Li Jiangyao has been on the battlefield for a long time and is accustomed to seeing blood and death, but the tragic death of the rebel soldiers still makes him extremely sad: it would be good if he could come back earlier, at least he could accompany them in a bloody battle and give them a ride.

Compared with Li Jiangyao's sadness, the people of the Reverse Scale Division are more open-minded.

Zhou Xing silently came out of his mind for a while, raised his head sharply to hold back his tears, and said with a forced smile: "My lord, there is still good news." That night, General Murong successfully escaped from the clutches of Lao Jianhua. It is said that until now, the Xuanjia Army has still not found any trace of General Murong. Extrapolating from the time, it is estimated that he has probably left the enemy's sphere of influence safely. ”

Qian Honglie, the flag leader of the three branches, also smiled hoarsely and said: "Yes, Qiao Tou'er, they didn't die in vain, Lord Changshi will ask in the future, and the brothers will remember their merits." However, I also heard the news that Murong Xue's wife failed to get out that night and was hacked to death by the Xuanjia Army in the melee. ”

Li Jiangyao was slightly stunned: "Is this serious?" ”

"That's true," Zheng Xiaotong next to him said, "The humble post also got the same information." Rui Ji was pregnant, so she couldn't break through with Lord Murong. Later, the two sides fought fiercely, and Rui Ji died tragically on the spot. The Xuanjia Army, who was responsible for burying the corpse, saw it with his own eyes, and it should not be wrong. ”

Hearing this, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but feel a little stunned in his heart. First, the mystery of Rui Ji's life experience has not yet been confirmed definitively, so she died in vain, and she didn't know how to explain to Murong Xue in the future. Second, no matter what, Rui Ji and Murong Xue are husband and wife, and the fetus in the womb is his own flesh and blood. Poor that child was not born yet, and he followed his mother to encounter misfortune, as Murong Xue's brother, how could Li Jiangyao not feel heartache?

Zhou Xing saw that he looked depressed, and hurriedly changed the topic: "My lord, what should we do next?" ”

Li Jiangyao was silent for a moment, collected his emotions slightly, and responded: "Speaking of which, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Murong Xue have successfully escaped from the predicament, and the task entrusted to me by Brother Shen at the beginning has been completed so-so." Next, I plan to return to Western Xinjiang. ”

Zhou Xing, Qian Honglie and others had heard him say that Tanli had revealed information about the Yakutia Legion when he left, so everyone knew that Li Jiangyao was worried that the Turks would be unfavorable to the Metasequoia soldiers, so he was in a hurry to go back.

Zhou Xing thought for a while, and arched his hand: "My lord, the Luoyi operation has come to an end, and I will go back to report to Lord Changshi." You are going to the western frontier, Guanshan thousands of miles, and you must cherish it. ”

"Don't be busy saying goodbye," Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "I still have one more thing to worry about you." ”

The secret agents looked at each other, not knowing what Li Jiangyao else commanded.

Li Jiangyao smiled, and then said: "The Turks have invaded Shengtang on a large scale, and the entire northwest has made a mess for them. The system of transmitting information between the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang and the Central Plains has also been completely destroyed. Our Zhenjiang army is isolated outside the territory, and no matter how hard it is, we are not afraid, but the only thing we are afraid of is the loss of contact with the motherland. Therefore, I would like to ask you to send a few people to come back with me this time. When we get to Metasequoia City, we will get in touch with our colleagues in charge of intelligence and let them return. In this way, we will be able to echo each other, which will be of great help to the future all-out fight against the Turks. ”

Zhou Xing said excitedly when he heard this: "What the adults said is reasonable! This matter is of great significance to the country and the monarch. As...... Let the lowly serve accompany you. ”

Li Jiangyao was a little surprised: "You go in person?" Lao Zhou, you are a dignified flag bearer against the scales, an unusual secret agent. Without your Shen Changshi nodding, he was abducted by me like this, aren't you afraid of being beaten when you come back? ”

"My lord, where are you talking about this," Zhou Xing smiled embarrassedly: "You are old and not an outsider." Even our long history trusts and respects you, and you are willing to follow you to the western frontier for a trip, and by the way, you can make a great contribution, right? ”

Qian Honglie also nodded and said, "Yes, my lord." Zhou Xing's second section was originally responsible for investigating information and collecting intelligence. On the Western Xinjiang side, since the Battle of Crescent Bay, it is basically equivalent to a black eye. After Lord Changshi returned from Western Xinjiang last time, he mentioned to us more than once that he wanted to rebuild the intelligence network outside the customs and restore the contact with your Zhenjiang Metropolitan Protectorate. Brother Zhou Xing went this time, and finally had the opportunity to complete this task. ”

Hearing this, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but feel very pleased. Zhou Xing is a top-notch intelligence officer in the Northern Ya Reverse Scale Division, and his temperament is also quite his own appetite. If he was willing to work hard and be dangerous, he could go back with him in person, and the effect would naturally be much better than that of ordinary secret agents.

"That's it!" Li Jiangyao said happily: "Old Zhou, let me take you to appreciate the magnificent customs of the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang." If you're lucky, you might even be able to capture the heart of a glamorous orchid, wahahaha! ”

In the early morning of the next day, Li Jiangyao took Zhou Xing and three secret agents to bid farewell to the brothers of the Reverse Scale Division, and a group of five embarked on a journey back to the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang.

When he first came to the Central Plains, because the Turkic army blockaded Zijin Pass and Shengyu Pass, so in desperation, Li Jiangyao could only take advantage of the uninhabited wild trail in the Qilian Mountains and take the adventure of nine deaths.

Today, the situation is very different.

Although the two countries were fighting fiercely, and millions of troops gathered in the northwest to fight each other, the road connecting Western Xinjiang and Liangzhou was opened up.

At this time, the Turks had just conquered Xiaoguan, and a large number of soldiers and horses were advancing towards the imperial capital one after another, so the entire Yongliang Corridor was completely under their control. Except for some key passes, where Turkic soldiers were checking passers-by, everything else returned to normal.

Li Jiangyao and Zhou Xing discussed and decided to take the Silk Road trade route generously, so that not only could the return time be greatly shortened, but also a lot of intelligence information could be collected along the way.

They were afraid of attracting the attention of the Turks and did not dare to ride war horses, so after bypassing the two main battlefields of Tongguan and the imperial capital, the five of them changed to ox carts, pulled silk and satin cloth, and marched west in disguise as a merchant traveler.

On the way from Gyeonggi to Yangju, there was a messy scene of the enemy's army crossing the border.

The subordinate armies of the Turks and the Western Frontier Alliance adhered to the usual bandit style of burning, killing and plundering, and almost no grass grew wherever the army passed.

In their eyes, the Shengtang people are no different from the cattle and sheep on the grassland, all of whom can be enslaved and slaughtered. Countless gold, silver, women, and food were trophies for the Turkic warriors. If you don't kill a pleasure, don't burn a pleasure, don't grab a pleasure, so why are you here here?

Driven by this idea, the Turks moved forward rapidly while doing evil in all directions. In their words, this is "hunting", and the prey is none other than the innocent people of Shengtang.

In comparison, the Blood Guard Legion and the Blood Guard Iron Cavalry Legion led by Yun Qianxue can be regarded as the most disciplined and civilized Turkic army.

Because of abiding by the ethics of soldiers, Yun Qianxue's requirements for the soldiers and horses under his command are almost harsh, so these two elite legions have basically never attacked ordinary people in peacetime, except for being extremely cold-blooded and murderous in battle.

Such an alternative style naturally attracted ridicule from other Turkic troops.

In the minds of those people, there is no ethics and morality, since the blood guard brothers do not burn or rob, it is just convenient for them to be happier. There were more and more vicious incidents of murder for pleasure and rape and adultery of women, and the scale of looting wealth and burning towns became larger and larger, so that in the future, the common people themselves ran away first.

Later, there were even cases in the Turkic army where several battalions attacked each other because of the competition for money and women.

Faced with this situation, Ashina had to personally order: all legions restrained their subordinates, rectified military discipline, and were not allowed to carry out large-scale massacres and looting except for the state capitals and cities that stubbornly resisted surrender. Violators, horses' hooves crushed!

The Khan was ruthless, and the Turkic generals and their respective troops were slightly restrained, and they were relatively restrained in harassing and hurting the occupied areas.

Of course, it's just a few.

The brutality of the Turks was curtailed, not entirely because of the fear of the Khan's thunderous wrath, but for a more crucial reason, that is, the war against the imperial capital was about to begin.

The imperial capital is the richest place on Dongda Road.

Compared with the imperial capital, other regions can only be called poor and remote places, and naturally they will not be placed in the eyes of the Turkic masters.

As the battle line continued to advance eastward, the towns and villages behind the Turkic army slowly regained a little bit of vitality. Although the wounds of the war are still there, life has to go on.

The land of ancestors is here, the roots of the people are here, unless they are really cornered, no one wants to easily leave their homeland and become a helpless homeless people.

Even under the enemy's saber, as long as they are not immediately hacked to death, they can silently bury their dead relatives and friends, pick up the household belongings that can still be used from the ruins, and start a familiar and desolate life again.

Li Jiangyao and the others walked all the way, feeling sad all the way for what they saw.

As soldiers, their duty is to protect these poor people.

Yet, when the people needed protection the most, they were powerless.

When passing by Xiaoguan, Li Jiangyao and a few people listened to the local residents talk about a strange thing in the process of eating:

Recently, in the middle of the night, there are always villagers who see some terrible "living dead" wandering around in the wilderness.

Why are they the living dead?

According to an old man, you have to say that those are dead people, not exactly. Because he had seen it with his own eyes, those strange things were not dead, they had breathing, there were sounds, and their arms and thighs could swing normally.

But it is not right for you to say that they are living people. Because those guys were sluggish and unresponsive, covered in blood and festering flesh, and some even had white bones exposed.

The most terrifying thing is that they don't seem to feel the slightest pain.

Some people say that this must be the work of the unjust soul. In war, when there are more people who die tragically, the souls of injustice will not be dispersed. Therefore, some people who are not dead will get up again and look around for the ghosts of the dead to help them be freed.

Li Jiangyao and Zhou Xing didn't pay much attention to these words. This kind of weird and strange talk is nothing more than some good people in the folk who are idle and make up to scare people, and the more evil they are, the more exciting they will be to listen.

Contrary to common sense, it is okay to deceive ignorant women and children, but for a murderous samurai like them, it is not worth it at all.

However, no one could have imagined that it was not long before Li Jiangyao and Zhou Xing realized that there was really a secret behind the bizarre legend they happened to hear.

A creepy, outrageously huge secret!