Xie Xuanchen said lightly, but he stayed with Mu Mingtang for a while, and left after dark.
Any victory is not easy to come by, and so does the God of War, which has long held its name.
Mu Mingtang waited for a while, but couldn't bear to fall asleep. In the middle of the night, I vaguely heard movement around me, and when I woke up the next day, I found myself in a different place and moved into the bed.
Xie Xuanchen came back last night, but left again early in the morning.
For the next few days, he went out early and returned late like this. The Zhao family was very afraid of Xie Xuanchen, but after a few days, the Zhao family saw Xie Xuanchen running back every day, and as soon as he came back, he went to talk to his wife, which was no different from folk men. After they got used to it, they felt that Xie Xuanchen was not as scary as rumored.
Zhao Niang came to send Mu Mingtang the buttermilk she made at home, and couldn't help complaining to Mu Mingtang: "It's all to blame for the Khitan people who have been killed these days, and it will soon be the day of offering sacrifices to the river, because they can't do it well either. "
Qinghe Town relies on the river to eat the river, and it is very important to worship the river every spring. In their view, this matter is related to the water transportation for the next whole year, which is more serious than the New Year.
Mu Mingtang had never heard of this festival, so he had to ask a few more questions. She and Zhao Niang were talking when suddenly she heard the maid calling from outside the door: "The lord is back."
The maid's voice fell, and Xie Xuanchen had already opened the bead curtain and walked in. When Zhao Niang saw Xie Xuanchen coming back, she stood up immediately and was about to retire.
Xie Xuanchen didn't care too much about Zhao Niang. He didn't have time for the past few days. He was afraid that Mu Mingtang would be bored alone, so he asked more of the female relatives of the Zhao family to talk to Mu Mingtang. When Xie Xuanchen entered the door, he vaguely heard what Mu Mingtang said was a pity, and asked, "What were you talking about just now, what is a pity?"
Mu Mingtang stood up and took off his cloak and said, "It's nothing, Mother Zhao told me about offering sacrifices to the river. I heard that offering sacrifices is related to a year's safety and harvest, but now because of the war, I can't do it, I feel a little pity. ."
Xie Xuanchen heard that his eyes moved, he stood on the ground and thought for a while, and said, "I can't do it."
"Um?"
Xie Xuanchen suddenly put his arms around Mu Mingtang's shoulder, and said with a little guilt: "I have to go out again, I can't accompany you anymore, you stay by yourself for a while, I'll be right back."
Mu Mingtang didn't know what Xie Xuanchen thought, but it wasn't a big deal for her to wait a little longer, and the business outside Xie Xuanchen was more important. She arranged the cloak for Xie Xuanchen again and sent him out in person.
Xie Xuanchen didn't know what he said to the principal of Qinghe Town that day, but the next day, the town prepared for the sacrifice, and collected firecrackers and fireworks from various households.
Mu Mingtang didn't know what Xie Xuanchen wanted to do. Qinghe Town really looked like a festive look. Even a bonfire was lit at night, and the gunfire and the noise could be heard from far away. Because the army is overwhelmed, there are dark holes everywhere at night, and they light a bonfire here, which is particularly conspicuous at night.
On the other side of the river, the guards followed Yelu's fuselage and looked at the opposite side puzzled: "The war is about to start, the Han people are not busy preparing to resist, but they even set fire to celebrate? What are they doing?"
Yeluji put down the telescope and asked, "Is there any festival for the Han people recently?"
The North Rong army advanced to the river, and naturally captured many Han people who knew the two languages to lead the way. The subordinates asked those Han spies, and when they came back, they said: "King Dongdan, those Han people said that this is a river sacrifice. I pray that the river gods will not be angry and flood the river this year."
Yeluji clearly showed incomprehension after hearing this: "We've all hit here, they still have the heart to sacrifice the river? It's better for them to beg the river god than to beg me. This year, the Yellow River will become my Dayong's territory, the mere river god, How can you bear me?"
The Khitan people present laughed loudly after hearing this: "King Dongdan said that this place is only ten miles away from the imperial court of the Ye Kingdom, and the Han people can't even keep their emperor, so what's the use of begging the river god?"
Yeluji laughed loudly, he looked at the frozen river in front of him, and his heart was agitated, he pulled out his knife and pointed to the opposite bank: "I heard that the Ye Dynasty sent their most capable warlord King Qiyang to fight, now it seems that he is just a cowardly Rat, it’s nothing more than a sheep that prays to God and worships Buddha. Send the order, and cross the river tomorrow, I want people in the world to take a good look at it, even if there is a god, I can’t stop this king!”
The sacrifice river in Qinghe Town was lively for two days. On the third day, Mu Mingtang was suddenly awakened from his sleep. A horn sounded in the distance, and the Beirong people had crossed the river.
Mu Mingtang was suddenly drowsy, and panicked cries were also heard outside. All the maids crowded over, their faces turned pale with fright, and their hands and feet were cold: "Princess, the Beirong people have crossed the river. There are 100,000 people, and the lord only brought 8,000, what should I do?"
Such a scene happened when Mu Mingtang was twelve years old. At that time, she was so scared that she couldn't stop crying. Now there are more foreign enemies and the distance is closer, but Mu Mingtang found that she was not afraid at all.
Maybe it was because, from the very beginning, she knew Xie Xuanchen was there.
Mu Mingtang was still very calm, and said, "Why are you crying? There's nothing to panic when the lord is here. Go outside and close the doors and windows, keep an eye on our belongings, and restrict others to stay in the yard. Don't go out without my order. If anyone dares to go out and run around, regardless of their status, they will be punished for thirty.”
The maids were frightened by Mu Mingtang's call, and hurried out to communicate. I was still in a panic just now, but now they are strictly restrained by Mu Mingtang, the maids are not panicked.
The atmosphere of the palace also spread to other people, and other people in Qinghe Town were flustered, but when they saw that King Qiyang's own family members were staying in the house, what were they running? If something really happened, wouldn't the princess be better informed than them
Everyone was relieved, and they followed Mu Mingtang's example, closing the doors and windows, and the whole family waited together.
At this moment on the glacier, Yeluji was leading the crowd across the river. The marchers are very serious about natural danger, let alone such a big river. If the river does not freeze, or if they get lost in the middle, it will be a disaster. Yeluji took the local people very cautiously, and sent several passers-by to explore the way. After confirming that there were no more problems, he launched the charge today.
In order to disperse the pressure, Yeluji also wanted to show off his strong military strength, and let the 100,000-strong platoon grow into a long row, which looked like a million heroes.
The forbidden army displayed on the other side of the river really showed a look of horror, and even a few deputy commanders were implicitly worried.
With a crowd of 100,000 people, the Beirong people have always fought bravely. How should we fight this battle? Xie Xuanchen didn't seem to be in a hurry. He held the reins and watched the Beirong people step by step across the middle of the river, getting closer and closer to the river bank.
The deputy commander panicked, looked at Xie Xuanchen frequently, tried to speak again and again, but was suppressed by Xie Xuanchen's silent momentum. Later, one person couldn't help it and asked, "My lord, are we still moving?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a water column suddenly rushed up on the river surface, Xie Xuanchen's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he arrived.
He didn't say a word, just restrained his horse, and everyone in front of him looked at him quietly and nervously. Xie Xuanchen walked to the front of the formation, raised his hand, and said, "Prepare the arrow formation in the middle, draw the bow..."
His palm sank sharply, pointing directly at the Beirong army in chaos in the middle of the river: "Release the arrow!"
When Yeluji took people across the river, he was careful in the first half, beware of Xie Xuanchen's actions. But until halfway through the journey, there was no movement from the opposite side.
Yeluji was relieved and guessed that Xie Xuanchen wanted to wait until they completely crossed the river and the formation was out of order. Yeluji laughed disdainfully, this is the God of War of the Ye Dynasty, this is the character known as the border of the Ye Dynasty walking, but that's all.
Yelu had the will to fight, raised his sword and shouted in the Khitan language: "Khitan warriors, the most prosperous capital of the Ye Dynasty is not far away, rush forward, grab their food and treasure, and go back to help us. Affected parents, siblings!"
When the soldiers heard Yeluji's words, their mood was surging, and they all shouted and ran forward. One of them stepped on the ice layer, and suddenly the whole piece of ice shattered and fell, and he also fell into the ice hole.
In winter, the water under the ice is very cold, and the soldiers who fell into the water were stunned and tried their best to climb up. But in this moment of effort, he couldn't find the ice hole just now.
He was trapped under the ice and frantically patted the ice above his head, but this winter was extremely cold and the ice was so solid that he could not find an exit to float up. The other soldiers above were also frightened by this change. They saw their companions calling for help under the ice, chopping the ice under their feet, trying to save their companions. But the ice is indestructible. The man under the ice was carried by the current and floated here and there. Every soldier was knocking on the ice hard, but before they could smash a hole, the man under the ice was already there. Because he couldn't breathe, he was suffocated to death.
Many soldiers watched helplessly as their companions slapped the ice and called for help. They finally exhausted their breath and were suffocated to death in front of their eyes, covered in purple and falling into the dark water.
He died in agony before their eyes, all in the blink of an eye.
This caused a great impact on the hearts of the Khitan soldiers, and at this moment, the sound of falling water came from their ears.
For a time, there were shouts and cries all over the ice. Yeluji found out that the situation was not right. It was a big taboo for the army to be in chaos before the battle. Before he could reorganize the team, a rain of arrows suddenly flew across the sky and covered the ground.
The Beirong soldiers were stunned by the accident just now. During the push and shove, more and more ice caves were trampled and collapsed, and more and more people fell into the ice water unsuspectingly, crying and shouting loudly.
Yeluji finally understood why Xie Xuanchen stayed on the other side of the river, because he secretly cut out a hole in the ice, leaving only the last layer before it fell. Usually, the connection between the ice layers cannot be seen. Adult men, immediately trampled down.
The people who died from falling into the ice water were insignificant to the 100,000 people in Beirong, but the panic caused in the team was the real purpose of Xie Xuanchen. What was fighting in front of the battle was the military's heart. When the military's heart was chaotic, the battle was already lost.
Even Xie Xuanchen deliberately lit a bonfire a few days ago, not really sacrificing the river, but to paralyze the Beirong people.
Yeluji realized that he underestimated the enemy, and he shouted loudly, trying to stabilize the soldiers. Now that you have seen through Xie Xuanchen's trick, the next step is simple. Xie Xuanchen's people will definitely leave traces in the ice. At first, if they didn't pay attention, they would step on the air with one foot.
Yeluji had great prestige in Beirong, and his voice was loud and he spoke the Khitan language, and he quickly gathered a group of people. Seeing that more and more people were leaning in the direction of Yeluji, Xie Xuanchen changed his gesture, and the commanders of several square formations immediately changed their flags and waved them vigorously.
The commander changed the flag, and the soldiers in the phalanx changed to another type of arrows as they had been trained a few days ago. These arrows are tied with special paintballs, which are used for acrobatic performances in Tokyo City. The arrows fly out and pull out long colored smoke, the red and green are spectacular. Some arrows were tied with firecrackers and water bombs. This wave of arrows was shot out, and the ice surface immediately burst into a pile, colorful and very lively.
Yeluji was halfway through shouting, but was suddenly covered up by all kinds of shells. The most hateful thing is the colored smoke, not to mention the choking, the smoke is so great that it is almost impossible to see the road ahead.
Yeluji retreated under the cover of his personal guards, and he scolded: "The Han people are treacherous! When did they develop such weapons, and they even pretended to make peace with Da Rong last year! Despicable and treacherous!"
A few days ago, everyone in the Tianchao Hall was still scolding the Beirong people for breaking their promises and tearing up the contract. If these adults heard Yeluji, I don't know how they would feel.
Xie Xuanchen took a paintball in his hand and played with it, and said, "During the Dragon Boat Festival, the emperor played with water in Jinming Pool. At that time, I thought this kind of paintball was very useful. It's a pity to perform for the female family members of the palace."
Last year, Yeluyan came to Tokyo to discuss peace on the Dragon Boat Festival. The emperor held a banquet in Jinming Pond and performed a grand water show. It was in water play, Xie Xuanchen took a fancy to this kind of thing, he thought at that time, if it can be applied in military combat, the effect should be very good.
Some people see peace in singing and dancing, and some people see infinite opportunities.
After Xie Xuanchen finished speaking, he tied the paintball to the arrow, and then pulled the bow to wind it, and the bowstring was almost stretched into a full moon.
He took aim and let go of it suddenly, the bowstring vibrated with a sharp piercing sound, and the arrow shot out even more. It flew out of the air and drew an arc, hitting Yelu Ji's back.
Yeluji groaned, and the guard hurriedly shouted, "King Dongdan!"
"Don't make a fuss!" Yeluji shouted, and then he endured the pain and broke the arrow shaft left outside himself, saying, "They can't last long with these tricks alone, rush, rush to the river bank and we will win."
"Yes."
Yeluji's idea was right, but now he was surrounded by colorful smoke, and people outside couldn't see him, and for Ye Jun on the other side of the river, Yeluji was a living target.
The deputy commander shouted in each square: "The Yelu machine is in the yellow smoke, where is the yellow smoke, where is he!"
The rain of arrows suddenly dense, Yeluji was crushed by the arrows and could not lift his head, Xie Xuanchen saw that Yeluji had been completely entangled, and said to the deputy commander: "You stay here and stare at him, don't let him emerge. I will take him. With the right army cut off their east route."
"My lord!"
"It doesn't matter." Xie Xuanchen reined in his horse, and suddenly ran out of the front of the battle, "There is only one person in the world who can hurt me, and now he is still waiting for me at home."
The 8,000 forbidden troops were divided into three lanes, left, center, and right, with 4,000 troops in the center, with shields and arrows in the center to intercept the Yelu machine. The left and right roads were ambushed on the side of the road, and they rushed out to intercept the Beirong people as soon as they got the signal.
Xie Xuanchen personally led the right army to charge, Xie Xuanchen led the cavalry to charge in front, and the infantry followed behind. The cavalry's hooves were covered with cotton cloth so that they would not slip on the ice.
Although Yeluji brought 100,000 people, all of these 100,000 people were commanded by Yeluji alone. Previously, in order to show off his military might, Yeluji deliberately made everyone line up to cross the river, stretching for several miles. It seems that there are indeed a lot of people and a dark cloud over the top, but because of the long east-west front, the exchange of news is also very slow.
There was obviously a problem in the middle route led by Yeluji. The east and west flanks were unknown, so they didn't know what happened, and were suddenly scattered by the cavalry. The Beirong front was drawn so long that it was cut into pieces as soon as they were charged by the cavalry. They lost their command in the middle and panicked. Then, the Ye Chao cavalry formed a circle and took advantage of their height to harvest the heads.
The North Rong East Wing completely fell into a state of loss of contact. During the period, the idea of gathering was a little bit, and it was scattered by the cavalry of the Ye Dynasty. Xie Xuanchen also sent someone to shout the news of Yeluji's death in Khitan language. Beirong soldiers did not know the truth and panicked, and their confidence collapsed when they were beaten by the elusive cavalry of Ye Chao, and they were soon completely defeated.
Only a few people died from falling into the water and arrows, and the two flanks that were strangled by Xie Xuanchen in a heart-to-heart battle were the major casualties.
Yeluji learned that the east and west wings had lost contact, and was so angry that she vomited blood. Seeing the shock, the guards shouted "Dongdan King". Yeluji knew that he was completely defeated in this battle, and shouted angrily: "Mingjin withdraw his troops!"
This time, Guan Ming had a particularly fun fight. He had been in the Imperial Army for several years, and he had never been so excited and happy like today. His face was covered in blood, and the horse was too tired to run. He got off his horse and saw a full sun sloping westward, and the Beirong people who were still alive in the morning hurriedly withdrew.
A fellow countryman saw him and came to him on horseback: "Guan Ming, how many people did you kill today?"
"Twenty-five." Guan Ming was extremely proud, and his fellow villagers also showed admiration when they heard it: "Amazing, I'm only twenty-one, I'm ashamed."
After the two of them finished talking, they looked at each other and laughed. The Ye Dynasty's military was notoriously vulnerable. It had always been suppressed by Beirong, and even Xixia dared to look down on Ye Dynasty. Who would have thought that one day, they would be able to breathe a sigh of relief in the war with the Beirong people.
After Guan Ming finished laughing, he saw a man coming on horseback from a distance. He hurriedly grabbed a hand from his fellow villager. The two stood on the side of the road together, and respectfully saluted the person who came: "His Royal Highness King Qiyang."
Xie Xuanchen naturally ignored the two little captains on the side of the road. The commander of the Right Army is now following Xie Xuanchen's side and asking, "My lord, Yeluji was injured and evacuated in embarrassment. Are we going to pursue the victory?"
"Don't chase after poor thieves." Xie Xuanchen's expression was light, his face was clean and indifferent, in stark contrast to the almost blood-stained warhorse under his seat, "It's not safe on the ice, maybe there are still holes in the ice that haven't been found, if If the horse's leg is broken, the loss is far greater than killing a few Beirong people. There is no need to chase, let someone tidy up the battlefield, take off all the armor and weapons, and return to the camp."
"Yes!"
Xie Xuanchen and the commander talked and walked away. After Xie Xuanchen's back was gone, Guan Ming and his fellow villagers just breathed again. The fellow bumped into Guan Ming's arm and asked in a low voice, "King Qiyang... how many people did he kill?"
Guan Ming shook his head, feeling sorry for his fellow villagers, but also felt understandable: "Can't say?"
"No." Guan Ming said slowly, "I don't know. There are too many, let alone numbers, I can't even estimate them."
All day today, Qinghe Town could not live in peace.
No one from each household dared to go out, waiting anxiously for the sickle to fall. Mu Mingtang was frightened just thinking about it, she didn't dare to look, but she couldn't help listening to the movement outside.
At first, it was the screaming and killing of Beirong people. The voice was rude and I couldn't understand what was said. I thought it was Khitan language. Then suddenly there were all kinds of gunshots outside, and then there was another scream of killing.
Listen to the sound, like it's on their side.
At first, no one dared to go out. Later, the daring and noisy boys secretly went out to watch, and then the young and strong men followed out. In the end, Zhao Xiangshen, Zhao Niang, couldn't help but go out.
The maid followed the Zhao family out to inquire about the news, and when she came back, she was full of joy: "Princess, I heard that the lord shot and injured some king of Beirong. They can't win, and many people have died."
Mu Mingtang was surprised and couldn't help standing up from his seat: "Really?"
"really."
Before Mu Mingtang had time to ask in detail, he suddenly heard a low and dull sound of gold ringing from outside. Mu Mingtang was taken aback and hurried out to see.
At this moment, the streets and alleys are full of beaming people, and everyone is talking to each other: "The Beirong people have retreated!"
Some people started to cry while talking, crying and laughing, very excited. Not only him, but most of the other people on the street behave like this.
Yeluji withdrew, and they won their first battle.
Mu Mingtang reassured her heart and brought it up again. She hurriedly asked the maid who had just inquired about the news: "Where's the prince? Are there any injuries?"
The maid shook her head, she also heard from others, how could she know the details of the battlefield. Mu Mingtang raised his eyes to the end of the street, and could only endure the worry and wait.
Xie Xuanchen didn't come back until very late. As soon as Mu Mingtang heard voices in the yard, he immediately dropped what was in his hand and ran out the door. Xie Xuanchen was instructing to feed the horse, when he turned around and saw Mu Mingtang, he immediately smiled.
When Mu Mingtang saw that he was standing in front of him with all his head and tail, he felt that his heart had fallen back to the truth. Tears welled up in her eyes, and regardless of the people outside, she immediately rushed into Xie Xuanchen's arms: "Why did you come back? Are you injured?"
"No." Xie Xuanchen stretched out his hand to catch Mu Mingtang steadily, and took her in his arms naturally, "It took a long time to count the number of people, so I came back late. Next time I will have someone tell you that I will not let You wait."
As Xie Xuanchen said, he gestured to the people behind him with his eyes. Do you have any eyesight and what are you doing
A few people followed the interest, quietly retired, and took the horse away when they left.
When the prince and the princess talk, let alone people, not even animals can stay.
Xie Xuanchen used his eyes to scare away unimportant people. His eyes were fierce, but his tone to Mu Mingtang was still gentle: "It's alright, I won't be hurt, don't believe you go in the house to check?"
Xie Xuanchen brought Mu Mingtang back to the house. At this moment, the maid was long gone, and only the two of them were left in the house. After Mu Mingtang returned to the house, he felt emotional, like a child.
She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, a little embarrassed: "Who wants to check you."
Xie Xuanchen was a little disappointed in his heart, but he was actually looking forward to it. But Mu Mingtang just coaxed him. He pulled Mu Mingtang to sit on his lap and asked, "Did I frighten you today? It's because I was too selfish and wanted to keep you by my side. You didn't need it. endure these."
Mu Mingtang shook his head: "No, I'm more worried if I can't see you. Have you eaten yet?"
Xie Xuanchen nodded: "I ate it in the barracks." After he finished speaking, he felt wrong, and his eyebrows moved: "You haven't eaten yet?"
"Wait for you. If you don't come back, I can't eat it."
"Nonsense!" Xie Xuanchen was really angry this time, "You still have days like this in the future, do you starve yourself like this every time? Do you want to toss yourself or to toss me?"
Even though he said so, he still immediately let people cook. This time Xie Xuanchen was angry and must punish Mu Mingtang, saying, "If you don't punish you, you won't have a long memory. I'll feed you this time, don't be picky eaters, eat them all."
Of course, Mu Mingtang refused. She was so old, how could she be fed by others? But this time Xie Xuanchen refused to let her in anyway, Mu Mingtang had no choice but to be fed by Xie Xuanchen.
Mu Mingtang was trapped on his lap and was forced to feed. Later, Xie Xuanchen looked hungry and snatched a lot of food from her mouth. Mu Mingtang ate the most difficult meal in history, and then she couldn't eat anymore, so she lied: "I won't eat, my stomach is full."
Xie Xuanchen immediately verified it with his own hands. Seeing that Mu Mingtang really couldn't eat it, he reluctantly let her go: "Okay. I'll remember it for you this time, and continue after half the punishment is left."
Xie Xuanchen let go reluctantly, and Mu Mingtang jumped up as soon as he was free. Xie Xuanchen's arms were suddenly empty, quite reluctant.
Mu Mingtang covered his stomach to digest food in the room, hiding away from Xie Xuanchen. After a while, she came over timidly: "Why did you change your clothes?"
Xie Xuanchen looked down and said, "Oh, when I just came down from the battlefield, my clothes were stained with blood. I didn't want to bring these things back to hit you. I just came back after taking a shower in the camp."
Mu Mingtang responded, suddenly his little finger hooked on Xie Xuanchen's sleeve, and gently tugged: "Didn't you say let me check."
Xie Xuanchen didn't react for a while: "Huh?"
Under the light, Mu Mingtang's skin is as delicate as porcelain, looking forward to radiance. She was a little embarrassed, but she still grabbed Xie Xuanchen's sleeve, and her eyes seemed to have a smile: "You said you were not injured, I don't believe it. There is no evidence, I want to check."