Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 56 Hidden Arrow
"We are following the order of the imperial court to suppress the bandits. Those who surrender will not be killed!" Liu Daogui shouted loudly.

The soldiers around him followed suit and shouted, their voices piercing the darkness and covering up the noisy battlefield.

Most of the people in the village were desperate Jin people from the north, so there was no need to kill them all. Those who were originally fleeing suddenly stopped and looked at Liu Daogui.

"Following the imperial court's order to suppress the bandits, those who surrender will not be killed!"

This time many people dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground.

Although the Jin Dynasty was corrupt, it was still the orthodox dynasty of China and had great appeal. Every time Jiangzuo launched a northern expedition, there were always people in the north who responded actively.

"How dare you, the villain, pretend to be from the imperial court!" Four soldiers rushed out, their armors stained with rust. The leader held a heavy sword and roared angrily.

When he shouted, the people who had put down their weapons and knelt down slowly stood up again.

"Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be killed without mercy!" Liu Daogui kicked Liu Zun on the butt.

Liu Zun gasped and jumped up, "Kill!"

He picked up an axe and rushed forward fearlessly. Liu Guangzhi and Liu Heipi followed closely behind him and rushed forward together.

As long as these four soldiers are dealt with, this battle will be over.

But the bandit chief was also very cunning and hid behind the soldiers.

Although Liu Zun, Liu Guangzhi and Liu Hepi were brave, they could not rush in for a while.

The rusty one was also a soldier, and the three of them were quite powerful. They could fight Liu Guangzhi and Liu Heibin on equal terms. Although the other one was no match for Liu Zun, he was agile and dodged Liu Zun's attacks again and again.

There was a huge fire in the bandit camp. Men, women and children surrounded them with weapons in hand, anger, murderous intent and madness gradually gathered on their faces.

Liu Guangzhi had said before that there were four or five hundred pirates, but that didn't mean there were only four or five hundred people who could fight. In this day and age, anyone who survived, even the elderly, the weak, women and children, would be able to fight.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. They are clearly bandits from Mount Tai. Fight them!"

The bandit leader hid behind and continued to incite.

Liu Daogui felt a sinking feeling in his heart. This trip to the north was ultimately for the purpose of developing power. The worst situation was the current one, where both sides would suffer losses and all the people would be killed. How could he develop further?

There is more than one force in Lanling County. If the killing continues like this, the more than 400 people he brought with him will be exhausted sooner or later.

Just when the situation was about to explode, a "whoosh" sound was heard beside my ear. A crossbow arrow, emitting a faint light, shot out, clinging to the helmet of the opposing soldier like a spirit snake, and as if it had eyes, it drilled into the face of the bandit chief...

The bandit chief fell on his back.

There was silence all around, even the three soldiers were surprised.

Liu Daogui turned around and saw the crossbow string in Gao Xun's hand was still shaking. He didn't expect that Gao Xun had this trick.

"Those holding weapons and staffs will all be killed!" Gao Xun loaded another crossbow arrow and aimed at the three armored soldiers.

The last arrow was shot with such amazing skill that it completely stunned the crowd. The soldiers quickly dropped their weapons.

Without these three soldiers, the thieves would be as helpless as if their backbone had been removed.

The crowd was in an uproar. A few who were about to fight were knocked to the ground by Zhao Lunzhi. The soldiers did not let them go and hacked them to pieces...

The smell of blood rose up.

"What are you waiting for? Anyone who resists will be killed!" Liu Daogui roared.

Ding ding dang dang, the thieves threw down their weapons one after another.

"I won!" Liu Zun laughed.

Liu Guangzhi and Zhao Lunzhi took people to separate the captives.

Liu Daogui felt relieved. Although there were some setbacks, he finally won the battle. Now that he had a place to stay, things would be easy afterwards. The water fort was quite large, and most importantly, there were more than a dozen large and small boats parked on the lake.

Weishan Lake connects the north-south water network. With these boats, we will be able to quickly penetrate the Lanling waters in the future and achieve twice the result with half the effort.

But at this moment, he heard a sharp sound of breaking wind, and caught a glimpse of a sharp arrow out of the corner of his eye, piercing his face diagonally.

The arrow came too fast. He had been lurking for a long time and was suddenly shot out in the dark, leaving him no time to dodge.

Liu Daogui's hair stood on end, and his whole body was shrouded in the aura of death.

With a "puff" sound, blood splattered.

It splashed all over Liu Daogui's face, "Ah Zhen!"

Liu Zhen saw a crossbow arrow stuck in his left palm, the arrowhead was dark blue. Liu Daogui felt a chill in his heart. This arrow is poisoned! If it is poisoned, then it must not have been shot by a prisoner, but someone trying to assassinate him.

Liu Daogui looked at Zhou Zheng suddenly.

But he had a knife in his hand, not a crossbow...

Liu Zhen was sweating profusely from the pain, and his troops surrounded him.

Liu Daogui cut off the arrow shaft with a knife and pulled out the arrowhead. The blood flowing from the wound had already turned black.

"A brave man cuts off his own arm!" Gao Xun's face looked grim.

Liu Daogui held a knife. There was no doctor or medicine in the army. Once the poison took effect, his life was gone in an instant. The ring-handled knife chopped down fiercely, cutting off his forearm at the elbow.

Liu Zhen screamed and fainted immediately.

Fortunately, the blood that flowed out was bright red.

Liu Daogui quickly had someone carry him down for treatment. He stood up and stared at the direction where the crossbow arrow had just come from. It was Zhao Lunzhi's back.

But Zhao Lunzhi is his uncle, and the Liu and Zhao families are old friends. They share the same fate. How could he possibly attack him?
Even if he killed himself, Zhao Lunzhi would not get any benefit.

The scene just now was very chaotic, with people everywhere, and I couldn't see clearly who shot it.

In a trance, Liu Daogui recalled that Yuan He had asked him to pay more attention some time ago. He must have known something a long time ago...

Liu Daogui looked at Zhou Zheng again. It was most likely that Huan Chengzhi had sent someone to do it. It was very strange that the military government sent him here.

"Keep an eye on the front and you will find out eventually. Let's set up the camp first!" Gao Xun held Liu Daogui's shoulder.

"No, we must get to the bottom of this today!" Liu Daogui took a deep breath. There was an assassin lurking beside him, and he couldn't sleep all night. Maybe there was more than one assassin!
Zhou Zheng must know something.

Liu Daogui walked towards him step by step, holding a knife, with his followers following him.

Sure enough, the soldiers around Zhou Zheng immediately became nervous, each holding the hilt of their sword with flickering eyes.

"There are cavalry! Enemy attack--" the soldier on the arrow tower drew out his voice.

As he shouted, the ground shook slightly. Under the slope, a group of war horses rushed out of the night and were exposed under the firelight.

The captives were terrified, "Taishan bandits! It's Taishan bandits!"

The mantis stalks the cicada while the oriole follows behind.

Liu Daogui frowned. The scouts had been sent out long ago, and the enemy was right under their noses, but they didn't react at all?

The two hundred people in the front are really a big problem...

This is clearly a rhythm that is meant to completely kill me.

"Everyone in the front, listen up, defend the camp against the enemy!" Liu Daogui waved his sword and pointed outside the camp.

Fortunately, they were discovered in time by the cavalry on the arrow tower, and fortunately, the Red Mountain Stronghold was quickly eliminated. Otherwise, if they were delayed until these cavalry came to attack, the consequences would be disastrous...

The soldiers stood motionless, surrounding Zhou Zheng.

They did not move, and neither did the other soldiers in the front.

Gao Xun's left wing surrounded them with bows and crossbows, and the situation was quite tense.

If there is internal strife at this time, all will be killed without a burial place.

At the critical moment, Zhou Zheng raised his long spear and shouted, "If the bandits rush up, we will kill them all. Follow me and form a battle line!"

Some people listened to his words, and the soldiers in the front stood up and lined up on the slope in front of the camp.

The soldiers looked at each other and had no choice but to follow Zhou Zheng out of the camp and form a battle formation, but they always stayed within seven steps of Zhou Zheng.

Gao Xun led more than a hundred people to climb up the arrow tower.

The six arrow towers are the first line of defense, the more than 200 people in the front are the second line, and the camp is the third line.

The assassination can only be put aside for the time being. The most important thing is to stop this cavalry attack.

Liu Daogui and his troops stayed by his side, watching the reactions of each group.

Zhao Lunzhi controlled the captives, while Liu Guangzhi, Liu Zun and Liu Heibin lay on the corpses to rest and recover their strength. The other old soldiers also took the time to chew dry food and drink water.

(End of this chapter)