Chapter 196 Shi Miyuan’s Poison Plan

When Ma Sifeng's remnants fought fiercely with the Shuozhou army, the reinforcements of the Tiger Legion finally arrived.

Most of this group of reinforcements were archers. Dozens of warships spread out at a distance of dozens of steps from the river bank. More than 10,000 tiger archers on the warships pulled their bows and arrows, and shot endlessly towards the west bank of the Baisha River. In an instant, dense arrows fell into the Shuozhou army like locusts.

The Shuozhou Army was a light cavalry, neither the armor of heavy infantry nor the large oars and shields of heavy infantry. The poor leather armor on them was not enough to resist the armor-breaking heavy arrows of tiger archers. Although there were long archers in the Shuozhou Army, they did not dare to shoot arrows and fight back because the tiger archers on the warship were covered by the people of Mingyue.

In the Shuozhou army.

Seeing that the Shuozhou cavalry fell down like weeds that had been cut down, Yan Shisi almost spit out fire in his eyes, and he turned to Yan Shisan and said, "Father, this battle cannot be fought!"

Yan Shisan turned around and glared fiercely at the dozens of naval warships spreading across the Baisha River, and a cold sentence broke out from his teeth: "Send the order, the entire army retreated ten miles!"

“Woo woo woo woo…”

At the command of Yan Shisan, the Shuozhou cavalry, who were attacking the remnants of the Ma Sifeng cavalry, turned their horses and swept to the west. In less than a meal, tens of thousands of Shuozhou cavalry retreated ten miles away. The noisy battlefield fell silent for a while. The wounded Shuozhou soldiers who were injured by arrows but had no time to withdraw were still lying on the ground, constantly wailing.

Seeing the Shuozhou cavalry retreating like a tide of ebbing, Ma Sifeng couldn't help but cheer with his sword, which was curled up, and behind Ma Sifeng, the last two thousand remaining soldiers of the cavalry division also cheered in vain, and Xiong Batian and more than two thousand barbarian cavalry were also cheering.

"We won!"

"The local dog in Shuozhou ran away, hahaha..."

"Long live the Tiger Legion, long live the Glorious Imperial Army!"

Amid the cheers of tsunami, sampans were put down from the navy warship, and then approached the river bank under the throne of the soldiers of the Tiger Army. First, a burly general stood proudly on the sampan, with a heroic figure and bright eyes. It was Meng Hu, the commander of the Tiger Legion.

Ma Sifeng strode forward with a large stance surrounded by more than a dozen cavalry officers.

When Meng Hu was three steps away, he suddenly turned over and knelt on the ground, and then he cried loudly without any image. This man as hard as steel would start to cry like a child: "General, general, I am incompetent, the cavalry division has caused you trouble, howl..."

Behind Ma Sifeng, the dozen or so cavalry officers all knelt down.

Then there were more than 2,000 remaining soldiers who survived, all fell to the ground in the blink of an eye.

Meng Hu was moved in a panic and rushed forward to help Ma Sifeng up, and said in a voice: "Get up, get up quickly!"

He helped Ma Sifeng up, Meng Hu raised his head and shouted to the dozen cavalry officers and more than two thousand remaining soldiers: "At get up, all of them are up. There is gold under the knees of men, only kneeling with heaven and earth and mother, not allowed to kneel!"

Ma Sifeng reached out to wipe away the tears from his face and shouted: "Brothers, all of them should get up!"

The dozen cavalry officers and more than two thousand remaining soldiers then stood up one after another. Meng Hu took the opportunity to take a step forward and said loudly: "Although you are soldiers of the Northern Legion and are not children of our Western Legion, as long as you are still under my Meng Hu's tent, I will treat you equally with the soldiers of the Western Legion!"

"You can eat whatever the soldiers of the Western Legion eat!"

"You can wear whatever the soldiers of the Western Legion wear!"

"You will have as much bounty as the soldiers of the Western Legion have!"

"The soldiers of the Western Legion have to make sacrifices, and you have to make sacrifices too!"

"As the commander of the Western Legion, I will never abandon any soldier in the army. By the same token, I will never abandon any cavalry in the cavalry division! I still say the same thing, even if there is only one person left in the cavalry division and only one horse, I will definitely lead the army to pick me up!"

"What's more, if your cavalry division had not been able to hold the Shuozhou cavalry of the Mingyue Empire to desperately win time for the main army of the Tiger Legion to defeat the Zhuozhou Legion, the consequences would be unimaginable. So this time I would like to thank me Meng Hu, who is all the soldiers of the Tiger Legion, not you!"

"It should be me Meng Hu who wants to kneel down, not you fearless warriors!"

As he said that, Meng Hu really knelt down and kowtowed heavily to all the cavalry soldiers behind Ma Sifeng and Ma Sifeng. This sudden action was obviously beyond everyone's expectations. When Ma Sifeng reacted, Meng Hu had already kowtowed respectfully.

"General, you can't kneel!" Before Meng Hu kowtowed the second sound, Ma Sifeng rushed forward to support Meng Hu and said anxiously, "General, this is not something!"

"Make it! You are real warriors, you can bear these three sounds!" Meng Hu pushed Ma Sifeng away, and then bowed respectfully. Then he grew up and waved his hand and shouted, "Brothers, several armies of the Mingyue Empire are coming from several directions. We cannot force us to stay in this place for too long. Now take the injured brothers immediately, and bring the bodies of the fallen soldiers together. Come on the boat quickly!"

"Yes!" Ma Sifeng responded with a loud promise and turned around and shouted, "Brothers, get on the boat!"

The next afternoon.

Qiu Yutang's three-way bright moon army, Yan Shisan's Shuozhou cavalry and Luo Congyun's Zhuozhou remnants arrived at Fenglingang Naval Village almost at the same time. However, the once majestic Naval Village had already turned into broken walls in the raging fire. In the huge harbor, charred boat boards were floating everywhere.

Looking at the dilapidated ruins in front of him, Qiu Yutang felt that the scene in front of him turned black.

Why? Why is this? Why is the final result like this?

At this moment, Qiu Yutang's mind was filled with too much confusion and too much why?

Why did Yan Shisan's Shuozhou cavalry fail to catch up with the Tiger Legion?

Why did Luo Congyun’s Zhuozhou Legion fail to block the Tiger Legion?

Why did the Fengcheng Guard not sank the warships anchored in the Navy Village in time?

From the Tiger Legion succeeded in the first surprise attack on Xijing, to the Tiger Legion encircled and annihilated the Qingzhou remnants of Situ Rui, to the Tiger Legion's sudden attack on Tiger Legion, to the Tiger Legion's ambush Panlong Valley, calmly avoiding the pursuit of Youzhou Army, and returned to the army to successfully attack Xijing... The Tiger Legion's wars since the long-distance attack on Zhongzhou have passed one after another, one after another, and calculated carefully that since entering Zhongzhou, the Tiger Legion has won seven battles!

If an empire has a population of 70 to 80 million and a million regular troops, it will cause a mere Tiger Legion to overturn the rivers and seas in the hinterland of Zhongzhou, and win seven battles and seven victories. What is particularly unbearable is that it was captured twice, and even the emperor and prime minister of the empire were captured. Such a record is truly the greatest shame in the history of the Mingyue Empire!

However, now, greater shame is waiting for Qiu Yutang and the entire Mingyue Empire!

That is, Meng Hu's Tiger Legion is about to escape from the water to the Glory Empire. The Tiger Legion will take seven battles and wins, and twice capture the glory of the capital of the Mingyue Empire, and will flee back to Xiling with the Emperor and Prime Minister of the Mingyue Empire. If Qiu Yutang and the Mingyue Empire cannot intercept the Tiger Legion before the Tiger Legion escapes back to the empire, the national prestige and military prestige of the Mingyue Empire will suffer unprecedented damage. In the entire Middle-earth world, the reputation of the Mingyue Empire will plummet...

Behind Qiu Yutang, the commanders of several major legions also looked solemn. Luo Congyun, who was seriously injured, was also among them. Qiu Yutang's mood at this moment was completely understandable. They also wanted to intercept Meng Hu and kill the Tiger Legion. Unfortunately, this tiger was too cunning and cruel. They tried their best, but the result was unacceptable.

Qiu Yutang was in a heavy mood, but the young prince finally broke out. He grabbed Luo Congyun in two steps and roared: "Luo Congyun, what's going on with you? A whole army of more than 70,000 can't defend a small sad ridge. What are you, the governor, for food?"

Luo Congyun lowered his head sadly, and wanted to defend himself but couldn't start.

It is too late to say anything now. It has become a fact that the Zhuozhou Legion failed to defend the Sad Ridge, and it has become a fact that the Tiger Legion can move south calmly. In the face of this iron-like fact, all explanations will become pale and powerless. Even if Luo Congyun says it, no one will believe it, but he will think that he shirking responsibility.

"Ye'er, now is not the time to hold the responsibility, and this is not Lord Luo's responsibility."

Qiu Yutang's beautiful eyebrows were quietly frowned, thinking that although Qiu Ye was very smart, he was still young after all. He didn't know much about many political things, and he didn't know how to deal with them. However, Qiu Yutang knew that now was not the time to hold people accountable. The most important thing now was to intercept Meng Hu's Tiger Legion and make every effort to intercept this tiger and wolf army.

However, Qiu Yutang also knew that it would be difficult to intercept the Tiger Legion now!

The national strength and military strength of the Mingyue Empire have been exhausted. Qiu Yutang can no longer dispatch troops to continue pursuing the Tiger Legion along the banks of the Tongtian River, because the Mingyue Empire Army's military rations have been eaten up and there is no more military rations to be collected. Moreover, after several months of arduous battles, the soldiers of the major legions have become tired of war. If Qiu Yutang forcefully sends troops, it is likely to cause a mutiny among the major legions. Things really come to that point, and the huge Mingyue Empire will collapse in an instant.

Now, the important task of intercepting the Tiger Legion falls on Xiao Chengdong's Navy Legion.

However, the possibility of the Navy Legion intercepting the Tiger Legion is also slim, because the Tiger Legion has seized more than a hundred large warships from the Fenglin Port Naval Village. With these warships, the Tiger Legion is no longer at a disadvantage in its fight against the Mingyue Empire Navy Legion and even has the upper hand.

Because Xiao Chengdong's naval legion had only one heavy infantry division, and even if the Tiger Legion suffered heavy losses after a series of fierce battles, there were still at least 30,000 to 40,000 people, and they were all tiger and wolf soldiers who had been through many battles. If the two armies really broke out on the Tongtian River, Xiao Chengdong's naval legion would definitely not be able to withstand it.

Moreover, before leaving, Meng Hu used a very vicious move and kidnapped the people around Fenglin Port. With these people on the boat, Xiao Chengdong and the soldiers of the Navy Legion had their own concerns, and they were inevitably restrained when the two armies fought. In this way, the situation would be even more unfavorable to the Navy Legion.

In fact, the intention of the Tiger Legion to abduct the people around Fenglin Port is even more evil than Qiu Yutang expected, but the initiator of this idea was not Meng Hu, but Qi Diaozi! The captive of the Mingyue people can make the Mingyue Empire army throw a rat and avoid weapons, and the second is that the Tiger Legion's military rations have been eaten up!

After thinking about it, Qiu Yutang had already made a decision in his heart. His cold and beautiful eyes flew across the faces of the local governors such as Yan Shisan, Tuoba Shou, Luo Congyun, etc., and finally said sadly: "Although the empire suffered heavy losses in this battle of the country, even our emperor was captured by the enemy. Millions of people in Qingzhou, Zhuozhou, and Youzhou made great sacrifices, but we still won."

Gongsun Xiang, Luo Congyun, Tuoba Shou, Qin Feng, Xiao Lang and others looked at each other sadly.

Qiu Yutang said again: "Next, the important task of intercepting and killing the Tiger Legion will be completed by General Xiao Chengdong's naval legion. The major legions can now return to their respective defense zones. It is the turn of spring and summer. After returning to the local area, the major legions will do everything possible to help the people suffering from military disasters rebuild their homes and resume production."

Several major governors all clasped their fists and replied: "I will obey the order."

After saying that, several major governors bowed to Qiu Yutang and Qiuye and turned around.

Soon, hundreds of thousands of Mingyue army began to take action. The four major legions of Zhuozhou, Youzhou, Shuozhou and Bingzhou left separately. Qiu Yutang also led the imperial guards. The two major legions of the Guards left Fenglin Port and prepared to return to Zhongzhou to farm. The Mingyue Empire is now full of holes, and the two legions can no longer expect the empire to support them, and they have to support themselves.

On the way back to the imperial capital, a black shadow suddenly appeared in Qiu Yutang's carriage like a ghost.

Facing the sudden appearance of black shadows, Qiu Yutang and Qiu Ye in the carriage, as well as the confidant maid Qiu Yirou, Qiu Hanyun did not have any surprise expression. Obviously, this black shadow was someone they knew. In fact, this black shadow was Youye, the famous shadow guard commander of the Yuewang Mansion!

Youye is not only the leader of the shadow guards of the Yuewang Mansion, but also the leader of the Yuewang Mansion spy system.

By quelling the war of the Eight Kings Rebellion, Qiu Yutang successfully established a spy system that belonged to her directly. The carefully trained spies have almost been spread throughout every corner of the Mingyue Empire. However, the just-concluded war of the Patriotic Kingdom caused a heavy blow to Qiu Yutang's spy system, especially the spy system in Qingzhou, which has almost been wiped out.

Youye knelt on one knee and asked Yousheng: "Youye meets the prince, and meets the prince."

Qiu Yutang waved his hand and said with a clear voice: "Immediately collect all the news from Wang Qiuchanglin and Zhuozhou Governor Luo Congyun in the past six months. The more detailed the better. Even if it is a small matter in life, don't miss it. In addition, strictly monitor the movements of the Yan family in Shuozhou, and pay special attention to their secret exchanges with the Galaxy Empire."

"yes!"

Youye agreed and took the order.

Prince Mingyue, Qiuye, who was on the side, suddenly looked slightly moved and asked in confusion: "Auntie, didn't you say that the defeat of the Zhuozhou Legion has nothing to do with Luo Congyun?"

"well."

Qiu Yutang sighed softly, touched Qiu Ye's little head lovingly, and said softly, "Ye'er, you are still young, and you will gradually understand some things when you grow up. For example, today, even if you think the defeat of the Zhuozhou Legion is very suspicious, you cannot question Luo Congyun in public. You can only investigate this matter secretly."

Akino said: "So, the emperor's aunt also thinks that the defeat of the Zhuozhou Legion is a cause?"

"At least it's not that simple." Qiu Yutang nodded gently, "No matter how brave the Tiger Legion is, he is already tired when he arrives at the Sad Ridge. The Zhuozhou Legion is a well-trained regular army. It is a fully 70,000 well-equipped heavy infantry. How could it be defeated in less than two hours?"

Akino said: "That's what Yeer thinks, so I want to ask Luo Congyun for an explanation."

Qiu Yutang said: "If Luo Congyun really has a problem, will he say it? If he was trapped or used by others, can he make it clear? Ye Ye, your father will probably find it difficult to return to the empire to rule this time. You will be ruled by the world and rule the entire empire in a short time, but you still have a lot to learn."

"Auntie."

Akio suddenly clenched his fists and said in a very firm tone, "Ye'er will never be greedy for fun in the future. He will definitely study hard and read the way of governing the country and controlling people. In short, it will definitely not disappoint you with your father. Ye'er must be the greatest emperor in the history of the empire!"

Qiu Yutang's beautiful eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she sobbed softly: "My aunt believes that the wild boy can do it, certainly."

Kawahara Castle.

After more than four months, Meng Yan finally returned to the starting point of the Western Expedition, but the more than 500,000 troops under his command were left with only more than 20,000 defeated soldiers and generals. The three major legions in the northwest, southwest and north had been completely destroyed, and the only guards was left with Lu Chengwu's Fifth Division, and the only guards was left with Lu Chengwu.

Speaking of which, Meng Yan was very unfortunate. After all, this Western Expedition failed and it was very miserable. But unfortunately, there was also luck in the misfortune, because after the flood retreated, it was a continuous sky. The silt on the Qingzhou Plain quickly dried up, and Meng Yan's remaining defeated generals were able to cross the Qingzhou Plain and flee back to Hayuan.

Being able to return home alive is a blessing in disguise, isn’t it?

At this time, Meng Yan didn't know that Meng Hu's Tiger Legion had already disrupted the entire Mingyue Empire, nor did he know that the Tiger Legion had already captured Xijing twice and even captured Qiu Fengjin, the emperor of the Mingyue Empire. It was just a little short of that. The Tiger Legion could even meet with the main force of his Western Expedition Army at Hu Xiao Pass.

If Qiu Yutang did not order the Dayue Lake to be dug, this might have become a fact.
To be continued...