That is Jinxia City.
Gong Sheng stopped his horse with a "hush" and squinted at the gray city not far away. Judging from the security at the top of the city and the flow of people coming and going at the west gate, it is indeed a bit unreasonable. At least he noticed that the lookout posts everywhere were tracking his movements. In less than half a quarter of an hour, there were obviously many more heads shaking on the city wall. According to his previous experience of visiting Jinxia, the government guards would not have such a sharp response, especially since his subordinates had already displayed the Shenzhou military flag, and the other party would not be wary of it.
As the capital of Shenzhou, the number of people entering and exiting Jinxia City is too sparse. It is not a major commercial center, but it is not declining to this extent.
Sure enough, something happened in the city.
"Lord Captain, all the scout horses that have been dispersed are back." Adjutant Lu Honghua approached him on horseback.
"Well, did they find anything?"
"Everything in the surrounding area is safe, and there are no signs of enemy activity, but -" the adjutant lowered his voice, "there are large traces of encampments on the outskirts of the Western Wall. Judging from the scope, it is estimated to be an army of tens of thousands of people."
"Army? Stationed outside Jinxia City?" Gong Sheng glanced at the other party, "Besides us, there is no other army in Shenzhou. Even if they are enemies, they will only choose to stay in the city, and they may run outside the west wall. "
"what do you mean… "
"It should be a camp temporarily used to accommodate refugees who have escaped from the city. The news from the messenger is correct. It seems that Jinxia City has indeed been attacked by pirates."
When the news reached the Shenzhou Army garrison, the commander-in-chief, General Qing, was skeptical at first.
After all, the smoke has not yet risen, and the entire southeast is calm; the informant is also in a panic, with only an oral message and not even the official seal, which is really contrary to common sense.
When the army moves, it will cost money. If he arrives at Jinxia City and finds that it is just a false alarm, won't his name as a general become a joke
However, the attack on the capital was extraordinary and could not be treated as child's play.
Therefore, this task was handed over to Colonel Yang Wei Gong Sheng.
General Qing ordered him to lead a light cavalry force to Jinxia City as soon as possible for support, while the vanguard advanced slowly. If this matter is verified to be true, it will not be too late to dispatch the Chinese army to quell the invaders.
Therefore, these 1,500 Qingqi became the first troops to arrive at the capital of Shenzhou.
"But looking at the condition of this city, it doesn't look like it has been attacked." The adjutant pondered, "Even if the messenger is delayed for a day and a half, it will only be less than three days. When did the local government become so capable? Not only do they have to In dealing with the pirates, he was able to take care of the refugees who fled, and he didn’t forget to clean up the traces of the camp afterwards... I remember that the local governor was purely a civil servant, right?"
"Wouldn't it be better to ask him this question himself?" Gong Sheng said enthusiastically. He didn't want to worry about the refugees. There were at least two things that were certain for now - one was that the West City Gate was still under the control of the government; the other was that pirates really existed. What do you most desire as an officer in the military? Of course it was a military exploit, and suppressing bandits and peaceful bandits was a great achievement. For an army stationed in the hinterland of Daqi, such an opportunity was not common.
He waved his hand to the back, "Let's go into the city!"
"Here!" all the soldiers responded in unison.
…
However, what Gong Sheng never expected was that his team was stopped by the guards at the door.
This is simply unreasonable!
The government sent people to ask for support from the Shenzhou Army. Now that the reinforcements have arrived, they won't let them enter the city
Who gave them this shit!
"Get out of the way!" Gong Sheng shouted? The soldiers who got out of the way retreated to both sides and rode towards the city gate in person? "I am Colonel Yang Wei of the Shenzhou Army? I have been entrusted by the Grand Administrator to come to rescue Jinxia City? Why don't you get out of the way quickly so that the army can pass!"
"Did you hear what the captain said? If you know what's going on, get out of here!" Lu Honghua followed to cheer for her boss.
But the five guards were unmoved.
Are they standing in a row with spears in hand? Blocked the road into the city.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess has an order? Teams of more than thirty people need to be notified first. They can only enter the city after getting permission." One of them said clearly, "My lord, have you seen the tent on your right? Please cooperate with us Register."
"Your Highness the Princess?" Gong Sheng laughed angrily. When did Jinxia City get the princess' turn to speak? Could it be that all the government officials are dead? He raised the long knife? He raised his hand and put the knife edge in front of the opponent? "I'll reiterate it again: I was ordered to rush to help here, and military orders cannot be violated. If you insist on not giving in, then don't blame me for sending you on your way."
"This is an order from Her Royal Highness the Princess, and we are also following orders." The leading guard's expression did not change.
Even in the face of the blade hanging above your head? Gong Sheng secretly calls himself strange? Such soldiers are rare.
But he was the face of the vanguard of the Shenzhou Army, so there was absolutely no reason why he should be stopped by a few guards.
Killing for him? It's nothing more than a simple thing.
Gong Sheng used his arms and slashed at the opponent's head!
"Look at the arrow!"
With a slight scolding, a flying arrow shot out from the city and hit Gong Sheng's chest -
The arrow was extremely fast and extremely powerful. Even if he was wearing armor, he would probably be injured if he was shot.
"Hey, how brave!" Gong Sheng had to take back his long knife and block it in his chest. There was only a clang sound, the arrow broke immediately when it hit the blade, and there was a numbness in the palm of his hand.
What a strength!
"How dare you plot against the dignified Captain Daqi, everyone, draw your swords!" the adjutant shouted, and was about to lead the team to break through the city gate, but the archer's next scolding made her hesitate -
"Her Royal Highness Princess Guangping is here, who dares to make a mistake!?"
"Your Highness... is here?" Not only Lu Honghua, but also the cavalry under her hands were excited.
At this time, the guards guarding the city gate slowly retreated inside the gate and gave way to the main road.
I saw a young woman riding a tall horse, wearing a red robe and white silk, escorted by a group of black-clad alchemists, walking slowly to Gong Sheng.
After learning the news that the Shenzhou Army was approaching, Ning Wanjun immediately made countermeasures. On the one hand, she asked Xia Fan to negotiate with Wang Yi'an. On the other hand, she put on her military uniform, crossed the inland river, and entered the city from the north gate first, trying to catch up. Before the Shenzhou army could pass through the west city wall, they blocked it at the city gate.
Is this the Princess of Guangping who was enfeoffed here
Gong Sheng looked at her for a while, then hesitantly put down his long sword, cupped his hands towards the woman and said, "I have met Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will forgive me if I have caused any offense. But why did Your Highness stop me?" There is a military order, and we must immediately—"
"Meet with the government immediately to discuss strategies to suppress the bandits?" Ning Wanjun said calmly, "You are too late. Most of the invading pirates were wiped out two days ago, and the remaining small number of rogue bandits are still being pursued. This is also Why did I set up a checkpoint at the city gate? As for the prefect and others you wanted to see, unfortunately they were killed in this bandit disaster."
"What...what did you say?" Gong Sheng was so surprised that he couldn't believe his ears. The prefect...is dead? "What about the other officials?"
"There are few survivors above level six."
There was a roar in Gong Sheng's head. Doesn't this mean that the entire government of Jinxia City has been eradicated
He felt a chill coming from behind him. If this news reached Gyeonggi, the court would be shaken by it!
No, that's not right... If such a big mess really happened, how could Jinxia City still be safe and sound? A bandit disaster that could kill all the chief officials of a city should be considered a riot-level disaster at least, but the situation in the city does not seem to be the case.
"Your Highness, this matter is of great importance, I must confirm this matter!"
"Of course, we can go to Jinxia Mansion to discuss it in detail." Ning Wanjun nodded, "But you can only bring a few people into the city."
"What's the meaning of this?" Gong Sheng immediately protested, "They followed me all the way to help Jinxia, and they need to rest and recuperate. You can't let them stay outside the city, right?"
"Rest and recuperate?" Ning Wanjun's voice became lowered, "You really don't know what will happen when an army that has been stationed in the suburbs for a long time enters the city? Don't forget that the royal family of Qi Kingdom once had experience in the border army. Now The people of the city have just experienced a turmoil, and I don’t want them to suffer another round of harassment. You—understand what I mean?”
The two were in a stalemate for a while before Gong Sheng had to choose to give in. Although this move would cause some dissatisfaction among his men, for him, figuring out everything that happened in Jinxia City as soon as possible was the most important thing at the moment.
After whispering a few words to a personal guard, he led his adjutant and ten subordinates alone and followed the princess into Jinxia City.