At midnight, Li Jiangyao came to Yinma Station alone.
When they arrived in Luoyi a few days ago, he and Lian Ji stayed here, so they knew the surrounding situation better.
Li Jiangyao came from the Pegasus Scout Battalion and was very familiar with reconnaissance and search operations. So as soon as he arrived at the place, he hid in the dark and quickly searched from all directions. After confirming that there was no ambush, Only then did he feel relieved and went to the dense forest opposite the gate of the inn, waiting for the other party to show up.
As soon as the third watch arrived, there was a sound of horse hooves on the road outside the inn.
Five tall horses galloped over from far away, and did not rein in until they reached the gate of the post house. The horse's momentum was blocked, and it could not help but neigh a few times, which was particularly loud in this silent night. Li Jiangyao took a peek and saw that the knights on the horse were all wearing black cloaks with their hoods lowered so that their faces could not be seen clearly.
The person running at the front was thin, tall, and quite imposing. After looking around, he raised his hand to signal. Seeing this, the four people behind him all turned over and dismounted neatly. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they all took out lightweight folding crossbows from their waists, alerting the surroundings.
The leader waited for a few moments, then left the saddle and walked alone to the door of the post house.
Li Jiangyao observed carefully and suddenly felt that the other person looked very familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it for a while.
The man was still wrapped in a black cloak and stood there without saying a word, looking aloof and cold. Seeing that there was nothing unusual around him, Li Jiangyao patted the Xingluo Dao gently, then walked out of the dense forest and appeared in front of the other party.
The man in black followed the voice to Li Jiangyao. Without waiting for him to speak, he took the lead and laughed loudly: "Brother Jiangyao, we have to say goodbye to Xijiang. It has been three years in a hurry. Are you okay?"
That voice sounded very familiar, and Li Jiangyao couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. It wasn't until the other person took off his hood that he suddenly woke up and shouted overjoyed: "Master Shen?!"
The person who came was none other than Shi, Shen Lie, the director of Beiya Nilin.
Shen Lie also had a look of joy on his face, and quickly came to Li Jiangyao, stretched out his hands and held them tightly with him: "Brother Jiangyao, it's great that you are still alive! Great! Since the beginning of the West After Jiang comes back, Shen will be thinking about you and Metasequoia brothers all the time!"
Li Jiangyao smiled sheepishly and said awkwardly: "Not only am I living a good life, but I was also canonized as a baron by the Turkic Khan. As the chief torture officer of Shengtang, will you take me, a big traitor, back and ask me Kill it?"
"Hahaha——" Shen Lie looked up to the sky and smiled when he heard this: "You are still the same! Others believe that kind of nonsense, but Shen doesn't believe it! Will you betray your country and seek glory?"
Shen Lie looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, and his thoughts seemed to have returned to Wanli Xijiang and those unforgettable and prosperous years. He said with deep affection: "Anyone who has seen you lead four hundred people with my own eyes The scene where the iron cavalry and horses trampled the enemy's company camp and beat the 40,000-strong enemy into a scurrying wolf, then it should be clear that Li Jiangyao will never surrender!"
Listening to Shen Lie's words, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but moisten his eyes. Before the tears fell, he hurriedly joked: "Hey, it's a pity that there is no wine now. Otherwise, if you compliment me like this, I will definitely be with you." Take a swig!"
"Who said there is no wine?" Shen Lie smiled slightly and said hello behind him. One of his men quickly stepped forward, untied the leather bag behind his back, and took out a small wine jar and two cups from inside.
He moved quickly and swiftly, and in a blink of an eye he opened the mud seal on the altar and filled two glasses of wine.
Shen Lie stretched out his hand to take the wine glass and said to Li Jiangyao: "How can one glass be enough? At least three glasses! This wine is not only for you, but also for those Shengtang soldiers who are still fighting in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang! Go for it!"
Li Jiangyao raised his glass happily, drank it down, and then laughed loudly: "People say you are the terrible living king of hell, but who would have thought that Nilin Changshi also has such a cute side. Hahaha!"
Shen Lie said with a smile: "It doesn't actually matter what others think of me. As long as you have a clear conscience, that's all! Have another drink."
Li Jiangyao knew very well that Shen Lie was talking about himself, but in fact he was trying to comfort him so that Li Jiangyao would not have to take the Turks' canonization of barons to heart.
"I have remembered all these words of Brother Shen, don't worry." Li Jiangyao smiled gratefully, and then asked: "Oh, by the way, I haven't bothered to ask yet, how did you know that I came to Dongdu? ?”
When Shen Lie heard his question, he couldn't help but make a surprised expression: "Brother, this is what I eat. If I don't even know this little thing, how can I still get along?"
Li Jiangyao couldn't help but laugh and curse, urging him to quickly and truthfully explain where he had been traced.
Shen Lie stopped joking and introduced seriously: "The old neighbor you met in Zhishanfang that day is actually the secretary of our Luoyi branch, Mr. Wang. He was once a famous head catcher in Jiangzhou, and he was extremely popular. Good at drawing shadows and figures. Lao Wang noticed that you two had suspicious identities at that time, so he reported your portrait to me. Guess what? Shen was shocked at that time! Isn't this Li Jiangyao? Until this morning , I specially arranged for people to wait outside the inn, and used secret codes to test you. Only then did I finally confirm that the great hero of our Protectorate is indeed back."
Li Jiangyao said sincerely: "Ni Linsi's methods are indeed well-deserved. It seems that if I do bad things in the future, I will never escape from your hands."
"Don't flatter us." Shen Lie smiled and said, "Jiang Yao, you have been fighting in Western Xinjiang for many years. Why did you secretly return to the Central Plains at this time? How did you come back?"
Li Jiangyao quickly explained: "We have been searching for a long time, and finally found a secret path for herb collectors in the Qilian Mountains, which can bypass two passes and go straight to Liangzhou. Although that road is not convenient for the army to pass, messengers can come and go. No problem. The reason why I rushed back in person was because I had extremely important military information to report to the court, but now because of my embarrassing status, I’m afraid no one will believe anything I say.”
"Oh? What important military information?" Shen Lie asked.
"The Turkic Khan Ashina Zhijin led an army of 550,000 into Western Xinjiang, and at the same time gathered 250,000 troops from the Western Xinjiang Alliance, a total of 800,000 troops, to attack two passes and invade the Holy Tang! "
Shen Lie was shocked when he heard this. He, who had always been as calm as water, couldn't help but be stunned: "Is this news...reliable?"
"Of course it's reliable," Li Jiangyao said with a bitter smile: "Otherwise, could I be beaten into a Metasequoia Baron?"
Then, he told the other party everything about Shen Lie's past after leaving Western Xinjiang, especially the Turkic army's entry into Western Xinjiang, and analyzed it in more detail.
The more Shen Lie listened, the more worried he became. When Li Jiangyao finally stopped after speaking for a whole hour, he said in a deep voice: "This time we are in big trouble! You don't know that Xie Guang suddenly launched a rebellion this time, not only gathering the Xuanjia Legion and the soldiers of the Twelve Prefectures, and also secretly transferred back the Changdao Army stationed in Shengyuguan. At the same time, Cheng Kaiyang was unfortunately assassinated, causing chaos in the entire Shengyuguan and Shouchang County. In order to intercept Xie Biao, they were not allowed to go smoothly Entering the Central Plains to join forces with Xie Guang, the imperial court ordered the other troops of the Changdao Legion and the Fierce Blade Army defending Zijin Pass to march five hundred miles in a hurry to cooperate with the local soldiers in Liangzhou to set up a blocking defense line. Now, the northwest side may have already been tied up. Team up!"
"Oh my God! There are not enough troops to defend the two levels, and now they are fucking killing each other?" Li Jiangyao said in shock: "Once the Turks start a war, this battle will not be fought at all, it will be completely over!"
Shen Lie nodded slightly: "What's even worse is that all the troops that the imperial court can mobilize are all tied up in the Mianchi area east of Luoyi, and there is no way to deploy the second and third lines of defense in the northwest. The Turkic army only needs to occupy Zijin Pass and Sheng From Yuguan, looking down at the Central Plains, the imperial capital is like a baby, completely defenseless."
Li Jiangyao said urgently: "Brother Shen, you must go back quickly and report the enemy situation to the emperor. This matter is related to the safety of the entire Shengtang, so there must be no delay!"
"Of course I think so too! Unfortunately, things here in Luoyi are also related to the safety of the country." Shen Lie frowned: "I came to rescue His Highness the Crown Prince according to the emperor's secret order, but I really don't know which end to look at first. ”
"Rescue who? Rescue the prince?" Li Jiangyao was confused: "Isn't the prince preparing to go to war with the court?...You mean that the prince was held hostage by Xie Guang and the others?"
Shen Lie nodded: "And your good brother is also imprisoned in Ziwei Palace with the prince."
"Oh my god, Donggong Zhan is really Murong Xue, what's going on?" Li Jiangyao was completely confused.
Shen Lie knew that Li Jiangyao still did not fully understand the current situation, so he patiently told him about the major events that had happened in the imperial capital in the past few years. It also took nearly an hour for Li Jiangyao to gradually digest those earth-shattering changes.
He pondered for a moment and sighed helplessly: "It seems that in the future war, we may lose miserably, ten times worse than Crescent Bay!"
"You are right," Shen Lie said with a stern expression, "We are faced with internal and external troubles and a dilemma. I feel a deep sense of powerlessness now, and I feel that no matter how hard I try, it will be difficult to turn the tide."
"No, Brother Shen, you must not lose confidence." Li Jiangyao said: "The disastrous defeat I mentioned only refers to the early stages of the war. As long as we can grit our teeth and hold on, the final victory will eventually come!"
Shen Lie thought that Li Jiangyao said this just to encourage him, so he didn't take it too seriously. He himself is the kind of person with a strong will. Even if he sighs and complains, he will still fight to the end.
After a moment of silence, Shen Lie responded calmly: "Brother, don't worry, Shen will not give up. I haven't asked you yet. Are you planning to visit your brother when you come to Luoyi, the eastern capital this time?"
"No, I didn't know Murong Xue was here before." Li Jiangyao smiled: "I came to Luoyi to find an opportunity to assassinate the prince and Xie Guang."
