He Lou didn't know what Mo Yukan was planning, but the keen sense of smell he had developed through years of fighting on the battlefield kept him alert enough to the people in front of him.
He is very dangerous, especially as an enemy, giving people a creepy feeling!
People often say: "Women's hearts are the most poisonous!" But in He Lou's view, this is not necessarily true. At least this middle-aged scribe poses more danger to him than most women!
Since someone like His Majesty entrusts this guy with an important task, it means that he has such qualifications!
…
On the battlefield, just when the Tang army thought that the war was over, suddenly bad news came - traces of the enemy were found on the border!
The border mentioned here is not the Nanman side, but other directions, such as the north!
The group of monks didn't know what was going on, but they appeared at the border of Tang State without anyone noticing.
The Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom has always been reluctant to participate in secular disputes, but this does not mean that their strength can be ignored. On the contrary, these people are extremely powerful!
As a country founded on religion, almost all the monks in the Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom are warriors. An organized army of warriors can bring unimaginable destructive power!
As a large number of monk soldiers approached, the territory of the Tang Kingdom was also shrouded in dark clouds. Buddha Sect, are you going to take action?
Although this group of monk soldiers stopped outside the Tang Dynasty's national border, no one dared to relax their vigilance at this time. Instead, everyone was very energetic!
Because they don't know the purpose of these monk soldiers for the time being, but it can be imagined that it is definitely not a good thing for the Tang Dynasty!
Although they are still quite honest now, once they launch an attack, they may not be able to stop it based on the border defense strength alone!
Therefore, it has become inevitable to increase troop support! After all, no Tang people want to see what happened in Cangzhou Prefecture happen again!
With the influx of a large number of Tang troops, the border defenses seemed to have become much stronger. Even if the monk soldiers of the Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom wanted to capture this place, they would have to pay a very heavy price!
He Lou naturally received the news and was surprised. At the same time, he had some guesses about Wu Yukan's previous behavior: perhaps, he wanted to use the power of the Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom to deal a blow to the Tang Kingdom.
I didn't expect that this man could persuade Bei Mo. What conditions did he give? You know, not everyone can show off in front of the Buddha!
People's specialty is "argument" and playing with words, so even among the secular world, there are many smart people in the Buddhist sect, and they are not the kind of people with well-developed limbs and simple minds.
He is said to be a warrior monk, but he is actually a man of both civil and military skills. After all, many Buddhist scriptures emphasize the word "enlightenment", and the prerequisite for all this is to be able to recognize the word first.
If you are an illiterate who cannot read Chinese characters and cannot recognize anything written in the classics, how can you talk about enlightenment?
For such people, even if they make a family, their room for advancement is very limited. Anyone who becomes a warrior through practicing Buddhist techniques has some knowledge.
Their knowledge may not be deep, but it is enough to support their practice at a certain stage.
Anyone who can become a high-level figure in the Buddhist sect must be a person with both civil and military skills. Such a person's actions cannot be done on a whim, and it is difficult to be influenced by others. They must have their own considerations!
Therefore, although He Lou was a little surprised by the sudden intervention of the Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom, he did not think that it would have much impact on the Tang Kingdom.
Because under the current situation, he did not think that the Northern Desert Buddhist Association would rashly start a war with the Tang State, because the Buddhist State could not afford the losses it would cause.
Unless they are willing to send the vast majority of their elite troops, it will be difficult to achieve any breakthrough results now that Tang State's support is in place. After all, Cangzhou Prefecture’s victory cannot be replicated, at least for the time being!
Let’s not talk about whether the Buddha Sect planted spies in the Tang army. Even if there were, this is definitely not a good time!
With the lessons learned from the past, the Tang army will definitely be more cautious. Even if the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Desert fight on two fronts, the Tang army will not necessarily be afraid, but it may be a little troublesome.
But when neither side mobilized real strength, the Tang army was still as solid as a rock and unshakable!
It is indeed difficult for He Lou to predict Mo Yukan's thoughts.
Since you can’t figure it out, just don’t think about it for the time being. Anyway, there will always be a moment when things settle down, and then all the plans will come to light.
Just when the atmosphere on the border of the Tang Kingdom was extremely tense, a shocking news came - Chang'an City had changed!
Previously, almost everyone's attention was focused on the border land. After all, the Southern Barbarians had been fighting for a long time, and the monk soldiers from the Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom were very likely to take action. The battlefield was shrouded in dark clouds, tugging at the heartstrings of the Tang people.
The most worrying people are the Tang people who are close to the border, and many of them even plan to move their families to the inland. War is about to break out, and the closer you get to the border, the less safe it becomes!
And they believe that the safest place is undoubtedly Chang'an, which is the capital of the Tang Dynasty and the seat of the emperor. The security strength is unimaginable by ordinary people.
But in a place like this, something extremely angry but incomprehensible happened - Chang'an City was besieged!
This power did not come from an enemy country. After all, no one could sneak into the Tang Dynasty with a large number of troops without alerting the Tang army, and it was impossible for anyone to cross the border all the way to Chang'an City.
The power to besiege Chang'an City comes from within the country's borders. It is here and has always been there!
Eight thousand people in white clothes came together and surrounded the entire Chang'an City with extremely powerful force, like an iron barrel.
No one knows why this good neighbor who has always been adjacent to Chang'an suddenly became angry at this time and did such a shocking thing!
Even as the top force, rashly attacking a dynasty, it is still an extremely powerful dynasty. This is an unbelievable thing for anyone to see, because it is very irrational!
But Xuantian Sect still did this, and showed great determination, sending most of its disciples to directly surround Chang'an City!
This sudden move caught Tang Jun off guard, because no one would have thought that Xuantian Sect would suddenly take action.
The two have been living in peace and harmony for so many years, and Tang Guo has also shown a considerable degree of respect for Xuantian Sect. Logically speaking, things should not be like this!
But now that it has happened, the reason is not so important!
With a betrayal at such a critical moment, the relationship between Tang Guo and Xuantian Sect has come to an end!
How can you allow others to snore on the side of the bed? What's more, the person in front of you is still thinking of doing something to you. The best way is to strike first and get rid of him completely!
The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty wanted to take the lead in launching an attack, but unfortunately the city's defense force was empty. There were only city guards, imperial guards, etc., and there were only 20,000 to 30,000 people at full strength.
Although this number is large, it includes all soldiers. In fact, apart from logistics and some honor guards, those who can actually fight may have to be discounted.
And don’t forget, the enemy coming is the Xuantian Sect, which is known as the “No. 1 Taoist Sect”. Its disciples are all warriors with extraordinary strength and belong to the top group.
But this is not the case for the soldiers of the Tang Army. In terms of individual strength, they are far inferior to Xuantian Sect. The only thing stronger than the other party may be the ability of the battle formation.
But the Tang army was besieged at the moment, and it was still in Chang'an City. The power of the battle formation could not be shown at all, and it was temporarily at a disadvantage.
During this siege, in addition to the Xuantian Sect's rapid actions, the Tang people were attracted most of their attention by the actions of the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Desert. Even the military's power was restrained a lot, and it was difficult for the Shenzhen people to Chang'an City, which is located in the mainland, has neglected to take precautions!
Who knows, it is difficult to guard against house thieves if you guard against them day and night! Although Xuantian Sect is not a vassal of Chang'an City, it certainly cannot be. A secular dynasty does not have the ability and qualifications to make it surrender!
But after living next to each other for so many years, it is still a bit chilling to just take action without saying anything!
At this moment, Emperor Tang was sitting firmly on the dragon chair, looking at the ministers below, and said: "My dear friends, do you have any good ideas?"
All the civil servants were submissive, their eyes evasive, they couldn't say a word for a long time, and their usual ability to talk like a lotus was gone.
On the other hand, some generals asked for a fight, with angry expressions on their faces, and wanted to rush out and kill those arrogant white-clothed men!
Emperor Tang's eyes swept across the ministers, and then his eyes were fixed on Prime Minister Huangfu Qi, and he said slowly: "Ai Qing, do you have any ideas?"
Hearing this, Huangfu Qi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this Xuantian Sect has not shown any abnormalities for many years. If we start now, there must be something that can make their hearts flutter!"
Tang Tianzi nodded slightly, indicating for him to continue.
Huangfu Qi paused, and then continued: "The importance of this thing must have reached a level that we can't imagine, otherwise they would not have become enemies of our Tang country for this reason, and completely broke their faces!"
"As for joining forces with the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Desert to destroy our Tang Kingdom, I think this possibility is much smaller. It's not because of anything else, it's just that doing so will do more harm than good to them!"
"Let's not talk about the terrible price they will have to pay to destroy our country. Just by leaving our country, the treatment they will enjoy will not be better than now!"
"I boldly guess that this action is just because the interests of several parties coincide! The reasons for their cooperation are probably different, but they are all targeting our country, Tang!"
Emperor Tang pondered slightly, Huangfu Qi's idea coincided with his! Although the Tang State has become more and more powerful in recent years and has threatened some interests of all parties, it has maintained a certain degree of control and has never completely broken its skin.
At the same time, the power of the Tang State also made all parties fearful. When calculating the gains and losses, they were always reluctant to take action against the Tang State. After all, the price they would have to pay was not small!
Even the Southern Barbarians, who had the most friction with the Tang State, only launched some invasions at the border. It was a small fight at best. It seems that this large-scale attack is extremely rare!
Emperor Tang looked at the prime minister and continued to ask: "Then what do you think this thing might be?"
Huangfu Qi said: "Your Majesty, I'll forgive you. I can't guess what this thing is, but I can roughly guess where it is!"
Tang Tianzi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Oh?"
Huangfu Qi raised his head and glanced at Tang Tianzi's expression, and then said calmly: "If what I expected is true, the thing should be in the palace!"
As soon as these words came out, Tang Tianzi's eyes froze, his pupils shrank suddenly, and the aura on his body began to exude involuntarily.
Then he seemed to realize something, and quickly took back the leaked energy and regained his composure.
But who are these guys here? Don't look down upon them all because they can't solve the problem at hand and look like useless waste, but don't underestimate these people, they are all human beings!
Being able to stand here through the career path speaks for itself!
They thought they still had some understanding of the struggle above the court and Emperor Tang's thoughts.
After all, "accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger." Most people who don't have this ability have been reincarnated and learned again, but whether they can learn it is another matter!
And now these human beings obviously read some information from Emperor Tang's reaction: Emperor Tang knew about this matter, and might even know where the thing was!
After all, the thing that could attract the Xuantian Sect to come in large numbers was certainly not an ordinary thing, and Emperor Tang would not put the Tang Kingdom and himself in danger for an ordinary object.
Emperor Tang looked at the prime minister below, as if he was an old god, and couldn't tell anything strange. However, his words just now made Emperor Tang a little wary.
This old guy is famous for his shrewdness. Why is he so honest now? He answers whatever he asks. "When anything goes wrong, there must be a monster." It's better to be careful!
In fact, it’s not surprising that he was so cautious. It was indeed a matter of great importance. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was the lifeblood of Chang’an!
Everyone said that the emperor was a "true dragon". This was a metaphor and a beautiful symbol, but he knew that the meaning here was not as simple as it seemed.
This has to mention a special word - "dragon vein"!
It originally refers to undulating mountains. Because mountains are similar to dragons in many aspects, they are compared to dragons.
The "dragon" here is a special geographical context. The soil is the dragon's flesh, the stone is the dragon's bones, and the vegetation is the dragon's hair. Generally, a place where dragon vein aura gathers is considered a Feng Shui treasure place.
But dragon veins are not limited to mountains. There are also dragon veins in the plains. This can also be gleaned from the micro-topography and the direction of water flow.
Chang'an City is located where dragon veins gather. If I had to make a metaphor, this city is the "Dragon Pearl", and there are as many as nine dragon veins gathered here.
The ancestors of the Tang Dynasty chose to make their capital here. It was not a decision made with a slap on the forehead, but a far-reaching plan, for the eternal foundation of the Tang Dynasty!
With dragon veins, there is a continuous supply of dragon energy nourishment. This kind of thing is invisible and intangible to ordinary people, but it can affect the rise and fall of a country's destiny. It is mysterious and unpredictable!
An ordinary place with one dragon vein can become a blessed place, but Chang'an has nine dragon veins gathered together. This alone is enough to envy others!
However, Emperor Tang knew that this alone was not enough to induce the Xuantian Sect to take action. After all, they were not the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Desert. They could replace them after victory and use this place as their capital to enjoy the nourishment of dragon energy.
Is it possible to move the entire Xuantian Sect's mountain gate to Chang'an? That’s not impossible, but is it really necessary?
Others didn't know it clearly, but Emperor Tang knew that the thing that prompted Xuantian Sect to take action was still deep inside. In the center of the "Dragon Pearl", there was a "True Dragon Spirit", and its location was the imperial palace!
This is a secret that is not passed down in the Tang Dynasty. It is only passed down by word of mouth among the kings of the past dynasties. Even the prince cannot know it. This is a top secret!
With the existence of this "true dragon spirit", these nine dragon veins are truly revitalized. They are entangled with each other and communicate with each other, just like one body!
This secret should have been kept forever, but thinking about it this way, it is still a bit naive!
After all, there is no airtight wall in the world, and Xuantian Sect may have received this news.
The "True Dragon Spirit" may not be of much use to ordinary people, but for those who are at the pinnacle of martial arts, it may be a breakthrough opportunity!
It is said that the ancestor of Xuantian Sect has reached the top many years ago, and there are only a few people who can compare with him, and they will never be more than one palm.
After so many years, if he is still alive, his strength must have become even more unfathomable!
But in contrast, human lifespan is limited! No matter how powerful he is, as long as he still belongs to the category of "human", he cannot avoid the problem of birth, old age, sickness and death.
People with advanced strength will live longer than ordinary people due to improvements in physical fitness and other abilities, but it is definitely not the same as immortality. This is just a matter of precedence!
And if there are some external aids, it can nourish the body's functions and have more time to climb to the top of martial arts.
Once you cross that chasm, mortals can become gods!
In fact, Emperor Tang's guess was quite accurate. The Xuantian Sect was located not far from Chang'an City. This was not done randomly, but to suppress and absorb the power of the dragon vein flowing to Chang'an City.
The mountain gate where Xuantian Sect is located happens to intercept the larger of the nine dragon veins, but only a small amount of the dragon energy escapes to the mountain gate or gathers into Chang'an, and the rest is captured by the elders of Xuantian Sect. Zu absorbed.
His purpose of absorbing dragon energy is not for the so-called "luck", but for a more practical purpose, which is to delay aging and extend lifespan!
But this method is not a long-term solution. As time goes by, his body seems to have produced antibodies, and the effect of dragon energy on him is no longer very great.
If this continues, he will definitely die of old age in the Xuantian Sect within a few years. Not only that, the dragon energy absorbed in his body will burst out without any restraint after his sudden death.
This is not a good thing!
Just as medicine that cures diseases can be fatal if taken too much, dragon energy may be good, but such a large and completely out-of-control eruption of energy is definitely an unimaginable disaster!
Once something happens, it will definitely be more terrifying than a volcanic eruption or a hurricane. The entire Xuantian Sect may suffer heavy losses because of him alone!
At this time, he got the news about the "True Dragon Spirit" and its approximate location. How could he bear it? As long as he can get it, he is not afraid even if he is against the entire Eastern Tang Dynasty!
In fact, he had some vague guesses before, but the dragon veins were crisscrossed and occupied a large area. He was not sure where the legendary "true dragon spirit" was.
Even if the scope is as small as Chang'an, it is still difficult to find the detailed location of the "True Dragon Spirit" in this majestic city. After all, he cannot turn over the entire city.
Of course, he doesn't mind doing that if necessary! However, Tang State is not a weakling who can be manipulated by others, so how could it be allowed?
There is a large formation in Chang'an City. Although I have never seen its power, the ancestor of the Xuantian Sect knows how terrifying it is. If he takes action desperately, he will inevitably attract the most violent counterattack from this formation.
At that time, even if you can survive the attack of the large formation, you will be left with irreversible hidden injuries, and may even be permanently cut off from the upward path.
This was undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse, and he really couldn't afford the consequences!
It's just that the energy required to activate the formation is unimaginable. It is impossible for Chang'an City to use this kind of thing as a frequent means of attack. It will only be the last resort when life and death are at stake!
He himself temporarily hid behind the scenes, and eight thousand soldiers in white came to the city, bringing unparalleled shock and pressure to the people of the Tang Dynasty!
…
In the barbarian camp far away on the border, Mo Yukan learned the news from Chang'an, but he did not show too much shock. His indifferent expression seemed to have known that things would develop like this from the beginning.
He Lou had figured out a lot of things at this moment. Mo Yukan's initial layout of Cangzhou Mansion, and then his sending of troops to attack and capture the territory of Tang State, were not actually his real purpose.
Including the monk soldiers from the Buddhist Kingdom in the Northern Desert, it was just to contain the strength of the Tang army!
Now, his plan has begun to take shape. Such a thing happened in Chang'an, the capital of Tang State.
Naturally, He Lou would not think that Mo Yukan had called Xuantian Sect there. He could not command such a transcendent force, not even His Majesty!
But this just shows the terrible thing about this person. Everything he does is a small layout, but every step falls on the key. He followed the trend and guided the events step by step to develop as he expected.
Those who don’t know, think that this person has figured out the secret of heaven, but in fact, he has seen through people’s hearts!
He has an in-depth understanding and research on the psychological state of all parties, which makes it easier to analyze their weaknesses, so as to prescribe the right medicine and formulate strategies that are often more effective!
This time, even a transcendent force like the Xuantian Sect fell into his plan. Perhaps, it is voluntary!
After all, no one can plot against a transcendent force so easily, not even the person in front of him!
Everything is just "going with the flow", that's all!
…
The monk soldiers from the Northern Desert Buddhist Kingdom did not attack after arriving at the border of the Tang Kingdom, but they did not retreat either. Instead, they set up camp on the spot. It looked like they planned to stay there for a long time. This made the Tang Army on the opposite side very worried!
When the news came from Chang'an, they were naturally anxious. If there is a fire in the backyard and Chang'an falls, their defense will be meaningless!
However, the motives and purposes of these monk soldiers are unknown, but the danger is not small.
If the troops are transferred to rush to support Chang'an, then once the monk soldiers launch an attack, it is very likely that the place will fall, and what happened in Cangzhou Prefecture will happen again, which they do not want to see.
And this place is not close to Chang'an. Once you choose to rush to Chang'an, the soldiers sent out will not be able to turn back halfway. Once something happens here, neither side will be able to take care of it.
Now we are in a dilemma, it seems that no matter what choice we make, it is wrong!
In fact, not only them, but also other state capitals' first reaction after receiving the news was to support Chang'an. As long as the state capital is not located on the border, it does not have too many worries and can choose to support without any scruples.
However, they seemed to think a little too simply about this matter, because the troops they sent out were harassed to varying degrees, and it was difficult to reach Chang'an in the first time.
In other words, within a short period of time, Chang'an became an isolated city!
