Extra 3

The third year of Zhao'an.

　　In Yueqingfang, the imperial capital, in the backyard of the Dongfang family mansion, under the snowy fir tree.

　　The girl was wearing a bright yellow palace dress and a bamboo hat. She closed her bright eyes and listened to the rain with her ears tilted. Many raindrops hit the cold spear in her hand, turning into mist and water vapor.

　　With a dripping sound, the girl held the spear and lifted up the water on the floor with one hand.

　　Sau——

　　The cold blade of the spear filled the courtyard, and the strong wind swept across the rain curtain.

　　The spear turned into an afterimage, causing many maids standing under the eaves to applaud in astonishment.

　　At this moment, a eunuch dressed as a eunuch walked through the archway and into the courtyard. Before he could shake off the rain on his body, there was a clang, a white rainbow passed under the rain curtain, and a strong wind blew.

　　The eunuch's legs were trembling, and his eyes slowly glanced downward. The cold tip of a long spear was firmly stopped two inches away from his throat.

　　The eunuch knelt on the ground with a click, and trembled, "The right subordinate, Liang Ji, pays homage to Her Royal Highness the Princess."

　　The spear tip moved, and a maid rushed to take the spear. The girl who was wielding the spear did not speak. She crossed her arms over her chest, raised her head, and stepped into the eaves. She sat on the chair placed there, and hung her bamboo hat on the side of the table. She took a sip of tea in her hand, and then her bright eyes swept towards Changqiu Liangji:

　　"But my sister called me?"

　　Liang Ji was still on the brink of death. He trembled and took out the jade scroll from his sleeve: "Yes, Your Highness."

　　The maids around noticed this scene and knelt down towards Liang Ji. As the jade scroll in Liang Ji's hand slowly unfolded, wisps of dragon energy lingered in the courtyard, and even the speed of the falling raindrops seemed to be slowed down a lot.

　　"In compliance with the will of Heaven, the Emperor Zhao'an decrees." Liang Ji, who was reading the imperial edict in the rain, stole a glance at the girl who was sitting and drinking tea. Seeing that she was unable to pay homage, he did not say anything more and continued reading:

　　"Princess Dongfang Zhen'er is a woman of great beauty and grace, and I love her deeply. Now I canonize her as Prince Wei and grant her the residence of Prince Beigong. When she was about to get married, I heard that Xiao Yi, the eldest son of the Xiao family of Dongchu, was outstanding and had the talent to become a general or a prime minister. He and my sister are a perfect match, so I have ordered the engagement to be held in the middle of spring next year. The two of them have long-cherished wishes to be together, and it seems that I have ordered this."

　　Tart

　　The teacup was broken into pieces and the tea spilled all over the floor.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er stood up quickly, her bright eyes suddenly changing color: "Sister wants to marry me off?"

　　Her words were full of disbelief. She then rushed into the rain, snatched the imperial edict from Liang Ji's hand, and glanced at it.

　　However, just as Liang Ji read, there was not a single false word. Seeing this, Dongfang Zhen'er smashed the jade scroll to the ground. She had never seen this Xiao Yi, so why should she marry him?

　　Raindrops streaked across her crystal clear and delicate face, and she thought for a while.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er's expression showed no sign of easing, and she frowned and said to the maids, "I have to go to the palace, Xinyue, prepare the sedan chair!"

　　The maid named Xinyue stood up when she heard her master's words, but her lips trembled and she seemed to be hesitant to speak.

　　Empress Dongfang Lan is a member of the Dongfang family. Both the Empress and Dongfang Zhen'er grew up with her. It can be said that Yu Xinyue knows the tempers of these two young ladies very well. They are both arrogant and self-centered.

　　Once they make a decision, no one can change it even if eight horses try.

　　What's more, the eldest daughter has become even more arrogant since she ascended the throne. In the past few years, when she went home for holidays, she didn't even give the head of the family and her father a look. It would probably be of no use if the second daughter went to plead for mercy.

　　As a member of the royal family, marriage is destiny.

　　I hope the Second Miss has a solution. After all, Yu Xinyue doesn't want the Miss to marry someone she doesn't like.

　　As a personal maid, Xinyue might have to sleep with him in the future. What if Xiao Yi turns out to be extremely ugly? Xinyue felt sick just thinking about it.

　　Thinking of this, Yu Xinyue said "hmm" to Dongfang Zhen'er, turned around and walked out of the corridor, ready to ride away.

　　However, before she could turn out to the corridor, she bumped into someone.

　　"Master...Master!"

　　At the end of the corridor, a middle-aged man walked out. He had a square face and slightly gray hair on his temples. However, due to years of experience fighting on the battlefield, his eyes were always sparkling with brilliance and he didn't look old at all.

　　"Zhen'er, where are you going?"

　　"Daddy!" Seeing her father Dongfang Xu, Zhen'er ran into the eaves from the rain and hugged her father's hand, not caring whether her palace clothes soaked by the rain would wet her father's casual clothes. She frowned and said, "Just now, my sister ordered a marriage for me. Daddy, please judge for Zhen'er. Zhen'er doesn't want this marriage!"

　　"Silly girl."

　　Dongfang Xu shook his head and chuckled: "Lan'er chose the marriage for you after carefully selecting the person's appearance. What's wrong with that?"

　　His words were full of approval.

　　But Zhen'er didn't want to, and she broke free from her father's hand, saying, "My sister always said that she loved me the most, but now it seems that it was just talk. She was so cruel to marry me to someone she didn't know. I...I."

　　Listening to his little daughter's words, Dongfang Xu walked to a chair nearby. The maid hurriedly picked up the broken teacups on the ground and started pouring tea.

　　"Zhen'er, what if this marriage was ordered by Daddy?"

　　"What!"

　　Dongfang Zhen'er hesitated and turned her head, looking at her father with bright eyes.

　　"Hey hey!" Dongfang Xu knew his daughter's temper well. He knew what she was going to say next. He quickly interrupted Zhen'er's tears and said:

　　"It is true that this marriage is an alliance between the royal family and the Xiao family, but the war on the border is urgent, so this plan was made to stabilize the morale of the Liangzhou army."

　　"Then Daddy can't just give his daughter away like this, right?"

　　"I came here just to talk to you about this." Seeing that his daughter was not in a hurry, Dongfang Xu picked up the teacup and signaled Changqiu Liangji, who was still kneeling in the rain, to leave. He continued, "However, if Zhen'er really doesn't like this marriage, the Dongfang family may regret it."

　　As he spoke, Dongfang Xu took out a tiger talisman and handed it to Dongfang Zhener.

　　"This is!"

　　Tiger Tally.

　　After the famine in the eighth year of Hongqing in the Xia Dynasty, the four founding families, the Su family and the Xiao family, began to withdraw from the court, and the military power in their hands was slowly diluted. After this incident, the natural beneficiaries were the Dongfang family, who were also founding families, and the Wei family.

　　Since Empress Zhao'an ascended the throne, although she pacified the Miao people and achieved many military results, she did not make many changes to the court situation.

　　However, in the Xia Dynasty, which implemented the system of hereditary aristocracy and the empress quietly supported the Wei family, almost all the scholar families in the world took the initiative to make friends and get close to the Wei family, and they seemed to be on the verge of becoming the leader of the literary world.

　　As for the Dongfang family, they were even more powerful. With the support of the empress's long, white thigh, they gradually took control of all the military forces in the world. Dongfang Xu also became the pillar of Xia after old man Su Fang, and the commander-in-chief of all the military forces.

　　Although the tiger talisman that Dongfang Xu gave to Zhen'er could not command hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, it was not a small item.

　　Strictly speaking, this tiger talisman can become a powerful weapon in the future, but not now.

　　But for Zhen'er, that was what she had always been looking forward to.

　　With it, Zhen'er can go to the border army, with it she can bully those ugly barbarians with strong limbs. With it, as long as she builds her career, her sister won't have to educate herself like she educated Lang'er.

　　The sound of footsteps fell.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er almost jumped and ran to her father's side, snatched the tiger talisman from his hand, and said with a happy smile: "Dad, you give it to me now?"

　　Dongfang Xu put down his teacup and nodded: "Don't be too happy too soon, girl. This tiger talisman is not a transfer order from the Northern Border Army."

　　Hmm? Dongfang Zhener turned around and frowned and asked, "What is that?"

　　"Dad won't force you to accept the marriage, but if you regret it after the marriage is decided, it will inevitably make the Xiao family lose face." Dongfang Xu nodded and said, "It will also be inevitable that rumors will spread in the court that the Dongfang family is so great and you are all daughters of phoenixes and grandchildren of dragons, and that the Xiao family can't afford you."

　　Dongfang Zhener raised her heroic eyebrows: "They dare!?"

　　Dongfang Xu shook his head and continued, "Haha, whether you dare or not is different from whether you want to or not, so if you want to cancel the engagement, you have to do it legitimately, understand?"

　　Of course.

　　Dongfang Zhener straightened her chest, which was quite large, and asked, "Dad, what do you mean by this?"

　　Dongfang Xu tilted his head to look at his daughter and said, "Dad plans to let you go to Liangjing for training."

　　Yeah yeah!

　　This is a good idea. She has wanted to go there for a long time.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er nodded frantically, causing her breasts to sway under her clothes.

　　"However!" Dongfang Xu narrowed his eyes slightly and continued in a deep voice: "Don't think of ascending to heaven overnight when you go to Liangjing and lead the Northern Border Army to make trouble. Dad will arrange you to the Tiger Guards. With the tiger talisman in your hand, you can mobilize 300 soldiers for your own use. You should start with the lowest rank of accompanying military guards."

　　The lowest grade that Dongfang Xu mentioned is the lowest grade for military officers.

　　The military officers of Daxia were divided into nine ranks, which were divided into two categories: regular and regular. Specifically, they could be divided into Yingwei, Si Ge, Duwei, Lang Jiang, Zhonglang Jiang, Jiang Jiang, and Da Jiangjun. In addition to the military officers, there were also minor officials in the army, who could still enjoy salaries even if they were not in the ninth rank.

　　Hearing what her father said, Dongfang Zhen'er's eyes showed surprise, and she said happily: "Dad, what you mean is that as long as Zhen'er makes a name for herself in the North, she doesn't have to marry into the Xiao family, right?"

　　Dongfang Xu nodded silently and sipped his tea.

　　[The military system of the Xia Dynasty was that ten people formed a squad, with a squad leader; ten squads formed a garrison, with a garrison leader; ten garrisons formed a division, with a guard; three to ten divisions formed a camp, which was then managed by the camp guard, the Si Ge, and the Du Wei. (Note: This system was slightly based on the Han system, but was not copied. A division meant a thousand people, which was Zhen'er's military officer. He was said to be a camp guard of 300 soldiers, but the military commander could actually control at most 10,000 soldiers.)

　　Daxia also has the Northern Tiger Guards, the Northwestern Divine Power Army, and the Chu Ding Black Armor Army, each with 200,000 soldiers, and the Yongzhou Yulin Army with 300,000 soldiers guarding the capital.

　　Among them, the Huben Army guarded Liangzhou, the Shenwei Army guarded Youzhou, and the Xuanjia Army guarded Chuzhou, as a defense line to guard the capital Yongzhou and resist the south. In addition to these large armies, each state and city has state troops and city troops. The state troops are no more than 10,000, and the city troops are no more than 1,000. Some small cities don't even have an army, only city gate officers. ]

　　—————————

　　The next morning.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er, dressed in red, took her maid Yu Xinyue and a dozen female riders from the Dongfang family, and rushed out of Kyoto on fast horses, heading for Liangzhou.

　　On the top of the city wall, Dongfang Xu stared at his little daughter's gradually receding back, somewhat absent-minded.

　　The old counselor beside him said, "The second young lady has quite the charisma of the former state leader, but the state leader is really trying to get rid of the marriage by sending the young lady to the Northern Frontier Army?"

　　Dongfang Xu took a deep breath. It seemed that he still couldn't hide it from the military advisor who had been with him for many years. He responded:

　　"Since Lan'er became the emperor, the barbarians have stopped fighting, but who knows if they will fight again in the future? The Su family doesn't care about worldly affairs, and the Xiao family has half-retired from the court, but Daxia still needs talents. I think Xiao Yi is a good guy, and I hope Zhen'er can get married to him during this trip."

　　Seven days later.

　　Outside Liangzhou City, in the desert.

　　There were hundreds of military tents stationed in the hazy desert. A Saker Falcon spread its wings and landed on the arm of a soldier guarding the camp. The soldier took off the paper tied to the Saker Falcon, glanced at it, opened his eyes, turned around and rushed into the tent.

　　Inside the military tent, there was a battlefield constructed with a sand table, with armors, swords and guns hung on both sides. Behind it was a wooden bed for rest. It was simple but practical. Next to the sand table stood a man with a sturdy figure and handsome appearance.

　　"Boss, there's a report!"

　　Hearing the soldier's words, Xiao Yi, who was looking down at the sand table with a frown, raised his tiger eyes and said, "Read it!"

　　The soldier then unfolded the note and read: "Guyuan has been plundered. Quickly march two battalions to Liangying Road to rush to the rescue!"

　　"Guyuan?"

　　Hearing this, Xiao Yi planted a flag at a city northwest of Liangzhou City on the sand table, his brows furrowed, "Guyuan? We can attack but not defend. It will take at least three days to take the Liangying Road. By the time the two camps arrive, I'm afraid that no one will be there. No... No."

　　The soldier put the note away and stood aside.

　　As a guard soldier, although he can offer advice, his main duty is to pass messages and protect the generals.

　　What's more, in his opinion, General Xiao Yilang had joined the army since he was fifteen years old and had made many military achievements. In just seven years, he had become a general of the Huben Army, in charge of seven battalions with a total of more than 67,000 people, and was responsible for the important task of garrisoning Liangzhou and defending the city against the barbarians.

　　He is a young talent, both intelligent and brave.

　　After following Xiao Yi for so long, the soldiers were completely convinced. No matter what enemy situation they faced, they unconditionally believed that General Xiao Lang would be able to overcome it.

　　"The barbarians' trip is definitely not as simple as looting a city. Since the beginning of the year, the three cities of Guyuan, Yinchuan and Yongning have been attacked repeatedly. This is more like a test." Xiao Yi's fingers passed over the three cities on the sand table and his eyes narrowed slightly:

　　"Could it be that... we are rushing to Guyuan in the same way as before? The Liangying Road is surrounded by high mountains and the terrain is very narrow. If we encounter the enemy, we will not dare to attack them, and we will not be able to drive them away. We will definitely fail."

　　As he was speaking, Xiao Yi suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Pass my order, mobilize the Yuyu camp, and march quickly to Guyuan to provide assistance; Chaofeng, Chilong, Zhuyan and other camps, divide the chariots and cavalry to hide on all sides, and follow the army slowly after ten miles! Without my order, you are not allowed to go deep into Liangying Road; Suanni and Yabi camps, abandon the heavy weapons, carry drum bows and crossbows, and follow with light cavalry! The Tiangou camp will stay in Liangzhou to assist in the transportation of food and grass."

　　"Understood!" After the soldier saluted with his fist, he rushed out of the tent to convey the military orders to each camp.

　　In the tent, Xiao Yi's eyes were burning: "If you really want to throw away the pretense to lure the jade and then close the door to catch the thief, then I will accept this battle."

　　After saying this, Xiao Yi took the armor from the rack beside him, wrapped it around his body, put his sword on his waist, and walked out of the tent.

　　Outside the tent, two rows of soldiers, totaling eighteen guards, stood in the middle; the Ferghana horse parked beside the tent, with a long spear hanging on its side, saw Xiao Yi and snorted.

　　"Leave the camp!"

　　Woo——

　　As Xiao Yi gave the order, the battle cry spread throughout the three armies.

　　—————————

　　Liangzhou is about a hundred miles away from Guyuan, with many hills, forests, valleys, deep mountains and swamps in between.

　　Therefore, rushing to the rescue often requires taking a detour, but on the way to Guyuan there is a 50-mile-long canyon called Liangying Road, which can be crossed by a quick march overnight.

　　In the past, Liangzhou and Guyuan would use this route to exchange food and fodder for soldiers and work together to fight against the barbarians.

　　A battalion is stationed at each of the two checkpoints to guard against the barbarians' surprise attack and trapping the army inside. However, this route is not very secret and the barbarians know about it. However, the barbarians have always liked to plunder cities, and when they go out, they usually have only a thousand beast riders. They will fight and then leave, and will not fight for a long time.

　　Therefore, for many years, the Xia Dynasty's troops had never encountered any trouble here.

　　Since the beginning of spring this year, the barbarians have only attacked Guyuan, Yinchuan and Yongning. Each time they only fought small battles. When reinforcements arrived, they immediately fled and did not loot any property or women.

　　When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong.

　　Taking a risky move, Xiao Yi planned to use a different way of fighting.

　　"head!"

　　Ten miles outside Liangying Road, there was a long line of black cavalry, slowly walking on the withered yellow grass. The leader Xiao Yi suddenly heard the call of his subordinates from behind and turned around to look.

　　Cui Geng, the guard of Zhu Yan's camp, rode up to him and said, "Boss, there's a person from Kyoto coming from the rear. She says she's a guard of the new camp, but she has no soldiers with her. Including herself, she only has thirteen people with her."

　　Xiao Yi nodded: "Let him go with the army and temporarily assign him to your camp."

　　"Uh, head." Cui Geng hesitated and said, "This guard has a Jade Dragon Order on his waist. I guess there is someone in the court, and it's a woman. If the right wing of Zhu Yan's camp rushes forward, I'm afraid it will be difficult to protect her if a fight breaks out."

　　Female?

　　Xiao Yi was stunned when he heard this, but he was quite surprised. After thinking about it, he whipped Cui Geng with a horse whip and said calmly: "You look down on women, but do you know that women are as good as men? Forget it, let her join the Chilong Camp and join my army."

　　"Okay, boss!" Cui Geng was delighted when he heard that, and he pulled the reins and left.

　　The army was busy with many things, and just as Xiao Yi finished his conversation with Cui Geng, another horse caught up from the left.

　　"Boss, look at this!"

　　The man on the horse was named Chen Bo, a member of the Chaofeng Camp Guard. He looked thin, with sunken cheeks. However, his arms, which were covered with scars and exposed outside the armor, had very solid bones and muscles, and he was unexpectedly strong.

　　"What's the matter?" Xiao Yi asked.

　　Chen Bo rode his horse to Xiao Yi's side, unfolded a map in his hand, and showed it to Xiao Yi, saying, "Boss, I've thought about it. If the barbarians really want to attack us, we may not be able to squeeze them into the road just by charging. Look at this newly surveyed map..."

　　"… Let's make dumplings. Although it's hard to escape from the swamp at this entrance, the barbarians' cattle are very strong. If we force our way out, we won't be able to eat any meat fillings."

　　Xiao Yi glanced at the map and said to Chen Bo, "You monkey, why are you running to me with a map? Come on, Daze is on your left wing. Tell me how you play it."

　　Chen Bo's thoughts were seen through by his boss. His monkey face was serious one moment, and then he grinned the next moment and said, "The barbarian's behavior is unclear. Let's not move for now and just keep an eye on here."

　　As he spoke, Chen Bo pointed to the small hill outside the big swamp and explained, "The barbarians' bull beasts charged hard but not fast. According to the original plan, they formed a double-flowered dumpling formation. When Cui Geng blasted its right side, it couldn't break out of the high mountains and hills, so it had to flee here. But if our camp charged ahead of time, it wouldn't be able to form a dumpling..."

　　"But we can trick it and leave this big swamp for it to break into. But we have to set up a cage for it to get into this hill. Then I'll have people shoot bows and crossbows from above and then surround it. Even a mosquito can bite it and make it bleed."

　　Xiao Yitang raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly: "There are many traps, but what if people don't fall into them? If they find a way out, there will be nothing left. However, this big swamp is indeed a problem, but your plan doesn't work. You have to try another method?"

　　"Look at this." Xiao Yi raised his hand and pointed at the bottom of the swamp, and then said: "According to the original plan, if the barbarians touch the buttocks, force it into Liangying Road, cooperate with Yingyu Camp, and block it from front and back."

　　"But with this big marsh, the barbarians have an extra way to escape. It's not impossible to intercept them as you think. But we can't let them all out. We can add three more divisions to the south of the marsh. After the barbarians' cattle and beast cavalry rush out, we can immediately close the breakout circle. In this way, we can separate their infantry and cavalry. You can kill the cavalry and block the infantry in the road. The barbarians can't unite their army and turn the tide, so we don't have to worry about being unable to contain them."

　　"Boss, that's brilliant."

　　"Alright, hurry up and get organized. Yingyuying has been in for a while, and I guess the time is almost up."

　　"Understood sir!" Upon hearing this, Chen Bo packed up the map, turned his horse and rushed away.

　　Xiao Yi also stopped his entire army and laid an ambush on a hilltop ten miles away from Liangying Road.

　　One was an ambush and the other was a climb over the wall.

　　The weather in the mountains was thick with fog, which added a sense of oppression and solemnity.

　　Not equal time.

　　On the east right of Liangying Road, several groups of ox carts dressed as merchants gradually appeared and entered the Liangying Road checkpoint.

　　Three quarters of an hour later, a large army of barbarians attacked from the east. The hooves of the cattle and beasts trampled the ground until mud and smoke flew up. Soon they rushed into the barracks guarding the checkpoint and started fighting.

　　Xiao Yi, who was hiding behind the mountain, frowned and looked at his subordinates who were about to charge. He waved his hand and said, "Wait a little longer."

　　Three quarters later, tens of thousands of barbarians formed a wedge formation and charged into the checkpoint again. Xiao Yi raised his hand:

　　"Pass my order...Kill!"

　　The words were spoken quickly at first but then paused when Xiao Yi was halfway through his speech.

　　A snow-kicking horse neighed and rushed out from the side and rear, leaving a white rainbow in Xiao Yi's eyes.

　　The female general on horseback, in a red dress and light armor, has a straight posture, her legs clamped in the stirrups are extremely slender, her eyes are shining, she looks heroic but also full of tenderness.

　　When passing by Xiao Yi, the female general even turned around and smiled at him. The smile brought by her military uniform turned into tenderness. That feeling was truly alluring to Xiao Yi, who had been in the army for so many years and had not touched a woman for a long time.

　　It's a pity that the female general was wearing armor and a veil on her face, so her face could not be seen clearly. Otherwise, when the soldiers who did not charge into the battle saw General Xiao Lang, they would definitely step forward and ask: "Boss, are you feeling a little uncomfortable? Your face is so red."

　　The situation on the battlefield happened just as Xiao Yi had expected.

　　The barbarian soldiers who were planning to advance from Guyuan checkpoint and Liangzhou checkpoint at the same time originally wanted to close the gate and block the rats, but they didn't expect that they became the rats. More than ten thousand barbarian soldiers were killed by surprise by the sudden rush of the Huben Army.

　　Shouts and neighing of horses rose into the sky. As planned, the barbarian cavalry was divided into two groups. One group fled to the Daze Valley. When they thought they had escaped, they would face a new round of ambush there, while the other group would be gradually eaten away on the road.

　　From sunrise to sunset.

　　Xiao Yi, whose horse stopped on the top of the mountain, looked down at Liangying Road and the river of blood flowing towards the swamp.

　　"Whoa." "Whoa."

　　Chen Bo and Cui Geng jumped off the two horses that rushed up from behind, knelt on one knee, and said:

　　"All the fleeing cattle and beasts were ambushed in the hills, 3,000 of them were killed, 1,000 captured, and more than 1,700 cattle and beasts were captured."

　　"Report! Thirteen thousand people were killed in Liangying Road, and three hundred were captured. In addition, Yingyu Camp was attacked by barbarian soldiers at the pass on the Guyuan side, and many were killed and wounded. They have now temporarily moved to the southwest to set up a temporary military camp. Fortunately, the Suanni and Yabi camps set up crossbows on the top of the mountain, and the reinforcements have been repelled."

　　Listening to the report, Xiao Yi withdrew his gaze from below and said calmly, "Very good, pass my order down, the entire Yingyu Camp will return to Liangzhou City for reorganization, and the Tiangou Camp will send three divisions to transport food to accompany the army; the rest of the army will take a detour to Guyuan, with the Zhuyan Camp as the vanguard and the Chaofeng Camp as the rear guard."

　　"promise!"

　　After Chen Bo of Chaofeng Camp responded, he wanted to retreat with Cui Geng. However, Cui Geng was still half-kneeling there, as if he had something to report.

　　"Cui Geng, do you have anything else to say?" Xiao Yi turned his head and looked at Cui Geng and asked.

　　"Yes, Dongfang Yu has fallen and is seriously injured. I don't know if he can make it."

　　"What!"

　　Xiao Yi asked anxiously, "What's going on? Where is he now?"

　　"I heard from Yingyu's brothers that he fell off his horse while fighting the enemy, was trampled by a bull, and was stabbed in the back of his chest. If it weren't for the new female camp guard who saved him, he would have died. He is now half dead in the southwest army camp. Several brothers were there with him, so they didn't come over."

　　drive!

　　After hearing what Xiao Yi said, he turned his horse and rushed down the mountain without saying a word.

　　—————————

　　This battle.

　　Liangying Road is a path along a mountain stream, with high mountains on both sides and only two ways out. Xiao Yi anticipated that the barbarian army had attacked and plundered many times since the beginning of spring, but they did not occupy the city, intending to test the speed and direction of the reinforcements, fearing that they would swallow up the soldiers instead of plundering the city.

　　Therefore, he sent a battalion to pretend to provide support as bait, but later he also forced the entire army to provide support, thinking of killing someone by taking advantage of the situation and catching the turtle in the jar. He also arranged two battalions of light cavalry and fast horses, carrying bows and crossbows to go up the mountain to cut off the barbarian soldiers coming to support from the other side and ensure the battle situation.

　　Although casualties are inevitable on the battlefield, the camp guards of several battalions are all brothers that Xiao Yi made when he joined the army. How could he not be anxious when something happens?

　　In the darkness of night, there were piles of temporary military tents in the southwest.

　　Three fast horses stopped in front of the tent and the guards ran forward to lead the horses.

　　Suck——

　　The tent cloth was lifted, and the clanging sound of armor could be heard in the candlelit military tent.

　　Deep inside the room, there was a man lying on a wooden bed, his armor removed and lying beside him, his white clothes were almost stained scarlet with blood.

　　There were two men who were about the same age as Xiao Yi standing on both sides, one from the Suanni camp and the other from the Yabi camp. There were also many military doctors, and female servants were changing the water and medicine.

　　Seeing the current situation, there was no time for conversation. From the moment he entered the account, Xiao Yi's eyes were fixed on Dongfang Yu, who was lying on the bed with his breath hanging by a thread.

　　Xiao Yi crossed the crowd and rushed to the edge of Dongfang Yu's bed. Looking at Dongfang Yu's bloodless and pale face, he grabbed Dongfang Yu's hand and called out, "Xiao Yu!"

　　However, no matter how he called, the person did not respond at all.

　　"Doctor Mu, can Xiaoyu be saved?" Seeing that waking him up was fruitless, Xiao Yi turned around and asked the military doctor who was squatting beside him and giving Dongfang Yu an injection.

　　When Doctor Mu heard what Xiao Yi said, he simply put the needle back into the bag and sighed: "Dongfang Yingwei's injury is too serious. I can't treat him. I can only keep him hanging."

　　"Then please..."

　　"It's fine as long as it can hang."

　　Before Xiao Yi could finish his words, he heard a crisp and ethereal female voice in his ears, and he looked in the direction of the voice.

　　A breeze blew past the tent. The girl stood in front of the tent door holding a spear in her hand. Her slender white legs were covered with leather boots. There were scratches on the light armor on her body. Three or four drops of blood seeped into her delicate face and stained her fair skin. Even her armor skirt and red clothes were stained scarlet, revealing a hint of sadness and beauty.

　　After seeing the woman say something, he reached out to grab the breastplate. The soft breasts under the armor slightly parted, and a jade Tiandun plate came out, and then a light curtain lit up.

　　After a moment.

　　The Tiandun card emitted a tingling and numb sound, which also sounded quite powerful.

　　"What is it?"

　　"Sister, can you come to my place?"

　　"…"

　　The light curtain of the Tiandun Card dissipated, and the girl put the Tiandun Card back into her chest, turning her bright eyes to the many soldiers who were looking at her in a daze.

　　"Who is this?" Pang Jianli, a guard from the Suanni camp, didn't have time to finish his words.

　　Sau——

　　There was a sudden sound of storm in the sky, followed by a bang, the tent curtain fluttered, and a figure flashed out from outside the door curtain.

　　Tap tap tap.

　　Her phoenix-wing high heels stepped on the ground, her slender hands held up the door curtain, and the phoenix crown inlaid with gold and jade gently swayed with her long legs. The silver-white hair under the crown was shining with a few wet water droplets, and it was draped over her narrow shoulders, adding a bit of soft and fragrant fragrance.

　　Her face seemed as if it had been carefully carved by God. It caught everyone's eyes. Her lips were as red as fire, and her mature and rosy cheeks were lightly made up. Although she had no intention of competing for beauty, she was almost the most beautiful among all the other girls. The golden and red phoenix robe she wore was a little loose, which made people wonder if it was done on purpose to cover up her vulgar figure.

　　The crowd was stunned by the appearance of the newcomer. After a few moments of hesitation, they began to kneel down and worship him, saying, "Greetings, Saint!"

　　The empress did not respond. Her pale golden eyes slowly turned to the face of her sister, who looked 60% like her. She looked at the blood on her face and said slowly, "According to Ma Cheng, this should be your first day in office. Why are you on the battlefield?"

　　"Hmph~"

　　As the empress's voice entered her ears, Dongfang Zhen'er turned her face away, snorted, placed the spear in her hand against the wall, then took her sister's hand and walked inside.

　　The dignified Queen of Great Xia had no power at all in front of her younger sister.

　　The mature woman's plump and beautiful buttocks under the loose wind robe created layers of fragrant ripples. Her phoenix-wing high heels passed by the heads of the kneeling soldiers. Her pearly and smooth toes painted with red oil exuded a faint fragrance that was intoxicating.

　　Walking into the inner hall, Doctor Mu, who was kneeling on the edge of the bed, moved back.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er let go of her sister's hand and pointed at the unconscious person on the bed frame: "Sister, look who this is?"

　　The empress slowly looked downwards, and when she saw Dongfang Yu, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she naturally understood what Zhen'er meant.

　　Dongfang Yu's surname is Dongfang, so he naturally has a close relationship with Zhen'er and the Empress. He comes from the Dongfang family in Kyoto, but he is the grandson of the younger brother of the Empress and Zhen'er's grandfather, so theoretically he is a cousin.

　　Then the empress moved her body slightly, pressing her buttocks against the wooden bed, raised her phoenix sleeves to support Dongfang Yu's hand and pull it to his leg, and took his pulse: "Muscle spasms, reverse qi, pulse disorder, weak qi, and almost half of the blood has been lost. She is dying."

　　"What do you mean dying?" Dongfang Zhen'er almost wanted to jump up, or fan her sister's proud breasts hard, "Can she be saved? If not, I'll go find the Imperial Master."

　　The empress let go of Dongfang Yu's hand, looked at her sister with her mature and beautiful face and smiled: "Well... go find her. Zhou Yue is currently in seclusion. See if she can pay attention to you."

　　However, after seeing Zhen'er's eyebrows were almost twisted together, the empress also relaxed and said: "Okay, I can heal him, you soldiers can withdraw first."

　　"Yes!" Kneeling on the ground, feeling the oppression brought by the words of the empress behind them, the young generals did not dare to stand up straight, but just bent down and moved backwards.

　　"Xiao Yi, please stay and stand aside."

　　Xiao Yi, who was about to leave the tent, was stunned for a moment, then nodded and saluted: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

　　Xiao Yi?

　　After all, it was her cousin who was rescued. If he died unfortunately, she would inevitably feel unwilling. When she heard that her sister was able to save people, Dongfang Zhen'er's mood calmed down. But when the empress said the word "Xiao Yi" just now, Zhen'er's heart was stirred again.

　　"You are Xiao Yi!"

　　Xiao Yi was looking at the empress worriedly as she was trying to heal Dongfang Yu. Dongfang Zhen'er suddenly blocked his sight, and the room, which was barely lit, suddenly became a little brighter.

　　Xiao Yi's expression paused. There had been too many sudden incidents before, and for a moment he had no time to think carefully about the female general who had come to His Majesty to save people.

　　Although he looks a little immature, his face is almost identical to that of the empress. Even a fool can guess his identity. What's more, Xiao Yi was born in the Xiao family of Kyoto, which is a famous family and he also has a basic understanding of the royal family.

　　Xiao Yi bowed his head to Zhen'er and said, "Greetings, Princess."

　　"Don't call me Princess."

　　"What's that called?"

　　"What do you think, General Xiao?"

　　"Uh... huh?"

　　Time passed bit by bit. Dongfang Zhen'er blinked her bright eyes and looked at her 'future husband' in front of her, who was motionless, indifferent and confused. She thought to herself: Xiao Yi has such a fickle look on his face, could it be that he doesn't know about that yet?

　　However, Xiao Yi's expression was calm, because he had been in the army for many years and had the ability to remain calm. Looking at the beautiful and graceful woman in front of him, his heart was far from as calm as he looked on his face.

　　When Dongfang Zhen'er kept looking at him, Xiao Yi had some similar thoughts: "Will the princess be attracted to me?"

　　After a while, Dongfang Zhen'er didn't see anything from Xiao Yi's expression, so she slightly moved her eyes away from Xiao Yi, stepped back two steps, took out the tiger talisman from her sleeve and showed it, "Guardian of the Rong Camp, my name is Dongfang Zhen'er."

　　Xiao Yi lowered his head and glanced at him, then nodded obediently: "Yeah."

　　The atmosphere became cold again. Dongfang Zhener tilted her head and frowned. You just said "hmm"? And then, nothing else to say?

　　What a dull person.

　　—————————

　　After Zhen'er and Xiao Yi met for the first time and fell into an awkward atmosphere, the empress withdrew her hand, and the spiritual energy gradually merged into Dongfang Yu's body.

　　A smile appeared on her mature and beautiful face. The empress stood up and stretched. Her plump and towering breasts, with the movement, made the fire phoenix embroidered on her robe look like a big fat bird.

　　From Xiao Yi's perspective, looking down at the empress from above, most of the round-moon-like breasts protruded from the collar of her robe.

　　Disgraceful, this body is so disgraceful.

　　Xiao Yi didn't dare to stare for long, so he just turned his head and looked away. Unexpectedly, when he turned his head, he saw Dongfang Zhen'er standing on the side.

　　Zhen'er was not as tall as the empress, but was only slightly shorter than Xiao Yi, who was seven feet nine inches tall. The slight height was just the right height for her. The girl's faint body fragrance came over with a warm breath. In Xiao Yi's peripheral vision, the pretty female general's vest must have been scratched and damaged in the previous fight. The grooves on the half-removed silver armor revealed the girl's delicate breasts, which were curled together and so tender that they looked juicy.

　　Bang, bang, bang——

　　Xiao Yi's heart was beating faster and faster, it was the first time it was beating so violently. Just imagine, which man would not feel excited when facing the beautiful Empress of Great Xia and the valiant and delicate young female general in a small tent at the same time?

　　The empress looked at Zhen'er and Xiao Yi standing together. Her calves were stepping on high heels under her phoenix robe, and she walked slowly towards Xiao Yi and Zhen'er. Her cicada-wing-thin collar was dazzlingly milky white. Her light golden phoenix eyes first fell on Zhen'er, and she pursed her moist red lips:

　　"Well... I rescued you."

　　Seeing that Zhen'er didn't respond, the empress set her eyes on Xiao Yi. Her mature and beautiful face suddenly changed, and a cold arc appeared at the corner of her mouth. She asked in a cold tone: "Do you know what you did wrong, Xiao Yi?"

　　Make a mistake?

　　I don't know, Xiao Yi really wanted to say that.

　　But the surroundings were filled with chilliness, and it felt like being thrown into an ice spring that had existed for thousands of years. Xiao Yi's mind went blank, and he couldn't think of how to answer the empress's words. He just subconsciously lowered his head and confessed his guilt.

　　"You refused military orders, moved the camp without authorization, and were arrogant in your use of troops to judge the enemy." The empress stared at Xiao Yi's lowered head, her eyes cold enough to freeze a person, and scolded him, "You really think you are so capable. I gave you tens of thousands of soldiers and you dared to act so recklessly. If I gave you the entire Tiger Guard Army, would you dare to go straight into the barbarian land and take the head of the barbarian king?"

　　The total number of the Tiger Guards is 200,000. The barbarians have been stationed in the desert for a long time, but there are no more than a thousand soldiers and horses. If we can grasp the position of the barbarians' garrison, it seems that it is not a dream to directly launch a sneak attack on the rear.

　　Xiao Yi thought about the empress and came to an answer: It's not impossible.

　　However, although he wanted to return home, Xiao Yi didn't dare to say so in front of the empress.

　　According to the rumors among the aristocratic families, the court, the military and the people, the image of the empress is that of a domineering and inviolable emperor. Before she could finish talking about how to fight, the empress would probably kick herself to the rear of the barbarian land.

　　"I dare not." Xiao Yi said with his head lowered and his hands clasped.

　　"You don't dare?" The empress sneered and said playfully, "Do you know what would have happened to these tens of thousands of people if I hadn't been monitoring Liangzhou and covering for you?"

　　Zhen'er blinked her bright eyes and looked at her sister, thinking: Sister, aren't you in the imperial city nursing the little princess? How can you still have the mood to monitor Liangzhou?

　　Xiao Yi listened to the empress's words and thought for a while. Having read a lot of military books and experienced many wars, he broke out in a cold sweat.

　　In this case, could it be that the barbarians' move was not just to rob and kill the reinforcements, but to lure the tiger away from the mountain?

　　"But now, it's all a matter of the past. Xiao Yi will resign from his post as the General of the Tiger Guards from today onwards and return to the camp to guard Liangzhou as the governor. He cannot leave the city without military orders."

　　"This..." Xiao Yi's face suddenly froze when he heard the empress's order.

　　Although he didn't know what happened after he moved his troops away from Liangzhou City, he must have been attacked by the barbarians.

　　"What's this? Do you want to disobey my order?" The empress's playful sneer suddenly disappeared, and she became solemn and cold again.

　　"I obey your orders and stay in Liangzhou. I will not retreat even if I die!"

　　Xiao Yi knelt down in the direction of the empress. The wind he created lifted the skirts of Zhen'er and the empress slightly. In an instant, the two sisters' beauty stole the show in the tent.

　　"The Xiao family has five generations of heroes. I don't want to see a good descendant become an arrogant waste." As the empress spoke, the white and beautiful finger of her finger flashed as the ring on it, and the imperial edict made of jade slips fell into her palm.

　　Seeing this imperial decree that was exactly the same as the one announcing her own marriage, Dongfang Zhen'er's delicate eyebrows slightly frowned, and she realized what her sister was going to do: "Sister, what is this?"

　　"Hmm? An imperial decree, what do you think it is?"

　　The empress pretended not to understand her sister's words and said with a smile, "Xiao Yi, please accept the order."

　　"promise!"

　　"Wait a minute." Dongfang Zhen'er became anxious and asked her sister to stop her, but she did not forget to grab the imperial edict with her hand.

　　"Zhen'er, what are you doing?"

　　"Nothing, let me see first."

　　"You are committing an insubordination, do you know that?"

　　"Sister loves to offend her superiors, isn't that right? Zhen'er, why should you be afraid?"

　　"Don't!"

　　"Hey, hey, what are you talking about?"

　　"Give it to me first, or I won't let go!"

　　Xiao Yi knelt on the ground with his head bowed, listening to the quarrel between the two most authoritative women in the Xia Dynasty, and thought to himself: Uh, should I just disappear right here? What's the saying that the empress loves to commit crimes the most? Is this what a subject should listen to?

　　Snap——

　　There was a sound of the imperial edict falling to the ground, rolling in front of Xiao Yi's head and hitting him.

　　Xiao Yi raised his head slightly upon seeing this, and watched as the princess leaned over and stretched out her hand. The silver armor that was close to her body drooped slightly, and two small carps were swimming in it, with cherries in their mouths, which were shining with an alluring red luster under the reflection of the candlelight.

　　Good job!

　　Of course, the upright gentleman Xiao Yi quickly calmed down and turned to look at the jade slips of imperial edict scattered on the ground.

　　Well, the content of the imperial edict is nothing big, not as big as the princess's.

　　Dongfang Zhen'er picked up the imperial edict, half-covering her chest with the silver armor. She glanced at Xiao Yi with her bright eyes, bit her lower lip and hummed, then spread out the imperial edict and began to read it. Then she looked at the empress who was squinting her eyes and smiling at the side with a strange expression.

　　The imperial edict contained content about Xiao Yi's transfer, not about his marriage, so Dongfang Zhen'er had snatched it away in vain.

　　"Well, it's time for me to go back to the capital." The empress smiled and blinked her innocent eyes at her sister, then said to Xiao Yi: "Xiao Yi, the princess is included in your army, you have to take good care of her."

　　"promise!"

　　"I don't need care." Zhen'er turned her face away, too lazy to look at her sister who was teasing her again.

　　Unexpectedly, the empress actually walked to her sister's side, put her beautiful lips close to Zhen'er's ear, and whispered: "I think that marriage is not bad. Xiao Yi is handsome. Although he lacks experience in military service, he has some amazing talent. Don't miss it."

　　As soon as he finished speaking, there was a whoosh.

　　The empress disappeared into the tent, leaving only Xiao Yi kneeling on the ground, and the princess Dongfang Zhen'er, who was blushing and stamping her feet.

　　This is the origin and also the beginning of the relationship between Xiao Yi and Zhen'er.