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

Meanwhile, in the royal city of Gaochang, thousands of miles away.

In stark contrast to the desolate and bleak landscape beyond Yangguan Pass, this oasis city in the desert is currently immersed in a decadent and extravagant revelry.

Inside the main hall of the Gaochang Royal Palace, dozens of enormous glass ram's horn lamps illuminated the spacious area as bright as day. The air was filled with the rich aroma of Western spices and roasted meat, and a group of graceful Hu women were dancing barefoot in the center of the hall to the lively beat of drums.

King Juwentai of Gaochang leaned back on his throne, which was covered with a thick Persian carpet, holding in his hand an exquisite luminous cup that he had looted from a Tang Dynasty caravan. The cup was filled with scarlet wine, reflecting his fat face, which was flushed red from alcohol and excessive excitement.

"Come on, drink!"

Ju Wentai raised his wine glass and loudly greeted a Tibetan envoy sitting at the head of the guest seats.

The Tibetan envoy, named Lun Ke'er, was a confidant of Gar Tongtsen Gampo. He had come to Gaochang on the orders of Songtsen Gampo to secretly form an alliance.

"Your Majesty has a vast capacity for generosity."

Lun Ke'er raised his glass with a forced smile and took a symbolic sip.

He put down his wine cup, his gaze sweeping over the mountains of silk and porcelain piled up in the main hall, clearly bearing the imperial mark of the Tang Dynasty, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Your Majesty, isn't this a bit too extravagant?"

Lun Ke'er lowered his voice, his tone tinged with caution, "The Tang Dynasty has just destroyed the Eastern Turks and is riding high. You swallowed their royal caravan worth millions of strings of cash and then hung people on the city gate to be exposed to the sun... This is an act of utterly offending the Tang Dynasty."

"offend?"

Ju Wentai seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He suddenly slammed the luminous cup in his hand onto the table with a loud "bang," startling the dancing Hu women into a freeze.

"So what if I offended them?"

Ju Wentai pushed aside the maidservant serving him, stood up unsteadily, pointed at the dark night sky outside the hall, his face trembling with pain.

"Where am I? This is the Western Regions! This is Gaochang!"

"How far is the Tang Dynasty from here? Thousands of miles away!"

"And in between lies that vast expanse of shifting sands, stretching for eight hundred miles, which even birds cannot fly across!"

Ju Wentai became increasingly agitated as he spoke, spitting as he spoke, "So what if Li Shimin's army is so powerful? By the time they crossed the desert and reached this place, they would be so thirsty they couldn't even lift a sword!"

"I heard that the one leading the troops this time is still that eight-year-old crown prince?"

Ju Wentai slapped his thigh exaggeratedly, laughing so hard he almost fell over. "Hahaha! A baby who hasn't even been weaned yet dares to lead troops to eat sand in this Western Region? I think he's tired of living!"

Looking at Ju Wentai's arrogant and ignorant appearance, Lun Ke'er secretly sneered.

This stupid pig, does he really think the desert can stop everything?

However, this was exactly the result the Zanpu wanted. With a shield probing the Tang Dynasty's strengths and weaknesses, Tibet could reap the benefits.

"Your Majesty is right."

Lun Ke'er offered a timely compliment, "With these eight hundred miles of shifting sands serving as a natural barrier, it would indeed be extremely difficult for the Tang army to cross over."

"Of course!"

Ju Wentai waved his hand triumphantly, walked to the edge of the main hall, and pointed to the majestic city wall that was faintly visible in the night.

"Besides, even if they manage to climb to the walls of my Gaochang city, what can they do to me?"

"My city of Gaochang was built by my ancestors using countless manpower and resources, layer by layer, using the hardest loess from the Western Regions mixed with glutinous rice juice!"

"These city walls are as hard as iron, impervious to swords and spears! Even if Li Shimin brought his entire Xuanjia Army, let alone tens of thousands of exhausted soldiers, he'd have to knock all his teeth out if he tried to break down these gates!"

Ju Wentai suddenly turned around, opened his arms, as if he had already trampled the entire Western Regions under his feet.

"As long as this city exists, as long as this desert exists!"

"My Gaochang is invincible!"

"One comes, I kill one! Two come, I kill them both!"

"The Crown Prince of Tang? I not only want his salt, I'm also going to capture him and make him my horse's stirrup master!"

Arrogant laughter echoed throughout the hall, prompting the equally drunk Gaochang generals to join in, raising their glasses in celebration.

It was as if the Tang army was already fish on their chopping board, at their mercy.

Just when these demons were running rampant and extremely arrogant.

"Report—!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream, so piercing it was almost distorted, suddenly came from outside the main hall.

Immediately afterwards, a scout covered in sand, whose helmet was nowhere to be seen, tumbled and crawled into the main hall as if he had been kicked in.

He slid all the way to Ju Wentai's feet, gripping the edge of the carpet tightly with both hands, panting heavily, his eyes wide like copper bells, filled with endless fear.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

The scout's voice trembled like a withered leaf swaying in the wind, unable to form a complete sentence.

Ju Wentai's good mood was interrupted, and the smile on his face froze instantly.

He kicked the scout to the ground and roared, "What kind of behavior is this, all this panic?! Has the sky fallen?!"

"The sky...the sky didn't fall..."

The scout struggled to his feet, his tears mixed with the sand on his face, forming a mess.

He stretched out a trembling finger, pointed to the eastern night sky, and let out a desperate wail.

"But...but the Tang army is coming!"

"The vanguard of the Tang army... has already reached... thirty li outside the city!"

"What?!"

Ju Wentai was struck dumb, frozen in place.

The once noisy hall fell into a deathly silence in an instant.

The Gaochang generals who were holding wine glasses were frozen in place, their movements stiff and even their breathing stopped.

Lun Ke'er suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with shock.

Thirty li?

How is that possible!

From Chang'an to here, it's a journey of several thousand miles, with eight hundred miles of quicksand in between!

Even a light cavalryman galloping at full speed couldn't possibly be this fast!

Besides, they brought a large army with them.

"What the hell are you spouting?!"

Ju Wentai finally reacted, grabbed the scout by the collar, lifted him up, his eyes bloodshot.

"How could the Tang army have arrived so quickly?!"

"Did they grow wings and fly here?!"

"Your Majesty...it's true! I saw it with my own eyes!"

The scout's face was contorted with grief, his voice shrill with extreme fear.

"The mountains and fields are covered... entirely with cavalry!"

"White horse, silver armor, as fast as the wind!"

"Our thirty outposts on the edge of the desert... they were all gone without even sending out a distress signal!"

The scout's words were like a series of cold awls, piercing Ju Wentai's heart.

White horse.

Silver armor.

This characteristic is so obvious that anyone who has heard the rumor will instantly associate it with that terrifying army.

Snow Dragon Rider!

That was the devil who once stood against a Turkic army of 200,000 with only 3,000 men on the banks of the Wei River!

Ju Wentai loosened his grip.

The scout fell to the ground with a thud.

Ju Wentai himself slumped onto the throne like a lump of mud.

The arrogance of "what can you do to me?" that I felt just moments ago has vanished with those few battle reports.

Instead, there was deep fear and disbelief.

Thirty li.

For the cavalry, it was just a matter of time before they ate a meal.

"The Tang army...has arrived already?"

Ju Wentai muttered to himself, his face as pale as paper.

He raised his head and looked at the dark night sky outside the palace, as if he could already see the silver-white army of death trampling through the yellow sand and sweeping towards his city.