Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1300: War in Southern Xinjiang

Fang Dong fled eastward with a remnant of his troops.

He knew very well what he was capable of, but his family insisted that he go to the battlefield to add to his military achievements. Moreover, Southern Xinjiang had always been considered weak in the eyes of the imperial court, so who knew it was so strong?

Fang Dong was good at farming, but not good at using troops, after all he was young. Originally, defeating these bandits from southern Xinjiang was just his first experience, but he didn't expect to be defeated so miserably.

After all, fighting in the mountains is different from fighting on the plains. Fang Dong found that his own military orders were different and it was difficult to form a formation. He was defeated by the bandits, and Fang Dong was able to escape with the help of several of his personal soldiers.

Now he just wanted to find the camp of Teng Liuyun, the commander of the Southern Frontier, and report the battle situation. But now he was walking along the road and didn't know where he was.

"Go find out what this place is."

Fang Dong was now a little overwhelmed. Everything he had learned was of little use in a real battle, and the books did not tell him how to find the army tent after being defeated.

There were mountain paths all around, and he didn't know which mountain he had entered or where he had to leave. He didn't know how long he had been walking, or even which mountain he had come to.

Naturally, he did not bring a horse with him for fighting in the mountains. He was now very tired and exhausted. The mountains were full of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. After running for so many days, he felt that he could not hold on any longer even though he had been exercising since he was a child.

Not long after the unit went down, Fang Dong suddenly heard a gong sound, which frightened him. Then a dozen people dressed as mountain people rushed out from the surrounding woods with knives. Fang Dong had no choice but to lead his team to fight. He finally repelled the group of people. When he chased the last person who escaped, he saw the subordinate he had just sent out was hung on a tree with a knife stabbed in the heart. He was already dead.

Fang Dong had the body put down, and he no longer had any hope of escaping from the forest. He hadn't collapsed yet, but he still had to save face in front of his subordinates.

Suddenly, a scream was heard from the forest, which was the direction in which the last person who was chasing him fled. Fang Dong raised his head slightly, barely raised his feet, and led his men to chase in that direction.

  =

When Lu Ning pulled out the sword, the blood in the man in front of him had already frozen into ice.

"what……"

She exhaled a breath of foul air, the true energy in her body still surging.

It was indeed unexpected that even if the Senluo Nine Transformations Heart Technique was only a small success, it would still take a certain amount of time to settle down. She left the Lu family too quickly and had not yet settled down.

At this moment, she felt cold, but not the kind of cold that comes from being sick. Instead, she felt that this coldness had merged with her body. According to the Heart Sutra, this was actually a sign of going astray. What she needed to do was to use the third level of the technique to break through the body, disperse the excess stagnant Qi in her body, and rebuild her foundation.

But after entering the mountain, she had no good opportunities except to hunt some wild animals. It was rare that she met a person who ran towards her today and swung his sword to chop him without saying anything. Lu Ning had no choice but to pierce his heart with a sword and disperse the true energy in her body.

"One person is not enough..." Suppressing the anger in his heart, Lu Ning heard footsteps again, and then several soldiers wearing armor but covered in mud and leaves ran out of the forest.

It was the Great Wei standard. Lu Ning narrowed his eyes and looked at it, then shouted, "Who is coming?"

"Who are you! Why are you in this wilderness?" a soldier asked loudly. They were still on guard, but when they saw Lu Ning kill the ambusher, they did not take action immediately.

"Wait a minute, do it!"

A man with armor that was obviously better than the others came out of the woods. His young face was already covered in mud and he was panting. After he came out, he took a breath and said, "You...are speaking the official language of the capital, not the language of the southern border?"

"Yes." Lu Ning raised her head slightly and took a look at the man's armor. "Your armor style is that of a general?"

"I am... never mind. My name is Fang Dong, and Fang Zhiheng from the capital is my father." Fang Dong sat down dejectedly on a stone. "Miss, the official language you spoke must be from the capital, I..."

"Are you Fang Dong?" Lu Ning looked at the young man, somewhat surprised. It had been a long time since she saw those deserters, but she didn't expect that he was still running in the mountains? How long had he been lost?

"Girl, do you know me?"

"I have heard something about it." Lu Ning nodded vaguely, "Fang Zhiheng... General Zhengnan?"

Fang Dong nodded. It was because of his father that his family wanted to train him as well, but he didn't expect that it would be so difficult to command on the battlefield.

"be lost?"

"Yes, young lady, if you know the way, please help us get out of this mountain. I will reward you handsomely!"

With Fang Dong's status, a defeat would not put his life in danger. As long as he could find the camp, he would have a chance to atone for his crime.

"That's fine." Lu Ning nodded. "But who is this person? How did you get here? Tell me. I want to know the situation in Southern Xinjiang."

Fang Dong smiled bitterly and said, "Of course you can."

Anyway, he has fallen to this point. If he needs help, he might as well say something. It is not his turn to know the real military secrets.

"General Teng Liuyun is in charge of the war in southern Xinjiang. General Teng has defeated the barbarian army head-on, but the barbarians hid in the mountains and disappeared. Although the Wei army is strong, they have little experience in mountain warfare. I led a team into the mountains to try to capture them, but the result was..."

"This place is within the territory of the Great Wei." Lu Ning said.

"The barbarians from southern Xinjiang don't care about any territory after they enter the mountains. In recent years, the control of the borders of Wei has been a little weak, and the tribes in the mountains have made unusual movements. If someone really climbed over the mountains and entered, we would have no way of knowing. But this time we have confirmed that the barbarians from the south have entered the mountains of Wei, so we will naturally send elite troops to fight them!" Fang Dong said hurriedly.

Lu Ning wouldn't believe it even if she heard it.

The quality of the soldiers led by Fang Dong can be seen from the deserters before. Of course, they are not elite soldiers. But if Teng Liuyun is really a general who understands military tactics, after the troops sent into the mountains suffered a great loss, he will definitely change his mind and will not force his way into the mountains to search.

At this moment, she heard a rustling sound in the woods. "Wait a moment." She rushed into the woods with her sword in hand.

But after a while, Fang Dong and others heard screams from the forest, followed by screams, curses, and the sound of weapons clashing. However, these sounds soon returned to silence. While they were waiting anxiously, Lu Ning came out carrying a person and threw him to the ground.

"We caught a tongue. You guys go to the camp by yourselves." Lu Ning said, "Where is the camp? I'll take you down the mountain."

"One hundred miles southwest of Lingying Prefecture." Fang Dong said quickly.

"Got it." Lu Ning nodded and turned to leave. Fang Dong hurriedly went up to carry the prisoner on his shoulders, and suddenly felt a chill coming from his shoulders, shivering with cold.

  "I have never heard of a young woman practicing martial arts in the capital?" Fang Dong thought hard, but couldn't think of anyone who fits the description. There were also women practicing martial arts in the families of military officers in the Wei Dynasty, but how could there be someone with such high martial arts skills?

Lu Ning deliberately slowed down to wait for the others, so she walked slowly. But after one day and one night, she walked out of the mountains and finally saw the village. After walking for another two hours, she saw the direction of the camp.

"Thank you, young lady!" Fang Dong was excited when he saw the big flag flying above the camp. He had almost run out of food and water. If he didn't come back, he would have to think of other ways to survive.

"Now that we have found the main camp..."

"Miss, could you please wait here for a moment? After we report back to General Teng, we may need your help. Besides, I should repay you for saving my life." Fang Dong said hurriedly.

"……Can."

"May I know your name, young lady? When I return to the camp to report to the general, I will also ask for a reward."

"Lu, Lu of the land, no need for reward. I know the rules of the army, I should not go in, if you need me, just go to the Bibao Tower in Lingying Mansion to find me."

After Lu Ning finished speaking, she waved her hand and continued walking along the road towards the distant city. Seeing this, Fang Dong hurriedly took the captives to the camp to report.

Lingying Prefecture was still somewhat prosperous at this time. It was the largest place for jewelry trade in the south. Whether it was beautiful jade or clam pearls, they could all be found here. Although it was difficult for businessmen to come and go here because of the war, people still believed in the safety of this place because of the large army stationed nearby.

When Lu Ning entered the mountain, she also chose this place as her base. She actually rented a courtyard in Lingying Mansion, but she had to be cautious when it came to the involvement with the Wei army. After all, she didn't know what kind of person Teng Liuyun was. Among the Wei generals, although there were those like Qin Zhong who were powerful and had a good character, there were also those who were untrustworthy.

For example, the young general Fang Dong is not very trustworthy when it comes to commanding troops.

Bibaolou is also one of the unique inns in Lingying Mansion. Ordinary inns often provide food and accommodation, but Bibaolou is a combination of business and accommodation. The downstairs does not sell food, but sells jade and jewelry, and the upstairs is a place to stay. It is easy to imagine that such a place is specially for those noble people to maintain their status.

Lu Ning reserved a room for herself here, and then returned to the courtyard she rented. The price of this courtyard was very cheap, if she had not been short of money, she could even buy it directly. After all, this was a haunted house. It was said that three groups of jewelers lived in this courtyard, but they all went bankrupt. One hanged himself at home, one killed all the servants at home with a knife and then committed suicide, and the last one committed suicide by taking poison.

But according to Lu Ning, there was no evil spirit in the yard. If the three rumors mentioned above were true, they might just be coincidences.

She pushed open the gate and walked in. The horse she rode was still eating grass in the stable, and there was no sign that anyone had been in the yard. After she rented the yard, she went into the mountains to vent her internal energy. After killing those people from southern Xinjiang, the excess internal energy in her body had been basically used up. Now she just needed to regulate her breathing and dredge her meridians to lay a solid foundation for her internal strength.

After three weeks of meditation, the anger in her heart was gone, and the incident during her martial arts training was resolved. Lu Ning opened her eyes and felt hungry, so she went out. She remembered that there was a food stall around the corner.

When he got closer, Lu Ning found that there were quite a few people eating dinner here. Since Lingying Prefecture was still quite prosperous, there were quite a few people, and some porters and merchants bought some food here to eat. After Lu Ning ordered some food, he sat down and listened to those people's chat, and found that the situation in southern Xinjiang was not optimistic.

Lingying Prefecture is already a rare safe place. The barbarians from various tribes in southern Xinjiang have already entered the mountains. The tribes in the mountains were originally the same people as the southern barbarians, but they were brought under the control of the Wei Dynasty. Now that the Wei Dynasty is weak, the barbarians have become disloyal, and have become a disaster for southern Xinjiang.

Nowadays, merchants traveling back and forth have to be careful, because the barbarians will not follow the rules of the Central Plains when they rob. If they are ordinary bandits, you can use money to buy their way, but if you encounter barbarians, you'd better run for your life, because they will chop down people from the Central Plains on sight.

"Alas, a few days ago, a conscription notice was posted in the city. Winter is almost here, why are they still recruiting soldiers?"

"Training in winter is still good. You don't know that during the autumn harvest, a group of soldiers were conscripted. The prefect was almost furious at the time. The fields were full of rice to be harvested, but no one went to harvest it. In the end, even children of seven or eight years old and old men over sixty were dragged along to barely finish the harvest."

"Really? It's fine if they don't let the soldiers help with the harvest, but they actually conscripted people to go."

"You probably don't know. The army of the Wei Dynasty has been in decline for a long time. In the past, there were local militias and militias. Later, the money to support them was gone, and these soldiers naturally disappeared. If you are lucky enough to meet a good master, you can take care of the local military officers. If you meet a greedy one, haha, you will be stripped of your skin and bones!"

"I wonder what this prefect is like?"

"Alas, he is also greedy, but not so greedy. He also knows that he has to give something to continue to rise, so that we can keep a chance to survive."

"Things in the city are getting more expensive again. Cloth is ten cents more expensive, and rice is six cents more expensive."

"Not bad, I can still buy something. Do you know that in many prefectures and towns, even if you pay dozens of taels of silver, you can't even buy a grain of rice?"

"Is it so urgent?"

"Brother, before the troops move, the food and fodder must go first. How much does the army outside the city need for food and drink in a day? All their food and fodder must be transferred from the surrounding towns and cities."

"Why? The capital city won't distribute food?"

"I came from the north to fight. The capital city has to take care of the war in the northern frontier. How can they care about such a small fight in the south?"

"Not really. I heard that the food and grass are on the way, but because there is no evidence of any merit, the food and grass are not much. Teng Liuyun is constantly recruiting soldiers, and I don't know what he wants to do."

Lu Ning listened to the gossip of these people and ate her dinner slowly. She was very interested in how the war in the south was going, but now, she was more interested in the conspicuous green in the crowd.

In the conversation among this group of people, there was a guy who kept emphasizing that the Wei Dynasty was no longer viable and that no one from top to bottom was able to handle the affairs of southern Xinjiang. He was a man dressed as a porter, but the breath of life emanating from him was of the color of wood in the eyes of the demon.