The river froze, and blood flowed downwards, gradually converging into a scarlet river, heading downstream on the ice. Then, in the shadow of snow in the sky, it also turned into another layer of ice.
On the bank north of the Juma River, corpses were piled on top of each other. It was not known how many Mobei people had died.
This was a group of people who had retreated from the south. Among them were many Tibetan tribes from the grassland, as well as many soldiers from the Yan region.
Until today, he was finally caught up by the Tang army behind him and fought hard in the ice and snow of Juma River.
Thousands of cavalrymen under the banner of "Tang" crossed the river and went north. Each of them had three horses. One horse carried food, water, stomach, muskets and other equipment, and the other two horses were used for riding.
Marching in the snow consumes a lot of energy, both for the mount and the sergeant.
Their eyes were bright and their morale was high. Their bodies on the horses were bouncing up and down as they galloped north from the cemetery of the Mobei people.
…………
Wearing snow-white hoods and cloaks, Sanqianyuan and Yelvzhiwu stood on a densely forested hill to the north of the Juma River. They looked silently at the banks of the glacier that curved eastward at the foot of the mountain. Countless corpses lay buried among them. scarlet color.
Sanqianyuan was amazed: "More than ten thousand men from Mobei have all lost their lives on the land of our Han family."
Yelu Zhiwu still stood silent for a long time, holding the staff that could be used as a bell or a hammer for melee combat.
After a while, her voice became colder and she said, "Your southern emperor should be in the military tent."
Sanqianyuan put his hand on his forehead and looked towards the Tang Army camp on the south bank of the river.
After cleaning up the nearly 10,000 Mobei defeated troops, the Tang army began to camp there as a transit point for the army heading north.
He shook his head and said: "Looking at the size of the camp and the number of tents, I'm afraid the Holy Master is not in the camp. I'm afraid the Great Shaman will go south - at least to Mozhou."
"Can."
Yelu Zhiwu did not hesitate, raised her legs and continued to walk forward.
Her bare feet landed on the snow, leaving only a trace in the air. The biting snow did not even touch the soles of her feet.
Sanqianyuan followed her, one foot deep and the other shallow, stepping in the snow, and the forward speed was much slower.
She was not in a hurry, as her face without the mask was hidden in the hood, so no one could see her expression clearly.
————
"Commander Wen's army reported in today. He said that he encountered the Xi tribe's troops at the end of last month, fought with them, and gained something."
In the Yamen of Mozhou Prefecture, Jingxiang, who had been promoted from Minister of War to Minister of War and Right Servant, held a letter with a special seal and looked at it carefully under the light.
"I remember that Queen Yingtian, Queen Shuliduo, must have been a sarcastic person."
Li Jing touched the stubble on his chin and muttered to Jingxiang: "The people of Mobei know that I am going to kill them, so they are more united now..."
The latter did not think so, and handed the letter to the table in front of Li Jing, and then rubbed the beard on his chin: "As long as the Hu people are motivated by profit, if they kill one group, there will be another group. I am not afraid of them... before There is nothing to be afraid of when various ministries are in disarray, but now that there are ambitious and powerful people, we can no longer let them run wild."
He paused, took a sip of hot tea, and then felt that his body was getting warmer. Then he smiled and said: "They seem to be more closely united now, but in fact they are more afraid of the Holy Emperor's military front... Mobei's move south this time has given rise to The interests of various ministries are not unlimited. According to my experience, I am afraid that it won’t be long before some thieves want to contact the Holy One.”
Li Jing nodded slightly, but stood up from behind the table, walked down, and took off the cloak on his body.
Jingxiang was a little confused. When he saw Li Jing coming over, he wanted to stand up from the stove.
Li Jing held him down, and then put the big cloak on the veteran minister who was over fifty years old.
"Mr. Jing followed me to this bitterly cold northern land and was not able to reunite with his family for the Chinese New Year. It was really painful."
He tied the laces of the cloak with his own hands, then patted Jingxiang who was wearing a fur coat and cloak, stopped what he had yet to say, and said with a smile: "If I didn't have a humeral minister like Mr., I wouldn't know what to do." No matter how many detours we take, we should take more care of ourselves in the future."
The latter's beard trembled slightly and his eyes were slightly red. He insisted on standing up and then bowed down.
"Old minister, I must meet the Ming Dynasty... I don't ask for money, nor do I want a mansion or a manor. I only want to contribute a small amount to your majesty and the Tang Dynasty..."
Li Jing helped him up, held his hand, and said with a smile: "Mr. Jing is a great talent, how can it be just a meager effort? I also hope that Mr. Jing can work with me to build the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty."
The monarch and the minister complemented each other perfectly, and they talked all the way through the night without any sleepiness, until Zhong Xiaokui's voice sounded outside.
"Your Majesty, spies from outside the city have come to report that the former bad guy Tianzangxing Sanqianyuan...has returned from Mobei."
Li Jing raised his head and frowned slightly.
He knew that Sanqianyuan had gone to Mobei to serve as second-in-command under the orders of Yuan Tiangang, and later he also found out that he was imprisoned.
I also thought that Shuliduo would throw a rat weapon, and Sanqianyuan could wait to be rescued when the time came.
Didn't you expect that he would come back by himself?
Li Jing asked Jingxiang to go back to his residence to rest first, and then called Zhong Xiaokui in.
"Is he the only one coming back?"
"Exactly, only Tenzang Xing."
Li Jing's eyebrows slightly raised: "Bring him to see me."
————
The wind and snow got worse at night, and the long strings of lanterns on both sides of the road kept swaying in the wind. But after just a few steps, frost formed on my eyelashes.
Night patrol soldiers wearing raincoats and bamboo hats came and went patrolling with swords and guns.
Zhong Xiaokui and several Jinyi guards led Sanqianyuan to the outer room of the government office, and finally she led the latter into the inner room alone.
Outside the main hall, Zhong Xiaokui looked back at Sanqianyuan who was silent all the way. He hesitated for a moment, but still reported: "Your Majesty, Tianzangxing Sanqianyuan has arrived."
"Let him in."
Zhong Xiaokui opened the door, and the cold wind wrapped with a few snowflakes roared in, taking Sanqianyuan with him into the brightly lit main hall.
As soon as he entered the room, he put his hands together on his forehead, then knelt down to salute.
"I, Sanqianyuan, bow to the Holy One!"
"Flat body."
A dull young voice came from above.
Sanqianyuan first bowed and stood up, then raised his head slightly.
Behind the superior commander, Li Jing was holding a dagger inlaid with jade, lowering his head and looking at it quietly.
There was a candlestick with a lampshade standing on the table. Looking from him, only half of Li Jing's handsome face could be seen.
Sanqianyuan was a little stunned. He lowered his head and stood sideways, bowing his head and saying nothing.
After a while, Li Jing's deep voice came down.
"Tianzang Star is lurking in Mobei, why did it come back?"
"Your Majesty, I was originally trapped in Youzhou, but when I was escorted elsewhere a few days ago, I luckily escaped from the Mobei people and I was able to return."
"Just you?"
Sanqianyuan suddenly raised his head, only to see a sharp gaze pointed directly at him from above.
But he just said with a blank look on his face: "It's true... I only have one person."
Li Jing was silent for a moment, then waved her hand.
"Tianzang Xing's hard work has paid off. It's been a hard journey. Let's go down and rest first."
Sanqianyuan seemed a little uneasy, but he just bowed his head and accepted the order.
"I thank you, Your Majesty..."
Zhong Xiaokui outside opened the door, stared at Sanqianyuan with heroic eyes, and then led him in.
Li Jing stood up from behind the table, then walked down the steps, silently looking at the stove in the center of the room.
He put his hand out and put it on the stove to bake.
After a long time, he turned around and looked at each other with the foreign mage who was only half a step away from him.
Looking at the pair of beautiful eyes that suddenly widened, he smiled and asked: "I wonder if the great shaman has anything to say to me when he comes in person?"
"Also - I don't know what secret method is able to make my Tianzang Star fall into such a deep illusion."
