When I came down from the dam, light snow began to fall in the sky.

The general rode on his horse, and a dozen night crows followed behind, and walked towards the side of Yuansong Mountain.

Every hill that was to be used as a stronghold, the general would go up to the mountain to check the terrain in person, so that he knew it well.

The topography of each hill is different, and the fortifications built at that time are naturally different.

Only by knowing the terrain well can you better plan your defenses.

From the very beginning, the general was mentally prepared for the possible battle in Xiling, and the battle with the Vedas would never be able to confront them head-on, and he would never have a decisive battle with the main force prematurely.

For more than ten years, although he was in the Guannei, the general was studying the next battle in Xiling all the time.

In the next war, when the main forces of the Tang Army could not advance westward, the only option could only be defense.

With the help of the favorable terrain with Xiling, they were deployed into one strong defensive stronghold after another, forcing the Vedic cavalry to engage in mountain warfare, which they were not good at, thus depleting the morale and strength of the enemy army.

The Utuo people invaded Xiling, and Fan County evacuated the people, and the walls were cleared.

In that war, the Vedas were to plunder grain and grass on the spot after entering Xiling, and of course the general did not allow such a situation to occur.

The Vedas could not get grain and grass from Xiling, so they could only transport it from the rear to the front, which forced them to ensure the safety of their grain routes, and the strongholds on the hills along the way became the targets that the Vedas had to clear, otherwise the logistics grain routes would always be in danger.

The general's aim was to force the Vedas to use their weaknesses to counter the advantages of the Xilings.

It was also the only chance that the Vuldans would be forced to return in vain.

"Is there any news from Qin Xiao?" The general asked suddenly.

Mencius Mo's face immediately showed a look of worry, and he shook his head and said, "He left the grain depot that night, and since then, there has been no news. Changyu sent people to search for him in the city, but he was nowhere to be found, and his whereabouts are still unknown. ”

"That kid isn't a man who doesn't know what to do." The general's brows tightened slightly: "If you leave your post without permission, the responsibility is not light." If he really encounters any difficulties, he will not leave quietly. ”

Mencius said: "When he left the granary that night, there must have been a reason for him to leave the granary. But once it is gone, it is likely that something big has happened. Full of worry, he said: "Although he is smart, he doesn't know the sinister hearts of people, and I just hope that he will turn evil into good fortune, and don't ..... Don't really get anything wrong. ”

After a period of silence, the general said, "Yuwen Chengchao also seems to have no news. ”

"Not yet." Meng Zimo said: "However, the first batch of people from the Yuwen family who migrated into the customs should be about to arrive at Jiayu Pass." The biggest worry before was that Chang Yihou was assassinated, which would affect the migration of the Yuwen clan into the customs, but fortunately, it did not have much impact. ”

The general said: "The one who ambushed the old Marquis of Yuwen was Tang Wuxian, the deputy commander of the wolf cavalry. However, the whereabouts of this person and his family in Turtle City are unknown, and Yunong has inspected the scene and there is no trace of a fight in Tang Wuxian's house, so there are two possibilities. Either Tang Wuxian returned to Turtle City and took his family with him, or the other possibility is even greater, that Yuwen Chengchao controlled Tang Wuji's family members in order to hold Tang Wuxian hostage. ”

"Holding Tang Wuxian hostage?"

"The old marquis of Yuwen was killed, and Yuwen Chengchao naturally can't give up." The general said: "Tang Wuxian led people to ambush, who was behind it, he naturally knew clearly." Yuwen Chengchao wants to find out the real culprit from Tang Wuxian and find the mastermind behind the scenes, so as to avenge the old Marquis of Yuwen. ”

Meng Zimo said: "Before, notices were posted in the streets and alleys of Guicheng, putting the responsibility for the murder of the old Marquis Yuwen on the general's head, and the general thought that Yuwen Chengchao would believe it?" ”

"If Yuwen Chengchao can force the real culprit from Tang Wuxian's mouth, he will definitely eradicate it at all costs, which will naturally be of great benefit to us." The general said: "But if Yuwen Chengchao firmly believes that the murderer is me, he will naturally lurk in the dark, looking for an opportunity to make trouble." ”

"The Yuwen clan has begun to migrate into the customs." Meng Zimo said: "Their family wealth has also been donated, the tiger horse has also been reorganized, Yuwen Chengchao has no one and no money in his hands, even if he is really bewitched by others, he can't afford to make any big waves." ”

The general shook his head and said, "Don't underestimate Yuwen Chengchao." The Xiling family has been recuperating in this land for a hundred years, and it is deeply rooted, and it is by no means as simple as it seems on the surface. This time, since someone wants to frame us for killing the old Marquis of Yuwen, it shows that there is a force here that is secretly causing chaos, and their purpose in doing this is not only to make the major families of Xiling deviate from us, but also to make the people of Xiling dissatisfied with us. ”

"Who the hell could be behind this?" Meng Zimo's face was solemn.

The general looked ahead, also thoughtfully.

When the general mentioned Yuwen Chengchao, Yuwen Chengchao was sitting cross-legged on a futon in a dimly lit room, and in front of him, there was a spirit card, covered with a black cloth towel, which was the spiritual seat of the old Marquis Yuwen.

In the dimly lit room, there was deathly silence.

Yuwen Chengchao closed his eyes tightly and sat cross-legged in front of the spiritual seat, like a stone carving.

After a long time, the door creaked, opened a gap, and then slowly walked into a figure through the gap, turned around and closed the door, and walked lightly behind Yuwen Chengchao.

"Everything is ready." The person came and said softly: "Chengchao, have you made a decision?" ”

Yuwen Chengchao finally opened his eyes, looked at the spiritual position in front of him, was silent for a long time, and finally said: "I have made up my mind, and I should do my best." ”

"Okay." "If you make the final decision, then everything will be as we planned. ”

Yuwen Chengchao didn't look back, but just asked, "Has your plan been decided from the beginning?" Or was it just an accident? ”

"You want to know, I can tell you." "This plan has indeed been discussed for a long time, and every step has been carefully planned, just in case, there are really not many people involved in this plan, but each one is extremely important. After a pause, the man walked over to the side of the chair and sat down, and said softly: "Actually, at the beginning of our plan, we really wanted to include you, as long as you exist, this plan is even more foolproof. ”

"Then why didn't you get me on board from the start?"

"Because we can't take any chances." The man said calmly: "We can't control the attitude of you and your father, once you think differently from us, and the plan is known to you, the consequences will be unimaginable." ”

Yuwen Chengchao's voice was low: "Your worries are indeed very reasonable. After a pause, he said, "Then why did you let me join in the end?" ”

"Because our interests are ultimately aligned." The man said: "Maybe you still had a glimmer of hope and fantasy before, but the current facts should always make you sober up." Chengchao, no one can save you, no one can save me, if there is still the last hope, you can only rely on yourself. ”

"You should know that as long as we embark on this road this time, we will never go back." Yuwen Chengchao said calmly.

"Turn back?" The man chuckled, stood up, walked to the door, and said word by word, "I can't turn back for a long time." Without further ado, he opened the door and walked out.

Yuwen Chengchao looked at the spiritual position, suddenly stretched out his hand, picked up a big knife on the ground in front of him, raised his arm, and the horizontal knife in front of him, and then held the handle of the knife, "choked", pulled the knife out of the sheath, the knife flashed, and the cold was pressing.

On the snowy road, the horses galloped.

Qin Xiao snatched his horse from Kunlun Pass and left, and dozens of cavalry from the pass followed closely behind.

Fortunately, Qin Xiao practiced horse skills hard in the White Tiger Camp, and his ability to control horses was already what it used to be.

Moreover, Qin Xiao grabbed the horse at night, and the pursuers did not have a good line of sight, but it took several hours to shake off the pursuers behind.

He didn't dare to stay.

It was not until dawn the next day that he found that he had already deviated from the mainland under the close pursuit of the pursuers, but fortunately he met two hunters on the way and asked about the direction of Heiyang City, so he continued to speed towards Heiyang City.

It's just that the snow on the road is so thick that the horses can't run too fast.

At dusk, people were sleepy and horses were lacking, Qin Xiao saw a forest on the side, so he rode into the forest, turned over and dismounted, and dragged Yin Bupo off the horse's back.

The food he carried with him was placed on another horse from the customs, when the situation was urgent, he took the horses of the border army, but did not prepare food, and ran down one day, although he was a little hungry in his belly, he could still support it, but the horses did not eat for a day, and they ran continuously all night, so they looked very tired.

Yin Bupo struggled to sit up, leaning against a big tree, and saw Qin Xiao grab two handfuls of snow from the ground and stuff it into his mouth, and he didn't speak, just looked at Qin Xiao with a strange expression.

Qin Xiao ate two mouthfuls of snow, only then looked at Yin Bupo, saw his strange expression, and did not care, but said: "Tomorrow is the thirtieth month of the month, and it is also Chinese New Year's Eve, if the speed is fast, we can rush to Heiyang City tomorrow night to spend Chinese New Year's Eve." ”

"The horses are exhausted, and at your current pace, they may not be able to arrive tomorrow." Yin Bupo said calmly: "If you kill me, it will be easier to be alone, and the speed will be faster, and it will still be possible for you to arrive in the middle of the night tomorrow." ”

"Yin Bupo, you are also a man who regards death as home, I really can't understand why a person like you would rebel against the court." Qin Xiao said coldly.

A disdainful smile appeared on Yin Bupo's lips, looked up at the sky, shook his head and said, "I advise you not to take the trouble of it." You took me on the road, just to hand me over to General Black Feather and ask for a confession from me, it's a pity...... It's already too late. ”

"Too late?" Qin Xiao frowned and said, "What do you mean by this?" ”

"Qin Xiao, I admire you very much, you can break through from Kunlun Pass." Yin Bupo said lightly: "Actually, it won't help you to find those Wutuo cavalry, everything will not change because of this." Do you think I colluded with the Vedas and let them enter the customs while Xiling was unprepared? Do you think that the cavalry is going to enter the pass and plunder, and then quickly withdraw? ”

Qin Xiao stepped forward and grabbed Yin Bu's collar and said sharply, "What do they want to do?" ”

"To build a house, you need to hire a stonemason and bricklayer, to transport goods, and you need to hire a coachman and groom." Yin Bupo smiled lightly at the corner of his lips: "To kill, to hire assassins, to conquer the city, what do you think you need?" ”