The Second Volume Wu Zhong Guest Chapter 28: Raising an Army to Rebel Against Qin

  Night, lanterns just lit up.

  A horse carriage slowly came to a stop, and Chen Kui, the county lieutenant of Fan County, and his wife Yu Shi hurriedly went forward to greet them. Two women got down from the carriage, one old and one young, and Yu Shi smiled and went forward to pay her respects. Chen Kui opened his eyes wide and asked: "Madam, where are Lord Wu and my son?"

  The newcomer was none other than the wife and daughter of County Magistrate Wu Rui.

  Mrs. Wu, dressed in dignified attire, said: "I'm truly sorry, my husband is not feeling well today and cannot come. Our son has committed a fault and was punished by his father, so he's not allowed to go out. Please forgive him, Mr. Chen!"

  "Huh?" Chen Kui's eyes flashed with a complex expression, and then he smiled all over his face: "I spoke too much, Lord Wu should rest more when his body is not feeling well. I will visit your mansion tomorrow to pay my respects." As for Wu Chen, he understood in his heart, so he didn't mention it at all.

  "Governor Chen is being polite!"

  "Please, madam!" Chen Kui politely invited her in. Since only the ladies had come, Yu Shi accompanied them to the inner hall.

  Chen Kui fell far behind, his mood becoming exceptionally heavy. Today, taking advantage of the opportunity to transport grain for An Tong, he handed a secret letter to his trusted aide Zhang Bo, which was to inform on Wu Rui's treachery and disloyal heart.

  He was an official of the imperial court, and his task was to monitor and restrain Wu Rui. Therefore, he often paid attention to it. On that day, he saw a mysterious man visiting Wu Rui, followed by the news that An Tong had arrived in Fan Township to pursue the thieves, but there was no sign of the thieves. What's even more strange is that on the same night, the thieves suddenly appeared on the north side, stealing and burning the grain depot.

  Chen Kui had his doubts, An Tong said that the thieves were in Fan Township, how could they suddenly disappear? There was only one possibility, that Wu Rui deliberately covered up. From that day on, Chen Kui began to secretly investigate and gather evidence.

  After a period of investigation, it was discovered that there were indeed signs of thieves passing through Fan Township, and Wu Rui could not have been unaware of this matter. Immediately afterwards, he also found out that on the same day, a large number of people and horses boarded ships at Pengze Lake to head north, all carrying sharp swords and weapons. At the same time, he also heard rumors about Wu Rui's son, Wu Chen, speaking out of turn, as well as some unsubstantiated reports.

  Chen Kui thought carefully and suddenly realized. So he hastily wrote a letter, wanting to report it to Zuoyi An Tong at this time. On the one hand, he was doing his duty. On the other hand, after dealing with Wu Rui, he could take over Fan Yi, and for many years he had been suppressed by others, which made him very resentful. Now that he had finally caught an opportunity, how could he not make good use of it?

  Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, and the plum rain lasted for over a month. The roads were muddy and difficult to travel, not to mention that every suitable excuse was used. At this time, if Wu Rui accidentally discovered something, it would be very bad. Therefore, they delayed again and again until today when sending military rations, there was finally an opportunity to do so openly and honestly.

  But by dusk, the grain delivery team had not returned yet. The rain-soaked roads were also causing delays. Even so, Zhang Gongcao knew that he should have sent a message to himself by now, but in reality, there was none. In his opinion, if An Tong knew about this matter, she would not let it go easily and would definitely make some kind of statement, but why had there been no news all along?

  Wasn't something unexpected happening halfway? Did Wu Rui notice this matter? The more Chen Kui thought about it, the more uneasy he became. So he specially set up a banquet at home and invited Wu Rui's whole family to come and try to probe.

  But Wu Rui's wife and daughter arrived, but Wu Rui didn't come. Chen Kui felt a sudden jolt in his heart. What did Wu Rui mean by this? Had he really discovered something? Was it just to calm himself down that he let his wife and daughter come? Thinking of this, Chen Kui felt even more uneasy. However, he immediately thought that Wu's mother and daughter could also be used as hostages, only... did Wu Rui not care about his wife and daughter?

  Everything must be prepared early, and after knowing that things are not good, Chen Kui ordered his confidants to strengthen the defense of the mansion, while sending someone to the county government office to investigate. The news was transmitted back, and the county government office was quiet.

  Everything was so calm, but Chen Kui's unease in her heart grew stronger. Perhaps this was the calm before the storm! Not long after, a maid came to deliver cloaks to Wu's mother and daughter. It seemed like an ordinary action, but Chen Kui detected something unusual.

  Chen Kui let out a soft sigh and instructed his trusted steward beside him, "Go make preparations, keep an eye on Wu's mother and daughter, think of a way to send someone out of the city tonight to see An Xuewei."

  The steward's heart skipped a beat and he asked: "Master, are you really going to take action?"

  Chen Kui sighed: "It seems that the news has already been leaked, and Wu Rui may have already planned to deal with us."

  The housekeeper nodded silently and went down to prepare. It should be said that Chen Kui's sense of crisis was not wrong, but unfortunately it was already too late. While the housekeeper arranged for people to take action, several black shadows had already climbed over the low wall of the Chen mansion one step ahead, quietly entering, namely Yin Xu, Ying Bu, Pu Jun and others.

  Tonight's main task is to persuade Wu Rui, turn against him and start an army to resist Qin, with the help of Fan Township, a large county with human and material resources. The force will surely grow stronger, occupying a place in the Jiangdong Anti-Qin Righteous Army.

  Things were going smoothly, and Wu Rui was moved by a thorough analysis. Later, with that letter "forcing" Wu Rui to kill Chen Kui. As long as the news of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising in Daze Township is confirmed, Wu Rui will agree to start an army, because it is destined history.

  Who would have thought that there was an unexpected development, and Wu's mother and daughter went to the Chen residence for a banquet. It was clear that Chen Kui was probing, but Wu Rui did not attend the banquet, which in Chen Kui's eyes was undoubtedly a dangerous signal. Tonight, the safety of Wu's mother and daughter is really worrying, and Wu Rui naturally cares about his wife and daughter's well-being.

  Yin Xu is also very worried about this. In fact, if Chen Kui really killed Wu's mother and daughter, it would only strengthen Wu Ruo's determination to resist Qin. It's just that he himself wants to cooperate with him again, which will be impossible. After all, Wu Ruo fell into such a predicament because of himself. Moreover, today Chen Kui's messenger was caught, and the suspicion arose also because of himself. So safely rescuing Wu's mother and daughter is especially important for them. On the one hand, it is to express apology and seek peace of mind. On the other hand, it is to show sincerity to Wu Ruo, which is a prerequisite for joining forces.

  Yin Xu took the initiative to ask for it and presented a detailed plan. Wu Rui heard about it, thought about it for a moment, felt that it was feasible, and agreed. Then everyone acted separately.

  In the backyard of Chen's mansion, three house guards walked back and forth on patrol, but unfortunately they were a step too late. Yin Xu gave a signal, and together with Ying Bu and Pu Jun, they covered the mouths of the three men, and sharp daggers instantly slashed across the guards' throats.

  Three corpses were quickly dragged away, and a moment later, three servants walked out to continue their patrol. The only difference was that the three of them had an additional yellow cloth strip on their wrists.

  After walking around the Chen mansion to get a clear understanding of its layout, the three housemen exchanged a smile and threw their torches at a certain place. In an instant, a fierce fire broke out, with the wind fanning the flames towards the adjacent back hall.

  "It's gone down the drain!"

  "Put out the fire!"

  The thief shouts to catch the thief, and the arsonist is the first to shout. The Chen mansion was suddenly shocked. At the first moment, Chen Kui felt that something was wrong. How could a good fire suddenly break out? Moreover, there were house slaves patrolling back and forth, it can be seen that someone deliberately did it.

  The big fire suddenly rushed to the back hall, and Yu Shi and Wu's mother and daughter were all in it. To avoid the big fire, they rushed out of the room under the protection of the family guards. The flames that filled the sky alarmed the small town of Fan, and when they learned that the Chen County Wei's house was on fire, the duty officers, and even more than a dozen enthusiastic citizens, came to put out the fire. For a time, the inside and outside of the Chen Mansion were in chaos.

  Chen Kui had no choice but to order the steward to take care of Wu's mother and daughter, while stopping people from putting out the fire. Some of Chen's family servants joined forces with the government officials and civilians to put out the fire, while the rest followed the steward's orders to protect Madame and Miss. In the chaos, no one noticed three strange figures.

  Wu Mei, the eldest daughter of Wu Rui, was only 16 years old. She had been studying martial arts and medicine since she was a child. She once led a group of women to the front line to treat wounded soldiers. This is the tradition of the Wu family, which started from Wu Rui's mother, Mei Shi. Now it is managed by Wu Mei, who is the leader of the first female soldier troop in Chinese history.

  Today, Wu Mei accompanied her mother to the Chen residence for a banquet. Everything was fine at first, with Mrs. Chen being very polite and enthusiastic in her hospitality. However, things took a turn when a maid from their own household arrived, ostensibly to deliver a cloak, but actually to pass on a message that Chen Kui intended to take Wu Mei and her mother hostage. At the same time, she was also informed that several strong men would be coming to rescue them, identified by a yellow cloth wrapped around their wrists.

  Wu Mei's light and heavy, never revealing her expression, until just now when the fire broke out and she escaped from the hall. A large group of Chen Fu's house servants surrounded her, and Wu Mei, with her sharp eyes, noticed several numbers on the sleeves of a few servants, and she had an idea in mind.

  The fire was raging fiercely, and it was difficult to put out for the time being. More people were alarmed, and soldiers had already arrived to rescue the fire. Chen Kui knew that the situation was gone, and someone deliberately set the fire, with the purpose of having an excuse to adjust the troops. Now, he can only take Wu's mother and daughter hostage and escape from the city for the time being!

  When he turned back, it was already too late. The Wu family mother and daughter were surrounded by a chaotic crowd. Three abnormal house slaves held daggers in their hands, punching and kicking people in the crowd, stabbing randomly, and gradually closing in on the Wu family mother and daughter. More than a dozen civilians who participated in putting out the fire suddenly threw away their water buckets and stepped forward to protect them.

  The steward of the Chen household, seeing that things were not going well, took advantage of the chaos to slip into the darkness on one side. Wu Rui had already led his troops into the mansion, and Chen Kui knew that all was lost. Next, Wu Chen threw a man down in front of him, who turned out to be one of the men Chen Kui had sent to ask for help from An Tong. Chen Kui collapsed to the ground, overcome with despair.

  At this point, Mrs. Wu finally understood the situation and was pulled by her daughter to see Wu Rui. Seeing his wife and daughter safe and sound, Wu Rui finally put down his heart and smiled at Yin Xu beside him, nodding in gratitude. Yin Xu also breathed a sigh of relief, laughing and talking to Pu Jun beside him. On the other side, Ying Bu's eyes swept over, suddenly shocked and pale, under the faint firelight, a figure emerged with a ferocious smile, a dark arrow was aimed at the direction where Wu Rui's family was.

  "Be careful!" Ying Bu shouted, wanting to remind, but it was already too late. With the idea of saving people, Ying Bu subconsciously rushed out, and the rapidly flying crossbow arrow entered his shoulder head. Such a sudden change, everyone was greatly shocked, Yin Xu reacted quickly, at the moment when Ying Bu fell down, the dagger in his hand had already flown out.

  The one who shot the crossbow arrow was the steward of the Chen Mansion. As he watched the arrow fly towards Wu Rui, he smiled with satisfaction. But suddenly, someone rushed out and blocked the arrow, immediately followed by a dagger that flew through the air and stabbed into his chest before he could dodge. The steward's smile froze, and with a look of unwillingness and shock, he fell to the ground, lifeless.

  "Brother Ying, how are you?" Yin Xu hastily came forward to ask.

  Wu Rui was also worried, he had already understood that Ying Bu was shot to save them. Yin Xu helped Ying Bu up, and Wu Mei, who used to be a military doctor, hurried forward to check on him. Seeing that the wound was on his right shoulder, she breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Don't worry, hurry back to the mansion, I'll treat it!" Several soldiers saw this and quickly carried Ying Bu away with Wu Mei.

  Ying Bu thought it was just a flesh wound and he could still walk, but Wu Mei flatly refused him, so he had no choice but to be a patient without the right to speak, obediently following the female doctor. Unexpectedly, this arrow actually brought about a romance for the iron man Ying Bu...

  Early in the morning, the people of Fan Township learned that Chen Kui's home had a big fire last night. County Magistrate Wu Rui promptly dispatched soldiers to put out the fire, but it was too late. The autumn wind blew fiercely, and the flames were too big. Forty-seven members of the Chen family did not have time to escape and all died in the sea of fire.

  At noon, Wu Rui's men sent back the news. Chen Sheng from Yangcheng and Wu Guang from Yangxia were on their way to garrison in Yuyang when they encountered heavy rain and missed the deadline. With death looming over them, the two raised a rebellion in Daze Village, resisting the cruel Qin dynasty, and had already captured several counties. Chen Sheng proclaimed himself king, and many of the Six States' remnants responded to his call.

  What was even more delightful was that in the Kuaiji Commandery of Jiangdong, Xiang Liang, a descendant of Xiang Yan, a great general of Chu, rose up in rebellion against Qin. The commandant Zhou Kan hastily led his troops back to reinforce Kuaiji, while the sitting commandant An Tong, who was stationed at Pengze, had not yet mobilized his forces; however, with only 4,000 men and horses, he was a defeated general, and no one was worried about him.

  Wu Rui heard that it was consistent with what Yin Xu said. Moreover, the events of last night would soon leak out, so he decided to start a rebellion against Qin immediately.