Chapter 359 The Fifth Group
After an eighteen-day journey, on the last day of May, the delegation finally reached the northern border of Qing State. Ahead of them was the last big city in the north of Qing State - Cangzhou.
On the wasteland, Mei Cheng'an narrowed his eyes and looked at the huge city from afar. The majestic momentum was overwhelming.
"This city is so big."
Fan Xian beside him was also squinting his eyes and looking ahead. He seemed to be shocked by the majestic outline and couldn't help but sigh.
Mei Cheng'an raised his hand to block the glaring light and smiled.
"After all, it is the last line of defense guarding the northern border."
After saying that, he turned his head and looked behind him, and reminded softly.
"Don't look at it anymore. The state troops escorting us are about to withdraw. Let's go and see them off."
Fan Xian said "oh", retracted his gaze, and turned around to take a look.
"This is the last wave, right? Tsk, I'm really reluctant to let go."
Mei Cheng'an glanced at him with a curled lip, then walked away.
"Okay, stop talking nonsense. The general is coming. Let's go."
Fan Xian shrugged and followed.
After the two men exchanged greetings and expressed their gratitude to the provincial army general, the provincial army responsible for escorting the delegation for the last time began to turn back.
It didn't take long before the only thing left on the desert was the delegation's own convoy, stretching out in a long line.
Although the convoy was quite long, it still looked small and pitiful when placed on the desolate and open plain outside Cangzhou City.
With a sigh, Mei Cheng'an shook his head lightly, retracted his gaze and looked back at the city in the distance, and spoke softly.
"After passing Cangzhou, we should still have a long way to go to the real border line."
Hearing this, Fan Xian sighed.
"There will be no city for us to rest and resupply later. We have to sleep in the wilderness, eh, Lao Wang..."
As he said this, he suddenly tilted his head, looked at Wang Qinian who was standing on the other side of his fellow villager, and called him.
Wang Qinian responded and looked at him.
"What's wrong, sir?"
Fan Xian opened his mouth and asked.
"After leaving Cangzhou, how long will it take to reach the border, based on the speed of our delegation?"
The reason I asked him was because he was the only one among the group who had actually walked this path.
Although that was a long time ago and the route taken was not exactly the same as the planned route, it is somewhat more reliable.
It was kept secret all the way until a few days ago, when Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian revealed to him and Gao Da the final route of the delegation.
Wang Qinian, who already knew the route by heart, made a rough estimate in his mind and answered respectfully.
"We're going to go around the lake this time, so it's a long way off. I estimate it'll take at least twenty days."
Mei Cheng'an frowned when he heard this, but soon relaxed again.
The frown was naturally because the time it took to complete this last short section of the route was actually longer than the time it took before.
He quickly relaxed again because this way he could spend more time with Si Lili, which was not a bad idea.
Fan Xian nodded and looked away.
"Tsk, twenty days, okay? It seems that the real danger should be within these twenty days."
The Gundam on his left spoke up upon hearing this.
"The adults have been talking about danger all the way, but I don't know what danger they are talking about?"
On the way, he tried to ask the two teams, but they never told him the details.
Fan Xian hesitated for a moment. It was not that he did not want to say it, but there were so many things on his mind that he did not know how to start. It was the same as before!
Mei Cheng'an glanced at him and chuckled.
"Don't bother yourself this time. Talk to him. It's better to be mentally prepared in advance. He will be the main force by then."
Hearing this, Fan Xian nodded, but did not speak immediately. This matter really could not be explained in just a few words.
After a pause, he spoke to Gundam.
"It's a long story. Let's wait till tonight. I'll tell you in detail tonight."
Upon hearing this, Gundam's eyes lit up with excitement and he quickly agreed.
"Okay! Then I'll wait for you, sir!"
Seeing how excited he was, Fan Xian, Mei Cheng'an, and Wang Qinian were all happy.
Mei Cheng'an smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to look away, he suddenly remembered something and glanced at Sean's car.
"Lao Gao."
Gundam was scratching his head and laughing awkwardly, but upon hearing what he said, he quickly put his hand down, straightened his body, put away his smile and looked at him.
"grown ups."
Mei Chengan nodded his chin towards Sean's car.
"Is there any situation with Sean these days?"
Hearing this, Fan Xian and Wang Qinian stopped smiling and looked at Gundam.
Gundam followed suit and glanced at it before answering respectfully.
"Your Excellency, ever since Master Fan injected Sean with a large amount of poison every day, he has probably been using his internal energy to force out the poison, so he has been very quiet. What's a little strange is that he has suddenly become taciturn in the past few days. In the past, he would occasionally ask questions to my guards. I asked my men to observe him for a few days, and the conclusion I came to is that he seems to be thinking about something very important, and his face is very solemn when he is thinking."
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian looked at each other. Fan Xian shrugged with a hint of worry in his eyes, while Mei Cheng'an smiled.
Wang Qinian looked at the two of them and spoke hesitantly.
"Isn't he thinking about the time and method of escape?"
Gundam was surprised when he heard this. "Really?"
As he said this, he turned his head and looked at Mei Chengan and Fan Xian.
"Sir, if this is true, how can we defend ourselves?"
Fan Xian opened his mouth, clicked his tongue, and then closed it again.
Mei Chengan smiled and waved his hand.
"Just ask the guards to be more careful. There's no need to be on guard against anything."
"this…"
Gaoda glanced at Fan Xian and saw that he remained silent and agreed. He said no more and nodded.
"Yes!"
Wang Qinian spoke with a worried look on his face.
"Master, sir, the state army has left. Because we have to go around Cangzhou, the state army can only escort us for a short distance at most. Is this..."
Mei Cheng'an hadn't spoken yet, but Fan Xian, who had been silent before, suddenly laughed when he heard this.
"You are worrying too much, Old Wang. After leaving Cangzhou, the escort is the least of your worries."
Mei Cheng'an curled the corners of his mouth and did not comment.
Wang Qinian was a little confused.
"How do you say..."
Before he finished speaking, an extremely restless and dull sound came from afar, attracting the attention of several people, and they all turned their heads to look.
Suddenly, a group of about 500 cavalrymen appeared on a low hill far away at the edge of the wilderness.
The cavalrymen were all wearing black armor and black masks. Even their mounts were covered in black armor and black masks. From a distance, it looked like a dark mass, full of oppression!
What was even more surprising was that although the cavalry was bathed in blazing light, they inexplicably exuded an extremely cold and murderous aura that made people shudder.
But that was for others. People like Mei Chengan and his group were not afraid when they saw it. Instead, they couldn't help but laugh, looking relaxed.
In terms of how happy they were in laughing, Wang Qinian was the happiest.
"Now I understand why the Lord said that. It turns out that the Black Knights have arrived. There is really no need to worry anymore."
……
The border between Qing and Northern Qi stretches for hundreds of miles. It is impossible to defend it with just one border army as the front line is too long.
Therefore, the entire border line was divided into countless defense zones, each guarded by border troops stationed in the nearest defense zone and patrolled daily.
In a certain border defense zone, Yan Xiaoyi, the former commander-in-chief of the palace guards who was demoted here, was conducting a routine patrol with a team of his men.
This defense zone is not small, and the area to be patrolled is also large. Before they knew it, they had been patrolling for most of the day and had not yet finished the patrol.
The deputy general of the team observed Yan Xiaoyi, who was half a body length ahead of him on the right, and seeing that he showed no signs of fatigue, he suddenly spoke.
"Lord Yan, we have been patrolling for a long time today and are exhausted. Why don't you go back to the camp and rest while we patrol."
Yan Xiaoyi didn't even look at him when he heard this, and replied indifferently.
"The border between the two countries should not be taken lightly."
The deputy general pursed his lips, looking a little depressed. He looked back at his brothers who looked a little tired, thought for a while, and spoke again.
"Northern Qi has been frightened, and nothing will happen these days."
This time Yan Xiaoyi was too lazy to even respond, and the deputy general sighed helplessly.
What can I say about this new adult? It's good to do everything personally, but he is too serious. Since he came, it's as if he was holding his breath. Yes, no matter it is training or patrolling, he is extremely strict with his soldiers.
Take patrolling for example. In the past, they would take a break to adjust their condition after patrolling a small section of the defense line. After a good rest, they would patrol the next section. When they were tired, they would rest again, and repeat this process.
But when Yan Xiaoyi arrived, not only did he have to lead the inspection mission himself, which he was not originally required to participate in, but he even had to inspect from beginning to end in one go, and never mentioned taking a break in between.
He has good physical fitness and strong mental strength. Just because he is not tired doesn't mean that the soldiers under him won't be tired. He has tried both explicit and implicit hints, but they either don't respond or respond with some nonsense and just refuse to pick up his thread. It really gives him a headache.
The deputy general sighed inwardly. Well, fortunately, there is only a small section of the defense line left to inspect. Just bear with it...
Before he could finish what he was saying, the deputy general's ears suddenly twitched, his eyes fixed and he looked forward, then he stopped his horse and spoke in a cold voice.
"Sir, a cavalryman is spotted ahead!"
As he spoke, Yan Xiaoyi and the soldiers behind him also stopped. After the deputy general finished speaking, he took out an arrow, aimed at the bow, and pulled the string to shoot.
Anyone who enters the border defense zone without notification will be shot on the spot!
"slow!"
Yan Xiaoyi quickly reached out to stop him.
"lay down!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy general slowly loosened the string and put down the bow, but his eyes were still fixed on the person coming in front of him with a stern expression.
Yan Xiaoyi put his hand down and gave another order loudly, feeling uneasy.
"Everyone wait quietly, and do not act without permission!"
The people coming from the front were riding fast on horses and soon reached them.
After stopping his horse, the man quickly dismounted, took out a letter from his arms, walked straight towards Yan Xiaoyi, bowed and said.
"Commander Yan, there is an urgent order!"
After saying that, he stepped forward and handed over the letter in his hand.
Yan Xiaoyi took the envelope, opened it and took a look at the letter. His eyes focused instantly. He put down the letter, looked at the person who came and said in a deep voice.
"Go back and report. I'll go there myself!"
……
(End of this chapter)
