kingnovel Chapter 234: The Smoke of War Resurfaces
Chapter 234: The Smoke of War Resurfaces
Although he was unemployed at home and spent the whole day around the stove, he was actually not idle at all.
News from all over the place quietly gathered in Liancheng's new house like rivers flowing into the sea, and Liancheng was then responsible for organizing it and finding the right time to report to him.
He can know what is happening in the world without leaving his house.
The news from various places in Shengjing City was normal, except that Prince Kang was still searching for beauties everywhere, and the conditions were very strange. The most unusual thing was the news from the north.
There has been no news from the north for two days.
Not only him, but even the court had not heard from anyone for two days. However, everyone was still on holiday for the New Year, and no one paid attention to these things. The mountains of official business would have to wait until after the Lantern Festival to resume work.
"Maybe it's because the road is slippery and difficult to walk on due to the snow, which caused the delay?" Su Li comforted.
"I hope so."
Pei Heng curled his lips and coaxed Su Li to sleep.
His intuition told him that things should not be that simple, but he didn't want Su Li to worry about it, so he suppressed the thought and didn't mention it again.
……
A border town thousands of miles away.
The enemy's attack continues.
The Marquis of Zhenbei hadn't slept for who knows how long. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were red, and there was obvious fatigue in his eyes.
"How many troops are left in the city?"
A deep voice sounded as the Marquis of Zhenbei stood on the city wall. The biting cold wind made the flags around him flutter. The city wall was covered with blood and dilapidated traces of the siege.
He glanced at the densely packed Beimang camp outside the city, his face pale.
"Reporting to the Marquis, Beimang has launched multiple rounds of fierce attacks in recent days. The border city has been on the verge of collapse several times. The brothers fought desperately, and now..."
The lieutenant general beside him was choked with sobs and could not continue speaking.
"There are many!"
The sharp eyes of the Marquis of Zhenbei shot over, and his firm words did not allow for any rebuttal or hesitation.
The lieutenant general shuddered, punched his chest, saluted, and said, "There are less than 5,000 soldiers in the city."
The Marquis of Zhenbei turned around and looked at the devastated scene in the city, saying:
"Any news of reinforcements?"
The lieutenant general shook his head. "Early in the morning of the first day of the new year, several groups of people were on their way with news and requests for help. Later, several waves broke out one after another. But now, more than ten days have passed, and there has been no news."
Beimang tore up the peace treaty signed four years ago and launched a sudden attack on New Year's Eve. The border town, which had been peaceful for four years, was once again plunged into the flames of war.
Now, the border town is surrounded on all sides. With great difficulty, a few groups of troops from the South Gate took advantage of the chaos to break out of the siege and deliver the message, but no reinforcements have arrived so far.
The border town has become an isolated city.
"My Lord, if reinforcements don't arrive, I'm afraid we won't last more than three days."
"Three days, three days! The border town has high walls and thick walls, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. We will definitely be able to hold it."
Four years ago, before heading south, Pei Heng ordered the border town walls to be thickened and raised. Today, the border town is more impregnable than it was four years ago.
Moreover, after the border town, the road to the south is flat and there are no more dangerous passes to rely on. If we fail to defend it, Liangzhou, Ganzhou, and Guazhou will be exposed to the enemy's cavalry.
By then, millions of people will be caught up in the war.
Even the capital of Daqi is in danger!
They have no way out!
The face of the Zhenbei Marquis was black and gray, and his torn armor was covered with dried black blood. He pressed the sword at his waist and began to issue orders, saying:
"Since this is an isolated city and we can't leave, mobilize the civilians. Anyone who can still fight should be given weapons. Hold this city to the bitter end! If reinforcements don't arrive for one day, we will hold this city for one day. If they don't arrive for three days, we will hold this city for three days. If they still don't arrive, we will perish along with this border city!"
"Yes!"
……
The border town is a hundred miles south.
On several roads leading south, many men in black were lying in ambush. They were like hunting dogs. Whenever they saw anyone coming from the north, they would kill them without mercy, regardless of gender, age or status.
In the forest behind him, there were many corpses piled up densely. If you look closely, you can see that many of them are wearing border town military uniforms, and even more are poor civilians.
On the hillside, Prince Jing rode his horse and looked down to the north.
"Your Highness, the roads to the west, east, and south of Yanqi Pass are now under our control. In the past few days, we have successively robbed and killed many soldiers who came out to report the news and rescue, as well as some people who fled from villages near the border town."
The subordinate reports.
Prince Jing looked gloomy, even colder than the snow-covered mountains and forests around him.
He escaped from Shengjing City, gathered his remaining troops in the heart of Mangshan, and led his troops northward.
Liangzhou and Ganzhou in the north are both ruled by his confidants, and this time he came to join them.
He also wrote a secret letter to Beimang Emperor Tuoba Hong, stating that as long as Tuoba Hong sent troops to help him seize the throne, he was willing to cede 36 cities, including border towns, covering thousands of miles to Beimang.
He wanted to lead his troops from the north all the way to the south and take over all of Daqi.
And these things should have originally belonged to him!
Now, he is just getting it back in a different way!
"Send a message to Liangzhou and Ganzhou, telling them to guard the area tightly and not to leak any information until the situation in the north is settled."
"Yes!"
……
In the Beimang military camp.
In the commander's tent, sitting in the middle was a woman.
Her hair was braided, a fur headband wrapped around her forehead, a scorpion painted in the corner of her eye, and she was dressed in a bright red dress. A fur cloak was draped freely around her, giving her a sense of wildness and boldness.
At his waist was a curved sword inlaid with twelve red gemstones. Anyone familiar with Beimang would know that this was the sword of the Beimang royal family.
"marshal!"
A burly man clasped his fists and said loudly,
"The border town is already at the end of its strength. I can capture it in just three days."
The woman was none other than Tuoba Rao, the younger sister of Beimang Emperor Tuoba Hong. She raised her beautiful eyes from reading the map, stared at the big man and said,
"I'll give you two days."
The big man patted his chest and said:
"I will obey your orders and will not disappoint the Marshal."
Tuoba Rao waved his hand and the big man took the order and went forward.
Facing the impending victory, Tuoba Rao's slightly blue eyes sparkled with excitement and enthusiasm, and his whole body exuded the majesty of a strong man and a desire for victory.
As the princess of Beimang, she is not only extremely charming, but also very keen on leading troops to fight. She gets excited when she sees the bloody and brutal scenes on the battlefield.
Four years ago, it was she who led the Beimang army south.
At first, she was unstoppable, capturing cities and territories one after another, pushing Beimang's border several hundred miles southeast. The raging war and the overwhelming force threatened to annihilate the entire Daqi region in one fell swoop. Even the Daqi Emperor, thousands of miles away, panicked and sent a letter demanding peace.
She doesn't want to negotiate peace!
She wanted to fight all the way to the capital of Daqi and have the Beimang Tuoba clan's wolf king totem flag planted on the roof of Daqi's imperial palace!
She wanted to achieve an unprecedented feat, letting everyone in the world know that Princess Tuoba Rao of Beimang was the reincarnation of the God of War! And let her royal brother become the master of the world!
Until she met Pei Heng in the border town.
Thinking of Pei Heng, Tuoba Rao's beautiful and dangerous eyes narrowed into slits.
Unexpectedly, she was defeated by Pei Heng in the first battle in the border town, which made her lose face.
She was born proud and refused to believe in evil.
Tunnel concentrated its forces to attack the border town.
She and Pei Heng had been engaged in a long battle, suffering heavy casualties and unable to capture the border town. Unbeknownst to her, Pei Heng was secretly building a plank road to Chencang, sending men to impersonate him in the border town to draw her main firepower. In secret, he personally led his men in a counterattack, moving like a tactician. Not only did he recapture the hundreds of miles of Daqi territory and cities she had previously occupied, he also captured a city in Beimang, and marched directly towards the Beimang royal court.
Now, the Beimang court was in chaos!
Soon, countless voices questioned her, saying that she was a woman who should have married and had children at home, but was instead leading troops into battle. Such childishness was a disaster for the country and the people! It was as if her previous victories had never happened.
The emperor's brother could not withstand the pressure and asked her to withdraw her troops to provide support.
Forced by the situation, she had to agree.
But she was not reconciled.
Fortunately, at that time, she got in touch with Prince Jing Li Gan.
Pei Heng fell into a trap and was captured by her.
In the deserted village in the north, for seven days and seven nights, she used every possible way to torture him, torment him, and humiliate him, but he did not surrender to her in the end, not even a murmur.
She dumped his body in the wilderness.
She wanted to continue leading her troops south, but Pei Heng had already arranged everything before leaving the city, and she returned empty-handed again.
The opportunity to fight was lost, and she had to return to the court.
After that, the two countries signed a peace treaty, pledging non-aggression against each other for a hundred years.
This incident caused her to be cursed by court officials in Beimang for four years! Until recently, she received a letter from Prince Jing. The letter said that Pei Heng was not dead, not only was he not dead, but he had recovered as before.
She couldn't sit still any longer.
He strongly advised his brother the emperor and formed an alliance with Prince Jing, vowing to make a comeback and avenge the previous humiliation.