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

Clang, clang, the tall figure draped in a blue robe clanged and clattered.

The armor was clearly covered by a blue robe.

Even the iron helmet on his head was wrapped in a black cloth.

The deputy commander of the Plain White Banner named Amurtu was eight feet tall, a full head taller than the young man in the melon-shaped hat, and his body was as strong as a bear from Changbai Mountain.

He slowly returned with his troops and arranged a series of military affairs in the temporary camp. Only when the other party came by carriage to summon him did he come to report back.

Amurtu bowed to the young man:

"Your Majesty, I am wearing armor and cannot kowtow to you. Please forgive me."

The young man, dressed in a red and yellow striped mandarin jacket and wrapped in a fine mink-fur melon-shaped hat, nodded indifferently.

A smile finally appeared on Amurtu's hard, square face, and he said:

"Master, I have already scared those rats away; they are scattering in all directions."

"As for the one our master wants to catch, he's probably hiding in his tent and wetting his pants right now."

"Hahaha..." At this moment, a servant in blue robes to the left of the young man laughed loudly, bowing as he said:

"Fourth Young Master! Now that we're on your territory, won't that thieving slave become your plaything? Your servant just received a report from the delegation that the Seventeenth Princess has indeed gone to Chuzhou."

"When the delegation passes through Xiongsheng Pass tomorrow, our Qing delegation will stop halfway and block the Southern Dynasty delegation."

"The Southern Dynasty delegation is unable to attend to both ends, so we can attack from both sides and capture that traitorous slave alive. Moreover, we will only capture that traitorous slave; we will not touch that Prince Jing, so as not to jeopardize the Emperor's important affairs."

Xiongsheng Pass is located between Jiangpu City and Chuzhou City.

The official road passes through here.

With just a hundred men transferred from the Green Standard Army holding shields and spears, the enemy cavalry couldn't maneuver at all.

Our cavalry launched a barrage of fire from behind the Green Standard Army, which advanced forward. Capturing that treacherous servant who dared to humiliate the Seventh Prince in the Southern Dynasty's Golden Hall was a piece of cake!

Gui Cai, the eunuch serving Prince Yi of the First Rank, looked on with emotion, a humble smile curving his lips.

However, he was secretly very pleased with his strategy, which was quite in line with military tactics.

He felt that if his parents hadn't sent him to the royal palace to become a eunuch when he was young, he might have become a deputy commander like Amurtu in the future.

Moreover, he was also extremely considerate of the overall situation without any formal instruction, and told the Fourth Prince early on, "Don't touch that Prince Jing."

Hongjiao, whose left cheek was throbbing, glanced at his seventh brother's servant, smiled, and said:

"Gui Cai, your idea this time has been a great success, and it saved us from offending the Seventeenth Princess. We'll have the Seventh Prince reward you properly later."

The servant wearing a black melon-shaped hat felt a chill and quickly flattered:

"What merit do you have? This idea was all the Fourth Young Master's. I just benefited from it by passing on a message for my master."

Hong Jiao laughed heartily, and the shadow on the ground trembled: "No wonder Seventh Brother likes you so much."

That's all.

Hongjiao glanced at Amurtu and smiled gently:

"Amurtu, you should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a tough battle. If we win this battle, I'll have my father recommend you for the position of Commander-in-Chief. The Commander-in-Chief of the Plain White Banner is not suitable, so you'll have to choose one from the Lower Five Banners."

Amurtu's square face arched his eyebrows: "Serving my master is what Amurtu should do."

Hong Jiao immediately smiled and nodded.

Amurtu was originally from the Plain White Banner. Their banner was assigned to Ama's jurisdiction. This man was a talented person, and Ama valued him highly.

He and Lao Qi were supposed to lead the soldiers of the Plain White Banner in Pingnan Camp, but they were transferred here to help Lao Qi kill that traitorous slave who deserved to die a thousand times over.

With heavy steps, Amurtu walked toward the temporary camp about thirty feet to the left of the cave.

A campfire was lit inside the tent, and bursts of laughter filled the air.

Gui Cai, that lackey, bought fine wine and meat for the thirty riders transferred from the Bordered White Banner and the hundred Green Standard Army soldiers transferred from the Pingnan Camp in Chuzhou, so that they could eat and drink well and be ready to fight the next day.

As Hongjiao gazed at the bonfires, she felt a sense of peace that she hadn't experienced in nearly half a year.

In the past, my seventh brother loved reading. When I told him the principle that "Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are destined for them, and will first test their strength and resolve," he scoffed at it.

This trip south allowed him to truly appreciate this principle, and he felt he had learned a great deal.

"That southern barbarian..." Hong Jiao's left cheek, which had been swollen from being beaten by that southern barbarian, twitched and began to ache again.

He gritted his teeth, his eyes darkening.

The other party not only hit him, but also his seventh brother, a prince.

Such a grudge would surely be understood even by the Emperor himself. If this grudge isn't avenged, the Prince Yi's mansion would truly become a laughingstock in Beijing.

"We must bring this southern barbarian's head back!" Hong Jiao's eyes sharpened slightly.

He had already made his plans. After returning to the capital, he would have his father recommend him to the Emperor, saying that he wanted to go to Qinghai and Tibet to lead an army and accumulate some military merits.

Once the emperor was determined to march south, he became the emperor's vanguard general, and his army swept across Jiangnan!

"Waaaaah—"

Just then, a bugle call sounded in the distance.

The temporary camp thirty feet away fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a cacophony of noise!

Hong Jiao frowned, and saw a wisp of smoke rising in the moonlight a mile or two away.

"What's wrong?" Hongjiao asked in a flash.

Gui Cai, dressed in a blue robe and a melon-shaped hat, was also taken aback for a moment before saying, "Those are scouts on lookout duty..."

"Enemy attack!!" A loud shout came from inside the tent!

Hong Jiao was startled! He recognized the powerful shout as Amurtu's voice.

Just as Hongjiao turned his head to look at the tent.

Without any warning.

The camp seemed to have suddenly caught fire!

next moment.

The sounds of hooves and horses' hooves suddenly arose.

"Bang!" The stable inside the tent collapsed.

The reins of a large number of horses were cut, and the horses ran and neighed as they went. The disheveled soldiers were putting on their armor while shouting for the frightened horses to stop.

It has both Chinese and Manchu languages.

"Form ranks!"

"Don't panic!"

"Damn lackey!"

One sound after another came.

Amurtu and the Green Standard Army's captains were shouting and organizing the troops into formation.

"What's wrong?!" Hong Jiao's face turned pale, her face trembled, and she cried out.

"Whoosh!"

The whistle whistled past him!

A dark shadow flashed before her eyes, and Hong Jiao felt a chill run through her body.

"Fourth Young Master!"

Gui Cai screamed in fright and quickly reached out to pull the fourth young master, who was rooted to the spot, into the cave.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang!

The sound of horses' hooves rang out.

At the very last moment before entering the cave, Hongjiao's heart trembled with the drumbeat of the horses' hooves.

From both sides of the camp, it seemed as if the sound of horses' hooves was approaching.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

As the whistles sounded in unison, his face suddenly turned deathly pale. He looked up and saw what seemed to be countless black shadows falling towards the camp like shooting stars!

"Bang!"

The arrow fell to the ground.

"Light the torch."

Under the vast darkness of night, a young general wearing a phoenix-winged helmet rode on his horse.

What was originally a faint, dark mass behind him suddenly burst into light after a few sparks! Like a line of fire igniting on a plain, it was pressing towards the central tent!

Erlai and Sanzhuang led their men in a surprise attack on the enemy's stables. Thirty riders from Jiangpu Army charged from the left, and thirty riders from Yongwei Battalion charged from the right. He, along with the Jinyiwei guards who had lit torches and Chen San's one hundred men, charged head-on.

Although they were eventually discovered by the enemy's sentries, the overall situation was already decided.

"Load the musket," he said calmly.

More than twenty Imperial Guards on horseback simultaneously lifted their robes and pulled out flintlock muskets specially made for them by the Ministry of Works from the leather pouches at their waists!

"Rush!"

Qian Sijin, holding a musket, his neck veins bulging, roared and took the lead!

The sound of hooves thundered like lightning.