Jiaohua

Chapter 1543 She Wants to Break Through

On the other side of the natural ravine, the wind and snow had calmed down. The setting sun in the distant sky meandered over and shone on the silver-white snow-capped mountain peaks, dyeing a long and dazzling golden glow, majestic and spectacular.

At the foot of the mountain, herdsmen are returning, wild horses are galloping, smoke is rising in the village, and bonfires are burning.

This majestic ancient mountain, called the Golden Moon Mountain by local herdsmen, has snow on the top all year round and is surrounded by a sea of ​​clouds. When the weather is clear, the clouds are as thin as a veil, gently brushing over the rocks. When the wind and snow are heavy, the clouds gather and become as thick as a cover. The whole ancient mountain becomes mysterious and majestic, overlooking the roaring world with an ancient and solemn sense of oppression.

Close to the foot of the ancient mountain, there is a ten-mile-long wooden fence that no local person can approach easily.

Outside the wooden fence, there is a row of military buildings every mile, with several teams of soldiers guarding there strictly. Anyone who comes within close range will be killed without mercy, and even searching for lost cattle and horses is not allowed.

Recently, news came that Han troops would arrive here and that three more soldiers would be sent to each stronghold.

These "three persons" of reinforcement made everyone burst into laughter.

As a result, the news spread from the Golden Moon Mountain to other places. The neighboring cities all made fun of it, mocking the Han army for being incompetent and worthy of only three people's support.

After hearing that the ones coming might be the Xia family army, the crowd laughed even more exaggeratedly, and there was joy everywhere in the teahouses and wine shops.

In addition to these humiliations, there is another topic recently, which is the wanted posters posted on the streets.

He Yanpo offered a reward of up to one hundred taels of gold.

This is gold.

A lot of information about this female assassin was also spread. After hearing that she was Han Chinese, the men of the Northern Yuan Dynasty could no longer tolerate it. They slammed the table and said that so many years had passed, what were they waiting for? Why not start another war?

Qingquan Town, the closest town to the Golden Moon Mountain, was not one of the six major cities under construction in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but due to its good location, it could connect Lan Ze City and Ling Dai City. In addition, King Chang Yan single-handedly destroyed the entire Zhi Tu and seized a large number of people, treasures, and food. Therefore, it was difficult for the neighboring Qingquan Town not to be well fed. It has become more and more prosperous in recent years, and its momentum is about to catch up with the six major cities.

The noise from the streets and alleys disappeared after nightfall, and there was almost no one on the streets in the city because the nights in Qingquan Town were extremely cold.

A team of patrolling soldiers walked through the street, their footsteps sonorous and powerful, bringing up a cold echo.

After they disappeared at the end of the road, four men as tall as black bears slowly walked out of the alley.

The four men were all wearing winter coats typical of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, with dirty messy hair and snow hats, and beards covering half of their faces, making it difficult to see their faces.

The leading man had a very hoarse voice and whispered in fluent Chinese: "Tsk, this is a tiny town that can be walked around in less than an hour, but the patrol team is so well organized. Ding Xue, was the night patrol team in Yong'an this well organized back then?"

Xia Zhaoxue said calmly: "Yes."

The man standing to Xia Zhaoxue's left was called Qian Dahe. He muttered, "General Sun, I'm from Yong'an too. Why don't you ask me?"

General Sun said, "Aren't they all the same? Alas, I wonder what Yong'an looks like now. It can't be even inferior to Qingquan Town."

Xia Zhaoxue and Qian Dahe were both silent.

Just looking at the buildings, Yong'an is full of tall buildings, lined up one after another, and is beautiful for ten miles, giving it a magnificent and prosperous look.

Any restaurant placed here will stand out from the crowd.

But that was Yong'an before the accident.

After Li Ju fled Beijing, the people of the whole city were shocked and panicked. Yong'an was completely in disorder, and all moral etiquette collapsed. There were murderers, arsonists and looters everywhere. Countless high-rise buildings were engulfed by fire, and the numerous shops were destroyed one after another. Therefore, they had already left and had no idea what Yong'an looked like now.

"Let's go!" General Sun turned around. "Don't think about it anymore. It's boring to think about it. Let's go back and think about it and see if there is any way to get the goods out of the city."

Although there was no one on the street, the interior of the restaurant where they stayed was very lively.

These Northern Yuan men loved to drink with big gulps, eat meat with large bowls, talk loudly, and bang the table.

I bang the table when I’m happy, when I’m angry, and even when I’m nothing special.

The lobby was a mess. There were not many local residents, all of whom were traveling merchants. Some of them had just walked hundreds of miles in the desert or grassland and had no idea what had happened recently. So the latest topics were brought up again, and everyone participating in the discussion burst into laughter.

Xia Zhaoxue followed in from behind Sun Congli, the commander of the Zhenwu Camp, and the one who was surrounded by the largest crowd spoke the most excitedly.

"The Xia Army is only treasured by the Han people! They are treasured not because they are powerful, but because they are miserable and all of them are going to die!"

"That's right! We are the defeated generals of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Now if they come again, it would be even better. We should kill all these defeated generals and leave no one alive!"

"Hahaha, can they get through? The sacred mountain road is only accessible to us brave warriors of the grassland. They are so shameless and want to get through there. If they really want to, the three of us can beat them as a group!"

"What Xia Family Army? King Chang Yan clearly looks down on them. Bah! Three soldiers are enough to give them a hard time." Xia Zhaoxue looked at these people. In order to better hide their identities and move around various places in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the beards on his and Sun Congli's faces were not fake. They had been growing for seven months and had never been shaved.

His expression was hidden under his full beard and the drooping North Desert Snow Hat. His only pair of black eyes were unusually bright and filled with murderous intent.

Qian Dahe said lightly: "The more broken your mouth is, the more rotten your asshole will be."

"Ha, hahahaha!" Sun Congli suddenly laughed, walked towards them, and asked them what "three soldiers" meant in a very authentic Northern Yuan Dynasty accent.

Xia Zhaoxue and the other two followed.

They had been busy purchasing supplies, exchanging money and transferring goods these days, and only arrived here from several villages three hundred miles away in the north in the afternoon, so they really didn't know the details.

Seeing that there were still people who didn't know, the group of drinkers immediately asked one question after another to educate the newcomer.

“Hahaha!” Sun Congli raised his hand and patted a drinker on the shoulder with a smile, “Yes, you are right! Hahaha! They are indeed a bunch of useless people!”

Back in the guest room upstairs, Sun Congli didn't take the matter seriously at all.

He took out the cargo list written with strange symbols and prepared to discuss with several of his men about mixing the goods and shipping them out in batches.

Seeing that Xia Zhaoxue didn't respond, Sun Congli frowned: "Ding Xue?"

Xia Zhaoxue raised his eyes, came back to his senses and said, "General."

"Thinking about downstairs?"

"Ah."

"Haha, what's there to think about? These years, there's a lot of nonsense everywhere, true and false. Do you really think the Xia family army will come? Will they really come from the ancient mountain of Zhitu?"

Xia Zhaoxue said: "Maybe, it's true."

Before leaving, he received a letter from his younger sister, which mentioned that she would lead her troops from Hengxiang.

When he learned that there were still more than a thousand people in the Xia family army, Xia Zhaoxue's only wish was that these soldiers who had suffered so much could find a quiet, peaceful and stable place to spend the rest of their lives.

The younger sister asked him if he wanted to come back and take over, but he refused.

He had nothing and had nothing to give to these soldiers who still flew the Xia flag.

Even a full meal cannot be provided.

He knew that his younger sister was now financially strong, and with her by his side, he didn't need to worry about financial affairs and other military affairs. For this reason, he believed that his younger sister was more qualified for the position of commander-in-chief of the Xia family army, and those soldiers would not suffer if they followed her.

"Don't even think about it!" Sun Congli said to Xia Zhaoxue, "It's impossible. I inquired about it a few years ago. No one knows that road. Even these Beiyuan dogs don't know it themselves. Every time, Shang Taiyu, that dog thief, has to lead the way himself! I guess the only people who know how to get to that road are Shang Taiyu and his few confidants. Even if other people have walked it a few times, they may not be able to figure it out."

Qian Dahe suddenly said, "But General, the commander of the Xia family army is no ordinary person. She is A-Li."

"Tsk, a little girl who is still wet behind the ears, she is only good at talking about military affairs. I heard that she is quite skilled, but we are at war. What's the use of her being skilled alone?"

Xia Zhaoxue said: "She is definitely not just an armchair strategist. Her knowledge and strategy are rarely matched by anyone in the world."

Sun Congli raised his eyebrows: "Why? From what you said, you know her?"

Qian Dahe said, "I know her, but it's useless because she doesn't know us. I saw her twice in the capital. One time she went to the execution ground alone, and another time she was even more powerful. She went to kill the dog emperor directly! General, I saw all this with my own eyes. Don't say she is immature. Who knows, she might come out of the mountain tomorrow and scare these beasts!"

"Nonsense!" Sun Congli lost his temper, "Has she been that way? She definitely hasn't been. If she hasn't been, then she must have explored the way, right? Shang Taiyu has deployed strict defenses inside and outside the mountain. If there is any movement or any head sticking out, the guards over there will immediately take action! Do you really think Shang Taiyu only sent three more soldiers to each stronghold? He did it to deliberately humiliate the Xia family army. Who knows how many soldiers are ambushing in secret."

Qian Dahe was choked by what he said: "Well, General, this can't be made out of nothing. It's groundless."

Sun Congli tapped his rough, blackened fingertips on the cargo list, and said thoughtfully, "Maybe the Xia army is really here. Ah Li is bluffing, but in fact she is making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, turning everyone's attention to the Golden Moon Mountain. Then what will she do?"

Xia Zhaoxue frowned when he heard this: "...What can I do?"

Sun Congli shook his head: "I can't guess."

"Then there's nothing we can do," Qian Dahe said, "We can't climb that mountain. It's high up in the clouds. It's hard to climb with bare hands, not to mention they have horses. It's impossible to bypass the ancient mountain and break through the pass. We have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses and have never thought of breaking through the pass. The Xia family army doesn't have many soldiers, so they won't try to break through the pass either."

"Wait, could it be that she really wants to break through?" Sun Congli said, "Maybe, it's true!"