Dusk drew near.
Inside the Embroidered Uniform Guard outpost in Gong and Drum Lane, Yang Ge changed into his embroidered uniform, picked up his saber, and walked slowly out of his room.
Fang Ke stepped forward and presented the Black-Iron Half-Face Mask to Yang Ge with both hands.
Yang Ge took the mask and fastened it over his face, covering his eyes and cheeks.
"What time is it?"
He asked.
Fang Ke replied, "Banner Commander, the third quarter of the hour of the rooster has passed."
One traditional hour equaled two hours and was divided into eight quarters, each lasting fifteen minutes.
The third quarter of the hour of the rooster had passed, which meant it was almost six o'clock.
Yang Ge calculated the time and nodded. "The Thousand-Household Commander should be about to make his move."
With worry on his face, Fang Ke asked quietly, "Banner Commander, with an operation this big, are we really not going to lend support?"
Yang Ge understood what he was implying, but still shook his head. "The situation inside the town is unclear. We shouldn't act rashly. We're the covert unit stationed in Road Pavilion. As long as we keep Luting County secure, we'll earn credit if the Thousand-Household Commander's operation succeeds, and bear no blame if it doesn't."
"On the other hand, if anything goes wrong inside the town, we won't escape responsibility, whether we join the fight or not, and whether the Thousand-Household Commander and his men succeed or not!"
After a pause, he added, "Besides, his letter only informed me that Tartar experts would be passing through. There was no order to muster our unit and leave town to support him. We must have full faith in the Thousand-Household Commander!"
Only when he said this did he suddenly realize that Shen Fa seemed never to have given him a compulsory order.
Whether it was tricking him into joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard's assault on the Xie Family's merchant ship, or later guilt-tripping him into becoming a Banner Commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard...
A single written order would have been enough to leave him with no choice at all.
Yet Shen Fa had never stripped him of the right to say no.
Even with this ambush on the Tartar experts, the information Shen Fa had sent clearly suggested that he hoped Yang Ge would take his men out of town to join the fight.
Yet he had still left the choice in Yang Ge's hands...
Shen Fa had said that he wanted to be his friend.
Yang Ge had never believed it before. He had always felt that the fellow was trying to mess with his head.
But at this moment, he began to believe it a little.
He had never belittled himself.
Yet now he could not help wondering what he had done to deserve this...
It was not that he stood in awe of Shen Fa's official rank.
He simply knew himself well enough to understand that, whether in that other world or in Great Wei, he was nothing more than an ordinary little man. His ultimate dream in life had always been financial freedom, a wife and children, and a warm bed.
Shen Fa, meanwhile, however rigid and antiquated his thinking might be, was truly running himself ragged and striving for Great Wei and its people.
Great men did not cease to be great because of the limitations of their age.
Nor did mediocre men cease to be mediocre because of the advantages their age afforded them.
Naturally, Fang Ke knew nothing of Yang Ge's thoughts. Hearing his words, he hurriedly explained, "Of course! The Thousand-Household Commander has always been thorough and meticulous, leaving nothing out of his calculations. Since he's decided to draw in the net, he must already know exactly how many days those Tartar experts have gone without changing their underwear... pah! What I mean is, if we don't go, I'm afraid the other brothers in the Guard will hold it against us!"
Yang Ge gently patted his shoulder and said kindly, "We only need to do our own jobs properly. Don't worry about how others see us. A mouth is just two flaps of skin-you couldn't control what comes out of it even if you wanted to!"
Fang Ke nodded in agreement.
Yang Ge then asked again about the deployments throughout the town. Just as he was considering a visit to the west gate, a guard came to report, "Banner Commander, something's happened at the county office! Armed men are slaughtering people inside..."
Yang Ge's brow furrowed sharply. "Where did the information leak?"
The guard who had brought the report braced himself and saluted with clasped hands. "The men inside the county office probably spotted our brothers keeping watch..."
"Order the brothers watching the four gates to seize control of them immediately. Before dawn, no one is to open them, no matter who calls for entry."
With his hand on his saber, Yang Ge strode outside. "Everyone else, head to the county office at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
By the time Yang Ge reached the county office, a large contingent of guards had already assembled two or three hundred county soldiers. With torches in hand and powerful bows and crossbows at the ready, they had surrounded the compound.
The sight eased Yang Ge's mind a little. He stepped forward, displayed his identification token, and demanded, "Who's in charge here? Come forward and report!"
A Junior Banner Officer stepped forward at his call and saluted with clasped fists. "Your subordinate, Gu Tong, greets the Banner Commander!"
Yang Ge turned toward the wide-open gates of the county office and asked, "What's the situation?"
The Junior Banner Officer replied, "Half an hour ago, screams came from inside the county office. I went in to take a look and saw more than a dozen masked men wielding sharp blades, slaughtering the county magistrate's family..."
Fang Ke stepped closer and whispered into Yang Ge's ear, "Banner Commander, they're killing them to silence them!"
Yang Ge had reached the same conclusion. What a decisive response. What ruthless hearts.
"Where are the attackers?"
Gu Tong replied, "Banner Commander, fifteen minutes ago, they tried to break out. I failed in my duty and let three escape. I forced the rest back inside. They should still be in the magistrate's residence."
"You've done very well."
Yang Ge patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It was my oversight."
Gu Tong hurriedly replied, "I wouldn't dare let you take the blame!"
Yang Ge shook his head, unhooked the saber at his waist, and took it in his hand. "Keep commanding the county soldiers and maintain the cordon. Don't let a single one escape... Fang Ke!"
Fang Ke answered loudly, "Here, sir!"
Yang Ge swept his hand forward. "Pick thirty brothers and follow me inside!"
Fang Ke replied, "Yes, sir!"
A short while later, thirty broad-shouldered, thick-waisted Embroidered Uniform Guard troopers surged into the county office behind several hide-covered shields half a man's height, each holding a torch high in one hand and a gleaming Ox-Tail Saber in the other.
Gripping his saber tightly, Yang Ge walked behind one of the hide-covered shields. In the flickering torchlight, he saw bodies sprawled every which way throughout the county office: clerks in green robes, constables in black, maids and servants in patterned or blue clothing, women and children wearing pearls, jade, and gold lock pendants...
Pools of crimson blood reflected an ink-like sheen in the torchlight. Stepping into them felt like stepping on moss, sticky, wet, and slippery.
Yang Ge clenched his teeth and forced himself not to look at those ashen faces. He shouted harshly, "Listen, everyone inside! I am the Embroidered Uniform Guard commander in Road Pavilion! You're surrounded, with nowhere to run! Lay down your weapons and come out to surrender. That is your only chance to live!"
Before he had finished speaking, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of a black shape the size of a calf hurtling toward him. With no time to think, he instinctively drew his Ox-Tail Saber and slashed backward with all his strength.
Clang!
A piercing clash of metal set their teeth on edge. A gleaming length of broken blade flew away, and the black shape slammed heavily down beside Yang Ge's feet, sending a round object bouncing out.
Yang Ge glanced down and immediately tore his gaze away, his stomach churning.
"Brothers, watch out for the bodies!"
"Brothers, kill them!"
Fang Ke's shout and an unfamiliar roar rang out at the same time.
The next instant, several figures leaped down from the tiled eaves around the courtyard and lunged at Yang Ge from every direction.
The second chapter is still on its way~
Before you continue