Chapter 423 Zhao Duan mobilizes troops, the imperial army tramples the gate

Chapter 423 Zhao Duan mobilizes troops, the imperial army tramples the gate

Chapter 423 Zhao Duan mobilizes troops, the imperial army tramples the gate (5k)

"Prefect Luan, please take a closer look at who I am."

In the Jinfu Inn, when Zhao Duan took off his mask, his handsome face was revealed.

Binhaidao prefect Luan Cheng was stunned at first, then his pupils trembled, and he took two steps back, almost falling. He subconsciously raised his finger and pointed at the smiling Zhao, and stammered:

"Zhao...Zhao Shaobao?!"

The newly promoted Prince's Guardian, a third-rank official, and the Empress's favorite, Zhao Duan!

Luan Cheng had never met him, but he had seen Zhao Duan's portrait many times.

The most recent one was the information in the court report sent from the capital some time ago, which recorded that Zhao Duan was promoted to Shao Bao. Seeing so many imperial court officials and soldiers at this moment, he had already had some suspicions and recognized their identities immediately.

"It seems that your eyes are not blind yet." Zhao Duan said lightly.

Luan Cheng's mind was in a mess and almost crashed. As the prefect, he was unaware of the existence of this team. How could he not be surprised?
In shock, his body reacted before his brain did. He staggered forward a few steps, shook his sleeves, and bowed:

"I am Luan Cheng, your humble servant, honored to meet Shao Bao Zhao."

Captain Zhang Jian, who was walking behind him with his hands covering his chest which was sore but not seriously injured, was shocked and quickly lowered his eyes.

The already trembling and frightened police officers, not knowing who had taken the lead, fell to their knees and shouted:

"Young Guard!"

It was as if he was afraid that if he was a step slow, this noble who was rumored to hold great power but was vindictive would hold a grudge against him, so he was looking for a reason to deal with him.

Zhao Duan calmly glanced at the group of people for a moment, then said indifferently:
"No gift."

Then he turned and walked towards the house, leaving behind a sentence:
"Prefect Luan, please go inside and discuss this in detail. The rest of you will stay outside and no one is allowed to leave before I come out."

"As ordered!"

Lihuatang Jinyi grinned and detained a group of local officials who were like deflated balls like prisoners.

After the main door of the inn was closed, Gongshu Tianyuan and the others were bored and gathered under the eaves, whispering to each other.

"What do you think is going on?"

Gongshu Tianyuan looked curious and started the conversation first.

Lang Shiba and Ji Yue are the silent background characters. They only take action, never talk, and never respond to others.

Jin Jian was dozing off;

The two shadow guards, Shusheng and Hongye, were not familiar with the group and were reluctant to speak.

Haitang, with a row of flying knives hanging from her waist and teardrop moles at the corners of her eyes, crossed her arms and glanced at everyone:
"Didn't Shaobao Zhao just say that?"

Gongshu Tianyuan was surprised and asked, "Big sister, are you talking about what Brother Zhao just said, that the enemy is cunning?"

Big sister... Haitang's mouth twitched and she said helplessly:
"Isn't this obvious? But there's no point in making random guesses. Once he interrogates the prefect, everything will be clear."

After about a stick of incense.

The door creaked open, and the prefect Luan Cheng came out with a smile on his face, sweating profusely, as he walked Zhao Duan out.

"Lord Luan, you and I are colleagues, so let's forget about these misunderstandings. You can take your people back to the county government office first. If anything happens later, I will find you." Zhao Duan said with a smile.

Luan Cheng forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, Young Master Zhao, I will keep the news of today secret and strictly forbid leaking."

Zhao Duan smiled and said nothing. With such a big commotion, it was useless to block the news.

In other words, after this incident, Zhao Duan's "incognito" team was forced to be exposed to the sun as soon as they entered the city.

After Magistrate Luan and a group of officials left in disgrace, Haitang finally looked at him, her heroic eyes full of curiosity: "You just let him go like that? This is not your character."

No... How bad is my image in your eyes... Zhao Duan complained, shook his head, and looked at the sky in the distance with a sigh:

"They are all colleagues. Besides, he was also used. As the prefect, Luan Cheng has the task of arresting the rebels all year round.

Some time ago, a foreign gangster with suspicious behavior appeared in the prefectural city. He was arrested by the police. After interrogation, it was found that he was a peripheral member of the Kuangfu Society. From him, false information was learned. That is, a group of rebels will appear in the Jinfu Inn.

Luan Cheng then came over in person with a group of officials. Haha, he is an official who does things personally. "

Haitang frowned and said:
"What a coincidence, and the direction is too obvious, could it be that the rebels took the initiative to send false information?"

Zhao Duan sighed:

"It seems so. And the person who has such a skill is most likely Zhuang Xiaocheng."

Zhang Han came over and asked doubtfully:
"But what is the purpose? What is the purpose of doing this? The rebels should know that this will not cause any substantial harm to us."

Zhao Duan calmly said two words: "Provocation."

After a pause, he looked around at the pairs of eyes around him and said seriously:

"This old villain Zhuang Xiaocheng is deliberately declaring war on me, telling me that he already knows about my arrival.

Haha, originally I thought that we would be in the dark and use spies to bring Zhuang Xiaocheng out in the open, but now this old thief has made it so that we are in the open and he is in the dark."

What is light and what is dark... The few simple warriors and sorcerers were confused and felt that it was unfathomable, but they were unwilling to show that they did not understand.

So they all nodded in understanding, looking as if they understood everything.

Zhang Han is still confused:

"You mean, Zhuang Xiaocheng knew our whereabouts in advance, so could he have already run away? And then teased us again?"

Without waiting for Zhao Duan to answer, Haitang, who is good at solving cases, suddenly spoke:
"No, definitely not. Zhuang Xiaocheng is not that kind of boring person. Moreover, from the analysis of the intelligence provided by Luan Cheng, the arrangement of false intelligence by the Kuangfu Society does not seem to be a temporary decision, but more like it is done with ease.

I even suspect that the clue that the headquarters is in Fengcheng may have been deliberately released by the enemy in order to lure us here."

Zhao Duan, who had already confirmed through Fengyue Baojian that the old thief was still in this area, nodded with a sharp look in his eyes:

"If my guess is correct, this old thief has been cornered and is using himself as bait to fight me face to face to decide life or death. Haha... Don't you think that this style and tactics are quite similar to those of the old thief Zhuang when he was in the capital?"

Last year, Zhuang Xiaocheng in Beijing used himself as bait and tried to lure Ma Yan into the well-prepared bamboo forest in the southern suburbs and assassinate him.

The plan was unexpectedly broken by Zhao Duan.

Today, the old thief uses the same old tricks again, but with greater courage. He uses Fengcheng as a trap and the survival of the Kuangfu Society as a bet, and invites Zhao Duan to fight.

"So what are you going to do next? We have been exposed. Do we still need to contact spies?" Haitang asked.

Zhao Duan shook his head.

Zhuang Xiaocheng must know the existence of spies, he just doesn't know who the spies are.

If we rashly use Wu Ling, Yun Xi and others now, we will only be exposed in advance.

But if we don't contact the spies and everyone's identity is exposed, how can we find out the location of the headquarters of the Kuangfu Society?
"Things are getting interesting. Zhuang Xiaocheng wants to play a game of chess with me, so I'll go along with his wishes. But I want to see if he has the guts to do it."

Zhao Duan suddenly said:

"Brother Gongshu, before we entered the city, you said that the Taoist from Zixiao Palace was very powerful in the local area, right? Then this person knew about the hidden rebels but didn't report it, so he is very suspicious, right?"

Gongshu Tianyuan was stunned for a moment, feeling something was wrong.

Zhao Duan just smiled arrogantly and said coldly:
"Even a three-year-old child knows that if you don't know the way, you should ask someone. Since you can't hide your identity, let's make a big fuss. Scholar, Hongye, give the signal for the army to enter the city in advance."

The two gold medal shadow guards looked at each other, both of them were frightened.

The former responded, walked into the yard, took out a bamboo tube from his arms, and lit it towards the sky.

"Boohoo!!"

A ball of red light, like a star, shot straight into the sky, shining brightly for a long time in the sky and never extinguished, and could be clearly seen within a radius of ten miles.

……

……

As a county town, Fengcheng’s city gate is not very high.

The surface is mottled with traces of time and hundreds of years of wind and rain.

The official guarding the city gate was originally a low-level clerk, but today he was replaced by a public official from the county government.

And they all stood straight, not daring to relax at all, because when the prefect led his men to open the city gate at dawn, the night watchmen were frightened out of their wits.

Later, when officials from the county government arrived, they learned that there was a rebel party in the city.

This scared the petty officials, who were afraid that they would be pushed out by the county magistrate to take the blame and be charged with lax supervision. Otherwise, how could the rebels enter the city so brazenly?
However, the frightened petty officials did not wait for the prefect to arrive, nor did they see the rebels. They only saw a streak of red rising in the city, which lasted for a long time.

About two hours later, in the afternoon, a faint rumbling sound was heard from the ground outside the city.

"Soldiers! Lots of soldiers!"

The clerk on the city wall cried out in surprise, holding on to the parapet with trembling hands, and staring with wide eyes at the dark mass of cavalry approaching on the horizon like a steel torrent.

The people entering the city along the way were terrified and hid away.

Soon, a group of cavalrymen, wearing armor, holding spears, and hanging steel swords on their horses, arrived at the city gate. The leader was a sturdy general, twice as wide as an ordinary man, and the horse he sat on was also very strong. The general's face was full of flesh, probably weighing several hundred pounds, and he held a war hammer in each hand, connected by a chain.

"Mengji, deputy admiral of Binhai Military Prefecture, has been ordered to rush to the rescue. Open the gate immediately!"

The stocky general holding the war hammer roared.

There are two gates in the county town: a big gate and a small gate. Normally, only the small gate is opened to allow the people to enter with their carriages and horses. Now that the army has entered the city, the small gate is difficult to pass through.

The petty officials on the city wall were trembling with fear. Where had they ever seen such a scene before?

The official who was guarding the gate under the order of the county magistrate stepped out and clasped his hands:
"General, the county lord did not report that..."

"Shut up! You've delayed my business. I'll crush you to death and that won't be enough compensation!"

Deputy General Yuanji's eyes were wide open, and he was on his horse, and the pile of armored flesh weighing hundreds of pounds began to tremble.

With a big hand grasping a chain as thick as a baby's arm, he swung the hammer into a fire wheel, which spun around and stirred up a strong wind.

The hammer was thrown out, leaving an afterimage that brushed against the official's body, pulling the chain like a cannonball and slamming hard into the city gate.

"boom!!"

A big hole was instantly blasted in the middle of the city gate, and due to inertia, it opened to both sides!

The city gate is wide open!

The officials in the county government and the clerks guarding the city all swallowed their saliva, their legs went weak, and they watched the army roaring into the city.

As if watching a train rushing into a tunnel, a group of people looked at each other in bewilderment:

"The prefect doesn't have the authority to mobilize troops, right? This general calls him sir and obeys orders... Could it be that some great person has arrived in the city? An official higher than the prefect?"

"It's over. How could we, a small place like Fengcheng, alarm such a big shot? Could it be that the leader of the rebel party is here?"

……

A large number of cavalry entered the city, immediately causing a sensation in the city.

When the news reached the county government office and reached Luan Cheng's ears, even this prefect with great composure could not help but stand up suddenly with a changed expression.

"What did you say? General Yuanji entered the city? Where is he?"

Inside the county government office, the head constable Zhang Jian who came to report had a complicated expression:

"He said he went to the Jinfu Inn."

Luan Cheng paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

Zhang Jian, who was only slightly injured because Lang Shiba showed mercy, hesitated and said:

"Sir, it seems that this is the work of that Shaobao Zhao. What is the purpose of this person coming here?"

Luan Cheng stopped, glanced at the charcoal-like guard with two swords, sat down, and sighed:
"They came here to rebel against the Party. The bandit leader Zhuang Xiaocheng might be in Fengcheng."

Zhang Jian was shocked: "To tell the truth... Then what happened to us before..."

Luan Cheng, who looked like a middle-aged scholar, shook his head and said bitterly:

"I'm afraid that this government has been used by the rebels as a pawn to support Zhao Shaobao. Never mind, this matter is not important anymore. The key point is that Zhao Shaobao has ordered the army to enter the city, which is not good."

Zhang Jian asked curiously, "Why?"

Luan Cheng said seriously:
"Zhuang Xiaocheng was once the Grand Tutor and Imperial Tutor. What kind of person was he? After Jianwen's death, he escorted Jianwen's widow and young son into the underworld and set up a huge Kuangfu Society. How could such a person and his methods be easily dealt with?

"Zhao Shaobao had entered the city incognito before, but was defeated in an instant. He had already lost the first move. Now he hastily summoned a large army to enter the city, which shows his cowardice. His trump card has been revealed first, so he is at a disadvantage. How can he play this game against his opponent?"

Zhang Jian thought for a moment and said:

"It is said that this Zhao Shaobao is extremely talented. Although he has a bad reputation, he has repeatedly defeated the rebels."

Luan Cheng smiled bitterly and said:
"I don't doubt the means of Zhao Shaobao, but I know better that he is only a young man in his twenties. In the past, he was in the capital, with the advantage of location and people, so it was much easier for him to deal with the rebels. Now that he has come to Fengcheng, his opponent has become a seasoned figure like Zhuang Xiaocheng..."

He shook his head, clearly lacking confidence:

"After all, you are too young and full of youthful vigor. How can you defeat an old fox?"

After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and stood up and said:

"I will go to Jinfu Inn right now to discuss this matter."

Immediately, the prefect led several guards and headed straight for the Jinfu Inn, but when he arrived, he did not see the government troops entering the city.

Inside the Jinfu Inn, a sickly scholar came out, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief:

"Ahem, the prefect is late. Lord Zhao ordered me to stay and wait for you. He said that if you come, he should tell the prefect to go back and rest, so as to respond to any changes with the same attitude."

Luan Cheng was stunned:
"Where did Shaobao Zhao go? And where are those officers and soldiers?"

The pale-skinned Shu smiled and said:
"Lord Zhao has led his troops out of the city, saying that he wants to see the night view of Zixiao Palace before dark."

Zixiao Palace... the place where the purple-robed Taoist Lu Zhengchun practices...

In Fengcheng, the "great immortal" on the local fairy mountain, respected by hundreds of thousands of people, has a very high reputation. He is a well-known old immortal figure in the entire martial arts world, and even in the nine roads and eighteen prefectures of the Yu Kingdom.

"not good!"

Luan Cheng's face suddenly changed, his lips trembled, and he vaguely guessed what Zhao Duan was thinking.

……

……

Zixiao Palace is located on a famous mountain of the same name north of Fengcheng County.

It is said that the mountain got its name because a thousand years ago, someone saw divine thunder coming down from the sky. It is one of the famous mountains and rivers with beautiful natural scenery in Binhai Road.

Although it is far inferior to the "Luo Mountain" where the road is built to the south, it is the most steep and dangerous, like a long sword pointing to the sky, as if to pierce the sky.

Zhao Duan and his entourage, riding on the army's fast horses, arrived at the foot of Zixiao Mountain near dusk.

"It is said that the Purple Cloud Palace receives the clouds from the ground. Every night, a strange cloud of light shines through the ground on the top of the mountain, illuminating the entire Taoist temple, which is extremely magnificent and beautiful.

Many celebrities who passed by here would go to the Taoist temple to burn a stick of incense, chat with the purple-robed Taoist priest, and stay overnight to witness the amazing sight of the earth and clouds.

at the foot of the mountain.

Female inspector Haitang pulled the reins of her horse, looked up at the Taoist temple on the mountain that was almost the size of a palace, and said with some longing.

Gongshu Tianyuan curled his lips and raised his chin proudly:

"The place where my Tianshi Mansion is located is the center of the earth veins in the world. The earth haze is nothing more than a wonder. It can only fool the ignorant people."

Got it, but it's not as good as you say... Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes and said:
"If it's so good, why did the late emperor give it to this wild Taoist priest?"

Haitang shook her head:

"That's not clear. Maybe he deserves credit for his treasure offering. But the most famous thing about this purple-robed Taoist Lu Zhengchun is his method of 'forging swords in a furnace'. Ordinary Taoists use furnaces to refine elixirs and pools of fire to forge swords, but he has taken a different approach and used furnaces to refine elixirs to forge flying swords.

It is said that it takes at least 49 days to forge a flying sword. The resulting flying sword is like a pill, with three grades: high, medium and low.

The high-quality flying sword has a little spirituality when it is born. It has been entrenched in the Zixiao Palace Taoist Temple for many years and has raised a large group of swordsmen as disciples. This is also the confidence for it to establish itself in the martial arts world and not rely on the Taoist tradition of the Tianshi Mansion. "

Zhao Duan smiled:

"I have never seen a Taoist flying sword, only a Golden Crow Flying Knife. This is a good opportunity to see which one is stronger."

After saying that, he raised his right hand and waved it forward. Behind him, a large group of cavalrymen led by Yuanji advanced silently towards the mountain road.

The steep mountain was not conducive to horse riding, but in order to facilitate pilgrims to go up the mountain, Lu Zhengchun spent a lot of money to open up a wide and gentle mountain path that could allow three horse-drawn carriages to run side by side.

At this evening, there was not a single pilgrim to be seen on the mountain path. There was only a red sun hanging in the sky, wantonly casting a crimson glow on the cavalry, as if covered with murderous aura.

Halfway along the mountain path, there is a large platform for people to rest, and there are several pavilions built.

When Zhao Duan and his men arrived here, they saw a large group of swordsmen wearing Taoist robes and carrying long swords lined up waiting for them.

It seemed that he had taken advantage of the terrain and moved to meet this group of troops early on, so he was waiting in advance.

Zhao Duan took a quick look and saw that there were at least hundreds of Taoists carrying sword boxes.

The leader was sitting cross-legged in the pavilion. At this moment, the setting sun was shining through the pavilion and onto the face of this Taoist who was about thirty years old.

He holds a whisk in his hand and has his hair tied up in a bun with a boxwood hairpin. His Taoist robe is different from the ones around him in style, being white and purple in color. He wears a pair of slightly shabby linen shoes on his feet.

At this moment, the Taoist suddenly raised his eyelids, flicked his whisk, and walked out of the pavilion lightly. He looked indifferently at Zhao Duan, who was leading the army.

"He who comes is stopped!"

……

Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of this chapter)