After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The cold night wind made the bare branches of the locust trees creak and groan.

The crisscrossing shadows of the trees on the ground swayed back and forth, appearing restless and uneasy.

The white horse, carefully selected by the Marquis of Jingbei, pawed at the ground twice.

Its horseshoes were studded, and some fresh soil was turned up from the hard, dry earth. Its big, dark eyes darted around.

Ning Nan took out a pair of light black armor from the cloth bag on the left side of the white horse and put it on.

In addition, inside his clothes, there was a layer of soft gold-threaded armor that his wife had repeatedly told him to wear.

He reached into the cloth bag on the right side of the horse and took out a black phoenix-winged helmet.

This helmet has a winged neck guard to protect the neck.

A muffled rustling sound arose as the servants and imperial guards took out their armor and put it on.

His breathing became heavy and involuntarily heavy, mingling with the snorting of the horse.

After putting on the armor, they took the leather bag wrapped in black cloth from the side of the horse, tied it behind their waists, reached behind them, and patted it one by one. They felt the same metallic texture coming from the three bags, and everyone relaxed.

As the firelight flickered, a strange light shone in the eyes of both the man and the horse.

Chen San was momentarily stunned by what the young man on horseback said, speechless.

His eyes flickered as he watched all this, his pupils gradually dilating, until he finally understood the meaning behind the other person's words.

"Master Xu, please stay here and arrange for someone to boil some hot water."

Ning Nan fastened his phoenix-winged helmet, put on his arm armor, and gave Xu Xiyin a brief instruction.

His gleaming black armor reflected the glow of the surrounding campfire.

Xu Xiyin's expression froze as she watched the smiling young man suddenly transform into a young general.

She was skilled in traditional Chinese medicine and understood that the other party meant for her to prepare to treat the "wounded soldier." She flicked her whisk and lowered her head:

"Don't worry, young master."

Chen San glanced at the young general on horseback, gritted his teeth, opened his mouth, and was about to advise the other party not to act rashly when...

Ning Nan's face remained ashen: "The Northern Dynasty is very powerful."

Chen San's head, tilted back, stopped at a certain angle.

Ning Nan pulled the reins with both hands:

"Brother Chen, rebelling against the Northern Dynasty must not be easy. It's not much different from Jingwei trying to fill the sea. You've really worked hard these past years."

"I am not giving you orders in the capacity of any cult leader, nor am I your cult leader."

"I, Ning, am acting as a deputy envoy of the Southern Dynasty, inviting the Northern rebels to join me in annihilating that Tartar cavalry force..."

After saying that, he stopped looking at Chen San.

He squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, cracked the whip, and galloped ahead, but not into the darkness to chase the cavalry.

Instead, they headed to the front of the mission.

"Thirty riders..." Ning Nan took a silent breath, "I'm afraid it's more than thirty riders."

The cold wind blew against the black armor, and the chill from the armor plates seeped into the body.

He tightened his grip on the reins.

Sending men to ambush and kill him on the road... This was something we had considered from the beginning, and it was something we expected.

However, one could stay within the mission and avoid taking the risk.

With Miss Zhu's protection, I can naturally stay by her side and ask for her help.

"But then..." The young general wearing a phoenix-winged helmet's eyes darkened, "...they'll never be able to destroy the Northern Dynasty in this lifetime!"

"You want to kill me? Fine, but at least send me a thousand cavalry!"

He gritted his teeth.

The sound of the white horse's hooves was crisp and clear.

Some people died, and the enemy burned some of their supplies.

However, since there were officials in scarlet robes in the delegation, the disturbance caused by such a small group was naturally suppressed quickly.

After Ning Nan ran several dozen feet, the order of the delegation gradually stabilized.

He ran to the front of the delegation and reined in his horse.

He looked at a lean-featured official in a scarlet robe, whose eyes were sharp like an eagle's, and who appeared to be under forty.

"Vice Envoy Jia!"

Surrounded and protected by a dozen or so soldiers with rifles, Jia Shi'an raised his head, saw the young man on horseback, his expression hardened, and after a moment of surprise, he clasped his hands and said:

"Greetings, Vice Envoy Ning."

"Is Prince Jing okay?"

"Vice Envoy Ning, please rest assured, Prince Jing is safe and sound."

Ning Nan nodded from horseback and said:

"Vice Envoy Jia, I need cavalry from the mission to accompany me."

Not long after.

The commanders of the three cavalry units of the mission rode up on horseback.

The man leading from the left is Zhang Yaojie, a captain of the Yongwei Battalion.

The person in the middle is Tong Shun, the battalion commander of the Yongwei Battalion.

The man on the right is Zheng Xiao, a military commander from Jiangpu.

Each of the three men led thirty riders.

After the horses came galloping over, they all dismounted.

"Greetings, Vice Envoy Ning. I am in full armor, so please forgive my inability to perform the full ceremony!"

The three bowed in reverence.

Ning Nan said, "Commander Tong and Captain Zheng, I trouble you two to lead your two battalions and come with me. Captain Zhang will stay behind to guard the delegation and protect you gentlemen and Prince Jing."

The three of them were all taken aback and looked at each other in bewilderment.

They then looked in unison at the delegation's true superior, Jia Shi'an.

Jia Shi'an said expressionlessly, "You shall all follow Vice Envoy Ning's orders."

Jia Shi'an held the high-ranking and powerful position of Right Vice Minister of War. With just a word from him, the three men simultaneously obeyed, bowing their heads and saying:

"yes!"

Tong Shun and Zheng Xiao each had thirty riders.

The sound of hooves thundered as they obeyed orders and led their riders to where Vice Envoy Ning was.

But then they saw several soldiers dressed in the standard black armor of the Liang dynasty stop them.

Beside these soldiers were four mule carts, each as tall as a person and a half, all covered in black cloth.

As soon as Tong Shun and Zheng Xiao dismounted, they frowned, about to ask a question.

The Imperial Guards, dressed in heavy armor, jumped onto the carriage and lifted the black cloth.

They then lifted several layers of fireproof tarpaulin, revealing several large mahogany boxes neatly stacked on top.

Bang! Several imperial guards moved the mahogany box down.

Tong Shun and Zheng Xiao frowned even more deeply, completely baffled as to why the Grand Prince Consort had summoned them here.

With a clang, the lid of the mahogany box was lifted.

Tong Shun and Zheng Xiao exchanged a glance and stepped forward to take a look.

The light from a few torches shone on the objects inside the box, making them gleam with a metallic sheen.

"bow?"

"A powerful bow?"

The two stared at the dozen or so bows stacked up inside, their voices filled with surprise.

A member of the Imperial Guard, his voice hoarse, said:

"Generals, each of your brothers in the camp has one. Please distribute them quickly... By order of the Grand Prince Consort, the bow must be kept as long as the man is alive; it can only be discarded when the man dies. Otherwise," the Imperial Guard's voice sharpened, "the entire camp will be implicated!"

The two generals were immediately alarmed.

The night was hazy.

The cold wind of January swept across the plains.

A few torches were scattered along the road west of the mission camp.

Looking down at each torch in the moonlight, you can see several dark figures moving behind each torch in the night.

Along with several dark objects came a complex mix of sounds: breathing, hoofbeats, the scraping of armor plates, and the occasional low curses.

With about a dozen torches linked together, a large, dark mass was moving forward across the plain.

Ning Nan rode ahead, surrounded by a group of Imperial Guards.

Tong Shun led thirty riders on the left, and Zheng Xiao led thirty riders on the right, about twenty feet apart from them.

Three Imperial Guards, carrying Jinbao's greyhound, acted as night watchmen and rushed ahead for a mile to search for the traces left by Erlaizi.

After the Northern Dynasty cavalry fled, Erlaizi, Sanzhuang, and the other six men, each on two horses, gave chase.

Riding westward, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, he kept watch on scouts from the north while carefully tracking the enemy's direction.

More than half an hour later, we had to go around a mountain.

Ning Nan met Wang Xiao, the servant left behind by Er Laizi at the foot of the mountain.

Wang Xiao's horse had its hooves wrapped in cloth and a wooden stick tied to its mouth. Only after hearing the familiar barking of a dog did he free the horse and gallop out to see Ning Nan, confirming that they were heading in the right direction.

……

The official road first goes west, then slightly north, for nearly twenty miles, where a mountain sits. Because its shape resembles a crouching tiger, people used to call this place Tiger Crouching Mountain.

With frequent wars over the past few decades, and the implementation of scorched earth policies, the fields have long been abandoned, and there are hardly any people left here.

Tiger crouches at the foot of the mountain.

There is a cave with a fairly large interior space.

The cave was lit by a dim, yellowish light.

Light spilled out of the cave entrance.

The shadow of the person standing at the cave entrance was knocked to the ground.

The man, holding a warm brazier in his hands, watched the tall figure leap off his horse and stride towards him, and laughed:

"Amurtu, how's it going? Is that rat scared?"