Then, he turned around and left directly, without any hesitation.

He truly didn’t give Henry Clark any chance to speak.

……

At that moment—

Outside, a signal rocket shot fiercely into the sky.

Then, from the dense forest, several hundred men in black burst out, charging toward the private prison of the Zhang family manor.

It was quite a while later—

Only then did the alarm sound within the manor.

Enemy attack!

Enemy attack!

But by this time, George Washington had already left the cell.

Next, the shrill sounds of battle cries erupted outside.

The twang of arrows being fired.

The clash of swords and sabers.

Terrifying screams of agony.

The battle was brief but incredibly intense.

The Taiping Army’s chief strategist, Charles Quinn, was initially shocked and furious, thinking he had fallen into a trap.

But then he spotted George Washington, and was instantly overjoyed.

This… this was a monumental achievement.

If he killed George Washington, he could be made a king in the Heavenly Kingdom. This was the greatest enemy of the entire Heavenly Kingdom, the one most hated by the Heavenly King and the East King.

Previously, George Washington had always been inside the city, protected by the army and city walls, and his whereabouts were unknown—there was no way to kill him.

But now, George Washington had actually appeared right in front of him.

Had the Heavenly Father manifested a miracle?

Was he destined to earn this tremendous merit?

“Fire the signal arrows, call for reinforcements!”

With a single command, volley after volley of signal rockets shot into the sky.

The troops inside Guangji City surged out like a tide.

After years of fighting, the veteran Taiping soldiers from Guangxi were nearly invincible in field battles, with individual combat power far surpassing that of the Qing army.

Although George Washington’s guards were elite, they were still no match for the Taiping Army’s best, and soon fell into disadvantage.

Moreover, inside this manor, there was no shelter at all.

“Quick, protect the commander, retreat into the dungeon!”

With a single order, the surviving provincial governor’s guards shielded George Washington, quickly retreating into the dungeon—at least it was easier to defend and harder to attack here.

Charles Quinn shouted, “Charge into the dungeon, kill George Washington!”

Not only could he kill George Washington, but also rescue Lord Samuel Stone—double the merit, how delightful.

With these two achievements, he was destined to be made a king.

As for failure?

Charles Quinn never considered it, nor did he want to.

Since he dared to rebel, why would he worry about what would happen if he failed?

Just charge forward and kill, that’s all.

And so, this group of elite Taiping soldiers, incomparably brave, cut down the Xiang Army guards outside one by one, then charged toward the dungeon.

Several thousand Xiang Army soldiers from Guangji City rushed over like madmen, getting closer and closer.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

……

At this moment, inside the dungeon!

Henry Clark gripped a pistol in his hand, holding his breath.

Waiting for the critical moment to arrive.

This shot—heaven or hell!

The dungeon door was thrown open, and George Washington, protected by just a few dozen men, rushed inside.

Immediately, he and Henry Clark locked eyes.

Long time no see, General Washington! So soon, we meet again.

At this moment, Henry Clark’s neighbor in the next cell, Samuel Stone, had just woken up, still groggy with sleep.

This elder brother of King Yi, David Stone, glanced at Henry Clark, then at George Washington.

He looked utterly confused, and blurted out his first line: “Huh? What’s going on?!”

Chapter 6: Henry Clark Strikes! Double Kill Plan

According to history, Samuel Stone should have escaped during the Battle of Wuchang, then been executed by William Young.

But here, he was captured by George Washington. In fact, in the original history, George Washington himself did not directly participate in the recapture of Wuchang, but here it was entirely his own achievement.

So the previous transmigrator had already changed a lot, especially in strengthening the Xiang Army, and in altering the fates of James Sullivan and George Washington, he had done even more.

After Samuel Stone was captured, fearing he might say something reckless, a doctor came every day to give him medicine and wine, so he was always muddleheaded and drunk, never truly sober.

But at this moment, no one was paying attention to Samuel Stone anymore.

The jailers in the cell, along with dozens of elite Xiang Army soldiers, were in the dungeon, firmly protecting George Washington in the center.

“Bang, bang, bang!” Outside, Charles Quinn had already started battering the door.

“Demon Zeng, you’re dead, you’re dead!”

“Governor Shi, don’t be afraid, we’re here to rescue you!”

Even through a door, Charles Quinn’s shouts could be heard.

Upon hearing this, Henry Clark immediately cursed him as an idiot in his heart—wasn’t he just alerting George Washington?

Sure enough, an officer at George Washington’s side immediately stepped forward toward Samuel Stone, clearly intending to use him as a hostage.

“Protect the commander, don’t split up anyone!” the provincial guard leader barked sternly.

At this moment, every man at George Washington’s side was precious—how could they be divided?

“Brace the door!”

The provincial guards used everything they could find to desperately barricade the cell door.

As long as the troops from Guangji City arrived, George Washington would be safe, so the top priority now was to buy time.

But Charles Quinn and his men were simply too fierce—they found a stone beam weighing several hundred jin and began ramming the door like mad.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Each thunderous crash sounded like the footsteps of death itself.