Taiping Rift 395. Sudden Secret Letter

Seeing Marquis Mu Yang suddenly lose his whole self, Qin Feng lowered his eyes and said, "I have taken Mu Yang away. Marquis Mu should still have some time to think about it slowly." After that, Qin Feng clapped his hands, and two guards came in from outside, lifted up Mu Yang's body and left.

"Wait!" Marquis Muyang shouted anxiously, "Where are you taking Yang'er?"

Qin Feng frowned slightly and said, "The princess has ordered that Mu Yang be buried." Originally, the prince's order was not like this, but the big things have been done, and the prince will not mind a small change.

Seeing that Marquis Muyang had no reaction, Qin Feng turned around and left.

"Why...how did you do it?" Marquis Muyang's weak voice came from behind, "Who is the spy in Marquis Muyang's mansion?" Qin Feng turned around in surprise. He didn't expect that Marquis Muyang would still be able to pay attention to this issue.

"Yao Ji." Qin Feng said lightly.

Mu Yanghou was stunned. He did suspect Yao Ji, but he finally gave up the idea. The most fundamental reason was Mu Lie. A woman, no matter how much she hated a man, would never bring her son to harm his biological father.

As if he understood Marquis Muyang's doubts, Qin Feng said, "Mu Lie is not Mu Yang's son."

"What?" Mu Yanghou was stunned again, "That woman...that woman's son...so that's it, so that's it..." Qin Feng knew that he had misunderstood, but he had no intention of explaining it to him. He glanced at Mu Yanghou and turned around and walked out. The moment he closed the door, a burst of crazy laughter came from inside, but to Qin Feng's ears, that laughter sounded more like crying.

With a slight sigh, Qin Feng shook his head and walked out.

Thousands of miles away, in the big tent, Mo Xiuyao was sitting behind his desk, lost in thought, with a gloomy look on his face. Feng Zhiyao came in and saw his appearance, raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong? It's been less than a month and you're already missing the princess?" Mo Xiuyao glanced at him calmly and said, "How can a lonely man understand the thoughts of a family?"

Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes in annoyance. Who harmed him by making him lonely? He hadn't been quiet for a moment in the past few years. He raised the secret letter in his hand, threw it over, and said, "A letter from Qin Feng. It seems that the princess didn't miss you at all. She didn't even send you a greeting letter."

Mo Xiuyao raised his hand to take it, and uttered a word lightly, "Get lost."

After opening the envelope, the content inside the letter made Mo Xiuyao's gloom dissipate a lot. With a casual rubbing of his hand, the letter turned into powder and scattered. Having known Mo Xiuyao for many years, Feng Zhiyao naturally understood Mo Xiuyao's expression and asked curiously, "What good news makes you so happy?" Mo Xiuyao's mood at this time was obviously different from when he just came in. Obviously, Qin Feng's secret letter reported some good news.

"The princess and General Lu have already dealt with Mo Jingli and are preparing to come back? Impossible..." Unless Mo Jingli is really a fool, there is no way he can be defeated so quickly.

Mo Xiuyao said: "Mu Yang is dead."

"What kind of good thing is this?" Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes. Mu Yang might be a rising star among the generals of the Great Chu, but I'm afraid he is far from qualified to be valued so much by Mo Xiuyao, the Prince of Ding. Mu Yang's death, is it worth Mo Xiuyao being so happy? Feeling something was wrong, Feng Zhiyao pondered for a moment before reacting, and said with a slightly changed color: "Is the Marquis of Muyang's Mansion finished?"

Not many people know how much Mo Xiuyao hates Marquis Muyang, but Feng Zhiyao is definitely one of them. In recent years, Mo Jingqi died, Ren Qining died, and Helian Zhen also died. It's Marquis Muyang's turn now. But Mu Yang died somewhat unjustly. When they were in the capital, Feng Zhiyao and Mu Yang had some friendship. I can only feel sorry for him secretly in my heart.

Mo Xiuyao nodded calmly. Feng Zhiyao thought for a moment and said, "Old Marquis Muyang is one of the few smart people under Mo Jingli. If Marquis Muyang's mansion is finished, Mo Jingli will not be able to hold on for much longer. In this way, after the princess is done, she can lead her troops westward and join us in encircling the Xiling army." Looking down and calculating, Feng Zhiyao also became a little happy. In this way, maybe this war can be finished this year.

Mo Xiuyao said calmly, "Not necessarily. The troops under Mo Jingli are far superior to those under Lu Jinxian. Moreover, there is also Lei Tengfeng... Lei Tengfeng has already left the Chu army to defend Yuming Pass. By the time Ah Li and his men have dealt with Mo Jingli, I'm afraid Yuming Pass will have been surrounded by Lei Tengfeng like an iron barrel."

Feng Zhiyao couldn't help but frown and asked doubtfully, "Didn't you send He Su to lead the troops to Yuming Pass?"

Mo Xiuyao smiled at him and asked, "Who told you that He Su led people to Yuming Pass?"

"Then may I ask you, Your Majesty!" Feng Zhiyao gritted his teeth and said, "Where on earth did He Suo take the 200,000 troops?!" No wonder Feng Zhiyao was angry. The Mo family army originally had fewer troops than Xiling. When they were fighting fiercely with Lei Zhenting, Mo Xiuyao actually transferred 200,000 troops. If he really wanted to flank Lei Zhenting, it would be fine. But now Mo Xiuyao actually told others that he didn't go at all! Does His Royal Highness Prince Ding think that fighting is a game? Or are these generals really too stupid to understand Prince Ding's profound thoughts?

Seeing Feng Zhiyao's frustrated look, Mo Xiuyao was in a good mood. "Yuming Pass is more than a thousand miles away from us, and the road is difficult to travel. It is less than three hundred miles away from Hangu Pass where Lei Tengfeng is, and it is all flat official roads. Even if He Su sets out before Lei Tengfeng, Feng San...how do you want He Su to get to Yuming Pass before Lei Tengfeng? Do you think that with Lei Tengfeng's intelligence, he will leave such a loophole for us? From the beginning, he sent Lei Tengfeng to Mo Jingli just to guard against this."

Feng Zhiyao was stunned for a moment, and tried to calm himself down, and asked, "So, Your Majesty, you didn't intend to seize Yuming Pass from the beginning?"

Mo Xiuyao shrugged and said with a smile, "Why force yourself when you know it's impossible?"

"What about those people?!" Feng Zhiyao felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "If it's not in Yuming Pass, then it must be somewhere else."

Feng Zhiyao looked sideways at the map hanging on the wall in confusion, and after a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Hangu Pass?" Mo Xiuyao smiled and said nothing. Feng Zhiyao could only look up at the sky in silence, and silently looked at Mo Xiuyao for a long time, swallowing back the words he wanted to curse. He sighed and said, "With the princess and General Lu holding him back, Lei Tengfeng may not be able to rush back to Yuming Pass so quickly."

Mo Xiuyao said: "Even so, the two armies will probably take about the same amount of time. And... by then, Yun Ting's army will probably be completely wiped out. Lu Jinxian and A'li may also be alone and trapped in Mo Jingli's encirclement."

Feng Zhiyao nodded, accepting Mo Xiuyao's argument. After all, even if there were ten of him, they would not be a match for Mo Xiuyao. "So, do we still have to fight Lei Zhenting head-on?"

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "This is interesting, isn't it? After Lei Zhenting... I will have no rivals. And, Feng San, don't you think we have been too successful in the past two years?" Feng Zhiyao was silent. In the past two years, the Mo family army had fought several battles in a row, and it was indeed too successful. It was so successful that he almost forgot that there was no such thing as smooth sailing on the battlefield. Lei Tengfeng was a rare military genius in the world. It was impossible to fight him as quickly as before.

Mo Xiuyao raised his hand and patted his shoulder, smiling and said, "Don't worry, we will win. It's just a matter of time."

Feng Zhiyao nodded and said with a smile: "Of course. If you can't beat Lei Zhenting, you will be laughed at." There happened to be a little kid squatting behind him, eagerly wanting to see someone laugh.

Mo Xiuyao glanced at him calmly, "Not everyone can bear to hear my jokes."

On the battlefield outside Hangu Pass, the Chu army had an overwhelming advantage. No matter how brave the Mohist army was, it was still difficult to turn the tide when facing an army several times its own. Unfortunately, before Mo Jingli had time to be proud, a black force mysteriously appeared on the battlefield, once again raising a black wave. The already exhausted Mohist army soldiers saw the reinforcements and immediately cheered up and fought back. The original victory of the Chu army was slowly suppressed, and the two armies began a fierce entanglement and killing.

At Hangu Pass, Mo Jingli's face turned as dark as ink as he watched the situation. The generals standing beside him no longer had the heroic spirit they had just shown, and they kept silent, not daring to anger Mo Jingli again.

"Who is that?" Mo Jingli asked in a deep voice as he stared at the brave and powerful black-clad generals moving around on the battlefield.

The general next to him took a closer look, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Your Majesty, that should be the new general of the Mohist Army, He Su."

"What?" Mo Jingli frowned, thinking about this somewhat unfamiliar name.

"This He Su was originally an ordinary soldier under Murong Shen. It took him less than eight years to rise from an ordinary soldier to the position of a general. After the invasion of Beirong and the Northern Border, he did not follow orders to move south. Instead, he gathered nearly 200,000 defeated soldiers and went around Chu... Changxing's flank, blocking a lot of the Northern Border army. After that, he joined the Dingwang Mansion and was quite trusted by Princess Ding. However... there is news that this He Su was originally Princess Ding's man." The people around him hurriedly reported what they knew. "The time when He Su joined Murong Shen's army was not long after Princess Ding was in Shattered Snow Pass. In addition, it is said that the Princess of Dingwang Mansion had four secret guards. Later, Princess Ding abolished the position of secret guards, but the world only knows about Zhuo Jinglin, Han Weirui and three others. So..."

"So, this He Su is the chess piece that Ye Li planted in Da Chu more than ten years ago!" Mo Jingli said in a deep voice.

"......" The general beside him didn't dare to say anything more in front of the furious Mo Jingli.

Mo Jingli took a glance at the area below. With the sudden addition of 200,000 new soldiers, the Mo family army became more and more courageous. On the contrary, the Chu army, which had already fought a big battle, gradually showed a slight decline. With a cold snort, Mo Jingli turned around and left, leaving the generals looking at each other in bewilderment.

"General Li, this..." Mo Jingli left it alone, but it made things difficult for everyone present. No one knew whether the emperor meant to continue fighting or withdraw the troops.

"Oh, let's withdraw our troops." The highest-ranking general named Li sighed helplessly. It seemed that they could not gain any advantage in this battle. What else could they do if they did not withdraw their troops?

Outside Hangu Pass, Yun Ting, who was fighting bravely, suddenly sat down on the ground while watching the Chu army gradually retreat into the pass. He didn't care that there were many corpses lying on the ground, and just lay down. Looking up and seeing He Su coming over, Yun Ting managed to force a smile with some difficulty and said, "Brother, thank you very much. I thought I was finished." As he spoke, his eyelids began to droop.

Yun Ting was really exhausted these past two days. This was the first time he led troops alone, and the pressure was great. Mo Jingli, for some reason, didn't care about the lack of troops in his rear, and desperately mobilized nearby garrisons to besiege him. In Yun Ting's memory, apart from eating two half-hearted meals, the rest was all about fighting. If He Su had come half an hour later, Yun Ting was not sure if he could have held on.

He Su didn't care about the mess on the ground, he sat down casually and asked, "Did the princess tell you to stay here?"

Yun Ting shook his head in confusion. He Su raised his eyebrows and said, "Then why are you holding on? If I hadn't come, the princess and General Lu wouldn't have had time to notice, and you would have died of stupidity." This place is not a military fortress, the fortress is with Mo Jingli. If you can't win, retreating twenty or thirty miles won't make any difference.

"I... this is my first time leading a troop... how could I, how could I lose for the first time? I would rather die than retreat..." Mumbling to himself, Yun Ting's head tilted and he finally fell asleep.

A soldier who was cleaning the battlefield came over and looked at Yun Ting lying on the ground pretending to be dead. He looked at He Su with some embarrassment, "General..." He Su stood up and patted the dust off his body, waved his hand and smiled, "Nothing, General Yun is too tired. Let's carry him back to rest."

"Yes." Two soldiers lifted Yun Ting back to the camp, one by the body and one by the legs. During this time, Yun Ting curled his lips and slept soundly.

Not far from Hangu Pass, Lu Jinxian's army had just experienced a big battle. However, Lu Jinxian and Ye Li were much more relaxed than Yun Ting. Looking at the secret letter just sent from Hangu Pass, Lu Jinxian couldn't help but laugh, "No wonder the princess is not anxious, it turns out that she already knew that the prince had sent reinforcements. Yun Ting really needs a good lesson."

Ye Li smiled and said, "It's inevitable that he will be a little nervous when leading the troops alone just now. General, don't blame him too much. It's hard for him to hold on for so many days." Lu Jinxian nodded. In fact, he was very satisfied with this new disciple. The reason why he said he wanted to teach him was probably for Ye Li to hear. Ye Li's tone didn't sound like he was going to punish Yun Ting, so Lu Jinxian was relieved.

Putting aside Yun Ting's matter, Lu Jinxian said in a deep voice: "If there is another battle, Zhao Lian will not be able to hold on. Then we can go straight to Hangu Pass and attack the Chu army from the front and back with Yun Ting and He Su."

Ye Li nodded and said, "What the general said is true. But even so, Mo Jingli should still have about 500,000 soldiers and horses, not including those who will be replenished later. I'm afraid it will not be easy to defeat him in a short time."

Lu Jinxian smiled and said, "Don't worry, Princess. As long as we can control the overall situation, we don't need to worry about how many troops Mo Jingli has. He had the upper hand before, but now we have taken the initiative. Even if he has a million more troops, we don't have to be afraid of him." Besides, by the time they meet Yun Ting, the total force will be only half a million. There is no need to worry about Mo Jingli at all.

Ye Li smiled apologetically and said, "I was too impatient." She actually didn't have much experience in real fighting, and the few times she had fought were all quick and decisive. Lu Jinxian's current plan was obviously to slowly grind with Mo Jingli, which made Ye Li, who was used to hitting the target with one strike, a little uncomfortable. However, she quickly understood her problem and tried her best to adjust.

Lu Jinxian smiled and said, "Princess, you are too polite. If we try our best to injure Mo Jingli, it is not impossible. But it will be extremely difficult to achieve the complete victory of Huifeng Valley. If the remnants of the Chu army escape, I am afraid they will come back again soon." Instead of doing that, it is better to take it slowly. Beat Mo Jingli until he can no longer move.

Ye Li nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you for the reminder, General."

Lu Jinxian hurriedly said he didn't dare. Ye Li smiled, but silently began to think that it was time to use the chess pieces that she had laid out in Nanjing. Lu Jinxian was right. Instead of rushing for quick success and giving Mo Jingli a chance to make a comeback, it would be better to put in some effort and achieve success in one battle.

In the Chu army tent, Mo Jingli, who was reviewing memorials, shuddered for no reason. A hint of doubt flashed across his gloomy face, and he pulled his bright yellow cloak.

Two days later, in another decisive battle between the Mohist Army and the Western Route Army of the Chu Army, the Chu Army could no longer withstand the Mohist Army's offensive and was defeated. The commander of the Western Route Army, Zhao Lian, was seriously injured and captured.

Fighting the Chu army is different from fighting the Xiling Beirong. In the end, apart from the confrontation between the upper-level rulers, there is no difference between ordinary Chu army soldiers and Mohist army soldiers, as well as the people of Da Chu and the people of the northwest. They never thought that they would become enemies to the death after the Mohist army broke up with Da Chu. That's why so many people from Da Chu fled to the northwest, and the people of the northwest accepted them without any grudges, because they were originally one family. Just like the people of the northwest never thought that Ding Wangfu would only live in a small world in the northwest from now on. The people of Da Chu never thought that Ding Wangfu and the Mohist army would abandon them.

Therefore, in fact, both sides still held back some strength in this battle. After all, killing each other is not a pleasant thing. Whether it is the Mohist army or the Chu army, they generally will not kill prisoners or seriously injured soldiers of the enemy. When the Chu army still cannot defeat the Mohist army after trying their best, the lower-level warriors laid down their weapons and surrendered without any hesitation.

Zhao Lian's failure made Mo Jingli extremely angry. Facing the approaching Mo's army led by Lu Jinxian and Ye Li, Mo Jingli very "decisively" abandoned his troops to guard Hangu Pass, and fled before Ye Li and others arrived. This made the Mo's army speechless. Yun Ting was unable to figure it out and refused to retreat even if he died, and Mo Jingli retreated too quickly. With the natural defense of Hangu Pass, if the command is proper, it will definitely not be a problem to defend for at least two or three months. By then, the reinforcements from the rear of the Chu army should have arrived.

Although Mo Jingli's abandonment of the pass dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Chu army, it also brought a lot of trouble to Ye Li and others. If Mo Jingli ran back to Jiangnan and didn't come out, it would be fine, but with Mo Jingli's temper, he would definitely hide and wait for reinforcements to arrive before coming out to cause trouble. This would invisibly prolong the time of the battle between the Mo family army and the Chu army.

Sure enough, less than half a month later, when the Chu army's reinforcements were approaching the north, Mo Jingli appeared again. Compared with the previous ambiguous alliance with Xiling to attack the Mo family army, this time Mo Jingli directly issued an edict as the emperor of Great Chu. He announced to the world that Ding Wangfu had betrayed Great Chu, and that Mo Xiuyao intended to destroy Great Chu and then ascend the throne as emperor. He also listed 49 crimes of Mo Xiuyao to show that Great Chu's attack on Ding Wangfu was a just and fair act that followed the will of heaven.

This kind of thing naturally has no impact on the Mohist Army. Ye Li only glanced at the notice sent to the Mohist Army and handed it to Yun Ting. Yun Ting snorted disdainfully after reading it and took it to use as a footrest. If the prince was interested in the throne, he would have ascended the throne long ago. Would he have to wait for Mo Jingli to issue an edict of conquest? Moreover, does Mo Jingli think that everyone in the world is blind? The Mohist Army has never taken an inch of land from the hands of the Great Chu. Now that the Mohist Army has severed its relationship with the Great Chu for a long time, no matter from which aspect, the Prince's Mansion is absolutely tenable.

Speaking of this, Yun Ting couldn't help but admire the prince's foresight. You have to know that the Central Plains does not need foreign barbarians. It claims to be a country of etiquette. Whether it is the court officials or the common people, etiquette is very important. If the Ding Palace had directly sent troops to the Great Chu, even if the Mohist Army finally unified the world, the relationship between the Ding Palace and the Great Chu would inevitably make the Ding King criticized in the history books in the future.

"Princess, this is a secret letter from the Third Young Master Feng!" Just as everyone was mocking Mo Jingli's behavior with disdain, the voice of a guard was heard outside the tent.

Ye Li frowned slightly and said, "Feng San? Bring it in?" Feng Zhiyao was with Mo Xiuyao, and normally Feng Zhiyao would not write to her alone. Unless...something happened that Feng Zhiyao could not control with his ability or power. Ye Li's heart sank slightly, and he raised his hand to take the letter presented by the guard.

The envelope was sealed with wax, and the seal was also stamped with the highest-level secret seal of Prince Ding's Palace, indicating that the content of this letter was absolutely extraordinary.

After calming down, Ye Li opened the envelope and scanned it. Her hand holding the envelope trembled slightly, and the envelope fell to the ground. Ye Li's body softened and she fell into the chair. Yun Ting and others who were sitting on the side were startled and hurried forward, "Princess?!"

On a white envelope, Feng Zhiyao's handwriting looked a bit messy and anxious. There were only a few words: The prince is seriously injured, return soon.

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

Ahem~ First of all, don't be anxious. The plot will always progress slowly, don't be scared, and most importantly... don't smash the bricks. We have to believe that this must be a harmonious happy ending, and we also have to believe that the protagonist's IQ must be high... tears... the supporting character's IQ is a bit problematic, it's my fault... you can smash the bricks for this