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

Black Dragon Valley.

Crows flew by, cawing loudly.

boom!

The heavy box landed with a thud.

The more than 3,000 men of Battalion B stopped to catch their breath, all of them sweating profusely. The terrain in this area was simply too difficult to traverse.

There were reasons why the Sui and Tang dynasties suffered defeats and losses against Goguryeo in several wars.

After several hours, they finally arrived at the ambush site before sunset.

Li Yuanchang stood on the rock, observing the entire Black Dragon Valley through binoculars. The scene was nothing more than the landscape of a small country.

However, it is an excellent ambush location, with the vertical drop between the hills on both sides being just right, and the vertical angle being an arc that is difficult for the army to climb.

It's like a natural tomb, dug out by God, only it's very long, stretching for more than ten miles, enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

In addition, due to the terrain and climate, the area is often shrouded in fog at dawn and dusk, which provides natural cover for the ambushing B-type battalion.

"Heaven is helping me!"

"Heaven is helping me!"

"Japanese army, this is your burial ground! I spared your lives, yet you still dared to plot a sneak attack. Prepare to be annihilated!"

Li Yuanchang sighed, full of vigor, showing no mercy to the Tang army, which shared the same roots.

"Lu Zhong!"

"I will go to survey the terrain and devise a demolition plan. You will lead the main force to stay here, rest, and eat."

"Disperse all scouts to keep watch!"

He made arrangements quickly, with clear division of labor, and remained calm and composed.

"yes!!"

The crowd clasped their hands in a fist salute and shouted.

Immediately, the horses neighed, and Li Yuanchang, along with his personal guards and several senior advisors from the Black Powder Company, charged out.

These senior consultants are actually the main force in the current production of black powder. They are experienced craftsmen who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the explosive range of Hanlei and its surveying capabilities.

To this end, Li Yuanchang even allocated a lot of money to train many young people to specialize in blasting, making him one of the first gunpowder experts in human history.

After intensive reconnaissance, Li Yuanchang placed the ambush location in the narrowest part of Black Dragon Valley to maximize its effectiveness.

This area is seven miles long, but only about forty meters wide. It can only accommodate more than ten riders walking side by side, making it a rather narrow area.

Calculations show that with a distance of four meters between soldiers, approximately 20,000 enemy troops could enter this area.

This number is far lower than the figure described in the Kuril Islands intelligence report.

In other words, after the first wave of explosions, at least half of the enemy troops will not be killed; at most, they will be affected.

Therefore, the length of the blasting had to be extended, but a new problem arose: the production of Hanlei was limited, and if the blasting was too long, the destructive power of the blasting could not be taken into account.

The first-generation gunpowder was still the first-generation gunpowder, with five thousand Han Lei pills being incredibly powerful, but it was indeed quite different from later generations.

After half an hour of discussion and repeated deliberation, Li Yuanchang finally decided to set the blasting length at seven li, but he planned to use some Han thunder to blast the mountain and block both ends directly.

At the same time, the landslides and rubble created by the explosion were used as secondary casualties.

Moreover, this way, the Japanese pirates could not escape and could only stay at the bottom of the valley, at the mercy of others.

Even if it's impossible to wipe out all the enemy forces in an instant, the remaining ones can be finished off with crossbows and other means.

In short, once they arrive, none of them can escape.

After finalizing the plan, Li Yuanchang mobilized his troops and quickly launched the operation.

He had calculated the exact distance and time. Jin Minda's troops were going to lure the enemy out, and with the speed of light cavalry, they would arrive at the location by early tomorrow morning at the latest.

This was the time they had agreed upon, so they were in a rush.

Three thousand people worked through the night to dig pits, bury thunderbolts, lay fuses, and create camouflage.

This is all technical work. In spring, the sun is often exposed, and if the fuse gets wet, it will be very troublesome if it cannot be detonated. Also, the location where each batch of Hanlei is buried is very important.

If it is simply buried, the power will be normal. However, if the blasting location can be designed and the shock wave can be accurately calculated, the damage can be multiplied.

This busy period lasted all day, continuing until late at night before finally coming to an end.

More than three thousand people, exhausted, munching on dry rations, hid in the woods at the high point of Black Dragon Valley, like a group of ghosts lying in wait.

"Your Highness, General Jin and the others should have arrived by now, right?" Guo Chao handed over a water bottle.

Li Yuanchang glanced in the direction of Jinliang Mountain. The straight-line distance was more than seventy li, but the actual distance was much longer.

"Based on the estimated time, they should have arrived."

"I wonder if things are going smoothly on their end. Everything is ready now, except for one crucial element: the Japanese pirate army absolutely must be lured here. If they don't come..."

Guo Chao paused for a moment, then said, "If I don't come, Your Highness, will you still be angry?"

This was a weighty question, but Li Yuanchang's eyes were resolute: "Holding back is only to ensure our safety. If the Japanese pirates don't come, to prevent the situation from worsening, we must bomb them!"

"If the court doesn't truly feel the pain, Li Shimin will never be able to eliminate our ideas."

"But I believe in Kim Min-da's abilities and I also believe that my predictions are correct. If a real battle breaks out, the Japanese pirates will definitely fight harder than anyone else."

"Your Highness is right. We have already exercised enough restraint. It is the court that has been aggressive and started the war!" Guo Chao said, clenching his fist.

Li Yuanchang's face showed no burden or hesitation; he had done right by everyone.

Now that we've reached the point of armed conflict, there's only one thing to say, as Li Chengqian famously said: "I must protect myself, but protecting myself will inevitably offend the root of the problem!"

This statement is so valuable, it's like a building with at least ten stories high.

He took a sip of water and suddenly realized that it was already May of the 23rd year of the Zhenguan era, and that Li Shimin had died in Cuiwei Palace in July of this year.

If Li Shimin had died, the landscape of the Tang Dynasty would have changed dramatically, and everything might have been different.

But history has already taken a turn, and no one can say for sure when Li Shimin will die.

"Phew!" He exhaled a breath of stale air, thinking to himself that perhaps from the very first day he arrived in Goguryeo, the future had become unpredictable and completely altered, leaving him to fend for himself.

"Every half hour, send a team down to patrol and check the fuses to prevent any accidents."

"yes!"

"..."

As it turned out, Li Yuanchang's caution was correct. After nightfall, all sorts of insects and animals began to come out to forage, including pangolins, minks, and weasels.

The numerous fuses laid were bitten through several times; if they hadn't been discovered in advance, things would have gone wrong when they were needed the next day.

Time ticked by, and without specific time information, the entire camp dared not close their eyes, and could only lie in the mosquito-infested woods and wait patiently.