Chapter 490: Exhaustion

"Lord Li is right, no matter how skilled you are, you still fear the kitchen knife. And no matter how good the kitchen knife is, it is no match for a gun!"
A person wearing a gray robe appeared behind Zhao Wu, Huang Zheng, and others. They blew on the gun muzzle and dispersed the smell of gunpowder.
"Du Xiaoqi, don't shoot randomly, wait until we finish questioning before speaking!" Everyone was dissatisfied with Du Xiaoqi. With so many people surrounding the assassin, there was no way they could escape, right?
Furthermore, why did you come out as a sniper? You only do sneaky things like stealing chickens and dogs.
"I am only relaying the orders from Lord Li. He commands to ruthlessly eliminate any assassins, without exception. Do not let them escape!"
"Okay, but let's ask first before we say anything!"
Zhao Wu, Huang Zheng, and others still want to know who is behind the assassin and who is instructing them, so that they can be more prepared in the future and prevent similar incidents from happening again.
However, they all ended up disappointed as none of the assassins were willing to reveal the identity of their employer.
Even when surrounded and beaten to death by a group of people, not a single person leaked any valuable information.
那个领头人更是如此，在赵武和黄铮的夹击下，重伤被俘虏，但他同时咬掉了舌头，再次失去了线索。
刺客们被逐一击杀之后，李昌宪已经进入城中，看着死伤一地的刺客们，李昌宪久久没有说话。
He does not know who would harm him so much that he has hired so many assassins.
And most importantly, who leaked the news of his expedition, and prepared an ambush in the city of Maozhou in advance, trying to end his life in the chaos of the army.
The escaped fish of the Fang family?
The several princes of the Great Jin Dynasty?
Or...
He has always been kind to others and has never done anything wicked. Even if he beheads the people of the Fang family, there are laws to deal with it, and those who violate them must be punished. Otherwise, everyone will learn from the Fang family, and then Wailing County will become chaotic in the future.
Although several princes bear grudges against him, it is unlikely that they would hire assassins to kill him!
Aside from the princes mentioned above, who else is there?
Li Changxian cannot figure it out, but there is no way to ask now. Almost all of the dozen assassins have been killed, and the only survivor has become mute.
"Kill him!" Li Changxian waved his hand. Since this remaining assassin had no more value to exploit, why keep him?
"Wuwuwu..." The leader of the assassins struggled hard but couldn't utter a word. Huang Zheng directly chopped off his head with a knife.
Li Changxian was about to turn around and leave, when suddenly a soldier shouted from the tower, "Sir, there is an assassin here, who hasn't died after being shot!"
Li Changxian thought for a moment, "Have the doctor treat him. If he can reveal who ordered him, we can spare his life temporarily. Otherwise, he will end up like the leader of the previous assassins!"
After speaking, Li Changxian was escorted by the crowd and arrived at the Magistrate's Office in Maozhou.
At this time, the Magistrate of Maozhou, Sima Rui, and other officials including the Commander of Maozhou were waiting at the gate of the Magistrate's Office.
"Lord Li, we are guilty and didn't know that assassins had infiltrated the city, causing you distress today."
"Please rise quickly, this is not your fault! It is the enemy's treacherous heart, attempting to resist the mighty army of Wanling County! But they will ultimately fail!"
"Lord Li, you are right!"
The Prefect of Maozhou welcomed Li Changxian into the prefectural yamen and had tea and snacks brought in while he carefully served him.
"Sir Sima, you don't have to be like this. We are all officials of the same dynasty, don't be so formal. Please have a seat and let's have a conversation."
"Thank you, Lord Li!" Sima Rui sat down cautiously.
"In the battle with the Tubo army outside the city yesterday, our army has completely defeated them. Only a small portion of the Tubo soldiers managed to escape. In a few days, I will lead the large army of Wanling County to move north. In the future, we will still need Lord Sima to manage Maozhou City. On one hand, organize the people to cultivate uncultivated land and restore production. On the other hand, organize manpower to cooperate with the Yizhou Government to repair the main road from Yizhou to Maozhou, ensuring smooth transportation."
"Understood, sir!" Sima Rui quickly stood up and saluted.
Seeing Sima Rui's cautious appearance, Li Changxian felt bored. He had no choice but to call in the commanding officer of Maozhou from outside and inquire about the recent defense situation in Maozhou City.
"My lord, all of this is my fault. It was my decision to prevent the city guards from supporting the army, and I also neglected the security issue within the city by allowing these assassins."
"Stop, now is not the time to investigate who is at fault. I just want to ask about the recent movements of the Tubo army. Yesterday, we had a battle with the Tubo army that lasted for a day and a night. I noticed that their forces were insufficient, it seems like they only had around seventy to eighty thousand soldiers, which is different from the numbers of the Tubo army that you reported before."
"Sir, are you asking about the tens of thousands of Tubo troops? I know about this. The Tubo army recently split up and carried out burning, killing, and looting in various places. Apart from the tens of thousands of Tubo troops outside Maizhou City, the other Tubo troops are currently attacking Qinzhou."
"Oh!" Li Changxian pondered for a moment. It seems that the intelligence gathered by the spies in Wanling County was correct. There are tens of thousands of Tubo troops heading towards the direction of Qinzhou, and reliable information suggests that the Tubo army has already captured Qinzhou.
万陵县大军下一步怎么办？
一是北上，尽快抵达鄯州，帮助阿布达一起进攻来犯的吐蕃大军。
二是把在秦州正在秦州城内外烧杀抢劫的几万吐蕃军都杀掉，解救出所有的秦州老百姓。
After thinking for a while, Li Changxian decided to first rescue the people of Qinzhou City before supporting Abu Dhabi and his men. After all, Abu Dhabi had a large army of around three to four thousand, and even if there were a hundred thousand Tibetan troops surrounding the city of Shanzhou, they would not be able to do anything to the impregnable city of Shanzhou.
So, going north is not urgent, without the support of Li Changxian and the others, nothing will happen in Shanzhou City. But it's different for the people in Qinzhou, they are all in a dire situation, facing the burning, killing, and looting of the Tubo army. Every day, hundreds, or even thousands, of innocent people may be mercilessly killed.
There are also innocent old people, women, and children, whose lives are constantly at risk of being consumed by the flames of war.
Therefore, Li Changxian cannot turn a blind eye, even if the imperial army accuses him of taking advantage of the situation to seize Qinzhou or deliberately trying to win people's hearts in the future, he admits it!
"Prepare food and necessary supplies for the incoming reinforcement army. The army will attack Qinzhou in two days!"
"Qinzhou?" The commander of Maozhou didn't understand, but wisely didn't ask and quickly prepared as instructed by Li Changxian.
等茂州府尹和指挥使都离开后，李昌宪感到一阵阵疲劳，昨天一天一夜都没有合眼，现在劳累的想睡觉。
一转眼，李昌宪手里的资料掉落地上，背靠着座椅，开始呼呼大睡起来。
Many officials and soldiers from Wanling County are the same. After entering the city, they eat a little food, drink a little water, and then gather together in groups of two or three to sleep on the street.
Many ordinary people in Maozhou were very surprised, but they quickly understood that these officials and soldiers from Wanling County were rushing to support them. They had been marching quickly along the way, fighting against the Tubo army outside the city for a whole day and night, and hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time.
They are really exhausted!