Chapter 107: The Hero of the North
Mobei, Bei'an Prefecture.

A new tent has been set up on the bank of the Luan River.

The establishment of this camp, however, is in sync with the dilapidated city wall of Bei'an Prefecture. It looks scattered, but in fact the trench is deep and wide, and the wall is high and strong. On the arrow tower, a Hu soldier wearing leather armor and a felt hat stood with a bow, just looking at everything around him vigilantly.

In the camp, a large group of cavalry galloped past, and the orders and discipline they followed were even more meticulous than those in Yelu Abaoji's camp. It was completely impossible to tell that this was a large camp in Mobei.

On the watchtower located in the center of the camp, a figure stood facing the wind.

Because it was April, the ice and snow in Mobei had finally stopped, but the biting cold wind was still blowing with drizzle. The heroic and beautiful woman on the watchtower subconsciously frowned slightly.

She was wrapped in a cloak trimmed with black fox fur, revealing half of her soft armor underneath. She was wearing a white sable felt hat in the Mobei style and stood by the wooden fence without saying a word.

Even so, everyone could sense her elegance and grace, yet her decisiveness and ruthlessness.

This beautiful woman is even more heroic than the man.

At this time, a woman with a high nose, deep eyes and a light purple tattoo on the side of her face climbed up to the watchtower. She had a graceful figure, but in her black hair there was a headdress made of scorpion bones, which gave off a rather evil aura.

But she was extremely respectful to the beautiful woman. As soon as she climbed up the tower, she knelt on one knee, crossed her arms and saluted, saying, "My queen, the army has been assembled and we are just waiting for your order to march."

"can."

Shuliduo responded in a calm voice, but her beautiful eyes were still looking towards the south. She put one hand behind her back, thinking silently.

As the personal guard of the Queen of Mobei, Shili Qixiang was also the leader of the strange men of Mobei. He always thought he had many strategies, but after all these years, he still couldn't guess the Queen's thoughts. So he could only hang his head in surprise, not daring to stand up.

It was not until a moment later that Shuliduo covered her beautiful eyes and said calmly, "There has been no messenger from the king for three days."

Shili Qixiang was startled, but after thinking about it, she just smiled and said, "Why worry, Queen? Gubeikou has been taken by the King, and he has left troops to guard it. How could there be any mistakes? I guess it must be because of the heavy rain that made the road difficult to travel, which delayed the messenger's return."

After that, she comforted him, "Gubeikou is more than 200 miles away from Bei'an Prefecture. Your Majesty went straight to Yuyang, which is several hundred miles away. I'm sure the messenger would not be able to get back in time even if the horse died..."

But before she could finish, Shuliduo suddenly turned around and looked at her, saying sternly: "How can we use the word 'guess' when it comes to important military matters?"

Shili Qixiang was frightened for a moment and dared not refute at all. He kowtowed heavily immediately.

"I will send a group of troops south immediately!"

"Do not."

Shuliduo held the wet wooden fence, pondered for a moment, and said: "There are many extraordinary people in the Central Plains, and we should not underestimate them. This is a good opportunity to enter the pass, and we can't be careless at all. You go down and ask Brother Yaoyan to lead the people to run a trip for me to check-"

"There is some unusual movement in Gubeikou."

"Slave, obey your command." Shili Qixiang was now serious and hurried down.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the camp, and the horses galloped away.

Above the grassland, the wilderness is endless and the Luan River flows unimpeded, but at the end of the sight, it is quietly hidden in the rain and fog.

Shulido tapped gently on the wooden railing.

"What is hidden behind the fog..."

------

Youzhou, the governor's office.

It was a cold night and there was light from a fire outside the courtyard, but it was gradually becoming dark inside.

In the hall, Liu Rengong's hands were shaking, but he couldn't put on his clothes for a long time. At this time, his crotch was wet, but he didn't care about his dignity, and put on his clothes one by one with shaking hands.

In fact, after living a life of luxury for many years, his dressing posture had become clumsy. Usually locked up in this small courtyard, he had no chance to wear these dignified official robes.

"Master, help the general change his clothes."

At the foot of the stairs, Xiao Yan was not in a hurry and raised his chin towards the old Taoist who was also trembling with fear.

The latter actually had some skills, but Shangguan Yunque had already beaten him up, and now he was in Xiao Yan's hands, so he had to behave himself.

The old Taoist dared not to respond, and walked quickly into the hall, grabbing his official robe awkwardly.

"Jie Shuai."

The two people of similar age looked at each other in silence.

After Liu Rengong was imprisoned, he learned that the Taoist priest had once again become Liu Shouguang's disciple. In fact, he didn't want to treat him well, but now the two of them could be said to be in the same boat and were old friends. Now that they were in the same room, he could only have tears in his eyes.

In the courtyard, Xiao Yan was being drenched in the drizzle. The internal energy outside his body was evaporating, forcing all the raindrops away.

The yamen soldier who came to deliver the meal huddled in a corner, soaked like a drowned rat, looking extremely miserable.

In addition, there was a black evil aura spreading around his neck.

"Li Xiaoxi, where is he?"

Xiao Yan took off the lid of the food box, picked up the chopsticks and started eating. However, the governor's mansion was too harsh on Liu Rengong, and the food was not very delicious, so he put down his chopsticks again.

There were two white corpses beside him. The soldier replied in a hoarse voice, "I have been in the rear palace and don't know where General Li is..."

"Today, messengers are coming and going inside and outside the city. Do you know what's going on?"

Seeing that Xiao Yan was still asking calmly, the soldier finally couldn't bear the psychological pressure anymore and said with a tearful voice: "My lord, I am really humble and I really don't know the important things of General Li and others. I am just a food delivery man, why do you have to embarrass me..."

"They managed to keep the news secret." Xiao Yan ignored him, muttered to himself, then put his finger in front of his mouth and whispered, "Speak softly, don't alarm the immortal on the sword."

The peach wood sword was placed at the side of his hand, and the blood stains on it had been washed clean, but somehow, when he looked up, he felt that there was a hint of murderous aura seeping out of it.

The yamen soldier was so terrified that he covered his mouth with his hands and dared not make any sound.

But at this moment, outside the high wall of the courtyard, there was a sudden sound of armor leaves colliding, and it seemed that several soldiers were rushing towards this side.

In the hall, Liu Rengong, who was tying his belt, felt his hands tremble and his legs almost went limp.

The old Taoist was also shocked, but a hint of joy immediately flashed across his face.

I’m afraid that little thief will not be able to escape even if he has wings!
As for the yamen soldier, his eyes lit up at this moment, and then he immediately observed Xiao Yan's expression.

The latter indeed frowned slightly.

The yamen soldier decided to go all out, his eyes looking towards the courtyard gate, his heart pounding.

When a voice sounded, he didn't even have time to hear what it was, he immediately jumped up and shouted loudly: "There is a thorn..."

"Pfft."

A strange light flashed across Xiao Yan's fingertips, and the entire skin on the yamen soldier's neck seemed to tremble instantly. Then, his voice suddenly became hoarse, and then immediately, his entire chest shriveled up.

In an instant, a dried corpse fell to the ground.

"I forgot to tell you that the immortal on this sword practices evil magic."

Xiao Yan clapped his hands and slowly grasped the hilt of the peach wood sword.

Behind him, Liu Rengong and the other man were so frightened that their throats tightened and they couldn't utter a single sound.

However, these three yamen soldiers had often humiliated Liu Rengong with words some time ago, which had already made the latter hate him to the core. Now, seeing how they died, although he was frightened, he also secretly felt relieved.

At the gate of the courtyard, several armored yamen soldiers strode in with swords drawn.

Liu Rengong's face turned pale again.

Unexpectedly, those people seemed to have completely ignored the three dead bodies in the corner, and all of them saluted with their arms crossed.

"Cangzhou Branch, the bad people who have infiltrated Youzhou, please see the captain."

"Thank you all for your hard work over the years."

Xiao Yan also clasped his fists in return, then turned around, looked at the trembling Liu Rengong, and smiled.

"For now, just protect the commander and take back the power."

------

In the lobby of the Jiedushi Mansion, Li Xiaoxi had already put on his armor and paced back and forth with a cold face. A deputy general strode in and said, "Commander-in-chief, the troops and horses are ready, and you can set off to the South Gate Camp at any time."

"Very good, call Xiahou Jing and Ma Yu."

Li Xiaoxi rubbed his hands and picked up the tiger talisman on the table.

The deputy general hesitated and reminded, "Commander-in-chief, it's late at night now. Why don't you enter the camp tomorrow? Besides, we don't know what Xiahou Jing and the other two are thinking yet. Isn't it too risky to be so impatient?"

"What do you know!"

Li Xiaoxi said with a gloomy face: "Although Dingbadu has long been reorganized by the commander-in-chief, and many of our people have been inserted, it has not been fully integrated after all. Previously, the commander-in-chief won a great victory, so Dingbadu did not make any unusual moves. Now the commander-in-chief is trapped in Yuyang. If we don't reorganize it quickly, when the news can no longer be concealed, will Dingbadu still be willing to obey you and me?"

"Can……"

"Integrate as soon as possible and send out troops as soon as possible." Li Xiaoxi paced back and forth, hesitated, and said, "Go and fetch another 50,000 strings of cash. I don't believe that even if I reward you with 100,000 strings of cash, these soldiers will still not obey?"

The deputy general had no choice but to obey the order and leave.

After a while, Xiahou Jing and Ma Yu hurried over again and entered the hall to pay their respects.

Li Xiaoxi could no longer hold back and shouted, "My two superiors, I want to reward Ding Badu at night to stabilize the army and help General Jie as soon as possible. Who do you plan to let follow me into the camp?"

Ma Yu's eyelids twitched. It was only in the afternoon that he mentioned that Dingba should send troops to support Yuyang. He thought he would have to wait until tomorrow, but he didn't expect that Li Xiaoxi was so anxious.

But after all, rushing to Yuyang's aid was a big deal, so the two men did not dare to delay and sent Xiahou Jing to accompany them.

Li Xiaoxi was full of pride and climbed onto the horse's back, ready to set off.

The armored guards behind them had also lit butter torches to illuminate this rainy night.

After he was ready, he bowed perfunctorily to his horseman.

"Secretary, I am leaving now."

Ma Yu looked serious, stroking his beard and said, "General Li is inspecting the military camp late at night, so be careful."

"What worries you if the deputy commander goes with you?"

Li Xiaoxi just laughed and rode forward.

Ma Yu sighed, and seeing that all the people around him were arranged by Li Xiaoxi, he did not dare to move rashly. He could only go back and sit in the official residence and wait.

There were officials in the government office, as well as some military officers coming in and out.

Most of them were people promoted by Liu Shouguang.

At this moment, a yamen soldier strode over.

There were soldiers outside the hall, demanding that they put down their weapons.

The yamen soldier did not follow the etiquette, but looked at the crowd in front of him coldly. In the government office, a group of officials were busy with something unknown.

"The Mobei army has already marched south, but instead of worrying about repelling the bandits, you are still planning to build a palace for Liu Shouguang!"

Ma Yu was dozing off with his eyes closed, and was startled by the loud shout and leaned back.

In the government office, someone who knew the inside story shouted, "How dare you talk nonsense!"

At the same time, Li Xiaoxi had arranged for a military officer to stay behind and urgently ordered his left and right officers to capture him.

But the soldier just laughed: "Liu Shouguang levied heavy taxes and collected them for his own selfish interests. He turned the whole Hebei into a mess, and attracted the mixed Hu people from the northern desert to the south, harming our Han people. Until now, do you still want to help him do evil?"

Amidst the laughter, he had already taken a big step back, and with a clang, he pulled out the Tang sword from his waist.

"You all, why don't you kneel down and welcome the old Marshal!"

As everyone was astonished, a majestic figure in a purple robe strode towards them from the side hall.

"Come on!"

In the official residence, Ma Yu, with a confused look on his face, stood up in shock, and his back shuddered instantly.

Seeing his former subordinates, Liu Rengong's confidence increased greatly, and he shouted, "Do you still want to rebel?!"

But the general in the palace suddenly came to his senses, held Ma Yu down, drew his sword and shouted, "General Li is in the city, don't listen to the lies, capture the old thief, and the new commander will definitely reward you handsomely!"

Moreover, he saw the two Taoists, one old and one young, beside Liu Rengong at a glance. He immediately understood what was going on and waved his hands heavily.

"Kill them!"

After all, most of the people inside and outside the government office were Liu Shouguang's subordinates. Seeing that there were only a few people around Liu Rengong, some frightened yamen soldiers reacted and drew their swords in an instant.

But faster than them were those bad guys disguised as yamen soldiers. Needless to say, they all jumped up in an instant and just hacked and killed people left and right in the crowd. The blood spurting out suddenly dyed the surroundings red.

The general who was holding Ma Yu hostage in the hall was not afraid at all. He commanded his men to attack while retreating continuously, and sent someone to inform Li Xiaoxi.

"There are only a few thieves, don't panic!"

This was indeed the fact. After all, the soldiers in the Jiedushi's mansion were first-rate elite soldiers who had fought in many battles. Instead of being afraid of being killed, they were filled with blood and tried their best to press towards Liu Rengong.

Liu Rengong was frightened almost instantly and lost his momentum. He shrank back and hugged Xiao Yan's thighs, saying in panic: "I quit, I quit! Let's surrender, I just want to save my life!"

"Cowardly."

Xiao Yan kicked him away with a smile, took a step forward, and picked up an iron knife that fell on the ground.

"Step aside."

Before the yamen soldiers understood what was said, several bad guys had already fled.

Holding the iron knife horizontally in front of him, Xiao Yan stretched out two fingers and tapped lightly.

Suddenly, a sharp cracking sound was heard, as if even the raindrops paused in the air and then trembled violently.

The next moment, countless cold lights exploded forward like a rainstorm of pear blossoms.

The sound of the sharp blade entering the body became one continuous sound.

Blood splattered and screams suddenly rang out from the crowd.

Pairs of feet were stomping everywhere, trampling the dirty blood all over the ground.

But what happened afterwards was that a vacuum area suddenly appeared in front of Xiao Yan.

The latter let out a long sigh and took out a letter tube from the sleeve of his Taoist robe.

Then, he pulled it up into the sky.

------

A horseman quickly caught up with Li Xiaoxi.

At this time, the city gate had just opened, and half of the group had already left the city and stepped onto the suspension bridge.

"Commander-in-chief, there is chaos in the Jiedushi's mansion. The old Taoist Wang Ruone sneaked into the mansion and brought out the old Jiedushi!"

Li Xiaoxi narrowed his eyes, subconsciously clenched the sword at his waist, and then glanced at Xiahou Jing beside him.

Then he sneered.

"Why are you panicking? Marshal Laojie only has a few men. Fight back and put down the rebellion."

But just as he finished his words, a bright light suddenly shot up into the sky, and it was extremely dazzling in the dark rainy night.

The next moment, Li Xiaoxi's expression changed drastically.

Although he was riding on a horse, he suddenly felt the ground trembling slightly.

Looking back, in the endless darkness, a group of cavalry had already arrived.

(End of this chapter)