Chapter 56

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At this moment, night had completely fallen. When Zhao Chen brought Qin Ming and the others back to the street, the refugees were queuing up at various porridge stalls to receive their meals.

Not far away, Liu Hui was discussing with the坊正and 保长gathered there, planning the specific arrangements for settling these refugees. There were too many people, including many children and the elderly, and they all needed to be settled properly.

Seeing Zhao Chen and Qin Ming and the others coming from a distance, Liu Hui instructed a few words to the people around him and then came forward with a smile.

Seeing the ice chips hanging on Liu Hui's beard, Zhao Chen couldn't help but feel a bit moved!

There was no doubt that this was a person who could truly do things for the people, more like a county magistrate than someone like Zhao Yuankai. Unfortunately, such a person was only a chief clerk, subordinate to a worm like Zhao Yuankai.

"The arrangements have been made!" As soon as Liu Hui reached Zhao Chen, he got straight to the point, smiling. "Now, we just need to wait for them to finish their porridge, and then they can follow the坊正and 保长to their new homes!"

"Oh, that's good!" Zhao Chen smiled and joked, "This way, Chief Clerk Liu can take a break. You've been busy with these matters since the afternoon and haven't even had time to eat!"

"I'm fine!" Liu Hui said with a relaxed smile. He had been preoccupied with this matter all day, and now that it was finally handled properly, the worry in his heart was finally lifted.

"However, why is Your Excellency, the Court Judge, not resting at the county office but has come here in person!" Liu Hui genuinely admired Zhao Chen. Initially, he thought Zhao Chen was too young, not yet of age, and couldn't understand why the emperor had sent such a young man to Lantian.

But after a while, seeing how experienced and orderly Zhao Chen handled matters, even in some aspects surpassing himself, he finally understood why the emperor had sent such a young man, not yet of age, to Lantian.

"Since there was nothing to do at the county office, I came to check on the situation here and discuss with the Chief Clerk how to solve the winter housing for these people!" Zhao Chen replied with a bitter smile in his heart, but his expression remained calm.

As soon as Zhao Chen mentioned this, Liu Hui became interested. This was also a matter that had been troubling him for days. Even Ma Zhou was at a loss on how to properly settle these people for the winter. Hearing Zhao Chen bring it up, Liu Hui immediately put on a serious face, ready to listen attentively.

Unfortunately, before Zhao Chen could say more, a sound of fighting suddenly came from the east side of the city, followed by a towering flame rising from a small alley in the east.

Everyone looked in shock towards the east side of the city. Zhao Chen stared in shock at the flames, then turned his head to search for something around him. After a quick scan, Zhao Chen's heart sank.

The two hundred soldiers who had come with them to Lantian were gone!

At the same time, Wei Hui had just come out of the second hall, wearing a cotton robe, preparing to go out to plead for Zhao Chen.

He had already seen Xue Wanche's injuries; the arrow embedded in his bone was something an ordinary doctor could do nothing about. Only Zhao Chen could remove it.

However, just as he was putting on his boots, he suddenly heard the sound of fighting. Wei Hui's expression froze for a moment, and then, without even bothering to put on his boots, he ran barefoot towards the county office gate like a madman.

After exiting the county office gate, he quickly looked towards the east side of the city. Indeed, he saw the small alley he had just visited, where the sounds of fighting were deafening, and a towering flame suddenly rose. Seeing this, Wei Hui's face turned pale.

A moment earlier, just after Wei Hui left the alley, Sun Yin had entered with fifty fierce soldiers. He divided the two hundred people into four teams, each responsible for one direction, while he himself led fifty fierce soldiers to block the front.

Sun Yin was a troop commander of the Hundred Riders. This time, he came to Lantian with Zhao Chen and others, tasked with an important mission: to bring Xue Wanche back to Chang'an. The emperor suspected that Xue Wanche and his companions, who had escaped that day, had quietly returned to Lantian.

Since arriving in Lantian, Sun Yin had been staring at Wei Hui like a venomous snake. When Zhao Chen and others were sending people to look for Wei Hui, only he quietly followed Wei Hui, tracking him stealthily. This was something the Hundred Riders excelled at, and no one could match him.

Sure enough, when he followed Wei Hui to this alley and saw him enter an old courtyard, Sun Yin was almost overwhelmed with excitement!

The emperor's guess was correct; Xue Wanche and his companions had indeed quietly returned to Lantian. Sun Yin recognized the person who opened the door for Wei Hui; he was the most fierce commandant under Xue Wanche.

The muscles in Sun Yin's face twitched, his fists clenched and relaxed repeatedly, his eyes flashing with excitement. The fifty fierce soldiers behind him had quietly drawn their sabers, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

No archery, Sun Yin had ordered. The emperor wanted him to bring back Xue Wanche alive, not a corpse!

Sun Yin took a deep breath, suppressing his nervousness and excitement, then slowly raised his hand and swung it down. With a 'bang,' he broke through the old wooden door and rushed in.

"Kill!" The fifty fierce soldiers behind him suddenly roared in unison, their cries deafening as they followed Sun Yin into the old courtyard.

The wooden door shattered into pieces. The moment Sun Yin swung his saber, a black iron spear, like a venomous snake, shot out with a cold wind.

Sun Yin instinctively raised his saber to block it. The next moment, a 'clang' sounded as the weapons clashed, sparks flying from the blade. A powerful force shook Sun Yin's hand, nearly making him drop his saber.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" The burly man who had brought Wei Hui to this alley now wielded a black iron spear, roaring wildly, like a god of war, blocking the entrance.

In the courtyard were two more burly men: one was the pale-faced Xue Wanche, and the other was the man who had opened the door for Wei Hui, the most fierce commandant under Xue Wanche.

Xue Wanche's face was abnormally pale, the arrow in his rib almost preventing him from moving. The slightest movement caused unbearable pain. Xue Wanche gritted his teeth, gripping his iron spear tightly, his eyes sharp and filled with murderous intent as he watched the fight at the entrance.

Xue Wanche began to regret trusting Wei Hui. If he hadn't, they wouldn't be in this situation.

He believed Wei Hui had betrayed them. Wei Hui's visit was just to confirm Xue Wanche's existence, and the words about Li Shimin's pardon were just to temporarily pacify them, so they could be annihilated now.

Xue Wanche's teeth ground together, his forehead veins bulging, his face muscles twitching with extreme anger and regret.

A soldier swung his saber at Xue Wanche from the side. Xue Wanche simply turned and thrust his spear, sending the soldier stumbling back several steps, crashing into the wall behind him, and spitting blood.

"Xue Wanche, if you know what's good for you, surrender now! You won't escape today!" Sun Yin's saber was broken in two, and he stood far away, holding a crossbow, shouting at Xue Wanche in the fight.

"Go to hell! If you have the guts, come and fight me!" Xue Wanche hadn't spoken, but the burly man fighting at the front laughed wildly, thrusting his spear to force back a soldier, and shouted back at Sun Yin without turning his head.

"Stop wasting time with this scoundrel, let's fight our way out!" Xue Wanche gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain in his ribs, and swung his iron spear, following closely behind his two companions, roaring with all his might.

The fifty fierce soldiers were experienced veterans, but they were facing three exceptionally brave and fierce warriors.

In the narrow alley, blood splattered. A soldier who had just rushed forward was impaled through the abdomen by Xue Wanche's spear. Seeing the spear pierce the soldier, Xue Wanche's eyes flashed with regret, but only for a moment. He ruthlessly pulled the spear back and smashed it into another soldier rushing forward. At this point, his own life was at stake, and he couldn't afford to care about others.

The three men, each wielding an iron spear, fought their way out of the old courtyard and through the narrow alley, leaving a trail of blood on the snow, turning the white snow red.

Sun Yin gritted his teeth, clearly underestimating the strength of Xue Wanche and his companions. He thought fifty fierce soldiers would be enough to deal with them. However, seeing the fifty soldiers already scattered and killed, Sun Yin was extremely angry and had to concentrate all his forces.

If necessary, use the crossbows!

Sun Yin changed his mind. The strength of Xue Wanche and his companions exceeded his expectations. If this continued, the remaining soldiers might not be able to stop them. Better to have dead bodies than let them escape under his nose!

The fight spread from the alley to the street. A shop door was 'bang' broken open; it was a tung oil shop. The moment the door was broken, the tung oil inside spilled out. A torch accidentally fell into the tung oil, and with a 'bang,' a flame shot up, instantly engulfing the shop in a towering fire.

"Kill!" Xue Wanche's commandant, with his mouth wide open, roared wildly, his hair disheveled, his body and hair drenched in thick blood. In the light of the rising flames, he looked like a demon from hell.

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