In the early morning, the embers dedicated the last trace of heat to Qiu Liang, turned into wisps of green smoke and flew into the sky, and the fire that raged all night was finally extinguished, but Lingdong City was already full of devastation, full of crying people and desperate people.

Hundreds of people died in the fire that night, the vast majority of them were ordinary people, and the mourning hall erected was like frost in the morning, dyeing half of Lingdong white.

Many more families have been left homeless or bankrupt overnight, and in an era when there was no insurance industry, generations of accumulated possessions were engulfed in flames, leaving them to bang their heads on the ground and cry in despair.

No one knows how these victims will survive the long winter that is coming, and perhaps many will have to put their young children on the shelves for sale, when they should have had a happy childhood.

Xu Rui stood in front of the window of the inn, stunned and looked at the city that exuded a decadent atmosphere, silent for a long time, his eyes flashing with indescribable depth.

Xu Fang walked to his side, saw that he seemed to have become a motionless stone sculpture, put on a big coat for him distressedly, and gently closed the window for him, and shook his head helplessly.

No matter how glorified it is, war is always cruel, dehumanizing, and unaesthetically devoid, but for all sorts of purposes, it is necessary to carry on this battle that exudes a decisive atmosphere.

As a soldier, he always has mixed feelings when facing such a scene, and he will succeed in ten thousand bones, Xu Rui thinks that he is not a cold-blooded person, but he must play a cold-blooded role, because he understands that as long as he is a little soft-hearted, more people will die because of this.

Mei Chuang stood behind Xu Rui for a long time, until her legs were sore, and then she had to cough softly.

Xu Rui came back to his senses, and when he saw that Mei Chuang wanted to speak and stopped, he waved his hand and said, "I'm fine, well, it's time to act again, you come with me, and we'll talk about today's script." ”

After speaking, Xu Rui turned around and walked towards his room.

The moment he staggered, Mei Chuang wanted to pat him on the shoulder as a comfort, but the hand that had been raised couldn't be patted anymore.

At this moment, he suddenly had the illusion that it was not a sixteen-year-old child who walked in front of him, but a man who had gone through vicissitudes.

Is it really appropriate to put the burden of Beiwuwei on his shoulders? Maybe that's a big burden for him, right? Wicked boy, where is his limit?

Mei Chuang shook his head and followed Xu Rui into his room.

Also heavy is the lobby of the Lingdong County Ya, last night's fire was put out in time, except for the backyard, most of the county Ya is still complete, but the black ash of the county magistrate has not had time to scrub it clean, with a cold expression, it is a little more solemn.

Jiang Rulong sat under the order of the county, last night he was busy fighting the fire, and then he was called to the city, trembling and busy all night, now with two thick dark circles under his eyes closed to recuperate, I don't know if he fell asleep.

Although the other officials were not as thrilling as these two, the fire was too widespread, and they were all busy with their own affairs, and they didn't sleep all night, and there were not a few who were smoked with big black faces.

Everyone sat silently, no one spoke, no one drank tea, and they didn't even raise their eyelids to look at their colleagues, and the atmosphere in the lobby was extremely depressing.

"Did you catch the Northern Dynasty spy who set the fire?"

In the end, it was the prefectural magistrate who broke the silence.

Seeing that Jiang Rulong didn't mean to speak, the head catcher hurriedly got up and hugged his fists and said, "Lord Qiyu, a total of 75 criminals were arrested last night. ”

Hou Rong looked at Jiang Rulong, glanced at the head catcher again, and asked, "How many Northern Dynasty spies are there?" ”

"This ......"

The head catcher thought for a while, and said, "Probably yes, please give me a little time......

Hou Rong waved his hand: "The trick of bending into a trick is used here, it is a veritable self-deception, and there is no need to bother." ”

The head catcher's face froze, he arched his hand towards Hou Rong, and sat back again.

Hou Rong lightly tapped the table with his fingertips, and said lightly: "This official doesn't understand military strategy, I don't know how many Northern Dynasty spies need to be dispatched in this fire last night?" ”

When asked about the military strategy, Jiang Rulong had to speak, he opened his eyes, sighed and said: "Lord Hui, the fire last night has been planned for a long time, and it has a wide range, and the thieves cooperate seamlessly, and it cannot be completed by three hundred people." ”

"Three hundred?"

There was a gasp in the lobby.

With a "snap", Hou Rong knocked down the startled wood, and all the officials were startled, and hurriedly lowered their heads.

"Three hundred spies of the Northern Dynasty killed people and set fire to them under your nose, and almost took the county government away, not only did you not check anything beforehand, but you didn't even catch a single hair afterwards, tell me yourself, what is the use of the imperial court raising you?!"

Jiang Rulong gritted his teeth and said: "My lord, this fire is well-planned and compact, and it is by no means the work of ordinary spies, and the last general thinks that it must be the elite of the Wei army."

Lingdong City is located in a remote area, there are only 2,000 garrisons in the city, and the combat power is vastly different from the elite of the Beijing camp. ”

Hou Rong snorted coldly: "Now it's said that it is the elite of the Wei army?" Who swore yesterday that there would be no Wei army near Lingdong? ”

Jiang Rulong's face was pale, and he couldn't answer.

Hou Rong didn't force him, rubbed his temples and said: "That's it, this matter is too big, and the little Lingdong can't cover it anymore, immediately draft a document and report this matter to the court, and the princes will wait for the examination of the officials." ”

"Big ...... Adult ......"

The county man got up suddenly, and stopped talking.

Hou Rong frowned and said, "What, you still want to cover the lid?" Aren't you afraid that the Wei army will really kill you, and the lives of a few of us and others will be lost? ”

"Not ......"

The county man trembled and said, "It may be too late to report to the imperial court now, we ...... We haven't received an official letter from the court for three or four days. ”

"What! Why are you saying such a big deal now?! ”

Hou Rong suddenly got up, and all the officials were shocked.

The county man said with a bitter face: "Lingdong is remote, and it is common for official documents to be delayed by a day or two, but now it is wartime, and this situation is even more commonplace."

Xia Guan didn't care about it at first, until the fire last night, Xia Guan thought that the adults would report this matter to the court today, so he went to check this morning and found ...... Found...... We haven't received an official letter from the imperial court for several days. ”

"So Lingdong and the imperial court have broken off contact? Is there really a Wei army nearby?! ”

Hou Rong was so anxious that he paced in place, and the officials at all levels exchanged heads and ears for a while, and the quiet hall immediately burst into chaos.

"Silence!"

As soon as Hou Rong knocked on the startling wood, the lobby immediately fell silent.

At this time, the master ran in from outside the hall and said loudly: "My lord, my lord, the person sent to Linxian to contact is back." ”

Hou Rong was stunned for a moment, and then rejoiced: "Great, please come to the court!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, an errand trotted up to the hall, and as soon as he entered, he knelt on the ground and saluted Hou Rong and officials at all levels.

"Don't be polite, let's talk about the situation in Linxian County, is there really a Wei army?"

Hou Rong couldn't wait to ask.

The officer looked up with a bitter expression.

"Small...... Small...... The small one did not go to Linxian. ”

"What? How so? Are you too far away and derelict in your duties? ”

"Wronged, my lord, the little one received the order of the adult yesterday, and set off immediately, I don't dare to delay at all, please be aware of it."

"Then why didn't you go to Linxian?"

"Back to the adult, the small one has gone to Linxian, but he failed to enter the city, and the nearby counties were suddenly surrounded by a large number of displaced people, in order to prevent spies from entering the city, they had to close the city gate, and the small one failed to enter the city."

"Outcasts? Recently, there have been no disasters and no disasters, where are so many displaced people? ”

"I heard...... I heard that it was the Wei army that burned, killed and looted, and the people were displaced, so they became displaced people and fled in all directions......"

"Huh?!"

Hou Rong sat down on the chair with his buttocks, his face turned pale, and the officials at all levels suddenly exploded, and their faces were so frightened that they were colorless.

The displaced people have arrived in Linxian, which means that the army of the Northern Dynasty will definitely not be too far, so the things mentioned in the text are not groundless, and Lingdong City has really become a target.

What's even more terrifying is that they have now lost contact with the imperial court, and the imperial court may not know the situation of Lingdong, there will be no reinforcements nine times out of ten, and Lingdong has become a lonely city, dangerous!

"My lord, the text says that the city will be attacked in five days, and now that it will be a day, we still have time, and if we prepare carefully, we may not be able to hold out for several months."

Jiang Rulong hugged his fists.

Hou Rong came back to his senses and sneered: "Jiang Qianhu is iron-clad and loyal, but how dare you guarantee that the siege date on the inscription is accurate?" Even if the enemy is strong, how sure are you that you can use two thousand garrisons to resist the tens of thousands of tigers and wolves of the Northern Dynasty? ”

"This ......"

Jiang Rulong was speechless, not knowing how to answer, with the fire last night, thinking of the elite of the Wei State that he was about to face, he had no confidence.

Hou Rong was about to say more, but the master quietly leaned into his ear and whispered a few words, Hou Rong's face changed, and he quickly got up and confessed to the officials, and then strode towards the back hall, leaving a room full of officials looking at each other.

The white wall of the back hall was blackened by the fire, which was shocking, and Mei Chuang, who had put the fire with his own hands, was sitting in it drinking tea, and when he saw Hou Rong walking quickly, Mei Chuang hurriedly put down the tea bowl and got up to salute.

"I've seen Lord Hou."

"Oh, Steward Cui, this official is derelict in his duties, a fire last night frightened you and the Seventh Prince."

"Where is it, I heard that it was a small trouble in the north dynasty, how can it be blamed on the adult?"

"I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed, I don't know if Steward Cui is here, what are you doing?"

Mei Chuang arched his hand and said with a smile: "Don't hide it, my family is going to Northern Qi to ship this time, but Lingdong is closed to the city gate, seeing that the date is approaching, I am in a hurry to get on the fire, and I can't sleep at night, I don't know if the county lord can make it convenient for my caravan to go out of the city?" ”

As soon as he heard that the Cui family wanted to go out of the city, Hou Rong suddenly looked embarrassed: "Steward Cui, you also know that there is a war right now, once the city gate is opened, there will definitely be more than the Cui family who will go out of the city. ”

After speaking, Hou Rong squinted his eyes and stared at Mei Chuang's every move, Mei Chuang knew that he had something to say, waiting for his own move, and sneered in his heart.

"It's not a secret, we really can't stay in Lingdong City any longer, early this morning, the Seventh Young Master learned that the Wei army was coming, and he was clamoring to learn from his father and brother, and personally went to the city to command the battle.

The sword has no eyes, how dare he come by his temperament, if there are three long and two short, he must not be cramped and skinned by the master when he goes back? Lord Hou, you can do well, for the sake of past friendships, put it on the next life path. ”

"The Wei army is coming?"

Hou Rong's eyes froze when he heard this, and he asked, "Did Steward Cui hear any rumors?" ”

Steward Cui was slightly stunned, as if he was aware of the loss, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "What's the news, isn't it yesterday's article?" ”

Hou Rong grabbed Steward Cui's wrist and said in a deep voice: "Steward Cui has traveled south and north, I haven't seen any storms and waves, how can I believe such nonsense?" This official and you hit it off at first sight, so why bother to prevaricate with lies? ”

Seeing that Steward Cui still didn't speak, Hou Rong said earnestly: "Steward Cui, although this official is lowly and low, it is also a friendship, not a friendship with the Cui family, but a friendship with your Cui Steward, as long as this official can survive this catastrophe, he will have a good reward in the future!" ”

Steward Cui met Hou Rong's burning gaze, looked at him deeply, as if he had made a lot of determination, and said: "Okay, for the sake of friendship, I will tell the truth, but this matter is too big, it can come out of my mouth and into your ears, and I won't recognize it when I walk out of this back hall!" ”

Hou Rong naturally nodded like pounding garlic.

"Steward Cui, don't worry, no third party will know anything you say!"

Steward Cui sighed, looked left and right, and confirmed that there was no one, so he came to Hou Rong's ear and said in a low voice: "Early this morning, I received a flying pigeon message from my family, the Wei army has broken the main force of our army in the northeast, and now it is coming straight to Lingdong, and it will arrive in four days!" ”

"What ......"

Hou Rong snorted in a low voice, isn't it the siege date written on the inscription four days later? Could it be that the Wei army was really so rampant that it clearly wrote down the date of the siege on paper and told the enemy?!

But this is the news of the Cui family, the source naturally will not have any problems, it seems that our army has indeed been defeated, otherwise how can the barbarians of the Northern Dynasty have such confidence?

"Lord Hou, Lord Hou? This opening of the city ......"

Seeing that Hou Rong's soul was not guarding, Steward Cui hurriedly asked.

Hou Rong came back to his senses, waved his hand and said: "Steward Cui, this matter came too suddenly, and it is related to the safety of tens of thousands of people in the city, so I really can't wait to be careless."

In this way, the Wei army will not arrive in four days, you can allow me to discuss with my subordinates for one day, and if there is no perfect countermeasure tomorrow morning, I will open the city and let you out. ”

When it came to this, Steward Cui couldn't persecute him anymore, so he had to bow his hand to him: "Okay, I hope Lord Hou will do what he says and say goodbye." ”

After speaking, Steward Cui turned around and walked out of the back hall, leaving Hou Rong sitting in the main seat with a miserable face.

At night, Xu Rui was alone in a daze looking at the night at the window, Mei Chuang walked behind him and sat down, drank a cup of strong tea, and then couldn't help asking, "Boy, what are we going to do tonight?" ”

Xu Rui came back to his senses and shook his head.

"Do nothing, get some rest."

Mei Chuang was stunned: "What kind of general trend is not going to be made tonight?" ”

Xu Rui smiled: "No, the general trend has been achieved, now just wait, this is the last battle for our Northern Martial Arts to get out of danger, I hope there will be no mistakes." ”