Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 69 Sudden Murder (Please read 4k words)

After finishing the mutton soup, Zhang Xian let out a satisfied burp and wiped his mouth comfortably.

"What are your plans, my lord?"

Huang Zhong glanced around; there was hardly anyone at the tavern so early in the morning.

"Let's go to the south of the city first. The fiercest battle between the Chen and He families is taking place there, and Chen Mao is most likely to appear there as well."

Standing up, Zhang Xian walked behind Zhao Yun, who was still struggling to finish the last bite of a wheat cake, and placed a hand on his shoulder: "If we can't find an opportunity in the south of the city, then we'll have to find another one."

"However, before we do anything, we need to think about our escape route. That's the key point."

Zhao Yun swallowed the wheat cake along with the mutton soup, then looked up and asked softly, "Brother, stay here to continue selling goods to keep things under wraps. Brother Xian, go with Uncle Huang to make arrangements?"

Zhang Xian smiled and patted his head: "You're smart, that's exactly what I was thinking."

As he spoke, he looked at Huang Zhong and said, "You are the local in Nanyang. The wandering knights and ruffians are always well-informed. I'm entrusting you with the exact location and time of Chen Mao's appearance."

"Yes," Huang Zhong replied in a low voice.

"Then let each of you act independently, and make sure no word gets out!"

After saying that, Zhang Xian went downstairs and threw a string of copper coins at the counter: "Shopkeeper, please extend the first room for another half month."

"okay."

The shopkeeper accepted the money with a smile, and then added a few strokes to the wooden tablet.

After leaving the tavern, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun went their separate ways. One of them went to the market, leading a horse and carrying goods, while the other disappeared around a street corner.

Zhang Xian tightened the beard on his face and began to stroll around Wancheng.

As the seat of Nanyang Prefecture, Wancheng, like Zhengding, was an important county.

The city wall was fifteen li in circumference and forty-two feet high.

In layman's terms, the city wall stretches for two to three kilometers from east to west and about two kilometers from north to south, covering an area of ​​six to seven square kilometers, and is ten meters high.

When Zhang Xian entered the city, he saw that it took at least eight or nine meters to walk from the gate into the city. This showed that the city defenses of Wancheng were extremely solid. If the base of the city was this wide, then the city wall could accommodate at least two carriages side by side.

Forcibly breaking in is nothing short of wishful thinking.

Killing Chen Mao in Nanyang this time was not difficult. Even if he was the emperor, he was still just a human being. Friends from Changsha all know that as long as someone is human, they will die if they are killed.

The difficult part is the withdrawal.

The assassination of a prefectural governor would inevitably trigger a city-wide curfew. Therefore, to remain safe, they either had to kill the assassin and leave before the news reached the city walls, or they needed a suitable hiding place in Wancheng.

And if someone wants to hide, the most likely source of help would naturally be the local powerful clans.

However, seeking help from powerful clans also carries risks. There's a chance they might be used as pawns, and after killing someone, they might hand over their own people.

Zhang Xian believed that, given the He family's history of starting out, the probability of such a thing happening was exceptionally high.

He wandered around Wancheng, exploring almost every street and alley.

He knew exactly where the restaurants and residences were.

He also visited all the blacksmith shops in the city, and bought four or five axes and hammers of decent quality.

However, these were all short-range weapons, meant to be used as a backup plan. What he really used for main combat was the long-handled golden mace he had ordered from one of the suppliers.

The hammerhead, about the size of a chicken egg, has four edges and is about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long. It is made entirely of iron and would normally take four to five days to make.

Then he added money.

The blacksmith then told him to come and pick it up the next evening.

well.
-
For several days in a row, the three of them were trying to find out where Chen Mao was going.

Under the guise of selling goods, Zhao Yun actually made contact with the government procurement office.

They learned of Chen Mao's whereabouts.

A few more days.

Huang Zhong also changed his true colors and became friends with the ruffians and scoundrels of Wancheng, learning about some secret places to leave Wancheng.

These places were originally used as trading locations by ghost markets. If Huang Zhong hadn't spoken with a local accent and hadn't had many exploits in Nanyang, they wouldn't have been able to obtain information about these places for a while.

I took a few trips when I had some free time and found that it was indeed possible to enter and exit Wancheng, so things became much simpler after that.

Now we have information about the target's movements.

The retreat route has also been determined.

Without any delay, Zhang Xian decided to take action tomorrow!

Wancheng Street was bustling with people.

In a house facing the street, Zhang Xian, fully armored, closed his eyes and concentrated.

This is the only way for Chen Mao to enter and leave the government office. Judging from the past few days, Chen Mao has about thirty-three personal guards and attendants to and from get off work, all of whom are veteran soldiers.

Two hundred meters to the east of this house.

Huang Zhong held his bow, ready to act; he was Zhang Xian's eyes and ears.

Time passed little by little.

As a procession of carriages entered the main street, Huang Zhong, perched high above, tensed up.

He took out an arrow and nocked it on the bowstring.

On the south side of the street, Zhao Yun paced back and forth, glancing occasionally towards the north side of the street.

Zhang Xian only asked him to provide backup. In fact, if he could, he would even skip Huang Zhong's part. The fewer people involved in the assassination, the greater the chance of escape.

Suddenly, there was a 'whoosh' of an arrow.

The black arrow shot towards the carriage like a bolt of lightning.

After the arrow was fired, Huang Zhong immediately abandoned his bow and fled.

"Assassins! Protect Magistrate Chen!!"

Zhang Xian, who was in a house facing the street, suddenly opened his eyes the moment he heard the commotion outside.

He put down his mask and charged straight out of the courtyard gate like a bull.

Wood chips flew everywhere as the thirty-odd veterans caught a glimpse of an armored giant approaching them in astonishment.

The armor plates clanged as over thirty veteran soldiers quickly formed a battle formation, surrounding the carriage in the center.

Arrows were frequently fired, their sharp, piercing sounds echoing throughout the street.

Zhang Xian knew he needed to be fast, so he completely ignored the veterans' formation and charged straight at the core carriage.

The hammer swept horizontally, its length of 1.3 to 1.4 meters drawing an arc. Several long swords snapped in two with a crack. The hammerhead struck a man's head, instantly denting the side of his helmet. The old soldier's eyes bulged out, and he coughed up blood and died instantly!

"Those who block my way shall die!"

Beneath the demon-masked armor, the voice seemed to emanate from the deepest hell.

Ding ding ding,

An old soldier is an old soldier after all. As soon as the armored soldiers advanced, several long swords came slashing or stabbing at them.

Without exception, they all sought out gaps in the armor.

But with the armor weighing seventy or eighty pounds, Zhang Xian's armor was all about piling on materials.

state!
With a single, powerful blow, an old soldier staggered and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

state!
Another hammer blow sent the old soldier spinning and collapsing to the ground.

Zhang Xian only needed to wave his hand four or five times to charge into the core of the formation of more than thirty people.

His terrifying appearance made the remaining veterans swallow hard.

"I'll say it again! Anyone who blocks my way shall die!"

As the long sword slashed down, Zhang Xian simply raised his hand, and a series of sparks flashed from his arm armor.

The hammer struck again, its immense force slamming into the man's chest. Blood mist shot three feet high from his mouth, staining the surrounding area crimson.

Tread.

Wow.

Zhang Xian took a step forward, and the veterans all took a step back.

Taking another step forward, one of the veterans suddenly dropped his weapon and vanished in an instant.

This run was like a domino effect; in an instant, the old soldiers surrounding the carriage all rushed out, leaving behind only seven or eight gruesome corpses.

Zhang Xian didn't waste any time. He climbed onto the carriage in a few steps, smashed the carriage door with a punch, and a man with slightly white hair and beard looked over nervously.

"Chen Mao?"

"This brave warrior!"

Seeing that the man did not deny it, and having gathered information from the past few days, Zhang Xian grabbed his head and dragged him to the ground before he could finish speaking.

With three or four bottle cap-sized seals dangling from his waist, he grabbed one, stained it with blood, and pressed it onto the man's face, revealing what was indeed a faded prefect's seal.

In addition, there is Chen's seal, as well as a seal representing Chen Mao himself.

This time it's definitely not wrong.

He picked up a long knife from the ground and, amidst the cries for mercy, chopped off the head. Blood flowed everywhere. Without saying a word, he picked up the head, hung it on a leather belt, and ran away.

"Thief, stop?"

A mounted general arrived, only to find a suit of armored soldiers fleeing northwards at a pace faster than that of an ordinary person.

The first thought that flashed through his mind was that the armor was fake.

His courage grew even stronger, and he charged straight at his horse.

Hearing the sound of hooves behind him, Zhang Xian stopped abruptly, gripped the end of the long handle of the golden mace with both hands, and then smoothly turned around with a standard golf hip twist.

Cang—Pfft—、

The warhorse charged straight ahead.

However, the horse was now completely empty.

Without even looking at the man's fate, Zhang Xian turned and ran again.

A rumbling sound came from behind; the guards from the government office had arrived.

They rode quickly to the end of the street, where Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun appeared on horseback.

"My lord, mount your horse!"

Zhao Yun loosened the reins of one horse, and Zhang Xian seized the opportunity to climb onto the horse's back.

Clearly, the horse's leg bent slightly.

The dozen or so pursuers behind them, who were moving at high speed, couldn't help but slow down.

They recalled the fate of the person who had chased them the fastest, and their hearts pounded for a moment.

Is this still a human being?

Not only does he run faster than an ordinary person while wearing armor, but now he can just jump onto a horse like that?!
Slow down, slow down. It's not shameful to wait for our comrades. We don't need to take all the credit!
"go!"

Zhang Xian patted the horse, and the large-framed Liangzhou horse quickly adapted to the weight of just over 200 jin.

The three horses galloped towards the northern corner of the city.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves caused pedestrians on the street to dodge repeatedly.

The guards from the government office behind them were caught between a fast and a slow pace, and were even showing signs of being left behind.

Flower Street.

Brothels and entertainment venues.

The guests seeking pleasure looked down at the sound and saw three horses charging wildly into the street corner.

Upon arriving at the designated location, Zhang Xian and his companions dismounted, glanced regretfully at the horses left in the alley, and turned to enter a dilapidated house.

"who"

Before the group of burly, bare-chested thugs could finish their sentence, a prism still covered in blood and flesh was shoved into their faces.

A mask of armor, resembling a demon, emitted a dull, low thud.

"Tired of living?"

"No, no." The burly man at the head of the group gave a fawning smile, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Open the hidden compartment; we are about to leave the city."

"Yes, yes, please make yourselves at home. I didn't see anything."

The pale head, with its long hair hanging down to its waist, swayed gently, as if saying, 'Speak up for me.'

But the burly man didn't care about that; if he had been any slower, he would have been hung there too, forced to say "speak up for me."

The iron chains creaked and rattled, and soon a dark cave that stretched underground was opened.

Huang Zhong jumped down first, bypassing Zhang Xian, followed by Zhao Yun. Only after seeing the two of them had gone down did Zhang Xian retract his hammer and follow them down.

The room was completely silent. Before the thugs could even figure out what was happening, their leader cried out in alarm, "Damn it! Run!"

After saying that, he jumped down into the dark cave and ran after Zhang Xian and the others.

Before the others in the room could react, they heard a burst of hurried footsteps outside.

The wooden door was kicked open, and a young general with seven or eight men quickly subdued the people in the room.

The general walked to the entrance of the dark cave and looked down; drops of blood were clearly visible.

But he seemed to ignore it, silently loosening the chains, and with a creaking sound, the entrance to the dark cave was closed again.

He turned around, strode over to the several thugs who were being controlled, and with a swift stroke of his knife, several large heads fell to the ground.

"The bandit leader has been executed. A city-wide search is underway to find the head of Prefect Chen's gang. A reward of one hundred gold pieces will be given to whoever finds him!"

The sounds from inside the room carried outside. One of the men who had followed the young general in hesitated slightly and said, "Commander He, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Upon hearing this, the young Commandant He looked over without getting angry. He simply pointed in the direction of the now-covered cave and said, "Why don't you go? I'll take all the credit, and you can keep it all."

"Lieutenant, you're joking, you're joking," the man said, his face covered in cold sweat, and he quickly waved his hand.

"That's it." Commander He sneered, "Gather the heads and return to the prefectural office to report!"

"promise!"
-
Deep underground, Zhang Xian and his companions hurried along. Only Huang Zhong had traveled this path once before; this was the first time he and Zhao Yun had taken it.

"How far is it?"

Zhang Xian's voice was somewhat muffled, not from exhaustion, but from the smoke.

Although a hammer that suddenly appears in the street can slice through flesh like a sword or knife, it is stained with blood and certainly doesn't smell pleasant.

In particular, there was a head hanging from his waist.

Having run underground for 45 minutes, Huang Zhong estimated the distance: "It's not far now, we should be able to get out in a few hundred more meters."

Suddenly, Zhao Yun's ears twitched behind him: "My lord, someone is coming from behind!"

"How many?" Zhang Xian asked directly, not bothering to dwell on the issue of how to address his younger brother Yun.

"Sounds like one?" Zhao Yun replied with some doubt.

"One?" Zhang Xian stopped and turned around in the cramped space. Sure enough, a moment later he saw a person running towards them in a hurry.

scare!
Startled by the sudden appearance of the ghost mask, the burly man almost peed himself.

"Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life! I was just running for my life!"

Recognizing that it was the same person he had just hit in the face with the hammer, Zhang Xian didn't make things difficult for him. Instead, he nodded approvingly at him: "You're quite a smart guy."

".hey-hey."

The burly man didn't know how to respond, so he could only chuckle awkwardly.

"Just follow behind, and don't make any sudden moves, or else..." Zhang Xian said coldly.

The burly man nodded quickly: "I understand."

Turning around, the group continued running quickly forward, covering a distance of four or five hundred meters, when they could see a faint white light in front of them.

Huang Zhong was the first to climb out, and after observing the surroundings, he shouted back into the cave.

"Safety,"

Then the group came out one after another.

Along the banks of the Yu River, amidst the lush reeds, Zhang Xian removed the severed head from his waist and tossed it on the ground: "Take care of it, then go home!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)