When that sword swept from thousands of miles away toward Taoshu Town, before the White Lotus Master had yet to reveal the secrets of heaven, Liuzhou was already on the brink of war.
Three Liuzhou officials—two civil and one military—walked along the city wall, staying close to the slightly lower parapet compared to the outer wall. Outside the city, small groups of Northern Mang cavalry constantly galloped past, numbering anywhere from thirty to two hundred. From time to time, they would loose a volley of arrows, not enough to inflict casualties on the defending soldiers but enough to carry a heavy air of provocation, as if they were merely sightseeing at the foot of the city.
The only elder among the three wore the official purple robe of a third-rank civil official, embroidered with a peacock insignia. Moments ago, several sharp arrows had whistled past his head. The old man chuckled, “Unwelcome guests indeed. So fond of throwing shoes into others’ yards—if we ever get the chance…”
He paused, turning with a smile to the young man in military attire over his official robe. “General Kou, do you think this old official will get such an opportunity?”
Cai Junchen, who had styled himself the Dragon King of the Western Regions, had been sent by the Prince of Northern Liang to serve as the prefect of Huangnan County in Lingzhou, living a blissful life with his wife, Yu Rourou. The former Dragon King’s residence in Qingcang City had since been repurposed as the Liuzhou Governor’s Office.
This old man was the highest-ranking civil official in Liuzhou—Governor Yang Guangdou. Beside him stood his scholarly advisor, Chen Xiliang, a poor scholar from Jiangnan who had taken root in Liuzhou and refused to leave.
When Qingcang City detected Liu Gui’s army preparing to attack, the Governor’s Office had hosted an all-night debate. The argument over whether to defend or retreat had split into two sharply opposed factions. The older officials of Liuzhou advocated abandoning Qingcang City and retreating to Linyao Garrison under the protection of the Dragon-Elephant Army, arguing that as long as they survived, Liuzhou’s governance could continue. The younger officials, whether from military families or Central Plains scholars who had come to Liang, vehemently insisted on defending Qingcang to the death, buying time for the Dragon-Elephant Army to secure a decisive victory in Liuzhou. The dispute might have been resolved if two key figures had agreed, but the prudent Governor Yang Guangdou unexpectedly supported holding the city, while Chen Xiliang—whose prestige among Liuzhou’s refugees surpassed even that of the young Prince of Liang—argued for relocating the Governor’s Office to Linyao. Thus, the deadlock persisted.
It was at this moment that the newly appointed General of Liuzhou, Kou Jianghuai, entered Qingcang City.
Kou Jianghuai rested his hand lightly on the rough parapet, neither boasting nor making grand promises to the old governor.
This ancient garrison town, once used by the Great Feng Dynasty to control the vast Western Regions, was now Liuzhou’s largest military stronghold closest to Liangzhou. Its walls were little more than a facade, hastily reinforced after being incorporated into Northern Liang’s territory but still laughable to Kou Jianghuai, who was accustomed to the mighty fortresses of the Central Plains. The young general had arrived with a few hundred cavalry and temporarily set up his command in a residence near the Governor’s Office. Yet, despite Liuzhou’s vast territory—comparable to the entirety of the old Northern Liang—Kou Jianghuai had pitifully few troops at his disposal. The most formidable force in Liuzhou, the 30,000-strong Dragon-Elephant Army, was directly under the Protectorate’s command. Its commander, Xu Longxiang, and his two deputies, Li Mofan and Wang Lingbao, were beyond Kou Jianghuai’s authority. If he dared interfere with the Dragon-Elephant Army’s operations, his tenure as Liuzhou’s general would be short-lived. The officers and soldiers of Linyao and Fengxiang Garrisons were strangers to him. For now, all he had were Qingcang City’s 4,000 garrison troops and the 10,000-odd refugee militia Chen Xiliang had rallied. While these men were decent fighters and could hold the city in a pinch, Kou Jianghuai doubted they could do much on an open battlefield besides handing Liu Gui an easy victory.
Thus, the ambitious General of Liuzhou, who dreamed of making his mark in the Western Regions, found himself in a worse predicament than a skilled cook without ingredients—he didn’t even have a proper stove.
Kou Jianghuai walked to the outer wall, watching the dust kicked up by a departing Northern Mang cavalry patrol. Softly, he said, “Governor Yang insists on defending the city because retreating would shift Liuzhou from a stalemate to a disadvantage, severing its connection with Liangzhou and allowing the Northern Mang’s southern garrisons and Dong Zhuo’s central army to pour in unchecked, jeopardizing Liangzhou’s entire strategy. Advisor Chen advocates retreat because he fears the Dragon-Elephant Army will fall into a trap, exhausting itself against Liu Gui’s forces outside Qingcang. Once the Dragon-Elephant Army loses its ability to pin down the Northern Mang’s western front…”
Chen Xiliang cut him off bluntly. “Though I’m no military expert, I know Liu Gui has bided his time for this decisive battle. Qingcang City is the bait. I’m certain his attack will start slow, luring and pressuring the Dragon-Elephant Army to commit more troops until all 30,000 are mired in the quagmire. I’m not saying we abandon Qingcang—just that the Governor’s Office should retreat to Linyao Garrison while I and the 14,000 defenders hold the city to the death. This way, the Dragon-Elephant Army can advance or retreat freely, avoiding total entrapment.”
The once frail scholar of Baoguo Temple was now sun-darkened and calloused, his refined elegance long gone. Even if fox spirits still roamed the world, they’d hardly spare a glance for this toil-worn scholar.
Governor Yang, simmering with frustration, snorted. “The entire Northern Liang—hell, the whole of Liyang—knows that in the Prince of Liang’s eyes, you, Chen Xiliang, are worth more than the entire Governor’s Office!”
Chen Xiliang frowned. “Then tell the Dragon-Elephant escort that I, too, will retreat to Linyao.”
Yang Guangdou laughed bitterly. “Do you think Li Mofan and Wang Lingbao are fools? They’re shrewd as they come! If I die, so be it. But if you perish in Qingcang under their watch, do you think they’d ever climb the ranks in Northern Liang’s border army?!”
Kou Jianghuai interjected with a smile, “A skilled commander plans for defeat before victory—that’s the golden rule of warfare.”
Truth be told, Yang Guangdou was curious about this young Western Chu remnant who had nearly made the general rankings. Kou Jianghuai’s campaigns in Guangling had shown him to be a commander who cared little for temporary losses, excelling instead at large-scale maneuvers to concentrate superior forces locally, turning the entire eastern front into a sieve and leaving even Zhao Yi’s elite troops paralyzed with fear. Yang had expected Kou Jianghuai to side with Chen Xiliang and the cautious officials. Privately, he worried the young general might be eager to prove himself by turning Qingcang’s defense into a personal triumph.
After a moment’s hesitation, Yang decided to be direct. “General Kou, how confident are you? Can you give this old official some clarity?”
Kou Jianghuai gazed at the distant Northern Mang camp. “If Qingcang were just Qingcang, with no external interference and only the forces at hand, I’d have but a ten percent chance of improving Liuzhou’s situation.”
Chen Xiliang smiled bitterly but said nothing.
Kou Jianghuai continued, “Liuzhou is unlike Guangling’s eastern front. There, the many cities and passes were static, like fixed pieces on a board. The Guangling commanders treated them as lifelines, as if without walls, they had no soul. Here, it’s different. Victory will be decided by cavalry. Linyao and Fengxiang’s troops are a minor variable; Liu Gui’s hidden reserves are a major one. It’s a race against time—whoever reinforces the battlefield at the right moment will tip the scales.”
He pointed east, beyond Liu Gui’s camp. “The real variable lies in Northern Liang’s hands. If Liangzhou sends even 10,000 cavalry—not the elite Snow Dragon Riders or Qi Dangguo’s 6,000 Iron Pagodas, just ordinary border cavalry—it would be enough.”
Yang Guangdou shook his head. “Though I advocate holding Qingcang, I know any relief from Liangzhou would come too late. We can only rely on Qingcang’s 14,000 and the Dragon-Elephant Army’s 30,000, plus maybe 7,000-8,000 cavalry scraped together from Linyao and Fengxiang.”
Kou Jianghuai laughed. “Since we’re stuck defending Qingcang anyway, a little hope won’t hurt.”
He turned to the troubled Chen Xiliang. “To steady morale and avoid a swift collapse, I’ll trouble you to spread a ‘white lie’ among the refugee militia: tell them Northern Liang’s border cavalry is on its way. If Qingcang holds for five days, not a single Northern Mang barbarian will remain standing in Liuzhou.”
Chen Xiliang’s face darkened with anger.
Kou Jianghuai pretended not to notice. “What, Advisor Chen finds this distasteful? Against your principles? Think of it this way: since we must defend the city regardless, high morale means fewer deaths. Surely you don’t want Qingcang to fall in a day or two, leaving 14,000 scattered troops to the Northern Mang’s bloodlust? As a scholar, you may not know this, but the deadliest battles aren’t sieges or cavalry charges—they’re the massacres after a city falls, the hunts of fleeing soldiers.”
Chen Xiliang asked two questions: “Will General Kou fight to the death in Qingcang? Is he truly willing to die in this Western Regions garrison?”
Kou Jianghuai sidestepped the gravity. “I came to Liuzhou as its general to win. I’m not afraid to die, but I also value my life.”
Chen Xiliang left without another word.
Kou Jianghuai smiled, unperturbed.
Yang Guangdou remained on the wall, sighing. “General Kou, you must see that Chen Xiliang treats Liuzhou and Qingcang as his home. Why rub salt in his wounds? And given his nature, once he forms a poor impression of someone, it’s hard to change. You’re here to build a legacy—why make an enemy of him?”
Kou Jianghuai countered, “Is Chen Xiliang merely a straight-laced gentleman?”
Yang Guangdou shook his head. “That would underestimate him. He could well be the next Li Yishan. Compared to Xu Beizhi, who thrives in Lingzhou’s politics, I have higher hopes for Chen Xiliang.”
Kou Jianghuai ran his hand along the sun-warmed merlon. “The intelligence we’ve sent to Liangzhou is just doing our part—the rest is up to fate. I’m betting Liangzhou has someone sharp enough to see the opportunity… In the end, Liuzhou will either lose everything or gain immensely.”
Yang Guangdou sighed. “Given six more months to build a crude beacon system along Liuzhou’s southern border, we wouldn’t be so passive. But time waits for no one.”
Kou Jianghuai’s gaze was inscrutable. No one knew what the newly appointed General of Liuzhou, handed this hot potato from day one, was truly plotting.
※※※
The Dragon-Elephant Army’s camp south of Qingcang City was unlike Liu Gui’s resentful, turbulent forces or the indecisive Qingcang defenders. From top to bottom, the army had no distractions. Last year, they had charged deep into Northern Mang, sweeping through half of Gusai Prefecture and battering the garrisons of Wazhu, Junziguan, Ligu, and Maolong until even Dong Zhuo had to personally intervene, losing 5,000 elite troops in the process. This spring, they had devoured the 8,000-strong Qiang cavalry, the so-called “Desert Phantoms.” The Dragon-Elephant Army’s morale was forged in such hard-fought victories.
Before Xu Longxiang took command, deputies Li Mofan and the scar-faced Wang Lingbao had already been seasoned border generals. For over a decade, they had clashed with the Northern Mang year after year.
The black-clad youth sat on a small hillock, his massive black tiger dozing beside him, occasionally shaking off clouds of dust.
Li Mofan and Wang Lingbao stood nearby with their horses. The scar-faced officer asked quietly, “Looks like the Northern Mang will strike tomorrow. We’ll fight, but how? Any plans, old Li?”
Li Mofan’s horse was a mobile armory, laden with a spear, a bow, two crossbows, and a quiver of short halberds, while the man himself bore a sword and saber. He snorted, “Plans? The Dragon-Elephant Army is all cavalry—it’s either cavalry vs. cavalry or cavalry vs. infantry. What else is there? Liu Gui’s using Qingcang as bait to hook us. Fine, we’ll bite—but we’ll drag the fisherman into the water too. Let’s see how he likes playing with fire.”
Wang Lingbao grinned. “Never thought I’d see the day our Deputy Li gets nervous. You used to lecture for hours on tactics without taking a breath.”
Li Mofan’s face darkened, but he didn’t argue.
Wang Lingbao leaned in. “Worried about Tuoba Pusa?”
Li Mofan shook his head. “With nearly 150,000 troops on such a vast battlefield, even a Grandmaster like him can’t turn the tide. Without command authority, he might influence the battle but not decide it.”
Wang Lingbao rolled his eyes. “Then what’s the worry? The Gusai garrisons are pushovers. Unless Liu Gui anchors his center with heavy infantry and pike formations, flanked by cavalry—the most turtle-like tactic—we’ll have no trouble breaking through.”
Li Mofan shook his head again. “If Liu Gui used such a basic strategy, he wouldn’t be Liu Gui.”
Wang Lingbao grew restless. Suddenly, he asked, “That new Liuzhou general, Kou, wants us to reserve 5,000 elites for him, no matter what. Any idea why? Should we agree?”
Li Mofan sighed. “The commander already approved. Just follow orders.”
A long silence followed.
Wang Lingbao chuckled. “Old Li, who’d have thought none of Qingcang’s bureaucrats fled to Linyao? Only in Northern Liang, eh? Not that I’m heartless, but the thought of those ink-stained officials trying to shoot bows on the walls is downright hilarious.”
Li Mofan allowed a small smile.
Wang Lingbao absently traced his scar. “How long have we fought side by side?”
Li Mofan paused. “I’ve forgotten.”
Wang Lingbao laughed. “Me too.”
But it had been many, many years.
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