Yanshi ancient sword

48

Day after day passed, and the expected attack of the Tuhu Yan beast army did not come as expected. Hundreds of thousands of troops faced each other across the fortification array of both sides.Both sides were waiting for the day of the decisive battle. The battlefield was unusually quiet, as if it was about to welcome a grand rainstorm.

A group of generals in the Xingyuan of the Tang Army, headed by Longyou Jiedu envoy Wu Zhuoyi, held military meetings every day and argued endlessly all day long.But behind the handsome camp, the emperor's tent was completely silent.

Several braziers were placed in the tent, and the emperor was wrapped in a thick brocade quilt and curled up on the Hu bed that was temporarily used as a dragon carriage. The dim light of the fire danced and danced, reflecting his handsome cheeks as pale as snow.In front of him, there were two palace ladies kneeling, one of them was holding a bronze mirror in his hand, and the other was holding a box of rouge.

The sudden illness, like a hurricane, swept away all the vitality of Xia Yize, and made him fall into a coma for three days. It was not until the fourth day that he had the strength to open his eyes.Regardless of the imperial doctor's advice, Xia Yi forced himself to sit up, and ordered the maids to smudge his pale, dead face with rouge.He can't fall, he needs to stand before all armies, he is the emperor of Tang Dynasty.

After Gong'e finished applying the rouge, Xia Yi looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. The two Gong'e packed up their things and retreated out silently.

The curtain was lifted, and a purple eunuch entered, and knelt down beside Xia Yize's bed.

Xia Yi silently listened to the eunuch's report on various matters in the army over the past few days, noncommittal.The eunuch sneaked a glance at the emperor on the Hu bed, and saw that the emperor had a calm face, but his pitch-black eyes were as dark as a bottomless deep pool, and he always felt that some indescribable sharpness was brewing.

The emperor didn't ask, but the eunuch knew what the emperor wanted to hear.

"... Le Hou took away most of the kerosene, coke, sulfur, etc. from the army, and asked the quartermaster if he had any saltpeter reserves... He took a large amount of military supplies by himself, but he didn't want soldiers to carry them, and he wasn't allowed to peep. I built a tent and worked on my own for a night. Lehou is a noble person, he won’t allow it, and no one dares to disobey his orders. At Maoshi, Lehou came out. He seemed very tired, but he didn’t say anything. , and then left..."

"In the past few days, there has been no movement from Tuhu, and no news from Lehou?" The emperor remained calm.

"General Wu has been sending people to investigate. There seems to be some commotion in the Tuhu army. The scouts saw that the Tuhu people dragged out a large number of damaged objects, but they were hard to identify. There is no news from Lehou..."

"I see." The emperor waved his hand, and the eunuch in purple retreated.

Xia Yi sat back powerlessly, only feeling the boundless desolation and bleakness accompanied by exhaustion, deeply enveloping him, he murmured to the empty tent with a sense of loss, as if there was rustling outside the tent. Light snow falling.

49

On the fifth day after Le Wuyi left, Tang Jun began to tentatively launch a small-scale attack on Tuhu.

For more than half a month, Tuhu and Datang both engaged in small-scale battles with a small number of troops.The Tang army always relied on its excellent armaments to gain the upper hand in the strangulation of both sides, and gained in every battle. After several battles, it also had some judgments on Tuhu's combat effectiveness.

Although the Tuhu army is powerful and fearless, its command is rough and its resistance is not strong. In the battle of the first confrontation, the situation that our own army was difficult to control never appeared again.Those god-like Yanjia beasts have never appeared on the battlefield again, as if they had never existed before, they disappeared without a trace.

The results of several battles once again sparked controversy in the Tang Army Command Battalion.What is the reason for the abnormal fighting power of the Tuhu people?Perhaps, the Yanjia beast of the Tuhu people just looks ferocious and terrifying, but in fact it is strong on the outside and capable on the inside.

Some generals believe that the so-called Tuhuyanjia beast is just a phantom created by wizards. Its main function is to appear in the sky with thick clouds and thick clouds, causing huge psychological pressure on the enemy.

However, there are also many generals who fought against Yanjia, and they firmly denied this statement.The reason why Yanjia beasts have not appeared may be that they have certain restrictions, or maybe they have disappeared?

Comparing the armies of the two sides, in addition to the frontier army composed of local young and strong, the Tang army also had several troops from Gyeonggi.Although the Beijing army is well-equipped and well-trained, they have lived in the prosperous area of ​​the Central Plains for a long time, and it is extremely difficult for them to exert their combat effectiveness when fighting on a cold plateau like Dabuchuan.Up to the emperor, down to ordinary soldiers and civilians, many have fallen ill in the past half a month.Although there was no epidemic in winter, it still caused the morale of the army to fluctuate.The Tuhu people have always lived in the bitterly cold plateau, and the severe cold weather has limited impact on them, especially when the military resources are adequately prepared, they are more adaptable to the combat terrain than the Tang army, and maintain high fighting spirit for a long time.

Whether it is the climate, the region, the supply line, or the order of battle, it is determined that Datang should fight Tuhu decisively as soon as possible.

More than half a month passed, and there was still no news about Lehou, but the emperor's condition seemed to worsen, and his temper became irritable.He dismissed all his attendants and stayed in the tent all day long, but he didn't see anyone.

The relationship between the emperor and Le Hou is considered a semi-open secret in the court. Le Hou disappeared and the emperor fell ill, which made the soldiers in front somewhat at a loss.Fortunately, although the emperor personally led the expedition, he completely delegated power and did not command the military indiscriminately.

Without the restraint of the emperor, the generals finally drew up a final plan for a decisive battle with Tuhu based on the results of many days of fighting with Tuhu and the intelligence obtained by scouts.

50

Banners and flags were flying, swords and guns were shining, and one hundred thousand Tang soldiers in the camp were ready to go.They are about to go to battle, they are majestic and heroic, and their robes are long. They are looking forward to a decisive battle after His Majesty's personal review.

The soldiers waited in the heavy snow for a long time, but His Majesty the Emperor never showed up.

Longyou Jiedu envoy Wu Zhuoyi had been waiting in front of the emperor's tent for a long time, wearing a helmet and armor.No matter how he reported, several eunuchs only said that the emperor was resting due to illness and could not see him.

"How is your majesty's condition?" Wu Zhuoyi was in a state of anxiety, how sick was the emperor, why did he not show his face for such a long time?

Is it?

A thought of fear welled up in his heart, Wu Zhuoyi grabbed the lapel collar of the purple-robed eunuch who had been sleeping with his eyes closed, and shouted sharply: "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... He has already taken medicine and fell asleep... General, what are you going to do?" The eunuch seemed to be frightened by Wu Zhuoyi's sudden attack, and said in a trembling voice.

"Sleeping?" Wu Zhuoyi sneered, knocked the eunuch down to the ground, and strode towards the tent hall.

"Bold, stop!" screamed the eunuch who fell to the ground.

Swish!

The eight guards guarding outside the tent hall pulled out their ritual knives and pointed at Wu Zhuoyi at the same time.

Another scarlet-robed eunuch said harshly: "Who dares to disturb Sheng Jia?"

"Get out of the way." Wu Zhuoyi remained motionless, expressionless.

"Your Majesty's decree, no one will be seen, so hurry up!" The purple-robed eunuch who fell to the ground tremblingly got up slightly, "General, are you going to resist the order?" With his shrill voice, Dozens of guards with ceremonial knives rushed up and blocked the entrance of the tent hall.

"Get out of the way!" Wu Zhuoyi stepped forward, his voice cold and harsh.

The guards holding ritual knives stood side by side, and the slender blades shone cold and sharp in the snow.

But Wu Zhuoyi didn't seem to see these sharp weapons, and walked slowly towards the tent hall.Following his pace, countless personal soldiers suddenly surged out from behind him, trotting forward in unison, rushing forward.

"You, you, you..." The purple-robed eunuch at the head touched Wu Zhuoyi with his hands, trembling anxiously, but he couldn't give the order to attack the guards anyway, he just kept stomping his feet with a pale face.He understands that this is not the palace, this is the military camp, and the person in front of him is the commander-in-chief of the first army personally appointed by the emperor!General Wu's majesty is not something that his mere third-rank courtiers can touch lightly.

With a wave of Wu Zhuoyi's hand, the soldiers rushed forward and pushed away the guards standing in front of the tent.The guards didn't resist, they could only watch helplessly as Wu Zhuoyi lifted the curtain of the tent with his own hands, and strode in.

51

Inside the tent hall, the light was dim, and the furnishings were as simple as in the past. There was a faint fragrance of grass and trees in the air, which was definitely not the strong smell of soup and medicine as imagined.On the Hu bed behind the floor-to-ceiling curtain, someone was wrapped in a brocade quilt, as if sleeping soundly.

Wu Zhuoyi ignored the anxious expressions of the eunuchs who hesitated to speak, walked lightly, walked straight to Hu's bed, knelt down on one knee, cupped his fists and lowered his head, and said, "Chen Wu Zhuoyi, see Your Majesty."

The person on the bed didn't respond.

"Chen Wu Zhuoyi, see Your Majesty." Raising the volume, Wu Zhuoyi reported again, but still did not get any response.

Frowning gradually, Wu Zhuoyi suddenly stood up and moved towards the thick curtain.

"General, don't do it!" The purple-robed eunuch rushed forward to stop him, Wu Zhuoyi pushed him away without hesitation, and quickly lifted the curtain.

The person on the bed was motionless, his whole body was wrapped in a thick brocade quilt, only a few strands of hair were exposed.Wu Zhuoyi's eyes swept over the strands of hair, his face suddenly turned pale, and he slowly lifted the brocade quilt with a cold face.

In the dark yellow embroidered gold quilt, a young man as white as jade sleeps quietly. His long brown hair is scattered like clouds, and his handsome eyebrows are piled up like a picture scroll.He closed his eyes tightly, with a slight smile on his lips, as if he was dreaming of a quiet and peaceful dream, with a serene expression on his face.

Le Wuyi, the young prince of Dingguo's mansion, lay quietly on the emperor's dragon chariot.

"Why is Le Hou here?" Wu Zhuoyi pulled back the quilt to cover Le Wuyi's face, but he sighed slightly from the bottom of his heart.

His fingers touched the skin on the latter's face, and it was cold.This is a corpse, no breathing, no body temperature, no heartbeat, even though he looks so peaceful and serene.

"Your Majesty brought it back." The purple-robed eunuch also sighed.

"Your Majesty was in a coma for three days, and finally woke up. He was so ill that he couldn't even stand up, but he confessed that he was so sick that he didn't see anyone. Then he insisted on going to find Lehou himself, and the servants desperately Stop, so many people are desperately trying to stop, His Majesty is a godlike person, and the slaves can't catch up with him, so they can only watch him disappear.

A few days ago, His Majesty occasionally came back to explain a few words and then left in a hurry. Sometimes he didn't come back for several days, and the servants were going crazy with fear.Later...His Majesty finally brought Le Hou back...

When His Majesty came back, his whole body was covered with wounds, and his whole body seemed to have lost his soul. He sat blankly, neither eating nor sleeping... Sometimes he was alone in a daze, and sometimes he talked with Lehou in his arms, but the slave could not hear him clearly He was talking about something, His Majesty vomited blood while he was talking, he vomited a lot of blood, it vomited all over Lehou's body, the slave was frightened, took a towel to wipe, but he took the towel, desperately gave Lehou Hou wiped his face and kept wiping..."

Wu Zhuoyi silently listened to the eunuch's weeping babble, his brows furrowed tightly on his stern face.

"Where is His Majesty now?"

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice: "Three days ago, the immortal master from Taihua Mountain came. I don't know what kind of magic the immortal master used, but His Majesty's spirit improved a bit. Later, the immortal master took His Majesty away, Before leaving, just say a few days and return."

"Why didn't you send someone to inform me about this matter?"

"Your Majesty ordered, if the general asks, we will talk about it."

Wu Zhuoyi nodded.Just as he was about to leave, his eyes swept over the corpse on the couch.His body trembled as if he remembered something, he leaned forward and pulled off the quilt to look carefully for a while, a weird look gradually appeared on his face.

Thoughtfully, he glanced at the purple-robed eunuch standing beside him with bowed head and sleeves, pulled the brocade quilt again, and Wu Zhuoyi turned around and strode out of the tent.