The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 565 The Destruction of the Empire

"Another narrow victory. The three of us brothers have survived again."

"This is the first time I've been attacked by bandits while in Daqi."

Wu Xiao grinned, put away the goose-feather knife stained with human blood, and looked behind him. Flames shot up into the sky, and the wing room of Dahuang Inn was shrouded in black smoke. Occasionally, the crackling sound of gunpowder explosions could be heard.

"Big Lin, are you okay?"

"I got bitten by mosquitoes twice."

As Lin Yu spoke, he swung his sword to cut off the two arrow feathers hanging on his armor, then sat down on the ground, looking at the flames in the sky and gasping for breath.

Wu Xiao was relieved to see that Lin Yu was not seriously injured. In the fight just now, Lin Yu rushed to the front alone, waving the door panels to block all the attacks of the Koreans. If it were not for this steel behemoth, who knows how many people of the Imperial Guards would have died today.

"I didn't expect Junzhou to become like this. What on earth does Jin Dajiu want to do? He doesn't want to be Daqi's uncle, but instead betrays the emperor."

Pei Dahu ignored Wu Xiao. He was silent for a while, then he looked up and slowly looked around. He said to everyone, "Let's go. The battle with him isn't over yet. Let's go to Junzhou."

"Going to Junzhou?"

Junzhou has become purgatory.

It was originally a scene where the Imperial Guards arrested corrupt officials and brought them back for interrogation, but it turned out like this. A large-scale riot was about to begin, and the empire once again faced a test of life and death.

Wu Xiao muttered, "The Emperor was so cautious, but he didn't anticipate the rise of his relatives. The Emperor's uncle is now the King of Xiangyang. He can kill people without any reason. He's absolutely crazy."

"Stop talking about in-laws."

Pei Dahu reminded his men, "Everyone in the court sees us as part of the Hou Party. Others can talk about it, but you can't say anything about it. You have to avoid suspicion."

Wu Xiao quickly stopped talking.

"The only people the Retired Emperor can trust are the Minoyi Guard and the Imperial Guard. Don't make things difficult for him. Capture Jin Dajiu, fulfill the Retired Emperor's order, and avenge our fallen brothers. Otherwise, if we return empty-handed, we won't survive."

Wu Xiao nodded. Yes, if they go back empty-handed, even if the emperor intends to protect them, other factions will not let it go. The emperor has already declared war on his foreign relatives. Does he want to destroy all the civil and military officials as well?
But can they really accomplish this with just a few people?
"If we can get the Fourth Corps' assistance, dealing with the Korean rebels won't be a problem. I heard that some of Qin Jianxun's troops were drafted into the construction of Tianxin City and should still be stationed in Junzhou. As long as we can find this group and show their commander the imperial edict, we can command the troops and wipe out the rebels."

Wu Xiao said worriedly, "I'm afraid these two have colluded. If that's the case, Huguang will no longer be the Huguang of Da Qi. With just the three of us... the seven of us?"

As Sanyuan Xiake spoke, he looked around and found that there were only four of his men still standing beside him. Together with him, Pei Dahu and Lin Yu, there were exactly seven of them.

It has a bit of the flavor of the Seven Heroes of Sanyuan.

Pei Dahu waved his hand, interrupting Wu Xiao's concerns:
"Seven people are enough to accomplish a great task. Let's give it a try. Even if we can't capture this thief alive, we must kill him and bring his head back to Shenyang to give an explanation to the Emperor and the court."

"it is good!"

Everyone nodded, and Pei Dahu ordered the troops to split into two groups. He and Lin Yu would go to Junzhou to arrest the culprit, while the other group, led by Wu Xiao, would go to the vicinity of Tianxin City to look for Qin Jianxun's troops.

But what if Qin Jianxun also rebelled?

Finally, everyone thought of this question, and then everyone fell silent.

If that were the case, they would have no choice but to die in battle in Huguang and serve the court.

The plan was set, and they separated at the Sanchai intersection.

Wu Xiao, accompanied by three of his men, rode eastward, forty miles to the Tianxin City construction site. Lin Yu and Pei Dahu, accompanied by one of their men, continued southward, with Junzhou City not far to the south.

Wu Xiao and his companions walked a few miles eastward, and the post road gradually disappeared, leaving only some small paths on the ground.

"Hu San'er, look ahead, is there an ambush?"

Among the four, Hu Saner, who had the best riding skills, was sent out as a scout. The horse in front was about two miles away from the horse behind, so they could keep in touch at any time through command flags.

This is a trick Wu Xiao learned from Ye Bushou. Most of the Imperial Guards are elite soldiers in the army, some of whom were originally from Ye Bushou, so they are particularly adept at doing tasks such as scouts.

The majestic warhorse galloped along the country road, its hooves kicking up clouds of dust on the ground.

A moment later, Hu Saner came back. Wu Xiao asked anxiously on horseback:
"how?"

"Master Wu, there's no one in the village ahead. The people seem to have fled. There are a few people lying at the entrance of the village, and wild dogs are gnawing at them. They don't know if they're alive or dead. There's no evidence of an ambush nearby."

Wu Xiao listened, was silent for a moment, asked Hu Saner to return to the team, and then said to the three people behind him:
"Let's go and take a look. Damn, there are also starving people in Da Qi."

Wu Xiao spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the dusty dirt road, whipped his horse and galloped past, with the three riders following closely behind.

A moment later, the four riders arrived at the village that Hu Saner mentioned. From afar, they saw a dilapidated wall, which was blackened by firewood. It looked like it had just experienced a war or been robbed by bandits.

"Hu San'er, Song Wan, you are on both the east and west sides of the village. Old Ma, come with me to take a look."

Lao Ma rode a not-so-old warhorse and followed closely behind Wu Xiao, holding a flintlock pistol filled with ammunition in his hand.

At the entrance of the village, they saw a group of wild dogs with red eyes. They surrounded two or three "dead people" and barked like crazy. While barking, they started to bite the dead people.

When the wild dog heard someone coming from behind, it did not retreat. Instead, it turned its head towards the person, bared its teeth, and let out a low growl with red eyes.

"They are afraid that I will steal their human flesh to eat," Wu Xiao has been in Shaanxi for a long time and has seen too many scenes of wild dogs devouring hungry people. Faced with such cruel and horrifying scenes, he was able to remain calm and explained to the two men behind him as if nothing had happened.

Song Wan said with disdain: "Master Wu, do you think these dogs want to eat us?"

"Of course I wouldn't. After eating human flesh, they'll go crazy. They can't help but drool when they see a living person. Dogs eat people just like wolves do, they start gnawing at the internal organs first. Many people have been gnawed for half an hour and are still gasping for breath..."

Song Wan and Hu Saner knew their boss's early life experiences and did not dare to ask more questions.

"Master Wu, why don't we go first? If all the wild dogs gather around us, it will be bad."

Wu Xiao chuckled, ignored Song Wan, and pointed at a pile of flesh and blood among the dogs.

"Look over there, near the wall, there's a living person. Go and rescue him. He might know something about Tianxin City."

Song Wan looked in the direction Wu Xiao pointed, and sure enough, he saw a dusty man lying among the broken walls. The man had his head lowered, his eyes fixed on the ground. For some reason, he was not discovered by the wild dogs.

Hu San'er muttered to himself, "Look at the clothes he's wearing. Isn't that the same outfit the Ministry of Works gave to the conscripts from Tianxin City last year?"

Without waiting for Song Wan to look, Hu Saner had already jumped on his horse and swung his saber at the wild dog that was still gnawing on the corpse.

The soldier sitting at the foot of the wall was obviously injured. He had his head down, waiting for death. Suddenly, he heard a shrill scream around him. When he looked up, he saw three cavalrymen charging towards him. Any wild dog that was touched by the sabers in their hands would be killed.

The soldier's dim eyes gathered again, filled with desire for life.

(End of this chapter)