The sunset shines in the evening, and the afterglow of the setting sun colors the sky.
Most of the Jiangxia defenders stopped confronting the Han army after Zuo Wu was killed.
Jinchang still wanted to lead the palace's retainers to resist, so Huo Qubing sent troops to Yao Zhao and Zhao Ponu. The two men's combat power surged. They rode on horseback and held spears, stabbing like lightning. After killing several of the palace's retainers, Jinchang In a panic, he was also killed by two people, and his body and head were missing.
Zuo Wu and Jinchang both died, and the disciples of the palace lost their leader and began to flee.
When these retainers escape, the news of panic and defeat will be brought back to Huainan and spread quickly.
Therefore, Huo Qubing did not order a pursuit and annihilation.
When most of the diners were dispersed, he sent an order to withdraw his troops.
The local guards here can take the initiative to stop fighting, and then Zhang Cigong's men will take over.
Huo Qubing's team was only responsible for defeating the enemy, leaving all the aftermath matters to the follow-up troops.
The team quickly reorganized and galloped towards the next target.
The night is already dark.
The study room of Huainan King Liu An is still brightly lit.
In the past few hours, he received news of defeat in the first battle one after another.
Zuo Wu and Jinchang died in battle, and the palace retainers fled. The local army took the initiative to lay down its weapons and refused to fight with the Han army.
Bad news keeps coming.
Fortunately, King Huainan was not completely unaware of this.
He had other arrangements.
"Report, the Han army Zhang Cigong's troops are approaching Jiangxia from north to south. The Han army Li Guang's troops are hoarding troops to the north of Huainan... The Han general Huo Qubing's troops, who defeated the Jiangxia defenders, are continuing to the east, and their target should be Lujiang County."
Huainan King Liu An's face flickered under the lamp, waving his hand to signal the messenger to go and investigate again.
It was not until noon the next day that new news came back: "After Huo Qubing left Jiangxia, there is still no trace. Judging from his marching speed, he should have arrived at Lujiang County this morning, but no trace of him was found in Lujiang."
"It is speculated that Huo Qubing may have led his troops across the Lujiang River and directly attacked Jiujiang County, but is now missing."
Liu An's thoughts fluctuated.
Lujiang County was previously demolished due to vertical and horizontal roads, and then was subjected to a secret investigation and a group of officials were eliminated.
Those officials were originally under Liu An's secret control.
After that time, officials in several counties around Lujiang were also purged.
Until now, secret agents have been investigating Huainan and its nearby counties, and they are keeping an increasingly close eye on it.
Liu An's move at this point in time was actually out of necessity. If you don't activate it, you can only sit back and watch years of hard work, being secretly investigated, and being wiped out bit by bit by Chang'an's power. The longer you wait, the less chance you have.
The emperor of Chang'an was the best at starting from small things, breaking them with one point, and then taking control of the overall situation quietly.
By the time you find out, it's too late.
So this time, Liu An decided to take action.
But this timing is obviously not the best choice, it is earlier than Liu An expected.
His most ideal time was to take advantage of the situation when the Huns and the Han were at war. The main force of the Han army would be restrained by the Huns and unable to stand aside. He took advantage of the situation and united with several surrounding counties to raise troops to the north, echoing the Xiongnu internally and externally, and his plans were promising.
It is a pity that the recent confrontations between Han and Hungary were all ended in one battle and no major war broke out, providing him with ample opportunities.
But this time he only mobilized his troops slightly, but was immediately attacked by Chang'an's lightning attack. Within only six or seven days, the situation had changed drastically.
At this time, Liu An took a long breath, his eyes fell on the bamboo slips in front of him again, and he wrote: "Just act according to your plan."
…
At an unknown location, on the other side of the slip that was communicating with Liu An, a man was sitting behind a low mat, staring at the handwriting on the bamboo slip.
He is the secret writer.
After contacting Liu An, he took out a long and narrow bronze box.
The box opened and three special pens were listed inside.
Of these three pens, one is made of jade, the barrel of another is made of bronze, and the last one is made of bamboo.
What the three have in common is that the pen barrels are densely engraved with complex incantations that seem to correspond to the stars in the sky.
These mantras linger on the pen, drifting apart and combining on their own, as if they can deduce and write all things in the world, carrying countless secrets.
Among the three pens, the bronze pen has the strongest aura, surrounded by a dark and yellow halo.
The bamboo pen is filled with black air, which is strange to the eye.
The jade pen looks the most ordinary and unremarkable.
At this time, the tip of the bamboo pen in the box suddenly extended and lengthened like a hair, and it moved rhythmically out of thin air, which was extremely strange.
The author hesitated for a moment and chose a copper pen: "We should use this copper pen that once reviewed the affairs of all peoples to write a book... to attract them into the situation."
The copper pen fell into his hand, and the black and yellow energy on the tip of the pen became thicker and thicker.
The writer took out a thumb-sized vial from his pocket and slowly poured out a drop of thick ink.
He started writing and ink, and in an instant, he wrote the first stroke on a bamboo slip.
The strokes of the brush combined with the bamboo slips, and the ink created a circular array on the slips.
In the center of the array, the writer slowly wrote the four words "See the shadow, life will perish"!
Then he wrote: "They walked into the dragon burial place of death, and the entire army was wiped out..."
He only wrote a few words, and the incantations engraved on the pen holder drifted off one after another, blessing these few words.
Then the writing flickered and disappeared.
A sneer slowly appeared on the corner of the writer's mouth.
He put away the copper pen, fastened the box containing the pen, and put it away close to his body.
Finally, I wrote on a pair of bamboo slips with the soft pen I used to write on a low mat: "I have started here, and you can start too."
"How confident are you?"
"It's not easy to disrupt the destiny of the Han Dynasty, but after planning for so long, it's time to give it a try. If I fail, you continue..."
————
A few days passed by.
July 26th.
In Changding Hall, noon.
Liu Qing stood up in the hall, ending another process of soul differentiation and entrustment to the falcon.
Since Huo Qubing left for the war, she had been using her 'eyes' during these few days to follow the progress of Huo Qubing's military expedition.
Huo Qubing was in several counties around Huainan, breaking enemy camps and advancing at high speed.
However, after every battle, he would march in hiding.
Liu Qing tried several times but failed to find the specific location of Huo Qubing, who was marching in hiding.
At this time, Huo Qubing was missing again, and Liu Qing felt a little disappointed.
It's like a purdah woman whose husband leaves home and doesn't know what to do. She has no interest in other things.
She has hairpins on her temples, rich clothes, and a red brocade skirt. In midsummer, the clothes are thin, revealing a slightly delicate collarbone and fair skin like porcelain and jade at the neck. Further down, the clothes suddenly rise into a round and plump shape.
Master Qin Qingyu was not here either, so he couldn't find anyone to talk to.
Liu Qing came to the window, reached out and picked a petal swaying in the wind outside the window, put it on her moist lips and sucked it, feeling a little sweet.
Not long after, a chamberlain came over and informed: "Your Majesty has summoned the princess to come over."
Liu Qing then boarded the carriage and went from Changle Palace to the adjacent Weiyang Palace.
When she saw Liu Che in the study of Weiyang Palace, the emperor was reviewing the memorial.
Liu Qing glanced at the seats on both sides, then walked to the row of seats where the generals were and sat down.
Dong Xu, the chamberlain at the door, followed and respectfully placed a roll of bamboo slips on the low mat in front of Liu Qing.
Liu Che said: "Qu Bing led the troops. In the five counties around Huainan, they won consecutive battles and defeated the local army three times in two days. As expected, the local defenders were not determined to fight. They were not bent on following Huainan in disobedience."
"In front of you are battle reports sent back from Jiangxia, Jiujiang and other places."
Liu Qing pursed his lips slightly and opened the bamboo slips. On them were news that Huo Qubing led his army to break the camp.
Before Huo Qubing went to war, he and Liu Che deduced the battle situation and made predictions about the changes in the situation.
So far, the situation is not much different from the previous judgment.
Liu Qing had read the battle report on the bamboo slips with his own eyes, and he knew it better than Liu Che. He read it again and said:
"When will Qu Bing return to Chang'an? Does the emperor know?"
"It will probably take four or five days." Liu Che responded casually.
The sky quickly darkened.
There are neither stars nor moon on the deep dome, and the night is dim.
Huo Qubing led his troops to camp in the wild.
Huainan and its surrounding counties have many river systems and many mountains.
The men he led were all resting with their backs against the mountains.
The scouts spread out in groups of three and three, with nine people in each team, to explore the surrounding area to make sure there were no hidden dangers that could pose a threat.
One of the scouts quickly discovered something unusual in a nearby mountain col.
Nine scouts crouched behind a low hill and looked at the mountain col in the distance.
"There are actually houses in this mountain col, like a small village."
"This village appears alone in the mountains and wilderness, and it is in a low-lying area around it. The location is weird..."
"There is still a qi movement around the village. I can't see it clearly. Is that a village?"
Several scouts talked quietly.
For some reason, there seemed to be an inexplicable force that attracted them to enter the village and explore the situation inside.
Several scouts quickly decided that three of them would stay behind to take care of the situation, while the other six would get closer to see what was going on in the village.
This is also what scouts should do. If there is any danger near the camp, they must find out.
However, just as the scouts were preparing to enter the village, a voice sounded in their ears: "The march will not be disturbed by foreign affairs. That village... do not go in to explore."
"Master Hou!"
To the scouts, this voice was tantamount to the highest order.
Strange to say, the strange power that had inexplicably attracted them to explore the village dissipated instantly when Huo Qubing's voice sounded.
The nine scouts immediately left and returned to the team.
A quarter of an hour later, Huo Qubing's team set off overnight, turned into mist, and suddenly lost sight of it.
A village not far away.
Voices of conversation came from the darkness: "They say this guy is arrogant. We have worked so hard to set up a trap here. We originally thought we could bring in the scouts and kill them. With Huo Qubing's temper, if the scouts in the team disappeared, he would definitely send more troops." If you probe harder, you can fall into our trap step by step.
How come he not only didn't come in, but also left early? "
This village was the ambush set by Huainan against Huo Qubing's troops. Based on the author's sensing of the bamboo slips that Huo Qubing carried with him, he could vaguely grasp his location.
The whole village is hidden with the Mohist's clever weapons, and there are traps everywhere inside. If you enter, you will lose your troops, but it's a pity that it's useless.
Huo Qubing pulled away and changed places.
In a battlefield confrontation, if you are defeated head-on, you will have to use a surprise ambush.
It's a pity that an empty net was cast and not a single fish was caught.
Another voice was also surprised and said: "If he doesn't ambush, what should we do?"
"Try other methods."
The next afternoon.
Huo Qubing led his troops outside a barracks where the defenders were stationed in Jiujiang County, east of Huainan, to observe the enemy's situation.
At this time, on the military book in his consciousness, the handwriting corresponding to the military strategy was intertwined, and the words were uncertain, and Teng She also slowly opened his eyes.
Under Soaring Snake's gaze, thick blood emerged from the depths of the camp.
Military strategists are good at observing the situation on the battlefield and discerning the actual situation of the enemy and ourselves.
After Huo Qubing contracted the cheat, Teng She and Yuan Shen merged, and he was particularly sensitive to crises.
With the heavy sound of horse hooves, Huo Qubing's team once again failed to pass the camp and turned to attack the next target.
In the camp, some people looked at each other: "He left again... Just like the news from over there, he didn't come in at all."
"Report it to King Huai."
"The village we set up before contained the Spring and Autumn Formation Map. It was not easy to arrange, and it had the effect of luring the enemy deep, but they still avoided it and did not ambush."
"..."
Among the counties and counties surrounding Huainan, Jiujiang is the largest and has defenders all around.
At noon, the clouds were thick and the sky was a little dark.
To the north of Jiujiang County City was the garrison where the ambush was set up. Just when they thought Huo Qubing was leading his team to leave for the next destination and eliminate the previous ambush, Huo Qubing's team suddenly appeared, but it turned out to be true. Turn around and make a comeback!
When Yao Zhao, Zhao Ponu and other troops rode towards the defenders' camp, Huo Qubing stood alone on a low hill, looking down.
At this moment, he suddenly looked not far away.
At the position where he was looking, a layer of ripples was filling the void, and a person's image slowly emerged as if separated from the space.
Even though this figure is standing under the sun, it still gives people a hazy look.
It can only be barely seen that his face is pale and bloodless, and his body is thin and tall.
His eyes were impressive and cold, but his face was very blurry and he couldn't see his exact appearance clearly.
With the appearance of this person, Huo Qubing still had the terrifying illusion that a strong wind was roaring in his ears, and all other sounds around him were forced back.
The abnormal sound expanded rapidly like a wave, and in an instant, the whole world was filled with this frightening sound.
But in fact everything around him remained the same.
With the appearance of this person, Huo Qubing still had a terrifying feeling as if he was in a violent storm and the world was about to overturn. It took an amazing amount of willpower to keep himself from being affected.
Such a terrifying power is truly unheard of and extremely shocking.
The surrounding void seemed to hide endless power, and the waves cracked the shore, and the surges overlapped. From the moment this person appeared, it continued to rise.
It was as if there was a huge wave like a high wall, pressing down on Huo Qubing from somewhere.
Jin'an was letting out an anxious and frightened hiss, pawing the ground with his front hooves, trying to rush up and attack the person opposite.
It also senses that the person opposite is the source of uneasiness, and is ready to kick him to death to make this uneasiness disappear.
Huo Qubing got off his horse and patted Jin'an's horse's neck.
Jin'an took small steps and ran to the foot of the short hill.
"Are you the one in the secret?!" Huo Qubing said in a deep voice.
The terrifying level of the other party is truly unprecedented!
The figure made a voice that was so indifferent that it was almost devoid of emotion: "I have indeed been waiting in secret, but I don't know if it is the secret person you mentioned."
He seemed to be smiling, with a strange curve at the corner of his mouth.
The next moment, with his position as the core, array patterns were suddenly outlined on the ground, in a circular shape, exactly the same as the array patterns formed by the writer's pen on the bamboo slips before.
The array pattern written with heaven and earth as the carrier is more than ten feet wide, including himself and Huo Qubing at the same time.
Boom!
The overwhelming black air filled the air, like a sudden wave.
When the black air disappeared, Huo Qubing and the person who had always been hazy after appearing disappeared from where they were.
But at the moment when the black energy surged, a sword light shot out of thin air under the low hill next to Huo Qubing's body. It was dazzling and the sword slashed into the black energy.
Another figure followed the sword light and rushed into the black air, and disappeared at the same time as Huo Qubing, the man in the dark.
On the battlefield, Yao Zhao and Zhao Ponu immediately noticed the changes in the rear: "Sure enough, something unexpected happened. Huo Hou previously ordered us to ignore any changes and break the camp as planned..."
"kill!"
In an instant, Huo Qubing felt the light and dark in front of him change, and even the space seemed to be changing, giving him a strong sense of weightlessness.
When the fleeting changes before my eyes stopped.
He found that he seemed to be moved to another place out of thin air.
"Is this the legendary Taoist array... or is it a method similar to the Yin and Yang lineage that fights the stars and twists the space?"
The person Huo Qubing was talking to was the owner of the sword that was sacrificed at the moment when the black energy broke out.
He rushed to Huainan this time, knowing full well that Huainan was connected with the author.
Of course you won't be unprepared.
Liu Qing's master, Qin Qingyu, hid under Huo Qubing's command, transformed into a soldier, and followed the team. The purpose was to find this secret man and retrieve the Taoist scroll.
The moment she encountered something unexpected, she immediately seized the opportunity and followed him.
On the opposite side, the figure is still standing there: "Jade Taoist Master, you must also come here to seek death."
"It's not certain who will live and who will die." The sword in Qin Qingyu's hand shone brightly.
Huo Qubing was looking around, and what he saw surprised him.
Qin Qingyu glanced around and looked stunned.
What is this place……
They came to a palace, but the palace had no roof. It was still daytime just now, but there were stars shining above, and the surrounding walls were lined with towering mountains.
The most surprising thing is that the surrounding walls are full of carvings, written in ancient seal script, and incantations of various shapes.
And the material of the wall is bronze... Is there such a big bronze wall in the world? !
Ps: It’s not the Yin Shang Palace of Death in the previous book, it’s completely different~~I heard that UFOs appeared...
(End of chapter)
