Then, he instructed his soldiers to wear their clothes inside out.

Although these clothes had an additional layer of earth-yellow fabric on the outside to differentiate them from the old-style military uniforms, the inner layer was still dark blue. When worn like this, at a glance, they still appeared to be troops of the Da Ye Dynasty.

So, they timed it perfectly and sent the archers wearing the reversed uniforms to ambush the Western Turks on the grasslands of Shouyang, luring them into the cold cedar forest. However, before that, they had long set up hidden troops in the ditches on both sides of this forest. Once the archers led the Western Turks into the forest, they immediately retreated to the sides, while the Western Turks, charging straight out of the forest, ran into Wang Shaoji’s main forces coming north from Zhiguan Pass aiming to reach Taiyuan.

And they happened to be wearing those dark blue uniforms!

Thus, a narrow escape turned into a confrontation!

However, he did not anticipate that the Prince with the Wolf Head Mask would not be blinded by the heat of the moment. Even after seeing Wang Shaoji’s troops emerge from the pass between the two mountains, he was still unwilling to attack immediately. Fortunately, Yu Wenqian ordered his archers to timely release an arrow that hit Wang Shaoji’s men, prompting them to act first.

This way, the troops on both sides could no longer be controlled and clashed with one another.

By the time they realized something was wrong, both sides had suffered heavy losses, especially Wang Shaoji’s men who were hit by the heavy cavalry of the Western Turks, which cut down many cavalrymen. At that moment, Yu Wenqian led his already prepared cavalry to charge in.

While the snipe and the clam were locked in fight, the fisherman got the benefit.

But it was at this moment that Yu Mingyue suddenly appeared.

Her equestrian skills had been taught by Yu Wenqian, no less proficient than those of the charging soldiers below. At this moment, perhaps due to the nervous tension, there was a bit of panic; her riding skills faltered, almost causing her to tumble down the embankment.

Fortunately, Yu Wenqian acted quickly, reined in his horse to block hers, preventing the accident.

Even so, Yu Mingyue had charged to the edge of the embankment. Her face, already slightly unsettled, turned even paler as she looked past Yu Wenqian’s shoulder at the blood-soaked battlefield below, her usual sharp gaze showing a slight tremor.

After uttering "He Xin," her voice choked up.

Seeing her like this, Yu Wenqian’s brows furrowed slightly, as if understanding something.

Along the way, in their conversations and thoughts, all had been about the war. Yu Mingyue showed an unprecedented fervor for the Battle of Taiyuan, even more so than for the Battle of Fufeng earlier.

But—no matter how one thinks of it, the word war is abstract, empty, without the mountains of corpses and the sea of blood before one’s eyes, without the piercing screams at the moment of being slain, without the stifling blood scent permeating the air as if solidified, one might think of war as something simple, casual.

But witnessing it all in person is entirely different.

Earlier, he had noticed Yu Mingyue’s pale face that trembled when she smelled the first whiff of blood, so Yu Wenqian had someone protect her to remain hidden in the previous ditch, not expecting her to charge out herself, only to be shocked by the battlefield’s brutality.

Seeing her like this, Yu Wenqian’s gaze flickered slightly. The emotional surge seemed to cool down, and he said, "You should step back; it’s too dangerous here."

"...!"

His calm voice seemed to appease the chaotic Yu Mingyue.

Yu Mingyue looked up at him, especially at those clear and bright eyes, as if they were a ray of sunshine in the chaotic scene of blood and corpses, suddenly calming her down.

Immediately, her brows knitted together.

She drew a deep breath, quickly reining in her slightly panicked horse, took two steps back, and then looked at Yu Wenqian blocking her way: "Hadn’t we already decided earlier that this battle targets Wang Shaoji’s men, and yet now you—"

As she spoke, their forces had already scattered the retreating Western Turks, and with the leading Wolf-faced Prince retreating east on the small path, the people following had no organized resistance, being cut down in droves, further decimated by the barrage of arrows from archers on the embankment, causing countless casualties. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In contrast, on the other side, Wang Shaoji’s forces, already powerless against the Western Turks, seized the moment amidst the dual offensive to retreat in panic.

Seeing this, Yu Mingyue furrowed her brows even tighter.

She said seriously, "Let the Western Turks go; we are here to deal with Wang Shaoji!"

Yu Wenqian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

If Yu Wenye had made this gesture, it would have been extremely dangerous and oppressive, but Yu Wenye turned away, looking at no one, ensuring no one saw him make such an expression; then, he turned back, speaking calmly: "The Western Turks are also our enemies."

"..."

"In this situation, we cannot bypass this battlefield to pursue Wang Shaoji’s men; moreover, if we really detour, the Western Turks will be at our backs."

"..."

"If they turn around and pursue us, won’t we be caught between two fronts?"

His words were indeed reasonable.

But Yu Mingyue evidently did not wish to heed them. Watching their forces pursuing the Western Turkic cavalry, her expression grew more serious, saying, "Regardless, we should stop pursuing the Western Turks. Quickly return, lest it disrupt—"

She suddenly broke off.

"...?"

Yu Wenqian’s brows, already slightly furrowed, now showed deeper creases. He looked at Yu Mingyue, speaking with a complex expression: "Ming Yue, you seem very reluctant for us to confront this Western Turk force."

"..."

"Why?"