Most of Tianjin was shrouded in artillery fire, covered by smoke and flames, and Tianyou led the musketeers to guard the square, following Ren Qi's previous orders, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Eight-Nation Alliance. This anxious mood seemed to be transmitted to the horse beneath him, causing its four hooves to stomp the ground restlessly. Chen Tianyou frowned, pulled the reins, and told the horse to try to stay steady. He glanced at everyone and saw this faint sense of anxiety in them. After all, Ren Qi is not here, the leader is not here either, and they are not professional soldiers. At this time, they can't help but feel confused and panicked as if they have lost their backbone. For people in the underworld, what they rely on to command others is not discipline, but prestige and virtue, and what those they command obey is not rules, but brotherhood, benevolence, righteousness and morality. Chen Tianyou was thinking about countermeasures and wondering what he should say to motivate and inspire everyone. Just then, a clear and cheerful sound of horse hooves rang out in the street, and everyone turned their heads at once. The person who came was Ren Qi! No one spoke, but everyone felt relieved from the bottom of their hearts.

It seemed that his arrival meant victory and that everything was moving in a good direction. Ren Qi didn't think as much as everyone thought. He just came here expressionlessly and passed through the path that everyone made way for him. When he arrived in front of Chen Tianyou, he stopped his horse. "Are you all ready?" "They are all here, the thirteen halls and nine teams, as well as various martial arts heroes." Chen Tianyou said passionately, "We have now given up all the barricades and are just waiting for the Eight-Nation Alliance to come and fight to the death." "Well." Ren Qi nodded. Giving up the barricade was actually a helpless move. After all, the artillery of the Eight-Nation Alliance was very troublesome and could easily tear the barricade apart. In terms of firepower, even the government troops could not compete with them, let alone this hastily assembled gang. Therefore, they gathered in the square today, not only because of the original plan, but also because their defense system had been destroyed. "I just hope the Eight-Nation Alliance will arrive soon." Yan Feng was rubbing his hands together, after all, he had never had the chance to fight in the front before. He could only stay in the rear on standby or go to the front line for reconnaissance, take a look and then hurried back. Ren Qi touched his nose and said, "I hope they don't come." "Well?" Chen Tianyou smiled and said, "I thought Master Qi was hoping that they would come quickly." "Quite the opposite." Ren Qi looked at the setting sun and said, "If they don't come, it means we will be delayed for another day. It won't be a safe day. This is good for us, but for them, it is a torment." "torment?" "Yes, it's torture."

Ren Qi narrowed his eyes, "When we were protecting the emperor on his hunt to the west, that is, when we were fleeing, we always saw those dignitaries and royal family members crying. I thought to myself, I didn't cry when I was riding a horse outside in the sun and rain, so what do you have to cry about? Later I came to realize that they were crying because they were displaced and on the run. On the other hand, everything has become uncertain, and they are afraid of not knowing anything.” "Foreigners also have this mentality?" Chen Tianyou asked in surprise. "I do not know." Ren Qi shook his head. "But I think they are no different from us. Or rather, their situation is worse than ours. After all, we are standing on the land of our own homeland, while the foreigners themselves know that they are uninvited guests and outsiders." "This is what is called the right time, right place, and right people." Chen Tianyou pondered and said, "Commander Ren is indeed a former official in the palace. He sees things more clearly and far-sightedly than we do." When Ren Qi heard this, he glanced at Chen Tianyou and said, "But just seeing it is useless." "I know." Chen Tianyou nodded, "It depends on what we do. Everything is watched by God and done by humans." "There seems to be no connection between these two sentences?" "Oh, just a casual remark." Chen Tianyou smiled and asked Ren Qi, "I wonder what the General's Mansion said?" "I did not go." Ren Qi said frankly: "Other things held me back." "I see." Chen Tianyou was not worried, nor did he ask what Ren Qi had experienced or what he had done. He just remained full of confidence in Ren Qi. While the two were chatting, Qin Lang came here on horseback with a group of people, looking very hurried and anxious. "Are you here?" Chen Tianyou asked. "Do not." Qin Lang grabbed the horse. The horse under him kept snorting and exhaling white air, indicating that it was running very hurriedly. “But it seems so.” "What do you mean?" Chen Tianyou frowned. "There is a troop of cavalry." Qin Lang's chest heaved as he tried to steady his breathing. "An officer with a few cavalrymen doesn't look like they are here to fight, but rather to negotiate." "Negotiation?" Chen Tianyou asked in surprise.

However, Ren Qi had already patted his shoulder, motioning him to follow. "Lead the brothers to move forward. Don't let the officer see our deployment. But I want to let him know that we have many people. If he wants to attack us, we will continue to fight him." Chen Tianyou was still stunned. "You mean, he came here to negotiate peace?" "How can it be that simple?" Ren Qi turned his neck and his cervical vertebrae crackled. "They have all the advantages now. They have guns and cannons. Even the government troops have been beaten back by them. Why should they negotiate with us, the scattered soldiers who are still using pitchforks and kitchen knives?" "So what are they here for?" "Maybe he wanted to show off to us." Ren Qi drove his horse forward and waved his hand behind him. The soldiers of the large group moved forward in an orderly manner under the leadership of Ren Qi and the organization of various leaders. Qin Lang led the way, and after walking two miles, he bumped into the foreign officer on horseback. As Qin Lang said, the cavalry of the Eight-Nation Alliance had only more than 20 people. Such a small number of people would definitely not be able to bring about a fight, and even reconnaissance would be difficult. Both sides stopped their horses. The officer took a look at the team behind Ren Qi, which numbered at least several thousand men, and his palms began to sweat slightly. He suspected that Ren Qi was not here to negotiate at all, or that he did not know the purpose of his group's coming here, but was here to fight them directly. However, Ren Qi was only accompanied by Shi Tiebing and Chen Tianyou, and the three of them slowly drove their horses forward. The officer breathed a sigh of relief, and after giving a wink to the translator and adjutant next to him, the three of them moved forward together. The officer was a North American named Sargent. He had soft blond hair and a simple, clean beard. He was in his early thirties and served as a lieutenant colonel, which was a meteoric promotion speed in the military. Wherever he went, he was discussed and respected. The two sides closed the distance, each side could see each other's eyes, and the horses' breathing mixed together. "Are you the commander of these Tang people?" asked Lieutenant Colonel Sargent. "I'm." Ren Qi nodded, but was a little dissatisfied. "But you are not the commander of the Eight-Nation Alliance. I have seen the battles of foreign officers. Your position is too low. I have nothing to discuss with you." "I can make the decision, and everyone will listen to my orders because we are a disciplined army." Sargent was neither humble nor arrogant, and asked back: "I just don't know whether your words will work when you are commanding so many people, in your words, from all walks of life, so many people from different places and communities?" "Huh? Are you looking down on me?" Ren Qi sneered, "Do you believe that if I tell someone to die, he will only ask how to die?" When Ren Qi said this, Chen Tianyou and Shi Tiebing did not laugh, but their faces did show a fearless look of being ready to die. Behind them, the soldiers who heard this also had solemn expressions, as if they were just waiting for Ren Qi to issue an order and then commit suicide immediately. When the young officer was stunned, Ren Qi casually pointed at the translator. "You, if your commander wants you to die, would you be willing?" The translator shook his head subconsciously. Sargent frowned and asked the translator, "Isn't your loyalty to the coalition absolute?"

The translator was in a dilemma, and felt his back soaked with sweat. An idea suddenly occurred to him, and he quickly explained to Sargent in English: "Sir, he just asked me if I had eaten. This is our custom among the Tang people. We always ask each other when we meet." "Really? You Tang people do have this habit." Sargent nodded in relief. "What did this foreigner say?" Ren Qi suddenly asked. The translator's originally relaxed heart suddenly tightened again. Sargent was not someone to be trifled with, but Ren Qi was also murderous and looked like he was ready to turn hostile at any time. He was caught in a situation where there were wolves in front and tigers behind. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Ren Qi: "Lieutenant Colonel Sargent said that the coalition forces are a group of people who love life and will never commit suicide easily." "Love life?" Ren Qi sneered disdainfully, "They love life, but they come to our land to kill people and burn people? How can this be justified?" The translator blushed and subconsciously wiped his face with his sleeve, and whispered: "If you don't mind, let's talk about business?" Ren Qiyi tilted his head back and said, "Speak." So the translator cleared his throat and raised his voice so that the soldiers behind Ren Qi could hear what he said. "Lieutenant General Jackson, the commander-in-chief of the Eight-Nation Alliance, greatly admires and respects your courage and martial arts, but also feels sad and regretful for the tragic situation you have encountered. In order to prevent the loss of life here and to save your precious lives, General Jackson suggested that you lay down your weapons and leave from the south of Tianjin. As long as you give up resistance and leave empty-handed, General Jackson will guarantee your life and freedom, and you will leave as free men, not slaves or captives. " The translator loudly stated the above requirements, or conditions, so that everyone could hear what he was saying. However, his voice fell into the crowd, but it seemed like it fell into a hole, without causing any ripples. Sargent and his adjutant looked at each other, then looked at the translator suspiciously. The translator could only say that he had indeed conveyed the information General Jackson had asked him to bring. As for why the crowd did not react, whether it was because of strict military discipline or because they were simply not interested, he did not know. When they were at a loss, Ren Qi spoke. "Why don't I give you a suggestion?" Ren Qi's smile was as cold as ice and as sharp as a knife. Before he even made the suggestion, Sargent felt his palms sweating again. "Listen carefully. I suggest that you go back to where you came from right now, whether by train, by boat, or even on foot. Just treat it as an outing. Go home, and we promise not to kick you when you are down." When Sargent heard this, he also laughed and laughed until he was shaking all over. "This is not your proposal, but your response." His blue eyes were fixed on Ren Qi. "Because of what you said, everyone here will die, and Tianjin will become a living hell. As far as I know, in addition to you people, there are hundreds of thousands of civilians in Tianjin. They are in the city now and cannot leave. They could have left here according to General Jackson's proposal. Or rather, stay here safely and survive the catastrophe. But you refused, and you cut off everyone's life path. Their deaths were all because of you, and this is all your responsibility. But can you handle this huge responsibility?"

After the translator translated the words loudly so that everyone could hear clearly, he felt his throat smoking from the hoarse roar. He habitually touched his throat, massaging the muscles in his neck, waiting for a response from the other side. However, the people behind Ren Qi did not react at all, just like before, like a pool of stagnant water. Ren Qi also had a blank expression on his face. Just when he thought the negotiation had failed, Ren Qi suddenly laughed. "Response? Wrong, this is my response." call out! Lieutenant Colonel Sargent's head turned twice in the air and fell into the arms of the translator. The translator's eyes widened, and before he could even feel scared, the foreigner's hot blood had already spilled all over his body, and a hot stream flowed out of the translator's pants. The people behind Ren Qi were finally no longer a stagnant pool of water, but turned into a raging ocean. Flames burned fiercely on the waves, ready to devour all enemies and burn them to ashes. The angry roars of thousands of soldiers and horses resounded throughout Tianjin, like a wall pushing forward, frightening the soldiers so much that they almost fell off their horses. The translator's eyes widened until the adjutant snatched his reins and fled with him. A group of people came and left in a hurry, leaving only the headless torso of Lieutenant General Sargent on the street. "When two countries are at war, they don't kill envoys." Shi Tiebing smiled and said, "This is often sung in operas, but I didn't expect Commander Ren to do things in such a unique way." "how?" Ren Qi glanced at him and asked, "Do you think I did something wrong?" "I dare not say that." Shi Tiebing pointed behind him. Those originally silent soldiers had been aroused to their passion by Ren Qi's sword. Now they were just waiting for the Eight-Nation Alliance to come in and fight with them. The rumbling sound of artillery sounded again. (End of this chapter)