Chapter 835
Unyielding to Soft and Hard Approaches
Minglu rushed through the palace gates in a hurry, but was stopped by the guards on duty.
Just as the tension was reaching a breaking point and there was no way to resolve it, an old acquaintance suddenly jumped out from the side.
"what?"
"Guo, Guo Heng?"
"What are you doing here, kid?"
Minglu looked closely and recognized the young general from his former army.
And looking at him, he saw that it was Guo Heng, a young general. He seemed to remember General Ma, and his excitement was hard to hide. He temporarily forgot about the current situation and rushed to deliver a message.
"Yes, yes, this humble general is Guo Heng."
He glanced at her face, but then saw the look on the head waiter's face. He had no choice but to reluctantly suppress his emotions and revert to his original demeanor.
"Well, General, that's a long story."
Originally, given Minglu's way of speaking, this kid was inclined to say a few more words.
But with his feet sticking out from behind him, Ma Minglu was worried about the safety of the military governor, so how could he tolerate listening to his rambling?
Without waiting for the man to say more, and not wanting to be impatient, he quickly waved his hand to cut him off.
"Hey, alright, alright, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense right now."
"I want to leave the palace, immediately!"
"Go open the door."
Minglu glared and spoke in a heavy tone, displaying military authority and seemingly intending to clear the way with military orders in order to quickly disrupt the order.
Thinking back, Guo Heng, who had followed Duke Jing all the way, had also spent quite some time in the army.
He should know very well what kind of person Ma Minglu is.
After a brief moment of reflection, he realized that General Ma would never have acted so unconventionally unless there was an urgent situation that required immediate attention.
Unfortunately, times have changed.
Now, after many twists and turns, he has joined the Imperial Guard and taken on the job of Chief of Keys.
As the saying goes, "Those who hold the position should govern accordingly."
Now that he has taken on this post, it would be dereliction of duty for him to let people pass without first finding out the truth.
To put it more bluntly, if Ma Minglu were to act recklessly, such as sneaking into the city at night, it could be a serious matter.
If investigated later, it will be found that he secretly allowed those who caused trouble to leave the palace at night, and he will be sentenced to death.
Therefore, it is understandable that Guo Heng, a former subordinate and junior officer, is currently caught in a dilemma and hesitant.
"This"
"Oh, General, it's not that I'm disobeying your orders."
"But, well, the palace has its own rules."
Guo Heng had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to persuade him, knowing he would be in trouble and get scolded, but it was better than committing a serious crime.
"Fuck your mother's fart."
As expected, upon hearing his words, Minglu's anger flared even more, and he spat a string of curses in his face.
Turning around, he saw that his last hope had also vanished, so he gritted his teeth and made a tough decision.
He was quick; before Guo Heng could react, he drew the knife from his waist.
Clang clang—
He drew his sword, took a half-step back, and pointed the blade directly at the two men in front of him.
"General!" This action startled Guo Heng, who exclaimed in surprise.
Minglu remained unmoved, his fierce gaze fixed on the two, indicating there was no room for further discussion.
"Just because you're wearing this civil official's skin, you think I'm easy to deal with?"
"What's wrong? All my pleas and arguments have been useless. Looks like it won't work without using any weapons!"
"Tell you scoundrels, I am a general who has come to the aid of the king and protect him."
"These years of service in the military, big and small battles, I'm a tough guy who crawled out of piles of dead bodies."
"There were at least eighty or a hundred bald thieves under my blade."
"You bunch of idiots, do you really think I wouldn't dare to make a move?"
Gritting his teeth, since gentle methods don't work, he'll resort to brute force.
"Today, who is so blind as to try to stop me from leaving the palace?"
"Then let's not bring up any old feelings or sentiments anymore."
"I'll kill you all, and at worst I'll quit being this damn vice minister afterwards."
"Guo Heng, you fucking get the hell out here and open the door!" Minglu, relying on his ruthlessness and exuding a murderous aura, was determined to break in.
However, barging in like this is neither reasonable nor justifiable.
Although a group of guards stood in front of the gate, they were all at a loss. However, since the head guard had not spoken, who would dare to step forward and give him any face?
If we really let him break out of the palace, even if the sky falls, someone has to hold it up, right?
So one by one, each with their own thoughts, they dared not step forward, but instead drew their swords and prepared to block the way.
He waited for the duty officer to take responsibility before he was willing to take action.
Seeing the stalemate, Minglu drew his knife, its cold gleam flashing as he held it to the neck of the head guard.
Unfortunately, I had a really bad day today.
The general on duty in front of me had a stubborn streak; he remained calm and composed, gritting his teeth and bearing it all, clearly showing no fear.
As their eyes met, the tension escalated.
After straining his throat for a while, he could finally utter a single sentence.
"Scholar Ma, you're a hero, I'm not a coward either."
"As the superiors have given their orders, there are established rules and regulations within the palace."
"Since you've taken on this responsibility, you won't be able to leave tonight if you don't meet the requirements."
Each word was deliberate and forceful; the general on duty's eyes were cold and sharp, his words resolute and unwavering.
"If you insist on going your own way, then give it a try."
"If you cut me down, you'll never be able to leave this room."
Look at him, he's quite a character. In this situation, he just puts on a cold face and confronts me head-on.
"Men, keep your eyes peeled!"
"According to the Great Ming Code, anyone who breaks into the palace at night shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane."
"Bloodshed is a capital offense, punishable by hanging."
"As soon as the person makes a move, seize him immediately and hand him over to the Imperial Household Department for disposal!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd stood up to assess the situation and shouted in unison.
"Yes!"
Well, this time they're really serious, and there's no way to escape.
Guo Heng was sandwiched between the two, with no room to maneuver whatsoever.
"Fine, then I'll grant your wish!"
In the blink of an eye, Ma Minglu's temper flared up, and there was no turning back.
He decided to unleash his full power, wielding his sword with a single strike, ready to engage in battle.
Right now!
Finally, Jin Qigang caught up and roared!
"stop!"
"Leave people under the knife!"
"Leave people under the knife!"
Qi Gang's words came abruptly, and everyone present was focused on the sudden turn of events, having no time to anticipate what was about to happen.
It was the young general Guo Heng who suddenly reacted.
Seeing that someone had finally arrived to stop them, they immediately took action.
You should know that Ma Minglu's knife was already beyond control at the same time he came to speak.
Minglu ignored all that and didn't reduce his strength in the slightest.
Young general Guo Heng feared that being a step too late would lead to disaster.
Almost in the blink of an eye, with a forward step, just as the last blade was about to fall, he hastily raised his arms and blocked Minglu's swinging arm and elbow. He relied on his own strength to deflect General Ma's slashing force, narrowly escaping death and saving the life of the general on duty behind him.
"Hold, hold the talisman here, it is here."
Qi Gang, now hidden in the shadows, managed to quickly move his legs to reach the crossroads and block the blade.
He was panting heavily, and he pushed back Minglu and the young general Guo Heng, fearing that another branch of the family might emerge.
"Ouch, damn it."
"Minglu, why are you flirting with me so quickly?"
"I can't catch you even if I try."
With that one long-winded remark, he turned the tide, steadied himself, and, with a flick of his court robes and a composed and steady posture, handed the talisman to the general on duty. (End of Chapter)