Come on, Your Highness

After the troops retreated, the Xiongnu discovered that only Prince Daqi brought thousands of cavalry, and the main force of the Chinese army was still behind.

Based on their numbers, there is no need to be afraid. If you are lucky, you can capture the crown prince and make a deal with Emperor Daqi.

It's a pity that Guancheng, which has been unable to attack for a long time, has greatly reduced the morale of the entire army. Hearing the horn of the charge, he lost his judgment.

Now that the opportunity has been lost, Guancheng is impenetrable, so there is no need to think about it.

In the freezing weather, even the living things in the forest could not be seen.

No matter how much food they carried on their bodies, they were gradually running out, and they did not break through the pass as originally planned, which meant that this winter, the Huns could only look for opportunities in the wild.

The general of the Xiongnu looked gloomy.

He can't be wrong, Daqi's army can't be so fast, they have cavalry who are not Huns, there is no weight behind them, they come and go at will...

By the way, grain and grass.

He squinted his eyes and passed on the order: "Gather troops and attack Shicheng! We will spend the winter there!"

Shicheng is another border city farthest from Guancheng, and it is also the smallest in scale. Compared with Guancheng, it has a smaller population, and of course there are fewer defenders.

But the significance of occupying him is not great, there are many mountains and forests, there is no straight road, and it is not flat, so it is impossible to drive southward for a long time.

If you want to attack Daqi, you still have to take down the throats of Daqi like Guancheng and Shacheng.

However, if they don't find a place to stay, the mighty cavalry of the Huns can only go back home.

Shicheng is not a solution, at least it can survive the winter.

"It's just, General, what if it's the same as Guancheng..." The confidants hesitated, and the fearlessness of the Zhenbei Army cast a deep shadow on them, "And Daqi's army has been monitoring our movements. Facing the enemy, the warriors may not be able to bear the second defeat!"

The general said coldly: "Those civilians who haven't had time to kill, rush to the front when attacking the city, and see if the defenders can't bear to shoot them! Send another surprise soldier to go around and intercept Daqi's grain and grass. I don’t know how many troops the Great Qi Army can allocate to protect it.”

"Stone City must be taken!"

The scouts turned back to report the movement of the Huns.

However, it was helpless that [-] Northern Expeditionary troops were dispatched to support the rear of the food, grass, and armaments, which meant that no corresponding troops could be drawn up to support Shicheng. The Huns' cavalry was too fast, and the infantry could not keep up.

With despicable methods, Shicheng fell within a day.

According to the style of the Huns, the people in Shicheng have no way out.

When He Xichao arrived at Guancheng with the logistics army, the news just came back.

Xiao Hong didn't bring eight big sedan chairs to invite He Xichao. At this moment, he was standing alone in front of a huge map of the northern border and looking at it.

Hearing the familiar footsteps, Xiao Hong didn't turn his head, but said dully: "Xi Chao, I broke my promise."

"It's a good thing you broke your promise, otherwise I would be ashamed to see others."

Xiao Hong twitched the corners of his mouth, and turned around: "Have you encountered the Huns?" He carefully inspected He Xichao, and found that the latter was intact without any scratches, so he was relieved.

"There are not many people, and there are [-] troops, and I haven't even seen the shadow of the Huns." He Xichao walked to his side, looked sideways at Xiao Hong, "The stone city is broken."

Facing the cold facts, Xiao Hong's eyes darkened, and he laughed at himself: "I ordered a strict defense, but I couldn't defend it at all, and I couldn't catch up, just like this... Xi Chao, I'm really sad."

There was a strong sense of frustration in his voice.

"It took King Zhenbei his whole life to drive the Xiongnu out of the pass. You have only been here for a long time, and the pass city has not been broken, which is already a sign of your bravery." He Xichao said.

"Are you comforting me?"

"I'm just seeking truth from facts." He Xichao walked to the map and squinted his eyes. "I don't understand military affairs, but I met a few generals on the road and admired your bravery and determination. The Xiongnu are not just paper, are they?" Is it a one-hit defeat? Losing Shicheng is better than losing Guancheng, isn't it?"

Although Xiao Hong gave an "um", his eyes were firmly locked on that small city.

Not to mention a city, even an inch of land, as long as it is not under the protection of Daqi's army for a day, it will be incomplete, this is his pain.

"Don't worry, Shicheng will be taken back sooner or later, as long as we hold on, we will be invincible." He Xichao put his hand on his shoulder.

Xiao Hong smiled, held that hand and said: "The generals also mean the same thing. Almost all the men of the Huns are here, and they can't afford it!" Gritting his teeth with hatred, he said, "I hate that I am incompetent now, otherwise I will fight back and go straight to the court of the Huns, and let Shan Yu and every executioner kneel on my land to repent!"

Defending the city meant that they couldn't fight. Even if Daqi was rich and populous, in terms of combat, it was indeed no match for the people on horseback that were longer than the grasslands.

So only to resist the invasion, but never took the initiative to make the other party bow down.

As the future Great Qi Emperor, Xiao Hong was really angry and sad, hateful but helpless.

He Xichao listened, lowered his eyes silently, and then heard Xiao Hong ask: "Xichao, do you think I can do it? There will be a day in Daqi, and the powerful army will daunt the grassland?"

Without even thinking about it, He Xichao said with certainty: "Yes!"

Xiao Hong laughed immediately, this was the most heartfelt smile Xiao Hong had ever seen since the two reunited.

"You really have confidence in me. You think I can do anything I seem to do."

He Xichao looked at him and said seriously, "Because I will help you."

With He Xichao by his side, Xiao Hong is invincible!

"By the way, I heard that the defender of the city is the daughter of King Zhenbei, a female general?"

Xuan Ling is not dead, but still unconscious.

Three days have passed.

Xiao Hong took He Xichao to meet her.

After cleaning the wound, Xuan Ling with her eyes closed is a beautiful girl, her bloodless face is so fragile that it is pitiful. It is hard to imagine that this is the one who killed so many Huns with his own strength. General.

A strong soul has nothing to do with gender, only respect.

"How is it?" Xiao Hong asked the imperial physician who had been taking care of him.

Physician Wang said: "Your Highness, it's cold in winter, and the recovery of the wound is not too bad. As long as the person wakes up, he can be saved."

This situation is much better than imagined, but if the person does not wake up and the rice water does not enter, it will be difficult to open his eyes after all.

He Xichao thought about the situation along the way, and suddenly asked: "Is there no one else in the palace? It seems that I haven't seen any female family members of the Xuan family."

Ah Yue, who was looking after her, replied: "The old lady passed away three years ago, and the prince never remarried. As for the major generals, after they died in battle, their wives and concubines were dismissed, and those who remarried remarried. The two young masters were sent out of the city by the lady."

"The Zhenbei Palace is all heroes. I remember that Shen Changze also came from the Zhenbei King?" He Xichao said.

Ah Yue said: "General Shen is the adopted son of the prince, and he also belongs to the young lady..." Ah Yue turned her head to look at the motionless Xuan Ling, with sadness in her eyes.

"His head has not been taken back yet, don't worry, Gu will let him be buried in the ground intact." This is the oath that Xiao Hong made in his heart when he saw the headless corpses.

A Yue bowed her body: "Thank you, Your Highness, the prince treats General Shen as his own, and will not wish that the general's bones are incomplete."

Xiao Hong nodded, he looked at Xuan Ling again, then ordered the two imperial physicians to take good care of him, and said to He Xichao: "Don't bother me, let's go out."

He Xichao nodded.

However, Xiao Hong took two steps, turned back to Ah Yue and said, "If there's anything that Gu can help, your lady can't tell, so it's the same if you tell Gu."

Ah Yue had tears in her eyes: "Yes."

But Xuan Ling is not awake, so what's the point of having more?

"Xichao, let's go." Xiao Hong pulled He Xichao's arm, but He Xichao didn't move.

"what happened?"

Just now when Xiao Hong spoke to Ah Yue, He Xichao turned his head and glanced at Xuan Ling again.

"I feel... General Xuan's eyes seemed to move." He Xichao said uncertainly.

Xiao Hong followed and turned his head, only to see Xuan Ling laying down perfectly, motionless.

"You read that right? Her eyes are open?"

"It's the eyelids that moved."

After He Xichao finished speaking, Imperial Physician Wang walked over in three steps at a time, stretched out his hand to open Xuan Ling's eyes, took a closer look, took out her wrist from the quilt, and felt the pulse.

Imperial Physician Wang pondered for a long time, then suddenly called Imperial Physician Zhang beside him and said, "Come and see."

As soon as this remark came out, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, Xiao Hong and the others simply stood at the door, waiting for the result, and hope rose involuntarily in their hearts.

Xuanling is alive, which means that the spirit of the Zhenbei Palace will not disperse, and the Zhenbei Army will survive forever.

Imperial Physician Zhang looked more carefully, and in the end they said with expectant eyes: "Your Highness, General Xuan seems to be waking up."

Xiao Hong and He Xichao glanced at each other, then asked the imperial physician: "Really? When will you wake up?"

"It's... hard to say, the body is so weak, even if you want to wake up, it's hard to wake up." Doctor Zhang shook his head, "But this is already a good phenomenon. This kind of situation shows that General Xuan is aware of his surroundings."

"So something stimulated her?" He Xichao immediately thought of the never-ending plot in the TV series, and looked at Ah Yue.

Seeing Ah Yue bursting into tears, she threw herself on Xuan Ling's bed and shouted, "Miss, General Nagasawa is dead and his head was beheaded, you have to get it back for him—"

It is probably the best wish in the world for lovers to get married eventually.

Xiao Hong once felt that two people who are in love but separated can make people want to die in pain.

However, after seeing life and death, I found that as long as that person is safe, everything is not important.

The strong Xuan Ling shed tears and created a miracle with that will.

She had a long dream, and when she woke up, Shen Changze left her forever.

I will never call her again: Lingling.

Xuanling's awakening not only inspired the Zhenbei Army, but the entire Guancheng was visibly happy, diluting the pain after the war.

The New Year has arrived in such an atmosphere, filled with a touch of sadness, but full of hope.