Seeing Li Xiao marching along the ambush route, even the usually ruthless Gao Shun couldn't help but smile.

At this time, Xu Rong's battle report also reached Liu Hong. After confirming that there were no problems in Sifang City, Liu Hong led his army to join Gao Shun and followed Li Xiao at a distance.

Upon learning the news, Li Xiao, eager to return to the capital to defend it, had no intention of engaging in a decisive battle with the Han army. Instead, he kept urging his men to speed up their march.

Siping.

Huangfu Song, leading 25,000 troops, had been making preparations here for half a month.

Upon arriving at this place, Huangfu Song conducted a survey and discovered that it was indeed a strategic location, as Goguryeo had only this one route whether it was to the south or the west.

After some planning, Huangfu Song chose a plain east of Siping as the ambush site.

Upon learning that Li Xiao was leading his army along the predetermined route toward this direction, Huangfu Song summoned his generals and began making final arrangements.

Inside the tent, Huangfu Song, dressed in armor, stood in front of a map.

The officers of the Imperial Guard and the Yuyang Camp stood on either side of the tent.

"The main force of Goguryeo will soon enter our ambush location. You all need to prepare as soon as possible and then annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"promise!!"

The officers were overjoyed and responded loudly. After waiting for so long, it was finally their turn to go on stage.

Subsequently, the army set out. Fifteen thousand soldiers from the Yuyang Camp arrived at both sides of a valley east of Siping and prepared a large number of logs and rolling stones, enough to completely block the valley.

Five miles west of the valley entrance lies a plain, and to the north of the plain is a dense forest. Huangfu Song deployed 10,000 Imperial Guards cavalrymen in the forest, ready to launch a surprise attack from the rear after the Goguryeo army was blocked.

At noon on February 15th, after several days of rapid marching, Li Xiao's troops finally arrived in Siping.

Zhu Yao, who was accompanying the army, gazed intently into the distance. He then came to Li Xiao's side and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, once we pass that valley ahead, our army can head straight for the capital."

Li Xiao nodded, then asked, "What is the situation with the Han army in the rear?"

"The Han army marched at a fast pace and never kept more than twenty li away from our army."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Damn Han soldiers! When I return to the capital, I will make sure they never return."

"Your Majesty, we should march quickly and cross that valley as soon as possible."

"Alright, pass down the order to speed up the march and quickly pass through the valley."

During their march, apart from the Han army that followed closely behind, Li Xiao and his men did not encounter any accidents, so they did not expect that there would be an ambush ahead.

Thus, Li Xiao led his 40,000-strong Goguryeo main force into the ambush meticulously designed for him by Huangfu Song.

"Kill!"

Just as the Goguryeo army entered the valley, the ambushers on both sides suddenly roared and threw logs and stones downwards.

Countless Goguryeo soldiers who couldn't dodge in time had their brains splattered out and screamed in agony.

In just one wave of attack, three thousand members of the Goguryeo army that entered the valley perished.

Just as they were still in shock, wave after wave of logs and boulders came crashing down at high speed.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!!"

Li Xiao, who was in the back, watched the logs and stones falling like raindrops, and shouted loudly as he turned and ran out of the valley.

As the Goguryeo army turned and retreated, the ambushers at the valley entrance revealed themselves, armed with powerful crossbows, and began shooting at the fleeing Goguryeo soldiers.

Screams echoed through the valley once more. The arrows, fired from below, were particularly powerful, and many unfortunate Goguryeo soldiers were carried away by the strong arrows and pinned to the ground.

Thus, after being repeatedly bombarded by rolling logs, stones, and arrows, the Goguryeo soldiers finally escaped the terrible valley, leaving behind nearly six thousand corpses.

Li Xiao, who had escaped the ambush, was still in shock as he looked at the corpses in the valley and at the valley entrance, as well as the densely packed ambushes on both sides of the valley. A sense of desolation rose in his heart.

"Boom!!"

Just then, the thunderous sound of hooves approached. The Goguryeo soldiers looked in the direction of the sound and saw a cavalry unit galloping toward them.

"The Imperial Guards??"

Looking at the blood-red cloaks and distinctive red pheasant feathers on the helmets of these cavalrymen, Li Xiao couldn't help but recall the dozen or so Imperial Guard soldiers he had killed.

In order to kill the fifteen Imperial Guards who came to deliver the imperial edict, he had ambushed two hundred elite soldiers. Despite having the upper hand, he still lost more than fifty men to the enemy.

Now, with that equally formidable cavalry force numbering in the tens of thousands, how can we possibly fight them?

Just then, the Yuyang Camp soldiers who were lying in ambush on both sides of the valley also rushed down the valley with crossbows and spears, attacking the Goguryeo infantry behind them.

As the arrows rained down, the Goguryeo infantry suffered heavy casualties and fled even more desperately forward, charging straight into the ranks of the cavalry.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Li Xiao turned his head to look at the blocked valley entrance and the Han army that had begun to form a spear formation. Then, he gritted his teeth, faced the charging Imperial Guards cavalry, and drew his long sword from his waist.

"Warriors, the enemy cavalry number only ten thousand. Charge with all your might and you may survive! Follow me and fight!"

With a loud shout from Li Xiao, the guards beside him also lowered their horns.

"Waaaaah~!"

A mournful horn sounded, and Li Xiao led his personal guards to charge towards the Imperial Guards.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!