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

"Wait a moment."

Just as the army was becoming restless like a wild horse about to break free, Li Chengqian suddenly reined in the black horse.

He slowly lowered the Emperor's Sword that he had raised high.

At that moment, all the soldiers swallowed the battle cry that was about to burst from their throats, and their questioning yet burning gazes were all turned toward their commander.

"Your Highness, the capital of Goguryeo is right before us. Why do we stop?"

Xue Rengui rode up to him, his large hands gripping the halberd so tightly that the veins bulged.

Li Chengqian did not look at Pyongyang.

He turned his horse around, his gaze falling once more on the enormous Jingguan (a mound of stones) standing in the wilderness, appearing even more stark white and glaring in the wind and snow.

Those were the remains of countless Sui Dynasty soldiers and the mutilated bodies of Tang Dynasty envoys.

It was like a poisonous thorn stuck in the throat of the Central Plains dynasty, causing excruciating pain with every breath.

"Before going to war."

Li Chengqian dismounted and casually tossed the Emperor's Sword to Xu Xiao, who was standing nearby.

"We need to do one thing first."

"All troops, listen to my command!"

Li Chengqian's voice wasn't loud, but driven by his internal energy, it clearly reached the ears of every soldier.

"Remove your armor."

"White mourning clothes".

These words caused an uproar throughout the army.

Removing armor and donning mourning clothes on the eve of a major battle is considered extremely unlucky and even contrary to common sense by military strategists.

But when the soldiers followed Li Chengqian's gaze and saw the mound of corpses, all their doubts and confusion instantly turned into silent obedience.

No unnecessary words.

"Click, click..."

Thirty thousand Snow Dragon Riders and five thousand Musketeers unfastened their heavy, gleaming steel armor in perfect unison.

They tore white strips of cloth from their bags and roughly tied them to their foreheads and arms.

The cold wind was like a knife, cutting into their bodies, which were only dressed in thin undergarments.

But no one felt cold.

Because the anger burning in their chests was enough to melt the solid ice of Liaodong.

Li Chengqian took off the white fox fur coat that symbolized royal majesty.

He wore only a plain white shirt, trudging through the ankle-deep snow, step by step toward the enormous bone pyramid.

The closer you get, the stronger the resentment becomes, a mixture of stench and the stench of earth.

Li Chengqian stopped at the bottom of the Jingguan (a mound of skulls).

He did not find the filth and coldness above disgusting.

He stretched out his fair and slender hands, which he had originally only used to hold pens and play with jade.

It plunged deep into the frozen, hardened earth and bones.

"Your Highness! No! Let this old servant do it!"

Xu Xiao's face changed drastically in fright, and he hurriedly tried to step forward to stop him.

This mound of corpses is filthy and disgusting. How could a prince of noble birth personally do such a crude and filthy job?

"Step back!"

Li Chengqian let out a low growl that was suppressed to the extreme.

He gritted his teeth, and the veins on his hands stood out.

With a "crack," he forcefully broke off a leg bone that had been frozen together by mud and snow.

"They died here for the sake of the Central Plains."

Li Chengqian did not turn around. His fingers were cut by sharp bone fragments due to excessive force, and blood dripped onto the white bones.

"They've been exposed to the elements here for thirty years, and they've been treated like animals by the barbarians."

"Today, I will personally escort them home."

Li Chengqian carefully placed the leg bone on the clean snow beside him.

Then, he reached for the massive mountain of bones once more.

"thump."

Xue Rengui knelt on one knee and planted his halberd in the snow.

The kind-hearted, burly man had red eyes. Without a word, he walked to Li Chengqian's side, stretched out his rough hands, which were larger than palm-leaf fans, and began to dig with his bare hands.

Followed by.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Thirty-five thousand Tang soldiers, like dominoes falling to the ground, knelt down in unison on the blood-stained wilderness.

No one speaks.

Only the rustling sound of countless hands digging through the soil and bones, along with suppressed sobs, intertwined in the wind and snow to form an extremely tragic elegy.

"Brother... I'm taking you home."

The white-haired veteran who had been weeping earlier held up a skull that was already half weathered with trembling hands.

He carefully wiped the dirt off the skull with the cleanest piece of cloth from his clothes.

Tears streamed down his wrinkled face, instantly freezing into ice beads in the cold wind.

A full hour.

More than 30,000 Tang soldiers dug with their bare hands.

The Jingguan, a symbol of shame and despair, was gradually demolished.

Every bone and every mutilated corpse was carefully wrapped in a white cloth by the soldiers and neatly stacked on the open ground.

The wind and snow in the sky seemed to sense this overwhelming grief and indignation, and fell even harder.

Li Chengqian stood on the cleared open space.

His hands were covered in mud and blood, and his once plain white shirt was now filthy.

But he stood straight, like a spear that would never bend.

"Bring the wine."

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice.

Xu Xiao walked over, carrying a huge earthenware jar filled with strong liquor in both hands, his steps faltering.

Li Chengqian took the pottery jar.

Instead of using a wine glass, he directly removed the mud seal.

Facing the mountain of skeletal remains, he suddenly raised the pottery jar above his head.

"Thirty years!"

Li Chengqian's voice echoed across the vast snowfield, carrying a penetrating power that could pierce the soul.

"The Sui Dynasty is gone, but the spirit of the Central Plains remains!"

"Your blood was not shed in vain, your bones were not broken in vain!"

With a flick of his wrist, Li Chengqian unleashed a torrent of clear, cool liquor that cascaded down the snow, creating deep craters.

"The spirits of our forefathers are not far away!"

"Today, Li Chengqian, a junior of the Great Tang Dynasty, leads 100,000 elite troops!"

"We've come to take you home!"

He slammed the pottery jar in his hand to the ground with a loud bang, sending shards flying everywhere.

"Behold the mighty Tang cavalry!"

Li Chengqian pulled the Emperor's Sword back from Xu Xiao's hand. The sword's edge drew a dazzling, cold light in the wind and snow, pointing directly at the Pyongyang city that was faintly visible in the night.

"Avenge you all!!!"

"revenge!!!"

"revenge!!!"

At this moment, 35,000 Tang soldiers unleashed the most frenzied and hysterical roar of their lives.

The sound coalesced into a visible sonic boom, instantly tearing apart the thick clouds in the sky.

This is no longer an army.

Instead, they were a group of vengeful death gods whose bloodline had been completely awakened, driven by an extremely protective and clan-protective instinct!

"May the Great Tang Dynasty prosper!"

Xue Rengui flipped himself onto the white dragon horse, ripped off the white cloth from his head, and raised the halberd high.

"May the Great Tang Dynasty be victorious!!!"

His response was met with over 30,000 swords and bayonets drawn simultaneously, their blades gleaming in the night with a chilling light that would strike anyone with terror.

With this soaring will of revenge.

The Tang Dynasty's expeditionary force was like a pack of starving, bloodthirsty tigers, holding nothing back.

They charged directly at Goguryeo's last line of defense with the most ferocious force.