When Zhou Min woke up, he found himself lying quietly in the side room, his eyes moved slightly. It was sunset, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window lattice and reflected into the room, as if the battle at night was just a dream.
"Is it really a nightmare?" Zhou Min murmured to himself. When he was about to get up, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The famous general Qi Yun suddenly woke up and instantly recalled the night outside Qinggu. Great war.
"It's not a dream... Where am I? Is Qi Yunjun victorious or defeated? How is His Royal Highness?" Multiple questions filled Zhou Min's mind instantly.
After making up his mind, he wanted to get up to investigate, but unexpectedly he was seriously injured. As soon as he was about to stay, Zhou Min became unstable and fell to the ground. The sound he made also alerted the people guarding him outside the door.
Hearing the door open, Zhou Min, who didn't know where he was, was instinctively on guard. Only when he saw clearly the style of armor on the soldiers who entered the door, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The person who rushed into the room was a sergeant wearing Qiyun armor. Seeing that Zhou Min had woken up, he immediately said happily: "General, you... you are finally awake!"
After finishing speaking, he hurriedly turned his head to another soldier and shouted: "Quick, go and report to the prince, the general is awake!"
Only then did the other person come to his senses, hurriedly turned around, and left to report.
"Where am I? How is the battle going?" Zhou Min was seriously injured, but he still remembered the battle between Qi and Tang. He endured the severe pain in his chest and asked the soldiers.
"General Qi, we have won a great victory. His Royal Highness, he... he defeated the Tang army in Qinggu. In this battle, our army beheaded 30,000 people, captured more than 8,000 people alive, captured countless weapons and horses, and the remaining Tang army was defeated and fled. They have fled to Yingjiang, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has led an army to pursue them..." The soldiers were unspeakably excited and hurriedly reported to Zhou Min.
"Big... a huge victory, 30,000 versus 100,000... how did the prince do it?" Zhou Min didn't seem to have fully recovered.
The soldiers were full of respect. Maybe they heard the general's doubtful voice, and he hurriedly replied: "The general must have been seriously injured by the Tang thieves. The leader of the Tang army's thieves was defeated by His Highness in a single move, and was captured by His Highness. And our army took advantage of the situation to cover up..."
Hearing the soldiers talking incessantly about the prince's heroism in defeating the Tang army, Zhou Min finally heard clearly the prince's method of defeating the enemy. He also recalled in his mind the appearance of a bloody killing god coming to the world. He couldn't help but feel slightly startled. Tang Zaixing had played against each other before and knew that the Tang Army coach was an extremely skilled player.
"You were defeated in one move and captured immediately. Is what you said true?" Zhou Min murmured several times, in disbelief.
Seeing his general like this, the soldiers hurriedly said: "How dare you deceive the general? The prince was defeated in one move, and then he recruited the general to capture the Tang army. This was seen by the villain and all the Qi Yun soldiers present. That incident Zhao...Tsk, tsk, tsk, no wonder, our Crown Prince is the disciple of Military Master Xiao..."
Seeing that the soldiers seemed to be reminiscing about Qi Shao's heroic defeat of the enemy, Zhou Min not only did not look relaxed, but showed a strong look of worry. The several visions above the valley were too strange, and the skills of His Royal Highness were also known to him. Yes, His Highness the First Prince is a martial arts prodigy. He has practiced martial arts since he was a child and has only reached the realm of knowing the heaven...
He and Tang Zaixing fought in front of the formation. He could use Condensed Qi to transform, and he was at least a half-step master. Although His Highness the Second Son knew some martial arts in military formations, it was impossible to defeat Tang Zaixing, a half-step master, with one move. Yes, why in just one night, the second son's martial arts level was able to advance so rapidly.
Ignoring the severe pain in his chest and abdomen, Zhou Min thought carefully about the reason, and finally remembered that the valley where the ambush was originally planned, not to mention the vision in the valley before the battle between Qi and Tang Dynasty, the second son rashly marched in, it was precisely because he was trapped in Only after Qinggu did he achieve this level of cultivation.
After gathering his thoughts, Zhou Min gritted his teeth and stood up, asking the soldiers: "You said His Highness the Crown Prince captured the Tang Army's commander alive. Where is he now?"
When the soldiers saw the general getting up injured, they thought he was worried about the war and hurriedly tried to persuade him: "Don't worry, general, the Tang thief can't escape. His Highness the Crown Prince has personally led his troops out of the city to pursue him. I think it won't be long before he comes." ..”
"I ask you, where is the leader of the Tang army's thieves now?" Zhou Min was anxious and shouted to stop the soldiers.
The soldiers didn't know why their general was facing a powerful enemy after the great victory in Qinggu. Seeing that the general was angry, he hurriedly reported the truth: "In the Tang Dynasty...the leader of the thieves was imprisoned in
In Luzhou City...but..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw that Zhou Min had already stood up and left the house. The soldiers rushed to catch up and informed the prince of the military order before leaving the city.
"General... When His Royal Highness led the army to leave Luzhou, he ordered that no one should interrogate Tang Zaixing... General, your injury has not healed... General, please slow down."
Zhou Min only wanted to find out what happened to the prince. Regardless of the obstruction of the soldiers behind him, he endured severe pain and strode out of the small courtyard where he was placed.
When I got out of the courtyard, I realized that I was not placed in a military camp in the city. I was just in a villa belonging to a wealthy family in Luzhou City. Suspicion suddenly arose in my heart.
Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not as good at leading troops as the eldest prince, he is good at internal affairs. When he was in Qi Yun, he once advised King Qi Yun that the generals should eat and live together with the soldiers, so that the soldiers can return to their hearts. He placed himself outside the military camp in the city, which seemed to be very different from his political views...
In the other courtyard, there were dozens of elite soldiers guarding it. They were overjoyed to see that the general had woken up and marched straight out of the courtyard, and everyone performed a military salute.
Zhou Min, however, had no intention of returning the salutes one by one. He straightened his clothes a little and said, "Please take me quickly to see the leader of the Tang army who was captured by His Royal Highness. I will know the movements of the Tang army."
On normal days, the moment Zhou Min issued the order, some people would have already followed the order. But today, until a moment after Zhou Min issued the order, these Qi Yun soldiers still knelt down in military salute, and no one followed Zhou Min's order.
"What are you doing, are you trying to disobey military orders?" Although Zhou Min treated his sergeants leniently on weekdays, during wartime he attached great importance to military discipline. When he saw his soldiers disobeying military orders, he immediately shouted angrily.
"The general has misunderstood!" The sergeant in Shicaifang finally caught up with the general. Seeing that Zhou Min was furious, he quickly stepped forward and explained.
"It's not that everyone wants to disobey military orders, but...but..." The soldiers seemed to be in trouble and stopped talking.
Zhou Min felt more and more that something was wrong. He raised his eyebrows and shouted angrily: "What is it? Soldiers in the army, why are you so pretentious! Say it quickly!"
"Yes...yes..." The soldier didn't know how to speak, so he stumbled and never made it clear.
Just when Zhou Min was about to get angry again, he heard a calm voice in the courtyard: "Okay, since the general has woken up, you don't have to guard anymore, just go back to camp!"
Hearing the sound, he saw a man with a thin face, prominent cheekbones, and slender eyes. He was wearing a fur coat and was walking towards him. It was none other than military advisor Fan Mou.
"Senior Fan...you came just in time." Zhou Min seemed to have noticed something. He looked at the departing sergeants Qi Yun and opened his mouth in a panic as if he had grabbed a savior. In a hurry, he opened his chest and abdominal injuries. , causing endless coughing.
Fan Mou's narrow eyes narrowed slightly, with an uncertain light shining in his eyes, and he spoke slowly and slowly: "In the battle of Qinggu, General Zhou took the lead and defeated the Tang army. He was seriously injured. At this moment, he should take good care of himself. Why did he ignore his health... "
Before Fan Mou could finish speaking, Zhou Min interrupted: "Commander Fan, we can talk about this later. Let me ask you, have you always stayed in the city?"
With a slight glance, Fan Mou stroked his beard and said calmly: "Yes, Fan Mou followed the general's order and led his troops to defend the city and never left."
Zhou Min knew very well that Xiao Fulin and Fan Fushao were decided by King Yun, and Fan Mou was always by his side. If there was anything unusual about the prince, Fan Mou would be able to tell, and he hurriedly asked: "Has Military Master Fan ever discovered that there is something wrong with the prince?" Why is it wrong?"
Fan Mou sighed slightly: "General Zhou ordered Fan to lead the army to defend the city. Until he heard that the prince was trapped in Qinggu, Fan's heart was in chaos. When the whole army went out, he heard that the prince had defeated the enemy and returned... The sky has eyes, If the prince... I really don’t know how to face this old man, King Yun.”
Fan Mou did not directly answer Zhou Min's question, but this pun seemed to remind Zhou Min of his mistake intentionally or unintentionally.
How could Zhou Min not hear the sense of accountability in Fan Mou's words? He also felt deeply guilty for losing more than ten thousand Yuntianwei and putting the crown prince in danger. But compared to these, Zhou Min wanted to investigate the crown prince more. What happened.
Looking at Fan Mou, he knew that he couldn't get anything out of his mouth. Remembering what the sergeant had reported earlier, Zhou Min changed the subject and said, "Master Fan, our army is already weaker than the opponent.
Although more than 30,000 people were killed, our army is still weak. I heard that the prince captured 8,000 Tang troops... The daily loss of rations alone is a huge consumption of military rations..."
"Don't worry, in the past ten days when General Zhou was in coma, the prince has already killed the eight thousand Tang troops to pay tribute to the soldiers who died in the valley..." Fan Mou glanced at him with a hint of ruthlessness in his narrow eyes, Feng Qingyun spoke softly.
Zhou Min was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "What? I have been unconscious for ten days... Although our army is retreating south to the Tang Dynasty, and the army is facing the enemy, needless to say, since we have captured prisoners alive, we cannot slaughter the surrendered soldiers, otherwise In the next battle, the Tang army will fight to the death, and our army will face desperadoes then... Military Master Fan, you know these things better than Zhou, why don't you dissuade His Highness!"
For some reason, when Zhou Min looked at Fan Mou again, he saw an unfamiliar look on the face of this counselor who had served under King Yun for many years. He couldn't help but take a few steps back, as if he had just met Fan Mou again today. generally.
While Zhou Min was talking with Fan Mou, he heard a sergeant's loud report coming from outside the hospital.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once again defeated the Tang army at the bank of Ying River. Tens of thousands of Tang troops could not resist, so they broke down more than 10,000 troops and fled in panic, crossing the Yangtze River and escaping!"
The scouts shouted the military report, and it was passed down to ten or hundreds. In a short time, it had resounded throughout the entire Luzhou City. Zhou Min, who was worried, was slightly relieved by the shocking good news. He looked up to the sky and murmured: "God bless Qi Yun." , God bless the people, His Royal Highness, your merits will last forever."
The sound of the sergeant's footsteps was heard, and a scout walked into the small courtyard. He knelt down in front of Fan Moujun and said, "Senior Fan, the prince has sent an order to you to open the gates of Luzhou City to welcome the triumphant victory of the army!"
Fan Mou glanced at Zhou Min, his guarded look disappeared for a moment, and then he said softly: "I understand, please report back to the Crown Prince... General Zhou has woken up from his coma, and he is fine for now!"
The scout had already seen the pale Zhou Min, and said with a smile: "I have been ordered, I will go and tell the prince now. During the fierce battle with the Tang army, the prince has been concerned about General Zhou's injury. This time, it is a double blessing. Not only did he retreat from the Southern Tang Dynasty, The army and General Zhou will be fine."
After performing the military salute, the scout happily went to report the good news to the army outside the city, but Fan Mou had a complicated look in his eyes. He was silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke to Zhou Min.
"Old Zhou, you and I have known each other for many years. Today...you will tell the public that your injury has not healed yet, and you should not go out of the city to welcome His Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhou Min didn't understand: "What's the meaning of this? The prince won a great victory and used his own power to turn the tide of the war. It was based on emotion and reason. Not to mention that Zhou was already able to get out of bed and walk around. He had broken his limbs at this moment and ordered people to lift him. I also want to carry someone to see the crown prince!"
Seeing that Zhou Min could not be persuaded, Fan Mou immediately turned around and sighed: "In that case, General Zhou, just follow me out of the city."
