Xie Ming

On the city tower of North Gate in Hangzhou, the garrison commander, Ma Baizong, spoke with hidden meaning, deliberately diverting attention from the matter of congratulations in an attempt to deceive Liu Er and find out his true identity.

Liu Zhecheng's eyes also narrowed as he looked at the person in front of him. A look of astonishment and horror filled his heart as he pondered and muttered to himself.

Fortunately, he was a close attendant of the warlord and had been busy with preparations at the Duke's mansion on the day of the wedding, so he knew some of the inside story.

Otherwise, this hurdle ahead is indeed difficult to deal with.

"kindness?"

"Ma Chengquan?"

"Hmph, what's this about granting or denying?"

"That day, Lord Liu and Prince Consort Gong came together. Didn't you see any outside men entering my residence? Huh?!"

Master Liu remained calm and composed, responding shrewdly.

Upon hearing this, General Ma on the city tower took a deep breath, but refrained from asking any further questions.

So, trying to smooth things over, he had no choice but to retract the topic.

"Uh"

"Hehe, oh dear, I'm not so lucky."

"Going along would only mean running errands and carrying things around outside. Your esteemed guest is overjoyed and has many things to attend to, so you certainly won't have time for such trivial matters," General Ma replied evasively.

Upon hearing this, Liu Erye's heart softened slightly, but he decided not to give in for a moment and continued to bite impatiently, forcing the guard to submit.

"Alright, stop with the nonsense."

"I have important business to attend to. If you delay the imperial edict, you'll be in big trouble!"

"Why aren't you opening the city gates yet?!" Liu Er shouted, raising his head.

Having no other choice but to comply, General Ma had no other options.

Only at the very last moment, out of instinct, did he ask for one last bite.

"Uh, this"

"Oh, right, I was on duty yesterday. This imperial edict to go north has probably only been in effect for less than a day. How could you, how could you have already..." Only then did he get to the crux of the matter.

However, it was clear that Liu Er had already planned ahead for such a difficult situation.

"When I was inspecting the troops in Huzhou, I happened to come to the official post station. Knowing the situation, I rushed over immediately."

"Ma Chengquan, are you ever going to stop? Are you going to open the door or not?"

"If you try to delay my business again, I'll skin you alive. Even your Lord Liu can't protect you, I'm telling you!" He gave them a final push.

"Oh dear, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

"Open! Open!"

Having heard this, they obediently submitted.

Mr. Ma had neither the reason nor the courage to refuse entry.

Therefore, although I still have some doubts, at this moment, I am afraid that it is no longer up to me to do things on my own.

His son turned his head to the side, changed his expression and attitude, and finally gave orders instead of being stern-faced.

"Guards! Quickly, open the city gates and let the Duke in!"

"What are you dawdling about, you stubborn fool!"

This fellow surnamed Ma was quick-witted; even though this fellow broke through the city gates late at night, there were still many suspicious aspects to his actions.

That's a bit too fast.

It's said to be a nearby public school, which sounds plausible, but I still feel like something big is about to happen, and everything is too sudden, making me uneasy.

So the man, quick-witted and outspoken, arranged for someone to open the gate. With a cunning glint in his eye, he secretly hid half his body behind the wall, then quietly pulled the soldier away from the guard. To be on the safe side, he whispered instructions to another messenger.

As for the content, it was nothing more than telling the person in question to quickly inform Lord Liu.

Regardless of whether this approach is effective in addressing the current situation, at the very least, it allows one to absolve themselves of responsibility.

Therefore, it was so, and so forth.

Unwittingly, Liu Er's plan was mostly successful, and as expected, it was a brilliant scheme that tricked the city gates into opening.

This clever scheme, with its ingenuity and strategic thinking, is reminiscent of Cheng Yaojin of the Sui and Tang dynasties, who outwitted Tongguan.

Duke Lu forged an imperial edict to deceive the garrison commander, and Tongguan Pass was opened in an instant.

Before long, Liu Er and his men were waiting at the pass.

Suddenly, the sound of a wooden axle and mechanism rattling was heard from the North Gate.

Seeing that the door had already been tricked open, they acted swiftly in the blink of an eye!
Liu Zhecheng suddenly roared, "Kill—"

With a spur of his horse, the gleam of a blade was drawn from its sheath as it led the way.

Just as the guards were stunned and horrified, this man charged forward, shouting battle cries, and with a swift stroke of his blade, cut down three or four of the gatekeepers.

Following his horse came more than twenty riders, each of whom was also fearless and undaunted.

In an instant, chaos erupted in front of the North Gate.

General Ma, who was on the top of the city tower, witnessed this scene with his own eyes, and his heart was filled with utter despair.

A narrow-minded attitude can ruin everything!

If the North Pass were to fall to the bandits at this critical juncture, losing its defenses, then Lord Liu, the commander of the Imperial Guards, would surely tear me apart alive.

His face turned deathly pale with fright. He screamed in panic, grabbed the soldier beside him, and hurriedly shouted orders.

"Oh no, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad!"

"What are you standing there for!"

"Quickly, block the door from the inside!"

Before long, following his flustered command, in front of the North Gate, Liu Er, the leader, had just cut down more than a dozen men and barely managed to control the situation.

Unexpectedly, the guards inside reacted quickly.

They closed the two wings of the city gate, as if facing a formidable enemy, and began firing arrows in unison.

Forced to retreat, Liu Er led his cavalry to hide inside the city gate tower.

In the end, Deng shot and killed five or six men who were blocked at the mouth of the river.

Meanwhile, about a hundred men gathered on both sides of the city gate. Seeing this situation, they knew that if the pass were lost, given the strict orders in place, they would all be in trouble, regardless of who was guarding it, whether they were generals or soldiers.

One by one, they also became determined, shouting and charging out of the doorway, blocking Liu Er and his group from the front and back.

Seeing that the situation was genuine, Liu Zhecheng became even more resolute, slashing his knife and drawing blood from the enemy, his face gradually turning into a mad and ferocious expression.

"kill--"

Then, he charged straight at the enemy soldiers armed with swords and shields, and with a brute force, he forced open a gap.

The scene inside and outside the North Gate Tower was chaotic.

The fighting inside the doorway reached an even more intense level.

The muddy ground beneath their feet was soaked with blood, and soon it became stagnant.

The horses and men trampled over it repeatedly, making each step sticky and slippery.

In the cramped space, relying on their strength, the small squad resisted. Liu Er led more than ten guards in a desperate and bloody battle.

The humid air seemed to be filled with a chilling aura of rust and bloodshed.

The muffled thuds and the clanging of metal on metal were hysterical.

The blades of swords and knives were chipped, and the tips of spears were broken.

The madman becomes even madder, and the cowardly rat becomes even more timid.

Everything lies within the reach of a three-foot blade.

Having staked his life, Liu Zhecheng had long since abandoned any other options.

Arrows blocked the gate at the city wall entrance.

Looking through the doorway into the city, the distant streets, pavilions, and towers have faded into the distance. Before my eyes, blades are broken, and the Imperial Guards continue to pour out of the city in an endless stream, their shadows flickering, their presence an ever-present sight.

"brothers!"

"If we're real men, we'll die a horrible death today!"

"Heroes of old have always gone to hell, so why worry about returning wrapped in a horse's hide!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

"Kill--"

A desperate, bloody charge, the final assault by a dozen men.

The warhorses neighed and galloped wildly, with several leading horses charging towards the swordsmen and shieldmen.

He was knocked down by the spear, and then used the momentum to form a barrier.

Stepping over the high wall of death built of human and horse corpses, Master Liu charged into battle with a daring and divine might!
(End of this chapter)