Qi Ning is not a fool. Ye Wen confessed that the real culprit behind the scenes was Fang Xingzhai, and claimed that he sent him to deliver poisonous tea to kill people to silence him. He felt that this was strange and unconvincing.
To be fair, Qining did have doubts about Fang Xingzhai at first, but he also believed that if Fang Xingzhai could achieve the position of Xuzhou governor, he was by no means an incompetent person, and he must be an extremely shrewd person.
If it is to kill people and silence them, as the prince said, it will further prove that the mission has nothing to do with the poisoning, and if it fails, it will face an extremely dangerous situation. Just like the current situation, Fang Xingzhai himself was involved, and he I believe that even if Fang Xingzhai mistakenly killed King Linzi, even if he messed up a little bit, he would not be stupid enough to continue to murder himself.
But Ye Wen insisted that he was sent by Fang Xingzhai, which was an extremely powerful witness.
When Fang Xingzhai admitted his guilt, Qi Ning still felt a little weird. When Fang Xingzhai involved King Taishan, Qi Ning felt a chill in his heart and vaguely understood something.
The prince looked horrified, sat down slumped, raised his head suddenly, and said sternly: "Fang Xingzhai, is what you said true or false? I and King Taishan are brothers, if you spread rumors and slander King Taishan, I will never spare you."
Fang Xingzhai's hands were tied behind his back, his forehead pressed to the ground, curled up into a ball, and said in a trembling voice: "Xiaguan... I don't dare to talk nonsense, all of this... all of this is planned behind the back of King Taishan, and I have to obey."
Everyone in the camp looked at each other in shock.
At this moment, a voice was heard from outside the tent: "Urgent report, urgent report!"
Everyone was startled again and looked at the tent door. The prince glanced at Su Lun. Su Lun immediately went over and opened the tent. A scout came in from the outside. He knelt down on the ground and said in a horrified voice: " Your Royal Highness, the Prince of Cavalry, twenty miles away, the dust is rising, the sound of horse hooves is heard, the dust blocks the sky and the sun, after investigation, it is found that a large army is approaching here."
The prince's expression changed suddenly, and Situ Mingyue stepped forward and asked urgently: "Can we find out who the soldiers are?"
"Reporting to Lord Chang Shi, we found out after investigation that they are the soldiers and horses of King Taishan. They have already raised the banner of King Taishan." The scout reported: "Looking at the size of the soldiers and horses, there are at least four to five thousand people, and the speed is extremely fast. , will be here soon.”
"King Taishan?" Everyone was shocked. Fang Xingzhai had just confessed King Taishan. King Taishan's soldiers and horses arrived as soon as he said it. Everyone looked at each other and saw fear in each other's eyes.
The prince suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice: "Are they really the soldiers and horses of King Taishan?"
"Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince, it is certain." the scout reported.
The prince waved his hand and said: "Continue to inquire and report back at any time."
The scouts hurried down, and Situ Mingyue had already said: "Your Highness, King Taishan has come with thousands of soldiers and horses. He has absolutely no good intentions. They will arrive as soon as they say. Please make a decision quickly."
The prince frowned and said, "Is King Taishan really coming for me?"
Situ Mingyue said anxiously: "Your Highness, Fang Xingzhai has confessed that King Taishan sent people to murder Your Highness. If there are still doubts, now that King Taishan has come to kill him, the evidence will be conclusive."
Another official accompanying him said: "Your Highness, the late Emperor must have been unwilling to send King Taishan to Xuzhou in order for you to successfully ascend to the throne of crown prince. King Taishan has a vicious temperament, and Your Highness is very clear about him. Now, Your Highness is hunting in Xuzhou, and King Taishan must take this opportunity to murder His Highness."
Qi Ning was also frightened at this moment, secretly thinking that King Taishan was so bold and openly led troops to deal with the prince
"Su Lun, lock up all the people brought by Fang Xingzhai immediately." Situ Mingyue made a prompt decision: "Also, Meng Jiao's group who came with Jin Yihou yesterday were also immediately arrested and placed under strict guard. Send the order, and everyone will be arrested. The army retreated to Niuwang Slope, using the barrier as cover, and held on to Niuwang Slope."
Su Lun cupped his hands and said, "I have the order!" He turned around and hurriedly retreated.
The prince was a little dazed. Situ Mingyue had already said to the prince: "Your Highness, the enemy is at hand, so we must not hesitate. If King Taishan really leads troops to rebel, we can only send flying pigeons immediately to send a message and request reinforcements. Before the reinforcements arrive, we can only use cattle We must hold on to Wangpo's terrain and wait for reinforcements."
The prince's expression suddenly turned cold, and he quickly walked out of the tent, and everyone followed him. Situ Mingyue ordered Fang Xingzhai to be taken down first. Qi Ning followed the prince, walked out of the tent, walked to the front, and looked down from a high position. He could only see the distance. The dust was flying and the horses' hooves were rushing, but now they could see clearly that not only was there billowing dust and smoke in the front, but also on the left and right sides, but three groups of soldiers and horses were stabbing towards Niuwang Slope like tridents.
More than ten miles behind Niuwangpo, there are mountains. Qining looked at the soldiers and horses on the left and right wings and knew that they were going to intercept the rear of Niuwangpo and cut off the prince's retreat. However, with the current situation, the prince It is impossible to quickly retreat to the mountains behind here.
At this time, Su Lun had summoned all the troops to the Niuwang Slope. The figures came and went in an orderly manner. The prince's soldiers formed an array around the Niuwang Slope, using trenches and fir fences as barriers, and spears arrayed on the fir trees. Behind the fence, the archers lined up behind the spearmen, and more than a dozen guards in fine clothes were guarding the prince, all with their sabers drawn.
"Your Highness, King Taishan's soldiers and horses are very eager. They know His Highness is hunting here, but they dare to do this. They have no respect and must have bad intentions." Situ Mingyue looked serious and raised his hand to point to the approaching people ahead. The soldiers and horses said: "His Royal Highness has a body of thousands of gold, so there can be no accidents. Adding up the top and bottom in our hands, we have eight or nine hundred capable soldiers, guarding from a high position."
The prince nodded slightly. Qining saw the menacing force of the opponent's soldiers and horses. He knew that whether it was really King Taishan's soldiers or horses, they were coming from a bad person. He immediately looked over to Yezhu Slope. There were more than 200 people under his command. At the other end of Yezhu Slope, he said to the prince: "Your Highness, take care, I will rush to Yezhu Slope immediately."
The prince took a look, shook his head and sighed: "I'm afraid it's too late."
Yezhu Slope is only a few miles away from Niu Wang Slope, but the speed of the opponent's two-wing cavalry is too fast, and under the hillside, there is a flat plain, which is suitable for the cavalry to charge. As he spoke, the opponent's two-wing cavalry had already approached the foot of the hillside. It blocks the road between Niuwang Slope and Yezhu Slope.
The cavalry on both wings did not care about the situation on the hillside. They had clearly planned carefully in advance and quickly formed a formation around the hillside. The two cavalry groups totaled at least two thousand people. Before the Chinese army arrived, they had quickly formed a formation. Niu Wangpo gathered around.
The prince's soldiers were well-trained, and they did not panic in the face of a powerful enemy. They all maintained their positions.
Qi Ning secretly thought that Wu Dalin was also a veteran. With him on Yezhu Slope, he should have handled such a situation better than himself. At this time, he also saw that when the enemy cavalry rushed over to surround Niu Wang Slope, Two flags have been raised on the Yezhu Slope side. Under the sun and fluttering in the wind, they are the flags of Da Chu.
King Taishan’s target was the Prince of Eastern Qi. Qining thought that the envoy was from Chu State and had no grudge against King Taishan. If this person knew that the envoy from Chu State was stationed at Yezhupo, he would not provoke him. At this time, he Seeing a group of people at the bottom of the mountain speeding towards Yezhu Slope, there were only a few dozen people, so Wei Wei felt at ease, knowing that the other party had also discovered the situation on Yezhu Slope, so he went to investigate.
Only a few dozen people from the other side went, but they also expressed that they were not too hostile towards them.
Qi Ning was deep in thought, but his expression was very calm. The prince glanced at Qi Ning and saw that Qi Ning was calm and calm, without any signs of panic. He secretly said to himself, "This person from the Jinyi Qi family is indeed extraordinary." , this young Marquis is young, but at this moment he seems very calm and has the air of a general.
The terrain of Niuwangpo is quite high. In addition to the trenches and fir fences, there are bushes and strange rocks below. The prince's soldiers are guarding the danger, with their long swords unsheathed and arrows unstrung. They are waiting attentively. There are thousands of people, but excluding some officials and handymen, there are less than 900 actual combatants. The opponent is coming fiercely, filled with smoke and dust, and the yellow sand blocks the sun. Judging from the scale, there are indeed thousands of people, and the military strength has an absolute upper hand.
Qi Ning thought that people were so unlucky that they had to choke their teeth when drinking cold water. First, he was wrongly accused of being a poisoner. When the explanation was clear, the rebel troops of King Taishan had already killed him. It was no longer possible for him to return to Yezhu Slope. To fall into danger with the crown prince of Dong Qi would be a real defeat in a fleeting year.
Qi Ning knew that marching and fighting were completely different from fighting in the rivers and lakes. Although his martial arts was not bad now, facing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, no matter how high his martial arts skills were, he might not be able to use it. If the King of Taishan's soldiers and horses hit the hillside, Coming up, I will inevitably be involved, but I hope that before the two sides start fighting, the prince will make it clear to King Taishan first, and let him go to Yezhu Slope to meet the envoy. As for who will win and who loses between the two. , it has nothing to do with myself.
The prince watched carefully for a moment. The opponent's central army had already reached the foot of the hillside. He sneered: "You see they are flying dust, but the dust is high and scattered. It is obvious that everyone is not united. Although we are small, we are united. We may not necessarily lose to them." He said in a deep voice: "Situ, pass on the order and the whole army will hold fast. As long as we hold on for one day, reinforcements will arrive. After this battle, everyone will be rewarded with a thousand taels and promoted to one rank. If If there are those who died in the war, their families must be carefully cared for. I will support my wife and parents to the end, and if there are any heirs, I will also make appropriate arrangements."
Qi Ning only listened to these few words, and he admired the prince of Dong Qi in his heart. In this form, he wanted his subordinates to work hard, and clearly explained the consequences of life and death in advance, which could also boost morale and make the soldiers more capable. Know what you are fighting for.
The rumble of horses' hooves gradually subsided. The opponent's soldiers and horses were arrayed at the foot of the hillside. The banner was fluttering. The flag said "Qi". There was no "Taishan" flag. Qi Ning was not sure whether it was really King Taishan's troops. , a drumbeat sounded in the military formation that was listening to each other, the soldiers and horses automatically separated a road, and several flying horses galloped out of it. The horses in the lead were snow-white, and on the horse's back, there was a tall and strong man wearing golden battle armor. War helmet, when galloping, the purple cloak flew up, making a hunting sound, looking unusually majestic and domineering. The white horse came to the front and was reined in. There were several generals in battle armor on the left and right sides. The man in golden armor raised his head He looked towards the hillside and said in a rough voice: "Duan Shao, this king is here!"