At the same time when the Turkic army attacked the Khitan's old nest New City, a Tang cavalry was marching silently in the White Wolf Valley. The horse's hooves were wrapped in thick linen and hit the ground, making only a slight rhythmic sound. No one was making noise or whispering, and they marched quickly between the dense woods and straight cliffs.

This cavalry was the 5,000 subordinates led by Li Zhen. Due to the blizzard blocking the road, they were forced to rest in Yuguan for more than two months. It was not until the beginning of the following spring that the ice and snow gradually melted. Lou Shide's order came to Yuguan, and Li Zhen led his army northward and cut off the passage for the Khitan army to retreat northward.

It was already late at this time. They reached the northmost part of Bailang Valley, with a fork in front of them. The guide pointed to the path to the west and said, "General, that path leads to the Raole Governor's Mansion, which is the settlement of the tribes of the Xi people. The northeast is the main road. You can reach Liucheng by walking all the way."

"Then how to go to Miyun?" Li Zhen asked again.

"Both roads are fine, but Miyun is thousands of miles west, so you should take the western path closer."

Li Zhen pondered for a moment, then looked up at the surrounding terrain. The area was open, with a large flat land close to the cliff to the east. The ice and snow had melted, revealing the large white stones on the surface. Li Zhen turned around and said to deputy general He Yanbashou: "Let everyone rest under the cliff and set off again tomorrow morning!"

He Yanbashou nodded, and immediately turned his horse's head to instruct the cavalry to rest on the spot. The cavalry dismounted and led the horses to the cliff with leeward to find a place to sit down. They fed the war horses and gathered together to drink water and eat dry food.

At this time, Li Zhen asked someone to find Jiuzhi. Because Jiuzhi was killed by Luo Wuqian, Li Zhen gave him the credit and ordered someone to send Luo Wuqian's head to Youzhou to report the credit. Because Luo Wuqian had massacred tens of thousands of people in Zhaozhou and was deeply hated by the court, Wu Zetian listed him as the second-ranked war criminal after Sun Wanrong. Jiuzhi was promoted and made money. He was commended by Lou Shidetong, and he was promoted to a general of the army and rewarded him with a reward of 5,000 stagnation.

Jiuzhi knew it well that Luo Wuji had been shot by Li Zhen at that time. Although he was not dead, he had lost his combat effectiveness and he took a big advantage.

Although Li Zhen was willing to give him this credit, many inner guard soldiers were dissatisfied, so Jiu Zhi handed over the reward of 5,000 yuan and distributed it to the cavalry one by Yiguan. Only then did everyone recognize his credit, and Li Zhen also rewarded him with another one,000 yuan, which was considered compensation for him.

Jiuzhi was in charge of patrol investigation. When he heard that Li Zhen was looking for him, he hurried to answer the order, "Please give orders to the general!"

Li Zhen pointed to the fork in front of him and said to him: "You can arrange a few more scouts to go to both sides to investigate the situation. I need to know all the situations within a hundred miles."

"Abide by the order!"

Jiuzhi ran back to arrange the scout again. At this time, Di Yan, dressed in soldier armor, stepped forward and handed the wine pot to Li Zhen, and smiled and said, "Drink a little wine to protect the cold!"

It was chilly spring at this time, and the weather in Liaodong was particularly cold. The army was not allowed to ignite the fire to keep warm at night, so each person gave it a gourd of strong wine to keep the cold by drinking.

Di Yan has been following Li Zhen for more than two months. The soldiers of the inner guards knew her identity and soon spread throughout the army. However, she was brave in fighting, led by the enemy, and trained hard, no less than ordinary soldiers. She won the respect of the soldiers, and everyone affectionately called her Niangzi Di.

Li Zhen took the wine gourd and took a big sip of wine. Seeing that Di Yan had become dark and thin for several months, but his eyes were wider, he couldn't help feeling a little distressed, so he said to her softly: "Go and sleep for a while!"

Di Yan shook her head and whispered to Li Zhen: "I also want to take a few brothers forward to investigate the situation."

Li Zhen knew that Di Yan was an extremely strong woman, for fear that the soldiers would say she was a burden to women, so she fought for the first place in everything and never left behind others. From last year to this year, she has led the scouts north to investigate the situation several times.

Li Zhen did not stop her, and knew that she could not stop her, so he turned around and said to his personal military captain Yang Honglie, "Taking twenty brothers to follow Miss Di north!"

Yang Honglie nodded, "Abide by the order!"

Di Yan was overjoyed, gently held Li Zhen's hand, and immediately went back to lead the horse. Soon, several scouts left the army one after another and galloped north. Di Yan led twenty soldiers and ran along the path towards the Raole Governor's Office...

Raolezhou was the territory of the Xi people. Like the Khitan, the Xi people also surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. King Xi was named the governor of Raole by the court, but the power of the Xi people was far weaker than that of the Khitan. In fact, they became vassals of the Khitan, and the same was true for the Wu people in the north. They nominally surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and were actually controlled by the Khitan.

The previous time when Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong rebelled, the Xi people could not refuse the request of the Khitan and were forced to send 20,000 troops to follow the Khitan south to invade Hebei.

However, Xi and Wu were just Khitan servants and soldiers who were all hard and tiring. They had to go ahead of the Khitan army when fighting against the Tang army. However, it was not their turn to deal with weak ordinary civilians and looting property women. They were only assigned a little to them when Sun Wanrong rewarded merits.

At the third update, Di Yan led twenty inner guard soldiers to Raolezhou for nearly a hundred miles. Yang Honglie was a steady man and had rich experience in scouts. He stepped forward and said to Di Yan: "Madam, the general has an order. We will patrol within a hundred miles. We can't move forward any more."

In the dark night, Di Yan's face turned slightly red. Yang Honglie actually called her wife. She also knew that Yang Honglie was Li Zhen's personal military captain. She participated in the preparation of her marriage with Li Zhen and had a deep understanding, so it was reasonable for Yang Honglie to call her a wife.

She did not refute, and agreed to this title. She looked around and saw that they were at the foot of a mountain. To the north was an endless grassland, with large forests dotted among them. A small river meandered on the grassland. Di Yan smiled at Yang Honglie and said, "Master Yang, this area of ​​grass is rich, and there are small rivers flowing by. I think there should be a tribe of the Xi people nearby."

At this time, a soldier pointed ahead and shouted, "Madam, there is someone over there!"

Di Yan looked in the direction of his finger and saw several tents by the river several miles away. The lights could be seen faintly. Yang Honglie also saw them. He immediately said, "I'll take a few brothers to see."

"Person Yang, don't kill innocent people indiscriminately!" Di Yan quickly told him.

Yang Honglie smiled bitterly in his heart and agreed, "I understand."

He waved to several soldiers, "Come with me!"

Yang Honglie led a few soldiers to the tent, while Di Yan immediately looked at their movements under a hill from a distance. A quarter of an hour later, a Tang army soldier ran back on a horse and clasped his fists at Di Yan and said, "Madam, it's a Xi family herdsman, and a woman with three children."

Di Yan was a little worried and urged the horse to run towards the tent. Soon, she ran to the tent, which was a family composed of three tents. There was a horse tied beside the tent, and dozens of sheep were raised in the sheep pen. As soon as Di Yan turned over and got off the horse, Yang Honglie came up and whispered to her: "Madam, there is only one woman and three children in the tent. The man of their family seems to have gone to war."

Di Yan lifted the curtain and walked into the big tent. Sheepskin was covered with sheepskin, a stove in the middle, and an iron pot was hung on the wooden rack. The family was obviously not rich, with only a few boxes, and the sheepskin on the ground had several big holes. A young woman with dark skin sat behind the wooden box in horror, while three children hid behind her.

Di Yan walked up, squatted in front of the woman and asked, "Are you herdsmen here?"

As soon as she opened her mouth, the horror in the woman's eyes relaxed a little. She also heard that the Tang army officer was a woman. She said a few words in a trembling voice, but Di Yan couldn't understand it. She turned around and looked at a soldier next to her. The soldier was from Liaodong and had a little understanding of the Khitan language. He said to Di Yan: "She is begging you not to hurt her children."

"You tell her that I won't hurt her child, but I want to know how far is the Xi Wang Fangguan?"

Yang Honglie then realized that his wife was looking for the tent of King Xi. The soldier translated Di Yan's words to the woman. The woman shook her head and answered a few words. The soldier said to Di Yan: "She said that King Xi's tent is north, and it is at least three hundred miles away from here."

Di Yan was a little disappointed. It seemed that she had no gains from this trip. At this moment, a soldier walked in quickly and whispered: "Madam, we found traces of soldiers camping not far away, and there was still heat in the ashes."

Di Yan was shocked and hurriedly said to the translator: "Ask her, what army is passing by here?"

The soldier asked a few words and said to Di Yan: "Madam, she said that an army passed by here last night, with only more than twenty people, and the Xi prince who guarded them."

Di Yan seemed to see a glimmer of hope in front of her. She heard Li Zhen say that King Xi Lipi has two sons, the eldest son is a hostage from the Khitan and follows him to the war, and the second son stays in the tent. The second prince should be the prince of the Xi clan, and should be the second son of King Xi.

Di Yan hurriedly said, "Ask her again, how long have they been gone and in which direction?"

The soldier asked the woman and said to Di Yan: "She said she had just walked for an hour and went west."

From here, heading west is the direction to Miyun. Di Yan immediately made a decision: Let's chase after you!"

Everyone left the tent, turned over and rushed the horses to go west. When dawn was approaching, they came to a hilly area. Two soldiers went ahead to investigate the situation, while Di Yan and the other soldiers were resting in the woods.

Seeing Di Yan's face pale, Yang Honglie whispered: "Madam, if you are not in good health, let's go back!"

Di Yan waved his hand, "I'm fine, I'm just a little tired, just take a break."

Di Yan longs for freedom and independence in her bones, but she also knows that once she gets married, she will no longer lead the army for thousands of miles like she is today, and she will have to stay at home to take care of her husband and children. So she cherishes this expedition, and wants to do something and leave some memories for her life.

Since she accidentally discovered the traces of the Xi prince, this is the opportunity given to her by God, how could she let it go?

Di Yan climbed up a big tree. As soon as she closed her eyes, she heard the sound of footsteps running. She quickly opened her eyes and saw that the two soldiers she sent to check the situation were back. She jumped off the big tree and asked, "What did you find?"
Chapter completed!