Outside the Hulu Pass of Youzhou, within a colossal general’s tent heavily guarded, the fire from the premium carp kiln burned fiercely, keeping the spring chill outside. Among the more than thirty people inside, half wore the armor of high-ranking Northern Wu generals, while the other half dressed in the official uniforms of the Southern Court’s Ministry of War, all of them aged between twenty and thirty. At this moment, the vanguard of the army had already begun to penetrate the Hulu Pass. The front army, totaling over ninety thousand soldiers, was commanded by the chief general Yang Yuanzan, who led various divisions. The main force consisted of the general’s personal three thousand troops, while the four thousand soldiers from the military garrisons of Longyao Prefecture formed the core. However, the true elite were the twenty thousand Rouran cavalry under Hong Jingyan, who temporarily held the rank of vice minister of the Southern Court’s Ministry of War. The Rouran Mountains had long been a vital source of northern grassland cavalry, producing both fine horses and sturdy soldiers. Most importantly, compared to other regions, the Rouran cavalry were more obedient and willing to fight to the death.
In the many great battles between Northern Wu and Liyang during the Yonghui era, the ferocity displayed by the Rouran cavalry had drawn the attention of many Central Plains generals. At the time, the old chief minister of Liyang had to admit, “The savages from this land possess the ancient spirit of the Qin dynasty.” Besides the vanguard led by Yang Yuanzan, which had already marched deep into the south, the remaining twenty thousand troops still remained outside the Hulu Pass, waiting without movement. Compared to the historical raids by nomadic tribes, this southern campaign against Beiliang was clearly more methodical.
Yang Yuanzan was nominally the supreme commander of the Eastern Front for Northern Wu, but after he led his troops into battle, the general’s tent, seemingly leaderless, did not show even a hint of chaos. Countless military orders for troop deployment were precisely issued from here to various units. This was thanks to Dong Zhuo, the top military and political figure of the Southern Court. After he became the Grand King of the Southern Court, he reformed the Ministry of War, adding the position of “Military Strategy Advisor” and promoting a large group of young men to serve as military aides. Each of them was granted fine silk robes and jade belts by imperial decree, thus earning the nickname “Silk-Robed Military Advisors.” Although their rank was not high, their positions were significant, and the military strategies they devised had to be approved by the Ministry of War in Xijing. These strategies were binding not only on the military garrisons and grassland lords but also on the regional envoys and generals like Yang Yuanzan and Hong Jingyan.
After the war began, these military advisors left the Ministry of War to accompany the army, most heading to the Eastern Front. Dong Zhuo granted them the authority to “act according to circumstances,” of course, not without opposition from the court in Xijing. However, Dong Zhuo paid little heed and shamelessly used the Empress’s decree as a shield. Moreover, these young men, who suddenly appeared at the center of the court overnight, were mostly from the Yelü and Murong clans, or were “illustrious aristocrats” from the Longguan noble families. They were the young elites from the top ten Northern Wu clans ranked as “Northern Seven and Southern Three,” or at the very least, from the prominent Northern Wu families ranked as second-tier. In short, Dong Zhuo’s bold promotion of these individuals essentially captured the cream of the Northern Wu aristocracy. Therefore, the criticisms from Xijing, without the “diplomatic” Grand King of the Southern Court needing to refute them personally, were quickly drowned out by more voices.
However, Northern Wu soon realized Dong Zhuo’s cunning and treachery. These military advisors were divided into two groups: one went to the Eastern Front to counterbalance General Yang Yuanzan, while the other went to the Western Front under General Liu Gui. Notably, none were assigned to Dong Zhuo’s central front! However, with the overall situation already decided and the battles north of Liangzhou destined to be the most protracted and bloody, it was difficult for these military advisors to earn military merit there. The seasoned elders behind these military advisors, therefore, tacitly accepted the situation with a pinch of their noses.
However, when nearly everyone believed the Youzhou Hulu Pass campaign was merely a side dish to the Liangzhou campaign, Grand King Dong Zhuo of the Southern Court unexpectedly arrived here, joining the group of military advisors. Inside the vast military tent, which resembled a grand hall, Dong Zhuo stood at the northernmost end of a long table. On the table was a sand table intricately crafted with mountains, rivers, and cities, clearly displaying the terrain of Hulu Pass. During the late Feng dynasty, a brilliant mathematician proposed the “inclined plane multiple difference method” in his writings. Later, there were the “six principles of cartography,” which, after three hundred years of refinement, were further enhanced by Huang Longshi’s concept of elevation, bringing sand table craftsmanship to its peak. Thus, the precision and accuracy of today’s sand tables would astound ancient people.
On this sand table, the fortress system of Hulu Pass, created by Hong Xinjia, was vividly depicted. Three cities, six passes, and two hundred fortresses were all marked. The numerous signal beacons, too small to be individually represented, were indicated only by small flags no more than an inch long at key strategic locations. The dust-covered Grand King of the Southern Court had just arrived with hundreds of Dong family cavalry. He had barely taken a sip of coarse milk tea, which had a strong mutton flavor, to warm himself before instructing a young military advisor from a Gusai Prefecture aristocratic family to begin explaining the progress of the Hulu Pass campaign. Holding a slender green jade rod, the young advisor was unafraid among the group of fierce generals. He drew a large circle on the sand table and declared loudly, “Beiliang placed great trust in Hong Xinjia. As of this spring, under his leadership, 214 fortresses have been constructed at Hulu Pass. The large-scale construction of fortresses and garrisons by Liyang began in the early years of the Yonghui era…”
At this point, a grassland lord, eager to raid Youzhou for grain, people, and military glory, couldn’t help rolling his eyes and interrupting, “Don’t waste time with boring details. Just tell us where our brave warriors have reached at Hulu Pass and how many enemy heads they’ve taken. You talk so easily, Grand King Dong and we will enjoy hearing it. Every time I hear you educated folks prattling on, flapping your lips like that, I feel like dozing off!”
Dong Zhuo didn’t even glance at the impolite grassland lord. He kept his eyes fixed on the sand table and said slowly, “Continue.”
The grassland lord immediately shrank his neck and dared not cause any trouble.
The military advisor continued, “Liyang’s large-scale construction of fortresses and garrison farming was first proposed by the Han family of Ji Prefecture. The original intention was to ease the logistical pressure of supplying food and fodder for early military campaigns. Later, Liyang took advantage of the situation to withdraw and relocate the border troops of Ji Prefecture inward, strengthening the defenses of the interior regions and shortening the supply lines. Once war broke out, the fortresses could be used to slow down the enemy’s advance, while the main forces from the rear could seize the opportunity to launch counterattacks. However, for more than a decade, Liyang has deliberately emphasized the two Liao regions while neglecting the northern part of Ji Prefecture. It is clear that they have intentionally treated Ji Prefecture as a soft target, much like the Hulu Pass of Youzhou. If our army chooses Ji Prefecture as the breakthrough point for the southern campaign, Beiliang and the two Liao regions can launch a pincer attack.”
The military advisor pointed his jade rod at a location in the northern part of Hulu Pass, “The fortresses of Beiliang are particularly formidable. The large fortresses have a perimeter of over a thousand steps, while the smaller ones have a perimeter of eight hundred steps. The large fortresses have a perimeter of six hundred steps, and the smaller ones about three hundred. Moreover, the fortresses are not of a fixed form but are closely integrated with the local terrain, firmly controlling the key valleys. The walls are mostly rammed earth, often faced with bricks. Many fortresses have multiple layers, both inside and outside, with varying elevations. A slight carelessness could mean that even if our forces successfully breach the gates of a fortress, there would still be a fierce battle ahead. This clearly shows Hong Xinjia’s sinister intentions. Take the group of fortresses at Hulu Pass as an example. Centered around Zaoma Fortress, there are eighteen surrounding fortresses, including Qingfeng Fortress and Fengqi Fortress, which support and reinforce each other. There are a total of 3,400 soldiers stationed here, and this location will undoubtedly witness the first major battle between the two sides.”
His jade rod slightly shifted southward, “If the fortresses and signal beacons of Beiliang’s Hulu Pass were the only obstacles, they would be nothing to worry about. However, after Chen Zhiba became the Beiliang Protector, three sturdy cities with high walls were built at Hulu Pass. Although they are far inferior to the Hu Tou City, the most formidable fortress in the northwest, they are certainly not to be underestimated. One of these cities, built along the mountains, is the Wo Gong City. In fact, all the fortresses and signal beacons along the northern defensive line of Hulu Pass are dependent on Wo Gong City. Unlike the static defense of the fortresses, each of the three cities at Hulu Pass has a varying number of elite cavalry from Youzhou stationed inside.”
A military general from Juzi Prefecture, holding the rank of third class, chuckled, “So Youzhou has cavalry that can actually hold their own? I thought that the old tiger Yan Wenluan under the command of that place only had a bunch of slow-moving infantry.”
The anecdote about “slow-moving infantry” has been circulating in Northern Wu for a long time. Over the past twenty years, most of the battles between Liang and Wu have occurred along the northern border of Liangzhou, while Youzhou has rarely seen any smoke of war. In the eyes of Northern Wu, Yan Wenluan, the “old” tiger and commander of the Beiliang infantry, has not shown much might. The younger generation of Northern Wu generals have more respect for Beiliang’s protector, Chu Lushan, or the newly appointed cavalry commander, Yuan Zuozong. After all, many years ago, in several major battles deep within Northern Wu’s territory, Yuan Zuozong’s military achievements were widely recognized. As for that Lu Qiu’er, he chased the current Grand King of the Southern Court for nearly a thousand miles. Moreover, the Northern Wu cavalry, swift as the wind, naturally looked down on the slow-moving infantry. Thus, Yan Wenluan earned the nickname of “Turtle General” in Northern Wu.
Dong Zhuo finally spoke, his expression solemn, “You all know that my more than 100,000 Dong family troops are mostly infantry, but you might not know that I initially learned how to train infantry by following Yan Wenluan’s example. Although my infantry is now sufficient to look down on most of Youzhou’s infantry, Yan Wenluan, whom you mock as the Turtle General, has one thousand elite armored infantry under his command, whose combat effectiveness is undoubtedly the best infantry in the world. As for the combat effectiveness of ‘Dong’s infantry,’ do I need to boast about it further?”
Dong Zhuo raised his head and looked at everyone present, his eyes cold, “Do you think the cavalry of Youzhou is not worth mentioning? Don’t forget that the Longxiang Army, which turned our Gusai Prefecture into a sieve, originally came from the Youzhou army.”
Dong Zhuo sneered with a sinister smile, revealing a row of white teeth, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you a secret. General Yang Yuanzan, upon learning that he would face Yan Wenluan, has already made his final arrangements. If you think I’m Dong Zhuo is just trying to boost the enemy’s morale and undermine our own, that’s fine. Heh, I’ve already said my piece upfront. When you get beaten up by the Youzhou defenders, don’t come whining to me or the Emperor, okay?”
The armored generals present looked somewhat disgruntled, while the group of military advisors, who had recently endured much scorn, felt a surge of satisfaction. A while ago, the advisors had tirelessly explained to the vanguard officers the terrain, structure, and troop distribution of the northern fortress cluster at Hulu Pass, going into such detail that each fortress and beacon tower was described. These seemingly trivial pieces of information were precious military intelligence bought with the blood of Northern Wu spies. However, at the time, most of the military officers in the army had treated these explanations with indifference, yawning and half-heartedly responding. In their view, wherever the hooves of the Northern Wu cavalry went, those who surrendered would be killed, and those who resisted would be killed even more. War was that simple; there was no need to fuss over details like a woman embroidering flowers. This deeply ingrained belief could not be changed by the military advisors, whose ranks were merely from the sixth and seventh grades. However, with the Grand King of the Southern Court, Dong Zhuo, making a grand entrance and showing his support, all the military officers were somewhat awakened, especially by Dong Zhuo’s words about General Yang Yuanzan making his final arrangements, which caused cold sweat to break out among several of Yang Yuanzan’s close aides in the tent.
The military advisor holding the jade rod, feeling refreshed and emboldened by Dong Zhuo’s silent encouragement, continued his explanation, “Using a continuous line of fortresses to impede our advance was merely the naive view of the Liyang court officials from over a decade ago. In reality, even the early prototypes of the fortresses in northern Ji Prefecture at that time clearly indicated to both nations that without a major fortified city as the core of defense, Liyang’s idea of ‘preventing the Northern Wu cavalry from advancing deeper and causing trouble’ was overly optimistic. At that time, there were no shortage of fortresses along the northern border of Ji Prefecture, spaced about fifty miles apart at the farthest and thirty miles at the closest, densely arranged at key defensive points. However, our great Northern Wu proved through countless successful raids that while the fortresses indeed controlled the key routes, it was a mere dream to think they could stop the flexible cavalry from moving south. With Ji Prefecture’s fortresses scattered and their forces spread thin, how could they dare to fight? Thus, later on, Liyang’s censors frequently impeached the commanders of these northern Ji Prefecture fortresses, scolding them, ‘When a large enemy force arrives, they hide like turtles; when a small enemy force arrives, they still dare not come out to fight; only when the enemy has retreated hundreds of miles do they dare to emerge.'”
At this point, the military advisor smiled slightly and pointed to his own nose, “Well, the ‘enemy’ that Liyang’s censors were referring to is none other than our Northern Wu cavalry.”
The tent erupted in laughter, even Dong Zhuo’s face showed a faint smile.
A great grassland lord, who commanded several ten thousand households of herders, laughed heartily, “Huyan Military Advisor, if you had spoken like this earlier, we rough fellows wouldn’t have been impatient. Always talking about how formidable and impressive the fortresses of Youzhou are without giving proper praise to our Northern Wu warriors. We rough men, who find reading and writing more terrifying than having our heads chopped off, naturally couldn’t take it in.”
Dong Zhuo’s main purpose in coming to Youzhou this time was to cool down the Eastern Front commanders, but he also had the intention of improving the strained relationship between the military advisors and the actual military leaders. Regarding the matter of leading troops into battle, in Northern Wu, especially in the northern grasslands court, it could be summed up in one word: rough! As the top political figure in the Southern Court, Dong Zhuo’s task was to combine the intellect of the Southern Court with the military might of the Northern Court. They must not only avoid hindering each other but also strive to cooperate. This was not Dong Zhuo indulging in daydreams, because the military advisors, who were more familiar with the essence of Central Plains warfare and more skilled in theoretical military strategies, were already on the same boat as the frontline generals. Ultimately, their fortunes were intertwined. Once Dong Zhuo broke through that thin barrier, the two sides could unite their efforts. They could earn military glory on horseback and divide it off horseback, capturing Youzhou and defeating Beiliang in one fell swoop. That would be equivalent to stripping the Central Plains, the haughty and refined noblewoman, of all her clothes. Then, the Northern Wu cavalry would be unstoppable, and the ruler of the Central Plains would eventually have to take the surname Murong along with the Emperor.
Dong Zhuo instinctively clicked his teeth together, his eyes burning with intensity. As long as Beiliang, a tough nut to crack, was conquered, the grand situation would fall into Northern Wu’s hands. In the future, what could possibly stop the cavalry from advancing south? Forget about those famous generals of Liyang; the real enemy for Northern Wu would be nothing more than those annoyingly tall city walls.
Thinking of this, Dong Zhuo walked toward a side table inside the tent. On the table was a wooden model of the three cities within Hulu Pass, crafted by skilled artisans. These were specially made by the Western Capital craftsmen under the order of the Grand Peace Edict, numbering around forty pieces, covering all the important cities of Beiliang. They were specifically designed for frontline commanders to understand the structure of Beiliang’s cities. There were eight such models in the Eastern Front Youzhou, with three currently displayed in the tent. At one point, the wooden model of Changgeng City, which had been transported by cart, was badly damaged due to the bumpy ride. Many military advisors went to confront an official from the royal family responsible for transportation. The fellow, relying on his Yelü surname, shrugged indifferently, picking his nose and saying, “So what if it’s broken?” Behind him were dozens of strong attendants who had already drawn their swords, nearly coming to blows with the military advisors. However, a few days later, an imperial edict arrived, and the royal family member was immediately executed on the spot, with his attendants all ordered to commit suicide. A brand new wooden model of Changgeng City was also delivered. The eunuch delivering the edict only said to the official’s powerful backer, “This item was personally supervised by the Grand Peace Edict,” so the trembling Yelü general immediately abandoned any thoughts of seeking justice for his nephew.
The military advisor once again explained the structure of the wooden Wo Gong City model to the generals in the tent, describing what the battlements and crenellated walls were, what the parapets and watchtowers were, and the distribution of crossbows, interspersing the explanation with stories of a certain dynasty’s defense campaigns in the Central Plains.
When the military advisor finally finished, his throat dry from speaking, Dong Zhuo solemnly said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the cities of the Central Plains are filled with hidden mechanisms and intricate layouts. You must remember one thing: as generals leading the siege, the more you know about how a city is defended, the more of our Northern Wu warriors will survive!”
Dong Zhuo raised his arm and pointed toward the Hulu Pass, “Wo Gong City is the first city of Youzhou. To take it down, we will certainly have thousands, even tens of thousands, of our men dying there, never to return to their grassland homes. Of course, I wish for all of our troops to enter the heart of Youzhou alive, even going as far as to reach their Liyang’s Xiangfan, and the southern border guarded by the Yan Chi King, just to catch a glimpse of what the sea looks like! But that is not realistic. War means death, otherwise General Yang Yuanzan would not have come to this battle with the resolve to die.”
Suddenly, Dong Zhuo’s face twisted with ferocity, and he roared, “I, Dong Zhuo, have come here today to say only two heartfelt things to all of you!”
“Our Northern Wu warriors, even if we must die, must die further to the south!”
“We must die, but not in the barren and narrow land of Beiliang. We must die in the fertile Central Plains, die beneath the walls of Tai’an City, die on the shores of the Southern Sea!”
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