Chapter 17

Horses galloped, raising dust that obscured the sky, while the snow that had fallen in Chang'an a few days ago only covered another direction. The official road in front of the Mingde Gate remained as dry as ever, which undoubtedly created a grand momentum for Li Er's return to the capital. The hooves thundered, as if breaking through mountain passes; the dust rose straight up, vowing to rival the blue sky. The horses were like dragons, and the elite soldiers like tigers, rushing forward from afar, exuding a fierce and bloody aura. This was a mighty army tempered through countless battles, the pride of the old Qin people and Li Er's pride.

Three thousand black-armored soldiers, their momentum shaking the heavens. Though only three thousand in number, the aura they emitted was comparable to that of a fifty-thousand-strong army, causing the earth to tremble and the enemies' hearts to quiver.

"Wind, great wind, wind, great wind!" How could the descendants of the old Qin people not shout these two phrases! Three miles from Chang'an, these most elite soldiers of the era let out a unified, deafening roar.

"This is the true elite of our Tang Dynasty! These city guards are far inferior to the fierce and valiant soldiers below!" Chang He stood beside Li Kuan, looking at the rapidly approaching army in the distance, and sighed sincerely.

"General Chang is too modest. These city guards are also the elite of the Tang Dynasty. I believe that if we select three thousand from them, they would not be much different from these three thousand black-armored soldiers!" Li Kuan said with great maturity.

"Second Prince, you flatter me. My soldiers, though veterans of many battles, are still far inferior to Prince Qin's black-armored guards." Chang He knew exactly what to say at this moment, and he had some connection with Li Kuan.

"General Chang, don't belittle yourself. Being able to return from a hundred battles speaks for itself!" Li Kuan held Li Lizhi's small hand and chatted with Chang He. Unexpectedly, the little girl Li Lizhi was not happy: "Second Brother, I can't see!"

Only then did Li Kuan realize that the front was a crenellated wall, with its jagged, indented structure. Although they were standing at the lowest point, Li Kuan himself could barely see outside, let alone the little girl who was much shorter.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think of that, it's my fault!" Li Kuan quickly apologized and then said to Chang He apologetically, "General Chang, could you please bring two city bricks for my little sister to stand on?"

"No problem!" Chang He agreed very readily. He turned and gave an order, and soon two tall soldiers came carrying two square city bricks, each about two feet on each side.

After placing them against the wall, Li Kuan lifted Li Lizhi up and patted her small head, "Stand still, don't fall! Otherwise, you'll cry again!" As he spoke, he reached out to pinch her little upturned nose.

"Second Brother, I'm taller than you now!" Standing on the city bricks, the little girl was now half a head taller than Li Kuan, her small head completely above the indented part of the crenellation. Looking at her shorter second brother, the little girl was delighted, "I'm taller than Second Brother now, I'm the big sister now!"

"Disrespectful!" Li Kuan couldn't help but pat her small bottom twice.

"Second Brother is bad! I'm watching Father!" Li Lizhi's face turned red: her mother had said that girls shouldn't let boys touch their bottoms, Second Brother was so bad! Thinking of this, the little girl became even more bashful and had to turn around to watch the returning army outside the city.

Seeing Li Lizhi focused on the outside, Li Kuan beckoned to Chang He, indicating that they should talk privately. Chang He, after instructing a soldier to take care of Li Lizhi, walked to one side with Li Kuan.

"What does the Prince need?" Chang He lowered his voice. He thought Li Kuan had deliberately avoided Li Lizhi because there was something confidential to discuss.

For someone like Chang He, caught between two major forces, it was not easy. He had a relative relationship with the Crown Princess and a secret connection with Prince Qin, which made every day like walking on thin ice, fearing that he might slip up.

Li Kuan looked at the young general, who was only in his thirties, indeed young. According to history, this man was on Li Er's side, but Li Kuan didn't know when he had joined. Now it seemed that by the sixth year of Wude, he was already loyal to Prince Qin.

"Prince, speak your mind. I have a life-and-death friendship with your grandfather. If it weren't for him, I would have died under Liu Heita's arrows this year." Chang He, seeing Li Kuan's long silence, couldn't help but reveal a secret.

Only then did Li Kuan realize that this man's allegiance to Li Er was due to his grandfather's influence, but the latter had already passed away: "General, don't worry. I was just thinking. I called you here to borrow something from you."

"What does the Prince need?"

"A large drum! Is it convenient for you?" Li Kuan replied. This man was an important figure in the event three years later, and if this matter caused a deviation in history, Li Kuan's own life might be at risk.

"That's easy!" Chang He agreed very readily. This was a small matter, and such things were of no concern to the big figures.

"Thank you, General!" Li Kuan bowed in gratitude.

"Prince, no need to be so formal! If it weren't for your grandfather, there would be no Chang He." Chang He appreciated Li Kuan's politeness.

"Prince, please wait a moment, I'll have the soldiers bring a drum!" Chang He said and went to give the order.

While Li Kuan and Chang He were talking, Li Er, leading his black-armored soldiers, was already not far from Chang'an. Standing at the city gate, Changsun could see from a distance the tall man sitting on his horse, wearing bright armor, riding a black horse with a white mane, looking like a jade man, and his horse like a dragon. It was her husband, Prince Qin Li Shimin, also known as Li Er. And the handsome, elegant man riding alongside him was her elder brother, the two most important men in her life. Now they were both safe and sound. Changsun wiped away the tears in her eyes, a radiant smile blooming on her face as she gazed at them.

Everyone at the city gate watched the army in silence. The three thousand black-armored soldiers moved as one, their hooves in perfect unison. Even the eunuch who had come to Mingde Gate to announce the imperial decree was speechless. The heavy, deadly aura, formed from countless battles, pressed down on everyone, making them unable to speak.

Of course, there was one person who was not oppressed by this aura. She was stretching her little head, looking for her brother in the crowd: "That's my elder brother, why is he dressed like that? So silly, I secretly wore it once, and I couldn't even walk in that armor. And that's Qingque, why does he look so silly now? Mother is so strange, laughing and crying. Second Brother is the best!" The little girl commented to herself, nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice.

"Bang!"

Just as everyone was silent, a drumbeat startled them.

"Bang, bang."

The drumbeats continued, each one resonating in people's hearts. The rhythm became faster, like a storm, like a battlefield. Each beat synchronized with the heartbeat, stirring the blood in people's hearts.

People felt as if they were on a battlefield, hearing the neighing of warhorses and the shouts of comrades. The clash of metal and the roar of horses, the determination to restore the land to peace. The drumbeats roared, shouted, and vented. Like a sudden rainstorm, or waves crashing against the shore, people were entranced, a grand picture of a general's battles unfolding before their eyes. A young general, with his horse and spear, vowed to calm the seas and strengthen the land. Internally, he fought against rebels, externally, he defended against invaders, through a hundred battles, he never regretted.

Among all the people, one was the most moved, the main character of the day—Prince Qin Li Er. This stirring drumbeat moved his heart, for it expressed his deepest desires and dreams. At this moment, he felt very satisfied, for someone understood him, someone knew his great ambitions, someone knew his lifelong wishes!

Everyone was immersed in the drumbeat, unable to pull themselves away, especially the black-armored soldiers. Countless battles had been etched into the flesh and bones of these iron-blooded men. This passionate drumbeat reminded them of past battles, of comrades who had fallen in battle, of those days of war. For the broken land and the countless innocent people behind them, they had no regrets, but they were tired. Though their bodies were made of steel and they faced death with a smile, their hearts were always taut, until death or complete collapse. In this drumbeat, they found a haven for their souls.

Many people were entranced by this divine drumbeat, all of them had experienced war and seen the bloodshed of a broken land. They understood the passion and heroism in the hearts of men, the resolve to bring peace to the world. So they were entranced, even if only for a moment.

But the little girl on the city wall felt unbalanced: "Bad Second Brother, good Second Brother, he went to play the drum without calling me, humph!"

Li Lizhi, the little girl, looked at the two city bricks under her feet: "So high! So scary!" The little girl patted her chest with her small hand. These city bricks, used to build the city wall, were like the stone slabs of later times, each about a foot (a foot in Tang times is about thirty centimeters) high, and two bricks were about sixty centimeters high. For a five-year-old (in Chinese age), this height was daunting.

Li Kuan was a bit unsatisfied, for in his memory, this tune should have been better, but he only remembered the general idea, and the rest he had to improvise. Fortunately, this tune was a classic, not the tune itself, but a song adapted from this ancient tune that Li Kuan liked very much, so the latter part followed the rhythm he used to sing in the KTV.

Li Kuan beat the drum and hummed along, "Let the sea and sky gather energy, to open up the world..."

That's right, it was "Men of Valor" but now it was the ancient tune "General's Order"!

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