Once inside the armory, everyone quickly donned armor and swapped out their weapons.
Wei Yuefu no longer carried his previous combination of golden melon hammers and a long saber, having replaced the saber with a longer, heavier guandao.
It did not matter that he did not know how to wield it properly; as long as he swung it, he could cleave people down.
With his Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, his strength had grown even greater.
If he truly ran into enemies, he would give them a taste of what Cleaving Mount Hua looked like with a guandao.
With the sheer force he could bring down, the blow would be devastatingly powerful.
In addition, he took a heavy crossbow to keep for ranged combat.
"Shoucheng, if you ask me, we might as well just evacuate," Tian Muchuan said in a low voice. "After all, we have our families in tow. Going back and forth to the prefectural yamen to rescue people will inevitably..."
The rebels had breached the city, and Commandant Hong Qiming was the mastermind behind it all; they could not even organize an effective resistance.
"My lord, do you think Hong Qiming would let us leave?" Wei Yuefu said. "The gate that was breached is the East Gate.
"The remaining three—the west, south, and north gates—are almost certainly sealed off.
"If we want to get out, our best bet is to kill Hong Qiming and seize a command token, a tiger tally, or the pass-phrase from him.
"Otherwise, we'll either have to charge straight through the rebel forces or crash head-on into the garrison generals and soldiers at the other three gates. There is no third option."
Having looked down from above through his soaring little brother, Wei Yuefu had already deduced a fair portion of Hong Qiming's scheme.
First of all, though these rebels had been instigated by the Lotus Fragrance Cult under Hong Qiming's manipulation, they actually had little real connection to Hong Qiming himself.
So he would let them in first, defeat them, and then recruit and absorb their remnants into his ranks.
Finally, he would raise his banner and rebel under the mantle of a righteous cause; otherwise, taking up arms outright would lack legitimacy and justification.
Once this entire process was completed, he would be completely whitewashed.
Moreover, even if they lost in the future, he could use it as a pretext, giving him an infinitesimal chance of surviving.
Furthermore, the reason he had chosen the East Gate was that entering through it led past many prominent clans and wealthy gentry.
If he allowed the rebels to plunder those estates, all of those riches would naturally fall into his hands afterward.
It was truly killing multiple birds with one stone.
"My lord, if Hong Qiming dared to make a move, it proves he has complete confidence," Wei Yuefu urged once more. "His previous defeat was undoubtedly a ploy to purge the rabble from his army.
"Those who remain are absolute elites.
"Furthermore, after this battle, the rebels have tasted blood, and their ferocity will far surpass what it was before."
Swayed by Wei Yuefu's words, Tian Muchuan could not help but show a helpless expression.
Had he known things would turn out like this, he never would have come to Dingyuan City so soon.
By contrast, rural Songyang County had not been affected by the events in Liulin County.
In truth... had they not left, that might not have remained the case.
After all, with a bunch of bloodsuckers sitting on their heads, hearing that the neighboring county had risen in revolt, the people might well have staged an uprising of their own.
These things had a herd effect; if the north were not already in turmoil, Hong Qiming would never have harbored such ambitions, nor could Liulin County have erupted into rebellion so easily.
"All right, we'll do as you say," Tian Muchuan agreed with a nod.
On the other side, Shen Qianjun was also leading his family members. Aside from the three members of the Meng family he had rescued from the cells amidst the chaos, there was a tall, cold, and aloof woman.
The others did not recognize her, but Wei Yuefu knew that this woman was most likely Hua Shirui, the Saintess of the Lotus Fragrance Cult.
It was simply that no one present had ever laid eyes on her, so they did not know who she was.
As for Shen Qianjun having an extra woman with him? What was strange about that? Only Xia Miaozheng and Meng Mingzhu would care; the rest were completely indifferent.
Take Tian Muchuan, for instance: between his primary wife, concubines, and mistresses, he had around a dozen women.
If anything, someone like Wei Yuefu, who was entirely on his own, stood out as an oddity.
Then again, it had not been long since Wei Yuefu had risen from a commoner to a Bronze Badge constable; he simply had not had the time, so everyone considered it normal.
"Anyone who knows martial arts, don't hold back or hide it!" Tian Muchuan called out at this point. "Come over here and take armor and weapons."
Xia Miaozheng was busy stewing in jealousy and had no mind for such matters, whereas Tian Muchuan remained rational.
After all, their very lives were on the line; this was no time to stick to standard procedures—staying alive came first.
With his permission, the family members brought by the men stepped forward to choose equipment as well.
Once everyone was swiftly outfitted and prepared, they headed straight for the prefectural yamen.
The Six Doors and the prefectural yamen were not in the same location, though the distance was manageable. Wei Yuefu had his little brother scout ahead; as long as they planned their route well, they would not have to worry about running into the rebels.
"This way," Wei Yuefu led the way directly after stepping out the door.
Given "Ding Shoucheng's" proven reliability, everyone unanimously agreed to let Wei Yuefu lead.
Even with so many people in tow, through his intelligence advantage, they navigated a series of turns and soon arrived before the gates of the Dingyuan City prefectural yamen.
The exterior of the yamen was already sealed off by heavy troops; clearly, the dust had already settled.
This was only natural. Hong Qiming had launched a surprise attack, and he commanded troops.
Caught off guard, how could Shangguan Shutong possibly have the power to resist?
Thus, the place had been taken over without contest.
Still, there was some good news: judging by the current situation, the troops had likely only arrived not long ago.
Moreover, the soldiers guarding the entrance were not numerous—only a dozen or so.
His little brother flew into the sky to scout around; inside and out, there were only about fifty men in total.
Wei Yuefu estimated that most of Hong Qiming's forces had been deployed for the subsequent plan to round up and absorb the rebels.
"Ready your crossbows. Pick a target each," Tian Muchuan said, unclipping a crossbow bolt from his waist.
The other constables did the same, but Shen Qianjun and a few others looked rather awkward—they had not brought any...
Shen Qianjun was a swordsman, so his only weapon was a sword.
Furthermore, unlike the others who chose iron armor, he wore leather armor so as not to hinder his agility.
Wei Yuefu, on the other hand, was far more terrified of dying; he was bundled tightly from head to toe in heavy protection, and had even strapped a shield to his back.
He was easily the most heavily armored among them.
"You guys... Never mind. Once we finish our volley, you provide support from the flanks," Tian Muchuan said when he saw this, simply assuming the armory had run short on crossbows and there had been none left for them to take.
After all, even someone like "Ding Shoucheng," who had only been on two missions, knew the benefits of a crossbow.
Little did he know that Shen Qianjun, ostracized and exceedingly confident in his own prowess, simply never bothered with such tools.
He was used to handling everything entirely on his own.
With those words spoken, the constables loosed their bolts in unison.
Although the bolts might not necessarily pierce the gate guards' armor, the constables knew well enough to aim for exposed faces.
These soldiers were all clad in full plate and built like towers.
That meant they were Hong Qiming's personal guards; otherwise, they would never have enjoyed such fine equipment.
Though few in number, they were far more formidable in combat than regular soldiers.
More importantly, they were trained in military combined-attack battle formations.
Thus, the purpose of the crossbow volley was not merely an opening strike, but to seize the initiative, break their formation, and secure an advantage.
With a single volley, more than half of the dozen or so guards collapsed.
Yet before the constables could reload for a second volley, Shen Qianjun brandished his longsword and charged forward at the fore.
Xia Miaozheng, Hua Shirui, and the others dashed right behind him.
This reckless sight left both Tian Muchuan and Wei Yuefu completely dumbfounded...
Chapter 34