A scout turned back from the small path and reported loudly, "General, the Xu family's thieves still have a dozen or so Jianghu bandits escorting them. They will be easily intercepted by our brothers who are waiting at the front!"
The horseman sneered, "Good! These reckless Jianghu scum dared to collude with the remnants of the Xu family and killed more than thirty of our brothers. Tonight, I will serve these bastards well! "
About a mile away from this elite horseman, on a small path that could only allow three riders to pass side by side, twelve or thirteen people were escorting a horse carriage. When they saw the bright light in front of them, their faces changed drastically. They saw torches raised at the end of the path, with three riders in each row. There were more than ten rows in total. Under the light of the torches, the elite horsemen held the standard light crossbows of the Li Yang military, ready to fire. When these righteous Jianghu bandits saw this scene, although they had already disregarded their lives, they were still frightened. Previously, to rescue the Xu family of Guanhai County, who had been loyal to them for generations, they left the mansion secretly and left the city through the city gate. They were all scared but not in danger. They didn't expect that not long after they left the city, there would be more than a hundred riders charging towards them. Seven or eight of them died under the light crossbows. If it wasn't for the Master Jianghu senior who had the cultivation of Master Realm, who took the initiative to cover their retreat and retreated with his own strength, no one would have been able to escape thirty miles away. Some of them looked back and saw that after the senior killed more than twenty riders, he was hit by several arrows. Then, he was stabbed in the chest by a rider with a strange spear. Using the huge inertia of the horse's charge, the master was pushed back more than forty steps. In the end, the rider casually threw the corpse a few feet away. It was obvious that the rider's innate strength and martial cultivation were both amazing. Even if a Level Two Master Realm master wasn't injured, he would probably be on par with the rider.
A Jianghu rider glanced at the large paddy fields by the side of the road. Most of them had finished their autumn harvest. Bunches of straw that had been harvested were piled up on the fields. They didn't have time to pick them up and bring them home. He turned around and roared, "Get into the fields!"
The old coachman, who was driving the carriage, gritted his teeth and abruptly reined in the horse, turning around and following the slope towards the dried-up paddy field. The carriage was not as light as a horse, so it immediately jolted violently. After passing through a short but hard ridge, it rushed past. The four wheels momentarily stopped in the air before crashing to the ground with a loud bang. A series of painful cries came from within the carriage. There were men and women, and judging from their voices, they were all very young and even had a hint of childishness.
The elite cavalry that was in charge of intercepting the carriages had mocking looks on their faces. Did these fellows really think that they were the Beiliang Frontier Army and the Beimang Cavalry? On the battlefield, did they think that such a blunt turn of events could be played so easily? More than 40 light cavalry similarly descended the slope and entered the fields. However, compared to the panicked fleeing group, this cavalry, who were familiar with archery and horses, was not only calm and unruffled, but also had the demeanor of an autumn hunt.
No wonder these cavalrymen were so conceited, it was because they were worthy of this arrogance. They were once part of the cavalry that crossed the Guangling River to the north of the Southern Xinjiang Army. Although the fighting on the battlefields in the capital could not be considered tragic, since they were able to become part of the Southern Xinjiang Cavalry in the early years and were even seconded to His Royal Highness, the current Emperor, for a period of time, to serve Zhao Zhu, they naturally could be called first-class elite soldiers. However, at the crucial moment of merit and reward, the commanding general, Gao Bohai, who commanded 8,000 cavalrymen, for some reason, had a dirty relationship with Che Ye, a former direct subordinate of King of Shu, Chen Zhibao. Originally, they thought it was a trivial matter and would not delay the conferment of marquis and general. Unexpectedly, His Majesty the Emperor was enraged over such a trivial matter. Even though Gao Bohai had Zhang Dingyuan and Gu Ying interceding for him, he was still directly removed from his post. The 8,000 cavalrymen under his command were split into three groups. One group of 2,000 cavalrymen remained in Guangling Road and temporarily belonged to the General's Mansion of Jianzhou. The cavalry general of this group, Gao Tinghou, was the only son of the original commander-in-chief, Gao Bohai.
Guanhai County was not eye-catching in the old West Chu territory where "half of the scholars in the world came from Guangling". The county did not show a luxuriant scene of well-dressed Chinese people standing shoulder to shoulder. Instead, it was the Guanhai Xu family that stood out. The Xu family was worthy of being called the "Da Chu's Literary Courage" for generations. Their family's history could be traced back to the Ganlu Southbound at the end of the Great Feng Dynasty. They were an important branch of the top tycoon in Great Feng Dynasty, Huangdeng Xu family. Later on, the Guanhai Xu family assisted the Jiangshi family of Da Chu for generations. They were good at governance and were once praised by the Jiangshi emperor as "Da Chu's Literary Courage". However, when Jiang Si and Cao Changqing joined forces to restore the country, the Guanhai Xu family might not be optimistic about West Chu's restoration.
It was also possible that they were scared out of their wits by the billowing smoke of the destruction of Da Chu and managed to escape the disaster. However, the Guanhai Xu family's talents withered and the family's decline could not be salvaged. The eldest grandson of the Guanhai Xu family, who had high hopes for the family, participated in the Imperial Examination together with Song Maolin. However, the latter won first place in one fell swoop and added flowers to the brocade of the Song family's prosperity. On the other hand, the former did not even qualify for the Palace Examination and failed early in the Autumn Imperial Examination. It was destined that he would not be able to help the family in their hour of need and could only stake everything on one throw to stay in the capital and wait for the next examination.
Originally, the Guanhai Xu family's fate would only rise and fall in the Jiangnan scholarly circles or the future New Liyang officialdom. However, because of the Rouge Review, God played a big joke on the Xu family, who was "the most fragrant of Guangling's Taoist books". A concubine's daughter who was originally raised in a boudoir and was unknown to everyone became a part of the Rouge Review at the age of fifteen.
In one night, the world knew that the comment, "The Xu family's daughter's beauty is enough to make the carp in the lake jump to the shore." Her name shook the north and south of the river and she was ranked fourth in the Rouge Review! In an instant, the number of people who wanted to marry her almost broke through the doorstep. People from all walks of life came one after another. Although the Guanhai Xu family was focused on learning, they still maintained the strength of a scholar when faced with people who were caught off guard. They said that the woman in the family had already set up a matchmaker many years ago and that the marriage would be completed when the man turned twenty. The Guanhai Xu family would not go back on their word. However, no one would have thought that the Xu family would grit their teeth and persevere, but the aristocratic family of Guanhai Commandery, who had been friends with the Xu family for a long time, would shrink back and resolutely deny the marriage. The young man, who was only half a year away from becoming an adult, quickly got married under the urging of his father. He married a pretty girl from a small family of equal social status. All of this was, of course, caused by Deputy Provincial Commander Song, who had smelled the scent of blood. Think about it, how could Song Li miss a Rouge Review that was within his jurisdiction? Tonight's bloody interception was only Marquis Gao Tinghui's pledge of allegiance. However, Marquis Gao Tinghui did not expect that to deal with a group of scholars, he would lose 30 elite cavalry who were completely capable of making a name for themselves at the border. After all, he had underestimated the power of the Central Plains Aristocratic Families.
The dozen or so Jianghu heroes surrounding the carriage all saw something strange in the distance. In the distant field, behind a pile of rice, there were two people, one big and one small, lighting a bonfire, as if they were roasting game.
At this time, the elite cavalry who had caught up with the carriage team had already raised their crossbows and shot out arrows. The unique sound of the arrows piercing through the air was particularly ear-piercing in the silent field.
One was in the south and one was in the north. The distance between the two sides was less than 30 steps. Most of the heroes who knew martial arts were able to use their weapons to block the arrows. However, there were still two people who were unlucky. They dodged the first arrow but did not dodge the second arrow. One of the riders was shot through the throat. He staggered forward for a dozen steps before falling off his horse and dying. The other rider was directly nailed to the temple. The huge penetrating force caused the rider's corpse to fall out on the spot.
When the carriage brushed past the bonfire, another two Jianghu heroes who had stood up for the Xu family out of righteous indignation died on the spot.
Probably because the two sides were about to leave Tian Yin and enter the dense forest in front of them, the light crossbows in the hands of the elite cavalry began to deliberately shoot at the horses of these people. The two large horses of the carriage were especially targeted. When the horse to the north was hit by three arrows, although the elite cavalry was afraid of accidentally injuring the prey in the carriage, the arrows that were shot at the horse were not fatal. However, it was enough to stop the carriage. The old coachman's face was filled with despair as he tightened the reins. Ignoring the pain in his arm, he forcefully stopped the horse to prevent the carriage from flipping over. The remaining Jianghu riders all stopped their horses to the north of the carriage and formed a line, protecting the carriage behind them.
Keeping a promise was worth a thousand gold and disregarding life and death. This was the foundation of these Jianghu people. Although the word 'loyalty' was becoming less and less valuable in the new Jianghu, at least these people still firmly believed in the rules of the older generation of Jianghu.
A middle-aged man who looked like a military officer leisurely turned his horse. After circling around the same place, he pointed the tip of his sword at the carriage and said in a deep voice, "Everyone get off!"
No one responded.
The knight sneered and waved his sword forward. Another wave of light crossbows shot out. There were only eight Jianghu people left. Half of them used their weapons to deflect the arrows or bowed their heads to avoid the arrows. The other four charged forward and without exception, they were all shot by the arrows and became like hedgehogs.
An arrow accidentally hit the carriage and made a 'bang' sound.
The military officer did not even look at the corpses and said sternly, "I'll give you one last chance!"
An even more hurried and muffled sound of horse hooves sounded in the distance. The main general, Gao Tinghou, had already led the hundred cavalry over.
When he passed by the bonfire, he did not brazenly kill. Instead, he used his lance to poke and flick the bonfire. Suddenly, sparks flew everywhere and trapped the two pitiful people who were sleeping in the countryside.
He slowed down the speed of his horse because he found that the two people who should have been in a panic were still sitting in the same place and did not roll or crawl to avoid the sparks.
Gao Tinghou hesitated for a moment but did not stop his horse. After all, the prey tonight was related to his career and he knew what was important.
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