Blood.

He stood with his sword drawn and his horse ready, blocking the narrow exit of the long path, his round face full of determination.

"I only know that the king saved us slaves, so that we can learn Buddhism like him, and that we have enough food and warm clothes. We no longer have to suffer from hunger and cold, and we don't have to worry about being dragged down and beaten to death for no reason..."

He cut down a guard soldier with his sword.

"The king treats me as a human being."

Regardless of whether the king is a Buddhist or a monarch, he will never betray the king.

Feather arrows whizzed and pierced his whole body.

Prajna fell off the horse.

Bi Suo turned his head, his eyes bloodshot. The pursuers caught up with him. He did not dare to stop, but urged his horse to gallop, rushing into the mountain gorge with Yuan Jue, and clasped his fists towards Jin Bo.

"I never thought that the prince would stand up in times of crisis."

Jin Bo returned the salute and said with a smile: "I am the prince of Beirong. If it weren't for the Buddha's pardon, how could I live to this day? Moreover, the Buddha's son saved me once before. I owe him a debt. How can I stand by and watch him die without saving him?"

Biso sneered. Jinbo was willing to risk his life for Luojia, but the people in the royal court treated Luojia like a worn-out shoe.

He pulled out the dagger and handed it to Yuan Jue: "Take the king to Gaochang. The noble families will not let the king go. Only Princess Wen Zhao can save the king."

Yuan Jue took the dagger while choking with sobs: "Where is the general?"

Bisha put on a headscarf, covering her face, leaving only her eyes exposed: "I'll go hold them back."

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer. Everyone looked at each other with tears in their eyes, clasped their fists, and hurriedly parted.

…

It seemed that they had escaped through the secret passage in the back mountain, leaving their pursuers far behind.

Just after we got out of the cliff, we saw a large group of people coming from the snow in the distance. From a distance, it looked like a black torrent, with black flags flying in the wind.

It was the right army stationed nearby.

Yuanjue and his group were sweating profusely as they protected Tanmaragha firmly.

A horseman galloped out from the right army, ran to them, and shouted: "Princess Chima and the civil and military ministers of the court have announced to the world that Sultan Gu is the son of a Han Chinese and is not worthy of continuing to use the Tanmo family name. Our generals do not want to hurt you, so hurry up and leave!"

Yuanjue felt relieved, and a little hope rose up: "Can you give us a few horses?"

The man shook his head, bent his bow and drew his arrow, shooting an arrow at the foot of Yuanjue's horse: "We have done our utmost by not arresting you, so go away! If you don't leave, don't blame us for being merciless!"

Yuan Jue smiled sadly, turned around with his bodyguards, and went in another direction.

They passed the White City, several manors, and several tribes.

These people had received favor from the king.

Everyone who saw them avoided them like snakes and scorpions.

"Go away! We won't take you in!"

They wanted to ask for some water and medicine, but the people closed the city gates and did not allow them to enter the city, leaving them to cry and beg outside the city gates. Some people even chased them and wanted to kidnap them and send them to the holy city to ask for a reward.

Jin Bo said angrily: "The people of the royal court are just like us Beirong people. Don't be polite to them. Just rob them directly!"

Yuanjue had given up and no longer asked for help from the towns he passed by. He asked Jinbo and his friends to rob whatever he wanted. He rode at full speed all the way, dodging pursuits time and time again, and finally arrived at Sand City.

The commander of Shacheng was transferred away, and Yuanjue and a few others pretended to be believers seeking medical treatment and sneaked into the city. They only needed to leave Shacheng to go to Gaochang.

The people in the city were in a state of confusion and the atmosphere was depressing. Both sides of the long street were crowded with people. All of them brought their families with them, carried large and small bags, and looked sad.

"What's going on?"

Ask someone about it.

"A war is about to break out!" A herdsman ran over hurriedly, holding a child in his arms. "Prince Haidu Aling of the Northern Rong has returned! He has brought an army of 100,000 with him! They are going to destroy the royal court!"

Yuanjue shuddered and continued to ask questions. After this, he broke out in a cold sweat.

It turned out that a few days ago, the ministers of the court deposed Tanmaragha in the name of the previous king, the previous queen and Princess Chima, and appointed Bisuo as the king. They were afraid that the various armies would rebel, so they transferred all the generals back to the Holy City and sent their respective confidants to take over the army. The forces soon had conflicts and frictions. Military orders and edicts were flying everywhere, one in the morning and another in the night, and the army was in chaos.

When the surrounding small tribes heard that the royal court had appointed a new king, they all declared independence.

Haidu Aling of the Northern Rong had just borrowed a group of troops and was preparing to attack the Western Army and recapture several important towns to boost morale. However, he did not expect that the royal court was in internal turmoil. He immediately changed his route and lobbied the power that had always coveted the royal court to borrow troops, and thus he assembled tens of thousands of troops.

The eastern gate of the royal court was guarded by a large tribe. When they heard that Tanmarajiva was killed by the noble family, they were filled with grief and anger and opened the gate directly. The Northern Rong coalition was overjoyed and took a shortcut from the east through the desert to attack the holy city directly.

I heard that the army is now approaching the holy city.

The court was leaderless, and even the question of who should lead the army was a hot topic. In less than a month, they had already suffered several defeats. The people of the royal court recalled the brutal massacre of the city by the Northern Rong in the past, and were panicked and could only pack up and flee westward.

There are all kinds of mixed feelings in the heart of Yuan Jue.

As a member of the royal court, he certainly did not want the Holy City to be occupied by the Northern Rong. However, after experiencing the abdication of Tanmaragha, he no longer had the energy to worry about the people of the Holy City.

He just wanted to send Tanmarajiva to Gaochang so that she could be reunited with Princess Wen Zhao.

"Keep it a secret from the king. Don't tell him this."

Yuan Jue instructed his family to take good care of him.

During these days, Tanmaraka was sleeping and waking up from time to time. When he woke up, he would ask about the situation in the holy city. They were afraid that he would worry, so they lied to him and said that Bisa had already taken control of the court.

The bodyguard responded solemnly and returned to the carriage.

Jin Bo was riding a horse and standing outside the car window, talking to the people inside.

Yuan Jue stepped forward and said, "I bought a document from a silk merchant to leave the city, so we can go to Gaochang now."

A hand opened the curtain, and Tanmarajiva's voice rang out: "Where is the Northern Rong coalition army?"

Everyone was stunned.

…

Royal Court, Holy City.

The Northern Rong coalition forces advanced with great force, conquering more than a dozen important towns in succession, and the Holy City was in danger.

The imperial court kept issuing imperial edicts, but the nearby tribes were reluctant to come to the rescue: they only recognized Buddhists, and the edicts of others could not move them.

When the news of defeat came back from the front line again, the people of the Holy City fled. Just as they left the city, dust flew up in front of them, and a terrifying horn sounded. The Northern Rong coalition forces in black armor rushed towards the Holy City from all directions like waves, with black flags flying in the wind, and their momentum was overwhelming.

The people were terrified and turned around and ran back.

The Northern Rong coalition was not in a hurry to attack the city. They first stayed where they were and dug fortifications. The people in the city comforted themselves: perhaps the Northern Rong people did not dare to attack the city.

The next day, the Beirong people beat the war drums and began to attack the city.

The defenders of the Holy City did not expect the Northern Rong to attack the city so quickly. They were in a panic and responded hastily. They relied on the crossbow carts modified by Tanmarajiva to repel the first wave of the coalition forces.

The Northern Rong coalition was not as well organized as the Northern Rong Iron Cavalry, but their fighting style was more flexible. After several days of unsuccessful siege, they brought out siege equipment and concentrated their forces to destroy the crossbow carts on the city walls.

Ten days later, the last crossbow cart in the Holy City was completely unusable.

Everyone knew that the Northern Rong coalition would massacre the city, and that men, women, old and young would all be unable to escape the fate of being ravaged, so all the strong men in the city climbed onto the city walls to defend it.

Below the city walls, corpses piled up like a mountain.

On this day, before dawn, the gates of several large camps of the Northern Rong coalition were opened, and trumpets sounded. The cavalry first marched out of the camp in neat formations, followed by the infantry. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were lined up at the foot of the holy city. The sound of drums, horse hooves, and the shouting of the fierce soldiers pierced the clouds and split the rocks.

The Northern Rong coalition is about to attack again.

The people in the city were terrified and cried bitterly.

On the top of the city wall, the royal soldiers looked despairing.

Suddenly, a majestic eagle cry was heard from the sky, and a huge eagle flew over the battlefield.

The soldiers were stunned, their eyes filled with enthusiasm.

There are faint black lines surging in the sky.

Someone shouted loudly and tears fell.

Under the rising sun, a snow-white flag with gold patterns fluttered gently in the bright morning light.

The author has something to say: I wanted to see you sooner, but I found that updating 10,000 words is still not enough. See you in the next chapter.