Chapter 219 The Last Spy
In a small courtyard in the wilderness north of Pingzhou City, there were some purple-clad killers on guard scattered outside the courtyard.

In the small courtyard, Xiao Qingfang was tired, dusty and in low spirits after several days' long journey.

Xiaomei and Xiao Jing brought a few guards to guard Xiao Qingfang. The isolated wall and narrow courtyard looked quite desolate.

There were bursts of hurried horse hoof sounds outside the yard. A knight dressed as a Zhou army sentry passed the killers' layers of inspection and came to the yard.

Xiao Qingfang, Xiaomei and Xiao Jing heard the noise and looked up quickly.

The sentry dismounted, rushed into the yard, took out a letter and handed it to Xiao Qingfang: "Sister, this is a secret letter from our general."

Xiao Qingfang immediately stood up, snatched the letter and opened it.

"Sister, what does the letter say?" Xiao Jing asked curiously.

Xiao Qingfang put away the letter and slowly said, "The letter said that Mochu led his troops in rebellion and attacked Yazhang, and was killed by Li Yuanfang. Our Turkic ally is finished."

Xiao Jing was immediately surprised: "Ah?"

Xiao Qingfang sighed and continued, "Besides, Quan Shancai is a cautious person, and Di Renjie issued a strict order not to let the Left Guard leave the city, so the original plan to transfer the Left Guard out of the city and then lead the army also failed."

Xiaomei looked a little worried and asked, "Then what should we do?"

Xiao Qingfang pondered for a moment, and then said: "Misfortunes often come with blessings, and blessings often come with misfortunes. It is a good thing that Quan Shancai is holding on. At least the Khitan army can advance at full speed without having to worry about the Zhou army coming out of the city to stop them."

"If we can start the rebellion before Di Renjie and Zhao Ji return to Pingzhou, things will be more certain!"

Xiaomei reminded: "However, if the Left Guard has tens of thousands of troops in the city, even if there is an insider to open the city, the Khitan army alone may not be a match for the Zhou army."

Xiao Qingfang's eyes flashed with ruthlessness: "If you don't do it, don't stop. This time, use the simplest and most direct method to attack Quan Shancai, Zeng Tai and others directly!"

"As long as these two men die, the Zhou army will be leaderless, and it will be useless no matter how strong they are! Send another group of people to release Shadow and the others, open the north gate, and welcome the Khitan army into the city!"

As soon as these words came out, Xiao was delighted and even exclaimed in praise: "Great, big sister!"

Xiao Qingfang emphasized her tone: "Success or failure depends on this one move! Xiaomei, Zeng Tai and Quan Shancai are handed over to you to deal with, you must ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

"Also, inform Sun Wanrong to stop worrying, abandon all food and supplies, and march at full speed. Once the Khitan army arrives tomorrow, we will immediately launch the operation!"
-
In the evening of the next day, Quan Shancai and Zeng Tai hid in the Pingzhou Governor's Mansion, refusing to come out, as if something had happened.

Zong Huaichang held a steel knife in his hand, entered the hall of the governor's mansion, and rushed to the second hall quickly: "General, General!"

When Zong Huaichang pushed open the main door of the second hall and saw the people inside, he was shocked.

Di Renjie sat in the first seat, Zeng Tai stood beside him, Quan Shancai and Zhao Ji sat on his left and right respectively.

"Marshal, Commander Zhao...why...why are you back? Didn't Lord Zeng say that the Marshal would stay in the Turks for a few more days?" Zong Huaichang said in amazement.

Zhao Ji and his party actually left the Turks only one night later than Xiao Qingfang, and both sides basically returned at the same time.

Seeing Zong Huaichang's surprised expression, Di Renjie couldn't help but smile: "When the Khitan invaded, how dare I delay the military affairs? So I rushed back to Chongzhou to take charge. Fortunately, it was not too late, and the Khitan army had not arrived yet." "General Zong, why did you rush to the commander's mansion in such a hurry? Is there some urgent military business?" Zhao Ji also looked at Zong Huaichang with a smile.

Zong Huaichang then calmed down, swallowed his saliva and replied: "The scouts reported that the Khitan army abandoned their food and supplies along the way. The entire army marched day and night to Pingzhou. The vanguard is less than ten miles away from Pingzhou!"

"Oh." Di Renjie nodded slightly, seemingly not surprised at all.

Zong Huaichang was very confused when he saw Di Renjie's flat reaction, and immediately asked: "General, the Khitans are invading, aren't you going to make some arrangements?"

Di Renjie was not in a hurry. He glanced at Quan Shancai and said, "General Quan, let's do as we discussed before!"

Upon hearing this, Quan Shancai immediately stood up, bowed, and left.

Zong Huaichang turned his head to look at Quan Shancai who was leaving, and asked again: "General, do I and Governor Zhao have any mission? Please give us your instructions."

"Ah, General Zong's mission is to stay here and wait for General Quan to come back." Di Renjie said with a smile.

Zong Huaichang's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he forced a smile and said, "Marshal, you are joking. The Khitans are invading, and the situation is so urgent. I should go to the city wall to take a look..."

Zhao Ji laughed and said, "General Zong probably doesn't want to go to the city wall, but wants to go to the north gate!"

"I don't understand what Commander Zhao means." Zong Huaichang looked at Zhao Ji strangely, as if he was very confused.

Zhao Ji stood up, slowly walked to Zong Huaichang, and circled around him: "Don't understand? Didn't you send all your old subordinates there? You just came back from the north gate too?"

"Speaking of which, since the war began, these old subordinates of yours have been defeated in Xixia Shigu, Dongxia Shigu, and then in the encirclement and suppression of Su Honghui. It's really not easy for them to survive until now."

"The more I listen to what Commander Zhao says, the more confused I become." Zong Huaichang looked innocent.

Zhao Ji sneered, "Humph, Zhang Xuanyu's army was defeated in Xixia Stone Valley. Who arranged their guide? Yan Feishi was surrounded in Xixia Stone Valley again. Didn't you guide them?"

Zong Huaichang felt even more wronged: "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext! Zhang Xuanyu's advance was reckless and it has long been determined. General Yan and I were deceived by Zhang Xuanyu's military orders, which is why we were surrounded. How can you blame me for all this?"

Zhao Ji asked again, "Then how do you explain the repeated robberies when you were protecting grain and the defeat when you went out of the city to encircle and suppress Su Honghui? Since the beginning of the war, you have never won a single battle you have participated in. Is this such a coincidence?"

Zong Huaichang was filled with grief and indignation when facing the accusation: "The food and grass were robbed because Qiu Jingli was in contact with the Khitan! We went out of the city to encircle and suppress them, firstly because General Wang was angry and raised an army, and secondly because the traitor Su Honghui framed us!"

"This is something that everyone has seen. Why do you blame me? If Governor Zhao says that I am incompetent and have harmed the army and the country, I will admit it and I will not regret it even if I die!"

"But from what I heard from Commander Zhao, it seems that he is accusing me of being a Khitan spy with Qiu Jing and Su Honghui. I absolutely refuse to admit this crime, and I hope the Marshal will see clearly!"

After saying this, Zong Huaichang knelt down in front of Di Renjie, seeming to be extremely sincere.

Di Renjie stroked his beard and smiled in the upper seat, remaining silent.

(End of this chapter)