To the west of Yaoshan Pass, it can be described as a smooth road.

It is only more than 140 miles from here to Heluo City, and there are two small cities on the way, Shenze and Anxian, which obviously cannot undertake the arduous task of blocking the Huaizhou army.

In fact, when the remnants of the Jing army were defeated and would withdraw from Yaoshan Pass and flee back to Heluo, the Yan officials and Li people along the road immediately followed, lest a large number of Huaizhou troops would appear in front of them in the next moment.

At this moment, the more than 10,000 cavalry led by Qingyu Zhongwang were still in the territory of Dongyang Road, and the soldiers and horses under Niu Cunjie were trapped at the border of Moyang Road by Li Tianrun.

The army of the Jing Dynasty was far away in Zhao in the north, and it was obviously impossible to move south in a hurry. What's more, the Jing army has annihilated more than 200,000 Zhao troops in the past nearly a year, which is of course an extremely proud record, but it also means that they must rest for a while.

In short, in such a precious window of time, the real opponent of the Huaizhou West Route Army was only more than 10,000 Jing troops in Heluo City, and the road from Yaoshan Pass to Heluo was even more unimpeded.

Even so, Lu Shen still led the army forward in an orderly and strict manner.

The Lai'an army led by Duan Zuozhang opened the way for the vanguard, the Panlong army under the command of Liu Jiangdong protected the baggage for the rear position, Lu Shen led the Ruishi battalion and the Feiyun army under the command of Song Shifei as the Chinese army, and Li Chengen led the cavalry of the Ruishi battalion to spy on the front.

On the evening of 18 February, the various units of the Western Route Army arrived in Shenze County, which had become an empty city, most of the people dragged their families to Heluo, and some ordinary people who had no way to go could only hide in the mountains and forests.

Although there is a dead silence here, it is like a ghost domain, but it saves a lot of trouble for the officers and soldiers of the Huaizhou army.

Lu Shen was not careless, and asked Bao An to search every corner of the city with thousands of sharp soldiers to prevent Jing Jun from leaving a secret hand here.

In the early morning of the next day, Su Yunqing, who had only slept for less than two hours, got up from the unfamiliar bed, and as soon as he washed his face with cold water, he saw the personal soldiers sent by Lu Shen to invite him.

"Why don't you take a little more rest?"

To Su Yunqing's surprise, the place of meeting was not the house where Lu Shen temporarily lived, but on the street near the West Gate.

Even though he was puzzled, he still stepped forward to salute as usual.

Lu Shen smiled and said, "Isn't Lord Su not resting much?" ”

"We're used to staying up all night analyzing intelligence."

Su Yunqing's expression was calm, and there was a little more concern in his tone: "You not only have to plan strategies, but also personally lead the troops to fight, but you must pay more attention to rest, after all, you have a very heavy responsibility on your shoulders now, and you must not burn your body." ”

"Thank you for your concern." Lu Shen bowed slightly, and immediately raised his eyebrows and said: "I invited Master Su to come over so early, I want to ask you to accompany me to the west, I wonder if Lord Su is so interested?" ”

Less than 20 miles west of Deep Jersey is Heluo, the former capital of Daqi and Heluo, which has a history of more than 1,000 years.

Su Yunqing's eyes lit up suddenly, and his tone trembled slightly: "Lu Duwei is gracious, but Su is disrespectful, but will this be a little dangerous?" ”

Lu Shen smiled and said: "Of course, it is not the two of us who will go, but take the cavalry of the Ruishi Battalion to go around Heluo and observe on the spot." ”

Su Yunqing couldn't hide his excitement, nodded and said, "Thank you Lu Duwei for taking it to heart, Su will definitely admit it." ”

They are all smart people, and some things naturally don't need to be said too clearly.

At the beginning of the small wine shop in Guangling, Su Yunqing tried to persuade Lu Shen to go to the north to lurk, during which he expressed his heart and talked about the current situation, especially the sentence "We give up Jiangbei, Huaizhou, Jingzhou, until we give up Yongjia?" Until the Great Qi is completely destroyed? Let Lu Shen remember deeply.

Although Lu Shen couldn't accurately recall every word Su Yunqing said, he knew the obsession in the heart of this warp weaving inspector, that is, to unswervingly support the Northern Expedition and hope that the Great Qi Border Army could recover his homeland.

This is the reason why Lu Shen deliberately wanted to bring him today.

Three thousand horsemen rushed out of the Deep Jersey Gate and galloped towards Heluo City.

In the bright and somewhat cold morning sun, the breeze blew across his face, and Su Yunqing's heart gradually rose.

His impression of Lu Shen has changed many times in the past two years, from the initial favor and appreciation, to the later jealousy and scrutiny, and then to the amazing performance that Lu Shen brought him after joining the army.

The past is gone, Su Yunqing has long regarded Lu Shen as the core of the Huaizhou army second only to Xiao Wangzhi, and is willing to use the power of the Warp Weaving Division to help him in the war, but after all, justice is greater than personal friendship.

Until now......

The journey of more than ten miles is not very long, and the cavalry of the Ruishi battalion galloped on the wide and smooth official road outside Heluo, and the scenery on both sides quickly regressed.

They spotted several groups of Jing army scouts on the way, but they saw the opportunity and turned their horses around and retreated, so there was no conflict.

After about a stick of incense, a majestic city standing in the land of Jiangbei finally appeared in Su Yunqing's sight.

That's Heluo City.

But seeing that the city gate was closed, the drawbridge was hanging high, countless flags were fluttering on the city wall, and the soldiers in armor were waiting for them.

The Huaizhou cavalry stopped more than three miles outside the city, and Lu Shen did not lead the troops forward to say a few cruel words, he just looked at the majestic city calmly and seriously.

Fifteen years ago, more than 200,000 troops of the Jing Dynasty surrounded Heluo, and after breaking the city, they did not seal the sword for ten days, looting, raping, and slaughtering all kinds of evil, and the city was like a hell on earth, and desperate and painful wails could be heard everywhere.

Lu Shen had never experienced that period of history, and as an outsider, it was difficult for him to establish loyalty to the Qi Dynasty that was higher than his own safety, but at this moment, riding his horse and standing outside the city, he was like the three thousand cavalry of the Rui Shi Battalion, and the expression on his face was extremely solemn.

The spring breeze is very gentle, but it is like a long knife blowing through people's hearts.

Lu Shen turned his head to look, only to see Su Yunqing looking ahead in a daze, his lips pursed, and tears seemed to flicker in his eyes.

He could understand this emotion, and thought that this was the root cause of Su Yunqing's unswerving support for the Northern Expedition.

There was silence outside the city, the two sides looked at each other wordlessly, and an oppressive and murderous atmosphere permeated the heavens and the earth.

When Lu Shen gave the order and the Huaizhou cavalry returned the same way, the defenders on the city wall couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the opponent was only 3,000 cavalry, and it was impossible to threaten the city's defenses, the defenders could feel an invisible pressure.

Lu Shen didn't care about the enemy's mood at the moment, he didn't just take his subordinates to hang out today, in addition to inspecting the external situation of Heluo City on the spot, another very important thing was to install tight sentry posts around this road of more than ten miles, so as to eliminate all hidden dangers as much as possible for the follow-up army to enter Heluo.

Li Chengen listened carefully and said, "Don't worry, young master, I will act according to your instructions." ”

After finishing the matter at hand, Lu Shen rode to Su Yunqing's side, without deliberately mentioning his slightly out of shape before he left, and said indifferently: "Within ten days, our army will definitely be able to enter the city." ”

"Thank you."

Su Yunqing spit out two words briefly, which seemed to be the head of the bull and the mouth of the horse, but it made Lu Shen slightly stunned.

He turned his head to look at the warp weaving inspector who was nearly forty years old, and hesitated: "Why do you want to say thank you? ”

"When I was in that small wine shop in Guangling, I was impassioned in front of you, maybe you would think that I was an indescribable person, or a bluff. But in fact, I also have my own selfishness, not only for the sake of Daqi. ”

Su Yunqing's tone was low, and she gradually opened her heart.

Lu Shen listened quietly and did not interrupt.

Su Yunqing raised his head and looked ahead, and said, "Fifteen years ago, Heluo City was broken, and none of the nineteen Su families in the city survived, including my parents, brothers, and sisters. Years later, I used the authority of the Warp Weaver to find out about the condition of my family, only to learn that they had all died that year. My father was reluctant to descend to the city, and was cut off by a Jinglian soldier and hung above the city gate, and my younger sister, who was thirteen years old at the time, did not escape the butcher's knife of the Jinglian people. ”

His eyes were bloody, and he continued, "I've often dreamed of them over the years. My little sister was very timid, and she asked me when I would be able to pick her up. My mother told me that I should remember to take care of myself and try my best to leave a legacy for the old Su family. My father only asked me, have you ever forgotten the hatred of the country and the family? Can you forget? ”

Lu Shen sighed wordlessly.

"Looking at the Heluo city wall, I seem to be able to see my father's head, and I really want to tell him in person that my son has never forgotten it for a moment, and he does not dare to forget it."

Su Yunqing's tone was quite calm, and he didn't get carried away in front of Lu Shen.

It's just that...... Words of blood and tears.

Lu Shen said slowly: "A tooth for a tooth, blood for blood." ”

Su Yunqing nodded, and said, "I'm glad you didn't follow my clumsy advice at the beginning, this emotion comes from the bottom of your heart." If it weren't for your appearance, maybe the Northern Expedition of the border army would still be victorious, but it would definitely not be so smooth, and more importantly, the words "return to the old capital" would only be an excuse for those people in Yongjia City. ”

Lu Shen said: "Fortunately, our majesty is fundamentally different from the first emperor. ”

If it had been in the past, Su Yunqing would not have talked about this kind of topic, but at this moment he said frankly: "Your Majesty's holy decree is very intent, you can understand that he is acquiescing to your soldiers pointing directly at Heluo, and it will also be a foreshadowing in the future." If the war is unfavorable, he may use this decree to push you out to calm the storm in the court. ”

Lu Shen said unhurriedly: "Actually, I can see this holy decree, and I am already quite satisfied." ”

Su Yunqing bowed slightly, and said: "Although the rumors about your life history have been suppressed, Your Majesty will definitely not treat it as nothing, you still have to be careful." ”

Lu Shen looked at him with some surprise.

Su Yunqing met his gaze and said firmly: "For me, the Northern Expedition is a long-cherished wish in this life, and I greatly admire people who are willing and able to do this well. Of course, I am not only for the sake of Daqi, but also for the blood feud between myself and the nineteen members of the Su family, so as long as you don't descend or raise a flag to rebel publicly, I am your most reliable eyeliner in the warp weaving department. ”

Lu Shen didn't call him a companion today, but he didn't think that he would be able to make friends with this Huaizhou inspector immediately.

Su Yunqing used the word "eyeliner" instead of "companion", obviously putting himself in the position of the inferior.

Lu Shen didn't take this opportunity to talk about the lotus, so he simply skipped this topic directly, and said leisurely: "What do you think of this idea of hanging the head of Emperor Jing Dynasty on the tower of Dadu?" ”

Su Yunqing's eyes swelled with a sharp light, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but hook: "Wonderful." ”

The two looked at each other and smiled, full of pride.

(End of chapter)