Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 343: Trap? Kill them all!
The guard called Lao Xi by Zhu Tingfang was a middle-aged man in his early 40s, thin, plain-looking, and even with some gray hair. If he were seen on the street, most people would think he was an ordinary person from a poor family. However, if someone saw him smiling and being smooth in dealing with people, they would definitely not think so.
However, at this moment, Lao Xi put away the flattering smile that he had shown to everyone in the past few days, and stood beside Zhu Tingfang with a serious face. He and Zhu Tingfang were standing in a dark alley, and at the end of the alley, a low house was vaguely visible.
It is one of the areas where laborers gather in Cangzhou City, but there are also many unemployed idlers who make a living by illegal means. It is a mixed crowd and it is dirty and messy. Even the dark alleys in front of you are filled with various strange smells.
However, Zhu Tingfang, who was standing in the middle, did not show any strange expression. He knew that his two guards were watching at the other end of the alley. Even if someone wanted to take a shortcut to go here, they would have to take a detour because of the two "drunkards" fighting. At this moment, he squinted his eyes and said thoughtfully: "It's only been a few days since we arrived in Cangzhou. You did a good job."
"Thank you for the compliment, sir. Actually, many things are just coincidences... So even though I sent you a letter secretly, I'm still unsure. After all, time is too tight. Even though the clues all point to that place, I'm only 70% sure at best."
Lao Xi had been dealing with all kinds of people in Cangzhou these days, but now he had lost all his skills. Not only was he a little uneasy, but he also felt unspeakably worried. "Even if this is really the hiding place of the guy who claims to be the eldest prince's aide, wouldn't it be better to just send out the three squads of officials from the county government... No, wouldn't it be better to just send out the Sharp Cavalry Battalion to capture him?"
Seeing that Zhu Tingfang did not make a decision, he quickly suggested: "At least, it won't be too late to go over after the others come and join us."
"No need." Zhu Tingfang sneered, "Since we are here, if we don't go meet this guy who hides his head and shows his tail, wouldn't this trip be in vain? Moreover, it would be a waste of his painstaking efforts to lure the tiger away from the mountain and cause trouble in the county government. Tell the two of them to guard the back door over there to prevent him from escaping. It's enough for you to follow me!"
Seeing that Lao Xi was full of disapproval, he did not dare to persuade him anymore. After paying his respects, he hurried over to call for help. Zhu Tingfang then touched the sword at his waist, and the relief on his face had disappeared. When Lao Xi came back, he took the lead and walked forward.
When the two of them came out of the dark alley one after the other, they saw that the road in front of them had completely lost its straightness and was twisted to the extreme, as if only a path for people to walk on was left when the house was built in every possible way.
There were all kinds of stinking garbage everywhere on the roadside, and no one knew how long it would take to clean it up. The low houses were either built with wooden boards or with waste bricks and stones, and there were also many low thatched huts. Some of them were already rotten and looked like they could be blown down by a gust of wind.
It was afternoon now, but there were not many people around. There were no strong men, only a few old and weak people. Zhu Tingfang knew that, just like on the grassland, strong men were warriors, and the old and weak did odd jobs. If one day they were too old and weak to do odd jobs, they would die. In the heart of the Ming Dynasty, it seemed peaceful and prosperous, but the real bottom was still so cruel.
Hearing Lao Xi's voice behind him, Zhu Tingfang looked at a seemingly ordinary wooden house on the side of the road. The only eye-catching thing was that among the clothes hanging on the clothesline at the door, there was a long gown that was rarely seen in this area.
"It was because someone saw similar blue or green long clothes appearing here several times, so they remembered it. After I caught the beggar leader Luo Laosan in the East City behind the scenes, I heard about this and asked him to send people to keep an eye on this place. It is said that a relative of a laborer came, and he was a poor scholar who failed the imperial examinations many times. Several people came in and out last night. I rushed over after hearing the news, and knocked one of them . I found out that they were going to make a big scene in the county government, so I sent a letter to you urgently, but..."
"No need to persuade me, I have made up my mind."
Zhu Tingfang raised his hand and told Lao Xi not to explain, but he glanced around and then strode forward. He was not wearing any brocade clothes today, but as the eldest son of the Duke of Zhao and General Mingwei in charge of Cangzhou affairs, the worst of his clothes was this set of easy-to-move fine cloth clothes, so he was out of tune with others when he walked here.
What's more, Zhu Tingfang had a sword on his left waist, a quiver on his right waist, and a bow on his back. Lao Xi not only had a sword, but also a row of willow-leaf flying knives on his waist. At this time, his smiling face was completely put away, revealing an extremely tough aura. Anyone who saw these two people one after the other would think they were here to collect debts, find fault... or seek revenge!
A washerwoman who was outside beating dirty clothes with a stick saw this and realized something was wrong. She threw away her clothes and hurriedly ran away. Two older boys who were chopping wood also hurriedly returned home with the firewood. Soon, there was no one else around.
Zhu Tingfang walked straight to the wooden house without looking around, but stretched out his hand to stop Lao Xi who was about to shout, and shouted in a deep voice: "Come out of the house, everyone. If you don't see anyone within three breaths, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Seeing that no one inside agreed, Zhu Tingfang reached out and untied the bow and arrow on his back , and took out an arrow from the quiver he was wearing. When Lao Xi beside him hurriedly lit the tinder with a flint and then brought the tinder closer, he said slowly: "Since you are hiding and don't want to come out, I have no choice but to use my special rocket fire attack!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a roar came from the wooden house opposite.
"Zhu Tingfang, how dare you! You have read the books of sages, aren't you afraid that your arrow will burn down the houses where countless people live, leaving them homeless?"
"Even if these simple wooden huts are burned down, I can build them a better house."
Zhu Tingfang spoke in a flat tone, as if he was just talking about a trivial matter.
The people inside hid here in the name of the eldest prince. If it was true, in order to capture the damage caused by this troublemaker, the eldest prince should naturally take out money to compensate the losses of the people here. And if it was false, after all, it was the eldest prince who caused so much trouble to the people of Cangzhou, so of course he should take out money to help these unfortunate poor people.
Therefore, Zhu Tingfang took a deep breath and said calmly, "I'll count to three. If you don't show up..."
Although Lao Xi, who was standing by, had just lit the tinder himself, he was completely tense at this moment. In his opinion, Zhu Tingfang was not a person who would do anything to achieve his goal. He insisted on setting fire to force people out, regardless of whether there were people in the surrounding houses or how much property damage would be caused. This was not impulsive, but reckless!
Isn't it always the case that the criminals who are about to be caught set fire to disrupt the view in order to escape, and then take the opportunity to escape? How come now it is the other way around, and they are the ones who are threatening to set fire? Wait, could it be...
Lao Xi's hand trembled, and the tinder almost ignited the arrow. When he saw Zhu Tingfang just looked at him and did not blame him, but began to count slowly, he knew that Zhu Tingfang might be afraid that someone would set fire to the house first, so he did this. Sure enough, the next moment, he heard an angry voice.
"Zhu Tingfang, hello... You thought you were going to win, right?"
There was a loud bang, and the side of the wooden house facing them collapsed. Then, in addition to a middle-aged scholar in a blue shirt, there appeared in front of them a dozen strong men in tight clothes holding sharp blades. However, compared with the fact that the other party was obviously prepared, what terrified Lao Xi the most was that there were actually two strong men inside operating two crossbows!
"Zhu Tingfang, do you think I'm really afraid of you? Hehehe, do you think that your overly clever subordinate discovered my clues? I took the initiative to reveal my flaws for him to discover! Setting fire to the warehouse to lure you out of the county government office is only the first plan. Letting those fools surround the county government office to demand justice is only the second plan. As for the third plan..."
The scholar in green robes laughed fiercely and said, "The third plan is to lure a conceited fellow like you into a trap! Most of your people have gone to the warehouse to check, and you only have a few people around you! You are courting death!"
Zhu Tingfang's left hand holding the bow did not even tremble, and his right hand was still on the bowstring, with the arrow between his fingers firmly resting there. He seemed not to notice the cold sweat and extremely nervous expression of Lao Xi beside him, and said slowly: "My sister once told me the story of the group of rebels from the Linhai Camp when she was in Rongshui Village."
"The commander named Ding Hai was just like you at the moment. He just wanted to play with a few defenseless rich kids like a cat playing with a mouse to vent his anger. As a result, he talked too much and my sister and future brother-in-law took the opportunity to turn the tables."
When he said this, he saw that the middle-aged scholar in blue had an extremely ugly expression on his face, so he laughed and said, "I have been working hard to plan for so long, and this is how I fell into your trap. If I don't tell you and show off, it would be like walking in the night in brocade clothes. I really can't help but tell you, right?"
"Zhu Tingfang! Don't get carried away. Your life and death are now in my hands..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhu Tingfang interrupted him with a smile: "Haha, my future brother-in-law once said something to Ding Hai when he captured him. As a villain, you should be aware and be a man of action, otherwise, the villain will definitely die because of talking too much!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly bent his bow like a full moon, ignoring the tinder in Lao Xi's hand, and suddenly shot the arrow. At the moment the sharp arrow left the string, he grabbed Lao Xi with one hand and suddenly jumped to the side.
Almost in an instant, two crossbow arrows passed through the place where he and Lao Xi had just stood. Lao Xi, who landed on the ground, was almost scared out of his wits. Even on the battlefield, he had faced life-and-death dangers before, and there were more than one such close calls, but at that time, there were always other comrades around him.
Unlike at this time, there was only one Zhu Tingfang, and no one knew where the other two guys had run off to. They didn't even come out to support at such a critical moment...
The next moment, he suddenly thought of the arrow shot by Zhu Tingfang. He raised his eyes and looked over, only to see the middle-aged scholar in blue squatting on the ground, covering his right shoulder. His voice had changed: "Your arrow...isn't this arrow a rocket?"
"I'm sorry, this isn't a rocket or a flint or tinder. I'm just pretending to bluff you." Seeing Lao Xi staring at him blankly, Zhu Tingfang nodded slightly and said, "You have to fool your own people first before you can fool the enemy."
The middle-aged scholar in green clothes was so angry that his face turned blue. He roared, "Quick... Kill him, kill him quickly!"
Seeing that the strong-dressed men left two people to look after the injured middle-aged scholar, the others rushed towards them, and the two holding the crossbows were trying to re-string them. Zhu Tingfang saw that Lao Xi had already drawn his sword to protect him. When he heard someone shouting, "Young Master, you go first," a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"I'm not going anywhere! Others aren't the only ones who can set traps in this world, I can too...Where's Commander Du!"
With this loud shout, Zhu Tingfang pushed Lao Xi aside and shot three arrows in a row. Then he threw the bow and arrow in his hand to Lao Xi. Instead of retreating, he drew his sword and rushed directly into the middle of the group of strong-clad men. Suddenly, blood splattered. Lao Xi was stunned and hurriedly dropped his bow to help. He didn't understand the meaning of the four words "Commander Du".
But the next moment, he heard a hard voice: "Zhu Tingfang, I finally know your uncle!"
Du Heng was really furious. When Zhu Yi sent him a letter, his first reaction was that Zhu Tingfang had caused him a huge trouble! However, Zhu Tingfang clearly stated in the letter that if he did not go, he would go straight to Huanglong alone and leave his life to fate! Although he wanted Zhu Tingfang to be stabbed twice more, preferably seriously injured, he still had to join the battle with a few confidants.
Faced with this scene, the middle-aged scholar in blue finally turned pale. He watched the dumbfounded Lao Xi hurriedly come forward to help, and watched the three Zhu family guards surround him from behind, one more than expected, and he could only roar in anger. Seeing a dozen strong men rushing out from all around, he felt that he had the upper hand in numbers again, and he felt a little relieved.
He staggered to his feet, holding his shoulder, and laughed viciously, "Do you think I only have this one ambush? Zhu Tingfang, Du Heng, both of you will die here today!"
"I told you, you talk too much!" Zhu Tingfang raised his sword and stabbed two people in the chest, simply and roughly knocking them down, paying the price of two cuts on his body. Then he frowned impatiently and suddenly whistled sharply. With this sound, a figure fell from the sky and pounced into the crowd like a hawk preying on its prey.
At that moment, Zhu Tingfang glanced at Du Heng who was stunned beside him, and then said in a deep voice: "Uncle Hua, don't leave any one alive, kill them all!"
