Becoming a stepmother of three children gives me space

Whether the city needs support or not, and whether it can be defended or not, is entirely up to Prince Qing.

The battle report said that more than 7 soldiers were lost. What was the actual loss?

Up to 4000,

The dead were all the loyal followers of the King of the Northwest. This so-called encounter was actually a play with the northern barbarians.

There are three purposes:

First, it was for the emperor to see.

The dead were the remnants of the King of the Northwest and his own personal guards. He was no longer a threat to the people.

The second purpose,

Clean out those people in the army who are loyal to the King of the Northwest, completely conquer these people and make them his helpers.

The third purpose, and the most critical purpose,

The Northwest will become his territory, and the 7 hidden troops are his trump card for governing the Northwest, as well as his trump card and retreat for becoming emperor.

It would be good if he could become the crown prince smoothly.

If not, then let’s see for ourselves.

At this point in the plan, no one could stop his success. It was Yan Hao's disappearance that caused a flaw in the originally perfect plan.

If Yan Hao died in battle, the Murong family, the Zhou family, and even the second prince, that fool, would suffer the consequences. But Yan Hao ran away.

He could actually declare Yan Hao dead in battle, but that would leave hidden dangers. Zhao Tong would not allow himself to be in danger, so he had to settle for the second best and say that Yan Hao was collaborating with the enemy.

With the cooperation of the northern barbarians, even if Yan Hao is alive, he will be convicted of treason and will not pose a threat to him even if he appears again.

Yan Hao's problem was temporarily solved, but he was more worried about the Crown Prince.

"Is there any news from Qiushui County?"

Zhao Qi bowed:

"According to the captured civilians, the Crown Prince was in the mountains and had provided them with over 3 dan of food..."

Zhao Tong raised his eyebrows and interrupted him:

"30,000 dan?"

To enter the mountains from the north, one needs to cross mountains and ridges, and vehicles cannot pass through. It is impossible to transport 30,000 dan of grain.

Besides,

They were fleeing, with the northern barbarians following them. How could they have time to transport food or go on an outing?

Xiao Yunxi: Isn’t it just an outing?

His Highness doesn't believe it, and Zhao Qi himself doesn't believe it either, but the fact is just like that.

It is estimated that there were 15 people who went into the mountains. With an average of 20 kilograms of food per person, that's 3 dan, that's right.

Zhao Qi raised his eyebrows slightly.

The people of Qiu Shui County were openly controlled by the northern barbarians, and the common people did not dare to go down the mountain. He was not worried at first, but would they wait to die in the mountains when they ran out of food?

It's hard to say now.

Using 30,000 dan of grain to buy reputation, the grain in hand is probably far more than 30,000 dan.

The news that the Crown Prince is alive is already known to everyone. My father is a man who cares about his reputation so much that he will definitely send someone to bring him back, and he will do it at any cost.

The more troops we send, the more likely the Ministry of War and the Five Army Commanders will want to retake the northwest, and the situation will get out of control.

There is food in the mountains, so they will definitely not go down the mountain. The Crown Prince can afford it, but he can't.

"Your Highness, how about we take control of Qiushui County, and then the people will come down the mountain..."

"No."

If something happens to the Crown Prince, it must be in the territory of the Northern Barbarians.

"How about sending people into the mountains?"

It is easier to enter the mountains from the south. Even if you can send enough troops, it may not be useful. People have legs and can run into the mountains.

Zhao Tong raised his eyelids slightly and looked at the flickering candlelight. His slightly narrowed eyes showed a frightening light, but soon recovered.

He just lost his composure and became uncalm!

The Crown Prince is just one of many competitors. To get the throne, everyone has to rely on their own abilities. What he needs to ensure now is to control the northwest.

Eliminating the Crown Prince is just a side job, and we must not put the cart before the horse.

When the mind is clear, the thinking becomes clearer.

He couldn't really stop the court from sending troops to bring back the Crown Prince, so he took this opportunity to weaken their strength, starting with Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu died, and Zhou Jin wanted to take over the Zhou family and stabilize his position, but it would probably take a lot of effort.

If he could support a member of the Zhou family who was close to him to take the position, Zhou Jin would probably be overwhelmed, as this would be a greater loss than losing the Murong family.

I don’t know whether the two proud sons of the Murong family are dead or not. If they are dead, it would be a pity.

"Master Murong, you are finally awake!"

In the cave,

Murong Hai slowly opened his eyes and felt pain all over his body. It was pitch black all around him. Could this be the underworld?

"Lord Murong."

Forehead?

Can the dead inherit their official positions during their lifetime?

"Lord Murong."

The voice was right next to my ear, and then a faint light appeared in front of my eyes, and a face was faintly visible in the candlelight.

"Zhou Jiu?"

"It's me, you finally woke up."

Murong Hai wanted to get up, but was held down by Zhou Jiu:

"It will be troublesome if the wound breaks open. Madam didn't give us much medicine."

"Where am I?"

"Piaomiao Peak."

Why am I here?

Murong Hai regained consciousness and remembered that he was fighting the enemy on the city wall, with wounds all over his body. Someone asked him to retreat, but he refused. Then his eyes went black.

No need to guess, it was Zhou Jiu who did it, and Zhou Jin arranged it, but in the end they still couldn't survive and die with Beishengguan.

"Tell me about the situation in the northwest."

If Beisheng Pass is broken, the northwest will definitely fall, and the situation will definitely be very bad.

Zhou Jiu didn't know much either.

Rescue Murong Hai, blow up the north and south gates of Beisheng Pass, buy time for the people to evacuate, he took the remaining soldiers and Murong Hai to retreat to Piaomiao Peak,

Piaomiao Peak was arranged by Zhou Jin. It has sufficient food and grass, is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is an excellent hiding place, but it is inconvenient to go out.

The number of secret guards is limited, and they can only report back every three days. The information is also incomplete and is pieced together.

The military department of the prefectural city was stationed at Hutou Cliff, and the people were forbidden to pass through.

Daxia counterattacked and recaptured several counties.

Now that Hutou Cliff has been breached, the northern barbarians have reoccupied these counties. I'm afraid the entire northwest has been occupied by the northern barbarians.

Murong Hai was silent for a long time.

"How is Luochuan County?"

He was ready to die for his country and persuaded Murong Chen to leave. Although the county magistrate took the lead in running away during the war, the court would investigate, but Zhou Jin mediated.

At least I can save my life and have a chance to recover.

As long as there is green mountain, there is no fear of running out of firewood. There are infinite possibilities when you are alive. If you lose your life, you will really lose everything.

Even if he couldn't be revived, at least he could give the Murong family more offspring. The Murong family was small, and there were only two males in the third generation. At least one of them could survive.

"The people led by Murong Chen defended Luochuan County to the death. The Northern Barbarians massacred the city after they broke through. Your Excellency sent Lao Ba to escort them. Your Excellency will surely be fine."

Beishengguan is a border pass. If you are facing the enemy during the war, it is completely fine to run away.

Luochuan County is a plain county with no strategic location to defend. It was impossible to escape when besieged by the northern barbarians, so Murong Chen was most likely killed in the battle.

Those who should have died are alive.

People who should have been alive are dead,

Now even if he wanted to die for his country, he couldn't die. This was his responsibility to the Murong family.

In fact, when Murong Hai saw the soldiers being unjustly killed because of inferior armor and weapons, he understood what Zhou Jin said to him.

Daxia has no shortage of soldiers willing to die bravely, but what it lacks is someone who can endure humiliation and completely change Daxia.