The monster's reaction was completely beyond the expectations of the government officials.
This guy was not only bloodthirsty and easy to kill, but he was also not afraid of being stabbed with knives and spears. In the blink of an eye, another person's throat was bitten by him, and another person's intestines were slashed.
Li Hu's scalp went numb when he saw it, and he quickly told everyone to stay close together and not give the monster another chance to hurt people.
The county magistrate was already frightened out of his wits. While the monster was concentrating on attacking the government officials, he suddenly whipped his whip fiercely, galloped out on his horse, and ran towards the north gate.
Zhao Yulong was startled by his move and was about to call him to stop him. Unexpectedly, a dozen monsters suddenly ran out from an alley in the distance and pounced on the county magistrate, biting the man and his horse to pieces. Vague.
Zhao Yulong and Li Hu were shocked and hurriedly called everyone to go back. However, at this moment, a large number of monsters appeared behind them, roaring crazily and rushing towards them.
-
Chang Tao, the deputy governor of the Liaodong Protectorate, put down the military report in his hand and said apologetically: "Master Xiahou, we... are still a step too late, and we are sorry for you."
"This is not a question of being ashamed of me!"
Chang Tao knew that she was the daughter of the martial arts master Xia Houmei and the savior of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and General Murong. Of course he did not dare to offend her, so he could only patiently explain: "As soon as we received the news from you, we immediately sent troops to the nearby states and counties. , strengthen local defense. However, not all places can be reached. For example, Zhongmu County and Qingchi County were just attacked by poisonous soldiers. They are close to Luoyi. Although they have nominally surrendered to the prince, the front lines are intertwined. We If our troops want to go to these two places, they need to pass through areas where the Turkic cavalry often moves, and it is easy to become a lone army."
After Xiahou Ninghan heard what Chang Tao said, she couldn't blame him anymore and asked instead: "How much damage has been caused now?"
General Chang Tao handed her the report and introduced at the same time: "The scouts reported that Qingchi County responded quickly and the poison soldiers attacked relatively late, so they almost withdrew more than half of them, about 4,000 people. Those people Those who insist on staying are either old people who can't walk or don't believe in monsters. In short, the number of people killed by the poison soldiers is about 2,700 to 3,000."
He paused slightly, and his tone suddenly became very depressed: "The situation in Zhongmou County is much worse. They were attacked in the morning, and it was no more than an hour before the emergency military order from the Protectorate was sent, so the people were Didn’t make it.”
Xiahou Ninghan's heart tightened: "How many casualties were there?"
"Including the county magistrate Zhao Yulong, at least more than six thousand people died." Chang Tao slammed his fist on the table: "The scouts said that when they arrived there, the entire Zhongmu County was silent, and the city was full of corpses... …”
Xiahou Ninghan closed her eyes in pain, tears falling from the corners of her eyes uncontrollably.
He raced against time, but in the end it was too late.
Chang Tao advised: "Master Xiahou, don't be sad, we will definitely avenge this!"
Xiahou Ninghan nodded silently and opened his eyes: "General, don't think about revenge yet. The poisonous soldiers' attack on the county town is only the first step. They will be even crazier next. You must be on high alert to prevent the tragedy from happening again. "
Although Chang Tao had never seen the Poison Soldiers with his own eyes, his immediate boss, the Protector Yang Xingtai, lost an arm because of those monsters. This incident shocked everyone in the Protector's Mansion, and naturally they did not dare to take it lightly: "Sect Master , how to deal with this kind of weird guy who is neither human nor ghost? Is it really like what is said outside that they are invulnerable and cannot be killed? "
Xiahou Ninghan shook his head: "The poison soldiers are monsters refined by Brother Shuxuan with poison. They have lost consciousness, feel no pain, and have no fear of death. But in the end, they are still flesh and blood. As long as the method is proper, they will be the same." It can be subdued.”
"For example...cut off the head?" Chang Tao asked, "Or attack with fire?"
Xiahou Ninghan agreed: "That's true. In addition, it would be better if an antidote could be found to save the poisonous soldiers. After all, most of them are soldiers or civilians of Shengtang, and they have also suffered torture."
Chang Tao nodded: "I understand. If conditions permit, I will ask the soldiers to capture the poisoned soldiers alive and wait for the opportunity to detoxify them in the future."
Xiahou Ninghan nodded happily, then stood up and said: "The news has been sent. General Chang has taken precautions. It's time for Ninghan to leave."
Chang He stood up quickly: "Is the sect master going back to His Highness?"
"No, I want to go to Western Xinjiang." Xiahou Ninghan said in a deep voice: "Refining the Poison Soldier's soul-stirring sand requires the lead mass produced in Western Xinjiang as raw material. I must cut off Brother Shuxuan's road and let He can't hurt anyone anymore."
Chang Tao admired him in his heart and cupped his hands and said: "The sect master is compassionate and compassionate. He went to danger alone to save our soldiers and civilians of the Holy Tang Dynasty. All Liaodong soldiers admire him. Please also be careful along the way, sect master. If you encounter any danger there, you can go to the Zhenjiang Army for help." "
"The Suppressing Army?"
Seeing that she didn't know why, Chang Tao quickly explained: "The sect leader doesn't know something. My cousin is serving in Nilin Division. A few days ago, he told me that there is an army of Shengtang in Western Xinjiang, called the Zhenjiang Army. They After fighting alone for many years, we not only defeated all the rebellious vassal states, but also expelled all the Turkic garrison. Now, the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang is back in our hands again."
Xiahou Ninghan's eyes lit up, and he immediately remembered that person and asked, "Is the commander-in-chief of the Zhenjiang Army surnamed Li?"
"Yes, the surname is Li." Chang Tao smiled and said, "The name seems to be Li Jiangyao."
Sure enough it was him!
Xiahou Ninghan had seen Li Jiangyao's ability when he rescued the prince in Luoyi. At that time, she only knew that Li Jiangyao was He Jingming's apprentice. After the fall of Western Xinjiang, he still insisted on defending his territory and resisting the enemy. Later, he was framed by the Turks, who gave him the title of Metasequoia Baron and was reviled by the people of Shengtang.
Unexpectedly, Li Jiangyao, whom he had not seen for a year, would actually accomplish such a big thing, thousands of miles away, and return to the Holy Tang Dynasty!
Xiahou Ninghan was happy and quickly asked Chang Tao about the situation of the Xinjiang Army. Chang Tao said that he only heard a general idea from his cousin, and the specific details were not very clear.
However, he can be sure of one thing, that is, Li Jiangyao and his Xinjiang Army have attracted the attention of the Turks. Not long ago, spies sent back information that two main Turkic armies were heading to Western Xinjiang one after another, apparently to deal with the huge threat there.
Xiahou Ninghan said happily: "In this way, doesn't it mean that we have successfully contained the enemy's forces?"
Chang Tao nodded: "Yes, Sect Master. Two legions, almost 100,000 people, were all transferred to the west at once. Here on the eastern front, our advantage is even greater. And Li Jiangyao's foothold is tantamount to complete Cut off the Turks' retreat, and Ashina's support will be in danger!"
"Great, the Suppressing Army is amazing!" Xiahou Ninghan said happily: "When I was in Luoyi, I almost beat up General Li. Fortunately, I didn't act rashly."
Chang Tao didn't know the reason and couldn't help but ask what was going on. When he heard Xia Hou Ninghan say that His Royal Highness was rescued by Li Jiangyao under the leadership of Nilin Division, he was immediately surprised and admired, and also expressed his admiration for General Li. Feeling of admiration in my heart.
Xiahou Ninghan learned that Western Xinjiang was under the control of the Zhenjiang Army, and became more confident about cutting off the lead raw materials of Geshu Xuantun. She said goodbye to Deputy Protector Chang, and set off on her horse in white to go west again.
At this time, the Central Plains region was already covered with war clouds. The old Turkic marshal He Lianxiong commanded five legions, totaling 230,000 troops, and was preparing to set off from Tongguan and advance towards Luoyi, the eastern capital.
At the same time, the Liaodong Protectorate and Hebei Province soldiers under the command of Prince Li Bing assembled a main force of 350,000, marched south from Xiangzhou, and entered the hinterland of the Central Plains in two ways, preparing to fight the Turks.
The forward troops of both sides made contact first, sending scouts to each other to harass and infiltrate. Small-scale encounters occurred almost every day. The positions on both sides were also intertwined, and the battlefield situation was very complicated.
Following Chang Tao's suggestion, Xiahou Ninghan took the north bank of the Jin River and headed west, bypassing the fiercely contested main battlefield in the Central Plains. Then he took a boat upstream to the intersection of the Jin River and the Weishui River, and then turned to land. Heading westward from Huazhou.
Xiahou Ninghan traveled through the starry night for several days, and finally saw the majestic Holy Tang Imperial Capital again.
Since she needed to replace her horses with new ones, she decided to rest in the imperial capital for a day, and also to inquire about news about the Turks. Thinking of this, Xiahou Ninghan pulled the reins, changed the direction of his gallop, and headed straight towards the gate of the imperial capital.
At this time, the imperial capital was gradually recovering from the trauma of the war. The scars left by the fierce battle more than a year ago have been repaired, and the damaged city walls, burned gates, and collapsed turrets have all returned to their original appearance.
There was a more or less lively scene inside and outside the city gate. Except that the guards on guard were replaced by Turkic soldiers wearing pointed helmets and chain armor, the rest was no different from the previous imperial capital.
Perhaps in order to raise military funds, the Turks set up a city gate tax here. There was no need to deliberately check when entering and leaving the imperial city, as long as they paid the money obediently.
Xiahou Ninghan felt a little frustrated and took out the money, led the horse into the city, and looked around. Although the entire Zhuque Street was still full of people, it was obvious that the faces of the people were no longer as old as before. Confident and energetic, on the contrary, there is a feeling of confusion and gloom.
Xiahou Ninghan, who had been to the imperial capital several times before, easily found the Hexing Inn where she had stayed before, asked for an elegant guest room from the counter, ordered some vegetarian dishes, and asked the waiter to bring her room later.
These days of war and chaos, business is not easy to do. It is rare for customers to come, and the store clerks are very attentive. While placing the cups and dishes, the waiter talked very enthusiastically about a major event that was about to happen in the imperial capital.
Xiahou Ninghan couldn't help but be stunned after hearing this: "What did you say? The Turkic Khan wants to bury the emperor himself?"
