Under the dawn light, Zhang Xuan leaned over and looked down, and saw a cavalry team waving bright scimitars, shouting fiercely, and galloping towards the enemy.
It can be seen that this is another group of assault cavalry skirmishers who came out from the direction of Devil City to plunder. The number is not large, probably less than a thousand.
Therefore, Nan Jiyun was not panicked, and Zhang Xuan was also unafraid.
Nan Jiyun has 500 warriors under his command. They are elite warriors who have experienced hundreds of battles. They are personal guards selected from hundreds of thousands of troops to protect the emperor. And they were well equipped with plenty of firearms. If such an elite and brave division couldn't defeat even a group of stragglers who rode suddenly and attacked others, then Nan Jiyun should just hit the south wall and kill it.
Nan Jiyun reacted quickly, and his 500 soldiers also reacted quickly.
By the time the merchant guards on the hillside gathered together after a moment of panic, Nan Jiyun had already led his men to charge down the hillside with their spears raised high and shouting.
Zhang Xuan stood there with a sword in his hand, his face solemn.
The Eighteen Iron Guards held the Mo Dao across their chests, protecting him on his left and right sides.
Guo Fu and Li Tengkong were dressed in smart attire, holding their swords and looking around nervously. They were worried about the emperor's safety.
Nan Jiyun led his army to rush down the hillside and suddenly pointed his spear. The 500 guards stopped their horses' hooves abruptly, and their movements were uniform.
"Sacred Fire Flying Crow, get ready!"
Nan Jiyun shouted loudly.
He was ready to use a firearm. Although in his eyes, the use of firearms against this cavalry skirmisher team of less than a thousand people was a bit of a fuss, and might even expose their identities. But the emperor was on the hillside, and safety must be ensured 100%. Nan Jiyun did not dare to take any risks.
"put!"
Following Nan Jiyun's command, 500 well-trained soldiers fired the rockets in their hands. The dense rockets flashed with fire, streaked across the dawn sky, and roared towards the troops who were riding on horseback. .
The Tuqishi people plundered from another merchant's camp and were full of energy. Strictly speaking, in terms of combat effectiveness, the Tuqi Shi cavalry is not much worse than the Tubo cavalry, and they belong to a militant race among the Turks.
But Tuqishi had never seen such a legendary firearm before. When the rockets suddenly fell and violent explosions occurred one after another, their formation immediately fell into chaos. Many Tuqishi cavalry were struck by this sudden magical weapon. They were killed and injured, the horses neighed and screamed, and they began to trample on each other.
"Charge over and annihilate them on the spot!" Nan Jiyun shouted violently.
500 guards rushed over. The Tuqishi people were panicked and their formations were disrupted. They were immediately completely routed. Some fled in all directions, while others were killed by the guards.
Nan Jiyun used his bow and arrow, and shot down a fleeing Tuqi Shi cavalryman off his horse, roaring, "Follow me, no one can escape!"
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This small-scale battle started hurriedly and suddenly, and ended very quickly. Just under the stunned gaze of a group of Geluolu merchants and escorts on the high slope, Nan Jiyun led 500 escorts to end the battle in less than an hour. The bodies of Shi Cavalry were left on the battlefield not far away. .
No one escaped, they were all annihilated on the spot. However, not one of Nan Jiyun's 500 soldiers was killed, and only a dozen were slightly injured.
However, as a result, these hundreds of Geluolu merchants and their escorts suddenly realized that this group of merchants from the Central Plains were not real merchants, but but regular troops of the Chinese Dynasty. !
"And this young man who was being guarded by soldiers must not be an ordinary person, his identity is extraordinary. Many Geluolu merchants turned to look at Zhang Xuan with complicated expressions and even some fear, but no one dared to come forward and strike up a conversation.
The beautiful woman from Tuqishi hid in the periphery of the crowd with a shocked expression, her eyes twinkling slightly.
She suddenly noticed that Zhang Xuan turned around and glanced over, and quickly lowered his head in respectful awe.
Because in front of a group of Geluolu merchants, Nan Jiyun could not perform the courtesy of the emperor and his ministers. He just cupped his fists and lowered his voice and said, "Sir, the Tuqi Shi people will be wiped out all!"
"Okay." Zhang Xuan nodded, turned to look around at the Geluolu caravan gathered on the other side, and said calmly, "Nanba, it seems we can't continue to travel with them. Send the order, break camp immediately and set off, Mercedes-Benz Barkol! I want to see Cheng Qianli immediately!"
Although Zhang Xuan's voice was low, it concealed endless anger.
Just outside Barkol City, where the Beiting Protectorate is located, it can be said that it is right in front of Cheng Qianli's eyes.Down there, there are actually Tuqishi people robbing merchants. What does this mean? It means that Cheng Qianli's Beiting Protectorate and its nearly 20,000 garrison are all useless decorations.
This is no longer a matter of Cheng Qianli's cowardice and incompetence, but a serious dereliction of duty, which has completely ruined the court's dignity.
Nan Jiyun felt a thump in his heart and did not dare to say anything. He immediately packed up his troops and escorted Zhang Xuan, Li Tengkong, and Guo Fu as they galloped down the high slope, bathing in the morning glow, and galloped in the direction of Barkol.
As the sun set, Zhang Xuan led the team to Barkol City.
Barkol City, also known as the Great River City, was built by the Yiwu Army. It was originally a military garrison castle and later gradually developed into a large city in Beiting.
The city is rectangular and is divided into the main city and the auxiliary city. The two cities are side by side from east to west, separated only by a wall, and connected by a doorway in the middle of the wall. The main city is more than ten miles long from north to south and several miles wide from east to west. The city wall is nearly 10 meters tall and 12 meters wide.
There is a door on the west wall, the door is 4 meters wide. The east wall is the west wall of the annexed city. In addition to a doorway in the middle to enter and exit the main city, there are three built-in horse faces in the annexed city, one doorway at the north end and two at the south end.
There are turrets at the four corners of the city wall, but from the perspective of Zhang Xuan and others, there are no sentries guarding the turrets.
Although the city gate is open, the flow of people in and out is very sparse. The direction of the military camp in the wilderness to the west of the city was even more deserted. If it weren't for the military flags fluttering in the wind, and if it weren't for the neighing of war horses from time to time, Zhang Xuan would have doubted whether it was an empty camp.
Zhang Xuan frowned and stood silently on the horse.
Nan Jiyun saluted respectfully from the side, "Your Majesty, will I go into the city to inform Cheng Qianli and ask Cheng Qianli to go out of the city to greet you?"
Zhang Xuan twitched the corner of his mouth slightly and shook his head, "No need for that now. Let's go, I'll go to the city and have a look."
After saying that, Zhang Xuan took the lead and drove away.
Before arriving at the city gate, the soldiers guarding the gate saw Zhang Xuan's large entourage and several carriages, all dressed as Han Chinese, so they guessed that they were big businessmen from the Central Plains.
But Barkol was not a must-go place for merchants. Merchants from the Central Plains to the Western Regions rarely entered this city, so the arrival of Zhang Xuan and others aroused suspicion among the soldiers.
A soldier who looked like a small leader waved a spear in his hand and shouted in a strong Guanzhong accent, "Who are you?"
Nan Jiyun took a step forward, clasped his fists and said, "Military lords, we are merchants from Beijing. We are going to Hanhai City to do business. We are passing through here. Please allow us to enter the city and rest for the night."
"This city is the Beiting Protectorate City and does not accept merchants. You should return the same way. Besides, the Hanhai City in front is already the territory of the Tuqishi people. Didn't the former merchants among you seek your own death?" After all, they are compatriots from the motherland. Although the attitude of the military men is not friendly, they obviously have good intentions.
Nan Jiyun said deliberately, "Ah! Isn't Hanhai City a place under the jurisdiction of the imperial court's Beiting Protectorate? A certain family passed through Hanhai City to sell fur goods to Wusu last year. How come it was taken over by the Tuqishi this year?"
The military man frowned and scolded in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense! I told you, if you can't go, you can't go! I'll tell you the truth, there are thieves on horseback all over this road, specializing in robbing merchants, especially merchants. It¡¯s you rich people from the Central Plains. If you don¡¯t want to die, quickly return to Yiwu and change the route to Gaochang.¡±
Nan Jiyun repeatedly interceded with the military man and wanted to go into the city to rest for the night, but the military man refused to let him go. This is not a deliberate attempt by the soldiers to cause trouble. Obviously, this city has been classified as a military garrison and has no residential or commercial functions. In addition to the various yamen of the Beiting Protectorate in the city, there are also the garrison yamen.
Zhang Xuan was a little impatient, and he could see that if he didn't reveal his identity today, he would not be able to enter Barkol City.
When he thought of this, he coughed twice.
Nan Jiyun understood and immediately looked solemn. He took out the emperor's royal gold medal and held it high in his hand, shouting loudly, "Hurry and inform Cheng Qianli that His Majesty is here! Concubine Li Guifei and Concubine Duan are here!"
While talking, the eighteen iron guards and the 500 guards all took off their outer blouses, revealing the leather armor underneath.
The soldier guarding the gate almost peed his pants because he was so frightened that he stayed there for a while, unable to react.
How could he have thought that His Majesty the Emperor would appear in front of him in such a sleepy border town?
Nan Jiyun shouted loudly, "Why don't you hurry up and inform Cheng Qianli?"
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500 soldiers lined up and were waiting in formation. Li Tengkong and Guo Fu stood beside them on the left and right, and behind them was the majestic Nan Yan who was wearing a general's armor.?Cloud.
The thundering military drum sounded, and the sound of dense footsteps came. Cheng Qianli hurried out of the city in official robes, followed by more than a hundred officials and generals from the Beiting Protectorate.
Cheng Qianli took a quick glance and saw that it was indeed the emperor who had arrived. He immediately knelt down in fear and fear, and led a group of officials to shout loudly, "Your Majesty and the two empresses have arrived. If I fail to welcome you from afar, I will be punished with death!" Long live my emperor!"
"Long live my emperor!"
Behind Zhang Xuan, the 500 guards also knelt down and shouted long live together.
The Tuqishi woman, Jingli, who was standing outside with a few servants, stared at the room with a shocked face, and knelt down in fear. Although she guessed that Zhang Xuan's identity was extraordinary, she never expected that the person who saved her in Yiwu City was actually the Emperor of the Chinese Dynasty.
Zhang Xuan strode forward, glared at Cheng Qianli, and said loudly, "Come here, capture Cheng Qianli for me!"
As soon as Zhang Xuan said these words, the two tough soldiers behind Nan Jiyun rushed forward and pinned Cheng Qianli to the ground.
Cheng Qianli shouted in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, what crime did I commit?"
The more than a hundred subordinate officers and generals behind him all raised their heads and looked at the emperor in astonishment.