"What is Yuan Song doing?" Xu Mu frowned and asked while flipping through the information in his hands in the forest.
He carefully read the information sent by Kezhou. Under the general trend, it seemed that everything was in line with his expectations.
"The helmsman, it seems that he is recruiting new troops and starting to gather his defense." Yin Hu, who was behind, thought for a while and spoke.
“Where’s that side of Hezhou?”
"The information hasn't arrived yet. However, with a small military advisor on hand, it should be fine."
"I always feel uneasy." Xu Mu shook his head. Although the war was going on here in Cangzhou, Xu Mu only felt that the Demon Queen was too quiet. She only knew how to fight and defend, without taking any other actions.
According to his understanding of the Demon Queen, this shouldn't be the case.
Nowadays, the ten cities in Cangzhou are slowly being captured. The closer we get to the great victory, the more this sense of crisis will linger in Xu Mu's heart.
"Six Heroes, tell Ye Xiao's brother that the intelligence of the past few days can be sent directly to the front line without going through Kezhou."
"The helmsman doesn't believe the Huang family."
"I don't trust anyone except my old brothers."
Without this sense of crisis, he would have died long ago.
"Don't worry, helmsman."
Cangzhou is a trapped beast, and no matter how hard it struggles, it is just a fight between trapped beasts. What Xu Mu needs to be careful about is that there will be other trapped beasts outside Cangzhou, watching with eagerness.
What happened in Hezhou is enough to prove a lot.
"The last five cities."
…
To the south of Cangzhou, due to the death of the King of Zhuzhou, the South China Sea Alliance at this time became more hostile to the same enemy. Even the Haiyue people looked fierce and unafraid of death.
"We only need to break one more city to join forces with the Dongling Army!"
Of the ten cities in Cangzhou, only five remained. Although the fight was extremely brutal, in any case, this round showed the power of the South China Sea League.
Moreover, another 60,000 Southern Navy troops arrived in the follow-up. In addition to those who died in the battle, the current Southern Army, including the Haiyue people, also numbered more than 100,000.
So far, the battle losses of the South China Sea Alliance have exceeded 40,000.
Zhao Di gritted his teeth with hatred.
"Ruan Qiu."
The commander-in-chief of the Haiyue people came over, his face covered with dirt and dust.
"King Zhao, what are your orders?"
"Within five days, I want to capture Pancheng!"
What stood in front of them was Pancheng, the great commandery of Cangzhou. As a large city that defended the imperial capital, traps had already been laid by the Demon Queen, the Horned Walled City. Coupled with the strong walls and clear fields, the battle to conquer the fortress became more and more difficult.
The harder it is.
"Don't worry, King Zhao. According to the plan, we, the Haiyue people, will attack the west gate of Pancheng and we will definitely kill all the pigs and dogs in Cangzhou."
"Very good. Arrange the siege equipment and push it to the front line!"
It has to be said that this time the Nanhai Allied Forces have demonstrated a majestic display. At least, in the Central Plains in the future, when people from the South China Sea are talked about, they will no longer be called foreigners and ignorant people.
…
Lidu City is located sixty miles away from the imperial capital. Earlier, it had become the largest fortified city to protect the imperial capital.
There is Lidu Mountain nearby. With the late spring weather, the vegetation has become lush and green. It is somewhat incompatible with the chaos of the war.
At the foot of Lidu Mountain, there are many tombs piled up. Most of them are the ancestral tombs of the people in the nearby area, but among them, there are also many solitary tombs with no names or monuments.
Chen Jiaqiao, the leader of the Night Owls in Western Shu at that time, was buried at the foot of Lidu Mountain. I heard that this incident became the revenge that Shu people yearned for. They wished they could break through Cangzhou and take their ancestors back to Western Shu.
At the foot of Lidu Mountain.
A man in black robe stopped his horse and took a look at the graveyard, then frowned and continued on his way with the collected information.
The war has gone crazy. Not only the soldiers, but also the people in the nearby area have been mobilized to form a meat army and are about to rush to the front line.
The slogan used was, of course, "We will face the national crisis together."
From very early on, the newly born Emperor Ji has become the royal orthodoxy in the hearts of many Cangzhou people. The Queen Mother Su Waner is also the mother of the country.
And those besieging princes were like rebels, seeking to usurp the throne.
In this battle, Cangzhou civilians first fought, and then the flesh army composed of women, old and weak. In the villages along the way, as far as the eye can see, almost every house has a new mourner, and white hemp is hung on the door.
The smoke from the incense burner makes people's nose uncomfortable.
The black robe remained silent. Deep in his heart, he suddenly hoped that the outcome of this war could be decided soon.
"The messenger returns to the city!"
After entering Lidu City, the black-robed messenger rushed to the Cangzhou headquarters as quickly as possible.
Demon Queen Su, who was standing on Lidu City, dispersed the guards' henchmen and allowed the black-robed messenger to approach.
Lidu City has no palace and no glazed tile roof. Kuai Jian Ah Qi could only sit on the high wall. He turned around, pressed his sword, and quickly glanced at the black robe, and lost any interest.
"Greetings to the master."
"Have you found out?"
"It should have been found out. I went to the Xishu Army that washed ashore and conducted a secret investigation. Xu Buyi is indeed not among the army. With Zuo Ren in the east and the Nanhai League in the south, Xu Buyi will naturally not go there."
"Back to Yucheng?"
"If we returned to Yucheng, we should have attacked Xinyue Pass long ago."
The Demon Queen was silent for a moment and nodded, "I know what you mean, Xu Buyi is hiding."
"That's about it. Right now, the entire Cangzhou is surrounded by water, and checking for information is very difficult. However, I also got a piece of news."
"What."
"During the war, many people in Cangzhou outside the ten cities fled towards Xinyue Pass and Yucheng. After all, there is no fighting over there for the time being."
"What do you want to say?" The Demon Queen turned around.
"The troops in Yu City in Western Shu are no more than 10,000 people. For this reason, I checked the terrain along the way. As long as Pancheng in front of Li Du Mountain has not been captured, then there is an official road that can lead to Xinyue Pass after all."
"But judging from the military strength of the South China Sea Alliance, Pancheng will be captured in less than ten days. By then, there will be no way out in the area near the imperial capital. And Crescent Pass will also become an isolated pass.
At that time, Yucheng will definitely send out troops."
The Demon Queen did not reply and stood silently. She could not understand the meaning of the messenger in front of her. But again, what she wanted to do was delay time.
But now, the situation is looking unfavorable.
"Let me think deeply. The governor of Yu City, Yu Wen, is not an ordinary person. If not, he would not be called the number one general in Western Shu."
"This matter is nothing more than grabbing time. But if it fails, disaster will be imminent."
The black robe nodded hesitantly.
He is not only a messenger, but actually also a member of the staff. His father also taught him many literary, Taoist and military strategies in Hebei.
"Tai Shuyi, you are already five points as good as your father."
"We have been conducting secret investigations for days. You should go and rest first."
The black-robed messenger listened, with a hint of joy on his face.
He wanted to say something else, but then he realized that the master in front of him had already walked down the city wall with the mute slave Ah Qi at some unknown time.