Chapter 355: Charge With Me

"Little Zhong's father, mother, and older sister all died at the hands of the Kong family. He ran out on his own and was begging over by Mount Jing when the young miss took him in." Liang San spoke up to explain.

There must have been some tragic, bloody history behind this. Little Zhong's ordinarily plain face was now twisted, brimming with bone-deep hatred. Liang San's interjection was meant to stop everyone from prying further, but Liu Yong didn't care and immediately spoke up: "Can you tell us the details?"

"That villain Kong Tiger's sworn brother got drunk and went to defile my mother. My father tried to stop him, and he killed my father. My mother took her own life. Not only did Kong Tiger do nothing about it, he seized my older sister and gave her to that beast. My sister grabbed a pair of scissors and tried to kill that beast, but she was beaten to death. I ran out on my own, and it was all thanks to the eldest young miss that I was taken in." When Little Zhong spoke of these things, his tone was very calm, yet the coldness within it made people shiver uncontrollably even in this kind of weather.

Liu Yong, however, was briefly stunned, then turned his head and said to Zhao Jin, "Big Brother, I've heard about this matter. It should be true, but whether this man is that person is hard to say."

Zhao Jin pondered briefly, then said, "He can be trusted. Tell me, what is the general layout and structure of Kong Family Manor like?"

This Little Zhong must have been watching and mulling this over for a long time, already having a plan in mind. Hearing Zhao Jin's question, he immediately answered fluently: "The Kong Family Manor here is divided into the inner manor and the outer manor. The inner manor is the residence of old villain Kong's family and the chief leaders. The outer manor is where their family's cavalry lives, and there are also some shops and such in the outer manor. Originally, both the inner and outer manors had high walls and deep moats, with drawbridges at all four gates. At night, the drawbridges would be raised, but in recent years, the drawbridges generally aren't raised anymore."

Hearing the first half, Zhao Jin and his companions all wore solemn expressions. Hearing the last sentence, they were all stunned. Zhao Jin said slowly, "A manor this large, and the very foundation of his Kong family — he has no precautions at all?"

"Sir, that old dog Kong once said that his Kong family's high walls and deep moats are their cavalry and blades. Once they've beaten the surrounding people into submission, naturally no one would dare come and attack. Besides, in recent years, quite a few merchants have come to Kong Family Manor. Many street-facing shops in the outer manor have been rented out. Those deep moats and high walls made it very inconvenient for these traders to come and go, so they simply stopped raising them. At the two main gates, they even used earth to fill in and level the moats." Little Zhong spoke unhurriedly.

Kong Family Manor had been flaunting its might for decades and had grown arrogant to this extent, actually so conceited as to believe they would always be safe and sound no matter what.

"Follow this main road straight ahead without turning, and you'll directly reach the east gate of the inner manor. However, the inner manor is closed and locked at night."

"Does the Kong family post sentries at night?"

"Yes, there are guards at all the main gates. At night, there are also dedicated patrols inside both the inner and outer manors. But they patrol once in the first half of the night and once in the second half. Right now, they should be asleep."

"How high are those main gates?"

"About..."

Zhao Jin inquired clearly about every detail, also asking where Kong Jiuying lived, how many guards were in the inner courtyard, roughly where they were concentrated, and where the outer stables were located.

Little Zhong answered thoroughly and completely. It was clear he was very familiar with this inner manor, and he also frankly admitted what he didn't know, which made him all the more credible.

After the questioning was done, the night was utterly dark. Reckoning it should be nearly dawn, during this brief pause, the household troops of the Zhao Character Camp took their final rest. Armor was taken down and put on. Two large carts had their draft animals unhitched and were pulled forward by manpower. The rest were left here. The cavalrymen also led their horses and followed on foot.

Everyone was very quiet as they advanced, with only the sound of clanking armor ringing out. After walking a stretch, Chen Sheng suddenly said in a low voice, "Listening to that man just now, at first I thought it was fake. How could Kong Tiger, after running things for so many years and with such great power, be this lax and negligent? But thinking it over carefully, it does seem believable. After he'd built up his fearsome reputation, who would still dare to provoke him? If nothing happens for a day or a month, you can still maintain strict vigilance. But if nothing happens for a year or several years, you lose the will to put in that effort. Naturally, it ends up like this. Still, you can't really say Kong Tiger did anything wrong. Aside from us, who would take such a risk to come attack, and travel all through the night to get here at that?"

Zhao Jin stared intently at the lamplight ahead. He could now faintly make out the outlines. The lamplight came from lanterns hanging on a watchtower. The distance was somewhat far, and he couldn't see whether there was anyone on the watchtower, or if the enemy, like at He Family Manor, was hiding behind the watchtower's cover boards.

But having heard those descriptions, it was far more likely that the sentries of Kong Family Manor had gone to sleep.

"We must never become like this Kong Family Manor in the future." Chen Sheng was silent for a long while before he spoke this line.

Zhao Jin was briefly taken aback, then said with a smile, "We won't. The Kong family and we are completely different things."

They continued forward in silence. The sky behind the Zhao Character Camp was beginning to faintly brighten, but ahead was still pitch black.

"Everyone halt. Half-crouch and prepare. Cavalry, enter the farmland." Zhao Jin gave the order in a low voice. The command was passed from front to back in hushed tones. From front to back, everyone crouched low in sequence.

Zhao Jin gestured to Liu Yong, and the two of them bent over and jogged closer. Although Little Zhong had spoken in detail, one must personally observe the battlefield formation before battle.

They finally drew near enough. They could now clearly see that the main gate's drawbridge had not been raised. Although the main gate was tightly shut, no sentries could be seen on the watchtowers on either side.

"Call Liang San and his few men, plus anyone in our ranks who's nimble or can shoot a bow. Have the main force follow after a count of one hundred! Cavalry continue to stand by in place!" Zhao Jin said in a low voice. Liu Yong rose and ran back. Zhao Jin continued observing from there. The walls on either side of the main gate looked very dilapidated. Some places already had breaches. The interior was blurry and hard to see clearly.

Charging in through those damaged sections of wall would certainly be easier, but it wouldn't be the shortest route to the inner residence. Moreover, passing through so many residential courtyards made the chance of something going wrong far too high.

"They're here!"

"You lot, climb over the wall and open the gate!" Twenty-some men had arrived at this spot. Liang San's few men and people like Zhuang Liu from Zhao Jin's side were all among them. Zhao Jin gave the order directly.

The men behind answered in low voices and strode quickly forward. By the time these men were about to reach the main gate, the main force of the Zhao Character Camp had also caught up.

"Bend at the waist and hunch forward. Don't make a sound. Follow me!" Zhao Jin, spear in hand, bent over and jogged forward. Behind him came a clatter of armor collisions, but at this moment, they could no longer afford to worry about that.

When they reached the base of the wall, they directly formed a human ladder. Several slender and nimble men climbed straight up and quickly scrambled over the wall. Some also climbed directly up the watchtower.

Zhao Jin had led the main force right up to the front. He heard a commotion from the watchtower above — a startled cry that was abruptly cut short, as if someone had been gagged. A few drops of warm liquid even splattered onto Zhao Jin's face. He didn't need to look to know it was fresh blood. The next moment, two of the Xu family guides poked their heads out from the watchtower, signaling that there was no more danger.

The door bolt was removed, and the outer manor's main gate was opened. The sky light had brightened a little more. Standing at the outer manor's main gate, one could see a wide, straight main road leading directly ahead. At the road's end were high walls and a vermilion gate — that was where the inner manor lay. Both sides of the road were lined with shop fronts, all shuttered with window boards and door planks. At this hour, everyone was surely still in bed.

"Bring the carts to the very front! Order the cavalry to find the stables, take out all the horses, and then set fires!" Zhao Jin spoke. Several men acknowledged the order and sprinted ahead to relay it.

The Zhao Character Camp's ranks parted to both sides. The two large carts were pushed to the very front. Zhao Jin waved a hand and only shouted: "Follow me!"

The main force began to follow forward. At this moment, there was no longer any need to lighten their steps or conceal anything. Eight men pushed the carts ahead, while the ranks marched in formation behind. The clanking of armor and the orderly sound of footsteps now rang out.

There was already a reaction from the residential courtyards on both sides of the main road. Perhaps some had been startled awake, or early risers were already up at this hour. But so far, no one dared to make a sound.

The shop fronts were mostly run by outsiders. They had no real ties to this Kong Family Manor. Everyone had thought it through clearly: if they raised the alarm, whether the manor could be saved was one matter, but they themselves would certainly be the first to suffer.

They soon arrived before the gate. The moat outside the inner manor was still fairly clean, but there was hardly any water in it, and it didn't look deep. Moreover, the drawbridge at the inner manor's east gate had not been raised either.

"Over the wall, open the gate, quick!" Since the drawbridge hadn't been raised, there was no need to use the carts to fill in the moat. Zhao Jin gave the order directly. More men hurried over, forming a human ladder to send people over the wall. The two large carts were positioned to block the road on either side in front of the gate.

"Who goes there—" A startled cry came from within the gate, followed immediately by the sounds of a struggle.

Before Zhao Jin's side could even speak, another startled shout came from the roadside. A bare-chested, burly man was staring at Zhao Jin's group, his face full of shock.

No one could have imagined that before the sun was even up, there would be a fully armed unit like this right in front of Kong Family Manor's inner gate, and wearing armor at that. The burly man was frozen in a daze, afraid his eyes were playing tricks on him. He actually reached up and rubbed his eyes to look again.

The Zhao Character Camp's attention was entirely focused inside the gate. Someone suddenly appearing by the roadside caught them off guard too, and they were also stunned.

The burly man finally realized he needed to run. He spun around hastily and yelled at the top of his lungs: "No—"

This shout, too, was cut off halfway. Zhuang Liu, who hadn't climbed the wall this time, swiftly drew his bow and nocked an arrow, shooting the big man through the throat in one shot. The big man pitched forward and crashed to the ground.

Scream after scream and startled cries rang out from within the main gate. From the direction of the outer manor's main gate, the dense sound of hoofbeats also erupted. The Zhao Character Camp's cavalry unit had charged in as well. The silence of Kong Family Manor was shattered. Both the inner and outer manors began to stir with commotion.

"Open the gate first!" Such a voice came from inside. This main gate of the inner manor was also under control.

Zhao Jin raised the spear in his hand. The Zhao Character Camp's various squads, which had been growing slightly restless, instantly fell silent. There was no need to hide anything now. Zhao Jin shouted, "Chen Sheng and I will lead the veteran squad in a direct charge! The recruit squad will split into two halves, front to back. Shi Manqiang takes one half to the right, Liu Yong takes the other half to the left. When you hear the suona horn, regroup here! Is that clear to everyone?"

"Orders received!" came the thunderous reply. The main gate had already been opened. Zhao Jin spoke again: "Kill anyone who tries to resist or attack. No looting of property, no raping or violating of women. Anything else goes. Charge with me!"