In mid-April, Zhao Che led his army into the southwest and met with Wei Shuye, who had first entered the hinterland of the southwest. This was the first large-scale anti-Japanese army of Daxia after the outbreak of the war. It included 50,000 cavalry, 60,000 infantry, 80,000 heavy armored soldiers, plus Wei Shuye's 10,000 light cavalry, a total of 200,000 troops. Three days later, a logistics supply line from the inland directly to the southwest was established under Zhuge Yue's coordination. At the same time, Zhuge Yue also led his troops to Shengjing and personally commanded the Shengjing camp in the southwest. He could support Zhao Che in the south, keep an eye on Zhao Yang in the north, monitor Yanming Pass in the west, and coordinate the transportation of grain and grass across the country. In an instant, he became the political center of the country.
On April 15, the Yanbei Army finally completed its first meeting in the lower reaches of the Heng River. Those present included the Yanbei Second Army, Sixth Army, Ninth Army, Thirteenth Army, and Black Hawk Army. Led by Cheng Yuan, the Yanbei army quickly assembled, with follow-up troops still arriving in a steady stream, with a total number of up to 200,000.
However, Yanbei did not have a head-on conflict with Daxia. Just when Zhao Che was gathering all his strength and preparing to fight Yanbei to the death, Yan Xun suddenly sent a military order from the rear, ordering the various legions to disperse and follow the footsteps of the horse bandits towards the northern hinterland of Daxia.
In an instant, intelligence came in from the front line like a tide. The Yanbei troops were divided into ten groups and attacked in all directions. The military staff were dazzled by the battle reports from the scouts. Everywhere there were reports of "being blocked", "suffering heavy losses", "fallen", "surrounded", and "unable to contact". All kinds of bad news came down like snowflakes.
Zhuge Yue's capable general Meng Feng returned all the way from the inland of Qinghai to her homeland. Seeing the war everywhere, the young female general was stunned. In the end, she just asked in surprise: "Is Yan Xun crazy? He wants to die with us?"
Zhuge Yue looked at the map with various colors and pondered for a long time. Finally, he came to the military staff headquarters, pressed the map on the table, and whispered: "I think I know what he is going to do."
In a dense jungle on the border of Xia and Tang, Chu Qiao and He Xiao had just reunited with Bian Tang's wedding party. Fortunately, they were blocked by the war and had not yet returned to Bian Tang, so they were able to preserve their strength in such a chaotic situation.
You know, there are 20,000 elite wolf troops here, plus Chu Qiao's 20,000 beautiful soldiers, her current force has reached 40,000.
Forty thousand, a completely elite route. With this army, as long as she commands it properly, Chu Qiao is confident that she can face enemies that are three times her size.
Under the candlelight in the small tent, Chu Qiao was wearing soft armor, holding her helmet in one hand and pointing at the map on the table with the other hand, saying, "He is going to attack Yanming Pass."
"Attack Yanming Pass?"
He Xiao's brother He Qi frowned and asked, "Sir, they have already occupied Baizhi Pass, why are they still going to the trouble of attacking Yanming Pass?"
"You don't understand him." Chu Qiao shook her head. "How could Yan Xun be controlled by others? He is now passing through Bian Tang, and his retreat is in the hands of Princess Jing'an. Once Princess Jing'an turns against him, or the Bian Tang royal family strikes back, the Yanbei Army will be in trouble. And once the retreat is blocked, it will put a lot of psychological pressure on the army. Therefore, Yan Xun must attack Yanming Pass within the specified time and open the northern gate. Now is the time for a decisive battle between Yanbei and Daxia."
Chu Qiao frowned, took a deep breath, and sat cross-legged on the ground. In fact, she should have thought of this earlier. Yan Xun had been patient and even deliberately showed signs of fatigue several times, causing the court and the people of Daxia to become complacent. Later, he risked his life to attack Bian Tang's grain supply. In fact, the looting of grain supply was fake, but the capture of the Tanghuguan commander was real. Through this commander, he contacted Princess Jing'an, who had long had rebellious intentions, and then took advantage of the Daxia civil war to sneak into the southwest quietly. He had been setting up this scheme for a long time.
"Yanbei's strength is definitely more than what it shows on the surface. What is hidden outside Yanming Pass is Yanbei's true strength."
"Sir, should we inform Grand Marshal Zhuge of this?"
Chu Qiao shook her head. "I can think of it, but he can't think of it?"
She rolled up the map with her backhand, spread out the map of Bian Tang, and said in a deep voice: "The war between Yanbei and Daxia is inevitable, and we are powerless to stop it. Our current task is to rush back to Bian Tang as soon as possible, get first-hand information on the war situation in Bian Tang, and see how to assist His Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Guan Song, the deputy commander of the Wolf Army, nodded and said, "Sir, our scouts have been out for two days. They should be back by tomorrow morning at the latest."
Chu Qiao was about to speak when she heard a soldier outside report, "Sir, the scouts are back."
He Xiao at the door heard this and pulled aside the curtain. He saw three soldiers covered in dust and blood staggering off their horses. One of them said, "My lord, the military situation in Bian Tang is critical. The rebels have broken through the Handan Pass. Fang Huaihai, deputy general of the Shennan Jinji Camp, and Tian Rujia, general of the Yunnan West Army, were captured. General Xu Su was betrayed by a traitor, and Yu Cangmuleng died in battle. The Handan Pass Army was completely defeated. The rebels are growing stronger day by day, with as many as 200,000 troops, and have now surrounded the capital."
In an instant, everyone in the room was shocked. Chu Qiao sat on the ground, her brows furrowed, her fists clenched slowly several times, and then loosened little by little.
"Who is the enemy commander?"
"It's Princess Jing'an."
"Have you found out the identity of this person?"
"We found out that this person entered the Prince Jing'an's mansion four years ago. At first, she was just a dancer sold by human traffickers. But later, after being favored by Prince Jing'an several times, she became pregnant and successfully gave birth to a son. Prince Jing'an loved her even more because he had a son in his old age, so he took her as a concubine. Unexpectedly, a year later, she gave birth to another son, and Prince Jing'an was so happy that he made her his principal wife."
He Xiao asked: "Can a slave also be the principal wife?"
"I don't know about this. But later, the Jing'an Palace was not peaceful. Several incidents occurred in succession. The old princess and two princes died one after another. From then on, she became the mistress of the palace. After the Jing'an Prince's coup failed, the whole family was executed. She escaped under the protection of a group of followers loyal to the Jing'an Prince, but she sneaked into Tanghu Pass and survived under the care of the Tanghu Pass commander. It is said that this princess had an affair with the Jing'an Prince's adopted son."
Chu Qiao's face was gloomy, and she asked, "What's her name?"
"I don't know either, I just know her maiden name is Qiu."
"Surname Chou?" Chu Qiao muttered to herself in a low voice.
Guan Song was worried that the capital was surrounded, and said, "Sir, Tangjing is surrounded, we have to go back to save His Majesty!"
Chu Qiao looked deeply at the Baizhi Pass which was firmly occupied by Yan Bei. On the other side of the pass was the territory of Bian Tang.
She nodded and said calmly, "Yes, we should go back."
She had never seen real heavy snow in her life.
In the starless night, the moon appears particularly dazzling, and its snow-white light sprinkles on the ground like waves of flowing water or bright white snowflakes.
She stood on the top of the white tower, wearing a loose robe. The wind rolled in from the end of the sky, blowing up her sleeves, like two eagles flapping their wings, ready to fly. Her long hair was blown by the wind, fluttering behind her like thousands of spider webs. The huge palace was shrouded in the pitch-black night. In the black stone square door in the distance, there was a figure standing. His face could not be seen clearly, but from his straight back one could only guess that he was a soldier, and a very young one at that.
She just stood there for a long time.
Xuan Mo looked at her silently, the moonlight shone quietly on her, with a pure white glow. The night was so quiet, and everything around was silent. Only the wind blew through her robe, making a puffing sound, and the scent of white orchid slowly lingered around his nose.
For a moment, he seemed to have returned to many years ago. At that time he was still a child, following his father in the hunting ground. He won praise from everyone with his excellent archery skills and stood out among the royal children. She rode into the arena in a bright yellow palace dress, and shot three arrows at the bull's eye. Then she turned around, looked at him proudly, and said to him, "If you don't agree, come out and show me how to fight!"
That day, the emperor sat on the throne and laughed, saying that my daughter is no inferior to boys!
Other princes and nobles also praised the princess for her great skills, but he was the only one who stood there quietly, looking up at the little girl sitting on the horse. The sun that day was so warm, the wind so gentle, the sunlight shone on her delicate face, her eyes sparkled, his chest was moist, the arrow pattern on his cuffs rubbed the skin of his wrists, making him feel numb and itchy.
He said nothing. Standing before such a beautiful woman, he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and he has long been accustomed to looking up at that dazzling figure, watching her grow up from afar, watching her gradually become stronger, watching her fall, watching her get up, and watching her step by step to the pinnacle of power.
Time passes so fast, the years are like water on your fingertips, easily drowning the youth and stubbornness of the past, along with those thoughts that have been hidden in the heart for many years, forever losing the chance to be spit out, covered by the yellow sand of fate, buried forever in the rolling dust.
"Xuan Mo," Nalan Hongye suddenly said softly. The white tower was too empty, and her voice sounded a little ethereal. She didn't turn around, still looking at the brilliant lights of thousands of houses below, and asked softly, "Did I really do something wrong?"
"Your Highness is not wrong."
She smiled lightly, shook her head and said calmly: "I'm afraid I'm wrong. What Grand Tutor Duan said may be right. I will open the door to thieves and will destroy Huai Song's foundation sooner or later."
"If the emperor is so seriously ill, the Nalan family has no bloodline left, and the Huaisong lineage is no longer able to inherit."
"Who said that I can't inherit the throne?" Nalan Hongye said with a hint of calm indifference, "Aren't the King of Jinjiang, the King of Anli, and the King of Jianghuai all qualified to inherit the throne?"
She was telling the truth. When the royal family could no longer continue, the royal branch was eligible to inherit the throne, but...
Xuan Mo didn't say anything else. There was silence on top of the white tower. Wind blew in the corridor, bringing with it damp air. Even in summer, it was still a little chilly.
"In the final analysis, it's because I am too selfish. In my heart, family comes first, and country comes second."
Nalan Hongye seemed to be lost in thought, her eyes deep and misty. Having held a high position for many years, she had long since worn away the so-called innocence and kindness in her blood. Even though she was occasionally a little impulsive and willful, it could not overcome the persistence and paranoia in her heart.
Thinking of the faces and actions of those royal relatives in recent times, her eyes couldn't help but flash with a cold light.
The Nalan clan established the country for hundreds of years, and their ancestors sacrificed their lives and shed their blood for this vast land, fighting and dying on the battlefield to defend their country. This kingdom was built by the Nalan family with their blood and bones, and she has guarded it with all her efforts for so many years. Those people are nothing but parasites who enjoy the fruits of their labor. Why should they rule the world?
"This country was founded by my Nalan family, and it was also protected by the blood of my fathers and ancestors from generation to generation. Even if it is to end, it can only end in the hands of my descendants."
A low voice sounded slowly, and the pale moonlight shone on her bright yellow clothes, making her look cold and eerie.
She said in a deep voice: "Inform Yan Xun through official channels that I agree with his proposal and ask him to keep his promise and treat the people of Huai Song well. The one who will inherit the throne in the future must be my son. Also, I want the head of King Taiping."