Chapter Fifty-Four: Ideals

  The troops gradually moved out of the city, after all their mission was to go out and fight. Xiangcheng Bo Li Guoquan was sandwiched in the middle of the team, bypassing Zhengyang Gate, and slowly went towards the direction of Dengyimen.

  The troops passed by in disarray, and what was left behind was naturally a mess.

  Huī Méi was distracted for a long time, and by this time, the city was almost out of control. The sneaky thieves, whether hiding or escaping from the city, seemed to be doing so easily. She had to hurry over and persuade Lǎo Wāng and others to hide quickly.

  Not far in front of her, Du Xun and several others also stood up and began to move quickly towards their predetermined target.

  ……

  ……

  "Announcing your presence to Master Zong!"

  Wang Dehua, surrounded by a large group of eunuchs, was descending from the city gate when Dou Xun and several others paid their respects along the way. As soon as they saw Wang Dehua and his entourage approaching, Dou Xun hurriedly went forward to greet them, prostrating himself on the ground and offering grand salutations.

  "Hey, is that you?"

  This guy is so bold, even Wang Dehua has made up his mind to surrender, but at this time, he saw Du Yun and was still frightened.

  "Come with me!"

  No need for more words, Du Xun and several others rushed into the crowd of eunuchs in the big team, and immediately hid their figures.

  Arriving at Wang Dehua's mansion in Baliancheng, as soon as he sat down in the flower hall, Wang Dehua scolded: "Du Xun, it's not that our family has said you're wrong, but your guts are a bit too big!"

  "Master!" Du Xun stood up, his face no longer had any hint of arrogance, standing in front of Wang Dehua, he lowered his eyebrows and eyes, like a new daughter-in-law: "There's an urgent matter, it's extremely important, that's why I dared to come in. Anyway, with Master here, I can at least be safe."

  "Hmm, never mind. But tell me, what's so important? And have you seen Li Chuan?"

  Du Zhiyi and Du Xun surrendered one after another, considered as the vanguard of the eunuch group. Although Wang Dehua scolded him, he also really wanted to probe into the actual situation on the side of the rebel army.

  "Cough, the new emperor is indeed the founder of the country, with the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix..."

  "Wait!"

  Wang Dehua thought for a moment, then called the accountant in the mansion to write a notification, only instructing: "Immediately, at this very moment, with utmost haste, eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

  He was a eunuch from the Neishu Hall and ordered him to write a letter of admission, which came easily.

  Wang Dehua's note was even more useful than the imperial edict. Before long, Zhang Xianyi and others from the Department of Ceremonies arrived one after another. Wang Dehua merely nodded his head and invited them in.

  They saw Du Xun, and everyone else also raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

  Then there were Gao Ming, Wang Xin'an and others, who were all famous and powerful eunuchs. After Wang Xiangyao, who was in charge of guarding the Xuanwu Gate and other gates with over a thousand soldiers, arrived, everyone was present.

  Wang Dehua smiled and said, "Gentlemen, Du Xun is here, you've all seen him, he's the one who took the lead in setting up camp for us, as for how it went, we'll have to ask him to tell us himself."

  This old eunuch is indeed the inner minister who controls everything, with a vast and boundless mind. When Du Xun arrived, he must have had some important secret matter to discuss, but he waited until now before allowing Du Xun to speak.

  "Yes, as Master Zong instructed, I'll share some thoughts with everyone." Du Xun glanced around and saw that all the qualified eunuch leaders in the capital were present.

  However, one Wang Chengen is missing!

  So the tone is easy to establish, and it's straightforward to say what you want to say without any ambiguity. Wang Dehua thinks that's why he can speak out in public now.

  Whoever comes, whatever is done, this old fox really has a clear mind!

  At this time, he was following his own script and also asked Chongzhen to surrender, saying that the eunuchs were all in favor of it.

  "I'll give it a shot."

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay, not knowing how to respond. At this time, Wang Dehua slowly said: "If the emperor is willing to surrender, he will still be a rich and noble king. We are also long-time family slaves who follow him. This little bit of loyalty to our master is still there..."

  This settled the tone, and everyone nodded in agreement, with a look of concern on their faces.

  "All right, in two days' time, when the rebel army arrives and surrounds the city, I will follow Master Zong to meet with the Emperor."

  Now that things have come to this, Du Xun's regret is also too late. With so many people around, if he shrinks back at the critical moment, he can keep his life for now, but for the rest of his life, he will only be able to pick up dung and grow vegetables.

  "It's like this."

  Wang Dehua looked quite exhausted after making such a major decision, after all, he was advanced in years and had suffered a knife wound, his body was very weak. He looked at the crowd and then turned to Wang Xiangyao: "Master Wang, you are guarding the Xuanwu Gate, and also need to take care of the Zhengyi Gate, everything, you must be careful, you must keep the city gate in your hands... This matter is extremely important, do you understand?"

  "Returning to the master," Wang Xiangyao replied with a very wronged expression, "The Xuanwu Gate has sent over Liu Wenbiao, the new Marquis of Yuele. I'm now just an assistant to others."

  "What?" Wang Dehua's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the fatigue of just now had completely disappeared.

  "The Chongwen Gate has been secured, and the Crown Prince is now at Chaoyang Gate..." Wang Dehua's contemplative expression grew thicker, and after a brief moment of silence, he smiled faintly and turned to Du Xun: "Du lao ye, persuading the Emperor is a great achievement, but there's another matter that might be even easier and more reliable than persuading the Emperor..."

  The city gate is abnormal, Du Xun has already seen it, this guy is also very spiritual, and immediately knelt down in front of Wang Dehua, saying: "Please Master Wang to release, whatever the errand, Du Xun will take on alone!"

  ……

  ……

  Du Xun knelt down at the same time, and Hui Mei also arrived at the east riverbank of Zhengyang Gate. It was still some distance away from where Lao Wang and others lived, but this girl had already sensed that something was amiss.

  Originally, the east riverbank was a place where all sorts of people mixed together, bustling with activity. People came and went, from shop assistants to small-time businessmen, laborers and peddlers, idlers and rascals, as well as beggars and refugees who had fled from all over the city. The entire area around the east riverbank was teeming with crowds of people.

  Today, there are still many people coming and going here, but that relaxed and casual atmosphere is no longer felt. Although the crowd is large, it seems like they are all puppets on strings, being manipulated by others.

  She was hesitant, but when she saw several familiar figures, she knew that her guesses and intuition were not wrong... Lao Wang's gang had been caught long ago, and today was also the day for them to be brought to justice.

  It has to be said that under Zhu Ciyan's care, the Brocade Guards also burst forth with their greatest strength. With a hundred households and two general flags, they managed to gather several hundred people in just a few months. In terms of professionalism and loyalty, they were on par with each other. By this time, Zhu Ciyan had already arranged for the families of these men to leave the city, planning to naturally take control of this force.

  "All hundred households have been tightly surrounded, and not a single one has escaped."

  "No," Gao Sheng said. Hu Yan Ao Bo shook his head and said, "That female thief who appeared on the city wall seems to have been away from them for some time."

  "This..."

  Letting a female thief go, Huyan Aobo didn't take it to heart. Seeing that the several subordinates in front of him were a bit embarrassed, he smiled and waved his hand, saying: "Take action, young master is still waiting for news in the palace. After finishing this matter, we will also prepare to leave the city."

  "Xiao Ye said, to secretly interrogate the bandits, see if they have reported the situation of changing the city gate." Hu Yan Ao Bo drew out his own embroidered spring knife and smiled: "In a moment I'll lead people in, Xiao Li is responsible for holding them down... If there's a leak, you guys go apologize to Xiao Ye yourself!"

  "Good luck!"

  A group of brocade-clad guards began to draw their swords in preparation. Their embroidered spring knives were quick and slender, just the right instrument for a small-scale battle.

  Just as they were about to take action, the window on the second floor of the inn was suddenly pushed open, and someone stuck their head out, laughing loudly: "The bastards are finally going to make a move!"

  "Is it the leader of the Wang surname thieves?" Hu Yan Ao Bo furrowed his brow and said: "Something is off about this!"

  "Go back and tell your masters, this world will eventually change owners! Old Wang's expression was like a madman, shouting to the crowd: "The poor people under heaven are all looking forward to our King of Bandits, if we die, you will not be better off!"

  "Why bother?" Since his disguise had been exposed, Huyan Aobo stepped forward, sheathed his sword and loudly advised: "Older brother, why not come down and slowly discuss this."

  "Hey, want to make a deal with me?" Old Wang sneered and said: "You Jin Yiwei have dozens of torture instruments that force people to speak, how can they end up in your hands and still be okay?"

  "It's not like that..."

  "Fire!" Old Wang turned back and ordered loudly, "Don't be a coward, the day you started this fight, you should have known that there would be a day like today."

  Everyone really didn't think that this group of robbers would be so desperate. With a spark, the inn was suddenly filled with thick smoke, and then flames burst out, but in an instant, the entire inn was surrounded by the big fire.

  "Haha, kill off the unpeaceful to welcome the peaceful... Chuan Wang, General Liu... I, old Wan, will take my leave first. These royal relatives and corrupt officials in the capital, it's up to you all to deal with them..."

  In the midst of the raging flames, Old Wang quickly lost his trace. Inside the inn, only a few dozen human figures were seen running back and forth, but before long, it was quiet and silent, with only the sound of the fire licking its tongue.

  "Fall back and report to Young Master."

  At this time, all the brocade-clad guards were also silent. The scene before their eyes was something that they could never have imagined.

  Just as they left, behind their backs, a young girl dressed as a noble's maid was biting her lower lip so hard that blood was trickling down, yet she didn't seem to notice.

  ……

  ……

  "Is it really so?"

  In the palace, Zhu Ciwen also received the report at the first time. He pondered for a moment and smiled to himself, saying: "Since that's the case, it really saves a lot of trouble."

  "Your Majesty," Huyan Ao Bo said with some unease, "I was careless in my actions and they discovered our plan. I couldn't stop them in time, allowing the bandit leader to utter many arrogant words. Please punish me for my crime."

  This Jin Yiwei hundred households, is a straightforward person, Zhu Ciying shook his head and smiled, saying with deep meaning: "Among the thieves, there are indeed many who have grievances in their hearts. They become thieves just to overthrow the world and restore peace. However, if this thief leader lives for another half year, he will know that what he is doing today is a huge joke. It's not worth it, really not worth it."

  He turned around and ordered a group of Jin Yiwei: "The matter here is settled, there are still many things waiting for you to handle in Nanjing, set off immediately!"

  "Yes!" As the prince, who was becoming increasingly resolute and dignified, gave his assent, the guards in embroidered uniforms bowed their heads in unison.