The walls of Xichuan City are high and thick, and they are equipped with heavy crossbows and catapults. The person in command is also the veteran Meng Tianhai, so even if Qing Xinyao is not around, the Ninth Princess has not been very worried.
It wasn't until she learned that the Tubo people owned hot air balloons that the Ninth Princess panicked. Fei Ge immediately sent a letter to Meng Tianhai, reminding him to be careful.
Hot air balloons are strategic weapons in Xihewan. Except for Zhang Liang who took some away and Jin Feng who took some away to the East China Sea, none of the escort branches in other places have them, let alone sell them to Xichuan City.
Gada had a hot air balloon, but Meng Tianhai didn't, so he could only be beaten passively.
In fact, Princess Ninth was right to worry.
On the day that Xizuo attacked Xihewan, Gada also launched a general attack on Xichuan City.
Dozens of hot air balloons took off at the same time, directly blinding Meng Tianhai.
The heavy crossbows and catapults on the city wall were burned one after another.
Then, the city was broken!
Although the Ninth Princess did not see the scene at that time, she knew what would happen to the people and soldiers in the city after the city was destroyed.
"Wuyang..."
Guan Xiaorou wanted to comfort her, but she didn't know what to say, so she could only put her arms around Princess Ninth!
"Sister, I'm fine!"
The Ninth Princess gently pushed Guan Xiaorou, wiped the tears from her eyes, gritted her teeth and said, "I swear, I will make the Tubo people pay for their debt with blood!"
"Your Highness..." Xiaoyu said weakly: "The Tubo army did not come from the lower reaches, but from the upper reaches."
"From upstream?"
The Ninth Princess was stunned.
Xichuan City is downstream. If the Tibetans came to Jinchuan after conquering Xichuan, they should go downstream and go up.
"Where did it come from upstream?" asked the Ninth Princess.
In fact, she was still wondering just now. Even if Gada captured Xichuan City, it would be difficult to reach Jinchuan so quickly.
But at that time, she thought that Gada might send someone else to leave in advance, so she didn't think about it in detail.
Now that Xiaoyu said this, she finally came back to her senses.
"They arrived at Liangshuikou hiding on several cargo ships. The brothers on the other side of Shuang Hump sent a message saying that someone knew these ships and they belonged to a business in Xiuquan County."
Xiaoyu replied: "I have sent people to investigate the specific situation."
"It seems that King Qin has really colluded with the Tubo people!" Ninth Princess sighed.
Xiuquan County belongs to the Qin Dynasty. Without the permission of the King of Qin, the Tubo people would not be able to cross the Qin Dynasty silently.
The border between Tubo and Dakang is very long, and a section of it is connected to Qin.
However, that area was sparsely populated and far away from the areas where Tibetans gathered, so it had always been peaceful.
Guan Xiaorou didn't know who King Qin was, and she didn't want to know. She was more concerned about the enemies entering Jinchuan.
While the Ninth Princess was thinking about countermeasures, she turned to look at Xiaoyu: "Where is the enemy?"
"We've arrived at Shangji Town. If we hurry, the vanguard will arrive in three hours!" Xiaoyu said.
"Three hours..."
Guan Xiaorou's face changed drastically.
The Ninth Princess could no longer think about King Qin, and turned around after hearing this: "How many people are there?"
"At least more than 5,000 people have been discovered so far!"
Xiaoyu said: "The brothers with double humps sent a message and said that judging from their skills, they are all elite veterans!"
"Five thousand elites!" Ninth Princess took a breath.
Although many of the escorts from the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau had previously withdrawn, they learned that Jin Feng was missing in the East China Sea. In order to search and rescue Jin Feng as much as possible, Tie Hammer went to the East China Sea to take away a group of people.
Later, under Mr. Feng's plan, in order to rescue Niuben, the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau faced off against Dangxiang's southern expedition army.
In order to resist the Southern Expeditionary Army, 60% of the village's bodyguards and Zhenyuan soldiers were mobilized, and now the two sides are still facing off in the Yaozikou area.
Then Zheng Fang and Mancang went to the East China Sea to meet Jin Feng and took some of their people with them.
Although the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau and the Zhenyuan Army have been expanding and recruiting people, after several rounds, there are not many escorts left in the village.
If there are five thousand bandits, the village escorts will not be afraid if they rely on the fortress and their fighting skills that are much higher than the enemy.
But the enemy is not bandits, but 5,000 Tibetan elites, and their fighting skills will never be weaker than those of the bodyguards!
Not to mention combat experience on large battlefields.
The civil strife in Tubo has just ended, and those who survived are definitely veterans.
No matter which way you look at it, the opponent is definitely a strong enemy.
The most terrible thing is that there are only three hot air balloons left in the village, and the enemy's number of hot air balloons is definitely much higher than our own.
Hot air balloons were first made by Jin Feng, and no one knows the power of hot air balloons better than Guan Xiaorou and the Ninth Princess.
In front of a hot air balloon, any fortress is useless.
Thinking of these, Guan Xiaorou could not help but feel a sense of despair in her heart.
"Calm down! Calm down! The leader said that there are always more solutions than difficulties. There must be a solution!"
Guan Xiaorou forced herself to calm down, her mind running rapidly.
However, due to the constraints of knowledge and experience, she could not think of a good solution for a while.
"Sister, I have some ideas. Can you please listen to it?"
The Ninth Princess saw her like this and said.
"Wuyang, it's time now, don't worry about what's there and what's not, just tell me if you have any ideas!"
Guan Xiaorou urged.
The Ninth Princess nodded and said coldly: "When the enemy comes from Shangji Town, they must pass through Erlang Mountain. Send brother Guan as soon as possible to ambush at the top of Erlang Mountain. Blow up the enemy's baggage train immediately and kill their hot air balloons."
!”
"Yes, yes, as long as they don't have hot air balloons, things will be easy to handle!"
Guan Xiaorou nodded quickly.
"Second, inform the recruits from Maomao Mountain and Hutou Mountain and ask them to come back immediately to support the village!"
The Ninth Princess continued: "Remember to remind them not to take the main roads and try to take the mountain roads. It is best not to gather in groups and spread out to avoid being attacked by undiscovered enemies!"
"yes!"
Xiaoyu nodded, took out a small notebook, and quickly took notes.
"Third, notify Heishuigou and release the bandits who are working!"
The Ninth Princess continued: "Tell the bandits that as long as they are willing to hunt and kill the enemy, the past can be forgotten."
"Wuyang, let those bandits go, they might run away..." Guan Xiaorou reminded.
Before the rise of Jin Feng, bandits would go to the village every year to collect New Year's grain, which can be said to be a lifelong psychological shadow for Guan Xiaorou.
When she heard that Princess Ninth wanted to release the bandits, she instinctively wanted to oppose it.
"Sister, don't worry, listen to me first."
The Ninth Princess continued: "Let the brothers in Heishui Mountain tell the bandits that for every enemy they kill, they will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. For every officer who is killed by a corps commander or above, he will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver. For every officer who is a corps commander or above, he will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver. If he is a captain or above, he will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver."
, a reward of one hundred taels of silver!
Bandits are the most willing to sacrifice their lives for money. I believe many people will be tempted by them!
As for those who want to run away, just run away, we can’t control that much now.”
Although Guan Xiaorou still felt a little uncomfortable, she didn't say anything else.
Because she knew that Princess Ninth's decision was correct.