Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

In the Longmen Valley, the night was torn apart by the towering flames.

This place is no longer a strategically important and dangerous location, but a battlefield, a huge meat grinder that is slowly closing in.

"Boom—!"

Several massive boulders, the size of millstones, rolled down from the cliffs on both sides with a destructive roar, crashing heavily into the already crowded Tang army formation.

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

A captain of the Xuanjia Army suddenly lunged forward, smashing Li Shimin aside with his own flesh and blood.

"Bang!"

The boulder fell, raising clouds of dust.

Before the captain could even scream, he was smashed into a mangled mess. Warm blood splattered all over Li Shimin's face, burning him and making him shudder.

"Wang Meng!"

Li Shimin roared and reached out to grab it, but only managed to grasp a handful of blood-stained broken armor.

Another one has died.

How many people have died in front of him tonight?

Li Shimin couldn't remember.

He felt only a buzzing in his ears, and all he could see were flickering flames and splattering blood. The Xuanjia Army, which he had once been so proud of and was known as invincible, was now like a wild beast trapped in a cage, possessing great strength but only able to watch in despair as death approached step by step.

"Whoosh whoosh-"

The rain of arrows fell again, like the scythe of death, mercilessly reaping the lives of the survivors.

"Shield formation! Raise your shields!"

Yuchi Gong was covered in blood, his steel whip long since lost. He grabbed a tattered shield and held it protectively in front of Li Shimin. His voice was hoarse from shouting, panting like a broken bellows.

"Your Majesty, we...we can't get out!"

Cheng Yaojin crawled out of the pile of corpses, his thick beard covered in blood scabs, and his usually loud voice was now tinged with sobs.

"Those Turkic bastards have blocked both the front and back entrances to the valley! It's like an iron barrel!"

Li Shimin leaned against the cold stone wall, panting heavily.

Looking at the wounded soldiers around him, whose eyes were still fiercely protecting him, he felt as if his heart was being violently ripped apart by a rusty iron hook, the pain almost suffocating him.

I regret it!

I really regret it!

If only I had listened to that rebellious son back then...

"Arrogance leads to defeat... Father is still too young..."

Li Chengqian's lazy, somewhat disdainful voice was like a curse, echoing wildly in his mind. Every word was like a resounding slap across his face.

"I...I was wrong."

Li Shimin closed his eyes in pain, two lines of turbid tears sliding down his face covered in black ash.

"I shouldn't have been so ambitious, shouldn't have underestimated Jieli, and even more so... shouldn't have risked the lives of these thousands of brothers just to spite my son!"

What kind of Heavenly Strategy General is this? What kind of military genius is this?

Faced with this desperate situation, everything else becomes a joke!

He thought he was the hunter, but little did he know that he was the foolish prey who had crawled into the cage.

"Your Majesty, please have some water."

Changsun Wuji suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding a tattered helmet half-filled with muddy water. This imperial brother-in-law, who was usually accustomed to a life of luxury, now looked like a beggar, his brocade robe reduced to rags and his official hat nowhere to be seen.

"Where did the water come from?" Li Shimin's throat was parched.

"It came from...it seeped out of the hoofprints." Changsun Wuji lowered his head, not daring to look the emperor in the eye.

Li Shimin looked at the murky, muddy water and his throat tightened with emotion.

Food and water supplies were cut off.

It's been a whole day and night.

The Turks surrounded them without attacking, intending to starve and thirst them to death, exhausting their last bit of strength.

"Where's the horse?"

Li Shimin suddenly asked, his voice trembling, "Where is my Saluzi? Where are the soldiers' horses?"

Changsun Wuji froze, and tears instantly streamed down his face.

"Your Majesty... just now... just now everyone was so hungry they couldn't move..."

"So that the surviving brothers would have the strength to wield a knife..."

"The horses... have all been killed."

boom!

Li Shimin felt as if something inside his head had snapped.

Kill the horse.

Without horses, the Xuanjia Army is like a body without legs, a body without soul!

Those were their comrades who had risked their lives alongside them!

"ah--!!!"

Li Shimin let out a desperate roar, drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist, and slammed it hard against the stone wall behind him, sparks flying everywhere.

"Jiali! I will never let you get away with this!"

Just then.

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out.

"Knock!"

An arrow without a head, carrying a piece of parchment, struck Li Shimin precisely in the crack in the stone above his head.

The guards around him were terrified and immediately rushed forward to protect him.

"Wait!"

Li Shimin pushed the crowd aside and reached out to pull out the arrow.

He unfolded the parchment with trembling hands.

By the dim light of the fire, the crooked, arrogant, and conceited Chinese characters on the wall looked like salt being rubbed into his bleeding wound.

"To Emperor Li Shimin of the Great Tang Dynasty:"

"Lay down your weapons and kneel down to surrender."

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll leave you with a whole corpse!"