In fact, after being ambushed and losing the queen, that Mr. Stephen did not collapse as completely as Xi Ya expected.
After all, although he is a guy with mediocre talents, he is at least from the Central Army of the Empire. He has experienced the invasion of the Odins to the south, the main force of the Seventh Corps was completely wiped out by the Odin Chixue Army, followed the remnants all the way, and encountered the most dangerous Desperate.
Therefore, after the team crossed the river this time and lost the queen, Stephen, who suffered a huge blow, actually only slumped for one night. Before dawn, he had regained his strength.
Although his eyes were full of despair and cruelty.
"Concentrate all the cavalry, spread them all out, and search along the lower and lower reaches of the river!" Stephen gritted his teeth, he already felt the strangeness of this ambush, he had just been to the burning forest, although the fire had been extinguished, but Judging from the remaining traces, there is no large group of people ambushed here. Judging from the horseshoe marks outside the woods, the horseshoe marks are also very rare. The people who ambushed themselves are likely to be only a few people - maybe even only one!
The opponent actually single-handedly dared to ambush his team of more than 1,000 people here! In the dark night, while he was crossing the river, he set fire in the woods, and then attacked with bows and arrows, confusing himself.
As for the random arrows flying out of the woods, I have also checked clearly. There are some things left in the woods. Some small crossbow arrows are erected on the branches of some trees, and they are all connected with thin iron cables.
Obviously, the number of people on the other side is really small. When they ambushed themselves, the dense rain of arrows is just an illusion made by the other side using this kind of mechanism: Suppose more than ten good crossbows are connected with ropes, and the arrows are wound. , and then as long as the control rope is pulled, more than ten crossbow arrows will be launched together...
And from the crossbow arrows that were picked up by the riverbank later, the arrows were all blunted. Obviously, the other party's intention was just to confuse them, and they didn't want to pursue killing.
Judging from such traces, the opponent is definitely not some local rebel force - even more like those lone thieves who roam the mountains.
What made Stephen feel ashamed was that during the ambush, the cavalry under his command deserted, and dozens of cavalry fled, but in the end they were all chased back by the elite horse thief cavalry.
Looking at the deserters who were tied up and thrown on the ground, Stephen's face burned.
He is very aware of the origin of the hundred elite cavalry in the team. These regular troops have always looked down on their own second-line guards with little brand names - this makes him even more humiliated! You must know that, Lord Stephen, he used to be the real Imperial Central Army, the real regular army!
Annoyed, he immediately wanted to order the deserters to be executed, but the hundred horse thieves and cavalry refused to carry out the order.
Stephen, who had nowhere to vent his anger, could only whip those deserters with a horsewhip himself.
The team sent out to search ran for a full day and night outside, and the disappointing news brought by the people who came back one after another finally wiped out the little hope that remained in Stephen's heart.
One of the team was the closest to success. They tracked Xi Ya's horseshoe mark. Unfortunately, the horseshoe mark disappeared after entering a mountain forest and passing through a small muddy semi-swamp area.
After that, there is a vast mountain forest that stretches out for dozens of miles!
To search such a huge forest, I am afraid that even if tens of thousands of people are mobilized to close the mountain to search, it will not be possible for a few months! What's more, there are only a thousand people under him, and he is still in the enemy-occupied area!
The Queen can't be found!
Stephen finally had to face this fact in his heart, and then he began to rack his brains to figure out a way out for himself!
He was very reluctant to return to the Northern Garrison.
He has never been able to integrate into the group of the northern garrison, and it is obvious that General Char does not like to see the central army officers with background from the imperial capital. More importantly—he lost the queen, which means that the mission failed. After returning, that general Xia Yaleiming has enough reasons to deal with himself!
If nothing else, just a lost queen is enough to hang himself!
If he changed other Xia Yaleiming's confidant generals, maybe he would open up, but he would not receive that kind of treatment! Even if he is not stupid, at least he knows that since the establishment of the Northern Army, that General Xia Leiming has been working to dilute the mark of the former Central Army in the Northern Army!
He would never miss such a high-sounding opportunity to wipe out such an old member of the Central Army as himself.
As for going to Osgilia…
This idea was very tempting in Stephen's mind.
He has already come here and has left the sphere of influence of the Northern Army. Going further south, there is a great chance to return to the imperial capital.
But... I lost the queen and returned to the imperial capital, which is also a death penalty!
Returning to the north is death, and going to the imperial capital is also death...
Stephen clutched his hair anxiously.
In desperation, he came up with a last resort.
Back to the imperial capital - but this army must be brought back!
Although Stephen's talent is average, but he came from a noble family, and his vision is naturally unusual. He knew very well that in troubled times, whoever had the military power would be the greatest!
Now the imperial capital is preparing for war, ready to launch a counter-offensive against the rebels. But the power of the royal family has been greatly weakened after the previous rebellion and the invasion of the Odins, and even General Adric had to draw from the southern part of the empire those second- and even third-line local garrison-that is a group of most The farmer who has only received a little reluctant basic military training and hastily picked up his weapons is nothing but muddy legs.
The lack of troops, especially the lack of real combatable troops, is the biggest weakness of the empire's center now.
If you can pull the army of thousands of people in your hand to the imperial capital... Then, when the time comes, you will be able to support yourself, and the family of the imperial capital will move up and down, walk the door, and maybe you will be able to earn a way out! At worst, even if he was transferred to the south and returned to the family's territory to become an official, it was still a way out!
An army of more than 1,000 people, if it were changed a year or two ago, would not have the qualifications to negotiate conditions with the empire! But now... the troops in the imperial capital are tense. I didn't hear that Xia Yaleiming went south to King Qin before, and he just brought 3,000 cavalry over, and the imperial capital was so shocked that the nobles did not dare to act rashly!
There are 1,500 people in his team, including 500 cavalry!
It shouldn't be too difficult to save one's life by using the army as a bargaining chip and relying on it.
Stephen looked at the infantry team resting by the river with gloomy eyes.
The team was full of unease.
Those who are soldiers are not fools. Losing the queen is a complete failure of the mission, and what a big sin to lose the queen is, how can anyone with a little brains not understand
What's more, there was an ambush last night, and now the team is not advancing or retreating, and they are still staying in place to rest and search around - aren't they afraid that the local rebel forces will hear the news and send troops to encircle and suppress it
From officers to soldiers, almost everyone's eyes were full of apprehension and fear.
The only thing that seemed a little different was the elite cavalry from the hundred horse thieves.
For a big crime like losing the queen, it may be frightening to others, but for these unruly horse thieves, it is a bird!
In the hearts of horse thieves, even if they have now surrendered to the government and been incorporated into the regular army in the north of the empire, the bandit spirit in their bones cannot be erased in such a short period of time.
From the point of view of the horse thieves, the eldest in the world, the uncle Xia and the eldest miss Nene are the second children, and the rest of the people will be counted as their fucking elders. what queen? hair! !
If you lose it, you lose it, isn't it just a woman.
This mission is really inexplicable. Everyone has worked hard to march, and it’s okay to escort a woman here. The night attack last night was too humiliating in the hearts of these elite cavalry!
If it weren't for that Commander Stephen who was too sloppy and rushed all the way, would he be ambushed by others
Moreover, the soldiers under his command were too pustular. Hundreds of people crossing the river were ambushed and caught off guard. They didn't even resist, and they were confused and robbed the queen. It's just rubbish.
But that's fine, the mission is over, and then, I'll just roll up the bed and go back to my hometown in the north, and stay here!
Different from Stephen's fantasy, these horse thieves are used to this kind of business of ambush and robbery.
What happened last night, in the eyes of these veterans, they knew that at first glance, someone must have planned the journey of their group, and they were waiting on the bank of the Manau River, making all preparations to ambush. of.
There is no intention of calculating, plus your team is too pustular, and the commander is also a mediocre person, so there is no need to think about the ending.
This Stephen still wants to stay here and sends people to search around, which is a waste of time.
These horse thieves who used to eat this line of food are all veterans who are proficient in this way. In this line of business, the point is to swarm up and leave in a hurry! After you succeed, you will immediately escape thousands of miles away, and then lie dormant, don't even think of catching one!
Until the wind blows over, these guys will never show up!
And since they have carefully prepared this ambush, they naturally have already arranged their escape route. Once they succeed, they will immediately retreat safely. That Stephen sent people out to look for it, and if he can find it, he will be called to hell.
In this case, it's better to go back to the road as soon as possible.
Anyway, these horse thieves are not afraid to go back and take the punishment. The commander of this trip is Stephen, and naturally he is the top tank. Besides, who are we? We are Uncle Xia's direct heirs! It's an old subordinate who follows Miss Nene! The first group of troops who came to defect after the establishment of the Northern Army! No matter what the uncle does, he will never turn his elbows out.
In this way, the horse thieves waited patiently for a day, until the next night, when all the search teams returned, they finally asked Stephen to make a request.
※※※
"What? Are you still going to the imperial capital?!"
Several horse thief cavalry officers shouted in unison after hearing Stephen's words after negotiating with Stephen.
At that time, a horse thief leader shouted loudly: "Your brain is broken?! Go to the imperial capital? We are the Northern Army. Since the mission failed, this matter is over, and naturally we will go back to the north! Go to the imperial capital!"
Stephen's face was ashen, and he said slowly: "We are here to escort Her Royal Highness the Queen back to the Imperial Capital. If we lose Her Royal Highness on the way, the mission is not complete! We must go to the Imperial Capital, and then we can organize an army to rescue Your Highness!!! How can we do it? This is back to Denzel City!"
The horse thieves quit, and they all shouted, and some pointed directly at Stephen's nose and scolded: "What kind of queen are you trying to rescue, then you can go by yourself! I don't have time to accompany you! This is his mother's betrayal. The army's territory, the people are gone, and rescue a fart! If you have the ability, let the imperial capital send 100,000 troops to wipe out the rebels and rescue that queen! We are only a thousand people, but we are not interested in this kind of thing! "
Stephen's face was gloomy, but he had put his hand on the hilt of the knife, and said coldly: "I am the commander of this trip! What I said is the military order! Now that the mission has not been completed, I cannot go back! I cannot rescue the queen back to the imperial capital, No one is allowed to leave! Otherwise, it will be regarded as the crime of desertion! Pass my order, the whole army will start, continue south, go to the imperial capital to report the situation here, and then organize a rescue!"
"Your sister Ying!" A horse thief spat fiercely, and pointed a finger at Stephen in disdain—the one in the middle.
There was a murderous look in Stephen's eyes. He also made some preparations. If he wants to continue to bring these troops to the south, these are either his cavalry or the biggest obstacle.
The other thousand people were all under the command of him before, and naturally they also had their own confidants in them. But these 100 cavalrymen are not his own, they are all the elites of the direct line loyal to Xia Ya. If they refuse to go to the imperial capital, they will not be able to command them.
When the time comes, I have no choice but to...
It was only a few horse thief cavalry officers who came to negotiate with Stephen, and Stephen was surrounded by many confidants. Seeing that the general was arguing with these cavalry officers, some people were nervously surrounding them according to the hilt of the knife.
Stephen took a deep breath, and was about to attack first. After all, he was the top commander of the trip. As long as he attacked first, accusing these disobedient cavalry officers of wanting to be deserters, he would use his identity as a commander to forcefully use military orders to suppress him. People - the most important military orders in the Northern Army, desertion has always been a great crime. At that time, as long as you come up with such an excuse yourself, and then attack the army, take down these cavalry officers first, and then surrender their weapons. If you are more ruthless, you will simply kill them on the spot... I have military orders, I have the status of commander, and I have the power to kill people. If I want to come, those cavalry will not dare to make trouble, just be obedient...
Seeing that Stephen's eyes were a little murderous, which of these elite horse thieves is not an old oil who rolled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, looking at the eyes of the other party and the people around, how can the sea not know the other party's malicious intentions
However, these horse thieves are not afraid. These are a group of daring guys. Among these horse thieves and cavalry, who can become officers, how can one be good
Before Stephen could speak, several officers looked at each other and didn't even shout. After a few swipes, the sabres had already been pulled out, and the officers rushed up first, and they cooperated very well. , there are two horizontal knives on both sides to block the surrounding taxis, the two in the middle are the best, and the goal is to take Stephen directly!
Stephen's martial skills are not good enough, and seeing the opponent attack, he immediately slashes with a horizontal knife. But these horse thieves were sturdy and cunning, and they were extremely skilled in this kind of close attack work. The knife in his hand greeted Stephen's leg unceremoniously, and the other stood, wielding a saber to hold Stephen's knife, and shouted with laughter: "Do you have something to say, sir, they are all brothers, Why use a knife and a sword..."
He laughed and shouted, and Stephen's men next to him were a little stunned, but the knife in this horse thief's hand was never slow, and he slashed through it!
Stephen had already screamed and fell into a pool of blood.
A knife was stabbed in his thigh, he fell to the ground, another horse thief had already jumped up and held him, a short knife stabbed directly into his ribs, while stabbing, he also smiled: "How can you stand? Unsteady? Come, come, help the adults to sit down."
Stephen's mouth had already spurted blood, and he howled, but his mouth was tightly covered, and then his neck was cold...
A horse thief had already cut his neck with a knife, and he jumped up with his head raised. Where is the half-smile on his face
Holding the bloody head high, the horse thief shouted loudly: "Stephen fears crime and betrays the enemy! The law has been subverted! The rest put down their weapons, and those who follow will not be punished!! Those who resist orders, kill!"
After all, it is only a second-line security force, and most of them are still soldiers who have been eliminated. Who is willing to really use swords and guns to go all out
Even though Stephen had a few confidants, these horse thieves officers were too fierce. Before Stephen could start, they took the lead and made a ruthless attack. When they came up, they attacked to death, and they killed Stephen in one face!
Even though those confidants were very loyal to Stephen on weekdays, but now that their boss's head has been cut off, are they still stubbornly resisting
After a slight hesitation, someone threw the weapon in his hand and knelt down with his head in his hands. Someone took the lead, and the rest of the people holding weapons lost their weapons helplessly.
Several horse thieves went over and kicked them all to the ground one by one.
Immediately after that, the captain of the horse thief cavalry had jumped on the back of a horse and stood, took out a sheepskin envelope sealed with flame lacquer from his arms, tore it open, and read aloud: "By the secret order of the General's Office of the Guards! Sergeant Lakun, the officer of the Third Cavalry Corps of the Independent Cavalry Regiment in the garrison, led his troops to escort the army south, granting Sergeant Lakun the right to make an impromptu decision, act cheaply, and take over the command when necessary to control the entire army. Issued by the General Office of the District Military Headquarters, X month X day!"
This sealed order was obtained before departure. In fact, although the horse thief had not opened the package, before departure, Xia Ya had met him and told the horse thief officer the content of the military order.
In fact, the officer himself was illiterate. If he was asked to read the military orders himself, he would not recognize a single word.
At this critical moment, he took out the military order to "read out", took over the command, and decisively killed Stephen. The whole army immediately obeyed, and no one expressed any objection.
After all, these cavalrymen belonged to the first independent cavalry regiment in the garrison area. Everyone knew that they were the direct descendants of General Xia Ya's direct descendants in the entire northern army in the garrison area!
As for the horse thief officer, when he read it out, the military orders were reversed, and naturally no one noticed such innocuous details.
※※※
After killing Stephen and successfully taking over the command, these horse thieves were no longer interested in staying here, and immediately ordered the entire army to set off and cross the river again to return.
The team of more than 1,000 people returned the same way. I returned to the north of the Agate River, but it took less than a day to travel, and suddenly I heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance of the road!
Several horse thieves and cavalry suddenly became nervous.
After all, this is still an enemy-occupied area! If the local army of the rebels came to chase and suppress, I am afraid that even if the cavalry can't beat the cavalry, they can run, but these infantry, I am afraid...
The horse thieves immediately ordered the army to stay away from the formation to prepare for battle. Fortunately, the roar of horse hooves in the distance, watching the dust flying, waited for the opponent's team to approach, and looked at the flag raised on the opposite side, the horse thieves breathed a sigh of relief, replaced by , is a look of surprise.
The cavalry that came out like a thunderbolt was fighting the flag of the First Independent Cavalry Regiment in the Northern Garrison!
This cavalry team of 2,000 cavalry came from the northeast. The formation was majestic and solemn. It was obviously the most elite cavalry team. The leader was a majestic cavalry general, sitting on horseback, with a burly body and senior generals. The Qiushan armor, a ribbed hammer hangs on the saddle, the iron helmet is covered, and the mask is pulled up, revealing a square face with a clear outline.
But it is Sharba!
Sharba set off from Denzel City with a team of 2,000 cavalry and escorts. They had already broken up in the new city. Sharba nominally took the army to Corsica to suppress the rebellion, but he did not expect to run there. Here to meet! !
When the two armies joined forces, Sharba was shocked when he heard that the queen was lost!
He was not from one of those horse thieves. He was from a serious Rodriguez cavalry. He was the foundation of the regular army. Naturally, he knew how important the identity of the Queen was.
However, for this matter, he also has no power to punish, because the order given to him by Charya is to let him pretend to lead the army to the Corsica area to quell the rebellion. Walking along the north bank of the Onyx River, ready to respond to the escorts returning from the north.
In this line, the danger is not dangerous. The two thousand elite Northern Army cavalry led by Sharba, although this is already the territory of the rebels, but there are two thousand iron cavalry in hand, unless the leader of the rebel army is out of his mind. Come to provoke such an army of tigers and wolves.
Two thousand elite cavalry, if they are in the field, they can hardly find an opponent within a thousand miles!
The only difficulty is that if you want to go south to receive this escort army, you have to pass through the territory of the Besta people.
Sharba got a secret order from Char, so he had to use the banner to go to Corsica to suppress the rebellion. In fact, the team turned back halfway, and then lightly rode all the way, sneaked into the area of the Besta people, and then the brigade rushed south. Passed through the territory of the Besta people.
As for the fact that the Northern Army entered the country rashly after being discovered by the Besta people, it is natural that the senior officials of the garrison and the Besta people went to fight this saliva lawsuit.
The two sides joined forces. Sharba listened to those horse thieves officers telling what happened. Hearing that they killed Stephen to take command and persuade, Shaerba just raised his eyebrows and sneered: "Go south? Hmph, that bastard wants to go to the imperial capital, Just go by yourself, but if you want to make up your mind and pull the team south to defect to the imperial capital, that is to betray our northern army, kill it!"
After a pause, I told these horse thieves officers: "I am here to meet you under the leadership of General Xia Ya. The general's order is, let me bring you 1,500 people, a lot of them, back to Denzel City!"
※※※
Just as Sharpa's cavalry and the escort converged, in the evening, the south bank of the Agate River came from the east on a horse, Xiaya on horseback, his face was cold and gloomy, and Daphne behind him was only gently. Holding Xia Ya's back, her hair fluttered in the wind.
A galloping horse, a mighty knight, and a stunning beauty.
Such a picture should be beautiful under the setting sun, but at this moment, the two of them are looking indifferent and hazy.
When the horses came to the river, where they were ambushed the night before, Xiaya looked around, and there were still traces of the army stationed here, but the men and horses were nowhere to be seen.
He rode around again and made sure that there was no sign of people and horses going south, so he made sure of one thing: the whole army of the guards had already crossed the Hebei and returned back.
"We're late." Xia Ya said lightly: "The guards can't find you, and now the whole army has returned according to the secret order I left before."
Daphne sat on the back of the horse and sighed softly: "These are all arranged by you long ago."
Xia Ya raised her eyebrows: "Of course, even to save you, I can't give up these 1,500 troops at will. I have already made arrangements. Once you are rescued by me, those who stay in the team will Use my military orders to take over the troops and lead the army back north."
After a pause, Xia Ya hesitated and whispered, "I never thought about sending you back after saving you!"
The words were cold and hard. Daphne felt a pain in his heart when he heard it, and couldn't help but whisper, "Xia Ya, I..."
"Needless to say." Xia Ya said lightly: "If you have any family responsibilities, you don't need to mention it. I promised you, no matter what kind of request you have, I will meet it."
Daphne's heart trembled, and he felt that the heartache was almost impossible to breathe. He gently pressed his chest with one hand, and just barely said, "But now, what should I do... Without the guards, how can I... go back to the imperial capital?"
Xia Ya was silent for a while, but suddenly turned his head, his eyes were terrifyingly bright, he stared at Daphne tightly and took a deep breath: "Daphne, I'll ask you again... You, you really Make up your mind, do you have to go back to the imperial capital? I… even if I let you stay, wouldn’t you?”
Daphne just felt stared at by Xia Ya's bright eyes, a rush of blood in his heart, and he almost couldn't help but blurt out: "Yes! I am willing! I am willing to stay by your side forever!!"
... But these words, which were only on the lips, were immediately swallowed back by her.
Daphne looked into Xi Ya's eyes, but didn't say a word for a long time.
Seeing that Daphne just looked at him like this, but didn't speak, Xiaya's bright eyes finally gradually dimmed, he turned his head, his chest heaved, his breath was short, and his mood was agitated.
After taking a few deep breaths, he managed to suppress the resentment in his heart. Xia Ya clenched the reins, and after a while, he slowly released his palms.
"Since this is the case... I will personally send you back to the imperial capital!!"
(About the bridge between Char and Daphne, let me talk about it here. I know that many readers have very fragile hearts and cannot see the slightest entanglement and repetition. But let me explain a little here: even if you write about the harem, you still need to It is a bit technical. Some repetitions and processes are essential. After all, this is an online YY novel, and naturally there is no plot that makes everyone unhappy. In the process of my own character conception, I think that if If you want to immediately abandon everything and follow Char, it is not a character like Daphne. A character like the poor man can do this kind of thing, but if you change Daphne, it will be a different situation. A woman who is shaped into a political marriage tool and bears family responsibilities, even when her husband is a rabbit and even has the will to kill herself, is willing to endure humiliation for several years. Ya, who is already a woman with a character like Daphne, the biggest change she can make in a short period of time is also the biggest and most outrageous thing she can do. To abandon everything immediately is not in line with character building.
Of course, I didn't deliberately spill dog blood to create sadness, and this passage naturally serves the plot of the whole article.
Daphne must eventually belong to the Turtle, there is no doubt about that. )