Chapter 44: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

"I am the Commander of the Qingwu Guard, and I pay my respects to Your Highness the Sixth Prince!"

The Commander stated his affiliation, yet deliberately concealed his name.

This made the situation, which had originally been on the verge of returning to order, ambiguous once more.

Gao Changsheng could not help but frown.

He was unclear about the intentions of the Qingwu Guard.

To be precise, he had no idea what the Emperor Shenwu was plotting.

As a subject of the Dayong Dynasty, everyone knew that the Qingwu Guard answered solely to the Emperor Shenwu.

And the Qingwu Guard was nothing more than the Emperor's white glove, his instrument for doing the dirty work.

Now, the sudden appearance of three thousand Qingwu Guard members in Fengxi County was undoubtedly prearranged by the Emperor.

Yet, nobody knew what the true objective of these people was.

"May I ask, Commander, is the Qingwu Guard here to eradicate the Northern Qi invaders?"

Gao Changsheng could not refrain from asking.

"Heh."

"Your Highness need not worry."

"We act under His Majesty's imperial decree and are solely responsible for protecting Your Highness's safety."

"As for whether the Northern Qi soldiers live or die, it is of no concern to the Qingwu Guard."

"However, considering that the Northern Qi soldiers do not yet understand the situation within Fengxi County, they might blindly pose a threat to Your Highness."

"I have chosen to show myself precisely to point out a clear path for the Northern Qi soldiers."

The Commander said with a faint smile.

"What clear path?"

General Xiao's expression darkened as he pressed for an answer.

"Does the General know that besides Your Highness's three-army contingent, there is also our Qingwu Guard here in Fengxi County?"

"Beyond that, the rest are simply Northern Qi people and a band of desperate criminals drawn here by the lure of wealth."

"Yet, apart from all these, there is another faction operating within Fengxi County."

"Furthermore, this faction has already seized the four gates of Fengxi County and mobilized the county's garrison troops, sealing off all entry and exit points."

"Once anyone attempts to leave the city, regardless of who they are, it will mean certain death!"

The Commander delivered this astonishing piece of news with a calm expression.

Upon hearing these words, everyone present was struck with shock.

Even Gao Changsheng had overlooked such a crucial faction.

It could be said that precisely because of his oversight, Fengxi County had been reduced to a completely isolated and sealed-off dead city.

Unless Dou Yuan and Miaofa led the three armies to launch an assault on Fengxi County, this faction was fully capable of slaughtering everyone else inside the city.

However, the war in the northern border was still ongoing; for Dou Yuan and his three armies to attack their own city without authorization would be an unpardonable capital crime under any dynasty!

On the contrary, the people controlling the Fengxi County garrison could use the chaos inside the city as a pretext to wash their hands of any suspicion.

After all, Northern Qi invaders had indeed appeared within the city.

Even if Gao Changsheng were to die as a result, it could simply be claimed that he fell victim to the Northern Qi invaders.

In short, no matter how things played out, the opposing party would be in the right!

"What a brilliant move—the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"

Gao Changsheng silently gnashed his teeth.

"You Dayong people truly never keep your word!"

"Brothers, follow me and break through the siege!"

General Xiao's face was filled with fury.

With that, he prepared to lead the Northern Qi soldiers away.

"General, please wait!"

Song Ziyong shouted with an anxious expression.

"Does General Xiao still not understand?"

"They know our troop strength; they will never let us leave Fengxi County alive."

"For the General to lead a charge to break through at this moment is no different from marching to your death!"

He pleaded earnestly for a long while, finally managing to dissuade General Xiao from the suicidal notion.

However, they were, after all, foreigners.

Even if they stayed in Fengxi County, they would only be awaiting death.

Once things quieted down here at the granary, even if Gao Changsheng did nothing to them, the Fengxi County garrison would not spare these Northern Qi people.

"Since the Commander-in-Chief revealed this information to us Northern Qi people, does that mean you hope we can leave Fengxi County alive?"

"If so, might the Commander be willing to help us escape as well?"

Song Ziyong looked at the Commander, pleading.

"Heh."

"Official Song, has your brain broken down?"

"You are, after all, an underground agent of Northern Qi, and these Northern Qi soldiers came here to assassinate the great general of Dayong."

"Do you really think our Qingwu Guard would save you?"

The Commander sneered.

"However, to be honest."

"Even if I had the desire to save you, I'm afraid I lack the capability."

"Or to put it another way, the duty of the Qingwu Guard is to protect His Highness the Sixth Prince and to safely escort His Highness out of Fengxi County."

"Unfortunately, even this much is something the Qingwu Guard cannot accomplish."

He looked at Gao Changsheng, an apologetic expression on his face.

These words came as somewhat of a surprise to Gao Changsheng.

He had not expected the Emperor Shenwu to send the Qingwu Guard to protect him.

As for why the Emperor Shenwu would do such a thing, Gao Changsheng could not yet guess.

Yet one thing was certain: it was certainly not out of paternal affection.

Perhaps, to the Emperor Shenwu, the current Gao Changsheng still possessed some utility value!

If that truly were the reason, then what a touching display of benevolent father and filial son it would be!

"What the Commander says is true."

"Given the capabilities of the Qingwu Guard, remaining hidden within Fengxi County is not difficult."

"Yet wanting to leave Fengxi County is indeed making things rather difficult for the Qingwu Guard."

Gao Changsheng mused thoughtfully.

"Does Your Highness already have a plan in mind?"

The Commander asked with a curious expression.

Ever since this person appeared, he seemed to hold an immense curiosity toward Gao Changsheng.

Gao Changsheng guessed that these Qingwu Guard members had probably been concealed within the supply caravan from the very beginning, holding a clear grasp of the situation throughout Fengxi County.

Consequently, when the drastic change at the granary occurred, Gao Changsheng acting as the primary mastermind to drive this chaotic situation forward was also witnessed by the Qingwu Guard.

A deadlocked situation was turned into chaos, and through that chaos, a way out was forged.

All of this was Gao Changsheng's doing.

If Gao Changsheng were in the shoes of the Qingwu Guard, it was entirely logical for him to be interested in such a person.

"I wouldn't call it a plan, merely an immature notion," Gao Changsheng said, shaking his head.

"Oh?"

"Then I must ask Your Highness to enlighten us!"

The Commander said with keen interest.

"Wait!"

Gao Changsheng slowly uttered a single word, continuing:

"I need to wait for Dou Yuan's reinforcements to arrive."

"Only when reinforcements outside the city can pin down the garrison troops inside will there be an opportunity to seek a way out."

"Secondly, the status quo here at the granary must be maintained."

"Only as long as the chaos here continues will the opposing side refrain from sending garrison troops to clean up the mess."

"I am not familiar with who that faction is, so I can only prepare for the worst."

"If their objective is the wholesale slaughter of everyone, then maintaining the status quo is the optimal scenario."

"Otherwise, not a single person present will survive!"

Gao Changsheng stared straight at the Commander, his words seemingly spoken directly for the benefit of the Qingwu Guard.

Although he had never dealt with the Qingwu Guard before, he knew that organizations akin to the Qingwu Guard were by no means rare in history, and he was well aware of the capabilities of such special agencies.

Provided they were willing, there was no intelligence they could not unearth.

Since the Qingwu Guard had been hiding in Fengxi County for so long, they probably already knew who was controlling this final faction.

It could be said that this was Gao Changsheng's closest brush with the truth.

No matter what, he had to seize this trump card!