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

Her heart raced slightly, and her body felt a little cold, but she still controlled her pace and tone of voice as she spoke:

"Those thieves somehow got hold of a batch of Plain White Banner armor. The Khotan commander suffered because of this, mistakenly believing they were one of their own, which is why he was attacked the moment they met."

She spoke in a voice as melodious as a nightingale's song:

"Those scoundrels from the Heavenly Principle Sect are extremely skilled at disguise. Wait a minute, what if they impersonate your own people? They have identification badges and passwords, and they can catch you off guard. No matter how powerful you are, what can you do then?"

Chang Rui was taken aback, and his eyes flickered slightly.

He had heard that the commander of Tianye had died, making way for him as the deputy commander...

…………

The howling north wind swept across the plain, rustling the withered grass.

Under the cover of night,

Shangguan Xiu, clad in armor and riding a variegated horse, turned around and whispered to the fifty or so riders following behind him:

"Pass it on, you can tie a red ribbon around your left arm now... left arm... don't tie it wrong... tie a slipknot... not a knot that can't be tied..."

One by one, the cavalrymen turned their heads back to relay the orders of the Marquis's eldest son and temporary commander.

They were about three or four miles away.

The camp was filled with tents, neatly arranged with elm trees, and brightly lit.

Several patrols, feigning laziness, were passing through several camps to the east.

They were waiting for the Northern Dynasty cavalry camp to launch a night raid!

Shangguan Xiu gripped the reins tightly, his heart pounding with nervousness, his palms sweating profusely.

When Prince Consort Ning left Yongding Gate, he sent two Imperial Guards to the delegation's camp.

He produced an imperial edict, barely dry, and officially appointed him as the general of the mission—a fourth-rank Xuanwu general, half a rank higher than a fifth-rank commander.

Although he was a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and had made many great contributions, he knew his place. He was different from a commander like the woman with the dark skin, and was probably even inferior to Shang Jiuyang.

As a child, he often fantasized about leading troops into battle and becoming a great general, but tonight, even leading fifty riders with two horses each, he, the Xuanwu General, was somewhat flustered and felt rather guilty.

Fortunately, the task assigned to him by someone was not difficult. Zheng Xiao and Tong Shun, who served as his deputies, were both experienced mid-level generals, one being a centurion of the Jiangpu Army and the other a battalion commander of the Yongwei Battalion, and were skilled in managing their subordinates.

I can barely manage to use my own arm as a tool.

Shangguan Xiu's gaze swept across the plain, only able to see the faint light of the camp.

Just then, a series of muffled hoofbeats approached from afar, galloping up behind them. It was Zheng Xiao's cavalry battalion.

"General, Lord Shangguan Zhao and his men have led another team to Tongzhou, which should be more than ten li away from us," the cavalryman reported.

Shangguan Xiu nodded and ordered him to return to his unit. Lai Qi lowered his head and whispered, "Yes!"

The mules and horses that were originally part of the Southern Dynasty delegation's camp were all taken away.

There were over a hundred laborers, fifty infantrymen, and seven or eight minor officials in green robes inside.

Led by Shangguan Zhao, they had all shaved their heads and took turns riding mules and horses, trying to escape to Tongzhou quickly by taking side roads and back paths under the cover of night.

Tongzhou is crisscrossed by waterways and is the northern end of the Grand Canal. Many of the merchant caravans that Chen Ruhai contacted were well-connected, both in the legitimate and criminal worlds. Chen Ruhai himself was also influential. They fled to Tongzhou overnight, trying to blend in with the merchants, boatmen, and porters traveling from the north and south.

Shangguan Xiu exhaled a breath, easing his tension.

Just as someone had predicted, there were indeed spies among the Imperial Guards stationed in the capital.

The spy read the so-called secret letter and indeed went to the camp of the three hundred cavalrymen of the Northern Dynasty to report the news.

The North Korean camp is now feigning a relaxation of vigilance and patrols, waiting for their night raid.

Even though they did something unusual like extinguishing the campfire and leaving the camp, the other side only sent out scouts to investigate, but did not send out pursuers to prevent them from falling into their trap.

Therefore, as long as Fourth Brother and his men act quickly and only take side roads and back paths, they can avoid being discovered, run to Tongzhou and hide first, and then meet up with them later.

Everyone tied red ribbons around their left arms.

Zheng Xiao, whose left eyebrow was broken, glanced at the sky and said to Shangguan Xiu:

"General, it's time."

Shangguan Xiu asked, "Are the ones who know the way still here?"

Zheng Xiao said confidently, "Yes! After we strike, they will be waiting for us on the way to Shuijing Township."

"Don't get lost." Shangguan Xiu's mouth was a little dry, and she felt a little uneasy.

Zheng Xiao took the Crescent Moon Bow from his back and said earnestly, "General, rest assured. On our journey north, the thing the Grand Prince Consort emphasized to us most often was how to find the way!"

The seventh young master of the Marquis of Zhenguo's mansion, who was leading troops for the first time, nodded slightly upon hearing this, silently exhaled, and then his eyes darkened as he said:

"it is good."

"Go!" He yanked the reins. "Prepare the fire arrows and pine-oiled leather bags. When we're fifty paces from them, fire the fire arrows. Circle their camp, but don't attack. Once they've circled the camp, we'll leave as soon as their cavalry emerges. Lead them... straight to Shuijing Township!"

"yes!"

Zheng Xiao and Tong Shun clasped their hands in a low voice.

The riders pulled on the reins, and the horses began to gallop forward, the red ribbons on their left arms fluttering in the moonlight.

…………

The Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The emperor on the dragon throne looked down at Mu Shu kneeling below with his slightly narrowed eyes, and his brows slowly furrowed.

Standing to the side, Ortai's beard and sideburns were already connected. After hearing Mu Shu's speculation, his eyes widened and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face, making the connection between his beard and sideburns even more pronounced.

The fire at the South Korean embassy has been brought under control, and the areas that could not be extinguished by the fire brigade have been isolated to prevent the fire from spreading to other places.

As the fire subsided, more and more evidence was reported.

The Nine Gates Commander's Office reported that after self-examination and even repeated interrogation, they had received no report from any city gate or main street that a large group of soldiers in white armor had entered the city.

The soldiers patrolling around Dongjiang Rice Lane all reported that after the curfew, no more than three people went out on the street, and no more than ten people passed by in the entire Dongjiang Rice Lane.

Although Khotan was dead, the surviving soldiers said that when they were keeping watch on the delegation, no matter which direction they were on, no large group of people ever climbed over the wall.

A second-class guard from the Sticky Rod Office also reported that he had interrogated more than a dozen spies who had been keeping watch on the embassy for a long time. All of them said that before the explosions and shouts, and even today, they had not seen any large-scale attack on the mission, not even a shadowy figure.

The Nine Gates Commander's Office reported that they had searched the entire city for several hours and had arrested dozens of people suspected of being thieves.

Despite severe torture, they still couldn't find any trace of Prince Jing, or even any of the thieves.

The official in charge of military affairs reported that they had already searched the entire embassy before the Southern Dynasty delegation checked in, and found that there were no tunnels inside. In fact, many of the buildings in the embassy were even built by their own people...

All sorts of news reports came in.