First Lady of the Crown Prince

 Chapter 861 The final battle! (two updates)

 After Xie Xingzhou lost hundreds of men and horses in the forest, his face became ugly.

If it was said that he was following orders to suppress the bandits before and there was not much in the way of revenge for Min Hongyi, then now he really wants to find out those cunning guys one by one and kill them!

Dare to fool him and Xie Pingzhou is really tired of life!

 Later, he strengthened his guard and transferred soldiers who were proficient in Qi Men Dun Jia from the city.

The Bagua formation in the forest was broken, and the army finally passed through this dangerous land and arrived at the entrance of the village.

 A small stream connects the canyon and the village, and the wooden bridge above it has been cut off.

 However, the river is not very wide, so it is not a problem to cut down trees and build a temporary simple wooden bridge.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Elder Lu,” Xie Xingzhou said.

“Hmph!” Elder Lu was riding on horseback, turning his head lightly and gesturing to the two disciples behind him.

The two disciples understood, drew the swords from their waists, cut off two big trees with lightning speed, and split them with one sword.

The lieutenant general who untied the boat called a few capable soldiers to tie up the timber with ropes and embed the curved part downwards in the dug mud pit. The sides were fixed with spears to prevent the wooden bridge from tipping over.

This operation only took two quarters of an hour, which was extremely fast.

The war horses of the Jin army refused to cross this unreliable "dangerous bridge", and they were not able to cross it directly like the Black Wind King. Xie Xingzhou and his party had to dismount and cross the bridge on foot.

A deputy general flattered him and said: "I heard that the Black Wind Cavalry of Yan State are very powerful. When we defeat them, I will capture the Black Wind King and give it to General Jie."

Xie Xingzhou didn’t respond on the surface, but actually he was a little tempted.

Black Wind Cavalry is the most powerful iron cavalry in the Six Kingdoms. In addition to the excellent combat skills of the cavalry, the war horses are also one of a kind. Especially every Black Wind King, he can be called the **** of war among horses.

 When he was young, he once had the opportunity to witness the Xuanyuan Li Black Wind King. He was so frightened that he couldn't sleep for three days. When he recalled it, he still felt that palpitation in his heart.

Of course he can no longer be frightened by a horse now, but if he can conquer such a horse of the God of War, it will not be considered as a disgrace to his reputation as a strong warrior over the years.

I don’t know if my lord is interested in the Black Wind King. If he is, then he basically has no part in it.

In just such a moment, Xie Xingzhou had already planned the destination of the Black Wind King in his mind.

 The Jin army entered the village.

The deputy general sighed with emotion: "This village is not small. It can accommodate hundreds of people." He ordered his men, "You guys, search from house to house!"

"yes!"

The soldiers took the order and divided into two teams. One team searched for the villagers' residence, and the other team searched for the ghost soldiers' camp.

 The result was disappointing. Apart from a few wild boars that could not be taken away, they did not see even a single person.

"Escaped?" Xie Xingzhou frowned, called the two spies who stayed behind last night, and asked, "Did you find anything last night?"

Spy A reported: "To tell the general, we have been lying in wait at the entrance of Ghost Mountain last night to make sure that no one comes out of Ghost Mountain."

 Xie Xingzhou casually entered a stove room and put his hand into the stove to feel it.

cold.

 He ordered: "Check the other stoves."

"yes!"

The soldiers checked one by one and found that none of the stoves had a temperature. With the current weather, if the fire had been overheated earlier, there would be no residual temperature left in the stoves at this time.

Suddenly, another soldier walked over quickly, clasped his fists and saluted: "General! There is something discovered on the hilltop to the east!"

 Xie Xingzhou took his subordinates to the place mentioned by the lieutenant.

 Surrounded by green mountains, the waves are sparkling, and the lake is as far as the eye can see. Ghost Mountain is surrounded by water on three sides, with only one entrance and exit, which is the top of the mountain in the south.

At this time, on the shore of the east mountain, everyone found a large number of footprints and traces of ships docking, and even some scattered items, such as shoes, purses, etc.

In addition, there is a small boat parked on the shore. The bottom of the boat is leaky. It is a new cut left by the broken board.

Combined with the evidence that there was no fire in the stove in the morning, everyone could not help but imagine the scene in their minds of the villagers fleeing overnight, in the dark, unable to see the road, dropping things all over the ground, and accidentally damaging the boat.

 Everything is reasonable and there is no second explanation.

If Min Hongyi was here and designated to lead the army to take a detour to the other side of the lake to arrest people, Xie Pingzhou's mind was not that simple.

“Zhong Cheng.” He called his lieutenant, “Where is the other side of the lake?”

"I haven't been there either since I was a kid," said Zhong Cheng. He was a spy stationed in Pucheng by the Jin State and was very familiar with the topography of Pucheng, except for the ghost mountain that looked like a forbidden area.

Xie Xingzhou said: "Repair the boat and send two people who know the water to row over to look for it."

"yes!"

 As for Xie Xingzhou's decision, Shangguan Qing had already predicted it, so Shangguan Qing was not worried.

 Because there is only a small broken boat here, which can accommodate two or three people at most, and the lake is very big. There are green mountains on both sides of the river for a while.

There is a very steep waterfall at the end of the green mountain. Those who have never been there will probably not be able to come back.

Of course, Yi Jie Xing Zhou’s mind will not just make one-sided plans.

As expected, Xie Xingzhou immediately ordered the remaining lieutenants: "Look around, search every hilltop, pay attention to hidden caves, entrances, etc., and don't let go of any clues."

 Everyone took the order and dispersed in all directions.

Gu Jiao was sitting at the entrance of the cave. She already knew that the Jin army had entered the mountain, and she had also heard Shangguan Qing leading the villagers to evacuate. At the moment, the Jin army was conducting a large-scale search, and she didn't know if they would find any clues.

Two Jin soldiers opened the bushes outside the gap. From the outside, this gap seemed impenetrable. They poked it in with their swords and left in great disappointment.

The Jin army came one after another, but failed to find the cave behind the crack.

There are trees and grass outside the cave, and there is food and water inside the cave, so you don’t have to worry about going hungry.

Gu Jiao glanced at Xuanyuan Qi, who was still in trance next to her, and continued to meditate to protect him.

 …

The Jin army's search continued until evening. They searched almost the entire Ghost Mountain, but still found nothing.

In a large cave with a gurgling stream, three hundred ghost soldiers were stationed beside the stream. Behind them were more than five hundred villagers from the village.

 Several ghost soldiers who came back from various major passages reported the situation on the ground to Shangguan Qing.

“They seem to have stopped searching.”

“But Xie Xingzhou did not immediately order the withdrawal of troops. He seemed to be waiting for the Jin army who went to search on the lake to come back.”

"The two Jin troops were probably killed, and he couldn't wait."

Shangguan Qing nodded when he heard this: "If he can't wait, he has only two guesses. One is that they had an accident, and the other is that they were killed by us. Xie Xingzhou may guess the latter, there are no other ships here. , he has to move it into the city, and coupled with the search on the lake and along the coast, it can be delayed for several days."

After saying that, he turned around, looked at the nervous villagers sitting on the ground, and said, "Don't be afraid, everyone. We are safe now. They can't search for us. They will naturally believe that we have successfully transferred."

 “Then...then what happens then?” a villager asked.

 “The imperial army will come at that time!”

　　It was Tang Yueshan who spoke.

He stepped forward and said to the villagers whose eyes were full of longing, "Today, the imperial army is attacking the Liang army. After the attack, they will come to Pucheng to deal with the Jin army!"

Shangguan Qing translated it once, and everyone just thought it was from some dialect and didn't think much about it for a while.

The villager said excitedly: "So... we will all be saved?"

Tang Yueshan said: "Of course! The imperial army will arrive in five days at most!"

 To attack Liang Jun, capture the Nangong family, and take back Xincheng, five days is enough at Lao Xiao's speed.

 Lao Xiao's daughter-in-law is still here. If she doesn't come back for five days, Lao Xiao will definitely guess that he and the girl are in trouble, and he will definitely speed up the offensive against Pucheng.

Shangguan Qing said what he said in Yanguo dialect.

 “How do you know?” asked another villager.

"I..." Tang Yueshan opened his mouth, thinking about how to explain his identity.

Shangguan Qing put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "He is the Tang Dynasty Marshal sent by the imperial court."

Everyone here is a native of the border area and does not know much about the high officials of the imperial court. But when they heard that he was a general, everyone immediately believed his words and rekindled their hope.

 Everyone looked at each other and smiled, and each one put his or her heart back in his stomach.

Tang Yueshan whispered: "Isn't it a bit difficult for you to lie like this..."

Shangguan Qing raised his eyebrows and said, "I didn't say which country's marshal or which court."

Tang Yueshan: “…”

He wanted to say something else, but suddenly he noticed the movement on top, and he made a silent gesture.

The villagers were very cooperative. Even Xiaoying, who was over one year old, covered her mouth with her little hand at her brother's instruction.

Xiaoying is good, Xiaoying doesn’t speak.

The cave suddenly became silent.

 “Okay, let’s camp here tonight!”

 They heard the voice of the Jin army.

Pucheng has developed border trade. Before the war broke out, there were many shops opened by Jin merchants in the city. Basically, the people here can speak some Jin and Yan dialects.

The Jin army actually camped above them. This was really a mistake.

Shangguan Qing gestured: "Just keep quiet, everyone, don't worry."

Everyone nodded. It happened to be getting late now. Everyone had a sleep. When they woke up, the Jin army should break camp and leave.

 “Don’t sleep if you snore.” Shangguan Qing whispered.

Tang Yueshan just lay down with his bow in his arms, and then sat up with a dark face.

 …

 At night, everyone above and below the ground fell asleep, and Ghost Mountain fell into silence.

Tang Yueshan didn't dare to sleep too much, so he found an open space and sat down with his bow in his arms, leaning his back against the wall and squinting from time to time.

At midnight, he heard unusual noises, which seemed to be very uncomfortable moaning.

He frowned and looked strangely toward the source of the sound. Through the light of the luminous pearls on the wall, he saw clearly that the person moaning in pain was a pregnant woman with a swollen belly.

Tang Yueshan remembered that she was the mother of the little girl (Xiaoying).

 Her husband was killed by the Jin army in Pucheng, and she and her two children were rescued by Shangguan Qing and returned to Guishan.

The ghost soldiers on duty went to patrol elsewhere. The only person who was still awake at this moment was Tang Yueshan.

Tang Yueshan looked at her confused, wondering what was wrong with her?

The next second, Tang Yueshan saw her pull out a dagger, grit her teeth and cut her neck!

Tang Yueshan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly rushed over, grabbed her wrist, and lowered his voice and asked, "What are you doing!"

The moment she took out the dagger, he almost thought she was a traitor. Who would have expected that she would actually commit suicide?

The woman’s surname was Zhang. She was soaked in cold sweat and her entire face was pale.

Tang Yueshan vaguely realized something. He looked at her painful expression and then at her swollen belly: "You...are you about to give birth?"

"what's the situation?"

Shangguan Qing woke up from his sleep and walked over.

He glanced at the water stains under the woman's skirt, frowned, and said calmly: "The amniotic water has broken, and the baby is about to be born."

 Zhang was only eight months pregnant and had not reached her due date at all. Perhaps she was under too much pressure and had a premature birth.

 Zhang endured a wave of terrible labor pains, and choked with red eyes: "I can't give birth... I can't..."

 The Jin army is on the ground, and once her children are born, their cries will reveal where they are all hiding.

With tears streaming down her face, she cried in pain and despair: "I will die...Xiaoying will die...Xiaohui will die...you...will all die..."

 She cannot ruin the lives of a pair of children and the entire village just because of a fetus in her belly.

Shangguan Qing looked at Xiaoying who was snoring beside her, then looked back at the sleeping villagers, and made a decision in her heart.

He said sternly: "I will take you to a different place to be born, please be patient for a while."

 Zhang choked up and said, "No, won't it be exposed?"

Shangguan Qing said: "Many premature babies don't cry loudly. If we go further, we may not be discovered. If...I mean if it really comes to that point, I will deal with him personally."

Tang Yueshan was shocked.

 He actually understood.

He looked at Shangguan Qing in disbelief. He couldn't believe that such words could come out of this child's mouth.

 For him, cruelty is a more difficult choice than kindness.

 It’s just that if you don’t do this, thousands of people will lose their lives.

Rather than letting Zhang's hands be stained with the blood of his children, he would rather do it himself and spend the rest of his life bearing the shadow that will never be erased.

 Zhang nodded with tears in her eyes.

Shangguan Qing woke up an old woman in the village, called several ghost soldiers, and gave some instructions. The ghost soldiers found the emergency stretcher prepared in the cave and carried Zhang away.

Shangguan Qing woke up an aunt again and asked her to help take care of Zhang's children so that they would not feel uneasy and scared when they woke up and found that their mother was missing.

 “What happened?” asked the aunt.

One by one, villagers woke up one after another. Since they were trapped in the cave, everyone's spirits were highly tense and they would be frightened by the slightest movement.

Shangguan Qing stood under the cold pearl light and said calmly: "I will solve it, everyone go to sleep."

He exuded a trustworthy aura, so everyone nodded and went to sleep without asking any more questions.

Tang Yueshan went with him to the place where Zhang gave birth - it was a small cave at least a hundred feet away, originally used for storage.

 Zhang was lying flat on a stretcher on the ground.

 The old woman is not a stable woman, but she has some production experience compared to men.

 She accompanied Zhang inside to give birth, while Shangguan Qing and others were all guarding outside the cave.

 “Is there any wood?” the old woman came out and asked.

“How big do you want it to be?” Shangguan Qing asked.

The old woman said: "It doesn't need to be too big, just so she can bite it in her mouth so as not to make too much noise or hurt herself."

Shangguan Qing pulled out the cork on the water bag: "Is this okay?"

 The old woman shook her head: "This won't work."

 “What about this?” Shangguan Qing took off the wooden hairpin from his head again.

 The old woman shook her head again: "No way."

Shangguan Qing hesitated for a moment, then took out a very old small wooden dagger from his pocket and handed it to the old woman.

 The old woman smiled and said, "That should be enough."

 After saying that, she turned around and entered the small cave with the dagger in hand.

Tang Yueshan noticed that Shangguan Qing's expression showed a moment of sadness.

Is that small wooden dagger something you cherish very much?

 But it doesn’t look expensive. If he likes it, when he becomes his godson, he can carve ten or eight for him!

 Zhang's labor pains started during the day. By this time, her cervix had been fully opened, but she just couldn't give birth.

 “Oh, I’m afraid it’s not good...”

The old woman came out with an anxious look on her face and said to Shangguan Qing, "Ms. Zhang is having a difficult delivery..."

 A woman has to go through **** when giving birth. Once she encounters a difficult delivery, she is likely to lose two lives.

Tang Yueshan punched his palm and muttered: "It would be great if that girl was here!"

"What's wrong?"

 A familiar boy's voice suddenly appeared at the other end of the passage, and the two ghost soldiers quickly became alert.

"it's me."

Gu Jiao said.

Shangguan Qing waved his hand and the two ghost soldiers stepped aside.

Gu Jiao opened a secret door and climbed out.

 She patted the dust on her body and said softly: "It's really hard to find here."

Shangguan Qing looked at her suspiciously: "Did you come from the back mountain?"

Gu Jiao said: "Otherwise? Are you coming from the Jin army's camp?"

Shangguan Qing couldn't hide his surprise: "There is also a tunnel in the back mountain? Is it connected to here?"

 “What? You don’t know?” Well, she just knew it too.

She was wandering around Xuanyuan Qi's cave out of boredom, and accidentally encountered a mechanism and fell into a tunnel.

She wanted to walk back, but she ran into them while walking around.

Tang Yueshan took her wrist and walked over: "You came just in time! There is a woman having a difficult delivery! Come in and have a look!"

"Primipara or multiparous?" Gu Jiao asked. Seeing the confusion on their faces, she said oh and changed her words, "Have you ever given birth before?"

 “I have had two children.” Shangguan Qing said.

 Gu Jiao: “When did it happen?”

Shangguan Qing: “I don’t know the details, but she has been enduring it.”

"Okay, I understand." Gu Jiao entered the small cave where Zhang gave birth.

 Mr. Zhang's face was pale and she had a small wooden dagger in her mouth.

There was no dry place on her body, and even the stretcher beneath her was soaked with sweat.

 “Do you feel like you’re going to have sex?” Gu Jiao asked.

 She nodded hard.

Gu Jiao examined her and found that the cervix was fully dilated, but the fetal position was not correct.

 The conditions for cesarean section are not currently available.

Fortunately, her amniotic fluid had not completely broken, and the fetus could still swim in the womb. The pregnancy-correcting technique she had stolen from an old Chinese doctor in her previous life should also come in handy.

"I hope useful to you."

 …

 Time passes minute by minute.

 Shangguan Qing and Tang Yueshan were guarding outside the cave. They seemed calm, but in fact their palms were all sweaty.

Tang Yueshan never dreamed that one day he would be guarding a woman delivering her baby.

 What is this...all about?

 He paced back and forth in the passage, talking quietly to himself.

“It’s been a long time, isn’t it possible that I can’t give birth?”

“No, no, that girl’s medical skills are so good…”

 “How come we didn’t find it so dangerous for women to give birth before…”

 “Sister-in-law has worked hard in life tomorrow, so I can make it up to her when I go back.”

With Zhang’s last groan, a baby covered in bruises fell to the ground.

 It’s a baby boy

Although it is less than a month old, it is not small in size.

 "Why...there's no...crying?" Ms. Zhang looked feebly at the baby in Gu Jiao's arms.

Gu Jiao grabbed the little guy's feet, lifted him up and spanked his little **** several times.

The unresponsive little guy finally moved. He clenched his fists, opened his mouth, and cried out——

This cry was so loud that it shocked Shangguan Qing and Tang Yueshan to the point where their hairs exploded!

 Where is the promised premature baby?

Your full-term baby doesn’t cry as loudly as you do, does it?

 In the camp on the ground, Xie Xingzhou and Elder Lu opened their eyes almost at the same time.

 The two of them have excellent ears, but they are not sure whether they heard correctly.

 The two of them walked out of their respective tents.

 Xie Xingzhou saw Elder Lu coming out and was half convinced: "Are you..."

The same goes for Elder Lu. He nodded: "I thought I heard it wrong. It seems that General Xie also heard it."

Xie Xingzhou chuckled: "It's not a ghost crying in the middle of the night, right?"

Elder Lu said calmly: "If General Xie believes in ghosts, I have nothing to say."

Xie Xingzhou said coldly: "Huh, even if there is a ghost, I, the general, will find that crying little ghost!"

Elder Lu said: "The sound seems to come from underground."

 The two of them lay down and put their ears to the ground.

At this moment, lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a thunder.

 The baby's cry was perfectly masked by the thunder.

 The two of them stood up.

 Xie Xingzhou asked, “Elder Lu, what do you think?”

Elder Lu said with a smile: "The commander of this operation is General Xie, and I will obey General Xie's orders."

Xie Xingzhou looked up at the lightning leaping on the dome like a dragon, smiled and said: "They are really lucky, no, we are really lucky."

Elder Lu also showed a determined smile on his face: "Although the thunder was dense and covered up the baby's cry, we can be sure that there are people under the ground. We only need to dig three feet into the ground, and we will be able to dig them out!"

 …

 Underground.

 Zhang had already fainted from exhaustion.

Gu Jiao hugged the crying little guy and stuffed his thumb into his mouth.

 He didn't **** twice and fell asleep.

 The people in the passage breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang Yueshan held on to the last bit of luck and asked: "The first sound just now was not covered by the thunder. It shouldn't be so unlucky to be discovered, right?"

Shangguan Qing sent ghost soldiers to investigate the situation, and the information they received was that all the Jin troops on the ground were awakened by Xie Xingzhou.

"It seems... they have discovered us and are preparing to dig the ground. However, they don't seem to be sure of our specific location. They started digging from the village."

 Ghost soldier report.

Tang Yueshan guessed it by looking at his expression. He closed his eyes. Sure enough, how could there be any luck on the battlefield?

 A little carelessness may lead to your fate.

 Shangguan Qing clenched his fists.

Tang Yueshan understood what he was thinking, patted him on the shoulder, and said comfortingly: "It's not your fault. This place is actually very hidden, and ordinary cries cannot be heard."

These are really not words of comfort. He remembered that when Tang Ming was born, he was strong and strong, but his crying was not as loud as this child.

His one child is worth three others.

Seeing that Shangguan Qing was silent, he asked, "You don't really want to kill this child, do you?"

Shangguan Qing glanced at the child in Gu Jiao's arms, slowly unclenched his clenched fists, and sighed: "He has been exposed, killing him will not help."

Gu Jiao asked Shangguan Qing, "How long can you block it?"

Hearing this, Shangguan Qing looked at Gu Jiao deeply: "What do you want to do?"

Gu Jiao lowered her head and took out the little guy's fingers from his mouth, and said: "He will still cry when he wakes up. By then the thunder stops, the Jin army will be able to easily lock your position. I will take him away."

Shangguan Qing said: "Where to go? The ghost king's lair? It will be exposed anyway."

Gu Jiao said: "No, go back to Quyang."

Shangguan Qing was shocked: "You..."

Gu Jiao said calmly: "I'll go back to Quyang to bring reinforcements. Give me two days, and the Black Wind Cavalry and the imperial army will surely come to the city!"

 This will be the final battle!

"It's useless." Shangguan Qing turned around, "Even if you get out of Ghost Mountain, you can't get out of Pucheng."

It is easy to enter Pucheng but difficult to leave Pucheng, not to mention that if you want to capture the people in Guishan, the gate of the city must be even stricter.

Even if he goes out in person, he may not be able to successfully send people out of the city.

Gu Jiao said: "Whether you can get out or not, you have to try to find out. In addition, you guard the Ghost Mountain, and I will find a way out of the city myself. You only need to tell me which passage can lead out of the Ghost Mountain."

 In her dictionary, there is no such thing as backing off.

Shangguan Qing asked: "Are you sure you want to do this? It's very dangerous."

 She is not afraid of danger, but—

 She thought of Xuanyuan Qi.

 At this time, she still had that strong intuition: if she left here, she might never see him again.

Those secrets will also be sealed forever.

 A thousand lives, and the truth she wants to trace.

Without any hesitation, she made a decision in her heart.

Xuanyuan Qi: I heard that you want to leave me.

Jiaojiao:￣□￣｜｜

*

The story is almost over, and the Yan Kingdom chapter is coming to an end.

 (End of this chapter)