Chapter 240: Stepping on the Front and Drinking Blood, Yuezhou Navy

Chapter 240: Stepping on the Front and Drinking Blood, Yuezhou Navy

Chapter 240: Stepping on the Front and Drinking Blood, Yuezhou Navy

Although the warm sun at noon has a slight autumn flavor, it still stubbornly shines on Junshan Temple, trying to dispel the haze in the air.

This should have been a time of great incense burning and melodious bells and chimes.
Now, after the hustle and bustle, the temple is dead silent.
The breeze blew gently, making a whimpering sound, and Junshan Temple was already in a mess.

The ground was stained with blood in irregular reddish-brown patterns.
The corpses were lying all over the place, some with distorted faces, and fear and unwillingness still in their eyes.

Some of them lay with their backs facing the sky, as if they were fallen asleep and unable to wake up.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and rust, and the previous faint fragrance disappeared.

The sun shone on the fallen weapon, and the blinding cold light was so dazzling that almost everyone could not ignore it.
The Buddha statue in the main hall is still solemn and compassionate, with his eyes lowered, as if taking all of this in.

Until this moment, the silent scene was filled with a hint of sound.

There was a whimpering cry, which turned into a loud cry, mixed with some terrifying roars.

The sound came from the travelers and many ordinary people hiding nearby.

Liu Ruyan squatted alone in front of the hall, holding her head tightly in her hands, and screamed piercingly.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw the monk with his arm cut off lying beside her.

Her pupils suddenly dilated, her rosy cheeks turned pale in an instant, and she let out a shrill scream, stepped back, and fell to the ground.

But at this moment, her screams were not so harsh, but were gradually drowned out by the many screams.

Lu Yunyi was still drawing his bow and arrow, holding the last arrow in his hand, and looking around vigilantly.

Then if someone faked his death and suddenly attacked, he would never hesitate!

At this moment, there were a few crows screaming in the sky, cackling non-stop.

They landed on trees and eaves, their smart, sparkling eyes moving back and forth, staring at the corpses below, their pitch-black color symbolizing an ominous look.

Coupled with the withered yellow leaves scattered on the ground, it seems a bit lonely and desolate!
Lu Yunyi gave the order in a cold voice, and his voice echoed around:
"Everyone keep quiet. If you shout again, I will kill you without mercy!"

"Check the bodies and treat the wounded!"

"No one is allowed to leave the scene, stand still!"

The crowd became more flustered, and the atmosphere became quiet and noisy again.
Lu Yunyi's eyes were sharp as he glanced over:

"An Jing, I am Lu Yunyi, the deputy commander of the Beijing Metropolitan Command. They are my soldiers.
Everyone stay where you are and do not move. No one is allowed to leave before their identities are verified!!”

With that said, the tense atmosphere eased somewhat.
At such critical moments, officials and the military always give people a sense of security.

At this moment, hurried footsteps came from behind.
Lu Yunyi looked back and saw a group of soldiers in garrison uniforms running up from the bottom of the mountain.

The person who led the way was the plainclothes vendor we had seen at the door earlier.

The man also saw Lu Yunyi holding a longbow at the door.
There was a sudden shock in his eyes, and he stopped in his tracks.
The rest of the people also stopped and stared at the front!

"I am the captain of Yuezhou Guard, Dongchuan. Who is causing trouble here?"

A soldier in his thirties stepped forward, pointed the long sword in his hand, and let out a loud roar.

Lu Yunyi didn't exchange pleasantries with him and said directly:

"I am Lu Yunyi, the deputy commander of the Beijing Metropolitan Command. A traitor tried to assassinate Duke Cao, but he has been executed!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did the soldiers become panicked, but even the many people in the temple made a few noises.

"what!!!"

Dong Chuan no longer hesitated and rushed forward, wanting to enter the temple.

But he was forced back by a group of guards armed with bows and crossbows:

"Stop! Back off."

Lu Yunyi's face was calm:
"Everyone, drop your weapons and kneel down. Anyone who refuses to obey will be considered a traitor and shot immediately!"

Dong Chuan looked anxious: "Sir, we are following the orders of our superiors to track down the traitors on Junshan Island!"

"Since the traitor has escaped, why not report it?

You, the Yuezhou guards, have ignored the danger of the people, which is a serious crime. Drop your weapons and kneel aside!"

Lu Yunyi exuded a strong murderous intent, and the longbow in his hand was already wailing, as if it was about to be shot at the next moment.

Dong Chuan's eyes flashed with panic, and he wanted to say something else.
Lu Yunyi's eyes flashed: "Shoot!"

Dong Chuan's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly threw the long sword in his hand away. The long sword fell on the stone steps with a crisp sound.

“Slowly, slowly!!”

Then, when the soldiers saw their superior kneeling, they dropped their swords and quickly knelt on the ground.

"Tie them up tightly and send them back on a speedboat to report to Lord Shen and Governor Xu what happened in the temple!"

"Yes!!"

The guards around scattered away.

Lu Yunyi also put away his longbow and turned to look inside the temple.

Liu Heiying, now covered in blood and with a murderous look on his face, came forward and nodded gently:

"Sir, all the rebels have been wiped out, not a single one is left alive!"

Lu Yunyi nodded and ordered:
"Take people to identify the people. Be careful. The traitors may be hiding among them!"

"Yes!"

Liu Heiying waved his hand and walked towards the hiding people with more than ten people in a threatening manner.

Lu Yunyi turned and looked towards the center of the courtyard.
The guards of Cao Guogong's mansion protected a big tree very tightly.
Duke Cao and Guo Quan can be vaguely seen inside.

Lu Yunyi trotted over, and the guards quickly moved aside, wrapping him up as well, and stared around vigilantly.

Li Jinglong sat under the tree, gasping for air continuously. Half of his face was covered in blood. Looking down from above, he could see a lot of mud and stones stuck in the flesh.

At this moment, he was closing one eye tightly and looking around with the other eye, still in shock!

Seeing Lu Yunyi coming, Li Jinglong quickly raised his hands and stood up:

"Yun Yi, what is going on?"

Lu Yunyi did not answer, but looked at his cheek, looked at his body, and asked anxiously:

"Jinglong, are you okay?"

Li Jinglong pointed to half of his face:

"What could possibly happen? This is all thanks to Guo Quan."

Guo Quan, who was standing by, looked unhappy and said:
"There are crossbows."

"I know, I know. Thank you very much!"

Li Jinglong turned around and patted Guo Quan's shoulder. Only then did he feel a little scared.
He looked past the guards and towards the mess in Junshan Temple. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes, and he asked:
"Yun Yi, why do these people want to assassinate me?"

Lu Yunyi pursed his lips and walked closer, lowering his voice and saying:

"These people are rebels who escaped from Yuezhouwei a few days ago. They must be related to smuggling.
Whether it was to kill me or you, or for some other reason, it is now unknown."

Li Jinglong raised his head suddenly, his pupils suddenly contracted, his face was filled with deep shock, and his eyes flashed with doubt.

He pursed his lips and glanced around: "Are you really from Yuezhou Guards?"

"A troop of Yuezhou guards came to the gate, led by a centurion.
They claimed to be rebels and fled to Junshan Island. We were ordered by our superiors to search for them.
I also saw a military ship in the harbor, so it must be true."

As Lu Yunyi spoke, he looked around with a vigilant expression.

This made Li Jinglong alert for no reason. He felt uneasy and was unaware of the pain on his face.

"Something leaked?"

Li Jinglong opened his eyes wide and asked the question in his mind,
He thought of the letter he had given to Hua Jieyu in the morning. If there was any leak, it was probably only that letter.

Compared to assassination, he was more worried about this Jinyiwei who had been hiding for more than ten years.
If all these people can be bribed, then are there any good people left in the Jinyiwei?

Lu Yunyi took a breath and shook his head slowly:
"That's what I'm wondering too. And why do these people know that we'll be coming to Junshan Island?"

Lu Yunyi's question made Guo Quan and Li Jinglong fall into silence. They kept thinking in their minds and their expressions changed back and forth.

At this moment, a soldier hurried over from the side yard and reported:

"Sir, we have found the monks from Junshan Temple. Only the abbot is still alive. The rest are dead."

"Bring it up!" Lu Yunyi's eyes focused and he gave the order quickly.

Soon, more than 20 corpses were brought up. On one side, there was an old monk in his 60s, wearing plain clothes. Looking at the miserable scene in the courtyard, he couldn't help but put his hands together and said "Amitabha".
Lu Yunyi didn't waste time talking to him and asked directly:

"Old monk, when did those villains enter the temple?"

Hearing this question, Li Jinglong reacted quickly, with a gleam of light in his eyes.
Whether the letter was in trouble can be inferred from the time when these villains came to the island.
The old monk sighed with compassion and said in a deep voice:
"It was around the time a few days ago. We monks had already gone to bed.
The bad guys sneaked in and tied us all up. I thought the people in the temple were able to survive, but I didn’t expect that.”

"The day before yesterday?"

Li Jinglong muttered to himself and let out a long sigh of relief. At least he was sure that it was not the letter that leaked the news.

Lu Yunyi thought for a moment, and a flash of understanding came to his mind.
These rebels were indeed used as waste and became knives in the hands of others.

If his guess was correct, there should be rebels hiding somewhere else, but they just didn't know where.

Lu Yunyi asked some more questions, but the old monk didn't know the answers.

Lu Yunyi waved his hand, and the guards took him away.

Then Lu Yunyi ordered: "Bring up the captain named Dong Chuan outside."

Soon, Dong Chuan, who looked to be in his thirties, was brought up.
At this moment, he had his hands behind his back and his upper body was tied tightly with ropes.

He was escorted to the corpses. Lu Yunyi pointed at the red-robed monk and asked:
"do you know it?"

Dong Chuan looked at him for a moment, then nodded repeatedly with a fearful look on his face:
"Sir, this man is the rebel we are looking for. He is a captain of the Yuezhou navy and the adjutant of Wang Ni.

After the rebellion of the king was killed,
Seeing that the situation was not good, this man took his men and left on a speedboat.

We speculated that they did not leave Dongting Lake, but hid on various islands, so we have been searching for them these days. "

"Oh shit."

Li Jinglong cursed loudly, unable to bear the anger any longer, and slapped him with a clear sound:
“Why didn’t you inform everyone that someone ran away?!
Since you suspect there are rebels on this island, why don't you surround the island and search for them instead of letting them in?"

Dong Chuan stammered and lowered his head. A bright red palm print appeared on his face. Finally, he sighed softly:
"Sir, the rebellion in the Yuezhou navy is a great shame and humiliation, and the lords in the army dare not make it public."

Hearing this, Li Jinglong flew into a rage and kicked him:

"What a reluctance to speak out, is the reputation of your Yuezhou navy more important or my life!!!

If I die here, none of you in Yuezhouwei will be able to escape!! "

Dong Chuan staggered after being kicked. He raised his head suddenly with shock in his eyes. Is this man Duke Cao?

But when he saw that half of Duke Cao's face was covered in blood and flesh, he almost felt dizzy and fainted.

This matter is definitely not going to end well.
Two hours later, near dusk,

A huge troop transport ship suddenly appeared at the port of Junshan Island.
When the troop transport ship is at rest and the pontoon bridge is ready,

From above, soldiers in armor and armed with sharp weapons rushed down continuously, holding long swords and bows and crossbows.

There were even more than a hundred people armed with muskets who rushed to Junshan Island and occupied various important ports.

This caused many people gathered at the port to look fearful.

Soon, the group hurried up the mountain and arrived at Junshan Temple.

The leaders were Deng Zhen, Duke of Shen, and Sima Xu, the deputy commander of the Central Army.
Behind him followed an old man in his fifties, wearing a scarlet robe, with a pale face and staggering steps. He was the prefect Shang whom he had just met yesterday.

Next to him, there was a tall soldier with an extremely cold face and a murderous aura.

It was Fang Anwen, the deputy commander of Huguang Army stationed in Yuezhou Prefecture and in charge of the navy!

Entering the temple, what caught my eye were more than 30 corpses neatly arranged.

The bloody smell in the air had not yet dissipated, and there were still bloodstains on the ground.
Not far away, there were six bodies lying alone, covered with white cloth.
Further away, there were more than twenty corpses of monks.

Such a scene made the faces of those present extremely solemn.

Deng Zhen, the Duke of Shen, was breathing a little faster, with a murderous look in his eyes.
Led by the soldiers, they walked quickly into the main hall.
At first glance, he saw Li Jinglong sitting at the table.

At this moment, an old man with a gray beard was picking out stones from his wound.

His face was covered in blood and flesh, and instead of improving, it became even more hideous. The blood had already flowed to his neck.

Seeing this scene, even Sima Xu, who had always looked calm, couldn't help but change his expression slightly.

He knew the status of Li Jinglong in His Majesty's heart. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was his grandson. But now he was injured like this.

The prefect standing a little behind him felt his eyes go dark, his body swayed and he fell heavily to the ground.

Deng Zhen turned around, snorted coldly, and cursed:

"It is hard for a prefect to be so incompetent as this. It is hard for him to be in charge of such a big task!"

He flicked his sleeves and stepped forward quickly, his tone somewhat anxious:

"Jiujiang, are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

Sima Xu also came up and said, "Jiujiang, who is this old man? How can we let him treat us? Be careful with the wound on your face."

Li Jinglong closed his eyes and waved his hand, shaking off the doctor's hand, and replied:
"It's just some scratches. Those rebels had two crossbows in their hands. If Yun Yi hadn't discovered it in time, I might have died here."

Military crossbow?

Nowadays, the most strictly controlled items in the Ming Dynasty are muskets and cannons, followed by crossbows and armor!

The rebels have crossbows?
The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became solemn, and Deng Zhen's expression changed back and forth.
Li Wenzhong died in an unclear manner, and there is still no definitive answer to this.
If Li Jinglong died here again
Deng Zhen didn't know what kind of storm would happen in the court, and he couldn't help but feel a little scared.
The same was true for Sima Xu standing aside.

At this moment, Fang Anwen took a step forward, knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and spoke in a loud voice:
"Your humble servant Fang Anwen, the deputy commander of Huguang Command, pays a visit to Duke Cao. Today's incident was caused by the poor protection of the Yuezhou navy. I ask Duke Cao to punish me."

Li Jinglong then turned his eyes over, a sneer appeared on his lips, and a burst of anger arose in his heart for no reason:

"How to punish you will be decided by His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Let me ask you, since there were rebels fleeing, why didn’t you inform us in advance?

I was assassinated here, and you, the Yuezhou Guards, are to blame, especially your Yuezhou Navy, which not only participated in smuggling, but also allowed people to commit crimes!!!
If I hadn't brought so many guards today, I would have died here! ! "

Li Jinglong's voice became louder and louder, and finally he almost shouted.

The governor, who had just opened his eyes, trembled in his heart and closed his eyes tightly again.
"I am guilty of my crime."

Fang Anwen didn't know how to argue, so he just lowered his head.

At this moment, there were still some wounded people in the hall bandaging their wounds. Several women from Huajianji were also standing on one side, watching the scene in front of them, with fear in their eyes that had not yet dissipated.

Li Jinglong put his hands on his hips and paced back and forth in front of him.
Suddenly, he was angry about something and pointed at An Fangwen and said:
"Yesterday!! Yesterday, a captain from your Yuezhou rear guard came out of the camp wearing armor.
He brought his subordinates to the Huajianji where I was staying, and even fought with my guards.
What are you thinking?

Was today's assassination premeditated? Are the Yuezhou guards rotten to the core?!"

An Fangwen raised his head suddenly, his face full of shock: "This, this, I don't know about this."

Deng Zhen's eyes narrowed, and his brows raised: "Is there such a thing? Catch him and interrogate him strictly!"

Sima Xu standing by was full of anger: "Damn it, if this isn't a premeditated plan, what is this?"

Sima Xu turned his gaze and saw Guo Quan standing on the side. He raised his hand and pointed:
"Sixth Brother, come here and tell us what happened."

Then he looked at the military doctor standing at the back of the team and waved his hand:

"What are you standing there for? Come and get treated."

The military doctor quickly stepped forward, and Guo Quan also came over and told him everything that happened in the temple.
The two men looked shocked and confused. They looked back and forth at Li Jinglong's bloody face, and then looked at Guo Quan.

"So it was you who did it?" Sima Xu looked strange, but he quickly stepped forward and patted Guo Quan on the shoulder:

"Well done."

"Ah?" Li Jinglong let out a howl.

Deng Zhen glanced at him, a look of relief appeared on his face, and then he laughed.

"Brother, what are you laughing at?" Li Jinglong turned his head again, frightening the military doctor so much that his hands trembled, and he quickly said:
"Duke Cao, please don't move!"

Deng Zhen said:

"I laugh at your good luck, but if you were shot by that crossbow, it would take an hour to get to the shore from Junshan Island, and you would bleed to death."

At this time, Lu Yunyi hurried in from outside the hall, his body was covered in mud, his forehead was covered with sweat, and his hair was stuck to it.

Sensing the solemn atmosphere in the hall, his face became serious, he quickly stepped forward, bowed and said:
"Your humble servant Lu Yunyi pays respects to Lord Shen, Lord Xu!"

Seeing that it was him, Deng Zhen and Sima Xu's expressions relaxed a little.

Deng Zhen looked at Lu Yunyi, looking him up and down with admiration on his face.

"Yes, you are as reliable as ever. No need to be polite. Let's talk about the follow-up investigation."

As he spoke, Deng Zhen walked towards the side hall, and Lu Yunyi quickly followed.
Sima Xu glanced at the incompetent prefect Shang, snorted coldly, and followed him.

(End of this chapter)