Chapter 866

At this moment, Huaiqing felt a "boom" in her mind. She had a kind of panic as if her deepest secret was mercilessly exposed, and she was slightly at a loss.

He, he knows I'm Number One. He knew my identity long ago?!

For the past few days, he has been sending me letters in private. He has asked me to meet him several times, but I have rejected him harshly. What was he thinking at that time? He must be laughing in his heart. No, he must be laughing out loud …

He not only knows my identity, but also announced it in front of Li Miaozhen …

The elegant and refined face of the eldest imperial daughter froze, and her eyes slightly widened. With her shrewdness, this was an extremely poor performance.

Li Miaozhen's eyes immediately widened, and her small mouth opened so wide that an egg could be stuffed in. She really didn't expect to hear such explosive news.

Number One is Huaiqing, the princess of the imperial family, and the eldest imperial daughter of the Yuanjing Emperor?!

After the shock, Li Miaozhen remembered her mantra in the Heaven & Earth Society: "I want to stab the Yuanjing Emperor to death!", "Is the Yuanjing Emperor dead?", "When will the Yuanjing Emperor die!"

Tenzō Shōnin's scalp was a little numb, and her neck was covered with layers of goosebumps. She had the urge to rush out of the room and jump into the well.

She was so embarrassed that she almost couldn't show her face.

Huaiqing's eyes flickered, and she regained her cold calmness. She said lightly, "When did you know? Yunlu Academy's student, Prince Xu."

… Huaiqing is really an old Yin-Yang person! Xu Qi 'an's expression was also slightly stiff. He coughed and said calmly,

"It's just something that happened recently. Well, for example, Your Highness is extremely clever, and instructed Lin An to borrow books from the Imperial Library."

As he spoke, Xu Qi 'an glanced at Li Miaozhen, who was beside him. He thought to himself that it was great that everyone was going to die together.

Huaiqing nodded calmly, "Prince Xu is really smart. He deserves to be a scholar who has read a lot of books. He is not worse than your eldest brother who fought against 8,000 rebels in Yunzhou."

Xu Qi 'an nodded slowly, "You flatter me. Your Highness is the smartest person in the Heaven & Earth Society. You used the Autumn Hunting Map as an excuse to arouse Lin An's interest in hunting and hide yourself very well."

Huaiqing said expressionlessly, "Do other people know that Prince Xu is so powerful?"

"Don, don't say it …" Li Miaozhen said silently.

Xu Qi 'an and Huai Qing fell silent at the same time.

As long as we are not embarrassed, it is others.

Xu Qi 'an looked at the eldest daughter of the Emperor, who had a calm expression on her face, and muttered to himself,

'If I didn't see you just now, I would really think that you have no shame and a clear conscience …'

Li Miaozhen cleared her throat, looked at them, and suggested, "What happened today should be limited to the three of us, how about it?"

"I have no objection." Xu Qi 'an' calmly 'nodded.

Wonderful, good assist!

Huaiqing nodded, glanced at him lightly, and said, "Who else knows your identity?"

Xu Qi 'an replied, "No, just the two of you."

He automatically ignored Lina.

After a moment of silence, Huaiqing brought the topic back to the main topic, and said, "Has the case been solved?"

Xu Qi 'an said, "Before that, you two answer a question for me. Your Highness, did you get the fragment of the Book of the Underworld six years ago?"

Huaiqing was startled, but she did not refute.

Xu Qi 'an asked again, "Miaozhen, did the Jinlian Taoist priest give you the fragment of the Book of the Underworld when he went to Tenzō?"

Li Miaozhen could not hide her surprise, "How did you know?"

"My guess was right, it's right …" Xu Qi 'an exhaled, and said, "I have indeed solved the case, but first, I have to tell you one thing, the Jinlian Taoist priest is the Taoist Master of the Earth Faction."

Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen's expressions instantly froze.

Huaiqing's expression was solemn, and she said word by word, "What is going on?"

"The Taoist Master of the Earth Faction became a demon, but he did not completely fall. His good will split out, and he became the Jinlian Taoist priest. Miaozhen, you should remember that when we were guarding the lotus seed, the Jinlian Taoist priest single-handedly fought against the Black Lotus, and also his evil will. "Xu Qi 'an looked at Tenzō Shōnin.

Li Miaozhen frowned, "At that time, I was indeed confused. Even if it was a evil will, it was still a Second Stage Tribulation Stage Demonic Will. The Jinlian Taoist priest is not even a Third Stage Tribulation Stage Demonic Will, how could he fight against it? But … "

'But you are too lazy to use your brain!' Xu Qi 'an complained in his heart.

If Huaiqing was there at that time, she would probably be able to figure out more things. Unfortunately, Huaiqing was a weakling, and she had no cultivation.

Xu Qi 'an did not stop, and he repeated his and Luo Yuheng's speculation to the two of them. In this retelling, Luo Yuheng did not appear, and she hid her achievements and fame.

He did not want to reveal his secret friendship with the Imperial Preceptor, unless the Imperial Preceptor allowed it.

In the process, Huaiqing's expression changed greatly, from astonishment, anger, and gloominess … In the end, her face was as dark as water, and she did not say a word, as if she had lost the ability to speak.

Li Miaozhen's expression froze: her eyes widened, and her mouth opened. It was like a solidified doll figurine.

The Taoist Master of the Earth Faction seemed normal back then, but in reality, he showed signs of becoming a demon. When Duke Huai and Yuan Jing met him in the Southern Courtyard, they were corrupted, and he became a seemingly normal, but in reality, he was a twisted lunatic.

That was why Duke Huai massacred the entire city for his own selfishness.

That was why the Yuanjing Emperor did not believe in heresy even though he knew that he would not be able to live forever if he was blessed with luck.

A normal person would not do such a thing, but what about a twisted and half-insane person?

"So, the main culprit of all this is the Jinlian Taoist priest …" Li Miaozhen muttered with a sigh.

"So, the reason why you asked to meet me in private that day, instead of using the Earth Book to send a message, was because you were afraid that the Jinlian Taoist priest would see it. You don't trust the Jinlian Taoist priest," Huaiqing said in a low voice.

"Yes, I can't be sure if the Jinlian Taoist priest knows about these things. I, I don't trust him anymore," Xu Qi 'an sighed.

Huaiqing nodded. Anyone would feel the same way. She thought that he was a trustworthy senior, but in the end, she found out that he was the main culprit of all this.

"Could the abnormality in the Dragon Vein be another incarnation of the Jinlian Taoist priest?" Li Miaozhen asked.

Damn it, I actually did not deduce the truth of the case at all. I'm so far behind Xu Qi 'an, it's all because he did not share the clues with me … Tenzō Shōnin tried to save her dignity.

"I don't know. In half a month, I will explore the Dragon Vein again. This time, there will be results." Xu Qi 'an did not explain why there would be results this time.

Li Miaozhen and Huaiqing did not ask any further.

"So, the Soul Elixir is actually needed by the one in the Dragon Vein. The elixirs that father has been refining all these years are the same?" Huaiqing said in a low voice.

"It should be," Xu Qi 'an said.

After hesitating for a while, she asked, "Can father, can he still remove the contamination?"

Xu Qi 'an said, "First of all, we have to understand the nature of the contamination. If a person's nature has changed, it will be very difficult to recover. If he is being controlled, then perhaps the Jinlian Taoist priest can do something about it. "

The former was when a person's nature had been corrupted and it would be very difficult to recover. The latter only needed to remove the control and it could be recovered.

Li Miaozhen heard this and interrupted, "No, even if his nature has been corrupted, if the Buddhist monks can help, Yuan Jing will be able to see his nature and return to his original self."

Huaiqing's eyes lit up.

"Oh yes, should we tell Lina about this?" Flying Swallow Heroine asked.

"Why should we tell her?" Xu Qi 'an asked.

Huaiqing did not say anything, but she looked at Li Miaozhen with the same expression.

"Just call her along when you fight. You don't have to use your brain, don't make things difficult for her," Xu Qi 'an said.

That makes sense! Li Miaozhen nodded her head slowly.

After agreeing to wait for the situation in half a month, Xu Qi 'an sent Huaiqing out of the house.

Before he left, Huaiqing said in a low voice, "In half a month, if the truth is revealed, you will not have to leave the capital."

The Lords and the Supervisor will try their best to solve the problem of his father's "half crazy" condition.

Can't bear to part with me ….. Xu Qi 'an smiled, but did not reply.

After a pause, Huaiqing continued, "In this period, I will review all the clues again, and if there are any problems, I will inform you."

After saying that, she boarded the carriage and left the street.

…..

At the top of the broken city walls, inside the barbican.

The senior generals of Daibun gathered in a hall, arguing fiercely.

Wei Yuan turned a deaf ear to them as he stood in front of the map, deep in thought.

It had been ten days since they had taken down Ding Guan City. Under Wei Yuan's leadership, the army had attacked the city, like a sharp knife, piercing deep into the heart of the Fire Country.

They had taken down seven whole cities and advanced several hundred miles. The city they were in now was called Xu City, the last stronghold before they reached the Fire Country's capital.

Just one more step and they would be able to reach the Fire Country's capital. Ten days. Wei Yuan had only used ten days' time, and he had defeated the country that was known to be filled with countless strongholds.

Towards the Fire Country's capital, to attack or not to attack, among the generals of the army, there was a serious disagreement.

Because the Daibun army was in a dire situation. They were short on rations!

"Why is the rations not here yet? According to our previous deployment, the first batch of rations should have arrived three days ago. We cannot fight any longer. The battle line has been dragged too long, and our supply line has been cut off. Without rations, without cannons, without arrows, how are we supposed to fight? "

A young general stood up, his face grim as he said: "From Ding Guan City to Xu City, we have lost more than half of our soldiers. The Fire Country's capital is surrounded by mountains on both sides, and with our current forces, we cannot take it down. If there are no accidents, the Fire Country's capital will definitely have a third level sorcerer. "

This young general was called Zhao Ying, from the Imperial Army, a fourth level expert, and one of the best in the younger faction of Daibun.

He advocated for retreat, and was the leader of the conservative faction.

The radical faction was led by Nangong Qianrou, who advocated for taking down the Fire Country in one fell swoop.

"The Fire Country's capital is another sixty miles to the northeast. After taking down Xu City, our rations and cannons will be replenished, and we will be able to hold out for another battle." Nangong Qianrou said calmly.

"We were able to fight our way here because of the words' speed is the most important in war '. Once we retreat, it will be equivalent to giving the Fire Country a chance to breathe. But if we take down the Fire Country, we will be able to replenish our rations and rations. "

They had been able to achieve such a great victory because of his foster father's quick and decisive actions, which had crushed the morale of the Fire Country's army. Now that the Feng army's morale was like a rainbow, it was time to go all out.

Once they retreated, their invincible momentum would fade, and against the Fire Country's capital, against the Kang Kingdom's reinforcements, it would be difficult to win.

Zhao Ying stared at Nangong Qianrou fiercely, and said in a low voice:

"Speed is the most important in war, but it is not suitable for the Fire Country. The Fire Country is surrounded by mountains on both sides, and it is easy to defend but hard to attack. The Flying Beast Army is stationed in the mountains, and it is far superior to other cities. Furthermore, we have slaughtered seven cities in a row. Along the way, the citizens, the people of the pugilistic world, and the defeated soldiers of the Fire Country are all fleeing towards the Fire Country.

"If the city is breached, everyone will die. That is the consensus. Now, the people of the Fire Country will be united, and they will defend the city to the death. Our forces will not be able to take it down. Once we suffer heavy losses in the siege, it will be the time for the enemy to retaliate, and we will be in danger of being wiped out.

"Why don't we retreat for now, recuperate, replenish our rations and rations, and come back again."

The Fire Country was easy to defend, but hard to attack. Most of the generals present were not confident, and so there were more conservatives than those who wanted to fight.

The only reason they were still arguing was because they still had high hopes for Wei Yuan.

"Rest for the night, and we will move out tomorrow. Our army will be at the foot of the city." Wei Yuan pointed at the Fire Country's capital on the map.

The arguments died down.

…

Sixty miles away, the Fire Country's capital was built in a huge valley. Towering city walls spanned three thousand feet, connecting two mountain peaks.

The mountain peaks were steep and precipitous, and the city walls towered high. Supported by cannons, ballistae, boulders and other defensive equipment, the city was impregnable. Any military strategist who saw this magnificent city would gasp in amazement.

Looking at the history of the Fire Country, in the one thousand and four hundred years since its founding, this city had only been breached once. That was during the Zhou Dynasty's golden age. A Prince of the Zhou Dynasty's Imperial Family, a Dao Integration Warrior, second rank, had led an army to attack the Fire Country.

According to the historical records of the Fire Country, that battle was very tragic. The Sorcerer Sect lost a Rain Master (second rank) and a Spirit Intellect (third rank). In the end, it was the Sorcerer God himself who killed the peak second rank Prince.

This was not because the Fire Country's defense was weak, but because the enemy's combat power stood at the top of the Nine States.

Capital, Palace.

Although the Fire Country's monarch, Nurhega, had white hair, he was still burly. This monarch was extremely talented. When he was young, he walked the Warrior path, and after the peak fourth rank, he did not make any progress.

After that, he switched to the Sorcerer system, and after the fourth rank, he once again reached the bottleneck.

Dual systems were extremely rare. It was not that different systems would repel each other, but because of the difficulty of cultivation, focusing on one system was the only way to go higher and further.

Nurhega, who was over fifty years old, had no chance of reaching the third rank, whether it was the Warrior system or the Sorcerer system.

He did not feel it was a pity. Third rank masters were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, and it was normal for them to not be able to cultivate. And with a dual system like him, his single combat power was stronger than any other fourth rank system.

Nurhega sat on the throne, listening to the heated discussion among his officials.

The Fire Country's higher-ups did not feel depressed or angry because of Wei Yuan's dominance. They were already mentally prepared for a big defeat.

"Wei Yuan has taken down Xu City, and his troops will arrive tomorrow."

"How did he manage to take down seven cities in a short period of ten days?"

"Can the capital be defended?"

In the main hall, the atmosphere was a little heavy. The officials of the Fire Country looked grim, as if they were facing a great enemy.

At this moment, some of the old officials seemed to have returned to the Shanhai Pass Battle, recalling the fear and humiliation of being dominated by Wei Yuan.

"According to the news from the dog scouts, the Feng Army has at most fifty thousand troops left. No matter how good Wei Yuan is at using his troops, it will be extremely difficult for him to take down the capital with only fifty thousand troops."

"Now, the people in the city are united, and the guards, armaments, and provisions are sufficient. At most, we will fight with Wei Castrate. "

"…"

Nurhega could not help but look at the old man beside him, who was wrapped in a robe, wearing a hood, and holding a gold scepter inlaid with jewels. He said respectfully, "Grand Tutor Ilbu, what do you think?"

In the three countries of the Northeast, each country had a third rank spirit intellect as their Grand Tutor. They usually did not participate in government affairs, but their status was higher than a country's ruler, because they represented the Witchcraft Religion.

Ilbu, who was lucky enough to survive in Chu Zhou, said in a low voice, "The Kang Kingdom's fifty thousand troops have entered the Fire Country's territory. At most five days, they will form an encirclement with us."

Nurhega nodded. "The Yan Capital has stood for more than a thousand years, and has experienced many wars, but it has only been breached once. Wei Yuan will not be able to break the city in a short period of time. But for the Feng Army, time is of the essence. They are running out of provisions. "

The officials in the hall nodded slowly.

"In fact, as long as the Kang Kingdom's army cuts off their food supply route, we can defend the city, and in less than three days, we will be able to make Wei Yuan retreat."

"Let's see how Wei Yuan is going to fight this battle."

Ilbu's gaze passed through the door and looked at the blue sky outside.

Slaughtering seven cities, cutting off the fortune of the Witchcraft Religion, and pointing the sword at the Witchcraft God …. Wei Yuan, you think you are unparalleled in your intelligence, and think that all the arrangements last year were flawless. Ha, little did you know, we were waiting for you.

You want to attack the Witchcraft Religion with less than a hundred thousand troops?

…

At the top of the broken city wall, Wei Yuan was wearing a dark green cloak, looking down. The Daibun soldiers were pushing flatbeds, throwing bodies into deep pits and torches.

Thick smoke rose, mixed with the stench of burning flesh and blood.

Those who were burned were the Fire Country's soldiers and citizens, as well as Daibun's own soldiers.

In just a short period of ten days, the Daibun army had lost more than forty thousand generals and soldiers.

The soldiers moved silently. The continuous days of war, the baptism of blood and fire, had caused the soldiers to become taciturn, their bravery hidden within that silence.

Nangong Qianrou came to stand behind Wei Yuan and said in a low voice: "Godfather, after this battle, you will not be able to escape your infamy in the annals of history."

Slaughtering seven cities, blood staining hundreds of miles. From Nangong Qianrou's point of view, there was nothing wrong with killing the surrendered soldiers. The Daibun army was a lone army deep within the enemy's territory and if they did not kill the surrendered soldiers, they would only be dragged down.

Not only did they have to worry about the surrendered soldiers rebelling, they also had more mouths to feed, which would deplete their rations.

But killing the citizens was a taboo for military strategists, let alone slaughtering seven cities in a row. Even if they returned to the capital in triumph, they would be condemned by the apologists.

Ever since they set out, the Daibun's rations had never come. They had looted, burned, killed and looted, using war to feed war, looting the Fire Country's rations and armaments.

That was not a good sign.

The new generation of generals had thought that it was their Godfather's unique way of leading his troops and after tasting the sweetness of it, they were highly excited. But now, they were starting to realize that something was not right.

Hence, the new generation of generals had chosen to retreat.

If the new generation of generals were like that, what more the old generals like Nangong Qianrou who had followed Wei Yuan for more than twenty years.

"There will not be any more rations."

Wei Yuan's smile was as gentle as ever, his tone calm as ever: "However much rations we brought, we will only have that much rations. Daibun will not give us a single grain of rations. "

"Who dares to run out of rations?" Nangong Qianrou's voice was thick with murder.

"In the whole of Daibun, who else can it be?" Wei Yuan countered with a smile.

Nangong Qianrou's eyes narrowed.

"I know you want to take down the Yan Capital in one fell swoop, and then take over the Kang Kingdom's reinforcements, using this dangerous pass to encircle the Kang Kingdom's reinforcements. Unfortunately, the Yan Capital is a tough nut to crack, we can't take it. I have moved all the troops from the three prefectures elsewhere. "

Wei Yuan's expression did not change. He looked at the raging flames licking at the corpses and said lightly: "Tomorrow, the army will advance fifty miles and face the Yan Capital for three days. After three days, you will leave with ten thousand heavy cavalry. Don't worry about the others, they have to stay here. "

As he said this, he took out two brocade pouches, one purple and one red.

"Three days later, open the purple brocade pouch, it will tell you where to go. When you arrive at your destination, open the red brocade pouch, it will tell you what to do next. "

…

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Xu Xinnian instructed the soldiers to burn the corpses and dissect the warhorses. They had just won a small battle.

Wiping out eight hundred enemies and losing a thousand of their own was already a very gratifying victory.

It had been a few days since the attack that night. The large-scale attack had scattered the allied forces of the Yao, Barbarian, and Daibun.

The army of the Jing Kingdom had made a prompt decision to split up and pursue the enemy!

In these few days, Xu Xinnian had a deeper understanding of the cruelty of war. He had also witnessed the bravery of the Fire Armored Army. He had also witnessed the strangeness and terror of the sorcerers who had awakened the corpses and turned them into zombie soldiers.

With the heavy cavalry and the sorcerers who could manipulate the corpses, the Daibun army had completely sacrificed their lives to win this battle.

When the allied forces were scattered, Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen had only brought six hundred Daibun soldiers with them. After so many days, they had expanded their numbers to one thousand seven hundred.

Now, there were only seven hundred left.

After burning the corpses, Xu Xinnian arranged for scouts to patrol the area. Then, he ordered the soldiers to set up a pot to cook the horse meat.

The soldiers skillfully cut the horse meat. Then, a few of them worked together to chop the horse meat into pieces. Only then did they put the meat into the pot to cook it.

This was the idea that Xu Xinnian came up with. The horse meat was rough and hard. It tasted terrible and was not easy to digest. It was fine to eat it once in a while, but the soldiers' stomachs could not take it if they ate it for several days in a row.

They would not be able to poop.

Therefore, Xu Xinnian suggested to chop the horse meat into pieces and cook it in the pot to improve the taste and promote digestion.

"If it weren't for Brother Chu, we would have lost a few hundred more people to defeat this wave of enemies."

Xu Xinnian walked to Chu Yuanzhen's side and handed him a waterskin.

Chu Yuanzhen gulped down half of the waterskin and smiled desolately.

"When I was young, I read a few military books and thought that I was a genius in leading troops to war. Now that I'm on the battlefield, I know that I'm not cut out for it. But you, on the other hand, have grown so fast that none of these soldiers are willing to submit to you. "

Xu Xinnian smiled. "Everyone has their own strengths. If I didn't have this talent, Teacher wouldn't have asked me to major in the art of war. I understand now. On the battlefield, stratagems are rarely used. Most of the time, we have to rely on our strength to fight. Warrior and armaments play an important role. It's a pity that we only brought out three cannons and six ballistae. "

If it were the Xu Erlang before he went to the battlefield, he would be holding his chin high with a proud look on his face and saying some humble words hypocritically … Chu Yuanzhen sighed with emotion again.

Just as they were talking, a scout galloped over and reported loudly, "Xu Xian, we've discovered a remnant army of thirty people."

The lack of a horn meant that they were Daibun's soldiers and were on their side.

Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen stood up. The former muttered, "Let them come over."

Then, he turned to Chu Yuanzhen and smiled bitterly. "Fortunately, there aren't many of them. We can still preserve our rations."

Moments later, the scout led a group of thirty soldiers over. This group was also carrying a cannon and a dozen or so cannonballs.

Their faces were covered in fatigue and dust. Their armor was damaged and covered in scars. Every one of them had wounds on their bodies.

It looked like they had just been through a battle.

Looking at the steaming wok and smelling the fragrance of the meat soup, the two hundred infantrymen gulped.

Xu Xinnian went forward and said, "Who has the highest position? Come forward and speak."

A bearded man who looked to be in his forties came forward and cupped his hands. "This lowly officer is the Commander of the Baihu Bureau in Yongzhou's Xi County, Zhao Panyi."

Xu Xinnian nodded. "I am Xu Xinnian, an official of the Hanlin Academy's Imperial Censorate in Dingzhou's Imperial Censorate."

Hearing this, Zhao Panyi's expression changed. He glared fiercely at Xu Xinnian, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

Xu Xinnian froze, confusion flashing across his face. Frowning, he said, "Commander Zhao, please wait. Do I know you?"

"No!" Zhao Panyi said in a muffled voice.

You don't know me? I thought I had unknowingly stolen your wife … Xu Xinnian cursed inside, his frown deepening.

"Since you don't know me, why is Commander Zhao doing this?"

"Your words are so genteel. As expected of a scholar. That son of a b * tch, Xu Pingzhi, actually gave birth to a scholar. I've long heard that Xu Yinluo's cousin is also in the army. I didn't expect to run into him today. "Zhao Panyi laughed coldly.

"I don't know you, but I know your father. During the Battle of Shanhai Pass, we were still brothers."

Is this the attitude of a brother? Xu Erlang was shocked.

"Commander Zhao has an old grudge against my father?"

"No old grudge. I just can't stand that ungrateful bastard."

Zhao Panyi spat and said, "Bah!

"During the Battle of Shanhai Pass, Xu Pingzhi and I were in the same team. There was another person called Zhou Biao. The three of us were very close. We were brothers who could trust each other's backs.

"At the end of the Battle of Shanhai Pass, we were sent to stop the Witchcraft Cult's Corpse Soldiers. In the fierce battle, Zhou Biao took a blow for your father and died on the battlefield. At that time, Xu Pingzhi swore that he would bring Zhou Biao's mother to the capital to take care of her and raise his son and daughter.

"Damn it. I only found out later that this ungrateful bastard didn't go to Zhou Biao's hometown to pick up his mother. If the father is a bastard, how can the son be a good person? You're all bad people. Even if I, Zhao Panyi, starve to death on the battlefield, I won't eat a mouthful of your rice or drink a mouthful of your soup. Bah! "