Chapter Twenty-Two: Life and Death

  "Miss, are we going to die?"

  "Death? Maybe it's liberation, what I fear most is being unable to live and unable to die!"

  The young girl bit her lip and spat out the words, the green-clad maid beside her rolled her eyes around, suddenly understanding the meaning of the words, her small mouth opened wide, and she even forgot to retract her tongue.

  "Sister, have you been possessed by an evil spirit?" asked the maid in red clothes in confusion.

  The carriage suddenly lurched, and the green-clad maid cried out in pain, a thread of fresh blood flowing from her tongue. She didn't have time to feel the pain, instead she hugged her sister tightly, tears like pearls welling up and overflowing onto her cheeks.

  "Silly sister, what happened to the families of those corrupt officials, don't you know?"

  The maid in red clothes was frightened as soon as she heard it, and her face lost its beauty. She had also heard the old mother say that those people would be sold to the teaching department, where it was not a place for humans to stay, it was a fiery pit, a living hell that devoured people without spitting out their bones!

  "Sister, our family hasn't committed a crime, will we be sold?"

  Facing her sister's inquiry, the maid in green also didn't know and just sobbed. The young lady beside her sighed: "It's even worse than being sold. History books say that during the Northern Song Dynasty, when Bianjing was occupied by the Jin people, all the concubines, palace maids, even the noble consorts and empresses had no good ending!"

  "Ah!"

  The maid in red also remembered the rough man she had met not long ago, ferocious, ugly, and coarse hands that had grasped her and her sister's wrists, staring at Miss with a greedy gaze, like a demon!

  "Miss, we will... won't..."

  The girl shook her head painfully, and her eyes involuntarily looked out of the carriage. A tall figure was riding a war horse, directing the carriage to escape. Her own fate would probably be decided in this person's mind. The girl clearly remembered that when she lifted the curtain, two people met each other's eyes for an instant.

  He was a handsome young man, strong and robust, with more presence than any man she had ever seen. He was different from those refined scholars and gentlemen, and also unlike those pampered sons of rich families...

  The girl's mind was increasingly disturbed, and she didn't know whether it was good or bad luck. The carriage was still speeding along, but in an instant, the carriage took them out of the city gate, onto the suspension bridge, and also left behind the Beijing city where they had lived for over a decade.

  Gu Zhenhua got more than 40 horse-drawn vehicles from Xu Fang and Gao Hongtu, searched out 70 or 80 horse-drawn vehicles in Wang Gongchang's factory, and seized another 30 or 40 from Liu Zongmin's hands. In total, he already had 160 horse-drawn vehicles, plus more than 100 pack mules for transporting supplies, making the team quite large.

  The things on the vehicle were also the starting capital of Gu Zhenhua's family, and there must be no problem at all. Therefore, Gu Zhenhua personally led the firearms team and cavalry to cut off the rear, while Xue Biao, Gao Hongtu, Xie Bin, Xu Fang, Sun Cheng, Lu Yong and others were divided into groups to command each section, ensuring that everything was foolproof.

  Just as Gu Zhenhua and his men were leaving the city, those noble officials finally saw an opportunity. Originally, they had been killed by the Dashun Army until they were defeated, and the city gate was about to be closed. These guys had already given up.

  But Gu Zhenhua suddenly appeared, drove back the Dashun Army, and seized the city gate. These guys were like grasping at a straw for survival, and they rushed up frantically.

  They shouted and the horses neighed, the order at the city gate collapsed instantly, and everyone rushed to run out. Gu Zhenhua saw it and his eyes turned red immediately, he urged the war horse fiercely, standing in front of these people.

  "Everyone stop right there! Who dares to charge at the motorcade? This is your example!"

  Gu Zhenhua said, swinging his waist knife and cutting down two family guards. The bloody heads fell to the ground. This group of aristocrats finally stopped in their tracks, but some people still didn't back down.

  A man in his forties, with a sycophantic smile, walked up to Gu Zhenhua and said: "Judging from your behavior, you must be a subject of the great Ming dynasty. I am not talented, but I am the Marquis of Chengyang, a hereditary title that has been passed down for generations. In normal times, when you see me, you would probably bow and show respect. Although these are chaotic times and such etiquette is not observed, shouldn't we still maintain some distinction between superior and inferior? We, who have served the great Ming dynasty for hundreds of years, shouldn't we be the first to leave the city? How can you let others see you like this?"

  As soon as the Marquis of Chengyang spoke, others immediately followed suit and loudly said: "That's right, it can't be just your convoy leaving the city. We should go first. Otherwise, in the future, if we are held accountable, the crime of framing a meritorious official will not be escapable!"

  The nobles shouted in agreement, and several officials who had escaped the disaster also joined in: "We have read the classics of the sages, and the more chaotic the world is, the more we should repay the emperor's kindness. Let us go out first."

  "Nothing is more important than people, you drive such a big car, isn't it loaded with gold and silver treasures? It's simply greedy and forgetful of righteousness, disloyal and unfilial..."

  These guys are so angry that they can't help but scold. After Gu Zhenhua heard this, he had a somewhat absurd feeling, and it's no wonder the Great Ming Dynasty would perish - with these bastards around, it's simply unacceptable for the country not to be destroyed.

  "Don't you guys look in the mirror? Are you all three-year-old kids? You don't have the guts to deal with the big shots, but you're so bold and arrogant when it comes to your own people. Do you think I'm some kind of sentimental fool who will spare your feelings?"

  "Tell you all, you're wrong! Get out of here immediately, or leave your heads behind!"

  Their hypocritical masks were pierced, these noble officials were all indignant, especially the Marquis of Chengyang, who pointed at Gu Zhenhua and loudly questioned: "Are you still a subject of the Great Ming? How dare you be so presumptuous, I will impeach..."

  Before he could finish his sentence, Gu Zhenhua's waist knife swung out and swept across his shoulder, beheading him. The head flew off, blood spurting more than a meter high. The head fell to the ground, both eyes still wide open, unable to believe it was real.

  Others were also shocked, these guys were certain that Gu Zhenhua was a subject of the Ming Dynasty and would not dare to do anything to them, so they dared to be reckless. But in the blink of an eye, he killed a marquis, which really subverted their imagination. These people all couldn't help but retreat backwards, not daring to provoke this jinx.

  "Hum, you wait honestly for me, my convoy is leaving the city. If you dare to disturb the order again, I will show no mercy!"

  The gods and ghosts are afraid of evil people, these meritorious officials were thoroughly shocked, Gu Zhenhua's team sped up faster and faster, and in the blink of an eye, more than a hundred horse-drawn carriages had gone out. Seeing victory in sight, Gu Zhenhua's heart was also joyful.

  However, he didn't know that Li Yan was deploying troops at this time. He was different from those arrogant and impetuous generals who rushed into battle. From the moment he clashed with Gu Zhenhua, Li Yan had been certain that the one causing trouble in the city was this guy.

  Especially after seeing Gu Zhenhua's horse-drawn carriages, he was very clear that they were already loaded with crucial things. Although Li Yan had been repelled by Gu Zhenhua, it was obvious that he would not let him leave the city easily.

  "Give orders outside the city, call two armored vehicles over and seal off the suspension bridge from the outside!"

  Although the city gate was controlled, Li Yan could still let people out from the city wall. After the soldiers left the city, they immediately found the original attacking troops at the fastest speed. These Dashun Army were preparing to enter the city to enjoy honor and wealth, but suddenly received orders and could only mobilize.

  Two large mantlets were pushed forward towards the suspension bridge. The so-called mantlet was a wooden frame wrapped in cowhide, which could defend against bows and arrows and firearms. During the siege, it was pushed to the front as a shield.

  Li Yan also knew that his troops were not many, and it was difficult to resist the sharp firearms, so he took action from outside the city. The two carts were like two big gates, as long as they were pushed onto the drawbridge, they could block the exit route, and also defend against firearm attacks, making the people in the city become fish in a barrel.

  The wheels of the carriage rolled over the ground, emitting a low rumble. More than 200 soldiers from the Da Shun Army followed behind, hastening towards Chaoyang Gate.

  At this time, Sun Cheng and Lu Yong had already led the vanguard out of the city, while Xue Biao and others also rushed out one after another. Only Gu Zhenhua was left in the city, along with thirty or forty horse-drawn carriages and some firearms handlers.

  As soon as they saw the huge truck rushing over, Sun Cheng and the others' faces changed instantly. Sun Cheng couldn't help but exclaim: "No, Fourth Brother is in danger!"

  "What should I do, big brother?"

  "What else can we do? We'll have to fight our way through! No matter what, we can't let these two big guys get close to the city gate!"

  Sun Cheng and Lu Yong, disregarding their pain, urged on their war horses and charged towards the enemy's chariots. However, these elite soldiers of the Great Shun Army were not to be underestimated, and instantly a hail of arrows shot out, heading straight for Sun Cheng and his men.

  Xue Biao, who was charging forward, suddenly let out a muffled groan. He had been shot in the abdomen and blood was already flowing out. The others were also injured and couldn't charge forward anymore. The two carts continued to move quickly towards the suspension bridge, and it seemed that their only way of escape was being cut off again.

  "Fourth brother, hurry up and leave the city!"