Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 26

"These words were taught to me by the Prince of Jianning, and I am here to advise you not to act rashly and make mistakes that could lead to the ruin of your families and the extermination of your entire clan!"

After finishing his long speech, Pugu Huai'en looked away, deliberately avoiding looking at Jia Huai, waiting for the other party to speak first.

Jia Huai was filled with anxiety, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly. After a long while, he finally sighed, lowered his head, kowtowed deeply to the ground, and pleaded, "General, please forgive me..."

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Following Li Ji's advice—of course, he claimed to have been taught by Li Bi—the three "strange men" were separated and interrogated separately by Pugu Huai'en and two Shuofang army generals, and their testimonies were then verified.

As Li Ji had expected, Li Fuguo had instructed three people to secretly observe the situation on the way and plot to kill Li Ji!

That day in the main hall, Li Fuguo, on a whim, requested that Li Ji lead several江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) figures to Dongjing (Kaifeng) to gather information about the Shen family. His thinking was: to deal with Li Ji, he had to be moved far away; otherwise, with Li Chu and Li Tan protecting him in the army, and Li Bi and Li Shi supporting him in the palace, even if the emperor was easily swayed, he probably wouldn't be able to harm him in the slightest. Besides, that guy would occasionally cause a scene in the palace—who could stand that?

Fortunately, he only took his anger out on Yu Chaoen this time. What if he did the same thing next time, squeezing my arm and wrist so hard? After that squeeze, I couldn't lift my arm for several days, and my hand trembled so much I couldn't hold a pen...

Once they are driven out of the palace and the army, there will always be an opportunity to deal with Li Ji. In particular, the people sent this time are all extraordinary individuals from the martial arts world. In a one-on-one confrontation, they may not be a match for Li Ji. Of course, finding someone who can fight Li Ji is not that easy. But what if they secretly plot against each other?

It is always easier to dodge a spear in the open than to guard against an arrow in the dark. In addition, Li Ji might be a hothead... Li Fuguo really couldn't make a judgment about Li Ji, but he felt that a brave and fierce person like him, even if he had hidden schemes, would inevitably be careless. Even if he wasn't careless, as long as his pride was provoked, there would be an opportunity to take advantage of him.

This was merely an experiment, with no guarantee of success, but fortunately, there was little risk. If Li Ji were killed quietly, the blame could be pinned on the rebels; if it were exposed, it could be said that those three江湖人士 (jianghu figures) were acting out of spite and taking revenge—could a few ordinary people be used as evidence against me? Who do you think the emperor would believe?

Therefore, when Li Fuguo gave orders to Jia Huai and the other two, he secretly instructed them to find an opportunity to assassinate Li Ji on the way. Fearing that it would frighten the three, Li Fuguo did not dare to mention that Li Ji had saved Li Chu and Li Tan, or that he had a close friendship with Li Shi. He only said that this man was strong and brave and quite difficult to control, so they must not confront him directly, but must use underhanded methods.

This man, relying on his courage, disregards me and has repeatedly defied me to my face. I have long resented him, but because his brother Li Bi is currently favored by the Emperor, I cannot make a clear judgment on his crime. However, if you can help me accomplish this task, all the promises I made before will be fulfilled on the spot.

So what did Li Fuguo promise the three of them? Nothing more than fame and fortune, and fame must come from fortune. Yunlin only wanted to become an official, Jia Huai also had ambitions for a career, and Yu Xiuhe hoped for thousands of gold coins and thousands of acres of fertile land. Li Fuguo said that it was all simple, as long as they brought back Li Ji's body, he could grant them all their wishes.

Li Fuguo certainly anticipated that Li Ji or Li Bi might see through his scheme, but he wasn't worried that they would turn on him, since it was all just a verbal promise with no concrete evidence. Besides, depending on the situation, he might have to push Jia Huai and the other two out as scapegoats, or even kill them to silence them.

He wasn't afraid that Li Ji would strike first and kill the three of them—you and

How could Chen Fu and his two soldiers possibly enter Luoyang without the help of martial arts practitioners? Even if they did manage to sneak in, their plan to infiltrate the inner palace to investigate the whereabouts of Lady Shen is utterly absurd! I've already given Jia Huai and the others all the relevant intelligence.

If you return empty-handed, but it turns out that the one in the Luoyang Imperial Palace is indeed Lady Shen—or if I manage to convince Li Chu and his son that she is—then a grudge will inevitably arise between you and the imperial family, and it will be much easier for me to plot against you in the future.

Little did he know that Li Ji had no intention of killing the three of them at all. Instead, when passing through Chang'an, he secretly notified Li Tan, asking him to set up an ambush to capture and interrogate the three men.

The words Li Tan taught to Pugu Huai'en and the others were meant to intimidate these martial arts figures and to demonstrate the military might, letting them know that on one side was Li Fuguo, and on the other were two princes, one duke, and an army of hundreds of thousands! Who would dare to act rashly against the people the military was protecting?! They should carefully weigh the pros and cons.

While Jia Huai and the others were confessing, a military clerk diligently recorded their statements, confirmed their accuracy, and then had them affix their fingerprints. Of course, the confessions of these three alone wouldn't be enough to bring down Li Fuguo; Li Tan planned to keep them hidden for later use. The main purpose of recording their confessions was simply to have leverage over them.

Are you still planning to work for Li Fuguo? If I turn around and hand the confession to Li Fuguo, let's see how he treats you!

During the interrogation, Li Ji, who was listening beside Jia Huai, sensed something was amiss and whispered to Chen Fu. Chen Fu immediately interjected, asking, "Yun Lin claims to possess immortal arts, but what kind of immortal arts are they? Furthermore, Yu Xiuhe can climb high walls and scale rooftops, yet you only say he's skilled with a staff. If he didn't have some extraordinary abilities, how could he be working for Li Fuguo alongside them? Tell us honestly what you know, without hiding anything!"

After hesitating for a while, Jia Huai finally replied with a bitter face, "General, please forgive me, but Yun Lin claims to know magic, but I have never seen him demonstrate it... As for me, I have no other skills, but I know a lot of herbs and can use poison..."

Chen Fu and Li Ji exchanged a glance, thinking how close they had come to getting the information before he opened up.

A comparison of the three testimonies afterward revealed that Jia Huai's and Yun Lin's statements largely matched, while Yu Xiuhe's account was noticeably incomplete. For instance, Jia Huai stated that he and Yu Xiuhe were recommended to Li Fuguo by Cui Guangyuan, the Prefect of Jingzhao, while in Chang'an, and that Li Fuguo had even sent them to investigate the private affairs of their benefactor, Gao Lishi; as for Yun Lin, he came to join them in Lingwu.

However, Yu Xiuhe insisted that all three of them joined Li Fuguo's forces when they were in Fengxiang.

Yunlin honestly confessed that he had failed to learn immortality and only knew some illusionary tricks. So he traveled the world with his sword, hoping to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Li Bai, traversing famous mountains and rivers to make a name for himself, and then become a retainer of a nobleman—perhaps even Li Bai himself—in order to secure an official position. He also voluntarily confessed that Jia Huai knew how to use poison.

The other two might not know what kind of magical arts Yunlin possessed, and Yu Xiuhe theoretically knew about Jia Huai's skill in using poisons, but he never mentioned it.

In short, the two men, in order to save their lives, spilled everything they could, even admitting what they shouldn't have said when questioned; only Yu Xiuhe remained silent unless asked, and when asked, he only told about 30% of the truth.

Pugu Huaien discussed with Li Ji and Chen Fu for a while, then turned to Yu Xiuhe and asked, "You are from Huaibei, do you know how to swim?" Yu Xiuhe shook his head and said, "No." Pugu Huaien smiled and said, "It's best if you don't know, but it doesn't matter if you do." He immediately ordered a large stone to be tied to the rope, and then threw Yu Xiuhe and the stone into the Ba River.

With a splash, water sprayed up, and Jia Huai and Yun Lin both turned ashen-faced, trembling all over. Pugu Huai'en sneered at the two: "If you had listened to me honestly, you wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe we'd even be comrades in the future. Let's wait until the rebellion is quelled and then go west together to fight the Tibetans. Although you two aren't skilled in battle and martial arts, you can still get fifth or sixth rank by doing things like scouting enemy positions and escorting official documents. That's all I have to say. Don't ruin yourselves!"

Immediately, the Shuofang army withdrew and left. Li Ji and Chen Fu bowed to thank Pugu Huai'en, who laughed and said, "I came here not to bestow any favors upon you two, but to repay your kindness in following me to the walls of Chang'an and chasing away the rebel general. The Prince of Jianning said that if you had not obeyed his orders to follow me that night, how could he have dared to chase me alone? Even if he had caught up with me, I could not have sent many soldiers, so how could I have had the opportunity to capture the general and gain merit?"

"Since it is the order of the military commander, how could I dare to refuse?"

He then patted Li Ji on the shoulder and said, "You have great strength, and you dare to risk your life to charge the enemy general on the battlefield. You can't always do petty thievery. When you join my army in the future, we will kill the Tibetans, cut off their heads and get new clothes. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

He tightened his grip: "It's settled then. Unless you surpass me in fame and fortune within a year or two, you must join my army and not serve anyone else—the bow I gave you the night before last is considered a deposit."

Li Ji quickly declared, "Following the general and killing the Tibetan bandits is Li Ji's long-cherished wish!"

Thus, when they left Chang'an, there were still five riders, but in less than half a day, only four riders remained. After watching the Shuofang soldiers leave, they set off again and arrived in Lantian County in the afternoon.

The two martial arts figures who survived the ordeal naturally treated Li Ji and Chen Fu very differently afterward. Yun Lin felt deeply humiliated but was too cowardly to retaliate, so he became taciturn and tried his best to maintain the last bit of dignity with silence. Jia Huai's attitude, on the other hand, went from respectful to obsequious, serving them like a servant, doing all the hard and tiring work in order to leave a good impression on the two men.

Of course, based on his "superpower," Li and Chen could eat and drink on the way.

Chapter Three: Heartfelt Concern for Suiyang

The next morning, after getting up, Chen Fu proposed that the four of them split into two groups. He and a martial arts figure would head north through Luyang Pass and sneak into Luoyang ahead of time, while Li Ji and another person would head east on other business.

Jia Huai couldn't help but wonder, "Weren't we going to Luoyang to rescue Consort Shen? Why are we heading east? Whose orders have you two received?"

Chen Fu said, "There's no rush to save Consort Shen..." He then repeated the reasons that Li Ji had told him the night before, and then said, "The Prince of Guangping has ordered us to take this opportunity to go to Luodong to investigate the military situation."

He presented Li Chu's military order, and Jia Huai and Yun Lin naturally dared not object, but they couldn't help but ask, "How far east are you going, and where are you headed?"

Li Ji pointed and said, "It's not far, only a two-day journey. We're going to—Suiyang!"

Last night he explained to Chen Fu in detail that his elder brother's biggest worry was not Luoyang, but Suiyang. With Xijing captured and the rebels in dire straits, Luoyang would be within easy reach. However, if Suiyang fell before that, the overall situation and the course of the rebellion would likely be subject to further changes…

Suiyang Prefecture was originally named Songzhou, with its capital at Songcheng. It was located in the southern part of Shangqiu City, Henan Province in later years, and its geographical location was very important—the key being the Bian River that flowed past the city.

In the Henan region during the Tang Dynasty, there were two rivers named Bian. The northern one was the Bian River, a natural formation, while the southern one was the Bian Water, an artificial canal also known as the Tongji Canal. It was built by Emperor Yang of Sui to connect the Yellow River and Huai River systems, and was constructed on the basis of the ancient Bian Canal (Bian Water). It started from Banzhu in Xingyang, Henan, on the Yellow River, and flowed into the Huai River at Xuyi, Jiangsu. In short, because of the connection provided by this canal, water transport was convenient, allowing the wealth of the Jianghuai region to reach Henan smoothly. If the rebel army went down the canal and directly attacked Huaibei, they could not only seize grain for their own use, but also cut off an important source of supplies for Chang'an.

Suiyang, located in the middle of Bian River, effectively controls it.

Two years ago, when the rebellion broke out, after the rebel army entered Henan, An Lushan sent his general Zhang Tongwu eastward to attack the two prefectures of Suiyang and Jiyin. Yang Wanshi, the prefect of Qiao prefecture in the south, surrendered to the rebels and forced Zhang Xun, the magistrate of Zhenyuan under his jurisdiction, to become his chief secretary and lead troops to support the rebels. Zhang Xun was furious and led the officials and people to weep at the Xuan Yuan Emperor Temple in Zhenyuan. He then raised an army and fought against the rebels.

At that time, uprisings broke out in various places, and Zhang Tongwu was forced to flee north. Zhang Xun led two thousand troops north and took advantage of the chaos to attack Yongqiu County in Chenliu Prefecture.

Linghu Chao, the former magistrate of Yongqiu, had surrendered to the rebels. Shortly after his defeat and escape, he led 15,000 troops to attack Yongqiu. Zhang Xun, claiming to be the Military Commander of Henan and the vanguard commander of Prince Wu, Li Zhi, held the city firmly. Seeing he could not conquer it, Linghu Chao retreated temporarily, but soon returned with 40,000 troops led by the rebel generals Li Huaixian, Yang Chaozong, and Xie Yuantong. Zhang Xun held out tenaciously for over sixty days, engaging in more than three hundred battles, large and small, finally repelling the rebels. The Emperor Emeritus, upon receiving the report in Chang'an, was moved by Zhang Xun's loyalty and bravery and immediately promoted him to the position of Chief of the Bureau of Guests and concurrently Vice Censor-in-Chief.

However, news soon arrived that Chang'an had fallen and the emperor had fled west... The morale of the people of Henan was dampened, and the rebels' momentum grew even stronger. Linghu Chao and Li Tingwang returned and attacked Yongqiu three times, besieging the city for more than forty days, but in the end they were defeated by Zhang Xun.

The rebel army ravaged Henan, and many counties and prefectures fell. Initially, only Xu Shuji, the prefect of Lingchang, Xue Yuan, the prefect of Yingchuan, and Xu Yuan, the prefect of Suiyang, were able to hold out. However, due to the lack of external support, after more than a year, the first two prefectures fell, Xue Yuan was captured, and Xu Shuji fled south. Only Xu Yuan continued to hold Suiyang. Zhang Xun knew that Yongqiu was a small city and could not be defended for long, nor was it a strategic stronghold. Therefore, he eventually abandoned Yongqiu and marched south along the Bian River. He first fought at Ningling and then entered Suiyang to join forces with Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan knew of Zhang Xun's fighting ability and entrusted him with military affairs. Subsequently, under Zhang Xun's command, he repeatedly defeated the rebel forces of Yang Chaozong and Yin Ziqi.

Upon hearing the news, Li Heng immediately promoted Zhang Xun to the position of Deputy Military Governor of Henan, breaking with precedent.

The fact that the rebel army, with tens of thousands of troops, launched a frenzied attack on Yongqiu and Suiyang shows that they were striving to control the Bian River waterway in order to gain an advantage. On the day Helan Jinming was appointed to replace Prince Guo Li Ju as the military governor of Henan, before leaving Fengxiang, Li Mi had told him: "The key to the battle of Henan is none other than Suiyang. I hope you will pay attention to it."

However, shortly before the Battle of Xiangji, news came from Suiyang that Yin Ziqi had led tens of thousands of troops to attack again, leaving only a few thousand soldiers in the city and their food supplies running low... Li Bi was very puzzled. He Lan Jinming, where did you go? Why didn't you come to the rescue of Suiyang? Therefore, Li Ji went east and tried to sneak into Luoyang. Li Bi said to him, "If you get the chance, please help me find out the news from Suiyang. There are rebels blocking the way, and it will be too late for Chang'an to receive the news. See if Suiyang can still hold out."

If the marshal rests briefly before advancing and recapturing Luoyang, the siege of Suiyang will be lifted. However, if Suiyang falls before that... even if the rebels don't have time to cut off the westward transport of taxes from the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, they can still take advantage of the situation to move south, ravage the Huai River basin, plunder people and seize grain, and plot to amass wealth.

At that time, Li Ji asked Li Bi, "Since you intend to retire, why worry about Suiyang?"

Li Bi sighed, "If Suiyang is not lost, I fear the rebels will retreat back to Hebei, causing the war to spread along the border. But if Suiyang is lost... then I will not be able to live in peace in Yingyang either, and there may even be a day when I am forced to return to the front lines..."

Zhang Xun had been defending Yongqiu for nearly a year, and then Suiyang for another year. Despite being outnumbered, he repeatedly defeated the rebel army, and news of his victories was frequently sent to the imperial court—though with considerable delays—which Li Ji had long heard of. The military reports were quite astonishing, but even stripped of all the fluff, they were enough to elicit admiration. Even Li Ji, whose knowledge surpassed that of others by over a thousand years, couldn't help but secretly give them a thumbs up.

What a Zhang Xun! Even the famous generals who defended isolated cities in ancient times, such as Tian Dan and Hao Zhao, could not compare to him!

So he was quite worried about Suiyang.

The concern isn't about the impact of the fall of Suiyang on the overall situation, but rather the fear that loyal and brave men like Zhang Xun will ultimately fail and meet a bad end...

Of course, he couldn't control this matter. At the time, he only had fifty soldiers at his disposal. Even if Li Bi ordered him to rescue Suiyang, would he dare to go? Moreover, from Fengxiang and Chang'an to Suiyang, there were Tongguan and Luoyang in between. Could he be parachuted there? Coincidentally, the four of them were heading east to plan an infiltration into Tokyo. Li Ji thought that they probably couldn't find out any military intelligence in Luoyang. And once they had infiltrated, it would be quite difficult to send out messages.

Since I'm not in a hurry to infiltrate the inner palace, find out the true identity of the person who looks like Shen, and protect him, I might as well make a trip to Suiyang City first and see the situation nearby—maybe Zhang Xun will pull off another miracle and defeat Yin Ziqi again, then I'll have a chance to go into the city and see him.

Such a prodigy should not be known merely by name.

Of course, he wouldn't tell Chen Fu the truth. He only said that Li Bi was concerned about the battle situation in Suiyang and hoped that I could find out some information. So he suggested that we go to Suiyang first. Don't worry, we'll just observe from afar. I'm not so bold as to charge into tens of thousands of rebel troops. There will be no danger.

However, Chen Fu disagreed, saying that he had not received Li Changshi's orders and that he felt it was inappropriate for them to cause unnecessary trouble. Li Ji pleaded repeatedly, and Chen Fu could not refuse outright. In the end, they had no choice but to decide to part ways temporarily, with the two going to Luoyang first and the other two going to Suiyang for a detour.

Anyway, we have some good horses in the army. Now that we're out of the Funiu Mountains, we can gallop across the plains. I don't think we'll be delayed for too long.

Upon hearing the news in the morning, Jia Huai immediately declared, "I'll go with Li Zhiguo."

The group of four was ostensibly led by Chen Fu—although in terms of official rank, he was one rank lower than Li Ji—and Chen Fu was in charge of making decisions. However, Jia Huai, having worked within the system, knew that the real decision-makers were often not the top officials. General Pugu had once said that Li Zhiguo had saved the lives of the Prince of Guangping and the Prince of Jianning, and was also on very good terms with the Prince of Fengjie. Therefore, as long as he didn't obey Li Fuguo's orders to kill him, his future prospects were limitless!

Now that I have signed the confession, there is no way I can go back to Li Gong... The only way to turn misfortune into fortune is to cling tightly to Li Ji's coattails.

Li Ji had originally planned to bring Yun Lin along, because Jia Huai knew poison and it would be too dangerous to have him by his side... As for Yun Lin's so-called "beginner's magic," it was just some illusions. Not only was he not afraid, but he also wanted to find an opportunity to see it for himself, to "get closer to science," and to uncover the truth. However, since Jia Huai had volunteered, it was not convenient to turn him away.

He's already killed one of the martial arts masters. He still wants to cultivate good relations with the remaining two, even forging bonds of loyalty and gratitude, to prevent them from stabbing him in the back, or even disobeying his orders while rescuing Shen, which would put him in a difficult position. As for a villain like Jia Huai, you can glare at him angrily, even whip him, but you can't kick him away, or he'll harbor resentment.

Left with no other choice, he had to grit his teeth and bear it. Chen Fu gave Li Ji a deep look: "Changwei, be careful in everything." Not be careful of the rebels, but be careful of this Jia Huai.

They parted ways there, with Li Ji and Jia Huai galloping away, bypassing Fangcheng Mountain and entering the heart of Henan, heading towards Suiyang. Along the way, most of the counties and prefectures had already fallen under the control of the rebels. Although they carried forged official documents from the "Yan" state, they worried that while checkpoints were easy to pass, city defenses would be difficult to breach. Therefore, they avoided cities and towns, sleeping in the open every day.

When they stayed overnight or rested, Li Ji would deliberately find topics to have a heart-to-heart talk with Jia Huai, trying to win him over. He mainly asked about the methods used to poison Jia Huai and a more detailed account of Jia Huai's life.

Jia Huai was skilled in using poisons. It was said that from Lingbei in the south to Shuofang in the north, from the East China Sea to Bashu in the west, he could find several plants in the wild to concoct poisons. As for the legendary "zhen" poison, or "crane's crest red"—that is, arsenic—and snake venom, those kinds of animal and mineral poisons, he was not very clear about them.

This is a unique skill, a tool for making a living, so it's inconvenient to prepare it on the spot—even plant toxins need to be ground or boiled to purify their toxicity—so he always carries several kinds of poisons with him, and to show his sincerity, he took them out one by one and explained them to Li Ji.

Li Ji then asked, "Is there any antidote?"

Jia Huai shook his head and said no—"If there is blood in the external wound, it can be sucked out in time and washed with clean water. Then find a doctor to prescribe medicine to clear the blood and reduce swelling, and gradually treat the condition. If there is internal poisoning, the only thing to do is to quickly take the 'golden juice' (old feces) and force it down the throat to induce vomiting. In this way, one may survive, but it is also difficult to avoid a serious illness."

However, he immediately comforted Li Ji, saying that the poisons of plants are mostly not strong. If used on weapons, they must be frequently re-quenched and kept fresh to harm people. If added to food, a small amount is useless, but a large amount will have a taste and be easily detected.

He thought to himself: I claim to be skilled in using poison, and naturally I have my own ingenious methods. You certainly can't learn them just by talking about theories; but if you understand the theories, you can be on guard. Even if you can't guard against me, you can at least guard against someone of slightly lower caliber. I only speak three-tenths of what I know to others, and I never reveal my whole heart. I'll use these three-tenths of what I know to appease you, to let you know that I have no ill intentions, and that's enough.

Li Ji recalled some popular novels he had read in his previous life and asked, "I have heard that there are extraordinary people who can make deadly poisons. After taking them, the time is calculated, and the person will die when the time comes. If the time does not come, the person can take the antidote and recover immediately. Do you have such a poison?"

Jia Huai shook his head repeatedly, saying, "What you're describing isn't poisoning, it's cursed poison... I also have some less toxic ones here. One dose won't cause much harm, but multiple doses are needed for the internal organs to rot and die. However, individual constitutions vary, so I can't pinpoint the exact timing. In between, I can only stop the medication, so the person is sick but not dead, yet..."

Chapter Four: Encountering the Enemy at Bian River

The journey from Fangcheng to Suiyang is six or seven hundred li, originally planned to be completed in two days, but unfortunately it was just talk on paper... Although the army has good horses, capable of galloping over three hundred li in a day, the problem is that without sufficient rest, the warhorses will lose weight and may even fall ill and collapse—horses are actually much more delicate than people. Moreover, Li Ji's riding skills are only average, while Jia Huai is even worse than Li Ji.

In addition, avoiding cities inevitably meant taking long detours. Fortunately, Li Ji had lived in Ji County for a long time and later moved to Yingyang, so he was relatively familiar with the roads in Henan. With the help of later geographical references, he never got lost.

It wasn't until dusk on the third day that they finally crossed the Huan River. They hadn't gone far when a wide canal rushed before them, and the Bian River came into view. Li Ji then said to Jia Huai, "Let's get some rest for the night. Tomorrow morning, while it's still daylight and we can see far, we'll head to the south bank of the Bian River and observe Suiyang from afar. If the rebels have retreated and there are no further threats, we can cross the river and enter Suiyang City for a hot meal..."

Jia Huai asked, "What if the rebels are still besieging the city?"

Li Ji frowned, sighed softly, and said, "There's nothing we can do. We can only observe the situation from across the water and see how long Suiyang can hold out. Once we reach Tokyo, we'll send someone to inform the Marshal."

Jia Huai nodded and went to find a sheltered spot to gather firewood and start a fire. Li Ji quickly stopped him, saying, "If there are still rebels under Suiyang City, they will most likely send scouts to Biannan. If we start a campfire, they might find out. Tonight, let's eat some dry rations and sleep together. Wrap ourselves up in blankets, and it shouldn't be too cold."

The words had barely left his mouth when suddenly the sound of horses' hooves rang in his ears...

Li Ji thought to himself, "I really have a jinx; everything I say comes true..." He exchanged a glance with Jia Huai and hurriedly spurred his horse back to its pedestal.

If they were indeed rebel scouts, he planned to forge official documents and try to fool them. But regardless of whether it succeeded or not, he certainly couldn't dismount, so he could escape at any time.

Sure enough, with the sound of hooves, five rebel riders, their helmets gleaming and armor gleaming, armed with swords and spears, galloped towards them. Upon seeing Li Ji and Jia Huai, they each took precautions. One of the junior officers shouted from afar, "Who goes there?!"

Li Ji and the others were all dressed in civilian clothes, so Jia Huai instinctively replied, "We are just ordinary people from this village..."

The officer, taking advantage of the setting sun's glow, looked you up and down and sneered, "Commoners? Aren't those your horses fine military steeds?!"

In reality, there isn't much difference between military horses and private horses. Often, officials and wealthy families could afford to keep one or two fine horses, whose quality was no less than that used by the army. However, if the horses belonged to a wealthy family's son or servant, their origins had to be explained. How could an unknown country bumpkin possibly own such a fine horse?

Therefore, Li Ji hurriedly said, "To be honest, we are under the command of General An, and we were ordered to travel from Shanzhou to Chenliu on official business. Unexpectedly, we lost our way and are resting here temporarily." As he spoke, he reached into his robe and said, "There is an official document here. Would you like to take a look?" In those days, anti-counterfeiting technology was not up to par. I guess you, a lowly patrol officer, would definitely not be able to spot the flaws in this counterfeit.

The officer said with some doubt, "So you are under General An Shouzhong's command... I won't read the official document..." because I can't read. "You may follow me."

Li Ji frowned: "Where are you taking us?"

The officer pointed towards the Bian River: "General Yin is right under the walls of Suiyang, so close you can rest here. Why don't you come with me to the camp to rest? Why do you have to camp out in the open?"

Li Ji thought to himself, "I'm doomed... My experience in handling affairs is still too shallow. I've been caught red-handed—how could I possibly go into the rebel camp with him? A few questions later, he'll definitely expose my weakness! But I can't just run away now. We've been running all day, we're exhausted, and we'll surely be caught..."

Left with no other choice, he could only exchange a glance with Jia Huai, then smile and say, "That would be best. Please lead the way."

The officer nodded: "Follow me." But although he turned his horse and rode away, the remaining four rebel riders stood still, clearly intending to sandwich Li Ji and the others in the middle and travel together to avoid any mishaps—they still couldn't be sure or at ease.

Li Ji immediately kicked his horse's flanks and followed, saying, "Wait a moment, sir, we haven't exchanged names yet..."

The officer turned his head slightly and said, "I am under General Yin's command..." Before he could finish speaking, Li Ji suddenly spurred his horse forward and drew his sword from his waist, then slashed down fiercely on Li Ji's head.

Although the opponent caught him off guard, their reaction was swift. In their haste, they shifted to the side on their horse, and Li Ji's strike missed its mark—ultimately, his horsemanship skills weren't high enough. Seeing the enemy general with his spear in hand, Li Ji knew he couldn't defeat him in a few moves—and if the fight dragged on, there was no guarantee the enemy wouldn't send reinforcements. With a flash of inspiration, he simply repeated his old trick, leaping up again and launching a vicious tiger pounce.

He thought to himself, "I am also following the example of the ancients—General Li was captured by the Xiongnu in the past, but he escaped by stealing his horse. It's nothing more than that."

The enemy general was about to turn his horse around and charge with his spear when, in the blink of an eye, he pounced... Caught off guard, he was knocked off his saddle. Li Ji, however, lacked Li Guang's skill; he couldn't possibly shove the enemy off his horse and then fall himself onto it. But with his sword still in hand, before the armored general's body hit the ground, he held him down with his left hand, and with a swift slash of his sword, severed his throat, ending his life.

The remaining four rebel soldiers were greatly alarmed and hastily drew their swords and spears to fight. Jia Huai, having already understood Li Ji's intentions through a glance, preemptively attacked the enemy cavalry the moment Li Ji made his move.

He drew his usual staff, which reached his eyebrows. Seeing an enemy raise his sword and charge towards him, Jia Huai immediately twisted his leg and fell to the ground…

He knew very well that his horsemanship was poor, and that fighting cavalry on horseback, no matter how skillfully he swung his club, would ultimately end in death. So he simply dismounted, using his agility to dodge the horse's head, and then swept his long club across the ground. With a "crack," the horse's foreleg broke. The rebel soldier screamed, somersaulted, and fell to the ground. Jia Huai immediately pounced on him, striking him three times in quick succession—the man wasn't dead yet, but he probably wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon.

The other three rebel soldiers rushed straight towards Li Ji—mainly hoping to rescue him. One of them arrived first, thrusting his spear downwards and to the side, but Li Ji dodged the spear tip, gripped the shaft with one hand, exhaled sharply, and with a sudden burst of strength, pulled the man off his horse. While the man was still in mid-air, Li Ji swung his sword as before, slashing horizontally—this time the strike was even more ruthless, almost severing the man's neck completely, blood splattering half of Li Ji's face.

In the blink of an eye, two more were killed. On the south bank of the Bian River, Li Changwei once again displayed his bravery, frightening the remaining two enemy riders into a panic... Damn, this guy is so fierce, and he has helpers too. Now, two against two, how can we possibly win? We quickly turned our horses around, saddled them, and fled in disarray.