Film and Television: The Collector Who Rampages Across the Heavens

A ray of golden sunlight playfully peeked through the gap in the curtains, casting dappled shadows on the pile of wood and straw in the room. Zhong Yu sat on it, listening to the hustle and bustle of footsteps and voices outside.

She has been captured for over a month and has been imprisoned here ever since. Apart from that man, no one has come to see her.

"I wonder how the young master is doing!"

Zhong Yu hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees, her handsome and beautiful face tinged with sorrow.

On the battlefield, she could have drawn her sword and committed suicide without hesitation, but now that she had survived and the other party hadn't done anything to her, the thought of suicide had faded.

"Young master..."

A soldier's respectful reply came from outside, followed by the sound of a lock being opened. Upon seeing this, Zhong Yu immediately closed his eyes and lay down, his slender and well-proportioned body facing away from the door.

Su Li stepped in and found the woman pretending to be asleep somewhat amusing. He walked up to her and asked, "Are you really asleep, or do you just not want to see me?"

No one answered. From inside the room came Zhong Yu's faint breathing. She kept her eyes closed and remained motionless, as if she were making an invisible resistance.

But the next second she couldn't hold back anymore, a warm, large hand reached out and pinched her there!

Bang!

A long, slender leg, accompanied by a gust of wind and the long shackles on the leg, suddenly kicked towards Su Li's head. The latter casually blocked it, grabbed her rounded ankle, and sat directly on the woman's knees, pinning her down firmly.

"You..." Zhong Yu gritted his teeth and glared at Zhong Yu in anger.

"Aren't you pretending to be asleep? Keep sleeping!" Su Li cracked her knuckles, a cold smile appearing on her lips.

Seeing his actions, Zhong Yu was furious and embarrassed. She touched her chest, which had been pinched so hard, and exclaimed, "Disgusting!"

"I have something even more lewd to offer, do you want to try it?" Su Li said, reaching out to grasp her fair neck and staring at her. "I have some good news for you. Yan Xun has returned to Yanbei and has formed an alliance with four other kingdoms to attack our Great Wei. Regardless of who wins or loses this battle, there will be widespread bloodshed."

Zhong Yu was slightly startled when she first heard about this. She said coldly, "If you were in the position of the heir apparent, you probably would have done the same."

"That's right, the Yan family is indeed a tragedy. I will soon lead an army of 100,000 to personally conquer Yanbei. You'll be glad that Yan Xun escaped quickly enough, otherwise his head would have become my capital for promotion!" Su Li said with a playful smile, pinching and gently tearing at Zhong Yu's face. The smoothness in his hands was quite comfortable.

"So what? The Crown Prince is brave and skilled in battle, and his reputation in Yanbei is so high that he can summon hundreds of thousands of archers with a single call. If you go there, you will only face defeat and death."

Zhong Yu's expression changed slightly, but he still forced himself to speak.

"Then we'll see who comes out on top..." Su Li said, changing the subject, "Do you know why there's so much noise outside?"

Zhong Yu gave him an indifferent look, but his ears were firmly perked up.

"I am getting married tomorrow. The Emperor has personally issued an edict betrothing Princess Yuan Chun to me. This is a joyous day worth celebrating. I have already instructed the servants that you can also eat and drink more."

Zhong Yu was slightly taken aback by Su Li's words: "Emperor Wei really has some tricks up his sleeve, willing to marry his beloved daughter to you so you can fight for him."

"That's all thanks to Yan Xun for breaking Chun'er's heart, otherwise she wouldn't have accepted me so easily. I have to thank you for that." Su Li looked at her and smiled mischievously.

Zhong Yu remained silent. Her young master had been fair to everyone, except for that naive and foolish princess, to whom he owed too much.

"Alright, I've said my piece. You just wait here at Black Mountain Courtyard until the day I return victorious."

Su Li got up from her lap and walked outside. Zhong Yu watched his retreating figure and couldn't help but ask, "Why...why didn't you kill me?"

"Do you know what I'm most interested in in this world? Besides power, it's beautiful women..." The man's words and laughter gradually faded into the room. His answer was both unexpected and expected.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Yu, who had been feeling slightly uneasy, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

A day later, the wedding day of Su Li and Yuan Chun arrived. There was no earth-shattering gong and drumbeat, nor were there banners stretching all over the city. It was far less grand than the wedding of Yan Xun, but it was still held in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Due to the urgency of the war, many of the elaborate rituals were omitted. Even after all this trouble, a banquet was held in the main hall, and it was already late at night with the moon high in the sky.

"Your Highness, we won't accompany you inside."

Caiwei, the personal maid, handed over the tray with wine, her eyes sparkling with a smile as she spoke.

Su Li took the gift and whispered in her ear, "You look beautiful tonight too," before pushing open the door and entering the palace.

In the candlelit room, a slender and alluring figure sat gracefully beneath a red veil draped in gold thread in the distance. Her fair hands were crossed and moved occasionally, clearly indicating her nervousness.

"Chun'er, I'm coming!"

Su Li joked and stepped forward to remove the red veil, revealing a pretty face that could be both charming and sullen, exquisite and captivating, with an innate and refined elegance.

He sat down next to the girl, poured two glasses of wine, handed her one, and said, "From now on, we'll be together through thick and thin."

"I know I will do my duty as a wife."

Yuan Chun took the wine and was about to drink it when the man stopped her. He held the wine glass and passed it through her wrist.

"Drinking like this, it's called 'cross-cupped wine'!"

Yuan Chun smiled brightly, downed her wine in one gulp, and looked into the other's burning gaze. Her heart skipped a beat, and she whispered, "Please have mercy on me..."

"Of course, leave everything to me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Li pounced on her.

The palace was well soundproofed, but Yuan Chun's voice was so loud that the palace maids outside blushed and looked at each other in embarrassment.

The next morning, Caiwei cautiously led the palace maids in with toiletries after hearing the noise inside. The newly appointed prince consort, Su Li, enjoyed their service and was no longer wearing the robes of a young master, but the special attire for a royal prince consort.

"Your Highness, she..." Caiwei glanced at the slender, delicate figure behind the screen on the bed, who was fast asleep, clutching a brocade quilt.

"Don't worry about the princess. She used up too much energy last night and should wake up around noon."

Caiwei's face showed difficulty: "Today is the first day of your marriage to the princess, you must pay your respects to the Emperor and Consort Wei."

Su Li cursed the royal family for their constant troubles, then turned and walked towards the bed: "I'll go call her."

He parted the silk screen, climbed onto the bed, and tossed and turned with Yuan Chun for a while before finally waking her up.

"I'm so tired, what are you doing!" Yuan Chun grumbled with a nasal tone.

"I need to go see my father and mother!"

As the emperor's son-in-law, his title naturally had to be changed.

Yuan Chun sighed wearily, and it took her a while to get dressed with Caiwei's help before she and Su Li arrived at the emperor's residence.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty and Mother!"

"Get up, both of you!" Emperor Wei seemed to be in a good mood. He beckoned to the two of them. They were a handsome couple, and their eyes met with affection. They were still very much in love.

Consort Wei gently scolded, "Chun'er, what's wrong with you all? You knew you needed to see your father and me today, yet you made us wait so long?" "Ah, this...this..."

Yuan Chun's little hands twitched, her cheeks flushed red, and she didn't know what to say. She couldn't very well tell him the truth.

"Don't do that next time, it's too rude. Now that you're married, you should learn how to manage a household properly." Consort Wei pulled her daughter aside and shared her experience.

Meanwhile, Emperor Wei discussed the matter of the four armies with Su Li. Since they had become the emperor's son-in-law, things were naturally different, and some things could be said face to face.

Su Li and Yuan Chun accompanied Emperor Wei and Consort Wei for half a day, and only left after lunch. The latter was extremely tired and kept nodding like a sleepy bug. As soon as they left the palace, she collapsed into his arms.

"I'm tired, carry me back."

Yuan Chun knew that Su Li had the stamina and physical strength, and last night's events were the best proof of that.

"Okay!" Su Li smiled indulgently at her.

The next few days were their honeymoon, filled with affection. Yuan Chun was radiant with happiness, both physically and mentally, and her complexion improved day by day.

The day of the expedition quietly arrived. On this day, the imperial guards were stationed all around the city. Emperor Wei, dressed in full military attire, stood on a chariot and solemnly reviewed the 50,000-strong army outside the city. He made a solemn promise to all the soldiers: if they won this battle, they would be generously rewarded; if they lost, it would mean the destruction of the country.

After the rally concluded, Su Li and Yuan Song personally led the Tiger Legion north to a key town on the border between Yanbei and Dawei to join forces with several other armies, and then the battle began.

"I wonder if I'll ever be able to return to the capital?" Yuan Song, riding his tall horse, turned his head and took a deep look at the place where he was born and raised.

"Does Your Highness have so little confidence in me?" Su Li chuckled, holding a riding crop.

Yuan Song looked at his nonchalant smile and shook his head, saying, "I'm not as confident as you, Ali. I've barely been to the border, let alone dealt with the hundreds of thousands of troops from Yanbei and Rouran!"

They had just received intelligence that Yan Xun was recruiting 80,000 soldiers in Yanbei, while the Rouran were sending 70,000, for a total of 150,000 troops. The difference of 50,000 was no small number.

"Cao Cao, a figure from the Three Kingdoms period, once said, 'The quality of an army is not important, but its strength; the bravery of a general is not important, but his strategy.' Throughout history, there have been countless examples of defeating a larger force with a smaller one..."

Yuan Song said in a deep voice, "I don't understand battlefield combat. As long as we can win this battle, you can give me any orders."

Zurich nodded and smiled.

……

In the seventeenth year of the Western Wei Dynasty, General Yuwen Li led an army of 10 to fight a decisive battle against Yanbei and Rouran on the northern grasslands.

After more than a month of fighting, the Rouran's rear tribes were attacked, and all the princes and nobles of the Rouran Golden Tribe were captured. Upon hearing this, the morale of the frontline army plummeted, and a large number of Rouran people fled.

Yuwen Li seized the opportunity to break the alliance between Rouran and Yanbei. Yan Xun fled to Dingbei City with only 8,000 remaining soldiers, fighting like a cornered beast.

However, the Wei army did not attack the city immediately. Instead, they quelled a local rebellion, recruited the remaining soldiers, and rested for a week before advancing on Dingbei City. They attacked the city day and night, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

But overnight, the tall city wall of Dingbei suddenly cracked, a sound that could be heard for miles around. The Wei army seized the opportunity to attack the city, and Yan Xun, who had been in power for less than half a year, was defeated and killed.

"Your Highness, let's go quickly!"

"As long as the green hills remain, there's always firewood to burn," Your Highness said.

"We are willing to cover the Crown Prince's retreat..."

Yan Xun, accompanied by his confidants, mounted a fine horse and once again abandoned the charioteers who had fought valiantly, heading further north. There were thousands upon thousands of tribes, large and small, there, and given the opportunity, he could rebuild his power once more.

"Yanbei, I will come back." Yan Xun gazed at Dingbei City all night, knowing that after today, there would be no trace of his Yan family here.

Thinking of Yuwen Li, a gloomy feeling settled in his heart. His 150,000-strong army was no match for the enemy's 100,000. The enemy could detect every troop movement, even if the troop orders were only circulated among the generals. It was as if that person could predict the future.

"Damn it, how come this guy is such a skilled fighter?"

Just as he was gritting his teeth inwardly, a thunderous sound of hooves came from behind him, and a group of Wei cavalry surged up from all directions like wolves.

"By order of the General, capture or kill Yan Xun, and the reward will be a thousand taels of gold and a promotion of three ranks!"

Yan Xun, who was fleeing with only a hundred cavalrymen, suddenly changed his expression as he glanced at the hundreds of cavalrymen behind him.

Before he could speak, Ah Jing, who had followed him the longest, laughed loudly: "Your Highness, I'm leaving now. In the next life, I will still be willing to follow you."

He led thirty or forty brave cavalrymen in a desperate battle to meet the Wei army's iron cavalry. The clash of blades and screams filled the air. Soon, all was quiet behind them, but they had used this time to escape a considerable distance.

Just when Yan Xun and the others thought they could escape, a group of cavalrymen suddenly appeared on the small hill ahead, their banners waving. There were more than a thousand of them, and the leaders were Su Li and Yuan Song.

"Yan Xun, it's been many days. How have you been?"

Seeing that his path was blocked, Yan Xun gripped the reins to stop his horse, and a hearty smile appeared on his gloomy face: "It's been many days since we last met. It seems this is where I, the young master, will be buried. Not bad, there is water and grass. It is still in my Yanbei. I have no regrets in dying here."

Yuan Song rode forward, looking at the other man with a complicated expression: "If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place."

He has always held deep feelings for this friend he grew up with.

"National and personal vendettas, how can you not avenge them!" Yan Xun shouted coldly, "Yuan Song, go back and tell that old man, Emperor Wei, I will haunt him even in death, I will be waiting for him in the deepest hell!"

Yuan Song remained silent.

Yan Xun didn't mind, and looked at Yuwen Li, with whom he had dealt several times, and asked, "Brother Li, I've always had a question. You seem to notice every time I move troops. What's the reason for that?"

He glanced at his men following behind him and said strangely, "Could it be that I have one of your spies among my men?"

Yuan Song was also quite curious about this, and looked at Su Li.

"No, what I rely on is nothing more than external things... or you could say intuition," Su Li said vaguely. With half a game's vision, as long as you're not stupid, you basically won't lose. If you can lose even with that, then you shouldn't be playing strategic games.

"Very well, I accept your defeat wholeheartedly. If you wish to exchange my head for benefits from that old Wei Emperor, then so be it."

Yan Xun slowly drew his wolf-blade from his waist, and the cavalrymen behind him did the same, all with the intention of dying for their cause.

He absolutely could not fall into the hands of the Wei army alive, because the Wei emperor would surely humiliate him in front of the world, making the Yan family a laughingstock.

"Yuwen Li, treat Chun'er well, she... is a good girl."

These words drifted in the wind. The heir of the Marquis of Dingbei lived up to his reputation for bravery and personally led his last few dozen riders to fight against the Wei cavalry. In the end, he killed several men before being defeated and killed!

Yuan Song rode over, landed on the grass, stepped over the broken corpses with his boots, came to Yan Xun, and slowly closed the other's eyes.

"Find a place by the lake and give him a proper burial!"

"Is there something you regret?" Su Li asked, looking at the sorrow on Yuan Song's face.

"They didn't actually have to die, including everyone else. If Father hadn't done that back then, Marquis Dingbei and Yan Xun would still be the strongest shield for our Great Wei."

Yuan Song regretted this matter day and night, wishing he could have stopped it.