Emperor's Grace

Zhu Yunjing walked up to the city wall of the pass. A battle had just ended. The city wall was covered with blood, and there were stumps and broken arms everywhere. heal.No one made a sound, everyone was silently repeating the same thing, exhaustion was written on every face, but no one slacked off or flinched.

Zhu Yunjing stood on the top of the wall, this was the second time he stood here, but what he saw was completely different from before.The vast land is full of corpses, blood-stained rivers, broken military flags are casually lying beside the mountain of corpses, already soaked in blood, under the night, there is a suffocating silence, only the sound of hunting wind, constantly roaring , like the desperate cries and wails of dying.

Unspeakable emotions surged in her heart, Zhu Yunjing slightly narrowed her eyes and stared forward for a long time.

On the 11th day, the Cangrong people finally stopped fighting for a day and did not organize any more attacks. The Qiongguan defenders were finally able to catch their breath.

On this day, the news from the capital finally came back, but it was the shocking news that everyone did not expect. Yu Wang Zhu Yunxun, the He family, and the commander of the Jingwei army suddenly rose up, and the Jingwei army surrounded the imperial city and took the emperor hostage. He wanted to force the palace, but was forcibly suppressed by Liang Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Camp, led by An Lehou Shizi. Now Zhu Yunxun and He's family have all been sent to prison, and the entire capital is under martial law. This news has also been delayed for several days Only then did it come out from Beijing.

It was He Huailing's cronies who stayed in Beijing who came to report the letter. Upon hearing the report, Zhu Yunjing's pupils shrank suddenly and asked, "Is King Rui safe?"

"His Royal Highness King Rui is fine and has not been affected."

Zhu Yunjing calmed down a bit: "What about the Dingyuanhou's Mansion?"

"Second Young Master had already heard the news before the accident, so he entered the palace and reported it to His Majesty. Therefore, the Hou Mansion has not been implicated, and should be fine for the time being."

The second son that this person said was He Huailing's younger brother who was only 12 years old. Thanks to his cleverness, he accidentally discovered the clue when he returned to He's mansion to pay his respects to the elders. He first reported the matter to the emperor, and Emperor Zhaoyang acted out the plan. Take advantage of the situation and wipe out Zhu Yunxun and the henchmen behind him. If this is not the case, once the incident happens, the Dingyuan Hou Mansion will definitely be implicated in this crime of treason, and then it will be truly indisputable.

Even Zhu Yunjing didn't expect Zhu Yunxun to be so courageous, to dare to force the palace. Maybe it was because they cut off the army's food and pay before it was revealed, and he was forced to go to the bottom of the boat, but in the end his Luck is still a bit worse.

"...Your Majesty was held hostage by them, did you get injured?"

"No, His Majesty has already arranged it in advance. It was just a show for them, and it was not injured."

Zhu Yunjing lowered her eyes, her mind restless, no wonder there was no response to the report submitted to Beijing before. Such a major event happened in Beijing, so there is no time to take care of the war here.

"Now the capital is in chaos. Although His Majesty is not injured, he fell ill. Liang Shizi led troops to raid homes and arrest people in the city. Everyone in the capital is in danger. I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of this side in a short time." People said that it confirmed Zhu Yunjing's guess.

"……I see."

Three days after the armistice, the Cang Rong army made a comeback. As soon as the horn of the enemy's attack sounded, the city wall at the pass entered a state of full alert. The approaching Cang Rong army.

Zhu Yunjing was at the back of the crowd. Although Jiang Yan's subordinates tried to dissuade him, he still came up and wanted to see for himself.

In the midst of continuous artillery fire, enemy troops continued to attack, trying to climb up the city wall in various ways. The descendants stepped on the corpses of their predecessors and went forward without fear. The defenders on the city wall were also red-eyed. Desperately fighting with them, struggling to pick off the enemy troops who had climbed up to the top of the city, the gray-blue wall bricks that had been dry for only two days were once again stained red with blood, and the original color could no longer be seen.

Zhu Yunjing's eyes became colder, she clenched the sword in her hand, and asked the people around her, "Why do these barbarian people have such excellent artillery? Where did they get it?"

Even if the merchants in Huyang City dared to sell iron gunpowder to them, such a large cannon was still too conspicuous, and it was almost impossible to transport it out of the customs.Amidst the deafening rumbling sound, the city wall under his feet seemed to tremble a few times. If the city wall at this pass was not so strong and the enemy's artillery did not dare to get too close, the wall might have been blasted open.

A general beside him replied: "According to the spies, I'm afraid it was bought from those foreigners. It is because of this reliance that they dare to come to Qiongguan to provoke."

Zhu Yunjing's expression became even colder. He saw a tall man dressed as a general rushing out of the enemy's charge army, galloping towards the arrows and bullets. Take the arrow and draw the bow, and shoot three arrows in a row. Immediately, someone was hit by the arrow and fell down on the city wall. The man on the horseback laughed proudly, not at all afraid of the artillery fire and arrow rain from the defenders on the city wall chasing him. , turned the horse's head and rode away unharmed, coming and going, like entering no man's land.

"Who is he?" Zhu Yunjing asked coldly.

"That man is Cang Rong's new Khan. Not only did he personally go to the front line, but he often deliberately provoked him by riding his horse to the gate of the city and shooting arrows," the other party gritted his teeth.

No wonder people like Jiang Yan said that he was an out-and-out lunatic. Zhu Yunjing finally saw it. He dared to ride over alone. The defenders had nothing to do with him, even if everyone pointed their arrows at him, none of them could hurt him.

The battle has reached a stalemate again. There are many Cangrong soldiers, but the defenders on the city wall occupy an advantage. endless.

The setting sun at the edge of the day only left the last smear of blood, and the Cang Rong army finally stopped the offensive, receding quickly like the tide, leaving only the mountains of corpses and the sea of ​​blood under the city wall, mixed with the smell of bloody gunpowder smoke in the cool spring day In the wind, lingering for a long time.

That night, news came back from the Northeast that only the last of the lost cities was still fighting, and it would be broken within three days, and in fifteen days at most, the reinforcements would definitely be able to return.

In the next few days, the Cang Rong army organized several small-scale offensives. Zhu Yunjing went up to the city wall to defend against the enemy. After personally killing the first Cang Rong soldier who climbed up the city wall and rushed towards him, he disappeared Scruples, quick and precise strikes, you can solve one in three or two strokes.

Seeing that he was not powerless, the people guarding him gradually let go, paying more attention to greet those Cangrong people.I'm afraid that even He Huailing didn't expect that Zhu Yunjing's force is not bad. What the crown prince of a country has to learn is far more than those things in books. With the sword, he can save himself without He Huailing's action.

After that, the Cang Rong Army ceased fighting for another five days, but Zhu Yunjing did not dare to be careless, and ordered people to step up their defenses, and then sent spies out to investigate the enemy's situation.

In the middle of the night on the sixth day, the horns of the enemy's attack suddenly pierced the dark and silent night, and the guards patrolling the city wall were stunned for a moment.

After reacting, the Qiguan army immediately launched a defense. Zhu Yunjing and Jiang Yan had already discussed that these Cangrong people might not always choose to attack during the day, and they must not take it lightly at night. Was killed by surprise.

But when Zhu Yunjing walked up the city wall and saw the situation in front of him clearly, his face still changed: "Why have their people increased?"

After more than 3 days of siege battles, the Cang Rong army suffered heavy casualties, and their numbers were at least halved. But looking around, it can be seen with the naked eye that the number of people attacking the city tonight is by no means more than [-].

Some people rushed to report that the information they got was wrong. The number of enemy troops had been as many as [-] from the beginning, and some of them were specially hidden, fearing that it was to catch people by surprise.

Zhu Yunjing's face sank like water: "How many people do we have?"

"I've sent an order to bring in the 1 defenders at Qiongguan, and we can barely make up [-]." The deputy general beside him replied.

But there are at least [-] enemy troops, Zhu Yunjing quickly calculated in his mind, according to the footsteps, He Huailing will be there in three days at the earliest, as long as he survives these three days...

"Then let the order go on, no one can back down, stick to the pass, and wait for reinforcements!"

The loud horn sounded again, and the defense of the city was imminent.

In front of Zhu Yunjing was a fog of blood, he stabbed out with sword after sword, and he did not know how many people he had picked off, and hideous and distorted faces kept flashing before his eyes, he didn't have any fear in his heart, just He felt exhilarated, unprecedented exhilaration, which made his blood boil, and even made his heart surge. The unrelieved anguish that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time finally found an outlet to vent.

The sound of fighting resounded throughout the entire night, and at the end when Zhu Yunjing walked down the city wall exhausted, his body and face were covered with blood, and it was hard to tell whether it was his or someone else's.

After dawn, the Cangrong army finally stopped attacking, but they did not retreat. They surrounded the city wall of the pass, ready to launch a new round of offensive at any time.

Zhu Yunjing returned to the General Military Mansion and simply bandaged the cut wound on his arm.Yuan Bao had already woken up, and was not frightened by Zhu Yunjing's bloody appearance when he first entered the door, but just looked at him quietly with wide eyes, Zhu Yunjing breathed a sigh of relief, and told the steward: "Take the young master first Huyang City, once the pass is breached, you all leave immediately and go to the south of the Yangtze River."

Yuan Bao looked confused, and called him softly: "Da da."

Zhu Yunjing smiled at him wearily: "Good boy."

For two whole days and two nights, the Cang Rong army launched an uninterrupted attack, and the cessation of fighting never exceeded two hours. The defenders on the city wall were tired of coping and were becoming more and more powerless.

But no one thought about backing down. Zhu Yunjing almost never slept, and had been personally supervising the battle on the city wall. The existence of his wife, the chief soldier, did give great comfort to these soldiers who were struggling on the line of life and death.

In the daytime of the third day, a new round of enemy attack was launched. Zhu Yunjing stood at the top of the city, watching the man on the tall horse laughing and charging towards the pass again, slowly pulling away. bowstring in hand.

Zhu Yunjing was standing at the most conspicuous position on the top of the city, and the man on the horse naturally saw him, and also raised the bow in his hand, aiming at him.

Zhu Yunjing narrowed his eyes lightly, he has been observing this man for many days, he is indeed very powerful, but not without flaws... Right now!

Two arrows were shot out from their hands at the same time, one downward, one upward, Zhu Yunjing remained motionless, watching calmly as the arrow tip pierced the man's head in an instant, the man's laughter stopped abruptly, and his burly body slammed fall down.And another arrow passed by Zhu Yunjing's temples, and pierced into the brick behind him.

The corners of Zhu Yunjing's lips curled up slightly. Few people knew that his archery skills were the best compared to his sword skills.

As soon as King Cangrong Khan died, the Cangrong army was like a pan of loose sand, defeated like a mountain, and the situation reversed instantly.

When the sun rose above the head, the sound of horseshoes sounded more and more clearly in the distance, and sharp-eyed soldiers on the city wall had already seen the red Yanjun flag swinging in the wind, and soon someone cheered: "It's the reinforcements! Reinforcements are coming!"

The Cang Rong army surrendered, fled, and finally the city gate at the pass was opened again. Zhu Yunjing walked down the city wall, looked at the man walking towards him, and lowered his gaze.

It wasn't He Huailing, but Ding Yang, the deputy commander.

"...What about others?"

Ding Yang bowed his head: "In the last battle, the general fought desperately with the enemy... lost his trace in the chaos."