Chapter 37: The Nine-Striped Dragon Takes Advantage of the Fire to Loot Twice
Shi Jin gazed at the moving flames in the distance and sprinted towards them. In this chaotic battle, who could recognize anyone else? No one paid attention to Shi Jin. He bypassed the west city gate from afar and encountered a group of people on horseback halfway through. Shi Jin saw that they all had heavy faces and were anxious, tightly gripping their wooden knives and long guns with one hand, while holding torches high with the other, rushing forward hastily, but their formation was disorganized and messy.
Shi Jin took a glance and felt that this group of people was somewhat different from the usual officials and soldiers. It wasn't that they didn't have organization or discipline, but rather that at first glance, under the light of the fire, their momentum seemed unlike that of Qi Er and his men who had a military air about them. Not to mention that not all of them were physically strong and robust, even the way they held their knives was completely unorthodox.
Shi Jin came without thinking much, and the wave of soldiers arrived in front of him. Remembering the loss he had just suffered, and not knowing their intentions at this moment, he decided to take a gamble, relying on his years of experience in Huayin County, speaking in a local dialect: "It's all over! - Save me! - Save me!" While saying this, he also pretended to be extremely frightened, running away in a stumbling manner.
That group of people were originally temporary recruits by Liu County Magistrate in Huayin County, including farmers, fishermen, workers and merchants. In short, they were a group of civilians with swords. Hearing Shi Jing's shout and seeing his terrified face, they rushed over and asked, "What's going on ahead?"
Shi Jin saw him running over, pretending to be even more frightened, and as soon as he looked at him, he ran far away. While escaping, he still pointed in the direction of the west city gate and shouted: "That thief Sun disguised himself as a government soldier and killed his way up to the city! Find him!" As he spoke, he didn't look back and ran straight into another alley.
As soon as the group of people heard Shi Jin's words, "fellow countryman", they looked at the fierce battle on the west city gate. Each of them had a change of heart, with the strong enemy approaching, it was better to fight to the death than to wait for death, their anxiety turned into grief and indignation, which transformed into hatred, each one seemed to have endless strength, rushing forward like crazy, not afraid of death at this moment, they desperately rushed down to kill.
Shi Jin was hiding in the alley, watching that group of fools rushing to kill each other, and he couldn't help but want to jump up and applaud. Unfortunately, Zhu Wu wasn't by his side, and when he got back to tell the brothers about it, that would be truly satisfying. Shi Jin rubbed his hands together, waiting for those people to rush past, before he couldn't bear it anymore and walked out onto the street again.
Shi Jin quietly turned back to a civilian house wall under the North City Tower, thinking in his heart that although he had played a good trick, it was not the way of a good man to shrink into a dark corner. Shi Jin himself was born as a farmer's son, but he considered himself to be of a higher class. Especially when it came to the code of chivalry, sometimes he also practiced self-restraint.
When he arrived, the situation was urgent. The Dragon Club fell on Shijiazhuang. Now, this road has been bustling with excitement, and it's hard to find a suitable weapon or even a decent set of clothes. Shi Jin had originally wanted to come up with a divine soldier, elegantly wielding his club to defeat them, but now, considering the actual situation where the enemy was numerous and powerful, he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.
Shi Jin cursed the heavens in his heart, then quietly stuck his head out of the wall and cautiously looked around, only to see that the group of people who had come later were already charging towards the city with their knives and guns, and as they looked up at the troops attacking the city, they killed them.
The people on the city wall had just rushed up to the city building under a rain of arrows, and the vanguard was slaughtering wildly like a broken bamboo. Those archers who were still invincible just now were immediately killed in all directions. The slow-reacting ones were cut down from the city by a single knife, while the quick-reacting ones pulled out their daggers tied to their legs and dodged to wait for an opportunity to counterattack. But just as they were killing with great momentum in front, a group of people suddenly came up behind them.
The scattered men and horses of the Nanpo team were like fierce gods, and before they even reached the front, they threw torches fiercely into the official army in front of them. In an instant, flames flew everywhere, as if weaving a dazzling fire net in front of their eyes, violently disrupting their vision. Just as they were stunned or dodging, a more majestic killing cry came crashing down under the cover of the falling torches.
Shi Jin looked at the people and horses behind him, with big knives and broad axes, and the government soldiers who had just climbed up to the city wall, engaging in a fierce battle. He couldn't help but feel his blood boiling, and for a moment he was impulsive, ready to jump out into the street, grab whatever knife or sword came to hand, and charge forward. Just as he lifted his foot, suddenly under the reflection of the flames on the city wall, dozens of black shadows flashed by on the ground. Shi Jin instinctively ducked down close to the wall, looked up, and saw that not far away were some men in black clothes flying over the eaves and walls towards the west wing of the city building.
Although it was only a glimpse, Shi Jin felt familiar in his heart and had a general guess. As expected, after a short while, a large group of black-clad men came again, five people in a group, five groups in a team. Each was surrounded by more than ten armed guards, flying over the roof tiles. Shi Jin took a look, this formation must be the style of Gui Er, but at this moment, the people in that team not only moved slower, but also made a loud noise when they landed, which was somewhat different from the previous wind chimes.
Shi Jin secretly paid attention and waited for another group to jump past, then looked far away with a concentrated gaze, only to see that the three groups being protected in the middle were holding two large cloth bags in their hands, which appeared heavy as they jumped up and down.
What precious treasure is hidden inside that the wind vane is so carefully protected, this question doesn't even need to be thought about in Shi Jin's heart. It must be the silver and gold from the treasury that he personally ordered, but now Gui Er might still think of taking these out and going to Luoxing Slope to find that "General" to claim credit. As soon as Shi Jin thinks about this group of extremely evil officials being tricked by him, he can't help but burst out laughing.
Just as he was secretly pleased with himself, suddenly the city below erupted in a loud roar, followed by a flurry of clashing blades. Shi Jin heard the sound and hastily turned his head to look, only to see that although the government soldiers at the city gate were still fighting, Feng Huo's attempt to force his way through the west gate had caught the attention of many soldiers, who shouted and howled like hungry wolves discovering prey, their eyes blazing red as they charged over with their blades.
Shi Jin could see the fierce killing intent emanating from those soldiers, and he also sensed the hatred that was born in their hearts. The windmill was too conspicuous; if they didn't come up with a plan, not only would they fail to get the silver from the treasury, but even Chui Er's life might be lost here. However, before Shi Jin could think of a solution to this pressing problem, the soldiers who had made the first move were already clashing with the windmill's people.
