mtlumby2d Chapter 1443
Chapter 1443
"Less than ten miles left..."
Thinking of this last glimmer of hope, Zhu Di whipped his horse even faster, and the group galloped forward.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fu, while accompanying them, took out a small bamboo tube from his pocket.
Amidst the sound of horses' hooves...
"Whoosh—" With the sound of a signal flare shooting into the sky, a small plume of smoke exploded in the heavens.
Zhu Di glanced at Zhang Fu, somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Fu immediately explained, "Your Highness, they are summoning our reinforcements."
"Although they have already discovered us and are pursuing us with all their might, my father and Uncle Qiu have long wanted to persuade Your Highness to temporarily avoid the enemy's advance. Therefore, they have already arranged for people to be stationed at key points along the way. They will come to meet us when they see the signal flare."
"Even if those people behind him come on strong, they can still block the prince's movements for a while."
Hearing this, Zhu Di turned to look at the pursuers closing in, and breathed a slight sigh of relief. A warmth welled up in his heart, and he was somewhat moved: "For me, they have done everything they could think of..."
"In just a moment, they have already caught up quite a distance. If it weren't for their prior arrangements, those people behind me would probably have caught up with me in the ten miles."
In order to avoid attracting attention and leaving obvious clues, they did not ride the most elite warhorses, but instead chose ordinary horses as a second choice.
At this moment, both horses were running at full speed, chasing each other, and the ordinary horse was naturally at a disadvantage.
Zhang Fu said, "Serving the Prince is our duty."
The two said no more and continued to speed forward, holding their breath and not daring to let their guard down in the slightest.
Not long after.
The pursuers behind them caught up for quite a while.
They could clearly see the people who came—several Imperial Guards dressed in flying fish robes, and more than twenty or thirty people wearing clothes they had never seen before, carrying strange wooden boxes.
After all, the city of Beiping needed the Shenji Battalion to maintain order.
Moreover, according to intelligence deduced by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhu Di was only accompanied by about twenty people when he left the city.
In this situation, having too many people to chase and catch people would actually slow things down and allow them to escape. Therefore, Wu Zhenhai only brought the thirty most elite men from the Shenji Battalion.
However, after seeing the situation behind him...
Zhang Fu, however, looked delighted: "They probably assumed that the prince had left in haste and that he didn't have many people with him. Regardless of whether there were other pursuers behind him, the advance pursuers would not exceed forty people in total."
"My father and Uncle Qiu have arranged for a hundred men to be on standby nearby!"
"And then there are your subordinates..."
"More than a hundred people against thirty-odd people... we outnumber them four to one, the advantage is on our side!"
"..."
As he spoke, his furrowed brows unconsciously relaxed, and he visibly showed less tension and worry.
Zhu Di glanced at Xu Miaoyun, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui, who were also struggling to ride their horses, and secretly rejoiced, letting out a long sigh of relief.
However, soon after...
"Hmm? The advantage is on our side?" Zhu Di hesitated for a moment upon hearing Zhang Fu's statement. He felt a strange sense of unease, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. After all, with four times the enemy's strength, what was there to panic about?
While riding a horse, he pondered.
A sound of hooves interrupted his thoughts—the sound came from several different directions ahead, and sitting on the back of the horse was a burly man dressed in black tight-fitting clothes. Although he was not wearing the uniform of the Prince of Yan's personal guards, he was very familiar with those faces—were they the "reinforcements" that Zhang Fu had mentioned?
However, reinforcements arrived at the same time.
The pursuers behind them never loosened their grip for even a moment, relentlessly climbing and biting their way up.
Zhu Di and Zhang Fu could even clearly hear each other shouting: "Prince Yan, Zhu Di, is supposed to be stationed in Beiping so that he can be called upon at any time when the remnants of the Northern Yuan army march south to attack. Why do you intend to leave your fiefdom without authorization? Neglecting your duty!?"
"We are the Emperor himself, His Majesty Kaiqian, personally dispatched to deliver an imperial edict to the Prince of Yan! All those ahead, rein in your horses and stop immediately!"
"..."
If Zhu Di could take it peacefully, that would be the easiest thing to do. So Zhang Cheng still opted for a policy of persuasion first, then force, and implemented a plan to persuade Zhu Di to return.
But now that things had come to this point, Zhu Di and his men felt that the advantage was entirely on their side, so they naturally couldn't just surrender. Instead, they spurred their horses even faster and fled towards the direction of the reinforcements that were galloping towards them.
Seeing that Zhu Di and his entourage showed no sign of stopping.
Zhang Cheng sighed helplessly and looked at Wu Zhenhai, saying, "Old Wu, it seems we still need you to take action. The Prince of Yan has deep roots in Beiping, so it's best to avoid any unforeseen complications."
With Wu Zhenhai, a powerful figure, by his side, Zhang Cheng remained calm despite the other party's unwillingness to peacefully return.
Wu Zhenhai's lips curled into an arrogant smile, his eyes narrowed slightly. Instead of pulling on the reins to stop the horse, he released them, sat up straight, and raised the flintlock pistol hanging around his neck—which had been pre-loaded with gunpowder and bullets—aiming ahead: "They can't escape!!"
His warhorse continued its mad charge forward...
Wu Zhenhai, while controlling his body's movements to match the rise and fall of his warhorse, squinted at Zhu Di, who was galloping ahead, looking for the right opportunity.
He and Kang Yunxiang were carefully selected by Ru Chang, the Minister of War, at Zhu Yunwen's request. Their archery skills were enough to make them stand out among many archers and qualify them to serve as commanders of a thousand men. The prestige of their positions goes without saying.
Shooting an arrow on horseback is achievable; hitting a target with a gun on the spot is also not difficult with practice.
After a while.
"To catch the thief, first catch the king."
"boom--"
With a loud bang, the bullet left the barrel and flew straight forward...
Almost at the same time, Zhu Di's galloping horse suddenly stumbled and fell forward.
Zhu Di, who was on horseback, was thrown forward by a tremendous force, his entire body flying through the air and tumbling a great distance before landing and rolling.