Chapter Eighteen: The Avenging Blade

  A team of hundreds would not disappear out of thin air, Qin Lei's knights charged into the Qi camp and made a beautiful turn, galloping along the edge of the Qi army's camp. The Qi soldiers who rushed out upon hearing the warning signal often found themselves grasping at nothing, and by the time they came to their senses, under the organization of the deputy general, they chased after and intercepted Qin Lei's knights in an attempt to block the detestable "bandits".

  That band of 'bandits' desperately pursued speed, after a brief raid they would immediately leave, never engaging in direct contact with the Qi army. The riders fiercely urged on their warhorses, the whips in their hands falling frequently, the pained warhorses galloping wildly, thousands of hooves pounding the ground like a storm, kicking up clouds of dust and smoke, to the pursuing Qi army, these people seemed to be riding on clouds and driving away the fog.

  This feeling only lasted for a moment, when the yellow sandstorm swept in and enveloped them, any praise would turn into a vicious curse. After a series of coughs that sounded like a continuous croak of frogs, the dust settled, and the ash-covered Qi Bing found that the bandit had already fled to the rebel camp.

  General Xue, with a dark face, was extremely depressed. These thieves disturbed people's peaceful dreams and then floated away, actually slapping the promising General Xue in the face. Old Xue thought angrily, if this were to be known by the big shots in the imperial court, these guys who loved to save face would definitely not give him a good look.

  Lao Xue shuddered, as if he saw Bai Sheng pointing at his nose and scolding him loudly. He wiped his face with his hand, as if to wipe away the saliva Zhao had spat on his face. Panting and furious, he yelled: "Form ranks, launch a counterattack! I'll skin these bastards alive and make them assume eighteen postures..."

  The knights in the chariot all shivered at once, and Old Xue's resentment was so strong that it could be seen from this.

  Qin Lei saw the troops successfully escape from the camp, but he didn't feel a hint of joy. He knew that this was a deliberate plan, and there was no result without a fight, but this time the noise would definitely have alerted the Hundred Victory Army, and at most one incense stick later they would arrive, if surrounded then there would be no chance of escape.

  He looked up at the increasingly close peasant army camp, the sky was slightly bright, and people's shadows could be seen moving in the camp. The noise just now had already awakened the peasant army. Now it depends on Ma Kui and a few others, Qin Lei said silently.

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  The states of Qi and Qin are at a standoff at Dasanguan, with millions of Qi citizens forced to relocate. These people, carrying their families and elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, were unwelcome everywhere, as each prefecture and county closed its city gates, refusing them entry.

  Ma San was just one of the refugees, his identity was a hunter, strong and sturdy, lucky to have escaped being recruited as cannon fodder, and escaped from the front line. Ma San was passionate, willing to help others, and knew some medical skills, earning the respect of the refugees, and soon became a leader-like figure in this group of refugees, he and several other similar figures decided the direction of the refugee crowd.

  After being rejected repeatedly, feelings of anger, despair and desperation spread among the refugees, and with some people instigating them, these formerly gentle farmers gradually became enraged. A destructive impulse to destroy those who sucked their blood and treated them as dirt grew in their chests. This mood spread like a plague, and finally, at the call of certain people, it burst out in the county of Baiqiu, Zhenzhou, killing all officials, opening granaries, which is what is called the Zhenzhou Rebellion.

  Refugees looted everywhere, making the entire Yingzhou a mess. The wealthy families and local gentry all fled into the heavily fortified walls of Yingzhou City, waiting for rescue from the imperial court.

  Under the squeeze of the government army, the peasant army lost its space for activity and tried to attack the prefectural city in an extremely foolish manner, wanting to capture the old masters in the city and force the government army to retreat.

  Ma San was always wrapped in the peasant army, he did not participate in looting, did not divide property, but silently treated the wounded, brought the last comfort to his dying companions struggling in the mud.

  At first, when things were going smoothly, everyone's attention was focused on those leaders. However, as the situation worsened day by day and they were eventually surrounded at Zhu Lu Yuan, those who had vowed to lead them in taking over the world for the poor looked so detestable. In comparison, Ma San, with a heart of Bodhisattva, received more support. People were willing to listen to him, simply believing that kind-hearted Ma San would not deceive himself.

  "Are you not going to harm us?" Ma San said with a bitter smile in his heart. He was one of the nails that Qin Lei had let Shen Luo drive out a few months ago, the deputy leader of the Shen family guards, and the highest level of this mission without interval. He still remembered the personal meeting with Qin Lei before departure, and the young prince who looked steady and determined at a young age gave him a very deep impression. He clearly remembered that at the time, the prince said: "Brother Ma, our lives are all in your hands."

  The feeling of being trusted led Ma San-yi to go to the border without hesitation, and he successfully mixed into the flow of refugees. With the help of several partners, he quickly established his own prestige, and without much effort, he smoothly led the flow of refugees to Yingzhou - the road that the lord must take when returning to the country.

  Things got out of hand afterwards, and they still underestimated the suffering of these refugees and the resentment that had been accumulating in their hearts. The original plan was to stir up the refugees as much as possible, and at the moment when the temple arrived, they would burst out with a strong momentum, using this momentum to restart everything that blocked the temple's way.

  It never occurred to them that Ma San and a few others had just started, but it was like poking a beehive, suddenly making the crowd excited, and many people with ulterior motives took advantage of the opportunity to jump out and replace Ma San and a few others' propaganda work, and then things got out of control.

  Ma San witnessed with his own eyes refugees with yellow faces and thin muscles rushing into villages, counties, beating wealthy landlords to death, looting their homes, and later, after conflicts with local people, killing indiscriminately, plundering and doing all sorts of evil.

  He began to loathe himself, personally opening the sealed box of the devil. So he quit the fight and devoted himself to doing some life-saving work, hoping that his heart would feel a little more at ease. However, as luck would have it, his prestige grew day by day, and more and more people gathered around him, trusting him, worshipping him, and relying on him. This trust, worship, and reliance gnawed at his soul every moment.

  Just when he thought he couldn't hold on any longer, the prince's secret letter arrived. A dirty little kid took advantage of the crowd to squeeze in front of him and stuffed a wax pellet into his sleeve cuff. If he hadn't smiled at himself, I wouldn't have noticed him either. But who was that little kid? He looked a bit like Hou Xin, but he didn't have such nimble hands. Ma San, or should it be Ma Kui?

  It seems that being an undercover agent makes one think more and more, but say less and less.

  The melancholy Ma Qiu shook his head, stopped his wandering thoughts, returned to his camp, ordered the guards not to disturb him, then pinched open a wax pellet, took out a small piece of paper, looked at it deeply, and swallowed it into his belly. If someone saw this, they would only think he was taking medicine.

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  These past few days I've changed the book title and revised the outline under the editor's supervision, so updates have been affected. Please forgive me, please forgive me, I don't dare ask for votes.