Late Tang

Li Keyong, the Shatuo king, is riding a horse on a high slope, with one eye looking at the north, and the five fingers of his right hand are tightly holding the golden tiger head sword hilt.

At dusk, the foot of Mount Heng is dark and quiet.The last rays of the setting sun slanted down from the tops of the tall trees, casting a red light over the ice and snow.The white smoke from the soldiers lighting the fire and cooking curled up, swaying in the sky under the setting sun, and a group of homing birds croaked and passed by in the sky, making the moment even more desolate.

After the last ray of sunshine also disappeared into the mountains to the west, the cold wind gradually picked up.

Cheng Huaiyi, the commander of the left and right pioneers, came up with hot soup, "Your Majesty, drink some hot soup first." He persuaded painstakingly, "We rushed all the way back from Mozhou to help, and almost never had a good rest since we left Yanmen. When was the last time you rested, Your Majesty?"

"When my lord father was still alive, when Yunniang was still by my side." Li Keyong said.

"No matter what, drink some hot soup first, eat a few pieces of barbecue, and replenish some energy." Cheng Huaiyi begged.

"Do you also think we should turn around and go back to Yanmen, leaving Yunniang and the others behind?" Li Ke said in a hoarse voice. They were only fifty miles away from Zhigu Pass in the afternoon, but at this moment, a group of people came from behind. Riding, brought a message that made him feel like a thunderbolt.Shi Yan, who was guarding Blackstone Fort, chased after him in a panic, with more than a dozen wounds of various sizes on his body.As soon as I saw him, I immediately told him the bad news intermittently.

Before Shi Yan fell into a coma, he reported that Black Rock Fort had fallen, and the three thousand defenders of Black Stone Fort had only defended for half a night in front of five thousand Qin troops before falling.Immediately afterwards, the thousand defenders in Flying Fox City also fell on the same night. They didn't even make it to dawn. In one night, the two gates of Black Rock Fort and Flying Fox City fell.And Shi Yan also brought a piece of news that after the Qin army captured Feihu City, they had divided into two groups, one was heading east and the other was coming west.

Xiangdong, needless to say, must go to seize the Bauhinia Pass and intercept the follow-up reinforcements led by Wang Jingchong.And to the west, they headed for Lingqiu City, their back road.

If Bauhinia Pass is lost, reinforcements from Hebei will not be able to enter Hedong.If Lingqiu City falls, Zhiguguan and Yanmen's retreat will be cut off, and their reinforcements rushing to Zhiguguan will be besieged by the Qin army along with the Zhiguguan defenders.

This was indeed a bolt from the blue. At this moment, Li Jing suddenly sent troops to outflank their rear, and there was already an extremely bad smell in it.Not long after Shi Yan arrived, another fast horse came from Yanmen to report that the three tribes of Datong led [-] troops to attack Yanmen.

House seemingly endless rain!

The situation before Li Keyong is extremely bad. Zhigu Pass may have fallen, Zijing Pass may have fallen, and even their back road, Lingqiu City, may also fall.

If Zijing Pass is lost, there will be no reinforcements from Hebei. If Lingqiu City is lost, the retreat will be cut off. The most important thing is whether Yanmen can block the attack of the three divisions of Datong.If Yanmen also fell, then Shatuo would really be over.

"Your Majesty, Qin's army may capture Lingqiu City at any time, but we still don't know what is going on at Zhigu Pass. Maybe Zhigu Pass has already fallen, even if Zhigu Pass has not been lost, but if we reinforce Zhiguguan, then Lingqiu City may be lost. Yanmen is still waiting for the king to go back to preside over it. Leading the army are Madam Liu and King Jin's brother Li Kening.But in the current situation, it is really impossible to take risks.

"Madam is still waiting for us, I can't just leave her behind." Li Keyong murmured.During this period of time, he spent almost all of his time on horseback, and his armor never left his body. The heavy armor made his back sore, and his legs were almost numb. At this time, his body was extremely exhausted, but he still couldn't relax. .

Holding the sword, Li Ke gritted his teeth tightly. Once again, he fell into Li Jing's trap and fell into Li Jing's trap.

"Your Majesty, let me lead [-] riders to Zhigu Pass to inform Madam, and let Madam abandon Zhigu Pass and retreat back to Flying Fox City. Your Majesty, hurry back to Feihu City immediately, and go back to Yanmen!" Cheng Huaiyi suggested.

"I'm worried that the situation at Zhiguguan is very dangerous now!" Li Keyong sighed, after thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind.Turning his head and staring at Cheng Huaiyi, "I'm giving you an important task now, can you complete it?"

"Don't give up!"

"Okay." Li Ke patted Cheng Huaiyi's shoulder heavily. His right and left vanguard was the elder brother of Cheng Huaixin, and Cheng Huaixin was one of the seven generals in the cloud, his confidant.Cheng Huaiyi is not as brave as Cheng Huaiyi, but more stable. "Now you obey my king's order. This king will lead 7000 Qingqi to Zhigu Pass to reinforce Madam. I specially order you to lead the remaining [-] people back to Flying Fox City immediately. No matter what, you must defend Flying Fox City. In addition, send people to investigate The movements of Yanmen and Yiding. Guard Feihu City, and wait for this king and his wife to come back."

"Even if you want to go to Zhigu Pass, you should go by a humble official. Your plan is too risky."

"There is a wife at Zhiguguan, it is worth my risk. Besides, this king is not going to fight. If the situation is not good, I will take my wife back to Flying Fox City immediately."

"Perhaps things won't be so bad. My wife is a hero among women, a heroine, if you don't give in to your eyebrows, even if you face Li Jing, I believe you can keep it by yourself." Cheng Huaiyi comforted, although he didn't know it in his heart. How can you believe these words? Madam is certainly not comparable to ordinary women, but the man she is facing now is even more extraordinary, that is Li Jing.

"We'd better go right away, time is running out, brother!" Li Keyong took the broth and drank it down in a few gulps!

The [-] most elite cavalry will be separated out soon, and they will follow Li Keyong to Zhigu Pass, fifty miles away. There are fifty miles, and the scout has a hundred miles to go back and forth, and it will take at least half a day to get back.And time is what they lack most now.Li Ke couldn't wait, not even a quarter of an hour.

Although Cheng Huaiyi and other school lieutenants suggested that Li Keyong should bring more troops to Zhigu Pass, at least half of them would be on one side.However, Li Keyong still rejected the proposal. Although he insisted on going to Zhigu Pass, he also knew what Lingqiu City meant to them now.If Lingqiu City is lost again, they will be cut off from Yanmen on both sides.In any case, this last retreat must be preserved.

"My lord, we are waiting for you and your wife to come back in Lingqiu City." Cheng Huaiyi got on his horse and waved to Li Keyong.

Li Keyong nodded to him, "If we haven't come back after two days, then you say retreat to Taixi Pass, Lingqiu City is safe to defend. If Blackstone Fort, Feihu City, and Zhigu Pass are lost, Lingqiu The city can't be defended at all, so go back to the Taixi Pass and guard the Taixi Pass, which is the last gate in the northeast of Yanmen."

"Let's go!" Li Keyong shouted, and Cheng Huaiyi repeated on the other side with a majestic voice, "Go!"

When Li Keyong returned to the Central Plains, he also led his army through here, all the way to the north, and captured the four prefectures of Xinru Wugui one after another.Not long after, he led his army through here again, but that time he returned to the south from here, and sent troops to capture the three states of Weidaixin in a row, laying the foundation of Yanmen Town.

Today is completely different. When Li Ke's soldiers and horses set off, the soldiers and horses under his command were exhausted, covered in mud and wet, their flags were not hoisted, and their armor was in disarray, just like a defeated army. "Shatuo warriors are invincible, we will never surrender!" Li Kehe immediately cheered up his soldiers, "Maybe Madam has captured Li Jing alive, and now she is waiting for us to watch Li Jing dance for us!" But he The school captains around did not respond with laughter. After learning that Blackstone Fort and Feihu City had fallen, and that Yanmen's hometown might be surrounded by [-] Datong troops, most of the reinforcements from Hebei might be blocked. When Taihang was in Shandong, no one could relax and be happy.

The 3000 men and horses marched in the rain, snow and mud for days, and just rested for more than an hour.At this time they went on the road again, but they still couldn't hide their exhaustion.

Dark clouds hang low in the sky, and after the sun sets, the last ray of light gradually fades away.

The three thousand Shatuo troops lighted torches, braved the whirring north wind, and marched northward in the face of the rain and snow in the sky.

The night is dark and the wind is tight.

In Zhigu Pass, during the dinner, Li Jing invited Mrs. Liu to attend the dinner, although the dinner during the war was just a very simple dinner.For this dinner, Li Jing was the host, accompanied by several high-ranking officials from the Qin family, and Liu Shi, Jing Shisanniang, Li Kening and other captive generals were the guests.At dinner, both Liu Shi and Jing Shisanniang changed into palace attire, Jing Shisanniang was always in aqua blue palace attire, but Liu Shiyi was dressed in plain white.Maybe she wants to be plain, but wearing these plain whites on her body adds to her temperament.

Li Jing had seen this woman in military uniform before, she was so heroic.When she put on this simple and plain dress, she didn't draw eyebrows or paint, but simply pulled up a high bun with a simple golden hairpin inserted on it, but she looked even more different.

He couldn't help but look a few more times, but Gongsun Lan took the opportunity to pour wine for Li Jing, reached out and pinched Li Jing's thigh, which made him a little embarrassed.

When returning to the room after dinner, Gongsun Lan still dragged him in when passing by the house of Mrs. Liu and several female generals.However, Li Jing pushed them away seriously. Anyway, these women inside are all roses with thorns, and the Liu family is even more extraordinary. Li Jing has not planned to completely wipe out the entire Shatuo clan.He thought of Li Keyong, that one-eyed, tall, burly man with a black blindfold on one side of his face.Li Keyong is indeed a very powerful person, if not for this, Li Jing would not have launched this somewhat risky war under such circumstances this time.

This time, he has set up a sky and earth waiting for Li Keyong, but Li Jing doesn't have much confidence in whether he can really catch Li Keyong and avoid future troubles once and for all.If he could have an extra 5 to [-] horses, he would not have to rely on the Datong Army to send troops to Yanmen. He could have copied Li Keyong's Yanmen lair in one fell swoop before Li Keyong was trapped in Hebei and had no time to return. .In the final analysis, Li Keyong is in Hedong, but the core of his current competition is still in Hebei.Before Hebei was actually won, even if he knew that Li Keyong would be a troublesome opponent, sometimes he would not be able to attack Li Keyong desperately.

Li Jing opened the window, the night was getting colder and colder, a new moon was halfway in the clouds, the moonlight shone in the courtyard, reflecting the whiter snow on the ground.

This year is really cold, auspicious snow heralds a good year, maybe the coming year will be a good one.

Zhao Jiang and Zhang Tieqiang stood at the door like javelins holding horizontal knives.

"He's here!" Gongsun Lan had already changed into a suit of armor and walked into the courtyard at some point.She stepped on the snow in the courtyard and walked in, raising a letter box in her hand. "Li Ke used it. We are still 3000 miles away. He only brought [-] Qingqi troops here. He still doesn't know that Zhigu Pass has fallen and the Liu family has surrendered."

"Where are his other 7000 people?" Li Jing got up and walked to the weapon rack. There was almost a small arsenal with more than a dozen sets of armor and weapons on it, all of which were Li Jing's private collection.He took down an iron-tired strong bow from a shelf, and took an oversized two-handed epee that was seven feet long.Zhao Tieqiang and two other personal guards came in and helped Li Jing put on the dark blue full body armor he had chosen.

"Li Keyong has received the news that Blackstone Fort and Flying Fox City have fallen, and he asked Cheng Huaiyi to take another 7000 people back to Lingqiu City." Gongsun Lan replied.

"Li Keyong is an admirable opponent, Alan." Li Jing shouted, "But only the dead Li Keyong is the best Li Keyong. Let's meet this old friend together!" (To be continued.)