Three thousand cavalry were arranged in two long columns, silently facing the west in the quiet valley, waiting for the order to set off.
The deputy general had already sent out secret sentries to ensure that the group's whereabouts would not be revealed.
Li Ye and Nalan Yu were riding horses and were walking slowly through the valley.
The three thousand Imperial Guards were extremely excited because they would once again fight with the Imperial Master to create miracles for the dynasty.
Nalan Yu glanced at him and said, "Everyone is excited because they haven't seen the National Master for a long time."
Since the battle for the imperial city, Li Ye has lived in seclusion and no longer interfered with government affairs. It is normal for the imperial army not to see him. How can we not be excited to see each other in a remote place today?
Li Ye opened his lips slightly, took a deep breath, watched the three thousand forbidden soldiers waving, and slowly walked past them so that each of the forbidden soldiers could see him clearly.
He knew that after this battle, some brothers here were injured or even killed, but he couldn't help but said: "Everyone should be well and return to the imperial city together."
After a moment of silence, the three thousand soldiers roared in unison: "Let's go to war together and go home together!"
"Go to war together and go home together!"
The roar was louder in the valley, just like that time during the expedition to southern Xinjiang.
Li Ye and Nalan Yu were also filled with emotion, as if they had returned to that early morning when they traveled, just like today.
The only difference is that this time it's midsummer and this time it's early winter.
A few days ago, Li Ye received a tip. The Wang family in Qingzhou was going to celebrate the eldest son's fiftieth birthday today, and people from Beihai would also come there. Nangong Jue thought this was an opportunity, and Nalan Yu thought so too.
If you can handle the matter in one go, don't bother yourself twice. This is what Li Ye wants.
All the forbidden troops were assembled early in the morning, and Li Ye made a plan. Four guards from the Nangong family would lead a thousand forbidden troops to attack the Beihai monks in the Nangong family.
Li Ye and Nalan Yu went to the Wang family with two thousand forbidden troops.
Dongfang Ming's mission was to block the Xijiang River and prevent any ship from leaving or entering Gyeongju in these two days.
Xi Jiangyue led his people to block the land route from Qingzhou to the Buddhist capital, and put no obstacles in place to prevent people from Beihai from escaping.
Li Ye wants to catch them all, leaving no one alive.
The three thousand forbidden troops wore special armor inside and black clothes from Xijiang Water Village outside.
Li Yi wants to give the world the illusion that it was the boss of the Xijiang Water Village who killed the Wang family and the gangsters in Beihai, not the government, at least not letting the common people know about it.
The garrison generals of Gyeongju also received an official message from the imperial city this morning, asking them to stay in the military camp today and not to interfere no matter what happens in the city.
Violators will be killed.
This was an order issued directly by the Imperial City Military Department, and it was specified not to be conveyed to the city lord or others.
The guard who received the order broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that the Lord of the City had finally received his retribution. After all, this is the world of the Five Domains Dynasty, not Beihai Dragon Island.
The guard general who came back to his senses ordered his men to withdraw all the soldiers in the city, including those guarding the city gate, and then closed the barracks tightly, waiting for the moment when the weather changes.
At this time, he absolutely did not dare to inform the city lord. The imperial court had given him an order, which meant that the superiors were willing to let him go, otherwise he would probably be killed as well.
In the early morning of that day, the waterway from Qingzhou to Yangjiang was blocked by a large ship from Xijiang Water Village. The merchants were told that the navigation was closed for two days, and everyone was told to go home and wait for release.
Likewise on land, the bandits from the Xijiang Water Village blocked several of the official roads leading to the Buddhist capital. They blocked the roads with stones and big trees, saying the same as those on the water. They said they would let them go after two days.
I didn’t tell anyone I was dealing with that there was any truth to it.
Bandits never do things without reason.
"Brother." Amidst the clatter of horse hooves, Li Ye said with a smile: "Secure the door and don't let anyone in or come out. Wait for my news before taking action!"
After Nalan Yu was silent for a long time, he said softly: "Does the Imperial Master want to go into danger alone?"
"What? Don't you believe me, brother?" Li Ye looked at him and held up a map of the Wang family in his hand. This was hand-drawn by Nangong Jue and marked on it were every building in the Wang family and the owner's living room.
Nalan Yu laughed and put on the black mask.
The three thousand forbidden troops all covered their faces with black cloth. From now on, they are not the forbidden troops, but bandits from Xijiang.
Li Ye put on short-cut linen clothes and thought he was a servant of the Wang family if he didn't pay attention.
Li Ye, who was riding on the horse, looked ahead silently, and said after a long time: "Beihai Longdao, I already let you go last time!"
Nalan Yu was silent for a while and said in a deep voice: "That time, the leader of the team should be the young master from Long Island, but this time he changed to a more powerful character."
"It shows that they are determined to win Qingzhou and there is no room for mistakes!" Li Ye said quietly while looking at the city walls of Qingzhou.
"Surround the two mansions and kill anyone who dares to come in or out!" Li Ye said coldly, looking at Nangong Jue, Wang Er, Li Hu and others behind him.
"Don't let anyone go, especially the bandits from Beihai." Nalan Yu looked at his men and said in a deep voice.
"Four eldest brothers, please split into two groups. One goes to the Nangong family, and the other goes to the Wang family with me." Li Ye said as he looked at the four black-clothed guards.
At this time, Nangong Ruyu was still sleeping in bed, and Li Ye asked Xiaohua to take her to practice in Hanshan Temple.
Li Ye issued the order indifferently, pulled the reins of his horse, and separated from the large black cavalry force. Without any guards, he rode up the official road and galloped towards Qingzhou City ahead.
...
Riding his horse into the city gate, there was no obstruction along the way. Li Ye was very satisfied with Nalan Yu's arrangement and asked the city's defenders to retreat. This would save him trouble and less damage.
Walking through the city of Gyeongju, no one paid much attention to this guy wearing a short coat of coarse cloth. Everyone knew that anyone who could beat a horse across the street like this must be a servant of the Wang family who was eager to go back to celebrate the old man's birthday.
No one is willing to provoke anyone from the Wang family. These people are more ruthless than bandits in the eyes of the city's surname searchers.
Even the members of the Nangong family were killed by them, so what else could they not do?
Underneath the coarse cloth clothes, he was wearing a close-fitting black night jacket, preparing to sneak into the palace later so that he could do it himself.
The whole city seemed a little solemn and peaceful, without the fireworks of life. I think the people in the city were made miserable by the bandits from the Wang family and Beihai, and their lives were already in dire straits.
When he was still a street away from Wang's house, Li Ye dismounted, let go of the horse, patted the horse's neck lightly, and said, "Go back and find them!"
The well-trained military horse looked back at him and ran out of the city.
Li Ye lowered his head and walked forward quickly.
They came to the outside of a spacious courtyard with a red painted door. This Wang family compound, which occupies half a street, is even more arrogant than the residences of senior officials in the imperial city.
The mansion was hung with bright red lanterns today, looking very happy.
There is a red couplet on the door, and it looks like it is the atmosphere of celebrating the birthday of the boss of the Wang family.
Naturally, there were many guards and bandits from Beihai standing at the door to protect the Wang family's birthday banquet from outsiders.
There are not many pedestrians who dare to walk in front of this mansion. Their task is to check the guests.
Today is the adults' birthday banquet, and they must ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Li Ye, who walked to the door, took out his post and said softly: "I am the cook who came to prepare a banquet for the master. I was delayed for some time on the way..."
After checking Li Ye's post, the guards waved him through: "Hurry up, the banquet will start soon."
Quickly leaving the bustle and the sound of salutes, like a professional cook, Li Ye shook his head and walked towards the house.
The layout of the courtyard was the same as the drawings he saw, and he quickly found his destination.
After finding an empty house, Li Ye slipped in and disappeared into the Wang family compound.
Without lighting a lamp, he set up a table. Li Ye sat in the darkness and thought calmly, sorting out his plans one by one. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
No one could have imagined that a monk from Prajna Temple would actually come to Gyeongju City to engage in banditry.
But there was nothing he could do. These guys wouldn't stay in the same place on weekdays. It was a rare opportunity for the master of the Wang family to celebrate his birthday.
Li Ye could take this opportunity to eat all the Wang family members and Beihai leaders at the birthday banquet.
His appetite has always been so big, and compared to Southern Xinjiang, this is just a piece of cake.
He wants to shock the world by himself.
...
Wang Tianwang, the head of the Wang family, looked at the guests with a smile on his face. He smiled because he was in a good mood today. He had been born for more than fifty years and took over the Wang family smoothly.
Officials, wealthy businessmen from all over the city came to flatter him, and even big shots from as far away as the Buddhist capital gave him gifts.
The reason why I can't laugh as much as I want is due to my status. Speaking of which, he was the master of the Wang family, and he had defeated the Nangong family a few days ago. When he was about to become the sole leader, the bandits from Beihai actually came out and killed him.
Invisibly, he turned out to be the second in command in Gyeongju City.
But he could only endure it, because he couldn't defeat the other party. Even the Nangong family was finally defeated with the support of the Beihai bandits. He waited for these Beihai bandits to get tired of staying here, and then left.
At that time, he will be the master of Qingzhou.
At his birthday banquet, Wang Tianwang was holding a wine glass, but his thoughts drifted to other places. He wondered whether some officials in the Buddhist capital would report his affairs with Beihai to the imperial city, and whether there would be any problems. .
Seeing the owner of the house in a daze holding a wine glass, the guests at the table below looked at each other, not knowing what was going on.
Wang Tianwang came back to his senses, thought clearly about the cause and effect, and came to Duanmu Xiuying. Taking advantage of the other party's good mood, the two drank several bowls of wine and vowed to share happiness and hardship.
Duanmu Xiuying was so prosperous in Qingzhou City that even Wang Tianwang, the biggest local gangster, fell at his feet. Today was his birthday, so it was inevitable that he would have a few too many drinks.
Wang Tianwang, who was good at flattering, lost no opportunity to get in touch with her, and ordered that he would take Duanmu Xiuying to his own guest room to rest. He said that there would be singing and dancing to entertain him in the evening, and he would arrange exciting shows for him.
Duanmu Xiuying, who was drunk, naturally accepted Wang Tianwang's kindness. After all, this was in the Wang family compound, and no one dared to cause trouble here.
Several servants, along with Wang Tianwang, sent Duanmu Xiuying to his private room where he usually rested and practiced.
Leaning on the bed, Duanmu Xiuying waved her hands and said with a smile: "Let my brother stay, Master Wang, go and accompany the guests!"
Although she was drunk, Duanmu Xiuying did not dare to be careless.
...
Like a ghost, Li Ye quietly walked into the kitchen. The servants looked at his dress and thought he was also a servant of the house. Ren Fo walked out with a few plates of dishes and a jar of wine. .
He opened the wine jar and threw the prepared poison into it.
Walking to the door of the elegant room where Duanmu Xiuying rested, Li Ye gently knocked on the door, and then walked in after being checked by several guards.
"Brothers, my master said that they have worked hard and asked me to bring wine and food to you. Please enjoy them in the room. After everyone sobers up, I will invite them to the front hall to enjoy the singing and dancing."
While placing the food and wine on the table, Li Ye said softly, then turned and left.
Standing in the night, looking at the guards in the square room from a distance, laughter spread, and I remembered the sound of drinking and punching.
Duanmu Xiuying, whose heart was in Beihai, was really afraid of death, so she wanted someone to guard her inside when she went back to her house to rest.
After a quarter of an hour, Li Ye gently pushed the door open and found that the four guards were lying in front of the table, and Duanmu Xiuying's snoring could be heard from inside.
He shook his head and walked inside. Since the guard was fascinated, he no longer cared about it.
Duanmu Xiuying, who was lying on the bed half drunk and half awake, was awakened by the sound of footsteps.
There's someone in the house!
Having experienced countless life-and-death battles, he felt the danger in the room. He opened his eyes in an instant and stared blankly at Li Ye who was sitting on the chair.
When he learned that someone could pass through the layers of defense of the Wang family and reach the elegant room where the head of the Wang family rested, Duanmu Xiuying felt a chill in her heart. His first reaction was to shout: "There is an assassin!"
However, what was waiting for him was surprisingly calm. All four of his men seemed to have left, or were killed by the young man in front of him... No one inside or outside the house responded to his cry.
"No matter how loud you scream, no one will come to save you."
