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

In the blink of an eye, a military formation was quickly assembled in the low-lying area of ​​the riverbed, with the Han Prince's personal guards as its absolute core.

The mere four hundred men quickly huddled together, with crossbowmen and compound bowmen on top, spearmen and shield bearers below, and laborers protected in the middle.

Although they were hastily engaged in battle, they were extremely well-organized. Even if cavalry charged into their formation, as long as there weren't too many of them, they could defend against it.

At this moment, the distant thunder of horses' hooves grew ever closer.

Everyone's palms were sweating, and the laborers protected in the middle huddled together, trembling.

"Um?"

"Not Xueyantuo cavalry?"

Li Yuanchang looked again, and the outlines of the cavalry became clearer. With the help of the telescope, he could already see their armor style.

He was certain that the person was not from Xueyantuo, and he breathed a sigh of relief; it was a false alarm.

"Relax, they're Tang soldiers, they're on our side!"

These words were like a timely rain after a long drought.

"It's the Tang army!"

"It's our army!"

"call……"

The laborers looked as if they had just escaped death; most of them were completely exhausted.

When he could clearly see the Tang-character military flag, Li Yuanchang completely relaxed, ordered all the archers to put away their weapons, and then rode out to meet the approaching people.

"Whoa!!"

Dust billowed up in the valley.

The newcomers were Tang Dynasty cavalry, but it was unclear whose subordinates they belonged to. There were about eighty men in total, and the leader was holding a Tang Dynasty broadsword, with a dignified and imposing appearance.

The Xueyantuo had cavalry, and the Tang Dynasty also had scout cavalry patrolling to protect the supply lines. Once the enemy was spotted, they would quickly call for support.

This is actually somewhat similar to later generations.

"Which supply convoy are you from?"

"How did you get here?"

Li Yuanchang clasped his hands in greeting: "We are escort personnel from the Lantian County Warehouse Office. We were forced to change our route due to a heavy rain a few days ago."

The cavalryman was furious and was about to demand an explanation.

"My name is Li Yuanchang."

The cavalry brigade commander swallowed back the words he was about to say, his expression changing slightly: "You, you are the Prince of Han?"

Li Yuanchang laughed and said, "There is no Prince of Han in the army, only Li Yuanchang, the escort captain."

Eighty soldiers clasped their fists in unison. Li Yuanchang could say that, but they dared not underestimate him.

Moreover, Li Yuanchang's reputation was widespread. His record of 20,000 men with 200 hammers and 50,000 men with several thousand men was already well-known in the army. As soldiers, we respected him from the bottom of our hearts.

"Your Highness, I have been rude."

"I am Ma Hong, a scout under General Yuan Fei, responsible for reconnaissance and security of the grain supply route."

"I just received a message saying that a security convoy was passing through this area, so I came to check out out of concern and curiosity."

Li Yuanchang nodded, secretly thinking that the Tang Dynasty's scouts were indeed formidable.

"Thank you. I will explain this matter to my superiors," Li Yuanchang said.

Ma Hong nodded.

"Your Highness, in that case, we will escort the convoy there."

Li Yuanchang shook his head: "Brother Ma, go and do your work. It's not far from Da Mengchang from here."

Ma Hong frowned solemnly: "Your Highness, our vanguard has already crossed the Numa River and killed three thousand Xueyantuo soldiers."

"The Xueyantuo launched a retaliation, with a large number of cavalry infiltrating the area. Three supply lines were already cut off yesterday."

"For safety's sake, let me escort you."

"We can't bear the responsibility if something happens to you."

Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly surprised. So fast?

"Three times?"

"Those three incidents?" Li Yuanchang frowned, somewhat worried about Gong Yun.

"The Zhechong Prefecture of Puxian, the Zhechong Prefecture of Liudao, and the Zhechong Prefecture of Chongcheng suffered heavy losses; many scout cavalrymen were encountered," Ma Hong said.

Li Yuanchang breathed a sigh of relief. In war, people are bound to die. No matter how perfect the victory, people will die. But he didn't want it to be someone from Lantian County.

"it is good."

"In that case, I shall respectfully comply!"

Li Yuanchang did not refuse again, thinking that he should quickly transport the grain and fodder to the destination and then return to meet up with the other brothers in Lantian County.

"yes!"

Ma Hong clasped his hands in greeting, and then the two teams quickly merged into one.

With the scout brigade's assistance and guidance, the team avoided many detours and gained more confidence.

Although there were only eighty escorts, far fewer than Li Yuanchang's forces, they were scouts of the Tang Dynasty.

Scouts were essentially the reconnaissance companies and advance troops of later armies; they were usually elite and considered valuable assets in border garrisons.

The selection process is very rigorous; it's not something just anyone can get into the army.

The next day at dawn.

Under a hazy sky, a vast array of grain carts officially entered the Great Mengchang.

Torches lit up the area, dispelling the fog, and a large number of elite Tang soldiers were stationed there.

Li Yuanchang's risky move resulted in a safe arrival, and he did not encounter the Xueyantuo cavalry.

During the handover, Li Yuanchang encountered Wang Mai, the logistics supervisor.

"Your Highness, I heard you changed the grain route?" Wang Mai led his men to surround them. Although he spoke politely, his tone clearly carried the displeasure of interrogation.

While Cheng Chuliang and Yuchi Baoqi were working, they kept an eye on this side, knowing that the military supervisor was deliberately making things difficult for them.

Li Yuanchang didn't bother with him, keeping track of the grain count with the official, and didn't even turn around.

To put it bluntly, the other party only dares to cause minor trouble; they don't have the guts to actually do anything.

"There was a reason for this. It was raining heavily, and we didn't want to delay the soldiers at the front, so we changed our route temporarily."

"But Your Highness, this is against the rules!"

Wang Mai frowned. "This is escalating to an extreme, it's never going to end."

"It's better to go against the rules than to postpone it. This was my idea, and I will report it to the authorities myself. You don't need to worry about it, Supervisor."

Wang Mai's expression began to darken.

"Your Highness, you should report this to me."

Li Yuanchang, with a squinty eye, chose to confront them head-on.

"Wang, are you targeting me?"

The atmosphere at the scene immediately became tense.

The grain officials of Da Mengchang all lowered their heads, silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to cast a glance, for fear of being drawn into the dispute.

Wang Mai was humiliated by the rebuke. As the supervisor of provisions, this was the first time he had been rebuked by a transport officer, especially since the other party was someone of great importance.

How could he dare admit it? Those targeting Li Yuanchang are basically finished.

"Your Highness, I was merely concerned about the safety of the grain carts; how could it be considered a targeted attack?"

"That's good. I trust the character of Supervisor Wang."

"The provisions have arrived, but some supplies are still behind. I need to lead men back to meet them, so I'll trouble Supervisor Wang to get us a faster horse."

"Logistical security is of utmost importance."

During military campaigns, communication via relay stations, and changing horses were common occurrences, as horses also needed rest.

Wang Mai was extremely unwilling to do things according to Li Yuanchang's wishes; this was not a request for instructions, but clearly a threat.

But he's not stupid; getting into trouble over something like this is tantamount to courting death.

Ordinary escort officers have no power to appeal, but Li Yuanchang is different; he's a figure who can ride around the palace in a carriage with impunity.

To put it bluntly, he can take things anywhere if he wants.

He waved his hand reluctantly: "Change the horses for the King of Han's men and horses."

"yes!"

Li Yuanchang smiled and said, "Thank you, Supervisor."

"Your Highness, this is what I should do."

"However, the Lantian County Granary Clerk's escort this time did not comply with regulations, and I will still report this matter." Wang Mai appeared to be fair and incorruptible.