At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

Before the officials on the city wall of Ningdu could react, the cannons on the battlefield below suddenly erupted with a loud noise.

The shells landed on the city wall, causing great casualties in an instant. A large number of soldiers died directly, and the city wall was even damaged!

"Please leave the city wall immediately!"

In the crisis, a group of officials advised Gu He to leave the city wall.

However, Gu He had no intention of retreating.

"Pass on my order, all soldiers quickly find cover and be careful to avoid artillery shells!"

Gu He responded calmly. While giving orders and commands, he also quickly hid in a hidden place to avoid being directly hit by the shells.

In this way, the soldiers on the city wall avoided the artillery fire while continuously firing back.

The entire battle situation fell into a stalemate.

same moment.

On Huwei Mountain.

Yang Wenzhao and Xiao Haiyang, who came all the way from Wangbei City, and the 64,000 cavalrymen they led, finally arrived at the edge of Nanzhili!

"Old Marshal, if you go down Huwei Mountain, you will reach Chengtang County in Nanzhili."

"According to the spies' report, Chengtang County is now completely deserted, with no trace of civilians to be seen."

On the top of the mountain, the army was taking a short rest. Xiao Haiyang and Yang Wenzhao were overlooking the mountains in Nanzhili. Xiao Haiyang spoke on the side.

"Your Majesty is merciful. He must have taken the nearby people with him during his escape."

Relying on his own understanding of the empress, Yang Wenzhao accurately judged the situation in Chengtang County.

"Old Marshal, it will take at least several hours to reach Ningdu City. How about I lead a troop and set off first?"

At this time, Xiao Haiyang was extremely anxious.

On the one hand, it was because he was the one who ordered people to escort the empress from Hangzhou to Ningdu City.

If anything goes wrong with the empress, he will naturally be in trouble.

On the other hand, it is because.

Except for the soldier who escaped yesterday, there has been no new news from Zhao Daxun and the two thousand soldiers under his command.

This made him feel worried.

"That's fine too."

Yang Wenzhao nodded.

Although he is an old horse in the stable with great ambitions, he is old after all and his body is eroded by time.

Even when traveling on horseback, Yang Wenzhao felt a sense of powerlessness.

"I will give you 30,000 cavalrymen. You can go ahead and report to me any situation ahead."

After Yang Wenzhao finished speaking, he immediately summoned a dozen cavalry lieutenant generals and put them under the unified command of Xiao Haiyang.

"Don't worry, old Marshal. I'm leaving now!"

Xiao Haiyang accepted the order and immediately led 30,000 cavalrymen and galloped all the way to the foot of Huwei Mountain.

Although these 30,000 cavalrymen did not have enough time to rest, the support of their horsepower was enough for them to reach the city of Ningdu.

Even if they cannot fight on horseback at that time, with the number of 30,000 soldiers, they can completely alleviate the crisis in Ningdu City!

……

On the other side, on the road from Ningdu City to Fujian, Chen Bao was leading thousands of soldiers under his command, exploring cautiously and carefully along the way.

"General, what is the origin of the distinguished guest that Lord Xia asked us to search for this time?"

On a small road, Chen Bao personally led hundreds of people to conduct a divergent, carpet-style search.

"Don't ask questions that you don't need to ask. We just follow the adults' orders."

Chen Bao warned.

As a trusted general under Xia Yun, he naturally knew who the distinguished guest the army was looking for.

There is no doubt that it was the empress and her entourage who were on a secret visit.

However, this matter is of great importance and must be kept confidential. Otherwise, if the news is known to someone with ulterior motives, it is very likely to lead to an emergency.

In fact, they had been searching for nearly a dozen hours.

However, not long after Chen Bao finished his warning, a large group of crows suddenly rose rapidly into the sky from a dense forest ahead.

Obviously, there must be something in the dense forest, which caused the crows to be startled and fly away.

"Sir, there is something going on ahead!"

The soldiers who had been exploring and searching along the way also noticed the movement coming from the front. They immediately drew the long swords at their waists and prepared to deal with any emergencies.

Chen Bao was suspicious.

Just in case, Chen Bao personally led hundreds of soldiers into the dense forest.

However, as soon as Chen Bao and others stepped into the dense forest, a burst of intensive scolding came from the back corner.

"Who are you? Don't move!"

"Put down your weapons immediately!"

"..."

Hearing the scolding coming from all around, Chen Bao looked around and saw more than two hundred armed soldiers, standing ready with their guns locked on them!

"I am Chen Bao, a lieutenant general under Lord Xia Yun! Following Lord Xia's orders, I am here to welcome the distinguished guests. You must not act rashly!"

Chen Bao recognized at a glance that the attire of the two hundred-plus soldiers came from Ningdu City.

Therefore, while Chen Bao was speaking, he directly revealed his own origins.

Sure enough, when the two hundred armed soldiers heard the names of Xia Yun and Chen Bao, they immediately lowered their guns.

"Is it General Chen?"

Then a questioning voice was heard from the crowd.

Chen Bao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a general wearing a black helmet and black armor.

"General Wu, it's me!"

Chen Bao's face suddenly showed some joy, because he recognized the person in his sight.

It was Wu Eryong, a lieutenant general under Gu He in Ningdu City.

"Everyone put away your weapons immediately! Do not act rashly!"

After confirming Chen Bao's identity, Wu Eryong looked overjoyed and gave orders.

However, at this time he did not walk directly towards Chen Bao, but shifted his gaze to a big tree nearby.

"Your Majesty, there's no need to hide, they are one of our own!"

Wu Eryong suddenly felt relieved.

On the way out of Ningdu City, he was very nervous. As a small lieutenant general in the governor's office, he knew very well that he was escorting the emperor of Daliang.

If anything went wrong along the way, he would have no way to explain it.

Fortunately, the appearance of Chen Bao made him realize that this mission was successfully completed.

Soon, a group of figures walked out from under the big tree.

Leading the group was a burly middle-aged man.

Needless to say, this person is the Ninth Prince Xiao Yan!

Following behind him were the haggard empress and others!

Although Chen Bao had never met Xiao Yan and others, he remembered Xia Yun's instructions before departure, as well as Wu Eryong's extremely respectful attitude.

Reacted immediately.

The group of people in front of him, dressed in gorgeous clothes and with haggard faces, are the distinguished guests he is here to welcome!