As soon as Zhu Jianyù opened his eyes, the guards couldn't wait to say, "General, General Wang Long was killed last night, and his body was hung at the county yamen gate."
When Zhu Jianyù heard this, his head buzzed. He quickly got up, didn't even bother to put on his outer clothes, and hurried to the county yamen gate.
Arriving at the county yamen gate, the scene before him scared him so much that he shivered.
Wang Long's bare upper body.
A bedsheet, one end wrapped around his neck, the other tied to the crossbeam of the county yamen's main gate.
Zhu Jianyù stomped his foot and said to the guards beside him, "What are you dallying for? Quickly bring General Wang down."
Everyone rushed forward and quickly untied Wang Long's body.
Just then, there was the sound of urgent horse hooves. Wang Lei arrived with his generals. Upon seeing Wang Long's state, everyone cried out in anguish.
"Big brother, big brother, you died so miserably."
Wang Lei knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times to Wang Long's body, wiped away his tears, stood up, looked at Zhu Jianyù, and drew his saber with a clang.
Zhu Jianyù was startled and asked Wang Lei in surprise, "General Wang, what do you mean by this?"
"What do I mean? Zhu Jianyù, I'll ask you, first General Zhu Yan was killed, then the Pinnacle Daoist was captured, and General Wang just arrived two days ago and was killed again. Among the city's defending generals, you are the only one who is safe and sound."
Wang Lei's words immediately resonated with the people present. They all drew their weapons and surrounded Zhu Jianyù and his few personal guards.
Zhu Jianyù was on the verge of tears. What Wang Lei said was true. They were indeed all killed, and he was indeed safe and sound, but he was also confused. What did this have to do with him?
"Everyone, I am only a deputy general. It is understandable that they didn't kill me, after all, General Zhu and General Wang were both the main generals."
But at this moment, Zhu Jianyù's explanation seemed so pale and weak.
Wang Lei sneered and waved his hand, "Take him away. I will report to the Commander-in-Chief before making a decision."
Zhu Jianyù, with no other choice, followed everyone into a side room next to the county yamen. Zhu Jianyù was pushed directly inside.
There was a bed and a few stools in the room. Zhu Jianyù lay down on the bed, and his personal guards and soldiers sat on the stools. They all stared at each other.
Zhu Jianyù closed his eyes helplessly, "Everyone rest. I'm afraid there won't be any news back today."
Zhu Jianyù guessed correctly. Zhu Meng on the mountain was also very surprised to receive Wang Lei's report.
The successive deaths of great generals had a significant impact on military morale.
Zhu Meng paced back and forth in the room for more than ten or twenty laps, hands clasped behind his back. Finally, he shook his head, "It's absolutely impossible that Jianyù did it."
"Jianyù is my clansman, and I know his character very well."
Zhang Liao said cautiously, "Commander-in-Chief, we should still order Wang Lei to thoroughly search the city. It's highly likely that the killer who murdered General Zhu did it."
Zhu Meng sighed, "What's the use of searching? Didn't the Pinnacle Daoist turn Qingniu County upside down? They still couldn't find the killer who murdered Zhu Yan."
"Then, Commander-in-Chief, what do you think should be done?"
Zhu Meng said word by word, with great composure, "Qingniu County's troops will be temporarily managed by Wang Lei. Tell him to move to the barracks and strengthen defenses, so as not to let the enemy take advantage of any loopholes."
"Also, tell him to hold firm and resolutely defend Qingniu County City, no matter what happens in the city."
"Right, send the message back after dark."
Zhang Liao was puzzled, "Commander-in-Chief, it's better to send it back as soon as possible to stabilize military morale."
Zhu Meng shook his head, "Now Wang Lei and the others are furious. If I send it back and ask him to release Zhu Jianyù, he definitely won't do it. Let's wait a day. When their anger subsides a bit, this matter will go smoothly."
Upon hearing Zhu Meng's words, Zhang Liao gave him a thumbs-up, "Only the General understands people's hearts!"
In the blink of an eye, another day passed. At this time, Chen Xiaobei, Liu Rumei, and others had already appeared in the canyon.
Following their memories, they found the place where they had left before.
What made them even more ecstatic was that several ropes were still set up here.
Wang Long had sent people to explore the canyon at that time, so many ropes were left behind. People left, but the ropes were not taken away, which instead provided convenience for Chen Xiaobei and the others.
Chen Xiaobei found a secluded spot and roughly sketched the terrain map of the mountain.
"Everyone, we will climb up from here, and about seven or eight li upwards, we will reach a grove of dogwood trees."
"That is where the Crown Prince and I camped before."
"We left a large amount of supplies when we retreated. I think Zhu Meng will most likely choose to camp there."
Liu Rumei nodded and looked at Liu Che and Liu Tie.
Liu Ce and Liu Tie simultaneously patted their backpacks.
Inside were landmines modified by Chen Xiaobei.
Xiaobei took a landmine and held it up to show everyone.
The landmine had been modified into a large hand grenade. All you had to do was pull the pin and throw it.
"Everyone, we just need to throw this thing into Zhu Meng's supplies and then retreat immediately. Then we'll watch the show."
The little girl looked very excited, holding the thing and looking at it repeatedly. "Brother Xiaobei, will throwing this in really cause a fire?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Of course, no problem. By the way, when you throw it, make sure it's far away, and then you must quickly lie down on the ground, so as not to be accidentally injured."
After speaking, he looked up at the top of the canyon.
"After throwing it, we will gather here and quickly use the ropes to come down and leave. I think Zhu Meng will catch up to us very quickly. Zhu Meng will also think of what we can think of, he just temporarily overlooked it."
With all arrangements made, Liu Rumei looked at her maid Xiao Qing and said, "Xiao Qing, you stay here to protect Brother Xiaobei. Remember, you are not allowed to leave even a step."
Chen Xiaobei waved his hand, "No, I want to go with you."
Liu Rumei's attitude was firm, "No, you don't know martial arts and your retreat speed is slow, you will be a burden to us."
Chen Xiaobei naturally knew that Liu Rumei was saying this on purpose. In fact, she was worried about him taking risks, so she didn't even want him to climb up the canyon, and wanted Xiao Qing to accompany him to wait here. Even if they failed, he could still leave smoothly under Xiao Qing's protection.
However, since Liu Rumei had said it, he really couldn't argue further, because not knowing martial arts was a fact.
"Alright, then I'll stay here and wait for you to return."
As the sky darkened, estimating it would be past the second watch, Liu Rumei led everyone to prepare to take action. Before leaving, she specifically called Chen Xiaobei aside and said solemnly, "Brother Xiaobei, if we are not back in an hour, you take Xiao Qing and retreat."
Chen Xiaobei firmly disagreed, shaking his head repeatedly, "No, if we go, we go together."