As a bull-eared person among the officials of the Han Sect, Kong Yanhua's observation of the sacred will of the Sacred Heart has indeed reached the peak of perfection.

As soon as he entered the Qinzheng Palace, he found that the atmosphere was very wrong, the hall was full of officials from the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion and the Ministry of War, and the number of people in the family was obviously larger than that of the Hanmen.

He gave up his temptation to the emperor in time, and said that the purpose of the meeting was to think about the battle situation, and joined the discussion.

In this process, Kong Yanhua found it very clear that the emperor's will to war was unshakable, and he had begun to draw up an edict calling on the world's heroes and kings, which was far larger than his previous discussions with the emperor.

Not only that, but the power of the Metropolitan Governor's Office to command the world's soldiers and horses and command the war was greatly strengthened by the Emperor, and even the army of the defense envoy was subject to the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Governor's Office in wartime, rather than the Privy Council, which had always been the case.

In this way, the Privy Council, the highest yamen of the Hanmen military, has become an ornament.

The emperor became so dependent on the family and the generals, which Kong Yanhua did not expect.

Although he didn't like it in his heart, he also knew that he couldn't do anything, so Kong Yanhua had to completely suppress the thoughts in his heart, prepare to do more and talk less, and wait and see how the times change.

Prime Minister Chen Xun was originally a sound worm, Kong Yanhua was only the emperor's head, and there was no principled position, now they have no voice, and the emperor's opinion is beneficial to the family, naturally no one is disobedient, and the edict was issued quickly.

When the news reached Hedong, the battle between Chengtian Pass and Jingcheng Pass had already officially begun.

At dusk, the Beihu army collected its troops and returned to the camp, fought fiercely for a whole day at Jingcheng Pass, and successfully won a chance to breathe for the night.

The last rays of the sun were hidden on the top of the mountain, and although the majestic city tower had been broken, it still stood tenaciously, and the outline of the iron pen and golden hook of the roof cornices was silent in the thick twilight.

Although the Beihu army attacked the city for only three days, the city was no longer what it used to be, the female wall collapsed a lot, revealing many gaps, the bricks and stones were stained with blood everywhere, and there were traces left by the explosion of true qi in many places.

Many of the defensive equipment on the walls, whether they were wolf teeth or bed crossbows, had been broken, or turned into broken wood, or hung like strips of cloth on the walls.

At the end of the war, the Beihu army had just retreated, the city walls were full of severed limbs and wreckage, colorful viscera could be seen everywhere, corpses were lying in pools of blood, all kinds of blades and weeds were everywhere, stones and rolling logs were scattered on the ground, the smell of blood made people want to gause, all kinds of low moans, desperate howls made people's scalps tingle.

After a day of fierce fighting, I don't know how many hot-blooded children returned to Huangquan, and they could no longer see their parents, wives and children who were waiting for their return.

I don't know how many able-bodied men are missing arms and legs, and they can no longer be high-spirited and shelter their families for the rest of their lives, and they have become cripples that everyone can bully.

The corpses of the Beihu soldiers in front of the city wall covered the original loess surface like a carpet, and there was no place to stay at a glance. There was only a pool of blood that was spreading, and there was still a slight movement.

In some places, corpses are piled up, as ordinary as gravel paving the road, and there is not the slightest preciousness in sight.

The soldiers who cleaned up the battlefield collected the corpses everywhere, cleaned the internal organs and blood, like collecting fallen leaves, loaded them onto board trucks, and transported them to a unified place for disposal.

Zhao Ning, who had long hair tied up and was dressed in a green shirt, stood on the city tower like a fairy, silently scanning the battlefield, and in the evening breeze, he assessed the battle situation of today's battle.

There is not much difference in the armament and combat power of the two armies, and during the battle, on the battlefield inside and outside the city, there are only so many soldiers who can accommodate the Gonggong, and there are even a little more cultivators in the Jingcheng Pass.

In the process of the western expedition, the Northern Hu Army has learned how to attack fortified positions, and during this time swept through Hebei, it has also accumulated a lot of experience.

The battle damage was naturally greater for the Beihu army.

"If we continue to fight like this, as long as the rear reinforcements are endless, it will not be a problem for Jingcheng to guard for a year and a half. Zhao Beiwang said beside Zhao Ning, this Zhenbei general and Hedong Jiedu envoy is full of confidence at the moment.

This is also Zhao Ning's judgment.

The war preparations in Jindi were very sufficient, whether it was food, straw, ordnance and other materials, or soldiers and cultivators, they could continue to replenish the losses. It is indeed impossible for the Northern Hu Army to conquer Jingcheng Pass without more than half a year.

But it's not easy to keep it for a year.

The lights in the castle gradually turned on, houses, flags, tents and other objects cast black shadows, and in the cold east wind, the corpses were transported from the city, and the soldiers who carried equipment to the city came and went. Zhao Ning came down from the city tower, and at the edge of the open space with a solemn atmosphere, he saw several travelers standing with horses and about to go away.

He walked over, was silent for a moment, and said to the leader:

"This goes deep into the enemy's territory, all the way is dangerous, there is no Wang Shi to answer, there is no comrade to help, there are enemies all around, every step is dangerous, killing everywhere, Brother Huang...... Treasured!"

He solemnly clenched his fists.

Huang Yuandai smiled and said, "Brother Ning doesn't have to worry too much. If things work out, Hebei will naturally have a new atmosphere, and Huang will not live up to the eight-foot body of a good man; if it doesn't work out, Huang can be regarded as sacrificing his life to fight, living up to his husband's spirit, and not living in vain in this life. ”

As he spoke, he said goodbye to Zhao Ning.

Looking at the backs of Huang Yuandai and others in the crowd, Zhao Ning read the resolute intention of moving forward and becoming benevolent if he did not succeed, and also realized the pride of the other party who was free and uninhibited and unafraid of the uncertain future.

Beihu occupies the land of Hebei, has thousands of miles of fertile fields, and the countless wealth accumulated in the era of the people of Daqi is about to become the military capital of the Beihu army to support the other party to continue to attack the territory of Daqi.

Zhao Ning naturally didn't want the other party to succeed so easily.

Many chess pieces have already been buried, and now, someone must preside over the overall situation.

Zhao Ning can't go, and he can't let Wang Rouhua go, the entire Zhao family, there are countless brave generals, but there are few wise strategists, except for the two of them, no one can be qualified for this task, and Yipinlou and Changhe Boat are also all cultivators in the rivers and lakes, killing people can be killed, and the overall situation is insufficient.

Huang Yuandai is the best candidate.

And the only candidate.

"At present, the Beihu army is attacking Jindi with all its might, and the attention is on the battlefield, and the rear is empty, which is the best time for them to climb the mountains and enter Hebei to show their strength. With the protection of the accompanying great cultivators, at least they can successfully reach their destination, and as for the follow-up, they can only do their best and obey the destiny of heaven. ”

Zhao Beiwang saw the figure of Huang Yuandai and others, and disappeared at the side gate of Guancheng, his eyes full of reverence and appreciation.

Do your best and obey the destiny of heaven. Zhao Ning chewed on these six words, bowed his head slightly, and shook his head again.

With his friendship with Huang Yuandai in his previous life, of course, he would not let the other party go to death when he knew that he could not do anything, he knew Huang Yuandai's ability, so he let the other party do it.

Zhao Ning has been walking the world for five years and has recruited many talented people, but no one has more talent than Huang Yuandai and Zhou Ying.

Now Zhou Ying is presiding over the civil affairs of Jindi in the rear, and Huang Yuandai has gone to Hebei, and their respective positions are all able to maximize what they have learned.

Zhao Ning believed that they would move the tide of the battle in the direction he wanted.

But only to believe.

Until now, Zhao Ning can't foresee the future.

There was no longer Huang Yuandai and others in his field of vision, Zhao Ning was still looking at the direction they were leaving, except for the Guancheng that stood silently under the dim yellow firelight, it was the soldiers who were constantly busy.

In this unpredictable war, everyone who fought was at the risk of life and death from the very beginning, and the comrades who fought side by side today may be a headless corpse tomorrow.

Whether it is Huang Yuandai who crossed the Taihang Mountain and entered Hebei, Su Yeqing who was stationed in Zhending, or the soldiers who fought the bloody battle at Jingcheng Pass, including Zhao Ning himself, they all had to float in this huge bloody storm.

There is no way back.

I can't see tomorrow, so I can only fight to the end today.

At the end, before retracting his gaze, Zhao Ning said to himself with a distant look in his eyes: "When he meets again in the future, he will either accompany each other on the road to Huangquan, or he will drink and talk happily when he is returning to Beijing." ”

......

In a sense, the battle at Jingcheng Pass was carried out in an orderly manner.

The officers and men of the two armies fought bloody battles day by day, almost forgetting the changes of the years.

Fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting seems to be endless, fighting seems to be the original meaning of life.

When they heard the sound of Ming Jin's retreat, they could only rejoice that they had survived another day, when they cremated and buried the bones of their comrades, they no longer burst into tears, and when they fell asleep with the sword soldiers, they would long to be together with their families in their dreams.

After each day's battle, the Beihu army would come to the front of the city and take back the corpses of their comrades. At this time, the defenders of Jingcheng Pass will not make a move, and they also need to go out of the city to collect the corpses of their comrades who fell into the city.

As time passed, more and more soldiers of the two armies died in the battle of Guancheng, from thousands to thousands, as if it was just an accumulation of numbers.

In addition to Jingcheng Pass and Chengtian Pass, there were many Quartet rebels who gathered in Bianliang during this time.

As the scale of the company camp outside the city became larger and larger, so big that there was no end in sight, the price of Bianliang soared, and the pressure on ordinary people on firewood, rice, oil and salt suddenly increased, and many people had to tighten their belts to live.

Since she no longer presided over the cabinet, Zhao Yujie has lost the best way to understand the major affairs of the government and the opposition, but the changes inside and outside Bianliang City are still seen by her.

After realizing Song Zhi's determination to resist the Beihu army crossing the Yellow River and defend the Central Plains to the death, she gave an order to the abyss to join the ranks of the rebels.

As an orphan who has long lost her home and relatives, Zhao Yujie has no concept of protecting her family and defending the country.

The reason why she let Abyss join the rebel army, become part of the royal division, and fight for this national war is not because although Song Zhi accepted her power, he still favored her, but because she didn't want to miss any opportunity to strengthen her own power.

She wanted the cultivators of the abyss, with the official status given by the imperial court, to establish meritorious service in the war, and to be promoted to the rank of knight after the war, so as to cultivate her own power in the army.

In any case, because of Song Zhi's attitude, Zhao Yujie put his strength into the national war.

There are countless Qi people who choose the same as her in the Central Plains.

In this way, the strength of the kings around Bianliang continued to increase, and the Central Plains land was still stable for 12 years.

At the beginning of the spring of the thirteenth year of Qianfu, perhaps it was impossible to sit idly by and watch the Great Qi court continue to gather strength, or perhaps the preparations for crossing the river had been completed, and the Beihu army Zuo Xianwang began to attack the Central Plains.