Chapter 11 The Game Is About to Begin

In November, the gates of Qiuci City were breached and the allied forces entered the city. Fortunately, the Tang army had evacuated the civilians in advance, and there were not many casualties in the city. Instead, the allied forces were dragged into the quagmire of street fighting by the Tang army. On the 26th, at daybreak, shouts of killing broke out from time to time in the city. The Tang army soldiers had long been accustomed to it. It was obvious that the Tang army had a better understanding of street fighting.

The allied forces were exhausted in the city, and no matter how many troops they deployed, they would be exhausted by the guerrilla warfare of the Tang army.

The commander of this vanguard force is Hu Yueqin's deputy general, named Qin Shitao, who vows to capture Kucha City and change Hu Yueqin's opinion of him.

"Marshal, the Fourth Legion is preparing to attack! Do you have any instructions?" A guard walked into the main account and asked with a salute.

Qin Shitao was about to give an order when another guard rushed in and reported, "General! The Third Legion is stuck in a mess on the southwest main street. Please provide quick support!"

Qin Shitao frowned. Since the city gate was breached, there had been no good news in the past two days. She thought of the woman far away outside the city of Yili, and her brows frowned even more tightly.

After a moment of silence, he said, "The entire army will withdraw from the city and control the city gates. The command will be temporarily handed over to you. I have to go back to Yili."

"yes!"

On the other hand, a month later, Hu Yueqin gradually relaxed her supervision of Wu Huai. Since Wu Huai saw through Hu Yueqin's thoughts, he began to plan how to gain Hu Yueqin's trust.

On this day, Wu Huai went to relax after dinner as usual, with two guards following him. Wu Huai had seen these two people before. They were originally following Hu Yueqin, but now they were beside him.

Wu Huai was thinking about what to do next when he saw a familiar figure under a tree in the distance.

After so many days of getting along, Hu Yueqin did not make things difficult for Wu Huai, but simply kept her under house arrest in this yard. Seeing her like this, Wu Huai gradually relaxed his vigilance.

She took the initiative to walk over, and even as a captive, she was still dignified and majestic, and said, "Alliance leader, how are you?"

Hu Yueqin's clothes were disheveled, her shoulders half exposed. She sat under a tree, holding a jar of pear blossom wine. When she heard the voice of the visitor, her eyes moved. She didn't care about Wu Huai's tone and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the status of the Tang Dynasty in your heart?"

Wu Huai didn't understand what he meant, so he just said truthfully, "Are you testing my loyalty to the Tang Dynasty?"

"If that's the case, I'm afraid the leader will be disappointed. In my heart, the Tang Dynasty is more important than my life. For the Tang Dynasty, I can shed all my blood and even die!"

Hu Yueqin turned her head to look at her, then turned away without saying anything else.

She knew in her heart that they both had their own responsibilities and interests, and there was no way they could be together, but she really couldn't suppress the strong feelings in her heart.

Sometimes the heavens are like this, as if playing a joke, making you fall hopelessly in love with someone you shouldn't like.

But Hu Yueqin was just experiencing love for the first time and was in love for the first time, so he just couldn't let her go.

Hu Yueqin, who is a genius in strategy, falls into the chess game carefully arranged by Wu Huai. Even though she knows that Wu Huai will take advantage of this relationship and use herself, she is still happy to do so.

She thought to herself that she had been trapped in this chess game and had no choice. If things went beyond her expectations, she would overturn the chessboard.

In the evening, she returned to the main courtyard and stared blankly at the map of the Western Region's military deployment. She shouldered the future of Central Asia, a heavy responsibility that she could not help herself. She sighed deeply and said, "Alas, if it weren't for this war, you and I would have had a happy ending."

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Hu Yueqin calmed down and answered, "Who is it?"

The person outside said, "It's me, Qin Shitao."

Hu Yueqin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come in."

Qin Shitao rode back from the front at full speed. The first thing he did was to see Hu Yueqin and said straight to the point, "How long do you plan to be decadent?"

Hu Yueqin didn't seem annoyed after hearing this. She said calmly, "The situation on the Kucha front is tense right now. How did General Qin find time to come to me?"

Qin Shitao was so angry that she slammed the table and said angrily, "Hu Yueqin! You and I have been classmates since childhood. You can hide your thoughts from others, but not from me! Stop playing Tai Chi here!"

Hu Yueqin smiled and said helplessly, "Qin Shitao, let me ask you, which is more important, the world or your own life?"

Qin Shitao suddenly realized, "Sure enough, who is that person?! I'll go and stop you right now!" As he said that, he was about to draw his sword and leave.

Hu Yueqin shook her head and said, "You can't touch her. Since you and I have been classmates since childhood, you should know my temper very well."

Qin Shitao fell silent immediately. She certainly remembered her temper. She slammed her fist down on the table and said, "Alliance leader, you should prioritize the overall situation! Think twice before you even think about your feelings!"

Then he retreated.

Hu Yueqin did not sleep all night. The next day, the guard came to report that Wu Huai wanted to see her.

Hu Yueqin tossed and turned last night and figured out some things. Man proposes, God disposes, so let's just take it one step at a time.

On the way to the main courtyard, Wu Huai saw a female general with excellent temperament. She was wearing Ming Guang armor and seemed to be going to the front line, but her brows were furrowed and she seemed helpless in her heart.

Wu Huai didn't pay much attention and went straight to the lobby door.

A guard led her into the door. When Wu Huai looked up, she saw Hu Yueqin, whose eyes were dark and drowsy.

The continuous high-intensity command of the battle and the tossing and turning all night finally made her heart rate exhausted.

Hu Yueqin dismissed the guards and gestured for Wu Huai to take a seat. Wu Huai walked forward and sat down in front of her. Hu Yueqin tried to cheer herself up, stood up and poured her a cup of tea, and asked, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

Wu Huai crossed his arms and said, "The leader is provoking a war this time, but does he have to take the Western Region?"

Hu Yueqin nodded and said, "That's right."

Wu Huai, now in full control and full of confidence, continued, "I think we should talk. I'm in the enemy camp now, and the Tang court is extremely anxious. If we lose the court, we will be destroyed together with you. We are ready to risk our national destiny and fight you to the death. By then, neither of us will benefit."

Hu Yueqin originally insisted on fighting, but now she stared at Wu Huai's pair of black eyes that were as bright as stars, and she agreed as if possessed by a magic power.

"Okay, let's talk."

The result of half an afternoon was that Hu Yueqin slowed down her offensive, and Wu Huai contacted the Tang central court to take a step back and cede half of the Western Regions to the Central Asian Alliance.

This must be a delaying tactic. Wu Huai and Hu Yueqin set a deadline of two months. Wu Huai will use these two months to eliminate the Central Asian Alliance from within.

Not far away, on the outskirts of Yili, a small battle broke out again at the supply line.

"Damn, why did this barbarian patrol change the time?" complained a soldier in armor.

"We are so unlucky that we happened to run into this patrol head-on." Another soldier stood side by side with him, holding his Mo Dao horizontally, on high alert.

Directly opposite them was a Confederate cavalry patrol, already formed into a charging diamond formation.

Someone from the alliance army said, "Captain, the leader just issued an order to slow down the offensive against the Western Region. If we engage them head-on now, I'm afraid they'll blame us."

The captain said, "This group of Shen Ce soldiers is very elite. We finally encountered a group this time. I will kill them all and take the credit for it! I will take the blame from the higher-ups. Soldiers, listen to my orders! Follow me and charge!"

"kill!"

Seeing the situation was not looking good, the captain of the Shen Ce Army's squadron felt his heart sink and shouted, "Your seven-foot body should be sacrificed for your country! Shen Ce Army! Form your battle formation!"

"promise!"

The two armies met and became mixed together. The Allied Forces, with their superb horsemanship, broke up the formation of the Shen Ce Army. Every soldier in the Shen Ce Army was wearing armor, and their individual combat effectiveness was not bad. For a while, they were evenly matched.

Until a horse neighed, and a female general wearing Ming Guang armor, riding an armored horse and holding a spear came galloping towards them.

She rushed into the battle formation like a shadow, stabbing, hooking and blocking with her spear, like a dragon exploring the sea, cutting down all the cavalrymen of the Alliance Army. In just a moment, the entire Alliance Army was wiped out.

She sheathed her spear behind her back, took off her helmet with both hands, and complained, "This armor is too hot."

Someone in the Shen Ce Army shouted, "Captain Jiang is brave!" The others gradually recognized that this person was Jiang Li'an, who had just been promoted to team leader a few days ago.

After more than four months in the military camp, Jiang Li'an, who had fought in almost every battle, grew into a veteran at a very fast speed. Because of his outstanding personal strength, he was promoted to captain by the general of the Shen Ce Army.

Jiang Li'an held his helmet in his arms, his high ponytail making him look dashing. He asked, "No need to thank me. Have you seen any other enemy troops?"

The captain wiped the blood off his face, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Captain Jiang, we were originally escorting the supply line. Now that the supplies have arrived, we encountered this group of bandits on our way back. We didn't see any other bandits besides them."

Jiang Li'an thought for a moment and said, "I understand. Let's get going, everyone. I'm also going back to the city."

This time he went out of the city to investigate the enemy situation, but unexpectedly he saved a small team of Shen Ce Army by accident.

She always acted as she pleased, and the general, seeing her extraordinary martial arts skills and high fighting spirit, felt embarrassed to attack her, so he turned a blind eye.

This time when he returned to the city, Jiang Li'an came to the general's residence, saluted and said, "General! The enemy troops outside the city seem to have retreated several miles and expanded the encirclement."

The general heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Jiang Li'an coming. He stepped forward to examine him carefully and asked, "How is he? Are you not hurt?"

Jiang Li'an replied: "No."

The general finally felt relieved and said, "Li An, you were too reckless. I know you have a grudge against those bandits, but you shouldn't have put yourself in such a dangerous situation."

Jiang Li'an responded: "I'll keep it in mind!"

The general shook his head helplessly and said, "Ah, you, forget it, I won't talk about you. I have a high-level secret mission here. I don't know the content of the mission. I just want to find a hundred people with high martial arts skills and strong physiques. I just want to ask for your opinion."

Jiang Li'an said, "If it means killing the enemy, I will do it without hesitation!"

Upon hearing this, the general laughed heartily and said, "Hahahaha, I just like your personality! Well, if you can accomplish great feats this time, maybe you'll be my superior by then."

The author has something to say:

By the way, the word "gui" in Kucha is pronounced "qiu", not "gui".

Also, I just realized why I couldn't even fire the long gun...