In order not to cause any trouble, Guo Qiang and the others finally decided to send a small number of people to secretly pick up the Princess and send her back to the capital as soon as possible. The main force would continue north to complete their training.
The final decision was that Li Feiyu and Erniu would be in charge of picking up the Princess, while Guo Qiang would lead the troops north for training.
An armored command vehicle and three transport vehicles quickly rushed towards Magpie Mountain. They first met up with the ten armored artillery vehicles that had stopped there. Then, under Li Ya 'er's guidance, they took a detour and went straight to the Princess's hiding place.
In order to prevent anyone from following them, the armored command vehicle drove very fast. Even the cavalry could not catch up with them. In addition, the two armored artillery vehicles behind them completely blocked the road. The people following them could not pass at all.
"Colonel Zhang, there are indeed people following us. They are very close."
Erniu was in charge of bringing up the rear. Seeing that there were indeed people following them on horseback, he ordered, "Turn the cannons and fire immediately to block them."
Boom!
A loud sound startled the horses behind them and threw the riders to the ground.
The riders had no choice but to give up following them. They threw away their horses and ran back on foot to report the situation.
When the armored command vehicle approached Magpie Mountain, the loud roar immediately alerted Li Hanlu and the others. They immediately checked the situation.
"Sister, Big Brother really sent people to pick us up. Quickly ask the Princess to come over. Let's get on the vehicle and return to the capital."
Li Ya 'er got off the vehicle and found their hiding place.
Li Hanlu nodded and led her subordinates and the two princesses into the armored command vehicle. They immediately followed the nearest road to the first team's camp at the foot of Magpie Mountain. After meeting up with the first team, they led all the vehicles away from Magpie Mountain and returned to Xingzhou City dozens of miles away to meet up with the main force.
By the time the Princess was brought to the camp in Xingzhou City, the sky was already dark. However, to prevent any accidents from happening, Guo Qiang immediately mobilized two armored command vehicles, five armored artillery vehicles, and twenty transport vehicles. Under the cover of normal movements, this team quickly arrived at the north bank of the Yellow River Ferry. After crossing the river, they immediately headed for the capital.
To prevent unnecessary trouble, Guo Qiang asked the Princess and the eight people to wear the uniforms of the armored artillery brigade. They would disguise themselves as soldiers of the brigade so that they would not attract attention.
Erniu led one armored command vehicle and two armored artillery vehicles to lead the way. Behind them was the armored command vehicle that the Princess was in, followed by the twenty transport vehicles, and the last three armored artillery vehicles.
As the moon was quite powerful, the visibility at night was still very good. For this reason, the entire team did not travel slowly at night. They stopped once in the middle of the journey so that they could change the driver. After all, it would cause driving fatigue if one person was always driving.
In the entire Iron Armored Artillery Brigade, every soldier knew how to drive the artillery carriages. The steam trucks were configured with two drivers, and they could also take turns to drive.
In the wee hours of the morning, the whole team stopped for a short while to let everyone eat and rest. Then, they continued to move at the fastest speed.
In the evening, the group escorting the princess had already reached Xiangzhou and continued south. Meanwhile, Guo Xiang's main force had gone north into Zhaozhou. In a hilly area of Zhaozhou, they had organized a medium-scale live ammunition exercise. This made the local officials exclaim in delight, repeatedly sighing in admiration at the strength of the Great Tang Empire.
In the Marshal's Mansion in Youzhou, Yan Zhuang received a large number of pigeons from the south and learned all the movements of the armored artillery brigade.
He did not feel that there was anything wrong with Guo Qiang's main force going north for training, but he was wary of a side division suddenly going south.
At first, he thought it was a normal movement of the armored artillery brigade, but after receiving the news from Magpie Mountain, he did not think so.
What happened in Magpie Mountain was too strange. A team suddenly drove into the depths of Magpie Mountain and fired cannons to stop the people who followed them. Combined with the captives' words that the Princess of the Tang Empire was trapped in the mountain, he felt that this team had probably gone into the mountain to pick up the Princess. Otherwise, why would a team suddenly rush south overnight after leaving Magpie Mountain in a hurry and arriving in Xingzhou? This was too abnormal.
Yan Zhuang had promised An Lushan that he would present the Princess's body to him. Therefore, he had to pay enough attention to this even though there was no conclusive evidence.
As a precaution, Yan Zhuang immediately sent a messenger pigeon to get the people along the way to stop this group. He also wanted to figure out the situation and confirm whether there were any women in this auxiliary division. If there were, he immediately thought of a way to kill them.
Pigeons could deliver messages much faster than horses and iron-armored carriages. However, it would take a long time for the message to reach Youzhou Province and the south. Therefore, when the southernmost team received the message, it had been a long time.
Another day later, when Guo Qiang's main force arrived in Zhaozhou, the team escorting the Princess had already left Xiangzhou and passed through Weizhou. They arrived at the Yellow River ferry north of Luokou overnight and met up with a team left here.
Because of the rapid flow of the Yellow River, it was very dangerous to cross the river at night. Therefore, Li Feiyu decided to make do at the northern bank of the ferry and cross the river to Luoyang early the next morning.
"Third Brother, we will arrive at Luokou after crossing the Yellow River tomorrow morning. We will arrive at the Luoyang Railway Station tomorrow afternoon. We will definitely arrive at the capital the day after tomorrow. We can finally rest assured."
Li Ya 'er heaved a sigh of relief.
"Silly girl, don't be so happy. Tonight is very important. You must be vigilant, especially the two Princesses. Don't show your faces in public. An Lushan's men are out there."
Li Feiyu warned.
"We're already at the Yellow River, and there are still An Lushan's men?"
"The woodcutters, fishermen, and hunters outside are all very problematic. You must be very careful. If there's nothing important, don't get out of the car. Don't leave the armored car to eat, drink, and go to the toilet. Tomorrow, when we arrive at the Luoyang Railway Station, it will be much more comfortable."
"Yes, Third Brother, I will tell the Princess. The armored car is very spacious, and there's even a metal shelf. Five or six people can sleep inside without a problem."
Li Ya 'er said as she ran over to prepare.
In truth, the six women were all wearing the clothes of ordinary soldiers. It was impossible to tell their gender from a distance, but it was better to be careful. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Fei Yu, something's not right! Many people are approaching us. They seem to be watching us on purpose. "
Erniu whispered.
"Tell the soldiers to be vigilant. If the situation looks bad, open fire immediately. There's no need to be polite to these people. The Princess' safety is our top priority."
Li Feiyu gave the order without hesitation.
Although the two of them were artillery brigade commanders, Guo Qiang had ordered his subordinates to listen to their orders.
"Erniu, immediately find the people watching us. We'll capture a few of them and interrogate them. What do you think?"
Li Feiyu suddenly felt an itch in his hands. They were already at the northern bank of the Yellow River, so there was no need to worry too much. Moreover, he had a bigger goal.
"Okay, I'll attract their attention. You go to the back and capture them."
Li Feiyu chuckled. "It's decided."
Because the soldiers of the armored artillery brigade were all equipped with binoculars, especially those on the armored command vehicles, they were naturally able to monitor the situation around them.
Therefore, the people who were hiding in the surroundings thought that they could hide very well, but in fact, they were just deceiving themselves. Their every move was under the surveillance of the armored artillery brigade.
Li Feiyu and Zhang Erniu cooperated with each other and caught all the people who were spying on them one by one. They caught three people in a row and tied all of them onto the iron-armored artillery vehicles so that their companions could see the outcome of the iron-armored artillery vehicle brigade.
Seeing that their companions were captured alive, the remaining people who were watching them quickly ran back in fear. They immediately reported the situation to the remaining people and asked them to think of a plan to save their captured companions.
Dozens of fishermen, woodcutters, and hunters quickly gathered and discussed the situation of their companions being captured alive.
"Not only were our companions captured alive, but they were also tied to the armored vehicles. This is an insult to us. We have to save them."
"Yes, we have to save them. Otherwise, if these people can't survive the punishment, our plan will be exposed. If His Majesty finds out, it will be very disadvantageous for the commander."
"We can't act recklessly. The other side is armored artillery. We have no chance of winning if we rush over."
"If there's no other way, we'll just kill these people. The operation plan must not be leaked."
"I just saw a person who was very thin and small. She seemed to be a woman. Didn't Mister Yan say that as long as there are women in this team, we should kill them all? What other choice do we have? Let's just rush over and kill these people to save our companions."
"Yes, we can attack from multiple directions at night. It's totally feasible."
After the discussion, they split into three groups and quietly ambushed, ready to attack at any time.
In order to avoid being discovered, the location where they gathered was relatively far away from the armored artillery vehicles. However, with the advanced telescopes, this distance was still too close. All of their actions were completely under the surveillance of the armored artillery brigade.
"Fei Yu, these people have all gathered. It seems like they want to attack us."
"Good. If they really dare to attack, then we'll eliminate them all. Let the soldiers prepare for battle. I don't think these people are a match for the armored artillery vehicles."
Fifteen armored artillery vehicles circled the outermost circle and vigilantly watched the transport vehicles and armored command vehicles inside.
In the middle of the night, these seventy to eighty Pinglu soldiers disguised as woodcutters, hunters, and fishermen immediately split into three groups and attacked the armored artillery vehicles.
"Fei Yu, these people are really bold. They actually dare to attack. They don't want to live anymore!"
Erniu couldn't help but praise these fanatics. How brave must they be to challenge the armored artillery vehicles with their flesh and blood!
"They think we're all asleep. That's why they dare to be so bold. Let the soldiers be prepared to attack at any time. Don't be polite to these fanatics."
"Ka ka ka, the turrets are starting to rotate slowly. The shells are loaded and the muzzles are aimed at the approaching fanatics."
"Boom …"
Fifteen cannons fired at the same time. The seventy to eighty fanatics who were attacking were thrown into chaos. At least half of them were injured on the spot.
"Boom boom boom …"
After the second round of firing, even more people were injured.
At first glance, it was clear that they had no chance of winning. The losses on their side were too great. The rest of them covered their heads and fled like rats, leaving their injured comrades behind.
"Fei Yu, what should we do with these injured people?"
"Just leave them here! If they're still here tomorrow morning, tie them up and bring them back to the capital. Let the imperial physicians take a good look at them. "
Li Feiyu replied.
"Good idea. They are trying to assassinate the princess, which is not a small crime. Take them to the palace, and His Majesty will definitely interrogate them. Only if they reveal the mastermind behind the scenes, will they be able to reduce their punishment."
"Who else could it be other than An Lushan? I'd like to see how An Lushan will continue to be favored by His Majesty this time."
Li Feiyu sneered.
"Fei Yu, go to sleep first! I'll continue to be on night duty with some of the soldiers. "
During the day, Zhang Erniu had slept in the armored command vehicle for an entire afternoon, so he was full of energy.
"Okay, I'll leave this place to you. You must ensure the princess's safety and prevent the rest of the people from coming back."
"Don't worry! Leave it to me. "
Erniu promised.
When Li Feiyu woke up the next morning, Zhang Erniu had already tied up all the injured and immobilized fanatics. Together with the three from before, there were more than ten of them. They were all gathered in a transport vehicle.
In addition, there were more than ten fanatics who were killed by the cannons last night. The rest who were lightly injured or uninjured had all disappeared without a trace. They were completely shocked by the powerful combat strength of the armored artillery brigade and had completely lost the courage to fight. They were probably scattered or risking their lives to return to Youzhou to report to their masters.
"Fei Yu, everything is ready. We can cross the river now."
Erniu reminded.
Li Feiyu nodded. "Okay, let's cross the river immediately. After that, we'll head to the Luoyang train station. Also, send someone to inform Colonel Guo of what happened here so that he can be prepared."
After everything was arranged, the troops immediately began to cross the river. Since their mission was to escort the princess back to the capital as soon as possible, speed was of the utmost importance. The first batch of vehicles to cross the river consisted of two armored command vehicles, three transport vehicles, and five armored artillery vehicles. The rest of the vehicles stayed on the north bank and did not follow Li Feiyu's group to avoid slowing them down.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
