Xiang Shaolong hurried back to the command post. Jing Jun had just rushed back from outside the city and was having a secret conversation with Teng Yi in the meeting hall. Teng Yi looked solemn and came back when he saw him: "Third brother, listen to Xiao Jun's report first."
Xiang Shaolong originally thought that Jing Jun had slipped away to stay with his beautiful and lovely little village girl, but it turned out that he was working hard and said happily: "Let me see what achievements Xiao Jun has?"
Jing Jun excitedly took out a scroll of silk pictures and spread them out on the table. On it was a map of the Qi army's camp situation. Although it was a little crude, it was clear where the mountains were and where the jungles were.
Teng Yi pondered for a while and then praised: "Dan Chu is worthy of being a famous general of Qi. Just look at him and set up camp in two highlands according to the mountains behind him, and you will know that he has real talent and knowledge." Pointing to the waterfall behind the main camp in the middle, he said:
"The most important thing for setting up a camp is to have a water source. Now they dominate the source..." He moved his hand downwards and came to the grassland and jungle between the three camps and continued: "There is also grass for the war horses to eat. If there is more grass in the woods,
Properly arranged, even though the military strength is several times stronger than theirs, it is still very difficult to capture them. The piles of rocks on the side of the camp are more effective and can be attacked or defended. It is not easy to defeat them, so we must not underestimate the enemy."
Xiang Shaolong asked: "Is there anything like the tunnel?"
Jing Jun said proudly: "This is not the case, but I once asked the hunters nearby. They said that the mountain behind the camp is called Leeward Mountain. It just blocks the cold wind blowing from the north. There is a natural rock deep into the mountain where the camp is.
The exit of the cave was in a dense forest on the side of the mountain, so I went there and took a look. Sure enough, there were people guarding it. No wonder some Zhao soldiers stationed nearby were unaware of it."
Teng Yi pointed to the dense forest on the side of the mountain and said, "Does it mean here? Have you seen it in the forest?"
Jing Jun said: "It's right here. This forest stretches for more than ten miles, until it is about five miles away from the northwest corner of Handan City. If you don't know about the cave, you won't even know about it when you come to the city."
Xiang Shaolong stood up and said: "Come, let's go to the city wall and take a look. This is better than talking about war on paper."
When the three of them boarded the sentry tower on the north city wall, the guards all saluted solemnly, and Chen Shi, the assistant general in charge here, rushed over to listen to their orders.
Xiang Shaolong pretended to look around as if nothing had happened, then found an excuse to send Chen Shi away, and whispered to the two of them: "It would be a bit inappropriate if we only rely on traitors to open the door to welcome people into the city, because most of the city guards are
He is a loyal person, and the Qi people have always been a bit weak in terms of military strength. If tens of thousands of people squeeze in, it will be time-consuming and cause trouble. If the garrison outside the city is provoked to attack from inside and outside, it will be even worse for the Qi army.
Therefore, the people of Qi must have a secret way to sneak into the city. At that time, as long as they secure a few strategic strongholds and then attack the palace, Handan City will be under Tian Dan's control."
Teng Yi said with a moved expression: "The words of the third brother are very reasonable. Being so forceful will definitely arouse the indignation of the soldiers and civilians of Handan. Even if they resist to the death, even the tens of thousands of Qi troops will not be able to please them."
Jing Jun said: "If I were Tian Dan, I would dress up my subordinates as Zhao people and put on the uniforms of the imperial guards. Then I would just cooperate with Zhao Mu and persuade Guo Kaicheng and Xu to rebel, and then Zhao Mu and Queen Jing would come out to control the overall situation."
, Xiaocheng was already dead at that time, and the third brother was one of theirs, so why were we still worried that the others would not be obedient?"
Teng Yi was suddenly moved.
Xiang Shaolong looked at the dense forest in the distance outside the city and said calmly: "Tian Dan would never be so stupid and enthusiastic that he would do good things for Zhao Mu and Queen Jing, and he would never believe that I, the crazy Dong Ma, and the Crown Prince Jing were caught off guard.
, and the garrison outside the city cannot return to defense, he does have the ability to control the overall situation. With the army's morale scattered, and half of the Handan City Guards being old and weak soldiers, there is no way to resist."
Teng Yi frowned and said: "But why can he occupy Handan for a long time? Will Li Mu let him go when he comes back?"
Xiang Shaolong expressed his guess about Lord Wucheng and said: "The leader will be Lord Wucheng. He only needs to lead his subordinates and Qi people to pretend to be Zhao Jun and serve as King Qin's division. After killing Zhao Mu, he can still be justified.
The murder of Xiao Chengjing and the prince were all blamed on this traitor. Even if Li Mu came back, Lord Wucheng had already been on the throne, and Qi Chu was backing him. Li Mu would have been unable to do anything. If there was civil unrest in Zhao, Tian Dan would send troops.
If he is famous, he simply leads a large army to attack the city and seize the territory. At that time, Lian Po is restrained by the Yan people, and Li Mu cannot support him alone. It is not difficult to defeat Zhao. General Tian Dan can realize his dream."
As the sun sets in the west, it scatters thousands of rays of rays of color on the vast grassy forest and ridges.
Teng Yi exhaled and said: "Fortunately we guessed the key, otherwise we would have been completely defeated. We still don't know what happened when we got to the underworld." He turned back and pointed to a building in the city and said: "That's the city guard station in Beicheng.
, is Zhao Mingxiong's base camp. If my prediction is correct, there must be a tunnel leading to the outside of the city. Instead, it is better for Xiaojun to take charge of finding out where the entrance and exit are." He then said to Xiang Shaolong: "Get the military talisman.
Is it done yet?”
Xiang Shaolong patted his waist bag and said happily: "The military talisman and the imperial edict are all here. Let us secretly deploy our troops and generals to have a showdown with Tian Dan, Zhao Mu and others. Maybe they will take action tonight."
Teng Yi shook his head and said: "I think the tunnel is still being worked on day and night. Especially when they dig the tunnel, they must be very careful and don't dare to make any noise, so as not to get what they want. Otherwise, there is no need to delay the time, because the sooner they can control Handan, the easier it will be."
The better we can deal with Li Mu, so as long as we accurately calculate the day when the tunnel will be completed, we will be able to seize the time for them to take action."
Jing Jun warned in a low voice: "Be careful someone is coming."
Zhao Mingxiong's voice came from behind as he ascended the stone steps of the city tower: "General, I will see the city guard at the end. I wonder what the city guard's orders are after this defeat?"
Xiang Shaolong smiled and said: "Your Majesty has just handed over the military talisman to me. I have a heavy responsibility, so I will be patrolling everywhere. Just give me your orders."
Xiang Shaolong handed the hot fried dumpling to Teng Yi, chatted for a few words, and left with Jing Jun.
After going down to the city, Jing Jun took advantage of the darkness to investigate the tunnel, while he rushed to Han Chuang's place to meet with Queen Jing.
Now both sides are racing against time. Whoever can set the trap earlier will win.
This time Han Chuang did not take him to the inner house, but walked through the garden on the left side, passed the granary where Lord Xinling's men were hiding in the back garden, and arrived at a small room that seemed to be where farm tools and sundries were kept.
Han Chuang smiled enigmatically, put his arm on his shoulder and said, "General Dong will understand everything when he goes in."
The wooden door opened suddenly, the lights inside were dim, and there were many shadows of people inside.
Queen Jing was there, surrounded by her personal guards and Han Chuang's confidants.
Under the light of the lights, an unconscious man with blood-stained clothes was hung by his hands in the room. His head and face were scarred, and his body had burn marks, indicating that he had just been tortured.
Queen Jing did not look back and said coldly: "Except for Mr. Marquis and General Dong, everyone else should leave."
Others left one after another.
Queen Jing said calmly: "General Dong, do you know who he is?"
Xiang Shaolong moved to her side, shook his head and said, "Who is this?"
Later, Han Chuang intervened: "He is a general of Wucheng Lord. He arrived in Handan just the day before yesterday and escorted a batch of copper mines for Guo Zong to cast weapons."
Xiang Shaolong suddenly felt enlightened, suppressed the pity in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "Did you ask anything?" His heart couldn't help but beat wildly. It would be terrible if this person denied it.
Queen Jing sighed suddenly: "General Dong is right, Mr. Wucheng, a fool who really doesn't know how to love himself, colluded with Tian Dan and conspired to rebel."
Xiang Shaolong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and praised his luck. Han Chuang said: "At first he denied it, but they lied to him that someone saw Lord Wucheng in the Qi people's camp, so he confessed.
"
Xiang Shaolong, who had just let go, raised his eyebrows for a long time and said with a frown: "Aren't you afraid of disturbing others by doing this? He has other followers." Queen Jing's voice softened and she turned to look at him, her beautiful eyes full of gratitude.
He said softly: "Don't worry, we will arrange it so that they seem to retreat in the face of the battle, not daring to join the rebellion, and escape quietly. What should Dong Kuangben do in the future?"
Han Chuang said: "Sister Wang and General Dong will go back to the inner house first. I will take care of the matters here."
Xiang Shaolong knew that he was going to kill people and silence them, so he sighed secretly and accompanied Queen Jing back to the house.
When they arrived at the small hall where they met last time, the guards stood guard outside the door and closed the hall door for them.
Queen Jing's face was as cold as water, and she stood in the center of the hall. Xiang Shaolong came behind her, leaned up to her, stretched out his strong hands, and hugged her belly tightly.
Queen Jing groaned, her jade face thawed, and she leaned into his arms and said quietly: "Dong Kuang, will you lie to me?"
Xiang Shaolong understood her state of mind. Two men, Xin Lingjun and Zhao Mu, deceived her, causing her to have no confidence in herself.
In fact, Zhao Mu was kept in the dark about Lord Wucheng's affairs, but in this case, Queen Jing couldn't help but believe Xiang Shaolong's lies.
Queen Jing showed her feminine side and said softly: "Kiss me."
Xiang Shaolong was still polite. After the passionate kiss, Queen Jing seemed to regain her usual strength, left his arms, pulled him to sit down in a corner, and said in a deep voice: "How are they going to deal with us mother and son? Should we?"
Tell the king about this?"
Xiang Shaolong pondered for a long time, and after sorting out the extremely complicated matter, he shook his head and said: "If you want to tell him, you should do it before executing the general of Wucheng Jun's family. Besides, it doesn't matter whether the king knows about it or not. If so.
If the news leaks to Zhao Mu, it will be even more harmful than beneficial. But this plan is to first grasp the conspiracy of Tian Dan and Zhao Mu, accurately time their actions, give them a head-on attack, and eliminate the rebels in one fell swoop."
Queen Jing lowered her head and said softly: "From your tone, it sounds like you know the relationship between me and Zhao Mu very well."
Xiang Shaolong reached over, grabbed her catkins, and said gently: "Don't think too much about anything. Queen Jing will pretend that everything is the same as before and continue to cooperate with Zhao Mu. I, Dong Kuang, will handle the other matters."
alright."
Queen Jing said worriedly: "Are you sure you can deal with Tian Dan? I have never seen a more gloomy and powerful person than him. If I were him, the first person I want to kill would be you."
Xiang Shaolong smiled and said: "At this moment, I feel that Empress Jing really cares about me."
Queen Jing's pretty face turned red, she glanced at him and stood up, saying: "I will keep in touch with you through Ji Guang. He has nothing to do with anyone from Zhao Mu or Guo Kai. He is the most loyal to the prince and is a reliable person.
"
Xiang Shaolong knew that it was not appropriate for her to stay for a long time, and he was very busy, so he said: "I'm going to take a step first. If there is any news about Zhao Mu, even if it seems innocuous, you'd better let me know."
Queen Jing put her delicate body into his arms and said softly: "Are you eager to get the list of allegiance? Maybe I can see it. I have given Zhao the courage to offend me now."
Xiang Shaolong hugged her lightly, kissed her and said, "Then I will be more confident. Do you trust Dong Kuang?"
Queen Jing nodded slightly.
Xiang Shaolong went happily. Whether he could win Queen Jing to come to his side was the key to success or failure.
Before they returned to the command post, they were intercepted by Pu Bu halfway, accompanied by more than a dozen warriors from the Hou Mansion. The two could only exchange a wink before going to see Zhao Mu.
Xiang Shaolong knew that Tian Dan and Zhao Mu would definitely take action within the next two days, so he was eager to arrange everything. However, Zhao Mu was not aware of his confidence. As a result, Yan Ping's people were mixed in the guards, and these people were sacked.
He is wearing Ge Yi and has bare feet, so he is very easy to recognize.
He secretly thought that if he had not become the city guard, Xiaocheng's confidant, and Queen Jing's half-lover, with the strength of his hands alone, he would be facing a head-on opponent who was not Zhao Mu, and he couldn't help but feel lucky in his heart.
Zhao Mu personally went out to greet him, and after leading him into the secret room, he said with joy, "Xiao Cheng issued an edict and gave you the other half of the military talisman, allowing you to have full authority to mobilize troops and horses to strengthen the city's defense."
Xiang Shaolong said humbly: "It's all thanks to the great blessings of Lord Marquis. I am lucky enough to live up to my destiny."
Zhao Mu said: "It can't be delayed. Li Mu will be arriving in a few days. We must take the lead, otherwise we will miss the opportunity."
A cold smile flashed across the corner of Zhao Mu's lips, and he said lightly: "Guo Kai and Cheng Xu are closely monitoring your every move, hoping to find you..."
Xiang Shaolong said deliberately: "If not, let me deal with them and make sure they are clean and tidy, leaving no one behind."
Zhao Mu said: "I have more important things for you to complete. I can't trust Tian Dan."
Xiang Shaolong said in astonishment: "Didn't the Marquis open the city gate and let everyone enter the city to help?"
Zhao Mudao said: "Tian Dan wants me to cede to him the six cities east of the river: Wucheng, Guanjin, Wusui, Wuheng, Chuzhou, and Fuliu. How can I accept this condition? So I decided to act alone.
, with you as my side, it won’t be a problem if Tian Dan is gone.”
This time, even Xiang Shaolong couldn't figure out whether these words were true or not, he frowned and said: "Except for the old, weak and children, the available soldiers in the city guard are only ten thousand people, and not everyone is willing to sacrifice their life for us.
How can we deal with Cheng Xu's imperial guards?"
Zhao Mu said: "There are all kinds of ways to kill Xiaocheng, and I am responsible for this. Now I want you to mobilize soldiers and generals to move the main force outside the city to monitor the Qi people. I can't trust anyone else, so you must
He and Long Shan are personally responsible for this matter."
Xiang Shaolong sneered in his heart, understanding that Zhao Mu had always not been honest with him, but was taking advantage of him. He nodded and said: "The Lord Marquis ordered me to obey, of course, but if I leave the city like this, it will definitely arouse suspicion, and the guards in the city will
And who can direct it?"
Zhao Mu smiled and said: "I have already found an excuse for Ni, that is, I will find someone to pretend to be Xiang Shaolong and show up nearby, then you can chase the culprit in a big way. Besides, it is only one night, and Xiaocheng will die early in the morning.
Already."
After a pause, he continued: "As for the affairs in the city, leave them to Zhao Mingxiong. He is from Zhao Ya and Li Mu, and has a good relationship with Guo Kai and Cheng Xu. Now that you are outside the city, he can certainly
I have taken over your responsibilities for the time being, and no one will doubt it."
Xiang Shaolong secretly screamed, if he hadn't known Zhao Mingxiong's true identity and the detective had found out that Qi Ren had a secret passage, he might have fallen into Zhao Mu's trap.
From this point of view, Zhao Mu had no good intentions towards him from the beginning, or his way of doing things aroused the other party's doubts. This traitor has only been using him.
Zhao Mu lowered his voice and said with a sly smile: "If you weren't there when Xiaocheng was in trouble, you wouldn't be suspected."
Xiang Shaolong frowned and said, "Are you sure you can control Queen Jing?"
Zhao Mu nodded and praised: "Your thinking is indeed precise. Queen Jing has to cooperate with me for her own benefit. She will kill Xiao Cheng personally, and I will be responsible for killing Guo Kai and Cheng Xu and replace them with our people."
, who would dare to go against me, Zhao Mu, then."
There was a knock on the door.
Zhao Mu said displeased: "Who dares to bother me at this time?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "There must be something urgent to report to Lord Marquis" and went over to open the door.
One of Zhao Mu's men hurriedly came to Zhao Mu and whispered a few words. The traitor was stunned for a long time, then suddenly stood up and said: "Do everything as I say, General Dong will go back first."
When Xiang Shaolong left the Hou Mansion, he was still confused. He didn't know what the matter was that required Zhao Mu to deal with it immediately.