Chapter 494 Emergency Military Report

As the dawn broke, Song Liyun and Zhao Tingduo stood by the Zabu River, looking into the distance at the gradually disappearing convoy of people and horses.

My brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews and nieces are gone, and I don’t know when we will see them again.

When Xiao An heard that Lao Ma Yijinyan had died of old age a year ago, he asked his second sister for Ju Qingma to take back to Suijin Town.

He felt that with Juqing and Heijin by his side, and with these emotional animals around, he had family and would not be lonely.

The two stood there for a long time, until they could no longer see anything. Zhao Tingduo then held Song Liyun's hand and said, "Ayun, if you can't bear to leave your brothers, go live in Wu Dynasty for a while!"

Song Liyun turned around and smiled: "It's not that I'm reluctant to leave, I just feel sad that it seems like just a blink of an eye, Xiao An has grown up, and my brother has a few more children.

Only we remain the same, nothing has changed."

Zhao Tingduo smiled and said, "Yes, we haven't changed, and we will never change in our lifetime."

Song Liyun looked down at the big hand holding hers and tilted her head playfully: "Take me horseback riding!"

"good!"

The two horses approached each other, Zhao Tingduo put his arm around Song Liyun's waist, pulled her over the horse, and snuggled her against his chest.

Behind the two men, the guards followed silently.

The cool morning breeze made her long black hair fly, and also blew away Song Liyun's melancholy.

She closed her eyes, like a seagull taking a brief rest in the waves, quietly feeling the ups and downs of the horse's gallop.

It was already dark when they returned. As soon as they arrived at the city gate, they saw Abu, who was waiting anxiously with a look on his face.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Tingduo slowed down his horse.

Abu stepped forward and whispered, "Boss Jian sent a letter. It was expedited from Hecheng by carrier pigeon from the rest stop."

Some of the bandit Jian Fangtong's men knew how to raise carrier pigeons, so he sent several pairs of pigeons to Hecheng.

However, the grassland is vast and the distance is too far to rest. There is no food on the ground, and there are hawks and falcons chasing them from the sky, so the number of carrier pigeons lost is too high.

But you can release it from various rest stops along the way, and it can travel a distance of a hundred miles faster than a horse can.

Now it seems that Zhao Tingduo and Song Liyun received the news just after leaving the rest stop.

Back in the study of the City Lord's Mansion, besides Old Yu, there were also several deputy generals from the Lei Camp, and everyone had a solemn expression.

As soon as he saw Zhao Tingduo coming back, Old Yu couldn't wait to say, "Third Young Master, Pingliang Fort has fallen, and Yunzhou Qing'an Prefecture is under siege!"

The corner of Zhao Tingduo's eye twitched.

Ever since the war broke out in Xuyang Grassland, Hecheng ordered the Zhenbei Army in various garrisons to step up their vigilance.

Pingliang Fort was lost to the Xuanwei Army five years ago. At that time, Zhao Tingduo used the strategy of "driving away wolves and tigers" to drive out the wandering tribes and horses who attacked the fort guarded by the Xuanwei Army.

Once the Wei Fort collapsed, coupled with the gathering of rioters at the time, thousands of Di tribe royal court coalition forces took the opportunity to invade, marched south, burned, killed, and looted several counties in Yunzhou, and approached the imperial city.

The late emperor was so angry that he fainted and suffered a stroke in front of all the courtiers. Only then was the crown prince allowed to govern the country.

It was also during this opportunity that his father, Zhao Yanjiao, regained full control of the military power and drove the eldest prince's direct line of the Xuanwei Army, which had impure motives, out of Yunzhou.

After this, Pingliang Fort was under the control of the Zhenbei Army. There had been no trouble for several years. How could it be lost again now?

Old Yu took out a thin paper roll and Zhao Tingduo unfolded it. It was covered with densely packed tiny handwriting.

Looking down, his face suddenly changed with shock. After a moment of silence, he said to Wu Dan, who was serving beside him, "Please ask the young lady to come over!"

After Pingliang Fort was lost once, not only were the garrisons increased, but it was also renovated and made more solid and strong.

But after the last defeat, only one in ten of the military households remained.

Four years ago, Wan Youyou and her family, as well as criminal officials from the capital, were exiled here.

The problem lies with these criminal officials.

Although these people were trapped in the border guard post, their minds never stopped.

Even under the nose of the Zhenbei Army, he was not honest. On the one hand, he contacted old friends in the capital, and on the other hand, he tried to get information from the soldiers.

However, the Zhenbei Army had strict military discipline, so they did not succeed.

Three years passed. During the Xuyang Grassland War, the Zhenbei Army tightened the checkpoints at the garrisons and had to conscript military households to work on the grasslands, digging up soil and building walls.

If you are not careful, someone will contact the Di tribe.

Unlike the breakthrough of the pass five years ago, the Zhenbei Army guarding the pass this time reacted quickly. They not only killed the military households who collaborated with the enemy at the first opportunity, but also repelled the tribes that wanted to launch a sneak attack.

But these actions also gave some reminders to the tribes of Xuyang Grassland, allowing them to find this gap and then enter the pass to plunder.

then……

On a recent night, three thousand tribal cavalrymen, regardless of sacrifice, rushed to Pingliang Fort like trapped beasts. All three hundred defenders were slaughtered, and five hundred military households were looted into the grassland.

After the Di cavalry captured the easily defended and difficult-to-attack Pingliang Fort, they rushed into Anqing Prefecture in one go...

Song Liyun, who rushed over, also had a changed expression after hearing the whole story.

Even if the Zhenbei Army has chased the Di cavalry out of Yunzhou, the court will still madly impeach Zhao Tinglei.

"Why is this happening?" Song Liyun didn't believe what she heard.

Since the chaos in Xuyang Grassland began, the Zhenbei Army has strengthened border management. How could such a big mistake occur?

Yu Lao's face turned pale, his eyes icy as he said, "The five thousand soldiers working in the mines...were drawn from the Zhenbei Army!"

Song Liyun felt her heart tighten... It's over, something happened!

In order to open a mine and burn cement, Hecheng garrison commander Zhao Tinglei pulled out 5,000 soldiers from the Zhenbei Army to do hard labor.

Although these soldiers work hard in the mines, in addition to their salaries, each of them receives high subsidies, so the soldiers are also satisfied.

In the next two years, cement and pig iron were sent to Hecheng to be processed into weapons and armor to repair military forts, and the Zhenbei Army's equipment was completely new.

But it also carries a huge risk, which is to mobilize troops privately.

This was unacceptable to both the Wu Dynasty and the Di Lu Royal Court.

However, the Zhenbei military was ordered by Zhao Tingting himself, and the soldiers were willing to do so, so no one reported it.

The Dilu royal court was in chaos at the time and had no time to take care of what was happening here.

The princess sent by the Wu Dynasty for marriage was sent back to the Wu Dynasty in the first year. Each tribe did not recognize each other. The royal family of the Wu Dynasty had no way to force the marriage and could only condemn it.

After three years of negotiations, fighting, fighting and annexation, the royal court has now roughly divided the power.

The original four tribes became two, and the royal court that worked together to discuss matters had its first king.

Obviously, they can free up their hands to deal with the Wu Dynasty.

Once the incident in Pingliang Fort becomes a big deal, the Zhenbei Army will no longer be able to hide its secret transfer of troops to the grassland, and a major war will break out.

We must resolve Pingliang Fort as quickly as possible and also protect the entire city.

Zhao Tingduo said in a deep voice: "Stop working at the mine immediately and bring the soldiers back."

This is not difficult at all. The soldiers are in charge of the military camp management at the mine and are on duty in four shifts. Once they return to Hecheng, they will immediately return to combat.

Old Yu nodded: "There is still room for maneuver in this matter. As long as we block the entrance to Pingliang Fort from the grassland, we can catch the Di people who have entered on horseback and capture them all in one fell swoop.

"Writing a memorial to the capital to report that an official had been found guilty of treason, this was a deliberate plot to take advantage of the situation, so that the general would not be afraid of impeachment."

The key here is that time is needed. We cannot let the Di people escape back to the Xuyang grassland on horseback, and we cannot let them plunder and kill within the territory of the Wu Dynasty.

After saying this, Elder Yu turned to Zhao Tingduo and said, "Third Young Master, the general will definitely intercept them within the borders, and we still need your cooperation on the grasslands!"

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the study suddenly became tense.

(End of this chapter)