Li Jiangyuan has been on the battlefield for a long time and is used to seeing blood and death, but the tragic death of the Nilin soldiers still made him extremely sad: It would be great if he could come back earlier. At least he could accompany them in a bloody battle and give them a gift. Procedure.
Compared to Li Jiangyao's sadness, the people in Nilinsi seemed more open-minded.
Zhou Xing was lost in silence for a while, raised his head suddenly to hold back his tears, and said loudly with a forced smile: "Sir, there is still good news. General Murong successfully escaped from Lao Jianhua's clutches that night. It is said that until Now, the Xuanjia Army has still found no trace of General Murong. Judging from the time, I estimate that he has probably left the enemy's sphere of influence safely."
Qian Honglie, the flag-bearer of the third branch, also laughed hoarsely and said: "Yes, Boss Qiao and the others did not die in vain. When Master Changshi asks in the future, brothers are good at remembering their merits. However, I also heard news that, Murong Xue’s wife was unable to escape that night and was hacked to death by Xuan Jia’s army in the melee.”
Li Jiangyao was slightly startled: "Is this serious?"
"It's true," Zheng Xiaotong next to him said, "I also got the same information from my humble position. Rui Ji was pregnant, so she couldn't break out with Master Murong. Later, the two sides fought fiercely, and Rui Ji died tragically on the spot. Xuan Ji was responsible for burying the body. Army A saw it with his own eyes, so it shouldn’t be wrong.”
Hearing this, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but feel a little sad. First of all, the mystery of Rui Ji's life experience has not been confirmed yet. She died inexplicably like this, and she doesn't know how to explain to Murong Xue in the future. Secondly, no matter what, Rui Ji and Murong Xue were married, and the fetus in their belly was his own flesh and blood. The poor child had not yet been born and had suffered misfortune with his mother. As Murong Xue's brother, how could Li Jiangyao not feel heartbroken?
Zhou Xing noticed his gloomy expression and quickly changed the subject: "Sir, what should we do next?"
Li Jiangyao was silent for a moment, regained his composure, and responded: "Speaking of which, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Murong Xue have successfully escaped. The task that Brother Shen entrusted to me has been completed. Next, I plan to return to Western Xinjiang. "
Zhou Xing, Qian Honglie and others had heard from him before that Tanli revealed information about the Yakut Army before leaving. Therefore, everyone knew that Li Jiangyao was worried that the Turks would be detrimental to the Metasequoia soldiers. I was in a hurry to go back.
Zhou Xing thought for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "Sir, the Luoyi operation has come to an end. We have to go back and report back to Lord Chang Shi. Your journey to Western Xinjiang covers thousands of miles, and you will be treasured by millions of people."
"No need to say goodbye," Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "I have one more thing to trouble you with."
The spies looked at each other, wondering what else Li Jiangyao had ordered.
Li Jiangyao smiled, and then said: "The Turks invaded the Holy Tang Dynasty in a large scale, and they made a mess in the entire northwest. The message transmission system between the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang and the Central Plains region has also been completely destroyed. Our Xinjiang Army is alone. Outside the territory, no matter how hard it is, you are not afraid. The only thing you are afraid of is losing contact with the motherland. Therefore, I would like to ask you to send a few people to go back with me this time. When we get to Metasequoia City, we will talk to our intelligence officer Get in touch with our colleagues and let them return. In this way, we can respond to each other, which will be of great help to the future fight against the Turks."
When Zhou Xing heard this, he said excitedly: "My lord, what you said makes sense! This matter is of great importance to the country and the king. Why not... let me accompany you in my humble position."
Li Jiangyao was a little surprised: "Are you going in person? Lao Zhou, you are the majestic flag-bearer of Nilinsi, and you are no ordinary spy. Without your nodding, Shen Changshi was kidnapped by me. Aren't you afraid of being beaten when you come back? ?”
"Sir, what are you talking about?" Zhou Xing smiled sheepishly: "You are not an outsider. Even our long history trusts and respects you. You are willing to take a humble position and travel with you to Western Xinjiang. By the way, you can also It’s a great achievement, isn’t it?”
Qian Honglie also nodded and said: "Yes, sir. Zhou Xing and his second department were originally responsible for inquiring about information and collecting intelligence. Over in Western Xinjiang, since the Battle of Crescent Bay, it has basically been a black eye. After Mr. Changshi came back from Western Xinjiang last time, he mentioned to us more than once that he wanted to re-establish the intelligence network outside the customs and restore contact with your Zhenjiang Protectorate. Brother Zhou Xing finally has the opportunity to go this time Mission accomplished.”
After hearing this, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but feel relieved. Zhou Xing is a top intelligence officer in Bei Ya Ni Lin Division, and his temperament is quite to his liking. If he goes through all the trouble and danger to go back with him in person, the effect will naturally be much better than that of an ordinary spy.
"That's it!" Li Jiangyao said happily: "Old Zhou, let me take you to experience the magnificent customs of the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang. If you are lucky, maybe you can capture the heart of the beautiful Orchid. Yeah, hahahaha!"
Early the next morning, Li Jiangyao took Zhou Xing and three spies to bid farewell to the brothers in Nilin Division, and the five of them embarked on a journey back to the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang.
When he first came to the Central Plains, because the Turkic army blocked Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan, Li Jiangyao had no choice but to take advantage of the uninhabited trails in the Qilian Mountains and risk death.
Today the situation is very different.
Although the fierce battle between the two countries is in full swing, with millions of troops gathering in the northwest and fighting each other, the road connecting Xijiang and Liangzhou has been opened.
The Turks had just captured Xiao Pass at this time, and large numbers of troops were advancing towards the imperial capital, so the entire Yongliang Corridor was completely under their control. Except for Turkic soldiers checking people coming and going at some key passes, everything else returned to normal.
Li Jiangyao and Zhou Xing discussed and decided to take the Silk Road trade route in an open way. This would not only greatly shorten the return trip time, but also collect a lot of intelligence information along the way.
They were afraid of attracting the attention of the Turks and did not dare to ride war horses, so after bypassing the two main battlefields of Tongguan and Imperial Capital, the five people changed to ox carts, pulled up silk and satin cloth, and headed west disguised as a caravan.
The road from Gyeonggi to Liangzhou was full of messy scenes of enemy troops crossing the border.
The Turks and the affiliated troops of the Western Xinjiang Alliance followed the bandit style of burning, killing and looting. Wherever the army passed, there was almost no vegetation.
In their eyes, the people of Shengtang were no different from the cattle and sheep on the grassland, and they were all objects of slavery and slaughter. The countless gold, silver, women and food were all trophies prepared for the Turkic warriors. If you don't kill to your heart's content, burn to your heart's content, or rob to your heart's content, then what are you doing here?
Driven by this idea, the Turks advanced rapidly while committing mischief everywhere. In their words, this is "hunting", and the prey is innocent Shengtang people.
In comparison, the Blood Guard Corps and the Blood Guard Cavalry Corps led by Yun Qianxue can be regarded as the most disciplined and civilized Turkic army.
Because she abides by military ethics, Yun Qianxue has almost harsh requirements for her troops. Therefore, apart from being extremely cold-blooded and murderous during battle, these two elite legions rarely take action against ordinary people.
Such an alternative style naturally attracted ridicule from other Turkic troops.
There is no ethics or morals in those people's minds. Since the Blood Guard brothers don't burn or rob, it just makes them happier. There were more and more vicious incidents of killing people for fun and raping women, and the scale of looting wealth and burning towns was getting bigger and bigger, so that in the end, all the people themselves ran away without Shengtang having to fortify the walls and clear the country.
Later, there were even cases in the Turkic army where several battalions took action and attacked each other because of the competition for property and women.
Faced with this situation, Ashina Zhijin had to personally order: All legions should restrain their subordinates and improve military discipline. Except for the capital cities that stubbornly resisted surrender, no large-scale massacres and plunders were allowed. Anyone who disobeys the order will be trampled by the horse's hooves!
The Khan was ruthless, and the Turkic generals and their respective troops restrained themselves slightly, and were relatively restrained in harassing and harming the occupied areas.
Of course, it's just a few, that's all.
The atrocities of the Turks have been restrained, not entirely because they were afraid of the Khan's thunderous wrath. There was also a more critical reason, that is, the battle to attack the imperial capital was about to begin.
The Imperial Capital is the richest place on Dongda Road.
Compared with the imperial capital, other areas can only be called remote areas, and naturally they will not be put in the eyes of the Turkic gentlemen.
As the front continued to advance eastward, the towns and villages behind the Turkic army slowly regained a little bit of vitality. Although the trauma of the war is still there, life has to go on.
The land of our ancestors is here, and people's roots are here. Unless they are really forced into desperation, no one is willing to leave their hometown easily and become a helpless refugee.
Common people are often the most able to endure hardships. Even under the enemy's saber, as long as they are not immediately hacked to death, they can silently bury their dead relatives and friends, pick out the usable household items from the ruins, and start to feel familiar and sad again. life.
Li Jiangyao and the others walked along, feeling deeply saddened by the sights they saw.
As soldiers, their bounden duty is to protect these poor people.
However, when people need protection the most, they are powerless.
When passing by Xiaoguan, Li Jiangyao and others heard local residents talking about a strange thing while they were eating.
Recently, every night late at night, villagers always see some terrifying "living dead" wandering around in the wilderness.
Why do you say it's the living dead?
According to an old man, if you want to say those are dead people, that's not entirely true. Because he had seen with his own eyes that those strange things were not dead, they were breathing, making sounds, and their arms and legs could move normally.
But it’s not right to say that they are living people. Because those guys looked sluggish and unresponsive, their bodies were covered with flowing blood and festering flesh, and some even had bones exposed.
The most terrifying thing is that they seem to feel no pain at all.
Some people say that this must be the work of an evil spirit. In war, if too many people die tragically, the ghosts of grievances will gather together. Therefore, some people who are not completely dead will stand up again and look for scapegoats to help them escape.
Li Jiangyao and Zhou Xing didn't pay too much attention after hearing these words. Such strange stories about ghosts and ghosts are nothing more than some idle folk who made them up to scare people. The more bizarre the stories are, the more exciting they are.
Horrible rumors that go against common sense are fine to deceive ignorant women and children, but for samurai like them who are full of murderous intent, they are not worth it at all.
However, no one could have imagined that it would not be long before Li Jiangyao and Zhou Xing realized that there was actually a secret hidden behind the bizarre legend they happened to hear.
A huge, horrifying secret!
