Mountain and River Sacrifice 296. The nature of ginger and cinnamon is very spicy

Outside an inconspicuous mansion in the west of Biancheng, a strong middle-aged man in military uniform knocked on the tightly closed door. Not long after, someone came to answer the door. A young man who looked like a servant poked his head out from inside. When he saw the person at the door, he was startled and asked, "Excuse me...who is this general looking for?"

Lei Tengfeng bowed and smiled, "I am Lei Tengfeng, and I come to pay my respects to General Jingtian. I hope the general will grant me an audience."

Unexpectedly, the servant's face darkened and he said, "What General Jingtian? We don't have such a person. General, you've come to the wrong place!" After that, he didn't care about Lei Tengfeng's reaction, he retracted his head and slammed the door. Looking at the door slamming in front of him, Lei Tengfeng touched his nose helplessly and smiled bitterly. His father and several old generals had too much resentment, and it was only because his father himself was a famous general and didn't need to rely on the abilities of the three generals at all. In fact, the three generals were obstacles to his father's power in the court, which offended them. Lei Tengfeng felt very lucky that Zhu Yan just closed the door and didn't close the door and let the dog out.

Lei Tengfeng could accept such treatment, but the generals and attendants following him could not. They were all people who were cultivated and promoted by the King of Zhennan. They were more loyal to the King of Zhennan than to the Xiling court. They had heard of the names of the three famous generals, but these three were all old men who were about to die. What's more, even if they had outstanding achievements, they were still defeated by their king, right? What's so arrogant!

"Prince, let me break the door down!" said the general behind Lei Tengfeng.

Lei Tengfeng waved his hands and said, "Everyone, step back! Don't be rude!"

After waiting outside the door for a while, there was no more movement inside. Lei Tengfeng thought for a moment, gathered his inner strength, and said loudly, "I am Lei Tengfeng from the Zhennan Palace, and I want to see General Zhu!"

In Zhu's house, two white-haired old men were sitting in the hall facing each other on a chessboard. Lei Tengfeng's voice, mixed with his inner strength, naturally reached their ears without any hindrance. The old man in a dark blue robe with a blessing pattern stroked his beard with a smile. He didn't look like a general who had fought on the battlefield, but more like a kind-hearted old immortal. "Lei Zhenting has been proud all his life, but this son... I'm afraid he is not as good as him."

The other old man was indeed thin with bright eyes, wearing a white coarse cloth. If it weren't for his eyes, he would look more like an ordinary old man in the mountains. "It is said that a tiger father will have a dog son, but if the father is too powerful, it is difficult for the son not to be overshadowed by his father's brilliance. How many people are like the one in Prince Ding's Mansion? Moreover, if Mo Liufang and Mo Xiuwen had not died in succession within a few years, Prince Ding's Mansion would have suffered a great blow. Mo Xiuyao might not be as sharp as he is today, and might just be a famous general." But now, Prince Ding's style and reputation have surpassed his father and brother, and even all the ancestors since Mo Sheyun.

The old man in blue sighed, "You are right. A sharp sword is forged through constant grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Lei Zhenting, this son, has not been tempered enough after all."

The old man in white smiled and said, "This kid...is more tolerant than Lei Zhenting." In the past few decades, it is not just Da Chu and Dingguo Palace that have been hit. When Emperor Xuanwen died, Lei Zhenting also eliminated dissidents and killed or exiled a large number of famous ministers and generals. If Emperor Xuanwen could live another 20 years, Xiling would definitely be a completely different situation now. It's a pity that Emperor Xuanwen, who was famous for his heroic deeds, chose a cowardly son to be the emperor. More importantly, he left behind a son like Lei Zhenting who was better than the emperor in every way. How could Xiling not be in chaos?

"Tolerance?" The old man in blue threw down the chess piece and said calmly, "For now, we can only assume that he knows the current situation. Considering that he has almost no experience in the battlefield, it is unrealistic to think that he can stop Mo Xiuyao."

At this point, the two old men fell silent. They had been away from the battlefield for more than 20 years and were already old. Not to mention Lei Tengfeng, it was still unknown whether they could stop the advance of the Mohist Army.

"Mo Liufang not only has a good son, but also a good daughter-in-law. I heard that this time, the Princess Ding also went with the army?" The old man in blue said with a smile. The two veteran generals who had been on the battlefield for a long time would not underestimate the Princess Ding who had defeated Lei Zhenting. A woman who could defeat or even almost wipe out the enemy without having an advantage in military strength is definitely not someone who can be underestimated.

"Maybe, this time we can meet this heroic lady."

"General Zhu! Biancheng is in imminent danger. I beg you to put aside your prejudices and show us your support for the sake of Xiling's safety!" Lei Tengfeng's voice was heard from outside again.

The old man in blue, General Jingtian Zhu Yan, couldn't help but smile and said, "This kid is really patient."

Long Yang also smiled, "If you don't see him, he won't leave. Besides... can you and I really watch Biancheng fall and remain indifferent?"

"Well, let him in."

Lei Tengfeng left his men outside and followed the servant into Zhu's mansion alone. He believed that even if Zhu Yan had a deep grudge against his father, he would not attack him at this time. And going in alone was just like showing his sincerity to the old general.

When he entered the hall, he saw two white-haired old men sitting and drinking tea. Lei Tengfeng was also surprised. It seemed that he was already about ten years old when the three generals were dismissed from their military power. People in the royal family are naturally precocious, so they naturally have some impressions of these generals.

"I am Lei Tengfeng, a junior. I have met General Zhu and General Long."

Long Yang looked at him with a half-smile and said, "I don't deserve it, the Prince of Zhennan and the Prince of Rui. We are just country folks and don't deserve the title of a prince or a general." Lei Tengfeng smiled helplessly and looked up at Long Yang's sincere

Dao Zhou said: "As a junior, I dare not talk too much about the past grudges, but now that the Mohist army has invaded and besieged Biancheng, Xiling is in danger. I hope the two generals will give me some advice for the sake of my grandfather."

"The late emperor's face?" Long Yang sneered. "Why didn't Lei Zhenting consider the late emperor's face when he eliminated dissidents? Feng Ao's whereabouts are still unknown. Why didn't Lei Zhenting think that those people were the pillars of Xiling and the ministers of the late emperor?"

Lei Tengfeng made a slip of the tongue, and he could not refute Long Yang's questioning. They each had different positions. Even though Lei Tengfeng did not completely agree with what his father did, he still had to admit that those thunderous means were absolutely necessary for the development of Zhennan Palace. If those ministers who were loyal to the previous emperor and the current emperor's uncle had not been eliminated, Zhennan Palace would never have the power it has today. But in the eyes of these old ministers, their father's actions were no different from disrupting politics and harming the country. The only thing that can be said is that Xiling has remained strong in the hands of his father over the years, otherwise I am afraid that those old ministers would have attacked him without the invasion of the Mohist Army.

He smiled helplessly, "Now that Biancheng is in danger, I would like to ask the two veteran generals to lend a hand."

Zhu Yan didn't say anything, and Long Yang just snorted coldly. But Lei Tengfeng understood that they had agreed, and he couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

The next day, the siege of the Mohist army was not as smooth as the previous days. The Xiling soldiers defending the city seemed to have suddenly come to their senses. Facing the murderous Mohist army, they were no longer as panicked and fearful as at the beginning. The defense on the tower was strict and well-organized, and the entire Biancheng seemed to be as impregnable as an iron barrel. The siege lasted for a whole morning, and the defense of Biancheng did not loosen at all. This undoubtedly made the Mohist army generals, who had been going smoothly since the expedition, feel a little anxious. However, at this time, their prince and princess did not appear in front of the battle. It was not until the afternoon that the Mohist army, which had not achieved any success, called for the withdrawal of troops.

In the big tent, Mo Xiuyao was in a good mood as he looked at the dusty generals below. He showed no displeasure or anger at the unfavorable battle situation. "Generals, how is it? Is the battle going well today?"

Several young generals couldn't help but blush. They were the ones who shouted the loudest yesterday. Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, "Don't be embarrassed. I won't blame you. If you young people who haven't fought many battles were allowed to capture Biancheng easily, Long Yang and Zhu Yan wouldn't have the face to be called the three famous generals of Xiling. Although they are older now, you have to know that Jiang Gui's temper becomes more aggressive as he gets older."

Several young generals looked at each other, and then one of them came forward to report: "Your Highness, Biancheng is completely different from the cities we attacked before. Not only are the walls strong and easy to defend, but even the defenders are completely different from the previous defenders. These defenders of Biancheng are obviously more brave and calm. We underestimated the enemy before. This is the true fighting power of the Xiling soldiers."

Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction, "I understand. Don't worry... I'll give you three more days. Can you open the gate of Biancheng?"

Several young generals hesitated. They were all young generals carefully trained by the Mohist Army. Although they had little experience in battle, once they put aside their previous arrogance, they could still see their position and ability clearly. Therefore, they were naturally happy that the prince could give them an important task, but now they were still a little hesitant to insist that they could definitely capture Biancheng within three days.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, "Why? Yesterday you were clamoring to destroy Biancheng, but today you're scared out of your wits after just one battle?"

"No! We generals can do it!" The young generals answered loudly with red faces.

"I obey your orders!"

Mo Xiuyao relaxed and leaned back in his chair, nodded with satisfaction and smiled: "Very good, three days later... I want to see the gates of Biancheng open. In addition... the siege will be left to you. General Lu and his men have other important matters... and are no longer in the camp." Everyone was dumbfounded, and then they realized that the older and more experienced generals were no longer there. At this time, almost all the people standing in the big tent were young people under the age of 30. What should they do? They couldn't even find someone to ask for advice.

After all the distracted young generals had left, Ye Li, who was sitting aside reading a book, raised his head and asked, "Are these young people capable?"

Zhuo Jing and Qin Feng, who were standing not far away, looked at each other and couldn't help but lower their heads and smile. Every time I hear the princess talk about these young generals, I always want to laugh. It is true that these young generals can be called young generals under any circumstances, but even so, most of them are still two years older than the princess. Especially the princess looks even younger than her actual age. It always makes people feel particularly weird for a woman in her twenties to call a group of men in their twenties young people.

Mo Xiuyao said lazily: "A famous sword must go through a lot of trials before it can be perfected. They are still too young, so it's not a bad thing to take a few more hits."

"Will this blow be too great?" Not to mention these young people, Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao were also studying the defense of Biancheng. Even Mo Xiuyao himself could not say that a head-on attack could open the gates of Biancheng. Moreover, such a war of attrition was not suitable for them with limited manpower deep in the hinterland of Xiling.

Mo Xiu Yao didn't care, "Ah... After they can withstand this blow, they will be able to withstand most blows in the future." The pressure from the two famous generals of Xiling is definitely enough, and it also allows him to see whether these two are old or not.

Therefore, the Mohist army led by several young men began to attack Biancheng every day. However, the watertight defense of Biancheng was not shaken at all. Even in the last two days, the defenders on Biancheng simply ignored the provocations from below. As long as there was no attack on the city gate and no one climbed the city wall, the defenders above would do what they had to do most of the time. Faced with such a situation, the young generals clearly felt a sense of contempt from the enemy. The other side was not afraid of them but simply disdained to pay attention to them. This made the young and energetic young generals unable to bear it, and simply let people take turns to scold them under the city, and even greeted the eight generations of Long Yang and Zhu Yan's ancestors. Mo Xiuyao, who was watching them from behind, laughed so hard that he fell down.

At the same time, the two veteran generals in Biancheng were also very happy, "Haha... these guys are interesting, I like them!"

They like it, but others can't. Even Lei Tengfeng couldn't help but anxiously said: "General Long, General Zhu, are we just going to leave it alone? Let them scold like this?" Long Yang said calmly: "A few scoldings won't cost you anything, and it's not your saliva that's wasted, why are you so anxious?"

But those guys' curses were really bad! The generals present thought silently in their hearts.

"If we allow them to continue to be so arrogant, will it damage our army's morale?" Lei Tengfeng asked with a frown. Zhu Yan sneered and said, "If we lose our morale after being scolded, what's the point of fighting? Besides? If someone scolds you, won't you scold back?"

Everyone is very different. They want to fight, not engage in a war of words.

Long Yang shook his head and sighed, then asked, "What do you think of the Mohist Army's combat effectiveness?"

Lei Tengfeng frowned and said in confusion: "The Mohist Army is indeed brave, but... not as powerful as the legend says. Moreover, although the level of the generals seems good, it does not feel particularly superb. Could it be... that they are hiding their strength to let us relax our vigilance?" Long Yang said: "In the past few days, the generals who led the siege were all young generals under the age of 30. What is the chief general of the Mohist Army doing? Is he hiding in the big tent and taking a nap?"

After hearing Long Yang's words, Lei Tengfeng became even more uneasy. He did notice that the people who attacked the city in the past few days were all unfamiliar young faces. Not to mention Mo Xiuyao, even well-known people like Lu Jinxian and Feng Zhiyao have never shown their faces. "What do they want to do? General, please give us some advice."

Long Yang and Zhu Yan sighed and said, "Let's find out as soon as possible whether Mo Xiuyao and Lu Jinxian are still in the Mohist Army camp!" Not to mention Lei Tengfeng, even they couldn't imagine what Mo Xiuyao wanted to do. If Mo Xiuyao had time to slowly confront them, it would be impossible. Even if the Mohist Army won battle after battle, this is still the land of Xiling. Once the war is delayed for a long time, not to mention Lei Zhenting's troops returning to support, reinforcements from other places will gradually rush over. At that time, the Mohist Army will be surrounded by the millions of Xiling troops.

Therefore, the Mohist Army could not afford to delay. If there were any other shortcuts, it would be impossible. Zhu Yan had lived in Biancheng for more than 20 years, and no one knew the scenery around Biancheng better than him. Biancheng was surrounded by a moat. There was no other way except to attack head-on, and it was impossible to bypass Biancheng. Biancheng was located on the main road between the east and the west. If the Mohist Army did not capture Biancheng, even if it bypassed it, its military supplies would be cut off at any time.

Lei Tengfeng's heart sank, and he quickly replied, "Yes, I will get someone to check it out right away."

Waving his hand to let everyone leave, Zhu Yan sighed a little tiredly and said, "I'm old, old..." Long Yang looked at him and smiled, "How is it? How does this Mo Xiu Yao compare to Mo Liu Fang?" Zhu Yan shook his head and said, "It's hard to say, at least this Mo Xiu Yao's ability to hide his intentions is better than his father's. Back then, I could at least guess 50% of Mo Liu Fang's thoughts, but now... I really don't understand what Mo Xiu Yao wants to do. Really, I can't refuse to admit that I'm old." When he said this, he couldn't help but add a bit of sadness. A general with white hair and red face is the saddest thing in the world.

Hearing this, Long Yang couldn't help but feel sad. If it was the young Long Yang, he would definitely not sit here and chat idly today. The Western Region Killing God was always good at attacking automatically instead of passively defending the city. But now, can they... still get on a warhorse?

"Old Dragon, can we... defend Biancheng?" He looked down at the city, looking far away through the battlements. In the distance, a dark mass of flags fluttered and looked menacing. The young men shouting and challenging the city were immature but full of vigor and fighting spirit that they did not have. If the two sides were not in opposition, he could not help but admire such an elite army. For the first time in his life, Zhu Yan asked with some uncertainty.

Long Yang smiled faintly and said, "Live with all your heart and die with all your strength. Zhu Yan, this is the first time I hear you being so unconfident."

Zhu Yan shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Maybe it's been too many years since I last went to the battlefield. Anyway... I'm happy to be able to fight against the descendants of Prince Ding's Mansion again in my lifetime."

"Don't be so pessimistic. Don't think I don't know that you still have a group of elite soldiers in your hands. Even if Biancheng can't be defended, those people are enough to give the Mohist Army a drink." Long Yang glanced at him and said lightly. After Zhu Yan was stripped of his military power, he did not live in seclusion in the mountains like him, nor did he disappear like Feng Ao. Instead, he chose to settle in a prosperous place like Biancheng, even at the risk of being monitored by the Zhennan Palace. It was because he still had a group of elite soldiers in his hands that no one else knew about. Even the Zhennan King didn't know, but Long Yang, who had a close relationship with Emperor Xuanwen like Zhu Yan, knew about it. Because he was next to Emperor Xuanwen when he handed this elite soldier to Zhu Yan. And the most important responsibility of this elite soldier is to guard against the Dingwang Palace. The late emperor was a man of foresight and was admirable in every way except that he failed to choose an excellent successor.

Zhu Yan was startled, his gray eyebrows gradually wrinkled. Suddenly he said in a deep voice: "Oh no!"

"What?" Long Yang was puzzled.

Zhu Yan said: "Prince Ding's Mansion must have known about the existence of that elite force!"

"How could it be?" Long Yang couldn't help but frown. This elite army was the most secretive army in Xiling. Even the King of Zhennan, who was always monitoring Zhu Yan, didn't know about it, so how could the Ding Palace know about it? Zhu Yan closed his eyes and said, "The Mo family army's attack on Xiling this time was definitely not accidental. I'm afraid Mo Xiuyao had planned it all along. If he had made up his mind, why didn't he send people to investigate secretly?"

"You mean..."

"Six years ago, you and I both thought that Prince Ding would attack Xiling, but in the end, nothing happened."

Long Yang's expression changed. "You mean to say that Mo Xiuyao had been planning how to take over Xiling since that time. He stopped at that time just because he was not ready?"

Zhu Yan nodded and sighed, "Now, he is ready. Even Lei Tengfeng didn't know you were in Biancheng before he arrived, but you heard it just now? Those young people scolded you as well. This means they knew you were in Biancheng a long time ago."

Long Yang's wrinkled face turned a little more pale, "Mo Xiuyao has no intention of attacking Biancheng now. He surrounded Biancheng just to destroy your elite troops first!"

"Apparently."

"Now then..."

Zhu Yan shook his head and said, "Now neither you nor I can get out. We can only leave it to fate."

There was silence in the room for a moment. Long Yang suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "What the hell is this about leaving everything to fate? I have been fighting all my life. If I had left everything to fate, I would have been dead long ago! Mo Xiuyao wants to trap us first? I want to see who can be trapped by those guys! I don't believe it... He thinks he can use only 400,000 soldiers as a million!" No matter how elite the Mo family army is, it only has 400,000 soldiers. Biancheng now has 500,000 soldiers, plus there are more than 100,000 elite soldiers in secret, and the strength of the army far exceeds that of the Mo family army. If they are still trapped to death in Biancheng, they might as well cut their throats with swords!

Zhu Yan's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "You are right, come, ask the Prince of Zhennan to come over!"