After more than a month of preparations, the Ning army’s assault on White Mountain had finally reached the moment of deployment.

All the large siege equipment had been transported up. The most critical point of this battle lay at White Mountain Gorge.

With everything in place, they needed only a single command from His Majesty the Great Ning Emperor.

The objective of this assault on White Mountain Pass was clear — it had, after all, been decided long ago through deliberation.

The original border lay on the northern side of White Mountain Gorge, close to the Black Wu Empire’s territory. Striking directly at that position was now nearly impossible.

Even though the Tiehu Tribe’s three hundred thousand cavalry had been annihilated, the Black Wu forces garrisoning this area still numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

White Mountain Gorge’s terrain was treacherous and its passage narrow — a mountain gorge stretching dozens of li from north to south. If they truly tried to force their way through, one could only imagine the casualties.

The Ning army did carry the momentum of a great victory, yet momentum counted for little against an enemy holding absolute positional advantage.

The Black Wu forces could occupy both sides of the gorge and rain down attacks on any Ning soldiers entering the pass from their elevated positions. Once inside, the Ning army would have no opportunity to counterattack — they would simply be slaughtered. How could Tang Pidi possibly agree to fight such a battle?

Given these conditions, after deliberating with Tang Pidi, Li Chi decided to strike only the southern entrance of White Mountain Gorge.

They would attack while simultaneously constructing a city wall at the southern pass. Not only were several hundred thousand Ning soldiers ready and waiting — several hundred thousand civilian laborers stood equally prepared.

Inside the command tent.

Li Chi stood before the map, studying it carefully. Tang Pidi had marked the Ning army’s lines of attack across it.

“The Black Wu forces have built simple fortifications at the gorge entrance using piled stone and timber. The gorge mouth is completely sealed — they left no passage in or out.”

Tang Pidi stood at Li Chi’s side and said, “A few days ago, Gao Zhen already departed ahead of us with the Wolf Ape Battalion through the underground river. They will position themselves here.”

Tang Pidi raised his hand and pointed to a location he had marked on the map — a position at the flank of the fortification the Black Wu forces had built at the gorge entrance.

Tang Pidi continued, “I have prepared two methods of attack. The first — use our overwhelming advantage in catapults to demolish the wall the Black Wu forces built, pin them down and prevent them from retaliating, then seize the pass.”

“The second — if our frontal assault bogs down and fails to break through, we will have no choice but to order Gao Zhen’s Wolf Ape Battalion to launch a surprise strike, cutting into the gorge from the flank to seize the fortification.”

Li Chi pointed at the map. “If it comes to Gao Zhen leading the Wolf Ape Battalion in, that piled-up dead wall has no way out. They can only stand with their backs to the wall and hold on. Once they’re in, getting back out won’t be easy — they’ll have to hold until the main army reaches them or until the wall is broken open enough to push reinforcements through.”

Tang Pidi nodded. “Your Majesty is correct. That is precisely why this is my contingency tactic. The Wolf Ape Battalion will not launch their surprise strike unless there is truly no other option.”

Li Chi gave a sound of acknowledgment.

Fighting it this way was indeed far too dangerous. There was a very real possibility that even if Gao Zhen’s men broke into the Black Wu encampment, their limited numbers would quickly be overwhelmed by a counterattack, surrounded with almost no hope of withdrawal.

The wall the Black Wu forces had piled from rubble and timber had no passageway — it was a dead wall. Inside the gorge, both sides were sheer and steep, making a flanking breakout equally impossible.

This was Old Tang’s contingency. If even the catapults couldn’t break through after a sustained assault, it meant that even if soldiers reached the wall, clearing it by hand would not be a matter of moments.

They could always use scaling ladders to send soldiers over and reinforce — but the initial reinforcing strength would not be enough to turn the tide against the Black Wu forces.

Even the slightest delay, and the Wolf Ape Battalion would be beyond rescue.

“Your Majesty…”

Tang Pidi looked at Li Chi and said, “The Empress is with child. Your Majesty need not personally go to White Mountain Pass — staying here to accompany Her Majesty is far more prudent.”

He glanced toward Xiahou Zhuo, who stood a short distance away. “With myself and Xiahou and the others here, taking the pass is not an insurmountable task.”

Li Chi said, “I understand. I won’t go to White Mountain. I’ll stay here and wait for your good news.”

Tang Pidi and the others bowed low. “We will not fail Your Majesty’s trust.”

The very next morning, Tang Pidi, Xiahou Zhuo, and the others led the main army out on campaign. The veteran general Dantai Qi also accompanied the army. He had guarded the frontier for many years yet had never crossed swords with the Black Wu forces — a matter of lingering regret for the old general. He was absolutely determined to go and see for himself.

Li Chi remained at the Ning army encampment in the Northern Wastes. Ten thousand soldiers had been left behind as a reserve force.

Since Li Chi and Gao Xining were not going to White Mountain, Yu Jiuling naturally wasn’t going either — he had long since declared that wherever Li Chi was, so was he.

In the Northern Wastes encampment, Li Chi had soldiers construct a tall platform for surveying the distance.

The platform was less than a hundred li from White Mountain Pass. On clear days, the view extended very far — all the way to that endless, unbroken White Mountain range.

More than ten days after the army’s departure, Li Chi was standing atop the platform gazing northward when he heard a sound and turned to find Gao Xining climbing up. This gave Li Chi quite a fright.

“Come down quickly — don’t climb up here.”

Li Chi hurried to go down himself, but Gao Xining laughed. “Does Your Majesty think I’ve already become so fragile?”

She climbed up, and Li Chi had no choice but to make room and help Gao Xining onto the platform.

“The wind is strong up here.”

Li Chi removed his own outer robe and draped it over Gao Xining’s shoulders. “I’m worried you’ll catch a chill.”

Gao Xining giggled. “Don’t you know how strong my constitution is? Don’t you know how powerful these legs of mine are?”

Li Chi: “…”

He blew a raspberry at her, then helped Gao Xining turn northward and pointed. “Do you see the place where it looks like smoke is rising? That’s roughly where our forces are fighting.”

Gao Xining took Li Chi’s spyglass and looked through it, then suddenly laughed. “Doesn’t that make our child, historically speaking, the youngest person ever to accompany their Imperial Father on a northern campaign?”

Li Chi thought about it — that did seem to be the case.

Gao Xining pointed the spyglass downward, holding it against her belly. “Come on, child — take a look. When you grow up, you’ll be able to boast that before you were even born, you were already fighting the Black Wu forces on the northern frontier. Look carefully now, get a good look.”

Li Chi let out a sigh. “Are they supposed to be looking out through your belly button?”

Gao Xining froze — then burst into laughter.

“Have you thought of a name for the child yet?”

Gao Xining asked.

Li Chi said, “I’ve thought of too many. Now I don’t know which is better.”

Gao Xining said, “I’ve thought of some as well. If it’s a girl — what about Li Yanran?”

Li Chi smiled and nodded. “Beautiful name.”

Gao Xining said, “And if it’s a boy — Li Longshi.”

Li Chi clapped his hands in approval. “Both names are excellent.”

Gao Xining laughed. “How excellent?”

Li Chi said, “Excellent enough that they don’t seem like something you would have come up with.”

Gao Xining lifted her foot. Li Chi instinctively stepped aside. Gao Xining harrumphed. “I spent several nights thinking about those, barely sleeping, and you say they don’t sound like mine!”

Li Chi raised his hand and scratched his hair. “Without knowing it, I may have done something to wrong you.”

Gao Xining: “Why?”

Li Chi said, “The thing is — these past few nights, I’ve watched you fall asleep every evening, woken up now and then to tuck the covers back over you — and you snore, you know, it’s not like I haven’t heard it… Could it be that these past nights I was actually sleeping beside someone else? That I tucked in someone else? That it was someone else’s snoring I was muffling?”

Gao Xining: “Namo Amitabha!”

Li Chi: “I was wrong…”

The two of them were still talking when suddenly, from the north, several trails of dust appeared — drawing closer from afar.

As they drew near and became clear, it was a handful of Ning cavalry galloping at full speed, the horses racing ahead and the dust billowing behind.

Those riders reached the outer edge of the encampment and began calling out. The gate guards immediately threw open the gates and let them through.

Moments later, the riders galloped straight to the base of the platform, leapt from their horses, and dropped to one knee on the ground.

“Your Majesty! A great victory!”

“Your Majesty — the Grand General has led the army through White Mountain Pass! The Black Wu forces have been driven back!”

Li Chi stood atop the platform and laughed toward the sky.

His laughter rang out so powerfully that the clouds above seemed ready to scatter. Gao Xining stood at his side watching him, her eyes full of light.

She felt that no one in this world could compare to Li Chi — not even this laughter, this unrestrained, soaring laughter, could be matched by anyone.

“Come — I’ll carry you down.”

Li Chi bent low and crouched, gesturing for Gao Xining to climb on. Gao Xining’s cheeks turned faintly pink. “There are so many people watching.”

Li Chi said, “I am the Emperor and you are the Empress. An Emperor carrying his Empress — a man carrying his wife — this is perfectly natural. Are we afraid of being seen?!”

With that he swept her onto his back and slowly descended the ladder, one hand bracing against the rungs. He was confident, but the guards and palace maids waiting below were frightened half to death.

Once Li Chi had descended the platform, a group of palace maids rushed over to assist Gao Xining. Gao Xining waved them off. “No need, no need — I’m not that delicate.”

Li Chi slowly straightened so Gao Xining could step down. As she did, she caught sight of Li Chi’s backside still jutting out — and on pure reflex gave it a firm smack. It rang out rather loudly.

Someone — who will not be named — had just been saying up on the platform that it would be embarrassing to be seen with him carrying her on his back, and the moment she was down she went and smacked him on the behind.

Gao Xining froze after she did it too — it really had been pure reflex, force of habit…

Li Chi turned to look at Gao Xining. He snorted a laugh. “Don’t think I’ll forget about that.”

Gao Xining’s face was truly red now.

Li Chi didn’t give a second thought to who might be watching. He straightened up, smoothed his robes, and received the news with a grin. “That impact — satisfying.”

He was still himself, no matter that he was now the Emperor of the Central Plains.

To ask him to carry himself with stiff, affected dignity — he couldn’t do it, and didn’t want to.

Even after being enthroned in Chang’an, Li Chi still occasionally climbed walls with Gao Xining just to sit up there together.

The palace guards had been terrified at first. Eventually they just got used to it.

“What was the situation?”

Li Chi asked the riders who had brought the news.

One of them saluted with clasped fists. “Your Majesty — the Grand General broke through the enemy’s fortification at the pass and led the army in pursuit of the enemy for more than ten li before withdrawing. By the time we departed to bring this news, the auxiliary troops and civilian workers had already begun moving up.”

Li Chi laughed again. “Wonderful, wonderful — this is truly something to celebrate.”

He turned to look at Gao Xining. “Let’s have something made — let me enjoy the moment.”

Gao Xining produced a single stick of candy and handed it to Li Chi. “Just this one. No more. Master said too much sugar will rot your teeth.”

Li Chi laughed heartily, took the lollipop, popped it in his mouth, and wore an expression of pure contentment — still the same as always.

—