Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

The original name of that mountain stronghold was not "Black Cliff"!

This name must have been given by a time traveler!

It was that unknown time traveler who possessed "ice" or had mastered the technology to make "ice".

It seems this person also has a deep impression of that martial arts novel, and even remembers that "Blackwood Cliff" is near "Gorilla Beach" in Pingding Prefecture.

Regardless, this time traveler made a huge mistake!

To believe oneself to be the only transmigrator in this dimension without any evidence!

Perhaps this person named the mountain stronghold "Blackwood Cliff" because it was located in Pingding Prefecture and happened to be on a cliff, and even carved the three characters "Gorilla Beach" on a boulder on a nearby riverbank.

Come to think of it, it's quite sentimental.

Tang Zhe thought it was a large bandit stronghold, heavily guarded, and didn't dare to approach it.

What exactly is happening inside the fortified village remains unknown.

This person might even be using the name "Sun Moon Cult" within the mountain stronghold!

"What is the size of 'Blackwood Cliff'?"

After calming down a bit, Lu Chen asked,

"In your estimation, how many people are there in the mountain stronghold?"

"Your Highness, this mountain stronghold is very large, and the core area should be at the top of the cliff."

Seeing that Lu Chen's expression had returned to normal, Tang Zhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"The top of that cliff is almost flat. There are many such cliffs in the Taihang Mountains, and they are called 'nao' by the locals."

The area visible from "Gorilla Beach" alone is already as large as a county town.

The extent of the unseen portion is unknown, but it may be larger than the visible portion.

From the first gate to the top of the cliff, you can see at least three more gates in between, and there might even be some that you can't see from the "Gorilla Beach" direction.

Near each gate of the stockade, there were some arrow towers, and there were also some in some strategic locations on the mountain.

The number of bandits guarding these gates and watchtowers alone has exceeded one hundred.

I have carefully observed it with my telescope, and I can still see some pavilions and towers on the edge of the cliff.

It is evident that there must have been a large number of buildings on the top of the cliff.

There are at least several thousand people, possibly more than ten thousand, on the entire "Blackwood Cliff."

It's actually this large?

Although Lu Chen was somewhat surprised, he did not lose his composure this time. Compared to the impact of "Blackwood Cliff" just now, this was nothing.

The so-called "nao" is actually what is commonly referred to as a square mountain or table mountain in later generations. The top of this type of cliff has a large flat area. The largest table mountain in China has a summit area of ​​more than ten square kilometers.

Since his transmigration, Lu Chen has seen many county towns from the Ming Dynasty, and they were generally not very large.

The earliest county to arrive, Gucheng, had a city wall circumference of only four li (approximately 2.5 kilometers) and an area of ​​only three to four hundred thousand square meters.

Table mountains of this size are common in the Taihang Mountains, and there are even some that are several times larger.

Such mountain strongholds are easy to defend and difficult to attack. If there is a stable water source on the mountaintop, a lot of land can even be cultivated, achieving a certain degree of self-sufficiency. They can hold out for a long time after being besieged.

In Sichuan at the end of the Song Dynasty, there were many such mountain towns that resisted the Mongol army's attacks for a long time.

Lingxiao City, located in Yibin, Sichuan, held out alone for nine years after the Battle of Yamen.

This mysterious time traveler chose this terrain to establish a base, clearly intending to use it as a foundation to conquer the world!

Moreover, they had already passed the initial period of accumulation and were preparing for an uprising.

Duan Chaoyong and his apprentice Wang Ziyan were sent to the capital by this person!

Using "red lead" elixirs laced with "ice" to bewitch the emperor into seclusion and cultivating Taoism, while placing the young crown prince in charge of the country, was naturally also a preparation for rebellion.

That's quite impressive; they managed to build such a foundation in this world.

However, this person has not really studied the history of the Ming Dynasty, and does not know that the Jiajing Emperor did not have a younger brother.

Before today, Lu Chen was not entirely confident about this matter, but now he is certain.

Because if the other party finds out, they will definitely be very wary of them.

This person has already built up such power that he even dares to send people to bewitch the emperor, so he is definitely capable of testing a prince.

The fact that no one tested him meant that the other party had not suspected that Prince Ying, Zhu Houyu, was also a time traveler, but rather regarded him as a native of this world.

Something still doesn't feel right!

Pavilions and towers are not simple buildings. They are built on the top of a table-shaped mountain with only one or two narrow paths connecting it to the outside world, which is extremely costly.

Building such a large mountain stronghold, which can be called a mountain city, would take an extremely long time, conservatively estimated to be more than ten years.

This doesn't even include the time needed to establish a foothold and build up influence.

This person traveled to this world much earlier than I did!

It could be at least the early years of the Jiajing reign, or even the Zhengde reign!

"Blackwood Cliff" is a stronghold established by the transmigrators. So what about the Taiyuan Left Guard Commander's Mansion that Wang Ziyan went to first?

Pingding Prefecture is only about 100 kilometers away from Taiyuan City. Could it be that this person's influence has already infiltrated the Taiyuan military?!

"When the army split into two groups in Taiyuan, what were Xue Ting's instructions to you?"

Lu Chen looked at Tang Zhe.

"After his night raid on the Taiyuan Left Guard Commander's residence, what were his plans?"

"Your Highness, Lord Xue made an agreement with me that he would follow the secret marks to meet us."

Tang Zhe quickly replied,

"However, we have not been able to wait for Lord Xue in Pingding Prefecture."

After Wang Ziyan came down from Blackwood Cliff, he headed straight for Jingxing Pass, so we had no choice but to give up waiting and continue to follow him.

As agreed, if Lord Xue fails to meet with us, he will return to the capital on his own.

"That's a bit strange!"

Lu Chen frowned slightly.

"Wang Ziyan was using a false identity and could not change horses at the imperial post stations on his way back to the capital."

Even if you follow him closely, you won't get very fast.

But Xue Ting was different. He couldn't find you and returned to the capital alone, naturally using the imperial postal system.

He is the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a dignified fourth-rank military officer. The post station will definitely provide him with the best horses, and he can change horses all the way back to the capital. He should be much faster than you!

Even if we set off three to five days later than you, we should still arrive earlier than you!

However, to this day, Xue Ting still has not returned to the capital!

Could it be that something happened to him?!

"It shouldn't be that bad, right?"

Tang Zhe clearly didn't think anything could happen to Xue Ting.

"The residence of a third-rank garrison commander has at most a few dozen personal guards."

Lord Xue is highly skilled in martial arts and would not take these people seriously at all.

Even if they are discovered, so what? They have no ability to harm Lord Xue.

"Your Highness, Lord Xue has not yet returned to the capital. Could it be that he has discovered some clues and is continuing his investigation?"

"I hope so!"

Lu Chen sighed softly.

That "Blackwood Cliff" is the stronghold of time travelers!

If this person's influence has truly infiltrated Taiyuan, it's hard to say what Xue Ting will encounter when he sneaks into the Taiyuan Left Guard Commander's residence!