Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 920 The Way to Death
There were not many people coming, only about a dozen or so, but they were all agile and the standard equipment of the Ming army they were wearing was also the best configuration that the garrison troops could get, so they could be said to be well-equipped.

Hidden in the cloaks to conceal their presence in the night were the newly equipped flintlock muskets of a small number of elite Ming troops. Because it was difficult to reload the ammunition, these muskets were loaded in advance and used as one-shot weapons. In order to break through the sentry at the foot of the mountain, they had already used up about four or five muskets. The remaining muskets only needed to wait until they were at the right distance and fire a volley at Zhu Su to achieve their goal of assassinating the king.

Although they were unable to approach Zhu Su directly during the chaos because the chaos was quelled early...but they had also seen that the number of guards around Zhu Su was not large, so they still had great hope.

Bang, bang, bang! This time it was Zhu Su's muskets that fired in unison. Four or five of the assassins who were rushing up fell, and the team also stagnated.

"Don't be afraid! At this distance, the musket can only fire once! As long as you get close to Zhu Su..." The leading assassin shouted to encourage morale. They were also Ming soldiers, and they naturally knew that although the new muskets of the Ming Dynasty had improved firing and loading methods, even with paper shell gunpowder, the time it took to load the bullet into the chamber was not very fast.

For this reason, the Ming army needed to use three-stage shooting to ensure the firing rate.

These Zhou King's guards did not carry bows and arrows, which meant that they had no means of long-range counterattack. As long as they took a few more steps forward, they could kill this powerful Zhou King...

By then, a small figure like me will also go down in history...

Bang bang bang!
Another series of musket shots rang out, and the leader almost reflexively thought that his own men had rushed to the left of Zhou Wang Zhu Su and fired their muskets to kill the king...

However, the fact was that none of them had climbed to the height where they could fire their muskets and kill King Zhou. Instead, his companions felled five or six more people.

Those were the muskets fired by the Zhou Wangwei on the mountain!
"No...how is it possible!" The leader was shocked. Those Zhou Wangweis only had one musket in their hands, and they didn't use the three-stage fire. How could they have such a fast firing rate!
He finally felt scared. Now, there were only three people left around him, including himself... The three of them fired at the same time, which could not form an effective barrage. Killing King Zhou was already extremely difficult!

"Catch them." On the hill, Zhu Su suppressed his anger and gave a cold order. "I want them alive!"

There were only three people left, and the Zhou Wangwei guarding Zhu Su immediately sent a few people to capture the remaining thieves alive. In addition, Gou'er, who was at the foot of the mountain, heard the commotion here and rushed back with his men to help. These Ming troops of unknown origin were soon surrounded.

……

"Your Highness, please forgive us for our incompetence... The three thieves have all committed suicide by taking poison." At this time, the battle in Shuidong Village was almost over, and the uninvited guests were no longer alive. Gou'er came to Zhu Su with a guilty look on his face and knelt on one knee.

"...It doesn't matter, haha, they are still some tough guys..." Zhu Su's voice made everyone laugh coldly. "Have you checked the weapons they use?"

"I have checked it," Gou'er replied. "Although the inscriptions have been worn away, there is no doubt that they are all military weapons of the Ming Dynasty!"

"It's obvious." Zhu Su sneered.

"These people, armed with the weapons of the Ming Dynasty, pointed their weapons at me, the King of Zhou of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Su's voice was filled with suppressed anger. It's not that he had never been assassinated before. Even when Timur the Great led his army to attack and take his head, it was far less dangerous than this. The reason is that although Timur the Great's army was brave, they did not have a weapon like a volley of firearms... This weapon should have been used by the Ming Dynasty's army to resist other enemies.

What's more, the improvement of the musket was closely related to Zhu Su himself...but it turned out to be used to assassinate himself. How could Zhu Su not be angry?

... Fortunately, his Zhou Wangwei was equipped with a more advanced breech-loading gun than the standard fire gun. The bullets of these breech-loading guns were loaded very quickly, which was why the firing speed was beyond the expectations of these assassins and suppressed them.

However, if there were more assassins, the consequences would be disastrous.

"...It's a pity that these people have committed suicide, and there are no witnesses." Gou'er had already guessed who sent these people. Even though he was always calm, he was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat when Zhu Su was assassinated. He was also extremely angry at the only possible murderer, Ma Ye. "Your Highness, why don't I go and shoot Ma Ye in the dark with a musket."

"Although Ma Ye has erased the inscriptions on the weapons, his actions are no different from being blatant. We are just using his own methods..."

"If a mad dog bites us, should we bite it back?" Zhu Su asked. "We need witnesses."

"But..." Gou'er was puzzled. "These assassins have already..."

"Although these assassins left no one alive, aren't there still many survivors among the Shuixi people who came to attack this place?" Zhu Su said. "You go and assist Tusi Song Qin."

"We must capture the few Shuixi people who came to attack the village... These people are the ironclad evidence that Ma Ye intends to assassinate the king!"

Ma Ye did not follow the rules, so he did not have to follow any rules to maintain the dignity of the court. Didn't Ma Ye send out his assassins and leave no witnesses for Zhu Su?

Then, he might as well capture a few "witnesses". After all, he was assassinated, and many people in Shuidong saw it. Add to that the "witnesses" who could prove that Shuixi was instigated by Ma Ye, and it would be enough to put Ma Ye to death.

At worst, I can find a dagger and cut my arm to draw some blood. As the King of Zhou, my position is much higher than that of Ma Ye. As long as I insist that I was injured because of Ma Ye's assassination, is there anyone in the court who dares to stand up and speak for Ma Ye? These rogue tricks have allowed Ma Ye to be rampant for so long...

He really couldn't have imagined that Ma Ye would be so bold.

It was indeed too much of a stretch to act like a rogue for no reason. But now that he had Ma Ye's handle in his hand, he could act like a rogue without any scruples.

Even if Ma Ye really didn't do this, these "witnesses" must admit that it was Ma Ye who did it!

On the west side of the village, Adu and his people were struggling under Song Qin's attack. He didn't know that among his people, there were some trusted assassins sent by Ma Ye... His idea was very direct, which was to take advantage of the night to sneak attack Shuidong Village as quickly as possible and then kill Zhou Wang Zhu Su.

However, the situation has begun to be controlled by Song Qin, and he has found himself in a difficult situation.

(End of this chapter)