Jiaohua

A strong smell of blood spread in the house, accompanied by a pungent stench.

Zhan Ning and Zhao Ya tried their best to endure it and did not dare to show any overreaction.

The girl who was cutting open the arm with a knife and taking out the smelly rotten meat had a blank expression on her face, without any emotion. Her silk-gloved hands calmly threw the rotten meat into a bamboo basket beside her, and then she said calmly, "Cover it up."

Zhan Ning quickly closed the lid of the bamboo basket.

The old woman lying on a "bed" made of several octagonal tables opened her eyes and stared at the girl's beautiful and graceful face.

Xia Zhaoyi asked: "Does it hurt?"

The old woman said, "It's just a little bit, I can bear it."

Xia Zhaoyi said: "When the effect of the medicine wears off, it will be very painful. You have to endure it and don't scratch it."

"Okay! I won't touch it."

Xia Zhaoyi then curved his lips and revealed a smile.

After cleaning the rotten flesh inside and applying a layer of medicine, it was finally time to get stitches.

Zhan Ning and Zhao Ya stared at Xia Zhaoyi's hand closely.

She sews very quickly and her hands are steady and skillful. Zhan Ning and Zhao Ya really enjoy watching her stitching skills, which is quite relaxing.

After sewing, Xia Zhaoyi wiped the fresh blood off the old woman's arm, applied ointment, and put down her clothes. Then she picked up a pen and wrote down the follow-up matters on a piece of paper.

The ink dried quickly, and she folded the paper and placed it under the old woman's palm.

Zhan Ning and Zhao Yaji worked in perfect harmony, lifting the half-paralyzed old woman and placing her on a stretcher. After they went out, Fan Yu and Guan Chi followed closely and helped an old man in.

They were busy like this for three days, and at the hour of Hai on the third day, everyone was exhausted.

Faced with a table full of delicious food, some people grabbed their chopsticks and started to eat voraciously, while others were so hungry that they kept growling but had no appetite at all.

After taking a bath behind the screen in the room, Xia Zhaoyi did not go downstairs or eat, but fell asleep directly on the bed.

The next day, a falcon flew across the sky and landed steadily in the backyard of Lao Guo's house in the snow and wind.

Lao Guo's son hurried over, took out the bamboo tube, and looked at the envelope stuffed in the tube. He did not go to find Lao Guo, but ran directly to the house where Xia Jiajun lived.

Xia Zhaoyi had just woken up and was eating in the lobby downstairs. After taking the letter, she took a look at it and handed it to Zhan Ning.

Zhan Ning took it and raised his eyebrows: "It's the 'eye'!"

He opened the letter, read it quickly, and laughed: "Second Miss, Tao Lan's retribution has come."

Everyone looked around.

Zhan Ning said, "She is pregnant again. Not long ago, she was stabbed by Lin Wumei, causing her baby to be born prematurely. Her eldest son also had his face cut by Lin Wumei's blade. She has been bedridden for many days due to severe bleeding and cannot get out of bed."

Everyone said happily: "Serves him right!"

"retribution!"

"She deserves to die!"

"But isn't it too easy for her to die like this?"

Xia Zhaoyi asked, "Lin Wumei?"

Zhan Ning said, "Yes, it's our old acquaintance, Lin Wumei! 'Eyes' said that a wanted order for Lin Wumei will be delivered soon."

The clue about Lu Wuwei and Lin Wumei in Qisan Mountain of Guizhou was obtained by Zhan Ning when he tracked Mubu Yifan and others.

Later, Xia Zhaoyi sent Zhang Chi to lead an army to Qisan Mountain to encircle and suppress them. These people suffered heavy casualties and fled in all directions. Zhan Ning gave up tracking Lu Wuwei and Lin Wumei, and kept a close eye on Mubu Yifan and the others, and chased them to Yunzhou. Since then, there has been no news of Lu Wuwei and Lin Wumei.

"It's really strange," Zhan Ning said again, "Why did Lin Wumei want to assassinate Tao Lan, and she didn't hesitate to travel thousands of miles to Mingfang City to assassinate him."

Xia Zhaoyi smiled and said, "We can't guess the reason just by guessing here."

Zhan Ning nodded: "That's right, even if we guessed the real reason, we have no way to prove it, so it's not in vain."

Xia Junnan said, "If there is a chance to know in the future, then know it. If there is no chance to know, then forget it. Anyway, the result will not change. Forget about the rest."

The departure time was set at 3:00 p.m., and there was a light snowfall. Only one or two people were walking on the already sparsely populated street.

Xia Zhaoyi did not tell anyone that they were leaving today, because not many people knew that they were leaving. But gradually, the number of people who came to see them off increased to dozens, and the number kept increasing.

Xia Zhaoyi was always very clear and neat when it came to parting. She raised her hands and fist-bumped with them on horseback, saying with a smile, "Fellow villagers, see you later!"

Then, she took the lead, whipped the horse and rode away: "Gee!" The army followed closely behind her, thousands of horses stepping on the snow, chasing the girl away.

The three-day rest in Tanggua City allowed the Xia family army to regain their energy and spirit.

The next stop, Xia Zhaoyi went straight to the north end of Tu.

To the northernmost part of Tu are towering mountains that stretch across the sky and earth. They are too high to climb, too big to be measured, and too deep to be seen.

There is a vast and dangerous road in the mountains, and the people in Zhitu and Beimo call it the Natural Moat.

The Shaoguang Battle of that year was caused by the fact that Chang Yan Wang suddenly led 8,000 light cavalry, and when no one expected it, they broke through this natural barrier, broke through Yangmen Pass, rushed to Pingyang Road, and pointed their swords at Yong'an.

This move forced the Qian army to turn back, and Ouyang Jun's father, General Ouyang Anfeng, died at that time.

Although the Battle of Shaoguang was won, it was a narrow victory and the price paid was extremely high.

Those famous generals of Daqian fell one by one like stars.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty was also badly damaged. Their population was not large to begin with, and their wounded did not have better medical care like the Han army in the Central Plains. If they were seriously injured, there was no medicine to cure them and they could only wait to die.

Therefore, in the past few years, the Northern Yuan Dynasty missed a great opportunity and could not immediately send troops south while the Central Plains was falling apart, because they had no soldiers available and could only dare to resort to small-scale conflicts, killing civilians and looting food and money.

The reason why the Battle of Shaoguang was so brutal was because of this natural barrier.

As early as fifteen years ago, the King of Changyan, Shang Taiyu, who was only in his thirties at the time, suddenly led a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, broke through the pass and killed the generals, and entered Zhitu.

They were like demons, chopping down anyone they saw, not giving the Daqian army and civilians any chance to react. They massacred city after city, using their cavalry to slaughter everyone.

When the Daqian troops arrived, King Chang Yan did not linger in the battle and left quickly. But within half a year, they came again.

Shang Taiyu seemed to be only interested in Zhitu and had no interest in the other five states in the northwest.

Because of this, he is very familiar with the terrain of Zhitu, perhaps even better than many Zhitu people.

At least that natural chasm is not something that many butchers would easily cross.

Five days later, Xia Zhaoyi led his troops to Lushibao in Zhitu.

There were almost no people along the way. Occasionally, one or two hunting men passed by on horseback, but they would avoid them after seeing them from a distance, not wanting to have any contact with the army.

Xia Zhaoyi reined in his horse outside Lushibao, facing the wind and snow, and looked into the distance at the sky.

This area was blank on the map given by the master. The natural barrier went deep from here for at least eighty miles.

Xia Xingming said: "Second Miss, should we continue on?"

Xia Zhaoyi's clear eyes seemed to be able to reflect the light of the sky. She looked at the end and said slowly: "This road is like Shang Taiyu opening a back door in Zhitu."

Xia Chuan nodded: "Yes, in those years, this bastard came and went as he pleased. He killed a few people when he was happy, and he also killed a few people when he was unhappy!"

Jian Jun said seriously: "But this place is not easy to defend, and this road is even harder to block."

Xia Zhaoyi smiled suddenly, her smile was bright and brilliant, her spirits were high: "Shen Lie is very fierce in a fight. He is fierce because he never defends. He uses offense as defense."

Xia Zhaoyi pointed the whip in his hand toward the northwest: "There! Three hundred miles west of the natural moat, we must take that place if we want to ensure peace for thousands of years after the massacre!"

The wind was howling, bringing with it goose-feather snowflakes. The girl's smile was crystal clear on the snow, as if it were glowing.

The eyes of the veterans also lit up. Xia Xingming was the first to say, "Okay! After being beaten for so many years, we must push the front line to their land!"

"Yes!" Xia Junnan clenched his fists. "Even if there are casualties and rivers of blood, we must take over all of that land!"

"Now, let's go hunting first!" Xia Zhaoyi pulled the reins and turned around, smiling at them, "When I was in Hengxiang, I made a bold statement in front of Zhuge Pan that I would take action against Tianqian and fight back. After so many months, his letter should have been delivered to Beimo. I just don't know whether those people will take my words as a joke or seriously. But there is one funny thing that I haven't mentioned to you yet."

The veterans hurriedly asked, "Second Miss, tell me! What's so funny?"

"Yes, say it out loud and let everyone have some fun!"

Xia Zhaoyi said: "We were unscathed during the Daping Dynasty tour, but under the pressure of Song Zhiyi, Wen Lang told Yongan that they killed a total of 1,500 Xia family soldiers."

"Hahahaha!" Xia Xingming laughed, "He's really too brave! He's not afraid of us exposing him!"

Jian Jun said: "No, no, I think even if we expose him, he will bite back and say that we are being stubborn!"

Xia Junnan said, "This is a good thing! When we set out, that little thief Zhuge Pan knew how many people we had. Now that we have subtracted 1,500, the other side will definitely underestimate us! This Wen Lang, accidentally helped us!"

Jian Jun said: "Will they be even less convinced that we are going to attack Tianqian?"

"Who cares if he believes it or not," Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile, "Whether he believes it or not, it won't affect our hunting! Let's go!" (End of this chapter)