Chapter 73

As the cries of battle rose, Li Yuan still lay on his bed in the Zhaohetang Palace of the imperial city: "Cough, cough... Is it the Crown Prince and his men making their move?" Li Yuan asked. Although he was the only person in the vast Zhaohetang Palace, he knew that someone was always lurking in the shadows, ready to obey his commands at any time.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The Crown Prince has ordered General Xue Wanche to lead two hundred cavalry to surround the Qin Wang's residence." As expected, a voice came from the darkness.

"Good! This way, the second son won't be able to hide anymore! He retracts his claws unless his bottom line is touched, hah... He even thought of bringing those two to my presence. Has the Sixteen Guards not moved yet?" Li Yuan looked much better than before, and his breathing was more stable.

"The commanders of the Sixteen Guards are probably still at the Wanhu Lou! Today, General Chen's son is taking a concubine, so they all went to congratulate him. After the banquet, they ended up enjoying themselves at the Wanhu Lou." The voice from the darkness was hoarse; the old eunuch An Yi never revealed himself.

"Oh! What a coincidence? This General Chen..." Li Yuan pondered.

"Indeed, he has secretly pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince, along with five others." An Yi replied.

"Are these the generals of the Sixteen Guards I rely on? What use are such generals? I'm not dead yet! Cough, cough..." Li Yuan was furious, but his anger triggered his illness, and a fit of coughing prevented him from speaking further.

"Your Majesty, should we secretly help the Qin Wang protect his family?" An Yi asked cautiously.

"No need. The second son must have his own plans. Let's see what happens first." Li Yuan thought for a moment and said.

"Your servant obeys!" An Yi said no more, and the Zhaohetang Palace fell silent again, leaving only Li Yuan's heavy breathing.

On the other side, outside Chang'an, Li Shimin's camp.

"Order the troops! Five hundred Black Armor soldiers, put on your armor, mount your horses, and advance to Chang'an at full speed! The rest stay and guard the camp!" Cheng Yaojin's loud voice echoed over the camp. He was the best person for the job of a loudspeaker, and another was Yuchi Gong, but the black-faced man was now in the Right Wuwei, where Li Shimin had placed him at great cost. This black-faced man did not disappoint Li Shimin and was now a very influential general in the Right Wuwei. If not for the military god Li Jing, the entire Right Wuwei might have been under his control.

Li Shimin stood under the central command tent, looking in the direction of Chang'an, his face filled with worry. His setup in Chang'an was just a team of Black Armor soldiers and a secret passage known only to a few. However, it was impossible for everyone in the Qin Wang's residence to escape through the secret passage, and Changsun would definitely stay behind. This was Li Shimin's understanding of his wife.

Since Changsun stayed behind, the others would definitely not leave. If they lost this battle, the secret passage might become a clever move to attack Chang'an. Therefore, Changsun would not use it but would choose to confront the Crown Prince head-on. This was what Li Shimin feared most. If anything happened to the people in the Qin Wang's residence, Li Shimin could not imagine what he would do.

"Hurry up!" Li Shimin urged. Qin Qiong and Changsun Wujì, who were by his side, understood his feelings and also urged the troops. Soon, the five hundred Black Armor soldiers were fully equipped, sitting on their horses, their eyes flashing with cold light, and their hands gripping horizontal sabers, leaving their lances behind.

This was a tradition of the Black Armor soldiers. Whenever they had to exterminate the enemy, they would not use lances but horizontal sabers, and the commanders would use陌刀 (a type of broadsword). They would split the enemy in half, and only the blood of the enemy could vent the anger of the Black Armor soldiers, and only the bones of the enemy could honor their fallen comrades.

Qin Qiong, with Qu Tongsu and Cheng Yaojin, came to Li Shimin, kneeling on one knee: "We request permission to rescue the princess, please allow us, Qin Wang!" They spoke in unison, their voices echoing through the camp.

"Granted! But I will go too!" Li Shimin wore his Mingguang armor, the beast head on his shoulder gleaming with a cold light, and a killing aura slowly rising from his tall figure. These two brothers had truly crossed his line, and if anything happened to the people in the Qin Wang's residence, Li Shimin would definitely use their heads to honor the fallen.

"Let's go!" The four of them mounted their horses and charged out of the camp first. Behind them, the five hundred Black Armor soldiers followed silently, like ghosts, their presence only marked by the rapid hoofbeats.

Changsun Wujì also joined the group, as his sister was in danger. Not just him, but Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and other ministers also quietly followed.

At the battlefield, in the rear of the Qin Wang's residence.

Li Kuan released the slingshot, pulling off the black veil over his eyes. Since it was a blanket attack, aiming was not necessary, and to protect his eyes, he used a black veil. He shook his slightly sore arm; in the past few minutes, he had rapidly shot out forty to fifty lime-filled cloth bags. The loosely tied bags scattered upon impact, releasing the lime into the air.

Although Li Kuan did his best, he could not cover the entire battlefield, only blinding the front part of the cavalry. However, the chaos caused was far beyond his expectations. Due to the terrain, one side was against a wall, and the other was a gentle slope, so the cavalry had to advance from one side. The first thirty to forty riders were blinded, and their horses ran and collided, causing chaos throughout the formation.

The most unfortunate was Xue Wanche, who was now the most miserable person. He had already been blinded by the lime, and when he tried to retreat, he rode into the area covered by Li Kuan's lime-filled bags. His horse, the best from Dayuan, struggled fiercely, and he tightly clung to the horse's belly to avoid being thrown off. However, the horse could not see, and it charged around, causing chaos in the cavalry formation.

The pressure of the advancing cavalry had made the Qin Wang's people unable to breathe, but now they were in disarray. No, the term "disarray" was not accurate enough; the cavalry was only slightly better than a mob. The thirty to forty blinded riders were like thirty to forty sticks stirring the pot, disrupting the formation, and the others dared not attack their own comrades, only trying to avoid them, but it was too late. They collided with each other, like bumper cars in the future.

Duan Zhixuan saw the opportunity and shouted, "Brothers, follow me and charge out!" He led the charge with his broadsword.

The other Black Armor soldiers followed, their horizontal sabers gleaming in the dawn light.

Li Kuan loaded his slingshot with stones. This was the time to harvest lives. Although he had never killed before, he had no choice now. This was a battlefield, not a game; it was a matter of life and death. Li Kuan did not want to die, so those who wanted him dead must die!

Li Kuan squinted, aimed at a rider, and the stone whistled through the air, hitting its target.

"Thud!" The stone, like a sniper bullet, exploded the head of the rider on the white horse, blood and brains splattering everywhere.

Li Kuan fought the strong urge to vomit, took two deep breaths, and told himself, "They are here to kill you, to kill your sister. They all deserve to die. They are asking for it. You are not wrong, you are not wrong..."

He muttered to himself, hypnotizing himself, giving himself hints, and finally managed to hold back. He then aimed at the second target.

In this way, Li Kuan, using his small stature to hide behind others, used his slingshot to take out several riders. In fact, Xue Wanche had been overconfident, thinking that the Qin Wang's residence, with only a few dozen people, including the Black Armor soldiers, was no match for his two hundred cavalry. He did not bring any bows or crossbows, thinking it was a sure thing. This oversight allowed Li Kuan to find an opportunity to attack. Now, with the enemy in disarray and no long-range weapons, they were like chickens and ducks waiting for him to hit them with his slingshot.

Time passed slowly in the chaos, and the battle had lasted for at least a quarter of an hour. The Black Armor soldiers charged into the cavalry, cutting down soldiers and horses. This was a tactic they had learned from countless battles. Why else would they use horizontal sabers?

The sporadic counterattacks of the cavalry also caused casualties among the Black Armor soldiers. Li Kuan was well aware of this because a cold voice in his ear kept reminding him, "One of our side has died, deducting 10,000 energy points from the host to compensate the family of the deceased."

Li Kuan cursed inwardly. This native protection system was too thorough, even compensating for the deaths of enemies. He did not have many energy points left, which he had saved for his health, but now they were being deducted, disrupting his plan to recover.

"Damn it!" Li Kuan could only curse inwardly. Now, killing the enemy was more important, and he had to act as a firefighter, shooting stones to save any Black Armor soldier about to be killed by the enemy.

Rumble... The sound of countless hooves filled the air. Li Shimin finally arrived. Although the cavalry had not managed to climb the slope, the Black Armor soldiers who had charged down had suffered heavy casualties.

Li Kuan could not afford to be heartbroken. These cavalry might launch a final desperate attack before Li Shimin arrived, trying to capture hostages to threaten Li Shimin and save their lives. But if they could just survive this last wave, they would be saved.

Sure enough, Xue Wanche, a renowned general, although blinded, could still assess the situation. The rumbling hooves told him that the Qin Wang had arrived, so he shouted, "Charge up the slope and capture hostages!"