"Drive!"

"Drive!"

The moonlight shone on several fast-moving shadows, six or seven fast horses galloping under the moon.

They silently urged the horses, and in the hazy light and shadow of the moon, they even ran at a speed comparable to that of the day.

One of the horses accidentally stepped on the air, and the man and the horse fell to the ground, letting out a terrible scream.

But the rest of the people didn't care, and galloped by.

The sergeant, whose leg had been crushed, did not complain at all, and climbed out with difficulty, climbed to the side of the road, leaned against a big tree, and waited.

Because they are all racing against time, the result of this race is not only related to the number of results tonight, but also related to the overall situation of the entire Longshou Prefecture, and may even be related to the general trend of the entire world.

One night, half of which has passed.

The late autumn wind has already had a deep chill under the blessing of the night.

The riders on horseback had their hands a little red from the cold, but they didn't feel anything, just stared intently at the road ahead, showing their skillful horse control skills.

When the horses rushed to the camp behind the earthen wall, the sentinels who were on standby came out with their guns in hand.

The leader took off his helmet, showed his face, and threw out a token at the same time, "Quickly take me and others to meet Lord Bai!" ”

The sentry on duty glanced at the token and immediately separated one person, "Dismount and follow me!" ”

In the tent, Bai Yunbian and Su Yuanshang did not sleep, nervously waiting for news everywhere.

"My lord! The old owner of Zhao Zhuang has already succeeded, and the whole of Gaocheng County is controlled by our army! ”

The messenger's first words made the two of them overjoyed.

But the second sentence made the two instantly stunned.

"After the old Zhuang owner Zhao took Gaocheng County, after learning that Gaocheng County was too flattering and unbridled official, he wanted to plan it, and then go further, directly pretending to be reinforcements, defrauding the gate of the state city, and then combining the inside and the outside to break through the city. Therefore, he sent me to wait for the starry night to deliver the message, hoping that the headquarters of the adults would send 3,000 elites to lurk in the night outside the west gate of the state capital, and when they successfully entered the city, they would take the opportunity to rush in. ”

After speaking, he handed over the handwritten letter of the old owner of Zhao.

The first reaction of the two of them when they heard this plan was to shake their heads decisively, because this plan was too dangerous.

There are thousands of elites in the dragon head army in the state city, and they attack rashly, not to mention the loss of the elites, in case Zhao Lao Zhuang and other characters also die in the chaos, the overall situation of the future will be too great.

But when you turn your head and think about it, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The defending army took the initiative to ask for help, and when the reinforcements arrived, they would definitely open the city and put it in, and if they could take the opportunity to occupy the city gate, the army would rush straight through, and it would be much easier than attacking a heavily guarded city in the future.

Moreover, the words of Xia Jingyun conveyed by Su Yuanshang earlier were essentially to open up the minds of everyone strategically after it was extremely uncost-effective to smash the state city, but it was still the most direct and powerful way to conquer this seemingly impossible city.

Although this plan is indeed risky enough, once it succeeds, the gains are extremely huge.

"Where is Old Master Zhao now?"

"I have taken the city too hostage and led the troops to the state city."

Bai Yunbian and Su Yuanshang glanced at each other, it seemed that this was an arrow on the bow and had to be sent.

Bai Yunbian slapped the table, "Bet!" It is said that the older a person gets, the more cowardly he becomes, Old Man Zhao is so old that he loses his teeth and has the courage to gamble, what are we afraid of! ”

The corners of Su Yuanshang's mouth twitched, your mouth will be sewn up sooner or later.

"Immediately summon the centurion and above generals in the battalion to come and discuss the matter! No noise! ”

"Yes!"

The night was thick, and on the walls of the state city, the soldiers guarding the city yawned boredly.

In the governor's mansion, the lights are bright at the moment.

"Mr. Ma, a total of nine messengers have been dispatched, and it is expected that reinforcements will arrive before dawn."

"It's better for Mr. Ma's strategy, find a few more cities, and ask for a few fewer people in each place, so that it won't have too much impact on the city defenses of each city, and we can also gather enough soldiers."

"Xiao Xianggong arranged for Mr. Ma to be in charge of all affairs in the state, it is really wise, I want to come and wait for the situation to calm down, Mr. Ma is on the rise, and it is also foreseeable to directly become the governor of Longshou Prefecture!"

Having achieved their goal, these generals did not hesitate to praise themselves.

It's just that compared with the civil officials and gentry, their praise is somewhat straightforward and monotonous.

Ma Lirong didn't have much energy when he heard this, and waved his hand, "There are still a lot of variables in this, whether these local governors are willing to send reinforcements, how many can be drawn, when they can arrive, whether the rebels will really encircle and send reinforcements to set up ambushes and encirclement and suppress, and how many people can finally arrive here are unknown, everything will have to wait until the dust settles!" ”

"A group of rebels, what can they do, maybe they are still asleep at the moment, dreaming of breaking the city in three days!"

"I really want to see their faces when they wake up tomorrow and learn that we've added three or four thousand more soldiers! Ha ha! ”

"I see that these rebels are completely disorganized, they have been amassing troops under the city for so long, and they don't even know about the siege, they are just relying on the strength of the people. If we can contain all of them in the state city, we must be able to help the imperial court in turn against Yunmengzhou. ”

Seeing everyone's optimistic looks, Ma Lirong sighed secretly in his heart, and didn't bother to say more to everyone, "Let's wait and see, tell the soldiers to hold on, and when the reinforcements arrive tomorrow, you can change shifts and rest a little." ”

Seeing that Ma Lirong was not interested, everyone didn't say more, nodded in response, and went down to work.

Ma Lirong stood at the table, looking at the map in front of him, and more than 30 counties in six counties in one state were spread out in front of him, as if the weight of the entire Longshou Prefecture was pressing on him.

Can he immediately subdue Xiong Baoquan and seize the territory of Baiyunbian immediately after the change in the court, will he be a mediocre who doesn't understand anything?

The thousands of reinforcements from Yunmengzhou are most likely the Su family soldiers led by the children of the Su family and the official army that was incorporated in Yunmengzhou.

Is this earthen wall in the rebel camp strangely built, really just to cover their purpose of building siege equipment, so as to catch their own side off guard?

One thought after another slipped through Ma Lirong's mind, and he stared at the night in front of him, as if facing the road ahead that he couldn't see clearly, and sighed faintly:

"Brother Xiuyuan, I'm just a scholar, and I don't know if I can bear this burden for you!"

"Sir! Mr. Ma! ”

After a while, when the night was at its darkest, a lieutenant general walked into the mansion and shouted, waking up Ma Lirong, who was lying on the table and resting.

"Ah, General Wei is here, what's wrong?"

"Sir, the first support has arrived."

Ma Lirong immediately stood up, followed the other party out of the mansion, and soon came to the city wall.

I saw that outside the northern city, an army quietly arrived, and only when it reached the city did it light torches.

Everyone on the city wall saw that it was indeed a messenger sent out and a team wearing the uniform of the imperial court.

The leading general said in a deep voice: "Lu Pingfeng, the lieutenant of Yuanliang County, is ordered by the county commander to bring four hundred county sergeants to help the state city!" ”

"Sir, it's reinforcements from Yuanliang County."

Ma Lirong nodded, ordered someone to open the city gate, and let everyone in.

For the sake of safety, he also asked Adjutant General Wei to take hundreds of sergeants to watch and be on guard, so that if something went wrong, he could take action immediately.

Fortunately, everything was very stable, and after the leader of the other party entered the city, he knelt down on one knee towards Ma Lirong, "Xiaguan Yuanliang County Lieutenant Lu Pingfeng, I've seen Master Ma!" ”

Ma Lirong stretched out his hand to help him up, "The starry night march of the county lieutenant of Lu County is really hard, such hard work, Ma will definitely tell Xiao Xiang, after repelling the rebels, there will be a reward!" ”

"I am willing to die for Xiao Xiangxiao! But if there is a send, please command! ”

"Good, good! Tents have been prepared in the city, and you will go and rest first, and then you will be dispatched again tomorrow. ”

"Yes!"

Not long after the four hundred men on this head left, someone from the city wall reported that they had seen the next reinforcement at the north gate.

"Zheng Haocheng, the lieutenant of Huanglong County, was ordered by the county commander to bring six hundred county sergeants to help Lord Ma!"

Six hundred!

Everyone was shocked, this Huanglong County Order has hollowed out all the family funds!

Ma Lirong also sighed, although he didn't know the soldiers, but he knew the thoughts of these civil officials best, and he was reluctant to ask for help from neighboring counties and counties at the beginning, but he didn't expect that what he ordered in his heart, the other party still didn't do it, and did such a flattering thing.

But then again, looking at so many people, he felt a higher sense of security in his heart, and it was indeed impossible to blame this county magistrate for this.

It was the same procedure as before, and Ma Lirong ordered the people to be let in.

In the midst of the slaughter, a man knelt on one knee, "Zheng Haocheng, the lieutenant of Huanglong County, meet Master Ma!" ”

Ma Lirong helped him up with a smile, and after a few words of comfort, he ordered someone to take him down to rest as well.

After finishing all this work, a lieutenant general said with a smile: "Now that there are a thousand more soldiers in the city, we can finally let go of our hearts." ”

Everyone laughed, and in the laughter, they all revealed lightness.

"My lord, general, reinforcements are also coming from the west!"

"Oh?"

Ma Lirong and the others hurried to the west wall, and saw a team quietly coming in the night, and then lighting torches under the city wall.

The leader was holding a torch, and when he saw this person's face clearly, Ma Lirong couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth.

Gaocheng County Taishou Hong Fangzheng actually brought people in person.

Good guy, at most, others are moving their homes over, are you planning to move them over?

"Mr. Ma, it's too late for the next official!"

Looking at Hong Fangzheng's guilty look, Ma Lirong only felt a chill and ordered: "Open the door!" ”

After speaking, he turned around and went down the city tower, after all, he was still a county guard, and now he personally brought troops to help, he still had to go to meet him in person and make a show.

A procession of 1,000 men entered the long doorway and came to the outer city.

Ma Lirong took a few lieutenants and greeted him in person, "Lord Hong, you are too polite!" ”

Hong Fangzheng smiled, "The state city is the top priority, not to mention that Mr. Ma is entrusted by Xiao Xiang and presides over the overall situation of the dragon head, if you lose, then my Longshou State is a group of dragons without a leader, and the lower officials should work hard wholeheartedly, and dare not have the slightest reservation." ”

Ma Lirong couldn't help the courtesy of these officials, people came from so far away, and he could only accept this feeling, so he smiled and bent down and helped Hong Fangzheng up.

"Lord Hong is loyal to the country and works tirelessly, Ma"

Just as he was smiling and speaking, a guard beside Hong Fangzheng jumped up suddenly, the long knife came out of its sheath, like a tiger pounced, and in the midst of everyone's surprise, he swung the knife in his hand towards Ma Lirong.

"Traitor!"

"Thief dares!"

The lieutenant general beside Ma Lirong was horrified, drew his sword, roared, and rushed forward.

Ma Lirong was also taken aback by this sudden change, and subconsciously hid backwards.

But in the pupils, a snow-bright blade rapidly expanded in the pupils under the reflection of the firelight.

Then, Ma Lirong only felt that his eyes were dark, and the whole person seemed to fly, and he saw a headless corpse in the air.

"Ma Lirong has been ambushed! The king-killing lackeys have been removed! ”

The man shouted loudly and knocked Hong Fangzheng down.

And above his head, the knives of several lieutenants have already been slashed over.

Bang bang bang!

The sound of thumping bowstrings sounded one after another, and with tacit understanding, these lieutenants were all tied into hedgehogs.

"Ma Lirong has been ambushed! Kill the lackeys of the king! Those who descend will not be killed! ”

A thousand elites were like tigers out of the cage, leaving only more than 100 people to guard the gate of the outer city, and before the defenders in the city could react, they rushed towards the inner city.

"Close the door!"

"Close the gates!"

The defenders of the inner city hurriedly shouted and shouted to push the gate of the inner city, which was usually wide open.

But the swift blades and arrows rushed into the gates like a bitter wind with the harsh sound of the gate shaft turning.

Behind them, there was a sudden earth-shattering shout of killing.

The 3,000 people who were ambushed in the dark night outside the city, under the leadership of Su Yuanshang, rushed into Longshouzhou City.

And with the movement here, in the rebel camp, there were remnants of people by the white clouds, "Soldiers, the state city has been broken, and the thieves are ambushed!" Make a contribution, just tonight, rush with me! ”

The screaming soldiers rushed to the road of their dreams with eager steps.

When the light of dawn was reflected in the sky from the other side of the mountain, the battle had come to an end.

Originally, the Longshou Army, which even had the spare strength to drive the "rebels" out of the city again, lost the integrity of the organization and the constraints of the order because the leader Ma Lirong and several lieutenants were wiped out, so they were left to fight on their own.

Surrender, stubborn resistance, or simply looting and plundering, fleeing at night, a see-saw that could have been a difficult tug-of-war turned into a one-sided massacre.

The old owner of Zhao Zhuang stood outside the gate of the state pastor's mansion and watched with his hands.

Bai Yunbian walked up to him, "Are you afraid that there will be an ambush and dare not go in?" ”

The corners of Old Zhao's mouth trembled, "Zhuang Dexiang, give me the knife." ”

Bai Yunbian hurriedly ran away, and Su Yuanshang and several guards all laughed.

Laughter is the prerogative of the victors.

——

In Zhongjing, a carrier pigeon landed in the loft of the Black Ice Terrace.

The Black Ice Platform spy on duty took the small bamboo letter from its leg, pulled out the note, and his expression changed suddenly, and he hurriedly handed it over to the principal.

Soon, this note appeared on the desk of the first Xuanhu of the Black Ice Terrace.

[Longshouzhou City fell, Gaocheng County fell, and the rebel leader is suspected to be the white-clothed emperor Zhao]

Xuanhu took this note, but did not get up immediately, but sat in silence for a while, his expression uncertain.

After a while, he finally took a deep breath, got up and went out the door, and went straight to Miyagi.

In recent days, Dongfang Ming has been in a good mood.

There is nothing to worry about in the court.

In the market, there was no news of him causing trouble.

The British duke was appeased by his uncle.

I also gained a lot from practicing the secret technique in the room offered by Taiyi Zhenren, and appeased Concubine Shu's life.

The only thing that was a little messy was the queen, and she actually went to the concubine to theorize that day, but fortunately, after being slapped by herself, she was honest.

In the free days of these days, he walked through the Wanbao Building, which condensed the lifelong thoughts of the first emperor, and saw those jaw-dropping treasures, as well as the so-called auspicious feats that made people laugh;

He took over the inner treasury of the first emperor, and looked at the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in it that had not been used, and was overjoyed;

He traveled all over the palace, and finally sat down again in the unoccupied court, looking down on the world from the dragon chair;

It's all his!

The dormancy and forbearance of the past ten years, the sword of that night, are all worth it.

"Your Majesty, Lord Xuanhu asks to see you."

Dongfang Ming was intoxicated with his current chic and wantonness, and Dong Liang suddenly came to report.

He frowned slightly, nodded a little displeased, "Announce him in." ”

Soon, Xuanhu hurriedly walked in, "Your Majesty! ”

"What?"

"Your Majesty, the Black Ice Terrace Feishu has reported urgently, the state city of Longshou Prefecture has fallen, and most of the territory of Longshou Prefecture has fallen into the hands of the rebels!"

"What?"

Dongfang Mingdeng, who was originally calm and calm, changed his expression suddenly, and looked at Dong Liang, "Go and invite Uncle into the palace!" ”

——

In the Qin Mansion, the head of the Qin family sat with a sad face.

Now, once a son of heaven and a courtier, a new court, a new magnate and a new official, the Qin family should come to a bleeding and concession, reconstruct the new pattern of interests, and envelop these people.

However, because of the Qin family's deep collusion with Concubine De's family behind their backs and secretly standing in line, they did not do so.

Coupled with the fact that the military disaster is raging and the transportation is isolated, the Qin family's industry and business have almost suffered a cliff-like decline in the past two months.

If the future is bright, temporary twists and turns can be tolerated.

But the problem now is that the future is not bright, and the status quo is tortuous enough.

Concubine De is indeed sitting on the land of two states, but if she wants to really enter the Central Plains and set the world, she is still far away.

Xia Jingyun is still hiding in the city now, if he is arrested one day, won't everything be over.

The new emperor's lustful name has been rumored, and if Ah Li is allowed to enter the palace in the future, how can this be good.

Thinking of this brainy lawsuit, the head of the Qin family frowned, and even the beloved tea in front of him, which can be called a sky-high price, felt dull and tasteless.

I really don't know if this step is the right one!

"The head of the house! Head of the house! ”

"What are you yelling for!" He glared angrily, he was already in a bad mood, and if he heard bad news, he wanted to live!

"The head of the house! News has just come from Longshou Prefecture that the rebels have conquered Longshou Prefecture City, and most of Longshou Prefecture has fallen into the hands of the rebels! ”

The head of the Qin family stood up on the ground, not even caring that his beloved Huanghuali chair was knocked to the ground, and said eagerly: "You say it again?" ”

After the steward repeated it, the head of the Qin family hurriedly ran to the backyard with an excited face.

"Father!"

The old man glanced faintly, "What are you doing in a panic?" ”

You just pretend, and you'll be more excited than I was just now.

The head of the Qin family smiled in his heart and said, "Father, news has just come from Longshou Prefecture that Baiyunbian and the people of the Cao Gang have conquered Longshou Prefecture City, and most of Longshou Prefecture has been under the control of Baiyunbian and others!" ”

After speaking, he happily waited to see his old father overturn, but he didn't expect the old master of Qin to just hum lightly, "Got it." ”

？？？

The head of the Qin family froze in place.

The old master turned his head and glanced at him, "Anything else?" ”

"It's gone, the child is gone."

The head of the Qin family had no choice but to retreat.

After a few breaths, the old man suddenly stood up, stretched his neck to look, confirmed that his son was far away, jumped suddenly, waved his fists excitedly, and his face was full of suppressed joy.

"Ouch!"

Accidentally moving too much, the old man sat back in the chair with his waist covered, but the smile on the corner of his mouth never stopped.

——

In the central courtyard, Xiao Fengshan was sorting out the situation of this huge empire.

In the past, he only knew that the government had accumulated serious malpractices and that the people were struggling to make a living, but when he came into contact with the core data as the actual helmsman of the empire, he knew how critical the situation of the entire country had been.

Land, people, taxes, bureaucracy, military system, frontier warfare.

Almost every one of them is rotten to the bone.

Slowly figure it out, he still has a few decades to do, in the treatment of Emperor Chongning, he is ashamed of morality, I hope that in a few decades, he can use a Zhongxing world to atone for his sins.

He rubbed his eyebrows, took a sip of tea, and was about to return to work, but the guard on duty outside the door walked in, "My lord, Gonggong Dong is here." ”

Dong Liang walked in and said respectfully: "Xianggong, Your Majesty, please come to the imperial study quickly." ”

Xiao Fengshan stood up with a frown, looked at the paperwork piled up on the table, and was silent for a moment, "Let's go." ”

Walking in the palace city, Xiao Fengshan suddenly said: "Your Majesty summoned you, what is the matter?" ”

Dong Liang was quite struggling to follow Xiao Fengshan, who was striding into the meteor, and said a little breathlessly when he heard this: "Lord Xuanhu entered the palace, saying that the city of Longshou Prefecture had fallen, and most of Longshou Prefecture had fallen into the hands of the rebels. ”

Xiao Fengshan stopped abruptly.

(End of chapter)