No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

"Three thousand cavalry? The banner of the Great Qian Dynasty?!"

Su Chuang spat out all the melon seeds he was holding.

He bounced up from the mound, his mink cloak almost slipping to the ground.

He grabbed the Flying Tiger soldier who brought the news, his eyes wide with surprise:

"You saw it clearly? It really is the flag of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

"Absolutely true!"

The knight's face was still bleeding, and his voice trembled.

"That carriage was trimmed with gold and flew a bright yellow flag; it was clearly from the palace!"

Xu Mengran's expression also changed. She quickly walked to Su Chuang's side and lowered her voice:

"Chuang, something's not right..."

Su Chuang remained silent.

His mind was buzzing, and Lin Ruxue's gentle, smiling face flashed before his eyes.

The image of that girl tugging at his sleeve in the palace and saying, "Brother Chuang, I will help you," is still very clear to me.

Help him?

Go and help the Xiongnu?!

"Oh shit……"

Su Chuang gritted his teeth and cursed, his nonchalant expression completely crumbling.

He turned and rushed toward the beacon tower, his mink cloak fluttering in the wind.

"Pengju! Zilong! Wenhe—get in here, all of you!"

That shout shook the entire Wangbeitai area.

Inside the earthen house, the candlelight crackled and sparked.

Su Chuang sat behind that broken table, his fingers tapping on the surface, making people feel uneasy.

Yue Fei, Zhao Yun, Jia Xu, and Xu Mengran stood before the table, their expressions increasingly solemn.

"Wild Wolf Valley, fifty li away, three thousand Xiongnu cavalry, and one large Qian chariot."

Su Chuang raised his head, his eyes shining frighteningly bright in the candlelight.

"Wenhe, what do you think?"

Jia Xu remained silent for three breaths before slowly speaking: "My lord, this matter is strange."

"Nonsense." Su Chuang waved his hand. "Get to the point."

"First, if Princess Ruxue was truly in the Xiongnu army, why didn't she send a distress signal earlier?"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has many spies in the northern border region. If she wanted to, she could always send back messages."

Jia Xu's voice was calm, yet every word he uttered was piercing.

"Secondly, three thousand cavalry escorting a carriage is too much of a show of force; it doesn't look like a hijacking, but more like..."

He paused for a moment, then added, "It's more like an escort."

"Escorted?" Xu Mengran frowned. "You mean, Ru Xue went there on her own?"

Jia Xu nodded: "That's possible."

Su Chuang stopped tapping the table.

He looked at Jia Xu, and suddenly grinned:

"Wenhe, are you still trying to say—we shouldn't get involved in this?"

Jia Xu bowed and said, "My lord, you are wise."

"To interfere is to meddle in the royal family's internal affairs, and may even ruin the court's 'overall situation'."

"Whether Princess Ruxue lives or dies is none of our business."

He spoke frankly and calmly, as if he were talking about someone else's business.

Xu Mengran was furious and was about to speak when Su Chuang spoke first.

"Wenhe."

Su Chuang sighed, leaned back, and resumed his lazy demeanor.

"You're absolutely right, every word you say makes sense."

Jia Xu looked up at him.

"But," Su Chuang changed his tone, "I won't listen."

Jia Xu: "..."

"That girl, Lin Ruxue, called me Brother Chuang."

Su Chuang stood up and paced around the table.

"On the day I turned 18, she came to support me wearing a blood-red jade pendant."

"At the victory celebration banquet, she stood in front of me and relayed Emperor Wu's imperial edict."

He stopped and looked at Jia Xu.

"She might have been captured by the Xiongnu now, and you expect me to pretend I don't know?"

Jia Xu remained silent.

"My lord."

Yue Fei stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "This humble general is willing to lead troops to investigate."

"Investigate?" Su Chuang shook his head. "Investigate what? I need to save people."

"My lord, please reconsider!"

Jia Xu became anxious.

"At most, we can only mobilize about eight hundred troops!"

"Three hundred Mo Dao Guards, three hundred Flying Tiger Army soldiers, and two hundred newly recruited bandits."

"They're all just inexperienced ragtag soldiers!"

His voice rose three fen: "The enemy has three thousand Xiongnu cavalry!"

"In a field battle, our numbers are nothing compared to theirs!"

"Who says it's not enough?"

Su Chuang turned to look at him, his carefree smile returning to his face.

"Wenhe, have you forgotten what cards we still have in our hand?"

Jia Xu was taken aback.

Su Chuang held up two fingers: "First, the Mo Dao Guards are heavily armored infantry who fight in formation and are particularly effective against cavalry—Pengju knows this best."

Yue Fei nodded: "If the terrain is favorable, three hundred Mo Dao Guards can hold off a thousand cavalry."

"Second," Su Chuang grinned, "Li Cunxiao."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Xu Mengran's eyes lit up: "You mean... that Wild Wolf Valley wanderer?"

"right."

Su Chuang walked to the window and looked towards the direction of Wolf Valley in the east. "I have a feeling he's there."

You'll "bump into" me within three days.

He turned around, his smile widening. "Then I'll go and 'bump into' him ahead of time."

Jia Xu wanted to advise, "My lord, this move is too risky!"

"Even with Li Cunxiao's assistance, our forces are still vastly outnumbered, and besides..."

"Besides, what a load of bull."

Su Chuang waved his hand to interrupt him, walked up to Jia Xu, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Wenhe, I know you're doing this for my own good, afraid I'll get hurt here."

"But some things can't be calculated."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"Lin Ruxue has been kind to me, and I must repay her kindness."

"We'll talk about it later—"

He grinned, a cold glint in his eyes. "I've disliked the Huns for a long time."

"Wanyan Zongbi was the first, these three thousand cavalry... consider it interest."

Jia Xu stared at Su Chuang for a full five breaths.

Finally, he let out a long sigh and bowed: "In that case, your subordinate will devise a plan for you, my lord."

"That's more like it." Su Chuang chuckled. "Tell me, how do we fight?"

Jia Xu walked to the table, dipped his finger in tea, and drew a simple diagram on the surface.

"I have already thoroughly familiarized myself with the terrain of Wolf Valley."

"The valley entrance is narrow, with steep cliffs on both sides, but there is an open area inside the valley where the three thousand Xiongnu cavalry must have camped."

He pointed to a spot: "This place is called 'A Line of Sky'."

"It is the only way to enter and exit Wolf Valley. It is only three zhang wide, and the cliffs on both sides are more than ten zhang high."

"My lord, you may lead your troops to set up an ambush here."

Su Chuang squinted: "What do you mean?"

"The Mo Dao Guards blocked the valley entrance, formed a shield formation, and mounted their spears, holding their ground and refusing to retreat."

"The Flying Tigers split into two groups; one group went up to the tops of the cliffs on both sides to prepare rolling stones and logs."

"One group hid in the dense forest outside the valley entrance, waiting to harass the rear guard when the Xiongnu army came out of the valley."

Jia Xu paused for a moment, then continued, "As for those two hundred new recruits..."

He looked at Yue Fei.

Yue Fei said in a deep voice, "This subordinate will lead them to guard the rear, in case the Xiongnu divide their forces to flank us."

"Okay." Su Chuang nodded. "Where's Zilong?"

Zhao Yun clasped his hands in a fist salute: "I will protect my lord from the side, never leaving his side."

Xu Mengran stepped forward: "I'll go too."

Su Chuang glanced at her, didn't object, and only said, "Stay close to me."

The plan was set, but the atmosphere in the room became even more tense.

Eight hundred against three thousand.

Still in the wild.

This battle will not be easy.

"My lord."

Jia Xu concluded, "The key to this battle lies in 'speed'!"

"Advance quickly, attack quickly, retreat quickly."

"Our goal is to save lives, not to annihilate the enemy."

"Once you've seized the carriage, retreat immediately; do not linger in battle."

Su Chuang grinned: "Don't worry, I value my life very much."

He turned and walked outside, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Pengju! muster the troops! We'll depart in one incense stick's time!"

"Zilong, prepare the horses!"

"Wenhe, you stay at the North Watch Platform and keep an eye on the Jade Gate Pass."

"If Ye Qingyue dares to move, report to me immediately!"

The group accepted the order and filed out.

Xu Mengran followed behind Su Chuang and asked in a low voice, "Chuang, are you really not worried?"

"I'm worried," Su Chuang said without turning his head. "I'm worried to death."

"Then why..."

"Worried as I may be, the matter still needs to be done."

Su Chuang stopped and turned to look at her.

The candlelight flickered on his face, revealing a seriousness that Xu Mengran had never seen before beneath his roguish smile.

"Sister Xu, there are some things in this world that you have to jump into even if you know they're a trap."

"Because there are people in the pit."

Xu Mengran's heart skipped a beat.

She looked at Su Chuang, then suddenly reached out and gently took his hand.

"I'll dance with you."

Su Chuang's throat moved, and he grabbed her hand in return, squeezing it hard.

"Walk."

After an incense stick has burned.

Eight hundred soldiers had assembled on the open ground outside Wangbeitai.

The Mo Dao Guards, clad in black armor and wielding black blades, stood as silent as mountains.

The Flying Tigers, wielding red-tasseled silver spears, exuded a murderous aura.

Those two hundred newly recruited bandits... although their formation was still a bit crooked, at least they stood up straight.

Su Chuang rode on a black horse.

This horse is an S-class warhorse given by the system. It is jet black with snow-white hooves and is named "Treading Clouds".

He wasn't wearing his brocade robe today; instead, he wore light leather armor and a mink cloak over it. It looked mismatched, yet strangely pleasing to the eye.

"Brothers!"

Su Chuang shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying on the wind.

"Enough with the nonsense—there are three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen in Wolf Valley ahead, and they may have even kidnapped a girl from our Great Qian."

"I'm going to save people."

"Are you going to join or not?"

There was a moment of silence below.

Immediately, Yue Fei was the first to raise his spear: "I swear to follow my lord to the death!"

"I will follow you to the death!"

Three hundred Mo Dao Guards roared in unison.

"I will follow you to the death!"

Three hundred Flying Tigers followed.

The two hundred bandits looked at each other, and finally, someone shouted out:

"Yes! We'll eat meat with the Duke!"

Laughter broke out, and the tense atmosphere eased somewhat.

Su Chuang grinned and pulled on the reins.

"Set off!"

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves filled the air.

Eight hundred soldiers, like a black torrent, rushed out of Wangbeitai and headed straight for Wild Wolf Valley.

Xu Mengran rode her horse to Su Chuang's left, her red dress fluttering in the wind.

Zhao Yun stood on the right, his silver spear held upside down, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

Yue Fei led the army at the front, with his spear pointing the way.

Jia Xu stood on the earthen mound of the beacon tower, watching the troops depart into the distance, his gray cloth shirt fluttering in the wind.

He sighed and muttered to himself:

"My lord, my lord... with your temperament, you'll suffer a great loss sooner or later."

He paused, then added:

"But...that's more like you."

Fifty li (about 25 kilometers) can be covered in an hour at a fast pace.

Three miles outside Wolf Valley, Su Chuang reined in his horse.

"stop!"

The line stopped.

At the mouth of the valley ahead, one can faintly hear the neighing of horses' hooves, and... the faint sound of a zither?

Su Chuang frowned.

"Pengju, take some men and go up there to take a look."

Yue Fei accepted the order and personally led two scouts, disappearing silently into the woods.

He returned shortly afterward, his expression strange.

"My lord, there are indeed three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen in the valley, encamped in an open area."

"That carriage... was parked in the middle of the camp, heavily guarded around it."

Su Chuang nodded: "Anything else?"

Yue Fei hesitated for a moment: "There's someone playing the zither in the carriage."

"The music was mournful, like... 'Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute'."

"Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute"?

Su Chuang's heart skipped a beat.

That was a song sung by a woman who had married far away to a foreign tribe, a song of longing and heartbreak for her homeland.

Lin Ruxue...is she playing this?

Xu Mengran also sensed something was wrong and whispered, "Chuang, this doesn't seem like a kidnapping, it seems more like..."

"It seems like she did it willingly."

Su Chuang took over the conversation, his eyes turning cold.

He recalled Jia Xu's words—"It doesn't seem like a kidnapping, but more like an escort."

Is it...

"My lord, what should we do now?"

Yue Fei asked.

Su Chuang remained silent for three breaths, then suddenly smiled.

"Whether she did it voluntarily or was forced, it doesn't matter."

"Since we're already here, we should at least ask around."

He waved his hand: "According to the original plan, set up an ambush at Yixiantian."

"Pengju, you take the Mo Dao Guards and block the entrance."

"Zilong, come with me inside—I want to ask that girl myself what she's up to."

"My lord, you mustn't!" Yue Fei exclaimed urgently, "It's too dangerous!"

"Danger?" Su Chuang grinned. "In my life, the thing I fear least is danger."

He looked at Xu Mengran:

"Sister Xu, wait here, I..."

Xu Mengran interrupted him, her eyes resolute.

"I'll go too."