Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui stayed up all night, fighting the torrential rain with the soldiers. They reinforced the camp, rescued food and grass, cleared the road, and did everything they could to minimize the losses.

When the sky in the east began to turn pale, the rainstorm finally stopped. The damp air was filled with the smell of mud, and the remaining dark clouds in the sky seemed like a huge curtain, foreshadowing the tense atmosphere of impending storms.

"Your Majesty, this rain comes strangely," Wu Tao looked into the distance, frowning, "I'm worried..."

"I know what you're worried about," Hu Bugui held her hand with a firm look in his eyes, "but we can't lose our composure. Pass the order down, strengthen the vigilance and guard against enemy attacks!"

Wu Tao nodded and turned to make arrangements. However, the gears of fate deviated from their expected track. When it was completely dark, a burst of rapid shouting and killing broke through the night sky.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Amid the deafening shouts and cries of killing, countless torches came from all directions, lighting up the originally dark night sky. The enemies, dressed in black night clothes, rushed towards their camp like ghosts, waving swords and knives.

"Damn it! They actually chose to attack at this time!" Hu Bugui roared and drew his sword, "Pass the order down, resist with all your strength!"

It turned out that the opposition officials had already bribed the spies in the court and learned of Hu Bugui's plan to start a rebellion. They deliberately leaked the news to lure Hu Bugui into taking action in advance, and then took advantage of the sudden rainstorm to launch a night attack on the rebel base.

Due to the suddenness of the incident and the influence of heavy rain, the rebels were completely passive in the early stage. Many soldiers were chopped down by the enemy before they even had time to pick up their weapons.

"Kill!" The enemies came like a tide, and the shouts were deafening. The flames shot up into the sky, reflecting the tragic scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere.

"Taotao, you stay here, I'll be back soon!" Hu Bugui protected Wu Tao behind him, his eyes full of worry.

"No, I want to be with you!" Wu Tao shook her head firmly. She knew that she couldn't retreat at this time.

Seeing that he could not persuade her, Hu Bugui could only hand her over to Chuntao and several other soldiers for protection, while he rushed into the enemy camp with a sword and fought hard.

However, the enemy was outnumbered and the rebels were soon divided and surrounded. Although they fought desperately, casualties continued to increase. Looking at the fallen comrades, Wu Tao felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.

At this moment, a dark shadow suddenly rushed towards Wu Tao from the side, stabbing straight at him with a shining knife in his hand...

"Miss, be careful!" Chun Tao screamed, and threw Wu Tao to the ground. The blade almost passed by Wu Tao's nose, and the coldness made her shiver.

The assassin missed the first strike and immediately drew his sword to stab again, but was forced back by the guards who reacted. Wu Tao was still in shock and looked up. He saw flames rising to the sky and deafening shouts of killing. His own soldiers were fighting and retreating, and the situation was precarious.

"Protect the young lady!" The guards fought desperately, but they were outnumbered and gradually lost the upper hand. Wu Tao was extremely anxious, she knew that if this continued, they would be defeated one by one sooner or later.

"Chun Tao, go gather the wounded together, I'll find a way!" Wu Tao ordered decisively.

"But Miss, you..." Chuntao looked at her worriedly, hesitating to speak.

"Don't worry, just go!" Wu Tao pushed Chun Tao away, his eyes firm, "I'm fine, trust me!"

Chun Tao bit her lip, but finally obeyed Wu Tao's order, and led a few maids to rescue the wounded in the rain of arrows. They shuttled through the chaotic battlefield, dragged the soldiers who fell in the pool of blood to a safe place, and bandaged their wounds with the cloth strips they carried with them.

Wu Tao took the opportunity to observe the battlefield situation and look for a breakthrough. Suddenly, she saw a war drum standing alone not far away.

"It's you!" Wu Tao's heart moved, and a bold plan formed in her mind.

She took a deep breath, crouched, braved the rain of arrows, and moved towards the direction of the war drum with difficulty. Along the way, she witnessed the cruelty of the war: soldiers fell in a pool of blood, groaning in pain; the firelight reflected people's terrified faces, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood...

However, Wu Tao had no time to be sad, she had to seize every minute and every second. Finally, she came to the war drum, grabbed the drumstick, took a deep breath, and used all her strength to hit it hard.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The dull drumbeats resounded through the night sky, like a thunderclap, exploding on the chaotic battlefield. The rebel soldiers, who had already been somewhat scattered, were immediately cheered up when they heard the drumbeats.

"It's Miss! Miss is beating the drum to cheer us on!"

"Brothers, for the lady, charge!"

The drumbeats were like a shot of adrenaline, injected into every rebel soldier's body. With red eyes, they burst out with amazing fighting power and fought back vigorously.

Hu Bugui was fighting bloody battles at this time. He rushed left and right as if he was in an empty space. The long sword in his hand brought bursts of blood rain, and he cut a bloody path in the enemy's formation. However, there were too many enemies and he gradually felt exhausted.

Just then, he heard the familiar drum sound, it was Wu Tao's drum sound!

Hu Bugui was shocked. He looked up and saw that in the light of the fire, Wu Tao's figure next to the war drum looked particularly small, but so determined.

"Tao Tao..." A warm current surged in Hu Bugui's heart. He took a deep breath, raised his sword again, and shouted loudly, "Brothers, follow me to kill!"

Under the beat of Wu Tao's drums and the leadership of Hu Bugui, the morale of the rebels was greatly boosted. They formed a series of iron lines of defense and stubbornly resisted the enemy's attack.

However, at this moment, a group of men in black suddenly descended from the sky. They were agile, highly skilled in martial arts, with sharp blades flashing coldly in their hands. Wherever they passed, the resistance soldiers fell one after another...

These black-clad men were well-trained and ruthless, and were clearly the elite among the elite. They were like black ghosts, moving freely among the rebels and harvesting lives. Although the rebels fought bravely, they seemed vulnerable in front of these black-clad men.

"Protect the young lady!" The guards fought hard to resist the attack of the men in black, but they were outnumbered and soon had several wounds on their bodies. Wu Tao was extremely anxious, she knew that if they didn't find a solution, they would all die here.

At this critical moment, several dark shadows suddenly fell from the sky, landed around Wu Tao and the guards, and surrounded them.

"Who is it?!" the leader of the men in black asked vigilantly.

"When you see injustice, draw your sword and help!" one of the black shadows said coldly, his voice low and powerful.

Before he finished speaking, a few cold lights flashed, and several men in black beside the leader of the men in black fell to the ground.

"Kill!" The leader of the men in black roared and led the remaining men in black to rush towards the figures that suddenly appeared.

A thrilling battle began, with flashes of swords, shadows of people, shouts of killing, and the sound of weapons clashing, which was deafening.

These people who suddenly appeared were the famous knights in the martial arts world. When they learned that Hu Bugui had started a rebellion, they were filled with righteous indignation and rushed to help.

Although these knights were few in number, they were all highly skilled in martial arts and could fight ten of them at once. They fought desperately with the men in black, and the swords in their hands were like poisonous snakes, and every move was deadly.

Although the men in black were well-trained, they gradually fell into a disadvantage when facing these battle-hardened knights.

"Retreat!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the leader of the men in black made a prompt decision and ordered a retreat.

Upon hearing this, the remaining men in black fought and retreated, and soon disappeared into the night.

"Thank you all for your help!" Wu Tao said gratefully.

"When we see injustice, we should help those in need. This is what we should do in the martial arts world." One of the knights said, "General Hu is a lucky man. I believe he will be fine."

Wu Tao nodded, feeling a little more at ease.

At this time, in the imperial palace dozens of miles away, the emperor was anxiously waiting for news.

"Report--" A guard ran in in a panic, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Opposition officials launched a surprise attack, and General Hu's base was severely damaged!"

The emperor was shocked when he heard this: "What?! How could this happen? Quick, pass the order down and immediately mobilize all the troops to support General Hu!"

"As you wish!" The guard took the order and left.

However, the emperor was filled with worry. He knew that it would take time to mobilize the army, and Hu Bugui's current situation was very critical. He didn't know if he could hold out until reinforcements arrived.

This sudden attack caused heavy losses to the rebels, and made Wu Tao and Hu Bugui realize that the enemy they were facing was stronger and more cunning than they had imagined. They had to repair the base and reorganize the defense as soon as possible, otherwise they would face a greater crisis...

 Peach blossoms shine brightly in Chang'an

 Chapter 68: Turbulence Rises Again

Under the night sky, the flames of the destroyed camp shot up into the sky, illuminating the anxious faces of the people. Wu Tao looked at the ruins in front of him, and felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on his heart, making him unable to breathe.

"Miss, don't worry. The general is a lucky man and will be fine." Chun Tao held Wu Tao's cold hand and comforted her softly.

Wu Tao forced a smile and turned to look into the distance, which was the direction where Hu Bugui was leading his troops to break out. No news had been received yet.

"Pass the order down, immediately count the casualties, treat the wounded, and reinforce the fortifications to prevent the enemy from attacking again!"

Wu Tao took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Now was not the time to be sad. Hu Bugui's life or death was uncertain. She had to cheer up, protect their hard work, and wait for Hu Bugui's return.

Under Wu Tao's command, the originally chaotic scene gradually returned to order, the soldiers also woke up from their initial panic and began to carry out the aftermath work in an orderly manner.

"Miss, look at this!" A soldier found a broken arrow from the ruins, with strange patterns engraved on the arrowhead.

Wu Tao took the arrow and examined it carefully, her heart suddenly sinking. She had seen this kind of pattern in the residence of opposition officials before. Could it be that they were responsible for this attack?

"Send someone to investigate immediately, I want to know the origins of these arrows!" Wu Tao made a prompt decision, an ominous premonition coming to his mind.

Soon, the spies sent out brought back news, confirming Wu Tao's guess.

"Why did they attack us?" Chun Tao asked puzzledly, "Is it just to stop us from starting a rebellion?"

Wu Tao shook her head, her mind constantly recalling the scene she saw in the opposition official's residence. Suddenly, she remembered the huge map in the study. There was a bright red location marked on the map, and that location was exactly where they were stationed now.

"Map..." Wu Tao muttered to himself, and a bold guess gradually formed in his mind.

"What's wrong with the map?" Chuntao asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, the real purpose of the opposition officials is not to stop us from rising up, but to get something from us!" A gleam of light flashed in Wu Tao's eyes.

"Things? What things?" Chuntao became even more confused.

Wu Tao did not answer directly, but turned to look at the spy and asked, "Think carefully, what else is special about the residence of the opposition official?"

The spy pondered for a moment, and suddenly seemed to remember something, and said, "Oh, right! I remember that in addition to the map, there was also a huge box in the study. It was carved with various rare and exotic animals, and it looked very ancient."

"Box!" Wu Tao's heart was shocked. She finally understood the real purpose of the opposition officials.

"Miss, what have you thought of?" Chuntao asked anxiously.

Wu Tao took a deep breath and said slowly: "If I'm not mistaken, the box should contain a priceless treasure, and this treasure is hidden where we are stationed now!"

"What?!" Chun Tao was shocked. "Then what should we do?"

Wu Tao looked into the distance with a determined look: "We must find this treasure before the opposition officials do, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!"

As the night deepens, the fire in the camp jumps, reflecting the busy figures of the people. A new crisis is quietly approaching. Can Wu Tao and Hu Bugui overcome the danger and protect their love and ideals? The answer is still hidden in the fog, waiting for them to reveal.