I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 864 Cleansing (Chapter 5K1)

A small building near the east gate of Gaoyi, Jizhou.

An old man dressed as a steward hurried up to the second floor and said straight to the point:

"Master, this is not good. I heard that the city gates will not be opened today!"

"What? How could this be?!"

A middle-aged man in a gorgeous brocade robe suddenly stood up from his chair, his face full of surprise and fear:
"What should we do? Could it be that our plan has been exposed?"

The man in fancy clothes was named Geng Ji. He was from a prominent family in Changshan and had the same ancestor as the famous families in Guanzhong, Geng's family of Fufeng and Geng's family of Julu.

Although not as prominent as the previous two branches, the Geng family of Changshan was also a wealthy local family. Not only did they have a high-ranking official of the rank of 2,000 stones, but they were also county officials for generations in Changshan and often held important positions in the governor's office.

This time, he was one of the main persons who absconded with the money as reported by Xun You.

"That's not right. Didn't someone just say that the gates were open? Why do you say that the city gates will not be opened today?" Geng Ji asked repeatedly.

"The master of the house doesn't know."

The steward slapped his thigh:
"It is indeed open, but people are not allowed to leave the city gate. Those who come in are soldiers from the capital."

"Officers and soldiers from the capital?" Geng Ji frowned, feeling an ominous premonition in his heart, "Who are they? What are they doing here?"

The steward had a worried look on his face and lowered his voice, "I heard that the leader of the team was Wang Yanyun, the henchman of the Jinyiwei. They brought awards and rewards from the court. Most importantly, they brought a large group of officials from the capital, saying that they would assist the general in thoroughly investigating the officialdom and powerful families in Jizhou."

"what?!"

"The surname is Su!"

"Does he really want to kill them all?!"

Geng Ji was so angry that he gritted his teeth and paced back and forth in the room, but he couldn't relieve the uneasiness in his heart.

He had already accepted defeat and was prepared to find another place to stay if he couldn't stay here. He would leave Gaoyi as soon as possible after the city blockade was lifted, take his family and the money he had looted and run away, and start a new life somewhere else where Su Yao had no control.

However, now that the city gates were closed and a group of troublesome characters had arrived, his plans had completely failed.

"no!"

"I noticed that Xun Gongda was particularly concerned about our family before. Although I have fooled him temporarily, he will definitely not give up. Now that so many officials from the capital have arrived, I am afraid it won't take long for him to find out about us."

Then, Geng Ji stopped, gritted his teeth, and said viciously:
"Butler, go contact the other families in the city immediately to see if they have any countermeasures. We have so many noble families, we can't just sit there and wait for death, and let Su Yao bully us."

Under pressure, Geng Ji wanted to fight to the death, but the housekeeper looked embarrassed and stammered:
"Master, the situation in the city is so tense right now, and all the mansions are staying indoors. It may be difficult to get in touch with them. And..."

"And what?" Geng Ji interrupted him impatiently.

The housekeeper hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Moreover, the families who had planned to escape with us before have already panicked when they heard that the officials from the capital have arrived. Many of them are planning to take the initiative to plead guilty to Su Yao in order to ask for a lighter sentence."

"A bunch of spineless wimps!"

Geng Ji was so angry that he kicked over the chair next to him:
"Do they think they can escape punishment by apologizing? Su Yao is a ruthless guy, how could he let them go so easily?"

But no matter how angry he was, Geng Ji knew in his heart that the people within the aristocratic families were already in panic, and it was almost impossible for them to unite again to fight against Su Yao.

He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and paced around the room again, thinking of a solution.

"Master, how about... we follow their example, confess our crimes, and offer some money, maybe we can keep our family safe?" the housekeeper suggested cautiously.

Geng Ji suddenly stopped and looked at the housekeeper, his eyes full of sarcasm:
"Do you think that Su is interested in our little money? He came to Jizhou this time to uproot our noble families and completely control this place. Taking the initiative to confess is just walking into a trap, which is absolutely not feasible!"

"Then...what should we do?" The butler stamped his feet anxiously.

Geng Ji pondered for a moment, slapped the table and said, "The only option now is to take a risk and give it a try!"

As he spoke, he took out a heavy purse from his pocket and stuffed it into the butler's hand:

"While Su Yao has not yet completely taken control of the city, you should immediately take the money and go out to bribe some ruffians and have them incite the people to force Su Yao to open the city!"

"What? Inciting the people? How can this be possible?" The butler was horrified.

"Why not?"

Geng Ji said viciously:

"Doesn't the Su claim to be the orthodox of the court? Doesn't he claim that he loves the people like his own children? Doesn't he claim that his army is a righteous army with strict military discipline?"

"I'll just have to wait and see. When the whole city riots and protests the lockdown, will he wield his butcher knife against those ignorant people, or will he just open the city and lift the lockdown?"

The butler took the purse with trembling hands and said hesitantly:
"Master, this... this is a risky move. Those ruffians are more likely to cause trouble than help. If the truth is revealed, we will have no way out."

"It's already this late, why are you still thinking about retreating?"

Geng Ji's eyes were bloodshot as he said:

"Su Yao has already cut off our way to survival. If we don't fight him, do we have to wait for him to confiscate all our family assets and kill us all? As long as we can get out of this city and go somewhere else, we have plenty of ways to make a comeback."

The housekeeper looked helpless when he heard this.

At this point, it seems there is really no other way.

Gaoyi City has been sealed off since it learned that Su Yao had defeated an army of 200,000. It has been more than ten days since then. The city is in chaos and the people are under great pressure. In addition, the bloody storm in the city yesterday, if it can really provoke the citizens to riot, it is indeed a good idea.

But you must be extremely careful in handling this matter and never expose yourself to others.

So, the cautious butler decided to carry out this task himself, being extremely careful and cautious.

Geng Ji looked at the butler's departing back, his heart pounding.

It was a huge gamble, but he had no choice.

"My dear friends, I have a big deal here, are you interested?"

"Big deal?"

"What big deal can there be at this time?"

In the afternoon, in a dark alley in the east of Gaoyi City.

The steward of the Geng Mansion, wearing a bamboo hat, found a group of well-known ruffians in the city based on the information from the servants in the mansion.

They called themselves the Qinglong Gang. Although the name sounded intimidating, they were actually just a group of rabble. However, they were rampant in the city on a daily basis, committing all kinds of crimes, including extortion, murder and kidnapping.

However, as the saying goes, every snake has its own way and every rat has its own path, the reason why the low-class people in the Qinglong Gang can exist for a long time and make trouble in Gaoyi City, the seat of the provincial capital, is that their real business is to do some difficult things for those noble and famous families.

Therefore, the Geng family's steward immediately rushed here to assign tasks.

Although these heroes had never seen the old steward of the Geng Mansion, they knew he must be an extraordinary person when they saw his demeanor and speech.

Under normal circumstances, they would definitely greet you with a smile and respond to your requests.

But now, with this big deal coming to their doorstep, the heroes of the Qinglong Gang are trying to avoid it as much as possible.

"what?!"

"Inciting the people to cause trouble?"

"You old man, are you here to harm me?!"

All the heroes in the martial arts world were making excuses and resisting.

Although they had committed many evil things in the city in the past, they were well aware of the current situation in Gaoyi City.

They witnessed with their own eyes the ruthless methods used by Su Yao's army after entering the city. Many people in their own gang wanted to fish in troubled waters, but ended up getting chopped off many heads.

Asking them to provoke this evil star now would be like throwing an egg against a rock, and would be a waste of time.

“Money is good, but you need to have the life to spend it.”

Amid the noisy chaos, the leader of the Qinglong Gang, the one-eyed Chen Da, stepped forward and explicitly rejected the steward's proposal.

But the steward did not give up:
"Since ancient times, wealth and honor have been sought through risk. The investment from my master is definitely worth the risk you will take. It is not only enough for you to have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your life, but also enough for you to lie in the land of gentlemen every day in your next life, with beauties on your left and right, and eat the best food and drink the best drinks."

As the Geng manor's steward spoke, he opened his purse again and shook out the white silver and dazzling jewels inside:
"This is just a deposit. Once something happens, there will be a bigger reward!"

"Good guy!"

"Rich, really rich!"

The luster of gold and silver and the brilliance of jewels instantly brightened the eyes of the rogues in the dark alley. However, the bloody smell coming from not far away still made everyone suspicious.

"I told you, money is good, but without your life, everything is over."

Chen Da gritted his teeth and waved his hands, pushing the purse away, not daring to accept the "gift" in front of him.

"You don't have to be afraid."

The steward pushed it back and forced it into Chen Da’s hand:

"Although Su Yao is ruthless, as long as we act secretly, he will never be able to find out about you."

"Besides, Gaoyi City is in such a mess, and the people are already dissatisfied. You just need to incite them and let them go to the city gate to protest against the closure of the city. When the situation gets chaotic, Su Yao will be too busy to take care of himself. How can he still have the energy to take care of you?"

"You know, he is a great general, and he has countless important things to do every day. As far as I know, they are celebrating their victory at the county governor's mansion today. He can't see what we are doing under the table. He can't see it at all."

Chen Da listened to the manager's words, his eyes moving back and forth between the money bag and everyone's faces, the balance in his heart had quietly tilted.

Indeed, he is a great general.

Can he take care of everything and handle such a small matter?
There was chaos in Gaoyi City. The previous officials were either killed or surrendered, and almost everyone was dismissed from their posts.

Now that the new official has not taken office yet, how can those outside soldiers who don’t even know which alley entrance is heading to manage themselves and take care of these details?
Especially with the reward from the court today, not only is there singing and dancing in the county magistrate's mansion, but the soldiers patrolling in the city are also restless. If this is to be done, there really is no better opportunity than now.

"Boss Chen, I think it's okay!"

A shrill voice rang out among the crowd. The speaker was a skinny rascal:
"As long as we are careful and do a good job, we can take the money and run away to Jiangnan, where we can live happily in a place that the imperial court doesn't care about. Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's right, wealth and honor are achieved through risk!"

"That great general is good at fighting, but how can he figure out the twists and turns in this city?"

Others followed suit, and under the temptation of money, they gradually became bolder.

Chen Da glanced at his younger brothers with red eyes, then looked at the bulging money bag in front of him, gritted his teeth, and made the decision:

"Okay! Let's take this deal!" He reached out and grabbed the purse, weighed it, and then looked up at the old steward:
"But let me be frank. If anything goes wrong, you have to keep us safe."

"After we finish this job, we will stop completely. You will be responsible for sending all my brothers out of the city. If you dare to betray me."

"Don't worry, Boss Chen." The manager nodded calmly, "We are now tied together. My master wants to leave the city, and if you want to have some freedom, you have to leave the city too. As long as the matter can be done, you will naturally be included in the follow-up arrangements."

"Okay, it's a deal then!" Chen Da put away his money bag, turned around and shouted to his ruffians, "Brothers, this is a good opportunity for us to make a fortune, so cheer up!"

"Yes, boss!"

The plan was set, and immediately, the hooligans of the Qinglong Gang began to discuss how to do the work.

They are familiar with the affairs of the city, and they know who is timid, who is bold and reckless, and who is always listening to rumors and has no ability to distinguish.

Soon, they developed a detailed plan: one group of people was responsible for spreading rumors in crowded places such as markets and teahouses, exaggerating the impact of the city closure on people's lives and exaggerating Su Yao's "evil deeds"; the other group was responsible for inciting public sentiment at key points and guiding the crowd to gather at the city gate.

Seeing that these people were quite sensible and their plan was quite thorough and complete, the manager of the Geng Mansion nodded and praised them a few times, then left in a hurry. He contacted several groups of people before returning to report, ready to wait with Geng Ji for the sudden change in Gaoyi City.

Walking on the road, the manager of Geng's mansion clenched his fists. He could already see the chaos in the city and the general's furious look after hearing the news.

It was supposed to be like this.
However, how could he know that soon after he left, just as the heroes of the Qinglong Gang had just walked out of the alley, they saw a group of Jinyiwei officers and soldiers coming towards them, and the first thing they said when they met was:
"Jinyiwei is investigating the case. Everyone—get down on the ground!"

This scared the heroes of the Qinglong Gang silly.

They never imagined that they hadn't done anything yet, so why would the Jinyiwei come to kill them?

Immediately, one of the smarter guys cried out for injustice, saying it was a misunderstanding. At the same time, he kept winking at his brothers, suggesting that they should escape quickly while he was delaying.

However, the officers and soldiers of the Jinyiwei simply ignored them.

The general had pointed to the map and told them that according to strong intelligence, the rebels' hideout was hiding here, and asked them to make sure to catch them in one fell swoop.

Now seeing that these idlers were trying to resist arrest and escape, he immediately waved his hand:
"Go! Take them all down!"

Following the order from the Jinyiwei officers and soldiers, the narrow dark alley instantly fell into chaos.

The Jinyiwei officers and soldiers drew their weapons and rushed forward. Immediately, several people were knocked to the ground and blood flowed.

"Spare your life, spare your life!"

"Sir, I am a good citizen, I am a good citizen!"

"Run, run!"

Those ruffians who were originally dreaming of getting rich had never seen such a scene before. They were so scared that their faces turned pale and they turned around and ran away.

This scene made Chen Da in the back terrified and full of regret. He thought this was a sure-win deal, but he didn't expect to fall into the trap of Jinyiwei as soon as he took the first step.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

"How did the Jinyiwei officers find me?"

Without thinking, Chen Da immediately called his brothers to escape with the money, but the alley was already ambushed from all sides.

When they ran out of a passage they thought was safe, they ran into a team of Jinyiwei head-on.

"It's over, it's over!"

"This is impossible!"

"Is there something wrong with that manager?!"

Seeing that the escape passage was occupied by the Jinyiwei, Chen Da wailed in despair and cursed the manager of the Geng Mansion, saying that the man had deliberately framed him.

However, he didn't know that the situation of the manager of Geng Mansion was much more serious than his.

"Misunderstanding, General, it's a misunderstanding!"

"My master has no intention of rebelling. He is hiding here just..."

In the small building, seeing that General Su Yao had actually come out in person, the manager of the Geng residence hurriedly stepped forward to explain, wanting to exonerate his master.

But everything is meaningless.

Before he finished speaking, there was a flash of cold light, and this loyal steward flew in front of Geng Ji.

Blood splattered all over the room. Geng Ji collapsed to the ground in fear, looking at the steward's miserable state with his head and body separated. His eyes were wide open, and he was extremely terrified. He wailed:

"Misunderstanding, General, it's really a misunderstanding!"

Facing Su Yao who was approaching step by step, he used his hands and feet to try his best to shrink back, and his mouth became stammering:

"I plead guilty, I accept the punishment, General, please spare my life!"

With a puff, another knife was cut, and Geng Ji's head rolled down.

Their conspiracy was cut short by Su Yao with a single blow before it could even come to fruition.

The Geng clan members in the building stared with their eyes wide open. They couldn't believe that their family leader was killed so easily. The great general Su Yao didn't even give them a chance to explain.

"Take down everyone!"

After killing the bandit leader, Su Yao gave the order coldly.

The Jinyiwei rushed into the room like a tiger into a flock of sheep and surrounded the Geng family members.

These tribesmen, who usually lived a life of luxury, had never seen such a scene before. They were so frightened that they trembled in fear and collapsed to the ground. Their cries and begging for mercy were earth-shaking.

However, it was too late and there was only one chance to choose.

In a short while, all the Geng family members hiding in the building were captured, paraded through the streets, and taken to the dungeon of the county magistrate's mansion to be tried on a later date.

Geng's capture was not an isolated case.

Throughout the whole day, Su Yao and the Jinyiwei attacked everywhere, uprooting one family after another that were hoping for luck and harboring disasters during the city lockdown.

In the streets and alleys of Gaoyi City, the sounds of horse hooves, shouts, and the collision of weapons continued to interweave and echo.

The figures of the Jinyiwei officers followed them like a shadow, and wherever they went, the lackeys of the aristocratic families who usually acted tyrannically either died suddenly or surrendered.

Blood keeps flowing
(End of this chapter)