Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5258 Parachute into the City
While listening to Xue Rengui's account of the "airborne decapitation," Wang Xiaojie carefully examined the map of Mulu City. Thanks to the Ministry of War's early planning, spies had long infiltrated important towns on the Silk Road like Mulu City. Whether by personally measuring, conducting secret investigations, or bribing for information, they had thoroughly investigated every aspect of Mulu City, which was accurately reflected on the map.

A map shows the city of Mulu in every detail, inside and out, up and down, as clearly as the lines on a palm.

"Can we confirm that Ye Qide is in the city lord's mansion?"

"Of course, I received the intelligence from the city as soon as I arrived here, and it was confirmed to be true."

"Is there a secret passage within the city lord's mansion leading to the outside?"

"We don't know yet, but since our secret agents who have been infiltrated into the city lord's mansion for many years haven't found anything, it's highly likely that there isn't any."

Wang Xiaojie put down the map, raised his head and looked directly at Xue Rengui: "Since that's the case, then this humble general requests permission to lead one hundred of his elite troops to parachute into the city lord's mansion and behead Ye Qide!"

Xue Rengui was taken aback and shook his head repeatedly: "Parachuting into the city is already extremely dangerous, let alone beheading Ye Qide in the city lord's mansion? You have merits and achievements, you cannot put yourself in danger."

Wang Xiaojie insisted: "The key to this battle plan is to assassinate Ye Qide by surprise, causing chaos among the enemy troops in the city, so that we can take the opportunity to open the north gate and attack the city... Therefore, assassinating Ye Qide is of paramount importance and cannot be failed. However, the situation inside the city lord's mansion is not clear and there are too many variables. We need to adapt to the situation and make decisions on the spot. Only I am capable of this task."

Xue Rengui pondered for a moment, sighed, and made a decisive decision: "In that case, you shall personally infiltrate the city lord's mansion to assassinate Ye Qide."

He didn't say anything about being cautious. Assassinating Ye Qide was fraught with danger. Even if successful, he might be besieged by enemy forces. Whether he succeeded or failed, his life or death would hang by a thread. Besides his own martial prowess, he would also need some luck.

But the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were determined and fearless, with only success or failure in their eyes and no regard for life or death.

Since the mission is dangerous, what difference does it make whether it's an unknown captain, Wang Xiaojie, or Xue Rengui?

Wang Xiaojie's expression was firm and his tone resounding: "General, rest assured, we will resolutely complete the mission!"

Xue Rengui nodded happily.

In the past, although he valued Wang Xiaojie highly, he valued his potential more, believing that he had the qualifications and talent to stand on his own. However, as he led the team to pursue for thousands of miles, break through the Iron Gate Pass, and annihilate Aofu, he overcame all kinds of hardships and difficulties in the journey, just like stubborn iron being tempered in a furnace, and has become a sharp and divine weapon.

He has already shown the qualities of a great general.

Xue Rengui admonished, "Although soldiers are fearless in the face of death, they should still be cautious when necessary. Don't let your passion cloud your judgment and act rashly. Never give up hope until the very last moment."

Wang Xiaojie grinned and nodded happily: "Thank you for your concern, General!"

The saying goes, "A kind heart cannot command an army." As the military commander of the Anxi Army, a leading figure of the new generation of the Tang army, and someone on whom the Grand Commandant placed high hopes, Xue Rengui was never a kind person. His words and actions were always based on the overall situation, and his personal life, death, honor, and disgrace were not even in his consideration.

The fact that they can show concern and offer gentle reminders at this moment is enough to show how much they value and care for me.

Xue Rengui nodded, took a sip of wine, and said, "There's no time to lose. We should rest and recuperate for the next two days, then choose a day with suitable winds to begin our operation and try to get into Mulu City as soon as possible so we can get a good night's sleep... It's so cold and snowy here, it's unbearable to stay even one more day!"

……

Three days later, New Year's Day.

As evening approached, the biting north wind finally subsided somewhat, and another heavy snowfall began. The Tang army camp was bustling with activity. More than ten hot air balloons were taken out of the baggage train, and dozens of craftsmen worked diligently to assemble them, then carefully inspected them to ensure everything was in perfect working order.

Wang Xiaojie selected one hundred elite soldiers from his command to form a "suicide squad." They gathered together and he issued orders. Upon hearing that they were about to carry out an "airborne decapitation" mission, the soldiers were excited and fearless.

Xue Rengui then selected over a hundred men to parachute into the city and open the north gate.

As night fell, the soldiers responsible for the airdrop had eaten and drunk their fill. They put on cotton-padded clothes and then plate armor. Their swords, bows, crossbows, and other weapons were tightly bound to their bodies to ensure they wouldn't be lost and to make them easy to retrieve. After everything was ready, they lined up and waited for the hot air balloon to be lit before boarding the basket one by one.

The craftsmen calculated the wind direction and chose an open space more than ten miles east of the military camp, then lit the flares in preparation for takeoff.

Each hot air balloon's basket could hold more than ten soldiers. The balloons, divided into two groups and spaced about half a night apart, carried two hundred soldiers and slowly ascended into the air. Driven by the strong northwest wind, they flew slowly towards the city of Mulu along the predicted direction.

At midnight, the first batch of hot air balloons flew over the high city walls of Mulu and entered the city. The soldiers in the baskets quickly extinguished the fires in the stoves. The cold air caused the air inside the balloons to cool down rapidly, and the hot air balloons slowly descended.

Wang Xiaojie gripped the edge of the hanging basket, leaned out, and looked down, feeling very nervous.

Normally, it's relatively safe to use a hot air balloon to observe enemy positions, but now it's fraught with danger. After the engine shuts off in the air, the hot air balloon drifts with the wind and descends rapidly. If you can't cushion your fall when you hit the ground, you're very likely to die.

The most serious problem is that the hot air balloon's flight direction is entirely controlled by the wind. After entering the city, no one knows whether it will pass by the city lord's mansion. If it is close, it will be fine, but if it is too far away, it is possible that it will be surrounded by the swarming enemy troops before it even reaches the city lord's mansion, and the mission will fail completely...

"Prepare to land!"

In the pitch-black night, the hot air balloon landed on the ground. Wang Xiaojie immediately cut the rope to avoid being covered by the balloon. After rolling to the ground, he found himself on a street and shouted in a deep voice, "Everyone stand up and assemble before me!"

The remaining soldiers remained silent, crouching low as they gathered around Wang Xiaojie, who was squatting under the eaves of a building on the street.

Ignoring whether any soldiers had strayed off course or even fallen to their deaths, Wang Xiaojie stared wide-eyed, recalling the direction he had predicted from the air while memorizing the map of Mulu City. He then looked at the distinctive Arab temple not far away and, after comparing various details, confirmed that the location was to the east of the city lord's mansion, no more than a mile away.

But for the immense unpredictability, it's simply perfect!
Wang Xiaojie's spirits lifted, and he ordered: "Inspect the weapons and equipment!"

A rustling sound arose, and the soldiers hurriedly checked their equipment.

Then Wang Xiaojie waved his hand and said, "Go straight through the alley on the left and you'll reach the west wall of the City Lord's Mansion. Follow me!"

In the darkness of night, more than a hundred black figures suddenly appeared in the previously deserted streets and alleys, hurrying westward along one side of the street. They moved nimbly and silently, with only the sound of their footsteps rustling, leaving countless footprints on the snow-covered road.

Not long after, a patrol of soldiers passed by and were amazed to see the hot air balloons that had crashed on the streets and rooftops. They were puzzled when they saw the indistinct footprints on the road buried by heavy snow.

"What is this?"

"Huh, this path still has some warmth left."

"This is something I've never seen or heard of before!"

"The key question is, where did this thing come from?"

"It couldn't have fallen from the sky, could it? Haha!"

The leading Persian-looking soldier glanced up at the snow-covered sky, then looked at the strange, enormous bags and stoves. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, and after a moment, ordered, "Who knows what these things are? Everyone, drag them aside so they don't block the way. We'll report back after dawn."

Someone hesitated and said, "This thing is strange. There are also footprints on the roadside that haven't been completely covered by the snow. I feel something is wrong. We should report it."

The Persian glared impatiently: "Who are you going to report this to at a time like this? The general has already been drinking and sleeping with his concubine. You want to tell him something's wrong? Do you believe he'll kill you with one stroke? You go if you want, I'm not going!"

The man shrank back, clearly intimidated by the general's power, and said meekly, "Then we'll talk about it when it's light."

……

In the darkness, a group of Tang soldiers hurried along the alleyway. They were panting heavily in the heavy snow, but no one dared to stop and rest for even a moment. The hot air balloon would be discovered sooner or later. The sooner they arrived at the city lord's mansion, the better their chances of completing the mission. Otherwise, if the enemy in the city discovered their whereabouts and mobilized a large army to surround and annihilate them, these hundred-odd men would have no chance of escape.

Fortunately, upon arriving at the city lord's mansion, there was nothing unusual in the surrounding area, indicating that the city's troops had not noticed the enemy descending from the sky.

Wang Xiaojie raised his hand, and more than a hundred people behind him squatted in the alley.

Bathed in the light of the snow, the shadowy walls of the city lord's mansion loomed ahead...

"Final equipment check!"

The soldiers carefully checked their equipment.

"Prepare the grappling hook!"

More than ten people took out the iron hooks and ropes they were carrying, ran quickly out of the alley and came to the wall. They swung the iron hooks out and hooked them onto the wall, and the ropes hung down one by one.

Without saying another word, Wang Xiaojie waved his hand and ran to the wall. He grabbed the rope, stepped on the wall with both feet, and quickly climbed up. The other soldiers followed closely behind and climbed up the wall and down into the courtyard.

After carefully identifying the direction, Wang Xiaojie took out the map of the city lord's mansion and looked at it again in the snowlight to confirm the location. He then put the map away and said, "Nock the crossbow bolts!"

The soldiers took out their crossbows, cocked them, and held the triggers in their hands to ensure they could fire at any moment.

"Even if we're surrounded, there's no need to linger. Just keep following me and charging in. Make sure we kill the target!"

After saying that, he took out a firecracker from his pocket, blew on a tinderbox to light it, and the firecracker rose up and shot straight into the snow-covered night sky, exploding with a "bang" into a red firework.

This was to send a message to the secret agents in the city lord's mansion, so that they could show up and identify the target. As for the fact that they had to leave their tracks first and alert the city lord's mansion's defenses, it was a last resort. Otherwise, no one had ever seen Ye Qide, so how could they kill him?

Fireworks exploded in the snowy night sky as the Tang army emerged from the shadows beneath the wall and charged directly towards the inner courtyard.