eighty two
Three days later, Xiao Weixin once again led his troops in a fierce battle with the rebels in Chaizhou, but the situation this time was somewhat different from before.
First, the rebels were obviously not united internally, and they lost a lot in terms of morale. Second, some of the soldiers who charged into battle refused to cooperate with the military advisor's command. The battlefield was so chaotic that it looked like a temporary team put together temporarily, and they made mistakes frequently and gave away heads to the other side.
The most crucial thing is that Liu Tiezhu, as the leader of the rebels, openly turned against the army at this critical moment and surrendered to Xiao Weixin with thousands of his men, without discussing it with the military advisor in advance, which almost caught the military advisor off guard.
But even so, this battle was not too easy. After all, the opponent had superior numbers and strength, and it was not easy for them to win by fighting one against two. Even though the leader Liu Tiezhu had rebelled, the prestige of the military advisor was still there. After all, most of the soldiers were brought by him and were very obedient.
Xiao Weijing was previously locked in a cage in the enemy camp. While no one was paying attention to him during the war, he slipped into the military advisor's tent and found a lot of evidence of collusion with the Western Rong, while Ying Qi burned the rebels' grain warehouse. After doing all this, the two of them swaggered out of the enemy camp through the back door, and they felt happy when they saw the raging fire behind them.
The war lasted until the fifth day and was almost over. Xiao Weixin wanted to capture the culprit, the military advisor, but he didn't expect that he still had some backbone. Seeing that the defeat was inevitable, he decisively drew his sword and committed suicide in front of the battle. After his death, the remaining soldiers were just lingering on, roaming around like ants without a leader, and were easily suppressed by Xiao Weixin.
When we were counting the remnants, the deputy general came to report that 40,000 rebels had surrendered, and there were less than 30,000 people left on our side.
They brought 50,000 people with them when they left the city, but when they returned, they had less than 30,000 people, which shows how difficult the battle was, but they still won in the end.
Although Xiao Weixin regretted not being able to capture the military advisor alive, he sneered after reading the letter that Xiao Weijing took out of the tent: "No wonder Xia Maoan dared to take advantage of this rebellion. It turns out that he had already discussed it with the King of Xirong."
"His ambition can no longer be hidden."
"Unfortunately, this doesn't prove anything." Xiao Weijing sighed, "It would be fine if the military advisor surnamed Chen was still alive, but once he's dead, these letters can't be used to identify Xia Maoan, and that old sly guy can get away at any time."
"It's impossible to bring him down in one fell swoop." Xiao Weixin handed the letters to Xiao Weijing, "You keep these items and take them back to show Xiao Weishen. His good uncle has already made up his mind to kill him. He will know what to do in the future."
Xiao Weijing nodded and obediently put away the letters. After a battle, Xiao Weixin asked the army to rest for two days, planning to return to the capital after everything was packed up.
But before they had time to pass on the news of victory, bad news came from the capital.
You Shu saw that Xiao Weixin had been gloomy since he read the letter in the bamboo tube handed to him by Kingfisher. He also felt a little uneasy and asked him quickly: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Weixin's face turned pale and he said in a cold voice: "Xiao Weishen... it's not a pity for him to die!"
Seeing him so furious, You Shu hurriedly took the note and took a closer look. It was the handwriting of Mr. Yingshou, but the short number was thrilling to read.
It turned out that the new Khan of Xirong who had just come to power a few days ago had somehow started to send troops to the border again. He brought 100,000 soldiers and horses to kill the old general guarding Lizhou, and then hung his head high outside the city. Then he captured two border cities in succession, clamoring for the emperor of the Central Plains to send troops, otherwise he would kill all the people and animals in the remaining five cities on the border.
Expedited reports were delivered to the palace one after another. Xiao Weishen was a little angry at first and wanted to hold on to the remaining cities on the border. But Prime Minister Xia jumped out to persuade him not to be impulsive. The Western Rong just wanted a few cities on the border. Now the country has been hit by disasters for years and the people are living in poverty. They have just reduced the military power of General Yang, and they can't let go of the military power that they have finally recovered.
We must not call the Yang family back at this time, otherwise it will be even more difficult to end up in the future. Moreover, the rebels in Huzhou have not been completely wiped out, and the court does not have enough troops. What can it use to fight the Western Rong
After these high-sounding reasons were put forward one by one, Xiao Weishen, who was already a bit cowardly and greedy for life, gave up the idea and no longer mentioned sending troops to fight. This was tantamount to tacitly agreeing to hand over the last five remaining cities on the border. In order to prevent those generals from having a chance to resist, he deliberately dismissed the morning court, refused to attend court for several days, and did not see anyone.
General Yang was so anxious that he took Yang Qixian to the palace for a meeting overnight, but was cruelly rejected. In order to show his determination to fight, Yang and his son knelt outside the palace together and requested to send troops. Unfortunately, it rained continuously those days. Yang and his son knelt in the rain in an embarrassed state, and the old general almost fell to death in front of the palace gate.
But after kneeling for three days and three nights, Xiao Weishen didn't even open the door of his bedroom, which made it clear that he had no intention of changing his mind.
Finally, General Yang fainted on the ground due to old age and exhaustion, and only a little palace maid secretly held an umbrella for him.
On the morning of the fourth day, Yang Qixian, who had been kneeling on the ground in silence, carried his father out of the palace alone without saying another word.
How many people sighed, the Yang family was so loyal and brave, and the emperor was really so cruel.
You Shu hadn't expected that this plot would be moved forward two years. He was caught off guard and inevitably panicked. "There are still tens of thousands of people in the five border cities. Could it be that they are all..."
Xiao Weixin calmed down, turned around and said to Xiao Weijing who had also started to curse, "Let's return immediately, the sooner the better, and get back before that idiot Xiao Weishen makes the final decision!"
"Okay." Xiao Weijing nodded, "I'll go take inventory right away, and we'll set off this afternoon."
After Xiao Weijing left, You Shu hesitated for a while, but still said, "Can you wait a moment? We still have some things to deal with."
Xiao Weixin knew what he was talking about. Although the current urgent matter could not be delayed, the poppy issue would become a big worry sooner or later if it was not dealt with. He thought for a while and said, "Okay, I'll go with you."
The army began to return in the afternoon. Xiao Weixin originally wanted Xiao Weijing to lead the army back to Beijing first, and he and You Shu would handle the matter alone and rush over later, but Xiao Weijing insisted on not doing so, so Xiao Weixin could only let his deputy general lead the troops back first.
The three of them led nearly several hundred people towards the sea of flowers in You Shu's memory. As the mountain road was difficult to walk on, they could not bring too many people in. Xiao Weixin got off his horse and followed You Shu down personally, with Xiao Weijing following closely behind.
When they saw the vast sea of poppy flowers with their own eyes, Xiao Weixin and Xiao Weijing were stunned. Fortunately, You Shu reminded them to cover their mouths and noses. All the soldiers who came down tied thick cloth in front of their faces as masks to block out the strong fragrance.
"How do we burn it?" Xiao Weijing looked at You Shu, "Will this thing be useful if it burns?"
You Shu had someone bring a large amount of lime powder in advance, and Xiao Weixin ordered his men to start acting immediately. With more people, the process could be handled quickly. You Shu saw the red flowers falling down in groups, and it was as if the huge stone in his heart was also broken. He breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, many strong men with knives suddenly emerged from nowhere and surrounded them in an instant. You Shu's expression changed and he immediately stood in front of Xiao Weixin. Those people were wearing foreign clothes and did not look like people from the Central Plains.
You Shu finally figured out where the poppy came from. No wonder something that couldn't be found in the Central Plains appeared here. It must have been the work of the Xirong people.
"Go!" You Shu shouted to Xiao Weixin.
Xiao Weixin drew the long sword from his waist and ignored him. They only brought a hundred or so people with them, but there were more Western Rong barbarians surrounding them. They could only fight and retreat, and many were killed and injured along the way.
You Shu looked at the dwindling number of guards, and then at the Western Rong soldiers whose number was several times greater than his own, and knew that this was going to be disastrous. He had never expected that the Western Rong people would be involved in this matter, and this plot did not exist in the original novel.
Xiao Weixin's robe was stained with blood, and Xiao Weijing, who was still fighting with a sword not far away, was so exhausted that he could hardly stand. Who could have thought that there would be so many Western Rong soldiers hiding in the Central Plains? Their limited manpower was simply not enough.
You Shu was almost fighting ten people at once, and his body was already covered with countless sword and knife wounds, but he didn't care about his injuries. He only thought about how to help Xiao Weixin escape.
While the guards could still resist for a while, You Shu pulled Xiao Weixin over and said anxiously: "Go first, it's too dangerous here!"
"I'm not leaving." Xiao Weixin replied coldly, "I will never abandon you."
You Shu shook his head and said seriously, "I'll be fine, don't worry."
Xiao Weixin didn't believe it at all. The enemy's aggressive approach showed that they were well prepared. He said bitterly, "It seems that there is indeed a traitor in the army. Otherwise, our tracks would not have been discovered. These people have already ambushed here."
You Shu thought of the soldier who seemed a little strange again, and knew it was too late to say anything now, so he could only urge him: "It's useless to think about these things now, just listen to me and leave quickly!"
"Our people can still hold on for a while. If you don't take advantage of this opportunity, it will be too late!"
"Then come with me." Xiao Weixin pulled his arm.
You Shu shook his head and refused: "I can't leave yet. They can't hold out for long. I can buy you some time if I stay."
"Go quickly, I'll come find you later."
Xiao Weixin still refused. He knew that Xiao Shu was talking nonsense. No matter how capable he was, he couldn't defeat so many people by himself.
Seeing that he still refused to cooperate, You Shu suddenly grabbed his hand and said sullenly: "Xiao Weixin, listen to me."
This was the first time he called out his full name, and Xiao Weixin was stunned for a moment.
"I have always listened to you, but you have to listen to me this time." You Shu whispered, "As the chosen one, you will definitely be able to return alive, so don't worry."
"When you go back, if... I don't go back, remember to go to my room and take a look. There is an iron box under my bed. It's the one you saw."
“That’s where all my secrets are.”
"Burn it when you're done reading it."
You Shu said this, and pushed him out cruelly: "I have worked hard for so many years, and I am counting on you to get a promotion and a raise. You better not die!"
Xiao Weixin was caught off guard by his push and almost bumped into Xiao Weijing.
You Shu didn't even look back at him. He charged into the crowd with his sword in hand, killing people in all directions like a ferocious wild lion, and led the Western Rong barbarians to retreat while hacking and killing.
He tried his best to attract fire, intending to die together with these guys.
You Shu's body was covered in blood, but he didn't feel sad. He had known for a long time that he might really die one day.
It was for the prince before, and now it is for the person he likes.
It sounds really cool for a man to have the opportunity to die fighting for the one he loves.
Xiao Weixin discovered his intention, and he wanted to rush over here with a look of horror, but the enemies surrounding him didn't give him any chance and his arm was scratched.
At this moment, the appearance of Nasu Tu was like heavenly music to everyone.
But it was too late for You Shu. He twisted the neck of the last person and pulled the last few people down the cliff behind him.
Su Tu's men quickly controlled the situation, but Xiao Weixin had no time to care about himself. He tried his best to grab You Shu's clothes, but he could only see a falling afterimage.
The muddy water of the Yellow River flows endlessly eastward, and nothing that falls into it will ever leave a trace.