In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

For three nights in a row.

The journey through Chiling was peaceful and uneventful. Apart from a patrol guard encountering a black bear, there were no other unexpected incidents.

By the fourth night, they had traversed nearly two-thirds of the distance across Chiling, and their speed increased as they entered the horse trail.

It is estimated that we will be able to completely leave Chiling in two more days.

The campsite was ablaze with campfires, and the horse trail stretched for three miles.

"Your Highness, the enemy doesn't seem to intend to make a move."

"If this continues, we'll reach the end."

"Could it be that the other side discovered we've been exposed?"

The cold wind howled, making the flags flutter, and the pale moonlight stretched the shadows long.

Li Yuanchang led his men to inspect the camp: "Don't rush, we haven't even left yet. They might make their move tonight."

"Well... alright." Guo Chao clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"The closer we get to the end, the more we must remain calm. The entire army must not remove their armor, and their swords must not be out of their hands. I have a premonition that they are coming!" Li Yuanchang glanced at the bottomless black mountains.

"yes!"

Li Yuanchang walked around again to make sure there were no problems and that he could counter the ambush immediately before returning to his own tent.

"kindness?"

"What brings you here?" He saw Wu Yu as soon as he came in.

Wu Yu stepped forward to change his clothes and said, "Your Highness, it's cold, so I've come to add an extra layer of blankets for you."

"Since I have nothing else to do, I've come to keep Your Highness company. I'll head back before dawn."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang felt a slight warmth in his heart and patted her bottom.

He didn't know if he was just destined to be surrounded by women, but it seemed like he was always accompanied by women wherever he went, and every woman treated him extremely well.

It comes from the heart, not from a kind of obedience to power.

It would be good to find even one like that in later generations, and many women who get married may not even be truly sincere.

"Your Highness, it's too cold in the mountains. Please have a cup of ginseng tea."

Li Yuanchang glanced at it and shook his head vigorously.

Ginseng tea is a tea made by boiling ginseng and other medicinal herbs. This may not seem like much in later generations, but in ancient times it was considered an extremely potent medicine.

Because there are no fakes, and they are all wild-caught, their medicinal effects are so potent that after just one cup, the whole body feels hot and the mouth is dry. It can even bring a sixty-year-old man back to his peak condition, and that's no exaggeration!

"never mind."

Wu Yu had no choice but to take it.

Li Yuanchang lay on a simple wooden couch and waved his hand.

Wu Yu immediately understood, took off her shoes and climbed up, then sat cross-legged, lifted his head and placed it on her lap, and began to massage him.

Li Yuanchang closed his eyes to rest, completely emptying his mind, feeling inexplicably comfortable.

Soon, a wave of sleepiness washed over him, and he gradually drifted off to sleep.

This time, he dreamed of an old friend.

In Chang'an, the two rode horses, shot arrows, played football, and wrote calligraphy together. Everything was so wonderful, but the ancient man gradually disappeared.

In his dream, the more he tried to grasp it, the less he could hold on to it.

The final dream depicted her getting married, a bizarre and fantastical scene.

Li Yuanchang suddenly woke up, overwhelmed by a huge sense of loss.

"call."

"It was just a dream."

Li Yuanchang shook his head, unable to sleep any longer. He slowly got up, carefully removed his hand from Wu Yu's body, put on his coat, and went out.

"Your Highness."

The guards on duty were startled and immediately saluted.

Li Yuanchang nodded in acknowledgment, then walked to a rock and sat down, enjoying the cold wind as he gazed at the northern horizon beyond the mountains, his eyes lost in thought and far-reaching vision.

I wonder where Wu Zetian is now, and what her current situation is.

At that moment, he really wanted to light a cigarette.

He just sat there, not even reacting when his guards lit a fire to keep warm, and remained there for half an hour.

It was already past midnight, and the chill was penetrating like an all-pervasive wind, causing Li Yuanchang to tighten his clothes. He then got up, intending to go back to sleep.

But in the instant he stood up...

Under the dark sky in the distance, flocks of birds flew out of the forest.

Li Yuanchang's pupils reflected the old tree and the crows, and before he could react, clusters of leaping flames appeared densely two hundred paces away.

It's like a will-o'-the-wisp, igniting without wind.

"That, that is?" the guards murmured.

"A rocket! It's a rocket!"

"Retreat!!" Li Yuanchang's roar was like a thunderclap, he was the first to realize something was wrong.

The sound was so loud it quickly shattered the tranquility of the camp.

The guards of the Imperial Guard, who were already on high alert, responded quickly. The patrols retreated, and those hidden in the tents rushed out, erecting one "wall" after another with their shields.

At that moment, the rocket lifted off, like a dazzling firework streaking across the sky, instantly illuminating the pitch-black night.

Bang bang bang! !

The rockets struck the shields with a resounding clang, partially piercing the white tents and quickly igniting a fire.

Warhorses neighed, guards shouted, and the battle had begun.

"Your Highness!"

Wu Yu, Guo Chao, and many others rushed over.

Li Yuanchang's murderous gaze swept across the mountains and fields. Not only were a large number of rockets being fired from afar, but the area west of the horse trail had also been set on fire, with flames and thick smoke rising, blocking any possibility of escaping to the west.

"They're here! They're here!"

"Abandon all wagons and retreat southeast as planned, quickly!"

"yes!"

When the order was given, the three hundred elite troops completed the deployment with extremely high execution, all of them setting off immediately, abandoning all supplies, without the slightest hesitation.

Their speed and decisiveness were astonishing, as if they had rehearsed it a hundred times in advance.

Before the enemy hiding in the shadows could even rush over, the marriage procession had already escaped the encirclement; even a barrage of rockets couldn't stop them.

"Damn it!" The Xianbei man was furious upon seeing this and immediately became anxious.

"Keep them here!"

"kill!!"

Rumble!

Fearing the marriage alliance would escape, the Xianbei cavalry, without waiting for the arrows to rain down or for them to regroup, launched a preemptive strike to hunt down the fleeing guards of the Han Prince's Palace.

The strong hooves trod the mountainous terrain as if it were flat ground, and the tall Xianbei people, holding curved swords, charged out in an endless stream.

The deafening roar was accompanied by shouts of killing.

"Kill them!"

"Whoever captures the King of Han and the Princess alive will be rewarded with one hundred gold pieces!"

The sound echoed deep within the Red Ridge, startling all the crows into flight.

"drive!"

"drive!!"

Li Yuanchang charged ahead, seeing the enemy already closing in.

"Guo Chao!"

He shouted, without saying much, and Guo Chao immediately understood, leading about a hundred cavalrymen to quickly split up.

The team was split into two, a plan that Li Yuanchang had devised in advance.

Because it was dark, and Guo Chao and his small group didn't even carry torches, all the firepower was instantly drawn to the main force led by Li Yuanchang.

The two sides chased and fled like unstoppable chariots, and soon rushed into another valley, where there was a riverbed with shallow water.

The herd of warhorses swiftly waded through the water, splashing up droplets.

Li Yuanchang looked around from horseback. The valley was surrounded by darkness, making it the perfect ambush point.

"Get ready!"

He drew his sword with a bang.