Wan Qingyan and Gai Huan were speechless. They both knew they had no choice. However, the feeling of being caught in an undeserved disaster was truly depressing.
Wan Qingyan couldn't help but curse. "Everyone knows that Shang Chaozong is ambitious. Dingzhou is next to Nanzhou, so he must have had the misfortune of eight lifetimes."
Gai Huan added, "Zhou Shouxian is even more unlucky."
How could they still be in the mood to chat at a time like this? Xue Xiao was about to urge the two to stop talking when a report came from outside. "Sir, the court has sent a message!"
"Give it to me!" Xue Xiao roared in exasperation.
The soldier jumped in fright and ran in to hand over the message to the court.
Xue Xiao looked at the contents of the letter and waved his hand for the soldier to leave.
Wan Qingyan asked, "Since the court has sent a letter at this time, does that mean they already have a countermeasure?"
"They do have a countermeasure, but it's too late." Xue Xiao didn't hold back his complaints and tossed the letter to the two of them.
After the two read it, they found that it was a warning from the court. It said that Nanzhou was likely to provoke them and use this opportunity to send troops. It wanted Xue Xiao to quickly restrain his subordinates and give the court time to resolve the problem.
Wan Qingyan couldn't help but grit her teeth. "You only think of a warning after the enemy has attacked? What is the intelligence service doing?"
With something like this happening, the normally calm three could no longer hold back their anger.
They had no choice. The message to the court had probably not arrived yet, so they had to do what they had to do. The three brothers had no choice but to leave the provincial governor's manor together and head to the battlefield as quickly as possible. Along the way, they continuously ordered the army to gather and set up defenses to stop the Nanzhou army.
The army moved quickly. A golden wing descended from the sky, and a secret letter quickly landed in Gai Huan's hands.
"Brother Xue, Brother Wan," Gai Huan greeted after reading the secret letter.
The army continued to move quickly. The three urged their horses to the side of the road. Gai Huan handed the letter to the two of them. "I thought it was strange. With the three major sects present, how could Nanzhou suddenly provoke and attack Dingzhou? It seems that the root of the problem lies with the court. The imperial court had mobilized a group of people to launch a sneak attack on the Thatched Cottage Villa and engaged in a bloody battle with the Thatched Cottage Villa's defenses. In the end, they failed. The Sect Master of the Flying Flower Pavilion, Cao Yu 'er, the Sect Master of the True Spiritual Institute, Jin Wuguang, and the other higher-ups were captured. Their fates were extremely miserable and they were now hung on the city walls of Qingshan County as a warning to the public! Gentlemen, it was the imperial court that angered Niu Youdao, provoking Niu Youdao's revenge! "
Wan Qingyan cursed after reading the secret letter, "Did Shang Jianxiong take the wrong medicine? Of all the times to make a move, why did they have to make a move at this time? Didn't they see the current situation of the Yan State? The Song and the Han State were eyeing them covetously, and the Yan State was empty internally, yet they still dared to make a move like this? I had to hand it to the Emperor. How could he let his emotions affect his decisions when it came to the affairs of the country? How could he act without confidence? He's not afraid of trouble, but we've been killed by him! "
He was truly angered to the point that he lost all respect for Shang Jianxiong and vented his anger.
The two of them did not know the specifics of the battle at Thatched Cottage Villa. They did not know that the imperial court had even sent out the seventh-ranked ace on the Alchemy Rankings and that Zong Yuan had still been defeated. Otherwise, they would certainly be shocked.
Dust billowed as the army passed by. Xue Xiao's expression was cold as he looked at the secret letter in his hand. He did not say anything about Wan Qingyan's blasphemy toward the Emperor. When a general was outside, he had to turn a blind eye to some things.
In reality, he had long known about the imperial court's ambush on Qingshan County, much earlier than Gai Huan.
Shang Chaozong was full of ambition. There was a fierce tiger licking its claws by his bedside. He was a great threat to Dingzhou. Being on the border of Nanzhou, how could Xue Xiao not pay close attention to the movements of Nanzhou?
He had long sent a large number of spies into Nanzhou and watched every move of Nanzhou at all times.
Otherwise, how could those generals have arrived so quickly from various places? It was he who had gathered those generals in advance.
Even though he thought that with the three large sects present, Nanzhou would not dare to act rashly, he still did not dare to be careless. He wanted to make preparations ahead of time.
However, his reaction was still too slow. He had not thought that once the Thatched Cottage Villa was ambushed, Nanzhou would immediately take action. Ignoring the fact that most of the Nanzhou troops had not yet arrived, the border guards impatiently took action.
Before the troops had even gathered, the main attackers had hurriedly taken action. How could war be fought like this? It truly caught him off guard.
He knew what the imperial court had done. More accurately speaking, it was Shang Jianxiong's doing, particularly since he had messed things up. He could not tell outsiders.
He knew that Dingzhou had been implicated by Shang Jianxiong's wrong decision, but he could only swallow it down.
If Shang Jianxiong succeeded in this kind of ambush, then it would be the Emperor's wisdom and decisiveness. If he messed up, then it would be a different matter. The Emperor was stupid.
At this time, he did not dare to add fuel to the fire. Obviously, he was implicated, but he could only think of it as his failure to discipline his subordinates, which led them to do something stupid like snatching Shang Chaozong's woman, thus provoking the war.
He was the one who could not voice his bitterness. From the top to the bottom of the court, it was fine to push the blame onto anyone. How many officials dared to push the blame onto the Emperor? They were more likely to be tired of living.
…
Inside the Imperial Study in Yanjing, it was quiet!
The three Elders of Xiao Yao Palace, Purple Golden Cave, and Spirit Sword Mountain appeared together in the Imperial Study. They all coldly stared at Shang Jianxiong behind the desk.
Shang Jianxiong looked at the complaint letter in his hand. Niu Youdao and Shang Chaozong's complaint letter to the three large sects had been transferred here.
The three Elders were here to represent the three large sects to find Shang Jianxiong for an explanation.
There were also several eunuchs in the Imperial Study. Tian Yu stood next to Shang Jianxiong. The eunuchs on both sides of the room occasionally revealed their eyes, seemingly secretly vigilant against the three Elders.
"Your Majesty, have you finished reading it? Is the letter true? Is there such a thing as a sneak attack?" One of the Elders asked in a deep voice.
Shang Jianxiong put down the letter in his hand and said with a dignified look, "To be honest, I have just received the news. After confirming the situation, I have already ordered the Southern Region to detain the culprit of the sneak attack to the capital for interrogation."
That Elder sneered, "In other words, Your Majesty doesn't know about it?"
Shang Jianxiong said in a deep voice, "Three Elders, rest assured. I will definitely find out the truth and give the three large sects an explanation!"
Another Elder chuckled and said, "Your Majesty has a ten thousand feet body. Since you have said so, we will not force Your Majesty. However, words are no proof. Your Majesty should write it down so that when the matter is investigated in the future, there will be evidence! "
"Correct!" The other two nodded.
Shang Jianxiong frowned slightly.
Tian Yu stepped forward and said with a smile, "His Majesty's words are like gold and jade, what is there for the three of you to be worried about? Isn't it a bit too much to ask His Majesty to write a testimony? Normally in the palace, His Majesty has not treated the three of you unfairly. "
The Elder who had been sullen the whole time said indifferently, "Brother Tian, this is this. We have not made things difficult for His Majesty, but His Majesty cannot make things difficult for us either! What is the situation now? Our Palace Lord is furious. If His Majesty's casual words are to be reported back in a perfunctory manner, we will not be able to explain ourselves! "
The three people's attitude was firm. Shang Jianxiong had no choice but to personally write three letters and send them back to report. Only then did he send the three of them away.
After the three of them left, Tian Yu waved her hand and the several eunuchs in the imperial study also quietly withdrew.
Shang Jianxiong, who was sitting behind the table, grabbed the table with one hand and ravaged a piece of paper on the table. The dignified Emperor was forced to write a testimony. His heart was filled with anger, but he dared not speak out.
"Report!" A eunuch at the door presented a secret report with both hands.
Tian Yu went to take it and read it. His expression was clearly shocked. He turned and quickly walked to the table. He wanted to say something but then stopped. In the end, he said, "Your Majesty, the Intelligence Bureau has sent an urgent military report. Nanzhou has sent out troops. The vanguard has already killed their way into Dingzhou. The Dingzhou border guards have been completely defeated. It will be difficult for them to stop Nanzhou's advance!"
Shang Jianxiong's eyes instantly widened. His face was full of disbelief. He abruptly rose and grabbed the secret letter into his hand to quickly read it.
"Report!" Another eunuch holding the secret report appeared at the door.
It could truly be said that misfortune never came alone. When it rains, it pours. Tian Yu took the secret letter and read it. He found it was an urgent report from Dingzhou's Provincial Governor Xue Xiao.
The letter detailed how Nanzhou had used the excuse of attacking after their provocation. It repeatedly stated that Dingzhou's defenses were empty and that it would be difficult to stop them. They had asked the court for urgent help.
After Shang Jianxiong read it, he trembled with anger. "Rebel! Rebels and traitors! How come I didn't know he had taken three new concubines? "
Tian Yu said in a worried voice, "Your Majesty, there is no need to report high ranking officials taking concubines. They can make up whatever excuse they want. He insists that the Dingzhou guards have indeed done something wrong. It is impossible to explain. It is better to respond to this urgently!"
"They were tricked so easily? And caught in the act! Xue Xiao, that idiot, how did he discipline his subordinates? For soldiers to dress up as masked bandits to kill people and steal goods, it is the biggest joke in the world! If this gets out, I won't have anywhere to put my face. Do I have to tell the world that these are my court soldiers? "
Shang Jianxiong roared angrily and fell back into his chair. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood. Panting, he said, "Unfortunately, the Minister of Works was right. That rebel indeed took the opportunity to provoke. It was the Minister of Works who had foresight. Quick, ask the Minister of Works to come and discuss countermeasures!"
…
On the border between Nanzhou and Dingzhou, a large number of troops were hurrying toward Dingzhou to participate in the battle.
"Go! Go! Go! "
The rumbling of the iron hooves caused the ground to tremble. Dust billowed. Countless riders could not be seen to the end. The heroic Wu Lie Graud charged into Dingzhou like a long dragon.
On the side of the road in front of them was a carriage. A number of generals surrounded the shaft of the carriage. Meng Shanming sat on the shaft and pointed at a map to give instructions to the generals.
The contents of the letter that Niu Youdao had sent to Shang Chaozong were that this battle had to be quick. The letter of complaint to the three sects was not only to complain but also to delay the time of the three sects. They had to open their appetites and take as much territory as they could before the three sects officially intervened.
The request was to be quick, quick, and quick!
In order to end the battle quickly, Shang Chaozong had personally sent Meng Shanming to personally command this battle. He gave Meng Shanming the power to act first and report later to avoid wasting time.
In order for Meng Shanming to personally come to the front lines of the battle and speed up the response time of the command, Niu Youdao had sent out five birds to rush to the capital of Nanzhou to bring Meng Shanming over.
The Nanzhou vanguard's attack went smoothly at first and caused the other side to fall into disarray. As time went on, the awakened Dingzhou people gradually gathered to defend. The weakness of the Nanzhou vanguard's lack of troops was exposed, and their attack was blocked.
Although the speed at which Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud arrived was fast, the speed of the foot soldiers could not keep up. It was impossible to rely on cavalry to attack a city.
Meng Shanming immediately found another method of battle. Without waiting for the large force at the back, he set his sights on the nearby garrison troops. He ordered the nearby garrison troops to advance layer by layer and gather.
The nearby garrison troops abandoned their posts and disregarded all other guard duties. There was only one thing, which was to charge forward at full speed.
Whatever task of guarding the county and city, they were all abandoned and handed over to the last batch of people to take over.
Using this method, the soldiers within the range of attack would continuously rush over. Although it could not guarantee that large numbers of people could be quickly gathered, it ensured that there would be an endless stream of people being sent into Dingzhou to cooperate with Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud's attack.
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