PDLP Chapter 329 Eliminating the Golden Feather Guards of Cangzhou City
Chapter 329 Eliminating the Golden Feather Guards of Cangzhou City
The city of Cangzhou was not peaceful after nightfall. As a military stronghold and a major commercial hub, Cangzhou had a population of over 100,000. Not to mention the soldiers of the Li family army guarding the city, the daily food supply for these people was a major problem.
Yelü Xian had also foreseen this. He had originally planned to besiege Cangzhou with a large force, believing that the city would eventually descend into chaos. However, just three days after Li's army captured the dock, grain transported by COFCO Oilfield arrived via the Bohai Sea. To ensure the smooth entry of this grain and other supplies into the city, Yue Ying deployed almost all of his tanks and armored vehicles, directly breaking through the Jin army's multiple layers of obstruction and successfully transporting the grain into the city.
Around Li Jiajun's granary, several shadowy figures silently lurked on the adjacent rooftops, the night shrouding their movements in secrecy.
A figure dressed in black lowered their voice, a hint of uncertainty in their tone: "Is this place truly the right place?"
Another man, also shrouded in the night, responded with even greater certainty: “It’s absolutely certain. During the day, one of my brothers cleverly disguised himself as a porter and infiltrated the granary. According to his own eyes, it was filled with heavy sacks, so it’s safe to assume that all the grain collected from outside the city today is hidden here.”
The leader, dressed in black, broke the silence once more with his deep, seductive voice in the darkness: "Brothers, look! That dazzling wealth and glory, like stars in the sky, lies quietly before us. Tonight, with a single fire, we can reduce these granaries, overflowing with grain, to ashes. And when the sun rises tomorrow, we can all transform ourselves, step into the halls of nobility, and enjoy the life we've always dreamed of."
After speaking, he waved his hand lightly, as if dispelling the fog in the night. The group of men in black moved quickly. Under the cover of moonlight, their figures dispersed silently like ghosts, and in an instant, they blended into the surrounding darkness, leaving only silence and the lingering ambition and desire in the air.
As night deepened, all was quiet, the streets were deserted, except for a few patrolling soldiers of the Li family army who stood guard in the darkness, their footsteps the only rhythm in the still night. Even the birds, accustomed to the night, seemed to have found deeper peace and disappeared into the veil of night.
"Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-"
A series of subtle, precise bowstring tremors pierced the silence of the night, like whispers in the darkness. Almost simultaneously, a deathly blue arc bloomed on the necks of the sentries, the silent yet deadly greeting of the crossbow bolts. They fell one by one like lifeless puppets, their weapons clashing with dull thuds, starkly jarring in the boundless darkness.
Seeing this, more than twenty men in black appeared silently from the shadows, their steps light and their movements agile, heading straight for the granary. Their every move revealed a tacit understanding and cold composure honed over a long period of training; they were clearly top-tier experts who had undergone rigorous training, and every action exuded formidable strength and determination.
Such a scene unfolded quietly in the dead of night, when the moon and stars were hidden, draping the tranquil night in a veil of mystery and tension.
Since no key was found on the guards, in desperation, one of the men in black raised his steel knife and cut the chains that were locking them.
"Hurry up, after you've lit the fire, we'll meet at the City God Temple in the west of the city."
Just as they rushed in, they heard footsteps on the street, and judging from the noise, there were quite a few people.
One of the men in black panicked and said in a trembling voice, "Boss, something's wrong, we think we're surrounded."
A hint of ferocity flashed in the eyes of the leader of the men in black: "What are you afraid of? Now that we're in, let's set this granary on fire first."
Before he finished speaking, his hands were already busy arranging the items needed to start a fire, each step revealing an unquestionable determination. However, just as he was moving among the clutter, his footsteps inadvertently passing by a pile of messy sacks, an incongruous detail caught his eye and aroused his alertness.
The man in black didn't stop moving. Instinctively, he silently plunged his sharp steel knife into the nearest sack, as if asking in vain about its secrets. When he slowly withdrew the gleaming blade, what flowed from beneath it was not the expected golden grain, but fine, heavy grains of sand, silently telling a carefully crafted lie.
This discovery was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, sending a jolt through him and instantly shattering all his composure and calm. He realized that this was not merely a simple stockpile of supplies, but a carefully planned trap by Li Jiajun, quietly waiting for some unfortunate soul to step into it. The tense atmosphere seemed to freeze; every grain of sand that fell seemed to pound against his heart, a reminder of the impending danger.
"Shh-"
In an instant, several blinding beams of light suddenly poured down from the sky. These were searchlights set up high up, like the blazing sun suddenly falling from the sky. The crowd below involuntarily squinted, as if even their souls were shocked by the sudden burst of light.
Yue Ying raised the megaphone and shouted, "Brothers of the Golden Feather Guard, you must be exhausted after working all night. I think you should put down your weapons and let's have a good talk. I promise you that as long as you surrender, you will be spared the death penalty."
Yue Ying's penetrating shout, like a sharp arrow in the cold wind, inadvertently touched a vulnerable corner in the hearts of several men in black, causing a flicker of wavering in their eyes.
Seeing this, the leader of the men in black frowned and spoke in a low but authoritative voice: "Gentlemen, do not be misled by his words! Think of our families left in Zhongdu; they are waiting for our safe return. Follow me closely, and together we will break through this encirclement!"
After saying this, he charged towards the exit of the granary like a tiger in the dark, followed closely by more than twenty men in black. Their hearts burned with the desire to go home, and they tried to find a way to survive while the Li family army was off guard.
Seeing this, Yue Ying couldn't help but sigh and shake his head, saying helplessly, "Alas, let's do it, but remember, don't take their lives all of them. Leave a few alive for later use."
At Yue Ying's command, four or five machine guns instantly unleashed a torrent of fire, accurately blasting the men in black under the searchlights. Although the Golden Feather Guard scouts were all highly skilled, they proved utterly vulnerable under such overwhelming firepower, falling like leaves swept away by the autumn wind. In just ten minutes, more than twenty men lay sprawled in pools of blood, a scene of utter devastation.
Of course, amidst this brutal massacre, a few men in black managed to survive. Although they were wounded in the legs and could no longer stand or walk, they were still eloquent and able to speak.
After a night of interrogation, Li's army found more than a dozen Golden Feather Guard scouts in the city. They had been lying in wait in the city when Li's army attacked Cangzhou City, and they were the ones who first incited the people to riot.