My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 688 War
"According to the news, the prince's carriage is less than twenty miles away."

"…Three thousand soldiers, five hundred palace guards, and more than two hundred guards of honor."

Zhang You, who is nearly fifty years old, looked to the west with a solemn expression. Next to him was Xu Qinghu, who was also in his mid-forties.

The two of them also had the merit of following the dragon, but their abilities were limited, so they had been staying in Ding'an and garrisoning Ding'an City. This place was not only the place where the dragon rose, but also the entire Su family was handed over to these two people.

The fact that they can stay here permanently shows the emperor's trust in them.

Beigong Shu simply didn't believe that these two people could be persuaded to take part in the rebellion. Now he followed Li Wen here and saw with his own eyes how the two men deployed their troops and heard the conversation just now.

He couldn't think straight.

"Mr. Li, what magic did you use to get these two generals to join us in the rebellion?"

Beigong Shu did not take the liberty to approach the two generals and make friends with them. Firstly, they might be discussing war. Secondly, he was only sixteen or seventeen years old after all. Although he was a bit precocious and had been hanging around the streets, it would be a lie to say that he was not nervous in such a situation.

When facing two generals who have fought on the battlefield, it is easy for him to be suppressed in momentum and be looked down upon by the other side.

The young man said this and straightened his chest on the horse's back to make himself look upright and steady. Li Wen, who was sitting on top of another docile horse, looked at his expression and slightly cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty, you should know that people in the world are all motivated by profit. At the beginning, the two of them had the merit of following the emperor, but they could not enter the court and become ministers. They could only spend the rest of their lives in Ding'an City. Who would be willing to do such a great deed?"

When Beigong Shu heard the word "Your Majesty", he felt numb all over. He pretended to be mature and agreed:

"Such a hero is buried here. That thief Su really went too far. But if he hadn't done that, how could I have recruited the two of them to work for me?"

In front, Zhang You and Xu Qinghu glanced sideways behind them, with a hint of disdain on their lips.

"Don't worry about it, just do our job."

After he finished speaking, Zhang You slowly lifted up his iron helmet and put it on his head. His hair had already turned gray. He felt a little regretful for not being able to follow Su Chen to the north. However, his biggest regret was that he could not go to the West and compete with the army there.

At this moment, we have to carry out this imperial order, and we are destined to sacrifice a group of soldiers to train the prince.

As the leading generals, he and his old brother Xu Qinghu naturally had some complaints in their hearts, but they could not refuse the emperor's order.

"Let's go... Palace affairs always result in the death of a group of innocent people."

Zhang You sighed, put on his helmet, whispered a sigh to Xu Qinghu beside him, then picked up his gun, jumped on his horse and rushed down the hillside, followed closely by fifty guards.

There were also orders for the cavalry to rush to the front and blow the horns at their waists.

The troops marching at the foot of the mountain below heard the gathering horn and looked back.

On the galloping warhorse, the general in military uniform drew his sword and raised it high, shouting like thunder: "All of you, head west!"

There was a scent of war all over the wilderness.

In June of the eighth year of Yuanxing, a war suddenly broke out, like a thunder in midsummer.

The prince's team was attacked by an army of 5,000 people on their way back to Yanjing. In the chaos, the prince's life or death was uncertain.

This was news that caught everyone off guard. They were all stunned for a moment, then stood up and rushed outside, using all the connections around them to frantically gather information.

The first person to receive the news and react was the Ding'an City Prefect Sun Shuwu, who was in his sixties and notified the Su Mansion immediately.

Su Yong and Su Lie were immediately furious. How could anyone remain calm in such a situation? The two brothers first hid the matter from Su Congfang and Xiao Xi, and then Su Lie and Shisan led the men to follow Sun Shuwu to mobilize the troops in the city.

At this time, all kinds of news were flying around. Upon hearing the news, Yunzhen Marquis Wu Huizhi immediately ordered the only 10,000 troops to gather outside Yunzhen County. The governor Tang Huaiyuan, who was about the same age as him, came over tremblingly to persuade him, but was slapped back by him.

"Get out of here! Whoever tries to stop me will never coexist with me!"

Less than a day had passed since the incident and there was still no news of the prince's death, which meant that there was still a possibility of saving him. At the moment, not only Yunzhen, but also the surrounding Changchuan and Qingshan counties were gathering troops, with a few hundred at least and one or two thousand at most. After a simple preparation, they hurriedly set off, speeding up their march along the way.

Not long after, Ding'an City also sent troops to the scene of the incident and directly fought against the rebels.

From Ding'an to Yanjing, and then to the years of great peace in the world, the troops under the command of Zhang You and Xu Qinghu were the only ones that fought here.

The troops from the surrounding counties were only local soldiers and could hardly compete with the two of them.

Su Lie and Su Yong led their troops to the scene of the incident. The first thing they saw was the soldiers escorting the prince's carriage running away.

When Su Yong and Su Lie learned from the defeated soldiers that the leaders of the army were Zhang You and Xu Qinghu, they were completely stunned.

It was totally incomprehensible why the two men suddenly rebelled and attacked Crown Prince Su Chen. However, before they could get close to the battlefield, a group of rebels attacked them from the northeast.

The two men, who had no battlefield experience, could only delegate power to the soldiers below and fight while retreating.

At the same time, Wu Huizhi, Marquis of Yunzhen in the north, personally led 10,000 troops to the north of the battlefield. He calmed his anxiety and charged directly into the battlefield without any unnecessary nonsense.

It was summer now, the sun was shining brightly, and the plain area north of Ding'an had not seen rain for several days.

The weather is dry.

The Yunzhen County soldiers who were desperate to rescue people took a shortcut into the battlefield, but Xu Qinghu took advantage of the terrain to set fire to the forest, and the fire spread to block the way ahead.

The ambushed soldiers rushed out from behind, and a large number of arrows shot in from the dense woods on both sides like locusts. Knowing that he was ambushed, Marquis Yun Zhen was rescued at the risk of his life by his personal guards, who were nearly choked to death by the thick smoke.

The rest of the troops from various counties that came to reinforce were also attacked by Zhang You's troops on the way, and a huge chaos was brewing.

The war broke out suddenly and the news was difficult to suppress. After learning of the outbreak of the war, many people began to flee or hide in the city.

Having not experienced war for many years, the people in the north, especially the men around Ding'an City, who had settled their families, actively helped the soldiers in the city to strengthen the city walls or make weapons and armor.

Looking from the city wall into the city, hundreds of thousands of people were filling the streets like ants, covering every corner of the city.
On the city wall, his long gray beard fluttered slightly in the wind. Sun Shuwu, who was in his seventies, looked at the people who were united as one and couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Majesty's summer is supported by all the people."

"It is a prosperous era when the people can defend the city on their own initiative." The chief official of the prefectural governor's office beside him had tears in his eyes: "If everyone does this, there is no need to worry about the rebellion not being destroyed."

Sun Shuwu pursed his lips and suddenly slapped the wall. He turned around and tilted his gray head to look outside the city.

"Zhang You and Xu Qinghu are so bold as to do such a thing. Don't they want the Nine Clans?!" The old man looked at the merchants who hurriedly left the city. The originally prosperous city had turned into a panic in less than half a day.

"If Your Majesty returns, I wonder how many people will lose their lives!"

The war outside the city has been going on. The troops from various counties have been dispersed, reorganized, dispersed again, and continued to be reorganized. Then, for several days, the war and chaos continued to expand. Lei Tong and Qi Youhu, the defenders of Yantang Pass far in the northwest, have sent troops south to rescue.

Li Dian of Longyang County also led his troops south.

Just when everyone thought that Ding'an City might be breached by the rebels, and when everyone was looking for news about the prince, suddenly a group of remnants of the army rushed out from the mountains, like a steel knife forged in a fire, and they defeated several rebel teams in succession.

This army also has a resounding name: Beiwei.

(End of this chapter)