"You're going alone?"
Looking at Hu Ming kneeling in front of him, Zhang Dongyun projected Mr. Dark Cloud and said,
"Although Han Zhe will stay behind, Shang Jie and many other disciples of the Dahe Longmen will follow Zhang Chong to Hexi.
Chen Jiezhi and Wan Li will also be followed by many people. "
Hu Ming said respectfully, "I'm going to Hexi only to open up new territory for Chang 'an."
"You want to establish your merits, and use them to exchange for your clansmen from the Eastern Tang?"
Hu Ming answered, "Of course I know that the Eastern Tang will change owners sooner or later. It's just a matter of time for Chang 'an.
But the longer it drags on, the longer my clansmen will suffer. I can't bear it, so I hope to help them regain their freedom as soon as possible. "
Mr. Dark Cloud said faintly, "They used to hunt you down."
Hu Ming exhaled deeply. "I was able to escape time and time again because some of my clansmen showed mercy. As for the others, they will change their minds in the future."
"Okay, on account of your sincerity, you can go."
Mr. Dark Cloud said faintly, "The final result will depend on how much contribution you can make in Hexi."
Hu Ming was overjoyed. "Yes, Senior!"
After he left the Dubhe Hall, he immediately turned into a black shadow and flew into the air. He went all the way through Chang 'an and Qinzhou and headed west.
When Hu Ming arrived in Hexi County, the battle had already broken out.
Under the leadership of the three masters, Zhang Chong, Chen Jiezhi, and Wan Li, the Chang 'an martial arts practitioners were the first to attack the Eastern Tang garrison camp in Hexi.
Although there were tens of thousands of Tang Army here, the number of mortals was meaningless to cultivators in the Seventh and Eighth Realms.
To a cultivator of a higher realm, whether it was the killing intent of a martial artist or the eloquence of a Confucian scholar that could subdue a person's heart, they could directly disintegrate the morale of an army.
The local generals barely managed to gather their morale, but it was to no avail.
After dealing with the problem of the local garrison, Chang 'an's people began to spread out to clean up the various prefectures in Hexi County.
A county was vast. With only a few hundred to a thousand cultivators, it was naturally not easy to take care of everything.
At this time, Chang 'an's second group of people followed and entered Hexi County.
Compared to the first batch of people, such as Chen Jiezhi and Zhang Chong, the quality of the second batch was lower, but the quantity was much higher.
Under the leadership of Gao Qi and other former Eastern Tang generals, more than ten thousand Tang Army soldiers marched from Longbei to Hexi.
They were the first batches of Tang Army captured by Chang 'an City.
Most of them were locals of Longbei County. They were originally stationed in Longbei County under the command of Xuanwu General Du Kun. Later, when Du Kun died, they were all trapped in Chang 'an.
As Chang 'an occupied the entire Longbei County, most of the families of these Tang Army soldiers were brought to Chang' an to reunite with them. They completely let go of their worries and submitted to Chang 'an.
Now, the Tang Army soldiers who followed Li Yi, Situ Jinsheng, and the others to chase the Dahe Longmen to Qinzhou were still working. However, Gao Qi and other Tang Army soldiers had already become forces under Chang 'an's rule.
Today, they re-entered the Eastern Tang territory, but they were no longer part of the Tang Army. They were the first Left Guard Army of Chang 'an's sixteen guards.
They entered Hexi and cooperated with Chen Jiezhi and other top experts to sweep through the county as if they were sifting through a sieve.
Naturally, there were local forces in Hexi County.
However, in the face of the Chen family, the Dahe Longmen, and the Tingshan Academy, which were well-known throughout the Eastern Tang, the local forces basically had no room to fight back.
The people of Chang 'an swept through everything in their way.
Hu Ming rushed to Hexi County. After notifying Chen Jiezhi and the others, he also started from the state capital.
In comparison, he faced the greatest resistance.
It was not because his Sixth Realm cultivation base was weaker than Chen Jiezhi, Zhang Chong, and the others.
For local forces, they lacked the military's ability to carry out orders and carry out orders. They also did not have such a large scale and excellent military equipment.
For them, a Sixth Realm expert was already a towering mountain.
The reason why Hu Ming faced such great resistance was mainly because he cultivated the Demon Path.
The Eastern Tang society's prejudice and fear of Demon Path cultivators were deeply rooted.
Hexi County and Longbei County were close to each other. Although the Eastern Tang had previously blocked the news, most of the sects and academies in Hexi County had heard of Chang 'an.
Everyone more or less expected that Chang 'an would send troops to Hexi County today.
Even so, they were more willing to surrender to the Dahe Longmen, the Chen family, and the Tingshan Academy than to accept the occupation of a demon.
Hu Ming had already expected the hardships he was facing before he came.
It was precisely because of this that he had to achieve something and make a name for himself. He wanted to use this opportunity to ask Mr. Dark Cloud for help in exchanging hostages from Eastern Tang.
The more the people in Hexi County feared that he cultivated the Demon Path, the more he could not start a massacre.
Otherwise, even if they submitted to Chang 'an, they might not be willing to submit on the surface, leaving behind hidden dangers.
Chang 'an might not be afraid, but Mr. Dark Cloud did not want to see things go back and forth and create more trouble.
Hu Ming had to do his best to ensure that his subordinates did not encounter any problems.
Although Hü Ming might have some difficulties in this aspect, on the whole, the people of Chang 'an were like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. They made Hexi Commandery and Longbei Commandery change the world.
While Zhang Chong, Chen Jiezhi, and the others were taking action, they had been keeping an eye on the west.
The Western Zhou Dynasty, which was further west of Tielun Mountain, naturally paid attention to the changes in Hexi County.
In fact, a large number of Western Zhou scouts suddenly appeared in Hexi County to investigate the situation there.
However, the Western Zhou Dynasty did not make any further moves and did not officially send troops to Hexi County.
A large number of Western Zhou soldiers and elites gathered west of Tielun Mountain, but they did not cross Tielun Mountain in the end.
In the end, the Western Zhou Dynasty restrained themselves.
Hexi County was given to Chang 'an. While Chang' an distracted the Eastern Tang, the other parts of Eastern Tang were Western Zhou's real prey.
Outside Hexi County, on the border between the two dynasties, Western Zhou began to stir, igniting the flames of war at the Eastern Tang border.
The news spread rapidly back to the Eastern Tang capital, Luyang City.
"The thing we worried about the most has happened." Crown Prince Li Hong sighed softly.
The internal strife had not yet been quelled, and the foreign invasion had followed.
The two sides might have already colluded.
"This is something that will happen." King of Tang said calmly.
He looked at the officials in front of him and said, "Other than Western Zhou, the other enemies on the border may attack us at any time. We must be vigilant."
Everyone agreed in unison.
King of Tang looked at his son, Li Hong, and said, "Hong 'er, patrol the south on my behalf. Pay attention to the east and south."
"Yes, Father." Li Hong bowed and replied.
King of Tang nodded and looked to the other side. "Minister Xiang, Minister Murong, Imperial Tutor …"
"His Majesty." The Eastern Tang Grand Commandant, Xiang Junming, who hailed from Baihong Peak, as well as the Imperial Advisor, the Palace Master of the Qingfu Palace, and Murong Ting, who had taken over the position of Pavilion Master of the Hidden Pavilion, stepped forward at the same time.
"The three of you will lead the troops to the west to stabilize the situation and stop Western Zhou's ambitions. Later, more people will go to support you." King of Tang ordered.
Murong Ting and the other two said in unison, "We obey His Majesty's decree."
"Minister Lu, send an envoy to communicate with the other countries and appease them." King of Tang continued, "Northern Qi and Western Chu share borders with Western Zhou. If you send an envoy, you can bring a generous gift. I would like to invite the two kings of Qi and Chu to hunt Western Zhou together."
Minister Lu Meng replied, "We obey His Majesty's decree. I will speed up the process."
King of Tang looked at his uncle, Li Dong, and said, "Thank you, Uncle. Go to Hexi County and stop Chang 'an's ambitions. Cut off their connection with Western Zhou."
"I obey, Your Majesty." Old Prince Li Dong replied.
King of Tang looked again and said, "Qiong 'er, go with your granduncle. Ask your uncle for advice on the way."
All the officials were slightly startled and looked at a young man in embroidered robes behind them.
The young man looked quite young. He was also surprised. After being stunned for a moment, he hurriedly said, "Yes, Father!"
He then bowed to Old Prince Li Dong and said, "Please advise me, Granduncle."
Li Dong nodded slightly and said, "Ninth Prince, you are too kind."
The young man was King of Tang's ninth son, Prince Li Qiong of Duohe.
Unlike Crown Prince Li Hong and Second Prince Li Yi, this Ninth Prince was as young as he looked.
Li Hong looked young, but as the eldest son of King of Tang, he was actually over sixty years old. He had been the Crown Prince for over twenty years, but he was good at preserving his youth.
Prince Muhira and Li Yi were also over fifty years old.
Prince Li Qiong of Duohe was only twenty-seven years old. He was even younger than the rumoured illegitimate son of King of Tang, Gao Yu.
Among King of Tang's adult sons, he was the youngest and appeared ordinary.
But now, he was suddenly sent to Hexi by King of Tang. This was unexpected.
Hexi was located between Chang 'an of Longbei County and the Western Zhou Dynasty. The situation was complicated and critical.
Putting aside the fact that the Old Prince, Li Dong, received the order in the nick of time, why did the King send the Ninth Prince as well?
"Qiong 'er, it's time for you to go through some training. You must polish the things you have learned and put them to good use," King of Tang said.
Ninth Prince Li Qiong quickly replied, "I will do my best to not disappoint you, Father."
Crown Prince Li Hong stood at the side. His eyes flashed as if he was thinking about something.
With King Tang's arrangements in place, everyone began to act according to his orders.
Among them, the Duohe Commandery Prince, Li Qiong, followed the old Commandery Prince, Li Dong. In addition, another Seventh Realm royal elite, Commandery Prince Zhangming, Li Xuanyi, led a large group of people to Hexi Commandery.
After they arrived, they reorganized the remnants of the Tang Army in Hexi and launched a counterattack against Chang 'an martial artists such as Zhang Chong and Chen Jiezhi. At the same time, they spread the news everywhere.
In addition to counterattacking with force, the Tang Army began to spread the news that Chang 'an had colluded with the Western Zhou Dynasty to invade Eastern Tang territory. They intended to massacre the original population of Hexi County so that Longbei County people and Western Zhou people could be relocated to Hexi.
They scolded the other party for being a traitor to the country and cursed the other party for being a tyrannical ruler.
The two sides engaged in a tug-of-war in Hexi County. In a short time, no one could gain the upper hand.
The opinion of the people in Hexi County changed three times a day.
Because it was located at the border, there were conflicts with the people of Western Zhou from time to time. This caused the local forces of Hexi County to be hostile toward Western Zhou.
Chang 'an had connections with the Western Zhou Dynasty, so the opinion of the people in Hexi County changed again.
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