The ace special forces who dominated the Sui Dynasty's late period

  Just as a soldier was about to stab him with his spear, Gao Xiuer shook the reins and the warhorse stood up on its hind legs, dodging the spear. The horse's front hooves heavily kicked the soldier in the chest. A blood-curdling scream echoed through the air as the soldier sprayed blood everywhere and fell to the side. Gao Xiuer urged the horse forward, Liu Ziqiu sitting behind her, wielding his long-handled spear with great force, taking down three soldiers in a row. The remaining soldiers were unable to withstand them and dodged out of the way, clearing a path.

  "Hoo... hoo..." Someone blew a warning horn, which was particularly jarring in the quiet of the night.

  Gao Xiuer only urged the horse to move forward, galloping out for four or five miles, when suddenly a high mountain appeared in front of them. This was the western mountain of Luoyang, where the trees were lush and dense, and the road forked south and north along the foot of the mountain. Gao Xiuer hesitated: "Lang Jun, which way should we go?"

  Liu Ziqiu hesitated for a moment and said: "Dismount, go up the mountain!"

  The pursuing soldiers will arrive in a moment, and it's hard for them to escape with two people on one horse. The only way is to hide first.

  Gao Xiuer jumped off the horse without hesitation, but found that Liu Ziqiu was somewhat unwell and hurriedly supported him.

  "I'm fine, you quickly run up the mountain!" Liu Ziqiu abandoned his long spear and drew out a three-edged dagger. He stabbed it fiercely into the war horse's buttocks. The horse was in pain and let out two sorrowful whinnies, then galloped south with all four hooves.

  Gao Xiuer refused to go first, supporting Liu Ziqiu as they climbed up the mountain step by step. The winding mountain path was overgrown with thorns, tearing their clothes and scratching their skin, leaving trails of blood behind. Gao Xiuer didn't care at all, gritting her teeth and persevering.

  ……

  The team that entered the Upper Forest Garden finally caught up to the edge of the courtyard wall. The bloodstains under the wall and the horn outside indicated the direction of Liu Ziqiu's escape. Some infantry began to climb over the courtyard wall, while the cavalry reined in their horses and turned around on the spot.

  At this time, General came to Hu Er to ride a horse forward, with a big hand waving: "Demolish the courtyard wall!"

  Two eunuchs who were leading the way hastily stopped him. Lai Hu'er said impatiently, "Who will be responsible if the thief escapes? If the Emperor blames us, General Ben will take full responsibility. Tear it down!"

  Dozens of soldiers and Han people worked together, "crash" a loud noise, the courtyard wall collapsed in a large area. Commander Yuwen Jing led the cavalry to rush over, and Qi'er led the infantry to follow closely behind.

  Horse hooves echoed, torches lit up the night, and cavalry chased after them to the foot of Western Mountain. At the fork in the road, a line of hoof prints mixed with bloodstains headed south. Yuwen Jing didn't have any real abilities; he was able to become the commander of the expedition solely because he had connections with Yang Guang's favorite minister, Yuwen Shu. Seeing the hoof prints, Yuwen Jing didn't search around and pointed his spear towards the south: "Pursue!"

  After a moment, a team of infantrymen rushed over, led by Qin Shubao. He looked south for a while, then raised his head to glance at the mountain road, and suddenly found that there were several pieces of red silk scraps hanging on the thorns by the side of the road, and he waved his hand: "Quickly, go up the mountain!"

  ……

  Liu Ziqiu and Gao Xiuer finally climbed to the middle of the mountain, but as they went further up, the road became narrower and more rugged, making it almost impossible to move forward. Behind them, they could hear the sound of knives cutting through thorns to clear a path, while in front of them was a precipice.

  Due to excessive blood loss, Liu Ziqiu's face was somewhat pale, and the internal injury caused by Wang Hong's palm before his death made him feel suffocated. Liu Ziqiu knew that this time he was in a desperate situation, and he refused to leave again, saying: "Xiuer, find a place to hide, I'll go distract them!"

  Gao Xiuer had already understood and hugged Liu Ziqiu tightly, crying: "No, if we die, we will die together!"

  Liu Ziqiu said sternly: "Aren't you afraid of death?"

  Gao Xiuer nodded seriously: "With you by my side, I'm not afraid of anything!"

  Suddenly a loud shout: "Qin Shubao is here, bandits don't run!"

  Upon hearing the name, Liu Ziqiu was taken aback. Wasn't Qin Shubao supposed to be a constable in Shandong? How did he end up here? However, Liu Ziqiu already knew that many characters in "The Heroes of Sui and Tang" were fictional, such as Yang Lin, the king of Mount Niao who was said to be Qin Shubao's adoptive father. In reality, this person didn't exist. So it wasn't strange for Qin Shubao to appear here either.

  As they hesitated, a large number of soldiers rushed over, with dozens of bows and arrows aimed at Liu Ziqiu. Qin Shubao held up his long sword and shouted loudly: "Bandits, surrender!"

  Liu Ziqiu suddenly burst out laughing and said, "Qin Shubao, I've long heard that you're a hero, but I didn't expect to meet you here. If I'm lucky enough not to die today, I'll definitely come looking for you another day!"

  At that time, Qin Shubao was just a team leader in the Right Valiant Guard Army, with only fifty men under his command. He was unknown and unremarkable, so he couldn't help but ask: "You, have you heard of me?"

  "Qin Shubao, what nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and shoot your arrow!"

  At this time, a large number of cavalry rushed forward, led by Yuwen Jing. It turned out that Liu Ziqiu had wounded the war horse and led the pursuing troops to the south. However, he did not expect that the wound caused by the three-edged spear could not be healed, and the horse's blood flowed continuously, falling down after running for a short distance. Yuwen Jing's cavalry came and went like the wind, and soon returned. He was Qin Shubao's superior, so Qin Shubao had to follow orders, raised one hand, and shouted: "Release the arrow!"

  The soldiers received the order to kill the bandits and "rescue" the beauty. The bows and arrows of the troops were all aimed at Liu Ziqiu, and with a single command, they shot out in unison, but saw Liu Ziqiu pick up Gao Xiuer and jump off the cliff.

  ……

  In the small building of the Weiyin Courtyard, a lone wolf's lair, Yang Guang had to temporarily move into Xie Xiangyun's boudoir. With the beauty by his side, he was completely uninterested.

  Just received news that his two trusted bodyguards, Ma Zhong was seriously injured and Wang Hong was killed by the bandits in the water pavilion. These two men were loyal to him, always following him closely, but today they encountered this great disaster, he is still somewhat distressed. Also, his most favored eunuch, Xu Tingfu, had one of his right legs severed and was carried away for medical treatment.

  After a while, someone brought over He Dun, the young master of the Tai Fu. He Dun was slapped into the water by Liu Ziqiu and was injured but not seriously, only his whole body was soaked, looking very disheveled.

  Yang Guang suddenly remembered the ingenious cart made by He Dun, which was clever but extremely cumbersome. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been unable to move "Shi Huiniang" away in time, and she wouldn't have been kidnapped by bandits. He became furious and ordered: "Guards, take him out and behead him!"

  He Da Jing was shocked and kowtowed on the ground, saying: "Your Majesty spare my life! If I hadn't risked my life to stop the bandits, they would have escaped long ago. I hope Your Majesty will investigate clearly!"

  His words were not false. If he hadn't blocked the way, Liu Ziqiu would not have been caught up by Wang Hong and wouldn't have suffered internal injuries. If Liu Ziqiu was unharmed, he would have rushed out of Xiyuan long ago, and wouldn't even have encountered Fan Yu'er and that patrol team, let alone the pursuing soldiers behind.

  Yang Guang angrily said: "But your chariot of good fortune has caused me to lose a beauty!"

  He Dong made it clear that he would improve and ensure the smooth progress of the car after his return, bowing his head repeatedly.

  Yang Guang thought of the wonderful aspects of the chariot, and his expression finally eased a bit. He said: "Give you a deadline of one month, if you can't build a carriage that satisfies me, be careful with your dog head!"

  He Tuan narrowly escaped, holding his head and scurrying away, hurrying back home to modify the Ruyi car.

  Bad news came one after another, and someone came to report. The lady of the Weihui Institute, Fan Yuer, was injured while chasing the bandits and is currently being treated. Two eunuchs from the institute's boat are missing, one drowned and the other's whereabouts unknown.

  Yang Guang did not expect that there would be such a brave and resourceful woman in the forbidden garden, thinking of her injuries, he hastily ordered the carriage to take her to Yinghui Hall. Xie Xiang didn't get to fulfill his dream of being King Xiang, feeling very disheartened, but could only force out a smile, seeing Yang Guang off with courtesy. Yuan Ziyun clenched her heart tightly, counting on her fingers again and again, yet still couldn't predict the outcome.

  ……

  In the Yinghui courtyard, looking at Fan Yu'er who was unconscious with her eyes tightly closed, Yang Guang asked the imperial physician: "How is she?"

  The imperial physician hesitated: "His life should be fine. Only afraid, only afraid..."

  Gao Xiuer was stabbed from her right back and out through the front of her chest, fortunately without injuring her heart, which saved her life. Moreover, at that time Liu Ziqiu and Gao Xiuer escaped in a hurry, even the three-edged awl was not pulled out, otherwise the consequences would be unpredictable due to excessive blood loss.

  Yang Guang frowned and asked: "What is it?"

  The imperial physician lowered his head: "To report to Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's inevitable that Consort will be left with scars on her body."

  Yang Guang was a perfectionist, and upon seeing that lovely face lying on the couch, he couldn't help but feel some regret.

  Suddenly, another eunuch came in to report: "Your Majesty, General Wei has come to request an audience."

  Yang Guang knew he must have brought news of assassins and hastily said: "Quickly announce!"

  The beauty inside the house hastily retreated, but saw Kuai Hu coming in with his helmet and armor, walking quickly and saying: "I was unable to rescue the beauty, I have failed the sacred trust, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

  Yang Guang claimed that the beauty in the garden was taken away by assassins, but he knew that "Shi Hui Niang" had already belonged to someone else. This was not only because he couldn't let go of Gao Xiu Er's beauty, but also to cover up his own shame. As an emperor, if he couldn't even win a woman over, wouldn't it be laughable?

  It is said that Yang Guang was furious when he failed to save the beauty. He spoke in a low voice, "How could this be? With so many people, you let the assassin escape?"

  Lai Hu Er hastily said: "That's not it. It's just that the thief is so ferocious, and he actually took a beauty to jump off the cliff."

  Yang Guang had just been grieving over the multiple scars on Fan Yu'er's body, and now he heard that another beauty had died. He couldn't help but sigh and said: "Send someone to search for them, bring their corpses back, I want to see who is so bold!"

  Lai Hu Er is not a sycophant like Xu Ting Fu, he will not try to guess Yang Guang's thoughts or say all sorts of good things to comfort him, but only speaks the truth. In his opinion, falling from such a high cliff would have already turned into a meat pie. It is unnecessary to mobilize the army to search around in a big circle, so he cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the bandit fell off the cliff and is dead without a doubt. The urgent task at hand is to investigate how he managed to sneak into the Forbidden Garden. In my humble opinion, the garden wall must be rebuilt according to the palace system, and the water drawn from the Luo River should also have a gate set up. It's not too late to mend the fold after the sheep has escaped!"

  "Not bad, we need to investigate further, where did Shi Hui Niang's treasured sword come from." Yang Guang knew the character of Lai Hu Er and took his words very seriously. After thinking carefully, he nodded and said, "The guards at the Western Park should be arranged like those in the Imperial City."

  The words had barely fallen when a loud noise erupted outside, and eunuchs came to report that the palace was on fire!