Shi Fei stared blankly at the old man in the wheelchair. After a moment of silence, he slowly raised the visor on his face, revealing a resolute and indifferent countenance. After all, he was an important military official of Qing, and since taking over as the commander of the Jingdu Garrison, he knew that his life was no longer just about struggling under Shangshan Hu's pressure in the northern region. Instead, he had to choose something, whether actively or passively. Faced with His Majesty's imperial decree, he had no choice but to come to Dazhou and surround Chen Pingping's homecoming convoy.
Now that he had surrounded them, now that he had made his move, there was no possibility of stopping. Warhorses paced restlessly in the fields, lightly trampling the early autumn crops, ready to charge at any moment. Shi Fei slowly raised his right hand, and more than three thousand iron-clad cavalry in the fields began to slowly change formation, pressing towards the convoy on the official road, startling the women in the convoy into soft cries.
"Hou!" A clear and sharp whistle rang out from the black convoy. It was unknown which official from the Overwatch Council, responsible for Chen Pingping, had been the first to issue an order under the pressure of the Qing cavalry.
"Hou!"
"Hou!"
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...
After twelve "hou" sounds, countless black crossbows emerged from the carriages, countless powerful bows were hidden under the shafts, behind the horses, and beside the carriages. At the same time, countless assassins from the Overwatch Council in the dark mountains began to completely conceal themselves.
After the first sound echoed on both sides of the official road, countless clear and indifferent whistles rang out from the convoy of thirty black carriages, followed by a series of dense and intricate sounds of mechanisms, the clashing of metal, the sharp sound of snapping bowstrings, the dull thud of crossbow bolts being cocked, and the friction of iron stakes being drawn from their sheaths.
Countless heart-palpitating sounds spread rapidly through the long convoy in a wave-like pattern, according to a practiced and perfectly coordinated order.
The tips of the crossbow bolts gleamed with a frightening ghostly blue light. Without a doubt, the Overwatch Council's Third Bureau possessed the most powerful poisoning capabilities in the world.
Shi Fei, who had just begun to slowly lower his right arm, watched this scene, his pupils rapidly constricting. He knew the terror of the Overwatch Council, but he had not expected that so many crossbowmen and those night walkers were hidden inside a mere thirty black carriages.
The "hou" sound was sharp. Shi Fei knew that this was the Overwatch Council's command. Once the "hou" sounds ended and someone issued an order, those poisoned crossbow bolts would be mercilessly shot at his more than three thousand cavalrymen.
Even if the cavalry could break through the Overwatch Council's defensive circle formed by the carriages, how many would die? After those poisoned metal projectiles pierced into the bodies of his soldiers, how many would survive?
Shi Fei narrowed his eyes, as if trying to conceal the chill in his heart and his shrinking pupils. His body and mind seemed to have been shaken by those cold and emotionless "hou" sounds.
He rode his horse, standing closest to the official road. He could clearly see that several linen-clad swordsmen had already stood in front of Dean Chen, while Dean Chen still lowered his head slightly, seemingly not afraid of the thousands of cavalry about to arrive.
The sound of hooves was originally like thunder, but now that the two sides were so close, the thunder was even louder in his ears. The yamen runners and soldiers from Dazhou on the official road had already shrunk back in fear, while the inner court eunuchs and masters from the Thirteenth Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, led by He Qi, were also pale-faced. They never imagined that the task of capturing a court-designated criminal would eventually turn into one of the court's most secretive operations.
The only one whose expression remained unchanged was Chen Pingping in the wheelchair, the several linen-clad men beside Chen Pingping, the old servant behind him, the Overwatch Council officials with crossbows on the carriages, the Overwatch Council officials with bows, and the Overwatch Council officials with iron stakes.
In other words, the Overwatch Council officials possessed iron nerves that ordinary people did not have. Facing this seemingly boundless and overwhelming iron cavalry, they did not even bother to twitch their eyelashes, and their fingers on the triggers of the crossbows did not even tremble. They were not afraid, not nervous, but simply waited indifferently for the final command, the command to launch a counterattack after the twelve "hou" sounds.
Shi Fei gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist tightly, squinting his eyes and staring intently at Chen Pingping, who was not far in front of him. He felt that the surrounding environment had become strange due to the silence and indifference of the Overwatch Council's people. The Jingdu Garrison cavalry scattered around the official road were not far away, so why did it seem like they had been charging for so long without arriving?
This feeling was too strange. Shi Fei blinked his eyes and realized that his eyes were a little dry. It was just tension that had caused him some illusions. His right arm had just begun to lower, and the cavalry had just begun to accelerate.
Shi Fei stood alone in the frontmost position, not knowing when the Overwatch Council's people would begin to attack him. Even if the garrison's cavalry could truly break through the defense line formed by these indifferent Overwatch Council officials, he still had no joy in his heart.
He did not want to see this scene happen, because he could not control what might happen after this charge, such as the knife that could come from behind him at any moment.
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...
At this moment, Chen Pingping waved to Shi Fei from the wheelchair, not like an old man being pursued and hunted, but like an elder with something to explain.
Shi Fei's face showed a look of struggle. Suddenly, he kicked his horse's belly and shouted loudly, "Halt!"
This sound, like a thunderclap, echoed on both sides of the official road. As a current important military official, General Shi Fei's personal cultivation was indeed very powerful. The sound quickly entered the ears of the iron cavalry, who were already extremely close. As Shi Fei shouted, all the officers and vanguards grunted and forcibly pulled their steeds, which had reached top speed, to a stop. Countless iron hands pulled back on the tough reins, even drawing blood from the calluses on their old hands. Finally, at a distance of less than several zhang from the official road, the galloping iron cavalry came to a halt.
However, there were still a dozen riders who could not stabilize their horses. The horses grunted twice, their legs softened, and they crashed directly into the stone walls on both sides of the official road, their limbs broken and blood flowing!
...
...
A burst of hurried breathing, a mutual exchange of tense gazes.
With a loud shout from General Shi Fei, three thousand iron cavalry stopped so abruptly. His art of controlling soldiers was indeed first-rate in the world. However, in this way, the iron cavalry lost its speed advantage, and the two sides were so close. The Jingdu Garrison cavalry were completely exposed to the Overwatch Council's crossbow bolts, like a virgin undressed, standing naked in front of countless lecherous ghosts.
All the Overwatch Council's subordinates had been waiting calmly since those "hou" sounds. Even though these invading cavalry had suddenly made such a big mistake, giving the Overwatch Council's people such a good opportunity, they still did not act without authorization, but simply watched the dense mass of cavalry indifferently.
Shi Fei breathed heavily several times, the armor plates on his chest rising and falling slightly. He did not break out in a cold sweat. Since he had chosen to take a risk, he would not regret his choice. After a moment, he drove his horse forward indifferently, in the wary gaze of the Overwatch Council officials and the aim of the dark crossbow bolts, parting a path, step by step, towards Chen Pingping.
The horse stopped not far in front of the wheelchair. Shi Fei maintained his respect, dismounting and walking over. The weight of the armor on his body made his steps extremely heavy, making a buzzing sound in the quiet night. Chen Pingping looked at this courageous general and smiled slightly, showing a look of appreciation, and said, "The future of Qing will be fine with outstanding young people like you. Since that's the case, I don't want to kill you."
Shi Fei was silent for a long time, then knelt on one knee in front of Chen Pingping's wheelchair, took off his helmet and held it in his arms, and said, "This humble general begs the old dean to obey the imperial decree."
"Obey which decree?" Chen Pingping looked at him quietly, admiring his decisiveness from the bottom of his heart. Lao Wang Tou had also asked him to obey the imperial decree earlier, but... he smiled and said, "Gao Da is someone I must take away. As for obeying the decree, you also know that His Majesty never thought I would obey the decree. I'm afraid His Majesty won't be happy if he knows you're advising me to obey the decree at this time."
Shi Fei did not answer this sentence, but stood up and said, "The garrison is Qing's garrison, and the Overwatch Council is Qing's Overwatch Council. I don't want either side to suffer any losses."
Chen Pingping glanced at him with a hint of sarcasm, and said, "Three thousand six hundred and forty elite cavalry from the Jingdu Garrison have tracked all the way here. Do you think it's as simple as obeying or not obeying the decree?"
This matter was certainly not as simple as obeying or not obeying the decree. Shi Fei was only expressing his attitude in front of the Overwatch Council's people and the officials from Dazhou. However, after hearing the number three thousand six hundred and forty, his heart could not help but turn cold. He knew that the fear he had always hidden deep in his heart was real. If he had not risked stopping the cavalry's charge earlier, perhaps the first person to fall would have been himself.
There were people from Dean Chen in the Jingdu Garrison, and this was what Shi Fei feared the most.
"His Majesty has strictly ordered that the court designated criminal, Gao Da, must be captured and brought back to the capital." Shi Fei took a deep breath, swallowed all his unease, and looked at Chen Pingping coldly, and said, "Even if you, Old Master, want to resist the decree, I must take him back."
"I will return to the capital with you." Chen Pingping closed his eyes and said slowly.
Shi Fei was shocked and stood in front of Chen Pingping, not knowing what to say. The helmet he was holding in his arms suddenly felt so heavy. Also greatly shocked were the Overwatch Council official who had been following Chen Pingping, and even the faces of the few most powerful linen-clad swordsmen from the Sixth Bureau showed some kind of horrified expression.
"Dean, you can't return to the capital." The Overwatch Council official who claimed to be the deputy director of the Second Bureau suddenly said angrily.
Chen Pingping slowly opened his eyes. He knew that this decision would not surprise only the old servant behind him. He smiled at Shi Fei and said, "Why didn't you charge over earlier? I think you also know that with just over three thousand cavalry, you can't control everything here. And in reality, the only one who can control everything is me, so if I go with you, you can only take me with you."
The face of the Overwatch Council official next to him suddenly became stiff, as if a layer of strange rouge had been applied to his face, but this layer of stiffness carried a hint of terror and unease.
Chen Pingping ignored the shock shown by these loyal subordinates. He just looked at Shi Fei coldly and said, "Since I am controlling the situation, I should be the one to speak."
Shi Fei stared at him blankly, his fingers unconsciously gripping the air vent of the helmet tightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "If you, Dean, return to the capital with this humble general, please give your orders."
The so-called request for the Dean to obey the imperial decree was just a lie. Shi Fei certainly knew that His Majesty's intention was to capture Dean Chen alive and bring him back to the capital. However, this was originally an impossible task, but now it seemed to be about to become a reality.
"I brought thirty carriages of luggage and women." Chen Pingping looked at Shi Fei with a smile, and said, "I know what His Majesty's decree will be, so you don't have to hide anything from me. What I want you to do now is to act as if you haven't seen this luggage and these women."
Shi Fei's breathing became heavy, and a trace of blood began to appear in his eyes. He said, "You know His Majesty's decree?"
Chen Pingping smiled gently, and said: "I know what kind of person His Majesty is better than anyone else. If he doesn't destroy what I care about, how can he be happy?"
The old man in the wheelchair had a very distant gaze, and slowly said: "My life should have ended long ago, but those luggage will not be broken, and those women are as youthful as flowers..." He sighed and said: "If it wasn't to send them away from the capital, why would I leave the capital and accompany His Majesty around such a big circle?"
Shi Fei's throat was very dry. He stared blankly at Chen Pingping, and then realized that everything that happened in Dazhou, although not completely under the control of the old dean, was still within the other party's calculations. He had known for a long time that His Majesty would send him to chase him, and also knew how cold and ruthless His Majesty's decree was. Apart from Chen Pingping, everyone here would not survive.
However, Chen Pingping was precisely using this point to concentrate all the people, all the people he wanted to protect, at this point in Dazhou, and then easily control the situation on the field, forcing Shi Fei to accept this fact, using Chen Pingping's solo return to the capital to exchange for the safety of everyone here.
The problem is, can Chen Pingping easily control the situation on the field? The crossbow bolts in the thirty carriages are always limited, the swordsmen in the darkness are always numbered, and when three thousand six hundred Jingdu garrison soldiers charge over, how long can the Overwatch Council really resist?
Shi Fei's eyes narrowed. He remembered His Majesty's secret decree clearly: Except for Chen Pingping... leave no one alive!
Leave no one alive!
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...
"I guess His Majesty wants you to leave no one alive." Chen Pingping looked at him with a hint of ridicule, "I pity the people of Qing, and pity these garrison soldiers, so I gave you a chance, otherwise I can also let you leave no one alive."
Shi Fei didn't believe this sentence. He looked at Chen Pingping quietly, and had to choose between this terrifying figure and His Majesty's strict decree. He had to capture Gao Da back, and the people here had to die, but perhaps he didn't even understand that from the beginning of his fear, and from the beginning of handing the secret decree to that personal soldier, he didn't have the courage to hope that he could really kill all these people from the Overwatch Council.
What helped Shi Fei make his choice was a black line that suddenly appeared on the surrounding hills. These black lines floated up from every hill, and in the silver moonlight, it was as if someone had used a very black charcoal pencil to thicken the lines of these unremarkable valleys.
These black lines were all composed of people, or more precisely, of one black cavalryman plus another black cavalryman. Countless black cavalrymen stood continuously on the hills, forming these black lines.
Black Riders.
In the convoy, the corners of the mouths of the Overwatch Council officials who had been vigilantly watching the cavalry in the field and holding crossbow bolts tightly in their hands all raised a faint smile. They didn't know that Dean Chen had made a shocking decision. They just looked at the seemingly endless Black Rider brothers on the mountain, and once again confirmed that in the mountains and fields within Qing, the Overwatch Council would always be invincible.
Contrary to the emotions of the Overwatch Council officials, when those black lines appeared on the hills, gradually became clear in the silver moonlight, and revealed those black armor with a ghost meaning, the Jingdu garrison cavalrymen who came to attack and kill the Overwatch Council fell into a kind of panic and despair.
It turned out that it wasn't that they were surrounding the Overwatch Council, but that the Overwatch Council was surrounding them, and surrounding them was the Overwatch Council's most powerful force, the most powerful cavalry in the world, the Black Riders!
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...
In a deathly silence, Shi Fei slowly retracted his gaze that had fallen on the Black Riders. The Black Riders were still some distance away, but he knew the strength of the Black Riders. If these Black Riders charged down like this, he was afraid that none of his Jingdu garrison cavalry would be able to survive.
What made Shi Fei even more angry and shocked was that the Overwatch Council's powerful Black Riders had always been strictly restricted by the court to less than a thousand people, but at this time, the Black Rider cavalry on these hills clearly exceeded four thousand people!
He suddenly turned around and stared at Chen Pingping and said, "You knew long ago that His Majesty would order me to ambush you in Dazhou?"
"No, I never bother to calculate these things. I only know that His Majesty... can't bear to let me go." Chen Pingping looked at him coldly, "Now you can think about my conditions."
Shi Fei's body trembled with anger: "The court strictly orders that the number of Black Riders must not exceed a thousand! This is treason!"
Chen Pingping looked at him with a calm face and said, "So what?"
Shi Fei was defeated by this sentence and lost all his confidence. He stood stiffly in front of the wheelchair in a daze. After a moment, he said in a hoarse voice: "If His Majesty doesn't personally take action, no one in this world can keep you. Why don't you leave, but wait for me to appear?"
"Because I never intended to leave." Chen Pingping looked at him calmly and said slowly: "I... am just here to send people off."
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Shi Fei returned to his subordinates. The garrison cavalry did not camp, but were just a little tired and at a loss, setting up camps separately. A sense of defeat and helplessness enveloped the thousands of cavalry. As the elite cavalry of the Jingdu Garrison, the pride of Qing, they had been following the Overwatch Council's convoy outside the capital for several days. However, only at this moment did they know that, in the eyes of the old man in the wheelchair, their thousands of seemingly powerful cavalry were just a joke.
Shi Fei rested with his eyes closed. He had already agreed to all of Chen Pingping's conditions. In this situation, he couldn't refuse. He just still didn't understand why a character like Old Dean Chen, who was so resourceful, had clearly arranged for the Black Riders to come and meet him, but why he was now willing to follow the Jingdu Garrison back to the capital.
All of His Majesty's thoughts fell within Old Dean Chen's predictions and plans. Shi Fei closed his eyes, and his respect for Old Dean Chen reached another level. He knew that the one who could control everything in the field was indeed only Old Dean Chen, and never himself.
A large open space had been cleared in front of the black convoy. Dozens of Overwatch Council officials were kneeling in front of the black wheeled chair, kowtowing desperately and begging the old man in the wheelchair not to follow the Jingdu Garrison back to the capital.
At this moment, all the Overwatch Council officials knew what the Emperor was thinking. If Old Dean Chen really returned to the capital, there would be no way for him to survive. Overwatch Council officials had to receive education on being loyal to Qing and loyal to His Majesty at the beginning of their entry into the Council. However, the Overwatch Council subordinates who had been escorting Chen Pingping back to the capital were the ones who had followed him the longest. Although they were still loyal to Qing and loyal to His Majesty deep in their hearts, when Chen Pingping's life was seriously threatened, they instinctively stood behind Chen Pingping, acting as a substitute for his unhealthy spine.
They were people from the Overwatch Council, and the Overwatch Council was Chen Pingping's Overwatch Council. This dark courtyard had long been branded with countless cold imprints emitted from Chen Pingping's body. Even though Fan Xian had been so glorious in the past few years, he still couldn't completely remove these cold tastes. If there was such a thing as personal charisma in the world, if there was charisma in a dark personality, then Chen Pingping was undoubtedly the most charismatic person in the world, making all his confidants devoted to him.
Chen Pingping gently stroked the armrest of the wheelchair and tapped it lightly, making a buzzing sound. He looked at the subordinates kneeling in front of him with satisfaction, without the slightest sadness of farewell, but only the satisfaction of a lifetime of career.
He was going back to the capital. He had never thought about leaving the capital, and these things had nothing to do with his career, nothing to do with the future of Qing, nothing to do with the Overwatch Council, but only to do with his own life.
"I'm just going back to the capital to chat with His Majesty about the past. What are you crying about?" He frowned and glanced disapprovingly at all the Overwatch Council officials. All the Overwatch Council officials stopped talking, and several of the officials who were crying bitterly lowered their heads in shame.
These Overwatch Council subordinates couldn't understand how, even if His Majesty wanted to deal with the old dean, the dean had already grasped the entire situation at this time. The Jingdu garrison elite cavalry led by General Shi Fei had become grasshoppers after autumn, and couldn't even find a trace of courage. Why did the dean still want to return to the capital to die!
As for why His Majesty wanted to deal with the old dean, these subordinates were not clear, but they instinctively thought that this was probably the inevitability of history. The old dean knew too many of His Majesty's secrets?
Chen Pingping drove these subordinates away with some weariness, leaving only the deputy director of the Second Bureau who had been guarding his side. He looked at him quietly and said, "I have calculated the days. It will take An Zhi many days to return to the capital. In theory, no one can tell him the news in advance."
The official lowered his head and sighed: "We can't change the decision you made. Perhaps only Master Fan can change all of this."
"No, even he can't change this matter." Chen Pingping looked at him coldly and said: "Don't think that you are the fastest runner in the world, so you want to tell Fan Xian something. I'm leaving you here to tell you that this is my order. Later, you will accompany the Black Riders and send these thirty carriages straight to Jiangbei. You must enter Dongyi City at the fastest speed, and then find the person I told you about earlier, and find Ten Families Village through him."
The official did not expect that the old dean would break through the thoughts deep in his heart with a single sentence. A trace of sadness appeared on that stiff face.
"Don't cry one moment and laugh the next, otherwise this mask won't be able to cover you for a few days." Chen Pingping looked at him coldly, "Wang Qinian, you acted on your own and escaped from Mount Dadong back then. You thought you were thinking of Fan Xian, but have you ever thought about how much trouble you brought to Fan Xian and me?"
It turned out that this masked official was Wang Qinian, who had been missing for three years! Fan Xian knew that he had disappeared under Chen Pingping's arrangement, and had secretly thought about investigating it for a long time, missing him for a long time, but he probably never guessed that Chen Pingping would actually arrange Wang Qinian in the Overwatch Council!
Wang Qinian took a deep breath and said: "But I still don't understand, why do you want to go back? Don't you think that, whether you live or die in the end, Master Fan will fall into the trouble you don't want him to fall into?"
Chen Pingping did not answer this question, but just looked at his black convoy coldly, and suddenly felt that these black colors were so pleasing to the eye and so pleasing to the heart.
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...
The Jingdu garrison honestly made way, and the twenty-nine black carriages continued to move forward along the official road amidst the sad and angry and complex emotions of the Overwatch Council officials, and amidst the crying and calling of the Chen Garden beauties, heading east of Qing.
The black wheelchair was left behind, lonely and lonely. Chen Pingping wiped the stray hair from his temples and said to the old servant behind him with a smile, "Your body is better than mine, why bother to accompany me back to die."
The old servant grinned and smiled, but said nothing. The black lines on the hills had been cut off, and some of the Black Riders had begun to secretly follow the thirty black carriages to leave, while many Black Riders still remained, indifferently stationed on the mountains, monitoring the movements of the Jingdu garrison.
Shi Fei came to the front of the wheelchair with a calm face, and after a moment of silence, he said: "This humble general thanks the old dean for the kindness of not killing on behalf of the garrison."
Chen Pingping smiled, but said nothing.
Shi Fei lowered his head and asked: "But I still don't understand why."
"If I wanted to leave earlier, what would you do?" Chen Pingping narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the dots of fire in the distance on the official road.
Shi Fei was silent for a moment and said: "I am His Majesty's subject, even if I know that I am no match, I must fight to the last person."
"Yes, this is compromise. I stay, and you will die a few fewer people, and my Overwatch Council's children will also die a few fewer people... You must know that I have never thought that my life is so worthless." Chen Pingping said with a smile: "I am an old man, and my life is really worthless."
"The Jingdu garrison is loyal to Qing, the Overwatch Council is loyal to Qing, and I am also loyal to Qing." The old man in the wheelchair said gently: "I have killed many people in my life, but I only want to kill enemies, and I don't have the habit of killing my own people."
Shi Fei didn't understand, especially what he didn't understand was what was meant by being loyal to Qing. What was the over-numbered four thousand Black Riders? What was resisting the decree?
Chen Pingping didn't say anything more, but just sat quietly. In his heart, Qing was Qing, and His Majesty was His Majesty. These two things had not been the same thing in his heart since many years ago. He wanted to go back to the capital to ask that man, but he didn't want the entire Qing to fall into turmoil because of the breakdown between himself and that man, and he didn't want the war between the court and the Overwatch Council to cause countless people of Qing to be displaced.
So he chose to return to the capital, and let the Overwatch Council retreat in front of the Jingdu garrison. In the final analysis, this was a war between Chen Pingping and Emperor Qing, and neither of them wanted this private matter to become an internal war in Qing.
"Let's go back." Chen Pingping said softly.
"Yes... Dean." All kinds of feelings floated in Shi Fei's heart. He waved his hand and called the black carriage that the Overwatch Council had specially left behind. He saluted Chen Pingping with great respect, and then carefully carried this black wheelchair into the black carriage.
The line formed by the Black Riders on the hills suddenly became a little disordered at that moment. Chen Pingping, sitting at the door of the carriage, seemed to sense something, and suddenly turned his head and looked over, his eyes extremely sharp!
In an instant, the Black Riders calmed down helplessly and sadly.
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(The update is really late... no way, I want to write more, but the speed is only so fast, so the update will always be later. You must have seen my recent seriousness and efforts, which is to seriously ask you for monthly votes, I will canvass votes every day until the end of the month, I don’t know how many monthly votes I can get, I have to try it, work hard together, and say goodbye with a smile.)