Chapter 647 The Wolf-Faced Prince
A sudden gust of biting wind swept by, making the banners on the city wall flutter loudly. To Nie Chong, whose hearing was already very sharp, the sound was like a thunderclap, startling him.
Sensing his distress, one of the soldiers beside him immediately whispered, "Brother Nie, what's wrong?"
Several people around also looked over.
There were about ten men guarding a horse-drawn cart, the sides of which were piled high with burlap sacks full of grain and bundles of hay. This was what they had transported to Taiyuan City every time before, but this time there was even more, making the journey particularly difficult. But they didn't complain at all, and as they hurried along, they finally arrived at the gates of Taiyuan City just after noon.
At this moment, the carriage stopped at the city gate, ready to enter the city.
Before the soldier could finish speaking and before Nie Chong could reply, a low, hoarse hoot suddenly rang out from ahead.
Nie Chong immediately became alert and whispered, "Don't get distracted, keep your eyes on the front!"
Upon hearing his words, the people around him all looked up, only to feel another gust of biting cold wind blow against their faces, causing their hair and beards to fly wildly.
The towering city gate slowly opened!
The crowd was overjoyed and hurriedly tried to get the carriage inside, but just as they were about to take a step, two more groups of people suddenly emerged from both sides of the city gate and blocked their way.
Everyone immediately perked up.
One of the men, who appeared to be the captain, rode up slowly on horseback, and the leader of their group hurriedly went to greet him.
The leader was named Chen Chuan, about forty years old. He was a confidant of Lei Guo and had led the team to transport grain and fodder several times before, so he knew the route well and even the soldiers guarding the city gate recognized him.
Upon seeing him, the captain of the city guards smiled and said, "You've come early today."
Chen Chuan smiled, looked up at the sky, and said, "It's cloudy today. Lord Lei is worried that it will snow again and that the carriages will have trouble traveling on the road, so he asked us to set off ahead of schedule."
"I see,"
The captain nodded without saying anything, but gave a wink to the soldiers behind him. The soldiers immediately came forward, looked around the carriages in front, stabbed the grain sacks and fodder on the carriages with their knives, and bent down to check under the carriages to make sure no one was hiding.
Seeing this, Nie Chong and the others held their breath.
It's clear that although Lei Guo had already surrendered to Taiyuan because of Lei Yu, they still didn't trust him. They even inspected the grain delivery carts. It's also clear how cunning and suspicious Wang Shaoqiu was in the city.
The examination revealed nothing unusual.
The squad leader smiled and said to Chen Chuan, "I've delayed your business. Let's go into the city."
Chen Chuan also laughed and said, "Not at all."
After saying that, he waved to the people behind him, and they drove the carriage inside.
Just as their first carriage passed through the city gate, another group of people suddenly galloped down the main road inside the city. The leader was dressed in fine clothes, but because he was too thin and his face was haggard, he did not look like a person wearing fine clothes. Instead, a snow-white face was piled up under the fine clothes, as if he was about to fall off the horse at any moment.
However, the man did not fall down until the horse came to a steady stop in front of the first carriage, sending a gust of wind into Chen Chuan and the others' faces.
Not only did he not look down at them, but he also looked down at them with his slanted eyes revealing arrogance and coldness.
Although it was their first time meeting, Nie Chong recognized him almost immediately.
This man was Wang Shaoqiu.
In other words, Wang Shaoji's own brother was the one who decided to ally with the Western Turks and take Taiyuan City!
Even before they set off, Yuwen Ye and Lei Guo had described Wang Shaoqiu's appearance and character to him. This was because, apart from Chen Chuan, who led the grain transport, all of Yuwen Ye's men were under Nie Chong's command. This was because Yuwen Ye's deputies had all served in the previous dynasty's army, and the Wang brothers, including Shen Tu Tai, had likely met them. Only Nie Chong, hailing from Wanggangzhai, was unknown to the Wang brothers. Even if someone recognized him, he could easily use the excuse that after Wanggangzhai's disintegration, he had sought refuge in Qixian and sought Lei Guo's help, thus avoiding detection.
Upon seeing this "culprit" who had captured Taiyuan City, Nie Chong's breath tightened.
He immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet the other person's gaze.
Wang Shaoqiu's gaze merely swept over the crowd, but he immediately sensed something and frowned slightly, saying, "Why are there so many unfamiliar faces this time?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Chuan hurriedly smiled and said, "Sir, the men who transported the grain last time all fell ill upon their return."
"Are you sick?"
"Yes, it was raining and snowing those days. The brothers didn't dare to delay on the road and rushed over in the rain. After they went back, they all fell ill and can't get up now, so we had to send these newbies."
"oh……"
Wang Shaoqiu raised an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing.
However, he did not move aside. He looked at the several carts of provisions at the back of the column and suddenly asked, "When Yuan An led his troops south, he received the provisions in Qi County."
Chen Chuan quickly replied, "Yes."
Wang Shaoqiu asked, "How much did he take?"
Chen Chuan's eyes darted around, and he quickly smiled apologetically, "It's exactly as you wrote in your letter, sir. I didn't take more or give less."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shaoqiu slowly frowned and muttered, "It's been over half a month. Counting the round trip, they should be back by now. How come—"
Although it was just his own muttering, and no one around him heard it, Nie Chong, who was standing some distance away, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Just then, another gust of cold wind blew by, bringing a bone-chilling cold, and he and several other soldiers standing against the wind couldn't help but sneeze.
Wang Shaoqiu frowned slightly, glanced at them again, and then waved his hand impatiently: "Go in."
After saying that, he slowly rode away.
Seeing his proud back, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Chuan glanced back at Nie Chong and gave a wink to the people behind him. Immediately, some drove the carriages and others led the horses, and they quickly passed through the city gate.
However, just as they entered the city, a sudden gust of wind blew in from the east.
The gust of wind was exceptionally fierce, causing the flags on the city wall to flutter loudly once again. Because it passed through the city gate, the wind howled like a dragon's roar, giving one the feeling of flags flying and swords clashing on a battlefield.
"Hmm?"
Nie Chong paused, suddenly stopped, and looked eastward.
At this moment, Chen Chuan, who had already stepped back to his side, turned his head and glanced at him, saying softly, "What's wrong with you? You should be careful."
Now they had entered the city, where the situation was much more heavily guarded than at the city gate. Just as they turned a corner, they encountered a patrol of men, and several Turkic soldiers wearing fur coats with their chests exposed in the cold wind galloped past on horseback along the long street. Even they could only scramble to avoid them.
Nie Chong said, "These are—"
"They are people from the Western Turks."
As Chen Chuan walked forward, he lowered his voice and said, "Currently, the city is jointly governed by the Western Turks and Wang Shaoqiu. However, I've heard that if anyone in the city commits a crime, the Western Turks can kill them; but if someone from the Western Turks commits a crime, Wang Shaoqiu dares not interfere."
"..."
"Therefore, you absolutely must not give yourself away, otherwise—"
"I see."
Nie Chong nodded immediately, but his gaze couldn't help but drift toward the direction from which the wind, which sounded like the roar of a tiger and the cry of a dragon, was blowing.
He vaguely remembered that Yuwen Ye had mentioned before that Shouyang was located to the east of Taiyuan...
Chen Chuan asked in a low voice, "What are you looking at over there for?"
"..."
Nie Chong was silent for a while, and he also felt that he was a little confused. He muttered, "I must have misheard. How could my ears be that sensitive?"
After saying that, she turned around and followed him forward.
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Almost at the same time that the gates of Taiyuan were closed, a Turkic army trampled the grasslands in Shouyang County, east of Taiyuan.
This army, numbering in the tens of thousands, entered Shouyang in several routes. The most powerful and imposing group in the very center was the elite force of this expedition.
They were the reinforcements from the Western Turks.
Leading the group was a man riding a bluish-brown horse, whose face was covered by a wolf-head mask that completely concealed the upper half of his face, revealing only his angular thin lips and broad chin, making him appear very mysterious.
At this moment, he was quietly watching his subordinates replenish the water plants, and then he looked up at the sky.
At this moment, a tall and strong man rode up to him, clenched his fist and placed it on his left shoulder in a salute, and then said, "Prince, we will reach Taiyuan in half a day."
The wolf-faced prince turned his head and glanced at him.
Then he asked, "Is there any unusual activity in Taiyuan?"
The man said, "No."
"Then, what about Qi County?"
"Qixian?"
The man was taken aback for a moment, then remembered and said, "That's right, that guy surnamed Lei—what problem could he possibly have?"
The wolf-faced prince paused for a moment before saying, "Those who are not of my kind are sure to have different hearts."
Upon hearing this, the man gave the wolf-faced prince a strange look, and after a long pause, he laughed and said, "But, wasn't that Lei Yu already—"
At that moment, the wolf-faced prince suddenly raised his head and looked ahead: "What was that sound?"
The man immediately shut his mouth and subconsciously followed his gaze to look ahead. They were in a flat grassland with abundant grass and water, and a hundred feet ahead was a fir forest. As the cold wind blew, the dense branches swayed gently, as if the whole forest was shaking.
But, nothing much.
So he said, "Nothing—"
Before he could finish speaking, several screams came from the crowd ahead. Upon closer inspection, several people suddenly fell from their horses and collapsed to the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows!
That is—
The wolf-faced prince was startled and immediately raised his head. Just then, a cold light, like lightning, shot towards him!
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