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

call out! !

No sooner had he finished speaking than an arrow, like a venomous snake in the night, pierced his throat as it swept across the chaotic battlefield.

puff!

The arrow pierced through the body, leaving a trail of blood mist.

Changji's body stiffened, his gaze froze, and a look of pain appeared on his face before he collapsed to the ground, not even knowing who had killed him.

"Lord Changji!!"

Exclamations erupted all around, the assassins' faces changed drastically, and their morale plummeted.

At this moment, Li Yuanchang had already led his team in, breaking through the assassins like a bulldozer, and reaching the banner.

"Avenge Lord Changji!"

"kill!!"

Some people shouted this slogan in an attempt to turn the tide.

But it was all in vain. The disparity in combat strength, coupled with the pincer attack from both sides, meant that their seemingly massive ship was on the verge of capsizing.

boom!

Beneath the banners, sparks flew as an extremely fierce battle erupted, with crossbows firing at close range and Tang swords clashing, constantly cutting down Xianbei soldiers.

From the air, the three hundred guards were like tigers and wolves, tearing at the throats of the Xianbei tribesmen.

They could neither charge forward nor retreat, nor even escape; they could only fight like trapped beasts time and time again.

After Changji was shot down by Li Yuanchang with an arrow, his banner was cut down within a quarter of an hour, and the morale of the Xianbei people completely collapsed.

A perfectly planned ambush failed from the start. They couldn't surround the princess, and they didn't even see where she was. The overwhelming encirclement had left them with no hope, and their defeat was becoming increasingly obvious!

The hot war lasted until dawn, when it came to a complete end.

As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the Red Ridge, having endured a night of bloodshed, was once again bathed in sunlight.

Black smoke billowed from the horse trail, and a large number of tents had been burned, though the fire had not yet been completely extinguished.

On this side of the valley, corpses lay strewn everywhere, and the stench of blood was overwhelming.

The wounded soldiers were transferred one by one.

Li Yuanchang led his team slowly across the battlefield to an open space.

There were about fifty prisoners kneeling in a row here. Most of the other assassins had been killed in battle, but a few had managed to escape in the chaos.

When Li Yuanchang stood still, the fifty men looked away and trembled.

"You dare to intercept the marriage alliance, yet you don't even have the courage to look me in the eye? Should I call you warriors or trash?"

The mocking tone made the fifty people turn ashen-faced.

One of them suddenly lunged out, trying to pounce on Li Yuanchang.

boom!

Guo Chao smashed his mouth open with the hilt of his knife, shattering his front teeth.

"Ah!" he wailed, screaming in agony, his mouth full of blood.

Li Yuanchang ignored him and instead waved.

Huang Er stepped forward shakily; this man was also one of the attendants who had been arrested at the post station.

"Recognizing people."

"Who is Helian?" Li Yuanchang asked calmly.

"Your Highness, it's him!" Huang Er pointed tremblingly at the man who had tried to pounce on him.

"You bastard, it was you who betrayed me!" Helian roared, trying to pounce on him, but was pinned down by his guards, his face scraping against the ground.

He was tall and strong, as fierce as a wild beast, and struggled incessantly.

It wasn't until Li Yuanchang stomped hard on his face that he was completely pinned to death.

"Tell me, why did you assassinate the marriage alliance?"

"And who sent you here?"

Humiliated, Helian roared, "If you have the guts, let me go! Let's duel like warriors!"

Li Yuanchang scoffed, "What class do you think you are? You dare to challenge me to a duel?"

"You!" Helian's veins bulged.

"I don't want to repeat myself. You'd better confess immediately," Li Yuanchang said calmly.

"So what if I don't confess?"

Li Yuanchang's eyes turned cold, and he directly severed the Achilles tendon with a knife in front of everyone. Blood spurted out, and the man screamed in agony.

"what!"

"My feet, my feet!"

The prisoners were all pale-faced.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Helian shouted.

Li Yuanchang slowly loosened his legs and squatted down.

"Yes, yes..." Helian was in great pain, cold sweat pouring down his face, and he was breathless as he spoke.

Li Yuanchang had to get closer to him.

"You lowly Han people all deserve to die!" Helian's expression suddenly changed, his face showing extreme hatred and ruthlessness, and then he violently broke free from one hand.

A broken blade had appeared in his hand without his knowledge, and he thrust it viciously towards Li Yuanchang's neck.

"Go to hell!"

"Your Highness, be careful!"

puff! !

Blood splattered out and landed on Li Yuanchang's clothes.

Everyone was stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief.

The broken blade failed to pierce Li Yuanchang, and the knife in Li Yuanchang's hand sliced ​​off his neck even faster.

Helian's face was contorted in agony, his veins bulging. Due to massive bleeding from his throat, his body was convulsing. He did not die immediately, but was experiencing the loss of life bit by bit in extreme pain.

"Pooh!"

Li Yuanchang spat, surprised that he was an extreme ethnic antagonist.

He probably already had a vague idea of ​​what was going on: someone didn't want the marriage alliance to proceed smoothly, rather than simply wanting revenge.

After all, once the marriage alliance is established, the Tuyuhun people will be completely bound to the Tang Dynasty's war machine from their former status as a subjugated force, and through the efforts of two generations, they will be assimilated.

"Chop off this man's head, send it back to Chang'an, and feed his body to the dogs!"

"yes!"

Immediately afterwards, Li Yuanchang approached the prisoners, carrying a bloodstained knife.

"Each of you has one chance."

"But only once. Anyone who wants to imitate this guy can try."

"If you need to explain the situation, do it as soon as possible."

"Anyone who resists before nightfall will not see the sun rise tomorrow!"

After saying that, he stuck the knife into the ground.

The prisoners shuddered, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, their fear of death completely overriding their hatred for the Han people.

Li Yuanchang then left, handing over the interrogation to his subordinates, and hurried to the area where the wounded soldiers were gathered.

In this battle, the Imperial Guard suffered very few casualties thanks to its excellent equipment, but it was wounded quite a lot.

The mere collision of warhorses injured many people and broke countless bones.

These were his core confidants and ironclad followers, so he naturally felt sorry for them.

After final calculation, the Han Prince's Palace suffered 38 dead, but as many as 132 wounded.

Compared to the Xianbei people, this figure was no longer considered a loss, but he was still heartbroken and ordered the bodies of his fallen guards to be collected and taken back to Liangzhou for burial.

As night fell, Chiling was deathly silent, with large numbers of crows circling, landing, and gnawing on the remaining flesh and blood in the valley.

Countless torches lit up the walkway, making it as bright as day.

Occasionally, a few groans could be heard from the wounded soldiers' camp, but thanks to the disinfectant and wound medicine, the overall situation stabilized, and no wounded soldiers died.

"Your Highness, everything has been explained."

"They came from Tuyuhun and were a group of assassins recruited three years ago. Some were soldiers, and some were civilians."

"Helian was just a minor leader; the big leader was a man named Changji, but he died in battle last night."

"These people are recruited and trained, but they don't know much. They are only told that food and drink will be delivered to them every once in a while, so they have no worries about food and clothing."

"It seems that someone was supporting them, and before the ambush of the marriage alliance, someone also sent them a large number of weapons."

"Several people have testified that it was a gift from a general!"