As soon as the Hexi army arrived outside the city of Zhuo County, Xie Ling, the defender of the Tang Army, raised fire in the city to echo, and a large number of mobs stormed the city gate. The subsequent news was even more terrifying, Luo Yi, the governor of Youzhou of the Tang Army, killed Li Ming, the king of Lujiang County, who was left behind in Beiping, and attacked Gao Kaidao's camp outside the city; Gao Kaidao lost 5,000 people and fled overnight, Luo Yi surrendered to Youzhou, and was named the King of Yan and the envoy of Youzhou Festival by Chang'an.

In just a few days, Li Shimin lost half of Youzhou, and the Tang army almost collapsed without a fight, although Li Shimin took the lead in blockading Cangzhou and preventing the soldiers from fleeing, but the morale of the army suddenly dropped to a low point. Li Shimin understood that if he delayed any longer, once the grain and grass ran out, there would be no chance to counterattack, so he ignored the opposition of the eldest grandson Wuji and ordered the whole army to attack.

Yang Chong ordered no attack in Qingchi County and stuck to the camp; Li Shimin took the opportunity to attack everywhere, and attacked step by step with the trap camp composed of 3,000 Jianghu experts recruited, and approached the big tent of the Hexi Army; However, in the face of the desperate resistance of the Chang Jie battalion led by Su Dingfang, they were trapped in the camp and fought hard for two days, paying the price of 2,600 casualties and had to withdraw from the battle. However, Song Zixian rushed to the army with nearly 10,000 Maitreya disciples to help, which greatly boosted the morale of the Tang army.

The resurrection of Maitreya Buddha from the dead is the same miracle as Yang Chong's undefeated battle, not to mention that Maitreya Buddha Song Zixian said that Maitreya Buddhism has other arrangements in Guanzhong Hebei, and 100,000 believers will rise up in various places and rush to Cangzhou to participate in the war one after another. From the second day, the Maitreya cultists shouted "Maitreya is reborn" and participated in the attack; Maitreya disciples have been indoctrinated by Song Zixian for many years, and they are not afraid of death when they fight, and they rush to the forefront every time.

However, when the two armies met, the brave won, and the counterattack of the Hexi Army was equally sharp, and it was no longer hidden, and fifty airships began to bomb, and wherever the wind turned, the airships blew up. After the fierce battle on the first day, the Tang army and the Maitreya allied army lost a full 10,000 casualties, which was the same as the number of deaths in the previous four days; The next day, the Hexi Army dispatched wooden oxen and flowing horses to counterattack in two directions, and the airships continued to bomb, and the Tang army lost another 6,000 casualties.

Although the Hexi Army also had nearly 20,000 casualties, but unlike the casualties of the coalition army, Song Zixian immediately said: "Shimin, Yang Chong and Xu Shiji are extremely cautious, and they don't even give you the opportunity to take the head of the general in the million army, so there is only one last way left, I will lead the master into the enemy camp and assassinate Yang Chong." ”

Li Shimin immediately knelt down and saluted Song Zixian and said: "Master, the disciple absolutely abides by his promise, if one day he can win the world, he will definitely take Buddhism as the state religion and divide Hebei as the diocese of Maitreya." ”

The generals of the Tang army knew that Li Shimin had worshiped Song Zixian as his teacher, and the eldest grandson Wuji's face was pale. But Li Shimin didn't discuss this matter with him at all, and even kept it a secret until now. Song Zixian said with a smile: "Shimin, I hope you remember this, and you will be satisfied as a teacher." ”

When night fell, Song Zixian took one hundred and fifty Maitreya masters and masters of the rivers and lakes, had a full meal, left from the rear camp of the Tang Army, made a detour to Qingchi County, sneaked into the Hexi military camp, and touched a transportation camp all the way. Song Zixian found two hidden officers, and under the leadership of the officers, disguised as officers and civilian workers entered the city; One of the cultists asked in a low voice, "Master, why don't we make a big deal here?" ”

Song Zixian shook his head and said: "Xu Shiji took this into account, so there are trenches and fences between the battalions, and the patrol soldiers are constant, and the passage for anyone to enter and exit is stipulated to death. Only by making use of these small opportunities can we do great things, if we can kill Yang Chong tonight, then not only Hebei, but the situation of the whole world will change because of this. ”

But the real masters, like Song Zixian, don't need to be so troublesome, a small number of people followed Song Zixian and left the team, presumably there is another way to go. The sky and the moon and stars were all bright, and the faint light sprinkled on the camp and the city wall, I don't know who was lighting the way, and the swaying figures were short and long.

In Qingchi County, the sound of fighting in the army is normal, the fire in the house is booming, and there is a pot of tea and a plate of white-cut mutton on the small coffee table; Yang Chongtian also met with some generals after dark, and he was busy until now that he was able to rest in the temporary camp behind the county office, Gong Yi tasted the mellow Longjing, and asked with a smile: "Are you sure Song Zixian will definitely come?" ”

Yang Chong picked up a thin piece of mutton and said with a smile: "This is the opportunity that Song Zixian dreamed of, he will not let it go easily, maybe there are still many Maitreya sects in this city, and there is a great chance of success." In other words, I have to give it a try for everything, otherwise I will not be willing for the rest of my life. ”

Gong Yi shook his head and said: "I only know now why the Quentian Pavilion can't be carried forward in my hands, if you want to be strong, you have to have the mentality of a madman; You obviously have thousands of martial arts experts in your hands, and you have endured until now for this massacre, because you and Song Zixian are both crazy. ”

Zhang Guolao said with a smile: "We are not crazy, we just want to see how clever Song Zixian's martial arts are." ”

Qingchi County is not big, now it is the palace of King Yue and Xu Shiji's Chinese army tent, Yang Chong found a thousand rivers and lakes good hands, stationed around the city, so that the enemy can come to the rescue when the raid. More than 100 people led by Song Zixian were discovered as soon as they reached the city gate, and the soldiers of the Hundred Cavalry Battalion and Chang Jie Battalion quickly surrounded the enemy, and Su Dingfang and the Bodhisattva were brave enough to entangle the masked monks led by them.

However, more than twenty assassins suddenly appeared on the side of the county office, and the guards raised the alarm, which caused a stir in the city, and a large number of masters rushed to the site of the fierce battle; Twelve warrior monks of Shaolin Temple, including Zhicao, Hui Xi, and Tan Zong, hurriedly walked down the street, quietly broke through the heavily guarded defense line at the entrance of the yamen, and suddenly made a mistake when they entered the corridor, quietly killed more than 20 officers and soldiers, and rushed into the garden where the thunder was placed.

But everything was unexpected, no matter from which angle they rushed in, the Shaolin monks were faced with a sharp rain of arrows, and the four monks were in a pool of blood in a blink of an eye; Zhi Cao's face changed greatly, and he hurriedly beckoned everyone to retreat, but he didn't expect nearly a hundred masters of the rivers and lakes to pour out from all around and surround the remaining eight Shaolin monks. The leader of the monk shook his head and said: "Zhicao, why is this, if you don't want to, you can not come to Hebei." ”

Zen Master Zhicao held a stick and said: "Master, everyone has their own ambitions, and the twelve of us have been favored by others and have promised, and everything has nothing to do with Shaolin." ”

The monk sighed and waved his hand to start the siege.

(End of chapter)