Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

84. Go on an expedition

, Wu Dao Dongfu is gone, the population is small and Jintong is

~

King Xilu and the princes decided that General Chaoran would lead 100,000 Youfan troops and 30,000 Da Ying Kingdom defense troops to set out from the Da Ying Kingdom camp and cross the mountains by land. The prince assembled the 100,000 Zuo Fan army in the Luoba Kingdom camp and the 20,000 Luoba Kingdom defense army to take the water route and cross the Blue Lake. The two armies met at the Dongfu Kingdom border fortress.

The prince has restrained himself a lot in recent years, but he does not want to leave Xidu to fight. This is a great opportunity for the prince. Of course, the queen knows what this means and understands her majesty's intentions. Under the advice of his mother, the prince had no choice but to actively prepare.

The scorching sun continues, the sky burns, the cicadas keep chirping, there is less wind, everything is manic, time is slowing down, everyone is suffering, and their hearts are looking forward to it.

There were still some days before the army set off. General Chaoran went to the camp of Daying Kingdom first. In the afternoon, the prince returned to the palace and saw General Chaoran's people waiting for him.

"Your generals will leave first. Although they are two vassal armies, they are both fighting for the Xilu Kingdom."The prince said very unhappy.

General Chao Chao didn't even discuss such a big war. He just sent his subordinates to inform him. He obviously didn't take the prince seriously, and the prince's army was not fully prepared yet.

That person was Very politely, he explained:"His Royal Highness, the general is also thinking about the army. As a pioneer general, he does not dare to neglect at all. The general has returned to the camp of Daying Kingdom to prepare. If there is anything inappropriate, please forgive me. This is It is a letter written by the general, please read it to the prince."

The detached general's words in the letter were kind. After reading the letter, the prince did not pursue it:"Forget it, forget it. Don't stick to trivial matters when it comes to big things. Since everyone is working for the imperial court, I am not an ignorant person."

After the man left, the staff in the prince's palace said:"General Chaochao has always been a bit aloof. Your Highness does not need to pay too much attention to it. He can fight and likes to fight, so let him fight. Our visit this time is symbolic. The prince stepped down from his seat:"

With 130,000 troops, is he so sure?""

"He must be sure of his move in such a hurry. Besides, he is the number one general in Blue Lake. If he can't win, who else can win."Staff

"Dongfu Country is really so fragile. It is a big country with a history of thousands of years."The prince is suspicious

"The Dongfu army is all peasants, they have never been on the battlefield, and there are no generals who can fight. The court asked His Highness to lead the army. I think His Majesty does not want General Chao Chao's ambition to expand. He will be the vanguard. The fight is almost over and we will deal with the aftermath. There's nothing wrong with that either."Staff.

A few days before departure, the prince suddenly fell ill. The queen called all the doctors. The doctors said that it was probably caused by eating inappropriate food. It was nothing serious. He should be fine after a period of meditation. Although there was no serious problem, the queen was anxious and came to take care of the prince herself. The prince's condition did not improve much until the day before departure. The prince's condition was still wobbly and he could not walk long distances at all. She could only continue to recuperate in the palace. The Queen They have been busy taking care of the prince these days and have no time to think too much. The aunt realized that she was ill at this time. They thought that Concubine Yi and the others must be causing trouble. The queen ran directly to Concubine Yi's palace, and Concubine Yi was inexplicably killed. After a lot of accusations, the queen had no way to deal with Concubine Yi because there was no evidence. After returning to the palace, the queen angrily cursed:"This bitch is still pretending, you are so shameless.""

"Concubine Yi is very thoughtful, but the queen does not have to worry. Your Majesty originally asked the prince to go, but also came to visit the prince personally. Your majesty internally approves of the prince. Even if he cannot go on the expedition this time, I don't think it can shake the prince's status."My aunt comforted me.

"Those who use the water route are all Zuo Fan's troops. Letting the third prince take charge of Zuo Fan's army is not that simple... I am worried that after this battle, Zuo Fan's army will go to the third prince's side, which will be detrimental to the prince in the future."queen

"The queen's worries are not unreasonable, but after the war, he will return the military power. In just a few months, I believe that his hand will not be able to stretch very far in the Zuo Fan army."Auntie

"hope so."

Shortly after the army set off, the prince's illness recovered. The prince was fine, but it was hard for the queen to swallow this breath. Chao Ran came to the camp of Daying Kingdom and went directly to check the military camp without taking a rest. Then he selected knights and prepared his luggage. , motivated before the war, soon they set off eagerly with 50,000 elite knights, followed by another 80,000 soldiers led by General Xiao.

Along the way, the heat of summer was gone, and the quiet winter had not yet arrived. The fallen leaves are awakened by the breeze, hovering on the earth and covering the road ahead. This is the last commotion before winter. The lonely sky looks forward to its glory, the scattered sunshine is ruthless, and the sun watches silently Everything on the earth, the agitated earth, the fast horses stirred up dust mist. A line of wild geese flew by, this autumn! Where will it be taken?

Slowly, it becomes inaccessible, slowly the air becomes stagnant, slowly, slowly becomes numb, slowly is Ignored in the world. For the past few days, the knights traveled day and night to a camp at the border fortress of the Kingdom of Japan. The camp had long been abandoned, and they entered the courtyard aloof. The courtyard was large and could train tens of thousands of people. The houses inside were somewhat dilapidated, but still intact. Chaoran dismounted and walked into a larger room. There were two windows, one facing the training ground and the other facing the mountain pass. After a short pause, Chaoran walked out of the yard and looked at the rolling mountains not far away. The wind and rain were calm and composed, like a generous dam, separating the Kingdom of Ying and the Kingdom of Dongfu.

The guide walked to Chaoran and said:"Originally there were a few people here. After learning that a disaster occurred in the Kingdom of Dongfu, Da The Ying Kingdom sent people to block the mountain road, and the guarding soldiers withdrew. The general went to rest first, and I immediately sent people to remove the rocks. Chaoran came to the mountain pass and looked at the rocks:"How many days does it take to reach Dongfuguo after entering the mountain?""

"Returning to the General, the mountain road is narrow and winding. It takes time and effort to walk. It is too fast for humans and horses. It will take at least three days to reach Sangui. After passing Sangui, you can reach Dongfu country in two or three days. within the territory."

Chao Ran couldn't wait to stop for a moment. While talking about the journey, a messenger hurriedly reported:

"Report, General, news came from the court that the prince suddenly fell ill. Now the third prince is leading the army on his behalf. The departure may have to be delayed for a few days."

"Third prince?"Why did the prince suddenly become ill at this time? Chao Ren felt strange.

"The third prince is one of ours, so we can't move faster by water. We have traveled day and night for several days. The horses are tired. We all need a good sleep, or we can rest in the camp for a few days and wait for them."The deputy general next to me suggested

"After entering the mountain, I'm afraid there won't be much grass along the way. The land is a noisy place, and it is said that there is a lot of evil there."Guide

"What are you afraid of?"Detached tone is firm.

"General, it will take at least half a day to clear out the rocks at the mountain pass."Vice General

"It will be midnight when the move is finished."The guide.

The sky is a bit bleak and the foot of the mountain is a bit cold. It's already afternoon. The sun shines on the mountain, making the dam appear impregnable. After looking at it for a while, he turned back and said:"Tonight the army will make good adjustments in the camp. We will enter tomorrow. Mountain."

As soon as it dawned, the knights lined up to enter the mountain road. The mountains on both sides were steep and the terrain was dangerous. Only some places could see short-term sunshine at a certain time. The air was so heavy that it refused to flow at all, which was suffocating. It was boring, except for the messy sound of horse hooves, there was no life at all. After walking for a long time, they saw dead bodies lying on the ground along the way, which shocked the hearts of the knights. The army continued to move forward at the fastest speed, and the Yin Qi in the mountain road It is indeed very heavy, especially at night, and it is even more eerie. The knights can even feel the ghosts wandering around them when they are resting. On the third day, the knights are exhausted again. In addition to their physical symptoms, they are also uneasy in their hearts. The road slowly changes. Kuan, there is a mountain col in front. The guide reported:"General, this is a place where you don't care about anything.""

"Rest and refresh here tonight."Chao Ran saw that the army was indeed tired.

The knights entered the mountain col. Although the mountain col was spacious, it was surrounded by mountains and the airflow was still blocked. As they continued in, there were more and more dead bodies. Judging from the corpses, they had been dead for a long time, and all of them looked hideous. , being eaten by crows was so unsightly that it seemed to be caused by a disease. After the horse stopped, there was a dead silence on the ground. Occasionally, the wind blowing into the mountain col made a few miserable roars, which added a bit of terror. , even though they have been on the battlefield for a long time, everyone is more or less panicked. At this time, a group of crows suddenly flew from the roof, several horses raised their legs and roared, and several knights fell off their horses.

Looking at the house detachedly, everyone inside Dead, the knights have all heard that this is the darkest place in the Blue Lake, cursed by heaven and earth, and despised by all things. There is sunshine here, but it makes people feel cold, there is no wind, and there are always gusts of cold wind. blow through

"The yin energy here is very strong, General. It is said that those who come here must leave their souls here. Even if they leave the mountain, they will die."Guide

"Folk rumors are alarmist. They are all guilty people and deserve to die. We are knights under the light, so there is nothing to be afraid of. Chaoran thought that the yin energy here could not suppress the yang energy. Then he turned around and said:"Send the order, don't dismount.""

"General, it will take another three days to leave the mountain. After leaving the mountain, you will reach the boundary of Dongfu Kingdom. There is a Shikou Village there. I heard that the disease was spread from there."

Looking at the corpse on the ground detachedly, he suddenly said:"Based on time, death should have started from here."

"Judging from the situation here, the disaster in Dongfu Country should be very serious."The guide nodded detachedly:"How long does it take to reach Chenzhou after passing Shikou Village?"

"After passing Shikou Village, you can walk one day to Wu County. The road from Wu County to Chenzhou is flat and takes a quick horse ride. Chenzhou is a major production area of ​​Dongfu State. It has been sealed off since the disaster. The main force of Dongfu Army is in Chenzhou, where the city gates are strong."Guide

"After we went to Wu County to rest and adjust, we prepared to attack the city."aloof

"Don't you wait for the third prince and the others?"Vice General

"Let’s capture Chenzhou first and then move on." Chaoran knew that once Chenzhou was defeated, Dongfu Kingdom could be said to have won half of it.

Although the soldiers were very tired, they did not want to stay in this terrifying place for a moment longer, so the army continued on its way.