Chapter 1937
Although Xue Zheng's face was calm, he was still very happy in his heart. These high-end carriages are certainly not the means of transportation that the smelting craftsmen working here are qualified to ride. Their appearance here shows that Xue Zheng's judgment on the whereabouts of the Koreans should be a gamble. Right.
Xue Zheng's next question is to try to stop nearby and see if there is a chance to sneak into this workshop. Although it is impossible to let all the dozen or so people sneak in, it would be good if even one or two people can go in to find out the situation. Only when they are sure that the North Koreans are really here can they implement the final resort without reservation.
"Wu San..." Xue Zheng noticed the number plate hanging outside the workshop, which seemed to be consistent with the delivery number plate he received from the coke factory. He quickly freed up a hand to take out the number plate from his pocket and took a look. Sure enough, the delivery number plate had the word "Wu San" clearly engraved on it. It takes no effort at all. At this moment, Xue Zheng even had the illusion of being "the chosen one", otherwise it would seem impossible to explain why such a coincidence would occur.
"God is really helping me!" Xue Zheng immediately decided to take this opportunity to go in and find out.
However, only one of their three carts of coke was delivered to the Wusan Workshop, and not everyone could sneak in with this number plate. Xue Zheng immediately asked others to push the cart around here first. , don't leave too far. And he himself led four of his men, pushing the cart of coke to turn around and go to the entrance of Wusan Workshop.
"Master Jun, I'm here to deliver charcoal to the workshop!" When the cart arrived at the entrance, Xue Zheng took the initiative to greet the cavalrymen guarding the place with a nod and bow, and showed his delivery number plate.
"Let's wait on the side of the road first. Martial law is enforced at the moment. No entry or exit is allowed in the workshop!" The cavalryman glanced at the number plate in his hand, but did not get out of the way. Instead, he instructed them to pull the cart to the side of the road first.
Xue Zhengqian smiled and said: "This big truck will still block the passage of cars and horses on the roadside, and there is a time limit for the villain's delivery. If it cannot be delivered on time, the salary will not be paid. Please be accommodating, military gentleman." , the villain put the coke in and left.”
The cavalry glared at him and shouted: "The military order is like a mountain. I will accommodate you. Who will accommodate me? Stay aside and don't ask for trouble!"
Before Xue Zheng could say anything more, the cavalryman raised his whip and pointed at Xue Zheng and then at the roadside, signaling him to be wise and obey the arrangements. Xue Zheng did not dare to fight with the cavalry at the moment, so he could only push the car to the side of the road with a few companions. However, he did not intend to wait patiently. Trying to detect the situation in the workshop was the first priority at the moment.
A circle of earthen wall about one person's height was built around the workshop. There were two entrances and exits in the north and south directions. They were designed to go in and out from above, so that the carts transporting materials would not easily block the entrances and exits. The east side of the upper and lower entrances is the cargo yard where coke, iron ingots, steel ingots and other materials are stacked, and the west side is the operating area where the blast furnace is located.
Xue Zheng is tall. He can see part of the workshop by standing on tiptoes. However, there are armed cavalry nearby. If he does this, he may be noticed. He does not dare to take risks. He can only take advantage of the cavalry. When his eyes turned away, he took the time to stand on tiptoe and look inside a few times.
However, the results of this hasty reconnaissance method were not ideal. Although Xue Zheng tried very hard to see clearly what was going on in the workshop, it seemed a bit futile. The few carriages parked inside blocked most of the view, except for There were several Haihan soldiers with live ammunition and smelters in short coats, but no one else was seen. It was impossible to confirm whether the North Koreans were inside.
Although Xue Zheng was almost certain that the North Koreans should be in the workshop separated by the wall, but without personal confirmation, this matter was still a bit uncertain. According to Xue Zheng's opinion, their team will only have one chance to take action. If the attack fails, they may not even have a chance to escape from the battlefield. He still wants to make the shot more confident, at least to confirm that the target is indeed there. Here, it is worth risking these dozen lives.
Xue Zhengxin said that waiting like this was not an option, and then he went to the cavalry and said, "Excuse me, Master, is there any adult inside? How long do we have to wait before the villain can go in and deliver the goods?" ”
"Just wait when I ask you to wait, why are you talking so much nonsense!" The cavalryman impatiently motioned Xue Zheng to back away: "Can you inquire about my lord's itinerary? If you don't want to get out of the way quickly, don't stand here blocking me. Road! ”
Xue Zheng had poked the cavalry dozens of times in his heart and was heartbroken, but on the surface he still had to pretend to be trembling and step aside. But at this time, he was no longer allowed to slowly investigate the situation. The people inside might leave here at any time. He signaled to several of his subordinates and asked them to gather others nearby. Such an opportunity was once in a lifetime, and he did not care about the possibility at this time. The risk of being exposed.
Xue Zheng has already begun to silently calculate the balance of strength between the enemy and ourselves. There are four cavalry guarding the entrance and exit where he is. Similarly, there should be a similar number of cavalry guarding the entrance and exit to the south of the workshop. The number of armed guards inside the workshop should not be lower than the number of people guarding outside, so it is conservatively estimated that there must be about 20 guards here, and the actual number is likely to be higher than this. After all, there are not only the Crown Prince of Joseon but also the high-ranking Haihan officials who guard the local area, so the security measures will definitely not be too bad.
As for the men he can summon here to participate in the operation, there are only fifteen people including himself. The weapons they carry are mainly short weapons that are easy to hide. Only one of his can attack from a distance. A handgun, as well as a crossbow and a set of sleeve arrows for the other two. The opponent is using a standard rifle. As long as it hits a vital part within a hundred steps, it is basically certain to die. The cavalry is also equipped with a saber for close combat. Whether it is a charge on horseback or a dismounted fight, the opponent is obviously They all have advantages in weapons.
If it were a normal day, if Xue Zheng was asked to fight such an opponent head-on, he would probably think that it would be no different from committing suicide. However, the target to be dealt with now is exactly under such protection, and it seems that there is no way to find it except for a head-on fight. A better means of assassination has been found.
If the four cavalrymen guarding the entrance can be eliminated in one confrontation, rushing in and taking action may have a certain chance of success. However, if the first step is not dealt with cleanly, allowing the other party to send out a warning signal, thus The armed guards inside were prepared to deal with it in advance, so the dozen or so people of their own might not be able to rush in. Even if they rushed in, they would most likely be facing the gun array already lined up and taking aim.
Xue Zheng had already looked at the situation in the workshop when he was standing on tiptoe. Although he couldn't see it completely, he could roughly estimate the space inside based on the size of the surrounding area. If the opponent is not on guard when they rush in, then there is a possibility of success. If the opponent forms a formation in advance to protect a few important people, then their chance of success is slim. Xue Zheng made some calculations in his mind and found that even if everyone risked their lives to fight, the chance of success was still hopelessly small, and he seemed to be unable to think of any other tricks that could increase his own advantage.
"Boss, we've called everyone back! But there seem to be some plainclothes Haihan policemen around here. If we want to take action, we have to be quick, otherwise the truck will be left on the roadside and people will notice it soon!"
While being sent to summon other subordinates to come back and recover, they also brought another bad news to Xue Zheng. Xue Zheng was suddenly startled when he heard it. He said to himself that he was only thinking about calculating the security forces on this stage, but he forgot that Haihan Eagle Dog was not only the army and private armed guards, but also the police yamen, which was not usually noticeable.
The functions of the Haihan Police Department are mainly household registration management and handling of civil security incidents. Its external presence is not very high. When Xue was planning the operation, he did not consider that the police would join the security. But now that he was reminded, he remembered that these people were specialized in civilian affairs. It could be said that they were the local snakes who were truly familiar with the local situation. Haihan officials wanted to provide security for the Joseon Crown Prince, so it was reasonable to use some police. And judging from the fact that he was wearing plain clothes, the other party was obviously wary of possible security risks, so he deployed such secondary security measures in the surrounding area.
Xue Zheng did not spend any more time to confirm whether the report of his subordinates was true. He believed that the professionalism of these subordinates was not inferior to his own. Since he smelled the smell of people in the public sect, it was 80% true. But no matter what the official reason for Haihan's deployment was, he had no time to drag it out any longer. As long as someone noticed the other two carts filled with coke that his men had left on the roadside somewhere, they would soon be It will attract the attention of the police. They, outsiders, cannot withstand any interrogation.
"Notify everyone, prepare to take action! Look at my signal later, kill these cavalry first, and then rush in together! Remember, look for the Korean's dress, and be sure to kill him if you have the chance! No matter what happens, No matter what, we will separate and evacuate to the port after the matter is over. If you can’t leave...then just deal with it yourself!”
Xue Zheng lowered his voice, gave the final order to his men, and then passed it on to others. In fact, even at this time, he still didn't have much confidence, but now there was no turning back. Knowing that there was an iron wall in front of him, he could only bite the bullet and push forward.
The purpose of their trip is to assassinate the Joseon Crown Prince, but whether they succeed or not, they must hide their true identities as much as possible, because Haihan is very likely to trace their identities to the forces behind them, and this This is a situation that the financial backers behind them are trying their best to avoid. The high remuneration they received before taking action was not only money for selling their lives, but also hush money. If they disclose certain information after being arrested, their families will be implicated in the future. So if they can't get out of here after taking action, they can only choose to end it on their own to avoid leaving any future troubles.
Although this approach seems a bit tragic, Xue Zheng believes that since he wants to achieve his goal, it is inevitable to sacrifice some lives, including his own. After all, many people he knew had died quietly before this. He knew very well that it was absolutely impossible to fight an enemy like Haihan without killing as many as possible.
In order to avoid attracting the attention of others, it took some time for Xue Zheng's order to be conveyed. Then everyone slowly moved closer to Xue Zheng's position, pretending to meet fellow villagers or acquaintances, and chatted in groups. stand up. The few cavalrymen next to him glanced here a few times, but they didn't pay much attention. Perhaps the delivery number plate shown by Xue Zheng earlier gave them an illusion and did not regard this group of dirty-looking porters as dangerous people.
Seeing that everyone was almost here, Xue Zheng nodded to the other people, and then slowly walked towards the cavalry at the entrance, and those people followed him in tacit agreement.
Xue Zheng held a water bag in one hand and asked humbly: "Master Jun, please let me go in and get some water, okay?"
As he spoke, he slowly stretched his other hand to the edge of his clothes, preparing to reach in and grab the blunderbuss. As long as the cavalry refused him, he would immediately attack violently. The people behind him will also watch his reaction, first attack with hand crossbows and sleeve arrows, and then rush up to fight in close quarters. As long as these cavalrymen can be cleared out quickly, the people behind can swarm in.
Xue Zheng had even thought about it. After killing these people, he would seize their rifles and sabers and arm his own people first to increase the chance of success.
However, at this moment, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves on the street. Xue Zheng saw that another group of cavalry suddenly came, and there was a black box carriage among the cavalry, with red and blue insignias representing official status inserted on both sides of the front. With the two-color flag, the team came directly to the Wusan Workshop. The cavalryman on duty waved his whip and drove Xue Zheng and others aside to make way for the carriage in the middle to enter the workshop. The carriage drove straight into the workshop without stopping.
This subsequent group of cavalry also had more than ten people. The officer leading the group saluted the cavalry guarding the gate, then followed the carriage in with two cavalry attendants. It was obvious that he knew the cavalry guarding the gate. The remaining cavalry stayed at the door. A few of them also entered the workshop after a short stay, presumably to set up defenses at the entrance and exit on the other side.
"If you want to drink water, go find water elsewhere. You are not allowed in here. If you ask again, you will be whipped!" The cavalry on duty was already a little impatient with Xue Zheng's repeated attempts and signaled him to leave the entrance and exit. It's in the way.
Several of the newly arrived cavalrymen had already turned their attention to Xue Zheng. When Xue Zheng saw this situation, he knew that he could no longer carry out a surprise attack, so he could only turn around and retreat while apologizing. There were already ten cavalrymen guarding the entrance and exit. Any attempt to quickly attack the workshop from here would be a fool's errand. Although Xue Zheng was not afraid of death, he did not want to lose his life in vain, so he immediately used actions to instruct his accomplices to stop the operation.
(End of chapter)