Chapter 390 – Dongqing Earthquake (Twenty-two)
Qi Guanrang held the reins firmly, his palm clutching the feather fan that never left his side. “Xiaoyu is exceptionally clever; do you dare to guess?”
Meeting an old friend in such circumstances was beyond his expectations.
Guess?
Guess a colossal nonsense!
Xu Ke pressed his lips together, glancing at the young man with the torch and asked, “Private troops?”
“Exactly,” Qi Guanrang replied with a smile.
If he weren’t on such a tall horse, Xu Ke would have seriously considered dragging Qi Guanrang down to give him a proper beating.
“Why would the Young Master’s private troops be here?”
Private troops were personal armed forces; how did Qi Guanrang manage to haul so many here from Chongzhou?
Without answering, Qi Guanrang’s companion Meng Hunyun cupped his hands and said, “Mr. Qi came because he knew the Young Master was in trouble.”
Xu Ke replied, “How could Xu not know that Wen Zheng possesses the ability of foresight?”
Qi Guanrang just smiled and remained silent, his gaze shifting to the grain carts being pushed and then to the disheveled state of Xu Ke and his group, sparking something in his heart.
“This is not the time for idle chatter. If Xiaoyu doubts you, questioning can happen later. Right now, human lives are at stake; Xiaoyu should lead the way swiftly so we can reunite with the Young Master as soon as possible.” Qi Guanrang signaled, “This place is not suitable for lingering.”
Xu Ke understood this logic; he simply couldn’t fathom why Qi Guanrang happened to be outside the capital.
“Then let’s explain when we’re back.” Xu Ke’s face remained calm; the current environment was indeed not the place for such discussions.
Currently, the training regimen for the private troops was set by Jiang Pengji, though it had increased significantly compared to before.
After three to four years of training, even a pig would be able to walk on its hind legs, not to mention these carefully chosen young men, most of whom were bandits at first, initially full of ruthless energy. After a few years, they had been honed into a disciplined elite.
Meng Hunyun waved his hand, and someone immediately led a horse forward. He said, “Mr. Xu, get on.”
“How many private troops did you bring with you?”
Seeing Meng Hunyun, Xu Ke felt clarity; he understood Qi Guanrang’s approach was legitimate.
When Jiang Pengji left, she entrusted the operation of the private troops to Meng Hunyun, while Qi Guanrang occasionally helped manage things.
Without these two, Jiang Pengji would not have been comfortable with her hands-off approach.
“I brought a total of three thousand men,” Qi Guanrang stated, adding, “However, only over a thousand are here.”
Meng Hunyun was a man of action but perceptive, sensing the subtle tension between the two, and seamlessly intervened to separate them.
“The other two thousand were sent out to assist the common people of Fengyi County.” Meng Hunyun pondered for a moment before adding, “Mr. Xu, rest assured, these three thousand private troops brought out from Chongzhou are mostly organized in small units, definitely won’t cause trouble for the Young Master…”
Private troops were the norm among noble families, with sizes varying greatly, and they had to be restrained during peacetime; they couldn’t just run wild.
If a large gathering of troops was detected, it might raise suspicions about an uprising, and then the owner of those troops would be in deep trouble.
Xu Ke listened and grunted, his expression slightly easing, but the frown on his brow remained stubborn.
He knew Qi Guanrang was naturally cautious; he wouldn’t hand such a large weakness to the enemy, and indeed, that was the case. Once the private troops left Chongzhou, they were split into smaller groups, convening at the boundary between Shangyang County and Fengyi County without arousing suspicion.
Yet he still felt uneasy about Qi Guanrang mobilizing three thousand private troops without Jiang Pengji’s approval.
Qi Guanrang had the troops concealed in a secluded valley, camping there for several days.
After the quake, no one from the private troops perished; however, a few unlucky ones were slightly injured by fallen tents.
Having never visited the capital, Qi Guanrang looked at the towering city gates and could imagine the bustling architecture beyond them.
However, passing through the damaged gates, what greeted him was a heart-wrenching spectacle that shrank his pupils.
Devastation everywhere, ruins as far as the eye could see; there was no trace of the glorious sights he had envisioned.
They entered the city from the north gate, the area around them had not yet been searched. When a few surviving common people heard their footsteps, they desperately tried to attract attention, creating a rather chilling scene. Yet the private troops showed no change in expression, remaining unaffected by external circumstances.
“How… could the court not send anyone? Or… perhaps they just haven’t searched here yet?”
Qi Guanrang, having been holed up in the valley, had not kept up with the news from outside.
Had it not been for the earthquake, he would have continued waiting there for Jiang Pengji to arrive.
Xu Ke, with a cold expression, scoffed, “How could a son of heaven sitting in the Nine Heavens Palace hear the cries of mortals?”
Qi Guanrang’s heart sank. With the earthquake having taken place for a day and night, the court had yet to make a move; why was that?
Even if he didn’t know what the golden rescue window was, he understood that the longer it dragged on, the more common people would perish.
He left a few private troops behind and rescued several of the common people who had sought help from the ruins.
Jiang Pengji had accepted the imperial decree, and Huang Qian had left behind a thousand Imperial Guards and five hundred units of grain, urgently wishing to depart.
This place stank too much!
Watching as Huang Qian was escorted away by over a hundred guards, Jiang Pengji clenched the imperial decree in her hand, still expressionless.
Her gaze swept over the Imperial Guards, “Who’s in charge here?”
Due to limited space and too many people to stand, only three followed Huang Qian to her side, while the rest waited outside.
Upon her words, one stepped forward, cupping his fists and speaking in a low tone, “It is I, Luo Yue.”
Jiang Pengji examined the man closely; he stood about eight feet tall, with a tiger-like back and a powerful build—one step forward matched two of an ordinary person. He was clad in Imperial Guard armor, but underneath it was a thin shirt that hardly concealed his muscles.
Jiang Pengji, being on the taller side among her peers, found herself needing to look up at this man.
“What’s your name?”
“I am Luo Yue.”
“The Emperor has bestowed you upon me. Thus, for this duration, your lives and fates shall be under my command, and you merely need to follow my orders.” Jiang Pengji stated calmly, “Should there be anyone who feigns compliance while secretly defying, they shall be executed on the spot with no need for burial.”
Luo Yue frowned, his thick eyebrows knitting together in slight displeasure.
Imperial Guards were in charge of the security of the capital, and they naturally held a different regard for themselves than common folk. No matter how noble this person appeared, they were ultimately just an ordinary individual. Unless ordered by the Emperor, they had no right to command them, yet Jiang Pengji spoke in such a manner…
Noticing the fleeting displeasure in his eyes, Jiang Pengji internally scoffed. If it weren’t for her need for personnel, she wouldn’t bother with someone like him… Still, pride aside, this Luo Yue did seem capable. If, after the earthquake, she could manage to take all one thousand Imperial Guards away, that would be perfect. Jiang Pengji lowered her gaze, and dark schemes began to bubble up within her.
At that moment, her ears perked up; she caught the sound of thousands of footsteps approaching.
Raising an eyebrow, she asked Luo Yue, “Did the Emperor send any other Imperial Guards over?”
Two thousand?
How generous!
