At this time, the situation in Shengtang had once again undergone earth-shaking changes.
Xie Guang led the rebel army composed of Xuanjia Army and Twelve Prefecture soldiers, and violently attacked Tongguan several times, suffering heavy casualties but never being able to capture it. In order to preserve his strength, Xie Guang had no choice but to stop fighting and withdraw his troops, and temporarily returned to the eastern capital Luoyi to explore the Central Plains.
At the same time, Huaiyang King Li Kuang, who had been hiding in his own fiefdom, suddenly made a false statement after more than half a year of planning and preparation. He publicly lied that he had been appointed as the new crown prince of the Holy Tang Dynasty by Emperor Li Chengwu. In the name of driving, they recruited troops and expanded their military strength in the Central Plains and Huaihe areas.
The imperial government offices that were urgently evacuated from the imperial capital moved to Yizhou one after another. They immediately sent troops to block the plank road into Sichuan. While doing their best to resist the Turkic pursuers behind them, they continued to govern the various provinces, prefectures, prefectures, and counties across the country. , constantly gathering forces for counterattack.
In the Guanzhong area where war clouds were thick, the Turkic army and the Holy Tang troops launched an unprecedented battle around the imperial capital; while the Guandong area was divided and occupied by various forces. Luoyi, Huaiyang, and Yizhou maintained different positions and were about the same strength. Everyone took advantage of this short period of calm to accumulate their own strength and prepare for the unpredictable struggles and battles that would follow. Killing.
Among them, what made Lao Jianhua worry and regret the most was letting go of the Shengtang Crown Prince Li Bing.
Originally, Lao Jianhua believed that the Turkic army swept across the capital and Li Chengwu died in an instant. After the world fell into chaos, the little prince in name only could no longer stir up any trouble. However, who could have expected that Li Bing, who had been hiding in Songshan Temple, would suddenly be escorted to Youzhou by Shen Lie's troops. There, Shen Lie took out the edict and military talismans issued by the emperor Li Chengwu, and in a blink of an eye, he mobilized 170,000 soldiers from Hebei Province to become the prince's protective army.
At the same time, the Duhufu stationed in Liaodong and the Dudufu guarding the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain also assembled their own troops, including the world-famous "Panshi Camp" and "Yinshan Flying Cavalry", and nearly 100,000 troops were ordered to go south. Youzhou, obey the prince's orders.
By the middle of last month, the total force gathered under Li Bing's command had reached 300,000, and more than half of them were elite troops who had been on the battlefield and well-trained.
Facing the prince's regiment that could attack the Central Plains at any time and sweep away the rebels, Lao Jianhua was quite surprised and regretful. If he had known this, he might as well have killed Li Bing directly!
The biggest miscalculation in this was that he completely failed to expect that Emperor Li Chengwu would still choose to trust and support his incompetent nephew after Li Bing caused so much trouble. Si escorted the prince to the north, where the location was more geographically advantageous, and granted him maximum military power.
This immediately disrupted Lao Jianhua's various ideas.
Judging from the current situation, not to mention that Xie Guang and Li Kuang can't pee in the same pot, even if the two guys with their own evil intentions can join forces to fight, they may not be able to stop the army of Prince Li Bing.
Moreover, if a civil war breaks out if they dare to become enemies of the emperor and prince, most of the states and counties south of Jinhe will send troops north under the organization of the Yizhou Provisional Court to join forces with the prince to attack Xie Guang and Li Kuang from the north and south.
By that time, these two people will definitely not be able to hold on for long.
After thinking about it, Lao Jianhua felt that the only way to get rid of Li Bing was to use assassination to continue the situation of leaderless people, melee between all parties, and the world of Middle-earth falling into chaos.
In that way, he would have the opportunity to realize his plan with the support of the Turks.
But the question now is, how easy is it to kill Li Bing?
In addition to hundreds of generals and hundreds of thousands of troops guarding him day and night, Li Bing is also surrounded by a group of special "bodyguards": Shi Chenlie, the director of Beiya Nilin, and his top assassins, Songshan Zen Temple, headed by Master Hui Dian. The martial monk group, Xia Hou Ninghan, the owner of Xianxia Villa.
These god-like existences formed a protective network that was impossible to break through. No matter how many killers Lao Jianhua sent out, they would all be lost in silence.
He was almost desperate.
At this moment, Lao Jianhua suddenly thought of his godson brother Shu Xuan: Perhaps only by using those poisonous "living dead" can we find a chance to break through that solid iron gate!
-
"Shen Aiqing, is there still no news about Murong Xue?" Li Bingduan sat behind the desk, his brows furrowed and his face full of sadness.
Facing the prince's inquiry, Shen Lie cupped his hands and replied: "Your Majesty, the several groups sent by Wei Chen have not received any reply yet. On the night when Deputy Commander Qiao Shengchun led the team to rescue Murong Xue, someone Finally, we saw General Murong jumping into the Luoshui River after breaking out of Taifu's Mansion, and he has not been seen since."
Hui Dian, who was standing opposite, clasped his hands together: "Amitabha, will Murong Donor fall into the hands of the enemy again?"
"This possibility is not high," Shen Lie analyzed: "Although Lao Jianhua wiped out all the informants of our Beiya Nilin Division in Luoyi, it didn't take long for us to deploy some more troops to sneak into Dongdu. If Murong Xue is caught by the enemy, it is impossible that he cannot be detected."
Li Bing said worriedly: "Did you encounter some danger on the road? It has been a long time since I came to Youzhou, and armies from all walks of life have gathered here, and the momentum shocked the world. In any case, Murong Xue should be able to hear something News, come and meet as soon as possible."
Shen Lie comforted him and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to worry. Although General Murong is a civil servant in the East Palace, he was born in the martial arts hall of the imperial capital and has experienced military service for a long time. Whether it is his ability to protect himself or his connections in the world, It’s enough to cope with all kinds of crises.”
Xiahou Ninghan, who was standing next to Hui Dian, also persuaded him at this time: "What Mr. Chang Shi said is true. Murong Xue is smart and sharp. He dared to ride alone to Luoyi to take up his post, which shows his confidence and ability. Now that the world is in chaos and thieves are everywhere, it must be because the roads are not smooth that he has not come to Youzhou for so long. Maybe... he was already not far away while we were chatting."
Xiahou Ninghan obviously has a great influence on Li Bing. Her words immediately made His Royal Highness feel much calmer.
Li Bing nodded slightly: "The sect master is right, I did have some crazy thoughts just now. Murong Xue is both civilized and military, and no one among the younger generation in the entire government can be better than him. Since he can escape from Xie Guang's clutches, I’m sure we can reach Youzhou safely.”
He paused for a moment and continued to ask Shen Lie: "How is the situation in the imperial capital? Are the Turks still attacking?"
"Over there in the Imperial Capital, alas... the situation is not optimistic." Shen Lie looked gloomy: "According to the intelligence sent back recently, Wei Chen and several generals analyzed that the Imperial Capital is very likely to be breached by the enemy within the next few days. Perhaps. … It has fallen now.”
"What? Is the situation so bad?" Li Bing said solemnly: "What exactly happened? Tell me quickly."
Shen Lie first looked at Master Hui Dian and Xia Hou Ninghan who were standing aside, and then slowly responded: "The imperial capital has been struggling until now, and it is already the forty-sixth day. In this month and a half, the Turks People were attacking almost every day, and as many as five large-scale battles involving more than 100,000 people were organized. According to Weichen's estimation, the defensive materials originally stored in the city included arrows, kerosene, rolling logs, and stones. Wait, it should have been exhausted half a month ago. I don’t know how the Imperial Capital withstood such a fierce attack by the enemy."
He paused briefly and sighed again: "Although the imperial government offices and the people in the city have evacuated first, there are still nearly 200,000 people left in the imperial capital to fight against the enemy, and the food and medicine in the city must have reached an unsustainable level. ,well!"
"Amitabha!" the old monk Hui Dian shouted the Buddha's name. He couldn't bear to imagine the miserable situation in the imperial capital city.
Xiahou Ninghan's beautiful eyes were filled with frost: "The two hundred thousand people guarding the imperial capital are all determined to die."
Shen Lie nodded slightly and continued: "Yesterday, the front line sent back news that on the seventh day of this month, the Ninth Turkic Golden Army and the Ghost Dou Army jointly attacked, and Mingde Gate, Anhua Gate, and Jingyao Gate were lost one after another. The Hubao Cavalry is preparing to organize a death squad to retake the three city gates. Six days have passed since the news came back to Youzhou. Now the outer city of the imperial capital is estimated to have been completely lost. Next, we can only look at the imperial city. How long have you been holding on?"
"Pah!" Li Bing slapped his palm on the desk and said urgently: "We immediately mobilized all our troops and rushed to the imperial capital to rescue the emperor's uncle!"
Shen Lie shook his head and sighed: "Your Highness, even if we have everything ready and can set off immediately, I'm afraid it will be of no avail. The Tongguan Fortress, which the traitor Xie Guang had not been able to conquer for a long time, was captured by the Turks three days ago. Marshal He Lianxiong captured it easily. From that moment on, the gate to the imperial capital was finally completely closed by the enemy. Our reinforcements could no longer rush to aid His Majesty..."
Shen Lie's words echoed in the spacious room and hit everyone's heart hard.
"We can no longer rush to your Majesty's aid..."
Li Bing stared at Shen Lie blankly, but his eyes seemed to penetrate everything in front of him and cast his gaze towards the giant city thousands of miles away.
The most painful thing in the world is that you know that a tragic ending will definitely happen before your eyes, but you are unable to do anything. You can only let time flow freely, waiting helplessly for the fateful ending to finally come.
Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of powerful enemies, even the most majestic city in the world seemed so fragile and helpless.
The imperial city, the emperor, the fire, the death, every scene and every symbol seemed to turn into a sharp thorn, piercing deeply into Li Bing's heart, making him feel a faint pain.
