The snowfield is vast, the sky is cloudless, the cold winter sun shines down with brilliant golden light, and the earth trembles slightly where the flags are fluttering.
Floating black lines surged out from the sky, as if they were a series of mountain ridges moving slowly.
The royal court soldiers stared blankly at the horizon.
The surging black lines were getting closer and closer, like surging waves. Those lines were made up of figures riding horses with swords in hand. They were wearing armor of different colors, riding their horses slowly with neat steps, calm and graceful demeanor, and carrying a majestic and calm, unstoppable murderous aura. They guarded the snow-white flag with gold patterns in the middle and marched forward majestically.
After entering the battlefield, the team's speed suddenly increased. The loose teams on both sides suddenly quickly shrank to the middle. The sound of hooves was like thunder. In an instant, the momentum of the whole team became more murderous and fierce. The formation was changed in the blink of an eye. Then, a tall and upright monk in a monk's robe rushed out of the battle formation surrounded by his bodyguards, facing the Northern Rong coalition, raised a pitch-black ox horn longbow, bent the bow and pulled the arrow. The hard bow was pulled into a full moon, and an arrow shot out.
The iron arrows tore through the air, and their sharp roars echoed over the battlefield. With a mighty momentum that could tear everything apart, they charged straight towards the enemy camp.
With two clangs, the iron arrow pierced the general in front and, with continued force, hit another general next to him. The two generals fell off their horses almost at the same time.
Without waiting for anyone to react, in a flash, the monk continued to pull the bow, and with a few whoosh sounds, a string of arrows shot out, as fast as shooting stars. The enemy army was in an uproar, people shouted and horses neighed, and people fell off their horses one after another.
Suddenly, there was a cry of surprise from the top of the city wall. The monk's last arrow directly shot down a flag in the enemy camp.
The power of these arrows was so awe-inspiring, domineering and majestic that everyone present couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and tremble with fear.
The monk was riding a horse, holding a bow in one hand, and standing on the hillside. He untied the veil on his face, revealing a handsome face. He looked down at the dark and oppressive Northern Rong coalition army below the hillside. His deep and calm blue eyes were as cold as snow, without any sadness or joy. He had an overwhelming momentum and a towering figure, as if a god had descended to the earth.
There was a dead silence like deep water on the battlefield.
The Northern Rong coalition was greatly shocked, and on the top of the holy city, the soldiers were stunned and then cried loudly in the direction of the monks.
The Regent is back!
The Buddha is back!
Their king is back!
He is not a puppet supported by the aristocratic family and Princess Chima, but a king who cares about the people, rises to the challenge in every crisis, and leads these grassroots soldiers to fight on the battlefield!
So what if the king’s biological mother is Han?
He is still a monarch who is deeply loved by the people and supported by the tribe! He is a kind and noble son of Buddha!
The generals' eyes were filled with tears and their blood was boiling.
The Northern Rong coalition was in a panic for a moment, and several tribal chiefs roared at Haidu Aling: "Didn't you say that Sultan Gu was dead? How come he is still alive?!"
Haidu Aling looked in the direction of Tanmarajiva with a frown on his face.
Tanmaraka was famous in all the countries, and Sultan was brave and good at fighting. The Buddhist son and the regent who made all the countries tremble with fear were the same person, so the surrounding small countries did not dare to send troops to attack the royal court easily. In order to borrow more troops, he hinted to the chiefs that Tanmaraka was dead, and the chiefs would happily agree to lend troops.
Unexpectedly, Tanmarajiva did not die in the pursuit of the aristocratic family, and he even came back to defend the city after losing the throne.
Haidu Aling was secretly shocked.
Wakhan Khan once told him that the northern barbarians were defeated half by Tanmarajiva, and the other half by internal power struggles and the struggle for power among the nobles. When people are not united, they will be scattered in the face of a strong enemy. There are also many conflicts among the royal court and nobles. When those conflicts break out, it will be the best time to seize the holy city.
He waited for this opportunity, but Tanmarajiva was more stubborn than he and the old Khan had expected.
No wonder Wakhan Khan has always been deeply jealous of Tanmaraga. Perhaps this man is really broad-minded, or perhaps he just has far-sighted plans. In short, no matter whether the Holy City wins or loses this battle, his good name will spread throughout the countries. He no longer needs to flatter the aristocratic families and can easily take back the throne and win the hearts of the people.
So what if the Buddha is a regent who kills countless people? In a chaotic world, whoever can keep the people alive is the king in the hearts of the people.
As everyone was shocked, Tanmarajiva galloped down on his horse. The soldiers behind him, wearing different armors, followed him without hesitation, swinging their long swords and stabbing directly into the central battle formation of the Northern Rong coalition. With an indomitable momentum, they collided with a tribal cavalry.
The cavalry relied on the advantage of their tall horses to launch a charge. They were not in a hurry. Three people formed a team, two of them entangled the cavalry, and one of them swung a sword, specifically chopping the horse's legs. With a flick of his hand and a fall of the sword, the warhorse neighed and threw the soldier off its back.
In an instant, the two teams were engaged in a fight. The members of the Buddhist team were fearless and ruthless. They bit the enemy's throat like wild beasts. No matter how the enemy struggled, they could not get rid of them.
The chiefs were terrified and stopped their attack on the holy city, ordering the cavalry on both wings to retreat.
"Sultan Gu has accomplished extraordinary feats. With thousands of troops under his command, he can kill the enemy on the battlefield alone! He must have brought back reinforcements!"
In a moment, people and horses were thrown to the ground, and several tribal chiefs turned around and retreated.
Haidu Aling gripped the reins tightly, furious. He looked around and thought calmly: Tanmarajiva was being hunted by the noble families, and it was impossible for them to gather a team that could compete with his coalition of 100,000 in such a short time!
"Don't panic!" he yelled. "The people of the royal court hate the Han people. After deposing Sultan Gu, they immediately sent troops to attack the Western Army. The Wei Dynasty and the royal court went to war. The Western Army was busy with its own affairs. Where could Sultan Gu find troops to borrow?"
"Sultan Gu directly led his troops to disperse the coalition forces, but he was just bluffing!
The tribal chiefs turned a deaf ear and continued to retreat.
"My boys, follow me!"
Haidu Aling gritted his teeth, drew his sword, shouted to his subordinates behind him, and rode forward.
This is not the first time that the coalition forces have disobeyed orders.
In front, Tanmarajiva, in his monk robes, was hunting, like a sharp knife with a cold glow, and he continued to approach the center of the coalition forces with his personal guards. The coalition forces' battle formation was broken up, and the tribal cavalry on both sides kept dispersing to both sides, and the entire team seemed to be cut in half.
Snow and mud were flying all over the sky, and arrows were flying.
Haidu Aling led his men forward, and Tanmarajiva's troops suddenly began to shrink to the center, and then retreated without hesitation.
The Beirong troops were overjoyed and immediately chased after them.
Haidu Aling was stunned, and a bad premonition came over him, his palms were sweaty: Could all this be Tanmaraga's plan? He had used this trick before when he set an ambush and severely damaged Wakhan Khan.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the holy city. Tanmarajiva suddenly descended from the sky, and the morale of the defenders of the holy city was greatly boosted. Attacking the holy city at this time might very well fall into Tanmarajiva's trap.
The shouts of killing were deafening, and the subordinates clasped their fists and asked: "Prince, the formations on the left and right wings are messed up! Which side should we fill?"
"Retreat! Save your strength and let the tribal cavalry take over!"
He said decisively.
When the Northern Rong people also began to retreat, the cavalry of other tribes became more and more panicked. The battle formation of the entire coalition forces was broken. Bi Suo, who was leading the imperial guards to defend the city on the top of the city, immediately ordered the city gates to be opened and sent out a team to support them. The two armies quickly merged and withdrew into the city.
The Northern Rong coalition temporarily withdrew to the main camp and stopped attacking.
There was a huge crowd in front of the city gate.
The common people did not understand the bloody storm in the court, and were in a state of panic. After Tanmarajiva left, the noble families began to revise the laws and intensified their efforts to exploit the common people. Only then did they realize that the previous unrest was probably a conspiracy of the noble families, but it was too late, and the Buddhist disciples were nowhere to be found.
After the holy city was besieged, they lived in fear and suffered every moment. The sky over the holy city was shrouded in dark clouds, and there were bitter winds and rain everywhere.
Hearing that Tanmaragha had returned with his troops, they excitedly rushed out of their homes, carrying the elderly and children, to welcome their king.
Soon, all the people in the city came, men and women, old and young, rich and poor, kneeling on both sides of the long street, crying with excitement.
"King, we shouldn't have listened to rumors! We shouldn't have been deceived by those nobles!"
"We are sorry, King!"
"The king has given us a stable life, and he is a worthy son of Buddha!"
"What's the use of the will that Princess Chima brought out? We don't recognize the will, we only recognize the king!"
They shed tears.
The team passed by them without stopping.
The people raised their heads and looked up at the general surrounded by soldiers. Their eyes were filled with eagerness. They shouted, yelled, and cried. Their voices combined into a wave that reached the sky.
"King! You are back!"
"You are our king!"
They cried so hard that they were shaking all over, and the whole street was filled with howling.
The people, who had been instigated by the noble families and monks to suspect that Tanmarajava was colluding with foreign nations and felt that he was unfit to be king, felt ashamed and regretful. They knelt forward to pay their respects, kowtowed and cried, and soon blood flowed profusely.
The troops passed by them, and the flying snow and mud kicked up by the horses' hooves splashed onto their faces and bodies.
The reinforcements crossed the long street and went straight to Wangsi.
The people prostrated themselves on the ground, kissing the places where Tanmaragha's mount had passed, with tears streaming down their faces.
The square outside the royal temple was already filled with kneeling common people. Soon, generals and officials also hurried over, each of them looking exhausted and covered with bruises.
Before the Northern Rong coalition army approached, the dignitaries in the city were busy packing their luggage, arranging carriages and horses, and secretly fleeing in the dark and windy night. They could not bear to abandon the people in the city and flee, and remembered the heroic feat of Tanmarajiva who stayed behind to defend the city at the age of thirteen. They suppressed their fear, climbed to the top of the city wall, and defended the city with the soldiers.
The people are in the city. They were promoted by the king himself and cannot bring shame to the king!
They knelt in front of the temple gate and kowtowed in unison.
The team stopped and Tanmarajika dismounted.
The densely packed black heads in the square bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before him.
There was no expression on Tanmarajiva's face. He didn't even look at them and stepped into the royal temple.
Bishun was covered in wounds, his armor tattered and sticking to his body. He looked at his back with a worried look on his face. He pulled Yuanjue who had just dismounted from his horse and asked with a pale face, "When did the king start practicing?"
On the battlefield, when other soldiers saw Luo Jia shoot an arrow through the enemy general, he was filled with despair: Luo Jia's body could not bear the backlash of his martial arts. The doctor and Monda Deva had warned him not to use his martial arts again! This time he forced himself to use his martial arts, which was equivalent to using up his last bit of energy. How long could he hold on?
Yuan Jue's eyes were red: "Since yesterday..."
That day, Jin Bo accidentally let slip that Tanmo Luojia learned that after he fell asleep, there was turmoil everywhere in the royal court, Haidu Aling made a comeback, and the holy city was in danger, so he decided to come back. They couldn't persuade him, so they had to turn around and go back. On the way, they met several people loyal to Tanmo Luojia and hurried back to the holy city. Last night, Tanmo Luojia asked Yuanjue to take out all the pills and eat them all in one breath - he had to practice his skills to get the upper hand in front of the battle, shock the coalition forces, and scare off Haidu Aling and those tribal chiefs.
This time, Tanmarajiva did not take off his monk's robe while practicing.
"How many reinforcements are there?"
Yuan Jue shook his head and sighed: "There are only more than 2,000 people. These people were originally soldiers of the Five Armies. They didn't want to be controlled by Princess Chi Ma, so they secretly ran away to join the king and happened to meet us... The situation is too urgent!"
Bisa clenched his fists and quickly followed Tanmarajiva.
Tanmarajiva stood in front of the hall with niches, staring at the black boxes on the table. His eyes were cold and a cold murderous aura emanated from his body.
At this moment, Bhisatta did not know whether he was Tanmaraka or Sultan Kumarajiva.
They were one person, but in the past Bhisatta could distinguish between himself as a son of Buddha and himself as the Regent King.
Now, Roga and Sultan Gu have become one. He is flying in front of the battle array in a monk's robe, without a mask on his face. He is more majestic than before. His every move is intimidating without even being angry, and there is no warmth in his eyes when he looks at people.
Bisa didn't know whether this was good or bad.
Why would he come back? The Northern Rong coalition has a total of 100,000 people! With 100,000 people, they can't defend the city with just these few people...
Bishuo concealed her grief and said in a hoarse voice: "The bodies of Aqi, Prajna and the guards have been collected. They are all here... The people secretly helped collect the bodies. King, the generals of the guards are conservative, but there are still many soldiers who are loyal to you, and so are the people. Not long ago, they secretly set fire to the king's temple and burned down the Kang family's house..."
"Who is the mastermind behind this? How many parties are involved?"
Tanmaraka asked, his tone cold.
Bisuo clasped his fists and said, "The family that benefits the most will definitely participate. The Kang family, the An family, and the recently rising Wugu family... They used the will in Chima's hand to secretly unite the monks in the temple, first inciting the people, saying that the king is protecting the Han people, arousing the people's resentment, and then killing people to frame them, disrupting the people's hearts, making the people fear the regent king, and then secretly arresting Mo Biduo, Meng Qi, Zhang Xiaowei, who are loyal to the king, and controlling the Holy City's guards and the central army guards, so that Chima can provoke conflicts between me and the king, and then profit from it..."
Princess Chima persuaded her husband Aklie to cooperate with her, but Aklie refused. The noble family was afraid that Aklie would leak the secret, so they simply killed him.
That day, Bisha didn't want to deceive Tanmaragha anymore, so he told him his life story and sent him away, delaying the pursuers. After he was exhausted, he was captured.
The city was in turmoil for several days. The officials and generals who were still loyal to Tanmarajiva were thrown into jail. The aristocratic families sent people to spread rumors everywhere to slander Tanmarajiva, saying that he had joined forces with the Han people to seize the royal court, and the people believed it to be true.
Princess Chima and the aristocratic families forced Bisha to ascend the throne.
Bisa pretended to cooperate and tried to rescue those generals who sympathized with Tanmaragha one after another. She asked Princess Chima about her accomplices, followed the clues, and pieced together a rough outline of their plan.
What made him uneasy was that Princess Chima and her gang's original plan was to use Princess Wen Zhao to threaten Luo Jia, and it was they who set the fire in the posthouse.
Chi Ma was determined to find evidence of Tanmarajiva and Princess Wen Zhao's secret reconciliation, but she waited for a long time without finding an opportunity. Later, a maid told her that Princess Wen Zhao was still a virgin. She found it unbelievable and had to give up the plan.
After listening to what Bhisa said, Tanmaraka remained calm and asked, "Is there a list?"
"I've made a note of it and I'll keep it with me."
Bisa took out the list and laughed at himself. He wanted to stabilize the situation and avenge Tanmaragha, but he was outnumbered and could not do anything to the noble family. He could only hide the list and evidence and wait for a chance to deal with those people in the future.
Unexpectedly, within just a few days, the royal court was turned upside down, it suffered a series of defeats, the Holy City was besieged, and the noble families fled in all directions. Most of them, including Princess Chima, also ran away. Before leaving, she knelt down and begged him to leave with her, but he ignored her.
He is the general of the central army and the son of the Tanmo family. It is his responsibility to protect the holy city.
The coalition forces came, and everyone was in a dangerous situation. He was focused on defending the city and thought he would never see Tanmaragha again in his lifetime.
Tanmaraka raised his hands.
The guards waiting outside the corridor immediately stepped forward, took the list from Bisa, and left in a hurry.
Tanmaraka turned around and walked into his own meditation room. Everything in the room was the same as before, with dark bloodstains on the tiled floor, sword marks on the columns and windows, and a few arrows stuck in the earthen wall.
He walked through the deserted inner hall, approached the couch, pulled out a sandalwood sheet, and took out a paper package and a red hairband.
He kept the honey she gave him.
He pressed the paper package into his arms, picked up the hairband, wrapped it around his wrist, and walked out of the inner hall.
There were hurried footsteps in the corridor. The monks who stayed in the temple stood at the bottom of the stairs, all looking at him, wanting to say something but stopping themselves, with a look of shame on their faces.
An old monk stepped forward, his face filled with shame: "The king's heart is full of life. In order to guard the holy city and protect the people, he risked his life to rush back to take charge of the situation... The Buddha said that all beings are equal. We are obsessed with it. We have prejudices against the king because of our blood relationship. We also suspect the king of killing innocent people because of General Saisanger. Little do we know that the king has great love in his heart, which is not stained by any color, and is not confused by any appearance... We are ashamed."
The monks put their hands together and bowed.
Tanmarajiva stepped down the steps without looking at them and walked out surrounded by his personal guards.
From then on, no king would live in the royal temple anymore.
Yuan Jue, who was walking behind, sneered and looked around: "The Holy City is under siege. Do you plan to continue sitting in the temple and chanting scriptures, or follow the king like me and help defend the Holy City?"
The monks blushed.
…
Half an hour later, the guards brought the people on the list back to the royal temple.
The angry people immediately rushed up, picked up stones and threw them at those people. Seeing that the guards did not stop them, they rushed forward to beat and tear them apart.
"You framed the Buddhists! You hunted down the Buddhists! You deceived us!"
"Beat them to death! They almost killed the Buddha!"
The officers were bleeding from their heads and screaming for help, but no one paid any attention.
…
Tanmarajiva rode out of the royal temple, still in his monk's robes. The sunlight shone on his sharp face, making his facial features even more distinct.
Wherever he went, there was crying and shouting.
The people wept bitterly and shouted his name loudly. The soldiers looked up at him, their eyes gleaming with the enthusiasm of being willing to die for him.
Tanmarajiva climbed to the top of the city wall, without a trace of emotion on his face.
The generals came forward to report the situation in the city. Most of them were low-ranking officers and had no access to military secrets, so they did not participate in the hunt for Tanmarajiva that day.
Tanmarajika asked how much food, soldiers and weapons were left in the city, and everyone answered one by one.
His eyebrows wrinkled slightly.
Bi Suo sighed, "All the crossbow carts have been scrapped, and we don't have many arrows left. Haidu Aling said that they brought enough food and grass to last for half a year. Our granary is almost empty..."
Everyone looked gloomy.
Everyone understood that due to the recent turmoil in the royal court, the tribes had to relocate one after another, and the soldiers stationed in other important towns were unable to rush to help. Without food supplies, they could not hold out for long...
Tanmo Luojia looked at the densely packed camps of the Northern Rong coalition outside the city and said, "The Holy City must be defended. Haidu Aling's ambition is not only to plunder the Holy City. The Holy City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If he occupies the Holy City, the entire royal court will fall into his hands. He can also expand eastward and westward by taking advantage of the geographical location..."
By then, the huge lost territory that Yao Yingcai had just recovered would also be taken away by him.
Everyone's hearts beat with fear when they heard this. If Haidu Aling captured the Holy City, the entire royal court would be destroyed!
"Defend the Holy City and hold back their forces."
Tanmarajiva Dao.
Everyone responded in unison, calmly and generously - even if they all died in this battle, they would not let Haidu Aling succeed!
After a while, several imperial decrees were issued one after another.
All the officials and soldiers who stayed behind to defend the city were promoted one level regardless of their background, and those who had made contributions were rewarded according to their merits.
All the able-bodied men in the city who were able to fight in the battlefield were assembled, divided into several teams, and rushed to different city gates.
The old, weak and women also came out of their homes and were divided into different teams under the command of the bodyguards. Some helped to move equipment, some helped to treat the soldiers' injuries, and some helped to run errands and pass messages.
From today on, all food supplies in the city will be distributed by the army.
The clerk found the craftsmen who were good at making equipment according to the list, and summoned them to help repair and improve the city defense equipment on the top of the city.
In addition, Tanmarajiva also announced an edict.
From today on, all slaves belonging to the nobility in the city, regardless of gender, will be freed as long as they participate in defending the city, and those who have made contributions will be rewarded according to their merits.
This decree was issued with great fanfare.
The slaves who had not escaped in time were overjoyed and wept bitterly. They found the soldiers, took up their weapons, and defended the city with them. The monks also came out of the royal temple. They could not kill, so they helped count and distribute the food and maintain order to prevent the elderly, the weak, women and children from having their food stolen when they were collecting it.
With Tanmarajiva in charge, everyone, from generals to ordinary people, suddenly found a backbone. They changed their previous despair and calmed down. They were no longer in a panic. After the imperial edicts were issued, they were quickly implemented.
The morale of the army was at an all-time high. The officers didn't need to say anything inspiring. As long as Tanmarajiva gave the order, the soldiers would charge forward without hesitation even if there were mountains of swords and seas of blood ahead.
Whenever the Northern Rong coalition attacked the city, Tanmarajiva would always stand on the top of the city wall to command his soldiers. He was dressed in a monk's robe and looked majestic, as if he was not afraid of the arrows flying all over the sky.
Under his leadership, the soldiers fought off the attacks of the Northern Rong coalition forces time and time again.
Six days later, the city ran out of arrows and almost exhausted food. The soldiers defended the city with empty stomachs and felt dizzy.
The Beirong people were like waves, surging up in waves. They were an isolated island about to sink in the waves, being swallowed up by the waves bit by bit.
The soldiers were so bloodthirsty that the corpses piled up into hills under the city walls.
The yang is as bloody.
The Northern Rong coalition forces once again attacked the city walls with overwhelming momentum.
Bi Suo, holding a long sword and covered in blood, chopped down a Beirong man who had climbed up the rope ladder. Together with Yuan Jue, they cut the rope ladder and the blade of the long sword was broken.
The horns sounded, and the Northern Rong coalition retreated.
Bisa lay in a pool of blood, gasping for breath, looking at Tanmaragha, feeling sad.
He was not afraid of death, he just felt sad for Luoga.
Several soldiers were seriously injured and their bodies were getting colder and colder. In order to comfort them, the people around them sang a war song.
At first, the singing was sad and low, but later more and more people joined in humming. The soldiers wiped the blood from their swords with cracked lips and sang louder and louder. The singing spread from the top of the city wall to the bottom, and the people in the city also joined in. The singing was like rivers merging into the vast ocean, penetrating the clouds and cracking the rocks, and lingering over the holy city for a long time.
Suddenly, a strange sharp sound interrupted the bleak singing floating over the battlefield.
Everyone was stunned and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
The red sun had already fallen into the valley. In the dark sky, one after another, silver lights with tails flashed up into the sky, illuminating half of the sky, and then covered the camp of the Northern Rong coalition.
In just a blink of an eye, blazing flames rose from the coalition camp, silver light fell from the sky, and the earth shook with loud thunder.
The royal soldiers had never seen such a scene before and were stunned.
The Northern Rong coalition camp was in chaos and turned into a sea of fire.
The soldiers on the city wall suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted, "Reinforcements! Reinforcements!"
Everyone perked up and looked in the direction of his finger.
The author has something to say: This chapter is not finished yet, and I haven't written about the crazy meeting. I will finish this chapter later. I suggest you get up early tomorrow morning to read it.