The night Wei Jing left the camp, Prince An's group launched a breakout.
Wei Xu said: "The end of Yin and the beginning of Mao is the best time to break out."
In early winter, at the end of the Yin period and the beginning of the Mao period, it is the darkest time before dawn.
The enemy must be aware of our predicament, and both sides are well aware of tomorrow's breakout.
The best time to break out is when it is still foggy. When it is daybreak, obstacles to vision are greatly reduced, but it is not completely bright yet, which brings a lot of obstacles to the enemy.
Unfortunately, the enemy is also aware of this. This is the best time to break out, and the enemy must have been well prepared. If Prince An and his party run into them, it would do more harm than good.
Wei Xu simply gave up and chose the darkest time before dawn.
Our own vision is unclear, and so is the enemy's. The best strategy is to attack the enemy when they are least prepared. Besides, dawn was approaching, and they just happened to rush down the mountain to get as close to the dense forest as possible.
"The Yizhou army will be heavily deployed at the front road entrance, the left rear pass, and the southeast and north areas where the trees are sparse."
The territorial map had been lost long ago, so Wei Xu casually broke off a branch and drew a crude battle formation map on the moist mud.
“We can only choose the west.”
To be honest, there will be enough Yizhou troops on either side, so we can only try to choose the better ones. The west is densely wooded and has a rugged terrain, making it difficult for the Yizhou army to deploy, but it is also difficult for our side to move forward. However, it does have one advantage: once we succeed in breaking through, it will be difficult for the enemy to pursue us.
Compared with the difficult road, the Yizhou army is more taboo.
Everyone was convinced by Wei Xu's strategy. King An looked around at the ministers and generals around him and said in a deep voice: "The battle to break out is difficult. You all need to try your best to stay together and don't scatter."
It is easy to get ordinary soldiers, but it is difficult to find good ministers and brave generals. Guo Huai, Chen Ang and others are his last resort. At this point, King An could abandon his remaining troops, but he could not abandon the talents he had accumulated over the years.
Everyone knew the danger, and they all agreed solemnly, thinking that as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.
There were still more than two hours until the end of the Yin hour, so after discussing the strategy for breaking out, everyone took the time to rest.
Wei Xu was not very tired. He was full of energy and took the initiative to take over the task of keeping watch.
It was late at night and the rain was falling. It gradually became lighter but the temperature remained cold. Wei Xu looked at the dim yellow stars dotted across the mountain and slowly walked to the side of the stone platform. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a small figure curled up on the ground, shivering in his sleep, unable to bear the severe cold in the mountains.
At first glance, the man with a pointed chin and a pale yellow face was Fu Pei.
After glancing at him for a moment, Wei Xu withdrew his gaze and walked away calmly.
At the hour of Yin, there was a quiet movement on the mountain. More than ten thousand soldiers gathered. Prince An boosted the morale and, with a command, rushed down the mountain to break out.
Fu Pei was also brought along, which might not be a bad omen.
However, in the darkness and chaos, the ordinary soldiers could not see or recognize Fu Pei, so the talisman was not very useful at the moment.
The breakout was extremely difficult, and as soon as they broke out of the intersection, they immediately alarmed the Yizhou army. The Yizhou army reacted very quickly, and even though Wei Xu chose a very good time, he did not gain much advantage.
The enemy army was like a tide, with shouts of killing shaking the sky, and it seemed to be surging and about to overwhelm Prince An's side. Even with Wei Xu and generals like Chen Ang and Xu Cang, they were still in danger everywhere.
When the situation was most dangerous, Prince An sent out Fu Pei. Unfortunately, it was dark, and the ordinary soldiers had no time to think about who the youngest son of Marquis Pinghai was in the melee. Even if they occasionally remembered, they could not recognize him because the battlefield had not stopped.
If Fu Pei can't be used, he will be a complete burden. At that time, 80% of the more than 10,000 soldiers around Prince An had been killed, and the enemy's encirclement had been within a hundred feet. Their lives were truly hanging by a thread. Fortunately, Wei Xu's voice rang in my ears in time.
"Another thirty feet, there's a dense forest!"
Wei Xu swung his sword to push away the rain of arrows, reminding King An to be ready. He kicked his feet and was about to take the latter and run into the woods.
Prince An immediately threw Fu Pei away, holding the knife in one hand and grabbing Wei Xu's arm with the other.
Fu Pei fell heavily to the ground and cried out in pain.
If they were thrown down in this situation, they would surely die. They would not be killed but trampled to death.
However, Wei Xu looked back, raised his eyebrows, and the moment he jumped up, he picked up the horse whip and swung it, rolling up Fu Pei on the ground.
The two of them followed one another, flashed in the dim morning light, and ran into the woods.
After entering the forest, Wei Xu could 100% guarantee the safety of the two. He pointed his toes and flew forward. He glanced at Fu Pei who he had just lifted up in his hand and smiled: "This man can be used later."
It is indeed useful. If it is not absolutely necessary, King An will not throw it away. However, he warned: "Be careful, if you are unable to do it, just throw it away."
“It’s natural.”
…
Prince An finally succeeded in breaking through.
But it was a tragic battle, with nearly half of the ministers and generals killed, and only a few hundred of the tens of thousands of soldiers left. He led hundreds of remaining soldiers and fled back to Hanshou County in a hurry under the protection of generals such as Chen Ang and Xu Cang who were lucky enough to survive.
The Yizhou army captured Lingcheng on the same day and completely occupied Quyang County within two days.
King An led an army of 180,000 to the battle, but only a few hundred returned, a devastating defeat.
However, Ji Huan and others still felt extremely guilty for letting Prince An escape. After leaving Lingcheng, he immediately wrote a letter to apologize to Wei Jing.
…
"Escaped."
There was a sinister look on Wei Jing's face. Prince An, this was the culprit who caused his wife to suffer such a disaster. Even if he cut the culprit into pieces, he would not be able to vent his hatred.
Anyone who touches the dragon's reverse scale will die.
Wei Jing's eyes were grim, but he did not blame Ji Huan. With Wei Xu around, he was mentally prepared for Prince An to escape successfully when he left the camp.
Turning to another piece of news, it was about Prince An's current situation.
It was not easy for Prince An to escape, as the Yizhou soldiers were chasing him relentlessly, searching and encircling him, so the group had to keep changing direction. Fortunately, the mountains were high and the forests were dense, and they were endless, so they finally got rid of the pursuers. But by the time he escaped back to Hanshou Pass, it was several days later.
At that time, the Yizhou army had completely captured Quyang, and he was almost trapped again.
Prince An immediately pushed the Hanshou County garrison to the city gates bordering the west and south, and held their ground. According to the latest news, the defenders rushed to the designated city gates, but Prince An himself sent a memorial to Luojing and retreated to Liling overnight.
To the west of Hanshou County is Pingyang, and to the south is Quyang, which was the defense against Wei Jing. The seat of Hanshou, Liling, was located in the central part of the county, not close to the front line.
Wei Jing sneered: "I'm afraid Wei Ping is planning to escape to Luojing."
After losing 180,000 troops, even though Hanshou was the base camp, the defenders were only 60,000 to 70,000. How could it compete with the 300,000 to 400,000 troops from Yizhou? Prince An must have been aware of this as well. After the shock he had at the critical moment of life and death, he could not help but feel fear. He simply moved away from the front line and stayed in the rear.
Han Xi was worried: "My lord, if Prince An retreats to Liling, I'm afraid we may not be able to stop him from escaping to Luojing."
Even though Hanshou does not have as many natural defenses as Quyang, it is still a large and prosperous county with a vast territory and it still has cities and checkpoints. Liling has extensive land and water routes, so it is not difficult to escape.
"Take Hanshou first."
Wei Jing sneered. Prince An probably didn't know that he had already known about the fact that he had set up a new business. He had collected a lot of supporting evidence in the past two years and kept it there for use when needed.
It was not used in the past because it would harm others and not benefit oneself.
Now that Prince An has touched his weak spot, very well, let him taste the feeling of a stray dog first, and then suffer a drastic change. When a snake is struck at its most vulnerable part, more than ten years of business will be reduced to ashes in one day, and one's life and property will be lost. There is probably nothing more painful and heartbreaking than this.
But this was still a bargain for the other party. A hint of red flashed in Wei Jing's eyes, and he wanted to capture him alive and skin him alive with his own hands.
Turning his gaze to the regional map hanging on the wall, Wei Jing stared at it for a moment and gave an order in a deep voice: "Send a message to Bo Yan, and divide the troops into two routes to attack Hanshou together. Zhang Yong and Fan Ya will lead an army of 200,000, go back to Pingyang, and attack Minkou Pass from the east; Bo Yan and Chen Qi, Li Sui and other generals will attack Hanchang City from the south."
"At the Minkou Pass, Fan Ya, Liang Dan and others led 50,000 soldiers each, advancing eastward to besiege the two cities of Nanguang and Xinyang; at the Hanchang City, Li Sui led 50,000 soldiers to besiege the city of Luqiu."
There are ten cities in Hanshou, including the four southwestern cities of Hanchang, Nanguang, Xinyang, and Luqiu. After passing them, you will go straight to Liling.
Wei Jing's brows furrowed, "We must fight quickly and decisively. After besieging the three cities, Zhang Yong and Chen Qi will each lead two armies of 200,000 men and march quickly to capture Liling!"
Throughout history, wars were fought one city at a time, one pond at a time, because of important reasons such as preventing food supply routes from being cut off. Wei Jing had many soldiers and generals, so he directly adopted the strategy of siege and marched straight to Li Ling at lightning speed.
This is the best plan to capture Prince An. If the latter moves a little slower, he will easily be blocked in Liling.
By now, with more than 300,000 Yizhou troops coming with a great victory, facing the demoralized and frightened 60,000 to 70,000 An Wang defenders, the outcome of the battle was no longer suspenseful. Wei Jing just needed to control everything from behind, he had no intention of leaving his wife.
Wei Jing named them one by one, arranged the battles one by one, deduced the subsequent changes and made appropriate arrangements. The clerk was dismissed and Han Xi took quick notes himself.
"Follow the order immediately and fight quickly. If you capture King An alive, you will be promoted three levels and rewarded with ten thousand gold coins!"
"yes!"
Han Xi recorded everything one by one and presented it to Wei Jing for review. After confirming that it was correct, he added sealing wax and immediately called in a messenger to send out two copies of the news.
The messenger received the message and ran out quickly. The hurried footsteps gradually faded away, but Wei Jing did not take his eyes off them.
It was already evening, and the door to the study was not closed. The cold wind blew, blowing the yellow leaves into the room. There is no warm sunshine today, the gray clouds are gradually gathering, the weather is getting colder and colder, and it won’t be long before the first snow falls.
Wei Jing wasn't cold, but his eyes and eyebrows were colder than the weather. After a long while, he stood up and said, "Let's go to the dungeon."
Dungeon.
A group of special people are being held captive.
It was these people who caused his wife to hit her head and her old illness worsened, causing her to go blind.
The most special ones are his aunt and cousin.
Meng and Fu Yun.
Thinking of these two people, Wei Jing's fists under his sleeves suddenly tightened, and a deep and cold look flashed across them.
…
For the second time in his lifetime, he was betrayed by his trusted blood relatives.
For the first time, he lost his mother, brother, nephew, uncle and all his closest relatives. A refined chain pierced his scapula and he was severely injured and subjected to bloody attacks again and again.
The second time, he hurt his beloved wife, his only child, and in order to save their child, she risked going blind.
Both were sincere and then suffered a severe blow. Meng's respectful and kind face flashed by and overlapped with his father's face.
Wei Jing took a deep breath.
He had not forgotten the hatred, but he had not thought about his father in detail for a long time. He gradually gained a mutual understanding with his wife, and with her tender company, the two of them looked forward to the birth of their child together. Joy and attachment occupied his mind, making him peaceful and tranquil. Therefore, for a long time he did not savor the deep pain that his father had brought him.
A surge of anger surged in his chest, threatening to burst out of his body. Wei Jing clenched his teeth, his face twisted for a moment.
He stood there stiffly for a moment before he opened his eyes and took a step out of the outer study and headed towards the edge of the west road of the County Magistrate's Mansion.
In the prison, the courtyard made of large bluestones is extremely cold and hard. Two rows of knife-wielding guards stand side by side, patrolling constantly. The scabbards have a dark brown metallic color, adding more eerie and murderous atmosphere to the place.
With a "creaky" sound, the heavy iron door was pushed open, and a chilling coldness came towards him. The footsteps followed one after another, and Wei Jing walked along the corridor to the end and stopped in front of the last doorway.
There is a very large space inside each doorway, and the last one contains a cell. Two iron gates made of fine iron, one on the left and one on the right, separate the cells into two rows of three for serious criminals.
The room in the middle on the left held Meng and Fu Yun as prisoners.
…
"Apei, my son."
The woman who used to live a life of luxury is now unkempt, with deeper wrinkles around her eyes and more white hair. She seems to have aged ten years in just a few days. She was very anxious, her brows furrowed tightly, and she murmured, "I wonder how your brother is doing?"
She was asking her own daughter, but unfortunately she received no response.
Fu Yun was in a daze, and had been like this since she was locked up. The more she refused to recall, the more Fan Tian's incredulous face flashed before her eyes.
Fan Tian is emotionally immature, and perhaps still a little naive under the protection of his brothers, but he is not a fool. When the sudden change happened, he immediately understood what was going on. He was shocked and incredulous, but Tadakami's instinct made him draw his sword and step forward the next moment.
There were not many fake monks and they were quickly captured, including the Meng mother and daughter. Fan Tian stood there blankly with a sad look on his face and tears in his eyes.
This scene was frozen in Fu Yun's last memory. She covered her head and closed her eyes tightly, "No, don't look at me like this."
She didn't want to face Fan Tian. She was going to die anyway, so she rushed directly towards the guard's blade, but unfortunately she failed and was restrained.
In the end, she caught a glimpse of his sad tears.
"No, no."
Fu Yun once thought that her tears had all run out, having shed them all in the disaster that left no one to cry out to. But at this moment, her eyes, which she thought had dried up long ago, became moist again, and tears flowed like a spring.
"Why are you crying?!"
Meng asked sternly, "Are you thinking about that guy named Fan again?!"
She was already anxious because of her son's safety, and she became even more anxious and angry when she saw this: "You must have forgotten your brother a long time ago, and you only care about that guy named Fan!"
"I lost my mind as soon as I saw the man surnamed Fan! Otherwise,..." How could the man surnamed Shao have avoided it? !
Mrs. Meng was so angry that she thought that if her daughter had cooperated at that time, the two of them could have intercepted Shao Qing together, and they might not have missed it.
But she stopped talking in time, she did not forget that there was a row of knife-wielding guards standing outside the iron cage.
Meng lowered her eyes, hiding the dark light in them.
I don’t know whether Wei Jing is dead or not.
She knew very well that Prince An had planned the plan for a long time and it was flawless, but Wei Jing was no ordinary person either. She wondered how the battle of Quyang would turn out.
If she and her daughter were captured accidentally and Wei Jingruo was still alive, it wouldn't necessarily mean their death. And even if she was going to die, she still had a son.
She had to do her best to earn a living for her son.
Meng's mind was turning over and over again, and he fell into deep thought again. Unexpectedly, at this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps.
The footsteps were steady and powerful, landing one after another on the ground paved with large bluestones. The echo was particularly clear, as if stepping on people's hearts. Immediately afterwards, there was a series of "pa pa" sounds of knees hitting the ground, a silent greeting.
Meng's breathing tightened.
Who is coming is about to come out.
She immediately gave Fu Yun a warning look, and then the footsteps stopped in front of the doorway on the stone steps.
Meng turned back slowly.
In the dim stone prison with only a few lights, a tall and handsome man walked down slowly. He was dressed in black and had a cold face, and a chilling aura came over him.
"Aunt, are you surprised to see that I'm not dead?"
The cold and hoarse male voice added more chill to this eerie dungeon. Meng lowered her eyes, and when she raised them again she was already crying, "No, no. I have failed His Highness's love, I deserve to die!"
Wei Jing's eyes were cold, without the slightest fluctuation.
Meng Shi didn't care. She seemed to be immersed in her own regret: "I didn't want to do it. I really didn't want to do it. It was that Prince An! It was Prince An who captured Apai and threatened us. He said that if we didn't obey, he would kill Apai!"
Meng covered her face and cried bitterly, then fell to the ground helplessly: "Apei is the only bloodline left in the Fu family, and your uncle only has this one son left! I, I have no choice, I just want to keep Apei alive, at least to be fair to your uncle and his wife!"
When she talked about her son, her true feelings were revealed and her tears flowed like rain. For a moment, she couldn't even tell whether what she said was true or false.
"Your Highness, do you still remember your uncle? Your uncle had five sons and six daughters, but now only Wu Niang and Apei are left. I am useless and cannot protect the children. I have no choice but to obey orders..."
Meng knelt down in front of the iron fence and cried, "Aunt is sorry for you. Even if I die immediately, I will have no complaints. But Apei, Apei is still young and he doesn't know anything. Please save him!"
Meng finally revealed her ultimate goal. She was not just acting at this moment. She was sincere about her son. Tears blurred her eyes and she cried sadly: "My husband only has Apei's blood left. Please save him!"
Fu Jun's mother died early, and his stepmother was sweet on the outside but kind on the inside. He was raised under the careful care of his elder sister, Empress Fu, and the siblings had a very deep relationship. This deep affection extends to his two nephews. Fu Jun's kindness to his nephews is genuine and without any flattery. It is not an exaggeration to say that he treats them better than his own sons.
Wei Jing also had a deep affection for his uncle, otherwise he would not have searched for the Meng family for several years and treated them sincerely without any doubt.
Meng knew it very well, she knew very well that only Fu Jun could touch Wei Jing.
So did she succeed?
It’s true.
The smiling face of my uncle flashed before my eyes, and I could still feel the comforting touch on my head. "My Fu ancestor was also a brave general when he founded the country. It's a pity that his descendants are incompetent and gave up military career to pursue literature. I deeply regret it!"
"From now on, it's up to Your Highness!"
Fu Jun's eyes were filled with pride. He had never forgotten the excitement and pride he felt at that time. Even though Wei Jing was filled with resentment, he couldn't help but pause.
It was because of his uncle that he had been searching for her for years without stopping. Even when there was no news, he never gave up. He even thought that if his revenge was successful in the future and he conquered the world, he could advertise it to the whole world.
If his aunt and cousins were still alive, they would contact him after hearing the news. That would be much better than groping around in the vast crowd.
He took good care of them and taught his cousin to carry on his uncle's old wishes, to let his aunt live out her days in peace and to let his cousins find good husbands and live happily ever after.
What a pity, what he got in return was yet another betrayal.
Wei Jing closed his eyes in pain.
Meng in front of us was crying bitterly, regretting and blaming herself. Her true feelings were revealed impeccably, and what she said was reasonable. He should have believed it, but unfortunately, he couldn't fool himself.
Was Meng really being threatened and had no choice but to do it?
No.
Over the past few months, Meng's performance was so good and so perfect, especially during the incident regarding taking a concubine. Her mournful sobbing was so heartbreaking that even Wei Jing was moved.
Fu Yun can be said to be trapped in the nightmare of the past, but what about Meng? True and false statements, what supported her to perform such a good play so successfully, with her performance exceeding her level and her expressions and movements being so real.
Wei Jing is not an ordinary person. Even though he is obscured by family ties, he still has a keen eye.
But Meng did it.
There was no way she was objectively threatened, and if there was any unwillingness in her heart, she would not be able to do it.
She must be proactive.
She was happy to do so.
Sometimes, Wei Jing really hated himself for being so sensitive.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions surging in his chest, opened his eyes, and was as cold as before.
He sneered briefly: "Why?"
Meng wanted to kill his own flesh and blood, but asked him to save her son?
Meng paused, raised her head to look at Wei Jing, and met a pair of eyes that were slightly red.
"Prince An was badly defeated, and only a few hundred remnants retreated back to Hanshou."
Meng was shocked: "What about Apei?!"
Wei Jing did not say anything about the previous events, but only said coldly: "He was brought back by Prince An."
Brought back by King An?
Only a few hundred remnants left?
With Wei Jing's ability, if he had the will, how could he not save Fu Pei with only a few hundred remaining soldiers?
Meng didn't know that Wei Jing had already left the camp, nor did she know that the battlefield was special at that time. She made inferences based on common sense and came to a conclusion. Suddenly, the string in her head snapped.
"You are such a heartless villain! You are just like your father, cruel and merciless!!"
All hopes were dashed. Meng went crazy and pointed at Wei Jing: "And your stupid mother!!"
After tearing off all the disguises, Meng's true colors were revealed, with a look of resentment: "If it weren't for your stupid mother who is as stupid as a pig, and if it weren't for your two brothers being too ostentatious, how could my Fu family be destroyed?!"
"My husband, my children, and my parents, sisters and brothers!"
No one was spared in the center of the vortex. Poor her old parents, who were nearly 70 years old and had lived to a rare age. They were about to celebrate, but they drank the wine that would lead to their death.
"You all deserve to die!"
"Well done, stupid woman! It would be best if the entire Donggong family died! And you too!"
Meng's cloudy eyes revealed deep hatred, and she gnashed her teeth and said, "You deserve to die! You should go to hell with that little bastard of yours!" She sacrificed her blood to the souls of all her blood relatives in heaven! !
Stupid woman? Died well?
Should the entire Eastern Palace family die?
Little bastard?
There was a loud "boom" in his head, Wei Jing's breathing choked, and his eyes instantly turned red.
The resentful face of Mrs. Meng in front of him merged with the kind face of his father in his memory, and the latter instantly became hideous.
The two overlapped and were difficult to separate. The bone-cutting hatred surged along with the blood, almost breaking through the blood vessels. Wei Jing's face twisted and a murderous intent emerged.
He was furious: "Someone, open the door! Gouge out his eyes first!"
He would skin him alive and chop him into pulp! !
Wei Jing's breathing was heavy, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was even a faint layer of blood mist in his vision. His expression was bloodthirsty and ferocious, with a hint of madness, and he fell into the old state of being out of control.
Han Xi felt something was not right, but as he was loyal, he stepped forward without hesitation. However, when he took the key, he couldn't help but look back at his master.
Wei Jing's heart skipped a beat, he felt something was really wrong, he couldn't help but start to worry.
However, just as Han Xi hesitated for a moment, his ears moved and he suddenly heard a light but hurried sound of footsteps approaching from afar, mixed with anxious calls.
"Husband?"
The author has something to say: Ah Qing is afraid that if Wei returns to the time before liberation, it will be difficult for him to get over it.
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