Chapter 188 Chaos
Qiu Jing was pouring out her grievances to Li Yuanfang, when suddenly a woman's scream came from the top of the canyon: "Help!"

The calm expression on Li Yuanfang's face suddenly disappeared and became extremely ugly.

He knew it was Ruyan's voice, but he didn't understand what she wanted to do.

Maybe it was to lure me to rescue people and then kill Qiu Jing to silence her, or maybe there was some other conspiracy.

"General Li, what's going on?" Qiu Jing asked with a confused expression.

Li Yuanfang took a deep breath and finally made a decision: "Master Qiu, I have taken note of what you said. If you really want to seek justice, I will be waiting for you here in three days. See you there!"

After saying this, Li Yuanfang rode away, leaving behind a string of hurried horse hooves.

Qiu Jing watched Li Yuanfang go away, with a smile of success on her face.

This time, Li Yuanfang will rescue Ruyan smoothly, and then be led to a post station that specializes in transporting military secrets. He will see that the officers and soldiers under Wang Xiaojie are in collusion with the purple-clothed men.

Following the man in purple, he would confiscate the petitions he and Su Honghui had written to the court, as well as the memorials denouncing Wang Xiaojie.

Three days later, there was another drama between the fake Qiu Jing and the fake Li Yuanfang, a drama of affectionate mutual rescue.

Without going through the ups and downs of sharing hardships and forming a life-long friendship, how could Li Yuanfang be willing to completely believe his own words?
Coupled with the popularity and reputation that Qiu Jing had accumulated in Pingzhou over the years, as well as the spirit of serving the people that Di Renjie admired the most, he had a 90% chance of success.

The most important thing is that Wang Xiaojie probably won’t have the chance to speak up and defend himself.
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On the official road, flags covered the sky and the sun, and dust flew as the cavalry marched.

The main force of the Left Guard, numbering nearly 100,000, marched in a mighty manner on the official road leading to Pingzhou. The team was connected end to end and there was no end in sight.

In the center of the team, under the general's flag, a carriage was moving slowly under the protection of the elite Qianniu Guards. Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others surrounded the carriage, on high alert.

In front of the carriage, Zeng Tai and Di Chun rode side by side with focused expressions.

Inside the car, Di Renjie was wearing a handsome red uniform, searching carefully on the map. His fingers slowly slid across the official roads and stopped on the four big characters "Dongxiashigu". Then he moved to Dongliulin Town in Pingzhou.

In his mind, he kept comparing the differences between the way Zhao Ji and Wang Xiaojie delivered military reports, and seemed to be thinking about something.

After a long time, Di Renjie sighed softly, slowly raised his head, and looked into the distance through the gap in the curtains.

Then, he gently lifted the curtain and called out to Di Chun outside: "Di Chun!"

Hearing the voice, Di Chun rode closer and responded respectfully, "Master."

Di Renjie asked: "Where are we now? How long will it take for the army to reach Pingzhou?"

Di Chun replied: "We just received a report from our scouts. We are now at the border of Jizhou and Pingzhou, and will soon reach the border of Pingzhou."

"Stop the car!" Di Renjie ordered.

Di Chun stepped forward to help Di Renjie get off the carriage. Di Renjie stretched his muscles a little and told Zhang Huan, "Order the army to stop advancing and invite General Quan to come over."

Zhang Huan ran away. A moment later, the Left Guard General Quan Shancai arrived on horseback, dismounted, walked quickly to Di Renjie, and bowed, "General."

Di Renjie nodded and asked, "General Quan, where will the army camp today?"

Quan Shancai replied, "General! Today the army should be stationed in Shicheng County. The Shicheng County Magistrate asked me to report to the General that he has vacated the county government office and used it as a temporary headquarters."

Di Renjie remained silent and did not respond to Quan Shancai. Seeing this, Quan Shancai felt a little uneasy.

Zeng Tai immediately understood Di Renjie's intention and whispered, "Master, are you planning to go on a private visit in disguise like before?"

Di Renjie smiled when he heard this and patted Zeng Tai on the shoulder: "You have really made great progress."

Quan Shancai was stunned and tried to dissuade him, "Marshal, you are the commander of an army. How can you leave the army easily? This is not appropriate, right?" "Well, it doesn't matter. I will be back soon. I will walk faster than the army and will not delay the army's march." Di Renjie said confidently.

Quan Shancai looked embarrassed. This was not a matter of delaying the army's journey, but if there was an emergency military situation at the front line, it would be difficult to deal with it in time without a leader.

"Marshal, what should we do if an accident occurs on the Pingzhou front line?" Quan Shancai asked worriedly.

Di Renjie said calmly, "Don't worry, I will go to the nearby Dongliulin Town to take a look. It is only a few dozen miles away from here and will not take long. If there is any urgent military information, you can act accordingly. You, General Quan, are much more knowledgeable than I am in military affairs."

Seeing Di Renjie's insistence, Quan Shancai had to compromise, but added with concern: "There are a few carrier pigeons in the army, please take them with you, in case of any trouble, they can also pass on the news. In addition, please bring more guards."

Di Renjie nodded and agreed: "This is the law of nature."
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Quan Shancai's worries were not unreasonable, but the military intelligence had indeed not been passed on to the army.

Sun Wanrong led his army back to the rear to inherit the throne and stabilize the situation, but he ordered General Luo Wuzheng to lead part of the main force to stay near Pingzhou City, waiting for the so-called good opportunity from the Snake Spirit allies.

In fact, Su Honghui and Song Wuji led their troops to mutiny and fled Pingzhou.

In extreme anger, Wang Xiaojie ordered Zong Huaichang to go and suppress the rebellion and took away some soldiers. Pingzhou City was already very empty.

The good opportunity lay here. Seeing that Pingzhou was empty, Luo Wuzheng immediately defeated Zong Huaichang's troops who had gone out of the city to fight, and then led his troops to besiege the city.

Wang Xiaojie was caught off guard and had sent countless letters for help in all directions, including the one to Zhao Ji.

However, most of these letters were intercepted by the Snake Spirit, so that the news of the siege of Pingzhou City was temporarily blocked.

The Khitans had been attacking the city for several days in a row, and the casualties among the soldiers in Pingzhou City were gradually increasing. Having just experienced defeat and mutiny, the morale of the troops was getting lower and lower.

As night fell, Wang Xiaojie had personally gone into battle to defend the city and fought off the latest wave of attacks by the Khitans, but he had already sustained a wound.

The Khitan army retreated like a tide, and on the city walls, mottled traces recorded the clash of swords and sabers.

Under the dim firelight, the soldiers were sighing for having survived the disaster, and the groans of pain from the wounded were heard everywhere.

"General, it looks like this is the Khitans' last attack today." Deputy General Sun analyzed in a deep voice.

Wang Xiaojie's eyes widened as he looked at the dark Khitan army camp outside the city, and he was filled with indignation: "It's all because of these two traitors, Su Honghui and Qiu Jing! The military and political system of Pingzhou has been completely infiltrated by them."

"Qiu Jing handed over all the army's rations and clothing to the Khitans. Otherwise, where would the Khitans get the supplies to attack the city in winter? Su Honghui even openly rebelled and killed each other. He is particularly hateful!"

"There are also Zhao Ji, Yang Xuanji and Zhang Jiujie. Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet? Alas!"

Seeing Wang Xiaojie angry, Vice Admiral Sun suggested, "General, now that things have come to this, perhaps the best strategy is to break out and seek help. As long as there is life, there is hope."

Wang Xiaojie shook his head when he heard this: "No, I am the commander of the army. How can I follow Su Honghui and flee without fighting?"

Vice Admiral Sun continued to persuade: "General, the food and grass in the city are running out. It is not wise to defend and wait for death. The only way to survive is to go to Governor Zhao and General Zhang to ask for reinforcements."

"What will happen to Pingzhou City if I leave?" Wang Xiaojie asked.

Deputy General Sun's eyes were firm, and he vowed: "Don't worry, General. I am willing to lead all the soldiers to defend the city to the death, and swear to live and die with Pingzhou. As long as you can bring back reinforcements, we have hope!"

"No, you lead people to break out and get reinforcements, and I will stay to defend the city." Wang Xiaojie said.

Deputy General Sun knelt on the ground and said earnestly: "General, Commander Zhao and his men have experienced the defeat of Zhang Xuanyu, so they may be skeptical about this request for help, otherwise the reinforcements would have arrived long ago. Now only the general can convince them. For the sake of the overall situation, please make the decision!"

Wang Xiaojie looked at Deputy General Sun's resolute face, his eyes slightly moist, and finally nodded in agreement: "Good brother, please get up quickly, you hold on for a few days, and I will definitely bring reinforcements back!"

(End of this chapter)