Realm of Power

On a snowy night, there was the sound of rustling falling snow outside the tent, and the cold wind blew through the tent with a sharp whistling sound. A brazier was lit in the tent, and the bright firelight shone on Ruitang Tingna's pretty face as white as jade, although she successfully broke through. Asuor people's defense line, but there is no trace of joy on the face of the Princess Dongting. Instead, her eyebrows are frowned and her pretty face is slightly cold.

The depressing pressure in the tent was like the cold wind outside, making people feel breathless. Ten royal guards wearing heavy armor stood motionless outside the tent door like pillars in the wind and snow. The faint light cast from the tent shone on them No one dared to look back on the lock piece of leather armor and ribbon, but the angry voice of Her Royal Highness the Princess came out clearly and penetratingly from inside. The guards looked at each other secretly, their faces At the same time, a trace of inexplicable heaviness flashed through,

"What on earth is going on?" Inside the big tent, the princess of the East Court, Ruitang Tingna, glanced at the guilty confidant Wu Mu below with confused eyes, and said angrily, "Isn't it that you are responsible for protecting Sukhba'a?" Why? Why did he still suffer such a serious arrow wound? Although I have sent people to the grassland to invite the best herbalist, Elder Wu Siba, the grassland is at least three days away from here. Such a round trip takes six days.

"It's my subordinate's dereliction of duty. Please punish Her Highness Princess severely." Below her, Dongting General Wu Mu, carrying two scimitars, half-knelt on the cold ground with his burly body, his expression ugly and pale,

Ruitang Tingna's voice stopped, and she continued with annoyance on her face, "Do you know how bad this incident is for us? If Sukhba'a was injured on the battlefield, he is our hero in the East Courtyard. But he was shot secretly with an arrow while he was marching. It was a murder, and no one knew whether Su Keba could persist until the arrival of Elder Wu Siba. In this battle, Su Keba was fully committed to supporting the royal court and served as the assault vanguard in the battle. In the end, they won the victory, but most of the Suk cavalry were killed in the battle.

Now that something like this happened again, without an explanation, how would you expect me to return to the prairie and face the Sukes who had suffered a heavy blow? Or do you want me to express to all the Dongting tribes that the majestic Royal Court cannot even protect a vassal clan leader? Then where will the prestige of the Royal Court be in the future?"

"This matter is indeed due to the lack of protection of my subordinates. Please punish Her Highness the Princess severely. No matter how the Princess punishes me, I will never dare to complain." Under Ruitang Tingna's series of questions, General Wu Mu of the East Courtyard was sweating. Zhu, lying on the ground with a dead look on his face, "What happened this time was really unexpected.

Just three days ago, Sukba'a, the leader of the Suk team who served as the vanguard in the border battle, was ambushed during the march because the sky was dark and it was a windy and snowy night. The blurry wind and snow obscured everyone. Even his subordinates did not see who shot the arrow cluster. They just roughly thought that the arrow cluster should come from the rear of Sukhbaa.

The fact that the cluster of arrows stuck in Sukhba'a's back also proves this point. Although Sukhbaa was immediately sent to the camp for treatment, because the arrow pierced his left lung, we can only use the oldest method of icing the wound to relieve his pain.

Ruitang Tingna listened to Wu Mu's story with a look of regret. Looking at Wu Mu's hair that has already started to turn gray at the age of forty, a trace of unbearability flashed through his heart.

This was a famous general of the same era as his father, and he was also a rare general talent in Dongting. At the end of Dongting, facing Dongting that was about to fall apart, he single-handedly took up the cause of a leaderless leader. The most valuable thing is that for Wang Ting, Be loyal to yourself, even when in power. There is nothing that offends the royal court in the slightest,

Although in the end he was the commander-in-chief of the East Court in the Battle of East Court’s defeat, he had unshirkable responsibility for the defeat of the East Court. However, in today’s mainland, who dares to say that he can defeat the Vekia Falcon without losing, even if he once had several mercenaries? One hundred thousand southern Roders were also unable to withstand the Falcon's attack. In just half a year, the Falcon Army was beaten to death and the country was destroyed. Not to mention Dongting, whose strength was greatly damaged and the hearts of all tribes were scattered.

If the various ministries in the East Courtyard at that time were still as unified as when the father was in power, instead of watching indifferently, how could the Battle of Tulum have led to the lack of troops and the vassal army of the North had to be mobilized to participate in the war. As a result, the Northlanders defected before the battle, completely Ending the hope of the East Court Kingdom

"Maybe this is fate." For some reason, Ruitang Tingna felt a little cold in her heart. Whether it was the loss of control of various ministries or the attack on Sukhbaa who was loyal to the royal court, all of this was bound to happen sooner or later. If someone has ambitions, the eyes of these conspirators will never stop.”

Feeling that her anger was a bit excessive, she waved her hand to the ashamed Wu Mu and said, "Get up. Hidden arrows from behind are the hardest to guard against. Sukba's attack is probably just the beginning of this crisis." , on this frozen land, you are the only subordinate I can completely rely on now,

You must also know that someone wants to attack the Royal Court for a day or two. They dare not touch me for the time being, but vassals of the Royal Court like the Sukes do not need to have much scruples, otherwise they would not be so fearless. They attacked and killed Sukhbaa because they knew that we needed them to complete this revenge, and the power of the royal court could no longer suppress them."

"It is my great fortune that Your Highness Princess has such an awareness." Wu Mu raised his head excitedly, looked at Ruitang Tingna with stern eyes, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "I am a warrior, there are some things I don’t know what to say, but some situations are enough to explain Her Highness the Princess is right. As the liaison officer sent by the princess to various tribes, her subordinates have already felt that this time they are marching north for revenge. The tribes actually have different thoughts. Since breaking through the northern border, they have already Few people are still marching according to the previously agreed plan.

It originally only took 5 days to reach Hulanbei City, but now it has been 4 days. Her Royal Highness can see how many tribes have gathered here? In the deserted wilderness, the only flags fluttering are those of our Wolf Guards.

Wu Mu stopped his voice and said angrily, "It really puts my subordinates to shame. Although my subordinates nominally serve as liaison officers between the royal court and various ministries, in fact, from breaking through the northern defense line to entering Hulanbei In the area, not even a single figure of the Northlander troops was seen. Instead, small frictions continued among the tribes to snatch the ownership of the spoils.

"Due to the private fighting between the tribes, the lives of more than 200 Dongting warriors have been lost in vain. Or as His Highness said, all tribes have lost their fear of the Royal Court. They are just fighting on their own just like decades ago. "Wu Mu's face is full of melancholy. For the famous generals who have seen the glory of Dongting, everyone seems to be sad about the current situation that is similar to being torn apart.

"If these hateful guys hadn't heard what you said, I would have thought they were marching as planned." Ruitang Tingna heard that the ministries were still on the edge. She couldn't help but frown her eyebrows tightly into the character "Chuan" and hit the pillars of the tent hard with her pink fists.

Wu Mu smiled bitterly and said, "Haha, the only ones who are actually ordered to head towards Hulanbei are probably Her Royal Highness the Princess's 5,000 Wolf Guards and a few vassal tribes. The total number is less than 10,000. The other tribes are still there." Wandering around the edge of Hulanbei, where there are now villages and towns, they will head there.

In the eyes of the clan leaders, there is only looting, and other things like revenge have long been forgotten.

After all, those who suffered losses in Tulum were all the troops of the royal court. For them, it was just an insignificant loss. They just made a big profit in the central area of ​​​​Hulanbei, and then waited for the Vekia Falcon to conquer Hulanbei. Get another big haul. Then return home unscathed with a full load, this is what most of the clan leaders think."

"These guys can really think about it, but they don't know it. Taking advantage of the Vekia Falcon is the most painful thing in the world." A sneer suddenly appeared at the corner of Ruitang Tingna's mouth, and she took a deep breath and said, "It's okay." I have long been prepared to move our route close to the southeast cape. The Falcon Army has already landed on the southeast cape. With this strategic fulcrum, even if we are cut off from our retreat, we will not fall into food. shortage situation"

"Your Highness, you mean that the Northlanders may adopt a strategy of cutting off our army's logistics supply lines? If that is the case, then the ministries are not..." Wu Mu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he said hesitantly. "

"It's not a possibility, it's a certainty." Ruitang Tingna looked sternly. Looking at the blazing bonfire in the center of the tent, he said, "Actually, if the ministries encircled according to the plan, the Asuos would have no chance to get around. Unfortunately, they did, as you said, ignore the battle plan in order to plunder the spoils. That is Seeking death

They forgot that the Northerners were the real owners of this wasteland. And we are just intruders. The Northlanders living here have unique advantages in adapting to the climate and familiarity with the terrain. Our advantage in Dongting is impact and speed. If we advance strongly in a short period of time and win a quick victory, Or we can kill this advantage of the Northlanders, force them to fight our army under the city of Hulanbei, and then rely on the advantage of our cavalry group to defeat Hulanbei in one fell swoop.

However, once it is dragged into a protracted war, the Northland is severely cold and cruel, and logistical supplies are even more difficult to sustain. The current situation of scattered friction among various departments and fighting on their own is not a delay trap designed by the Northlanders long ago. With a few elites Attack its weak base, and then cause its entire line to collapse. Isn't that what they did in Tulum?"

"Then we..." After hearing Ruitang Tingna's analysis, Wu Mu's expression in the East Court Army also changed, and hesitantly asked us if we should remind the clan leaders of each tribe to pay attention to the behavior of the Northlanders. counterattack,

Ruitang Tingna shook her head slightly and said, "I'm afraid it's too late. The fire is about to break out. If you don't know how to take the initiative at this moment, Asu'o is not worthy of being called the hero of the North. Before chaos breaks out, we must save ourselves first. Those who ordered us Let's stick to the ground and stay the same to cope with the changes. As long as Asu'o is not a fool, he will never waste his main energy on us who still have tens of thousands of elites in front of such an excellent fighter. As for those guys who are greedy for wealth We can only ask for the blessings of immortality."

Ruitang Tingna picked up a firewood stick and threw it into the blazing fire in front of her. The firewood was quickly ignited in the fire, making a crackling sound, and a wisp of red sparks exploded and scattered.

Just when Ruitang Tingna said this, in Beisu Capital City, sixty miles away from Hulanbei City, under the light of torches, the dark Dongting Cavalry was rushing towards the gap in the city wall like a tide.

This is the second largest city in the Hulanbei region. The Besu tribe with a population of 70,000 lives here. As the largest tribe in the Hulanbei region after the Asuor tribe, the walls of the Besu capital are all made of Built of hard northern cold granite, the tall city walls are covered with thick hoarfrost. From a distance, it looks like a hoarfrost city, so the capital city of Besu is also called the "hoarfrost city".

a day ago. Fifteen thousand Dongting cavalry, known as the Dongting Western Army, burned, killed, and looted all the way as they approached Besudu. Looking at the rare big city in front of them, Bocasli, the leader of the Western Army, flashed a flash in his eyes. excited. Along the way, we always encountered some villages and small towns, which had long made the vicious Western Army patriarchs impatient. After finally seeing a real city, everyone began to get excited.

"Come in, this city is yours" Bocasli raised his arms and shouted to the neatly arranged East Court cavalry below. Following the order to attack, five thousand Dongting troops of the Western Army stormed from the southeast sides of the city. Looking from the top of the city, bright torches filled the wilderness in front of the city, and tools with scimitars in their mouths. The court soldiers followed the thrown hooks and clung to the city wall like ants.

The Beisu defenders on the city wall resisted tenaciously. Arrows flew horizontally, and rolling stones fell like hailstones. The Dongting cavalry dismounted and fought on foot. Holding the cavalry buckler and climbing towards the city wall, some people screamed and were knocked off the city wall from time to time.

The heads of the tribes of the Western Army who were watching the battle have lost their smiles. Since the border battle, there have been few such fierce battles. The villages and small towns encountered before were almost without resistance. But this time, The tenacity shown by the other party made many clan leaders who were happy just now feel like they were in a state of shock.

The troops charging ahead are all warriors of the clan, facing the towering city wall. They had no choice but to give up the advantage of their horses and climb up to fight the infantry. The clan leaders had expected that the bows and arrows at the top of the city would be very violent, but they did not expect that it would be so violent. If they wanted to conquer it in a short time, it would be almost impossible. It's an impossible thing.

Fast horses kept running from the front, bringing messages from the armies of various tribes, "Lord Bocasli. The leader of the Ansusk tribe reported that the enemy's bows and arrows were too sharp and the forward suicide squad suffered too many casualties, and requested to temporarily disperse the troops."

"No," Bocasli said resolutely with a solemn expression, "Since it is a death squad, why is there any reason to withdraw? Tell Anssuker that as the vanguard of the offensive force, you must continue to move forward, even if the last soldier is safe. If Su Bu dares to take a step back, I will kill his head."

Seeing that Bocasli, who was usually gentle and polite, was so stubborn at this moment, the several clan leaders behind him couldn't help but glance at each other. They seemed to have noticed something strange behind them. Bocasli turned around and said with sharp eyes, "Everyone, the defenders are here." The main force has all been attracted to the east and south gates. The other defense lines will inevitably be empty of troops. We only need to send an elite force to open the gap from other positions.

Several clan leaders suddenly realized and said, "Master Bocasli is worthy of being made an elder by the late king. This is the first time I have heard that such tactics as attacking in the east and attacking in the west can be used in siege warfare."

Bocasli smiled smugly, turned around and shouted, "Where are the warriors of my Boka tribe?" The rear army formation that was waiting for them had already issued a thunderous response, "We must win, we must win." Following the order, more than 4,000 people The main force of the East Court cavalry came out in full force, and the 2,000 horse archers responsible for the harassment below the city suddenly changed direction and violently rained arrows on the weak west wall.

Clusters of arrows flew across the sky, and the archers above were hit by arrows and fell down. The defenders on the west city wall were caught off guard, and they immediately became chaotic. From the opened gap, the Boka cavalry had already poured in like a tide. Under the city, the hooks commonly used by prairie cavalry to attack the city were quickly thrown out. In panic, the defenders only had time to quickly mobilize hundreds of archers to snipe at the gap.

"Kill" the Boka clan death squads rushed up with their shields, braving the rain of bows and arrows, climbing through the gaps in the city wall, stepping on large pieces of gravel and bricks, and rapid calls for help rang out from the top of the city. , the sun was completely dark, and the city road was full of soldiers from both sides fighting. There were more and more gaps, and fierce battles took place at each gap. The defenders could not care about the east but not the south. More and more people were fighting. The section of the city wall was covered by the torches of the East Court cavalry.

"There are still a few hours before we can go into the city and drink hot kumiss. I heard that the taste of noble women in the North is quite good, but there are always some people who don't like it. I hope I won't be disappointed this time." Bocasli smiled confidently and said to the patriarchs behind him

"According to the plan, the little girl of the eldest princess should also have arrived at the scheduled assembly point." After saying this, Bocasli looked up at the dark and heavy sky in the east courtyard above his head, licked his dry and cracked lips, and said with a smile "

I heard that there is a highland 40 miles away from Hulanbei. It is another snowy night tonight. Now I only hope that the noble blood of the so-called Golden Family can give our childish eldest princess some warmth."

"Haha, Master Bocasli is so funny."

Bocasli's words caused a burst of laughter from the patriarchs in the rear, but in the howling north wind, some small sounds were quietly approaching, (to be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation at Qidian. Monthly tickets and your support are my biggest motivation).t