Start from the thief

Chapter 578 Price

Xue Xian led Zhao Yushu all the way to the interior of the country. The houses inside the country had basically all been requisitioned. Except for the young and strong men who were temporarily conscripted, all the old, weak, women and children of the local people were driven to Yizhou.

Zhao Yushu felt that he had used the right word "drive" because the imperial officials and soldiers of this era were not the same as those in the previous life. To refuse to demolish a house even if it meant freezing to death was a joke in this era. Even Li Qi, a top student at Chang'an Academy with a head full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, did not think there was anything wrong with it.

"You even left a restaurant?"

Zhao Yushu looked at the high-end restaurant where he had come to assassinate or scare Miao Yinhai, and suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten to ask Miao Yinhai where he was going.

"There are also nobles in the army. If we want to defend Jianmen Pass, we also need the support of local noble families. Now is a crisis but also an opportunity. I don't know how many people want to send their sons and nephews to Jianmen Pass. Once we force Tubo back, it will be a great achievement."

"So, what does this have to do with the restaurant?"

Xue Xian couldn't help but frowned: "Brother Bai, ahem, Brother Zhao, it's enough for the dignitaries to arrive. Do you really want them to eat and live in the city like Lord Li? Not to mention this restaurant, all the things for enjoyment are here."

Zhao Yushu suddenly didn't want to defend the city anymore.

Damn it, I'm here ready to fight to the death, but you guys are here just to gain military merit. You still can't do without eating, drinking, gambling and whoring, right?

However, Second Senior Sister must have had her own hidden meaning in asking me to help defend the city. Even if not, if I dare to disobey her, her fist will be the hidden meaning.

"I didn't expect you to help."

Li Qi leaned against the city wall and looked at the endless mountains in the north without even turning his head.

"There's nothing to do anyway, what's going on now?"

"The defeated troops of Songzhou are fleeing here one after another. Although they clearly said there were 6,000 of them, the scouts along the way are reporting fewer and fewer. Now there are only 4,000 at most."

Zhao Yushu didn't know much about military strategy, so he scratched the scarf on his bald head and asked, "Were we bitten by the Tubo?"

Li Qi gave a bitter laugh: "If that's the case, we can't blame them. We're more afraid that they will scatter all the way and disperse into the countryside."

Zhao Yushu's eyes were gloomy: "You should send someone to round them up."

"We are not even strong enough to defend the city right now, so how can we have extra troops to gather up the defeated army?"

"Bandits are like combs, and soldiers are like rakes. Li Qi, you should know what will happen if you let them go."

"This is the necessary price."

"Li Qi."

"Ok?"

"Necessary, sir."

Li Qi widened his eyes and watched Zhao Yushu jump down from the city wall. His figure turned into a flash of lightning and disappeared into the mountains.

"General Xiao Xue."

Xue Xian sighed: "I am here."

"am I wrong?"

"As a general, it is taboo to be too soft-hearted. Mr. Liu is just a scholar, and you are an angel. Now the safety of the entire Jiannan Road and even half of the Tang Dynasty is in your hands. You should not..."

Li Qi waved his hand to stop Xue Xian from saying the following: "General Xue, you have worked hard. Go and have a rest for a while."

Xue Xian was stunned for a moment, nodded and left.

Li Qi sighed again: "I am just a scholar."

Zhao Yushu didn't know where to go first, so he could only run all the way north. The Jiannan Road was mountainous and forested, and for Zhao Yushu, a geography idiot, there was no other way except to follow the official road.

And this official road leads directly to Songzhou.

Along the way, there were indeed more or less defeated troops, some thirty, some fifty, some three hundred or five hundred, led by the highest-ranking generals they could find, and they marched towards Jianmen Pass tiredly and vigilantly.

Under normal circumstances, a scholar like Zhao Yushu who went against the current would most likely be chopped to pieces by some soldier, but now he was emitting the terrifying aura of a cultivator all the time, and all the defeated soldiers subconsciously stayed away from him.

These defeated soldiers looked very strange. Although they were in poor condition, their armor was neat, their weapons were intact, and there was almost no blood on their bodies.

They retreated without even engaging in a fight.

A warhorse neighed and a hand grabbed the reins.

The general on his horse leaned back and nearly fell off. The soldiers around him then realized that a man in moon-white clothes and a turban had silently pulled the reins of the horse.

"Bold maniac!"

A group of personal soldiers drew their swords and surrounded Zhao Yushu in a semi-circle.

"Stop, stop!"

The cavalry general hurriedly stopped them and said, "How dare you draw your sword in front of the Immortal! Everyone, retreat! May I ask the Immortal, how have I offended you?"

"You have a good eye. Are you from Songzhou?"

"Yes."

"I have some questions for you."

"Yes, pass the order, set up camp here! Immortal, please follow me."

The cavalry general did not hesitate and immediately arranged to set up camp on a flat ground nearby. To call it a camp, it was just a place for the 200-odd soldiers under his command to rest their feet and drink some water. It was neither meal time nor night, so there was no point in setting up camp.

"If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

The cavalry general took Zhao Yushu to a slightly secluded place and bowed respectfully.

"How about Songzhou?"

"We've lost. The Tibetans should have entered the city."

"should?"

The cavalry general was a little embarrassed: "We, um, the enemy army is strong. Before the city was captured, we were ordered to leave Songzhou and rush to Jianmen Pass for support."

Zhao Yushu smiled, "Songzhou is the first line of defense for the Tang Dynasty against Tubo. I don't know how many times it has been repaired in the past four hundred years. In terms of the strength of the city and the advantages of the weapons and armor, it is probably not much inferior to Jianmen Pass. Who is the chief officer of Songzhou? Why did you leave such a strong city undefended and send you to so-called support Jianmen Pass? I think the people who came to support are almost gone."

The cavalry general suddenly raised his head and said, "Excuse me, Immortal, are you from the government?"

"Li Qi, have you heard of it?"

Seeing the cavalry general's bewildered look, Zhao Yushu turned around and pointed in the direction of Jianmen Pass. "The angel of the Tang Dynasty, the chief of Chang'an Academy, the great monk of the seventh heaven, is now standing on the top of Jianmen Pass. He asked me to gather the defeated troops along the way to prevent them from causing trouble to the village. What is your position and name? How dare you escape from the battlefield? I will kill you on the spot without saying anything!"

As Zhao Yushu spoke in a pretentious manner, spiritual energy gushed out, sweeping across half of the mountain with a strong wind, causing the trees to sway continuously.

"Exalted Immortal, have mercy on me!"

The cavalry general fell to his knees with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly. The defeated army might be like the devil to the common people, but it was nothing to the imperial court. As long as he did not want to rebel, he would have to kneel down and beg for mercy even if the person who came was a great monk or a high-ranking civil servant.

"Get up! Answer me properly. I'll ask you again, what is Songzhou like?"

The cavalry general, wearing armor, struggled to get up and said, "I dare not lie to you, you are the immortal. We were indeed driven out by our superiors. It was because the governor was not on good terms with our superiors. Our superiors said that the governor intended to surrender to Tubo and issued a military order for us to withdraw to prevent us from being sold out when we surrender the city."

Zhao Yushu frowned when he heard this: "Who is your Shangguan?"

"Liu Dalin, the military officer of Songzhou, is in charge of the troops of Songzhou."

"How many troops have left the city?"

"About six thousand. This is absolutely true. You can ask any general to find out."

"Are the Liao troops in Songzhou?"

"Liao Army?"

Zhao Yushu was stunned for a moment. Could it be that the Liao people were not there?