Volume Four, The Year of the Curtain, Chapter 100, I've Been to Weicheng
The Tao in the word "Tongdao" does not only refer to the demonic way or the monastic way.
The queen had read Ning Que's files many times in order to deal with him because he killed her only brother Xia Hou. The relationship between the two of them was very complicated, and the emotions that echoed between them were very subtle.
Back in Helan City, that subtle emotion still echoed between Ning Que and the Queen, until he entered the pavilion's quiet room and saw the gray coffin.
The coffin was very large, made of dozens of pine trees from the cliffs of Tianqi Mountain.
The bark on the pine wood had not been peeled off in time, and it looked too simple and crude. Especially compared with the status of the person lying in the coffin.
Ning Que was silent for a long time, then walked to the pine coffin, knelt down, and bowed before him.
The Empress said calmly: "You never liked kowtowing when you met him in the palace. Now that he is dead, no matter how many times you kowtow, he won't see you."
Ning Que stood up, stretched out his hand and gently stroked the rough bark of the pine tree without saying anything.
The queen originally thought that he would laugh and say that the dead are great, as before, and then she could mention the dead Xiahou in passing, and then go on to more serious topics.
Ning Que stood by the pine coffin for a moment, then looked at Master Huang Yang and several generals, and said, "What is the situation now? Why do you stay in Helan City?"
"The dean and His Majesty passed away one after another, and it rained heavily. The Zhenbei Army was forced to stay in Helan City. Later, the news was cut off. We don't know what is happening in the south, but we can guess some..."
Master Huang Yang said slowly, and then recounted the situation these days.
"Since the Royal Court of the Golden Horde dares to besiege Helan City, then Shanyu must have led his army southward."
Ning Que broke off a small piece of bark from the pine coffin that was slightly burnt by the candle, squatted on the ground, drew a very simple map, drew a horizontal line at the bottom of the map, and said: "Seven Cities
Village..."
He suddenly fell silent, and his fingers stopped drawing the line.
The room was quiet. People knew that Ning Que was born in Weicheng. Weicheng was a frontier fortress in the Seven Cities Walled City.
The expression on Ning Que's face did not change, and he continued to say calmly: "The Qicheng Stronghold must have been destroyed. The cavalry of the Golden Tent has even passed Pingling Pass and is approaching Hebei County."
He threw away the bark in his hand, looked up at the crowd and said: "One-third of the cavalry of the Zhenbei Army are in Helan City. Does the Beida Camp have enough military strength to resist? If Chang'an City comes from Gushan County or even Tu
If Yangcheng mobilizes troops, what will happen to the east? Long Qing will definitely not miss this opportunity."
The sequence of events between his speculation and the actual situation slightly changed. But the conclusion he reached was not fundamentally different from reality, and was completely consistent with the Queen's view.
"We must leave immediately."
The queen said: "Retreat south as quickly as possible."
History says: "The journey is long, what will happen to the food and grass?"
A Zhenbei Army general said: "Collect firewood along the way. It will be enough to rob a few more Golden Tent tribes."
Ning Que shook his head and said: "The Golden Tent Royal Court must have made arrangements in advance. Their elites are going south, and the wilderness is empty. They will definitely not give us an opportunity to take advantage of it. Those tribes are afraid that they will withdraw to the north after the rain stops. If we
If you want to chase, the journey will be longer, and going deep into the wilderness without food will be too risky."
The queen asked: "What can you do?"
"There is no good way."
Ning Que stood up and said: "First of all, all the food in Helan City must be taken away, and calculations must be made. All food and grass must be supplied to the war horses first. People can be hungry, and they will not die from starvation for several days, and there are horses.
If you can continue to move forward with a heavy load, if you can't do it in the end, then kill the horse."
The generals were silent for a moment and then responded solemnly.
Han Qing frowned and said, "Take away all the food in the city. What will the defenders do?"
Ning Que said: "The defenders in the city followed the Zhenbei Army southward."
Han Qing was surprised and said: "As the defenders retreat southward, don't they need Helan City?"
When Ning Que was about to say something, the Queen said: "As long as people are still there and the Tang Dynasty is still there, Helan City will be lost. It will be regained one day in the future."
Time was pressing. After the discussion, the generals left in a hurry to arrange various matters for the army's southward retreat. Master Huang Yang went to retreat to heal his wounds, and the Queen went to visit the frightened Sixth Prince.
In the quiet room at this time, apart from the gray pine coffin, there were only two people, Ning Que and Han Qing.
"When you and the daughter of Hades passed the border in a black carriage, I was watching you from the top of the city."
Han Qing looked at him and said.
Ning Que said: "We don't have time to express our feelings now. Please just say what you want to say directly."
Han Qing glanced at the gray pine coffin and said, "His Majesty loved you very much back then, and you already know his fate now. So what do you think?"
Ning Que said: "You continue talking."
Han Qing continued: "Everyone knows that you have a close relationship with Her Royal Highness the Princess, but you have an old grudge with the Queen. Her Majesty passed the throne to the Sixth Prince... I actually don't care which side you support, but I hope you will
Just show your attitude that the journey to the south will be difficult, and problems will arise then..."
There were footsteps outside the door.
History no longer speaks.
The queen came in leading a young man.
The young man was wearing a bright yellow prince's attire. He turned his eyes slightly and looked at Ning Que, looking a little curious and a little timid, as if he was not used to seeing strangers.
Ning Que was silent next to the pine coffin for a long time.
Then he looked at the prince and asked: "Do you want to be the emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"
The prince was a little confused and looked up at his mother.
The queen gently touched the top of his head, her expression particularly endearing.
The prince looked at Ning Que, thought seriously for a long time, and said, "If your father asks me to do it, then I will do it."
Ning Que said: "Very good, what's yours is yours, no one can take it away."
The queen looked at him quietly and said, "Is this the academy's promise?"
Ning Que said: "This is my promise, but it is still valid."
"I have no doubt of it," said the Queen.
Ning Que asked: "Why?"
The queen said: "Because you finally married Sangsang."
Ning Que looked at her gentle and beautiful face, and remembered that on the grassland below the city, when she turned to look at him, her black hair flew across the picture on her face. The picture was very beautiful, with a thrilling beauty.
He found that the Queen understood him very well.
Then he suddenly understood why His Majesty had to marry her back then.
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The grain and grass that had been stored in Helan City for many years were all moved away, and the fallen horses on the battlefield in front of the city had their limbs cut off by the Tang army and piled in trailers as backup grain.
It didn't take long for tens of thousands of Tang troops to withdraw from Helan City. A general of the Zhenbei Army asked for instructions whether to burn the defensive crossbows and buildings in the city to prevent them from falling into the hands of the barbarians in the royal court. The Empress and Ning Que did so at the same time.
They expressed a veto opinion. In their opinion, Datang will always come back in the future. These are the wealth of the Tang State.
The Tang army, besieged by heavy rain and enemies in the depths of the wilderness, finally began their journey back south. However, when they came, their country was still the most powerful country in the world. When they returned, their country was already in turmoil.
Like a broken ship in the ocean, it may be destroyed at any time.
So the journey back seemed a bit silent and depressing. There was also a bit of tension.
There was nothing strange about the expression on Ning Que's face. The hand holding the horse's rein would tighten from time to time for no reason, and his knuckles turned white. This revealed that he was more nervous than anyone else, more nervous than anyone else.
Depressed.
After an arduous journey, the Tang army returned south and finally arrived at the middle foothills of Minshan Mountain. The green color in their field of vision was getting thicker and thicker, and the autumn trees on the mountain were getting redder and redder.
This place is still far away from Beida Camp. The Tang army is already very hungry and exhausted, and there is not much food and grass left, but as long as no major problems occur, they should be able to return south smoothly.
Ning Que's tense mood for many days finally relaxed. The fear and tension that had been hidden deep in his heart also broke out at the same time. He could no longer control his emotions. He proposed that he would go west.
Several Tang army generals expressed strong opposition. Against the backdrop of the Golden Horde's southern invasion, no matter how powerful he was, once he was alone and surrounded, he would only die.
Everyone knows why Ning Que wants to go to the west. But so much time has passed, what can be saved even if he rushes there now?
In the end, the Queen agreed to Ning Que's request and sent an elite cavalry team to escort him.
"There is no way the Seven Cities Fortress can persist until now."
Han Qing looked at the dozens of riders running towards the west of the wasteland, frowned and said: "For him to take a look at this time, it has no meaning except to increase his own pain."
The Empress said: "You have to see many things with your own eyes before you can truly give up. Although Ning Que is not an ordinary person, he is no different from ordinary people in this respect."
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Weicheng is right in front of you.
In the desolate wilderness, there is a quiet earthen city. When the wind blows, the ashes on the city wall will fall down, onto the cutting boards of the butcher stalls, and into the wine jars that have forgotten to cover the cloth.
Weicheng is still the same Weicheng, extremely simple, and the city gate is a little crooked as in previous years, but if it is closed from the inside, it will be difficult for even a city car to break through it.
Today's Weicheng seems a bit too quiet. Among the old dust accumulated under the earthen city walls, you can faintly see black traces. I don't know if it is the color of blood after coagulation, or something else.
Ning Que waved his hand to signal the cavalry to stop.
He jumped off his horse, walked to the city gate, stretched out his hand, and pushed it. The crooked city gate fell down, causing a slight smoke. He stood at the city gate in silence for a long time, and then walked inside.
The cavalrymen sat on their horses and looked at him walking into Weicheng, with complicated emotions on their faces.
I don't know how much time passed before Ning Que walked out of Weicheng.
The expression on his face was still calm, his back was still straight, and his right hand on the handle of the knife was still stable. No changes could be seen. It seemed that he had not seen anything in Weicheng.
"What's the situation inside?" Officer Tangqi asked.
Ning Que shook his head and said, "Nothing."
The officer frowned slightly and motioned to a few cavalrymen to go into Weicheng and take a look.
Ning Que whispered: "Don't go in."
The few cavalrymen glanced at the officer and saw that he had no expression. They picked up the reins and drove towards Weicheng.
Ning Que didn't turn around and shouted: "Don't go in!"
His voice was loud and violent, like thunder, exploding in the wilderness outside Weicheng. The horses under the cavalry were frightened when they heard the sound and stood up.
A broken wine flag swayed gently in Weicheng City.
Hearing Ning Que's angry roar, people finally understood what was happening in Weicheng.
No one ever tried to get in and take a look.
Ning Que walked towards his mount.
With every step he took, his head lowered a little and his body became a little taller.
"When I left, I told you not to grow old or die, but to be filial to me... but what happened now? You, an old fox, always like to keep your words."
Ning Que murmured to himself.
Then he laughed, his smile a little sad.
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Although the army did not pass through Weicheng, it finally entered the war zone. The horrific destruction caused by the Golden Horde Cavalry at the border fortress, as well as the ruins of the towns where the Tang people lived, appeared before people's eyes.
This is a tired army, but the blood and fire, ruins and broken walls, and dead tribesmen that they saw along the way aroused an almost crazy fighting spirit. After a period of rest and replenishment of food and grass, they will become
The terrifying military power, even now, many soldiers are red-eyed and want to fight with the Golden Horde Cavalry.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the Tang Army group returning south along the Min Mountain never encountered the main force of the Golden Horde. After easily wiping out dozens of grassland rangers, they approached the Beida Camp.
The Tang army returning to the south regained contact with the General's Mansion. Because there were so many people and horses, it was naturally inconvenient to enter the North Camp at the same time. The General's Mansion sent an elite cavalry to come to meet them, delivering supplies of food and grass. At the same time, they were ordered to bring the Queen and the Prince together.
, and the most important coffin of His Majesty the Emperor will be taken back to the Beida Camp first.
After some impromptu discussions, the troops returning to the south from the Tang Dynasty did not raise any doubts about the military orders issued by the General's Palace. The main army rested on the spot, while the Queen and the Sixth Prince set off first with His Majesty's coffin.
His Majesty's Lingshu is very simple, but very heavy. It weighs dozens of whole pine trees and requires several horses to pull it back south. This is the biggest difficulty the Tang army encountered.
Today's Beida camp, responsible for the important responsibility of resisting the Golden Horde, naturally seems a bit chaotic. The Tang army who stayed around the general's palace looked anxious. However, when the carriage carrying the pine coffin came from outside the city, both soldiers and ordinary people
The people fell to their knees one after another, showing grief on their faces.
Not many people noticed that Ning Que was sitting in the carriage next to the pine coffin.
Several war horses pulled the heavy gray coffin and drove slowly through the streets. The wheels rolled over the hard stone ground, making a monotonous and heart-stopping sound.
Suddenly, there were several loud shouts on the side of the street.
"Kill the Demon Queen!"
"Wash away the shame for Your Majesty!"
The sound of killing shook the sky, and a Tang general led hundreds of cavalry, charging from the streets, their swords sharp and sharp.
In the carriage ahead, the Queen was holding the Sixth Prince, looking calm. Ning Que was sitting next to the pine coffin, with his head slightly lowered, looking calm, as if he hadn't heard anything.
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(At the beginning of the book, when Ning Que left Weicheng, the three sentences he left to General Ma Shixiang are the three sentences mentioned in this chapter.) {PiaoTian Literature www.PiaoTian.com thanks all book friends for your support.