PFC Chapter 70 A Brush with Death!
Chapter 70 A Brush with Death!
Pi Xiaotian led his Eastern Depot agents, traveling day and night, and returned to the capital at top speed.
Subsequently, Pi Xiaotian, carrying Cao Zhengchun's secret letter, relayed the message all the way, but was eventually stopped by Liu Jin outside the Cining Palace.
"Eunuch Liu, Governor Cao has sent a secret message; please inform His Majesty immediately!"
Pi Xiaotian took out the secret letter that Cao Zhengchun had given him from his bosom and presented it to Liu Jin with both hands.
Liu Jin took the secret letter from Pi Xiaotian and said calmly, "Wait."
"Yes, Eunuch Liu."
Pi Xiaotian respectfully stepped aside and waited with his hands at his sides.
Someone like him, a mere eunuch in the Eastern Depot, wasn't even qualified to meet the Emperor.
After Liu Jin entered Cining Palace with the secret letter, he immediately went to the warm pavilion and handed the letter to Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, a letter from Governor Cao."
Zhu Houzhao took the secret letter, read it, nodded slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips.
He picked up a pen, wrote another edict, and gave it to Liu Jin.
"Go and give this to Wang Shouren. Be quick."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Liu Jin took the letter, left Cining Palace, and returned to Pi Xiaotian's presence.
"His Majesty has ordered that this edict be delivered immediately to Wang Shouren outside the Dragon Guard Manor, without fail!"
"yes!"
Pi Xiaotian received the imperial edict and, without the slightest delay, immediately rushed to the Dragon Guard Manor.
Both Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Houzhao urged him to speed up.
Pi Xiaotian dared not rest, and at midnight, he finally handed Zhu Houzhao's edict to Wang Shouren.
After reading the imperial edict, Wang Shouren unconsciously let out a long sigh of relief, feeling a sense of ease.
"Grandpa Pi has worked hard. Quickly take Grandpa Pi downstairs to rest."
"Yes."
After arranging for Pi Xiaotian to leave, Wang Shouren turned around and looked behind him.
Behind him, a ten-mile-long camp stretched out, with an army of one hundred thousand men ready to fight to the death.
"Pass down the order: rest tonight, and return to camp at dawn tomorrow."
"Yes, General!"
Wang Shouren's adjutant immediately relayed his orders to every corner of the military camp.
Upon receiving this order, every soldier in the camp secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they are not afraid to risk their lives, it is naturally better not to risk their lives if they can avoid it.
Wang Shouren stood atop the hill, gazing at the Hulong Manor in the distance, his eyes deep and unfathomable, lost in thought.
The night was calm and peaceful.
By dawn on the second day, when the sky was still just beginning to lighten, Wang Shouren's army of 100,000 men had finished preparing and were ready to set off.
"Return to camp!"
"Yes, General!"
At Wang Shouren's command, 100,000 troops followed him back to the capital's military camp.
At sunrise, a thick fog suddenly rolled in.
The thick fog shrouded the post roads surrounding Hulong Manor, forcing Wang Shouren's troops to slow their march.
The fog was so thick that visibility was extremely low, which slowed down Zhu Wushi and his group as they returned to the Dragon Guard Manor from the Number One Manor.
Zhu Wushi, seated on his horse, cautiously ordered: "Everyone, remain on alert. Report any unusual activity immediately!"
"Yes, my lord."
The four secret agents, consisting of the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow characters, along with the thirty-six Heavenly Generals and seventy-two Earthly Fiends, obeyed Zhu Wushi's orders, slightly spreading out their formation and focusing their attention on monitoring the surrounding situation.
One of the thirty-six Heavenly Generals who was walking in front suddenly turned his horse around and quickly came to Zhu Wushi's side.
"Reporting to the Marquis, something unusual has been spotted ahead. It appears to be a large troop of people approaching us!"
Zhu Wushi frowned slightly: "Stay vigilant. If things go wrong, take the initiative to control the situation!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Zhu ignored the fact that the group continued to move slowly forward.
Finally, the two teams could see each other's outlines through the fog.
"Who goes there?!"
The thirty-six Heavenly Generals cautiously observed the men and horses before them, their hands already resting on the swords at their waists.
Finally, the person broke through the fog and appeared before everyone.
This group consisted of twelve people, all dressed in Ming Dynasty armor and helmets, resembling Ming Dynasty scouts.
"We are captains of the Ming Dynasty's 3,000-strong battalion, sent by the general to scout ahead. Who are you?"
Before the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals could speak, Zhu Wushi spoke first: "We are the imperial secret agents of the Dragon Guard Manor. Since you are all soldiers of the imperial court, you should leave first."
"Everyone, step back to the right and clear the post road."
"Yes."
Upon receiving Zhu Wushi's order, the soldiers behind him moved to the right side of the road without hesitation, clearing the way for the post road.
One of the captains immediately turned his horse back, clearly to report the situation.
Zhu Wushi looked at the remaining captains and asked, "May I ask, sir, which general is leading this expedition?"
His only reply was a cold, four-word response: "No comment."
Zhu Wushi nodded expressionlessly, but a deep chill was hidden in his eyes.
Zhu Wushi stopped talking and simply sat quietly on his horse, waiting for the procession to pass.
Soon, a group of people emerged from the mist, surrounding a person in the middle.
Upon seeing the face of the man in the middle, Zhu Wushi was somewhat surprised. He recognized this general.
"Lord Divine Marquis, how have you been?"
"It's been several months since we parted ways in Liaodong, but the Divine Marquis's demeanor remains as impressive as ever!"
Zhu Wushi cupped his hands in greeting and said reservedly, "General Wang Shouren, it's been a long time."
"General Wang, what brings you to this large-scale mobilization?"
"this……"
Wang Shouren hesitated for a moment, and Zhu Wushi smiled slightly: "It was my presumption. General Wang is on duty. If it is inconvenient, just pretend that I did not ask."
Wang Shouren laughed heartily: "You flatter me, Divine Marquis. There's nothing inconvenient about it at all."
"It's just a live-fire exercise ordered by His Majesty. Raising troops, training troops, and using troops are all essential. I'm sure the Divine Marquis understands this principle."
"Exactly."
Wang Shouren cupped his hands again and said, "My lord, please forgive me. I must return to the capital to report to His Majesty, so I will take my leave now."
Zhu Wushi nodded: "General Wang, please proceed."
Goodbye.
Wang Shouren spurred his horses and once again led his army along the post road toward the military camp in Xishan.
Zhu Wushi, along with the people from the Dragon Guard Manor, stood by the post road, waiting for Wang Shouren's troops to pass first.
Soon, a neatly arranged army appeared from the thick fog.
They followed behind Wang Shouren, passed Zhu Wushi, and walked forward in silence.
One after another, large armies emerged from the thick fog, silently brushing past Zhu Wushi.
As the number of passing troops increased, Zhu Wushi's face grew increasingly grim and pale.
But the army before him seemed endless, still emerging continuously from the thick fog and heading towards him...
Zhu Wushi's back was completely soaked with cold sweat at some point!