The Three Passes of the Great Yan Kingdom: Qilin Pass
"Boom... Boom... Boom..."
"Wail... Wail... Wail..."
Beneath the walls of Qilin Pass, the Xiongnu army was relentlessly assaulting the city. The battle raged fiercely, with flesh and blood flying and screams echoing incessantly.
The area below the city walls and within the moat was littered with the corpses of Xiongnu soldiers. The moat was not filled with earth, but with the bodies of men. It was choked with layers upon layers of Xiongnu army corpses, their blood dyeing the entire moat a crimson hue.
Qilin Pass was equipped with formidable defensive weaponry and a complete city defense system. Wolf-tooth battering rams, siege chariots, and ballistae were all present, inflicting heavy casualties on the Xiongnu army. However, the Xiongnu had a vast number of troops, and those sent to die in the assault were, naturally, not their elite cavalry, but slaves or captives from within their ranks. Most of the captives were ordinary civilians, driven towards the city walls by the soldiers of Du Yongjian at swordpoint. Their weapons varied wildly, some even being forced to attack the city with bare hands, the sole purpose being to probe defenses or wear down the Yan army.
Consequently, Du Yongjian did not bat an eyelid at the immense loss of life.
Some of the coerced civilians, unable to bear it any longer, pleaded with the commander to spare them. Yet, the Xiongnu army remained merciless, forcing these people to attack the city. Any sign of resistance was met with immediate execution on the spot.
The scene was horrific, a desolate and terrifying battlefield, akin to purgatory.
"Execute!"
To demonstrate his resolve to fight to the death against the Xiongnu army, Gao Huaizhong, the Zhenjiang of Qilin Pass, ordered the execution of over twelve hundred Xiongnu spies and captured Xiongnu herders who had attempted to infiltrate the pass before it was sealed. They were brought to the battlements and beheaded.
At Gao Huaizhong's command, over twelve hundred heads were severed and thrown down from the battlements into the moat. With a series of "plop, plop" sounds, countless splashes erupted. The distorted faces of the over twelve hundred dead, their eyes wide with unfulfilled desires, floated on the surface of the water, sending shivers down one's spine and adding a further layer of horror to the already hellish scene.
...
The Three Passes of the Great Yan Kingdom: Xue Lin City
"Grand Commander, Commander Hou..." Fan Guxi said to Hu Yan Sheng and Hou Luo Qi, "Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass are under severe attack from the barbarians, and both passes have repeatedly sent urgent requests for aid. Grand Commander, Commander Hou, it seems that King Duo Yongjian's attack this time is not to be trifled with."
"Hmm, what about outside Xue Lin City?" Hu Yan Sheng asked, nodding his head.
"Aside from discovering some barbarian scouts, we have not found the main barbarian forces," Fan Guxi replied.
"Send out more scouts to reconnoiter," Hu Yan Sheng ordered.
After speaking, Hu Yan Sheng fell silent and walked to the map, gazing at it with a furrowed brow in thought.
"Commander Hu Yan?" Seeing Hu Yan Sheng motionless, Hou Luo Qi approached him and asked.
"What does Commander Hou wish to say?" Hu Yan Sheng asked, still looking at the map with his hands propped on the wooden table.
"The three passes are mutually supportive, like lips and teeth. If Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass fall, Xue Lin City cannot be held, and if all three passes are lost, our Great Yan Kingdom will be in peril," Hou Luo Qi replied.
"Does Commander Hou mean that Xue Lin City should dispatch troops to rescue the two passes?" Hu Yan Sheng finally looked up from the map and asked Hou Luo Qi.
"Should it not be so?" Hou Luo Qi retorted.
"What if the barbarian king's intentions are not as they appear?" Hu Yan Sheng said calmly.
"Is there not a lack of main barbarian forces outside Xue Lin City?" Hou Luo Qi said.
"There are none now, but that does not mean there will be none later," Hu Yan Sheng shook his head. "Deception is a strategy of warfare. The barbarian army is primarily cavalry, and their iron cavalry is formidable, with few equals in the world. If our army were to march out and engage them in open battle, would that not play right into their hands? Therefore, our army should defend, not attack!"
"Defending without attacking is passively taking blows," Hou Luo Qi said, somewhat angrily. "If Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass are lost due to the Grand Commander's inaction, who will bear the responsibility?"
Hou Luo Qi was ambitious and sought to achieve great merit by engaging and annihilating the enemy outside the city. A report to the court would surely result in generous rewards, and Hou Luo Qi might then be enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed as a minister.
Remaining on the defensive was indeed a prudent strategy, but the merit to be gained would be far less, and it would belong to Hu Yan Sheng, not to Hou Luo Qi.
"Grand Commander, I am willing to lead a detachment of troops to reinforce Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass," Hou Luo Qi then requested.
"With your detachment, will you go to rescue Qilin Pass, or Guigu Pass?" Hu Yan Sheng asked coldly.
"First rescue Qilin Pass, then Guigu Pass? Or... dispatch another detachment from the city?" Hou Luo Qi stammered in reply.
"If all the troops in the city march out, how will we deal with a full-scale attack on Xue Lin City by the barbarian army?" Hu Yan Sheng asked.
"Are the main barbarian forces not attacking Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass?" Hou Luo Qi asked, stunned.
"I have said that deception is a strategy of warfare!" Hu Yan Sheng thought Hou Luo Qi to be a simpleton and overly ambitious, and initially did not wish to explain. However, considering that he was, after all, a supervising official who could directly report to the emperor, he patiently explained, "The barbarian iron cavalry is ferocious and extremely swift. Once they discover our army has marched out, they will turn to attack Xue Lin City. In such a scenario, we will be at a disadvantage. Commander Hou, have you not noticed anything unusual about the barbarian army's deployment this time?"
"What is unusual?" Hou Luo Qi asked, stunned.
"In previous barbarian incursions, they would at most reach the vicinity of the Three Passes and then withdraw, rarely engaging in siege warfare," Hu Yan Sheng replied. "Yet now they are fiercely attacking Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass. What is their objective? Nothing less than to seize the Three Passes. If all three passes are lost, as you said, our Great Yan Kingdom will be in peril. Therefore, the best course of action is to preserve Xue Lin City. Commander Hou, I predict they have been guided by a highly skilled strategist and are employing a feigned attack to lure us out."
"What if Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass are lost?" Hou Luo Qi asked again.
"As long as Xue Lin City stands, they cannot hold Qilin Pass and Guigu Pass securely," Hu Yan Sheng replied calmly.
"Commander Hu Yan..." Hou Luo Qi still unconvinced, said, "Are we to simply cower like turtles and refuse to come out? To passively endure their attacks?"
"'He who defends and remains secure, defends what is not attacked'," Hou Luo Qi spoke disrespectfully. Hu Yan Sheng did not fly into a rage but said coldly, "The enemy's army is weary, and when reinforcements arrive, it will be the day for our army to counterattack."
"Hmph!" Hou Luo Qi was speechless and could only hmph before turning and leaving in a huff.
The border military power was in Hu Yan Sheng's hands. Since he was adamant about not dispatching troops, Hou Luo Qi was helpless and could only return to "report him," secretly submitting a memorial to the court.
"Commander Hou..." As Hou Luo Qi was leaving, he nearly collided with Tu Ti Si, who was rushing in. Tu Ti Si hurriedly bowed.
"Hmph!" Hou Luo Qi snorted coldly and walked out the door.
Fan Guxi also took his leave.
After glancing at Hou Luo Qi and Fan Guxi, Tu Ti Si approached Hu Yan Sheng and said, "Grand Commander, you must guard against treacherous plots."
"Alas, how could I not know?" Hu Yan Sheng sighed, looking at Tu Ti Si. "This man desires my military authority and wishes to command the armies of the Three Passes. How could I not know? If he were a man who understood military affairs and battle tactics, I would gladly yield to him, but what can I do? I am weary after so many years and only wish to retire to the mountains, free from worldly affairs. However, if the armies of the Three Passes are handed over to him, the border will truly be in peril."
"Grand Commander..." Tu Ti Si advised, "He wishes to lead troops out of the city. Why not give him a detachment of troops and let him go to his death? It would save a lot of trouble."
"Foolish!" Hu Yan Sheng glared at Tu Ti Si and reprimanded him. "His death is inconsequential, but he would drag down the soldiers of our Three Passes with him."
"Grand Commander is correct in his admonishment," Tu Ti Si hurriedly bowed.
"Do you have any news of him?" Hu Yan Sheng asked, walking to the window and pushing open the wooden casement.
"Yes!" Tu Ti Si replied, producing an urgent report. "Yongxing Fort has been breached by the barbarian army, and it is reported that Zhou Fugui has defected."
"Haha, defected?" Hu Yan Sheng was stunned for a moment and then asked with a laugh, "Do you believe it?"
Zhou Fugui was a disciple of Tu Ti Si, and the first lesson in the Ice Bone Camp was to die rather than surrender.
"I do not believe it!" Tu Ti Si replied. "I believe others might defect."
"Why so?" Hu Yan Sheng asked.
"Zhou Fugui is a man who deeply cares for his family. If he were to defect, his entire family would perish," Tu Ti Si replied.
"Family, family..." Hu Yan Sheng's face contorted with pain, and he muttered to himself.
"Grand Commander?" Tu Ti Si, one of the few who knew some of Hu Yan Sheng's past, said with concern.
Hu Yan Sheng waved his hand and said, "To avenge his elder brother and sister, he killed over two hundred people. This man indeed cares deeply for his family. However, this matter has both advantages and disadvantages."
"Advantages and disadvantages? Why do you say so, Grand Commander?" Tu Ti Si asked.
"Do you not know?" Hu Yan Sheng glanced at Tu Ti Si. "For the sake of his family, he will not betray his country and defect. However, perhaps in the future, someone will use his family to threaten him."
Tu Ti Si nodded his head.
"Those who wish to achieve great things are all ruthless," Hu Yan Sheng sighed. "Fathers and sons can harm each other, brothers can harm each other, husbands and wives can harm each other. Kinship and gratitude are nothing in the face of power."
Tu Ti Si merely listened and nodded silently.
"Grand Commander..." After a long silence, Tu Ti Si asked, "Zhou Fugui will not defect, but his current situation... I fear it is precarious. Does the Grand Commander have a solution?"
"What solution could I possibly have?" Hu Yan Sheng glared at Tu Ti Si and shook his head. "It all depends on his own destiny. If he returns... if he returns..."
Hu Yan Sheng estimated that Zhou Fugui was already halfway to the underworld and felt a pang of regret for sending him out for experience.
"Grand Commander..." Tu Ti Si said, "Your humble subordinate is willing to lead a detachment of troops to meet and support Lieutenant Zhou."
"Absolutely not!" Hu Yan Sheng flatly refused. "What use would you be? Do you know where he is? Even if you found him, could you bring him back?"
At present, it seemed that Zhou Fugui could only fend for himself.