A sound like a broken gong rang out, and the steel plate sandwiched inside the wooden door was finally smashed by the strong man. No one cheered, not even the Imperial Guards in the courtyard gasped in surprise.

The courtyard door creaked and fell, and the prepared Imperial Guards fired their fine crossbows, aiming with deadly precision!

The strong man's right arm was already numb and sore from the force of smashing the door, and all the true qi within his body was exhausted. Watching the crossbow bolts coming at him, he had no strength left to react. He heard countless hissing sounds, followed by a series of "噗哧" sounds as the bolts all pierced his broad body. One of them pierced his eye socket, and with a "吱" sound, some crimson crystalline matter shot out from his eye!

"Ah!" In agony, the strong man roared, and with countless crossbow bolts sticking out of his body, he lunged into the courtyard. With each heavy step, a large spray of blood erupted from his body.

He only took three steps forward before collapsing onto the stone ground like a small mountain, raising a cloud of dust and splattering the ground with blood. This momentum, however, caused the Imperial Guards in the courtyard to retreat three steps!

The dead strong man's body was extremely broad, so it blocked most of the crossbow bolts aimed at the courtyard. Using his body as cover, Tan Wu and the remaining few experts rushed in like a gust of wind. As the strong man's corpse fell towards the Imperial Guards, the others had already attacked the flanks of the Imperial Guard formation!

At this time, the fighting on the high walls had also retreated into the courtyard. More than a dozen men in black, wielding the straight-bladed short swords rarely seen in Shangjing City, were forcing over twenty Imperial Guards into a small circle less than a dozen feet across. The black-clad men were extremely ruthless and efficient. Although they were outnumbered, they did not give the Imperial Guards any chance to retaliate.

The scene was like sharks circling a school of fish in the deep sea. A patch of bloody flowers would always be torn from the dense school, falling into the mouths of the sharks. Before long, the fish would be completely devoured.

But Tan Wu couldn't wait. The Great General's adopted father was still in the building, and according to the news from the Southern people, he hadn't been moved from the palace these days. So he waved his right hand, and three of the most skilled experts among the black-clad men headed towards the building.

Although there were now three fewer of them, the pressure felt by the Imperial Guards didn't lessen in the slightest. Amidst the flashing of knives and swords, a flower of blood would occasionally bloom, and a comrade would fall into a pool of blood on the ground, an arm severed or chest pierced.

From the high tree, Fan Xian calmly observed the situation in the courtyard, knowing that things definitely weren't so simple. Yan Bingyun's plan had already received a response through Boss Sheng. Shang Shanhu and the Xinyang side both thought this surprise attack plan was excellent. If that was the case, then Yan Bingyun would definitely know what the Imperial Guard's backup plan was.

Tan Wu also knew that things weren't so simple.

……

……

A sharp cry rang out, both a scream of pain and a warning. The three black-clad experts who had charged into the building were sent flying out, blood spurting from their mouths in mid-air. It was easy to imagine the strength of the Imperial Guard experts lying in ambush in the building!

Tan Wu's expression didn't change. He stepped on the bluestone floor, and his whole body leapt into the air. In a very short time, he exchanged three blows with the expert who had chased him out of the building. Three crisp sounds rang out cleanly.

"Deputy Commander Xiao, I didn't expect you to be here personally to guard this place." Tan Wu coldly looked at the expert in green in front of him. He was none other than Xiao Yuanbing, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard's Zhenfu Division, one of the top experts in the Imperial Guard. The man's eyes were deep-set and piercing. He looked coldly at Tan Wu and said, "The Empress Dowager knows that you rebellious traitors will definitely come to cause trouble. I am personally guarding this place to see who can rescue this prisoner!"

This Deputy Commander Xiao spoke with great confidence. Tan Wu covered his lips and coughed twice, spitting out a few strands of blood. He was no match for the man, but there wasn't a trace of panic in his eyes. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the back of the courtyard.

Fan Xian in the high tree was no longer paying attention to the fighting in the front courtyard. Instead, he turned his gaze to the small cart at the back of the courtyard. At this time, the small cart was tightly against the stone wall behind the courtyard. This wall seemed ordinary, but it was extremely sturdy.

A very slight hissing sound rang out. Deputy Commander Xiao frowned slightly, pushed back the attacking Tan Wu with a palm strike, and looked back towards the rear of the building.

……

……

Fan Xian carefully adjusted his position, ready to climb down the tree at any moment. Looking at the small cart, he gently opened his lips and uttered a silent word: "Bomb."

An earth-shattering explosion erupted at that moment! The small cart exploded somehow! Like a thunderbolt, it directly blasted a large hole in the stone wall behind the courtyard.

Stone chips flew like arrows, instantly blasting the thirty Imperial Guards ambushed behind the wall into corpses covered in blood spots!

This was the Supervisory Council's greatest sincerity towards Shang Shanhu. A cart of three secretly made explosives finally played its role! This, of course, was arranged by Fan Xian, but he didn't expect the sincerity of the three parties to be so great. He couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive, worried that Xiao En in the building might have been blown to death.

As the stone chips began to fall, amidst the rustling and crackling sounds, a completely black carriage fearlessly drove to the gap in the back wall. Several people braved the falling stones and the dust filling the street, rushing into the courtyard. Before long, these people carried an immobile man out of the gap and ran to the carriage. They drove towards the alleyway in the distance. From afar, one could see that the person being carried on their backs had white, disheveled hair. It was Xiao En.

But strangely, Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly and didn't climb down the tree to follow.

————————————————————

The valiant carriage at the back wall quickly disappeared into the night, leaving only the sound of galloping hooves, the sound of wheels rolling over the stone road, still echoing in the extremely quiet Shangjing City after the loud explosion.

Deputy Commander Xiao was held back by Tan Wu's fearless fighting style and couldn't pay attention to the changes at the back wall. Today, Shang Shanhu's faction attacked the courtyard door strongly, but secretly crossed the Chencang at the back wall. The entire defensive force of the small courtyard was attracted to the front courtyard. Although Deputy Commander Xiao was still very careful to ambush thirty Imperial Guard swordsmen at the back wall.

But no one expected that after the loud noise, the expected sound of fighting didn't ring out as desired!

Thinking of the loud noise, Deputy Commander Xiao couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart. Where should that kind of sound belong in the human world? Could it be that the gods were angry? Thinking of this, his subordinates gradually slowed down.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tan Wu shouted sharply, launching a straight punch forward, but forcibly retreated his whole body. After paying the price of several subordinates' lives, the remaining eight or nine black-clad men had already broken out of the courtyard door, preparing to disappear into the night.

……

……

嗒嗒嗒嗒 (ta ta ta ta), Contrary to everyone's expectations, the carriage that had already disappeared into the darkness, for some unknown reason, actually sped back again!

Tan Wu was shocked and led a group of black-clad men back. At the three-way intersection south of the courtyard, they met the carriage and shouted sharply, "Why didn't you leave?"

The carriage was full of broken marks, obviously not caused by stones, but by some long-range weapons. The military expert sitting in the driver's seat had a look of despair on his face and said in a hoarse voice, "General! We've been ambushed!"

After saying this, the man released his left hand, which was pressing on the terrible wound on his chest, tilted his head, and fell on the seat, never to get up again.

The horse pulling the carriage in front was fortunate enough not to be injured, but it seemed to sense its master's death, kicking its hind hooves uneasily. The light and slow sound of hooves rang out again, as if to echo the lonely sound of the horse's hooves. The small alleys around the courtyard, woven like a net, began to sound with the sound of hooves. The sound was getting closer and closer, denser and denser.

In the pitch-black night, the stars in the sky poked out their heads in fright, scattering a little bit of clear light, allowing everyone to see where these hooves were coming from.

Countless Imperial Guards silently poured out from the alleys in all directions, mixed with the soldiers of Shangjing Prefecture. With the sound of hooves, those grim ambushers surrounded the lonely carriage and the nine black-clad men beside it. The spears pointed, leaving no gap to escape.

"Surrender." The Imperial Guard formation split open, and Shen Zhong, the commander of the Imperial Guard's Zhenfu Division, whom Fan Xian thought looked like a wealthy merchant, said with a smile, "General Shang Shan gave this official this opportunity. I am very grateful."

Having failed to rescue the prisoner, Shen Zhong finally found an opportunity to bring down Shang Shanhu. In this situation, he couldn't help but be happy.

There was no despair or astonishment on Tan Wu's face, only boundless anger and resentment. In tonight's plan to rescue the prisoner, he had already thought about the situation after the failure. As a former personal soldier of General Shang Shan, he had no intention of cherishing his life. It's just… Tan Wu was still very angry, because the plan clearly knew that Shen Zhong might have an ambush, and his side had already prepared a response!

Just like the residential area in the direction of the carriage's escape, it should have been on fire by now, but it was still quiet.

Just like the alleys where these Imperial Guards were ambushing, there should also be riots, but today there was no movement at all!

……

……

Fan Xian, blending in with the branches, calmly watched the situation in the distance. He looked at Tan Wu, who was as angry as a wounded eagle, without any expression. That's right, in the plan, Shang Shanhu's side should be the main attacker, and the task of covering the retreat should be carried out by the Xinyang side and the secret agents of the Supervisory Council lurking in Shangjing. However, the Eldest Princess didn't move, Yan Bingyun didn't move, and Fan Xian didn't move either.

Compared to these Northern soldiers under Shang Shanhu, the people of Qing undoubtedly possessed considerable consistent cunning and tacit understanding in foreign affairs.