Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 215 Execution of Chen Liqing

Chen Liqing held a yew and rhinoceros horn composite longbow, using the standard-issue arrows used by elite archers in the army. The arrows were two and a half feet long, with ash wood shafts, three white goose feathers as fletchings, long and thick arrowheads, and sharp tips like chisels, forged from fine steel.

The arrow left the bowstring like a thunderbolt, tracing a smooth arc as it shot towards Duan Hongyan like a meteor.

Duan Hongyan's precious carved bow had been swept away by the river, and she only grabbed Zhang Fan's bow. In addition, she was weak after her illness and managed to fire an arrow, but the arrow was light and weak.

Chen Liqing burst into arrogant laughter, about to utter a sarcastic remark, when she saw Duan Hongyan's light arrow strike the very tip of her own arrow with perfect accuracy, deflecting Chen Liqing's deadly shot.

"That vixen surnamed Duan does have some tricks up her sleeve!" Chen Liqing snorted coldly, tapped the bowstring with her thumb, and grabbed a handful of arrows with her fingers, separating them.

A series of arrows flew in quick succession, as fast as a sudden rainstorm.

Duan Hongyan hurriedly retreated to dodge, but Chen Liqing's arrows were shot from different directions, clearly predicting Duan Hongyan's dodge direction. The continuous rain of arrows seemed to weave an endless net, leaving Duan Hongyan overwhelmed.

"ah!"

Duan Hongyan let out a painful cry.

She opened her mouth and bit one of Chen Liqing's arrows, but another arrow came like a shooting star and hit Duan Hongyan in the left chest.

The heart was located on the left. Chen Liqing felt smug, licked her lips, and revealed a bloodthirsty smile.

Duan Hongyan was more beautiful and more dignified than her, which aroused Chen Liqing's jealousy and strengthened her desire to eliminate the other party.

After being shot by the arrow, Duan Hongyan lay on the ground, her face pale, her eyes closed, and her body convulsing. This made Chen Liqing believe that Duan Hongyan had suffered a fatal wound.

Unexpectedly, Duan Hongyan gritted her teeth, stood up again with lightning speed, tilted her pelvis backward, straightened her lower back, lowered her shoulders and slightly hunched her chest, stretched her jade neck forward, and drew her bow to shoot an arrow.

Chen Liqing was careless and caught off guard, and was pierced through the neck by an arrow.

The arrow didn't hit the throat or major blood vessels, but the pain in the neck was connected to the head. A blunt object striking the neck can easily cause severe pain and fainting. Chen Liqing was struck in the neck by Duan Hongyan's arrow and immediately lost consciousness.

When she slowly regained consciousness, she had already been stripped naked from the waist up and tied up by the angry Chaozhou militiamen.

But the gazes people cast upon her were devoid of any lust, filled only with piercing hatred.

Back then, Chen Liqing's father, Chen Xizhen, plundered the local area and oppressed the people, which aroused the Qiu Fu Rebellion. He was ordered to be executed by General Wang Shi to appease the people.

Chen Liqing pursued the recovery of stolen goods and funds in Chaozhou and Xunzhou, extorting money from the people without any scruples, and the people of the two prefectures hated her to the bone.

After receiving news of Chen Liqing's capture, and knowing that the overall situation on the battlefield was settled, Zhu Wen ordered Chen Liqing to be executed on the spot to avoid any unforeseen complications.

Deng, the wealthy man, gritted his teeth, raised his knife, and cut a piece of flesh from Chen Liqing's chest: "You vicious woman, take this!"

His younger brother died from having his skull fractured by a clamp during Chen Liqing's torture. Deng, the wealthy man, also had to spend a large sum of money to save his life.

Chen Liqing screamed in agony, tears streaming down her face. But she was also incredibly strong, never uttering a single word of pleading for mercy until her death.

In her final moments, she remembered her lover, Shi Pu, sitting leisurely by the bedside, gently caressing her body.

After being humiliated by Qiu Fuyi's army, Chen Liqing, in order to imitate Yan Shuai, also became indifferent to men.

Shi Pu was the only man to enjoy her body after that.

"Our bodies are an inexplicable match, and we're both generals in the country—a perfect match. What a pity..."

It is common knowledge that Chen Liqing was bullied by Qiu Fu's rioters for three days before being rescued.

Shi Pu could accept that his wife was not a virgin, but he could not marry a famous woman who had been humiliated and was known to all to manage the household.

In the end, Chen Liqing realized that from that year on, she had nowhere to go. The crimes her father committed were rightfully her responsibility. Having survived by chance, she became even more cruel and ruthless than her father because of hatred, and then she walked step by step toward destruction.

As her enemies slashed and ripped her apart, exposing her bones, Chen Liqing breathed her last. Her dimming eyes held not only pain and anger, but also a touch of desolation.

Zhu Wen didn't care what this wicked woman was thinking before she died. He spoke gently to Duan Hongyan beside him, "Junior sister, are you alright?"

"It's nothing." The usually free-spirited Duan Hongyan suddenly became a little shy, clutching her chest, her fair face slightly flushed.

The arrow in her chest had, of course, been pulled out and the wound bandaged.

"That place was too big, which was very inconvenient for beginners to practice archery. Fortunately, I started learning archery early, and today, it cushioned the old woman's arrow and saved my life."

Duan Hongyan lowered her head slightly, her fragile appearance after being injured was particularly pitiful.

Zhu Wen suddenly remembered the sleep-talking Duan Hongyan had said in the cave.

She said in her delirium that her father killed her mother.

According to Duan Hongyan, her archery skills were taught to her by her hunter father. But how could a hunter possess such superb archery skills?
Her father, who committed the heinous crime of murdering his wife, must have been a highly accomplished person.

But the pain involved in such things is truly unbearable to recall.

Zhu Wen hesitated for a long time, but still did not ask.

Huo Cun's troops had also arrived and launched an attack. The barbarian army, which was attacked from three sides, collapsed and scattered.

But the battle was not completely over.

Zhu Wen ordered Chen Liqing's execution on the spot because she was deeply hated by the people of Chaozhou, and killing her on the spot would boost morale.

After that, all sides joined in the annihilation of the enemy, pursuing and killing them until the corpses piled up like mountains and the blood flowed like rivers.

More than five thousand barbarians and government troops were killed, and more than eight thousand were captured. As for those who trampled each other to death during their escape, or fell into ravines or onto large rocks and died, the number is countless.

When the encirclement completely collapsed, Gao Yan found himself suddenly transformed from the besieged to the besieged. Huo Cun's troops were in the south, Tian Jun and Zhu Zhen led their armies in the north, while Zhu Wen, Zen Master Ruoran, and the wealthy Deng led their troops from the east and west respectively.

Not seeing Qian Liu among the defeated soldiers around him, Gao Yan could only tell Qian Liu to fend for himself.

"Kill!" Gao Yan mounted his warhorse, put on the Lanling King mask, and spoke with a resounding voice.

Seeing that Gao Yan seemed to be breaking out in his direction, Huo Cun quickly ordered the strong men of the militia to set up a shield formation to block the Changwu cavalry's charge.

Unexpectedly, after the enemy charged forward and fired a sparse volley of arrows, they suddenly turned around and roared as they charged toward Tian Jun!

There are 5,000 righteous soldiers over there, whose fighting strength is far superior to the militiamen that Zhu Wen brought to help.

Unexpectedly, when the Changwu cavalry swept into the battle line like chisels, this group of righteous soldiers, who were originally full of revenge and had a fierce momentum, suddenly collapsed like cheese being cut open by a hot knife.

"People who have been starving for too long can hold their camp, but they can't sustain a long battle. They've been fighting for so long on sheer willpower, and their strength is almost exhausted."

Gao Yan spoke calmly to a loyal servant named Lai Fu beside him.

"Master is always decisive and clear-headed, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people," Lai Fu flattered.

Gao Yan stopped talking, charged forward with his spear, and charged into the enemy formation. He moved swiftly and fiercely, his spear swirling like Nezha stirring up the sea, and no one could withstand a single blow from him.

The Changwu cavalry followed closely behind, their raids as fierce as fire.

Riding a stolen green horse, Tian Jun looked bewildered, not understanding how his side, which had just been in the lead, had been forced into a series of defeats.
In another direction, Zhu Wen also sighed.

The biggest problem with allied forces is not their combat effectiveness, but their failure to obey orders.

Gao Yan's crushing defeat was due to the fact that the barbarian tribes ignored advice and disregarded Zhu Wen's potential retaliation.

With victory already assured, Zhu Wen couldn't persuade the Chaozhou militia to execute his strategy of "encircling three sides and leaving one open." These men, wanting more spoils, effectively surrounded Gao Yan's forces, which only fueled their determination to fight to the death.

Gao Yan accurately judged that the trapped soldiers of the rebel army, who had been starving for ten days, were at their last gasp, and chose that side as the breakthrough point.

Zhu Wen mounted a captured black horse and was about to ride off to rescue Tian Jun.

Duan Hongyan mounted her horse and said, "I'll go with you."

She smiled sweetly: "My injury is fine, don't worry."

The warriors around Tian Jun scattered, and she was surrounded by Gao Yan and several long-armed knights. She still fought hard, her spears dancing wildly, the blue light swirling like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

But even a hero can be outnumbered, and Tian Jun quickly found himself overwhelmed and was defeated.

As he reined in his horse to retreat, Gao Yan chopped off the horse's front hoof with a spear, causing him to fall off.

Changwu's cavalry charged over and stabbed Tian Jun several more times, causing her to fall unconscious instantly.

Huang Chao bestowed the gift upon Zhu Wen, and the three Viking shield maidens sent by Zhu Wen to protect Tian Jun were quite loyal. They wielded large shields and sharp axes, rushing forward amidst the chaotic hooves of horses.

The Changwu cavalry, fearing their horses' legs would be chopped off with axes, hesitated for a moment, but the three women rescued Tian Jun and brought her back.

Zhu Wen and Duan Hongyan arrived on horseback, just in time to stabilize the battle.

However, Gao Yan had also carved out a bloody path enough to retreat, ensuring that the losses of his most valuable troops would be limited.

As for the tens of thousands of barbarian casualties, why would Gao Yan care?
"The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow on forever. Zhu San'er, we'll meet again!"

Gao Yan, who was covering the retreat of his troops, bowed respectfully from his horse.

He turned around, removed the Lanling King mask, and revealed a strange smile.

"These people must have already told you how your foolish second brother died. I personally shot him through the chest with an armor-piercing arrow, and then he just stood there, plop, and fell into the Han River, hahahahaha!"

“He was already badly injured, he definitely doesn’t have the strength to struggle anymore. You’d better find someone to retrieve it quickly, before the wolfhound’s carcass gets eaten by the crocodiles.”

"But none of that matters. We're brothers for life, and I'll make sure you two meet again as soon as possible!"

Having said that, Gao Yan let out a long whistle, spurred his horse and rode away, the hooves kicking up clouds of dust!

Zhu Wen froze on his horse in an instant.

He was about to spur his horse and chase after her without a second thought, but Zhu Zhen grabbed him tightly.

The road Gao Yanjun was traveling on was narrow and not conducive to pursuit. Gao Yan also ordered his elite cavalry to turn around on horseback, hold crossbows and set up defenses. If they were to pursue them again, it would be difficult to gain the upper hand.

"Don't stop me!" Zhu Wen roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhu Wen was puzzled when he didn't see Zhu Cun in the group, but after a night of fierce fighting, he had no time to ask.

Or rather, isn't it only natural that Tian Jun, Zhu Zhen, Dong Hou, and others are all safe and sound, and Zhu Cun is still alive?
Who could have imagined such an outcome!
In the struggle, Zhu Wen felt a sharp pain in his lower back.

During the fierce battle, he was also shot in the waist. Since it was not a serious injury, he bandaged it up and didn't pay much attention to it.

But at this moment, the pain emanating from the wound suddenly spread throughout his heart, making him feel as if his whole body was being torn apart.

"Second Brother..." Zhu Wen's eyes welled up with tears, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

As dawn broke, Zhu Wen saw the rain falling without warning, striking the ranks of his troops and washing away the blood on the ground.

Then he felt cold all over and fainted.

(End of this chapter)