Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

At the same time.

"Commander."

Tonight, the gatekeeper guarding the north gate of Taiyuan City kneels before Zhang Yin's horse.

"The man showed me his badge as a deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, claiming that he was on official business and had to leave the city immediately."

"Did this man show you a warrant for leaving the city at night?"

Zhang Yin coldly watched the trembling gatekeeper.

Which government office in the city issued it?

This general's command office certainly did not issue the document!

Is it the governor's office or the military commissioner's office?

"My lord... no... no one went out of the city at night to investigate."

The gatekeeper was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly.

"I knew he was a fourth-rank official in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so I figured he wouldn't dare lie and say he was acting on imperial orders..."

"Without prior authorization from a night patrol, even a high-ranking official can be refused entry by the gatekeeper!"

Zhang Yin snorted coldly.

"During the Zhengde era, General Zhu Shou was refused entry to the city by the gatekeepers when he returned home at night without a valid permit. He was only allowed to enter the city the next day."

Zhu Shou was actually Emperor Wuzong's own pseudonym, and he did not blame the gatekeeper afterwards!

Even the emperor must abide by the gate restrictions, yet you dared to let a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) who had not been allowed to leave the city at night for inspections go unpunished!

In that case, you might as well give up that tool you're using to make a living!

No sooner had he finished speaking than an armored cavalryman rode up from behind Zhang Yin, a flash of cold light, and his head flew into the air.

At this point, the drawbridge at the city gate was finally lowered to a horizontal position.

"Chase!"

Zhang Yin was the first to rush out of the city gate.

"Whoever obtains this man's head will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

Immediately afterwards, dozens of fully armed armored cavalrymen followed closely behind Zhang Yin, quickly passing through the city gate and rushing across the drawbridge.

. . .

The sky finally brightened.

Near Yangqu County, beside an official road.

An armored cavalryman crouched down, carefully examining the carcass of a horse lying dead on the ground.

"Master, it is indeed the horse that man was riding."

The cavalryman rose and reported to Zhang Yin.

"Based on my experience, this horse has been dead for less than half an hour!"

"You two will each lead a team of ten men and search in two different directions along the main road!"

After looking around, Zhang Yin pointed to his two subordinates.

"When you encounter any group, whether it is a merchant group or not, you must check the face of every person and carefully examine all places where people can hide. Do not let anyone slip through undetected."

Everyone else, in pairs, will search the mountainous area in circles, starting from here.

Last night, this man took a blow from my palm with his bare body, and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. His internal organs were seriously injured.

Although his internal strength was quite good, he forcibly suppressed his injuries and ran at full speed for nearly forty miles at night, exhausting even his horse to death.

By this point, he was already at his limit, and it would be very difficult for him to even manage to stay upright and not faint.

Even if we fight one-on-one, I am no match for any of you.

I know this area very well. Once we leave this official road, it's all mountainous terrain that's difficult to traverse. This man can't have gone far!

. . .

Pingding Prefecture.

"Lord Baihu."

A captain of the Imperial Guard pointed to a towering cliff not far away.

"To the east of the cliff top, pavilions and towers can be vaguely seen."

After entering the territory of Pingding Prefecture, Wang Ziyan did not go into the city, but instead took a small path into the Taihang Mountains.

Tang Zhe and his men followed them and discovered that the other party had arrived at a place called "Gorilla Beach".

In ancient times, there must have been a sizable river here, leaving behind a large number of pebbles.

But now, only a stream, barely two or three zhang wide, flows through it.

As for why we know this place is called this, it's because the three large characters "Gorilla Beach" are carved on a boulder by the stream.

Wang Ziyan crossed the gorilla beach and entered a mountain village gate located halfway up the mountain.

The village gate is situated in a strategic location, and several arrow towers have been built nearby.

Further and higher than the first gate, there are a second and a third gate.

Although it is not clear from a distance, it is obvious that there are paths connecting the various gates of the village.

Arrow towers can be seen in many places on the mountain.

It is clear that this path eventually leads to the top of the cliff.

The top of this cliff looks very flat and is very large. The part that can be seen from Gorilla Beach is already no smaller than an ordinary county town.

Based on the experience of Tang Zhe and others, the unseen portion is likely several times larger.

This place is very likely a bandit stronghold, and a large one at that, capable of accommodating at least several thousand, or even tens of thousands of people.

Upon hearing his subordinate's words, Tang Zhe raised his monocular telescope and looked towards the east side of the cliff top.

Sure enough, the outlines of several pavilions and towers appeared in the telescope's field of view.

"Those bandits in this stronghold really know how to spend money!"

Tang Zhe couldn't help but praise,

"This cliff is hundreds of feet high, and there are probably only one or two small paths that lead to the top."

The manpower and resources required to build these pavilions and towers on the cliff top far exceed those needed at the foot of the mountain.

"This mountain stronghold is heavily guarded. Once Wang Ziyan enters, we won't be able to follow him in."

Another captain asked,

"What good plan does Commander Centurion have?"

"We don't need to follow them in."

Tang Zhe shook his head.

"This gorilla beach is open and difficult to hide in for long. It would be bad if the people in the village found out."

Let's leave this mountainous area and wait for them to come to us in the mountains.

We'll continue tracking Prince Yan once he comes out.

This mountain stronghold is hidden in the Taihang Mountains, and ordinary people can't find it. Wang Ziyan came here specifically, and this is probably his final destination. The important medicine that Duan Chao asked him to retrieve should be here.

I estimate that after he leaves this place, he will return directly to the capital.

"What's the name of this mountain stronghold?"

A captain pointed to a large rock by the stream with the words "Gorilla Beach" carved in large characters.

"Even this riverbank has names carved on it, so this precipitous mountain stronghold must have a name too."

"Let me take another look with this telescope."

Tang Zhe raised his monocular telescope again and looked towards the village gate.

"You guessed right, there really are some big characters carved on the boulder next to the gate."

Tang Zhe slowly adjusted the focus with his hand, and the large characters on the boulder finally became clear.

"So, this place is called 'Blackwood Cliff'!"

. . .

The vibration felt like it was coming from a carriage?

Yes, just before I finally collapsed on the official road, I saw a convoy approaching me from not far away.

Taking a deep breath, Xue Ting slowly circulated his internal energy to check his injuries.

Last night, I was struck by that great demon's palm, and my internal organs were already badly injured. I forced myself to suppress the injury with my internal energy and rode my horse for dozens of miles to escape.

The injury has indeed become more serious!

Given his current physical condition, let alone fighting against a master of internal energy, he would most likely lose to an ordinary strong man who knows absolutely no martial arts.

May all the gods and Buddhas protect me; I hope I was rescued by the people in the convoy, and not fell into the hands of that evil cult leader.

After silently praying three times, Xue Ting slowly opened his eyes.