The second is more dedicated!
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Han Min's steel needle pierced Yi Chenyuan's chest, and at the same time, Eunuch Hong slid in front of Han Min like a ghost, and slapped Han Min's shoulder with his right palm. Han Min's body was like a ghost. A withered flower flew straight out and fell heavily to the ground, spurting out a mouthful of blood, half dead.
Yi Chenyuan watched Han Min being sent flying, his eyes were first filled with desperation, then relief, and finally fell powerlessly to the ground.
The eldest princess was pushed to the ground, and saw two steel needles piercing Yi Chenyuan's body, hitting the vital point. Knowing that it was impossible for him to live any longer, she crawled to Yi Chenyuan's side, and saw that his chest was already covered in a piece of blood. There were bloodstains, and his handsome face was already pale at this moment, and the eyes that once drove the women crazy were drooping weakly.
The eldest princess gently stroked Yi Chenyuan's face, there was no sadness or surprise in her eyes, only endless tenderness.
"Do you love her?" the eldest princess asked softly.
Looking at the dark night, Yi Chenyuan said softly: "Love? I don't know... Maybe, she is the destination of my heart...!"
"You know she's using you, but you're still stuck in it...!" The eldest princess said quietly, "You're a passionate man after all!"
A smile appeared on the corner of Yi Chenyuan's mouth: "Whether she loved me or not, at least I loved her... I understand what * is... just like when you married me... I know you are a... a good woman...!" He Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, his body slowly turned cold, and his voice seemed weak: "It's a pity that you are... you are a princess, you... you understand... a man living under a woman's... knees... has no confidence...!"
The eldest princess put her snow-white face against Yi Chenyuan's cold blood-stained face, and said softly: "In the next life... I won't be a princess!"
Yi Chenyuan smiled gratifiedly, and said softly: "Don't... don't let Yi'er... Yi'er know... know...!" After speaking, his body sank and he died.
…
There was silence in the imperial garden, and the orchids, maids and eunuchs stood there dumbfounded in horror.
The little emperor walked up to Yi Chenyuan, glanced at the eldest princess, shook his head, then walked to Han Min, looked at Han Min who was still struggling in a pool of blood, and said coldly: "Do you understand something? thing?"
Han Min's beautiful face was distorted terribly at this time, she looked at the little emperor full of hatred, her breathing was short, the lethality of Eunuch Hong's palm was self-evident.
"I am the Ninth Five-Year Lord!" The little emperor put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "I represent the way of heaven, and if you make an enemy of the sky, you will only seek your own destruction!"
Han Min looked at the little emperor who already had the aura of a king, and there was a sense of fear in his eyes, but this look of fear was fleeting and he said with all his strength: "You...you are so happy... Mingyue... King Mingyue will fight soon To...Kyoto...Your...seat won't be long...!"
The little emperor snorted, and said disdainfully: "Mingyue King? Mother, why don't we make a bet, I bet this battle, Master will definitely win, and Mingyue King... will definitely lose... If I lose, I will give you a grand funeral, and even let you die." You enter the Imperial Mausoleum... If I win... Huh, I will only give you three feet of loess in other places!"
After finishing speaking, the little emperor ignored Han Min any more, turned around and left, passed by the Batman, stopped suddenly, looked at the Batman, and asked, "Are you the leader of Ghost Valley?"
"The minister is!"
The little emperor stared at the bat, and said softly: "Take off the veil and let me see what you look like!"
The Batman was startled, but the little emperor obviously still retained the curiosity of a young man at this time, looking at him expectantly, depressed for a while, gently raised a corner, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the identity of the minister, the identity of the minister must be Don't leak it!"
Seeing the familiar face under the veil, the little emperor was really taken aback this time, and said softly: "Emperor... Uncle Huang!"
This batman turned out to be Liu Chengjing, the heir apparent!
Unexpectedly, unexpectedly, the dignified prince's son turned out to be the leader of Guigu secretly protecting the emperor.
"Your Majesty, how should we deal with these people?" Liu Chengjing put down his veil, looked around at the eunuchs and eunuchs, and asked in a low voice.
The little emperor's expression became indifferent again, and he said indifferently: "Now that the army is marching north, the capital must ensure peace, and don't affect the morale of the army because of any disturbance. Don't spread the news tonight outside the Imperial Garden. As for these people... kill them all." Come on!"
After finishing speaking, the little emperor didn't stay any longer, and slowly left the imperial garden.
…
…
Qianlin Temple.
The little emperor obviously didn't sleep well last night, and he looked very tired. The eldest princess and Liu Chengjing obviously handled the matter of the imperial garden very well. Not only in the capital, but even in the palace, there was no rumor about it.
"My lord, the battle report of the Northern Expedition has been sent back. Xue Poye has recuperated and recuperated in Yizhou for three days, and has already begun to prepare to cross the Yi River and advance to the northwest." Lan Wuqing played: "In addition to crossing the river, our army also divided Go out all the way and advance by land from the upper reaches of the Yi River."
The little emperor asked: "Didn't the last military report say that there is still Dou Andao's army at Motianguan? How is the situation now? If Dou Andao is not dealt with, and he leaves Yizhou City and marches to the northwest, will Dou Andao turn around?" Attack Yizhou City again?"
Lan Wuqing was obviously very satisfied with and admired the little emperor's question. This little emperor was really not simple. He had never been on the battlefield, but he could see the situation on the battlefield and find out the problems on the battlefield from the military newspaper.
"The sage is wise." Lan Wuqing said loudly: "The military newspaper also reported this. After Master Xue Hou took Yizhou City, he wanted to send troops to go straight to the back of Dou Andao, and attack Song Fei back and forth. Dou Andao was wiped out at Motian Pass. Only halfway through the army, he got the news. After Dou Andao learned that Yizhou City had been breached, he knew that he was caught in a pincer attack. He led the army across the Yi River and returned to Yongzhou. went."
"Cross the Yi River?" Someone in the court exclaimed.
Many ministers* were a little surprised to see the minister screaming.
The minister knew that he had lost his composure, so he hurried out of the line and knelt down on the ground: "This humble minister has lost his composure, and the Holy Majesty will punish you!"
The little emperor smiled and waved his hands: "It's okay, you are so surprised, why?"
The minister reported: "My lord, I have been to Yizhou and seen the Yihe River. The river is about tens of feet wide, bottomless, and the current is fast. If you want to cross the river, you need a big ferry... The Northwest Army Tens of thousands of people, if they want to cross the river, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult. They retreated hastily, where did the big ferry come from?"
Lan Wuqing caressed her beard with a smile: "That's right, the Yi River is wide and deep. The Northwest Army doesn't have a ferry, so they can't wait to die, right? The military newspaper said that Dou Andao is also at the end of the road. Shengsheng ordered the whole army to swim across the Yi River."
"Swim across the Yi River?" Many ministers were quite surprised.
Lan Wuqing sighed: "Dou Andao can be regarded as a general. He didn't sit still. With an order, 30,000 Northwest troops swam across the river. But you also know that the Northwest Army's horseback riding skills are first-rate, but the swimmers ... Hey, plus the Yihe River is wide and the water is fast. This time, after crossing the river, thousands of people died in the Yihe River. The military newspaper said that the corpses of the Northwest Army can be seen everywhere in the Yihe River. It's really appalling!"
Although the Northwest Army is a rebel army, everyone can't help but feel horrified when they think of that scene.
The little emperor clenched his fists and said coldly: "Mingyue King has done a good deed, and these thousands of soldiers have become sacrifices for his treason!"
Lan Wuqing said: "My lord, Xue Houye and Song Fei are now marching into Yongzhou in two directions. The chaos in Yongzhou is within reach. It's just that the geography of Yongzhou is extremely complicated, and the climate changes rapidly. During periods of frequent sand and dust, it is not only difficult to march, but even the supply of food, grass and equipment is very difficult."
The little emperor immediately said: "Prime Minister, no matter how difficult it is, we must not let our army be without food. No matter how much it costs, we must ensure the smooth supply of food and grass for our army."
"My sage, my sage!" All the ministers said in unison.
Suddenly, the ministers suddenly discovered that although the little emperor was young, after a short period of baptism, he began to have a real emperor's demeanor.
From him, everyone could vaguely see the shadow of Emperor Deqing.
"By the way, Sha Aiqing!" the little emperor called.
Sha Yingjie, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, hastily stepped out and knelt down: "The minister is here."
"The letter sent back by Lord Xuehou last time, has the supplies you transported been delivered?" the little emperor asked.
"Report to Your Majesty, I have been escorted there a few days ago." Sha Yingjie hurriedly said: "I have also ordered the escort officers and soldiers to never open it easily before seeing Lord Hou."
"Very well done." The little emperor smiled and said, "I'm surprised, Master Xue is so mysterious, what is it that transported there? I looked at it, isn't it just a pile of scrap copper and rotten iron?"
Hearing the little emperor's relaxed voice, Sha Yingjie also smiled and said, "My lord, Lord Hou has a wonderful mind. Those things, Lord Hou must be carefully transported, must have a great effect."
The little emperor nodded, and said slowly: "I hope it will be useful!"
…
Yongzhou is located in the northwest of Great Chu, starting from the north bank of Yihe River and going north to Yangguan, it is all the land of Yongzhou, and it is also the state capital with the most extensive territory in the entire Great Chu.
A hundred years ago, Marquis Wu, the founding state of Great Chu, started his army from Yongzhou, crossed the Yi River and conquered the world. Therefore, to a certain extent, Yongzhou is actually the foundation of the Great Chu royal family.
Beyond Yangguan is the prairie in the west of Beihu, and Yongzhou is also a barrier against Beihu in the northwest of Great Chu.
Because of Yongzhou's special geographical environment and special historical atmosphere, under the rule of King Mingyue, Yongzhou has great strength both in military and economically. It is precisely for these reasons that the powerful people in the Northwest always think about It is possible for King Mingyue to rely on these advantages to dominate the world.
Yongzhou has a very large area. After crossing the Yi River, there are still more than 300 miles to reach Yongzhou City, the core of Yongzhou.
The towns in Yongzhou are chaotic, which is related to the geography of the northwest. There is a lot of sand in the northwest. It is naturally impossible to build houses on the sand. We can only find areas with hard soil for village construction.
Therefore, the villages in the northwest look like clusters in the east and clusters in the west, which are relatively scattered, and the houses in the northwest are also built very low. With the construction capacity of this era, a house that is too high may even be overturned by a hurricane.
The Northern Expeditionary Army had already crossed the Yihe River, and after a day's journey, the soldiers could not hold on even after traveling a hundred miles.
The air in the northwest is too thin. Outsiders are obviously not used to this climate, especially Xue Poye's southern army, every part of his body is extremely repelled by this climate.
Along the way, I saw many villages. When the villagers saw the shadow of the Northern Expeditionary Army, they hid in their houses. The men held various weapons and prepared to protect their wives and children.
The people in the Northwest have naturally been brainwashed by the leaders of Yongzhou and completely demonized the Northern Expedition. Therefore, ordinary people in the Northwest have deep resentment and fear of the Northern Expedition.
In the First Battle of Yizhou, tens of thousands of children from the Northwest died in Yizhou, which deepened the hatred of the Northwesters towards the Northern Expedition.
It's just that the Northern Expeditionary Army was too spectacular, so ordinary people still didn't have the guts to come out and provoke.
Seeing that it was getting late, Xue Poye knew that if he marched at night, it would be quite unfavorable to the Northern Expeditionary Army who was not familiar with the terrain of the northwest, and the soldiers looked very tired, so he immediately ordered to set up camp on a relatively open flat ground.
In order to guard against the sneak attack of the Northwest Army at night, the Northern Expeditionary Army naturally prepared a tight defense.
In the camp, Yang Yijun and more than a dozen generals are surrounded by a desk with a map on it. Xue Poye sits quietly by the desk, and the audience will analyze the military situation.
"Less than a hundred miles ahead is Butterfly Hill, which is also the most dangerous place in Yongzhou. If we want to advance to Yongzhou, we must pass through here." Yang Yijun pointed to an area on the map and said: "Today we march Baili, but there is no movement from the Northwest Army. This is obviously a problem. The general thought that the Northwest Army must concentrate its main force on Butterfly Hill and carry out the last defense outside the city of Yongzhou. It is because they want to fight our army here. .”
Xue Poye frowned and asked, "Butterfly Hill? The name is elegant, but is the terrain dangerous?"
"Commander, Butterfly Hill is a large area of sand dunes. It is called Butterfly Hill because the terrain resembles the wings of a butterfly. It is one of the most dangerous places in the northwest." A general at the side explained: "That place, on the surface, It seems to be all sand, but there are many pits covered by sand under the sand, if you are not familiar with the terrain there, if you advance without authorization, you may fall into those pits and be buried by sand."
"This is troublesome." Xue Poye frowned, quite worried: "The soldiers are not very accustomed to the climate here, and the terrain is not familiar with it. It can be said that the right time and place are not advantageous. Renhe, then we are at a disadvantage, this battle is really difficult to fight."
Hu Dutong next to him said: "What the commander-in-chief said is true. Crossing the Yi River is just the beginning. There are still more than two hundred miles to reach Yongzhou City. These two hundred miles are by no means easy."
"Are there any soldiers from the Northwest? Are any of them familiar with the terrain of the Northwest?" Xue Poye asked.
Yang Yijun said: "There are a small number of them, but they can't be regarded as pure Yongzhou people. The people of Yongzhou will go to the Northwest Camp as soldiers and belong to the Mingyue King's subordinates. Those in our army are from The Northwest migrated to other places before enlisting in the army. They may not be familiar with this place. But speaking of it, unless they are really native Northwesters and have actually explored in Butterfly Hill, it is impossible for ordinary people to understand An overview of the topography of that area."
Ye Tianxiang suddenly said: "General Yang, can we arrest some local guides, and have them guide the army?"
Yang Yijun waved his hands and smiled bitterly: "This is not acceptable. The people in the Northwest have deep hostility towards our Northern Expeditionary Army. You have seen the places we passed along the way. Their eyes are full of hatred and anger, but they dare not It's just hitting a rock with an egg. If we find a few local guides, there will be no problem, but the people in the Northwest are wild and resilient. Who can guarantee that they will not mislead us, deliberately lead us into a trap, and kill them? If they kill my hundreds of thousands of troops, they will definitely do it."
Xue Poye rubbed his nose, stared at the Butterfly Hill on the map, and slowly said: "Since it is the only way... even if it is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, we have to go there!"
At this moment, a faint sound of shouting and killing came from a distance.
Hundreds of thousands of troops, camped one after another, the sound of killing came with the night wind.
"Night attack!" Yang Yijun lost his voice.
The generals drew out their sabers one after another and were about to rush out, and some even shouted: "Protect the commander!"
"Don't panic." Xue Poye said indifferently: "Our army is heavily fortified. If the enemy wants to break through, it's not that simple. Go out and see what's going on."
He passed through the generals and went out first, and the generals guarded him and followed out together.
In the night wind, hearing the sound of horseshoes rumbling, Yang Yijun immediately said: "Commander, they are cavalry!"
"Cavalry, shouting to kill?" Hu Dutong curled his lips: "These Northwestern scoundrels are confused. Others attack and steal camps at night quietly. They are afraid that others will know, but they want to make such a big noise... Soldiers have no patience."
Xue Poye shook his head and said: "I'm afraid not necessarily. I think the other party's commander is very smart." He frowned slightly, looked left and right, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, and said: "Everyone, what should you do with their tricks?" knew."
Yang Yijun frowned, but at this moment, he heard that the shouts of killing had become smaller and smaller, and soon a spy came to report: "Commander, the northwest cavalry just attacked at night and was repelled by our army!"
"how many people?"
"It's just a thousand riders, attacking our army's camp to the south." The spy said, "As soon as our army came out, they fled in fear."
"Night attack by thousands of people?" Xue Poye sneered, "It seems that the enemy general also wants to play the game of harassment."
Yang Yijun immediately understood, and said, "Commander, what do you mean to say, these northwest cavalry are not here to attack the battalion, but to... come to harass?"
"That's right." Xue Poye nodded and said: "When our army enters the territory of Yongzhou, it is no better than being in Yizhou. We are not familiar with this vast Yongzhou, but the Northwest Army knows this land well. They dispatched more than a thousand A cavalry, even if it is really a night attack, what harm can it do to my hundreds of thousands of troops? It is just to disturb the normal rest of our army and wear down our energy... Just like when we dealt with them in Yizhou, they are It's just a tactic of picking people's tooth and wisdom."
All the generals nodded upon hearing this.
"Marshal, should we send someone to wipe out this group of cavalry?" Someone asked.
Xue Poye shook his head and said: "No need, they understand the terrain and are highly mobile. If we want to chase them, we won't be able to catch up. The order will be passed down, the defense will be tight, and the soldiers will take turns to rest. At dawn, the army will set off immediately. Send out scouts to scout around , As for those small groups of cavalry who came to harass, just pay attention to it and ignore it."
"Follow the order!"
Xue Poye looked at the thin stars in the northwest night sky, and said indifferently: "The real battle is at Butterfly Hill, not here. You should all raise your spirits and prepare for the battle!"