The prince is very fierce

"Kill——"

Inside Ningwu Pass, the huge gap on the wall was like a scar forcibly cut by a god on the earth.

More than 10,000 elite cavalrymen, as the vanguard of Northern Qi, rushed into the gap fearlessly. The gate had been opened, and tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides rushed together. The originally quiet snowfields and mountains were dyed blood red in just half an hour, with corpses everywhere, and fire and thick smoke covering the sky.

Outside Ningwu Pass, endless black clouds were still advancing. Jiang Heng, the right prince of Northern Qi, personally led 300,000 cavalrymen, with countless barbarian slaves as the vanguard, and made a desperate move, pressing from the north. This was almost all the wealth that Northern Qi had accumulated in sixty years of rest and recuperation.

The Saker Falcon hovered in the air, making a loud eagle cry. Looking down from the sky, the tide of soldiers fell on the wall of Ningwu Pass like a tsunami. The Ningwu Pass, which was once indestructible, had a gap, and a chain reaction occurred like a broken dam. The black water flow, carrying the blade, penetrated into the gate from all places. After passing through the pass, it spread outward, spreading to Taiyuan City a hundred miles away, and the surrounding rural towns and counties, leaving no grass behind.

The war between the two countries has never been a child's play. After a great victory, it may appease the people and strictly prohibit disturbing the people, but at this time, they are fighting with their backs to the water. If they fail, they will die. How can they care about so much? Stepping into the jurisdiction of Taiyuan, which has never been touched before, looking around, except for comrades, there are enemies everywhere. Only by killing everyone who stands in the way can you avoid letting your head become the other side's military merit.

The beacon fire had been lit. The Dayue soldiers, officials, merchants, gentry, tenants, women and children, who were still immersed in the atmosphere of the New Year's Eve, were all unprepared. After being at a loss, they fell into panic and chaos. The people who were still walking in the countryside fled madly to the city and the mountains. The officials who were drinking did not even have time to put on their shoes, and ran madly to the top of the city.

Dongdongdong——

The war drums were like thunder, and panic and chaos spread outward at an alarming speed. The black huge waves that rushed through the pass followed closely behind, pressing down on the border town that was unaware of anything with an overwhelming momentum...

-------

In the alleys of Qingxu County, firecrackers were heard from time to time.

The old woman was busy frying bacon in the kitchen. The fragrant smell made people salivate. Many children ran to the door to look in, and were pulled back by the ears by the adults.

Zhu Manzhi was born with a warm heart. Together with the well-educated Song Yufu, she helped the old woman prepare meals in the kitchen.

Zhongli Chuchu grew up in the south and had never sat on a northern heated kang. She sat on the kang with Ning Qingye, and felt very strange because her butt was warm. They whispered to each other:

"Qingye, how hot is it to sleep tonight?"

Ning Qingye sat upright as always. After thinking about it, he moved closer:

"Your master must like it."

Zhongli Chuchu's green eyes were slightly puzzled: "Why?"

Ning Qingye's expression was calm and he said directly:

"She and Xu Buling took off their clothes and pounded medicine together, so she was not afraid of the cold."

Pounding medicine?

Zhongli Chuchu's expression froze. After thinking carefully, she realized what "pounding medicine" meant. Her face turned red, and she raised her hand to pinch Ning Qingye's leg. She wanted to say: You were also pounded by Xu Buling, and you have the nerve to mock my master? Birds of a feather...

But it was obviously difficult to say this, so she could only frown and say, "Who did you learn this from?"

"From your master."

Ning Qingye was always calm and composed, and naturally he was not afraid to talk about other people's private matters with a woman. She thought for a while, and then said:

"Chuchu, you don't have to be so entangled. My master said that you and your master both accompanied Xu Buling, and it's actually nothing..."

? ? !

Zhongli Chuchu almost got a stitch in the side when she heard this, and glanced at Ning Qingye in disbelief, thinking to herself: Your master is shameless to tell you these things, and you don't understand it, but you still want to drag me and my master into the water?

Zhongli Chuchu naturally didn't appreciate this "kind invitation" and said coldly:

"Ning Qingye, watch your words. Once a teacher, always a father. I can't do that."

"Tsk~ whatever you want. Anyway, I'm not the one who's anxious."

Ning Qingye saw that his kind words were not appreciated by the other party, so he naturally stopped talking and looked away.

Zhongli Chuchu also snorted and looked away, thinking: You are so arrogant. Wait until you know that your master also sleeps with Xu Buling, and see if you will be anxious...

In the guest room outside the small door, there was a stove burning, and an iron kettle was placed on the stove, steaming, and two pots of wine were warmed next to it.

Xu Buling and Kou Meng sat at the small table, and Nightingale helped pour the wine and chatted about the details of the border army's battle. Nightingale grew up in the Su Wang Mansion since she was a child, and knew much more about the military formation than the Jianghu. Sometimes when Xu Buling made a mistake, she would remind and explain. She was a warm-hearted secretary.

However, Kou Meng did not even finish private school, and he only knew common characters when he was traveling around. Naturally, he was a layman in these things. It was like listening to a book from heaven. He kept nodding his head, but he still listened very seriously. After all, this was something that would help him get promoted and save his life in the future.

Soon, the table was set up in the room, and several people sat around the table, tasting authentic northern delicacies. Zhu Manzhi grew up in Qingxu County, and she was almost crying with greed, but she had to put on a gentle appearance, chewing slowly and pretending to be a well-behaved girl, and explaining the wonders and origins of these delicacies to her sisters.

While talking and laughing, just half of the wine was drunk, there was suddenly some running sounds in the alley.

Xu Buling thought it was just children chasing and fighting, and didn't pay attention to it. But not long after, the sound of drums came from a distance, "dong-dong-dong——".

Xu Buring and Nightingale frowned at the same time and looked north. The girls talking at the table also stopped, slightly confused.

Kou Meng had just joined the army and was a little curious when he heard the sound: "Whose family is holding a happy event during the New Year? The drum beats are quite strange. It sounds like...like..."

"War drum, there is an enemy attack!"

Xu Buling's ears were almost ringing with the sound of war drums. The war drums and beats of Dayue's army were all the same. After listening carefully, he understood that it meant the attack of a powerful enemy and the closure of the city and curfew.

Although Qingxu County is a border town, it is a hundred miles away from Ningwuguan and fifty miles away from Taiyuan City. Since the founding of Dayue, it has basically never experienced war. It can be said that it has never heard this drumbeat. Not only did the people outside not panic, many people ran out and asked at the door of Kou Meng's house:

"Master Kou, what's going on?"

When Kou Meng heard that it was a war drum, he put down his wine glass and said inexplicably: "I'll just say something familiar... Where did the enemy attack come from if the birds are free here? The bandits came here..." After that, he stood up and walked out of the room, carrying Looking to the north.

Unexpectedly, Kou Meng was shocked when he saw this, and he ran out in a hurry. After running for a few steps, he stopped, turned around and said urgently:

"Mr. Xu, the beacon tower is burning. Anyone who can't find me will be beheaded. I'll leave first. You... oh, you eat first! I've offended you..."

Eat shit!

When Xu Buling heard that the beacon was burning, his expression suddenly changed. He quickly stood up, ran out of the room with Nightingale, and looked up at the sky.

The sky was cloudless over the plain, and the sun hung high in the sky. Above the mountains at the end of the snowfield, plumes of smoke rose into the sky, stretching from the invisible north to the nearby mountains, and then to the southwest, until they reached Chang'an City at the end.

The beacon tower will only be lit in emergency situations. The consequences of lighting it casually can be seen from the example of King You of Zhou's "Beacon Fire Plays on the Princes". The beacon signal also has levels, divided into six levels. If the enemy invades the border with less than 1,000 people, only one pile of fire, which is a pile of fire and smoke, will be burned; if there are more than 1,000 people, two piles will be burned; if there are more than 1,000 people attacking the city, three piles will be burned.

The last time King Su left Qinzhou, he only lit two fires, while the smoke pillars in front of him were five separate ones. Six fires were lit when Chang'an was in danger and the princes from all walks of life were urgently summoned. Lighting five fires meant that the enemy had broken through the border and entered the pass, and even Taiyuan might not be able to stop it. Urgent help was sought from all parts of northern Xinjiang.

Nightingale looked at the direction where the beacon fire came from, her eyes slightly horrified: "This is Ningwuguan, one of the three passes. How could Ningwuguan be broken? Is the guard going home to celebrate the New Year?"

Xu Buling didn't have a clairvoyance, so he didn't know how Ningwuguan was broken, but he knew exactly what would happen next:

"Quickly retreat. Ningwuguan is more than a hundred miles away from here. I'm afraid the vanguard army is already on the road. Then we will surround Taiyuan and clear out the countryside and towns. If we don't leave, none of us will be able to escape."

Nightingale recalled the map, then turned around and said: "Once Taiyuan is defeated, the Northern Qi army will go south, and it will be impossible to defend Kaifeng Mansion. Chang'an City will definitely not be able to mobilize troops and horses in a short time, and the Liaoxi Governor's Mansion will directly become an enclave... …”

Xu Bu Ling had no intention of talking about this, so he turned around and waved: "Get out of the city quickly, the city gate is closed, and the horses will not be able to get out, so don't delay."

Ning Qingye ran out long ago and went to fetch the horses tied outside without hesitation after hearing this.

Seeing that the guest was in a hurry, the old woman poked her head out of the kitchen with confusion:

"Mr. Xu, what's going on? Why did Mengzi run away too?"

When Xu Buling heard this, he quickly jumped onto the courtyard wall and said to Kou Meng who had already run to the entrance of the alley:

"Kou Meng, come back and take your mother out of the city."

Kou Meng paused and turned around, with obvious hesitation in his eyes: "Master Xu, if you just run away without fighting, how can I kill my brother?"

Xu Buling fell beside Kou Meng with a few strides: "Ningwuguan has been broken. Qingxu County is located on the road that must pass south. The vanguard army will arrive here soon. Most of the troops and horses on the west side will be transferred to the western front defense. King Su, by the time the reinforcements arrive, Northern Qi has already reached Xiangzhou. There are two hundred soldiers in Qingxu County and there are no high walls. They don't need to attack the city. They can walk in and they can't stop them. "

Kou Meng had never been in a war. When Xu Bu Ling said it was so serious, his face turned pale and he said anxiously:

"You have to block it even if you can't. The superiors didn't give way to retreat. They started to block the city. It was obvious that they wanted to defend to the death. Even if they escaped, they would sit down..."

Xu Buling knew the iron law of the army, but the Northern Qi Dynasty had already entered the pass, and there might be some internal agents in the border army. Regardless of whether Taiyuan City was waiting for reinforcements, Qingxu County was a stumbling block. Two hundred people looked at the hundreds of thousands of troops from the Northern Qi Dynasty, but they couldn't help it. Isn't it a disease to run?

Xu Buling thought for a moment, then turned to look at the farmyard: "Nightingale, take Kou Meng's mother out of the city quickly and wait for me outside. I will take away the border troops from Qingxu County and rush over immediately."

Without any hesitation, Nightingale raised her hand and threw the gold medal from Prince Su's Mansion, then got on her horse and drove away with the girls.

Xu Buling took the Suwang gold medal and quickly rushed to the garrison barracks in the county with Kou Meng.

Kou Meng was still a little hesitant as he strode forward:

"Mr. Xu, I have the responsibility of guarding the city due to my humble position. If you leave the people and run away, I'm afraid..."

"Beiqi came here to regain the lost territory. Have you ever seen your home occupied by bandits? When you fought back, you smashed your own home first?"

"Uh... I understand..."

"If you don't defend, the Northern Qi soldiers and horses will not massacre the city and provoke public anger. Only by mobilizing militia to defend the city will more people die. Just follow me without any worries..."

——

Asking for a monthly ticket~