Chapter 216
Book 19 Chap 10 – The Dragon Rises From River Wei
Spring Festival.
Before the sun rose, most of the citizens of Xianyang city have already changed into new clothes, as if it’s a market day and headed towards the upstream of River Wei to take part in the grand Spring festivities.
Although the roads were crowded, everything was in an orderly fas.h.i.+on.
Under the orders of Teng Yi, Jing Jun and Guo Yu, 200,000 cavalry were out in full force maintaining order along the way.
All the high posts along the way which can be used for ambush are guarded and security is tight.
If there are a.s.sa.s.sins, they can only make use of the woods on the sides of the roads as cover in order to execute their a.s.sa.s.sination attempts.
Zhu Ji, Lu Buwei and a group of higher ranked officials went to the Palace to meet up with Xiao Pan before the sun rose. They first paid their respects to the late King at the ancestral shrine before leaving in carriages.
Under the protection of Lord Changwen and a group of elite imperial guards, Xiao Pan went according to plan and did not travel in the grand imperial carriage. Instead he is dressed as one of the imperial guard and set off undercover with the main team.
Inside the imperial carriage was Jing Shan who was pretending to be Xiao Pan. This person’s dexterity is comparable to Jing Jun and is really the best person who can deal with sudden changes.
Xiang Shaolong was still worried that something will happen to him and specially reinforced the walls of the horse carriage with steel plates, just like the bullet-proof vehicles of the 21st century.
The huge entourage left the palace gates and traveled along River Wei once they left the city.
The commoners were cheering along both sides of the road as a show of their support and love towards the ruler.
Each of the two teams has about a hundred odd imperial soldiers with ferocious dogs doing a sweep of the heavily forested areas along both sides of the road to prevent the enemy from hiding in the woods to shoot at them.
The Wu family warriors were disguised as common folk and mixed around in the crowd, almost like plain-clothes spies of the 21st century, keeping a look out for suspicious characters in the crowd.
Xiang Shaolong was riding behind the imperial carriage, constantly giving orders to the imperial guards, putting to total use everything he has learnt in the 21st century.
With the imperial guards opening the way, the imperial carriage moved right ahead. Everywhere they went the crowd hurriedly gave way, kneeling in respect.
On both sides of the team of carriages were two rows of imperial guards. The ones on the outer row held long s.h.i.+elds while the ones on the inner row were armed with bows and arrows. In terms of defense, it is indeed extremely watertight.
Xiang Shaolong slowed down to more than 10 horse lengths behind and rode together with Xiao Pan, Li Si, Lord Wenchang etc.
Xiao Pan looked appreciatively at the hors.e.m.e.n on top of the hills on the left of them who were waving the flags signifying safety and said, "Grand Tutor’s plans are indeed an eye opener for me."
Li Si added with a smile, "Even if the a.s.sa.s.sin is formidable with 3 heads or 6 arms, in my opinion there is no way he can find a window of opportunity to strike and can only retreat in face of such difficulty."
Xiang Shaolong looked up. Gazing at the heavy morning fog, he said with a smile, "The enemy must have made careful plans and will surly have ways to deal with sudden changes. If my guess is right, the main attack will come from further ahead. If they can get to the top of the trees, they’ll be able to attack with weapons such as arrows and stones if we are not prepared. And with the support of the a.s.sa.s.sins who are working undercover among the crowd and with a clear target, they may be able to succeed after all."
Xiao Pan, Li Si and Lord Wenchang looked at the top of the trees that is covered in fog and can’t help but feel a cold s.h.i.+ver in their hearts.
Xiang Shaolong continued, "Right in front there is a forest and it is the most ideal place for both attacking and escaping. If they want to strike, it would be that place."
Xiao Pan was thinking all these exciting as his eyes blazed hotly whereas Li Si and Lord Wenchang started feeling nervous, no longer in the mood to joke.
Xiang Shaolong secretly thought that Emperor Qin is Emperor Qin indeed, for his is braver than most men.
He nudged his horse and went after w.a.n.g Yu.
The leading troops led the way on the official road to the forest where the rites will be held.
The fog became thicker and anything more than ten steps away cannot be seen clearly.
The entourage has yet to arrive but the common folk can already hear the music as they hurriedly went down on their knees on both sides of the road and waited for the carriages to drive past.
Amidst the cheers and music, w.a.n.g Yu drove into the woods.
The imperial guards have received their instructions earlier and all are on the alert to deal with any sudden events.
Xiang Shaolong was calm instead. His eyes searched out Wu Guo who was in the crowd and exchanged a look with him. He was not surprised if Wu Guo did not find out anything out of the ordinary.
If the enemy doesn’t even have a way to disguise themselves, they won’t even come.
When a group of experts have made a death wish and decided to a.s.sa.s.sinate a target, they will become a terrible force to reckon with.
Xiang Shaolong gave out orders to the soldiers surrounding them. Wu Yan and his men spread out a little more, behind w.a.n.g Yu. All were on high alert.
The half mile long forest road feels as long as a century.
Much to everyone’s surprise, even when they were nearing the edge of the forest and the trees are beginning to thin, there’s still no sign of any a.s.sa.s.sins.
The sound of the River Wei gus.h.i.+ng ahead could be heard from up ahead.
Suddenly the road in front opened up and they saw the river gus.h.i.+ng. The fog is now just like a thin blanket covering the earth.
Xiang Shaolong was just breathing a sigh of relief when there was a strange and sudden change.
Strange calls were heard from the sides of the road and just as Xiang Shaolong was still wondering what’s happening, the imperial guards surrounding the imperial carriage all fell from their horses, followed by the horrible sound of a heavy object cras.h.i.+ng towards the carriage at a shocking speed. The driver of the carriage had his head totally severed by some strange, horrible weapon and fell off the carriage. The eight horses which were pulling the carriage all fell in a pool of blood.
The outside walls of the carriage shattered and splintered, the sound shocking.
There was immediate chaos amongst the crowd as everyone tried to escape in all directions. Cries and screams filled the air and it was difficult to differentiate who is the enemy.
Xiang Shaolong roared as he pulled out his precious sword and charged forward.
A few people jumped out from the sides of the road.
With a ‘whoosh’, one of them used a heavy metal bar to smash the door open. By now the nearest imperial guard to the imperial carriage who’s not yet dead or injured is at least ten steps away.
"Argh!" one of the men who tried to dash up the carriage was struck in front with an arrow and fell to the floor.
All the warriors fired their arrows. The attackers were all shot dead but two of them managed to somersault backwards and slipped into the woods, avoiding the arrows.
Xiang Shaolong and his men went to surround the area.
More than a dozen shadows escaped from two sides, running towards River Wei.
Amidst the sounds of hooves and cries, the guards ran after them.
Xiang Shaolong ran up to the side of the smashed carriage door and shouted, "Calm the ma.s.ses!" Xiang Shaolong took a look inside the carriage.
Only to see Jing Shan extend his deathly pale face as he stuttered, "Luckily there were the steel slabs. Otherwise I’ll be dead."
Xiang Shaolong took a better look, and saw more than a dozen round metal wheels scattered on the ground, their edges thin and sharp as they shone but by now all of them have a broken edge.
He took another look at the 30 odd imperial guards lying in pools of blood around the carriage, all of whom died instantly. The scene was frightening with broken pieces of armor scattered around the road.
Such circular wheels that were thrown with the hands are even more fatal than bows and arrows, such that even armors are of no protection.
Another look at the walls of the carriage. The wood was splintered, revealing the steel plates that had become warped. He can’t help but suck in an icy breath.
Two of the circular wheels managed to fly into the carriage and sliced open Jing Shan’s armor when they rebounded. Luckily it was only a minor wound.
The entourage stopped.
The frightened ma.s.ses were gathered to a corner, far away from the crime scene. Wu Guo was in charge over there to check if there are any a.s.sa.s.sins hiding amongst the ma.s.ses.
Xiao Pan and the rest came up to Xiang Shaolong and after seeing the horrible aftermath, they were all fearfully astounded.
By now Lord Changwen’s men came to report that the a.s.sa.s.sins jumped into the river and swam across to the opposite bank. They only managed to kill three of them.
Xiang Shaolong jumped off his horse to check on the a.s.sa.s.sins who were killed. All of them were struck by at least three arrows and died on the spot. There’re no further clues that are worth pursuing.
Wan Chi, w.a.n.g Lin, Lao Ai, Lu Buwei and the other officials hurriedly rushed forward and on seeing Jing Shan walking out from within the carriage, were all dumbfounded.
Xiao Pan removed his helmet and revealed himself. His expression was icy as he ordered Guan Zhongxie, "Search the city immediately. If there are still a.s.sa.s.sins inside the city, you can say goodbye to your position as Commander of the City Guards."
His gaze fell upon the corpse filled ground and said sadly, "Give them a grand burial and compensation!" He could not bear to witness any more of this and nudged his horse towards the grounds for the Spring rites.
Although