This night, the moon and stars were sparse, the night wind was blowing, and the sparse moonlight slanted on the high walls of Huiling City. Among the eucalyptus forests…
This luxuriant forest is next to the official road, lush and lush, not only blocks the dust on the official road, but also blocks the scorching sun from the shade during the day; the northwest of the forest is adjacent to the Huiling River, The Huiling River has a wide surface and a fast-flowing current, making it extremely difficult to cross the river.
For the Nanliang army, this place is perfect for camping: it can avoid the sun during the day; the side near the river is not easy to be attacked by surprise, and it can provide water; in addition, the location of this eucalyptus forest is just right, only one hour away from Huiling City. Here, it is possible to observe the movements of Huiling City nearby, and it is also convenient for them to arrange night raids at any time.
Today, the 10,000 Nanliang army has set up camp here for almost half a month. The flags are flying, and thousands of camps are stacked on top of each other. Looking from a distance, the fire is bright.
In the center of the camp, a large bonfire was burning, and the sparks jumped, making the sound of "Zi Ba Zi Ba".
The two Nanliang soldiers guarding the campfire added firewood to the fire from time to time.
Not far ahead, from several tents in front, came the cries of a woman who was not willing to be tortured, desperate and miserable, which made people shudder.
Not long after, two disheveled Nanliang soldiers carried a dead body wrapped in a straw mat out of the camp. They threw the rolled straw mat on the ground, and one of them cursed: "What a shame!" Bad luck!" After finishing speaking, the two returned to the camp.
The corpse fell heavily on the ground, causing the straw mat to loosen a little. A naked arm obviously belonging to a woman hangs outside the straw mat. You can see that the white skin is covered with bruises and mottled marks, and there are many Welts and bloodstains made it almost unbearable to look directly at.
The two Nanliang soldiers by the campfire just glanced indifferently, then looked away, and the thin black man looked up at the sky and said: "Is it the third watch now? In another hour, we can … hey-hey!"
The bearded beard beside him added another piece of firewood, and said, "Look at your virtue. General Ailida said that as long as Huiling City is captured, we will not seal the sword for seven days. Then you will still Afraid there are no better women?"
Since ancient times, the massacre of the city has paid attention to "every seven days". General Ailida is willing to say that he will not seal the sword for seven days. Obviously, he is already impatient with the battle of Huiling City, and he intends to use this to boost the morale of the soldiers. .
Qiuranhu rubbed his hands and said: "Last time in Yanding City, we were only allowed to slaughter the city for three days, which is not fun at all! However, this girl from Dayu is really beautiful, and the woman whose skin is better than ours in Nanliang, tsk tsk..." He Tsk-tsk sound aftertaste endlessly.
The thin black man pointed at him and said teasingly: "Ah, let me tell you, be careful not to fall on a woman someday!"
Qiuranhu laughed disapprovingly: "Hehe, didn't their Dayu have a saying that the peony flower dies, and it's windy to be a ghost..."
"Ah, what's that?" The thin black man suddenly interrupted his comrades, pointing to the sky behind him.
"What, what..." Qiu bearded looked over suspiciously.
Clusters of flames flashed in the night sky at unknown times, dazzling and dazzling.
"Whoosh whoosh--"
"Srustling--"
There was a sound of breaking through the air mixed with the sound of swaying branches and leaves. As it got closer and closer, I saw that countless rockets were coming in densely, like meteors flying across the sky, illuminating the night like day. , clank clang clang clang clang clang clang — — rockets shot powerfully at every camp tent and every tree in the forest.
boom--
Those tents and trees burned quickly, thousands, no, tens of thousands of fire points, and then the night wind quickly joined together, spreading rapidly to the surroundings like a wildfire, thick smoke filled the surroundings , gradually blurring the field of vision.
The entire camp erupted in an instant, with cries, shouts, and screams one after another, endlessly...
"There is an enemy attack!"
The two Nanliang soldiers on guard and several other sentries in the camp yelled at the top of their lungs, trying to wake up their sleeping companions to fight against the enemy.
Immediately afterwards, Nanliang soldiers from the tents poured out like a tide. They didn't even have time to put on their armors, let alone take up their weapons. Some of them were even caught on fire, crying and rolling on the ground...
The fiery red flames startled the chariots in the camp, broke free from the reins, ran, neighed, and even trampled on some soldiers, making the surroundings even more chaotic and out of control!
In less than a cup of tea, the camp turned into a sea of flames, a hell on earth, filled with the disgusting smell of barbecue...
The Nanliang soldiers frantically ran out of the forest, even if their superiors were shouting to line up, but at this critical moment, who could listen to them, but when they covered their noses and rushed out of the sea of thick smoke and flames, Waiting for them outside were thousands of cavalrymen wearing uniform armor, which surrounded the woods layer by layer. The cavalry in the front row raised their crossbows and aimed at them with burning rockets. took them.
"Shhhhh--"
Rockets shot at these Nanliang people who had escaped from the fire forest like a torrential rain.
Behind the archers, there was even a loud voice in unison:
"kill!"
Amidst the shouts of the soldiers, the sound of horseshoes trampling on the ground, the cavalry held up their silver swords and attacked the fish that slipped through the net, just like the raging waves of the sea, wave after wave. Coming, bright red banners waving in the air, the originally quiet night is now full of murderous aura!
Seeing the enemy attacking, the soldiers of Nanliang certainly would not sit still. They picked up the weapons that could be used on the ground, fled and fought, and everyone was fighting for their lives. No one wants to die!
The knife rose and fell, and in the blazing fire, blood was splashed everywhere, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.
There is the sound of weapons colliding, the sound of knives cutting into flesh and blood, and the crackling of burning fire... The ensemble became a cruel and heroic elegy.
The flames soaring into the sky dyed the dark night sky red, the scorching air rushed towards the face, carrying a smell of scorching, and the wind even brought billowing thick smoke, which made people cough.
With such a movement, it is impossible for Huiling City to be unaware. The city wall suddenly became commotion, and a middle-aged man in armor hurriedly led several people up the city wall.
"Lord Situ!"
The soldiers on the city wall clasped their fists and saluted the people who came.
As early as when the rockets suddenly struck, the soldiers on guard had already discovered that at first they thought it was another night attack by the Nanliang army, but they didn't expect that those rockets were aimed at the camp of Nanliang people.
Chen Xiaowei, who was on guard at night, hurriedly sent someone to report to Situ Shoubei. Since Huiling City was besieged, Situ Shoubei slept in his clothes and never got a good night's sleep. He was afraid that the enemy would suddenly attack the city.
As soon as he received the notice, he rushed over quickly.
Chen Xiaowei said with a happy face: "Master Situ, could it be our reinforcements?"
Situ Shoubei couldn't be so optimistic, but he didn't say anything, for fear of hurting morale.
In fact, since Huiling City was besieged, he sent several teams to report to Luoyue City, but none of them survived the siege. Even their corpses were hung high on the flagpoles by Nanliang people for ten days.
The closest to their Huiling City is Lanyan City and Huayi City. These two cities are small cities, and the defenders in the city are only three to five thousand. Not to mention that the defenders cannot leave the city at will without the order of the prince, even if they come Now, facing the 10,000 Nanliang army, it is also a mantis' arm.
Who is the visitor...
Situ Shoubei took the clairvoyance handed by his own soldiers and looked in the direction of the Nanliang army camp.
Through clairvoyance, the situation a mile away is clearly shown in front of Situ Shoubing. The camp of the Nanliang army caught fire, thick smoke billowed, and countless Nanliang soldiers were trapped in the sea of flames. It seems that there is no fake...
Situ Shoubei slowly turned his clairvoyant eyes, and suddenly his eyes froze, staring at the swaying banners among the group of cavalrymen, his eyes slightly opened, and he blurted out: "It's the son of the world!" That was clearly the banner of the son of the son of Xiao Yi!
"Master!"
Chen Xiaowei also widened his eyes and subconsciously raised his voice.
The soldiers on the city wall were all excited and relieved. They had worked so hard to unite with the people in the city to last for so many days. They thought they might not be able to last until the day when the army came, but they did not expect that the son of the world would lead the troops to arrive , and now they are fighting with the Nanliang army.
"We are saved!"
"Great, the son of the world has come to rescue Huiling City!"
"..."
The atmosphere on the city wall became more and more enthusiastic, but Situ Shoubing couldn't feel so relaxed in his heart.
In the flames, there were shadows and shadows, and it was difficult to estimate the number of cavalry. However, after watching for a while, Situ Shoubing guessed that the number would not be many. However, they just roamed around and made a surprise attack, deliberately avoiding a direct confrontation with them, obviously due to insufficient military strength.
It takes time for the army to march, and this should be the vanguard who came to support first.
Although the son of the world has disrupted the enemy's camp for a while and caused a lot of damage to the enemy, but when the Nanliang army reacts and controls the remaining soldiers, there will be a tough battle to be fought...
At this time, Situ Shoubei's expression suddenly turned serious, and at the same time, Captain Chen's voice rang in his ears, "Lord Situ, it's a semaphore!"
semaphore!
The banner of Shi Ziye is being waved rhythmically by one person, it is clearly a semaphore!
Did the son let him lead the army out of the city
Situ Shoubei lowered his clairvoyance, raised his voice and ordered decisively: "Beat the drums, summon the whole army, and open the city gates! We will fight the Nanliang dogs to the death!"
"Yes, Master Situ!"
Lieutenant Chen and the soldiers only felt their blood boil, and a sense of killing surged from their chests, and they immediately took action.
At the same time, the woods where the Nanliang camp was located almost turned into a huge bonfire. Those trees were burnt, snapped and snapped, and were crushed on the burning tent.
Those who can be burned have already been burned, and the corpses of the Nanliang Army can be seen everywhere. They died in different shapes, those who were burned to death, those who were shot to death by arrows, those who were hacked to death by knives, and those who were crushed to death by trees. Almost all the ground was dyed red, forming a world of fire and blood.
One after another, the remnants of Nanliang soldiers escaped from the woods in several ways. Xiao Yi did not give orders to pursue them. The vanguard army only had 3,000 people. The key to solving the siege of Huiling City was the key, and it was not wise to pursue them.
Xiao Yi glanced at the direction of the city wall, the garrison of Huiling City should have received the semaphore.
Relying on 3,000 cavalry to attempt to wipe out 10,000 Nanliang troops is nothing short of idiotic nonsense, but Huiling City has not yet been broken. Huiling City should have had 8,000 defenders. Thousands of people can give the Nanliang Army a chance to catch a turtle!
Otherwise, if the delay continues, once the Nanliang army arrives, Huiling City may really be in danger.
"Master!" At this time, Wu Chenming wiped the blood from his face and reported, "The gate of Huiling City has been opened."
"good!"
Xiao Yi picked up the heavy bow hanging by the side of the horse, and put a long arrow on the bowstring.
The bowstring was easily drawn until the bow was full, his hand suddenly let go, and the long arrow whizzed out with a burst of piercing sound...
Snapped!
The Banner of the Nanliang Army Commander was broken at the sound, and the cheers in Huiling City were thunderous.
Morale boosted.
"kill!"
Xiao Yi yelled violently, and rode out in the lead...
…
At this time, Nangong Yue, who was far away in Luoyue City, suddenly woke up. She felt a burst of heat. She sat up from the bed and wiped the back of her neck, which was already drenched with sweat.
The night was silent, only the chirping of cicadas outside came from time to time.
The thrush who was on duty at night heard the commotion in the inner room, got up hurriedly, walked in, and asked in a low voice, "Concubine Shizi, are you alright?"
When Xiao Yi was in the mansion, the maids did not need to be on duty at night, but now there is only Nangong Yue alone, and several big maids took turns to arrange shifts.
Thrush's voice made Nangong Yue wake up a little bit, and said: "I'm fine, I just woke up from the heat..."
Huamei hurried into the inner room, poured cold water for Nangong Yue, and went out to change the ice basin. The room gradually became cooler again.
After sending the thrush out, Nangong Yue still couldn't fall asleep, so she came to the beauty couch in front of the window and sat down in her middle coat.
She opened the window and looked to the southeast from a distance.
That is the direction of Huiling City...
It wasn't until dawn that Nangong Yue fell asleep again in a daze. Huamei knew that she didn't sleep well last night, so she didn't dare to disturb her early in the morning, so she woke up a stick of incense later than usual, and used the morning After dinner, he moved to the director of Xihong hall.
As soon as she stepped out of the house, Nangong Yue suddenly felt scorching hot. Now is just the time, but the scorching sun hangs high in the sky, scorching the earth like a fireball, and a gust of wind blows towards her face, without a trace of coolness, on the contrary, it makes people feel more hot people.
"It's getting hotter and hotter today." Nangong Yue frowned slightly.
"Yes, Shizifei!" Huamei who was following beside her couldn't help complaining, "I'm sweating all over if I don't move, there are several little maids in the mansion suffering from the heat these few days."
Nangong Yue pondered for a while, and said: "Thrush, you can order the maids and mother-in-law in Bixiaotang not to clean the courtyard at noon recently, to avoid the heat. Sweeping and so on should be arranged before sunrise or after sunset Bar."
Huamei hurriedly thanked Nangong Yue on behalf of the rough envoys and maids, and went to take orders.
When Nangong Yue arrived at the Xihong Hall, several nuns in charge wearing silk and silver were already waiting under the eaves. When they saw Nangong Yue, they all bowed their knees and saluted: "I have seen the concubine."
Nangong Yue signaled them to be polite, and a group of people entered Xihong hall centered on her.
Nangong Yue sat down on the grand teacher's chair, and after she was given the seat, several nuns in charge sat on the chairs brought by the little maids.
First, Nanny Lu reported that because of the hot weather recently, the consumption of ice cubes was greater than expected. She had already told Butler Zhu, and Nangong Yue only told him that there must be no less ice in Tingyu Pavilion and Yunliyuan. .
Then, the other nuns in charge also reported one by one. When it was the turn of Nanny Qu in the sewing room, she sat there in a daze, without moving for a long time, as if in a daze.
A fat nun next to her gently tugged on her cuff, and she suddenly came back to her senses, but when she stood up, she bumped into the chair behind her again, making a "crack" sound, which was extremely ear-piercing. The nurses in charge all looked at her in unison.
Nanny Qu hurriedly said respectfully: "Concubine Shizi, the sewing room is about to start making summer... No, autumn clothes are gone. Before, every maid and woman wore autumn clothes one by one. I want to ask Concubine Shizi whether it is still the same. For example?"
Nangong Yue thought for a while and said: "The autumn clothes will be brought as usual, but I guess this year's summer may be a bit long, and it may be hot until early October, so your sewing room should make up summer clothes for everyone first, and then start sewing Qiuyi."
When the little maids in the hall heard that there were new summer clothes for no reason, they all smiled and exchanged a happy look.
Mother Qu responded, "Yes, concubine Shizi, I will order the people below to start tailoring autumn clothes for everyone..." As she spoke, her eyes were a little straightened, and she didn't realize that she had made a mistake.
Nanny Lu coughed impatiently at the side, trying to remind Nanny Qu.
Seeing Nanny Qu's absent-minded answer, Nangong Yue frowned slightly. It's not the first time she has dealt with this Nanny Qu, she looks like a very capable person on weekdays, maybe something happened...
Nangong Yue asked in a deep voice: "Madam Qu, what do you want to report?"
Mother Qu shook her head, and then she came back to her senses, fearing that she would be punished, she knelt down in a panic, and pleaded guilty: "Princess, please forgive me. The little granddaughter of the servant has been ill recently, and the servant is a little worried, so for a while God." She said tremblingly.
Seeing Nanny Qu's appearance, Nangong Yue guessed that it might not be a simple cold and cough, so she asked again: "What's wrong?"
Mother Qu was both disturbed and worried, she couldn't hold back her trembling voice and said: "My concubine, my servant's granddaughter may have suffered from heatstroke, she was vomiting and diarrhea, she was given some wormwood water last night, but she still vomited continuously this morning! Seeing her granddaughter almost spitting out jaundiced water, Nanny Qu frowned tightly.
Nangong Yue narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression was a little serious, and she couldn't help thinking of what Huamei told her about the heatstroke of many little maids recently... These days, the weather is indeed getting hotter and hotter, and the elderly and children are weak. It's hard.
"Get up first." Nangong Yue ordered, "Baihui, go get some heat-relief medicine I made for Nanny Qu..."
Baihui took the lead in a hurry.
"My servant thanked the concubine!" Qu Nanny secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but luckily the concubine didn't blame her and gave her medicine. I heard that the concubine Shizi is a miracle doctor, so what she bestows must be a miracle medicine?!
Nangong Yue said again: "Nurse Qu, since your granddaughter is seriously ill, you should go back earlier and go find a doctor for her, don't delay her illness, a minor illness will become a serious illness!"
Baihui walked up to Nanny Qu, and said politely: "Mommy, go to the corner gate and wait for me. When I get the medicine, I will send it to you."
"Thank you, Miss Baihui." Nanny Qu was grateful, and left Xihong Hall with Baihui first.
Then, the other nuns in charge continued to report to Nangong Yue for instructions, and received the right cards... After about a stick of incense, they finally finished handling these trivial matters, and the nuns in charge stepped back together.
Nangong Yue yawned a little tiredly. It was indeed getting hotter and hotter in the past two days. Although there was an ice basin in Xihong Hall, she also felt stuffy after sitting for a while.
It is conceivable that those common people will probably suffer even more...
Nangong Yue frowned slightly, and said: "Que Er, the weather is getting hotter and hotter recently, do you know how the situation in the city is?"
Que'er immediately understood that Nangong Yue was worried about the heat, so he straightened out his thoughts and replied in an orderly manner: "Returning to the concubine, my servant went to the eldest girl's tea shed according to your instructions yesterday, and Miss Han happened to be there too, and I also appreciate it." I gave my servant a cup of herbal tea, and my servant hid in the tea shed for a while. These days, the big girl’s tea shed is often full, especially around noon when the sun is at its heaviest, and the helpers are almost overwhelmed, so Miss Han went there to help at that time. The sun at noon these days is really scorching, and the slaves sat in the tea shed for less than a stick of incense, and saw four or five people on the way showing signs of heatstroke , and were sent to the tea shed to rest. Fortunately, it was not serious. Miss Han poured them two cups of hot herbal tea, sweated a little, and then recovered. The servants heard that the passers-by in the tea shed said that they should serve tea The meritorious person is indeed boundless!"
Nangong Yue listened thoughtfully. Next, the summer heat will become more and more serious, and it may not be enough to just serve tea... Maybe I have to think of other ways.
While thinking about it, I heard the voice of the little girl saluting from outside: "I have seen the eldest girl!"
As soon as the words were finished, Xiao Fei, who was dressed in a misty cloud-patterned beige, came slowly into the room.
After the two met, Nangong Yue said: "Sister Fei, you came just in time. I'm going to see my father, why don't you accompany me?"
Seeing her father? Xiao Fei was slightly taken aback, but didn't ask any further questions, and went with her to Zhennan King's outer study.
The two of them were lucky, Zhennan Wang didn't go to the barracks today, he was dealing with official business in the study, Bai Shao respectfully led them in.
After saluting to King Zhennan, Nangong Yue said respectfully: "Father, my daughter-in-law wants to apply medicine in the city with Sister Fei..."
King Zhennan narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Nangong Yue with a little scrutiny.
Nangong Yue continued indifferently: "Father, my daughter-in-law and Miss Fu Liu went to the teahouse to drink tea yesterday, and I overheard someone talking about the Fang family, and our palace was mentioned in the middle. The Fang family is the in-laws of the palace, so it's no wonder ..." She paused intentionally, with a look of helplessness on her face, "Father, my daughter-in-law would toss and turn and sleepless at the thought of the damage to the reputation of the palace. Min, on the other hand, we can restore the reputation of our palace!"
Seeing her look really haggard, King Zhennan couldn't help being a little moved.
Those incidents of the Fang family were too ugly, rebellious and adulterous, and it also made the reputation of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion flawed, and became a topic of discussion among the people after dinner. Although no one dared to gossip in front of King Zhennan, there were some things he didn't know.
After thinking about it carefully, he felt that Nangong Yue's proposal was really good. Applying medicine is a kind deed. It can not only improve the reputation and prestige of the palace, but also divert the attention of the people in the city from the Fang family's scandal...
The more King Zhennan thought about it, the more he felt that this idea was good. When he raised his eyes to look at Nangong Yue again, his eyes showed some appreciation. This concubine is worthy of being the first daughter of a famous family, and she has the demeanor of the mistress of a palace when she handles affairs.
Xiao Fang's family has become more and more out of character recently, it's not appropriate to let a side concubine take charge of the palace, maybe you can let the crown prince come and try...
And Xiao Fei...
Zhennan Wang glanced at Xiao Fei quickly, thinking: Sister Fei used to only know how to read, but now that she has been with the Crown Princess for a long time, she has the bearing of a royal girl in her actions.
"Okay, I will do it according to your wishes!" Zhennan Wang said decisively, "Later, the king will order someone to go to the cashier to get a thousand taels of silver. Just figure it out, your mother is not feeling well these days and is still raising her, so don't bother her."
Is this completely emptying Xiao Fang's family? That's right, Zhennan Wang is so good at face, the matter of Fang's third wife is enough to make him hate Xiao Fang's family. Thinking of this, Nangong Yue lowered her eyebrows and blessed Xiao Fei together, saying: "Thank you, Father."
The two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. Even the dull study room seemed to become much more relaxed and natural because of the brisk smiles of the two.
Zhennan Wang stroked his beard in satisfaction. If he remembers correctly, it will be five days before the concubine's gift, maybe he should give her some face...