Huangshagong is located at the entrance of the desert on the border of Beiyi, stretching for dozens of miles. The climate is dry all year round, and wind and sand are raging. Most of the nearby areas are almost barren of grass, and few border residents live there. But it is rumored that an ancient city that has been abandoned for thousands of years is buried here - the ancient city of Mesha.
According to the report of the escort who inquired about the news, the Yeyou League bandits who robbed grain and grass and kidnapped Zheng Miao and Ouyang Qi were hiding in this mysterious thousand-year-old city.
"Su'er, do you really believe that there is an ancient city like that?" Qin Chuan rode his horse around Huangshagang with others for about an hour. Not even a stone wall was seen, and he couldn't help but question the reliability of the news.
Su Qiqi looked around for a while and became a little puzzled: "Is the news really wrong? Let's go a little further and take a look..."
After that, she took the lead and rode forward for a while, then continued to look for traces of the ancient city.
After walking for about a cup of tea, a strange wind suddenly blew up from the ground, rolling up yellow sand all over the sky and blowing towards us. Many soldiers were blinded by the wind and sand, stumbling around like blind men, in great pain.
Su Qiqi was worried that the army's morale would be weakened, so she hurriedly stopped to comfort everyone, and then asked the accompanying escorts and soldiers to find a shady place to rest. He and Qin Chuan continued to explore the way forward.
The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and sat down one after another. They took out their water bags and drank some water. Then they each found a corner leeward and closed their eyes to rest.
Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan continued to ride their horses forward. As he walked, he searched for suspicious targets.
"Qinchuan, look, there seems to be a path there...could it lead to the ancient Mesha city we are going to?" Su Qiqi pointed to a place not far ahead and said to Qin Chuan excitedly.
Qin Chuan took a closer look, and sure enough, there was a hidden path overgrown with weeds not far ahead, winding on the slope.
"There really is a way... Let's go over there and take a look..." After that, he took the lead in patting his horse and running towards the path.
Su Qiqi quickly followed, shouting: "Be careful!"
Qin Chuan responded and continued to move forward without stopping.
The two arrived at the path and took a closer look. They were surprised to find some clear and messy rut marks.
"There are many overlapping ruts here, some are very clear, and some are incomplete... But it can be seen that the texture of several groups of ruts here is very similar to the carriages used by Deputy General Zhang to escort grain and grass... Maybe this is them. The only way to transfer food, fodder and hostages..." Su Qiqi analyzed excitedly.
Qin Chuan smiled and nodded when he heard this: "Well, let's go up and have a look... maybe we will gain something..."
The two dismounted, tied their horses to a plum tree by the roadside, and walked forward along the path. When they were almost at the end of the path, the two finally saw a magnificent stone city.
The city wall is made of loess and stone, rammed in layers, and built in blocks. It is about three feet high. Archery machines and catapults were also set up on the battlements. Through the gaps between the battlements, the fluttering flags and figures of people in the city can be vaguely seen.
The two of them did not dare to approach rashly. They only observed the area for a while and then returned to the place where the bodyguards and soldiers were resting.
Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan briefly introduced the enemy situation in Mesha Ancient City to everyone, and made some adjustments to the original strategic plan and personnel division of labor.
When Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan directed everyone to sneak near the ancient city. Suddenly, many fully armed guards were added to the battlements of the ancient city.
Su Qiqi's heart skipped a beat: Could it be that the bandits of the Yeyou League had already noticed that they were approaching the city?
Just as he was thinking about it, the gate of Mesha Ancient City suddenly opened. A wooden suspension bridge slowly lowered, and then a group of men in black clothes rushed out on horseback, whizzed past the bridge, and headed straight for what Su Qiqi had just seen. That little road.
Su Qiqi and others quietly hid in the plum forest next to the ancient city, and continued to observe the movements inside and outside the ancient city with telescopes.
After the man in black on horseback had gone far away, Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan used their light skills and walked around the ancient city wall. They found that there were only two gates in the entire ancient city, one south gate, which was heavily guarded, and one north gate. There were only three or five soldiers patrolling.
Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan couldn't help but feel confused: What was the purpose of the Yeyou Alliance bandits' arrangement like this? Is this always the case or is it done deliberately to paralyze our army?
The two discussed in low voices for a while, but still had no clue. However, for the sake of safety, the two temporarily thought of an emergency plan.
As the agreed time to attack the city gradually approached, Su Qiqi asked Qin Chuan to lead more than 200 people around to the weakly guarded north gate, where they would ambush first and act according to the opportunity.
Later, Su Qiqi asked the accompanying bodyguards to wait in the plum forest with more than 200 soldiers to receive Nangong Yu's reinforcements, while he led the remaining nearly 500 soldiers to the more heavily guarded south gate.
Arriving outside the south gate, Su Qiqi asked an escort beside him to shout to the Yeyou Alliance guards on the tower.
The bodyguard nodded knowingly and shouted to the defenders on the tower at the top of his voice: "Thieves in the city, please hand over the imperial grain and grass you plundered and release the hostages! Otherwise, we will fight into the city!"
As soon as the escort finished speaking, several heads popped out from the battlements. They glanced at Su Qiqi and others, and then quickly turned back.
After a while, a row of armored crossbowmen appeared on the tower. After a whistle, sharp arrows poured down like a rainstorm.
Su Qiqi hurriedly asked the soldiers to raise their shields to protect themselves and move slowly towards the city gate.
The arrow rain became more and more dense. Although the soldiers were very careful, some soldiers were unfortunately hit by arrows and fell down.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Su Qiqi quickly ordered the soldiers to postpone their advance. She selected several bodyguards and soldiers with high martial arts skills to form a vanguard, and she personally led them to clear the way in front.
Su Qiqi and several bodyguards who were highly skilled in martial arts moved and jumped nimbly to avoid the attacks of sharp arrows. They jumped up onto the city wall and chopped down several crossbowmen.
The arrow rain became much thinner, and Su Qiqi ordered the soldiers to attack the city in one go.
Outside the north gate, Qin Chuan followed the plan and knocked down all the enemy soldiers guarding the gate, opened the city gate, and entered the city with the soldiers.
When entering the city, Qin Chuan specially asked someone to throw a flare to notify Su Qiqi.
Su Qiqi saw the flares and signaled the accompanying escorts and soldiers to step up the attack.
After about a cup of tea, Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan successfully entered the city and swarmed outside the temple where the leader of the Ye You Alliance was located.
In the temple, the deputy leader of the Ye You Alliance was still drinking tea calmly, pouring himself cup after cup, as if he didn't care about the critical situation outside the temple at all. On the other hand, the several guardians and hall masters who followed him were anxious, but they did not dare to say anything easily.
Lin Quan, who had not been seen for a long time, was sitting in the guest seat, watching every move of the deputy leader and others calmly, with a mocking smile on his lips.
"I heard that our sworn enemy has arrived outside the temple. I wonder what the deputy leader has to say?" Lin Quan finally lost his composure and said with a gloomy face.
