As the eunuch fled, the prison was no longer guarded. The prisoners fled and it became an empty prison. However, recently, in the Luzhou Prison, heavy guards have reappeared. They are no longer the former Zhao jailers. These soldiers are all wearing Armor, you can feel the killing intent even from a distance.
There is one post every three steps and one sentry every ten steps. The only sounds in the air are the "cracking" burning sounds of torches and the strange howling sounds of the cold wind that penetrates the prison from time to time.
It was late at night, but the Tianyun guard guarding the prison did not show any signs of fatigue. He still kept scanning the surroundings with vigilance in his eyes. Suddenly, he heard two footsteps coming from outside the prison. The guard suddenly became alert and quickly touched his hands with his hands. He put a knife on his waist and looked out.
There were not many pedestrians on the street at night. Under the moonlight, the two figures had long shadows. The person in front had heavy and heavy steps, while the person behind them walked light but firmly on the ground, exuding incomparable confidence.
"Who is it? His Royal Highness has an order that no one is allowed to come near." Hearing the footsteps getting closer, the guard spoke in a low voice to warn the intruder. .
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince made a triumphant return and personally interrogated the Tang thief!"
The moment Fan Mou's voice came, the two of them were approaching, and the Tianyun guard guarding the prison finally saw the face of the person coming. Needless to say, Military Master Fan, the person behind him was elegant, dignified, and not angry. Qi Shao, the second son of King Yun.
In the pouring valley, he defeated the enemy alone, won by the river, and defeated the enemy with a small number, causing one hundred thousand Tang troops to flee in panic. At this time, in the hearts of the soldiers of Qi Yun in Luzhou City, His Highness the Second Son was already a God of War in his heart. See clearly After looking at Qi Shao's face for a moment, the Tianyun guards guarding the prison knelt down on one knee and saluted the prince with reverence.
Stopping holding the jade in his hand, the Crown Prince raised his palm lightly and spoke like a warm spring breeze: "Thank you for your hard work. The war is not over yet, and you still need to work hard to guard it."
The Tianyun guards were in agitated mood, and they all bowed their heads and shouted, "Qi Yun is mighty, the prince is brave."
The corners of his mouth moved upward, Qi Shao withdrew his gaze, twirled the jade holder in his hand again, and spoke again: "What about that person? Is he still honest?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, the thief has been pierced through the lute bone and can no longer perform any functions. If he hadn't thought that he was still useful to the Crown Prince, he would have been cut into eight pieces and laid a memorial ceremony for his fallen brothers." Among the guards, a corps leader said, The situation of the people detained in the prison will be reported clearly.
Qi Shao nodded slightly but did not speak. Fan Mou, who was beside him, had already seen the meaning in the prince's eyes and said, "Okay, I will accompany the prince here. Please step back and guard outside the prison." , when the prince was interrogating the Tang thief, no one was allowed in."
"Have an order!"
The guards took the order and went to stand ready outside the prison. Seeing that there was no one else in the prison at this time, Fan Mou took down the torch from the side and led the way forward, leading the prince inside.
When he reached the steel-locked cell door, Fan Mou stopped and looked back. With the Crown Prince's permission, he inserted the torch into the wall and was about to open the cell door when he heard a weak human voice.
"It seems that Qi Shao'er is here!"
Raising his hand to wave away Fan Mou, Qi Shao stepped forward, opened the heavy cell door, and stepped in. Fan Mou understood, then stopped and turned around, waiting outside.
Following Qi Shao, he walked into the cell and saw that in the dark cell, which was several feet wide and not visible from the sky, there were pins on the four walls with hundreds of kilograms of iron chains driven into them. The other end of the iron chains was made of fine iron hooks, which penetrated the prisoners in the cell. Pipa bone, lock it into it.
The chained man's armor was already badly worn, his hair was disheveled, and he was half-kneeling on the ground. He no longer looked as energetic as when he led an army of 130,000 to cross the Yingjiang River. He managed to raise his head and looked at the crown prince who was walking in. There was a look in his eyes. Revealing vicious resentment, he spoke fiercely.
"Tang really regrets it. When Jinzhi trapped you in Qinggu, I should not have abandoned you to fight Zhou Min. He should have deployed heavy troops to strangle you in Qinggu..."
Faced with such evil words, Qi Shao did not get angry but smiled instead. He twisted the jade holder in his palm and said calmly: "If there was a medicine for regret in this world, there would be no need to make decisions anymore... You hurt my life of more than ten thousand Qi Yun'er Lang, guess what?" Guess what I will do with you?"
"The real man's body is wrapped in horse leather. This is his final destination. What other tricks do you have? Just use it and frown, I am not your Grandpa Tang!" When Tang Zaixing spoke angrily, he wanted to use his power to take away the life of the prince in front of him, but the pipa bone was blocked. Lock, for a moment, severe pain came, making this person
The head coach of the Tang Army was momentarily sluggish when he stood up and knelt down slumped.
Hearing Tang Zaixing's insults, Qi Shao still did not show anger. Instead, he played with the jade holder in his hand and gently said, "General Tang's bones are hard, and I know that. Otherwise, he would not have been skewered with pipa bones, and he still did not let go. ..It’s a pity that Tang Jun is not as tough as a general.”
"Hmph, don't use these to deceive me. You used that evil method to defeat our army by chance in Qinggu. Our army still has 100,000 troops. You only have 40,000 usable troops, and you still have to divide your troops to guard Luzhou. , As long as our army regains its strength... let's see how you respond!" Although Tang Zaixing was seriously injured, and every word he spoke, the wound on his back was pulled, but he still refused to bow his head in front of Qi Shao.
Qi Shao looked up to the sky and laughed, his domineering energy emanating from his body, echoing in the prison, making the iron chain locking Tang Zaixing "clatter"... He suddenly stopped smiling, his eyes flashed red, and when he spoke, He was completely different from the previous elegant and dignified Crown Prince Yun.
"It's a pity, it's a pity. The Tang army has been defeated by me. They crossed the Ying River to the south and escaped... Of your 100,000 troops, only twenty or three out of ten can reach the south bank of the Ying River alive!"
The weak Tang Zai raised his head excitedly and looked at the confident Crown Prince Qi Yun in front of him. He seemed not to be lying. His eyes flickered for a moment and he suddenly showed a sarcastic smile: "I was almost deceived by you. Even though I have never seen the light of day in this dark prison, I still can't. It can be calculated that if there are one hundred thousand people, even if you, Qi Yunjun, give their heads to behead, it will still take half a month to behead them. The battle of Qinggu is only more than ten days away. Are you, Qi Yunjun, an immortal soldier and general in the sky?"
This time Qi Shao did not retort, he just hung the jade holder back on his wrist and gently stroked his palm. Fan Mou, who had been standing outside the door, heard the sound of the prince clasping his palm and quickly turned around, pushed open the cell door and entered.
Seeing that he was a weak scholar, Tang Zaixing held back the pain on his body, smiled and sneered: "What? The deception will not work, is His Royal Highness ready to use someone else to persuade him?"
Hearing this, the Crown Prince raised his hand with a sneer. Seeing this, Fan Mou hurriedly reached into the sleeves of his wide robe, groped for a moment, and took out a piece of folded brocade stained with blood. He held it up with both hands and handed it to the Crown Prince respectfully.
Reaching out to twist the folded brocade, the Crown Prince shook it hard, and the brocade unfolded instantly. In the middle of the golden banner, the word "Tang" was soaked in blood. The Crown Prince chuckled, and without saying a word, abandoned the banner in front of Tang Zaixing.
Seeing that the flag was stained with blood, the Tang army commander seemed to have been drained of all his strength. His head, which had not been lowered under torture in prison for many days, was unable to lower it at this moment. His eyes were fixed on the word "Tang". If he had any illusions before, now he knew that the defeat of the Tang army as mentioned by Qi Shao was a fact.
Qi Shao carefully watched the change in Tang Zaixing's expression, and spoke slowly from the side: "The army crossed the Yingjiang River to fight. Not only did they not capture a single city, but they lost troops and generals. Only two or three of the 130,000-strong army returned, not to mention that there were still more generals. Returning to the Tang Dynasty without his life is just a matter of luck for the general to return to the Tang Dynasty. Today's defeat... I wonder if the general will gain the trust of the Lord of the Tang Dynasty again?"
The prince's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Tang Zaixing's heart every word. For the first time since the defeat, the Tang army commander and Tang sect master felt powerless in his heart.
Seeing that Tang Zaixing's eyes seemed to be loosened, Qi Shaolang opened his eyes slightly and was about to strike while the iron was hot, when something unexpected happened.
Tang Zaixing's slumped eyes suddenly turned sharp. He didn't know when he had begun to circulate his true energy. In just one breath, the thousand-jin iron rope locking his pipa bones actually floated up under the movement of his true energy. A looming true energy floated up. The concentrated energy transformed into several bone-penetrating nails and shot towards the prince who was about to speak.
When Fan Mou, who had been standing by, saw this, his expression changed drastically. When he wanted to call the prince to be careful, it was already too late and he could only watch the hidden weapon fly away.
The prince did not panic, and did not avoid it. He waved his sleeves slightly, and the seemingly fatal move was easily deflected by him. He tilted his head slightly and calmly ordered to the military advisor beside him: "Go out and guard, no one is allowed in." .”
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Fan Mou's voice was concerned, but his eyes were shrewd. He wanted to take the opportunity to stay in the secret cell, but before he finished speaking, he saw the sharp eyes in the prince's eyes. His heart was slightly shuddered. He didn't dare to stay any longer, and quickly retreated, hiding himself. When he went to the prison door, he saw the prince walking calmly towards Tang Zaixing.
When the cell door was closed, Fan Mou did not take back his palm and stood there for a moment. Finally, he suppressed his curiosity and without any further pause, turned to face the prison.
Go outside the prison door...
In the dark prison, the prince came pacing. After facing the killing move, his dejection showed, as if he didn't care, and he said leisurely: "I have been dormant for many days, just to kill me suddenly when I see you today." trick..."
Seeing that his killing move was easily broken by Qi Shao, he knew that it was impossible to kill him. Internal injuries surged, and his throat was filled with fishy and sweet taste. Full of hatred, he spat the blood in his mouth at Qi Shao.
Tang Zaixing's eyes only blurred. The prince's figure had disappeared. When he came back to his senses, his throat had been grasped by his slender palms.
"I have practiced martial arts for many years and endured a lot of hardships before I could reach the threshold of the master realm. Wouldn't it be a pity to die in such a dark prison?" The elegant and noble prince now had a ferocious face, his eyes were wide open, and he was focused. With a cruel smile, he whispered softly. After a moment's pause, perhaps he could see the fear in Tang Zaixing's eyes. He pressed his palms hard and continued to speak.
"What's more, with the general's age and cultivation, if he can survive, not only can he advance further up the imperial court in the future, but the Tang Sect is also in his pocket. Maybe he will reach the peak after reaching the master realm, but all of this Everything must be done to save one's life... Maybe I have a way to save the general's life and his reputation... a few years from now..."
The prince whispered softly in the secret cell, and the unkempt general of the Tang Dynasty followed the low voice, and his already dull eyes gradually became radiant. As the prince loosened his palm, he was the leader of the martial arts in the Southern Tang Dynasty and the most important minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty. , has slowly looked sideways, and then looked at the prince in front of him.
However, after looking at him this time, there was no resentment or anger in his eyes. After fear, doubt, and hesitation appeared in his eyes one after another, Tang Zaixing seemed to have made up his mind and tentatively spoke.
"How...how..."
"Hahaha--"
The prince stood up and laughed wildly, his madness suddenly filled the dark cell. When he stopped his smile and turned around, he appeared with a look of disdain: "General, don't you regret it?"
Who would want to die when there is hope of life in front of him?
Tang Zaixing lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he slowly moved his lips and spoke softly...
——
From the north of Luzhou City, three thousand Qingqing and fast horses came. There was one person in the lead. He was in his thirties, with tiger eyes and an eagle nose, and a long beard reaching to his chest. His gray clothes were covered with mud. When he sat down, the horse was panting heavily. .
As he passed by on horseback, the light cavalry behind him passed by the black one by one. If you look closely, you will see that the faces of these horseback knights are all tired. One glance can tell that they have been traveling for days without rest.
"Yan Hujun! The front is Luzhou City!" The soldiers beside him caught up with the man galloping in front of him, raised his whip in his hand, pointed at it and spoke.
"Send the order and enter the city quickly!" The tiger-eyed knight's eyes were full of eagerness. After giving the order, he quickly waved his whip and rode towards Luzhou City with all his strength.
