Chapter 563: Something

After catching his breath, he saw over thirty men armed with all sorts of weapons still waiting there. The vicious ones who had broken the arms of thugs and bailiffs outside the Heavenly Gate were all among them.

They were no match in formation battle, and they couldn't gain any advantage in single combat either. These men weren't just ruthless; their martial skills were truly polished, and they coordinated well with one another. Anyone who dared charge forward was cut down in a few moves. A discerning eye could tell that their superior martial skill was only one part of it — what truly outclassed this side was their experience in slaughter. To put it bluntly, they were used to killing and seeing blood. In Qingjiangpu's local brawls, drawing blood was already considered a major fight, and a death was no small matter. But these Cloud Mountain Carting men clearly killed people as casually as slaughtering chickens, without the slightest hesitation.

Unable to advance, unable to retreat, unable to find a trick — finally, someone couldn't hold out and knelt on the ground begging for mercy. This time it actually worked. Those who genuinely begged were ordered to throw away their weapons and go behind the square formation. Some tried to fake surrender, but at the slightest wrong move, bamboo poles came stabbing at them.

Those who begged for mercy ran to the back. The men in the rear didn't waste words with them — they just tossed over ropes and made them tie each other up. After checking whether the bindings were tight enough, they left them there and paid no more attention.

Barely a quarter of the crowd had charged into the courtyard. More people outside were shouting curses at the gate, unable to push their way in. Some impatient ones tried scaling the walls, but with shrieks of agony ringing out and casualties mounting, who would dare stay inside? Those on the walls scrambled back down, and the crowd pressing from behind hurriedly retreated.

This was no easy pickings — they'd clearly walked right into a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. Run, fast — their lives mattered more...

But just moments ago, everyone's attention had been fixed on the front gate of Cloud Mountain Carting, terrified that if they were one step too slow, all the good stuff inside would be taken by others. When they charged in, it had been a shoving, jostling crush — who had the presence of mind to look back? Besides, this was their own home turf. Everyone figured that fighting right here in Qingjiangpu, with their own Big Cart Gang's empty yard nearby, there was no need to worry about an escape route. Yet now, looking back, they found there was no escape route left.

Plenty of those houses and compounds had indeed been leveled, leaving wide-open passageways everywhere — no worry at all about not being able to flee. But now those wide openings were gone. Cart after cart, linked end to end, had sealed them in. Zhang Yunxian, among the crowd, saw it especially clearly: some of those carts belonged to his own Big Cart Gang. Thinking about it, it was simple enough — threaten them with a blade, toss them a bit of silver, and how would the carters dare disobey?

Young men holding bamboo poles kept leaping over from the carts, forming up against the carts into two more square formations. This time they were horizontal blocks twenty-five across and four deep — a bit longer than before.

Those in front who hadn't charged in earlier still didn't know how fearsome these bamboo-pole square formations were. Seeing the enemy blocking the road, they charged forward with battle cries, hoping to scatter them.

This time it was even simpler than before. After four or five were stabbed to death and the screams rang out, everyone immediately understood why the people inside had fled in rout. These ones hanging back were already inferior in martial strength and courage. By now, let alone breaking through, they could only watch helplessly as the enemy pressed in.

Zhang Yunxian, shielded by a few trusted men, couldn't say he was afraid yet — he just felt somewhat dazed. Ever since being threatened that day, he'd felt a nagging unease in his heart. Only when he saw his side's numbers — over two thousand men — and Cloud Mountain Carting, even with hidden troops, had only four hundred plus, did Zhang Yunxian's heart settle as everyone surged forward with battle cries. But not long after, he witnessed this scene. How could they not win? These people were so young — how could they fight this well? And they were only holding bamboo poles!

The approach was chaos, and behind them, the Cloud Mountain Carting side was chaos too, because those two square formations were also filing out in order, setting up their battle lines behind them.

Four hundred-man horizontal formations became four sides, each boxing in one direction. There were gaps between each formation, but no one dared slip through them, because the gaps were small to begin with and could be closed at any moment — and there were also knife-wielding men roaming about.

"Surrender and you live! Throw down your weapons and kneel!" Voices shouted in unison from all four sides.

The few surrounding the many — the many were naturally unwilling to accept it. Everyone looked at one another, no one wanting to be the one to make that decision. The four hundred outside just kept shouting, but they weren't in any hurry to close in.

Zhang Yunxian spotted Tall Horsewhip among the crowd. As gang masters and dragon heads, their persons were precious — they naturally wouldn't be at the front in a situation like this. But the two of them were the instigators of this whole affair. What now? They had to make a decision, take a stand. The leaders of every faction were watching them.

"What exactly does Master Lian mean by this!"

"How are we supposed to fight this?"

"Isn't Master Lian just using a borrowed knife to kill?"

Shouts rose one after another. In such a situation, everyone's minds were in complete disarray, and they began wildly speculating. Then they heard the sound of hoofbeats. The moment they heard those hoofbeats, the spirits of the surrounded men all lifted. In Qingjiangpu, only the authorities had a mounted troop like this — either the Shanyang Garrison Commander's personal guard or the Shanyang County mounted constables. Once cavalry arrived, these Xuzhou barbarians wouldn't be able to run wild any longer. In an instant, the clamor quieted. Everyone here was a local acquaintance — why hurt the harmony?

Then they saw several carts being moved aside, leaving an opening. Several dozen riders, arrayed in a formation nearly as orderly as the foot soldiers, took their position at that opening. The men on horseback were dressed exactly the same as the Cloud Mountain Carting fighters, glaring fiercely in this direction.

These people actually had cavalry too? How were they supposed to fight now? Once a mounted charge hit, who could hold their ground? Even if you ran, could you outrun a horse?

And where had so many fine horses come from — every one tall and sturdy? The riders were also neatly dressed, carrying long blades and bamboo poles. It was those bamboo poles that were so strange — why not just use long spears? Many people's eyelids began twitching uncontrollably. Elite cavalry like this — how many did the Shanyang Garrison Commander even have...?

It was laughable, really. Those four seemingly flimsy horizontal formations had inflicted massive casualties on this Qingjiangpu mob, yet they'd always felt they still had a chance at victory, still wanted to struggle. But the moment they saw the mounted troop, without even having fought them, they immediately fell into despair. Everyone's spirit drained away.

The despair didn't stop there. Some had climbed onto rooftops, looking down from above at these two thousand-plus people. Others had gotten onto Cloud Mountain Carting's walls.

What was this about? Those nearby looked over — and then felt even more despair and deflation. These people actually had bows and arrows! How were they supposed to fight now? They'd all come thinking they'd be slaughtering chickens — who could have guessed they'd run into a tiger?

Zhao Jin also climbed onto the low wall. His clothes looked loose and oversized because he was wearing a breastplate underneath. When it came to leaving nothing to chance, that had to be done. Beside him was Bayin, the best archer among the Tatars. Zhao Jin smiled faintly as he looked down at the crowd below, inexplicably reminded of a chicken farm — something that only existed in memories from a past life.

"That man's felt hat!" Standing on the wall, Zhao Jin pointed forward with his long spear.

His words had barely left his mouth when Bayin, standing beside him, drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The sharp arrow shot forth — the felt hat atop the head of the man Zhao Jin had pointed at was pierced through and sent flying. The crowd scrambled to dodge the arrow, another burst of chaos ensuing. When the arrow landed, everyone realized it had no arrowhead — it was just a headless shaft.

"Surrender and you live. Next time it won't be just a shaft!" Zhao Jin called out loudly, then raised his arm. Everyone standing on the high points drew their bows and nocked arrows, staring coldly at the crowd.

The surrounded two thousand-plus fell silent once more. Now there was no way to run, no matter what. If they all charged out in a chaotic rush, maybe quite a few could escape — but who could guarantee they themselves would definitely make it? And everyone's hearts were hanging in suspense. They could all guess: the moment Zhao Jin's arm dropped, the arrows would likely leave the bowstrings.

"Damn it all, I fold!" someone said in a gruff voice. Clang — a weapon was thrown to the ground. With bamboo poles pointed at them, a mounted troop, and archers — who could possibly fight against that? They simply couldn't hold out any longer.

Someone at the outermost edge knelt. Once one person started, the others followed in quick succession. They'd all come figuring they'd lend a fist — besides the hard-earned silver for their trouble, they could also loot goods and have themselves a good time. Who could have imagined they'd run into such wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards — killing on sight? It wasn't some blood-deep vendetta, and they hadn't been paid all that much. Why should they sell their lives and die for this?

Some knelt quickly enough, but in their hearts they thought bitterly: Go ahead, run wild for now. With this many lives lost, when the authorities come investigating, let's see how you deal with it. The various factions in Qingjiangpu never worried about that sort of thing, because they were local natives, connected at every level high and low, with favors owed in official circles — they could always cover things up afterward. But you lot are outsiders. There have to be over a hundred dead here — you could call that a heaven-shaking affair. Let's see how you cover it up. No matter how wildly you run rampant, can you be bigger than the imperial court? When your luck runs out, Qingjiangpu will still belong to the locals.

Row after row, the various factions knelt. Tall Horsewhip knelt without any hesitation. Zhang Yunxian, however, stood there blankly for a moment. Only when a trusted man beside him tugged at him did he, in a daze, drop to both knees. Before kneeling, Zhang Yunxian squinted and looked up at the sky. The sun still seemed to be rising in the east — nothing out of the ordinary. He still couldn't figure it out. Clearly his side had been a mighty lion pouncing on a rabbit, attacking with absolute superiority. In both official and underworld circles, everyone had pooled their efforts. How had this bunch of Xuzhou and Fengyang men — like stray dogs fleeing disaster — turned the tables? And in just a few short days.

Many were gritting their teeth, thinking about how Cloud Mountain Carting would deal with the authorities. But Zhang Yunxian didn't think that way. He'd gone with Lian Ping'an once and knew a few things. Though the face of some capital official might not necessarily cover up this many lives, Zhang Yunxian had a vague sense that the other side probably wouldn't run into trouble on the official front.

"Dragon Head, in a moment I'll get up and grab a hostage. Let's see if we can fight our way out. Once we're back by the Qingjiangpu river, we won't have to fear anything," Shi Biao whispered beside him. The guard on the other side nodded as well. Zhang Yunxian nodded groggily — his mind wasn't on this at all.

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