Chapter 153: Broken halberds and buried bones·Twenty-two
The people were full of hope that the court would stand up a reliable general. Jia Sidao was pushed to the forefront by the words spread by Shi Zhixuan. Under the pressure of public opinion, he had no choice but to go to the battlefield.
As soon as he arrived in Fancheng, Jia Sidao began to send gifts to the Mongolian Prime Minister Bayan to ask for ceding land and paying money for peace. However, because his last promise to cede the Jiangyan border and pay silver and silk every year was not fulfilled, and because Xiao Hao insisted on drawing the border to the Huai River, the Mongolian side accused him of being unfaithful and had no trust in him at all, and completely rejected all his requests.
Jia Sidao was extremely panicked. He was so anxious that he ran around in circles at the slightest movement of the Mongolian army. A feint attack frightened him so much that he hurriedly abandoned his 130,000 elite troops and fled by boat. Xiao Hao took the opportunity to lead the Cangyun Army to repel the Mongolian army and expose the enemy's deception, thus saving Fancheng.
However, Jia Sidao's behavior caused countless 130,000 elite soldiers to flee. The public was outraged and denounced Jia Sidao for being greedy and afraid of death, and disregarding the safety of the country.
Shi Zhixuan also released news that if it were not for the Cangyun Army's efforts to save the situation, Jia Sidao's escape from the battlefield would have led the Mongolian army to Lin'an. The whole city was in turmoil. The whole country denounced Jia Sidao for his abuse of power and his mismanagement of the country. He was guilty of a serious crime and was resented by heaven and people.
The government and the people were terrified. Countless people spontaneously organized outside the gate of Lin'an Palace to protest and demanded that Jia Sidao be killed to thank the world.
Zhao Xi had always obeyed Jia Sidao's words. Under the excitement of the whole court, Zhao Xi did not have any ideas at all and did not know how to calm the anger.
Xie Daoqing once again stood up and dismissed Jia Sidao for the sake of the country and society. He was exiled to a remote place, which stabilized the court.
Zhao Xi was incompetent in governing, and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty took this opportunity to make a joint petition, and finally asked Xie Daoqing to come out of retirement to govern the country. As the years of war brought huge military expenses to the Song Dynasty, Xie Daoqing responded calmly and ordered the elimination of redundant personnel, saving expenses, and conserving national strength. He tried his best to reform the government and conserve national strength as much as possible, and finally gave the Song Dynasty a chance to breathe.
Jia Sidao fled south like a dog who had lost his home, but in the end, Empress Dowager Xie was kind and spared his life considering his status as a veteran of three dynasties. He wanted to go to the south to take the opportunity to make a comeback, but on the way to the place of exile, he was caught by Xiao Hao.
Xiao Hao led fifty Cang Yun, each holding four or five Mo Dao in his hands, blocking Jia Sidao and coldly asking: "Do you still remember us, traitors!"
Jia Sidao was now very familiar with Cang Yun's outfit. If he hadn't fallen for Xiao Hao, he was confident that his rich life would never have ended so early. He hated and feared Xiao Hao. Seeing them intercept him with great momentum, his face turned pale and his hands and feet became weak.
"Oh, you little brat ruined my reputation and ruined my official career, and you still dare to appear in front of me today!"
Xiao Hao didn't even bother to waste a word with him. He pulled out the Qixiu weapon from his waist and said: "Do you recognize this?"
Jia Sidao's face twitched a few times, and his feet began to retreat faintly. "You... don't use the late emperor to pressure me!"
Xiao Hao looked at his figure coldly and ordered, "Stop him."
Two Cang Yun rushed over, one on the left and one on the right, and easily pressed him to the ground.
Jia Sidao struggled madly and shouted, "You, you have no right to execute an official of the court privately!"
Xiao Hao glanced at him, raised his arm, and a group of Cang Yun surrounded him, raising their Mo Daos.
"Cang Yun has established its own faction and is not under the control of the imperial court. Besides, we are looking for you for a personal grudge, and the underworld has its own rules." He walked out of the crowd without even looking at Jia Sidao behind him: "That day, you asked Lu Wende to send Cang Yun to die, and you delayed me in Lin'an at all costs, killing 226 brothers of my army. Let them get it back today."
Jia Sidao widened his eyes in horror, and faced the Mo Dao in front of him with cold sweat and chattering teeth: "You... you might as well kill me with one sword!"
Xiao Hao looked up at the vast blue sky, with the best blood medicine in his hand: "You have harmed the country and killed people, and one sword is too easy for you. Two hundred and twenty-six swords, don't even think about dying before you have taken them all."
"You owe them this."
*
Xiao Hao has felt more and more that something is wrong recently.
He has been feeling a little overwhelmed lately and often feels tired. Although every time he wakes up, there is nothing unusual in the army, as if they have become accustomed to his oversleeping, Xiao Hao still feels that something is wrong.
The Mongolian army has gathered another 100,000 troops outside the Great Wall, but now their morale is high, and with Xie Daoqing in the court, they are actually on the rise.
On the contrary, the Mongolian army has been unable to capture the city for a long time, and their morale is low. In addition, the weather is getting colder, making the mountain roads more difficult to walk on, while the repair of the city wall becomes easier with the change of weather. Just pour a lot of cold water on the gaps in the city wall every night, and the wall will be frozen solid the next day. The Mongolian army will have no way to stand against these ice-covered walls.
Xiao Hao estimated that it would not be long before they would temporarily withdraw their troops and dare not come again until the beginning of next spring.
This gave the Song army a lot of time to rest.
However, this incident also made Xiao Hao more worried.
He vaguely remembered that the last time he rested was in late autumn, when the weather had just turned cooler; but this time when he woke up, the mountain was covered with snow, which was obviously not as simple as a day or two.
It seemed that Cangyun and the others had agreed never to mention these things in front of him. Whenever he asked, they all said that the weather was very weird. It was still clear and crisp yesterday, but it started to snow heavily overnight.
Their acting skills were so poor that Xiao Hao could not bear to expose them, and could only sigh in his heart.
The deadline is coming.
When he first went to Lin'an Prefecture, Shi Zhixuan had secretly made some arrangements in Lin'an. It was not until Jia Sidao was dismissed by Empress Dowager Xie that Xiao Hao knew what Shi Zhixuan and his family had done.
When he thought of this, he could not help but marvel at Shi Zhixuan's sharp vision and amazing skills. He just asked around to find out how Zhao Yun, who was so lustful, could not make the harem restless, and he found out about Xie Daoqing, a woman who was as good as the king, and even used public opinion and the influence of the palace to control Xie Daoqing's every move without her knowing it.
Originally, Zhao Yun knew that he respected Xie Daoqing, the queen, and would listen to her advice on important matters, so he kept a hand to avoid Xiao Hao being questioned when he entered Lin'an. But he didn't expect that he would become a chess piece today.
Now that Xie Daoqing is helping and taking care of the court, Cangyun has sufficient military equipment, so he doesn't have to worry about the situation.
Xiao Hao was reluctant to leave here, pretending that he hadn't noticed anything, and continued to chat and laugh with the Cang Yuns, and practiced bravery.
He didn't know how long he would sleep each time, so he tried not to sleep as much as possible to avoid missing the battle. He
persisted like this on the third day. Xiao Hao walked out of the big tent with a lazy look on his face, stretching his back, and saw three thousand Cang Yuns kneeling on the ground outside the tent, as if asking for his life.
Xiao Hao was stunned at the door and frowned: "What are you doing?"
Lu Wuhuan lowered his head and said respectfully and seriously: "We have failed the general in training and cannot share the general's worries. We beg the general to go back to where you should go!"
"..." Xiao Hao pulled the corner of his mouth and asked: "Where do you want me to go?"
He glanced at Shi Zhixuan who was standing alone. Shi Zhixuan shook his head innocently, indicating that he didn't say anything, but acquiesced to their behavior.
Xiao Hao knew that he tried to cover up the past with indifference, but he couldn't hide it from their eyes.
Lu Wuhuan raised his head firmly, and said as if he was swearing: "Even if the general is gone, we will defend this place until the ammunition and food are exhausted! I worked hard to learn military tactics from Uncle Guo in order to share the general's worries. Now that the situation is stable, please take care of yourself... Don't leave yourself the last bit of time."
Xiao Hao took a deep breath and whispered: "Are you going to stop me?"
The Cangyun soldiers all had tears in their eyes and shook their heads desperately: "You are a star above the nine heavens, you can't waste your energy here for us mortals!"
"You have done enough for us, please let us go, we want to see you safe!"
"Please, General and Strategist, return to heaven soon!"
Xiao Hao looked at their faces one by one. These brothers who had been through life and death together finally said their farewell words.
He sighed and asked, "Is this a request?"
Three Thousand Cangyun responded in unison, "Yes!"
"..." Xiao Hao was silent for a long time, took out the Shura Ghost Mask from the package, held it tightly in his hand, and jumped onto the top of the city wall like a god protecting this place. "Okay... As you wish, I dare not refuse."
[Ding! Command activated, system restarting...]
He looked in the direction of Zongzipo. Du Keyong was sitting on a small mound and looked back at him from a distance, as if to see him off.
"I don't ask you to guard one side of the world forever, but if necessary, please protect yourselves."
The north wind was chilly, and snowflakes fell on his shoulders, like the snow-capped peaks thousands of miles away in the mountains.
He closed his eyes and apologized sincerely: "And, I'm sorry." He
couldn't go to the underworld with them, couldn't see them pacify the world, and couldn't face the mountains and rivers with them.
Xiao Hao held the Shura Ghost Mask and knew clearly that he really couldn't carry this mere 58-jin black iron shield.
Alas, the title of this star general should be settled after all.
So he let them do it.
"Take care, gentlemen."
In response to him, it was the neat voice of the Cangyuns: "The Cangyuns respectfully send off the general! May the general live a long life and see the prosperous and peaceful world forever!"
[Complete the mission: Battlefield - Difficult Condor Heroes.
Successfully participated in guarding or fighting for a base for ten years: 1/1
In a battle, the team successfully guarded four bases at the same time: 1/1
Seriously injured or assisted teammates to seriously injure 10,000 enemy heroes: 10,000/10,000
Mission reward: escape from the current secret realm. 】
【Gained special hidden leader's favorability: Kublai Khan 1/1, and the clearance assessment increased by one level. 】
【Congratulations on achieving the hidden achievement · National Stronghold: Do not give up an inch of land and defend the country. 】
【Congratulations on achieving the hidden achievement · Shield and Sword Soul: Iron bones make clothes, mountains and rivers are beams. 】
【Reputation statistics: Taohua Island - respect, Beggar Gang - respect, Quanzhen Sect - respect, Dali Duan Family - respect, Tomb School - respect, Song Dynasty Court - respect, Yiying Building - respect. Overall rating: S. 】
【Friends list statistics: Inseparable 1/1, Infallible friendship 3230/2, Loyal and faithful 100,000+/10. Overall rating: S. 】 【
Progress achievement statistics: Unstoppable 1/1, Great victory 1/1, Turning the tide 1/1, Not giving up an inch of land 1/1, Strong fortress of the country 1/1, Shield and sword spirit 1/1. Overall rating: SS】
【Mission statistics: Hidden Yuan Secret · Fulfilled, progress: 31239/10000. Overall rating: SS. 】
【Secret realm clearance rating: SS. 】
【Congratulations on achieving Hidden Yuan Secret · Fulfilled. 】
The wind and snow have just stopped, and this year's Wusheng Pass is still the land of the Song Dynasty.
The author has something to say: Happy New Year to all the babies! =v=!
Extra chapters are dropping, muah!