It didn't take long for the team in front of it to emerge from the billowing yellow dust, and a big "Zheng" character was written on the big banner in it. Digging Tu breathed a long sigh of relief, obviously this is Zheng Cheng's response to the troops. His carriage picked up speed and rushed straight to the opposite side.

Lord Waizai, who had been in charge of Zhengcheng's affairs for a long time, was standing majestically on the chariot led by him, and the samurai on his right waved the order flag, and the military formation quickly gave way to a passage and let the carriage enter directly. Digging Sudden lifted the curtain and shouted hoarsely at the Outer Jae, signaling that the Inner Jae were still trapped behind. When the carriage passed, the army quickly closed again. The banner continued to fly, and while the army kept moving rapidly, it changed from a marching army to a battle formation, pressing towards the dog like a wall.

Zheng Guo's army was dominated by chariots, which was very suitable for this kind of positional duel, while the dog Rong was mainly cavalry. At that time, the cavalry of the nomads was not yet mature, and they were not as good as the Xiongnu and Mongols in later generations. In peacetime, it's okay to engage in sneak attacks, outflanking, and harassment, but in the face of war, he was basically abused into scum by the Chinese army. So as soon as he saw that the opponent's army was neat, the leader of the dog Rong hurriedly killed the reins. The horse let out a painful neigh, turned and ran. After the Zheng army chased down the bushes where they had been ambushed, they stopped fighting and divided their troops to search for their own people who had been scattered.

That night, Dutu finally arrived at Zheng Guo's base camp - Zheng Cheng. Although he was very tired, and the people in the palace had already cleaned up the Gongzi's mansion, he really didn't want to sleep, so he simply waited on the Xicheng Tower, and no one persuaded him.

Tonight's weather is still overcast, so the sky isn't bright. He leaned against the battlements of the wall, and there was only endless darkness in front of him, as if it could swallow everything.

It wasn't until midnight that a sparkling firelight appeared at the end of the line of sight. When they arrived at the gate of the city, everyone recognized that it was Neizai who had returned. The convoy didn't seem to have lost anything, because the materials and documents escorted were there. He hurriedly went down to greet him, grabbed his arms and said excitedly: "It's good to be safe, it's good to be safe!" ”

"Thank you Gongzi for your concern, I soon met Waizai's reinforcements and was able to get out of danger."

"Does he know the danger of the Son of Heaven and the Emperor's father? Can you divide the troops to the rescue? ”

"Childe rest assured. Although the time of the meeting was too short for us to talk, I quickly exchanged chariot drivers with Waizai-sama. I asked the driver to tell him the details in the car and suggested that he divide his troops to help the theater. ”

"That's good, that's good." Di Tu hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but ask, "Did the adults see Nie Rang and the others?" ”

Lord Neizai naturally didn't know that he was worried about Zhong Xi's Xiao Jiujiu, and he didn't report it truthfully, but he said: "Nie Rang joined the army at a young age, and his martial arts are strong, so he must have his own natural appearance." ”

When he heard this, he felt a little comforted. Since the most important Naizai-sama has returned, it is inconvenient for him to stick to the city wall, so he can't excuse himself to wait for one of his guards. So he went home and continued to toss and turn on the bed and couldn't sleep.

The next day, Dutu and Neizai waited anxiously, but only a few stragglers fled back, and there was no news of Nie Rang. Until late at night, Zheng Guo's army appeared first. As soon as they entered the city, Lord Waizai hurriedly pulled them into the inner room, retreated from everyone, and said worriedly: "The theater city has been broken, and the Son of Heaven and the king are afraid that they will be more auspicious." ”

"What do you mean by 'scared'?"

"To be exact, the only dozen or so people left in the Son of Heaven fled to the theater city. Although the dog Rong followed, the defenders took the risk of lowering the drawbridge and opening the gates in order to save them. It's a pity that I almost entered the city at that point, but I was still intercepted by the dogs. At this time, the city defense was wide open, and the canine cavalry led by the dog had jumped on the suspension bridge, cut the hanging rope with a knife, and rushed into the city gate to slash and slash. By the time our troops arrived, the enemy had already slaughtered the city and evacuated. It was not easy for us to find a living person to know about these processes. ”

"Then you chase quickly, if you live to see people die, you must see corpses!" He was so anxious that he jumped to his feet.

"The 80,000 rebels of Xishen and Zhujiang have arrived, and they have joined up with the 20,000 of the dog Rong, and surrounded the pickaxe capital like an iron bucket. The mere 3,000 people in our hands will not work at all. However, I still stationed some of my men and horses not far outside the encirclement, waving flags and dusting every day as suspicious soldiers, hoping to make the rebels have some scruples and delay time. ”

"How many more troops do we have to move?" Nai-sama asked, almost desperately.

"Although Zheng Guo is nominally a country of a thousand times, in fact, with our small country, we can only feed an army of the hundred times level. As you know, with the help of the king's power in the court, the rest of the army was raised in Hojing by the central government. So when I went west, not only did all the men and horses under my nose go to the front line, but I also transferred more than half of them from me. ”

Digging Tu secretly sighed, Zheng Huan Gong worked hard in the imperial court, thinking that he had taken advantage of it and obtained additional military strength for Zheng Guo, but as a result, people were not as good as heaven, and all the bamboo baskets were empty.

"The king is kind to us, and the courtiers should be rewarded with death. But I know very well the importance of this remaining living force to Zheng Guo, and I can't be buried on the battlefield on impulse. Therefore, I have blocked the news of the capture of the Son of Heaven and the king, and hastened back to consult with you. ”

"Waizai-sama, you're doing the right thing!" Lord Neizai looked at him firmly, his eyes filled with tears, "We can't let Zheng Guo's foundation be ruined in our hands, and the great favor of the king can only be repaid in the next life." ”

"I suggest that you take these three thousand people to quickly escort Gongzi to the east, and you must arrive before the bad news reaches the princes of Shandong!"

That's true! Once the kingdom is broken and the monarch is destroyed, the Dongyu Kingdom and the Yi Kingdom will not pay attention to us at all. Neizai turned to the dug, "As soon as the morning dawns, let's go immediately!" ”

Dutu's eyebrows were tightly locked, and he couldn't imagine that the result of the discussion between the two ministers was like this. However, he thought about it carefully, this is indeed the best way to do Zheng Guo's great cause at present. The only thing he couldn't let go of was Zhong Xi, but he couldn't say this reason. He pretended to be filial, and said righteously: "The life and death of the monarch is unknown, won't I become a person of great unfilial piety when I go, and what face will I face in the future!" ”

"Childe!" The two adults knelt in front of him in unison, tears streaming down their faces, "I deeply understand your thoughts, but if we ruin the great cause of Zheng Guo, it will be even more sorry for the ancestors and ancestors." If the king knew that the country he had worked so hard to build would die in one life, he would definitely die without turning a blind eye! ”

"Do you really want me to leave behind my father, my ministers, and the people of Zheng Guo?"

"Childe, you can go with confidence, open up bigger and better territory for Zheng Guo, whether it is the monarch, the ministers or the people of Zheng Guo, they will be grateful to you!" Lord Gaizai clasped his hands into fists and said firmly in a tragic and benevolent tone, "I will stay here to deal with the aftermath and save them as much as possible!" ”

Speechless, he sat down on the feast and acquiesced to the situation.

A few hours later, the convoy was ready to go again. The inner and outer jae said goodbye in the cold wind, and the two exchanged hands, silence worth a thousand words. In addition to telling him to find Nie Rang, he didn't know what to say. In this way, they hurried to the unknown ahead.

From Zhengcheng to Yuyi, it takes at least half a month by land. In order to be in a hurry, Uchijae sent people to survey the waterways while marching. At that time, shipping traffic already had a certain scale, but the technology was not very mature. So it's a risky move. When the convoy passed through Huashan from the north side, they came to Fenglingdu and boarded the ferry here. At this time, it is early winter, the Yellow River has not yet frozen, and the water is not large, so it is relatively safe.

One day, the dug was in a daze on the ship. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in the hazy mist in the distance. When you get closer, you find that it is a city on the south bank of the Yellow River. Strangely, the city was empty, the walls were crumbling, and the houses were in ruins, like ghosts.

At this time, Lord Neizai also found out about the situation and came to the bow of the ship. Puzzled, he asked, "Which country's city is this?" It seems that it has not been abandoned for a long time, but I haven't heard of any recent wars in the east that destroyed the country and destroyed the city? ”

Nejae stroked his beard and muttered, "Could it be that this is Jiaoguo?" ”

"Jiao Guo?" Digging Tu tried to search his mind for the historical records of this country, and it seemed that he had seen a few words about the destruction of Jiao by a certain kingdom, but he couldn't remember it clearly.

The city itself was small, and the fleet had passed by as they spoke, but a larger shadow had appeared ahead.

Nejae's eyes narrowed, trying to find a clue. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his right hand pointed to a large flag that flashed in the fog and exclaimed, "Hurry up and hide!"