At the crack of dawn.

A sharp and neat sound of horses' hooves shattered the morning silence. At the junction of heaven and earth, a group of horses galloped like a tide, and billowing smoke and dust rose behind them, and the first people were Yuan Minzhou and Xie Fenghua.

After running for a day and night, they finally came to the gates of Los Angeles.

At this time, the sky was faint, and the morning breeze drilled into his neck with a hint of coolness, Xie Fenghua reined in the horse, gathered the clothes on his body, raised his eyes and looked forward, and said with a sigh: "The front is Los Angeles." ”

Her bright eyes swept around quickly, remembering the plains she had encountered along the way, her eyebrows furrowed, but her expression did not show the slightest relief.

Everywhere you look, there are plains, and there is no harm to the Northern Underworld Iron Ride.

The next battle seems to be a little more difficult than expected.

Yuan Minzhou also breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the slightly tired soldiers behind him, and said to her: "Let's go to the city!" ”

"Hmm." Xie Fenghua hurriedly raised his horsewhip and rushed to the city gate.

When the city guards of Los Angeles saw the tokens they presented, they hurriedly opened the city gate and let them go, and the group marched through the streets of Los Angeles and headed towards the city guard's mansion.

Xu is the war is tight, and there are few people on the street, revealing a bleak atmosphere everywhere. The people had already received the order of the city guard, and basically hid at home, and tens of thousands of people rode by, making a huge noise, attracting many people on the street to open their windows to look.

Dou Zhong, the city guard of Los Angeles, got the news in advance and was already looking forward to it at the gate of the mansion.

When he saw this group of people, he was immediately overjoyed, rushed over with a breeze under his feet, bowed to Yuan Minzhou and said, "Xiaguan see Hou Ye." Master Hou, you're finally here! These soldiers ......"

"Changying, you take people down and settle down." Yuan Minzhou turned over and dismounted, strode to Dou Zhong, and said, "Dou Chengshou doesn't have to be polite. Benhou is here on the emperor's orders, and I still need your assistance......"

Dou Zhong didn't dare to say anything, welcomed a few people into the mansion, and after sitting down together, he said, "Master Hou, does the emperor have any other instructions?" ”

Yuan Minzhou took a sip of tea from the teacup and said, "It is the emperor's will to recover the three cities occupied by the Northern Underworld and drive the Northern Underworld people out of the border of the Liang Dynasty." Dou Chengshou is well versed in this war, can you tell us the specific situation one by one? ”

Dou Zhong is about forty years old, with a round cake face, a small beard, and a very happy appearance. But at this moment, he frowned, and when he heard this question, he let out a heavy sigh.

Immediately afterwards, I heard him say: "Master Hou, don't hide it, the situation in Los Angeles is not good now. Los Angeles is located in the plain, with Jingzhou, Jincheng and Linzhou on the east, west and north. And these three places have been occupied by the Northern Underworld, and Los Angeles is also equivalent to being surrounded by enemies, and it is really difficult to break through. Moreover, before your arrival, Los Angeles had experienced several sneak attacks, morale was low, and the soldiers were showing a lot of fatigue. If you want to turn the tide of battle, you can only rely on you. ”

After speaking, he stood up and bowed his hand respectfully to Chong Yuan Minzhou.

Yuan Minzhou hurriedly supported him, then walked to a map, and twisted his eyebrows to analyze.

"But what did you find?" Xie Fenghua walked up to him, his fingers as white as jade slowly swept across the cities on the map, and suddenly asked, "Dou Chengshou, who is the person in charge of Linzhou and Jincheng?" ”

Dou Zhong looked at her in surprise, hesitating whether to answer.

In fact, he discovered this unusual woman early on, but he didn't know her identity, and he didn't dare to answer easily.

Yuan Minzhou glanced at him, but said: "This is Benhou's wife, and she is also another person appointed by the emperor to lead the troops. If Dou Chengshou knows something, he might as well say it directly. ”

"It turned out to be Mrs. Yuan, disrespectful and disrespectful. I have long heard that Mrs. Yuan turned the tide in front of the palace and stopped King Yu's rebellion, which is simply a woman who does not let her eyebrows! Dou Zhong's eyes lit up and he admired it from the bottom of his heart.

Xie Fenghua coughed a few times, and said a little uncomfortably: "Dou Cheng has guarded the award." Now that the situation is urgent, let's think about how to tide over the difficulties! ”

After her reminder, Dou Zhong also noticed his gaffe, and hurriedly returned to the topic, "Now, the principal of Linzhou is the original city guard Gan Ying, when the Northern Underworld attacked the city, Gan Ying opened the city and surrendered, and it was actually the Northern Underworld people who took Linzhou without a single soldier. Shafts are abominable! And Jincheng is opposite to Los Angeles, and it is also the place where the two princes of the Northern Underworld are entrenched in attack and defense this time. Wait for the two of you to go up to the castle tower and take a look, and you will know what the situation is on the other side. ”

When the words landed, everyone's faces were solemn.

Dou Changke's eyes purred, and he asked loudly: "How many soldiers and horses does the second prince of the Northern Netherworld have under his command?" How many are scattered among the cities? ”

Dou Zhongdao: "The soldiers and horses of the second prince are basically in Jincheng, and Linzhou and Jingzhou are the original defenders in the city. Does this little boy want to break out of Linzhou or Jingzhou? ”

"What are the odds of winning if you do that?" Yuan Mindong asked in a deep voice.

Dou Zhong shook his head and sighed: "There is almost no chance of winning." These two young men probably haven't looked at the map, and they don't know the terrain here. These three cities are not far from each other. Once Linzhou or Jingzhou is attacked, the soldiers and horses of the Northern Underworld living in Jincheng can support at any time. This is also the reason why the two princes of the Northern Darkness concentrated their forces in Jincheng. Moreover, the plains between the three cities also provided good combat conditions for the brave and warlike Northern Underworld cavalry. If you attack rashly, I am afraid that you will suffer heavy losses. ”

His words were like a basin of cold water poured on the heads of several people.

For a while, the faces of everyone present were unprecedentedly solemn.

Xie Fenghua stared at the map quietly, looking at it word by word, and after a while, he memorized the map by heart. She tilted her head slightly and asked Yuan Minzhou, "What can Master Hou do?" ”

"It's hard to say right now. Let's go to the castle tower first. Yuan Minzhou withdrew his gaze, and under the guidance of Dou Zhong, he walked towards the city tower of Los Angeles.

At this time, the sky was already bright, the morning breeze was slowly blowing on the face, and the fatigue of running for a day and night was slowly dissipating.

Xie Fenghua took a deep breath, and a smell of blood penetrated into her lungs, making her extremely uncomfortable. As she walked, she looked around, and everywhere she passed was a mess, and the bluestone pavement was stained with blood, showing what kind of crisis the city had encountered before.

After walking up to the city tower, Dou Zhong pointed to the camp tent and soldiers and horses not far ahead, and said in a deep voice: "In front is the camp tent where the Northern Underworld people are stationed." In the past few days, those people have attacked several times, but they have been blocked by the soldiers in the city. Fortunately, Master Hou, you came in time and brought reinforcements, which also made us no longer passively beaten! That's a good thing. ”

He opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly there was an urgent sound. Turning to look, he saw a small soldier running over to report, "Lord City Guard, it seems that the enemy has appeared at the west gate." Do you want to check it out? ”

Dou Zhong subconsciously looked at Yuan Minzhou and hesitated: "Master Hou, you can ......"

"Chang Ke, you go with Dou Chengshou to have a look. If anything, be flexible. Xie Fenghua interrupted him and commanded himself.

Dou Changke hurriedly responded, and hurriedly went down the city tower with Dou Zhong, until the two disappeared, Yuan Minzhou was curious: "Do you have something to say?" ”

He didn't think that this person had no other intention to branch Dou Zhong apart.

Xie Fenghua knew that he couldn't hide it, so he nodded and said, "Actually, I have some doubts in my heart. Don't you think this war came too suddenly? ”

Yuan Minzhou raised his eyebrows and looked at her, "Do you think it has something to do with King Beiheng?" ”

After thinking about it, he shook his head again and denied this possibility, "Even if you give King Beiheng a thousand dares, you may not dare to do this." I've dealt with this person before, and I've looked into it secretly, and I haven't found anything wrong. You might really be thinking too much this time. ”

Xie Fenghua's lips were pursed into a word, and he didn't say a word.

Since Yuan Minzhou thought it was okay, there was no need for her to doubt it. However, Xu is a woman's intuition that is at work, and she always feels uneasy in her heart. And this uneasiness comes from the Beiheng Palace.

She thought about it, but still didn't give up and said, "Then have you found out, does King Beiheng have other things to rely on?" If the war has nothing to do with the King of Beiheng, has this person been targeted by the Northern Hell people? Otherwise, why did the news of discord between the monarchs and ministers just come out in Yunzhou City, and the war in the north of Yunzhou was revealed? ”

Yuan Minzhou couldn't say why, at this moment, a large number of Northern Hell cavalry suddenly galloped in front of the city tower, and the two of them didn't care about thinking about other things, so they hurriedly organized their troops to meet the battle.

With support, the situation in Los Angeles was greatly reversed, and it didn't take long for the Northern Hades cavalry to be beaten back.

This time, Los Angeles won for the first time since defending the city.

Xie Fenghua leaned against the city wall, his clothes were still stained with scarlet blood, and the whole person sat lazily, with a bloodthirsty murderous aura all over his body. She looked at the soldiers around her, a trace of gloom flashed in her eyes, and then, as if she had made up her mind, she walked towards Yuan Minzhou, who was comforting the wounded not far away.

"Master Hou, it can't go on like this." She pursed her lips and said with a solemn face, "The terrain in Los Angeles is too bad, no matter how many reinforcements there are, sooner or later they will be exhausted." At the moment, you can still attack and fight the enemy, but after a long time, you will fall into a passive situation, and then there will be no way to retreat. We have to think of other ways to reverse this impasse. ”

Yuan Minzhou's gaze fell on her, but it didn't look at her, but through her to see something, a rare silence. After a moment, he asked, "What do you do?" ”

Xie Fenghua immediately said: "I'm going to burn their grain and grass!" When the time comes, you cooperate with me and launch an attack as soon as possible, and you will definitely be able to expel the enemy army in the Northern Netherworld. ”

"No! You are crazy! Yuan Minzhou didn't think about it, and immediately objected, "Since the second prince of the Northern Ming will concentrate his troops in Jincheng, the grain and grass will definitely be heavily guarded." Not to mention how you infiltrated Jincheng, how did you sneak in and get close to the grain and grass and burn it? If you are not careful, you will lose your life! ”

Xie Fenghua naturally knew his worries, but the war should not be delayed any longer, and only a quick solution was the most feasible way.

However, Yuan Minzhou was also iron-hearted, and he didn't let go of her proposal at all, and he didn't even want to deal with her anymore, so he made an excuse to slip away.

After that, the Northern Underworld attacked the city again, but they didn't take any advantage.

When Xie Fenghua saw this situation, his heart became more and more uncomfortable, and he went to pester Yuan Minzhou several times, but each time it was in vain. When she walked to the gate of the city guard's mansion, a bold idea suddenly popped up in her heart, and she went to find Dou Changke without saying a word.

This time, in addition to the people and horses of Yunzhou, she also brought people drawn from the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses. These people had already obeyed her orders, but since Yuan Minzhou didn't want her to take risks, she could only cut them first and then play.

In the end, she found Dou Changke and others in the corner of the West City Gate. As soon as she heard that she was going out of the city without permission, the others didn't agree, especially Yuan Mindong still wanted to report it, but she was slammed and threatened viciously.

After much talking, she finally told the men to follow them and sneak out of the city.

In fact, speaking of which, there are only six people in the line.

After quietly leaving the city, Xie Fenghua led people straight to Linzhou.

She had seen the map, Jingzhou was mountainous and difficult for horses to travel, while Linzhou was a plain, and it only took an hour for the horses to whip up. Moreover, since Gan Ying, the city guard of Linzhou, can open the city gate and surrender, he is also a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, and it is not difficult to handle it.

An hour later, a group of six people came to the gate of Linzhou City.

Unlike what they imagined, although Linzhou was under the clutches of the Northern Underworld, it did not have the depression and decay of Los Angeles. The gates were still open, and many people came in and out, and the interrogation did not seem to be very strict.

Xie Fenghua and the others dressed up in disguise and confirmed that they were correct before walking towards the city gate.

The city guards briefly checked and found no major problems, so they were to let them go.

But I didn't want to, an arrogant voice suddenly came from my ears, I followed the sound and looked over, but saw a skinny young man riding a horse to him, and when he saw Xie Fenghua, a trace of obscene light suddenly flashed in his eyes, but he shook the horsewhip and said angrily: "Have you all checked it out?" There is no problem with these people? ”

When the city guard saw him, he ran forward on his feet, nodded and said, "If you return to the second son of Gan, the villain has checked it, and there is no problem." ”

When Xie Fenghua heard this title, he probably knew the identity of this person.

I can't imagine that a person like Gan Ying has such an arrogant son!

But Gan Tianyi's face was full of anger, and the horsewhip in his hand pointed at Xie Fenghua among the people, and shouted: "This son thinks this person is very problematic!" Go, strip this man's clothes! ”

Dou Changke rolled up his sleeves and was about to make a move, but Xie Fenghua stretched out his hand to stop him, and immediately looked at her puzzled.

"Rest easy." Xie Fenghua patted his arm, walked out of the crowd, looked up at Gan Tianyi on horseback, and said lightly, "This son, our brothers are just passing through here, and we want to find an inn in the city to rest, please ......."

Gan Tianyi's nostrils were facing the sky, and he interrupted her without thinking about it, "My son just thinks that your identity is suspicious, so what do you do when you enter the city?" Why are you still stunned? Take off this kid's clothes and see what he's hiding on him. ”

After saying that, he suddenly flicked his whip at the city guard, and a red blood mark suddenly appeared on that face.

Seeing this, Dou Changke couldn't hold back any longer, and shouted: "Your Excellency is really capable. Beat people at will, but there is still a king law in your eyes? ”

No, Gan Tianyi seemed to have heard some big joke, rode his horse close to him, and said arrogantly: "Where are you a bastard?" Actually talking about the king's law in front of this son? Ben Gongzi tells you that now in Linzhou, Ben Gongzi's words are the king's law. ”

After speaking, he turned his gaze to Xie Fenghua's body and said coldly: "Are you deaf?" My son asked you to take off your clothes! ”

He is also a person who is used to mixing in the Fengyue field, although the person in front of him is wearing men's clothes, he still recognizes at a glance that this person is a woman's identity. It just so happened that he took a look at it, and he said the bastard too.

But Xie Fenghua didn't react.

She knew that this person was afraid that he had found out her identity. But at present, there are few people and there is little power, and it is not appropriate to start a conflict on the street.

But Dou Changke didn't think as far as she thought, and when he heard this, he suddenly jumped like thunder, and said angrily: "Who do you think you are? Why do people wear wide clothes on the street? ”

Gan Tianyi raised his head and laughed, the whip shook the little guy beside him, and said with an arrogant smile: "You come to tell them, what is the identity of this son?" Do you have the ability to call on you? ”

The little guy beside him immediately straightened his face, and said loudly, "Listen carefully, my son-in-law is the second son of the city guard of Linzhou. You Diao people, why don't you hurry up and kneel down to my son-in-law and kowtow to apologize? ”

Rao is Dou Changke, no matter how nervous he is, when he heard this identity, he was also a little stunned. He glanced at Xie Fenghua's face, and suddenly stopped talking.

Gan Tianyi was proud, and suddenly heard a male voice in his ear, "Second brother, you are such a fox and a fake tiger, bullying the people on the street, if you let your father know, what do you think you will do?" ”

As soon as the words fell, a white-haired young man walked out, about fourteen or fifteen years old, he looked very immature, but his body revealed an old age. And wherever he passed, all the people were far from him.

He seemed to be accustomed to such a scene, and there was a faint sneer in his eyes, and when he met Xie Fenghua's gaze, he couldn't help but be taken aback, and looked at the group a few more times.

When Gan Tianyi saw that it was him, a touch of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes, pointed at him with a horsewhip, and said angrily: "Who is your second brother?" You monster, you dare to take care of this son's business! Come on, tie him up for this son! ”

The white-haired young man stepped forward, glanced at Xie Fenghua and the others, and said mockingly: "You dare to tie me up? I'm not afraid that my father will know that you ...... to flowers."

"Smack-"

Gan Tianyi was shocked, the whip was thrown at him, he didn't have time to dodge, and he was hit with the whip in the face.

For a while, the blood flowed like a pump.

Gan Tianyi's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Dog cub!" How dare you come out and bite people! ”

The white-haired young man sneered, raised his hand and touched his cheek, but still said in a tough tone: "If you don't want your father to know, don't make trouble here." Otherwise, I have 11,000,000 ways to stab this matter in front of my father. ”

But these words worked, and Gan Tianyi glared at him viciously, and then rode away.

The white-haired young man walked up to these people, looked at them carefully, and asked with concern, "Are you all right?" ”

"We're fine. Thank you for saving me just now. Xie Fenghua made a gesture at him, and then asked him, "Dare to ask Gongzi's surname, and I will come to thank him for today's grace in the future." ”

The white-haired young man returned the salute and said with a smile: "My name is Gan Tiansheng." That person just now was my second brother. When you see him in the future, stay away. ”

"Thanks for the reminder." Xie Fenghua smiled sincerely, "However, our brothers are just passing by here, and they don't stay for a long time, and they may not meet again in the future." It's just that I'm curious, why would you rather provoke your second brother than help us speak? ”

"Because you're good people!" Gan Tiansheng scratched his head and said a little embarrassed, "Moreover, I have such white hair, everyone else treats me as a monster, and hides away when they see me." But you are not afraid of me. ”

Xie Fenghua was stunned, and then smiled: "So that's the case." It's just that you are so against your second brother, there will be no problem? ”

"Rest assured. There won't be a problem. Gan Tiansheng suddenly leaned over and said mysteriously, "I hold his fatal handle in my hand, and he doesn't dare to mess around." ”

Xie Fenghua nodded with a smile, his eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked, "Master Gan, can I take the liberty of asking you a question?" ”

Gan Tiansheng hurriedly said: "What's the problem?" ”

Xie Fenghua glanced at the people around him, suddenly lowered his voice, and said, "A few of our brothers passed by here and are going to Jincheng, do you know how to go?" ”

Gan Tiansheng's eyes widened suddenly, and he couldn't believe it: "You guys actually want to go to Jincheng?" I guess it won't work! Once you enter the city, you can't leave without a pass. ”

There is still such a saying!

The group of six people immediately looked at each other, and after a short period of surprise, Xie Fenghua asked, "Then how can I get the pass?" ”

"The pass is in my father's hands." Gan Tiansheng frowned, shook his head and said, "The situation in Linzhou, you may not be very clear. Just a few days ago, my father had ordered that no one should leave without his pass. Not to mention that you have to rush to Jincheng. ”

He looked around vigilantly and said in a low voice, "Now Jincheng is the lair of the Northern Underworld, and no one can easily approach it. Why don't you go back and forth! ”

Xie Fenghua was silent.

Originally, she was a little lucky, but she didn't want to, the second prince of the Northern Netherworld even blocked the road just in case. It seems that she needs to think carefully about what to do next.

She hugged her fists at Gan Tiansheng and thanked her, and then took Dou Changke and others to find an inn in the city and live in it.

Soon, it was getting dark.

Xie Fenghua discussed it with the others, and decided to go to the Linzhou City Shoufu with Dou Changke to find out the truth.

I flew all the way to the wall, and it didn't take long to reach the roof of the castle guard's house. After making an appointment to separate to find the pass, Xie Fenghua walked silently on the roof, and suddenly heard a whipping sound from below, as if someone was being punished.

Suddenly, she heard Gan Tiansheng's voice. With a flash of light, he stopped and looked down.

saw Gan Tiansheng kneeling upright in the hall, and a man waved a whip and beckoned to him.

Suddenly, her heart trembled when she heard it.