Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 374, Gunfire Erupts in Sichuan

Meanwhile, He Ai devised a plan within the city, resulting in the massacre of those chieftains and barbarian soldiers.

A massive fire destroyed more than 30% of Changsha's urban area, but also killed nearly 10,000 barbarian soldiers.

The remaining barbarian soldiers were terrified and lost all will to fight; they were all captured.

Peng An and Li Jia were captured alive.

No one managed to escape.

Peng An was a spineless coward, and He Ai used some methods, including coercion and enticement, to quickly bring him under control.

Then, taking advantage of the fact that the battle had just ended and before the news had spread, He Ai ordered Peng An to return to Shu and falsely claim that Changsha had been captured, thereby tricking King Liu Xiang of Shu into coming out.

Peng An dared not disobey, so he led his men back to Shu as quickly as possible.

Some time later, Peng An arrived in Chengdu.

With a joyful smile on his face, Peng An ordered someone to report to Liu Xiang, falsely claiming that Changsha had been easily captured.

The guards following behind him were also in high spirits, each wearing a joyful smile, looking like a triumphant army.

However, in reality, these guards were all soldiers from Huaiyin in disguise. They were all skilled soldiers with exceptional abilities. If Peng An's plan failed, they would immediately launch an attack and attempt to assassinate Liu Xiang by force.

However, the probability of successfully assassinating Liu Xiang here is very small. The best option is to lure him out of Sichuan and then capture him alive.

Liu Xiang built a palace in the city, on the site of the former Shu Han dynasty, and constructed it according to the standards of an emperor, revealing his ambition.

Upon hearing of Peng An's triumphant return, Liu Xiang personally came out to greet him.

He rode in an imperial palanquin, adorned with gold leaf and jade, and carved with six dragons, exuding unparalleled nobility.

When the imperial carriage arrived at its designated spot, troops were stationed on both sides, along with powerful ministers from the Shu states. Liu Xiang parted the cloud-patterned golden tent, and only then did the Huaiyin army see Liu Xiang's appearance.

He had a square face and a loyal appearance, unlike a rebel. He was about fifty years old, but his spirit and complexion were very good. He looked almost no older than his age. He had a short, half-white beard and held a golden dragon-patterned cane in his hand, looking dignified and solemn.

Peng An's heart skipped a beat as he watched this scene.

Because Liu Xiang sat in the imperial carriage watching everyone, showing no intention of getting off, and because Liu Xiang usually had a friendly and amiable expression when meeting with her subordinates, but today she looked serious, unlike before...

Peng An braced himself and tried to step forward, but many Shu soldiers suddenly blocked Liu Xiang's way, preventing him from taking another step.

"This... Your Majesty, what does this mean?"

Liu Xiang looked at Peng An, sneered, and said:
"You dare to deceive me! You said you had already taken Changsha. If you really had taken Changsha, you would have stayed there to plunder it. Why would you come back to report to me so quickly? And come in person? There must be a trap!"

Upon hearing this, Peng An was trembling with fear, but he still mustered his courage, knelt down with a thud, buried his head to hide his nervousness, and then desperately kowtowed as he explained:
“Your Majesty, that is not the case. How could Peng An dare to deceive Your Majesty? Changsha has indeed been captured by my subordinates, but after hearing the news, the bandit Fang's troops in Yueyang immediately sent 60,000 troops to attack. Mr. Li stayed in Changsha to defend the city and sent me to ask Your Majesty to send reinforcements. I was afraid that the request for reinforcements might fail, so I sent him here in person!”

Peng An's words were sincere and heartfelt.

Liu Xiang listened and pondered silently.

In fact, he wasn't sure whether Peng An's words were true or false.

He Ai annihilated the barbarian troops, but Sichuan and the outside world were not in contact, so real intelligence from outside could not be transmitted in a short time.

Liu Xiang's previous judgment that Peng An had a problem was based solely on experience.

Based on his understanding of these chieftains, if they had truly occupied Changsha, they would not have stopped until they had thoroughly plundered the city. How could they have returned to report to him so quickly?

However, if it were an attack by the Huaiyin army, the critical situation would be understandable...

Seeing Liu Xiang deep in thought, Peng An immediately seized the opportunity and produced a letter written in Li Jia's own handwriting:
"Your Majesty, this is Mr. Li's letter requesting reinforcements. He begs Your Majesty to send troops to reinforce us immediately, otherwise the city of Changsha, which we have captured for Your Majesty with great difficulty, will soon fall into the wrong hands!"

Peng An knelt on the ground, holding up a letter.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xiang ordered his soldiers to bring the letter.

Even at this point, he remained on guard.

The soldiers took the letter and handed it to Liu Xiang.

Liu Xiang reviewed the letter and then ordered his men to bring out Li Jia's previous handwriting and writing style for careful comparison. It was indeed Li Jia's own handwriting. Li Jia had a blood feud with the Huaiyin army and orchestrated the Changsha incident; there was no possibility that he would betray him.

Liu Xiang then lowered her guard a little.

However, he still needed to consider whether or not to send troops.

After putting down the letter, Liu Xiang smiled warmly, stepped down from the imperial carriage, and personally grasped Peng An's hands, saying:
"Thank you for your hard work, Jinghe. I now bear the heavy responsibility of governing the world, aiming to quell the rebels and restore the Central Plains. Therefore, I must be cautious in all matters. I hope you will not take offense."

Peng An feigned a touched expression and said:
"How could I possibly blame the King?"

At this moment, he was less than a foot away from Liu Xiang. If he could just grab Liu Xiang with one hand and take out a dagger from his pocket with the other, he could stab Liu Xiang to death.

But if he did that, he would surely die.

For Peng An, failing to trick Liu Xiang out of Sichuan would mean certain death, as would directly assassinating Liu Xiang. Only by successfully tricking Liu Xiang out of Sichuan would he have a chance of survival.

Therefore, Peng An continued:
"I only ask that Your Majesty make a decision quickly, for I fear that if the time is too long, Mr. Li will find it difficult to persevere."

Liu Xiang nodded.

At this moment, Liu Xiang saw the guards behind Peng An and couldn't help but exclaim, "Jinghe's troops are truly strong and mighty, with an extraordinary aura. No wonder they were able to take Changsha in one fell swoop."

Peng An casually replied, "I was able to achieve this feat entirely thanks to Mr. Li and these brothers."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiang's pupils contracted, and she subtly took a half-step back, asking:
"Jinghe, what did you just say?"

Peng Anxin sensed something was wrong.

During this period, when no one was around, the Huaiyin Army soldiers held a higher status than him, so he had gotten used to addressing them as brothers.

But in the past, he was the local emperor of the chieftain tribe, and he considered himself different from these barbarians. His subordinates were either called his subordinates or commoners, and never brothers.

At this moment, Peng An could only suppress his composure and pretend to be stupid, saying, "I said it's all thanks to Mr. Li and my men."

Liu Xiang nodded and continued to back away.

Peng Anxin was already half-dead.

Gaining trust may require countless efforts, but dispelling doubt only takes a single detail.

The Huaiyin army had already realized something was wrong and decisively launched a sudden attack, charging straight up.

Liu Xiang, disregarding her image, hurriedly fled backwards.

The Huaiyin Army played the role of Peng An's personal guards, totaling forty-two men. They were armed with armor, swords, and arrows, but the swords and arrows had been taken away by the Shu soldiers beforehand. However, the Huaiyin Army still had revolvers hidden in their pockets, which He Ai had specially requested for them to be equipped for the assassination operation.

The Huaiyin soldiers charged forward madly, drawing their guns and firing.

They were only about twenty meters away from Liu Xiang; if they rushed up two more steps, they would only be a dozen meters away.

The Shu soldiers around them desperately tried to intercept them, raining down arrows and spears on the Huaiyin army.

Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of gunshots rang out.

Liu Xiang lay on the ground, trembling as she hid her body under the wheels of a car.

He felt sharp pain in several parts of his body—his shoulders, arms, and back—but he dared not move at all.

Soon, the Huaiyin army was stopped by the swarming Shu soldiers. With a numerical advantage of several times, the Huaiyin army, no matter how strong, could not break free.

"Oh no, the...the King is dead?"

"Bullshit! The king was just scared unconscious!"

"Your Majesty is injured and still bleeding! Quickly, summon a physician!"

"Quick, quick!"

(End of this chapter)