The person is missing
Song Huai's body swayed and he almost fell off his horse.
The guard at the door came up and helped him carefully off the horse.
"Why is she missing? Who let her go?" Song Huai got off the horse, grasped the whip and asked in a deep voice.
The steward paused, and said in a slightly strange voice: "My Lord, no one let her go. The door was locked, the window was closed, and she disappeared inexplicably."
Song Huai was so angry after hearing this that he whipped him on the back with a horsewhip.
"In broad daylight, in the open air, a living person was locked in a room and disappeared just like that. Are you telling me a ghost story?"
The chief steward cried out in pain and fell to the ground, his face pressed to the ground as he said in panic, "Prince, calm down. I, your servant, don't know what's going on. Zhu'er just served breakfast a moment ago and went to the kitchen to deliver the dishes. When she came back, she was gone. The door lock was intact, the windows were intact, and there were guards outside. What the hell is this?"
Song Huai's head was buzzing. He ignored him and strode into the mansion.
Zhao Jingyu disappeared out of thin air, and Xiu'er also disappeared out of thin air. Did they really see a ghost, or did these two people have some kind of magical power
The girl with the Phoenix destiny turned into a phoenix and flew away
It's ridiculous!
This is ridiculous!
He held his breath and came to the room where Xie Nanjia was imprisoned. The doors and windows were still locked. Looking inside through the window panes, he could see at a glance that the small room was empty.
"Open the door!"
The chief steward followed behind tremblingly. Upon hearing this, he took out the key and opened the door, explaining, "I always carry the key with me. I even sleep with it close to me."
Song Huai glanced at him coldly and walked into the house with a sullen face.
The room was simply furnished, with nothing in it except a bed and a table. There were only four walls, so it was impossible to hide a person.
This is really weird.
"Bring Zhu'er here!" Song Huai ordered.
The chief steward responded and quickly brought Zhu'er over.
Song Huai sat down on the edge of the bed, and Zhu'er came forward and knelt opposite him.
"Sir, I have done nothing wrong. The guards outside can testify for me."
"I believe you haven't done anything, so you don't have to be afraid." Song Huai said, "You just need to tell me everything she said to you."
"What did you say?" Zhu'er glanced at the steward subconsciously. "The steward told me not to talk to Miss Xiu'er, so I didn't say a few words to her."
"Really?" Song Huai had a cold face, no emotion could be seen, "I remember you two got along very well before."
"Before, it was..." Zhu'er was very afraid of such a prince and could not speak clearly.
Song Huai asked again: "You are a family-born child, right? Your parents are both in the mansion, right?"
Zhu'er's face changed drastically, and she quickly leaned over and kowtowed to Song Huai: "My Lord, I really didn't do anything. Please don't vent your anger on my parents."
"Then just speak nicely!" Song Huai suddenly raised his voice and slapped the bed with his palm.
Zhu Er cried out, "I said, I said..."
The chief steward also shuddered, the whip wounds on his back were burning with pain. This was the first time he had seen the prince like this.
Zhu'er sobbed and repeated everything Xie Nanjia had said to her, including what Xie Nanjia had said to Song Meiying.
Song Huai immediately smelled a conspiracy.
That woman was so cunning, it was impossible that she wanted to comfort Song Meiying out of kindness.
"Go and call my second sister." He instructed the steward.
“…” The steward froze. The prince had instructed not to let the prince know that the two princesses had left the palace. What should he do now
"Why don't you go quickly? Are you deaf?" Song Huai's patience had reached its limit.
The chief steward had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "My Lord, the Second Princess is not in the mansion now."
"Where did you go?" Song Huai asked.
"She said she was going out to buy rouge."
"It's already this late, and you still have the time to buy rouge?" Song Huai frowned deeply, "Send someone to get her back immediately."
“…” The steward wanted to slap himself twice.
If I had known this would happen, I would have told the truth. If I tell the truth now, I will definitely be whipped again.
"Yes, I'll send someone to look for him right away." He wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve and walked away fearfully.
Song Huai hadn't closed his eyes for a long time. When he calmed down, he felt his eyelids getting heavy and his head was splitting.
He waved Zhu'er away, fell on the bed and closed his eyes.
There was a faint scent of a woman on the bed. He sniffed and felt restless and his head hurt even more.
How can a living person just disappear like that
What did she say to her second sister
Is her disappearance related to her second sister
Could it be that the second sister took her away under the pretext of buying rouge
How were they taken away? There were guards guarding outside. Could they have escaped underground
"…" Song Huai sat up with a start and shouted, "Someone, someone!"
Two guards ran in from outside: "What do you want, Prince?"
"Call more people, take pickaxes and dig up this room and break down the walls!"
“…” The guards looked at each other, not daring to delay, and went out to call a few people back with pickaxes to dig the ground and smash the wall.
Song Huai stared at the guards' movements without blinking, and he had a hunch that there must be a secret passage in this room.
However, before they found the mechanism, the messenger arrived first.
"Sir, the Yunyang Army has appeared at Sanshilipu, north of the city. The prince orders you to take the hostages and head to the camp as soon as possible."
Sanshilipu
Song Huai felt dizzy.
Things were getting more and more mysterious. The army that had disappeared out of thin air suddenly reappeared and arrived at Sanshilipu without anyone noticing.
Sanshilipu, as the name suggests, is only thirty miles away from the city.
How did they avoid the scouts' eyes and get back to Sanshilipu
How familiar is the team leader with the terrain of Nanzhao
It seems that they started surveying the terrain a long time ago and preparing for the attack on Nanzhao.
Therefore, although this war seemed to be a spur-of-the-moment plan, it was actually a long-planned one. The imperial court had long been planning to reduce the power of the vassal states!
Poor father, he still naively thought he could hide the truth and change the status quo, not knowing that his every step was under the control of the man in the capital.
Can this battle still be fought
Song Huai couldn't help feeling a little discouraged. He ordered the guards to continue digging, and he rode to the North City camp on horseback.
"Where are the people?" When King Nanzhao saw that he returned empty-handed, his heart skipped a beat and he had a bad feeling.
Song Huai pulled his father aside and told him the truth: "There is a secret passage in that room. She ran away."
"Secret passage?" King Nanzhao was shocked. "Where is the secret passage?"
"You'll have to ask your eldest son about this." Song Huai said, "The maid said Xiu'er had met the second sister before. I suspect she had persuaded the second sister in some way. The second sister probably knew the secret passage, so she took her away."
"Impossible, your second sister left last night..." King Nanzhao blurted out, then realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and stopped talking in a panic.
Song Huai had heard it, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked, "Where is the second sister?"
“…” King Nanzhao had no choice but to tell him the truth.
Song Huai didn't recover for a long time.
"For safety reasons, my father moved all his relatives away, leaving me behind to fight against Zhao Jingyu. If I die in battle, you still have two sons and two daughters, so your bloodline will not be cut off. Am I right?"
Prince Nanzhao's face changed, and he said in a deep voice: "How can you think of father like this? Father kept you because he liked you. Father even gave you the position of Crown Prince. How dare you say such a thing? You..."
"The position of the crown prince?" Song Huai sneered, "If I die in battle, what's the point of the position of the crown prince? Won't it still belong to Song Zhan in the end?"
"Stupid! If you die in battle, can Nanzhao still be saved? Will I still be here?" The King of Nanzhao said angrily, "Who told you that we will definitely lose?"
"So what if we win? Father, do you want me to sit on the throne, or do you want me to sit on it, or do you want me to sit on it, or do you want me to sit on it?"
"You..." King Nanzhao's face turned the color of liver. "You have always been smart, why did you suddenly become confused? The situation is urgent right now, and you still have the leisure to worry about these things? When Zhao Jingyu really breaks in, everything will be gone!"
"That's right, Prince. There are always times when your own family problems can't be solved. The right thing to do now is to unite against the enemy!" The trusted adviser of the King of Nanzhao advised, "Look, everyone is waiting for the prince to give orders!"
"..." Song Huai took a deep breath, suppressed his irritation, and looked around. Sure enough, everyone was looking over here anxiously.
He didn't know why, but ever since he found out Xiu'er was missing, his heart has never been at peace. He always felt like there was a fire running wild in his body that was about to explode at any time.
He was obviously not like this before. He was always calm, composed and unperturbed. What happened today
"Okay, we'll talk about our business later." He nodded and said to the counselor, "You should find a way to find a woman right now, dress her up like Miss Xiu'er and bring her to the tower."
"Will this work?" the strategist hesitated.
"If it doesn't work, you come and think of a solution. Aren't you a strategist? I'm sure you have a good idea." Song Huai said.
"..." The counselor looked at King Nanzhao awkwardly.
King Nanzhao waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and do as the prince says."
After the counselor left, King Nanzhao put his arm around Song Huai's shoulders and said, "Huai'er, you really misunderstood your father. Your father never thought of competing with you for that position. Your father is already old. Even if he sits on the throne, he can only sit for a few days. The reason why your father wants to rebel against Song Wanji is to avenge your grandmother."
Song Huai looked at him steadily, wanting to tell him that he and Song Wanji were far apart in strength and strategy, and that he and Zhao Jingyu were not on the same level either. But the arrow had already been shot, so what was the point of saying all this? Success or failure depended on this one move, so just give it a try!
"Report!" As the horse neighed, the dusty spy pulled the reins and dismounted, kneeling on one knee. "Your Majesty, the Yunyang army has already attacked Ershilipu. Our army has suffered heavy casualties and is afraid of being defeated. General Liu requests reinforcements!"
All the generals gathered around and asked for orders to go into battle.
The fire was already burning close to them. If they didn't fight to the death, Nanzhao would be finished. Nanzhao would be finished, and so would they, and their wives, children and the elderly.
King Nanzhao immediately appointed two generals and led 5,000 troops to provide support.
These five thousand men were the maximum that the North City Camp could mobilize.
Because the inner city still needs to be defended and we also have to prevent enemy attacks from other places.
"Your Highness, since Zhao Jingyu is indeed attacking from the North City, why not transfer some troops from the South Camp and the West Camp as well!" a general suggested.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Leave a thousand men to guard each of the other three city gates, and transfer the extra personnel to the North Gate. Defending the North Gate is equivalent to defending Nanzhao." The generals echoed.
"Huai'er, what do you think?" King Nanzhao asked Song Huai for his opinion.
There is a rift between him and his son, so he has to lower his posture and coax him. After all, this is the only son he can use now.
Song Huai thought it didn't matter whether they were transferred or not. In his opinion, even if a few more thousand soldiers were sent, they would not be able to defeat the Yunyang Army in a head-on battle. The only chance of winning was to use their wits to defeat them.
But since everyone feels that it will be more reassuring to transfer here, let’s transfer here!
King Nanzhao issued an order, asking his generals to take the order to the West Camp and the South Camp to mobilize troops. He and the remaining generals retreated into the inner city and sat on the city wall to watch the battle.
The counselor actually found a girl who looked like Xie Nanjia, dressed her up, tied her up with ropes and took her to the city wall.
The girl had probably been given some ideological work, and now looked as if she was ready to sacrifice herself for her country at any time.
King Nanzhao asked his adviser where he found the girl, and the adviser said she was his niece.
The surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Song Huai didn't think anything of it at first, but when he saw a living person tied up on the city wall, his heart still twitched.
"Don't be afraid, they won't hurt you, and I will protect your safety." This was all he could say to the girl.
The girl's eyes sparkled and she said she was not afraid. She was willing to do anything as long as the war could end soon and the people would not be displaced.
The burly generals were speechless, with ashamed looks on their faces.
A dull horn sounded in the distance, smoke billowed from the beacon tower, and messengers ran back and forth, reporting the news of the enemy's approach.
Everyone held their breath, stood on the city wall and looked into the distance. There were no people or horses in sight, only smoke filling the sky in the north, and faint sounds of shouting and killing coming from the wind. Although they could not be heard clearly, it was still frightening.
What kind of person is Zhao Jingyu? I have been fighting for so many years, but this is the first time I have encountered such a strange and desperate fighting style of his. It took him one night and half a day to fight from Yunyang to Nanzhao, catching everyone off guard.
I heard that he is Hu Qianshan's last disciple. Could it be that he learned some strange art of Dunjia or turning beans into soldiers
Or is it that he is gifted and born to lead troops
After he came to Nanzhao, he followed the prince on tours. Many officials in Nanzhao had seen him and felt that apart from being more handsome than ordinary people, there was nothing special about him. In fact, he was even less arrogant and lazy than the princes.
It is really puzzling how such a pampered young man could suddenly become an invincible general.
As they were talking, they heard shouts and screams getting closer, yellow sand was flying, horses were neighing, groups of soldiers and horses were fighting and retreating towards the outside of the city, and the sound of trumpets was deafening.
"They are our people. Open the city gate quickly. Get the crossbow battalion ready to cover our troops entering the city!" The general in charge of command on the city wall heard the bugle call and gave hurried orders.
The city gates opened and the defeated soldiers poured into the city like a tide.
The Yunyang army followed closely behind, with flags fluttering and cavalry charging forward like a dark cloud pressing down on the city. Their spears formed a forest and their swords gleamed like silk. The soldiers who did not have time to enter the city fell down in rows like cut leeks.
"Shoot!" The general gave an order, and thousands of arrows were fired from both sides of the city gate and the city walls, stopping the Yunyang army's pursuit.
The Yunyang army immediately changed its formation, and the shield soldiers moved forward. The huge shields protected the team tightly and blocked the torrential rain of arrows from the opposite side.
All the Nanzhao troops entered the city, the city gates were closed, the drawbridge was raised, and the arrows could not penetrate the shield formation, so they stopped.
At this time, the Yunyang army automatically separated, and a team of soldiers came galloping. The leader was a man on a white horse with a long sword, shining armor, and a bright red cloak that fluttered in the wind like flames, blending perfectly with the red flag behind him. On the flag was embroidered a big "Zhao" in the style of flying dragons and phoenixes, fluttering in the air, which was breathtaking.
"Zhao Jingyu!"
"Zhao Jingyu is here!"
The generals on the city wall shouted one after another. They were so far away that they couldn't even see the man's facial features, but they inexplicably felt a murderous aura coming towards them.
"Song Huai, give my people back to me!" Zhao Jingyu stood in front of the formation with the reins in his hand, sheathed his long sword, took off the iron bow behind him, drew the bow and arrowed, aiming at Song Huai, who was dressed in white on the top of the city wall. The arrow head flashed coldly under the scorching sun at noon.
"Quick, protect the prince!" everyone exclaimed.
Song Huai waved his hand to stop everyone, pulled the girl in front of him, and put the sword in his hand against her neck.
Zhao Jingyu's arm trembled, and he quickly released the bowstring, squinting his eyes to look up.
The sunlight was dazzling, and the sword light was equally dazzling. The girl had a cloth ball in her mouth, her long hair was loose, and her face was blurry and unclear.
"Song Huai, are you a man?" Xie Nanfeng rode up from behind, pointing at Song Huai and cursing.
Song Huai was unmoved and shouted, "Zhao Jingyu, if you want her to live, then use your life in exchange. If the drum sounds five times, she will die if you don't!"
As soon as the words fell, someone struck the big drum on the city wall. There was a loud "bang", as if a heavy hammer hit people's hearts.
"One drum!" the man beating the drum shouted.
There was silence inside and outside the city.
Zhao Jingyu slowly lowered his arms.
Then there was another "bang" sound.
"Two drums!" the drummer shouted again.
"What should we do, Zhao Jingyu?" Xie Nanfeng was so anxious that his palms were sweating.
Zhao Jingyu clenched his teeth and said nothing.
After three drum sounds, he took a deep breath, handed the longbow to Xie Nanfeng, and drew out his sword.
"Second Young Master!" the soldiers below shouted in unison.
Zhao Jingyu turned a deaf ear to it.
The drummer raised the drumstick high and hit the drum head hard.
"Four drums!"
Zhao Jingyu raised his hand and slowly placed the knife on his neck.
(End of this chapter)