Chapter 516: Xilu Camp (I)

Traveling quickly all the way, under the guidance of the one-eyed man, Xiao Zhirou and her companions did not encounter any other troubles along the way.

About half an hour later, the one-eyed man led Xiao Zhirou and her group to the garrison camp.

In this siege of Huashan, Sui Zuo led a total of 30,000 soldiers and horses. He had been disguising himself and lurking in Huashan Town until this morning when the storm surged and the 30,000-strong army "descended from the sky", catching all the people who came to participate in the martial arts conference off guard.

Sui Zuo was worthy of being a great general. In just a few hours, he had deployed his troops around Mount Huashan and set up dozens of checkpoints of various sizes with lightning speed. At the same time, he set up three large camps, namely the East Slope Camp, the West Slope Camp, and the South Slope Camp.

As the north is deep into the heart of Mongolia and has numerous passes, Sui Zuo predicted that the martial artists in the Central Plains would not dare to go there rashly and seek their own death.

Of the three camps, the East Slope Camp and the South Slope Camp were flanks, each with 5,000 troops stationed. The West Slope Camp was the center, with 20,000 troops stationed. The three camps formed a pincer attack, isolating Huashan in an iron-clad encirclement, vowing not to let a fly fly out of Huashan alive.

Sui Zuo's tent was set up in the camp on the west slope.

It was almost midnight, and the men and horses were exhausted. The fire in the camp on the west slope was dim and there was complete silence.

At this moment, most of the soldiers were fast asleep, leaving only a small number of people to guard and patrol at night.

Even so, when Xiao Zhirou and his party stepped into the Xilu camp and walked back and forth between the military tents, they could still feel a strong and oppressive atmosphere of solemnity.

This place is different from the gathering of heroes in the rivers and lakes, nor is it a mob in the green forest. This is a real killing army that can conquer the battlefield and capture cities.

Looking around, there were endless rows of military tents, and flags fluttering in the wind, standing proudly in the sky.

Swords, spears, halberds, silver helmets and bright armor, iron pots and wood stoves, military horses and chariots... it is dazzling to the eyes.

Sui Zuo's military camp was well-equipped with soldiers and food, and had a strong base, powerful bows and crossbows, and an iron wall and bronze fortifications. Even in the dead of night when everything was silent, the strict security, strict military discipline, and high morale were still enough to make people tremble with fear and shudder.

In fact, seven or eight out of ten of the current Mongolian army are Han people, but compared with the current Song Dynasty army, they are still much stronger.

The huge difference between the two does not lie in the "soldiers" but in the "generals".

Thinking back to the past, Yue Fei’s Yue Family Army, Han Shizhong’s Han Family Army, Zhang Jun’s Zhang Family Army… they were all strong in men and horses, with brave generals and heroic soldiers. They were feared thousands of miles away and their power was feared throughout the world.

It is a pity that the court was corrupt and treacherous ministers were in power, so that the generals were not good generals and the soldiers were not good soldiers. Countless loyal people were killed, and the country was eventually confined to a corner and its situation went from bad to worse.

"Although Sui Zuo is a general of Xijing, he ranks outside the top 20 among the generals under the Mongolian Khan." Gong Qing looked around the Xilu camp under the moonlight and sighed, "But even so, his army and horses are already terrifying. I wonder how powerful the troops under the command of Batu, Hulagu, Ariq Boke, Wang Dechen and other world-famous generals are?"

"No wonder our troops are no match for the Mongolian army." Qin San said in a deep voice, "In fact, the real elite of Mongolia are all controlled by the direct relatives of the Mongolian Khan. Among them, the Western Expedition Army and the Southern Expedition Army were extremely aggressive and killed people everywhere they passed. The enemies they encountered threw away their armor and weapons and were defeated. What's worse, they didn't even have the courage to fight. When they heard that the Mongolian army was coming, they either abandoned the city and fled, or opened the city to surrender. It was really embarrassing and spineless."

"backbone?"

The one-eyed man sneered and interrupted, "If you surrender, we will only rob you and not kill you. If you defend the city, we will not spare anybody. Haven't you heard of this?"

"Bullshit!" Tang Yu said indignantly, "A real man would rather die than surrender. How dare he live in disgrace?"

"If you are truly a man of integrity, what are you doing now?" the one-eyed man taunted. "Who doesn't make sarcastic remarks? Right now, our cavalry hasn't even reached Lin'an yet, but you from Longxiang Mountain have already surrendered. What qualifications do you have to talk about 'integrity'?"

"you……"

"Cough cough!"

Before Tang Yu could refute, Tang Xuan suddenly coughed twice, as if to remind Tang Yu not to act on impulse.

At this point, Tang Yu suddenly realized that tonight he was not playing the role of a "loyal and righteous minister" but a "traitor".

"arrive!"

While they were talking, the one-eyed man led Xiao Zhirou and the others to the central army tent.

The big tent in front of us was much taller and more imposing than the surrounding military tents. In front of the door stood two huge flags, one was the Mongolian military flag, and the other was the general flag of Sui Zuo.

On the left and right of the tent door stood four burly Mongolian men, each with curved swords on their waists and crossbows on their backs, looking solemn and shrewd.

"stop!"

Seeing someone approaching, the leading guard's eyes changed and he quickly stepped forward, holding the scimitar in front of him, blocking the way of several people without any hesitation, and shouted, "Who dares to trespass into the central army tent?"

"South Foothills garrison commander, I want to see the general for something."

The one-eyed man introduced himself and handed the badge to the guard.

In the moonlight, the guard carefully checked the badge and asked, "Why are you here in the central army tent instead of stationed at the southern slope?"

"They are from Longxiang Mountain." The one-eyed man turned around and pointed at Xiao Zhirou and the others, explaining, "They want to see the general for something important."

"Longxiang Mountain?" The guard looked at Xiao Zhirou and the others in amazement, and then looked at the serious one-eyed man with suspicion. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded slowly and said, "Come with me, the others wait here."

After saying that, the leader of the guards and the one-eyed man hurriedly walked into the tent, while the other guards stared at Xiao Zhirou and the others with a fierce look, fearing that there might be a trap.

"There are eight guards outside the tent." Xiao Zhirou looked around and said calmly, "On both sides, there is a team of soldiers patrolling crosswise. The time interval between their rotations is about one stick of incense. The closest distance to the central army tent is about..."

At this point, Xiao Zhirou's voice suddenly stopped. She stared at the approaching group of people with her peripheral vision. After they walked away, she continued, "It's about five meters away. Five meters is not close, but not far either. I think we can get away with it while the moonlight is dim."

"Master Xiao means...if we take action, we must eliminate the eight guards outside the tent and capture Sui Zuo inside the tent within one stick of incense?"

"That's right!" Xiao Zhirou nodded. "Everyone in the patrol team carries a gong and a horn. Once we alarm them, the gongs and horns will sound deafening, and the 20,000 soldiers in the camp will gather instantly. We will not be able to escape even if we have wings."

"Even if we can solve everything within one stick of incense, how can we hide it from the patrol team?" Hui Qiu hesitated, "If they see the guards outside the tent in trouble, they will definitely not stand idly by."

"So we have to act fast." Xiao Zhirou said calmly, "If my guess is correct, Sui Zuo will not let all of us enter the tent. He will definitely leave a few people waiting outside. Therefore, those who stay outside must calculate the timing accurately. There is no need to wait for the action inside the tent. We can directly deal with the eight guards with lightning speed and put on their armor..."

"I see!" Li Haitang suddenly realized, "You want us to pretend to be guards and deceive the patrol team?"

"It's dark at night, and the soldiers and horses are exhausted. Besides, they would never think that someone would dare to cause trouble in the central army tent. Therefore, as long as you don't reveal too many flaws, you will not be exposed. Remember, after you kill the eight guards, you must hide their bodies to avoid being discovered."

"Don't worry!" Tang Yu smiled confidently and said sinisterly, "I don't need help from others. I can handle them by myself."

"Don't take it lightly." Xiao Zhirou warned, "When you do it, not only must you be quick and clean, but you must not make any noise. Not only must you be wary of the patrolling people, but you must also be wary of the people in the tent."

"The only problem now is that we don't know how many people are in the tent?" Tang Xuan said worriedly, "If there are many experts in the tent, or Yan Wuji is also here, things will become extremely difficult."

"If Yan Wuji is in the tent, leave him to me and Sui Zuo to you." Xiao Zhirou pondered, "If Yan Wuji is not here, I will personally capture Sui Zuo."

"Master Xiao, Sui Zuo is not a good-for-nothing. He is an absolute master." Qin San reminded him, "When I was in Hexi, I saw him fight more than once. He is definitely not an ordinary person."

"Master?" Xiao Zhirou raised her eyebrows and asked, "How is he compared to you?"

"I'm ashamed to say that I'm probably no match for him."

"Then...what about being better than Qin Ming?"

Qin San's eyes froze, and he said confidently: "Sui Zuo is definitely not the opponent of the patriarch."

"If that's the case, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Xiao Zhirou's calm and casual words made Tang Xuan and the others smack their lips in amazement.

However, when they recalled Xiao Zhirou's heroic feat of repelling Yun Zhuiyue with one palm this morning, they suddenly realized that what Xiao Zhirou said was not arrogance, but rather confidence.

"No matter what grudges we have had in the past, tonight we are all tied to the same rope. If we prosper together, we will prosper together, and if we suffer together, we will suffer together." Gong Qingyi said righteously, "Therefore, I hope that everyone can be honest with each other and take care of each other."

Gong Qing's words especially made Tang Xuan and Tang Yu's expressions somewhat complicated.

After all, among the people present, the two who came from the same Tang Sect undoubtedly had the deepest grudges.

"Don't even look at me." Tang Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at Tang Yu with ill intent, and said disdainfully, "In terms of seniority, my opponent should be Tang Yuan. You are not qualified enough."

"What a boast!" Tang Yu replied coldly, "For the sake of the overall situation, I will spare your life tonight."

"Humph!"

Faced with the two people who refused to give in to each other, Gong Qing and his companions all looked embarrassed, but they were at a loss what to do for the moment.

"Who among you can make the decision?"

Suddenly, the leader of the guards and the one-eyed man walked out of the tent.

As soon as the two sides met, the one-eyed man put on an arrogant attitude and said without question: "The general is discussing the war with his lieutenants and does not like too many outsiders to disturb him."

"I am Tang Xuan, one of the four guardians of Longxiang Mountain." Tang Xuan took a step forward and said loudly, "My disciple Li Haitang and I..."

"Protector?" The one-eyed man interrupted with a look of contempt, "Since Yun Zhuiyue's woman is here, a mere protector should just stand aside!"

"What do you mean by this?"

The one-eyed man ignored Tang Xuan's anger and looked at Xiao Zhirou with a frivolous look. Under everyone's suspicious gaze, he suddenly pointed at Xiao Zhirou and said with a smile: "You, go in by yourself!"

……

(End of this chapter)