The crossbow team entered Truffle Ridge, and no one knew why they went in, just as no one knew why they went in and never came out, because the two infantry teams that went in to look for them were also missing.
Disintegration, defeat, destruction, disappearance... The battle reports came back one by one, and Yan Xun's face became more and more ugly. The generals present also felt as if they were facing a great enemy. An old officer said tremblingly: "Or, we should gather our troops together. It's too dangerous to divide them like this."
"What a joke!" Ah Jing was also in the army at the moment, but his status was obviously not as good as Cheng Yuan's. He sat far behind the officers and said coldly, "The other side has less than 300 people, but we have a full 100,000 troops. With such a huge disparity in strength, we still need to join forces?"
The old general tried to defend himself, "But the enemy is strong, and each of them can defeat a hundred people..."
"I don't agree with joining forces either." Cheng Yuan said, "The inland is vast and sparsely populated, and it's snowy and windy. If three hundred people hide anywhere, we won't be able to do anything. If we gather 100,000 troops in one place, we will be more targeted and the enemy will be able to avoid us more easily. Your Majesty, I suggest that we surround the enemy and trap them. As long as we block all the roads, we won't be afraid that they won't show up."
"General Cheng, have you forgotten the battle of Caoqiu? You said the same thing back then." Ah Jing glanced at him coldly and said sarcastically, "You set up roadblocks on every road and sent out the entire army, not even sparing mountain roads or small paths. At that time, the general swore that not even a mouse could escape your eyes, but a month later, Zhuge Yue was sitting peacefully in Yanming Pass, eating and sleeping, while we were exhausted as turtle grandsons."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yuan's face darkened, but he did not say anything. Instead, he turned to look at Yan Xun. Everyone knows that the battle of Caoqiu is a taboo for Yan Xun. Although Cheng Yuan has the responsibility, Yan Xun, as the commander-in-chief of the camp that was raided, has an even greater responsibility. However, Yan Xun remained calm, as if he had not heard anything, his eyes were cold and unperturbed.
With a whoosh, Ah Jing, wearing heavy iron armor, pushed aside the small table and stood up. He took two steps forward and said solemnly to Yan Xun, "Your Majesty, Zhuge Yue only has 300 men. He couldn't have escaped unscathed after wounding over 3,000 of us. Yet we didn't see a single corpse of a Great Xia soldier, which means that he took all the wounded away. They were already few in number, and now with the wounded dragging them down, their combat effectiveness must have been greatly reduced. I would like to personally lead a thousand men to pursue them, and I will definitely accomplish the mission."
Yan Xun's gaze was like dark waves in the ocean, quietly sweeping across Ah Jing's face. Outside the tent, the strong wind blew the snowflakes across the field, but none of them could chill Yan Xun's eyes. He was weighing things carefully, like a scheming wolf king.
Ah Jing? Ah Jing's abilities are very useful, and the previous suppression of him has also smoothed out his edges a little. He is asking for a fight now just to prove himself. But he also has to be on guard, after all, he has a close relationship with Achu, and what changes will happen once Achu finds out about this?
It was very quiet in the big tent. Everyone was staring at Yan Xun, waiting for his instructions. Time passed by minute by minute, and the fine sand in the clepsydra slowly fell. Suddenly, there was a long neigh of a war horse. Ah Jing ran out a few steps and saw more than 200 war horses galloping towards him. The leading general was covered in blood and shouted loudly: "The enemy leader has been captured!"
Instantly, the whole tent shook, Yan Xun's brows were tightly knitted together, his eyes were like a frozen mirror lake, and in the dark, waves were surging like a rolling tide.
The sky and the earth were vast and heavy snow was flying all over the place like goose feathers. The first team of the light cavalry set out with 500 people, but when they returned, there were less than 300 people left, which shows how brutal the battle was. The captain of the first brigade, Lu He, was covered in blood and had an arrow in his shoulder. He jumped off his horse and knelt on one knee, saying to Yan Xun, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your mission and have captured Zhuge Yue, the Northwest Army Marshal of Xia."
Everyone cheered upon hearing this. Over the past year at Yanming Pass, the Yanbei army had suffered countless losses at the hands of Zhuge Yue. This man was a master at using troops, never playing by the rules, and was extremely daring. He had many brave generals under his command, and his soldiers were willing to die for him, which resulted in the Yanbei army losing nine out of ten battles. Moreover, this man represented the attitude of the Great Xia clans towards Yanbei and their support for Great Xia, and was involved in several parties. If he was not there, the situation would be greatly reversed.
Compared to the happiness of others, Yan Xun did not have any strange expression. He looked at Lu He and said in a deep voice: "Bring the person up."
"Bring him up!" Lu He turned around and gave an order, and immediately someone brought the tied man up. The man was wearing a long sable fur coat and luxurious clothes, but he had multiple wounds on his body, and there were five or six strong arrows stuck in his right leg, and he could no longer stand.
Seeing Yan Xun, he slowly raised his head, his eyes were cold, the corners of his mouth slightly smiled, he raised his eyebrows disdainfully, and said: "Prince Yan, it's been a long time since we last met."
Yan Xun's eyes twitched suddenly, and he said slowly in a low and gloomy voice: "Yue Qi?"
"Prince Yan has a good memory. No wonder he can use so many despicable and sinister tricks to deal with my young master. It turns out he has such a good brain." Yue Qi smiled. There was a bloody scar across his face, his skin was torn and his flesh was exposed. He no longer had the handsomeness and charm of the past. His smile was like that of a ghost or evil creature.
Yan Xun remained unmoved and asked coldly, “Where is Zhuge Yue?”
Yue Qi laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke, and asked, "Is Prince Yan crazy? How could he ask such a stupid question?"
"Drag him away and chop him up."
Yan Xun turned around coldly and gave orders in a deep voice. The guards immediately stepped forward to restrain Yue Qi. Yue Qi's voice sounded briskly behind him with a nonchalant smile, "Yan Xun, you are not a soldier, but a villain who is used to plotting and scheming. You are no match for my young master. I will leave early and wait for you on the road to the underworld."
"Really?" Yan Xun's voice was cold and low, like a dusty bell or drum. He turned his head slowly, his eyes like knives, "Then you just wait."
Yan Xun stood in the wind and snow, his face as cold as frost.
"Your Majesty," Lu He said nervously, "I am guilty. I was careless for a moment and was deceived by him. However, I already know where Zhuge the thief is going. I will chase him now."
Yan Xun glanced at the sword on his waist and said, "Give it to me."
Lu He was even more shocked. He quickly took off the sword from his waist and handed it to Yan Xun. He said with sweat on his forehead, "This is the sword of that boy. I am going to give it to Your Majesty."
The sword was four feet long and dark green in color. There were faint red lines on the sword, which looked like blood. It was Zhuge Yue's personal sword - Broken Moon. Yan Xun was naturally very familiar with this sword.
“Sun Cai, take this sword and go intercept Lady Chu. She should be on her way back to Shangshen. Say that Zhuge Yue led his troops to attack Yuegong’s grain and fodder, and happened to meet me in Yuegong. The Imperial Guard headquarters was damaged, and I was wounded by the sword. Now I am surrounded. Ask her to lead the troops to support Yuegong City immediately. Remember, you have to take a detour from Nanhe Mountain and create the illusion that you escaped from Yuegong and met by chance. Do you understand?”
The young general immediately knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice: "I understand."
"Nianqing, you must rush to Yuegong City immediately and bring my oral instructions to the Yuegong defenders, telling them that they must make frequent deployments within a day in preparation for a siege."
"Yes, I will go there immediately."
"Cheng Yuan, you must immediately gather the Black Hawk Army and divide them into five groups to rush to Yuegong. Follow behind Lord Chu, lower your flags and drums, and make a pursuit posture, but do not engage them head-on. Do you understand?"
"clear."
"Qi Zhi, you will go with Nian Qing to Yue Gong, and tell each prefecture and county along the way to close the city gates, send out soldiers, and set up defenses to intercept."
"yes."
"Huo An!"
"I'm here." A soldier in a beautiful military uniform stood aside, lowering his head so that his features could not be seen clearly. He said respectfully, "Please give me your orders."
“Follow Lu He immediately. When you meet Zhuge Yue, you should know what to say.”
Huo An knelt on the ground and said in a low voice: "I understand, and I will live up to your trust."
Several armies left one after another, but Yan Xun still stood there and said slowly, "A Jing."
Ah Jing quickly stepped forward and said excitedly, "I am here, Your Majesty, please give me your orders."
"You should go to Huaisong and check the military rations for next year's Spring Festival transportation."
Ah Jing was stunned for a moment, and asked in disbelief: "Now?"
"Yes," Yan Xun turned around, his eyes sharp, his mouth cold, and said word by word, "Now."
The wind blew stronger and stronger. Yan Xun, wearing a long black fur coat, stood in the cold wind, unmoved. The sun in the sky was covered by dark clouds, and everything was dim. It was a bleak midwinter, and a war was approaching. There was a heavy snowstorm tonight. Chu Qiao had just set up camp when she heard the sound of hurried horse hooves coming from the north. He Xiao led his troops forward and soon brought back a young general. The man was covered in blood and his hair was disheveled. When he saw Chu Qiao, he threw himself in front of her as if she were his family member. He shouted, "Great! Sir Chu, you are here. Please lead your troops to rescue His Majesty. It will be too late if you are late!"
With a clang, the broken red sword in Chu Qiao's hand fell to the ground. She widened her eyes, took a step forward and said coldly: "What did you say? Say it again!"
"Xia's Zhuge sneaked into Yanbei and set fire to Yuegong City's winter food. Your Majesty happened to be nearby. Without knowing it, he only brought 2,000 men to rescue Yuegong. He was trapped by Zhuge and stabbed several times. He can no longer ride a horse. Now, 50,000 troops of Daxia have surrounded Yuegong. Your Majesty is in the city. I led 300 men to risk my life to break through and report the news. We all died on the way. I was the only one who escaped."
Chu Qiao frowned and said in a deep voice: "How could the 50,000-strong army of Daxia enter Yanbei quietly? Explain it to me clearly!"
The young man’s face was covered in dust, his eyes red as he shouted in anger, “I don’t know either. They seemed to have jumped down from the sky. Zhuge Yue’s swordsmanship was superb, and he pierced your Majesty’s chest with one sword. If it weren’t for the guard Ah Jing who risked his life to save him, you would have been in misfortune by now. The general named Yue Qi attacked the city gate three times and killed all of his brothers…”
Sun Cai shed tears as he spoke, picked up the long sword at his waist, and presented it to him, saying, "Oh, right, this is the sword of the dog thief Zhuge. He used this sword to stab your majesty, but it got stuck on your majesty's shoulder blade and couldn't be pulled out."
Chu Qiao was stunned for a moment, and slowly took the sword. She saw that the sword body was ancient and covered with bloodstains. It was Po Yue. She gripped the sword tightly, suppressing her desire to tremble, and her eyes seemed to be filled with snow, almost melting it.
Zhuge Yue, how could he? He had told himself personally that he was not here for war, so how could he burn Yue Gong's food supplies and assassinate Yan Xun?
But if not, what is this, and whose blood is stained on this Broken Moon Sword?
"Sir! Please go quickly, it will be too late if you don't go now!"
Sun Cai knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged. Chu Qiao took a deep breath and felt her heart run cold. If Yan Xun got into trouble this time, wouldn’t he be harmed by her? She jumped on her horse swiftly and said to her subordinates coldly: "All troops, break camp! Go to Yuegong!"