Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Qian Xu's hand trembled slightly as he held the letter. The emperor's worries in the letter were like a thunderclap, exploding in his heart. Huang Chao colluded with court officials and intended to rebel! He suddenly remembered that in the previous battles, Huang Chao's army could always predict his deployment in advance. It turned out that the root cause was here! "Pass the order, block the news, and strengthen vigilance!" Qian Xu's eyes flashed with a cold light. He wanted to pull out this hidden force.

The military advisor frowned and said, "General, although Huang Chao was defeated, his remnants cannot be underestimated. Now that they have won over the noble families, I am afraid..."

Qian Xu said in a deep voice: "I have received news that Huang Chao is gathering his remaining troops and preparing to launch a final attack on us. This time, we must fight quickly and completely crush their conspiracy!"

As expected, a few days later, Huang Chao joined forces with the remaining forces of the aristocratic families and launched a fierce attack on Qian Xu's army. The shouts of killing shook the earth, and the flames of war dyed half the sky red. Qian Xu led the soldiers to fight bloody battles.

However, Huang Chao's army was like crazy, advancing one after another, fearless of death. Although Qian Xu's army was well-trained, it gradually felt exhausted under such a fierce attack. The number of casualties continued to rise, and the battle situation that was originally in an advantageous position began to become precarious.

The smoke of war filled the air, and the smell of blood spread in the air. Qian Xu cut an enemy soldier in half with his sword, and the scarlet blood splashed on his face, but he was unaware of it, and just stared at the front. The enemy had a large number of people and was fearless, while his soldiers had been exhausted after days of hard fighting.

"General, we can't go on like this!" Deputy General Wang Hu, covered in blood, shouted anxiously, "The enemy's attack is too fierce, we can't hold on any longer!"

Qian Xu wiped the blood off his face, his eyes burning with fire: "Pass the order down, fight to the death! Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

However, Qian Xu himself knew that the reinforcements were being held back by Huang Chao's other army, and it was still unknown whether they could arrive in time.

At this moment, a messenger stumbled over and shouted in a trembling voice: "Report... Report to the general, someone is coming from the palace... from the palace!"

Qian Xu's heart was moved. Could it be that the emperor sent someone? He turned around quickly and saw a familiar figure riding a horse towards him. He was dressed in plain clothes and looked heroic. Who else could it be but Dou Qing?

"Why are you here?" Qian Xu was surprised and happy, but then he became worried, "It's dangerous here, go back quickly!"

Dou Qing dismounted and handed him a letter: "This is the emperor's secret decree, ordering me to come and assist the general!"

Qian Xu took the letter and unfolded it hurriedly. In the letter, the emperor expressed his concern for him and authorized him to use all his strength to quell the rebellion.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will not fail in my mission!" Qian Xu put the letter away, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes.

Just then, a soldier came running over in panic: "General, we caught an enemy spy!"

"Bring it up!"

The spy was brought up tied up, his face pale and trembling all over.

"Tell me, what is the purpose of your attack this time?" Qian Xu asked sternly.

The spy hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't resist the fear of death and said in a trembling voice: "I...our general...he...he got a piece of news..."

"what news?"

"It is said...it is said that in an abandoned temple outside the city, it is hidden...hidden..."

"What are you hiding?" Qian Xu grabbed his collar and asked anxiously.

"Hide... hide..." The spy's face suddenly turned pale, his eyes widened, and foam came out of the mouth. He was actually scared to death!

Qian Xu was shocked. He realized that this news was very important and might affect the outcome of the war! "General, the spy..." Wang Hu was uneasy when he saw the spy suddenly die.

Qian Xu's face was solemn, and he said slowly: "It seems that Huang Chao is hiding something. There must be something fishy in that deserted temple." He looked around, his eyes fell on the spy's frightened face, and his mind moved, "Pass the order down, block the news, and send people to secretly search all the deserted temples outside the city!"

As night fell, Qian Xu stood in front of the map, frowning and lost in thought. Just then, there was a commotion outside the tent.

"Report! General, there is a man outside the tent who wants to see you. He says he is... coming to provide intelligence on Huang Chao."

Qian Xu was puzzled. Who would come to provide information at this moment? "Bring him in."

A moment later, a man in black was brought in. He was short and had a black scarf covering his face, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes.

"You said you have information about Huang Chao?" Qian Xu looked the visitor up and down, feeling extremely alert.

"That's right." The man in black lowered his voice, with a hint of chill in his tone, "I know why Huang Chao wanted to attack this city."

Qian Xu's heart moved. Could it be that the secret that the spy wanted to tell before his death was related to this person? He signaled the man in black to continue.

"Huang Chao started a rebellion. On the surface, he was speaking out for the people, but in reality, he had other intentions." The man in black paused, as if he was organizing his words. "His real purpose was to find something, something that would allow him to command the world!"

"What is it?" Qian Xu asked.

The man in black did not answer directly, but took out a piece of tattered cloth with a strange pattern on it. "I know you don't believe it, but the clue to that thing is written on this piece of cloth. You will know it at a glance."

Qian Xu took the cloth and looked at it carefully. The pattern was complicated and difficult to understand, but he keenly discovered that this pattern was very similar to the murals in the deserted temple mentioned by the spy before!

Could it be that... Qian Xu's heart was filled with shock. Could it be that the thing Huang Chao had been looking for was really hidden in that deserted temple?

The man in black saw Qian Xu's strange expression and knew that he had believed it to some extent. "This is a serious matter, so I can only say this much. Goodbye!" After saying this, he turned around and left, his figure disappearing into the night.

Qian Xu tightly grasped the cloth in his hand, his eyes gleaming. He knew that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to turn the tide of the war! He immediately summoned his generals and worked out a bold and risky plan overnight...

Qian Xu memorized the pattern on the cloth and called all the generals to discuss countermeasures overnight. "Everyone, now that Huang Chao's army is approaching, our army is in a critical situation, but I have received reliable information that Huang Chao's real purpose in attacking the city is not the city itself, but to find something!"

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment. Wang Hu couldn't help but ask, "General, what on earth could it be that Huang Chao went to such great lengths to find it?"

Qian Xu looked around and said in a low voice: "According to reliable information, what Huang Chao is looking for is a treasure that can command the world, and the clue to this treasure is in a deserted temple outside the city!"

"Abandoned temple?" The generals were even more confused.

Qian Xu showed the pattern on the cloth to everyone, and described in detail the spy's description before his death and the words of the man in black. When the generals heard it, they were all shocked.

"If it is true as the general said, then why don't we..." a general suggested.

"Don't act rashly!" Qian Xu interrupted him, "Huang Chao is full of tricks, we must not act rashly, otherwise it is very likely to alert the enemy and let the treasure fall into the hands of the thieves!"

After some discussion, Qian Xu finally decided to send an elite team to sneak into the deserted temple outside the city at night to find the whereabouts of the treasure. He led the main force to continue to defend the city, waiting for the right time to cooperate with Huang Chao from inside and outside to give him a fatal blow!

After the plan was made, Qian Xu immediately ordered the action. However, at this moment, a soldier ran into the tent in a panic.

"Report! General, something terrible has happened. The city gate... the city gate has been lost!"

When Qian Xu heard this, he was struck by lightning, and the map in his hand fell to the ground...