The Song family's residence was really too big. In fact, in Bajiang County, the Song family's residence occupied half of the city. Not all the people of the Song family lived here. Their roots were in the mountains. There were not many people living here, so there was a large empty space in the backyard. The space was so big that horses could be ridden and soldiers could be trained. This was only a part of the Song family's backyard.
Because these places were not very useful, they were only enclosed into the courtyard wall and not treated in any other way. Even the ground was not leveled. Since it was everlasting, it was covered with weeds, like a grassland. Liu Guangye and his men were crossing this grassland at this moment.
Niu Yilang walked beside Liu Guangye and climbed up the grassland together. As he climbed, he panted and said, "I've already found out. After climbing over this grassland slope, it's Yang Fan's residence …"
He stopped abruptly before he could finish his words.
The grassland slope was not very high. It was just a relatively undulating slope. Before they completely climbed up the grassland slope, balls of red appeared in their sight. They were like balls of flames dancing in the wind. The wind fueled the fire, making it undulating and enchanting.
Although Liu Guangye was bewildered, his feet did not stop. He continued to take two steps forward and saw that under the balls of bright red flames, there were black and white helmets. Under the setting sun, the copper rivets on the helmets shone brightly.
Taking another step forward, he saw pairs of murderous eyes and cold faces. The leather cheeks were stuck on both sides of the soldiers' faces, making them look even more dignified.
Liu Guangye was a little dazed, and so were the soldiers. They hesitated and took two more steps forward. Then, they saw the mouth of the Qilin, which was glowing with a metallic luster. The Qilin's glaring eyes were filled with a domineering aura.
After that, they saw the soldiers' full body armor. Their chests were surrounded by the golden belly of the beast and tied with red suede sashes. The body of the armor, which was made up of countless polished brass plates, reflected the golden light of the blood-red setting sun.
Liu Guangye stood still and stared in astonishment at the neat formation of celestial soldiers on the horizon. Suddenly, he shook off the support from his left and right and rushed to the top of the slope. This time, he finally saw the whole picture of the other party.
Spears and halberds were like a forest, sabers and shields were like a tide. Battle skirts were draped over the broad backs of the horses, and the horses stood there motionlessly. About three hundred riders were arranged in a cone-shaped charging formation. The army was neat and orderly, and no one made any noise. The army's prestige was loud, like a raging fire rising.
Liu Guangye stood there in a daze. Looking at the clusters of fiery red tassels on the knights' heads, the fire in his heart shrank inch by inch.
If the soldiers beside him were dragged into the deep mountains and forests, they would be able to fight. But on this grassland-like field, how could they fight with the enemy? It could only be a one-sided massacre!
Maqiao wore his helmet and armor and stood solemnly in front of the formation.
He had originally received news that Liu Guangye was leading the soldiers to kill the Xie Man witnesses who were brought into the Song Residence. He had immediately gathered his troops and horses to rescue them. Who would have thought that when he was halfway there, the cavalry at the front reported that the soldiers had not killed the Xie Men, but were instead rushing over here.
Maqiao immediately stopped the three armies and got into formation. Although he was currently in an offensive formation, it was actually out of habit. As for what to do, he didn't know. The enemy's intentions were unclear. After all, this was not the enemy's army. He couldn't just give the order to kill people.
Maqiao slightly leaned to the side and asked a colonel beside him, "Has imperial envoy Yang caught up?"
The colonel replied, "When I went to report, the imperial envoy had just entered the bath. When he heard the news, he immediately changed his clothes. He should be here soon."
Maqiao nodded slightly and straightened his body on his horse, "If that's the case, then let's waste time!"
In the blink of an eye, a few fast horses could be seen escorting an umbrella-shaped carriage in the style of the Qin and Han Dynasties. As they neared, they saw that the people sitting on the horses were Song Chumeng, Song Wanyou, and a few elders of the Song Clan that they had met at the banquet when they first arrived at the Song Residence.
As for the ancient Qin and Han style carriage, it was an old man with white hair and beard. The old man looked to be at least ninety years old. His face was full of wrinkles and there were many brown age spots on his skin. When these people arrived, Song Chumeng and Song Wanyou hurriedly dismounted and helped the old man down.
It turned out that this old man was currently the oldest and most respected person in the Song Clan. When Song Chumeng and Song Wanyou heard that the two imperial envoys were going to fight in his residence, they were scared out of their wits. At that time, they were paying their respects to this old ancestor. When the old ancestor heard the news, he hurriedly asked them to bring him here, thinking that with his age, the two imperial envoys would at least give him some face.
Standing on the slope, Liu Guangye couldn't help but secretly let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the Song Clan had arrived and even their old ancestor had come out. This old fellow was already a happy old man. With him around, there was no way that Yang Fan would dare to be too impudent and embarrass him again.
Liu Guangye waved his hand, then puffed out his chest and walked down the mountain with steady steps.
Even if he lost the battle, he couldn't lose the battle. Besides, with the Song Clan's old ancestor coming out to denounce him, even if he was at a disadvantage, Yang Fan might not dare to beat him up again. Even officials had to respect the elderly. What kind of outrageous things could Yang Fan do?
However, after a few steps, Liu Guangye suddenly felt that something was wrong. Turning his head to look, he was so angry that his nose almost became crooked, even though his nose had already become crooked from Yang Fan's slap.
The clay soldiers behind him stood on the slope like wooden statues. Not a single one of them followed him down. Even Niu Yilang and the other servant, who were members of the Imperial Censorate, were actually standing there with hesitant expressions on their faces. Their eyes darted back and forth, not daring to follow him down. Liu Guangye glared at them fiercely. Only then did Niu Yilang and the other servant reluctantly summon up their courage and follow him down.
The Song Clan's old ancestor was helped down from the carriage. Trembling, he cupped his hands towards Maqiao and called out in an aged voice, "This general, why are you gathering troops in this old man's house?"
How could Maqiao dare to accept the greeting of such an old man? A man of such age, if he went to court, he wouldn't even need to pay his respects to the Emperor. The Emperor would even bestow him a seat.
Maqiao hurriedly got off his horse and bowed deeply towards the old man. He didn't say that he had misheard the news and thought that Liu Guangye was going to make a move against Xie Man. He only wanted to push the matter onto Yang Fan and said, "Old man, this lowly general is only following orders. Imperial Envoy Yang will be here in a moment. Please ask our Lord Imperial Envoy about the details. "
"I'm also an imperial envoy. As a general of the imperial court, you actually dare to gather troops and confront me!"
Liu Guangye said angrily, but Maqiao turned a deaf ear to him. He only took a step back and stood next to the horse with his hand on his saber.
Liu Guangye was embarrassed. He used the greeting of the Song Clan's old ancestor to conceal his awkwardness.
Not long after, Yang Fan galloped over on horseback. He had just taken off his clothes and jumped into the bathtub to take a bath when a soldier came to report his arrival. He hurriedly wiped himself clean and put on his robes before rushing over. He didn't have anything on him, but his hair was wet, so he didn't tie it up. He just casually tied a ponytail with a piece of cloth and tied it behind his head.
As the fine horse galloped, the 'ponytail' and 'ponytail' danced in the wind. Amidst his handsomeness, there was a hint of a romantic and uninhibited air.
The old ancestor of the Song Clan's eyes weren't blurry. He squinted at him and praised, "What a young man, what a heroic bearing!"
In reality, ever since Yang Fan had passed the crown, he couldn't be considered a young man. It was just that in the eyes of such an old man, if he were to be called a young man, no one else could say anything.
Yang Fan rushed to the front of the crowd and flipped off his horse. Song Chumeng hurriedly came forward to introduce him. When Yang Fan heard that it was the old clan leader of the Song Clan who had come, he didn't dare to slight him. He first went forward to greet the old man, then turned to Liu Guangye and asked coldly, "Censor Liu, what is your purpose in mobilizing such a large force?"
It would have been better if Yang Fan hadn't mentioned it. Now that he said it, Liu Guangye's anger flared again. Liu Guangye angrily pointed at the three hundred Steel Cavalry standing solemnly behind Yang Fan and said fiercely, "What is your purpose in using public property for private purposes?"
Yang Fan's eyebrows raised slightly and said, "This official left the capital by imperial edict. This brigade is my bodyguard. Someone came with a murderous aura, and my bodyguard was on alert. What do you mean by using public property for private purposes? On the other hand, aren't these hundreds of soldiers from the imperial court? You led them straight to this official's residence. What is your purpose? "
Liu Guangye pointed at his swollen face and crooked nose and roared, "You tell me what my purpose is? You tell me what my purpose is? Yang Fan, you have no respect as an official. You beat up an Censor. I won't let this matter go. "
Yang Fan sneered and was about to retort when Song Wanyou suddenly shouted, "Eh? What's going on? Uncle, look! "
He shouted and pointed into the distance. Everyone looked over and saw a thick black smoke rising straight up in a corner of the dusky sky. Because there was no wind at this time, the smoke didn't disperse. As it rose, it gradually spread out and turned into something thick at the top and thin at the bottom, like a stick standing upright in the air.
Song Chumeng's expression changed and he cried out, "Is someone attacking the city? Why would someone attack the city? "
This thick smoke was set up by the Song family in imitation of the imperial court's beacons in the four cities. It also burned cow dung and horse dung that easily combusted into smoke. This beacon was not for reporting to other places, but because although Bajiang County was poor and crude, it was not a small place. It was difficult for things like clappers and gongs to play an effective role in transmitting messages, so this warning signal of 'the day is the beacon, and the night is the beacon' was made.
As the head of the Song family, Song Chumeng naturally understood what this beacons meant.
Old Ancestor Song's expression tightened and he hurriedly ordered, "Chumeng, go take a look and see if it was accidentally ignited. Wanyou, quickly gather the Ding Yong in the city to prepare for the unexpected! "
Song Chumeng and his nephew repeatedly agreed and jumped on their warhorses to gallop away.
Yang Fan and Liu Guangye had just confronted each other when the warriors of the two caves, three streams, and nineteen strongholds of Xie Man came to attack the city. Under such circumstances, the two imperial envoys couldn't kill each other anymore. Liu Guangye took the opportunity to step down and wanted to lead his soldiers back to his residence.
At this time, Hu Yuanli came.
Hu Yuanli and Sun Yuxuan led the Xie Man girls and children to another place, leaving Sun Yuxuan to look after and protect them. Hu Yuanli rushed to see Yang Fan.
He was still holding the written statement in his hand. Although he only recorded the statements of a few people, they described how Liu Guangye led the native soldiers to break into the stronghold, wantonly plundering wealth, wantonly raping women, and when they resisted, he immediately accused the other side of being traitors, and cruelly slaughtering them one after another. It was enough to make one's heart tremble.
Hu Yuanli rushed over and saw that both sides were fine. He was relieved and handed the prepared transcript to Yang Fan. Yang Fan casually flipped through a few pages and his killing intent immediately rushed to his head.
He originally thought that the soldiers were only following orders and all the sins were on Liu Guangye alone. Now that he saw this transcript, he realized that under the influence of the devil Liu Guangye, the hundreds of soldiers on the hillside had also become real devils and committed endless sins.
Yang Fan coldly raised his head and swept a glance at the soldiers on the grassy hillside. The last ray of the setting sun was reflected in his eyes, the color of blood.
Liu Guangye greeted Old Ancestor Song and was about to turn back to his residence when Yang Fan said in an awe-inspiring voice, "Liu Guangye, you can't leave, you can't leave!"
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