Qiu Yizi didn't know what she had to say at this point, so she had to get up and walk deeper into the cell.
Unexpectedly, when he was halfway there, he was stopped by Yang Ying'er who was staying in the cell. She handed a rubbed towel to Qiu Yizhi and said, "Are you going to see that evil nun, sir?"
Qiu Yizi nodded, but Yang Ying'er said again: "Why should you bother with her? You should have a good rest."
Hearing this, Qiu Yizi took the towel handed to her by Yang Ying'er, and then she realized that this towel was soaked in cold water. She unfolded it and rubbed it vigorously on her face and arms, sweeping away the dirt and grease that had accumulated on her skin throughout the day. Her whole head immediately felt refreshed.
So he returned the towel to Yang Ying'er and said, "It's not a big deal. Just listen to what she has to say before she dies. It won't take up much time!"
But Yang Ying'er handed him another towel that was still steaming, and sighed, "Your Excellency has caused so much trouble for seeking justice for me and my deceased husband. I will never be able to repay you even if I die..."
Qiu Yizi took the warm towel and gently pressed it on her face. All the pores on her skin opened up immediately, and she felt indescribably comfortable all over her body. So Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "This is my duty. Besides, just with these two towels, one hot and one cold, it's worth it no matter how hard or tired I am. Speaking of which, women really know how to serve people. Zhao Chengxiao and the others couldn't think of this trick even if they racked their brains!"
Yang Ying'er's face flushed at Qiu Yizi's words, but she didn't know how to respond, so she had to go down with a red face.
Qiu Yizi didn't have time to figure out her thoughts, and walked straight to the deepest part of the cell, only to see Miao Zhen smiling and saying to him, "Sir, I have only killed a dozen or thirteen people in so many years. But you killed hundreds of people in just one day. I'm afraid your crime is much greater than mine, right?"
Her few short words immediately fanned Qiu Yizi's anger. He glanced at Miao Zhen with a gloomy face and said, "Do you really think that the lives of these hundred or so soldiers will be charged to my account? This will only add a few more sins to you." After that, without waiting for Miao Zhen's answer, he turned around and went back to his recliner to rest.
After a fierce battle during the day, the government army's offensive finally stopped, allowing Qiu Yizi and others to eat and sleep well at night to restore their combat effectiveness.
The next morning, the government troops came to attack again.
However, they could not come up with any good solution. They just kept sending troops to the barricades as they did the day before, competing with Qiu Yizi for the prison door. Qiu Yizi was not afraid of such old tricks. He organized the only troops under his command to fight against the opponents and never let them gain any advantage.
The government troops attacked seemingly aimlessly until noon, when the offensive suddenly slackened and they stopped sending more troops to the barricades.
Qiu Yizi felt strange, so he slowly climbed out of the barricade under the protection of Zhao Chengxiao and others, and lay on the wall to observe the movements of the government troops.
But when he looked over, he saw that the government troops had brought in countless firewood, tung oil and other flammable materials from somewhere and were piling them in the cell - it was obvious that they wanted to burn to death everyone, including the criminals in the "Thirteen Lives Case" and Qiu Yizi and others.
Qiu Yi was immediately panicked when he saw it, thinking: Although the cell he was holding was very strong, it was only a small corner. If the government troops really set fire to it, he would have no way to escape. So he quickly stood up, exposed his head, and shouted to the outside: "What are you doing? I am also an official appointed by the court. If you harm my life, you will be guilty of a great sin!"
His shouting did have some effect, and the soldiers seemed to slow down. However, after a slight hesitation, they resumed their original movements and continued to carry firewood to the barricade.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi became even more anxious. However, he saw the inspector he had talked to yesterday from afar and hurriedly called out, "General, do you still recognize me? I just had some disagreements with Governor Yin. Why did you kill him?"
The inspector was kind enough to take a few steps forward, bowed slightly and said, "Sir, this is an order given by Lord Yin himself. I have no choice. Please understand." After saying this, he turned around with a sense of guilt and continued to command his soldiers to carry firewood.
Seeing that he could not convince the other party, Qiu Yizhi thought that this was not a long-term solution. After repeated consideration, he made up his mind and called Zhao Chengxiao over. He said to him: "Brother Zhao, you know the current situation. If the government troops really start a fire, we will be turned into smoked meat. In my opinion, the only way now is to use the government troops' tricks against us. We will rush out first and set these flammable things of the government troops on fire, so that their work will be in vain."
Zhao Chengxiao nodded as he listened, and said, "Sir, the government troops have placed all this firewood everywhere, and now it's dry, if a fire breaks out, it will burn down people's houses, which will be terrible."
Qiu Yizhi pondered for a moment and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Fortunately, all the people in the city have been evacuated. As for the burned property and houses, I can only compensate them from my salary." He sighed again and said, "Okay, if we don't take action, I'm afraid we will miss the opportunity to fight. Go light a few torches and follow me to charge out!"
Zhao Chengxiao also knew that the military situation was urgent, so he agreed and turned back to the cell. He then brought a dozen brothers, each holding a torch, and said to Qiu Yizi: "This is a trivial matter. Why should you take the risk? Just watch us fight here." After that, he led the way, jumped out of the barricade first, and rushed into the crowd of government troops.
The Jiangnan Road troops were so inexperienced in combat that they did not even send any special personnel to guard such a large project despite their large numbers. The troops carrying firewood and grass were greedy for convenience and left their swords, spears and other items aside, which meant they were unarmed.
This gave Zhao Chengxiao and the other nineteen people a perfect opportunity. They rushed into the enemy camp like tigers descending from the mountains, killed a few people with their swords, and then dispersed the government troops. They then set fire to the half-piled firewood with torches in their hands.
The firewood was very dry under the scorching sun, and it burst into flames as soon as it caught a little spark. Some of the government troops wanted to come and put out the fire, but they had no water prepared in advance, and they could only watch the flames rise higher and higher as the saying goes, "distant water cannot quench nearby thirst."
Zhao Chengxiao and others did not hesitate at all. Seeing that they succeeded in one attack, they turned to another pile of firewood and killed the surrounding government troops in the same way, and then set the firewood on fire.
After several rounds of fighting, fires were burning everywhere in Shanyin County, and most of the fire-starting materials that the government troops had worked so hard to carry were destroyed.
When Qiu Yizi saw this scene, he couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh, but he didn't expect that he no longer had any guards around him.
The generals in the government army were not completely ignorant of military affairs. Seeing that Qiu Yizi was alone, they simply ignored Zhao Chengxiao and others who were causing trouble in Shanyin County, and sent a small team of twenty or thirty people to sneak up from one side of the barricade.
Qiu Yizhi's attention was completely focused on Zhao Chengxiao's actions. It was not until the government troops climbed up the barricade that he suddenly realized what was going on. He immediately shouted loudly: "Brother Zhao, come and save me..."
Before he finished speaking, the government troops jumped down from the barricade and slowly approached him with their swords in hand.
Qiu Yizi's martial arts skills were mediocre to begin with, and seeing that he was outnumbered, he knew that it would be impossible for him to kill all the government troops in front of him, so he wondered if he could delay some time so that Zhao Chengxiao could come back and rescue him.
So he simply took off the sword from his waist and said with a smile: "You all are really good at this. I am convinced today. I wonder how you all want to deal with me?"
Those who surrounded Qiu Yizi were all ordinary soldiers, and they could barely recognize a handful of big characters combined. They really didn't know what to do with Qiu Yizi, an official appointed by the imperial court.
As they stared at each other, they saw an officer climbing out from the barricade. Qiu Yizhi looked closely and saw that it was the inspector who had just spoken to him.
After yesterday's incident, the inspector secretly had a good impression of Qiu Yizhi, so he said very politely: "Your Excellency is very kind and righteous, so I cannot be rude. Since you have disarmed, I will not use the torture instruments. Please follow me to see the governor Yin. I have said before that if you resist stubbornly or try to escape, I will inevitably be rude, and it will make everyone lose face, which is not good."
Qiu Yizhi heard that the inspector's words were quite logical, so he said, "Okay, you are right. But may I ask the general's name?"
"I don't deserve it." The inspector clasped his hands and said, "My surname is Wu, and my name is Chang Xi. Sir, please follow me to see Lord Yin."
"Wu Changxi..." Qiu Yizhi secretly wrote down the name and said, "No problem. But the prisoners in this prison are all wanted criminals. I hope the general can keep a close eye on them and not let them escape."
"Of course." Wu Changxi said in a loud voice, and then ordered his soldiers to half-support and half-carry Qiu Yizi out of the barricade.
At this time, Zhao Chengxiao and others had already heard Qiu Yi's cry for help, and knew that he must be in trouble. They had already killed many obstacles and came to a few steps in front of Qiu Yi. When they saw that their benefactor had been captured by the government troops, they hurriedly stepped forward with their swords to rescue him.
The inspector named Wu Changxi said "Excuse me" to Qiu Yizhi, then drew his sword and put it on his neck, saying loudly to Zhao Chengxiao and others: "I have experienced the martial arts of these brothers. But your master is in my hand now, please put down your weapons and don't force me to fight."
Zhao Chengxiao looked at Qiu Yizi, then at Wu Changxi, sighed, and had to put his sword back into the scabbard, then took off the scabbard and slowly placed it on the ground.
Wu Changxi seemed to be relieved as well, and ordered his soldiers, "These guys are all great men, you can't treat them badly. Just take them with you and follow me to see Lord Yin."
Yin Chengliang's central army was located in the Shanyin County Government Office, and Qiu Yizi was very familiar with it. However, he had no choice but to be escorted by the officers and soldiers and walked straight through the gate of the County Government Office and into the central hall.
Yin Chengliang, the governor of Jiangnan Province, was seen sitting under a plaque that read "A Bright Mirror Hanging High", with civil and military officials of Jiangnan Province standing on both sides. The atmosphere was quite solemn.
Seeing this, Wu Changxi, the inspector who was escorting Qiu Yizhi, quickly straightened his armor, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Please forgive me for not being able to perform the salute while wearing armor. Your Excellency the Governor, Qiu Yizhi, the magistrate of Shanyin County, is here."
A smile flashed across Yin Chengliang's face, and he said, "Okay, this is your military achievement, I know it well. Bring Qiu Yizi to the hall now!"
Wu Changxi bowed again and said, "I am ashamed to accept your praise. But Master Qiu Yi is not a heinous person, so please be polite."
When Yin Chengliang heard him plead for Qiu Yizi, he immediately became angry and said, "Qiu Yizi is a traitor and a traitor. You, a warrior, can't protect him. Don't talk too much. Bring him to the court!" (To be continued)