The Return of the Demon

The next day, afternoon.

Carriages loaded with coal formed a long line, with no end in sight.

There were also carts of cotton and cloth.

Ning Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Because time was tight, there was no time to count the exact amount of these materials.

But it was enough for the people of Qingzhou to solve their urgent needs.

Jin Dongxing kept his promise, and Ning Chen did not slack off.

The Southern Border Army withdrew from Gao'an City without leaving a single person.

When Ning Chen was about to leave, Jin Dongxing personally went out of the city to see him off.

"Your Majesty, coal is durable, but it produces a lot of smoke and is dangerous... If it is lit, it will be fine if it is ventilated frequently!"

Jin Dongxing reminded.

Ning Chen subconsciously said, "I know, carbon monoxide poisoning!"

"What?"

Ning Chen came back to his senses and smiled, "Nothing, thank you for your help, Your Highness the Crown Prince. In the spring of next year, I will lead the army south to help Gao Liguo repel Nanyue."

Jin Dongxing smiled and said, "Then I thank you first... See you next time, you and I must raise a glass and drink until we are drunk!"

Ning Chen nodded, "Sure!"

Jin Dongxing then said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will send troops to deliver supplies to the border of Daxuan later."

"Thank you!"

Ning Chen waved his hand and ordered the army to withdraw.

Jin Kuan looked at the departing Daxuan army, quietly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said with lingering fear: "Finally, we have sent this evil star away... This is just the Southern Border Army. If it is the Ning'an Army under Ning Chen, I wonder how terrifying it would be? It is said that every member of the Ning'an Army crawled out of a pile of dead bodies."

Jin Dongxing glanced at him and frowned slightly. As the head of an army, it was really inappropriate to say this.

"Pass my order and notify nearby cities to send excess coal and cotton to Gao'an City."

Jin Kuan was shocked, "Does the prince want to continue to provide supplies to Ning Chen?"

Jin Dongxing nodded.

Jin Kuan said: "Now that Ning Chen has left, we don't need to worry about it later."

Jin Dongxing said in a deep voice: "Stupid! So many supplies have been sent out. If we interrupt rashly, wouldn't it be a waste of these supplies and offend Ning Chen?"

"Gao Li is rich in coal and cotton. Sending these supplies will not cause much loss to Gao Li... Besides, we are not giving them unconditionally."

"The fourth prince of Nanyue, Kang Luo, is good at military strategy and is pressing forward step by step. The war on the front line is tense, and bad news has been reported repeatedly. News... Only Ning Chen can deal with Kang Luo. With a little favor, we can drive the tiger to devour the wolf. This deal is worth it! "

"The most important thing is that I really want to make friends with Ning Chen... This person is too scary. We can only be friends, not enemies... As a man, we must know the times!"

"Do as I tell you immediately, and don't make mistakes!"

Jin Kuan leaned over and clasped his fists, "Yes!"

It's right to drive the tiger to devour the wolf, but I'm afraid that I will just get out of the wolf pack and enter the tiger's den again... Jin Kuan complained in his heart that Ning Chen is much more dangerous than Nanyue.

......

Five days later, Ning Chen led his army back to Qingzhou.

Because of the weight, it took twice as long to return as when he went there.

But all the hard work is worth it.

The supplies brought back are enough for the people of Qingzhou to live in peace for the time being.

"Something is not right!"

Pan Yucheng tightened the handle of the knife and said in a deep voice.

Ning Chen also discovered it. He didn't need the scouts to report it. Ning Chen had already seen that the gate of Qingzhou City was closed, corpses were everywhere in front of the city, and the thick snow was dyed red.

Ning Chen ordered the army to stop moving forward.

He personally led people to check.

The corpses on the ground were frozen into popsicles, including the corpses of the Southern Border Army, and more corpses had hideous faces, like ghosts.

Ning Chen had seen this situation before. Once the believers of the Heavenly God Cult went crazy, they would become like this.

Ning Chen's face was ashen. It seemed that the believers of the Heavenly God Cult had attacked Qingzhou.

At this time, the city gate slowly opened!

A group of people rushed out.

The leader, tall and exhausted, dismounted immediately after leaving the city and hurried over.

"I am Peng Ju, the captain of the Southern Border Army, and I pay my respects to the prince!"

Ning Chen raised his hand, "Stand up and talk."

After Peng Ju stood up, Ning Chen asked, "Did the followers of the Heavenly God Cult attack Qingzhou?"

Peng Ju nodded, "Yes! On the second night after the prince led the army away, many people in the city were stimulated by the bells and suddenly went crazy and turned into monsters. They were extremely powerful and killed and bit anyone they saw."

"The city was attacked everywhere. I was incompetent and wiped out some of them, but some monsters escaped from the city... The Southern Border Army lost more than 2,000 people, and countless civilians were killed and injured. And, and..."

Ning Chen frowned, "What else?"

"Two granaries were burned down."

Ning Chen's face was as gloomy as water.

"Have you caught the person who rang the bell?"

Peng Ju shook his head and knelt down, "I am incompetent, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Ning Chen sighed and said in a deep voice: "Get up, it's not your fault... What is the current situation in the city?"

Peng Ju said: "The city has temporarily returned to normal, and I have increased patrols."

Ning Chen nodded, "You did a good job, tell me the details later!"

"Niu Anguo."

"I am here!"

Ning Chen said: "Take your people to transport the supplies back to the city, find a place to store them, and send heavy troops to guard them."

"Yes!"

Ning Chen took Pan Yucheng and others back to the government office.

Peng Ju told the details of the riot that day!

Ning Chen frowned slightly, worried.

In this case, there should be many followers of the Celestial Sect hidden in the city.

These people took the so-called holy water, which was actually a crazy drug... Ning Chen guessed that this kind of crazy drug should target the nerves, and once stimulated by the ringing of the bell, they would become crazy.

The key is that these believers are almost like ordinary people on weekdays and cannot be distinguished at all... they will go crazy after being stimulated.

Ning Chen heard Zhao Hongyi ring the bell in a very rhythmic manner...so it was not just random ringing of the bell that would stimulate these believers.

"Old Feng, please work hard and interrogate Zhao Hongyi again... These believers are controlled by bells. Since the sound of bells can stimulate their madness, there should be a way to ring the bells to calm them down."

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

Feng Qizheng turned around.

Ning Chen looked at Peng Ju and said, "Go and send more people and increase patrol intensity."

"Yes, the general will take your orders!"

Pan Yucheng said: "It seems that the target of those believers' attack this time should be the granary."

Ning Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and his eyes flashed sharply, "Yes, it seems that someone has guessed that the food for the people was stolen from those grain merchants... It seems that the person ringing the bell should be hiding among the grain merchants. ”

"He should have known that the food would not be returned, so he simply asked the believers to launch an attack and burn the food."

"Old Pan, all the grain merchants who came to report to the government that day have been recorded. Tomorrow you will lead people to conduct a secret investigation and find out for me the largest grain merchants among them."

Pan Yucheng nodded and said: "Okay!"

Ning Chen thought for a moment, then stood up and came to the desk, sharpened his pen, and began to write the notice.