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

One day later.

A dilapidated temple somewhere outside Youzhou City.

Several groups of people gathered here under the spider web.

There was Li Yi from the Black Ice Terrace, Huang Tu from the Gaoshan tribe, Cui He who was responsible for contacting Wu Meiniang, and many other unfamiliar faces from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Their collective effort constituted the rescue plan arranged by Li Yuanchang.

"I have received news that His Highness has left southern Youzhou with the imperial entourage and is continuing south. He will travel by boat across the Luo River to reach Tongguan."

"There will be more Imperial Guards there to escort and receive them."

"Once we get there, it will be even more difficult for His Highness to escape, so we have limited time and must act immediately."

"Only if we succeed will His Highness dare to escape." Li Yi glanced at the crowd.

"Lord Li, do as you say."

"That's right, His Highness said that everything will be done according to Lord Li's wishes."

Li Yi nodded, his voice carrying a coldness and unsmiling tone: "Okay."

As he spoke, he spread out a map.

"Now that the route has been confirmed, the Left and Right Guards will escort the Princess of Han and others to Liaodong via the ancient Han road outside Youzhou."

"They had about a thousand Imperial Guards and about five hundred local officials."

"Based on the distance, they will arrive at the post station outside Changshou Town in five hours, which is nightfall."

"My plan is to first set fire to the Imperial Guards' warhorses, rendering them unable to pursue. At the same time, the startled warhorses will cause chaos, and we will seize the opportunity to infiltrate and use fake armor and tokens to move the Prince of Han's family members under the pretext of an attack, so as to achieve our goal of stealing the sky and changing the sun."

Choi Ha frowned: "What if we get caught halfway through?"

"Transferring a dozen or so people is easy, but moving thousands is too much of a target."

"Yes." The others also looked troubled.

boom!

Li Yi first had a large amount of armor and supplies left behind, all belonging to the Imperial Guard. For ordinary people, obtaining even one of these items would be incredibly difficult, but for the Black Ice Guard of the Prince of Han's Mansion, it was an absolute breeze.

Once you put this on, in the chaos of the night, no one will recognize you.

"This shouldn't be a big problem. If all else fails, we'll use this." Li Yi directly pulled out a bright yellow imperial edict.

Everyone who saw it was shocked!

"His Majesty's imperial edict?"

"wrong!"

"This...this is fake?"

"A false imperial edict?"

Everyone was shocked, their heads buzzing: "This is an execution of nine generations of one's family!"

Li Yi remained calm and cold: "We've already come this far, what's there to be afraid of—killing your entire family?"

"If Your Majesty disregards our friendship and intends to harm the Prince of Han, then don't blame us for disowning you."

Upon hearing this, the crowd calmed down a bit. Yes, they had already broken off relations to this extent. The army was openly threatening the imperial court, so what was there to fear about killing nine generations of their families?

"That could buy us a lot of time, I think it's a good idea!" Cui He took a deep breath. Even though he had been on the battlefield, he felt his blood rushing through his hands and feet, and he was somewhat excited.

"And what happened next?"

"How can we safely send people out over a distance of over a thousand miles?" someone else asked.

"We were prepared. Our boss anticipated that the retreat would be difficult," a bandit said.

All eyes turned to him, but few knew his identity; they only knew that it was arranged by His Highness.

Only a few people, including Li Yi and Cui He, knew his identity. The reason they were able to carry out the rescue was mainly due to the support from the Wu clan in the Eastern Palace.

She obtained the accurate transport route.

"The master said that the court is wary of His Highness and has sent out some feints. So let's fight fire with fire."

"Once the rescue is successful, we will use a feint to disrupt the imperial court's pursuit. We have already prepared the personnel and teams."

"This...it must require several thousand people, right?" Huang Tu asked in surprise.

"Yes, we've also obtained the travel permits for the Youzhou area." The bandit took out a stack of documents. With these, the Han Prince's family members could travel freely as long as they changed their clothes, without having to take detours through remote mountain roads and dangerous places.

Upon hearing this, many people present gave the bandit a deep look.

Who is this person? He has such connections and influence that he can even obtain the travel documents for Youzhou.

"Then let's get ready!" Huang Tu took a deep breath.

"That's right!"

"You must get the Princess Consort and the Crown Prince out of here!"

"There's one more thing. Many of the Left and Right Guards have been under His Highness's command, and His Highness's intention is to avoid casualties as much as possible, given the circumstances!"

"yes!!"

"..."

The phrase "as much as possible" is both a sign of goodwill and a sign of helplessness.

Former comrades, now rivals.

Li Yuanchang would avoid using harsh methods if possible, but if there was really no other way, then he would have to resort to force.

Time ticked by, and as the sun set and night fell, a dramatic rescue operation was underway.

After the route was leaked, the imperial escort team was completely exposed, with the Black Ice Guard having complete control over every step.

Outside Changshou Town, the post station was brightly lit.

Large numbers of imperial guards patrolled in shifts, and braziers illuminated the surroundings as if it were daytime, making it difficult for even a wild cat to slip in, let alone an assassin.

The security was extremely high. Li Shimin was both afraid that the people in the Prince of Han's mansion would be assassinated and that they would be rescued by Li Yuanchang.

What he really wanted was to capture Li Yuanchang alive, so that he could keep this tiger at bay.

The post station here was not large to begin with, but because of the two wars against Goguryeo, it was set up as a transit point for supplies and war reports, and was expanded at least tenfold, making it very large.

There were more than twenty post stations and pavilions alone, as well as a large number of warehouses. On weekdays, there were also several hundred laborers responsible for herding horses and sowing seeds, which gave the Black Ice Guard some opportunities.

Da da da……

Heavy, dense, and rhythmic footsteps echoed around the outskirts of the post station. Two patrols of imperial guards crossed paths, nodded to each other as a greeting, and then parted ways.

But after they separated, one of the teams quickly exchanged glances and conveyed their feelings.

They are not the Imperial Guards, but the men of the Black Ice Guard!

Relying on their understanding of the Imperial Guards, their excellent psychological qualities, and their convincing fake Imperial Guard attire, they brazenly infiltrated the area, breaking through the extremely tight security without breaking a sweat.

Just fifteen minutes later, the post station caught fire as expected!

The flames and black smoke rose rapidly into the air, and were quickly detected by the well-trained Imperial Guards.

"Fire! Fire! Quick!!"

"Seal off the post station and prepare for battle!"

"You two teams, go forward!" several Imperial Guard commanders shouted.

The silence of the night was shattered instantly, and the alarm was sounded.

It must be said that the imperial guards were indeed remarkable, with first-class reaction and alertness, and their main characteristic was being quick but not chaotic.

The moment the fire broke out, they realized what might happen. While fighting the fire, they immediately sealed off the post station and placed it under military control.

However, thanks to the Black Ice Guard's meticulous planning, this fire was destined to be something they couldn't simply extinguish.

Splash!

clap clap clap!

Explosions echoed continuously from the raging fire, and the flames burned at an extremely strange speed, far exceeding that of a typical fire. Almost all the warehouses were set ablaze.