Bishuo hurried to the big tent, Yuanjue lifted a corner of the felt curtain and shook her head at him.

"General, the Regent is not available to see you right now."

Bisa looked inside through the gap in the curtain. The tent was full of people. The generals were divided into two groups, standing on both sides of Tanmaraka, as if they were confronting each other. There was a hint of anger on the faces of both sides, and the atmosphere was tense and depressing. Only Mobhido stood in the corner with his arms folded, looking as if he was watching the show without any concern.

The generals were excited and complained and questioned loudly, but Tanmarajika remained silent and his face was cold.

Bisha frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Yuan Jue answered in a low voice: "Just now, several captains led people to clean up the battlefield, treat the wounded, and count the prisoners... Others chased the remnants of the Northern Rong. They captured a son and two nephews of Wakhan Khan, as well as a group of Northern Rong nobles. One tribe even found a Northern Rong camp with women in it. How can those tribal coalitions compare with our Central Army in terms of strict military discipline? They also have a grudge against the Northern Rong and want to kill all of them. They almost started looting and burning... There have been several disputes today. The Regent just gave an order, No indiscriminate killings or harassment of civilians are allowed. Also, those Northern Rong nobles, no matter who they are, cannot be killed as long as they surrender. Anyone who injures others without reason, regardless of their status, will be dealt with according to military law. "

"There were many dissatisfied people, and they wanted to kill Wakhan Khan's son. The regent refused and sent Mobhido to watch over the prince."

Bi Suo sighed.

Tanmarajiva had long ago established the rule that surrendered people should not be killed, and had also issued several prohibitions such as not harassing the people.

The Central Army was loyal to the royal family, and because Tanmarajiva had publicly punished a group of noble children who violated military discipline as Sultan, the Central Army was always afraid and always followed the rules. The other armies used to obey the orders of the nobles and acted without scruples. Although the atmosphere in the army has been completely changed in the past few months, it is difficult for the soldiers who have escaped death to be tolerant and generous when they have experienced bloody battles on the battlefield and faced the Northern Rong who have committed numerous blood debts.

Usually, after a big battle, generals would deliberately indulge their soldiers to appease their morale, but Tanmarajika would never do that.

Bi Su waited outside for a while.

Inside the tent, Tanmarajiva waved his hands, refusing to allow any argument.

Seeing his firm attitude, everyone dared not argue anymore and left. When a few generals reached the door, they hesitated for a moment, a look of unwillingness flashed across their faces, and they turned around and wanted to say something, but were dragged away by the others.

Mopiduo also left the tent. When he passed by Bishā, he stopped and asked, "General, did the commander of Shacheng write to you? Is Princess Wenzhao in Shacheng?"

Bi Suo said vaguely: "No news yet."

Mobito frowned slightly.

Bi Suo entered the tent and walked to the desk. She was anxious and hesitated for a moment before handing over a letter: "Prince Regent, I am worried about the safety of Princess Wen Zhao, so I wrote a letter to the commander of Sand City, asking if the princess arrived safely. The commander's reply just arrived, and he said that the princess is not in Sand City..."

Tanmaraka signaled Bhisatta to put down the letter, his face calm and unperturbed.

"I know."

Bi Suo's pupils suddenly shrank.

"You know?"

Tanmarajiva nodded, picked up his pen to write a reply to the memorial, and said, "She went to find Li Zhongqian."

Bi Suo opened her mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time.

"How do you know?"

He slapped his head. "Did the princess tell you that in that letter?"

Before leaving, Li Yaoying left a letter for him to give to Tanmo Luojia. He hesitated for a long time, worried that the content of the letter would irritate Tanmo Luojia, and wanted to see what was written in the letter before deciding whether to help pass it on before the war. After hesitating for a few days, he finally did not want to offend Li Yaoying, and handed the letter to Yuanjue intact.

After reading the letter, Tanmarajya did not react and continued to command his generals and deploy troops as usual.

Bi Su quietly breathed a sigh of relief, guessing that Li Yaoying might have only written some ordinary polite words in the letter, so Tanmarajiva had no reaction at all, and gradually forgot about it.

At this moment, looking at Tanmarajiva's expressionless face, he suddenly remembered the letter.

"What did Princess Wen Zhao say in the letter?"

Bisha's voice was a little trembling.

Tanmarajya wrote calmly, "She said that the Western Army must take advantage of the chaos to seize the town and make it a base. She is going to reunite with Yang Qian, and Li Zhongqian has already rushed to Sand City. She will leave in advance after confirming that it is safe so that she can reunite with Li Zhongqian as soon as possible. Jiaer, who is escorting her, has already reported to me."

Li Yaoying also thanked him for his care all along and asked him to be careful with the medication so as not to hurt his body. He should remember to eat more when he is hungry and put on more warm clothes when he is cold.

She had never belonged to the royal court.

In the past, he thought she would leave when the one-year agreement was over.

The arrival of Li Xuanzhen and Li Zhongqian brought everything forward.

After the Northern Rong were defeated, she became the leader of the Western Army. The identity of the Modanga girl was no longer meaningful to her.

"She's gone."

Tanmarajiva spoke calmly, his writing movements were smooth, his tone was calm, and his voice was steady, as if he was just talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Bisa's heart tightened.

He actually knew it a long time ago?!

Tanmaraka didn't even raise his head: "What else do you want to ask?"

Bishahun was shocked and fled out of the tent in a panic. He stood outside the felt curtain with a pale face.

Yuan Jue stared at him in confusion: "General, what's wrong with you?"

Bi Su shook his body and let out a long sigh.

Yuan Jue reached out to help him: "General?"

Bi Su smiled bitterly, "I was wrong."

"What?"

Biso's lips trembled slightly. He was wrong.

He underestimated Tanmaraka's perseverance.

Luo Jia knew that Li Yaoying and Li Zhongqian would leave the royal court without hesitation after their reunion, but he did not show any sadness. He calmly commanded his soldiers to fight, handled the tedious affairs of state, and worried about the future of the royal court.

He was so calm that Bi Suo had no idea what he saw in Li Yaoying's letter.

Bisha clenched his hands into fists.

Luo Ga didn't even get to say goodbye to Li Yaoying properly.

If Li Yaoying met Li Zhongqian and never set foot in the royal court again, wouldn't Luo Jia never see her again in his life?

Bi Su laughed at herself, "Yuan Jue, just now the Wan Hu and his men had a big fight over how to deal with the Northern Rong captives. Do you know what the king was thinking?"

Yuan Jue looked bewildered.

Bi Suo said with emotion: "If Princess Wen Zhao were here, she would definitely understand the king's worries. She would always be able to comfort the king..."

She could even make the calm Roga smile.

If there were no such person in the world, it would be fine, but there is one. Not only that, but he also came to Luo Jia's side, stayed with Luo Jia, and then left again...

How cruel.

…

That day, Tanmarajiva quickly dealt with several generals who had killed prisoners and captives, and the riot in the army was quelled.

The surrendered Beirong nobles were sent to the Asang tribe for resettlement, and the Beirong slaves who were forcibly conscripted by the Beirong were also released and returned to their respective tribes with them. The slaves could not believe their ears and were filled with gratitude. Before leaving, they bowed in the direction of the holy city, chanted Buddhist mantras, and cried bitterly.

Tanmaraka stayed up all night, and after handling military affairs, he ordered Mobhido to continue pursuing the remnants of Wakhan Khan, and he led the army back to the Holy City. Before the expedition, he had already made arrangements. Even if the first few lines of defense collapsed, the Holy City could not be easily breached. However, the crisis was not resolved, and the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly. He had to rush back to the Holy City as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation.

The day after the battle, the army reorganized slightly, divided into the front and rear armies, and immediately set out to rush back to the capital.

The vanguard troops were all light cavalry, abandoning their baggage and galloping all the way. The soldiers ate and drank on horseback. They rode non-stop for several days, bypassing the prosperous town and rushing to the foot of the snow-capped mountains where they had set an ambush before. Tanmaraka sent out scouts to gather information.

Half an hour later, the scout and General Gulu, who was ordered to ambush here, returned together.

Gelu clasped his fists and said, "Regent, we have trapped Haidu Aling and his elite troops in the valley. You instructed us not to confront Haidu Aling head-on, but to trap him. I have been waiting for your instructions for the past few days and guarding all the exits. Haidu Aling and his men have not appeared for several days."

Prior to this, Sultan Gu ordered several people including Gelu to lead several thousand elite soldiers to ambush at the foot of the snow-capped mountains. Everyone was puzzled: in the vast snow-capped mountains, not even birds could be seen, and only the shadow of an eagle could be glimpsed occasionally. No one had ever been able to cross the snow-capped mountains and directly attack the holy city. Wouldn’t it be a waste of manpower for the regent to let them set up an ambush here?

Everyone was puzzled, but they just dutifully followed the instructions and dug trenches and traps, set up chevaux de frise, oiled the crossbow carts several times a day, sent out scouts to patrol every hour, and kept an eye on the movements of the carrier falcons. They worked in this way for a while, not to mention the Northern Rong soldiers, they didn't even see a leopard. Just as they were complaining about the regent's unnecessary actions, a scout rushed into the camp, crawling and rolling: he saw a group of people climbing down the cliffs like nimble goats.

Gelu was shocked and remembered Sultan's instructions. He calmed down, gathered his men, and joined forces with several other ambush troops. After Haidu Aling let down his guard and rushed down the hillside, he launched a surprise attack, cut off Haidu Aling's 5,000 elite soldiers with bows and crossbows, and forced them to retreat into the valley.

Haidu Aling had not expected an ambush here, and had to cross the icy river formed by the meltwater from the glaciers in a desperate manner. Gelu did not pursue him relentlessly, but retreated to the camp, firmly defending the camp and holding the defense line.

In the next few days, Haidu Aling tried to break through the defense line from time to time, and sometimes sent soldiers with loud voices to insult the Buddhists in an attempt to provoke them. Gelu and his men remembered the Sultan's warning and refused to come out.

They were well prepared, with plenty of food, clothing, and charcoal. Haidu Aling launched a surprise attack and crossed the mountains without any supplies, not even a horse, so he couldn't use horse blood to replenish his energy. Haidu Aling knew that he had little chance of winning, so he didn't dare to break through easily, and he had been quiet for the past few days.

Gelu and his men were well aware of Haidu Aling's cunningness, so they did not dare to take it lightly and continued to hold their ground.

After listening to his report of military intelligence, Tanmo Luojia frowned slightly, summoned the generals of several other ambush troops, and sent out several light cavalry scouts to find out the location of Haidu Aling.

The generals arrived one after another, and they all said that Haidu Aling had not dared to show up recently. When the soldiers were patrolling, they often found the carcasses of wild animals near the camp. They should have been killed by Haidu Aling and his men. They had no supplies and could only hunt leopards and wolves.

Gelu expressed his guess: "Prince Regent, could Haidu Aling have escaped over the snowy mountains again?"

Tanmarajika shook his head: "The road down the mountain may not be able to return the same way, and they have no supplies, Haidu Aling can't cross the mountains again..."

He looked around.

"Haidu A Ling is not in the valley."

Everyone was shocked and said, "Impossible, we have been holding on. Unless Haidu Aling can grow wings and fly away, he will not be able to escape from under our noses!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the tent. Several scouts ran back to the camp, holding a rope in their hands: "Regent, we found this on the edge of the cliff!"

Tanmarajiva glanced at Yuanjue, who understood what he meant. He drew his sword and chopped the rope hard.

There was a crisp sound, sparks flew, and the blade left only a small notch on the rope.

Everyone was stunned.

"This is a specially made rope." Tanmaraka picked up the rope and looked at it carefully. "Haidu Aling used the rope to temporarily build a rope bridge on the edge of the cliff."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. So, Haidu Aling had escaped without anyone noticing? He didn't have wings, but they could build a bridge.

Gelu was filled with remorse and stamped his feet in anger: "If I had known earlier, I would have chased him out..."

Tanmo Luojia said: "Your mission is to stay here and not leave. The Holy City is your top priority."

Everyone responded in unison, feeling a little better.

Tanmaraka asked the scout: "Where does the other side of the cliff lead to? Are there any tribes nearby?"

The scout replied, "On the other side of the cliff is a desert with few people. A few hundred miles to the south is a small oasis, Huluzhou, and the tribe living there is Turkic."

Huluzhou is a small tribe, and is called Huluzhou because their entire oasis is shaped like a gourd.

Bisa's eyelids twitched, and a chill rose under her feet. She looked towards Tanmaragha.

Tanmaraka said nothing, but his thick eyelashes trembled a few times.

Further south of Huluzhou is Gaochang.

Li Yaoying should have arrived in Gaochang.

…

Just when Gelu was reporting the military situation to Tanmo Luojiahui, Haidu Aling led his hungry subordinates through the barren desert, passed by a small tribe, killed all the men, had a full meal, and rested their spirits.

The subordinates asked Haidu Aling whether they should go to Shahaidao to meet Wakhan Khan.

Haidu Aling looked in the direction of Sam Valley and thought for a moment. His eagle eyes gleamed golden in the sunlight. He shook his head decisively and said, "We encountered an ambush before we even got close to the holy city. The Buddhist disciples were well prepared. The Khan is going to face a fierce battle this time. We cannot go and die again."

He was grateful to Wakhan Khan, but he would not sacrifice his life for him.

The subordinates asked in confusion: "Where should we go now?"

Haidu A Ling narrowed his eyes and said, "The sky is high and the sea is vast... We can go anywhere."

The subordinates looked at each other, drew their swords, raised their hands, and knelt at his feet: "Prince, you are loyal to the Khan and have done your utmost. The Khan is defeated. He is no match for the Buddha. We need a wise leader, not a weak old wolf!"

Haidu Aling looked around, drew his sword and pointed it towards the south.

Wakhan Khan had suffered a great defeat, and the Northern Rong were now leaderless. His chance to rise had finally come.