Chapter 978: Guard Attendant Qiao Shan

The Prince of Lu's estate, for its part, was not particularly enthusiastic either. During the city's defense, the estate had scattered large sums of silver for the local militias, and the government troops stationed there had also received their share. Since it was for protecting their own safety, they were naturally willing to spend. But this newly arrived reinforcement army was sent by the imperial court — troops of the Zhu family coming to the aid of a Zhu family prince and noble. That was only right and proper, so why spend any extra money?

At first, everyone had assumed the reinforcement army would make an issue of this and were all prepared to mediate, afraid that if tempers flared and they simply washed their hands of the matter and left, Ziyang City would lose yet another measure of its security. To their surprise, this force of about a thousand soldiers remained very quiet. Perhaps the forced march and constant fighting along the way had been too grueling. After thanking everyone for the provisions gathered for them, they simply rested inside their encampment. The few who came out to deal with people were yawning repeatedly, their faces full of exhaustion.

Some had Shanxi accents, others Henan. That part checked out — Yang Zhaoji had returned home from Datong, so he was bound to have his old core followers with him. But raising troops in haste, with forces from both Henan and Northern Zhili following him, it was no surprise there were Henan men among them. Everyone could not help but sigh a few times: to think that our own Shandong troops were so arrogant and conceited, yet it took outsiders to come to our rescue — it was truly a disgrace.

They entered through the north gate and set up camp nearby. The troops inside the city also withdrew from that defense sector, assigning it to this relief force. Everything went smoothly, allowing the elders of Ziyang City, who had been somewhat worried, to breathe a sigh of relief. Troops entering a city always carried risk, and with the Prince of Lu's estate suddenly pulling such a shameless stunt, if the other side had kicked up a fuss, it would not have been a good thing for the city.

"Even if the city falls, his household won't suffer any later than the rest of us, yet he disregards the people of the entire city," someone cursed indignantly.

As they spoke, they looked toward the Prince of Lu's royal city in the center of town. This was a city within a city; the royal city also had walls surrounding it, shorter than the outer city walls, though not by much. The Prince of Lu's estate lay entirely within this royal city, naturally affording it a few extra degrees of safety compared to the common city residents.

"Keep your voice down, don't let the spies hear. In defending the city this time, his household did at least cough up quite a bit of silver..."

"What does that count for? If his household hadn't been swallowing up farmland everywhere, this chaos might never have erupted in the first place!"

After a few more shouts of discussion, they quickly drifted away. Over at the reinforcement army's camp, they had already started fires to cook. Large cauldrons were ready; the pigs and sheep sent over were slaughtered and cleaned on the spot, then the meat was sliced thin and tossed into boiling water to stew. It was soon cooked, the aroma of meat wafting everywhere. Every man in the "reinforcement army," from top to bottom, held a wooden bowl, ladled in the meat broth, crumbled the flatbread they carried into it, and ate in great mouthfuls.

After eating, the main force began to rest, while sentries were posted around the perimeter to stand guard. These sentries were extremely rough in manner, allowing no one to approach. They would reach for their blades after barely two words of conversation. But this behavior was normal — government troops were all like this, and everyone in Ziyang City was long accustomed to it.

Some, after being rudely shouted at, left in disinterest. Yet there were also those unafraid of death who came over. A certain outside merchant household in the city, perhaps terrified by the siege, was so overcome with gratitude at seeing the relief troops arrive that they brought a cartload of wine and meat as a reward. The sentries on guard did not make trouble for him and simply let the man pass through.

With nightfall approaching, at last they could sleep a peaceful, secure sleep — so thought everyone in Ziyang City, from high to low.

After Centurion Qiao Shan returned to the royal city, he first went to see Chief Clerk Si. Although this Right Chief Clerk now lived in deep seclusion, all matters great and small in the Prince of Lu's estate were still handled by him. Chief Clerk Si was also delighted at the arrival of the relief troops and went with Qiao Shan to see the Prince of Lu.

When defending the city, they had been willing to spend silver. Now that the relief army had broken the siege and the situation was no longer so dire, the Prince of Lu's estate immediately became miserly again. Still, the Right Chief Clerk's advice had to be heeded. After a few words, a batch of supplies was promptly allocated, to be delivered the next day to reward the troops.

Because of the relief army's arrival, Chief Clerk Si was in a rather good mood. Seeing that Centurion Qiao Shan still wore a heavy expression, he could not help but offer a few words of consolation: "This wave of calamity has finally passed. But this incident is not entirely a bad thing. At the very least, the imperial court is certain to send a large army to garrison our Yanzhou Prefecture. With a large force of government troops stationed here, we won't have to swallow our pride any longer."

With such a massive upheaval erupting in the southern Shandong region, no matter how one looked at it, the court would have to send additional troops for the aftermath and defense. In that case, the Prince of Lu's estate's earlier request to have Liaodong garrison troops transferred to Yanzhou Prefecture would surely go through smoothly. Once nearly ten thousand government troops were stationed here in Yanzhou Prefecture, their posture toward Xuzhou would not need to be so submissive.

Hearing this, Qiao Shan forced out a few dry laughs and said in a raspy voice, "Those bandits in Xuzhou run rampant. When the time comes, we'll properly vent this foul anger!"

Chief Clerk Si smiled and patted Centurion Qiao Shan on the shoulder, then went off to his own tasks. Qiao Shan slowly walked out of the duty room and first returned to his own home. With the situation now so critical, the estate's subordinate officials had all brought their families to live in the outer perimeter of the royal palace, and most had brought relatives along as well. In times like these, one had to help those one ought to help. Guard Attendant Qiao Shan's home also had over a dozen relatives seeking refuge.

Of these dozen or so relatives, ten were able-bodied young men, said to have fled in from outside the city. In the current chaos of war, only the able-bodied could escape; the elderly and the womenfolk were likely beyond reach. After making simple arrangements at home, Centurion Qiao Shan led his dozen or so relatives out of the courtyard and headed toward the south gate of the royal city.

The south gate was guarded by estate guards and government troops. Having long since received word of the relief army's arrival, they all now wore relaxed expressions. Seeing Qiao Shan leading people over, they quickly greeted him: "Sir Qiao, after so many days of toil, why not rest well at home instead of coming here?"

"You've all had a hard few days as well. Go back and get a good sleep. My family and I will take your place," Centurion Qiao Shan said with a smile.

No one found this particularly strange. With the roving bandits threatening the city, all of Ziyang City had been mobilized, and the able-bodied men of the estate had also been armed. The practice of drawing able-bodied young men from each household's family and kin to stand guard at the royal city had been Centurion Qiao's own suggestion.

"How could we impose? Then we'll be troubling you, Centurion Qiao!" Standing guard in full readiness at the royal city gates every day had exhausted the estate guards and government troops as well. Since Qiao Shan proposed it, after a few polite exchanges, they gladly took the opportunity. Still, they could not all leave at once, so they drew lots. Ten unlucky ones stayed behind while the rest scattered in a hubbub — some went home, but more went out into the city to seek amusement.

With the situation now so relaxed, there was naturally no reason to go up onto the wall to look around. Centurion Qiao, being of esteemed status, was invited into a room to have tea. His relatives also benefited from his prestige and followed him in. Once the attendants and flatterers had left, Qiao Shan lifted his teacup, but his hand trembled uncontrollably, tea constantly splashing out.

"Gentlemen... will my... will my family be safe and sound? When... when the time comes..." Qiao Shan's voice trembled just as uncontrollably as he spoke.

"Don't worry. There's a mark on the gate. The horses and luggage are already packed. What was promised will certainly be done," the "relative" sitting across from Qiao Shan said in a muffled voice.

Centurion Qiao Shan sat there in a daze for a long moment. A smile uglier than a grimace appeared on his face, and he laughed bitterly: "Gentlemen, if you're worried about Qiao after the deed is done, a single slash of the knife will settle it. But Qiao's parents and wife and children..."

"I told you not to worry. What was promised will certainly be done," the other man cut him off without the slightest courtesy.

"Yes... yes... you keep your word, that much is known..." Qiao Shan muttered, whether in flattery or to console himself, he could not tell.

Just then, a guard who had been keeping watch outside hurried in and said, somewhat puzzled, "Sir Qiao, a large force is approaching. I hadn't heard anything about government troops coming?"

Qiao Shan's body jolted. He quickly stood and said, "Let's go take a look. I hadn't heard anything beforehand either."

The group went up together onto the royal city wall. The few guards who had stayed behind were all peering down. Centurion Qiao's "relatives" also looked down curiously. As for the guards at the other royal city gates, firstly, it was too dark to see or hear clearly, and secondly, no one wanted to stir up trouble.

"Sir Qiao, come take a look. What exactly is going on?" someone called out.

The sound of hoofbeats and marching footsteps could be heard, and they were quite orderly. Once they drew near, they simply halted outside the city gate. The men at the front used long poles to hoist large lanterns for illumination, their light falling upon the ranks — it was indeed the uniforms of government troops. At that moment, the large lanterns were swinging left and right.

Qiao Shan stared for a few moments, then could not help but sigh. He stepped forward and patted the shoulder of the man who had called out to him, saying, "My apologies."

The words were baffling. Before the man could react, a short blade had already appeared in Qiao Shan's hand, and he drove it straight into the man's chest. With one hand stabbing, the other firmly clamped over the victim's mouth. At that very instant, Centurion Qiao Shan's other "relatives" struck simultaneously. The attack was sudden, an internal betrayal among their own — who could react in time? Even less so in a moment of relaxation when the attackers had murderous intent; there was truly no dodging or escaping it.

A few low, muffled cries and startled shouts came from the walltop, then quickly fell silent. The still-twitching bodies were carefully laid flat on the wall. One man shouted down in a gruff voice: "This is the royal city of His Highness the Prince of Lu! Unauthorized persons, keep your distance! Do not disturb the imperial palanquin!"

As this was shouted, several men on the walltop were already running down. Because the situation had not been so tense, the gates of this royal city had never been sealed shut. Opening this gate was an exceedingly simple matter.

The city gate swung wide open. The troops guided by the lanterns surged in. Centurion Qiao Shan stood to the side, his face pale, watching the orderly, grim-faced cavalry and infantry pass before him. Whenever someone's gaze swept over him, it was like a knife stabbing into him, and Qiao Shan's body would tremble.

"What..." someone ahead began to cry out in shock and question, but had only uttered half a word when a sharp "Thwip—" rang out, and the startled cry stopped abruptly.

The "relative" beside Centurion Qiao Shan gave him a shove. Only then did Qiao Shan react, hurrying to the front of the now-forming ranks. Zhao Jin was still on horseback at that moment. Upon seeing Zhao Jin, Qiao Shan could not help but kneel, kowtowing and stammering, "Master... Master Jin..."

"We'll talk after the deed is done. You needn't worry; what I promised you, I will certainly do," Zhao Jin replied very curtly. After saying this, Zhao Jin raised his voice: "Mask up and cover your heads. No indiscriminate killing, no ****, no looting. No letting a single person go free on your own. Do not abandon a single comrade — dead or alive, you must bring them back. Advance and retreat on command. Act according to the prior instructions."

After the extra update, I checked the monthly tickets early this morning. Just twenty more tickets and another extra update is due — truly something Old Bai didn't expect. But my motivation is fired up, and I hope I can deliver another extra update today!

Two guaranteed base updates, one extra update for every hundred monthly tickets, one extra update for every new Alliance Master. Old Bai is full of drive and ready to deliver extra updates!

Thank you to old friends "Goodbye Someone, User Hua Xiao Yun Bai, Yi Bu Yi, huifly, User Cold Night, Yuan Heng Li Zhen" for your tips. Great Ming Wufu needs more subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tips. Thank you, everyone!