Emperor Que Shaohua

At the beginning of September, Los Angeles is in golden autumn, the sky is as blue as washing, and the leaves are gradually turning from dark green to golden, which is the most pleasant time of the year.However, at the far northern border, the grass and trees withered and withered in the frost, the weather became colder every day, and it would snow in October.

As the gateway to the Sixteen States of Youyun and even the Central Plains of Yuzhou, Shao'an City has no natural barriers to defend, and the only thing that can barely be regarded as a barrier is Guiyan Peak three miles north of the city.This mountain stands out from the surrounding flat terrain with strange peaks. The mountain is steep and precipitous, and there are cliffs everywhere.

As time went by, Guiyan Peak did not play much strategic role except for making the Liao army approach the city and having to make detours when transporting grain and grass. Gradually, even the defenders of Yu and Zhou didn't care much about it. The two sides were almost fighting on the large field under the mountain peak. Even though Guiyan Peak's thousand-zhang cliff was on the side, since no one could climb it, it was naturally ignored by everyone.

However, this night, there was movement in the ever-empty valley.Qin Su leaned against a steep mountain wall that was as sharp as a knife and an axe, and his foothold was a stone edge that was only a foot wide.The mountain wind is fierce and biting, and when it roars through the narrow rift, it faintly resembles a mournful cry, and the jagged boulders seem to be lifted at any time and fall from the cliff.But Qin Su didn't seem to notice all this, he just stared at the bottom of the valley more than 20 feet deep under his feet.

Dots of faint flames flickered, revealing indistinct figures, and groups of Liao soldiers were moving silently.

Looking down from the heights, the scattered light from the torches flickered and wandered at first, as if they would be extinguished in the cold wind at any time, but their number gradually increased and became one piece, moving from the other end of the deep valley to the mouth of the valley as the army marched. Winding and stretching.As far as the eye can see, the Liao army holding torches has covered the bottom of the valley in darkness, and the number is still increasing.

On the third day of the battle, the Northern Liao army really came.This rift that appeared only last year when Dilong turned over is as magical as Guiyan Peak itself, except that there is a huge boulder covering the valley entrance, which makes it difficult to find the entrance, and it can lead directly to the battlefield under the mountain.Hiding a part of the troops in it, as Xu Dingzhen once said, may receive the effect of surprise attack and victory during the battle.

In order to let the enemy fall into the trap with peace of mind, General Xu suffered a lot of neglect under King Yun's tent after his return, and the orders he received were all the most insignificant ones, completely untrustworthy and speechless in the eyes of others situation.

As expected, the Liao people refused to give up such an important opportunity. After several days of fierce fighting, both sides suffered mutual injuries. However, it can be seen that the Northern Liao army is advancing intentionally or unintentionally under the command of General Yu Muli, gradually forcing the Yuzhou army to retreat. Return to the foot of Yanfeng.In order to achieve this effect, he did not hesitate to order the brigade of cavalry to brave the rain of locust arrows, and many of them were shot to death or rolled down in front of the tripping rope and iron antlers.

Qin Su closed his eyes at this moment, and the scene of fighting on the battlefield during the day seemed to come back to his eyes. Except for some of the defenders who stayed in Shao'an City for solid defense, the armor of the [-] troops was bright and neatly arranged, like a still tide. The elite of the formation, as well as the recruits who are fighting the enemy for the first time.The Tiger Banner, the Griffin Banner, the Teng Snake Banner...the military flags of all the ministries are like grass waves blown by the wind, shaking and flying layer by layer, passing on orders, and responding to the flags at the next level, the army quickly and methodically formed a formation.Luo Linpian, king of Yun, rode his horse and stood in front of the central army, with a group of generals lined up behind him. The black-and-gold embroidered big gun was hunting above his head, and the golden coiled dragon on it seemed to be churning and circling above the sea of ​​clouds.

Xuanji Pavilion master Su Yan's initial array was a common array of two appearances and four images, less offensive and more defensive, while Beiliao adopted a rushing tactic, cavalry lined up in a wedge shape, and thousands of the most powerful cavalry were arranged at the edge of the wedge. The tip comes straight in.

The iron cavalry attack is the most proud and powerful method of warfare in Beiliao. The Liangyi and Sixiang formation soon became unstable under the strong attack, and then Yu Zhou changed his banner and turned into a Taiji formation.This formation is not as subtle as before, but it is more rounded and seamless, using the method of yin and yang rotation to unload the offensive of the Liao army.The two hundred horizontal swords were deployed in two groups, and each led four hundred selected sergeants, like interlaced blades, twisting slowly to wear down the opponent's combat power.

In the past three days, the two armies have not done their best, and the coaches of both sides dispatched their subordinates to take turns to go into battle and rest.Yu Zhou's formation was changeable, but it seemed that he was always unable to contain the Liao army's surprise attack. He often retreated to avoid its edge, but confirmed to Yu Muli the rumor that King Yun had been obsessed with formation since he won the victory with a Xuanji formation last year.But even before the final decisive battle, the battlefield was already littered with corpses, causing heavy casualties.If this stalemate continues, it seems that it will turn into a protracted war of attrition.

Qin Su could clearly see that when Yu Zhou's army gradually retreated towards Guiyan Peak at a seemingly disorganized, but in fact precise and orderly pace, the troops in front were still fighting at close quarters, but a net had been quietly deployed in the rear.The Liao army is advancing step by step, trying to occupy a favorable position, unaware that they have been guided with great skill, stepping into the urn, which is the Nine Palaces Xuanji Array set up by Su Lingxue using the terrain around Guiyan Peak.Before it was completed, the enemy only saw Yu Zhou's soldiers retreating in groups, but it was difficult to find out what was wrong. The real formation was originally to make people fall into it without knowing it.

At night, the two sides had a truce to rectify each other, during which only a small group of troops were sent to harass each other.In the middle of the night, the Liao army quietly outflanked Guiyan Peak from the other side and sneaked into the hidden rift valley. The Jiugong Formation of the Xuanji Pavilion Master was still close to closing.The bottom of the valley was already full of torches. It seems that in order to make Yu Zhou face the enemy, the Liao army ambushed here not only a few thousand people, but probably more than ten thousand.In an area where the torches were more concentrated, Qin Su vaguely recognized a triangular flag illuminated by the flames, with a silver dragon on the bright yellow flag. Did Yelu Shiji, the fourth prince of the Northern Liao Dynasty, personally lead his troops to ambush here?It can be said to be a pleasant surprise.

The night was dark as ink, but dawn was not far away.Qin Su pulled out a short blade from his waist, turned the handle upside down, and tapped the stone wall several times quickly and slowly.In the sound of the wind, this sound would not be noticed by the Liao soldiers below at all.Soon, he felt the same tap coming from a distance through the stone wall, and it was his companion's answer.

Qin Su then grabbed a rope that had been hanging down beside him, and quickly climbed up silently. After a while, he reached the top of the cliff, and another hidden guard in charge of investigation also came up quickly.

The top of the cliff is also rugged, with irregular boulders everywhere.From here, the light of the torches at the bottom of the mountain became distant and blurred, like the tiniest fireflies.The two exchanged a few words of information in a low voice. At this time, from behind the jagged boulders and among the overgrown bushes, nearly a hundred figures appeared and gathered towards them.A subordinate pointed in the direction of Taniguchi, and said in a low voice, "Master Guan is ready."

Across the rift, Qin Su looked at the opposite cliff, it was pitch black, and there was no movement, but he knew that there were also more than a hundred subordinates hiding there waiting for orders, and Ling Xu's commander Guan Chan was waiting above the entrance of the valley in person. .

"Go ahead," he said briefly.Several subordinates reached into their arms at the same time, and each took out a signal firework.

Several purple fireworks rose into the sky with the sharp whistle, bursting into brilliant brilliance over the Rift Valley.A moment later, fireworks also rose from the opposite cliff, but they were blue.

The Wan Liao army in the valley started to commotion, and vaguely heard someone shouting orders in Beiliao language, but it was already too late.The next moment, everyone felt tremors under their feet, and there was a thunderous rumbling and cracking sound at both ends of the rift valley, followed by continuous dull loud noises, and countless boulders wrapped in sand fell from the top of the cliff with a bang. Amidst the miserable screams and exclamations, it didn't take long to seal the passage out of the valley.

This operation was carefully calculated in advance. The huge rock on the edge of the cliff was blown to loose its foundation, and then pushed down by manpower, many small stones fell together to fill the gap, and the inner, outer, and outer layers were tightly blocked.The Liao soldiers in the rift valley knew it was a trick, and they wanted to work together to move the rocks out. However, the mouth of the valley was narrow, and although there were so many people that they couldn't use their strength, they couldn't shake it at all.

While panicking, a lot of black powder swirled and fell from the top of his head, and the air was filled with a pungent smell.Liao Bing, who was the first to react, exclaimed, "No! It's sulfur!"

A rocket shot down from the top of the cliff, bringing up a canopy of violently burning flames, followed by screams, followed by the second and third, the burning arrows shot down like meteors, triggering a series of dull explosions Noise and flames.Although the vegetation in the valley is not very luxuriant, but the mountain wind is fierce, and sulfur ignites the fire, and several flames rise suddenly.The Liao people fell into panic and chaos, the generals' orders were drowned out by the noise, tens of thousands of people jostled and jostled at the bottom of the valley, and trampled on each other, causing countless casualties.

In the Beiliao camp, Yu Muli had already secretly ordered the soldiers and horses to prepare, and waited for the dawn of the Buddha to hide and kill them, and flanked the ambushes in the valley twice.However, the fireworks bloomed in mid-air, and there was a loud noise in the valley. He secretly thought that something was wrong, and he didn't need to investigate to know that there must be something serious in the valley.He originally wanted to send capable subordinates to lead the ten thousand ambush soldiers, but the fourth prince wanted to fight for the first place and insisted on leading the troops himself.

In the night wind, the miserable howls of Guiyan Peak were vaguely heard. He felt his scalp go numb, kicked hard on the pillar of the tent, and shouted to the herald, "Form up immediately, and charge over to me."

Regardless of whether the [-] elite soldiers could afford to lose, if Yelu Shiji lost his life or was captured, as the chief general, even if he won, he would not be able to escape the guilt, and he must rescue them as soon as possible.The only way now is to mobilize tens of thousands of cavalry to attack Yuzhou's army head-on, regardless of the consequences of casualties, until they reach the foot of Guiyan Peak.Before that, it depends on whether the fourth prince is lucky enough.

He took the helmet and put it on, only calculating in his mind how much time it would take and the price to pay. After all, the repeated battles had shown that although Yu Zhou's army had many tricks, they did not dare to stand up to the Liao army's iron cavalry.

When the east was turning white, the Yu Zhou army and the Northern Liao army entered a decisive battle in the field. The sound of war drums and horns shook the whole field, and it could be heard clearly even standing on the top of the rift valley cliff.

Qin Su stood silently, while the hidden guards on the cliffs on both sides still sprinkled sulfur from time to time, and then fired rockets downward.The light of the fire is less obvious in daytime, and more is the billowing black smoke from the bottom.

There was a slight movement behind him, he turned around, and saw Deputy General Xu Dingzhen of Shaoan climbing up to the top of the cliff. Behind him, hundreds of soldiers with long bows and arrows followed him along a dozen or so rope ladders outside. Climb to the top of this narrow cliff.

Qin Su didn't speak. Seeing that the number of sergeants was increasing, he only looked at General Xu who came up first.

"The Nine Palaces Xuanji Array has been encircled." Xu Dingzhen has long been accustomed to his silence, and said directly: "Deputy Commander Qin, leave this to me. Your Highness is closing the net, and we need your help and cooperation."

Qin Su nodded slightly, and simply uttered a word: "Withdraw."

Another firework rose, and amidst the sharp whistle, Xuanshuang and Lingxu's troops retreated back to Yanfeng.

Xu Dingzhen watched the last Langhuan subordinate disappear from the top of the mountain. He knew that according to the scheduled plan, they would join the battle under Su Lingxue's dispatch.Langhuan brought several kinds of mechanism weapons through the grain team, and Luo Linpian ordered to select elite soldiers to practice, and today they will be used in front of the battle for the first time.He has seen their power with his own eyes, and the only shortcoming may be that the time is short and he is not proficient in using them, but with the leadership of Xuanshuang and Hengdao, it is enough to make up for it.In addition to using the Austrian Formation to make the enemy's iron cavalry lose their advantage and fall to death, absolute force deterrence is also indispensable. This is the trump card prepared for the fierce and conceited Yu Muli.This battle will seriously damage the vitality of the Liao people, and they will be frightened by the news, and they will not dare to lightly start the war in the next few years or even longer.

Looking back at the bottom of the rift valley, the Liao soldiers trying to hide were like wriggling black spots. He said in a deep voice, "Shoot the arrow!"

Since the Mid-Autumn Palace banquet, Luo Wenxiao has not visited Concubine Han in Yunxiu Palace for more than 20 days.Since Emperor Tianyi ordered the imperial concubine to recuperate from illness, of course he would not be happy to see the crown prince always visiting and disturbing her.Concubine Han tried to spread the news from the palace, but also wanted him to calm down and keep everything as usual, so don't be in a hurry to meet in the harem.

In fact, she didn't need to say it, Luo Wenxiao also understood that it was no longer suitable for him to do anything other than stick to his duty and follow the rules.But even though the reason was clear, he still couldn't stop feeling flustered. The trial process in Jing'an Palace kept replaying in his mind, always stopping at the name Du Tangli finally said: Dai Shifa, and Emperor Tianyi's thoughtful gaze.

Dai Shifa, who was on the run, had already lost contact. Apart from worrying about being caught, the greater possibility should be that he was afraid of being silenced by the East Palace.The Luocheng forces in the Kunlun Mansion were completely wiped out under the suppression. He couldn't understand why King Ning could find so many strongholds in one night. Jing Yuwei didn't have this ability. The only possibility was that the news came from King Jing's subordinates.This means that when the Kunlun Mansion has not yet determined the distribution of Langhuan in Luo City, Langhuan has a lot of information including Piaoxiang Restaurant.

The most important leaders, Zhao Luanqiu and Feng Kun, escaped, but many of the lower-level subordinates were arrested and imprisoned, such as thugs, actors, shop assistants, he was not sure how many confessions these people would make.

Not long ago, King Ning returned to the director of the household department and continued to check the warehouses and silver in various places. He did not seem to be complacent or impatient.

Everything made Luo Wenxiao feel like a fish on a cutting board, waiting to be slaughtered, if he struggled, he would die faster.There are still many courtiers in the East Palace seeking to see him every day, but he has already noticed that some faces who were eager to come to the door every day are not coming, and there are more temptations and reservations in the always attentive smile.

Luo Wenxiao could only pretend that he didn't care, and acted as if nothing had happened in front of his subjects, and it was even more difficult when he met the emperor.Emperor Tianyi was not as gentle towards him recently, in just ten days, he shamelessly accused the crown prince in front of his subordinates several times for being ignorant and incompetent.

Luo Wenxiao tried his best to suppress his emotions, regardless of fear, resentment or guilt, he had to turn into calm and earnest, every word and every thing must be beyond reproach.After being the prince for five or six years, this was the first time he had worked so hard.

There were also supporters, except Wei Wuze sent a secret letter, and the assistant governor Xue Songnian also quietly sent someone to send him a message.The attitudes of the two forces from the rivers and lakes and the temple coincided with each other. They all asked him to refrain from haste and endure, continue to maintain the status quo, and wait for the opportunity to solve the predicament.Zhuang Shijing even analyzed the situation in detail several times, warning that he must not mess up again.

The prince's mood eased somewhat because of this, Wei Wuze and Xue Songnian were different from others, they both betrayed Langhuan and joined him.They have no way out and must be tied to the same boat as themselves.It can be said that sharing wealth and wealth is difficult but sharing adversity is easy, the more difficult they encounter, the more unpredictable the two have to help each other.

On this day, he entered the palace to greet him. Seeing that the emperor seemed to be in a good mood, he asked to visit Concubine Han Gui.Zhuang Shijing specially warned the day before yesterday: "The imperial concubine has been ill for some time. Although His Highness does not want to disturb each other, it is human nature to be concerned about visiting a sick person for a child. If His Highness deliberately does not mention it, it will easily attract people's tongues. As long as you are frank, please see me. Even if His Majesty doesn't allow it, it's fine."

When Luo Wenxiao thought about it, that was indeed the case, and if he blindly avoided it, he would only appear guilty.He has already learned through the eyeliner of the harem that Concubine Han Guifei has been trying to impress the emperor these days.Even though the emperor had never set foot in Yunxiu Palace, his attitude seemed to have improved, and he would make offerings as before, occasionally asking a few words about the situation.

Sure enough, Emperor Tianyi saw that he sincerely proposed to visit, and he didn't hold anything back, so he just said lightly: "You can go and have a look, so that your mother and concubine don't worry about it, as long as she calms down, she will recover sooner. "

Luo Wenxiao hurriedly knelt down to thank her, these two words seemed to have several meanings, not only referring to Concubine Han Gui, but also seemed to be warning herself, just like the emperor's ambiguous and indifferent attitude these days.

As soon as he stepped into Yunxiu Palace, the prince felt the difference between today and the past.It is still brocade brocade, inlaid with beads and jade, but the gorgeousness adds a sense of coolness.The palace people who came in and out changed their faces. Concubine Han sat under the bead curtain, facing the embroidery frame, embroidering a picture of flowers and birds.Fortunately, Jin Zhi was not sent away and was still serving by her side.

"Is mother and concubine okay?" Luo Wenxiao stepped forward to salute, feeling a little confused.Huangjue's murder case failed completely. He actually blamed Concubine Han Gui, who was originally planned, but at the first glance, he could see that although the concubine mother in front of him was still well-groomed, her complexion had faded and she was already much haggard.