As soon as the stormy Weinan Battle ended, Li Jiangyao returned to the imperial capital without stopping, and with him came 300,000 powerful troops to control Xinjiang.
As soon as the army arrived outside the imperial capital, they immediately divided into four directions and surrounded the entire city.
The leader of the Third Army, Holia, personally led the team and was waiting for the arrival of the main force outside the camp gate. As soon as she saw Li Jiangyao, she immediately urged her horse forward and paid tribute to the victorious army in accordance with the standard regulations of the Shengtang army: "Welcome to your triumphant victory! Our army is brave and our glory will last forever!"
The soldiers of the Third Army behind him responded in unison: "Our army is brave and our glory will last forever!"
Li Jiangyao also followed the rules and returned the favor with a standard reply: "All glory goes to Shengtang!"
After the process was completed, he said with a smile: "Princess, you have also worked hard. Keep an eye on Ash's weight, and you should be counted as the first one!"
Holia turned her horse around and rode alongside him: "Sir, as long as we can win, we are not afraid of hardships or fatigue! As soon as the news of Weinan's great victory came back, the brothers were all overjoyed, and now he is the only one left!"
Saying that, Holia raised her hand and pointed to the imperial capital city not far away.
Li Jiangyao smiled: "Have you been to the Imperial Capital before?"
"No," Horiyah shook her head: "My father and mother have been to the imperial capital. I have heard them tell me since I was a child that it is the city of heaven and the most prosperous and greatest place in the world."
Li Jiangyao nodded slightly: "They have spirits in heaven. If they knew that their brave daughter would lead the troops to save this great capital, they would definitely be very happy."
Holia's eyes were a little moist, and she said with emotion: "I really didn't dare to think before that we could actually live to see this day. Sir, the culprit Ashina is hiding there. It won't be long before we have him kneeling at our feet. !”
-
Imperial City, Tai Chi Hall.
Looking at the empty hall, Ashina suddenly felt a little cold. For a master like him with strong internal strength, the cold was something he had not experienced in decades.
He was stunned for a moment and asked in a deep voice: "How is brother Shuxuan doing now?"
A blood guard responded: "Reporting to the Great Khan, according to the elders of the Ghost Dou Clan, their young master's body has basically recovered, but... his appearance is difficult to return to his former appearance."
Ashina nodded silently, and after a while he ordered: "Tell him to come see me."
The Blood Guard agreed and strode out of the hall. About half an hour later, a figure tightly wrapped in a black cloak appeared at the door of Tai Chi Hall.
"Your Majesty, Brother Shuxuan, please see the Great Khan."
The hoarse and rough voice sounded lifeless, not like what a young man in his twenties should sound like.
A look of regret flashed through Ashina's eyes, and he said softly: "Come, come to me."
Ge Shuxuan hesitated for a moment, then took steps forward and walked to the imperial steps.
"Take off the hood and let me see." Ashina's tone sounded slightly sad.
Brother Shuxuan said softly, "Yes," and then raised his hand to remove the hood, revealing his face that he had always covered up.
Ashina looked at it intently, and couldn't help but feel nervous: the purple-black skin was wrinkled and clinging to the face, and the facial muscles were weirdly twisted, completely changing the position of the facial features. His hair and eyebrows were all gone, and he looked frighteningly naked.
Ge Shuxuan was once a famous handsome man among the Turkic nobles, but now he has turned into an ugly devil!
Ashina Zhijin didn't know what to say for a moment. He pondered for a long time before saying painfully: "Brother Shuxuan... you have been wronged. I feel sorry for your father and feel very sad."
Hearing this, brother Shuxuan smiled. However, that weird and terrifying smile was uglier than crying: "Great Khan, for the empire, this is nothing. With the blessing of the God of Fire, I saved my life, so it is the enemy who should feel sad!"
Ashina stared at his unusually strong brother Shu Xuan, and said in a deep voice: "It's a pity that I won't be able to help you get revenge."
Ge Shuxuan said with a ferocious smile: "The Zhenjiang Army wants to break into the imperial capital, and I will make them pay a heavy price! Although I can't kill those bitches Li Jiangyao and Xiahou Ninghan, but killing more of their men can be considered a way out. Bad breath."
"No, I don't intend to let you stay and fight." Ashina said, "You have to try to break out."
Ge Shuxuan was slightly startled: "Khan, what do you mean?"
"I... destroyed the Turks and am a sinner." Ash's cold voice seemed very calm: "At the last moment, I must leave some seeds for the empire."
"Didn't Tanli and Yun Qianxue go back? It's enough for them to make seeds." Ge Shuxuan's voice was equally cold and calm: "My father also has five sons, which are enough for the inheritance. Therefore, please let me stay I’ll accompany you.”
Ashina shook his head and said: "If you insist on not returning to the Western Continent, then try to go out and settle accounts with your enemies. In short, don't die here in vain."
Ge Shuxuan's evil eyes flashed with a cold light, and he asked: "Khan, do you have any new plans?"
Ashina cast his stern gaze outside the palace and sighed quietly: "When I was fifteen years old, I came here for the first time. I witnessed the prosperity of the Holy Tang Dynasty and the imperial capital for the first time, and was deeply impressed by it. Deeply attracted and touched. At that time, I secretly swore in my heart that one day I would conquer this great capital and let Ashina's surname become its most shining name!"
"What a pity, we are only one step away from success." Ashina turned to look at his brother Shuxuan at the foot of the imperial stairs, and said word by word: "Now, I have it, but I can't keep it, so ...It can only be completely destroyed!”
"How to destroy it?"
"I have ordered the Blood Guards to prepare." Ashina introduced softly, his tone as calm as gossip: "The Shengtang people have hoarded a large amount of kerosene and gunpowder in the city. The Blood Guards They will be scattered all over the imperial capital, including the imperial city.”
Ge Shuxuan smiled excitedly: "It's really satisfying to burn them all with fire! What we can't get, the Zhenjiang Army can't even think of getting! Khan, I'll protect you to break through!"
"No, I decided to stay, and 30,000 blood guards will accompany me." Ashina said calmly: "Only in this way will the imperial capital belong to me forever, and no one can take it away from me!"
Regarding the crazy idea of the Turkic Khan, Ge Shuxuan seemed to agree very much, nodding his head repeatedly and saying: "The Great Khan is right. Being able to die in the sea of fire with his ideals, even death is worth it. To be honest, I am very happy I envy you!”
Hearing this, Ashina Zhijin couldn't help laughing loudly: "Hahaha, I really didn't expect it. At the last moment, the person who really understood me was actually my brother Shu Xuan from the Ghost Dou tribe. You are a good kid. Very good. It’s a pity that I discovered it too late.”
"It's not too late at all." Ge Shuxuan said happily: "Don't worry, Khan. After breaking through the siege, I will definitely make Li Jiangyao's life worse than death. I will avenge you, the Prince of the Temple and the Turkic soldiers! I will!"
Ashina nodded and said in a deep voice: "Brother Shuxuan, good boy, I know you have this ability. However, Li Jiangyao is very powerful, and you will definitely not be able to defeat the Zhenjiang Army alone. Go to Jiangnan, Go to Lao Jianhua, you can use him, or you can use each other, try to buy more time for Tanli and Hesijia, so that the Turkic Empire can recover its strength. I'm begging you."
With that said, Ashina stood up from the throne, walked down the steps step by step, and came to Ge Shuxuan. He raised his hand and gently stroked the hideous and ugly face of his brother Shu Xuan, tears streaming down his eyes uncontrollably.
-
The fire started in the middle of the night.
At first, the fire only vaguely appeared in a few places in the city. Due to the high city walls blocking it, people outside the city could not detect the signs for a while.
But soon, the imperial capital was engulfed in fire. The flames soaring into the sky illuminated the entire sky red, and the crackling and popping sounds of countless wooden buildings could be heard clearly from a distance.
The sentry on duty was stunned by the scene in front of him, and hurriedly reported it layer by layer, and it reached Li Jiangyao in a blink of an eye.
Li Jiangyao was woken up from his sleep by his men. When he came out wearing a cloak, he immediately felt that the situation was not good.
This is not like what the sentry said: a sudden civil strife broke out among the enemy troops in the city. This is clearly the Turks deliberately setting the fire!
Li Jiangyao quickly ordered: "Notify all armies to be on alert immediately to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the chaos to break through!"
The Zhenjiang Army was well-trained and was always on high alert. Therefore, not long after Li Jiangyao's order came out, all the major camps in the four directions were mobilized. All the troops lined up neatly and approached the imperial capital at night.
However, after waiting for a long time, the expected enemy breakthrough did not happen. The imperial capital was still burning cracklingly, and the screams and calls for help from the people in the city continued to be heard.
Such a strange scene made the generals of the Xinjiang Army stunned, and everyone speculated about what conspiracy the Turks were up to.
At the critical moment, it was Li Jiangyao who was the first to realize: Damn it, Ashina Zhijin, this madman, is not trying to break out, but wants to perish with the Imperial Capital!
The military order of the Great Protector was once again sent to all armies: At any cost, capture the gates of the imperial capital immediately! Extinguishing! Save the people!
Thousands of soldiers of the Zhenjiang Army responded to the order and quickly advanced towards the city with flames soaring into the sky. This time, they were not sieging the city in the usual sense, but racing against time and death to save the capital of Shengtang and the trapped people.
Since the Turks had no intention of resisting desperately, the nine gates of the imperial capital were quickly breached one after another. The Zhenjiang soldiers who rushed into the city saw blazing fires and sparks flying all over the sky. One tall building after another was completely burned through and collapsed. The terrified people of the imperial capital fled in panic and fled in all directions.
The imperial capital is like purgatory!
