Yumen Pass.
Located at the westernmost end of the Hexi Corridor, it guards the vital passage from the Central Plains to the Western Regions in ancient times, making its strategic position extremely important.
After passing Yumen Pass, you will reach Khotan, one of the Four Garrisons of Anxi.
As the sun sets, this ancient pass, which has stood on the frontier since the time of Emperor Wu of Han, stands like a lonely guardian, gazing silently and solemnly at the desert beyond the Great Wall.
As the Xin Dynasty was in turmoil, the Tibetan army launched a major offensive against the Anxi prefectures. As the vital passage connecting the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions, Yumen Pass was naturally also harassed by the Tibetan rebels.
Despite their desperate resistance, the two thousand Anxi border troops stationed at Yumen Pass could not escape the fate of the city falling and their lives being lost.
The once bustling ancient city of Yumen Pass, teeming with merchants, was reduced to a desolate, deserted city by the Tibetan bandits.
Thousands of Han Chinese girls in the city were abducted by the barbaric Tibetans and taken to various countries in the Western Regions, where they were sold for a pittance of five gold coins and lived a life of unbearable suffering.
The hour of You (5-7 PM).
Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin has personally led 100,000 troops into Yumen Pass in batches.
The sight of nine out of ten houses empty and white bones scattered everywhere moved Chen Huai'an, who was riding on horseback.
Prosperity brings suffering to the people;
When the country falls, the people suffer!
Throughout history, the changing of dynasties has been accompanied by the suffering of the common people.
This further strengthened Chen Huai'an's determination to build a strong and prosperous new nation.
The Longcheng army quickly passed through Yumen Pass, and the next leg of their march was through an endless desert and wasteland, where the temperature difference between day and night began to increase.
Another hour passed.
The army's scouts finally found a place for the army to set up camp in the desert. A stream flowed gently through the desert, and the clear and refreshing water was enough for the soldiers and horses to drink.
Chen Huai'an immediately decided that the army would camp here.
Soon, the accompanying supply troops began to set up camp in a sheltered spot.
Chen Huai'an also dismounted and, bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, climbed a sand dune near the camp, gazing at the boundless desert beyond the Great Wall.
Completely unaware that in the nearby sand, a dozen pairs of eyes were secretly observing him, as well as the 100,000-strong Dragon City army encamped there.
This was the third day that this group of people dressed in exotic attire had been secretly following and observing the Dragon City army.
"Young Miss, we've found out that this large army that marched out of the Han Chinese heartland is none other than the Longcheng troops under Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man with a weathered face reported the information he had gathered to the young lady of the mansion.
The young lady the man was talking about wore a veil, obscuring her face.
She had only a pair of bright, almond-shaped eyes, which were clear yet held a deep, unfathomable quality.
She stared intently at Chen Huai'an as he climbed the sand dune, almost certain that the young man before her was the leader of the Dragon City bandits and the culprit behind the chaos in the Western Regions.
The exotic beauty beckoned to her subordinates, signaling them to gather around, and whispered instructions to them.
a long time.
The servants exchanged glances and then nodded emphatically.
On each weathered face, whether young or old, was a resolute expression of facing death without fear.
With another gentle wave of her hand, the servants surrounding her scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only her behind. She glared fiercely at Chen Huai'an's retreating figure a few more times before sliding down the sand dune.
Night falls.
The sand dunes outside Yumen Pass are desolate and mysterious.
The bright moonlight shone on the camp of the Longcheng army, giving it a cool glow, which then quickly dissipated in the night wind, as if even the moonlight was afraid of the bitter cold of the deep night in the borderlands.
Inside the camp, campfires were burning brightly everywhere.
The soldiers on duty gathered in twos and threes around the campfire to keep warm.
The remaining soldiers lay down in their tents early to rest and recover their strength.
In the central command tent, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin did not lie down to rest, but stared at the marching map with a solemn expression, lost in thought.
Outside the tent, the Imperial Guard soldiers on duty yawned incessantly, looking drowsy.
No one noticed that several servants who were doing odd jobs in the camp had been carrying trays back and forth in front of the central command tent several times.
Finally, the group of servants who did odd jobs gathered in a corner not far from the central command tent.
It was the same group that had appeared on the sand dunes that afternoon, spying on Chen Huai'an and the Longcheng army.
No one knows how they managed to sneak into the heavily guarded military camp, let alone move freely near the central command tent.
The group communicated using hand gestures, and after finally determining their roles, they disappeared back into the darkness, sneaking towards Chen Huai'an's tent from all directions.
Who is it?
Suddenly, one of the guards on duty opened his eyes, and two men carrying trays had already reached the entrance of the main tent.
"It's for His Highness's midnight snack!"
The person didn't even look up; they simply raised the tray in their hands high.
On the tray, one contained steaming hot roasted meat, and the other contained a jug of fine wine and several glasses.
"oh?"
The Imperial Guard frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "I haven't heard His Highness order any midnight snacks!"
With that, he said sternly, "You all wait here, I'll go and inform them!"
After speaking, the Imperial Guard turned and headed towards the main tent.
Suddenly, the two servants who were delivering the midnight snack flipped their trays over, revealing sharp daggers hidden beneath them, and with lightning speed, they pounced on the two guards on duty.
The two men were highly skilled and swift in their movements. The two careless Imperial Guards didn't even have time to react before the assassins slit their throats.
The two assassins didn't even manage to bring down the Imperial Guards; they simply dragged the two corpses away, one on each side.
Almost simultaneously.
Several dark figures darted out from the left and right sides of the main tent, directly lifting the tent flap and barging in with sharp blades in hand, exuding murderous intent.
Inside the large tent, Chen Huai'an appeared to have already lay down to rest.
Several men in black rushed straight to the bed and began hacking and stabbing at the bedding.
Then, I suddenly lifted the covers and found that there was only a pillow inside.
"Oh no, we've been tricked!"
"withdraw!"
The leader was a woman, who decisively ordered a retreat.
However, it was too late!
"You think you can just come and leave? Not so easy!"
As they were speaking, the men in black saw a flash of white light.
The next moment, blood gushed out uncontrollably from his neck, and no matter how hard they tried to cover his neck, they couldn't stop the blood from splattering everywhere.
Only the woman in the lead had her veil cut off by the sword.
As the black veil slipped down, it revealed a stunningly beautiful woman from a foreign land, with a face that could topple kingdoms!
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