Chang Geng took over the battle report, and Gu Yun asked, "How many Jiangnan naval forces are left?"

"It's hard to say," Chang Geng glanced over the whole thing, "Chang Jiao has never been to sea, let alone fought a naval battle. When Zhao Youfang died, they panicked and fled in all directions. Foster father, do you remember the rebellion of the King of Wei?"

Gu Yun pinched the bridge of his nose and understood what he meant.

Back then, the King of Wei bribed the Jiangnan Admiral and half of the navy, and gathered troops on a small island in Japan to covet the capital. Unexpectedly, before he was ready, he was disrupted by Gu Yun and Linyuan Pavilion.

It was called "Gu Yun and Linyuan Pavilion's collaboration", but in fact, there were only two or three Black Eagles and a few half-grown children around Gu Yun at the time, and Linyuan Pavilion only had about thirty people from the martial arts world, not to mention the useless guy like Monk Ran who couldn't take off his heavy armor after putting it on.

Gu Yun had accumulated great prestige in the army. His sudden appearance frightened the guilty rebels, which was one reason, but it also indirectly proved that Daliang's navy was indeed lame.

He can't even start a rebellion properly.

If this incident happened during the reign of Emperor Yuanhe, Gu Yun might have had the opportunity to intervene in the navy like he did when he reorganized the Northern Frontier City Defense Army. Unfortunately, Li Feng was not the soft-hearted person like the emperor who was indecisive even when killing someone. Such a thing would not have been possible during the Long'an period.

Gu Yun: "Where's Yao Chongze? Is he dead too?"

Chang Geng: "I didn't mention it. Too many people died."

Gu Yun sighed: "And what is a 'sea monster'?"

Chang Geng: "It is said that it is like a giant octopus, able to lurk in the water, float like a mountain, and block out the sun. Compared to it, the giant kite is like a pigeon landing on a strong man's shoulder, with countless iron claws on its body, and thousands of small sea dragons sticking to it one after another. When the tip is opened, a large group of eagle armor can be released..."

Chang Geng paused for a moment, and tapped the battle report twice with his slender fingers: "If there really is such a thing, at least four to five hundred kilograms of purple gold will be burned every day."

Gu Yun glanced at him, and Chang Geng shook his head slightly. He stopped talking and omitted the second half of the sentence - the Westerners paid such a huge price, they were probably not here to fight a protracted war with them.

"After dealing with the garrison in Jiangnan, we no longer have to worry about the sea. The navy of Dagu Port is no match for us. The next step is to march directly to the capital." Gu Yun took down the map from the wall. "Old Tan, how many troops are available in the capital?"

Tan Hongfei licked his cracked lips and said, "The Beidaying has 2,000 heavy armored soldiers, 16,000 light cavalry, and 2,000 charioteers. There are a total of 80 chariots, each with three pairs of white rainbows, and a long and short cannon at the head and tail."

This amount of troops was enough to force the palace, but it was too weak to deal with the all-out attack that the Westerners had planned for many years. Gu Yun frowned: "Where are the Imperial Guards?"

"The Imperial Guards are not good enough. There are less than 6,000 people in total, and most of them are fancy young masters who have never seen blood." Tan Hongfei paused, and suddenly remembered something. He took out something from his arms, held it up with both hands and handed it to Gu Yun solemnly, "Oh, this is what the emperor asked me to bring to the Marshal."

The thing was wrapped in fine palace silk. Those who didn't know might have thought it was some pearls or jades. But when it was opened, it turned out to be a hideous-looking black iron tiger talisman.

Gu Yun took it and took a look at it, then curled his lips with a fake smile: "Why are you still giving me this now? The daylily is already cold."

Tan Hongfei didn't know what to say.

Gu Yun casually threw the Black Iron Tiger Talisman to Tan Hongfei: "Alright, since the emperor has made up his mind, you can use it to write a transfer order according to his wishes, and summon the local garrisons in Shandong and Zhili to return to defend and relieve the difficulties in the capital, and then let Cai Yin free up his hands to lead troops to reinforce... Well, transfer them first, and we will talk about it later if they can't be transferred."

Tan Hongfei: “…”

On the other hand, the old and frail Zhang Fenghan did not have a hard heart like these animals. He had been terrified all the way. Suddenly, he heard the hidden meaning of Gu Yun. The old Lingshu's face turned pale and he could not help asking: "Does the Marshal mean that... the loyal army may not be transferred?"

Chang Geng replied, "If the information in the battle report is correct, the Westerners cannot carry so much baggage with them - they can't afford to fight. If they want to kill us with one strike, they will land in Jiangnan and split their troops into two groups. One group will press on the capital from the sea, and the other group will cut off the passage from the capital to the four directions from the land and besiege us... I'm afraid the transfer order has been lost."

Mr. Feng Han almost fainted on the spot and sat down on the side, gasping for breath.

Chang Geng did not expect such a big reaction from him. He quickly poured a glass of water and brought it to Feng Han Gong. He skillfully patted him on the back of his heart and said, "Calm down. Old people should try not to be too happy or too sad, otherwise they will easily have a stroke..."

Zhang Fenghan grabbed his hand and almost burst into tears: "My Lord, are you born without knowing what it means to be anxious?"

"Please be patient, my friend. I haven't finished yet," Chang Geng said hurriedly. "When my adoptive father was imprisoned, I was worried about changes at the border, so I contacted some friends."

As he spoke, he took out a wooden bird from his sleeve.

"This kind of wooden bird needs a special magnet to guide it. It can be used to pass messages between people who hold the magnet. They have received my letter before, and they should have already set off to various garrisons. I hope they can make it in time. If the capital city is really besieged, I can use the wooden bird to pass the message and let them pass it on my behalf. With the black iron tiger talisman and my adoptive father's private seal, it should be enough to convince them."

When Chang Geng realized that if he left Xuanying, the long communication between different places would delay the war, he began to use Linyuan Pavilion to set up such a huge communication network to prevent any disaster.

Tan Hongfei and Zhang Fenghan stared at Chang Geng in amazement.

"They are just trifling tricks. I couldn't think of any other way in such a hurry." Chang Geng said, "At the beginning, it can be used as an emergency measure when no one is aware of it, but it won't last long. Once the enemy notices it, this thing will no longer be safe. Any small stone can knock it down."

Gu Yun was at a loss for words at the moment. When he was in prison, he had worried about Chang Geng. Now it seemed that even if he himself had been in charge of the deployment, he might not have been able to do better than Chang Geng.

Not only did he save half of the Xuantie Camp, he also left this chess piece alive.

While he was sighing with gratitude and relief, he also felt that the young man who had just closed his eyes and avoided the Sword Servant Puppet should not have grown up so fast. It was his fault that he did not take good care of him.

But in front of outsiders, Gu Yun could not express any emotion, and only said lightly: "Your Highness has considered everything."

"Let's go, Lao Tan, follow me to Beidaying." Gu Yun took down a wine jug hanging behind the door, took a look at the sky, and without even putting on armor, he picked up a straw raincoat and strode away.

Chang Geng also stood up: "Father, please go first. I will go back to Lingshuyuan with Lord Fenghan and escort the baggage after checking the items."

The brief tenderness and ambiguity vanished into thin air, and the two left in a hurry.

Gu Yun and Tan Hongfei led a team of guards and rushed out of the city to the North Camp.

Gu Yun's raincoat was properly strapped to his chest. When he was halfway through the journey, the rumbling thunder in the sky suddenly changed into a bright flash of lightning, which struck the sky fiercely. The gloomy sky opened up like a torn silk, and a rare heavy rain before the Grain Rain came down on him.

Suddenly, it was pouring down like rain and the wind was dark and stormy.

Tan Hongfei was almost choked by the rain and shook off the water drops on his face. He remembered that when he reported to the Marquis' Mansion just now, Huo Dan told him that the Marquis was ill. He couldn't help but squeeze his horse's belly and ran to Gu Yun, saying loudly: "The rain is too heavy, Marshal, you haven't recovered from the cold yet, why don't you find a place to hide first, and it won't be too late to continue your journey after the rain stops..."

Gu Yun shouted, "Look at that cloud. Who knows when it will stop? Stop talking nonsense!"

Perhaps it was because the sudden downpour came too hastily and too unreasonably, Gu Yun suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

The Black Iron Camp was also called the "Black Crows" by the foreigners. As the leader of the Black Crows, Gu Yun really had a crow's mouth that was unparalleled in the world. Almost all of his ominous premonitions would come true, and they would never fail.

Tan Hongfei estimated that the Westerners would head north within two or three days - he was too optimistic.

That night, on a watchtower in Dagu Port.

There were two palm-sized dust brushes in front of the long-barreled telescope, which were moving up and down in vain in the rain. Soon they were blown down.

The old soldier on duty had no choice but to reach out of the window and grope for a rusty handle by the window - the lighter inside had been broken for a long time and no one had ever repaired it, so he had to turn it manually. He shook the rain off his hands, cursed and turned the handle of the long arm, the toothless gear groaned half-deadly, and a small metal umbrella slowly rose and unfolded like a hungry meal, covering the front mirror of the telescope in the bitter wind and rain.

The old tower soldier wiped the moisture off the telescope and complained to his companions, "We are all soldiers, but they go up and down the sky, making great achievements, and we are so awesome. Every day, we either sweep the floor or play dominoes on the tower. We are quieter than the monks, and we can't get any benefits. We have nothing to do all day long, but we have to spend all year round here. We can't even recognize our own women... Oh, this is really weird. Why is it raining so hard? Where did the injustice come from?"

His companion was sweeping the floor without even looking up: "You're just hoping for nothing to happen, right? Didn't the sergeant say that the beacon order has been delivered? If the Westerners attack us, you'll have something to do."

"Don't listen to the sergeant's nonsense. He keeps complaining about the Westerners coming to attack us every month." The soldier said, "Isn't the Marquis of Anding still in charge of the capital next door?"

"Marquis Anding has been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison."

"Oh, isn't he released again..." The old tower soldier said here, as if he had figured out something, and suddenly said, "Yes, this matter is also very strange. Isn't it said that Marquis Anding rebelled and forced the emperor to abdicate? How could he be released so quickly? Could it be..."

"Hush," the companion suddenly raised his head, "stop gossiping, just listen!"

A rumbling sound like thunder came faintly from the wind, and the watchtower seemed to sense something and began to tremble.

Is it thundering?

No, thunder comes in bursts, how could it be so continuous?

The old tower soldier hesitantly bent down in front of Qianli's eyes and slowly tilted the camera upwards.

The next moment, his cloudy eyes passed through the dark rain curtain and unexpectedly encountered a huge shadow on the sea.

There would not be such a monster with bared fangs and claws in nightmares, with all its claws pointing to the sky and roaring angrily.

The old soldier thought he was dazzled and rubbed his eyelids hard. When he looked again, he saw that the "sea monster" was moving very fast. It was just a blurry shadow just now, but in the blink of an eye, he didn't know how far it had moved. It was already clear enough for his clairvoyance to see clearly.

A swarm of black sea dragons slid by in the dark night with murderous intent. The battle flags fluttering in the wind and rain looked like an ominous soul-calling banner, and their shadows covered the vast ocean.

"Enemy attack..." the old tower soldier said with difficulty.

"What?"

The old soldier suddenly turned around and yelled, "Enemy attack! The Westerners are coming, ring the bells and beat the drums! What are you doing? Go--"

The rapid sound of drums pierced through the sudden rain. The lights on the watchtowers, which had been spinning slowly, suddenly accelerated and began to spin wildly. The news spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. In just a few breaths, the sound of drums could be heard from all the watchtowers in Dagu Port.

Beihai Land and Navy Admiral Lian Wei's heart was beating so fast that it was about to explode. He had not dared to close his eyes since he received the news of the defeat in Jiangnan. He snatched the clairvoyance from his personal guard.

After just one look, he cried out "Oh my God" in his heart, and felt a chill from his chest to his back.

"What about the General?"

"All..." Lian Wei's throat moved, "The long dragons go first, no need to say hello, heavy artillery fire... Wait, put up the iron chains, yes, all the long dragons go together, put up the iron chains! Connect them to form an iron fence outside the harbor!"

"A white rainbow——"

"Notify the fishing boats and merchant ships in the port to evacuate immediately!"

Lian Wei lowered his head and glanced at his arms. He had not had time to put away the "Beacon Order" - that was Daliang's highest level of combat readiness warning. Once the "Beacon Order" was received, it meant that the entire territory had entered a state of readiness for war at any time.

The beacon order was signed with the character "Gu", which was signed by Marquis Anding himself.

Back then, when the Black Iron Camp was attacked in the northern border, more than a dozen generals, both big and small, unjustly took off their black iron armor and laid down their wind-cutting blades, and scattered all over the place, some retired, some retired to old age - Lian Wei originally thought that he would be trapped on the small port dock for the rest of his life, doing nothing every day just taking people for a walk around the dock, and occasionally intervening in small incidents of fishermen getting angry and fighting over gambling... Even when he heard that the Beidaying Camp had mutinied because of what happened that year, he didn't have the courage to stand up and ask for an explanation like Tan Hongfei did.

"Send a message to Beidaying." Lian Wei tightened his armor, took a deep breath, and pulled his bulging belly back in. "Report to Marquis Anding that Dagu Port was attacked by the Western Navy. Go quickly!"

Lian Wei walked out, and before leaving, he remembered something. He picked up the Wind-Cutting Blade that had been standing in the corner and covered in dust for many years, stroked it gently, and turned around and put it on his back.

The wind-cutting blade that once cut through the yellow sand had long since rusted to the point that even the small slot for the purple gold could not be opened. It had become a heavy black iron stick. Apart from being used to rob and stun people in the middle of the night, it probably had no other use.

However, when he put it on his back again, he suddenly regained the feeling of wearing the black armor and looking unrivaled.

After years of indulgence and obesity, the snow knife and steel armor have been branded into the bones and blood, and are still vaguely there.

The iron fence formed by the long dragons encountered the rampaging sea monster head-on and fought hand to hand. The Western warships were like ghosts in the wind and rain, and the strong winds on the sea could not catch up with them. The crazy winds and waves set off a tide that seemed to be able to swallow the continent. There was continuous artillery fire, and countless warships fell apart in an instant and sank under the surging ocean.

"General, I'm afraid the iron fence can't stop it!"

"General, too many ships on the left wing have sunk, the iron chains..."

"Watchtower—be careful!"

A cannonball fired from afar came over like a fire dragon. Even the rain curtain could not suppress the blazing flames. With a "bang", it hit a watchtower. The tall tower staggered and slowly bent in the air.

A lantern on the top of the tower that was shining through the rain went out.

Lian Wei pushed aside his guards, climbed onto the deck of the warship, and roared, "The heavy artillery is not allowed to stop, and Baihong is firing rockets!"

"General Lian, Dagu Port cannot possibly..."

"Get out of the way!" Lian Wei pushed away the soldier carrying Baihong Arrow, shouted loudly, picked up the fire arrow weighing over 100 pounds, and smashed it on Baihong Bow. He wiped the rain off his face fiercely and grabbed Baihong's calibration with both hands.

The first fire arrow was blasted into the sky by the Baihong Bow. In the air, the iron shell at the tail of the fire arrow fell off. The purple-gold light suddenly accelerated the fire arrow like an invulnerable netherworld fire. It flew past like a meteor, brushed past the battle flag on the sea monster and fell into the sea beside it.

The fluttering flag of the Vatican was torn into a diaper in the air by the huge impact force and scattered in the wind, but the rocket continued to move forward and hit a rampaging Western sea dragon, causing a gorgeous firework to explode in the sea.

Lian Wei let out a long roar, his hair and beard standing up in anger.

Without the commander's order, the Black Iron Camp dared not retreat an inch.

When the news of the attack on Dagu Port arrived overnight, Gu Yun was in the commander's tent with Tan Hongfei and the commander of the Imperial Guards, Han Qi, making the final arrangements for the defense of the capital.

Han Qi almost jumped up upon hearing the news, and cried out, "How could it be so fast!"

Gu Yun's face was as gloomy as water: "Who is the North Sea Land and Marine Admiral?"

"Lian Wei," Tan Hongfei's eyes turned red, and after a moment, he couldn't help but add, "He was the deputy of the general back then."

Gu Yun's eyes twitched slightly: "Commander Han."

Han Qi understood and said, "Yes, I will return to the capital immediately. Don't worry, Marshal. Even if the Imperial Guards are young soldiers, they will only have one place to die, at the foot of the Imperial City."

Gu Yun looked at him deeply, and suddenly opened the commander's tent: "Can those old guys in Lingshuyuan hurry up?"

Before he finished speaking, a messenger came running over: "General, the King of Yanbei is here!"

When Gu Yun turned around, Chang Geng's horse had already galloped up to him. He grabbed the reins and said, "General, Lingshuyuan has repaired the existing 1,000 black iron heavy armors and 500 eagle armors. The light fur coats have been disassembled and are not in sets. There are 3,000 pairs of wrist buckles and long arms, 4,000 pairs of iron knee and flying feet, and another batch of shoulder helmets. They will be delivered later--"