Liangzhou, the army camp.
At this moment, as reported by his subordinates, outside the vanguard camp of the Xuanjia Army, the Fierce Blade Army and the Liangzhou Prefecture troops had begun to set up defenses, and the Liangzhou Governor also came to the scene to take command.
Seeing Shen Lie and his two men coming out of the camp, the governor hurriedly stepped forward to ask what was going on inside.
Captain Zhe Chong was in shock: "It's so dangerous. Master Shen just questioned Xu Youchang directly. At that time, the general thought that the two sides were going to fall out."
The governor was also puzzled by this: "Master Shen, why take such a risk? We can completely trick Xu Youchang into Liangzhou Mansion and then detain him for interrogation."
"I have no choice but to take this risk." Shen Lie explained calmly: "If it is really what they did, they will definitely feel guilty now, and they will not be willing to leave the camp easily and meet in your house. Doing so may alert the snake and let others know. They just find any reason to leave early. At that time, if we have no conclusive evidence and no order from the court, how can we stop them? "
Hearing this, the governor and Captain Zhe Chong couldn't help but nod their heads.
Shen Lie continued: "I went to the camp in person and explained my purpose straight to the point. If I knew that I was already under suspicion but still forced my way out, it would be obvious that I was fleeing in fear of crime. Therefore, the only way to be straightforward is to have a reason to temporarily To keep them, there is also a reason to send troops to monitor them.”
"What you say makes sense. So what should we do next?" Liangzhou Governor asked.
Shen Lie told everyone: "This is the border of Liangzhou after all. The important task of monitoring the camp should still be borne by the Liangzhou soldiers, so as not to violate the laws of the court. The soldiers and horses of the Fierce Blade Legion are responsible for standing by for support on the periphery, especially Focus on guarding the main roads leading to the imperial capital."
He made this arrangement out of careful consideration. In this way, the powerful combat power of the Lieblade Army can be used to provide backing for the less confident Liangzhou soldiers and control the entire situation. At the same time, the Liangzhou troops can be separated between the Xuanjia and Lieblade armies to prevent the two sides from directly attacking each other. Conflict breaks out.
But he never expected that things would not develop according to his idea at all.
In the middle of the night, the Liangzhou soldiers responsible for the encirclement mission were deployed. Before everyone could take a breath, the Xuanjia Legion vanguard camp opposite them started to become restless without warning.
Three thousand cavalry soldiers in black clothes and light armor suddenly swarmed in without raising fire horns or pronouncing orders, and rushed out of the camp in the blink of an eye.
The soldiers guarding the west side of the camp were completely frightened by this sudden scene. Not to mention stepping forward to stop them, they didn't even bother to sound the gong to warn them. They all dodged and got out of the way, watching helplessly as this large group of cavalry roared past them. Pass.
Xu Youchang took the lead and ran at the front of the entire team, but he was still silently regretting the deer leg on the grill.
An hour ago, not long after Shen Lie left, Xu Youchang woke up from the shock of hearing the news of He Jingming's death and immediately realized that he was in a bad situation.
Although he disliked Shen Lie's behavior, he still knew Ni Linsi's behavior style well. In tonight's meeting, Shen Lie would definitely come here to amuse him because he was full and had nothing to do.
Whether it was Anya's status as a princess or breaking into the Jingzhao Yin Mansion to snatch Qi Ying, he, Xu Youchang, couldn't explain it clearly.
Normally, he wouldn't be too worried, it would just be taking the blame, cutting officials and removing them. With his grandfather here, at least his life is safe. But if these two things are connected to He Jingming's murder, the trouble will be huge.
Shen Lie, as a long history of Nilin, would naturally not target without aim, and it was indeed a bit strange that Xu Youchang led the vanguard battalion to appear here by chance. Vaguely, Xu Youchang felt that he might have been dragged into a huge conspiracy.
Murong Xue's words suddenly rang in Xu Youchang's ears: "If Xie Guang wants to rebel, will you follow him?"
Xu Youchang felt like he had fallen into an ice cave. Even though the brazier in the tent was burning brightly, he could not resist the chill in his heart.
Thinking of all the things that had happened to Xie Guang in the past six months, he increasingly believed in Murong Xue's judgment that Xie Guang had no good intentions!
From another perspective, although Xu Youchang was promoted to Qianniu Zhonglang General and became the vanguard of the Xuanjia Legion, he never gained Xie Guang's true trust. In terms of closeness, he was far less important than Di Xianlai, who joined the army.
Xie Guang's so-called reliance is actually more for the face of Mr. Xu and the Xu family.
Now think about it carefully, if Xie Guang really has evil intentions, then Commander He Jingming, who is also a heavyweight in the military, will definitely become his biggest obstacle. First of all, Commander He has held an important position for many years and is in charge of both the Fierce Blade Army and the Suppressing Border Army. His strength cannot be underestimated. Even if he is bedridden for a long time, he is still the mainstay of the imperial court. Secondly, when the emperor succeeded to the throne and signed a holy religious covenant with the scholars of the world, He Jingming, like Nian Jinsong, was one of the two guardians of the covenant. This kind of weight is naturally extraordinary in the court.
Therefore, Xie Guang had enough reasons to use a vicious plan to involve He Jingming and the Xu family represented by Xu Youchang at the same time, so as to severely damage the power in the army to check and balance him.
Kill two birds with one stone, both inside and outside.
Xu Youchang took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and quickly thought about countermeasures.
Are you going to surrender obediently and give Shen Lie and the others an explanation?
no! A lawsuit like this that is shattering the sky will never be clear for a while. Xie Guang can completely shift the blame and put all the blame on his head.
He offended the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Fierce Blade Army and Zhenjiang Army, and even if grandpa stepped forward, he couldn't protect himself.
Do you want to resist and protect yourself and fight against the army outside?
Damn, you don’t even have to think about this path! Shen Lie has made it very clear just now that you, Xu Youchang, are the primary suspect in the murder of Commander He. If anyone dares to resist the investigation at this time, once a conflict breaks out and a person is killed, Xu Youchang will be convicted of rebellion on the spot.
At the critical moment, Xu Youchang couldn't help but picture Li Jiangyao and Murong Xue in his mind. What would they do if they were here instead?
Murong Xue must have a cold and serious face, while Li Jiangyao still had that calm and unhurried expression, and then the two of them said in unison: "Idiot, pat your butt and run away first!"
That's right, if a hero doesn't suffer the immediate consequences, he'd better run away first. As long as a person is alive, grievances will be washed away one day. Compared with "letting go" and "resisting on the spot", fleeing in fear of crime is probably the best choice at the moment.
After thinking about this, Xu Youchang no longer hesitated at all. He immediately issued an order: The entire battalion secretly gathered!
At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Xuanjia Army were already a little uneasy due to the large battle formation outside. Everyone gathered together and listened thoughtfully to General Xu's detailed explanation. Unexpectedly, Xu Youchang didn't even say a word of nonsense: "Brothers, we are in for a big deal this time! Those who want to survive should immediately dress lightly and bring three people with them. Daily rations, follow me to break through!"
-
Shen Lie immediately rushed to Zijin Pass, looked at the land of Western Xinjiang covered with thick clouds, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
The vanguard battalion of the Xuanjia Army led by Xu Youchang crossed here half a day ago, and now they have already disappeared without a trace.
Shen Lie turned around and said to the three officers of the Fierce Blade Army: "Twenty miles further, we will leave the jurisdiction of Zijin Pass and enter the boundary of the Western Border. At this moment, the Ghost Desert of Western Border is falling into chaos, let alone looking for this rebel army. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if you can find it, if you want to subdue them and arrest them, a fierce battle will inevitably break out. You are all valuable combat forces now. If there is a new order from the court, where will you find it? You guys, you said, are you still chasing them? ?"
Han Chang gritted his teeth: "Even if we chase them to the end of the world, we will never let go of those murderers!"
"Old Han, calm down!" Feng Jincai warned in a deep voice, and immediately looked at Niu Bao. When he saw the other person's eyes showing approval, he said to Shen Lie: "Master Shen, you are right. .At this moment, we really shouldn’t rush deep into the hinterland of Western Xinjiang, but should return to the base camp and wait for orders from the court at any time. Let’s note down this blood debt of He Datong for the time being, and we will definitely seek justice from the Xuanjia Army in the future! Please rest assured that as long as our Fierce Blade Army is here, the gateway to the west of Shengtang will never fail."
Niu Bao continued: "Master Shen, please return to the imperial capital as soon as possible, report everything that happened here to Emperor Ming, and ask your majesty to make the decision for the general. In addition, the imperial court also needs to assign us a new commander as soon as possible to deal with the invasion of Western Xinjiang. The mess that came down.”
Shen Lie nodded slightly, then roared, and led the Nilin agents to turn their horses and gallop straight to the east.
-
Xu Youchang reined in the reins and ordered his exhausted men to take a rest.
Recalling the night when I was besieged in Liangzhou Mansion, I felt like God was secretly blessing me. The imperial capital is to the east, but they ran to the west, and there was no second-line defense from the Blade Army in that direction.
This was also a decision that Xu Youchang made carefully.
First of all, he had predicted Shen Lie's prediction and guessed that the other party would send people to guard the road back to the east; secondly, even if he successfully escaped back to the imperial capital, that bastard Xie Guang would probably trick him again.
After much thought, Xu Youchang decided to run to Xijiang first to find Li Jiangyao.
With Li Jiangyao's understanding and trust in him, and his identity as He Jingming's only disciple, it was entirely possible for the furious Blade Army to calm down and slowly listen to his own explanation.
It was precisely because of this idea that he secretly saved Xu Youchang's life and caught Shen Lie and others off guard.
Who would have thought that the "murderer" who killed Commander He would have the courage to escape deep into Commander He's territory?
By the time the two groups of troops responsible for besieging the Xuanjia Army's vanguard battalion reacted and hurriedly dispatched people to chase them, Xu Youchang and his vanguard battalion had already disappeared without a trace.
One side is lightly armed and compliant, fleeing hastily; while the other side is heavily armored and unable to react in time. After two days, the Fierce Blade Army, which was familiar with the terrain, could not catch up with the Xuanjia Army's vanguard camp, which was running like crazy. Instead, the distance between the two sides grew further and further.
At this moment, Xu Youchang finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had finally escaped into the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang and that the pursuers behind him had disappeared.
But where to go next?
The Western Frontier is a vast territory with many tribes. If you accidentally encounter a patrol team from the Zhenjiang Protectorate or the garrison of each vassal state, you may not even be able to explain it clearly.
Moreover, Xu Youchang had no idea where Li Jiangyao was at the moment.
With no other choice, he had to summon all the soldiers in the battalion and explain the current situation to everyone in detail.
Only halfway through Xu Youchang's words, the three thousand soldiers and horses exploded on the spot. Everyone cursed the real murderer of He Jingming, who actually put the shit basin on their heads.
At this time, Xu Youchang suddenly realized that the more than 3,000 brothers standing around him were all his trusted subordinates who had been following him for a long time.
According to common sense, the Xuanjia Legion's vanguard battalion has a total establishment of 10,000 people. Before he was promoted to Qianniu Zhonglang General, he commanded these 3,000 soldiers and horses as a captain before he was promoted to Qianniu Zhonglang General, and the other 7,000 people, It was just assigned to his command not long ago.
This time when he went to Liangzhou to train troops, Xie Guang only asked him to take his old troops there, but not all the vanguard troops.
It can be seen that Xie Guang did have bad intentions: no matter how things develop, in the end, it will only be Xu Youchang's old subordinates who will be unlucky.
The soldiers argued for a long time, but finally had no idea. Everyone also casts a dark eye on this place called Xijiang. Because they were eager to escape, all the equipment and baggage of the Pioneer Battalion were abandoned at the Liangzhou Camp. There is not much dry food left at the moment, and the three thousand troops behind will be hungry.
Xu Youchang sighed secretly in his heart: A living person can't die of urination. I don't know, I'm afraid I have to do some business without capital.
Although Li Jiangyao, Xu Youchang, and Murong Xue are close friends, their temperaments and personalities are completely different. Li Jiangyao is thoughtful, calm and indifferent, and sometimes very thick-skinned, ignoring any rules or irregularities; Murong Xue has inherited the family's genes, being pragmatic, ruthless, cold and decisive, and doing everything based on self-interest. Xu Youchang is completely different from them. Xu Youchang, who was born into a general, has been taught to be upright and mature since he was a child, and he has a standard military style.
If Li Jiangyao and Murong Xue were faced with the predicament at hand, the first thing they would think of would be to either cheat or steal food, but the upright General Xu would think of borrowing food.
Since it is a loan, you have to go from town to town, without harming humans and animals.
Relying on his valuable experience of serving in the Zhenjiang Army, Xu Youchang led the Pioneer Battalion to search westward, intending to find one or two vassal towns and discuss with them how to make some vegetarian food.
However, to his surprise, wherever the Xuanjia Army's vanguard camp went, all he saw were dilapidated scenes of ruined walls and empty buildings.
Recalling that they had not seen even half of the caravan during their escape from Liangzhou to Xijiang, Xu Youchang couldn't help but wonder: Damn it! Isn't something serious happened?
He Jingming was killed in an attack, and Xijiang Ghost Desert fell into chaos. All this made him worry about Li Jiangyao's safety.
Good brother, where are you now?
