usatvline Chapter 8 The People's Will is as Solid as Iron
Chapter 8 The People's Will is as Solid as Iron
Zhou Tong's expression changed drastically, and he almost slid off his chair.
"Uncle, be careful what you say! This is a capital offense of colluding with bandits!"
"What are you afraid of?" Zhang Mao stared at him menacingly.
"In this day and age, who doesn't have a few shady friends? Li Zhao has cut off our source of income, so we'll cut off his livelihood in return."
"Find a way to send a letter to that Liu the Pockmarked Man from Woniu Mountain."
Zhang Mao lowered his voice and spoke very quickly.
"Take the military settlement southeast of Pingyuan County, for example. It has over a thousand bushels of grain stored there, but its defenses are weak. If he's willing to do it, all the grain will be his after the job is done, and my Zhang family will give him another thousand strings of cash as a reward."
Zhou Tong trembled, "What... what if I mess it up..."
"If we fail, it's the Yellow Turban rebels' doing; what does it have to do with us?"
Zhang Mao stood up, walked up to Zhou Tong, and patted him on the thick shoulder.
"Nephew, fortune favors the bold. If Li Zhao doesn't die, our two families will be completely ruined by him sooner or later. You don't want to see our ancestral legacy destroyed in your hands, do you?"
Zhou Tong gritted his teeth, a struggle flashing in his eyes, which ultimately turned into ruthlessness.
"Alright! I'll follow Uncle's arrangements!"
……
Two days later, late at night.
The moonlight was dim.
The southeastern settlement of the city was completely silent.
The migrants, who had worked all day, were already fast asleep in their shacks, with only a few bonfires still emitting lingering smoke.
The two squad leaders on night duty were dozing off, leaning against a haystack, their spears in their arms.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the grass in the distance.
A platoon leader looked up alertly: "Who?"
His answer was a sharp arrow that pierced through the air.
"puff!"
The arrow struck him squarely in the throat. The squad leader clutched his neck and collapsed without uttering a sound.
The other squad leader was terrified and was about to shout when seven or eight men with yellow turbans wrapped around their heads suddenly sprang out of the darkness, their ring-pommel swords gleaming coldly.
"Kill! Seize the grain!"
The leader, a scarred man, let out a low growl and charged into the shack area.
The shouts of battle instantly shattered the tranquility of the night.
The refugees were awakened from their sleep and fled in panic.
"The Yellow Turban rebels are here! Run!"
Cries and screams mingled together.
The Yellow Turban rebels didn't linger in battle and headed straight for the large shacks where the grain was stored.
The situation was about to spiral out of control.
Just then, a clear neighing of a horse pierced the night sky.
"Zhao Zilong of Changshan is here! The bandits, cease your arrogance!"
A white figure darted into the flames like lightning.
Zhao Yun, riding a white horse and wielding a silver spear, was like a god descending to earth.
With a flick of his wrist, the spear shot out like a dragon, its tip gleaming like countless cold stars.
Before the three Yellow Turban rebels at the forefront could even see who was coming, they had bloody holes in their throats and fell backward.
Scarface was horrified: "This is a tough one! Get out of here!"
He turned to run, but felt a gust of wind behind him.
Zhao Yun rode swiftly and was already behind him in the blink of an eye. With a sweeping motion of his spear, he struck the scarred man heavily on the back.
"puff!"
Scarface coughed up a mouthful of blood, flew sideways, and crashed heavily to the ground, unable to get up again.
Seeing their leader captured, the remaining Yellow Turban rebels lost all will to fight and scattered in all directions after a shout.
"Leave no one alive!"
Zhao Yun gave a cold shout.
At this moment, more than two hundred young men wielding weapons suddenly rushed out from the originally panicked group of refugees.
It was those twenty trusted squad leaders who led the elite troops stationed in the agricultural settlement.
They were prepared and had been lying in ambush.
At this moment, it was like a tiger descending from the mountain, pouncing on the fleeing Yellow Turban rebels.
These refugees had long regarded the settlement as their home and Li Zhao as their second parents.
Now someone is trying to take away their livelihood; that person is their mortal enemy.
The battle ended quickly.
Of the fifty-odd Yellow Turban rebels who attacked, most were killed on the spot, except for a few who were quick enough to dart into the bushes. The remaining dozen or so, wounded, knelt down and surrendered.
In the firelight, Zhao Yun rode his horse up to the scarred man who was bound like a dumpling.
The tip of the spear was pressed against his throat.
"Who sent you?"
Although Scarface was fierce, he was also afraid of death, especially when facing a killing god like Zhao Yun.
He stammered, "It was...it was the old man from the Zhou family in the city who sent the message, saying there was grain here..."
Zhao Yun sheathed his spear, his gaze fixed on the direction of the county town, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
At this moment, Li Zhao, accompanied by Sun Fu, emerged from the darkness at a leisurely pace.
"Zilong, you've worked hard."
Zhao Yun clasped his hands in a fist salute: "I have not failed in my mission. The bandit leader has confessed; it was the Zhou family who colluded with him."
"As expected."
Li Zhao walked up to the scarred man and looked down at him.
"Do you want to live?"
Scarface nodded frantically.
"Then do something for me."
Li Zhao turned around and looked at the thousands of refugees who had been disturbed by the war and were now gathered together, their eyes filled with both fear and anger.
The firelight flickered across his face, casting shifting shadows.
"Sun Fu, relay my orders."
"Order Zhao Yun to muster three hundred soldiers stationed in the fields and bring them into the city with me immediately."
"Surround the Zhou residence and capture the wanted criminal who colluded with the bandits!"
Li Zhao raised his voice.
"Tell the people that whoever tries to take away their livelihood, I will smash their head."
From the crowd, someone shouted out:
"I am willing to follow the Ming court to kill the traitors!"
Immediately following was a roar as powerful as a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down:
"I am willing to follow the Ming court to kill the traitors!"
"I am willing to follow the Ming court to kill the traitors!"
The sound shook the wasteland and soared into the sky.
The people's will is as firm as iron, while the officials' will is as scorching as a furnace.
……
At 3:45 AM, the city gates of Pingyuan County were tightly closed, and the watchmen on the city walls were drowsy.
Suddenly, a cacophony of footsteps was heard outside the city, as if a thousand troops were galloping in. The watchman was startled and peered out, only to see flames shooting into the sky from the south of the city, as a long procession of torches was approaching the county town.
"Where did these troops come from? Could it be that the Yellow Turban rebels have really attacked the city?"
The watchman panicked, his hands and feet turning cold. Just as he was about to strike the gong to warn the crowd, a loud shout, as clear as a bell, came from below the city.
"Li Zhao, the magistrate of Pingyuan, is here! Open the city gates immediately and arrest this wanted criminal who is colluding with the bandits!"
This shout not only woke up the night watchman, but also half of the plains county town.
Upon hearing that it was the county magistrate, the county soldiers guarding the city gate dared not be negligent and hurriedly lowered the drawbridge and opened the city gate.
Li Zhao led the way, followed closely by Zhao Yun, and behind them were three hundred elite soldiers from the garrison, armed with Yellow Turban weapons, each exuding a murderous aura. Further back were thousands of young and strong refugees carrying torches, hoes, and wooden clubs.
The procession marched through the main street and headed straight for the Zhou family mansion in the north of the city.
The people along the way were awakened and peered out through the cracks in the doors and windows. When they saw this scene, they were all horrified and quickly shrank back, not daring to make a sound.
The Zhou family mansion was in complete chaos.
Ever since Zhou Tong sent out that scarred man, he had been pacing restlessly in the front hall. Hearing the commotion outside, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.
The servant who had been sent out to gather information stumbled in, his face pale with fright.
"My lord...my lord! Something terrible has happened! The magistrate has arrived with his troops! He says he's here to arrest a wanted criminal who's colluding with bandits!"
Zhou Tong's legs went weak, and he slumped into the chair.
"It's over...it's all over..."
He hadn't expected Li Zhao to react so quickly, nor had he expected those Yellow Turban rebels to be so incompetent.
"Quick! Close the gate! Hold it! Get all the guards and servants up there to hold it!"
Zhou Tong roared loudly.