Jiang Wu was stunned, his heart beating fast, then he nodded and said, "As you command." After that, seeing that his master didn't seem to be in trouble, he quietly retreated.
The envelope was already sealed, so of course he didn't dare to open it casually. As I walked, I thought, it is said that the royal family intends to form an alliance with Yanbei, could it be true? If this is true, then from now on, will Huai Song's surname be Nalan or Yan? Could it be that Prince Taiping’s assassination attempt a few days ago was really successful?
Of course, the thoughts of those big shots were not something that someone like him could guess at will. Jiang Wu thought about it for a while, then stopped thinking about it. He was attracted by the smell from the kitchen and went to be lazy.
Xuan Mo sat in the study, leaning on the back of a nanmu chair engraved with a nine-dragon pattern, and slowly closed his eyes.
The news of the marriage between Yanbei and Huaisong soon spread throughout the land of Simon. In this turbulent time, this marriage clearly brought the two countries into an alliance. Soon, the Huai Song navy deployed troops at Huangfu Hai, eyeing Daxia covetously, and made an attitude that they were ready to advance and retreat with Yanbei at any time.
That night, the entire Baizhi Pass was still immersed in a cold and dead silence. Ever since the Yanbei Army took over this pass, it no longer had the prosperity it once had.
At the second watch, a group of soldiers wearing black camouflage uniforms and with oil paint on their faces slowly appeared at the pass.
Chu Qiao stood in the middle of the team and once again reiterated the rules of this operation.
First, indiscriminate sniping. Anyone who may pose a threat or sound the alarm must be killed with the cleanest and most efficient sniping.
Second, the first team created chaos in the city, and the second team drove the horses in the northeast direction, causing panic among the defenders in the city and creating the illusion of a large-scale Xia army attack.
Third, the other troops were waiting outside the city, ready to pick up their companions at any time and take advantage of the chaos to pass through.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the moment the third watch drum sounded, He Qi led the first team of members and rushed towards the Baizhi Pass like a group of ghosts.
At the same time, the second team also set off and headed northeast to meet the cavalry that had been prepared long ago.
In the darkness, He Qi led the elite soldiers of the Xiuli Army crawling forward and soon disappeared from sight. Chu Qiao waited in the dense forest with several personal guards. She sat quietly, going over the entire plan over and over in her mind, looking for flaws and loopholes.
Once, twice, three times.
Okay, no problem. She took a deep breath and waited quietly for a response.
About half an hour later, a deafening sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the northeast, the sound of horse hooves was like thunder, interspersed with the angry shouts of soldiers. The dust raised by the branches tied to the horses' tails obscured the moon in the sky. At first glance, it looked like hundreds of thousands of horses and soldiers were rushing towards them. There was a sudden uproar on the city wall of Baizhi Pass, and everyone's attention was drawn to the northeast.
Soon, the northeast gate of Baizhi Pass opened, and two teams of scouts quietly rushed out. However, before they could get close, the Xiuli Army guarding outside the gate had quickly killed them.
Another half hour later, fire suddenly broke out in the city. Chu Qiao stood up immediately and said in a deep voice: "It's time, let's go!"
On the banks of the Chishui River, the floating boat that had been prepared long ago was pushed onto the surface of the water. Chu Qiao and her subordinates boarded the raft and headed at full speed along the waterway towards Bian Tang.
The Yanbei Army was composed entirely of cavalry and heavy armored troops, without any navy. Taking over Baizhi Pass in a hurry would certainly not be able to completely defend such a vast area of water. In addition, there are enemies attacking from both inside and outside. At this moment, the Chishui waterway is the best passage to Bian Tang.
However, after walking for less than an incense stick of time, I suddenly heard the sound of gurgling water ahead. Chu Qiao grabbed the strong bow and pulled it to its full length in an instant. There was a whoosh sound, and a scream sounded in the darkness. Immediately afterwards, hundreds of torches suddenly lit up, and about five hundred warships appeared in the dark night.
There was a series of sharp noises, and dozens of spears stabbed from all directions. A Yanbei officer stood at the bow, holding a knife and shouting: "Death to the traitors!"
Dozens of rows of sharp arrows were strung, with the sharp arrow heads pointed at Chu Qiao and the others. The officer swung his sword suddenly, and the soldiers pulled the triggers of the crossbows, and rows of arrows shot out immediately.
"Jump!" He Xiao suddenly roared, and the next second, the Xiuli Army collectively leaped into the vast Chishui River. Crossbow arrows crackled and densely pierced the small boats and floating boats, but did not leave a trace of blood.
"Commander, they jumped into the river!" someone shouted.
But soon, a soldier shouted: "General! The boat is leaking!"
Immediately afterwards, countless noises came one after another, the bottoms of many cabins were smashed, and the river water rushed in with a roar. In the blink of an eye, three small ships sank. Those Yanbei warriors who couldn't swim struggled in the river while holding onto driftwood. Their screams echoed on the river, torches crackled, and there was chaos all around.
"They're down there!"
The general was furious and shouted, "Use stoning machines and spears to smash them to death! Stab them to death!"
"General, no, we still have people in the river."
"roll!"
The soldier was scolded and wanted to shout, but was pulled aside by his colleagues. He said indignantly: "But His Majesty said to capture him alive!"
Others hurriedly said, "Alive? We may not be able to catch a dead one, how about a living one?"
Torches illuminate the sky and huge rocks are empty.
The general shouted angrily, and his men quickly loaded the stone machines, and rows of spearmen also ran forward. The next second, a rumbling sound was heard, and huge rocks smashed into the water. Spears pierced into the Chishui River sharply like a rain of arrows. The surface of the river was suddenly covered with waves of red mist, and blood rolled like red clouds.
The attacks continued one after another, and gradually the river calmed down. The rafts of Chu Qiao and others were all smashed to pieces. The debris from nearly a thousand rafts formed a floating bridge on the water, which flowed under the Yanbei warships and piled up layer by layer.
The shouts and cries of killing gradually died down. The Yanbei soldiers who had hastily formed a navy looked at the calm river surface in confusion, frowning and asking, "Are they all dead? Why haven't they floated up yet?"
“Look!”
Someone suddenly shouted, and everyone looked in the direction of the voice. They saw countless heads floating on the river in the distance behind them. I saw those people floating on the water while taking off their shirts. Several people gathered together, and after a while, everyone floated up and quickly went away with the current.
The general's eyes widened in astonishment and he asked angrily, "What is that?"
An experienced veteran asked in confusion: "It looks like a sheepskin raft."
“Chase after him!”
"General, those broken pieces of wood are blocking the road. The boat can't move for the time being."
The general stood there in a daze. He didn't expect that even though he had such an advantage, he still let those people get away right under his nose. Nearly 60,000 naval forces of the Yanbei Army stood on the huge warship, watching the figures of those people gradually disappear into the thick night, and they could not recover for a long time.
After meeting up with He Qi and the others, Chu Qiao counted the number of people and found that more than 3,000 people had died in the previous battle, of which 2,000 were killed by Yan Bei's stone machines and spears.
However, at such a cost, it was already an unimaginable victory for all members to pass Baizhi Pass. However, this is not the end. Although they left Baizhi Pass, they successfully attracted the attention of the Yanbei Army. The large area of territory behind Baizhi Pass is still under the control of the Yanbei Army.
Chu Qiao acted decisively and led the army into the mountains. Two days later, they encountered the enemy's first ambush. Within three days, the two sides fought more than 20 times, and most of the battles ended with victory for the Xiuli Army. After all, compared to the Yanbei Army, which is good at cavalry combat, the Xiuli Army is better at field combat and close-range sniping. Under Chu Qiao's leadership, their team fought and ran, rapidly approaching the area under the jurisdiction of the orthodox royal family of Bian Tang.
However, just as they were about to leave the forest and enter the Handan River area, Yan Bei suddenly set fire to the mountain. The fire burned for four consecutive days, spreading throughout the Qiutang Mountain area. Many villages of mountain residents were affected, causing countless casualties.
Chu Qiao had no choice but to lead the army out of the mountains early. Because the forest was on fire, they lost their way and were more than 300 miles off the beaten track when they came out. Despite the presence of veterans like the Wolf Army who were familiar with the terrain, they still met the Yanbei Army again early the next morning.
In the battle of Likangyuan, both sides suffered heavy casualties. Chu Qiao led 3,000 elite soldiers to attack the enemy camp. Unfortunately, the enemy commander was hit by a stray arrow during the battle and his life or death was in danger. However, the Yanbei Army was worthy of being the first-rate iron army on the continent. Even when its commander was injured, it remained calm and fought while retreating, resisting very tenaciously.
The large army had poor mobility, but fortunately they captured a large number of war horses in several battles. After the battle of Likangyuan, Chu Qiao divided the army into ten small teams, each with 4,000 people. The teams were less than two miles apart and marched towards Handan Pass in a fan-shaped manner.
However, just as they arrived in Nanli County, Chu Qiao suddenly fell ill. In fact, she had noticed her physical unwellness as early as five days ago. Not only did she suffer from piercing abdominal pain, but she also felt hot all over, dizzy, retching, and weak hands and feet. It was only because of the urgency of the war that she managed to hold on with her tenacious perseverance. But now that she had temporarily escaped the pursuit of the Yanbei army, her spirit became even weaker. He Xiao ignored her objections, placed his subordinates outside the city, and took her into Nanli City.
Although Bian Tang launched a civil war and Yanbei also passed through this place, the degree of destruction in the country was far less tragic than that of Daxia. Some large cities still maintained their original prosperity. Except for the impact of the war, which pushed up some prices, the rest were almost unaffected.
He Xiao sent someone out to find a doctor. Chu Qiao, who was originally drowsy, couldn't sleep at this moment. She lay on the clean bed, staring at the curtain in a daze, her thoughts floating like clouds in the sky for a long time.
When the Yanbei soldiers were chasing them, they kept calling them traitors, which means they knew her identity. Indeed, with Yan Xun's wisdom, he should have guessed that at this time, the only one who could risk her life to break through was her, the King Xiu Li appointed by Li Ce.
That means Yan Xun wanted to kill her.
That’s right, now that Yan Xun and Princess Jing’an have formed an alliance, she wants to lead troops to help Li Xiuyi. As the leader of Baizhi Pass, he naturally had to help his allies block her at the pass. There were no fathers and sons on the battlefield, let alone them?
She understood all this.
Yan Xun, he is becoming more and more powerful as a hegemon. He is fierce and resolute in killing, bold and careful, and his methods are amazing. Today, he is no longer the child who hid in Shengjin Palace more than a decade ago. He no longer has to look at anyone's face.
The doctor came soon. He Xiao stood behind the doctor and watched nervously as he took her pulse.
The old doctor with a white beard pondered for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Congratulations, sir, your wife is pregnant."
He Xiao was stunned for a moment, then his face flushed, and he quickly said to the doctor: "Don't talk nonsense, this is my wife, I'm just a guard."
When the doctor heard this, he quickly apologized and said with a smile that because he saw that the boy was so nervous, he mistook him for the child's father and hoped for his forgiveness.
He Xiao and the doctor were talking to each other, but Chu Qiao was stunned, as if someone had stabbed her in the bone marrow. She opened her mouth slightly, unable to utter a word for a long time.
What did he say? Are you pregnant? Is she pregnant?