If the post-war The Courier’s Path could be likened to the arteries of an empire, then the unceasing flow of soldiers and supplies would be its lifeblood.
At this moment, the Northern Barbarian Empire displayed a tension so great that it stirred the hearts of the Central Plains.
The Empress of the Northern Barbarian Empire, the Taiping Decree of Chess and Sword Music Bureau, and a fat man stood beside a The Post Road, watching the bustling transportation moving from north to south. The three bore different expressions. The old woman, wearing a brand new marten fur coat, had eyes brimming with pride. Under her measured and capable governance over the past decade, the increasingly unified Central Plains Dynasty had not gained even the slightest advantage. She had even forced Liyang to pour half its national tax into the eastern front, ultimately leading to the resurrection of the Western Chu in the Guangling Circuit. Her subjects, not only the eagle-like Grasslandswarriors bearing the surname Yelü, but also a series of illustrious generals such as Tuoba Pusa, Dong Zhuo, Liu Gui, Huang Songpu, Murong Baoding, and Yang Yuanzan, formed a constellation of stars shining gloriously over the vast grasslands.
Beside the Empress stood an unassuming old Confucian scholar in a green robe. This man had spent twenty years traversing every corner of the Central Plains, and his eyes were cold.
The fat man, constantly rubbing his hands and blowing warm breath to ward off the cold, was already huge in build, and even more cumbersome in armor.
The Empress of the Northern Barbarian Empire withdrew her gaze and turned to this man whose reputation had once stunk to high heaven in the Western Capital, teasing, “South Chu, North Dong—two fat men. Back then, you lost one battle to Chu Lushan and were chased so pitifully. Now, although he has become the Protector of Beiliang, you are the Southern Court King. In terms of official rank, you have already surpassed him. This time, do you have the confidence to regain your honor?”
Dong Zhuo, the Southern Court King who commanded the entire border war, unusually did not wear his usual playful smile in front of the old woman. He rubbed his cheeks and spoke softly, “If I and Lü Qiu had equal forces, I reckon it would still be hard to win. But now, I have a million troops against his thirty thousand. There’s no reason to lose, but it feels a bit like an unworthy victory. When I meet Lü Qiu then, he certainly won’t admit defeat.”
The Empress of the Northern Barbarian Empire smiled and said, “I know my own limitations—I don’t understand warfare, so I’ve never had the bad habit of meddling with border generals. But your deployment this time is so strange that I was curious enough to travel over eight hundred li just to see you in person. Even though Taiping Decree repeatedly explained your intentions to me along the way, I still wanted to hear it from your own lips. Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel at ease. Huang Songpu, upon hearing of your plan, was so furious his face turned pale and even begged me to reinstate him as the Southern Court King just to get you to roll up your bedding and leave, so as not to squander the accumulated resources of the Southern Court over twenty years.”
Dong Zhuo clenched his fist and knocked his frostbitten, ruddy nose, speaking in a muffled tone, “The three provinces bordering our territory—Liuzhou, Youzhou, and Liangzhou. Liuzhou is the easiest to take, Youzhou the most consuming. But of course, the northern front of Liangzhou is the hardest nut to crack.”
He paused here. The Empress patiently waited, but the fat man fell completely silent. After a long wait with no follow-up, the old woman couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation, “That’s it?”
Dong Zhuo continued, “In theory, it’s better to break one finger than injure ten. Concentrate the main force on Liangzhou, charge straight ahead, and only stop when reaching the Northern Liang Prince’s Mansionin Qingliang Mountain. Use relatively fewer troops on both flanks to tie up Liuzhou and Youzhou—this is the best strategy.”
The Empress nodded, clearly sharing this view. In fact, this had originally been the conclusion reached at the early meetings of the Northern Barbarian Empire. The dry, meager bait of Liuzhou had no appeal to them. Attacking Liuzhou would only extend the supply lines without much benefit. If the Northern Barbarians became bogged down in Liuzhou for too long, the cost would outweigh the gains. After all, several elite cavalry units on the Liangzhou border possessed terrifying long-range raiding capabilities. Li Yishan’s creation of over a hundred thousand refugees in Liuzhou was originally intended to increase the strategic depth and breadth for Beiliang, whose territorial depth had always been a weakness.
Dong Zhuo wore a frowning face and said, “This best strategy was indeed the best originally. But after more than ten thousand light cavalry from Youzhou infiltrated Jizhou, the situation began to change. Not to mention that Northern Liang has been exchanging glances with the Western Regions in recent years. I fear that not only will the north of Jizhou be threatened, but also a cavalry force from the Western Regions might strike into the Southern Court, creating a pincer movement and tearing the Southern Court’s heartland to shreds. I’ve considered Xu Fengnian’s temperament—he’s a reckless man who doesn’t fear mutual destruction. He might even be willing to abandon Liangzhou’s main base to destroy the Southern Court. That must be his plan.”
Dong Zhuo suddenly spat fiercely and cursed, “Damn Liyang, their luck is too good! They lost the Butcher Xu Shao, but another madman Xu Fengnian took his place. If it were Chen Zhibao instead, I wouldn’t be so conflicted!”
Dong Zhuo’s eyes turned fierce, and he gritted his teeth, “Since Xu Fengnian wants to fight to the death, it’s simple—then I won’t give him any chance to maneuver. The Northern Barbarian Empire’s million-strong army will split into three routes, advancing on three fronts simultaneously. I’ll see how he can still dodge and weave. After all, we have numerical superiority on every battlefield. Yan Wenluan said it would take 150,000 corpses to fill the Hulukou Pass, so I’ll use 300,000! Liuzhou has 30,000 Dragon and Elephant cavalry and those refugees? I’ll send General Liu Gui’s 200,000 to crush them! Liangzhou is tough to take? Will 500,000 be enough? If not, I’ll just ask the Emperor for another 200,000 or 300,000!”
The Empress frowned and asked, “If we do this, although the Southern Court will be free of worries, won’t the cost be too great?”
Dong Zhuo shook his head, “If the Liyang court dares to use the Western Chu for military training, why shouldn’t we, a nomadic people born on horseback, use Northern Liang for the same purpose?”
The old woman hesitated, then Dong Zhuo spoke solemnly, “Your Majesty, I, Dong Zhuo, can promise you that even if we lose 500,000 or even 600,000 troops capturing Northern Liang, I will personally present you with a second ‘million-strong army’!”
Taiping Decree finally spoke, “Your Majesty, after winning this war, including Northern Liang and the Jizhou front, they will soon become the second Southern Court. All the civil officials of the Southern Court are already prepared. Wherever the hooves of our cavalry pass, the pens of scholars will begin to write. This is the true reserve force I have prepared for the Northern Barbarian Empire. As long as our army captures those lands, I will be able to manage them immediately, pushing the borders of the Northern Barbarian Empire ever southward with the galloping horses.”
The Empress of the Northern Barbarian Empire nodded, but soon asked worriedly, “It’s not that I doubt your ability, but will the Liyang Zhao family give us enough time to digest our gains? And won’t Gu Jiantang on the eastern front take this opportunity to cause trouble?”
Taiping Decree replied calmly, “The world thinks the resurrection of the Western Chu is just a flash in the pan, but I firmly believe that Cao Changqing will see the city walls of Taian.”
Dong Zhuo laughed, “People like Yuan Benxi believe that even if we take the entire northwest after the war between Liang and the Northern Barbarians, there are still the two pillars of Gu Jiantang in the Two Liaos and Chen Zhibao in Xishu to support the border, so they are happy to see Northern Liang bleed to death. But if what Taiping Decree says is true, then Gu Jiantang will have to leave the Two Liaos and return to Taian. At that time, we can easily deal with Chen Zhibao by stationing a small force in Northern Liang. Even in the worst-case scenario, we will have the depth of Northern Liang plus the Southern Court, a vast geographical advantage that no human force can ignore. This will greatly reduce the losses caused by Chen Zhibao’s military maneuvers. Even if Chen Zhibao is a master of strategy, he won’t be able to turn the tide quickly. Meanwhile, we can join forces with the Western Chu to turn our swords toward Taian City, to see that so-called largest city in the world with a million people. I, Dong Zhuo, definitely want to see how high its city walls really are.”
The old woman sighed, “After using the invincible Northern Liang Iron Cavalry for training, then climbing the city walls of Taian, and then sweeping away the stubborn resistance of Gu Jiantang and Chen Zhibao on the Central Plains, the sons of the Northern Barbarian Empire will kill all the way to the Southern Frontier, casting their bridles into the sea! Though I am but a woman, I still feel a surge of heroism just thinking about it!”
Dong Zhuo grinned.
Taiping Decree glanced at this Southern Court King who stood alone at the pinnacle of the Northern Barbarian Empire’s court, his eyes complex.
The Empress raised her hand and patted Dong Zhuo’s shoulder lightly, saying calmly, “As long as you can reach that point, I am not like the Liyang Emperor Zhao Dun. I can tolerate a Dong Zhuo who carves out his own domain. All the lands south of the Guangling River can bear the Dong name! I want history books for centuries and millennia to remember the name Dong Zhuo! After I am gone…”
She looked southward and laughed aloud, “As for what the world will be named then, I have no children, so I won’t care!”
With a thud, Dong Zhuo knelt to the ground.
The old woman kept her gaze fixed southward.
Old cripple, the world could have been Xu’s.
In the early spring of Xiangfu Year 2, a squad of Northern Liang scouts patrolled the outer mouth of the Hulukou Pass in Youzhou. As the sun rose in the east, it dispelled much of the chill from the early spring cold, and the morning dew on their armor gradually dried.
These elite scouts each rode two horses, mounted on the finest warhorses from Northern Liang’s largest pastures. With a major battle imminent, the best horses from all the pastures were prioritized for this special unit. Compared to the Liangzhou front, where the tension was like a bowstring ready to snap, Youzhou, with its greater strategic depth, felt more secure. Both sides acknowledged that if the Northern Barbarians wanted to take Youzhou, they would have to pay the price of over a hundred thousand lives just to capture the Hulukou Pass, or rather, flatten it. The defensive system of forts painstakingly built by the Butcher Xu Shao over more than a decade had reached the pinnacle of defensive art in the history of Central Plains warfare.
An endless tide of black-armored cavalry surged into the Hulukou Pass, a sight like the mighty Tideof the Guangling River.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage