Chapter 59: Yang Banhou's Persistence

  Immediately, Zhou Xiuying asked in a trembling voice "You, you, how could you kill Liu Dashi and the others?"

  Li Zhen said in a low voice: "The enemy is clear, and we must kill."

  Zhou Xiuying fell silent, her eyes dim and lost.

  "Miss Hsiu-ying, merely relying on a small knife will not be enough to overthrow the Manchu rule. The Manchus may be weak, but they still occupy the throne and can collude with foreigners to suppress any opposition. To overthrow the Tartar regime, we must develop our strength, train troops and manufacture weapons. Only when we have the power to resist foreign enemies can we stand firm, take step-by-step action, and ultimately achieve our goal of toppling the Manchu rule."

  "Could it be that General and his men died in vain?"

  Li Zhen saw Zhou Xiuying's abnormal state and comforted her: "Liu Lichuan and others did not die in vain, because they helped me. Only when I grow up can we win."

  Zhou Xiuying's eyes wandered, her face showing a pained expression, as if she was somewhat incredulous. She chose to believe Li Zhenfang, but it would be extremely difficult to overthrow the Qing dynasty.

  Zhou Xiuying asked hesitantly: "Can you do it?"

  "It must be done!"

  Li Zhen grasped Zhou Xiuying's hand, and the smooth, soft feeling instantly transmitted to his heart, making his spirit waver. Li Zhen said sincerely: "I'm being serious, you should believe me, and also believe that I can do it."

  Zhou Xiuying felt the warmth transmitted from Li Zhen's hand and immediately withdrew her hand, saying: "I believe you."

  Li Zhen solemnly said: "I will reach the goal."

  Zhou Xiuying fell silent for a long time, then suddenly her expression became firm and she said seriously: "I will open the city gate to welcome the Qing army into the city, and I will be your woman. But before you overthrow the Qing dynasty, I won't sleep with you. You must also overthrow the Qing dynasty, if in the end you become a running dog of the Manchu, I will be the first person to kill you."

  Li Zhen smiled wryly and put the beautiful woman beside him, but could only feast his eyes on her.

  At the same time, Li Zhen also let out a sigh of relief.

  This trip killed Liu Lichuan, killed Zhu Yuefeng, and also got a beauty, it can be said that the task was perfectly completed.

  "Ta! Ta!"

  Suddenly, another footsteps came from outside the room, and Zhou Xiuying's maid walked over. The maid said: "Miss, there is a general outside the mansion who has sent a message saying that General Liu and other military leaders have been killed, and the situation in the city is chaotic, please be careful."

  Zhou Xiuying said: "I know, you go back to sleep."

  After the maid left, Zhou Xiuying said: "General Li, I will open the city gate for you. What should we do?"

  Li Zhen did not answer immediately, saying: "Xiu Ying, you don't say it's the one who saw your body, or your man. Now we haven't had a wedding ceremony, but at least I am your man, how should I address General Li?"

  Zhou Xiuying said: "I agree with you, but if you don't overthrow the Qing dynasty, it's absolutely impossible."

  Li Zhenxiong felt depressed in his heart and said: "Forget it, whatever. Alright, let's open the city gate tomorrow at noon."

  "Alright, I agree," said Zhou Xiu Ying.

  Li Zhen stood up and said: "I'm leaving, take care."

  After finishing, Li Zhen put the sniper rifle into a black bag, then quietly opened the door and slipped out, disappearing from Zhou Xiuying's line of sight. Zhou Xiuying sat alone in the house, becoming silent.

  ……

  The night was deep, but inside the mansion, it remained restless for a long time.

  Yang Banhou and ten special forces soldiers of the Sharp Blade Troop have returned, but Li Zhen has not come back.

  They all knew that Liu Lichuan had been killed, but Li Zhen had disappeared, which meant that he must have encountered danger. One of the soldiers said: "General Yang, the general has not returned yet, and he must have encountered danger. We must send someone to welcome him back. Otherwise, if something happens to the general, no one can bear the responsibility."

  Yang Banhou said in a low voice, "The city is heavily guarded everywhere. If we go out to search, it's likely that we'll be caught and drag down the general. We absolutely can't go out. Let's just wait for news here until the general returns."

  "General Yang, are you really going to abandon the general?" The soldier asked in a low voice.

  Yang Banhou said: "It's not that I don't want to save him, it's just that I can't drag down the general."

  The soldier hummed and said, "You talk a lot, I think you're afraid of death and don't dare to go out. Brothers, the general treats us with great kindness, lets us eat well and drink well, and also teaches us to read and write. Now that the general is in danger, should we go rescue him or not?"

  "It's time to go!"

  The other nine soldiers replied in a low voice, and they had already planned to oppose Yang Banhou.

  Yang Banhou said: "Do you want to disobey military orders?"

  "Hum, we won't listen to such a military order." The soldier resisted again.

  Yang Banhou stood up, his not-so-tall figure blocking the gate, and said calmly: "You want to leave? First, you have to get past me. If you want to go out, then step on my corpse."

  "Come on and fight, who's afraid of whom!" The soldier said fiercely.

  At this time, Li Zhen's voice came from the gate of the mansion: "One by one, not listening to orders, preparing for rebellion?" At the critical moment, Li Zhen finally rushed back. Yang Banhou felt like he had heard a heavenly sound, and the huge stone that was pressing on his shoulders had finally fallen to the ground. Li Zhen encountered danger, and Yang Banhou's heart was more anxious than anyone else's, but he had to be responsible for the safety of ten soldiers and consider the overall situation, resolutely not allowing anyone to go out.

  Li Zhen walked in and ten soldiers immediately saluted Li Zhen.

  "General, you're back."

  Yang Banhou made a bow and revealed an expression of relief.

  Li Zhen patted Yang Banhou's shoulder and said, "You've done a great job, you're a qualified general. Good, keep it up." He paused for a moment, then looked at the remaining soldiers and said, "I know you all want to rescue me, I'm grateful, but I don't support your methods. The situation in the city is tense, and things will be chaotic with small knives everywhere. If you go out, you'll likely get caught."

  "General, I am not afraid of death."

  The soldiers who clashed with Yang Banhou raised their heads and said loudly.

  "What's your name?" asked Li Zhenxiang.

  The soldier replied: "My name is Zhu Wu!"

  Li Zhen nodded and said: "Your courage is commendable!"

  Zhu Wu revealed a smile, but then Li Zhen continued to say: "You have opinions about Yang Banhou, I can understand. But what I want to say is that you are worried about my safety, and I believe Yang Banhou is even more worried about my safety. He is the commander-in-chief, he has to consider for all of you, and take care of the overall situation, so he will stop you, hoping you can understand him."

  Zhu Wu clasped his fists and said: "Lord Yang, I was previously reckless with my words. Please forgive me."

  At this moment, the other nine soldiers also spoke out to apologize.

  Yang Banhou said: "Everyone is for the general's safety, I can understand."

  Li Zhen said, "It's just a small matter, don't mind it. Now let's report the situation and talk about our own situations." As he spoke, Li Zhen suddenly sneezed and felt his whole body turn cold. When Li Zhen was at Zhou Xiang's mansion, he hid in the bathtub and got soaked from head to toe, but didn't feel anything at the time. Now that the cold wind blew, he felt a chill run down his spine, extremely uncomfortable.

  Yang Banhou said, "General, your body is important, go to the back house and change into a new set of clothes first." Li Zhen also felt his whole body turn cold, so he hurriedly went to change into a new set of clothes before coming back to continue discussing matters.

  P.S: The third watch is completed;