Chapter 12

At a critical moment, the concubine once again proved her worth.

Wang Ju couldn't help but recall a scene in his mind: on Black Ridge, when Wang Ju was persuading everyone to take the initiative to counterattack, she was eager to try, but in the end, she didn't act, so he overlooked her. It turned out that this little maid, Xiao Jian, was quite capable.

The concubine once again blocked the attacks of three men and repeatedly split herself to support Wang Ju, helping Zhao Niannu defuse the danger.

Wang Ju's performance was also commendable. Both the concubine and Yun'er were injured, but he remained unscathed and even shot an arrow into the belly of a bandit, forcing several of them to retreat and bandage their wounds.

"Fortunately, I've been hunting with Uncle these days, otherwise it would have been bad."

"Unfortunately, I didn't kill any of them; otherwise, the onlookers would have had the courage to come to our aid."

Wang Ju leaned against the mountain wall, thinking.

The enemies were bandaging their wounds, and the concubine and Yun'er were also bandaging their wounds.

Yun'er was almost in tears.

"Don't be afraid, just hold on a little longer, they will definitely run away," Wang Ju consoled her. But in reality, it didn't seem very likely. Wang Ju said he had a breath, but their breath was too strong, how could it run out?

Perhaps someone would report to the authorities, but the county town of Fuzhou was over twenty miles away. Even if the officials quickly gathered the constables, it would take at least two hours.

Two hours, and the battle would be over.

So Wang Ju shouted loudly, "My lady will reward twenty guan for killing one of these Black Bee bandits."

In his heart, he was incredibly sad. Wasn't it just being a mule once? Wasn't it just being a good person once? How could so many things happen?

At this moment, more people gathered, and there were probably over a hundred on both sides. Some people were really tempted. Twenty guan was not much for the rich, but for the poor, it was not a small amount.

Lu Shijiang coldly approached the body of Old Liu, stabbed him in the belly, and scanned the onlookers with his eyes.

A few people who had ideas dared not move.

Twenty guan was good, but you had to have the life to take it.

"Monkey, you take Zhu Si and Big Hat to tie up that little girl. Pi Da, you follow me and find a way to kill that kid." At first, they were all a bit careless, which was why Wang Ju alone managed to kill two Black Bee bandits and injure two more.

At this point, Lu Shijiang realized that although the concubine was agile, she was not the brain of the group. The real brain was that little kid who hadn't even grown his hair yet.

Where did this wild child come from? Lu Shijiang thought with hatred.

What one loves becomes a demon, what one hates becomes a bone-deep hatred.

Moreover, it was too embarrassing. Seven grown men were actually forced into such a predicament by a few women and a little kid.

The person called Monkey, along with two injured men, pounced again.

Pi Da was also injured; his face was hit by a rock from Yun'er, and his leg was pierced by an arrow from Wang Ju. Therefore, Lu Shijiang took the lead, constantly changing his steps.

The threat from this young man's bow and arrow was too great.

It wasn't about accuracy. In terms of accuracy, Wang Ju might not be as good as most of them. It also wasn't about strength. If it were a standard Song dynasty composite bow, Wang Ju wouldn't have the strength to draw it fully. However, archery not only required accuracy and strength but also a calm mind. Many strong and accurate soldiers couldn't perform well on the battlefield.

This young man had a calm mind.

Fortunately, he didn't have many arrows left in his quiver, only three.

Lu Shijiang changed his stance and pounced like a fierce tiger, his eyes fiercely fixed on Wang Ju.

Wang Ju also stared at him, and another arrow flew from his hand.

But this time, Lu Shijiang dodged it.

Wang Ju drew another arrow and shot it.

Lu Shijiang didn't let it pass this time.

But after fighting for so long, Wang Ju's strength was waning. The arrow hit Lu Shijiang's chest but failed to penetrate his armor.

The arrow fell, and Lu Shijiang, enduring the pain, pounced fiercely.

Wang Ju rolled to avoid the slash, and in the process, picked up a saber from the ground.

Damn carriage, Lu Shijiang cursed. It was this carriage that blocked their path, forcing them to attack from the sides. The narrow space created various disadvantages for them but gave this skinny kid various conveniences.

So he pounced on Yun'er.

Encircle Wei to save Zhao!

Wang Ju had to come to her aid. Lu Shijiang was prepared and swung his saber. The two sabers clashed, and Wang Ju's saber was knocked away.

Yun'er threw a rock at him.

"Pi Da, tie up this kid."

Lu Shijiang said and pounced on Yun'er. The concubine, who had been dealing with Monkey and the two injured men, had to turn back to help.

Monkey took the opportunity to pounce on Zhao Niannu.

"Lady, get in the carriage."

"Zhu Si, stab from behind the carriage," Lu Shijiang ordered.

This time, they specifically attacked Zhao Niannu and Yun'er.

After a short while, the concubine and Wang Ju felt very passive.

Finally, Monkey managed to pounce on Zhao Niannu. Yun'er, eager to save her, blocked Monkey's saber. But the saber pierced her back, and with Yun'er's scream, the concubine was distracted, allowing Lu Shijiang to slash her with a deep cut. Fortunately, Wang Ju calmly pounced and stabbed Monkey in the back as he was pulling out his saber.

Yun'er died!

The most powerful combatant, the concubine, was seriously injured.

At this moment, two donkeys quickly approached from the mountain path. Before the donkeys stopped, two people dismounted and joined the battle.

These were true experts. Looking at the two, Wang Ju suddenly remembered the knife bandit he had shot dead on the mountain path.

In just a few moves, the three injured men were killed.

Seeing the situation, Lu Shijiang fled to where his horse was tied.

The two men flanked and pursued him. Lu Shijiang was about to mount his horse when he was attacked and killed by the two men.

Wang Ju's shout to capture him alive came too late.

On the mountain path, as the group fled, the villagers also chased after them. Some of the villagers were injured, and at that time, Wang Ju was still in a daze. The villagers thought they were real bandits, and no one dared to question them. When they caught up, they hacked them to death with their knives, leaving no one to give testimony.

Not asking was fine. Asking would only cause more trouble. How would he explain to these two people? Wang Ju thought.

Zhao Niannu sobbed over Yun'er's body.

"Lady, don't be sad. Go back and give some compensation to her family," the concubine consoled her. Fortunately, the princess was unharmed this time; otherwise, how would she explain it?

Zhao Niannu was still crying.

"Lady, it's not good. They are from the Imperial City Office..."

Zhao Niannu suddenly stood up.

Imperial City Office? Wang Ju felt a cold sweat.

Mentioning secret police often brings to mind the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang, but other dynasties also had secret police. Cao Cao established the position of Inspector to spy on officials, setting a precedent. Later, the Northern Dynasties had the Inner and Outer Hou officials, the Tang Dynasty had the Li Jingmen and Li Jing, and the Five Dynasties had the Wude Office, all of which were secret police.

In the Song Dynasty, the Wude Office was renamed the Imperial City Office.

Eunuchs served as the Imperial City Commissioner, and they selected capable and brave men from the military or the public to serve as subordinates. Their duties were to guard the imperial city and to monitor the military, investigate public opinion, and watch the activities of officials to prevent enemy infiltration. They even caught several spies from the Liao Kingdom.

However, the Song Dynasty was a time when the emperor and the scholar-officials governed together, and both imperial and prime ministerial power were subject to various restrictions. The Imperial City Office had the power to investigate but not to judge, and any arrests had to be transferred to the Kaifeng Prefecture for trial. Therefore, most people in later generations overlooked this secret police organization of the Song Dynasty.

But they couldn't be underestimated.

They included many super experts and clever people. For example, when Zhao Kuangyi suspected that the officials in charge of the grain warehouses in the capital were cheating, he sent experts from the Imperial City Office to investigate in disguise and found evidence within a few days. Or during the upcoming Xining Reforms, Emperor Shenzong and Wang Anshi had the Imperial City Office arrest those who slandered the government, and they imprisoned nearly ten thousand people.

How did the Imperial City Office people come to Fuzhou? How did they know the Imperial City Office people?

The two men had already returned and approached Zhao Niannu, first bowing deeply and then saying, "Your Highness, we pay our respects."

"Your Highness?" Wang Ju felt a thundercloud forming in a clear sky. He was about to face a thunderous trial, probably at the level of a yuan ying.

PS: Fifth update delivered.

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