guangzhou, he had always traveled by carriage or sedan chair, and even when riding, he only moved at a slow pace—never having ridden unrestrainedly on the roads like this. Now, feeling the sea breeze on his face, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath, his mood improving involuntarily.
By the time they reached Huangpu Town, it was already past the Si hour. As soon as he entered Central Old Street, Zhang Yue slowed down. Having been here several times before, everyone passing by immediately made way at the sight of his bright red satin cloak, allowing the group of over a dozen people to pass through quickly. Racing all the way to the East Dock, Zhang Yue reined in his horse and happened to see a middle-aged man in a bright red brocade robe with precious flower patterns looking his way from not far away. Their eyes met, and he swiftly dismounted by flicking the reins.