Who says sleep is not spiritual practice?

Chapter 256 Which side to help?
While the officers and soldiers were fighting fiercely with the bandits, Jiang Langya and Jiang Shan also came to the deck of the Xiong family's fleet a hundred feet away.

"What happened?"

"Is it an attack by thieves?"

Jiang Langya glanced ahead, seeing that there were not many people on both sides, and the battle was not too fierce, he couldn't help frowning slightly.

Such a big event just happened during the day, making everyone feel insecure, and a hundred or so people suddenly fought on the river in the middle of the night, making people wonder whether the Jing family's lineage is behind the scenes!

but……

If it was for the purpose of killing people, at least thousands of people would have to be recruited to surround the fleet. What kind of tricks are there with just a few hundred people?
Liang Buyi stepped forward and explained:

"General, we seem to have encountered officers and soldiers suppressing bandits!"

"Suppress bandits?"

Jiang Langya only thought it was very funny:

"In Qingzhou, aren't the real bandits all dressed in official clothes?"

Apparently, King Jingxuan of Qingjiang and his officials oppressed the people, making life difficult for the people of Qingzhou. This is not a secret among the upper echelons of Chu State.

In the past [-] years, the three states in the northern border have accepted many refugees who fled from Qingzhou. Many of them later joined the army and became members of the Anbei Army.

Among the [-] guards he personally selected this time, more than [-] were former Qingzhou citizens.

"..."

On the side, Liang Buyi closed his mouth.

He dare not criticize Jingxuan in full view!

As a prince, he is also the most trusted younger brother of Emperor Jinghong. He is arrogant and domineering on weekdays, committing crimes, not only exorbitant taxes and heavy taxes, seeking people's fat and anointment, but also conniving at his subordinates to rob people's daughters and send them to the mansion for wanton play, causing public resentment to boil !
But what is chilling is that in the court hall in the capital, it is rare to hear someone reprimanding Jing Xuan loudly.

That group of old ministers played every day, all they said was to persuade the emperor to cut down the vassal, reduce the military power and fiefs of the northern king Jiang Qiushui, so as not to prevent the northern border from rebelling one day in the future, the whole Chu country will fall into war, and the people will be mourned. !
But they don't seem to see that in Qingzhou, which is not far from the capital, under the oppression of Jing Xuan, the people are already in dire straits, so that bandits are rampant and rebellions are everywhere!

In fact, Liang Buyi also understands.

For most of the officials in the imperial court in the capital, pleading for orders for the people is false, but keeping the official hat on their heads is true!
The purpose of relegating and rejecting the northern king and cutting down the vassal was to please the emperor and show his loyalty.

Don't look at Jing Hong and Jiang Qiushui's appearance of a harmonious monarch and his ministers, but who knows that he has long been suspicious of King Rejecting the North?Otherwise, why put his wife and eldest son under house arrest in the capital as a hostage?

As far as Liang Buyi knows, in the past twenty years, many officials have insulted and belittled Jiang Qiushui at the court, without exception, they were reprimanded and punished by Jing Hong, but without exception, within a few short years after the incident, they were promoted One rank or even several ranks!
If it weren't for this, who would be full and scold a king with a different surname who is hundreds of miles away from the border every day?
Don't look at all the officials in the court who insulted Jiang Qiushui on the surface, but behind the scenes, I don't know how many people secretly admire him!
As for King Jingxuan of Qingjiang...

That is the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor. He is very powerful and favored. No one dares to offend him!
Even Jing Hong himself never took the throne decisively and punished him. He made it clear that he turned a blind eye to what he did. Who else would dare to talk nonsense?

Don't you want the official hat on your head?

It is estimated that in Jing Hong's eyes, the whole world belongs to the Jing family, so what is Jing Xuan's tossing about a mere Qingzhou?
In the eyes of all the officials in the capital, as long as they keep their official status, then it can be regarded as nothing happened.

Anyway, they are far away in the capital, and they can't see how poor the people of Qingzhou are, and the capital is full of singing and dancing.

At this time, if someone stood up and said that the people of Qingzhou had no means of living, wouldn't they be calling Emperor Jing Hong a fool?

What's the difference between that and courting death?
"Qingzhou is seriously plagued by banditry, and the number of bandits is even more than that of officers and soldiers. The man in the capital not only did not admonish Jing Xuan, but instead allowed him to continue to do his best, making the people miserable, and the number of bandits is increasing day by day."

"Perhaps, this is exactly what the one wants to see."

After what happened today, Liang Buyi has a deeper understanding of the situation in Qingzhou:
"The banditry is serious, that one can use the common people to feed the monsters, and then put the crime on the bandits afterwards, so as to conceal the fact that the monsters cannibalize people!"

"In that case, no matter how chaotic Qingzhou is, he will be the founding emperor who is aloof and respected by everyone. The people will only complain about King Jingxuan of Qingjiang and even Emperor Jinghong, while ignoring the real culprit!"

"When the monster raised by that one eats enough people, then he can stand up and kill his relatives righteously, set things right, and pretend that he has been in seclusion for decades, so he knows nothing about the outside world!"

"Most people who don't know the truth will shout for Shengming, and they will become more and more devoted to the Jing family!"

"And in order to fool the common people and ensure the eternal power of the emperor..."

"That one will try to silence everyone who knows that he raised monsters to devour the people!"

Thinking of this, Liang Buyi couldn't help feeling a little panic in his heart.

He looked to the front of the river, and cast his eyes on the Qingzhou officers and soldiers who were fighting the bandits, wanting to see what happened, to see if the other party had another purpose, and whether there were more reinforcements hiding behind them!

Besides him, Xiong Hui, Jiang Langya and others were also watching silently.

They all chose to sit on the sidelines and did not step forward to help the bandits or the officers and soldiers.

Not to mention that this is Qingzhou's internal affairs, it is inconvenient for them to intervene in their capacity, even if they want to intervene...

Which side to help?
Qingzhou officers and soldiers?

Help them oppress the people?Then the reputation of himself and others in the Jianghu will be rotten!Moreover, they have advantages in numbers and equipment, so they don't need help at all, and they don't necessarily appreciate it!
As for gangsters...

No matter what their reasons are, the identities of this group of people are rebels, and helping them kill officers and soldiers, wouldn't that be the same as conspiracy?

"You said..."

Liang Buyi glanced around and said suspiciously:
"Could this be a bait?"

"How can it be such a coincidence that a group of officers and soldiers and a group of thieves were bumped into by us on this big night? Are you still fighting in front of our eyes?"

"If I want to guess, King Qingjiang may be leading an army of tens of thousands to observe all this in secret! As long as someone among us can't help but intervene in this matter, he will lead his army to kill us in the name of rebels. Catch them all!"

But this guess was quickly denied by Jiang Langya:
"Do not."

"With Jingxuan's temperament, if he is determined to keep us in Qingzhou, he can directly lead the army to surround the fleet, so why bother with such a trick?"

"Besides, if there is a large army hiding nearby, it will definitely not be hidden from our eyes and ears."

"..."

Liang Buyi frowned, then nodded.

Indeed, it is no secret in Jianghu that the little girl next to the prince of the North is a man of flowers.

There are a lot of Huamanlou killers around looking for information, it is impossible for Jing Xuan to bring the army nearby quietly.

What's more, to completely eliminate this fleet, at least a few thousand people must be large, and to recruit such a force in Qingzhou, it is impossible not to leak a little news!
After thinking about this point clearly, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and cast his gaze forward with an attitude that had nothing to do with him.

at this time.

A hundred feet away, more than [-] bandits headed by Xu Zhan had already fought with more than [-] officers and soldiers led by Li Gui!
They abandoned their bows and crossbows and replaced them with swords. They fought hand-to-hand in the dark, the sound of shouts and weapons clashing drowned out the sound of the surging tide.

The thieves were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and personal strength, but because they often fished on the river at night to supplement their rations, they were more adaptable to the dark environment than the officers and soldiers, and they did not collapse immediately.

A few quick-witted thieves even jumped into the river and dug open the bottoms of wooden boats regardless of enemy or friend, in an attempt to force the officers and soldiers to retreat.

Sure enough, this move caused many officers and soldiers to panic.

Even if their water skills are not bad, but it is late at night and they can't see their fingers. Once they fall into the water, it is no different from falling into a black prison. If they can't use [-]% of their strength, they will inevitably feel a little uneasy!

Moreover, in the dark underwater, it is difficult to see people with ordinary eyesight, so their advantage in numbers will disappear!

"My boat is leaking!"

"Ours too!"

"Someone's digging a boat underwater! Quick, get some men into the water and kill them! Or we'll all drown!"

"Okay, who's going?"

"..."

No one answered.

Obviously, everyone thinks that it is far more dangerous to go into the water and fight with those thieves who scuttled the boat at this time than to stay on the boat and fight side by side with your companions!

They are selfish Qingzhou officers and soldiers, and the purpose of suppressing bandits is to get promoted and get rich.

If you failed to suppress the bandits, it would be a big deal to come back next time. Anyway, there are a lot of bandits in Qingzhou, and you can’t kill them all. But if you risk your life in it, it’s not worth it!
So many people in the family are counting on my official skin to survive!
If I die, with County Magistrate Yang's temper, I'm afraid that instead of granting pensions and protecting the family of the deceased, he will abduct the female relatives, take away the gold and silver, and squeeze out the remaining value!

Under such circumstances, who would die for Magistrate Yang?

Who dares to die?
"Humph!"

Seeing this scene, Li Gui, the officer and general, couldn't help showing anger on his face. He immediately called out the names of several people and ordered them to go into the water to fight:

"Zhou Hu, Wang An, Pan Si, Zhang Kui, all of you hurry down and kill the shipbuilder!"

The faces of the people whose names were called suddenly turned pale:

"General, I, I just got an arrow in the shoulder, I'm afraid I won't be able to get into the water!"

"General, my hand was slashed, I can't even hold the sword, and I can't get into the water!"

"General, I, I have cramp in my leg!"

"..."

Li Gui was trembling with anger, looked at the last person, but saw that person jumped into the water without saying a word.

He was just about to open his mouth to praise the reward, but the next moment, he found an arrow stuck in the man's chest.

It turned out that he was shot and killed by a hidden arrow, and he died!

"Damn! A bunch of trash!"

"Magistrate Yang is raising you for nothing!"

Li Gui cursed furiously, kicked down several officers and soldiers on his ship, and threatened:
"Listen to this general!"

"Today's cowards, the general will report your names one by one afterwards, and let Magistrate Yang take off your official skins!"

As soon as this remark came out, all the officers and soldiers turned pale with fright!

What is the current situation in Qingzhou, don't they know?
Everything they have now is brought by this official skin!

Without this official skin, they will be reduced to common people. Not only will they be exploited, but even their family members will be taken away!

Even the people who were oppressed by them in the past can't help but take revenge!
As for County Magistrate Yang, would he care about the lack of obedient officers and soldiers?

Heh, among the people in Qingzhou right now, there are almost as many officers and soldiers as there are those who want to go up the mountain to be bandits!

As long as County Magistrate Yang gives an order, within half an hour, thousands of people will flood into the government office, vying to be his loyal dog!
then……

After being threatened, even if they were reluctant in their hearts, the officers and soldiers could only put on a desperate posture to avoid being liquidated afterwards:

"kill!"

"Brothers, suppress bandits for Magistrate Yang!"

"Go through fire and water for Magistrate Yang!"

……

Under the increasingly fierce offensive of the officers and soldiers, the pressure on the thieves rose sharply, and greater casualties began to occur.

At this moment, Xu Zhan, the leader of the thieves, was so anxious that he finally couldn't hold back.

He took a step forward, came to a boat, raised his knife and slashed down fiercely!

boom!
A silver radiance suddenly lit up on the knife, like a bright moon in the sky, illuminating the surrounding dark night of more than ten feet, attracting everyone's attention.

next moment.

The head of an officer and soldier flew high.

At the same time, a column of blood gushed upwards from the broken neck of the man, like a fountain, dyeing the silver blade glow red!
"kill!"

Xu Zhan shouted loudly, turned around and swung his knife, cutting another officer and soldier in half from the waist and abdomen!
boom!
Half of the two corpses of the deceased fell into the water, and the other half was still on the boat. The blood was gurgling, which made people creepy!
Xu Zhan didn't look back, but just glanced around coldly, the long knife in his hand was shining brightly, as if he was looking for the next target.

This made the remaining officers and soldiers take a few steps back in fright.

No one wants to be the third unlucky victim of the other side.

but……

Xu Zhan's arrogance only lasted for a short moment.

Because among the officers and soldiers, Li Gui, who is also in the Fate Star Realm, also drew his sword from his waist, jumped with both feet, and came to the same boat.

He held a torch in one hand and a golden long sword in the other, looking at Xu Zhan's eyes full of fear:
"Leave this person to me, and you go kill the others!"

"Remember, except for Li Que'er and his father, there will be no one left!"

Seeing this, the officers and soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time raised their weapons to kill the remaining thieves.

at this time.

An officer and soldier lying on the deck pretending to be injured glanced ahead with Xu Zhan's sword light, only to find that a small boat was secretly sailing towards the location of the Xiong family's fleet!

There are two men in gray robes on board, they are Li Carpenter and his daughter!

but……

The two men had already approached the fleet, but they did not board the ship. Instead, they used the cover of the huge ship to move forward again, as if they wanted to bypass the fleet and go to Bingzhou!

After seeing this scene, the officer and soldier immediately jumped up from the board, pointed in the direction of the fleet and shouted loudly:

"General! Li Que'er has run away!"

Many officers and soldiers trembled when they heard this.

The purpose of their operation tonight is not to suppress the bandits, but to capture Li Que'er!
If this woman is allowed to run away in the end, even if all the bandits are slaughtered, everyone including Li Gui will be reprimanded and punished by County Magistrate Yang!
"You can't go!"

Before Li Gui could respond, Xu Zhan, the leader of the thieves, immediately stopped in front of him with a knife, as if to prevent him from chasing and arresting him.

But Li Gui stood there without moving, as if he was not worried that Li Que'er and Li Que'er could escape successfully.

He just glanced at the Xiong family fleet, smiled and said:

"Xu Zhan, I forgot to tell you that the general has already inquired about it. Behind you is the fleet of the Xiong family in Bingzhou!"

"As for the Xiong family, they have been friends with the Murong family where the queen empress lives!"

"..."

Xu Zhan was slightly taken aback, thinking something was wrong.

In the next moment, Li Gui faced the fleet and said loudly:
"Friends of the Xiong family, we are suppressing the bandits under the order of the prince. Please help us to capture the two bandits who are close to you. We will thank you very much afterwards!"

"but……"

"Also please be sure not to hurt the lives of the two of you!"

……

Even though it was separated by hundreds of feet and mixed with the sound of the tide, several Haoyue Realm masters on the fleet could still hear Li Gui's words clearly.

"Big elder..."

Xiong Xing glanced at the wooden boat not far away, and snorted coldly:
"We can pretend that we didn't hear it. My Xiong family is not a vassal of King Qingjiang!"

"And, looking at the outfits of those two, they are clearly not bandits!"

Because of the day-to-day affairs, he is still simmering with anger towards the Jing clan. If he doesn't help the bandits and kill a lot of officers and soldiers, he is taking care of the overall situation, so why would he help Jing Xuan suppress the bandits?

However, beside him, Xiong Hui shook his head, and ordered in an unquestionable tone:
"No, you go and capture the two of you."

(End of this chapter)