Leaving Hezhou, Ye Tianling returned to Daying, and stopped in astonishment as soon as he entered the account. There were many people in the tent, Shi Shi, Tang Chu, Wei Changzheng, Mingzhi, etc. were all there, and they seemed to be relieved at the same time when they saw him come back. The person in front of the case turned his back to the crowd and faced the military plan. Hearing his footsteps, he turned his head, his phoenix eyes slightly lowered, and a trace of clear sharpness met his eyes, and he focused on the air.
Ye Tian Ling Ye entered Hezhou without telling Qing Chen. Seeing her in the military tent at this time, she was a little surprised, and raised her eyes to look at Eleven: "What happened?"
Eleven coughed lightly: "It's good that the fourth brother comes back safely, we'll go back to the camp first." After saying that, he waved his hand, and everyone retreated. He walked up to Ye Tianling and looked back, throwing Ye Tianling a look .
Ye Tianling's eyebrows moved slightly, but seeing Qing Chen looking at him indifferently, he suddenly walked out of the tent.
"Qing'er!" Ye Tianling pulled her back in time: "What are you doing?"
Qing Chen struggled slightly, heard his question, turned around and said angrily: "You entered Hezhou City alone at night without any guards! The battle between the two armies is imminent, and tens of thousands of rebels in Hezhou want to kill you , how can you take such a risk so easily?"
Ye Tianling expected that Qing Chen would be dissatisfied with this, but since she already knew, she had no choice but to ask: "I told you to strictly observe this matter, who told you so boldly?"
Bai Qiu's soft and bright luster was reflected on Qing Chen's face at this time, quietly radiating an overwhelming brilliance: "Why, did you find out who let me know that I need to be dealt with by military law?"
Ye Tianling said: "No need to check, it must be eleven."
Qing Chen frowned: "They don't know why you decided to go to Hezhou alone at this time, and you have no other choice but to follow orders, all hanging on your heart, how can you hide it from me?"
Ye Tianling didn't care that she was full of anger, but there was such tenderness in his heart, he pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around her, and said, "Then do you know why I went?"
"You went to Li Bu not only for the current Hezhou, but also for some old things." Qing Chen raised his eyes.
Ye Tianling said: "Since it is clear, you transferred all the former generals of our army to the tent late at night, what are you doing?"
Qing Chen twitched his eyebrows, and his face was cold: "If you don't come back before dawn, you will smash Hezhou City with your army!"
Ye Tianling couldn't help laughing, wrapped her arms around her waist, and said slowly: "My concubine is amazing. Fortunately, this king came back in time, otherwise Hezhou would be in danger today!"
Qing Chen raised his eyes and saw the genuine smile on Ye Tianling's eyebrows. He was originally annoyed that he was hiding from him and taking the risk alone. Now that the person was unscathed, his anger passed away, but the worry and fear that he had endured for half the night suddenly disappeared. It came to my heart, my eyes were slightly sore, I turned my head and said, "Do you think they don't think so on Eleven?"
Ye Tianling said: "I know Li Bu very well. Even if he was given a chance, he wouldn't dare to do anything to me. What's more, under the onslaught of the army in the past two days, the hearts of the soldiers in Hezhou have long been shaken. Even Li Bu himself is under attack. In a state of anxiety, the city seems to be a dangerous place, but in fact it is not something to be afraid of, I know it well."
Qing Chen sighed softly: "You always have your reasons for taking risks, but you are no longer alone. What is the difference between risking your life and risking my life? You shouldn't hide it from me, tell me the truth , I still can't stand it?"
With a smile on the corner of Ye Tianling's lips, he gently tightened her arm, but lightly changed the subject: "Which do you like, Jingzhou or Dingzhou?"
Qing Chen looked at him sideways, a little puzzled, and replied casually, "Let's Dingzhou."
Ye Tianling said casually: "Okay, then let's attack Dingzhou first tonight, and give Dingzhou to you as compensation tomorrow, how about it?"
Qing Chen was surprised: "Dingzhou and Jingzhou are all within the natural danger of Qimen Pass, and Hezhou is not under." She paused suddenly: "Could it be that Li Bu really..."
Ye Tianling said: "I never take risks in vain. Li Bu surrendered. Hezhou left 30,000 defenders, and the remaining 50,000 went with the army to suppress the rebellion. We attacked Dingzhou and Jingzhou was handed over to him."
"Li Bu is willing to change his mind? Once the Qimen Gate is opened and Dingzhou is taken down, we can join the Chinese army in the same day."
"That's right." Ye Tianling turned around and said loudly: "Come here, order the main battalion to raise the account, and the three armies must gather to stand by!"
The guards in front of the tent took orders loudly, but Qing Chen smiled softly: "The camp of the three armies has already secretly passed down the military order, and all the soldiers will be put on their swords and armored tonight, and they can go to battle immediately."
Ye Tianling smiled and said, "This saves me a lot of time."
Qing Chen pondered for a while, and then asked: "Although Li Bu has finally turned his back on the dark side, he has been obedient and rebellious after all. There is a strict order in the army not to forgive traitors. What are you going to do?"
Ye Tianling turned back and changed his battle armor, and said, "That's why he was ordered to help us capture Jingzhou and Dingzhou, and then follow the army to personally attack Yucheng to make up for the mistakes."
Qing Chen nodded, and stepped forward to adjust the robe for him, but felt that this matter would be a trouble after all.
Yin time had just passed, and the sky was still in deep darkness. Dingzhou City is close to the northern line of the border pass, where the northern line of Qishan Mountain and Yanwang Mountain intersect to form a horizontal ridge. The terrain is dangerous and it is an important pass for northern Xinjiang to fight against the Turks. In the dark night, the wilderness of Guanshan outside the city is freezing cold, and everywhere in the city is quiet as usual. Although northern Xinjiang is in flames of war, everyone knows that as long as the Qimen Pass is not broken, Dingzhou will be safe and sound, so there is not much tension in dispatching troops.
On the outpost at the south gate of the city, the cold wind blowing from outside the fortress was biting. The soldiers defending the city were sleepy and cold at the time of their most exhausted.
Finally, when the guard was changed at the first post, the patrolling soldier who replaced the shift climbed to the top of the wall, "Brother, you have worked hard!"
"It's so cold!" said a group of soldiers earlier.
With a few casual words and jokes, the new soldiers also shivered in the north wind, and patrolled around the city as usual, and they were all safe and sound. The iron armor made a slight grinding sound, accompanied by the footsteps of the military boots, and gradually went further and further down. go. Suddenly the corner of the soldier walking at the end flashed, and he caught a glimpse of a cold light in the darkness. Before he could make a sound, there was a soft "chuck" from his neck, and he fell to the ground, dead instantly.
The soldiers in front noticed something strange, and when they turned around, they were horrified to see an enemy appearing in Yingyingtong, who had just passed by the city, and quickly killed them like ghosts under the cover of late night.
The soldiers who had just changed guard hadn't gone far when they heard the screams of their comrades behind them mixed with the warning of "there is an enemy!" It was extinguished, and the surroundings suddenly fell into chaos.
Ye Tianling and Qing Chen were stationed on a hill not far away. At first, Dingzhou City was only faintly visible in front, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. However, when it was half a cup of tea, a place in the city suddenly lit up with an astonishing fire. Immediately afterwards, the flames exploded one after another, burning half of the sky red. Dingzhou City seemed to have ushered in a strange dawn, and was shrouded in thick smoke and fire in an instant.
With the appearance of the flames, shouts of killing rose layer upon layer in the boundless darkness outside the city. The Xuanjia soldiers who came quietly no longer sneaked in by zipline like the vanguard battalion. The current three battalions set up ladders and forcibly ascended the city.
The defenders of Dingzhou have not yet figured out who attacked the city, and resisted hastily, causing chaos.
The light of the knife on the top of the city was cold, and the fighting was fierce. From a distance, people kept falling down, and they either died already or were trampled to death by the rocks and iron hooves below the city.
As the defenders of the city rushed to defend, sharp arrows shot down like locusts, trying their best to stop the Xuanjia army from attacking.
Liu Guangyu, the inspector of Dingzhou, heard the news in his sleep and was horrified. He couldn't believe that it was the Xuanjia army who killed him.
Qimen Pass is as solid as gold, and during the day there are still troops reporting that the West Road army is still blocked outside the pass, how could they attack Dingzhou in the middle of the night! At this time, half of the Dingzhou military camp was engulfed in flames, and the Xuanjia fire and thunder from the Shenji camp would ignite every time, causing chaos everywhere, making people think that Dingzhou had fallen as a whole.
Liu Guangyu was so horrified that he didn't even have time to put on his battle armor, so he immediately mobilized his troops to reinforce the south gate.
Before the soldiers in the camp had driven out of the gate, they heard a loud bang from the east, shaking the city wall. The defenders of the east gate galloped forward, and fell off their horses like rolling melons, "My lord! King Che's army stormed the east gate, and the city gate is already irresistible!"
Before the words were finished, the South Gate came to report, "My lord! The South Gate has fallen! The Xuanjia Army has invaded!"
Liu Guangyu was shocked, and shouted loudly: "Withdraw to the inner city! Call the archers to defend! Quick! The soldiers of each battalion must not panic, and follow me to resist the enemy!"
In the city of Dingzhou, streaks of blood interweave in the shadows of fire to form a killing that covers the sky and the sun. The three feet of blood splashed added a shocking scarlet to the snow, and instantly solidified into a hard piece under the icy cold wind. It was crushed by the ruthless iron hooves that followed.
The coldness of the strong and the demise of the weak do not require too much modification. The cold iron, hot blood, long wind, and raging fire vividly and vividly draw a thick stroke between the heaven and the earth.
Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish.
Dawn was approaching, and the defenders of Dingzhou couldn't resist for a long time. The four gates fell, the inner city fell, and the whole army was defeated.
Once the Xuanjia army entered the city, they quickly extinguished the flames everywhere, controlled the main roads, appeased the civilians, and incorporated the defeated army. But for more than an hour, Dingzhou changed hands and returned to the rule of the Celestial Dynasty.
The rising of the sun does not change for any reason, the sky is gradually brightening, revealing the color of a fish maw, a trace of gleam is faintly visible, slowly painted, and the dark night retreats with lowered eyebrows.
Ye Tianling and Qingchen rode into the city together. Tang Chu was directing the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, and asked for instructions: "Your Highness, Liu Guangyu, the inspector of Dingzhou, was wounded and captured. How should he be dealt with?"
Ye Tianling got off his horse and inspected the situation in the city: "Bring me to see you." He and Qing Chen stepped up to the top of the city, walking higher and higher, extending to the bloodstains of Can Xue, broken swords and cold arrows, and left behind smoke and fire. What you see is open.
The wilderness under the feet is endless, spreading thousands of miles, the long river is a line, embedded in the vastness, and the city of Siye is faintly visible. The majestic peaks of Qishan and Yanwangshan are winding and magnificent. High and wide, far and omnipresent.
At this time, a round of rising sun broke through the clouds in the distant place of the sky, and the golden light was dazzling, covering the whole earth in the bright morning light.
The sea of clouds was churning, and the cold wind was fierce. Ye Tianling stood proudly on the top of the city and watched the sky from a distance. Under his feet was Dingzhou City, which had just surrendered.
Escorted by Xuanjia guards, Liu Guangyu climbed to the top of the city, looking at the firm and cold figure in front of him bathed in the morning light, he was shocked physically and mentally. The fearsome power of the Xuanjia Army came from this person, and it was also this person who captured Dingzhou with ease and defeated tens of thousands of defenders in an instant.
Ye Tianling turned around when he heard footsteps, "Untie him."
The guard broke the rope, Liu Guangyu moved his painful arm, and stood a few steps away, not knowing what Ye Tianling wanted to bring him here. Although his robe was stained with blood, his expression was still calm.
Ye Tianling walked up to him slowly, "Dingzhou Inspector Liu Guangyu, I don't seem to have seen you before."
Liu Guangyu laughed bitterly at himself: "I have admired His Majesty the Fengshen for a long time, but I have never had the chance to meet him. I can see you today. I don't want to be like this."
Ye Tianling glanced at him: "What are your plans?"
Liu Guangyu said: "Your Highness, please give me a good time, I am so grateful."
"You mean begging to die?" Ye Tianling said lightly.
Liu Guangyu said: "The counter-insurgency army will not forgive traitors. As we all know, I have prepared for it long ago. I just ask Your Highness to be lenient to other soldiers."
"Oh." Ye Tianling couldn't express his anger or emotion, and Liu Guangyu was a little confused about what he was going to do. He heard a soft voice next to him say: "Master Liu, you should be regarded as an official of the 'Beixuan'."
Liu Guangyu turned his head and saw Qing Chen asking him with a smile. Just now, he saw a person standing beside King Ling, turning around calmly at the head of the city where the wind was blowing. If Ling Wang is serious but cold, then this person exudes a very soft temperament, like clear water under the sky, nowhere to be found but everywhere.
The so-called "Northern selection" of officials is because Beiyanhou's territory has always had the privilege of self-recommended officials. When encountering official vacancies, transfers, promotions, etc., it is often decided by the Beiyanhoufu to select suitable people and name them. For a long time, officials and generals at all levels in northern Xinjiang were almost all appointed by Yu Cheng, and even the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of War could hardly intervene. These officials were generally called "Northern Selection".
Liu Guangyu was indeed selected by Yu Cheng. Although he didn't know who Qing Chen was, he still nodded and acknowledged her question.
Qing Chen smiled faintly: "But if I remember correctly, you entered the official position as a civil servant before. You participated in the imperial examination in the ninth year of Shengwu, and on the gold list was a hand-picked Erjia biography. Supervise the censor for the Procuratorate. But within half a year, you were demoted for impeaching the Zuo servant of the fashion book minister and shooting Li Changyou. Zuo moved to Changle County envoy. You were promoted, and you were not even transferred to Fengzhou until the 17th year of Shengwu. However, you became famous in Fengzhou for your achievements in suppressing bandits. Later, you were selected by Yu Cheng to be transferred to Dingzhou. Shengwu lived in Dingzhou for 23 years. You have been in office so far. In this way, you cannot be regarded as an official selected by the North, you are an outlier in the North election, and you have a military position, which seems to be the first among the generals guarding the border."
Liu Guangyu was amazed that Qing Chen knew his resume so well, and it was not wrong to say it casually. His previous experience as an official did not make him feel happy, so he just said: "So what?"
Qing Chen's gaze fell in front of his eyes: "I remember a few words from you, 'It's easy to build up an army, but it's hard to put down chaos, it's hard to calm down, and it's hard to put people in peace. Do you still think so?"
Liu Guangyu was even more surprised, and asked, "How do you know this?"
Qing Chen said: "I saw it in your report report, I remember it was written when you left Fengzhou."
The only woman who can browse official memorials at will is Xiu Yi. Liu Guangyu suddenly said: "So you are the princess of Qingping."
Qing Chen smiled and said, "Princess Ling."
"Oh!" Liu Guangyu glanced at Ye Tianling, and Ye Tianling looked back from the city of Dingzhou: "Your soldiers are not bad, but you are still far from getting rid of the border troubles."
Liu Guangyu said: "It is not necessary to rely on military force to eliminate border troubles. Although Dingzhou is not the most powerful frontier defense force, it has always been rarely invaded by Mobei Turks. thing."
The corners of Ye Tianling's lips were slightly cold: "War and peace, it's not up to the people to decide. Even if they can live in peace, the Turkic royal family can't give up their ambition to invade the Central Plains. Most of the time, benevolence and justice can only be implemented with the help of force." possible."
Liu Guangyu focused on the people of one side, while Ye Tianling looked at the kingdom of the world. Qing Chen asked with a faint smile: "Let's not talk about the foreign aggression on the frontier, but the internal aggression in front of us, what does Lord Liu think? Yu Chengxing's army, Your Highness put down the chaos, It's all easy, but the most difficult thing is to comfort the people, I'm afraid the people of Dingzhou still need someone to comfort them, so can Lord Liu just ignore them?"
Liu Guangyu had doubts in his heart: "Your Highness has a lot of talents in the army, do you still care about me, a traitor general? The military order is like a mountain, how can there be any reason to pardon the traitor general?"
Ye Tianling smiled. At this time, Wei Changzheng climbed to the top of the city and handed over a letter: "Your Highness, there is news from General Li from Jingzhou."
Ye Tianling took it over, and Qing Chen saw Li Bu's letter and wrote, "His Royal Highness, 20,000 soldiers swindled into Jingzhou last night, and everything went well. It's just that the patrol Qian Tong refused to accept it, clamored for trouble, and was caught by me. He was killed in the government office, and two other lieutenants were Yu Cheng's cronies, who could not persuade him to surrender and were also executed. Now Jingzhou is no longer a concern..." She smiled, Li Bu is a fake general, It is completely different from Liu Guangyu in front of him.
After Ye Tianling finished reading the letter, he raised his hand and handed it to Liu Guangyu: "You read it too."
Liu Guangyu took it in a daze, and broke out in a cold sweat all the way. The three important towns of Hezhou, Dingzhou and Jingzhou in the middle of Qimenguan all fell into King Ling's control overnight, and the world was turned upside down in an instant. He was shocked by the facts in front of him, feeling as if he had stepped into a bottomless abyss, and he didn't know what would happen next.
Ye Tianling took a panoramic view of the changing expression on his face, and said: "Li Bu is a rare general who uses troops to fight, but the administration and security of the people are worse than you Liu Guangyu. It seems a pity to kill you like Qian Tong."
Liu Guangyu raised his head and said, "Did Your Highness let me see clearly the end of Qian Tong's disobedience?"
Ye Tianling frowned, and Qing Chen said: "Your Highness, what you mean is that he can even use Li Bu so much, let alone you Liu Guangyu? Qian Tong is a corrupt official and has a bad reputation. I can't tolerate him, do you want to compare with him?"
Liu Guangyu was speechless for a while, and then turned his head to look at the city of Dingzhou. After the scuffle last night, there is still some tension everywhere. Although several fires burned military camps, they still spread to nearby residential areas. In addition to cleaning up the defenses, the officers and soldiers of the Xuanjia Army have already begun to help the affected people to repair their houses, or temporarily arrange them to escape the cold elsewhere. Under the sun, a young soldier picked up a child who was crying helplessly, and said something, which made the child laugh out of tears.
Qing Chen was watching this scene with a smile like Liu Guangyu, but Ye Tianling's eyes turned to the inner city, and when he raised it again, he merged with the growing sunlight, shining brightly. Qing Chen turned around and said: "After all, Dingzhou is close to Mobei, so it is necessary to guard against the Turks at this time."
Liu Guangyu said: "Mobei is sealed off by ice and snow. The Turkic people mainly rely on cavalry. Marching on ice and snow is difficult, so wars rarely arise in winter, and they should not take the opportunity to invade."
Qing Chen nodded slightly: "In extreme times, it's better to be cautious. Two lieutenants were killed in the battle in Dingzhou last night. His Royal Highness in the Army will personally arrange for officials in the government office to stay and which ones can't. You have to be careful."
Liu Guangyu's heart was churning. These words meant that he would continue to guard Dingzhou, and he gave him great trust. His eyes hesitated between Dingzhou City and the two people in front of him, and his chest heaved and fluctuated. Qing Chen always smiled slightly, looking at him calmly and freely. Liu Guangyu suddenly sighed, and took a step back to bow down: "Your Highness, Princess, I, Liu Guangyu, am convinced and willing to serve you!"
Ye Tianling was not surprised by his decision: "Go ahead, take over the soldiers who surrendered last night first, and arrange them properly. We will discuss other matters later."
Liu Guangyu bowed again, turned around and stepped back, feeling that sooner or later the war-ridden northern Xinjiang would all fall under King Ling's control before his mysterious way of using troops and his unpredictable art of manipulating people. He even gave birth to An even more astonishing idea, or the whole celestial dynasty will be just like this.