"How's it going outside the city?" Qi Guoxie saw the spies coming back and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.
He is afraid of fire.
"Lord Qi Wukuoxie, the fire was very ordinary, nothing special. The people on the city fell down and fell on the corpses, but the corpses below did not catch fire. The fire... the fire seemed to have only burned down the ladder. "The spy replied.
Qi Wukuoxie breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's good...that's good..."
"Give me the order to continue attacking the city early tomorrow morning!"
The million-strong army was defeated even when returning to the city, but was stopped by Jincheng. Qi Guuguoye didn't believe this.
As soon as the spies left, a general came forward and asked: "Sir, should we wait until the Great Khan comes back..."
"Everything is waiting for the Great Khan. There are hundreds of cities in the Central Plains. Do we have to wait for the Great Khan to arrive before attacking?" Qi Guoxie rolled his eyes.
The general did not dare to say anything and retreated.
Seeing the big tent, all the generals were silent. Qi Wukuoxie waved his hand to ward them off: "Go and get ready. If we cannot attack the city tomorrow, everyone will be punished with fifty military sticks! Including myself!"
The generals were stunned when they heard this. They were so cruel that they even wanted to receive fifty military sticks?
Seeing that Qi Guoxie didn't seem to be joking, he quickly resigned and prepared to make arrangements.
Qi Wukuoxie was the only one left in the big tent.
"To help you ascend to the position of Great Khan, I also want to help you conquer the Central Plains..." Qi Guokuoxie muttered to himself.
…
In the Jincheng County Yamen, Yi Xiaodao and Zhou Ziru sat opposite each other.
"Are you really going to have a field battle tomorrow?" Yi Xiaodao was a little shocked.
Zhou Ziru nodded and took out a chessboard from the cabinet: "Wu Dinggong, can you play chess?"
Yi Xiaodao nodded slightly: "I have learned a little bit."
Zhou Ziru placed the two chess jars in front of Yi Xiaodao. Yi Xiaodao hesitated for a moment and picked up the white chess jar.
"Heizi goes first." Zhou Ziru reminded.
Yi Xiaodao nodded: "I know, I just..." A beautiful shadow under the moonlight appeared in his mind.
"I just like Bai Zi."
Zhou Ziru picked up a black stone and placed it in the upper right corner of the chessboard, giving up a large area of the chessboard. Although he was the first mover, he did not have the advantage.
"Wu Dinggong, there are some things that I can't do without telling you."
"What's the matter?" Yi Xiaodao followed.
The two of them were on the chessboard, going back and forth, and the speed started to increase.
"Does Duke Wu Ding know the secret of His Majesty today?"
Yi Xiaodao's heart moved, and the chess piece in his hand stopped: "What secrets can there be about His Majesty?"
"Wu Dinggong was deeply in love with Miss Yue'er. Now that Miss Yue'er has passed away, Wu Dinggong can still remain calm. Zhou really admires it, but this is also expected. It's like Wu Dinggong is like this. It’s what ordinary people do.”
"In my heart, I have the world, beautiful women, and myself."
Yi Xiaodao asked: "What exactly do you want to say?"
Zhou Ziru made another move: "But your Majesty today...is honest. Your Majesty's martial arts level is probably comparable to that of Meng Mulie."
"When Taoist Master Guan Chenzi was assassinated in Xigui, His Majesty was so angry that the whole capital was shaken by thunder. The sky was thundering and the power of the sky was mighty. Neither Master Liao Chen nor Qian Ning could stop him. His Majesty lives alone."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Yi Xiaodao didn't quite understand.
Zhou Ziru smiled: "Wu Dinggong was born as a beggar in the world, so he would treasure a beautiful woman a hundred times. But His Majesty... there are countless concubines in the three palaces and six courtyards, but he behaved like this for a female Taoist priest. Isn't it strange?"
Yi Xiaodao shook his head slowly: "Everyone has different feelings and likes differently. If you just rely on this, Prime Minister Zhou would be too decisive."
Zhou Ziru smiled and said, "I'm not as good as you, I'm just an ordinary person. If something happens, I can't know about it. It's reasonable."
Yi Xiaodao looked at Zhou Ziru who chuckled, feeling secretly shocked. Mere guesses are almost inseparable from the truth. The horror of Zhou Ziru is amazing.
"Forget it, let's talk about the current war. Does Wu Dinggong think that we can't fight in the field?"
"The Beiyi are so brave that they will suffer big losses in field battles."
Zhou Ziru nodded: "Why don't I know this? It's just that when the soldiers and horses of both sides are fighting, the most important thing is morale and fighting spirit. If the fighting spirit is lost, the people will be the swordsmen, and I will be the fish and meat. Today's battle, Wu Dinggong also saw it. If it weren't for the cavalry, After the army breaks out of the city, the 20,000 infantry troops will die outside the city."
"In that case, the morale of the army will be lost. I'm afraid the city gate will be breached before Wu Dinggong takes action."
"But you may not be able to win in a field battle. The soldiers who go out to fight will definitely die!" Yi Xiaodao frowned and said: "The lives of ordinary soldiers are also lives!"
On the chessboard, in the middle of the chess game, the two men were fighting inextricably. Zhou Ziru stood up, walked to the cabinet beside him, and opened the cabinet door.
"Wow."
Countless papers fell out of the cabinet and piled all over the floor.
"This is?"
"These are the letters of challenge that the army sergeants and soldiers have asked me for in the past few days. These are still written, and there are many soldiers who came directly to me to ask for a fight. Otherwise, I am afraid that the cabinet will not be able to fit them. "
Yi Xiaodao was stunned: "If you start a war with Beiyi, you will die. Why do they want to?"
Zhou Ziru returned to the chessboard and sat down again: "Wu Dinggong is out fighting, and there are many dangers. I shouldn't ask this, but I still have to ask."
"Have you ever felt like you were waiting to die?"
Yi Xiaodao didn't recover, and shook his head gently: "That's not true."
He was telling the truth. No matter where he was, when he encountered danger, he was either prepared for it or it happened suddenly. Nothing has ever happened that made Yi Xiaodao feel like he was waiting to die, at least not yet.
Zhou Ziru continued: "These five hundred thousand troops feel like this now. Whether they are in Jincheng, Yangcheng, or Shoucheng... not only them, but the entire Daqi is now waiting to die."
"You and I have unusual identities. One is the Duke of the State and the other is the Minister of Literature. Even if there is a real fight, our safety is somewhat guaranteed."
"But when the war starts, they will have to die. Today's meal may be the last bowl of rice, and today's sleep may be the last sleep. No one knows when he will die, maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow."
"The most terrifying thing in the world is waiting to die. They can't stand the feeling of waiting to die, so they come to me one after another to ask for a fight. It seems like they are asking for a fight, and they are high-spirited, but in fact? They are just looking for relief."
Yi Xiaodao looked at the letters all over the ground and thought thoughtfully: "So, you will send these people to the field tomorrow to boost their morale and help them achieve their goals?"
Zhou Ziru shook his head: "They are all Daqi soldiers and Daqi people. I don't want anyone to die."
"Then Prime Minister Zhou..."
Yi Xiaodao looked at the chaotic chessboard and casually played a piece. Within a dozen moves, it was difficult for both sides to win or lose. It would have been the same no matter where he played.
Zhou Ziru picked up a black stone and motioned Yi Xiaodao to look at the chessboard.
Yi Xiaodao lowered his head and saw that Heizi was right in Tianyuan's position!
The two of them had been there for a long time, but Tianyuan was still empty and no one was there. This dish is full of chaos, but Zhou Ziru has left a son in this Tianyuan.
In an instant, the chessboard came to life, and Yi Xiaodao was completely defeated.
If one man falls into the formation, he will be killed and the whole game will be shaken up!
Yi Xiaodao put the white piece in his hand back into the chess pot. He had lost and had no chance of recovery.
At the same time, Yi Xiaodao also understood what Zhou Ziru meant: "You want me to lead the army in a field battle tomorrow?"
Zhou Ziru shook his head again. It was easy for him to guess others, but difficult for others to guess him. If his thoughts were so easy to be guessed, he would not be called Zhou Ziru.
"There is a more suitable candidate."
"Which cavalry officer is there today?"
"He was already dead. He was shot through the heart. He was already dead when he entered the city. He died on horseback." Zhou Ziru's tone was calm, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
"Then..." Yi Xiaodao couldn't think of anyone else who could do the job. According to him, the bravery of that cavalry commander was rare in the entire Yulin Army.
Zhou Ziru identified the candidate in his mind: "Fang Qianlong."
As soon as Yi Xiaodao heard Fang Qianlong's name, his eyes slowly narrowed. Even Zhou Ziru, who didn't know martial arts, could feel a hint of murderous intent.
"He is the leader of the Beggar Clan. If he can lead the army into battle, he can inspire the soldiers. At the same time, this matter has spread all over the world, and the various sects in the world may not have knights who are willing to serve the court, and they may be the first to follow suit."
"The most important thing is that he leads the army into battle. He is currently the most suitable person on our side and has the greatest chance of winning."
Zhou Ziru quickly expressed his opinion. It was not very pleasant to be stared at by Yi Xiaodao so eagerly.
Yi Xiaodao suppressed some of the coldness in his eyes. He couldn't refute that Zhou Ziru was right.
"But he can't die." Yi Xiaodao said his bottom line.
"No one wants him to die. Tomorrow you will raid the formation in person without Meng Mulie. I think everything will be safe."
Yi Xiaodao hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded and agreed.
"If Mr. Wu Ding agrees, then it will be easy to handle. Now I will go find him personally. This matter will be done sooner rather than later." Zhou Ziru said, not caring about clearing the chessboard, and stood up to leave.
Yi Xiaodao reached out and held Zhou Ziru down. With all his internal strength, it couldn't be easier to hold Zhou Ziru down.
"It's better for me to go. You, Zhou Xiang, have already taken enough blame. It's all for the people of Daqi. I can't just have a good name, right?"
"The world is stable and the Zhou family doesn't care about reputation." Zhou Ziru shook his head and smiled.
In the end, Yi Xiaodao went.
It was also late at night when he came out of Fang Qianlong's room.
Fang Qianlong agreed, but Yi Xiaodao was not happy.
He Yue'er died in front of his eyes, and he couldn't save her.
Zhou Ziru listened to the official's report and ordered: "The Yulin Army from the surrounding cities must go out of the city to fight in the field tomorrow. Those who can drive the Northern Yi back five miles will be promoted to the third level!"
…
To the north of Shangcheng and to the south of Jincheng, large groups of soldiers and horses were marching northward in a mighty manner.
While driving, a person opened his eyes, his eyes as bright as stars...
