Siege of De'an

  Huajilong led his men into the council hall, where the once luxurious and elegant building had been smashed to pieces. The tables and chairs were scattered all over the floor, the windows were broken and letting in the wind, the rare and precious antiques on the shelves were shattered into fragments, the ground was covered with bloodstains and corpses, and arrows were stuck densely on the walls, tables, and screens, presenting a scene of intense fighting to the death.

  Ding Pengyuan also followed, seeing victory in sight, the old man's white beard was twitching with excitement, walking half a step behind Yu Hualong as they went upstairs together.

  "Since we have the upper hand, why bother talking again?" asked Ding Pengyuan.

  "We can't just capture two maidservants, how would that convince the masses? Moreover, what if the people we send to deal with that old guy fail, and we end up with hostages in our hands." Yu Hualong replied, his newly donned heavy armor creaking as he walked down the stairs.

  "Remember, Master Factory, after the big picture is settled, you must hand over Da Niang to me for disposal." Ding Pengyuan said with a serious face.

  "This is natural." Yu Hualong glanced at this old-but-not-old man with the corner of his eye, a man over sixty years old who had married seventeen concubines and still wasn't satisfied. Fortunately, he didn't want Second Miss, otherwise it would be really hard to explain to his son Yu Xiaolong.

  Upstairs, the guards brought over two chairs, and Yu Hualong and Ding Pengyuan sat down with a flourish. The elite guards stood on either side in a swallowtail formation, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, glaring menacingly at the people opposite them. These guards were Yu Hualong's handpicked death squad, armed with long-handled, straight-bladed cavalry sabers that were more than half again as long as ordinary daggers. They wore sturdy new-style plate armor, said to be impervious to ordinary arrows.

  The big sister and her group had already suffered some injuries, their clothes were disheveled, and there were gaps and cracks on their weapons, they had lost the upper hand in terms of momentum.

  "Jing Rong, Jing Wei, you two nieces, I've watched you grow up, how could I harm you? The iron factory is getting worse and worse, I'm also watching with a heavy heart. The imperial army has arrived at the south gate, accepting the edict of the Nine Thousand Year Old is also a good thing that goes with the times. I don't want to see any more bloodshed, you two nieces should surrender, whatever conditions you have, just mention them." Yu Hualong spoke with a heavy heart and played the family card.

  "Uncle Yu, if you want to be a high-ranking official in the imperial court, there's no need to drag so many workers from the iron factory into the water. Today's battle will inevitably result in thousands of casualties, what's the point of that?" said Big Sister Peng Jingrong.

  Yu Huilong put on a sorrowful and sympathetic expression, saying: "This move by Yu is also for the sake of serving the king, and it cannot be helped. After this matter, Yu will definitely go to the graves of those who died in difficulty to offer sacrifices and pay respects. You two nieces, quickly surrender, otherwise when the imperial army arrives, you will still be stubbornly resisting, and even Uncle may not be able to save you."

  "Yes, Second Miss, please calm down. I won't let anyone harm you or your sister." Yu Xiaolong, who had also put on his heavy armor, followed up with a helpless and anxious gaze at Second Miss Peng Jingwei, his words sincere and heartfelt.

  "Quiet Wei, my niece, the dog son has always admired you. After today's matter is over, I will choose a good day to help you get married and become one family. Quiet Rong, my niece, I think that Song Shaoxia who is as handsome as a jade tree in the wind is quite suitable for you. Today, I am old and trusted, and I will also be your matchmaker. After you sisters get married, take care of your husbands and children, and don't ask about these fighting matters anymore. The gold vault in the iron factory, use it freely, I won't be stingy."

  Unexpectedly, Yu Hua Long, a rough and hearty man, was also quite fierce when he stood up, and actually became a matchmaker at this critical moment.

  Ding Pengyuan heard Yu Hualong talking nonsense, and even gave his own beloved Peng Jingruan a messy love letter. He coughed in dissatisfaction, "Mr. Yu's words are reasonable, but marriage is not a child's play. After the war subsides, you sisters can temporarily be taken care of by me, I guarantee no one will dare to touch your hair."

  Hearing the two men's arrogant words, Peng Jingrong suppressed her anger and tried to speak in a calm tone: "If you want us sisters to surrender, we can. We just need one thing, and then we'll go downstairs and surrender."

  The arsenal's foundry workshop, the rebel army that had just occupied the position was collecting bodies. One of the rebels saw that the water level gauge on the boiler had dropped below the warning line and hastily called out to the small leader next to him: "Deputy captain, come quick and take a look, these little devils were so focused on resisting that they almost let the boiler burn dry."

  The team leader came over and slapped the rebel on the head, "Damn it, did you see that? Hurry up and add water, fill up the water for me, and get a few more people to shovel coal into the furnace, can't stop the fire!"

  Several outsiders found the cold water pipe and started adding water to the boiler tank.

  Liu Ziguang rushed to the Council Chamber, and along the way, he saw that the fighting had gradually subsided, with only a few places still having intense killing sounds. The rebel soldiers patrolling the streets saw him covered in blood and came over to surround him. After a lot of effort, he killed this group of people, but felt that this was not a solution either. So, he took off a set of armor from one of the rebels and put it on himself, also finding an iron mask to wear on his face, and wrapping a white cloth strip around his arm. With a majestic appearance, he rushed towards the Council Chamber.

  "What is it? As long as Uncle can do it, I will definitely satisfy you."

  "I want you to tell everyone in the factory that it was you who betrayed and abandoned your principles, wrongly repaying my father's trust in you, colluding with government troops, deceiving the Iron Guards, and launching a rebellion." Peng Jingrong said coldly.

  "Nonsense! With a flick of his sleeve, Huā Lóng's anger was momentarily forgotten, but he forgot that he was wearing fish-scale armor and not loose robes. The only sound was the scraping of metal plates, without any display of the elegant demeanor of a scholar in anger."

  You say I'm disloyal and rebellious, isn't that slapping myself in the face? It seems this little girl doesn't have any sincerity in negotiating.

  Yu Huilong was about to give the order to take action, but saw Peng Jingrong take out a box of matches. With her delicate fingers pinching the matchstick against the phosphorus skin, she said: "Uncle Yu, I advise you not to act rashly now. The room is already filled with coal gas. If my finger slips and it ignites, we'll all be finished together. I don't think this is the outcome you want."

  Hua Long's face changed, he believed that the gentle but firm Peng Jingrong could do such a thing. If it really exploded, all his efforts would be in vain, and he had been busy for so long just to make clothes for others. One of his guards suddenly raised his crossbow, intending to shoot at Peng Jingrong, but saw that she was not the only one with matches, and Second Miss Peng Jingwei and a group of loyal officials behind her also held matches, ready to ignite them.

  Hua Long hastily ordered his subordinates to put down their weapons and forced a smile: "Niece, why be so intense? Can't we just have a good talk?"

  "Shut up, Song Shaoxia, trouble you to invite Vice President Yu over here." Peng Jingrong interrupted Yu Hualong's words, gesturing for Song Qingfeng to go and bring Yu Hualong over.

  Song Qingfeng leaped into the air, flying towards Yu Hualong with a fluttering motion. While his body was still in mid-air, a massive explosion suddenly shook the city, causing the Council Building to tremble violently. The windows were blown open by the shockwave from outside, and cold wind mixed with snowflakes poured in. Everyone was stunned, searching their minds for what kind of powerful weapon could have caused such a massive explosion. But they never expected that the source of the explosion wasn't a weapon at all - it was actually the boiler that had suddenly been filled with cold water.

  The window opened, and the people holding matches were also temporarily stunned. Yu Hualong drew out the silver-plated golden double dragon eight treasure knife from his waist and blocked Song Qingfeng's Seven Star Wudang Sword. The guards under him did not wait for orders, but shouted loudly and swung their sabers to charge forward. The inner guards also welcomed them with swords. As the saying goes, "one inch longer, one inch stronger", the power of the saber was obviously much greater than that of ordinary knives. The inner guards were at a disadvantage in terms of both weapons and manpower, relying solely on Song Qingfeng's superb martial arts to hold on. The number of people decreased as they fought, and gradually only about ten people were left, all injured. The other side also fell down with about ten people, most of whom were killed by Song Qingfeng alone.

  Song Qingfeng displayed his lifelong skills, the sword light dancing to the point where his figure could no longer be seen clearly. The treasured sword frequently stabbed out, opening a bloody hole in the chest of the rebel army's guards. With swift and agile movements, he fought against multiple opponents alone, yet did not allow them to gain any advantage. He continuously stabbed out several times, forcing back an attack, then turned his head to shout at Peng Jingrong: "Elder sister, break through! Guarding the tower can only result in waiting for death."

  Peng Jingrong looked around at the remaining soldiers and helplessly sighed, ordering a breakout.

  Although Hua Long's knife skills were exquisite, he couldn't charge to the front line and lose his identity, so after taking a few swords from Song Qingfeng, he let the guards take over and pulled Ding Peng down the stairs. "Dead girl, refusing wine is punished with wine." He said resentfully.

  The ballistae downstairs are in position. Huā Lóng, with a look of desperation on his face, shouted: "Aim the fireballista at the upstairs, and the others at the gate! Shoot them as soon as they come out!" Hmm? Where did Xiǎo Lóng go?

  The fourth looked around at his son's figure, and suddenly heard the captain of the chariot team shout: "Master, young master has come out, will you shoot or not?"

  Yu Huilong turned around to look at the main gate of the council building, only to see Peng Jingwei holding a sharp short sword to his precious son's neck, leading the crowd down from the floor. His own guards didn't dare to stop them and retreated step by step in front, fearing that the other side would hurt Yu Xiaolong.

  This scoundrel! With a burst of smoke from the seven orifices, one knows his son best. This young whippersnapper must have gone to offer himself as a hostage to someone else's door. What a waste of an old man's only son! He hastily shouted: "Halt!"

  Peng Jingwei hid behind Yu Xiaolong and shouted fiercely: "Hurry up and make way, or I'll kill him!" Yu Xiaolong also cooperated with her and shouted: "Dad, save me!" The rest of the people followed them, forming a hedgehog formation around them, holding weapons on the outside, protecting those without weapons and the wounded inside.

  Yu Huilong quickly made his decision, retreat! Because he absolutely believed that Second Miss had the audacity to cut off Yu Xiaolong's head in front of him, even if this person was her childhood playmate. Anyway, the iron factory has almost fallen into my hands, more smoothly than expected, and basically no need for reinforcements from Xuzhou Prefecture, whoever dares not to obey will be killed, but if his son is gone, it would be troublesome.

  A large group of rebels cleared a path, with knives, guns and bows all aimed at the small group. Peng Jingwei said in a low voice: "Sister, where are we going?"

  "Go to your father!" The young lady said without hesitation.

  The old factory owner's place of seclusion was in a large garage behind the Lianfeng Hotel, where he had not asked about factory affairs for a long time.

  Peng Jingwei nodded in understanding, "Dad, oh wonderful dad, now it's all up to you. I wonder what level of cultivation you can achieve after closing your doors for so long." The two sisters thought the same thing in their hearts at the same time.

  The small team cautiously moved towards the direction of Lianfeng under the aim of bows and crossbows, surrounded by gleaming knives, swords and spears, ferocious and unfamiliar faces. It seems that Yu Hualong has secretly recruited many people for this rebellion.

  The tense atmosphere between the two sides could ignite at any moment, and if a soldier's finger accidentally moved and shot an arrow, it would definitely trigger a bloody battle.

  Suddenly, a thunderous cheer came from the south, followed by the sound of horseshoes pounding like heavy rain. A large cavalry unit trampled through the snow from the southern gate along the main road, with bright red tassels on their hats, shiny sabers, and a large red flag fluttering in the wind with the word "High" written on it, and the words "Xuzhou Prefecture Guard" written on the flag.

  The south gate was opened and the city fell.