The First Lackey Under The Empress

When Zhao Du'an entered the Prefectural Office, Sun Xiaozhun, the Prefect who was left to garrison the city, immediately came out to greet him.

"Governor Zhao, why have you come?" Sun Xiaozhun asked in surprise.

Zhao Du'an said with some amusement, "What, am I not allowed to come?"

The dark and wiry red-robed Prefect was momentarily speechless, waving his hands and hurriedly saying, "No, of course not... it's just that I didn't expect..."

Before the Xue Shence army set out, a message was sent to the Lu Residence, informing Zhao Du'an, and everyone thought that Governor Zhao would stay in the city to oversee the headquarters.

Zhao Du'an laughed and strode inside:

"I've finished the matter at hand. How long has the army been gone? Give me a route map, I'm going to catch up. How are the two divine officials from the Celestial Master's Mansion?"

Sun Xiaozhun didn't understand why he suddenly wanted to catch up, but he didn't ask, explaining:

"Divine Officials Yuxiu and Jin Jian have also set off with the army. Mo Zhaorong has also gone. Now, besides some experts left behind, only I am left in the Prefectural Office."

They went to the front lines too? Zhao Du'an nodded, and suddenly asked:

"What about that Shadow Guard, Bai Jun?"

"Are you looking for this subordinate, sir?" As soon as the words fell, Nie Yurong walked out from the backyard not far away.

Her eyes were bright, with a hint of bittersweetness. Who would have thought that she had painstakingly infiltrated, only to not even see the target's face?

Zhao Du'an glanced at this assassin from the Prince's Mansion, smiled, and said:

"Prepare the horses, and come with me to the front lines."

Shortly after.

The south gate of the Prefectural City opened wide, and three warhorses chased after the main force.

Zhao Du'an took the lead, flanked by Song Jinxi and Nie Yurong on either side.

The group moved extremely fast. After chasing for a while, a large number of refugees began to pour onto the official road ahead, with a few soldiers maintaining order at intervals.

"What's going on?" Zhao Du'an reined in his horse and stopped in front of a familiar Divine Machine Camp officer.

"Governor Zhao?" The latter was startled and hurriedly explained the situation.

Refugees blocking the road? Wei Xianzhong's route is unstoppable? Xue Shence went straight to Ning'an County? A bad premonition rose in Zhao Du'an's heart.

Looking at the dense crowd of refugees, he urged his whip vigorously: "We need to hurry."

Fortunately, the tide of refugees could block the army, but it couldn't stop just three warhorses.

… …

… …

Ning'an County.

The once bustling city was now tightly closed, with a sense of desolation. Flags were erected on the city walls.

"It seems that Shi Meng's capture of Wenshui has had an effect. The rebels have not retreated, but have chosen to stay and defend the city. Fortunately, we weren't a step late and let these people run away."

Xue Shence stood on a makeshift high platform, watching the opponent's alert posture, and said in a deep voice.

Mo Chou followed him. The clouds in the sky were blown by the wind and moved away little by little. The female chancellor said with some worry:

"Given today's wind, once a fire starts, I'm afraid the entire city will be reduced to ruins in no time. We must take the city as soon as possible, before the enemy is fully prepared, and we cannot delay."

A group of generals around him nodded, agreeing with this view.

At the moment, they don't know the specific situation in the city, but it's always right to capture this city as soon as possible.

"General Xue, the Divine Machine Camp's artillery has been deployed and is ready to bombard the city gate!" At this time, Chen Gui strode over.

However, Xue Shence shook his head, squinted his eyes, and pointed to the city wall in the distance, saying:

"As expected, I'm afraid the artillery cannot be used for the time being."

Everyone looked over, only to see that in addition to the rebels on the city wall, there were also a large number of civilians tied up, especially women, children, and the elderly. This was only what could be seen, and it was unknown how many more there were unseen.

Chen Gui cursed angrily: "Damn it! This Su Dan is really shameless, using human flesh as shields!"

Xue Shence's expression was calm:

"On the battlefield, there is only victory or defeat. More words are useless. Since the artillery cannot be used for the time being, then attack the city directly. Now that the enemy is outnumbered, as long as we attack, the city will be broken sooner or later."

Chen Gui's expression was gloomy, and he could only accept it. As for muskets, they were also difficult to use when attacking the city.

The generals immediately took their orders and left to make arrangements.

Mo Chou held a "Thousand Li Scope" and looked at the city wall. As expected, Su Dan's face appeared in her sight.

At this moment, as the leader of the rebels in the city, this "Scholar General" stood in the center of the city wall, surrounded by several generals.

The most eye-catching were two people covering their figures with bamboo hats, one on the left and one on the right, their identities unknown.

"They should be martial arts experts in the city," Xue Shence said calmly with sharp eyes:

"Tang Gongfeng, I will have to trouble you to go to the city wall once."

The Grand Internal Eunuch Tang Jinzhong stood at the back, followed by a dozen Gongfeng. Lang Shiqi also put his wine gourd on the ground and picked up his scimitar.

They followed Zhao Du'an's orders and assisted the army in suppressing the rebellion.

Ji Yue floated beside Mo Chou like a ghost. At this moment, she looked at Mo Chou, then at Xue Shence, somewhat hesitant.

Until Xue Shence opened his mouth and said, "Sorcerers are not good at battle formations, so stay and protect Mo Zhaorong," the socially awkward female sorcerer breathed a slight sigh of relief.

There was no link for the main generals of both sides to come out and fight each other with words, only the killing intent of the battle formation advancing when the wind blew.

"Dong dong dong—"

Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of the war drums in the Jing Camp, the army formed into an offensive formation and advanced towards the city gate with low shouts.

If viewed from the sky, this army of tens of thousands was like a black chariot, connected to each other by military formations, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.

Even the world's cultivators would be frightened in this battlefield.

Any powerful cultivator is not afraid of any soldier in a one-on-one fight, but if they are trapped in a military formation and cannot escape, once their energy or mana is exhausted, they will still be piled to death by armored soldiers!

On the city wall, Su Dan coldly looked down at the soldiers surging like a tide below, raised his hand, and waved it fiercely:

"Release the arrows!"

"Swish swish swish—"

The archers on the city wall simultaneously released their bowstrings, and arrows rained down.

The Jing Camp's shield-bearers simultaneously raised their iron shields, resisting the clanging impact, rushed through the rain of arrows, arrived at the city wall, and covered the advancement of a series of chariots, placing long cloud ladders on the city wall.

One soldier after another, with daggers in their mouths, climbed up the cloud ladders.

The rebels then lifted the prepared rolling stones and threw them down, and the shouts of killing, the smell of blood, and the sky-filled killing intent spread out, forming an iron curtain.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies had entered the stage of siege and fighting.

When the time was almost ripe.

In the imperial army, Tang Jinzhong and Lang Shiqi, as well as a large group of Gongfeng and masters in the army, rushed to the city wall together with the soldiers, leaped up, and stepped on the cloud ladder to plunder the city wall.

Tang Jinzhong gave a low shout, and wisps of energy rose from his body, condensing into a tall and illusory F屠 general. As soon as the latter appeared, it seemed to be stimulated by the killing intent of the battlefield, and his illusory eyes seemed to be alive.

The F屠 Divine General sank into Tang Jinzhong's body, and the Gongfeng immediately put on a virtual armor, holding a long knife, like an arrow from the string, and forcibly rushed to the top of the city.

However, when he climbed halfway, he only heard a low roar falling from above.

Tang Jinzhong raised his knife to resist, but with a "clang", the whole person was smashed down like a cannonball. He fell to the ground and rolled over to get up.

Looking up, only a mysterious warrior wearing a bamboo hat and holding a long stick on the city wall crashed down like a god, his feet smashed on the ground, and two deep pits were sunken and cracked.

"A worldly martial artist! ?" Tang Jinzhong's eyelids jumped, and he tightened the long knife in his hand.

Fanlong, a martial monk of the Shenlong Temple who covered his face, tried his best to restrain the urge to put his palms together with one hand and recite the Buddha's name. He raised the long stick in his hand without saying a word.

In order to avoid trouble, he needs to hide his identity as a monk, but as long as he doesn't use a few signature Buddhist spells, outsiders can't see his origin in a short time just by relying on martial arts.

On the other side, Lang Shiqi leaped onto the cloud ladder, his whole body swayed from side to side, cleverly avoiding the arrows and heavy rocks overhead, but at the moment he climbed onto the city wall, a sword suddenly stabbed!

"Ding!"

The saber clashed against the sword's edge. Lang Shiba leaped backward with feather-like lightness, his eyes fixed on a general wielding a sword. He stood expressionlessly atop the city wall, as if any approach he took would be pierced by the man's blade.

"That's a powerful warrior under Su Dan. His martial skill might not surpass Lang Shiba, but this is a siege. All he needs to do is hold him back."

From a distance, Xue Shence analyzed calmly.

Mo Chou bit her lip: "What about Tang Gongfeng's opponent?"

On the ground in the distance, Tang Jinzhong and Fan Long were already locked in a fierce battle, constantly exchanging blows. For a time, neither gained the upper hand. Both followed a path of brute force, and the surrounding soldiers couldn't get close.

Xue Shence shook his head: "I can't tell for now, but it's not important. Bring me my halberd."

Mo Chou was stunned, exclaiming: "General Xue, you want to…"

Xue Shence handed over command to his adjutant, and alone, he grasped a heavy halberd. He took a bow stance, his knee sinking, and a circle of dust exploded from beneath his feet as he flew towards the army formation.

Mo Chou was stunned. Only then did she remember that Xue Shence was also a powerful martial artist. It was only because he had been sitting in the command position for too long that people often forgot this.

At that moment, as Xue Shence plunged into the battlefield like a shooting star, the sound of war drums immediately became intense and urgent. The Jing Camp soldiers' morale soared, and for a time, their offensive became even more ferocious!

The commander has entered the battle!

On the city wall, Su Dan watched Xue Shence approaching the city gate below with a grim expression, and suddenly realized something:

"He's going to break the gate—"

"General Su doesn't need to be nervous," the last mysterious person beside Su Dan said calmly.

Behind him, there were originally several experts, but at this moment, they had all rushed out to block the Gongfengs.

Su Dan felt relieved: "Then I'll have to trouble General Lu."

The man took off his bamboo hat, revealing Lu Tong's thin, long face, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

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At this moment, he stepped forward and stood at the edge of the city wall. He took off a simple wooden bow from his back. It was made of some unknown material, the bow body was tan, and the bowstring was pure gold.

"Clang."

Lu Tong casually placed the arrow quiver aside, grabbed an arrow, nocked it, and drew the bow.

"Crackle!"

In an instant, there was the sound of wind and thunder!

Strands of dazzling electric snakes coiled and danced along the bow and arrow, eventually converging at the tip of the arrow.

"Boom!"

As Xue Shence was advancing, he suddenly felt a warning sign. He looked up and saw a bolt of lightning fall from the city wall!

His heart was filled with dread, and he swung the halberd in his hand with a fierce sweep.

The tip of the halberd collided with the arrow.

"Rumble—"

In the center of the battlefield, a blazing ball of electricity erupted. The electric light dissipated, and Xue Shence staggered back several steps, his halberd drooping, with the arrow half-buried in the ground beneath it. He slowly uttered a name:

"The Sky Tilter, Lu Tong!"

At this moment, the second arrow came whistling.

For a time, both sides went all out, and the entire battle situation stagnated in a stalemate. The imperial army was stubbornly blocked, unable to advance.

However, if the time was stretched out, it would be discovered that although it looked like a match of equal strength, the imperial army was still gradually and continuously eroding the rebel army's territory.

Just as Xue Shence had judged, without major variables, the imperial court's victory was only a matter of time.

"We can't give them time," Su Dan said expressionlessly, looking at the fighting on both sides, and said to the soldiers beside him:

"Immediately pass down the order to start the city burning!"

If they dragged on like this, they would inevitably fail. The time they had already bought was enough. The mobilized troops should be able to hold back Shi Meng behind them.

Therefore, all they had to do next was burn the city and then take advantage of the chaos to withdraw their troops.

At that time, Xue Shence would have to face a choice: continue to pursue them or go put out the fire.

And the answer, in all likelihood, would be the latter.

The soldier immediately nodded and ran quickly down the city wall, arriving at a building behind the city wall.

Before long, a wisp of wolf smoke slowly rose, piercing the sky, visible from afar.

…

Inside Ning'an County, in a camp.

Wei Xianzong cut the throat of the garrison here with a single slash, raised his hand to touch the warm blood on his face, and exhaled deeply.

"Boss, it's done."

He turned around, and behind him in the building were the soldiers of the Dare-to-Die Camp.

Yesterday, Wei Xianzong led people into the city disguised as defeated soldiers, and were disarmed and placed under surveillance.

However, it didn't seem that their identities had been exposed, but rather that it was a rule set by Su Dan to prevent possible accidents.

Wei Xianzong used some means to finally take advantage of the opportunity when the rebel army in the city was defending the city and the city was empty, and led the Dare-to-Die Camp out of the camp again.

Occupying this small stronghold.

"Boss, what do we do next?" a soldier asked.

Wei Xianzong licked his lips and analyzed:

"Now the rebel army is fighting with our people at the north gate, but the defense there must be tight. It's meaningless for us to rush over with this little strength. And since the city has prepared strongholds to burn the city, they must have left people to guard them.

We'll go to those strongholds one by one and kill those who are waiting for the signal to burn the city. That's the most effective."

The soldiers of the Dare-to-Die Camp listened with shining eyes and immediately nodded. A group of people took their weapons and were about to leave.

However, as soon as they walked out of the barracks, they were stunned to see the thick wolf smoke rising from the north of the city.

Slanting into a pillar of air in the strong wind.

Wei Xianzong was stunned, and his heart suddenly sank. A soldier suddenly pointed in a certain direction and said:

"Not good! It's on fire! The east is on fire! No, the south is also on fire! They're all on fire!"

At this moment, in various strongholds in the city, the rebel soldiers waiting beside the kerosene saw the wolf smoke and immediately lit the wood, poured kerosene on it, and clusters of flames slowly rose.

Looking down from the sky, the city looked like bonfires rising up.

The wind blew, and the fire took advantage of the wind, burning extremely fast.

…

East of Ning'an County.

An army was marching. It was the Five Army Camp led by Yuan Feng. This route was unstoppable, but because the route was the most distant, it was still a distance from Ning'an County at this moment.

"Commander, look!"

Suddenly, an officer pointed and exclaimed.

Yuan Feng was on horseback and looked up to see some villages and towns outside Ning'an County gradually burning in the distance, and a pillar of wolf smoke further away.

His expression changed drastically: "Damn it!"

…

Southwest of Ning'an County.

After occupying Wen Shui County, Shi Meng's Shenji Camp team left some to guard the city, and the rest went to cut off Su Dan's retreat.

But they were intercepted by the rebel army, and the two sides had just experienced a battle. Relying on the advantage of firearms, Shi Meng had the upper hand.

However, before he could catch his breath, he heard the Little Prince Tang Ping tremble:

"Not good. Look!"

Shi Meng looked over, and in the distance, the wolf smoke was slanting and the flames were rising.

His face was devoid of color.

…

Further north, outside the battlefield below the city, on a high slope, no one noticed that three horses had quietly arrived.

Zhao Du'an reined in his horse and stopped, frowning as he looked at the scene of the two armies facing each other below the city wall.

Song Jinxi exclaimed in surprise: "Wolf smoke, what signal are the rebels releasing?"

"It's on fire," Nie Yurong murmured in an almost imperceptible voice, her expression slightly moved.

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath and looked at the faint firelight appearing in the city. The surrounding wind blew across this high slope.

Below the high slope were large fields of golden wheat that had ripened in the autumn.

At this moment, the wind blew through the wheat fields.

If this fire started, it would destroy not only a county town, but the flames would also fall into the farmland within a radius of dozens of miles with the wind, destroying the entire season's harvest.

"Song Jinxi, you wait here. This governor will be right back."

Zhao Du'an suddenly raised his hand and tore off his gorgeous coat, revealing a white half-body armor underneath.

Nie Yurong's eyes flickered, not knowing what she was thinking.

Song Jinxi subconsciously glanced at the female assassin, quietly moved his position, and then asked in confusion:

"Is your excellency going to go into battle?"

"No," Zhao Du'an suddenly stood up, took a bow stance, and his horse neighed and knelt on the ground. He soared into the sky, leaving only one sentence:

"Make clouds and rain."