Luo Qingzhi reacted, watching Mu Chengqian and Xianyun turn away from each other. After hesitating for a while, she touched Gao Zhen's hair, patted it gently, and comforted him.
Gao Zhen broke away from the hug and looked at Luo Qingzhi up and down to make sure that she had no injuries before relaxing his clenched hands.
"Next time you dare to leave me alone, I will be really angry."
Luo Qingzhi smiled, "Then, I won't be angry this time."
Gao Zhen did not answer directly, and Xianyun couldn't help but interrupt the conversation between the two.
"You two, let's stop teasing each other and talk about business first, okay?"
Luo Qingzhi pulled Gao Zhen aside and asked, "You just said you could help."
Xianyun said jokingly: "I thought you were just looking at Luo Erlang and didn't hear what the old man said."
"Taoist Master, let's talk seriously." Luo Qingzhi said.
Xianyun nodded, "Okay, let's talk serious."
"I know how to smelt iron. As long as I still have the tools, I can solve the arrow problem."
Luo Qingzhi asked: "But with such a large amount, it's difficult for you to do it alone."
Xianyun said: "If you just sharpen the arrowhead and don't care about the appearance, I will teach you how to do it. It's very simple."
Mu Chengqian said: "That's all we can do, I'll go summon the men."
The arrow matter was temporarily resolved, and Xianyun left with Mu Chengqian.
"How is your injury?" Luo Qingzhi asked.
Gao Zhen shook his head, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Does your mother and concubine have any other hiding place in Ningzhou?" Luo Qingzhi asked.
Gao Zhen shook his head, "I know very little about her. Apart from Huanxi Tower, I don't know anything else."
"Okay." Luo Qingzhi nodded, "You are still injured, don't stay on the front line, go to Mu Mansion."
"No." Gao Zhen refused, "I have to stay with you."
Luo Qingzhi shook her head, "No, if you are here, I will be distracted."
Gao Zhen felt inexplicably happy, "Then is there anything else I can do?"
Luo Qingzhi smiled and said, "Just protect yourself."
Gao Zhen thought for a while and said, "Let me help you find out the whereabouts of your mother and concubine."
"...She is your mother after all."
Gao Zhen said: "From the time she tricked me into drugging you and then faked her death to escape, she made a choice, and I also made a choice..."
"Okay, then go ahead, be careful, don't act on your own if you find any traces, come back and tell me." Luo Qingzhi ordered.
Luo Qingzhi was the only one left on the tower. She looked at the beacon fire in the distance and unconsciously thought of Pengcheng back then. She shook her head silently and swore secretly, "I will never become the second Pengcheng."
Luo Qingzhi called Luo Chen, gave him the military talisman in his hand, and ordered, "Go west and call in the reserve troops of the Pingbei Army. We only need cavalry."
Luo Chen asked, "Didn't Wang Mian already ask for help from Jiangzhou?"
"One day has passed without any movement. It must have been stuck."
Luo Chen still hesitated, "However, we did not report the reserve army to the west to the Ministry of War."
Luo Qingzhi nodded, "I will bear all the consequences. Right now, preserving Ningzhou is the most important thing."
"......yes."
There were heavy footsteps behind her, Luo Qingzhi slowly turned around, and Mu Wanning smiled.
"Why are you up here?" Mu Wanning's lips turned white and she was obviously feeling unwell.
Mu Wanning said calmly: "I just received the news that the person behind the battle is Bagan's general. That is my most familiar opponent. I don't want to miss it."
"..."
Luo Qingzhi thought for a moment and changed places. If the battle was in Yuzhou, she did not want to hide in the rear alone.
"Okay, it just so happens that I don't know him at all." Luo Qingzhi said.
Mu Wanning injured her left leg. She sat down with difficulty and motioned for Luo Qingzhi to sit down too.
Down.
The two sat opposite each other. Mu Wanning picked up a wooden stick and started drawing on the ground.
"I have been fighting with him for ten years. He is good at protracted battles, but with the current situation in the city, we must not let him hold us back."
Luo Qingzhi asked: "Then what are you going to do?"
Mu Wanning said: "You killed Puli, so he naturally thought that you were the one commanding the army now, and he would also study your past tactics."
"I have always liked quick battles and quick decisions." Luo Qingzhi said.
"Then." Mu Wanning said: "He will not confront you head-on. He will choose to go in the opposite direction. Maybe he will make a quick attack, or he may cut off our way back and drag us along."
Luo Qingzhi said: "Every exit in the city is guarded and no one will sneak in."
"But, what if the person is already in the city?" Mu Wanning said.
"It's not good, princess!" Nanxing came to report.
When Nan Xing saw Mu Wanning, he wanted to salute, but Mu Wanning refused, "Just tell me, what's wrong?"
"Several granaries in the city were burned down."
Luo Qingzhi and Mu Wanning looked at each other.
Mu Wanning asked: "Has the person who set the fire been caught?"
Nan Xing said: "I killed myself on the spot."
Mu Wanning sighed, "Forget it, even if I catch him, it's useless."
Luo Qingzhi asked: "How many wealthy households are there in the city?"
Mu Wanning shook her head, "Ningzhou is a border area and has never been rich. Food is also supplied by Yizhou."
"Are there any fruits?" Luo Qingzhi asked.
"have."
Luo Qingzhi said: "Hurry up and organize people to pick the fruits."
After Nanxing was ordered to leave, Mu Wanning continued, "Find someone to protect the wealthy households in the city and prevent them from being robbed."
"yes."
"It seems that the general has chosen to drag us to death." Luo Qingzhi said.
"Look, there's someone in the sky!"
Hearing the noise, Luo Qingzhi and Mu Wanning looked up and saw that someone was really flying over the tower on a large kite.
"Bow and arrows, give me bows and arrows!"
Luo Qingzhi and Mu Wanning each held a bow and arrow, and they were able to hit the target with perfect accuracy, but the arrows were bald, and there was no way to prevent them from landing in Ningzhou City.
The two looked at each other and decided their direction with a tacit understanding. Luo Qingzhi went to the city, while Mu Wanning observed the enemy's movements.
At this time, the city was already in chaos. Luo Qingzhi shouted loudly for everyone to get out of the way while pursuing the enemy.
The enemy's men were all dead soldiers with gunpowder tied to their bodies. Luo Qingzhi kicked one of them away, but she still couldn't stop the others from detonating.
After the huge noise, it was a mess, and many people left without even realizing what happened.
Cries, collapse, blame...
The sound came, and Luo Qingzhi trembled with her hands, feeling so weak.
Suddenly, the sound of war drums came. Without time to feel sad, Luo Qingzhi went up to the tower. Mu Wanning said: "They are preparing to attack."
"I'll go!" they both said in unison.
Mu Wanning said: "I'm very familiar with him."
"But you are injured." Luo Qingzhi refused.
Mu Wanning stared at her and said calmly: "You can't use your internal strength."
Luo Qingzhi was a little surprised, asking herself that she didn't reveal any flaws.
Mu Wanning came close to her ear and whispered: "I'm afraid I won't have a chance to tell you in the future, so I'll just tell you that I am His Majesty's man, but you have to be careful about him."
Before Luo Qingzhi could ask any more questions, Mu Wanning picked up the spear and said loudly: "Go south, come with me out of the city to repel the enemy."
After the battle just now, the people of the Mu family army were eager to take up weapons and avenge those who died in vain, and their morale was pushed to the peak.
The city gate opens and closes.
Luo Qingzhi walked up to the tower and saw the two warring parties fighting in front of her eyes.
Mu Wanning is worthy of being in charge of the one hundred thousand Mu family army.
Commander, no one can enter the area formed by one man and one horse, no one dares to enter.
Luo Qingzhi put her hands on the edge of the wall, exerting force unconsciously, always paying attention to the battle situation.
The Mu's army, with high morale, pressed forward step by step, forcing the enemy back twenty miles outside the city gate.
In the distance, the enemy army added another pair of men and horses. Luo Qingzhi walked to the war drum and beat it hard.
Mu Wanning turned around, smiled softly, twitched the reins, and took the initiative to charge towards the enemy.
The vanguard general was so brave that everyone in the Mu family army was excited. They fought and pursued like hungry beasts, biting their prey and never letting go.
Xianyun's bow and arrows were delivered in time, and Luo Qingzhi shouted loudly, "Archers, prepare."
The sharpened bows and arrows were like steel knives, piercing into the enemy's bodies, making them unable to move.
After a while, the sound of retreating drums was heard from the enemy.
This battle was won...
Luo Qingzhi ran down the tower and opened the door to welcome Mu Wanning's return.
The moment the city gate closed, Mu Wanning also fell down.
Luo Qingzhi caught her, "General."
Mu Wanning took a strong breath and motioned to Luo Qingzhi to help her up.
Luo Qingzhi supported her, and the moment she put her hand on her back, she felt a patch of moisture.
"From now on, all members of the Mu family's army will be at the disposal of Princess An Ning."
After Mu Wanning finished speaking, she took out the Mu Mansion token from her arms, handed it to Luo Qingzhi, lowered her voice and said, "Keep them, Princess."
Luo Qingzhi shouted, "Come here, go to Mu Mansion to find Dr. Zhixin."
Mu Wanning held her hand and shook her head, "It's useless."
Luo Qingzhi felt her pulse and her eyes were startled, "Have you taken poison?"
Mu Wanning did not answer, turned her head, and reached for her spear.
"I, Mu Wanning, have never let you down."
Mu Wanning died in Luo Qingzhi's arms.
Suddenly, there was a cry.
The sound of war drums coming from the north gradually covered up the cries from the crowd.
Jiangzhou reinforcements have arrived...
Luo Qingzhi looked at Mu Wanning in her arms, held the token in her hand, and fell into silence.
The Jiangzhou garrison came on horseback. When they saw Luo Qingzhi, they reined in their horses and went down.
"The last general of the Jiangzhou garrison, Ouyang Hong, is here to see Your Highness the Princess."
Luo Qingzhi asked: "Where is the Mu family army?"
Ouyang Hong responded calmly, "The Mu family army was involved in collaborating with the enemy and has been punished by me..."
Nanxing was angry, raised his voice, and said, "You are talking nonsense. We are here to defend ourselves against foreign enemies. How could we be collaborating with the enemy?"
Ouyang Hong completely ignored Nanxing, "Princess, your majesty personally issued the order, and I will only execute it."
Nan Xing drew his sword and pointed it at Ouyang Hong, "Give me evidence."
Ouyang Hong waved his hand, "Someone is here to detain the Mu family army present."
The two pairs of men and horses immediately confronted each other.
Luo Qingzhi said: "You dare!"
Ouyang Hong saluted respectfully, "The general is just following orders."
Luo Qingzhi snorted coldly, "When I return to the capital, I will ask Your Majesty, whoever dares to touch the Mu family army now is going against me, Luo Qingzhi!"