Insufficient balance

  What the hell is going on here, this team of patrolmen looks suspicious at first glance, absolutely not right. The robes worn by the leader and the soldiers behind him all have a somewhat ill-fitting feeling, more importantly, the swords hanging from their waists are actually mouth swords. You know that the standard weapon of the Tang army is a knife. The standard equipment for ordinary soldiers in the four major systems of Bian, Wei, Fu, and Jin mainly includes horizontal knives (straight-backed long knives), Mo knives (double-edged knives, with functions such as chopping, cutting, and stabbing). In the border army, there are also special Mo knife camps and left and right Mo knife generals. Only high-ranking officers like Xiaowei, Lüshi, and above have the privilege of wearing a long sword.

  What's most infuriating is that they actually treated me like a eunuch, with a deadpan expression, not even giving me a glance, and just walked past me with their heads down, despite my appearance being no different from a chef. But I've always been the one to personally arrange the selection of guards, so there's no reason for them not to recognize me.

  A chill ran through my heart, could it be that the King of Hanzhong has made his move? I immediately weighed the pros and cons, but this was unlikely. The city's defenses were on high alert, it was impossible for there to be no signs of movement at all. I still had faith in the abilities of Gao Dafu and others. If the Sword Pavilion Army dared to secretly retreat, they would first face the ambush of the Ben Tu Jie Si cavalry. Most importantly, if the King of Hanzhong's men didn't recognize me, that would be... I suddenly thought of a special profession often seen in novels - "assassin".

  Absurd and provocative, amidst a mix of emotions including fear, I remained calm and collected, but turned over many thoughts in my mind. I suppressed the idea that they were about to attack us, and instead thought about how they could sneak in without alerting the guards. They were dressed neatly and didn't look like they had rushed into action, indicating that they had sufficient preparation time. Their bodies were clean and odorless, suggesting that they hadn't engaged in hand-to-hand combat, but rather had been invited in openly and honestly. I could only think of one phrase: "there's an insider" - and it was likely someone with a high-ranking position. In unclear circumstances, there might be many more people like this. If I were to call for backup recklessly... My mind turned quickly, and I came up with a rather adventurous idea. Clearing my throat, I shouted, "Who are you people? You're being rude!" The men behind the leader's back tightened their grip on their swords. The man turned around, looking like he was asking what my problem was. "I don't know... do you have any advice?" I took a closer look at him - his physique was robust, with thick hands and feet, prominent veins, and well-defined joints. He clearly wasn't a good person to mess with, but he had a very ordinary-looking face.

  I suppressed the tremble and chill in my heart, and said calmly, "Director Liang and Wei Zhonglang are both inside attending to Your Majesty. No one is allowed to disturb them. Who let you in?" Although they all looked normal and calm, I saw a glint of unusual color in someone's eyes in that direction.

  But he heard the words and piled up a full face of smiles, only to make people feel very uncomfortable under the guise of politeness. Guessing my identity, "We came from Guanzhong with urgent military affairs to report to Your Excellency."

  "I did as he wished, making a difficult expression 'This won't do... but there's no other way...' The expressions of the people behind him changed slightly, flashing with an unusual color. I coughed several times and rubbed my hands repeatedly, and he showed a sudden realization, pulling out a heavy object and handing it over. His eyes flashed with relief and amusement, apparently taking me for a greedy little man. He said in a low voice 'Thanks for your trouble.' I nodded in satisfaction 'We'll bring the dishes in later, passing on a message is no problem.'"

  I rushed back to the kitchen, looking around for something that could be used for defense. There were pots and pans, as well as a kitchen knife. I couldn't help but think of Wei Xiaobao, who was known for being the worst at martial arts and the most despicable person in history. He had three great treasures: anesthetic, lime powder, and a treasure robe. Although I couldn't find any lime powder at the moment, I did have some ready-made rice flour, which I mixed with some other ingredients and took with me as I left.

  I rushed out of the door, turned around the corner, put down my things, and with a cold sweat on my back, I dashed into the bushes and lay down. Then I heard the sound of clothes tearing through the air, and soon I saw an unforgettable scene. Those people were apparently impatient, didn't take the main gate, but seemed to have springs installed, jumping up onto the wall, and then lightly jumped down, rushing towards the place with bright lights. I...I saw the legendary lightness kung fu. But I had pointed out a temporary direction for them to go, which happened to be where King Hanzhong and his hundreds of relatives were staying, they just rushed in like that, only to ask for trouble.

  It took him half a moment to come back to his senses, and seeing that they had all entered inside, he hastily drew in a deep breath and loudly shouted "Someone's here! Assassins have gotten in!"

  That loud shout was nothing, but in the stillness of the night it was like a stone that set off a huge wave. As I had wished, there were suddenly angry shouts and curses, mournful wails and screams, and the sounds of people catching the assassin, all mixed together with the crashing and banging of fierce fighting, rising and falling in a deafening cacophony that shattered the quiet night air.

  At this time, there were suddenly successive shouts of "Catch the assassin" in multiple places, and it was clear that there was more than one assassin. However, with this commotion, I believe that the old emperor's place should have taken precautions.

  In the city, there were suddenly several fires that broke out, burning extremely quickly and illuminating half of the city. The sounds of shouting, yelling, and scolding grew louder, with some people even killing each other in the chaos. I heard someone faintly shouting "The enemy soldiers are coming!" It seemed like they had accomplices who were responding to create confusion. My heart sank at this thought - under unclear circumstances, those hastily assembled city guards lacked sufficient training and experience, and might become a burden to my troops instead.

  The surrounding Ming Wei and An Xiao's men gathered around, with more than 20 people, holding spears and shields to surround me in the middle, only then did I feel at ease. Then, they dispatched people to summon soldiers and horses to investigate the situation. Also remembering that there was still a group of terrorists in the inner courtyard, they concentrated their bows, crossbows, and shields, and led the remaining troops to Han Zhong Wang's inner courtyard.

  But what met our eyes was a scene of utter chaos: amidst the deafening din of clashing steel and the whirling shadows of combatants, the cries and curses still hadn't ceased, clearly indicating that the battle was far from over. The bloodstained water flowed out from under the half-opened gate, splattering onto the ground beneath our feet with a sickening squelch. In the spacious courtyard, dozens of people were embroiled in a fierce melee, their struggles more intense than anything I'd ever seen before. Despite being outnumbered, the assassins' deadly efficiency and razor-sharp blades seemed to be gaining the upper hand, their movements lightning-fast and eerily synchronized, each strike landing with unerring precision, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake, like a hot knife slicing through butter. The sheer ferocity of their onslaught had pinned down the soldiers, who were being slaughtered by the dozen, their lifeless bodies piling up from the gate all the way to the steps of the inner hall.

  In the midst of fierce fighting and bloodshed, they repeatedly approached the King of Hanzhong's side, with blood splashing onto people's faces. The King of Hanzhong remained unscathed, merely showing signs of excessive fright, as he was escorted by the crowd straight to the inner palace. It was purely due to their numerical superiority that they managed to hold on, but it was a close call.

  As we approached, someone turned around and a large piece of shiny metal flew towards us. I thought it was a hidden weapon, but then I heard a muffled hum, and several people were injured. Fortunately, these were all soldiers who had come down from the battlefield, and they didn't panic. They also had shields to protect themselves, so no one died. The next wave of crossbow bolts passed by, but unfortunately, some of our own people were mistakenly hit, and in the chaos, two assassins were knocked down while trying to dodge. The morale of the Han Zhong Wang's soldiers was greatly boosted, and they pushed those people out of the inner hall again. Those people became more anxious, their movements becoming more frantic. The leader suddenly saw my face clearly, his eyes turning red with anger, and he suddenly turned around and attacked me. The large shield exploded with a loud noise, several people in the front row couldn't hold on and fell to the ground, killed instantly. The next person swung his sword and took advantage of the opening to charge in, and in the flashing sword light, several more crossbowmen fell to the ground. It was surprisingly easy for them to break through my defensive formation, almost reaching me.

  I shouted "Not good!", and with a loud command, the people on both sides suddenly parted to let those men through. All I heard was a crazy shout in the middle: "Look at the power of my Five Poisons Powder!" The assassin saw that a large amount of powder had been scattered everywhere, covering everyone's heads and faces, making them look like they were covered in flour. Everyone felt a burning sensation in their eyes, noses, and mouths, and the more they rubbed, the more it stung. Realizing that the other side had someone who was skilled in using poison, I was shocked and my footsteps became disordered. The soldiers on both sides clashed with each other, swinging their swords wildly without any technique, and our own people were killing each other. The surrounding soldiers took advantage of the situation and attacked from all sides with long spears. It was impossible to see or hear anything in the chaos, and it was hard to defend against so many spears at once. In the midst of the tragic cries, several people were stabbed through. The remaining men were terrified, but they still fought back with all their might, determined to die rather than surrender. They clashed with the soldiers, killing several more before finally falling to the ground. The last one to fall was that guy who had bribed me, his body full of spears and swords, his eyes filled with regret and hatred. It brought me great satisfaction.

  This is the sound of horseshoes, outside the gate, the loud clanging of armor and swords, thirty men in a group, led by my personal guard, Cheng Shiliu, wielding a blood-stained large axe with a long handle, shouting "Old Master, I'm here! Where are the bandits to be executed?" The crowd gathered, and together with the remaining soldiers from Han Zhong Wang's side, they formed a powerful force. I ordered people to quickly fetch the broken fish net, the horse-restraining lasso, and the river pool prepared for the welcoming ceremony, as well as the baskets of white lime used to sweep the streets, all were in place.

  Then he led the troops to rush straight to the inner courtyard, and other places. With previous experience, as long as we were caught by us, no matter how fierce the guy was, we scattered ashes, set up nets, tied ropes, and all sorts of tricks, and called out in unison. No matter how ferocious and brave he was, or how lightly he escaped, he often hid from this and couldn't avoid that. As long as his hands and feet were tied up, our guns stabbed and killed, and bows and crossbows fired together, almost no one didn't get hit. This is the method I came up with to deal with fierce generals charging into battle after encountering Xiong Lei. Unexpectedly, these guys experimented with it first.