The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 784 Eight Hundred Miles Expedited

Everyone started to get busy in an orderly manner. Some set up camp, some fed the horses, and some started to make fire and cook. The camp quickly became lively.

Finally four tents were pitched, anchored to the ground with wooden wedges and ropes.

There was not much space inside the tent, only enough for one person to sleep, and one could not even straighten his back. The ground was covered with hay and a layer of cowhide, and then a thick wool blanket on the cowhide to protect it from the moisture from the ground.

As Li Yan was the crown prince and had a noble status, he lived in one room. The others, including Chang Sheng, lived in one room each.

Time passed slowly and the sky became completely dark. The bustling city of Mayi during the day now looked like a giant beast crawling on the ground and sleeping.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and there was no moonlight. The torches on the city walls in the distance and the little light in the city showed that everything was normal. The people didn't pay much attention to it. According to the status of the military camp, they arranged the guard duty in turns, and the rest of the people fell asleep.

"Your Highness, wake up."

It was not until midnight that Li Yan was woken up by Chang Sheng, who pushed him and shouted, "Your Highness, something has happened. The Turks are coming. We need to move immediately. It is no longer safe here."

Li Yan was startled, and when he came out of the tent again, he was immediately shocked by the scene in front of him.

I saw that the city of Mayi far below the mountain was boiling violently like a bucket of water poured into an frying pan. Tens of thousands of torches emerged from the depths of the dark grassland, and the sound of horse hooves like thunder was overwhelming.

In less than an incense stick of time, the entire Mayi was surrounded.

"Kill, kill, kill"

With the endless torches, the few people on the mountain could see countless Turks wearing horn helmets, holding scimitars and forks, and wearing leather armor. They were shouting murderous slogans, beating war drums loudly, and constantly provoking the people in the city, but they did not attack.

The torches on the top of Mayi City illuminated the solemn and murderous scene. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty pointed their bows and arrows at the city. Behind the city wall, countless figures were transporting arrows, kerosene, rolling logs, stones and other items to the city wall through the horse path.

Prepare for the upcoming siege.

The two sides just confronted each other across a city wall. The Turks below the city shouted slogans loudly and kept hitting the shield in their left hand with the back of their scimitars, making a "rumbling" sound. A strong murderous aura rushed straight to the top of the city.

Because of its special location and function, Mayi has enjoyed peace for a long time. Although the guards on the city are located in the frontier, they rarely experience such scenes, and they all stare at the city below nervously.

The dense crowd under the city seemed endless in the dark night. They waved their steel knives and long spears towards Mayi City and roared wantonly. The small Mayi City was like being in the peak of a flood, surrounded by water and could be submerged at any time.

In the darkness farther away, countless troops were constantly coming to join the siege. Among them, many people were running towards the mountain where Li Yan and others were.

At this time, Chang Sheng and the tutors were all dumbfounded, looking at Li Yan in shock, as if they were looking at a god.

Chang Sheng was once again conquered by Li Yan's performance. The prince said during the day that he had a premonition that entering Mayi would be unfavorable, but he did not expect it to come true.

Chang Sheng had been following Li Yan all along, and had not seen anyone come to tip off or leave the team. It was impossible for the prince to know the news in advance, as Mayi City had not been attacked for several years. Chang Sheng was more out of trust and obedience to Li Yan.

Anyway, it's summer now and the temperature is suitable, so there's nothing wrong with sleeping outside. This is how people on the grassland live.

The tutors around him were all extremely talented, but after all, they had never seen a real siege or siege with their own eyes, especially the first time they saw a large-scale scene involving tens of thousands of people and the fierce murderous aura emanating from a real battlefield.

Even five or six miles away, I could still feel the fear.

Li Yan was more sensitive than the others. He could clearly feel that there was an invisible and traceless suffocating atmosphere covering the battlefield, which made people very easily excited. His blood was boiling with excitement, and he had an urge to pick up a knife or a gun to join in and kill indiscriminately.

Among the crowd, only Chang Sheng had been on the battlefield for a long time and was accustomed to such scenes. He was not as obsessed with it as the others and was distracted by the battlefield. He said decisively: "Your Highness, it is not good to attack the city at night, and those Turks came empty-handed."

"We must go up the mountain to cut down trees and make wooden ladders for the rams. It's no longer safe here. We must break camp immediately and retreat to the mountains overnight. If we are discovered by the Turks later, we won't be able to leave."

"Well, you're right."

Li Yan immediately turned around and told everyone, "Among us, Changsheng is the most experienced and a veteran of many battles. From now on, our team will enter a military state and obey Changsheng's command. Anyone who dares not obey orders will be punished by military law."

Everyone's heart trembled. Normally, they all served as soldiers in the Eastern Palace and trained with the Eastern Palace guards. Chang Sheng was also a General of the Xunfu, a fourth-rank official in the imperial court. Faced with such a dangerous situation at this time, everyone had no objection.

They responded in unison: "Yes, Your Highness, General Chang, you can give the order."

"Okay, Your Highness, Changsheng is welcome!"

The situation is critical and Chang Sheng has no time to think about anything else. The most important thing is to get out of the crisis.

Then he turned his head and looked at everyone with a serious face, and said decisively: "Liu Renyuan, Gao Kan, Sun Renshi, Xi Junmai, Xiao Siye!"

"I'm here," the few people who were called quickly agreed. "You guys pack up your tents, pack your luggage, and move immediately."

"Li Jingxuan, Pei Xingjian, Li Jinxing!"

"I'm here," the younger ones responded nervously upon hearing this.

Chang Sheng ordered: "You guys go and bring the war horses here. Remember, don't let the horses neigh or attract the attention of the Turks at the foot of the mountain."

"Yes, General!"

Everyone got busy, but Chang Sheng nervously began to observe the scene below the mountain and in the distance, and finally said to Li Yan: "Your Highness, do you think we should send someone to inform Li Daozong, the commander-in-chief of the Datong Road Army? Mayi is his defense zone, and he has an army of 50,000 men, which is the nearest reinforcement."

“How far is Datong from here?”

"About two hundred miles."

Li Yan suddenly felt a toothache, and finally thought for a while and said: "Forget it, Mayi is not an isolated city with few people. The fire here will soon be transmitted to Yanmen Pass. They will notify us. We still have an important mission."

"If we can bring Tuli and others here, it will be no less than reducing the number of enemies by more than 100,000. Our mission is obviously more important."

Chang Sheng was stunned, and immediately said anxiously: "Your Highness, the Turks are already invading in large numbers, and the war between the two countries is imminent. In this case, is it necessary to look for Tuli? Who knows if his troops are in the besieged city?"

"Why did we come so far? We are only separated from Tuli's camp by a river. We have traveled thousands of miles to get here. Now we are only one step away. Is it impossible for us to cross the river? How can we give up halfway now?"

Chang Sheng argued, "But Your Highness, this step is a matter of life and death. You are a royal family with a noble status. Even if you retreat now, the emperor will not say anything."

"Yes, my father will not blame me, but Tuli's choice is very important to our Tang Dynasty. If Tuli and his tribe firmly stand on Jie Li's side, then our Tang Dynasty soldiers will have more than 100,000 more enemies on the battlefield."

Li Yan shook his head firmly and looked at the precarious Mayi City below the mountain: "Unless Tuli personally refuses, I must complete my mission."

"Changsheng, everyone has their own responsibilities. You are a general. Before the battle begins, will you run away first?"

Well.
Chang Sheng was stunned for a moment, then a bitter look appeared on his face.

"That's right. The soldiers on the Mayi city wall, their duty is to defend Mayi city. They know that the enemy is strong and the strength gap is huge. Even if they die, they will die on the top of the city wall. Our duty is to negotiate with Tuli, to obtain foreign aid for our Tang Dynasty, and to reduce the threat."

"We are also fighting, just on a different battlefield and in a different way."

"If you retreat in the face of a battle and pretend to be an enemy to avoid the battle, not to mention you, even I will look down on myself. I am the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, I must rush to the front line and protect the people of the Tang Dynasty."

When Li Yan said this, the attendants behind him came to his side without knowing when. Moved by Li Yan's responsibility and righteousness, they said in unison: "We are willing to follow His Highness until death, and we will never regret it even if we die."

"Well, in that case, no matter if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire, or a bottomless abyss ahead, we will live and die together and fight our way out to a bright and clear path to heaven."

Li Yan suddenly became heroic and waved his hand: "With you here, no matter what difficulties and obstacles we encounter, I am not afraid. Let's go and see Tuli."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Yan was not too worried about Mayi at the foot of the mountain.

Mayi is a commercial city, and Jie Li's prince is in the city, so the Turks will not attack the city easily. Originally in the drama, it was because Li Shimin took Shi Luodie away when he broke through, which led to Jie Li's anger and he broke through Mayi.

Now Shi Luodie is still in the city. At the critical moment, the defenders in the city will use him to exchange for peace with the Turks as long as Shi Luodie returns to the Turks safely.

Jie Li might not take the small city of Mayi seriously.

Finally, everyone packed up and walked down the other side of the mountain under the cover of night. They headed northeast along the mighty Sanggan River in the dark and disappeared into the vast mountains and forests without being noticed by the Turks.

Three days later!
A border soldier with three small red flags on his back appeared outside the north gate of Chang'an with a tired face.

From a distance, the lieutenant on the tower shouted loudly to the people below the city: "Quick, hurry up, eight hundred miles, clear the road, clear the road."

The guards at the gate quickly pushed the pedestrians passing by the city gate aside to make way for the messenger.

The messenger rode non-stop through the city gate, galloped all the way, crossed Chengtian Street, and entered the Taiji Palace.

In Hongwen Hall, a servant opened the letter that had been passed through layers of palace restrictions, and his face changed when he took a look at it.

(End of this chapter)