Seeing that Chu Qiao could hardly open her eyes, Yan Xun burst out laughing and said, "That's right, look how sleepy you are."
"No...no, I'm listening carefully." Chu Qiao yawned.
Yan Xun stood up and picked her up, "Let's go, don't worry about others. Someone is going to come anyway, wait and see who will be the first to take the lead."
Chu Qiao curled up in Yan Xun's arms, responded sullenly, and with her arms around Yan Xun's neck, she fell asleep.
Under the moonlight, the lights-out signal was sounded in the distant military camp, and thousands of lights were turned off at the same time, which was a spectacular sight.
Yan Xun looked at the woman in his arms, and suddenly, he felt his heart filled with strength. In the Qingshan Courtyard of the Zhuge Mansion, the fourth young master of the Zhuge family, who was unemployed at home, was drinking tea in the flower hall. Over the years, he has always been a person who knows how to preserve his health. Although he has lost power in the family now, he has not become decadent and self-abandoned as outsiders expected. Instead, he leisurely drinks tea, grows orchids, writes and reads books, and even takes time to go to the stable to ride horses.
Seeing him like this, no one would have thought that not long ago, this man had just been defeated in the family's power struggle. A serious mistake caused him to step down completely and could not recover. Now he can't even walk out of the door of Zhuge Mansion and is almost under house arrest.
Yue Qi walked into the flower hall and whispered, "Master, I'm back."
“Hmm.” Zhuge Yue raised his eyes lazily and agreed, while he was carefully using the lid of the teacup to skim the tea leaves inside.
"His Highness the Seventh Prince has returned to the capital and is now heading towards Shengjin Palace. Soldiers from the Shanglu Academy are following him. None of the officers and soldiers from the Southwest Army are around. I heard that he has been taken over by the Third Prince."
Zhuge Yue's movements faltered for a moment, and then he chuckled, with no way of telling whether he was happy or angry.
"All the major provinces and counties in the northwest have made preparations for the supply of food and fodder. The Batuha family has sent 100,000 elite soldiers to accompany the army. His Highness the Fourteenth Prince will also rush to join the army. This time, the empire will send as many as 300,000 troops, all of which are elite cavalry and heavy armored infantry. The troops are very powerful."
Zhuge Yue snorted as he drank his tea, and said in a light tone: "A group of dogs can't beat a lion. Sending out such a bunch of cowards, I think Da Xia's fate is over."
Yue Qi was slightly stunned and said, "Master, the Third Prince is from the Shangwu Hall, and the Fourteenth Prince has recently defeated the Yanbei Army in the northwest. The Batuha family is even more powerful, so how can they be called useless?"
Zhuge Yue slowly raised his head, his eyes as black as ink, and slowly said, "Talking about war on paper is one thing, and actually fighting with real swords and guns is another. If this battle was completely commanded by Zhao Qi or Zhao Yang or anyone else, there would be a 50% chance of winning. But now three armies are going out, and the commanders are three self-important bigwigs who think they are great. What do you think the effect will be?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Qi was suddenly speechless.
Zhuge Yue frowned slightly and said in a low voice: "There can only be one voice in the army to ensure that the strategy is implemented from top to bottom. Now there are three forces standing side by side and restraining each other. If Yan Xun doesn't know how to take advantage of this, he would be an idiot."
Zhuge Yue slowly stood up and walked towards the inner hall, saying as he walked, “Notify Zhu Cheng to take back all our businesses from the northwest. This war has been protracted and there is no money to be made in the west.”
It was a crisp autumn day, the sun was blindingly bright, and the man's wide blue robe slowly disappeared among the orchids in the flower pots. Yue Qi looked at his back and suddenly felt confused. There were some questions he wanted to ask but he didn't dare to. In fact, he really wanted to know: Young Master, who do you hope will win? October 6th, strong wind.
The Northwestern Army led by the fourteenth prince Zhao Yang, the Southwestern Army led by the third prince Zhao Qi, the Jinri Army led by Tubaguli, the eldest son of the Batuha family, and the four armies of the Northern Alliance formed by the major provinces and counties in the northwest all advanced into the northwest. The Southwestern Army and the Kim-Il-Ji Army attacked head-on, the Northwestern Army outflanked the enemy on the left, and the Northern Alliance outflanked the enemy on the right, like a sharp knife, rushing and killing like a tsunami. The total force was as high as 500,000, plus the auxiliary troops and civilian laborers in the rear who were responsible for the logistics and food transportation, a total of millions of troops roared towards the land of Yanbei.
On the post road from Daxia to the northwest, the flow of carriages and people continued day and night, and countless food, supplies, manpower, and war horses continuously poured into the Northern Expedition camp. Daxia was preparing for war, and the anger that had been accumulated for half a year suddenly burst out, and it became arrogant and domineering.
The flames of war are about to break out, the blades have been sharpened, there is no way to retreat, no way to avoid it, the Yanbei army gathers in the border town of Beishuo, on high alert, ready to fight at any time.
An unprecedented battle is about to begin. On October 13, the first heavy snow of winter fell on the Yanbei Plateau. The snow lasted for three days and three nights and was more than a foot deep. The cold current quickly swept across the entire northwest. The sky and earth were extremely cold, and water turned into ice. It was clearly noon and the sky was clear, but when I looked up, I could not see the sun in the sky, only a dim yellow line. The cold wind bit my face, making it difficult to walk.
This rare blizzard froze countless cattle, sheep and horses on the Yanbei Plateau, blew down countless tents and houses, and left countless Yanbei people homeless. At the same time, it also forced the Daxia Army, which was marching northward with great momentum, to stop and set up camp in Bailin Province in the northwest inland, waiting for the blizzard to pass.
The two armies, which had been gearing up for a major battle, were thus plunged into a cold war of confrontation.
In the vast snow, a horse team of more than 20 people were galloping wildly on the post road outside Beishuo City. Their war horses were fat and strong, with leather armor on their heads. They were not afraid of the wind and snow at all, and they danced in the snow and ran very fast. Soon, the cavalry approached the city, and a team of scouts came forward and shouted, "Who are you?"
No one in the team spoke. The flag-bearing officer at the head raised a small red flag. The scouts were startled and then they all stepped back to make way.
The horse team continued to gallop, and in a flash, they disappeared on the snowy plain.
"Brother Xun, whose team is that? Why are they so powerful?" asked a young scout. He was wearing a bear-skin hat and his face was red from the cold.
"Don't talk nonsense," the scout leader immediately scolded, and looked around carefully, as if he was afraid that the people in front would turn around and hear their conversation, "That's the bloody flag of the Second Army."
The scout leader's voice was very low, but the people in the team heard it clearly. For a moment, everyone felt a chill on their backs and turned their heads to look in the direction where the Second Army disappeared.
In view of the fact that the Great Xia army was too powerful, seven days ago, the new King of Yan in Yanbei issued a mobilization order in Beishuo City. Now, even the last team far away in Meiling Pass has arrived.
Despite the impending war, a large number of refugees gathered in front of the Beishuo city gate. A heavy snowstorm blew down the people's houses and cattle and sheep. In just three days, hundreds of people had frozen or starved to death. At this moment, they were all guarding in front of the city gate, hoping to enter the city and avoid this sudden disaster. However, as war with Daxia was about to break out, Beishuo City had already entered a level one combat readiness state. Although more and more refugees gathered in front of the city gate, Yan Xun still ordered the city gate to be strictly guarded to prevent spies from entering the city. Thousands of officers and soldiers took turns to guard. In front of the majestic Beishuo city gate, the screams of civilians and the cries of women and children were heard.
"Get out of the way!" A burst of rapid horse hoof sounds suddenly rang out, and someone cracked a whip and continuously whipped the people on both sides. The advance cavalry of the Second Army quickly ran to the gate of Beishuo City. The general in a dark red fur coat waved a blood-red military flag and shouted, "We are the advance team of the Second Army. I am Xue Zhiyuan. Open the door!"
Soon, a long line of torches quickly walked up to the tower, and someone shouted loudly: "General Xue, do you have a letter from General Cao?"
Xue Zhiyuan said: "Here is the letter!"
A bamboo basket was slowly lowered from the city wall. A cavalryman under Xue Zhiyuan rode forward and put the letter in the basket. After a while, torches on the city wall lit up, and with a creak, the gate slowly opened without any defense.
"Ah! The door is open!" A cheer suddenly rang out, and thousands of refugees were overjoyed. They cheered in unison, moved their frozen hands and feet, and rushed towards the city gate in a mess, like a boiling flood, which immediately dispersed the advance team of the Second Army.
"Idiot!" The general in the dark red fur coat yelled angrily and jumped off his horse.
"Quick! Stop them!" General Cui, who was guarding the city, realized that something serious had happened. He shouted hurriedly, and his soldiers rushed out of the city gate and shouted loudly, "Anyone who dares to make trouble will be shot to death! Retreat! Everyone retreat!"
The north wind was howling, and the soldiers' voices were as faint as mosquitoes and flies in the crowd. Staying outside the city means death. The refugees have long been furious. Now that they see hope of survival, who would be willing to wait to die outside? They immediately rushed forward fearlessly, shouting as they rushed forward: "Let us in! We are the people of Yanbei! Let us in!"
"General Xue! General Xue!" General Cui shouted in panic, fearing that something might happen to his friendly forces in the chaos.
At this moment, a line of blood suddenly shot up into the sky. A young officer swiftly drew out his sword and chopped a refugee on the back of his shoulder blade. The sword was sharp and the force was fierce. The man was knocked over in one fell swoop. Blood spilled out and fell on the white snow, forming tiny red whirlpools. These were all poor people who had never seen such a scene. Faced with the soldiers' bloody butcher knives, everyone screamed in fear and retreated.
General Cui was stunned. He didn't expect that someone would dare to use force. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the young officer walking towards him from the crowd with a cold face and said calmly, "I am Xue Zhiyuan."
General Cui was shocked and was about to speak when he heard a cry of grief from the people. A woman cried out to the sky, "Boss! Boss, wake up!"
"Murder! Murder! The army is killing people!"
A single stone caused a thousand waves. The people immediately rioted. The people who were forced into a desperate situation roared in anger. A 70-year-old man rushed to the front and shouted, "Why are you killing people? Why? My three sons are all soldiers in the army. They all followed you to fight Xia Gou. Now you won't let me enter the city? Let us enter the city!"
Despite the cold weather, General Cui's forehead was covered with sweat and he was at a loss as to what to do.
The young Xue Zhiyuan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "Time is running out, please make a decision as soon as possible."
"Ah?" General Cui asked stupidly. He used to be a blacksmith. He was brave in battle and killed more than ten people. He became a sergeant. It happened to be his team's turn to be on duty tonight. He had no strategy at all. He just looked at the young and upright man in front of him stupidly and asked, "What did you say?"
Seeing the refugees rushing forward, the Beishuo city guards were so stupid that more than a dozen guards were restrained by the refugees. The city gate was occupied. Xue Zhiyuan's eyes turned cold and he said in a deep voice: "Archers, get ready!"