Chapter 20: The Roaring County Magistrate

  A heavy saber weighing over forty kilograms borrowed the force of a galloping horse, bringing up a whistling wind sound, stirring up the snowflakes dancing in the sky. As the horse approached and the saber fell, the young man barely dodged, his hands grasped the gun stock, lifting it just off the saddle, the blade had already fallen diagonally.

  A gush of fresh blood splashed, the skull rolled to who-knows-where, this knife chopped down from the right neck, cutting along with half a body from the left ribcage, and half a shoulder was also gone. The headless torso shook twice in the flying blood and thudded under the horse.

  With a large knife, turning like a wheel, in the hands of County Magistrate Min, it was as light as nothing. The torches in the opponent's hands were the most obvious targets. A big knife chopped left and right, cutting and hacking, anyway, all around were enemies, killing without any scruples.

  Those people were heroes on horseback, originally they should have reacted quickly, but as soon as they saw the young man in the middle wearing a tiger robe, one of them was killed by Min Wenjian with a single glance. They were shocked and stunned, this shock only lasted for a moment, and five more people were killed by County Magistrate Min's big knife.

  Others shouted and fled on horseback, throwing torches at County Magistrate Min. He swung his sword to deflect the torches, killing with abandon, laughing loudly as he chased after them on horseback.

  Jiang Bin saw from behind and hurriedly shouted: "Min Daren, come back quickly!"

  Min Wenjian didn't care, chasing after the black shadow in front, shouting loudly, and slashing down with his knife. Suddenly, the person in front pulled on the reins, and the horse lifted its front legs high up, letting out a loud whinny. Min County Magistrate's arms went numb, and he couldn't help but praise: "What great strength!"

  That Tartar general had a hard time expressing himself, the man was using a three-pronged steel trident with a handle and blade all in one piece, in terms of weight it was not inferior to Min Wenjian's big knife, and in terms of arm strength it was even superior. But Min Wenjian swung his knife straight down, while the other man hastily parried, although he had three parts more strength than him, this blow still shook his hands numb, Min Wenjian's big knife had a notch missing, but the other man's trident had already been chopped crooked.

  This man made a decisive move, immediately turning his hand to throw the bent fork at Min Wenjian with force. He shook the reins, arched his waist and galloped forward along the official road, while taking down the bow from his back.

  Min Wenjian swung his sword and knocked the pitchfork flying, intending to give chase again. Suddenly a horse burst out of the diagonal stab, with its rider raising a spear to thrust. Luckily, the torches on the ground had not yet gone out, and County Magistrate Min caught sight of the person, hastily dodging upwards and using his sword to knock the spear away.

  Right behind a loud shout, a long knife chopped over, Min Wenjian dodged left and right, the three people fought in a blur, at this time the snow was vast, only a few unextinguished torches on the ground cast a faint glow, so all three were very cautious, no one dared to get too close.

  The Tartar horsemen, far and near, had discovered that their leader was being attacked, and they rushed over, shouting loudly. Fortunately, the light was too dark, and two Tartar generals were fighting with him in a group, so those Tartars could not play their riding and shooting skills, otherwise, even if Min County had a good martial arts skill, he would have been shot to death.

  At this moment, Jiang Bin had already ridden his horse to the front, and with a flick of his wrist, two sabers were skillfully drawn out, forming two knife flowers. He stood up in his stirrups, and with both knives, he clashed with the Tartar man holding a gun for over ten rounds, forcing him back. Then, he immediately shouted loudly to Min Wenjian: "Sir, once the torches are extinguished, we will be trapped outside the city! Hurry back to the city!"

  Min Wenjian was taken aback, swung his big knife with a "whoosh", and clashed with the man holding the knife, striking out a string of sparks. Then he turned his horse's head and said: "That's right, let's go back to the city!"

  Two men turned their horses' heads and charged back, surrounded by more than a dozen Tartar soldiers, each wielding knives and guns. Min Wenjian didn't know that the sudden slash he made earlier had actually killed the second son of the young Tartar king, Bao Yan Meng Ke's son, Xue Lie Ban Qi. Seeing the Tartar cavalry rushing over from all directions, they knew that if they were surrounded, they would never make it back to the city. Therefore, they didn't continue to fight and broke through the enemy's attack without hesitation, turning to flee with Jiang Bin.

  At this time, the Tartar general who had just been knocked off his horse by County Magistrate Min and was fleeing in disarray also turned back to pursue him. He hated this Ming dynasty civil official extremely and didn't bother with the Ming soldiers who were fleeing for their lives, but instead stared from afar at the flash of cold light that occasionally swept past as County Magistrate Min wielded his large knife, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow as he looked for an opportunity.

  Forty soldiers who had just run halfway back saw the county magistrate and the battalion commander killed, immediately turned around and rushed towards the city gate. The Mongolian cavalry pursued relentlessly, only to suffer those with knives and shields. At this moment, there was no formation to speak of, nor were there any long-handled spear holders to coordinate with. Under the iron hooves of the Mongols, they couldn't hold out for two rounds, and in an instant, seven or eight of them were stabbed to death by the pursuing Mongolian cavalry.

  Fortunately, they were not far from the city, and at this time they had already entered the range of the bow and arrow men on the city head. The bow and arrow men on the city saw the Tartar cavalry holding torches rushing up, immediately shooting arrows in confusion, forcing them to retreat.

  The Huns, seeing this, dismounted their horses, hung up their weapons, and took down the bows and arrows on their backs to shoot in pursuit. In front of them was a dark mass, and they couldn't see any human figures, so they couldn't fully display their archery skills. Even so, more than ten soldiers were hit by stray arrows. Those who were lightly injured had sharp arrows inserted into their backs, stumbling and crawling as they rushed towards the city gate.

  The county magistrate of Min had just galloped through the city gate, and the Tatar military officer saw an opportunity to escape. He loosened his bowstring and shot out a feathered arrow with a "whooshing" sound. The county magistrate was wearing chain armor, which could withstand sword and axe blows, but the gaps between the locks could not block the incoming arrows. The county magistrate only felt a shock in his back, and a burning pain on his spine, as the sharp arrow had already hit him below the scapula.

  This arrow was extremely powerful, the rivets on the lock plate were dense, and the triangular arrowhead got stuck in the rivet for a moment before shooting in. If it hadn't been blocked for that moment, this arrow would have probably pierced straight through the heart.

  Magistrate Min hastily bowed his head, urged on his horse and galloped into the city gate. Behind him, Jiang Bin danced with a pair of knives, swept in like a gust of wind, and the remaining soldiers swarmed into the city. The city gate was closed again with a loud bang.

  Yang Ling and others came down from the city wall one after another. Min County Magistrate jumped off his horse, laughing loudly: "Great! Great! Damn it, if I had a cavalry, I would have killed all these Tartars!"

  Yang Ling saw that he had an arrow stuck in his back, but he didn't seem to care at all. Yang's eyebrows jumped with anxiety as he hastily called out: "Get the doctor, get the doctor quickly! The master has been shot by an arrow!"

  Mr. Min waved his hand and smiled: "This little injury is nothing serious." He took two steps forward, suddenly felt dizzy, his knees softened, and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Jiang Bin was quick-witted and agile, taking a step forward to support him.

  Governor Ming shook his head and cursed, "Damn Tartar dog, the arrow... has poison on it!" As soon as he finished speaking, he fainted. This made everyone panic, and they hastily lifted him up to the city wall tower and laid him down on a couch.

  Jiang Bin grabbed a large vegetable oil lamp from the table, tore open the shirt of the Min County Magistrate, and saw that the arrowhead was stuck in the gap between the armor plates. He didn't dare to pull it out randomly and immediately shouted: "Where's the doctor? Go find the doctor quickly!"

  Next to him, someone hastily rushed out and grabbed the soldiers who had been shot with arrows or knives and brought them into the watchtower. They were placed on the first floor. Before long, a doctor was brought in carrying a medical box. He sawed off the arrow shaft from County Magistrate Min's body, removed his helmet and armor, revealing a swelling the size of a goose egg at the wound site, with a dark, shiny color and some foul-smelling blood seeping out.

  "Sir, how are you? Is your life in danger?"

  That Lang had white temples, in the army for half his life, often dealing with various injuries. Although he was facing the county magistrate, he didn't seem too flustered. He drew out a silver knife from its sheath and cut open the swollen wound, and immediately black blood flowed out. Magistrate Min lay there unconscious.

  Lang Zhong used cotton to wipe away the bloodstains, put it under his nose and sniffed, then let out a sigh: "It's okay, this is the poison of Wolf Tooth Grass, the toxicity isn't severe. General, after intense battle, the poison spread quickly, that's why you fainted. Wait for me to bleed out the toxic blood, then take a few more doses of medicine, and rest for three to five days, you'll recover."

  The people around him finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, another group of people suddenly rushed in from outside. Yang Ling turned his head to look back and saw that Huang Xian was walking at the front with a gloomy face, followed closely by Wang Zhu Bo, Liu Dianshi, Feng Xun Jian, and Hong Ban Tou who arrived late with a large group of people. He hastily went forward and said: "Huang Lao, you've come".

  Huang Xian Cheng's face was stern, and he grunted in response. He had heard that Min County Magistrate had been poisoned by an arrow while still in the city, and now he coldly glanced over and asked: "How is Magistrate Min?"

  Yang Ling hastily recounted the events, and Huang Xianchang listened with a scowl, slamming his hand on the table and shouting: "Bastard! Fool! You're simply crazy!"

  Yang Ling was taken aback, unsure whether he was scolding himself or scolding the Magistrate of Min County. Although Huang Xiancheng's rank was only one level lower than that of the Magistrate of Min County, and his seniority was higher than that of the Magistrate, it was still too presumptuous to publicly insult a superior official in this manner.

  Huang Xian Cheng's forehead was bulging with rage, he was truly furious. Normally, he didn't care about the county's governance, purely out of personal pride. But now it was an invasion by foreign barbarians, if the city fell, that would be nearly ten thousand lives lost, including his own family and elderly, they might not even survive, how could he not be angry?

  County Magistrate Hu's mustache was twitching, his fingers were pointing randomly, and he shouted loudly: "You don't even advise the adults, but instead accompany him in his madness. What has the city become now? The war is not yet decided, and a large number of civilians are already rioting at the North Gate. If it weren't for me and Inspector Feng arriving in time to disperse them, half of the city's population would have fled by now!

  "There are no defensive arrangements in the city, if the Tartars had not come hastily and unprepared, would it not have been easy to attack the city? As a county official, I am unable to plan for the whole situation, having bravery but no strategy, only showing off individual heroism! Is this reasonable?"

  Now the county magistrate of Minxian is unconscious, and the highest official among the people present is Jiang Binjiang, also a seventh-rank official. However, at that time, military officials had a very low status, and although their ranks were the same, their positions were several levels lower than those of the county magistrate, and their powers were not comparable. Therefore, he stood in front of this old county lieutenant with insufficient confidence, and for a while, although there were dozens of people crowded on the city gate tower, they were all silent, allowing this old cat that had never shown its might to loudly roar...