Linzhi

He Rong, one man and one horse, galloped along the official road.

On both sides of the official road, weeds are overgrown, and the mountains and rivers are slim. The usual sharp-edged mountains are surrounded by a lingering haze, which makes it impossible to see clearly.

He Rong had no time to look around, his eyes looked straight ahead, the wind and dust came towards him, and the sleeves and corners of his robe were rolled up, which also brought a touch of restlessness.

From a distance, Chang'an can be seen impressively, the city is majestic, the city wall is towering and indestructible.

Usually at this time, the city gate is already noisy and lively. Soldiers check the passing pedestrians and vehicles.

This is the style of the imperial capital of the world, and it is also the style of Chang'an since ancient times.

But, no one.

The city gate was empty, the city tower was empty, even through the city gate, he didn't see a single person on the way from Suzaku Avenue to Miyagi.

Is it because the Turkic people have broken into the city and slaughtered a city?

Even though he had expected it, He Rong's heart still sank little by little, sinking into the bottomless abyss, and he could no longer see the slightest light.

In such a big city, only the sound of horseshoes under his seat echoed.

Are you still late?

Regardless of He Rong's disregard, he still galloped forward with his horse. He couldn't even devote his attention to the rotten fruits and vegetables scattered in the streets next to him, and to the messy homes with open doors.

In the palace city, the blood was everywhere, and it was still not dry. All the scarlet gathered together and meandered into a thin stream, which flowed all the way to He Rong's feet.

He Rong got off his horse and bowed his head, followed the bloodstains and walked forward, passed through palace gates, and came to the Zichen Palace that he was familiar with.

On the white jade steps, with his back to him, stood a person.

He Rong's heart skipped a beat, and his mouth was faster than his brain's reaction, and he shouted, "Father!"

While shouting, he walked up with unsteady legs.

He didn't bring a bamboo stick. To ordinary people, he bumped up and down the steps, which were nothing to ordinary people. He accidentally fell down and rubbed his palms bright red.

He Rong still climbed up the steps and walked towards the familiar figure.

"Father!"

The man finally heard it and turned around slowly.

There was a long sword stuck in his chest, blood was gurgling from the wound, his face was covered with scars, his expression was ferocious, his eyes were fixed on him with infinite regret.

Only then did He Rong realize that all the blood he saw when he entered the palace came from the person in front of him.

The other party's face resembled both his father's and his elder brother's, as well as his second brother's shadow. The overlapping of several faces made He Rong's sense of shock even stronger.

"Why didn't you come to help?"

He heard his father questioning this.

"Sanlang, do you want to wait for us to die, with no one in front of us, so that we can usurp the throne?"

He heard his elder brother questioning him like this.

"Sanlang, you don't save yourself from death. This kind of indifferent person is not worthy of the throne. You have betrayed everyone, not only my father, me, Wulang, but also those around you. They will not forgive you and will not be loyal to you. .”

The other party showed a ferocious smile at He Rong, and actually stretched out his hand to slowly pull out the long sword in his heart inch by inch.

"As far as you are concerned, the emperor is nothing but wishful thinking!"

He Rong only felt that his whole body was being poured over his head by a basin of ice water, and the coldness invaded his bone marrow and viscera in an instant, making his heart ache from the cold.

Then, he woke up.

His head was still heavy, and he saw layers of water-colored veils, making him aware that he was lying on the bed.

The experience of running around for these years had already allowed him to mobilize the most vigilant string in his body in the shortest possible time, so even though his mind was still a little chaotic, he still forced himself to move his fingers and wanted to get out of bed.

"His Highness is awake!"

He heard the maid exclaimed, and then ran away. After an unknown amount of time, another figure came in and directly lifted the bed curtain.

His sight suddenly cleared.

Still in Lingzhou Dudu's Mansion, still a familiar person in front of him, the worried expressions of Xue Tan and others came into view, He Rong's heart relaxed, and his body became more and more weak.

"...How long have I slept?"

His voice was a little hoarse, and the maid hurriedly came over to feed him water.

Princess Zhending said: "After Sang Lin knocked you out that day, I gave you some sedative medicine to make you sleep better, but you developed a fever and fell into a coma for three days. The doctor said This is because you already have the root cause of fever in your body, and it happens that you are rushing to attack your heart and stimulate it."

He Rong nodded, with an obvious tired look on his face.

Xue Tan raised his robe and knelt down.

"It was I who instructed Sang Lin to knock His Highness unconscious, and please punish His Highness."

He Rong closed his eyes and said tiredly: "I don't blame you, you are right, Lingzhou can't exist today without the contribution of each of you, I can't ignore your wishes and easily bring you into danger. You believe me, I should be more considerate of you."

When he said this, Xue Tan couldn't bear it. After thinking about it, he made up his mind: "Your Highness, it's better for me and Lin Miao to lead the troops to rescue Jinzhou. At that time, we can attack back and forth, and the chance of winning is better."

He Rong shook his head: "You also have to pay attention to front and rear flanking. Chen Wei's army collapsed, and you brought few people with you. To the 40 Turkic people, it's like sheep joining a pack of wolves. They can swallow as much as they have."

Xue Tan didn't expect He Rong to be in a coma for three days, and when he woke up, he would have figured it out completely, and couldn't help being slightly startled.

Princess Zhending said: "We don't want to stop you from saving people, but it's useless to go there. Chen Wei's situation is irreversible. If we go to save Chang'an, the mantis will catch the cicada, and the oriole will be behind, Xiao Yu will be defeated." After the state, we will definitely go straight into the Central Plains, kill us behind, and we will become that praying mantis. I know that you are cold outside and hot inside, and you can’t let go of your family and brothers, and don’t want them to fall into the hands of the Turks. But right now, we There are more important things, if Chang'an can retreat in time, you and them may not have a chance to meet each other in the future."

Xue Tan knelt in front of him, looking at each other earnestly, with a sincere expression on his face.

"Your Highness, from now on, I will not make my own decisions."

He knew that when he let Sang Lin strike, it hit He Rong's neck, but it hurt the opponent's heart.

But between them, there is a tacit understanding along the way, and there should be no gaps in the future, so it is necessary to make things clear as soon as possible.

"I don't blame you." He Rong stretched out his hand to help him up, "No matter how smart people are, sometimes they do foolish things. I just... love and responsibility, a dilemma."

Xue Tan smiled wryly: "I understand that my father, stepmother, and younger brother are still in Chang'an. Although there was some rift between each other in the past, how can I say that I don't care about the blood relationship? It's just a choice. Things are never difficult. Best of both worlds."

"So," He Rong looked at him with a smile in his eyes, "No matter what I decide, you won't stop me?"

Xue Tan rubbed his nose: "Once I knocked you out, I was terrified for several days, but I didn't dare to do it again. Sang Lin hasn't forgiven me yet, and it would take ten plates of fried bugs to coax me back. Even if you I really want to go back to help Chang'an, but I can only sacrifice my life to accompany the gentleman."

"Not going to Chang'an." The chaotic fatigue at the beginning gradually disappeared, and the clarity and calmness returned to He Rong's eyes.

Xue Tan and Princess Zhending saw it, and their hearts slowly settled down.

This was King An they knew.

"Go to Ganzhou."

……

At this moment in Zhangye, Ganzhou, half of the sky is dyed with red clouds, which makes people feel an ominous omen like blood rising in their hearts.

Ying Ziyu had no time to look at the sky, he was looking at the city.

Shouting to kill and shaking the sky, swords clashed, causing countless casualties.

Zhangye City has been besieged for several days, and the granaries have already been exhausted. The government had to borrow food from the people, but the people also have to eat. How long can the food last? Xiao Yu purposely besieged and did not attack, just waiting for their hearts to slacken. At the same time, Zhangye was captured at the smallest cost.

Once Zhangye is broken, Ganzhou will naturally have no more barriers to speak of.

And the capture of Ganzhou means that the whole of Hexi has also opened its clothes and exposed it naked to the enemy.

"It's not good, General Ying!"

Tao Xuan, the governor of Ganzhou, stumbled and ran up the city tower, but he came to report the letter in person.

"The enemy army bypassed the north of the city and went to the south of the city. They are now attacking the Dingbian Gate! There are too few officers and soldiers over there, and I'm afraid they won't be able to defend it!"

House seemingly endless rain!

Ying Ziyu wiped his sweaty face, thinking why it wasn't raining, if it rained heavily, the offensive would slow down and they could last for a few more days.

But after a few days, so what?

"There are only [-] soldiers and horses in the city, and they are all betting here at the north gate!" Ying Ziyu was very irritable, "Either you call some young and strong men to fight for a while, as long as you survive the day and wait until night, Of course they..."

Before the words fell, there was a loud bang in his ears.

Ying Ziyu and Tao Xuan looked at each other, their expressions changed.

"General, the opponent used a car to break the gate of the city. I'm afraid the gate will fall soon!" The soldier ran over panting and shouted.

Ying Ziyu gave the order without hesitation: "Defend to the end! Zhou Qing, you take 1000 people and Tao Cishi to fix the side gate. That gate is weakly defended. Be sure not to let thieves break through there, or you will be in trouble!"

The other party led away, and Tao Xuan followed behind, step by step, seeing that his legs and feet were injured.

That's right, how has a civil servant ever experienced such a battle?

Ying Ziyu didn't have time to sigh, and turned into a more intense battle. Wearing armor, he went into battle and killed a lot of enemies. Can draw a tie with the opponent.

But Ying Ziyu knew that this was only temporary, the other party had three charging cars, and I wondered if there were any more at the south gate, and the number of enemies was so large, it would only be a matter of time before the gate was broken.

Although the soldiers under the city were wearing the same armor, they might have been soldiers of the dynasty in the past, but now they have changed their doors to serve a traitor.

Thinking of Xiao Yu, Ying Ziyu became furious: The imperial court treats you well, so is this how you repay the imperial court?Taking ten thousand steps back, even if there is no imperial court in my heart, there should be people, right?The Turkic people are heading towards Jinzhou. You are sure that the imperial court has no time to take care of this side, so you come to take advantage of the fire and collude with the Turkic people. What a good bird!

"Where is Xiao Yu!" With a backhand knife, he knocked down a Liang country soldier who climbed up the city tower, and deliberately held the other party's breath, and arrested him for questioning.

"No, His Majesty didn't come!" The soldier was scared out of his wits.

"Who is the leader!" Ying Ziyu roared.

"It's Your Highness the Third!"

Ying Ziyu had heard that Xiao Yu had three sons under his knees. The third prince, Xiao Chong, was the son of his robes in his early years. He was regarded by Xiao Yu as his adopted son. It is said that he was very good at leading troops in battle. When Xiao Yu attacked Lingzhou, he defeated Qin Guogong Pei Wuyang. The loss of a life is also due to Xiao Chong.

"Forget it, you can't kill the old ones, if you kill the young ones, you can get back a little!" Ying Ziyu wiped off the blood splattered on the side of his face, and gritted his teeth.

"Boys, we are dignified Ganzhou soldiers, trained by Chen Shuai himself, we can't be underestimated by rebellious officials and thieves, let me do it!"

Just as the battle at the north gate was in full swing, the south gate had already been breached. The enemy seemed to have expected that Ying Ziyu and the others would be in trouble, so they mobilized tens of thousands of troops to detour to the south to attack the city.

Tao Xuan looked at the enemy troops who swarmed in and fought against the soldiers in the city, and his heart was completely occupied by despair.

He squeezed the hilt of the sword in his hand, and felt that the most important thing he should do at this moment was to hit his neck.

But the sword became so heavy that he couldn't lift it no matter what.

Sure enough, he is a scholar who is useless.Tao Xuan let out a heavy and helpless wry smile in his heart.

At Beicheng, Ying Ziyu has also received the news.

"General, the south gate has been breached. It is estimated that about [-] enemy troops have poured into the city. Our people may not last long!" the deputy general shouted, "General, quickly reinforce the south gate!"

"It's almost unstoppable here, tell me how to get reinforcements, and where can I get reinforcements!" Ying Ziyu also roared back.

The lieutenant was panting heavily, unable to speak a word.

"You immediately bring another 5000 people and go to Nancheng for reinforcements! Tao Xuan is a civil servant, and she has never seen such a scene before. She must be so frightened that her legs are weak. You hurry up and calm down the situation!"

I can't hold it anymore, I am afraid that the entire Zhangye City will soon be full of enemy troops.

The lieutenant general didn't say this, he took a deep look at Ying Ziyu, saluted him, turned around and walked away resolutely.

Ying Ziyu felt her dry and astringent eyes moisten instantly.

But the wetness was quickly evaporated by blood and sweat, and he charged at the enemy with a long knife, roaring and chopping off the opponent's head.

If Chen Shuai was still here, what would he do?

Chen Shuai, I, Ying Ziyu, am sorry for you, I failed to keep here.

Xiao Yu's son-in-law has retreated for so many years and has raised so many elite soldiers. Our mere [-] troops are no match at all.

Ying Ziyu raised the knife in his hand and dropped it, even though he was left with scars and wounds, he didn't stop for a moment.

His gaze didn't even rest for a moment on the fallen foe.

It is today to serve the country with one's death will.

At worst, 18 years later, Lao Tzu is a hero again!

As he thought about it, his gaze became more fierce, the blade in his hand pierced through the enemy's chest, and he pulled it out quickly, rushing to the next target.

The gate of the city was repeatedly shaken by the rushing vehicles. The crossbows and stone cannons above seemed to be thrown at the gate without interruption. Under the city wall, there were ladders set up by the enemy. Less and less, they are hindered less and less.

Ying Ziyu accidentally kicked a corpse at his feet, and he didn't know whether it was the enemy or his own. He staggered and fell forward, and the enemy's spear followed.

Just when the tip of the gun was reflected brightly by the sunset, he suddenly heard a loud shout.

Loud and distant, as if since ancient times, there has never been such a pleasant sound in the world.

That voice said——

"King An He Rong's reinforcements are coming, and General Ying will support them!"

Ying Ziyu brought down another enemy and struggled to climb to the edge of the tower to look out.

In the distance, an army came galloping, three of them were cavalry, and the man in the middle was holding a big flag with the word "An" written on it. The left and the right are protecting him respectively.

King An must have been afraid that they would not be able to hold on, so he asked people to come first to deliver the order.

"An Wang He Rong is here, Xiao Yu, the old thief, surrender quickly!"

The man shouted one after another without stopping, almost drowning out the sounds of clashes of weapons and shouts of killing.

Soldiers on both sides looked at the reputation one after another, or wept with joy, or turned pale with fright.

Ganzhou is saved.

Ying Ziyu let out a snort, and the laughter grew louder, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Well done! Grandpa, I can kill another 300 people!"