75: Do you really think the Zhenfu Division is just a facade?

Marquis Anding, to ensure his son's safety, sent out almost all of his most elite and loyal guards.

These men, without exception, had rolled through the army camps with him and were true veterans who had seen battle. Moreover, these men actually held some disdain for the Flying Fish Guard of the Pacification Bureau.

Admittedly, they did not consider these Flying Fish Guards to be trash—ever since the founding of the Pacification Bureau by the Grand Ancestor, if the Pacification Bureau had no real skill, how could it have served as the eyes and ears of The Emperors for so many generations?

But to those who had truly rolled through piles of corpses, they did not believe that the Flying Fish Guard—who used the special privileges personally granted by The Emperor to throw their weight around and act as his hunting dogs—were truly better than them.

Actually, it is understandable; they had truly suffered, killed, and risked their lives on the front lines. And no matter how well-trained the Flying Fish Guard were, they mostly just garrisoned in the capital, so how could they be mentioned in the same breath as people like them?

"They actually caught up?"

Seeing the Flying Fish Guard behind them on horseback, wielding bows and arrows, one of the guards did not show any panic, only a flash of disgust in his eyes.

"Protecting the Young Marquis is the top priority, keep the carriage safe!" he roared at the people around him. "Watch out for their cold arrows. We are outnumbered, there is a forest nearby, let's go that way!"

However, to their surprise, these Flying Fish Guards did not pursue too closely; they just followed steadily behind them, no matter how they ran.

Although the Flying Fish Guard mostly carried out missions in the Imperial City, the horses they were equipped with all came from Xiliang; they were sturdy and had good stamina. Usually, there were also specialized personnel responsible for letting the horses graze in the suburbs to ensure the condition of these horses.

Even in terms of horses, theirs might even be better than those of the Marquis's estate, but these Flying Fish Guards acted as if it were intentional—they just wouldn't catch up, maintaining this distance, neither too far nor too close, constantly trailing them.

However, just as they were about to rush into the small path in the forest, these Flying Fish Guards suddenly accelerated, and then arrow after arrow shot toward the horse troop and the carriage in front.

"Damn it, they don't intend to let us enter the forest!" the guard from before roared. "Their horses are better than ours; if we don't rely on the terrain, being caught up is only a matter of time!"

"That won't work, if we don't change course, we are too passive!" another person replied while using his weapon to parry. "They are using the Fish-Net Formation, they just want to drive us to the place they want us to go!"

The so-called Fish-Net Formation was a common tactic used by the armies of the Daxing Dynasty, especially common when the Border Army was capturing enemy generals. It utilized the psychological pressure during pursuit, combined with mounted archery, to drive the target to a specific location.

And generally, this so-called specific place was either a dead end with no way out, or a place heavily guarded, or a prepared trap and ambush, just waiting to lure the prey in and then catch them like turtles in a jar.

"Damn, these people's mounted archery skills are actually this proficient?" the guard gritted his teeth and cursed. "We still have to enter the forest, otherwise none of us will be able to..."

But before he could finish, a squad of Flying Fish Guards suddenly rushed out of the forest, the front row holding long spears specifically for attacking cavalry, and the archers in the back had long since aimed at them.

"Damn, we can't enter the forest!" The guard pulled the reins. "Change course, change course immediately!"

"I said it was a Fish-Net Formation, how could there only be one net?"

Mo Yingqi sat in the carriage, looking down the mountain through the car window, and couldn't help but sigh: "These people should be the trusted guards following the Marquis of Anding, but they underestimate the current Pacification Bureau too much..."

"Oh, is there some story behind this?" Luo Yongning playfully wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing tightly against him. "They say you have also been training for the past two years, is it because of this?"

"Hmm, actually, I heard it started a long time ago." Mo Yingqi nodded. "When the late Emperor was on the throne, he issued a separate secret order to the Pacification Bureau. About a few years ago, the Flying Fish Guard of the Pacification Bureau had already started to slowly replace their bloodline. Actually, it's not just Old Lu; many Flying Fish Guards were secretly recruited from the Border Army."

"Even for the Clerks, not only do they need literary talent, it is best if they also know a few moves."

The current Pacification Bureau looked the same as in the past, but since the late years of the late Emperor, it had been secretly undergoing a transfusion, and most of those recruited from the Border Army were those whose families had no other options and could only go to the Border Army to beg for a living.

The Border Army was bitter, and while the Pacification Bureau did business that offended people, it was decent, and although the pay wasn't considered high, the Pacification Bureau would help settle their families.

And although Lu Qianyuan was still just a Captain now, he had grown up in the Border Army after all. From the moment he joined the Pacification Bureau, after learning about his past experience, Fang Wenbo attached great importance to him.

It was just that it was inconvenient to promote him, but he and Mo Yingqi were effectively no different from a Centurion now. Especially Lu Qianyuan—don't look at him laughing and joking with Mo Yingqi and Tang Jingzhong every day; the mounted archery and cavalry formations of the Flying Fish Guard in the Pacification Bureau were all taught by him leading the team.

"So that's how it is..."

Luo Yongan nodded. Actually, the two sisters really didn't know much about these things. Regarding the Pacification Bureau, they only cared about matters related to Mo Yingqi. As long as the Pacification Bureau was loyal to The Emperor, loyal to The Emperor, it had no effect on them.

"Imperial Grandfather's idea at the time is actually not hard to guess, perhaps it was also to allow the Pacification Bureau to become a defensive force for the Imperial City, right?" Luo Yongan nodded. "But even Father doesn't know, I haven't heard him mention these..."

Actually, she was really wrong. The late Emperor making this move was just to make The Emperor's path to the throne smoother. Moreover, it wasn't that The Emperor didn't mention it, it's just that the timing when he mentioned it wasn't quite right...

Because just when he was about to bring this up, Mo Yingqi entered the capital. Besides, it was just as Luo Yongan thought—anyway, the Pacification Bureau was now the sharp blade of The Emperor, and that was enough.

"Originally, the Pacification Commissioner should have handled these matters, but he is Grand Chancellor Zhou's man. I heard Commander Fang mention that he was promoted to Centurion precisely for this matter." Mo Yingqi thought for a moment. "And for this matter, Commander Fang also did a very good job, knowing people and assigning them well. Although Old Lu is silly sometimes, when it comes to serious matters, he will absolutely not lose face."

"They really think that just because they have killed people and been on the battlefield, they can look down on the current Pacification Bureau, thinking we are all a bunch of show-offs inferior to them—that is thinking a bit too much. If we really wanted to catch them, they wouldn't even be able to leave the capital."

Hearing Mo Yingqi say this, Luo Yongning asked curiously: "So, you did it on purpose?"

"More or less, actually this idea was mine." Mo Yingqi smiled. "The most painful thing for a prisoner about to be executed is never the moment the blade falls..."

"It is the period of waiting for the execution—that time when it looks like there is still hope, but in reality, it is incomparably desperate..."

"Until the very last step, people will always feel that they still have a glimmer of life. And when they know that all the hope they thought they had does not exist... only then, letting them die is the most painful."