Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

Xiao Fang ignored him.

His lips were so dry and cracked that a layer of white skin had peeled off, and his eyes were bloodshot.

The wind and sand of the Gobi Desert had cut several small, bloody gashes on his face.

A thick layer of yellow sand covered the bright red cloak.

His gaze passed over the sentries and was fixed on the commander's flag outside the central command tent.

A string of copper bells hung on the flagpole, a rule of the Zhenbei Army: as long as the commander's flag stands, the commander is still alive.

Two of the gold threads on the banner had broken, and the corners of the banner were curled up by the north wind, revealing a jagged tear.

Where are they?

Xiao Fang asked in a hoarse voice.

Before the sentry could answer, a lieutenant stumbled out of the tent.

The lieutenant, his face covered in blood and his armor riddled with cuts, knelt on one knee before Xiao Fang, his voice urgent and hoarse.

"Young Master, what brings you here?"

The prince is surrounded at Wolf Slope! We've tried to break through three times but haven't been able to get in—"

Xiao Fang pulled him up from the ground.

"Stop kneeling, explain the situation."

The lieutenant gave a brief, rapid-fire explanation.

Three days ago, the Prince of Zhenbei led his vanguard in pursuit of a Northern Hu cavalry force.

When the prince chased the enemy to the vicinity of Wild Wolf Slope, he was ambushed.

Fifty thousand Northern Hu troops surrounded the area from three sides, and the Prince of Zhenbei retreated to the top of the hill to defend it.

But arrows and provisions are running out.

The commander guarding the camp was General Zhou Chong, the deputy commander of the Prince of Zhenbei.

He doesn't have enough troops to relieve the siege, and the letters he sent out for help have yet to receive a reply.

Xiao Fang didn't say a word after listening.

He turned and strode toward the central command tent, lifted the tent flap, and went straight to the commander's desk.

On the desk lay a sheepskin map, its edges yellowed from the oil lamp smoke, densely marked with the terrain of the Wild Wolf Slope area.

His fingers flew across the map, his gaze like a cold iron ruler.

They measured the winding mountain ridges and the dried-up riverbeds inch by inch.

"I don't have the tiger tally, but anyone who disobeys me will be executed on my own!"

Xiao Fang took out a scroll of imperial edict from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

"Order: Three thousand cavalrymen of the left battalion, follow me immediately."

Five thousand infantrymen from the right wing bypassed the area behind Wild Wolf Slope.

It doesn't need to be fast, but it needs to create momentum.

Cut some tree branches, tie them to the horse's tail, and drag them along the ground as it runs; the higher the dust rises, the better.

Zhou Chong was stunned.

He had seen Xiao Fang before; everyone in the capital knew the young master's reputation as the number one playboy.

He's now the head of the Inspection Department, a living devil who investigates corrupt officials.

But at this moment, the young man standing in front of him, covered in sand and dust, had no trace of arrogance in his eyes, only a cold, calm, and sharp decisiveness.

"Your Highness."

Zhou Chong hesitated and said:

"Wild Wolf Slope has a treacherous terrain; a frontal attack would be disastrous—"

"Who told you I was going to launch a frontal attack?"

Xiao Fang lightly tapped his finger on the map, pointing to an inconspicuous fork in the road on the south side of Wild Wolf Slope.

"There is a dry riverbed on the south side of Wild Wolf Slope. The Northern Hu people deployed their main forces on the east and west sides, leaving the south side as the weakest point."

They assumed we couldn't come from the south, because there's a cliff there.

He looked up at Zhou Chong, a cold smile flashing in his bloodshot eyes.

"But they are northern Hu people, and they are not familiar with this terrain."

There is a crack in the middle of the cliff, just wide enough for a person and a horse to pass through. Local hunters call it the Wolf Tooth Crack.

I led three thousand elite cavalry through the Wolf Fang Pass and plunged straight into the rear of the Northern Barbarians.

Once their attention is drawn to the sandstorm behind them, lead your infantry to press forward from the front.

He marked two arrows on the sheepskin map.

One route cuts through the mountain from the south, while the other goes around it from the rear.

The point where the arrows intersected sandwiched the Northern Hu army on the outskirts of Wild Wolf Slope.

Zhou Chong stared at the two clear red lines on the map and remained silent for a long time.

Then he took a step back, straightened his armor, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xiao Fang, and there was no longer a trace of hesitation in his voice.

"This subordinate obeys."

The fierce battle at Wild Wolf Slope lasted from afternoon until dusk.

Half of the main force of the Northern Hu people was lured away by Xiao Fang's feint.

Five thousand infantrymen from the right battalion dragged tree branches as they raced across the Gobi Desert. The sand and dust obscured the sky, making them look like tens of thousands of troops moving from a distance.

The scouts of the Northern Hu people rode swiftly to report back:

"A large army is pressing in from behind!"

The commander had no choice but to send most of his troops back to defend.

Xiao Fang had been waiting for this moment.

Three thousand elite cavalrymen emerged from the Wolf Fang Pass, like a sharp, tempered dagger, silently piercing the heart of the Northern Hu people.

In this battle, Xiao Fang took the lead and charged ahead of his troops.

His longsword sliced ​​across the throat of the first Northern Hu cavalryman, splattering blood all over his face, which he did not wipe away.

The second Northern Hu general brandished his scimitar and slashed at him.

Xiao Fang dodged to the side, the blade grazing his ribs, tearing his battle robe and revealing the old, bleeding wounds underneath, but he didn't even flinch.

Then he swung his knife in a backhand motion, the tip piercing the general's jaw and going through his entire skull.

Xiao Fang drew his sword, blood and brains splattering on the back of his hand. He wiped it on his sleeve and spurred his horse forward.

His long sword flashed like a white ribbon through the crowd, never missing its mark.

His cavalry followed him, carving a straight, bloody path.

They pushed their way from the rear to the front, tearing the encirclement of the Northern Hu people in two.

At the top of Wild Wolf Slope, Prince Xiao Ji of Zhenbei stood beside a boulder, leaning on his silver spear.

He had several cuts on his body, and his left arm was slashed with a deep gash that exposed the bone.

He was hastily bandaged with only a torn piece of his battle robe, the fabric already soaked with blood.

He saw the Northern Hu camp at the foot of the mountain suddenly thrown into chaos, and saw a troop of black-armored cavalry charging in from the south.

Seeing that familiar black battle flag, it rushed ahead of everyone.

The flag was embroidered with only one character – Xiao.

He knew who had come.

"You brat!"

Xiao Ji cursed under his breath, but the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Then he mounted his horse, raised his silver spear, and spoke in a booming voice.

"Reinforcements have arrived! My men, follow me and charge!"

The border troops, swooping down from the top of the slope, and the elite cavalry, who charged in from the mountain crevice, attacked from both sides.

The Northern Hu people's formation completely collapsed.

The 50,000 Northern Hu troops were surrounded and routed, suffering heavy casualties.

Xiao Ji chased after a group of fleeing soldiers through the ranks, fighting his way through, silently making plans in his mind.

Thirty thousand, at least thirty thousand.

After this battle, the Northern Hu were unable to catch their breath for a while.

As the setting sun dyed the entire Gobi Desert blood red, the shouts of battle finally subsided.

The battlefield was littered with the corpses of Northern Hu people and Liang soldiers.

On the northern Hu side, the surviving soldiers scattered and fled like headless flies.

They were chased down and killed one by one by the cavalry surrounding Daliang.

Xiao Fang reined in his horse, sheathed his longsword, which had already been slashed open, and wiped the blood from his face.

It was impossible to tell whether it was his blood or the enemy's blood; it was smeared on his face, drying and wetting layer after layer, forming a hard, brown crust.

He glanced expressionlessly at the battlefield strewn with corpses, then turned his horse around and headed towards the central command tent.

Xiao Ji had been waiting in the tent for a long time.

He sat behind the desk, his armor still on, his silver spear leaning against his hand, and the bloodstains on his face unwashed.

He heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the tent and sat up straighter.

He then hid his injured left arm under the table, maintaining his usual cold and dignified expression.

The curtain was lifted from the outside, and Xiao Fang walked in.

He was covered in blood, and his face was cracked in several places by the wind and sand of the Gobi Desert.

His lips were so dry and cracked that the white skin peeled off, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken, but his eyes still shone with an astonishing brightness.

He saw Xiao Ji, looked him up and down to make sure his father wasn't missing any important parts, and then nodded.

"It's alright."

Xiao Fang breathed a sigh of relief, his voice returning to its lazy tone.

"I'm going to take a nap."

Then he turned around, lifted the curtain, and went outside.

There were no greetings, no reports, not a single unnecessary word.

He didn't even wait for Xiao Ji to say a word before turning around and leaving.

It's like going out on a errand, coming back to report, and then going to sleep.

Xiao Ji was speechless for a long time after hearing those four words.

He sat behind the desk, opening his mouth as if to swear.

But even though he opened his mouth and the words of insult circled around his lips, he swallowed them back.

He realized that he didn't actually want to curse anything.