Chapter 193: Exterminate Three Clans!

Zhu Cilang asked the young Platoon Leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, "What is your name?"

The young guard who wielded a fast blade knelt on one knee and said, "Your subordinate is Li Hu, Platoon Leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Rise!" Zhu Cilang helped him up and carefully studied him, finding him increasingly familiar.

After observing for a while, Zhu Cilang turned to Li Tingbiao and said with a meaningful smile, "I think the two of you look quite alike!"

Li Tingbiao gave a dry laugh and said, "Your Highness, Li Hu is my son."

Zhu Cilang said in surprise, "Your son is this grown and still only a Platoon Leader of the eighth rank? Are you even his real father?"

Li Tingbiao said solemnly, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has a strict set of assessments for official promotions. Li Hu lacks the capability for the job and is not yet qualified to be promoted to Platoon Leader."

Hearing his father say this, Li Hu showed no discontent on his face, remaining calm and composed. He knew well in his heart that he didn't have the brains for intelligence work and could only follow the team to make arrests.

Zhu Cilang carefully observed the two men before speaking, "Lacking capability for the job doesn't mean lacking in other abilities. For example, protecting the Crown Prince — Li Hu, you have rendered meritorious service in protecting me. I hereby promote you to Chiliarch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to accompany me at my side!"

Li Tingbiao hastily said, "Your Highness, from Platoon Leader to Chiliarch is a jump of four ranks. That is too much."

Zhu Cilang waved his hand and said, "I assign people according to their abilities in all matters. As long as one is capable enough, a few ranks up makes no difference."

Li Hu knelt joyfully to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Bang!"

Just then, the sound of a firelock rang out from afar, and a personal guard beside Zhu Cilang fell to the ground.

"There are musketeers nearby — protect His Highness!" Xu Sheng roared loudly.

Before Xu Sheng's words even faded, two more firelock shots rang out. Zhu Cilang felt a figure block him from the front, and then that figure shook violently before slowly collapsing.

Through the muzzle flashes, Xu Sheng immediately judged the position and roared, "The musketeers are in the trees fifty paces away — seize them now!"

Zhu Cilang calmly looked at the Yongwei Camp guard lying on the ground who had taken a shot for him, and the coldness in his heart gradually rose.

Li Tingbiao knelt prostrate on the ground and said, "It is my failure to do my duty — I failed to detect this earlier and put Your Highness in danger. I beg Your Highness to punish me."

Zhu Cilang said coldly, "Within two days, find out who is behind this!"

"Yes!" Cold sweat faintly appeared on Li Tingbiao's forehead.

The sounds of fighting and gunfire from earlier had awakened the entire village. The village head led people rushing over in haste, each holding farm tools like hoes and iron spades — quite fierce-looking.

Zhu Cilang entered the courtyard and had Li Tingbiao handle the matter. Li Tingbiao stood before the village head, flashed the waist token of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and after the village head kowtowed a few times, he hastily led his people away.

After entering the courtyard, Zhu Cilang said, "Xu Sheng, make proper arrangements for these fallen guards. Don't let their families be disheartened."

Xu Sheng nodded and said, "Yes!"

Before long, Li Tingbiao returned with his men, and several guards also dragged back the two musketeers. Seeing they could not escape, the two tried to take poison to kill themselves — one of them, fearing death, spat the poison back out and was ultimately captured. Li Tingbiao had several guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guard lock him in a separate room for interrogation.

Li Tingbiao also had people move the corpses of the assassins into the courtyard, lit more torches for illumination, and carefully examined their bodies.

"These men have rice grains and biscuit crumbs on them — these two things are commonly used military rations by guard station soldiers."

Li Tingbiao said while examining, "The hemp undergarments of these men have tiny holes on the cuffs, burned by tiny sparks — they should have been produced when using matchlock guns."

He then pinched the assassins' arms and waists, frowning as he said, "No, this man's right arm is thicker and stronger than his left, his waist muscles are stiff, and there are iron filings on his clothes — he should be a blacksmith!"

Li Tingbiao examined several dozen more black-clad assassins and finally concluded, "Your Highness, it seems these assassins are death warriors from different professions. I can be certain that some of them are guard station soldiers!"

Zhu Cilang nodded, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.

After half an hour of torture, that musketeer finally confessed everything, confirming part of Li Tingbiao's speculation.

To prevent the musketeer from framing others, Li Tingbiao carefully checked the origins of the weapons used by these assassins, especially the two firelocks, and found that the sources of these weapons were quite mixed, but the two firelocks were indeed produced by the guard stations of Taiping Prefecture.

Li Tingbiao sent urgent dispatches overnight to the intelligence branch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Taiping Prefecture, asking them to cooperate in investigating the identities of these men while also monitoring the movements of the various guard station officers.

Wu Zhong said angrily, "To assassinate the Crown Prince — by law, that warrants the extermination of nine generations of kin. These guard station officers have truly gone mad!"

Li Tingbiao said, "Having to hand over generations of wealth and glory — that indeed drove them mad. They could only take desperate risks. If they succeeded, their riches and honor would remain."

Xu Sheng said leisurely, "Wouldn't taking five hundred mu of land and a banner of honor be good enough? They just had to court death!"

Zhu Cilang's gaze was deep as he said calmly, "Send orders to Sun Yingyuan — have him lead his troops across the river at once and arrive at Taiping Prefecture tomorrow!"

Everyone's expression turned stern as they straightened their postures. The Crown Prince was about to start killing again.

After receiving the message, Sun Yingyuan was extremely worried about the Crown Prince's safety. At the same time, he was burning with rage — someone had dared to assassinate the Crown Prince over a bit of land. This was utter lawlessness!

On the afternoon of the second day, at Dangtu County, the seat of Taiping Prefecture, several hundred civil and military officials waited outside the city to receive the imperial carriage. But after waiting for a long while, they still saw no sign of the Crown Prince's procession.

The Prefect of Taiping Prefecture frowned and said, "Wasn't it said that the Crown Prince's procession was on the banks of the Yangtze River? Where are they?"

An official in charge of the reception said, "My lord, they arrived in the morning and haven't moved since. I heard they've even set up camp."

"What... what does this mean?" The officials began to discuss among themselves.

The Prefect of Taiping Prefecture sighed and said, "The Crown Prince acts strangely and is hard to fathom. We can only wait."

Several guard station officers exchanged glances, each seeing the unease in the other's eyes.

Another hour passed. The officials waiting to receive the carriage either squatted on the ground to rest or gathered in small groups to chat, making passersby in the distance find the scene quite strange.

Suddenly, a sea of banners appeared in the distance. As the banners drew closer, all the officials could see the procession beneath them — especially those mighty iron-armored troops, which made everyone feel quite uneasy. Why would the Crown Prince bring so many soldiers on an inspection tour?

When the Crown Prince's procession appeared, drums and music sounded in unison before the city gate, firecrackers exploded, and the officials of Taiping Prefecture who had been bored out of their minds waiting quickly lined up to welcome him, charming smiles spreading across their faces.

The officials shouted in unison, "We, your subjects, respectfully welcome His Highness the Crown Prince — ten thousand years!"

Zhu Cilang stepped out of the dragon carriage and looked at the crowd of civil and military officials before him, saying neither warmly nor coldly, "Did you wait long?"

The Prefect of Taiping Prefecture hastily said, "No rush, no rush. Your subjects wait upon their lord — that is only natural!"

Zhu Cilang glanced at him and said, "Is a subject killing his lord also only natural?"

The smile on the Prefect's face, which had been full of flattery, gradually froze. He said in panic, "Your Highness, what do you mean by this?"

Zhu Cilang said expressionlessly, "Last night, I was nearly assassinated within the borders of Taiping Prefecture. And not by one or two assassins — there were over a hundred of them! As the Prefect of Taiping Prefecture, do you not know of this?"

Immediately after, a group of soldiers from the Tianwu Army threw all the assassins' corpses out of burlap sacks and laid them before the city gate.

The officials cried out in shock, horror filling their eyes. There really had been assassins who tried to kill the Crown Prince — and this many!

The Prefect of Taiping Prefecture said in utmost fear, "Your subject does not know! Who would do something so treasonous?"

Zhu Cilang said coldly, "You don't know, but I do. Seize them!"

A battalion of the Tianwu Army sealed off the city gates and seized the military officers dressed in guard station official uniforms.

Wu Zhong produced an imperial decree and announced on the spot: "Jianyang Guard Commander Wang Fangang, Vice Guard Commander Qin Dayou, Chiliarch Jiang Huangshi, and ten others secretly sent a hundred death warriors to assassinate the Crown Prince. They are hereby convicted of treason and their three clans shall be executed! All officials of Taiping Prefecture, from the Prefect on down, shall be demoted two ranks as punishment!"

The dozen or so military officers of Jianyang Guard looked ashen-faced. None of them had imagined that their seemingly flawless plan would collapse in less than two days, and now their families were implicated as well.

While the officials of Taiping Prefecture admired the sheer audacity of these Jianyang Guard officers for their dog-hearted boldness, they also hated them to the core. Having scrambled for so many years to climb to their current positions, they were now dragged down two ranks by this pack of dog bastards—what rotten luck!