The wide Coiling Dragon Road winds its way through the Bell Forest to the north, where a procession of a dozen arrows moves slowly through the gray snow, flanked by dense cavalry pines, the towering canopies of which are in the shape of spires, like the spears of cavalry charges. Even when the snow season arrives, the place is still green, and even if the branches are forced, there is not a trace of yellow. The heavy snow that had covered the road like a soft quilt had accumulated a foot or two deep, and at the head of the line were the sappers, who were responsible for cutting the thickness of the snow so that the baggage troops that were dragging behind could keep up.

Qin Ming rode on a bright black horse with a silver mane, following his father, and they led the cavalry behind the sappers. The cold wind carried snowflakes into a thin layer of ice on his spiky steel helmet, straight eyebrows and a knife-like nose bridge exposed the helmet, black eyes with a little golden light hidden by the snow on the eyelashes, and beards on his lips and chin that he had shaved not long ago, which made his somewhat feminine lips look a little more masculine. His steed was an extremely rare silver-maned horse, black as oil-soaked coal, without a trace of variegation, this horse had excellent endurance, was handsome, and ran as swift and graceful as a cheetah, so he called it "Black Panther". In order to lighten the panther's burden, he did not wear too heavy armor, and under the white mink was a rhino leather armor, lined with thicker wool to protect him from the cold, but his cavalry had to wear heavier armor.

Previously, the scouts reported that there were still barbarians camping in the south of Palm Forest City, and they arranged their camps on the periphery of the city wall, because there were not so many troops stationed in the city, from the oak sentry to the south to the north gate of Palm Forest City, there were barbarian tents scattered everywhere, and in the south of Palm Forest City, the camp tents were the most dense, and the city was tightly wrapped layer by layer, and set up a spike defense line of about ten zhang long, followed by a thick wooden wall, the barbarians set up an arrow tower, and there were sentry guards on duty day and night to prevent the cavalry of the golden horse from attacking.

The battle for Brown Grove has been going on for a long time, and the barbarians have shown themselves to be extremely tenacious. Earlier, according to the scouts' intelligence, the barbarians had at least 80,000 troops here, but this has been reduced in recent days. The Black Wolf Outpost was lost almost at the same time as the Oak Outpost, but the Nine Ditch Outpost and the Mabao underneath it were not yet in danger, and the barbarians did not seem to have divided their forces to the territory further east. In fact, since the beginning of the war, the barbarians have basically concentrated in the area between Palm Forest City and the Black Wolf Outpost, and they have a considerable number of troops but have not penetrated too deep into the hinterland of the Golden Horse.

Qin Wei was originally worried that the barbarians were stationed here in order to hold off Jin Ju's main force, and they should have other plans, they would divide their troops to attack Mabao, or cover their troops to sneak attack Clover and march to Changshou Gang, otherwise according to their weak supplies, they would not be able to support it for long. Qin Wei knew the weaknesses of the barbarians well, and the sentry posts and towns on the front line did not leave them much food reserves at all. However, herein lies the oddity, the barbarian army seems to be holding on to the outside of Palm Grove, neither attacking nor retreating, which does not look like a nomadic wave at all, and there is no big wave at all.

In Qin Ming's view, Daddy's defense was perfect: Mo Feng of Long Fence City led his headquarters to garrison Changshou Gang, and Rong Lifeng of the four-leaf clover post formed a western defense line; Dai Ling of Dayuan City led his headquarters to Jiudaogou Post to arrange the east defense line, and at this moment the Dai family's army was stationed in the hilly area between the Mingzhong Forest and Jiudaogou, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack. So far, there have been no alarms in either place, as have the other outposts.

"There's nothing left to plunder in Palm Grove, the most they can do is take our people and burn down our houses, and if they stay here and have nothing else to do, then all we have to do is take the fortifications. Therefore, Qin Wei decided to move his army north and launch a third attack on Palm Forest City. The first was tentative in nature, the main purpose was to understand the strength and deployment of the opponent, and the second was a tug-of-war and a war of attrition, although it failed to win a breakthrough, but it showed the barbarians the strength of the golden horse and the determination to attack the fortification.

It was impossible to station troops on both sides of the Panlong Road unless a large area of the forest was cleared, but this was impossible now, and Qin Wei would not allow the Ringing Bell Forest to be seriously damaged. At the end of the Ringing Bell Forest, less than five arrows away from Palm Forest City is an open field, where the Ringing Bell River passes, the barbarians are on the north side of the river, and Qin Wei will have his back to the forest and camp on the south bank. Panlong Road will be his safe supply line.

There were more than 30,000 people on the west side of the defense line, and more than 20,000 people on the east side of the defense line, and Qin Wei brought 40,000 people with him this time, including 20,000 cavalry, 15,000 infantry and 5,000 crossbowmen. The rest of the troops were stationed in the Valley of the Wind. Daddy's main staff officer is the third brother Qin Yuan, an experienced veteran, as well as Antai, the lord of Cold Wind Castle, Liu Desheng, the heir of Shimen Fort, and other great princes as deputy generals, intending to succeed in one fell swoop, recapture Palm Forest City, and drive the barbarians back to the Oak Sentry, and once the barbarians lose the Palm Forest City, they will not be able to effectively resist at the Oak Sentry, and retreating to the Great Wasteland is their only choice, if they have enough green acid.

"They are known as the children of the sky, but they can't fly over the dragon wall. They can't do anything without green acid. "Father was absolutely right.

What Qin Ming had to do was to stay in the Wind Valley to rectify the armaments, inspect the supplies, and be responsible for support. He accepted the task in silence. He wanted to be the commander of the cavalry, but disobedience was foolish. However, Daddy accepted his request to accompany him, so he was able to ride the Panther out of the Wind Valley with the army.

Qin Wei wore a spiked steel helmet, the fiery red helmet was taken from the tail of the hoopoe bird, the whole army was not dressed like this without a second helmet, the cavalry wore blue helmets, the infantry were light green, and the crossbowmen were brown. The fiery red muskrat skin is draped over the brown and yellow gold silk ring armor of the King of the Golden Horse, and the edges of the muskrat are dotted with black silk thread tassels, which perfectly outline the outline of this precious muskrat skin. The steel gauntlet is inlaid with short barbs on each knuckle, which is extremely sharp. His snow-white horse is called "White Dragon", and like the Black Panther, he is a famous horse all over the world.

"Stay in peace in the Valley of the Wind, and don't think that what I have given you is an easy errand. When Qin Ming followed Qin Wei and drove side by side with him, Daddy said so.

"The child knows, Daddy. "Of course, it is important to be in charge of supply lines, and the greatest convenience of the army of the Golden Horse against the nomadic tide is not the excellent equipment or superior numbers, but the supply line that continuously provides armaments and materials, grain and grass, and the barbarians' greatest weakness is here. However, what Qin Ming longed for was not to coordinate and dispatch in the rear, but to command thousands of troops and horses on the front line.

"There must be an infallible person to stay in the Valley of the Wind, and I need your third uncle more than I need you. Otherwise, I'll keep you with me. Originally, I was going to bring Shuo'er here, but if Shuo'er was charging in front and you were in the rear, I think you would be even more uncomfortable. And your mother is against me taking my two sons to the front, and the woman doesn't know about war, so I don't bother to talk to her more. ”

It's because you don't want to argue with your mother, and you always respect each other. Qin Ming understood. Moreover, the character of the third brother cannot be entrusted with the important task of rear dispatch.

"In a man's life, there are many goals to overcome, not just enemies. Qin Wei turned his head sideways to look at his son, and a white mist exhaled from the steel helmet, "There is also the grief of losing a loved one, as well as rumors." ”

Especially the rumors, Qin Ming was silent. The news of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's death and white fire had already spread throughout the army, and a carrier pigeon that flew in at noon brought even more shocking news: the dragon god was absent on the day of Longyan, the general Long Chengtian had completed the enthronement ceremony, and the young lady of the Qin family was convicted of adultery, and had been deprived of all authority of the royal family members and sent to the heavenly prison.

Although the adulterer is dead, the rumors will not end with it. At present, only a very few people in the army know this letter, but there is no secret under the cold wind, and it will not be long before the scandal of the young lady of Jinbao will spread throughout the army. When the time comes, from the local princes to the ordinary soldiers, there will be a lot of discussion about it.

The publicity of family ugliness is one one, and the day of the dragon's face is the second, both of which will greatly hit the morale of the army. This is the biggest reason why Daddy immediately decided to launch a strong attack. If the army continues to stay in the Valley of the Winds and wait for their chance, everything will only get worse.

"Do you know what your most important task is?" the white dragon shook his head, and his pure white soft mane danced beautifully.

"Guarantee supplies and stabilize the morale of the army. "He has two tasks.

"No, it's not just that. Qin Wei's fiery steel helmet covered the area below his nose, which made his voice even more subtle in the cold wind, "You are not only a soldier, but also the heir of my Qin family, keep this in mind." We have many vassals, and not all of them are the same. ”

"The child understands and obeys the teachings. "The king of the golden horse lacks skills, and he can take care of the front line, but he can't take care of the rear. It would be much better if my mother or Uncle Qin Bo were here, but at the moment, only he could share the heavy responsibility of his father on the front line.

Jinju is the second largest province in the kingdom, second only to the Northern Desert, larger than Donghu Province and Baihua Province combined, with many cities and vassals. Those were all ancient families that relied on the abundance of the Golden Great Plains and the glory of Sunset Castle, many of them were as old as the Qin family, and a few were even worse.

The Qin family has its inevitability in the rise of the Golden Horse, but it is more likely to be an accident caused by the current situation, a thousand years ago, when the city-state lords of the Golden Great Plains swore allegiance to the Holy King Yu Gu and the Xianglong Alliance, the Qin family was not among the leaders, the Zhao family in Guangming Harbor, the Liu family in Shimen Fort, the Duan family in Sunset Fort, the An family in Cold Wind Castle, the Mo family in Long Fence City, and the Dai family in Dayuan City, these are all big families that are famous for one side, and the strength of each family is stronger than the Qin family. But the Qin family was lucky to have Qin Kun, one of the most famous warriors in the history of the Xianglong Kingdom. In less than a month, the well-respected and praised ancestor of the Qin family, with his well-known martial bravery and clever use of troops, defeated eight city-states that opposed the Xianglong Alliance* and forced them to join the alliance, thus establishing his position in the eyes of the Xianglong Alliance and the Holy King You Gu in one fell swoop. This move was extremely risky at the time, and once it failed, the Qin family would be wiped out, but Qin Kun was lucky to succeed in gambling and gained important weight for the Qin family. In the next decisive battle with the giants of the Sudara Plateau, Qin Kun served as the commander of the charging force, and the victory was a great encouragement to the alliance army, and the first contribution was made to the final victory. This was not over, Qin Kun even participated in the expedition of Zedi, he accepted the commission of Yugu, became the commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army, conquered the swamp people who refused to surrender, and incorporated an area northwest of the Deep Ze Land into the territory of the Boxer Kingdom, which was later the Province of Xize. Qin Kun was one of the most famous figures during the founding of Xianglong, and eventually he also became the in-law of Yugu, who appointed him governor of Jinju Province and married his young daughter to Qin Kun's son.

Therefore, for thousands of years, the descendants of the Qin family have also surged with a part of the blood of the Holy King, which is the greatest capital of their command of the golden horse. But it won't be my biggest capital to rule the Golden Horse.

Qin Ming admired his ancestors and longed for the same glorious achievements, and the grace of his ancestors alone was not enough to make the princes willingly obey. Historically, although the Qin family was a noble consul family, it did not always have absolute dominance, and the local princes always had their own small calculations. Daddy Qin Wei relied on the reputation accumulated in the battle with the barbarians with clear rewards and punishments, impartiality and selflessness, and what did he have? If this nomadic tide finally won - it was for sure, he had no doubt that the first credit was still his father, he was just coordinating supplies in the rear. Although this is also a lot of credit, he will need more and bigger capital to lead Jin Ju in the future. The northerners admired martial courage and fearlessness, and the logistics officers and staff officers in the camp could never compare to the soldiers who charged ahead.

Delan made the situation worse. She trapped him in the Valley of the Wind, unable to follow his father to the front lines. He had plenty of reason to be suspicious of that vicious rumor. In the three years of marriage, Dai Lan was a good wife and daughter-in-law who was irreproachably good, she had the good qualities of her father-in-law, she was approachable and sympathetic, she was just as impartial but more humble than his father, she knew all the etiquette and behaved impeccable when needed, she was well-read and proficient in celebrity and cooking, she tried her best to satisfy him even between the bed, and never refused any request he made. By every measure, she is a perfect companion. Except for pregnancy.

He could not forget the great joy of knowing that he was about to become a father for the first time, and yet ...... If the rumors were true, it would be a great disgrace, enough to offset the disgrace of his ancestors' grace and his father's prestige. He will become the consul of the Golden Horse with a nationally visible green hat, and he will have to face untold humiliation and ridicule.

Disgrace. He angrily threw those two words out of his mind. It can't be, it's impossible. It's all rumors, just rumors.

"Are you listening?" Daddy's stern voice pierced the illusion in his mind, "I want you to turn around and go far enough." ”

"I'm sorry, Daddy, I ......" he wanted to explain, but didn't know what to say. No matter what he says, Daddy will be even angrier.

"That's it. Qin Wei just sighed softly and whipped away. After saying goodbye to his father, Qin Ming spurred the black panther to avoid the army and gallop on the snow where Panlong Road and the forest meet, the snow here is relatively shallow, but even the black panther can't move at full speed.

The soldiers were watching me. There won't be just one carrier pigeon heading north. What kind of gaze will they use when they look at me in the near future?

The journey with his father was not too long, and after leaving the tail of the long line, he slowed down. The evening breeze came from behind, and the snowflakes danced wildly, blowing his mink hunting sound, and the cold was like an all-pervasive moth, and went around his front and got into it from the neckline and cuffs, and the soft and thick hair could not stop it at all. Looking up, the night is as thick as ink, as if it is not far overhead, within reach, and the sparse starlight seems extra lonely. The cavalrymen in silver makeup on both sides stood in a neat line side by side, and the forest had its own words, but it was silent at the moment.

Even they were looking at me strangely. The panther snorted, spewed mist, and trampled its hooves wildly, looking restless, as if it could read its master's thoughts. It's my best friend. I don't know how long I walked, Qin Ming only felt that his mind was as crazy as snow, and he couldn't comb it, and at this time, he saw the city wall connected to the wind valley and the mountain range.