Shaking his head, Li Zhu cleared his mind of the jumbled thoughts. He thought that as long as Nazha was safe, it didn't matter what happened...
His most important task now is to conduct a pre-battle mobilization. These Imperial Guards were all brought by the Second Prince, and now that Li Zhu has accused them of treason, their morale is somewhat low. He must boost their spirits and make them understand that only by achieving merit can they atone for their crimes…
"Brothers, today is the day for you to make your mark. I can forgive your crimes, but if you cannot kill the enemy, then I can only say I'm sorry, you are not worthy to be my brothers. Remember, when two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave shall prevail!"
Kill these traitors and rebels! You will not only be my brothers, but also heroes of the new Tang Dynasty. The people will cheer for you, your children and grandchildren will be proud of you, and the Emperor will bestow honors upon you. The heads of your enemies will be your ladder to heaven. What are you waiting for? For glory, charge!
With a roar from Li Zhu, the Imperial Guards charged forward like they'd been injected with adrenaline. Just then, a figure suddenly appeared, and before Li Zhu could speak, the person clasped his hands in greeting.
"Your Highness, I, Zhao Feng, am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse..."
Li Zhu's inspiring speech just now greatly moved Zhao Feng, and made him realize that prioritizing one's own family over the greater good is putting the cart before the horse...
To fundamentally solve the problem, the rebellion must be suppressed. This would not only save the neighbors but also the new Tang Dynasty, sparing it from the tragedy of being ravaged by war once again…
Upon seeing Zhao Feng arrive, Li Zhu's face immediately lit up with joy. This was an exceptionally skilled archer; with such a powerful figure joining his ranks, at least the ranged attacks would be more secure…
Just as Li Zhu was about to reply, another figure slowly emerged, clad in a Taoist robe and holding a whisk, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance. The moment he appeared, he smiled at Li Zhu and said...
"Amitabha Buddha, this humble Taoist is also willing to contribute to quelling the rebellion for the Crown Prince..."
Seeing these two people suddenly appear, Li Zhu was a little confused, wondering if his domineering aura had subdued them.
"Impossible! This kind of thing only happens in novels. I absolutely don't believe it. There's definitely something wrong with these two." However, since they were there to help him, he couldn't refuse and could only nod in agreement.
"Then thank you both for your help..."
Li Zhu then charged into the crowd, breaking into the men in black from behind. Beside him was Wang Yanzhang. The two of them, one with a spear and the other with a sword, one with a long spear and the other with a short sword, coordinated perfectly. What alarmed Li Zhu the most was Zhao Feng's archery skills; they were simply too formidable. With Li Zhu's tight defense, no more than three people could possibly get close to him.
The Taoist priest went even further, his magical weight seemingly possessing a life of its own; any black-clad men who approached were instantly brought down, their fates unknown…
What kind of combination is this? Two warriors, a mage, and an archer? Li Zhu thought to himself, "If only we had a healer too, it would be perfect..."
The four men were like a sharp knife piercing into the enemy, while the five thousand Imperial Guards felt like wolves among sheep. These men had been fighting all night and were exhausted. They were essentially waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, giving them an absolute advantage in terms of physical strength!
However, there were too many men in black. After the initial panic, they quickly organized a defense, preventing Li Zhu and his men from rushing to the capital city immediately...
Even the men in black sent out their best fighters specifically to deal with them, slowing down their advance...
"Your Highness, this won't do. We're moving too slowly. By the time we get there, the city might have already fallen..."
Wang Yanzhang said anxiously, clearly very worried about the situation in the capital...
Li Zhu looked at the endless black figures and felt a headache coming on...
At that moment, he also realized that the role that individual strength could play in such a large-scale battle was really limited!
If so many people just stand there and let you kill them, you probably wouldn't finish in a day, let alone in the middle of a battle where they might fight back...
"Smoke signals..."
Zhao Feng suddenly pointed into the imperial city and said something. Li Zhu subconsciously looked up and saw that, sure enough, smoke signals were rising into the sky at dawn...
Then I felt the ground shaking…
"Cavalry...how can there be so many cavalry?"
Wang Yanzhang, a seasoned veteran of many battles, immediately identified the cause of the ground tremors, and then heard the sounds of fighting...
Li Zhu looked nervously toward the cavalry, unsure whether they were friend or foe. If they were enemy cavalry, not only would he perish here, but his five thousand Imperial Guards would likely also be lost.
The first thing to appear was a large banner with two large characters on it: 'Xiliang'.
"The Xiliang Iron Cavalry, it's the Xiliang Iron Cavalry..."
Li Zhu was initially delighted; with Nazha present, the Xiliang cavalry would surely be there to help them…
However, Li Zhu's expression was also somewhat conflicted, because with so many cavalrymen entering Luoyang, the Central Plains could change hands in no time...
The cavalry were incredibly fast, appearing in the blink of an eye. First, two volleys of arrows rained down, then scimitars wielded as they charged into the crowd…
Faced with a large number of cavalry, the men in black were slaughtered like weeds...
Such a speed of killing greatly shocked Li Zhu; cavalry truly were the kings of the era of cold weapons…
Just as Li Zhu was in a daze, two horses stopped in front of him, startling the horse beneath him. This showed how powerful the warhorses bred by nomadic peoples were; their mere presence instilled fear in ordinary warhorses.
"This kid is the useless crown prince you were talking about?"
Li Zhu had already seen Nazha coming over and was about to greet her when a burly man next to her said something that made Li Zhu want to punch him!
"Ahem... Uncle Dada, when did I say the Crown Prince was a good-for-nothing?"
Naza retorted with a grim expression, then glanced guiltily at Li Zhu. She explained that her claim that Li Zhu was useless was based entirely on hearsay, made before she had even met him…
It was too late to explain then, and because of the matter of the Book of the Zodiac, things were delayed, so the information his uncle received was still the one she initially said about Li Zhu being a good-for-nothing…
"Nazha, what's wrong with you? So what if you're considered useless? Your father said he won't marry you if you really are..."
Tuoba Dada clearly didn't understand Nazha's meaning and continued to speak to himself!
"Uncle Tuoba, the Crown Prince is a genius skilled in both literature and martial arts, how could he possibly be a good-for-nothing? Heh... I never said the Crown Prince was a good-for-nothing..."
Naza said awkwardly, but her behavior at that moment displeased both Tuoba Dada and Li Zhu…
Both of them thought, "How could Nazha do this? She's clearly two-faced. How can she say one thing to your face and another behind your back?"
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