Chapter 187 Prisoner Robbery
Su Honghui and Song Wuji led their troops in mutiny and fled Pingzhou. Wang Xiaojie sent troops to encircle and suppress them within a few days, but to no avail.

After a delay of several days, the Qianniu Guards were still anxious to return to the imperial court to report the imperial edict. Fortunately, the Pingzhou governor Qiu Jing was still there, so they had to deal with the matter with him.

Wang Xiaojie had no choice but to hand the person over to the Qianniu Guards, who ordered them to escort Qiu Jing back to the capital Luoyang for trial according to Wu Zetian's order.

After a while, Li Yuanfang and Ruyan had already arrived at the border of Pingzhou, and with careful arrangements, they just happened to catch this scene.

The Qianniu Guards escorted the prisoner cart, slowly crossing an unknown and nameless canyon.

The terrain of this valley is extremely dangerous, with steep cliffs on both sides reaching into the sky, which is daunting.

If the Zhou army, which had experienced two battles in East and West Gorge Stone Valley, passed through such terrain again, they would definitely be extremely careful.

However, for the Qianniu Guards who have been guarding the capital for many years and rarely encounter wars, there seems to be no need to be too vigilant on this journey, after all, it is within the territory of the Great Zhou.

Although Qiu Jing's hands and feet were cuffed and her body was tossed by the car, she did not look frustrated at all. Instead, she looked calm, as if she was expecting something.

"Swoosh!" A sharp sound of breaking through the air suddenly rang out, and a sharp arrow cut through the sky and soared into the clouds, instantly breaking the tranquility of the canyon.

The leader of the Qianniu Guards pulled the reins abruptly, and the warhorse neighed. He looked around in astonishment: "What's going on?"

Before he finished speaking, the sound of arrows flying past was heard from the cliff on one side.

In an instant, screams and the sounds of arrows breaking through the air were intertwined. The Qianniu Guards were shot one after another, and some fell down or were injured. The rest were terrified and fled in all directions. The team instantly fell into chaos.

At the critical moment, the leader of Qianniu Guards was still quite capable. He used his weapon to deflect arrows and gave stern orders to the troops, hoping that everyone would keep their ground.

However, with another blast of arrows, the purple-clothed men on the cliffs on both sides climbed down the valley along the ropes.

Each of these people was very skilled. In the blink of an eye, they divided and surrounded the remaining Qianniu Guards and annihilated them one by one.

After the purple-clothed men climbed down the cliff one after another, Li Yuanfang and Ruyan appeared from behind them.

"Who are these people in purple? Why are they robbing the prison van?" Ruyan asked with a frown.

Li Yuanfang's eyes flashed with anger, and he said in a deep voice: "These people are all government troops. Although they have changed their uniforms, the weapons and arrows they use are exclusively for the army."

"Ah?" Ruyan was shocked and a little bit unbelieving.

Li Yuanfang turned his horse around and prepared to go to the bottom of the valley to find out what was going on, but something unexpected happened in the valley again.

A group of cavalry arrived from the north side of the canyon, all dressed in Zhou army uniforms.

This team of cavalry rushed towards the purple-clothed men in the valley like a whirlwind and started killing them wantonly. The purple-clothed men were unable to resist and immediately fled in all directions.

This situation made Li Yuanfang feel confused, and the things at the bottom of the valley became more and more confusing.

"Find a place to hide, I'll go down and take a look." Li Yuanfang gave an order, turned his horse's head north, and prepared to set off.

"Hey..." Ruyan wanted to stop him, but Li Yuanfang had already ridden away.
-
Li Yuanfang acted quickly and rushed to the northern exit of the canyon, blocking the way of the government cavalry.

A group of soldiers surrounded Qiu Jing and returned north along the same route, but they were blocked by Li Yuanfang.

In the crowd, Qiu Jing, whose way was blocked, was not surprised but delighted when he saw Li Yuanfang's dress. "Boy, who are you? Why are you blocking our way?" The cavalry general waved his sword and shouted.

Li Yuanfang did not answer the question, but asked in a cold voice: "Who are you? Who are the people who robbed and killed Qianniu Guards?"

"Brothers, go ahead, kill him and send the master back." When the general saw that Li Yuanfang had bad intentions, he immediately ordered everyone to kill him.

Seeing this, Qiu Jing hurriedly rode out and stopped them, saying, "Wait! Don't kill innocent people indiscriminately."

"Sir, this guy knows Qianniu Guards. If he leaks your information, it will be troublesome." The general advised.

Qiu Jing sighed and said with great sorrow: "I am a guilty person. It is wrong for you to come and rob the prison van. If you kill innocent people for this, it is a mistake on top of a mistake."

Li Yuanfang interrupted and said, "Haven't you killed many purple-clothed people? Aren't they innocent?"

Qiu Jing turned his horse's head to Li Yuanfang again and advised earnestly: "My hero, this is about military secrets, it is not your place to ask. Listen to my advice and leave quickly."

The cavalry commander had already lost his patience and pointed his sword: "Sir, this is not the time to be soft-hearted. Brothers, kill him!"

Upon hearing the call, the cavalrymen behind him crossed Qiu Jing and rushed towards Li Yuanfang.

"Oh, no, no!" Qiu Jing's face was full of sorrow, and he waved his hands to try to stop them, but the soldiers didn't listen to him at all.

But Li Yuanfang just sneered. Qiu Jing only saw a flash before his eyes, and a figure moving quickly, followed by the sound of weapons falling to the ground.

The cavalrymen looked at each other in bewilderment, their weapons having been knocked to the ground by Li Yuanfang.

Li Yuanfang stood with a sword in hand, the tip of the sword pointed directly at the cavalry commander's throat: "I think we can have a good talk now."

Seeing this, Qiu Jing hurried forward and reached out his hand again to try to calm the conflict: "Calm down, brave man. If you want to ask anything, just ask me. They are innocent, and the Qianniu Guards were not killed by them!"

Li Yuanfang nodded slightly, his eyes sharp: "Okay, then I will ask again. Who are you? Who are they? Who are the purple-clothed people?"

Qiu Jing took a deep breath and answered slowly: "I am Qiu Jing, the former governor of Pingzhou, and they were all former officers and soldiers of Pingzhou."

Li Yuanfang did not show much surprise when he heard this. He had already guessed something when he saw the prison car and the Qianniu Guards.

"You are Qiu Jing, they are the garrison troops in Pingzhou, and where are those men in purple? Why did they rob and kill the Qianniu Guards?" Li Yuanfang continued to ask.

At this time, the cavalry commander at the side couldn't help but interrupt: "Those purple-clothed men are all the Right Guard troops under Wang Xiaojie. The leader's surname is Zhou, Zhou Sheng, and he is Wang Xiaojie's confidant."

"The reason they robbed and killed Qianniu Guards was because they followed Wang Xiaojie's orders to vent their personal anger. They wanted to kill General Qiu to silence him and prevent future troubles."

Li Yuanfang frowned, a solemn look flashed in his eyes: "Silence? What shameful thing did Wang Xiaojie do that requires killing to silence him?"

"Brave man, this is not something you should ask about. You have asked enough questions, so I'm sorry I can't speak frankly." Qiu Jing shook his head and refused to answer.

Li Yuanfang smiled lightly, introduced himself, and showed the fish token that showed his identity: "I am the captain of the guard of the current Hebei Road Marching General and the current Prime Minister Di Ge Lao, the Qianniu Guard Li Yuanfang."

Seeing this, Qiu Jing was stunned for a moment, and then two lines of tears slid down her face. She trembled and said, "I, Qiu Jing, finally have a place to seek redress for my grievances..."

(End of this chapter)