The thirty personal guards had assembled. They wore cold-forged heavy armor brought from the capital, the armor plates pulled tight with cowhide cords, and breastplates bound to their chests. Each held a three-foot-long horse-cleaving sword with a thick back and a sharpened edge.
Over at the stables, the guards used daggers to cut away the rags tied around the horseshoes.
Losing the buffer of the cloth, the warhorses pawed the ground restlessly.
Jenny Huang used hemp ropes to secure three wooden boxes filled with black powder onto the backs of three horses.
Li Sheng walked up to the two heavy red-lacquered wooden doors and delivered a flying kick to the panels.
The thirty guards led their warhorses out in a single file. Iron hooves stepped on the bluestone slabs, striking out crisp sounds. Xu Qinghuan rode at the forefront alone. The night wind of the north swept sand and dust across the long street, billowing the hem of her skirt.
But as soon as the doors opened, they saw that ten paces away, torches lit up the long street as bright as day. The thick smoke of burning pine resin spiraled in midair, its choking scent drilling straight into their noses.
Zhao Hu wore the same iron armor from earlier that day. Astride a tall black horse, he steadily blocked the dead center of the street. Behind him followed fifty heavy armored cavalrymen, arranged in a tight charge formation.
The tips of fifty long spears pointed diagonally at the post house gates, reflecting the torchlight and sealing off all paths forward.
Zhao Hu's appearance was far too coincidental. She had just finished listening to Goudan's statement and decided to go to the death row prison to save people, and Zhao Hu immediately brought his men to block the post house gates so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through.
It was obvious that the perimeter of the post house had long been closely watched by Tie Lanshan's men. They would know even if a single fly buzzed out.
Sitting on horseback, Zhao Hu cupped his fists in a rather improper military salute.
Imperial Envoy, the night is late, Zhao Hu said in a loud, resonant voice. The rules of Zhenbei City state that a citywide curfew begins after the Hai hour. There are many wandering bandits outside the city, and it is hard to guarantee that none have sneaked in to cause trouble. Your Excellency's body is worth its weight in gold; if any mishap were to occur, this lowly general could not bear the responsibility. Please return to the post house to rest.
Curfew, wandering bandits.
Who would believe that?
It was nothing but a trick to fool a three-year-old child. In any military town, wandering bandits would have long been absorbed by the regular army or slaughtered completely. For Zhao Hu to use such an excuse to pressure her was simply telling her that the night in Zhenbei City was not governed by the capital, but by those holding the hilts of the blades.
Are the wandering bandits Deputy Zhao speaks of the ones wielding standard-issue longswords from the Ministry of War, or the ones wearing the military uniforms of Great Qian?
Just now, a soldier risked his life to scale the high walls of the post house to cry out his grievances, stating that thirty-seven lives from the vanguard camp, along with this Imperial Envoy's own elder brother Xu Zhan, are currently being held in the death row prison by He Minghu and tortured into false confessions.
Xu Qinghuan spurred her horse two steps forward.
The commanding general treats human lives like grass, and the case is right before my eyes. When an Imperial Envoy handles a case, the laws of Great Qian are the rules, and there is no need to make accommodations for anyone.
She made her words completely clear. He Minghu wanted to kill people, making it a deadly situation. Zhao Hu used the curfew as an excuse, so she directly tore that fig leaf to shreds. Not only did she want to tell Zhao Hu that she knew everything, but she also wanted to tell Tie Lanshan, who was hiding behind Zhao Hu, that she not only knew but also dared to intervene.
Zhao Hu listened, but did not make way.
Your Excellency, the military has its own laws and regulations. Deputy General He interrogating prisoners is official business of the Ministry of War's Garrison Department. You are an Imperial Envoy of the Ministry of Revenue; you should be managing money and grain. Zhao Hu changed his tone. He sounded respectful, but in reality, he was pressing her step by step. Hearing that Your Excellency was angered, General Tie specifically ordered this lowly general to prepare a carriage.
The Commander-in-Chief said that the matters in this city are intricate and complex. He invites Your Excellency to move to the Commander-in-Chief's estate to have a cup of hot tea. We can discuss this at length and will certainly give Your Excellency a satisfactory explanation.
Xu Qinghuan stared into Zhao Hu's eyes.
Drink tea, discuss at length.
Zhenbei City belonged to the central route's Xuan-Da region and had not seen a single tael of silver from the Ministry of Revenue in half a year. As the top leader, Tie Lanshan, along with He Minghu and Ma Jin'an who controlled the military supplies and the power of the supervising army, kept Zhenbei City in a tight grip.
In the end, this was still because Tie Lanshan didn't dare to act himself. Once a mutiny occurred, it would be a dead end for him. He needed someone to take the blame for breaking the balance.
Xu Qinghuan was the best candidate. She carried the Emperor's sword, representing imperial power. As long as she struck first and killed He Minghu, Tie Lanshan could legitimately take over the military power and push the crime of unauthorized killing of border generals onto her head.
Zhao Hu blocking the road tonight was just to see if she, as a blade, was sharp enough and if she dared to touch the bad luck of the Ministry of War.
Tie Lanshan was scheming, and she was scheming too. But not only did she have to save people, she also had to force Tie Lanshan out, making him have no choice but to stand on her side.
Xu Qinghuan's face was cold.
The lives in the death row prison are hanging by a thread; they cannot wait until dawn. Xu Qinghuan's fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword. Tonight, whoever dares to block my path, whoever dares to delay my rescue, is a conspirator of He Minghu and will be punished for treason.
Li Sheng heard the command from behind, and he drew the horse-cleaving sword from his waist.
The sound of blades scraping against scabbards was chilling in the night. The thirty heavy armored guards moved in perfect unison. Thirty sharpened horse-cleaving swords were raised in midair, their blades reflecting the light of the torches. A murderous aura pressed straight toward Zhao Hu's face.
These guards were all death-sworn soldiers that the Xu family had spent heavily to cultivate. They had just seen blood in the Yanshan Canyon, and the stench of blood on their bodies simply couldn't be hidden.
Xu Qinghuan did not draw the Emperor's sword. Instead, she clamped her legs around her horse's belly. The warhorse felt the pain and charged forward. Xu Qinghuan did not slow down, crashing straight toward Zhao Hu.
Zhao Hu truly hadn't expected Xu Qinghuan to use her horse to ram him directly. The two horses collided fiercely. Zhao Hu's mount let out a whinny and was knocked back two steps to the side, its hooves sliding out several white marks on the bluestone slabs. Zhao Hu swayed a few times on horseback, barely managing to steady his posture.
Xu Qinghuan's warhorse also came to a halt, the heads of the two horses pressed together.
Make way, Xu Qinghuan looked at Zhao Hu and said only two words.
Zhao Hu looked at Xu Qinghuan, then looked at the thirty horse-cleaving swords behind her. There were also those three wooden boxes tied to the backs of the guards' horses. Zhao Hu genuinely didn't know what was in those boxes, but he could still smell a hint of gunpowder.
As for this stuff, he really didn't take it to heart. Gunpowder? Probably just for making a loud noise.
But he knew that Xu Qinghuan truly dared to kill. If a fight really broke out, these thirty men were indeed not much of a threat.
Never mind, never mind. The Commander-in-Chief's orders were to test the waters, not to fight to the death.
Zhao Hu raised his right hand and waved it in midair.
The fifty iron-armored cavalrymen reined in their horses, retreating to both sides of the street to make way for a wide path.
Xu Qinghuan didn't give Zhao Hu another glance. With a flick of the reins, she led the thirty guards roaring past through the yielded passage. The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away, heading straight in the direction of the death row prison.
Zhao Hu stopped in place, watching the procession disappear into the night.
He parted his lips and smiled.
