Today, rain fell.
Raindrops, fat as beans, splattered upon the muddy ground, which was then churned into a deep morass by military boots, their original color obscured beyond recognition.
A tattered army banner, askew and forlorn, trudged through this weather, sometimes sinking deep, sometimes shallow.
Gradually, they neared Hu Yang Pass.
This pass, situated within Hui Ming Prefecture, had long been renowned as a strategic stronghold in the eastern reaches of the Southern Domain.
Later, as the territory of the Great Xia expanded, Hui Ming Prefecture ceased to be a border region, and the significance of Hu Yang Pass waned, leading to its gradual decline.
However, with the outbreak of the great war between Qi and Xia, its importance was rekindled.
City walls were reinforced, military equipment was augmented, the great array was strengthened, and troop numbers were repeatedly increased.
Especially after the urgent news from Lin Wu Prefecture, the garrison here had swelled to over thirty thousand, all of them elites drawn from the Hui Ming Prefecture army!
Hui Ming Prefecture, overall, possessed a long and narrow terrain, with Hu Yang Pass positioned at its constricted point.
The general guarding this pass hailed from the illustrious Chu clan of the Great Xia, his name Chu Shuo, a peak expert of the Outer Building realm.
It was said he stood but a single line away from the God Lin Realm.
He and the Chu clan head, Chu Rang, were of the same generation.
At forty-three this year, he was in the prime of his energy and physique, with ample opportunity to impact the God Lin Realm.
Possessing elite soldiers and a capable general, as well as natural defenses and strong city fortifications, Hu Yang Pass, while not precisely unshakeable as a mountain, was indeed difficult to breach.
In the curtain of rain, such a defeated army approaching was detected early by the sentries on the watchtower.
Clang! The alarm gong was already struck, its sound echoing through the pass.
On the city tower, armored soldiers, gripping spears and raising sabers, stood in the rain, their solemn killing intent reaching its peak.
The great array protecting Hu Yang Pass had been operating at full efficiency for the past five days.
Chu Shuo had already mobilized every soldier in the pass, vowing not to allow a single Qi soldier to cross the border.
He had even placed a thin coffin directly in front of the general’s mansion, signifying that the day the pass fell would be the day he died.
A defending general, if the pass fell and he perished, would have no face to be thickly buried, and would only be fit for a thin burial.
The general is the soldiers’ gall. Chu Shuo, stemming from a renowned clan and with hope for the God Lin Realm, was so resolute in his disregard for death that the entirety of Hu Yang Pass was united in heart, vowing to perish alongside the pass city.
At this time, the only formed army capable of retreating from the direction of Lin Wu Prefecture was this disguised Feng Li Prefecture army, the Victory Camp.
All the reinforcements sent to Xi Ming City had already been swallowed by that city.
Of course, perhaps a fierce new battle was now raging, though it was no longer related to the Victory Camp at this moment.
Closer.
In the rain, Hu Yang Pass, like a steel-skinned, stone-bodied behemoth, coldly and indifferently swallowed everything, including the rain from the sky.
This was a heavily guarded and dangerous pass; the Great Xia indeed possessed the determination to seize land and wage war!
Within the rain curtain, Chong Xuan Sheng made this judgment.
Conversely, it wasn’t unexpected.
He had already learned about the news concerning Hu Yang Pass, and about its defending general Chu Shuo, from those captives.
“Who approaches?”
On the city tower, someone amplified their Dao Yuan, their voice echoing through the flood of rain.
The people on the Hui Ming Prefecture side of Great Xia had a habit of omitting the subject when speaking.
Chong Xuan Sheng, using his thick, large palm to shield his forehead, slightly parting the rain, opened his small eyes wide and strained to look at the city tower, his appearance indescribably wretched!
“Brothers on the city tower! We are our own people!”
At this moment, he had switched to the Feng Li Prefecture accent, shouting mournfully in the rain: “We are the reinforcements sent by Feng Li to Lin Wu! We were blocked by the Qi army at Xi Ming City, and our brothers suffered heavy casualties and death, retreating all the way in defeat… I gathered several branches of friendly forces. When we set out, we were nearly ten thousand strong, but now only three thousand remain!”
His sorrowful voice was full of emotion, truly enough to make the listener weep and the viewer saddened at heart: “The road back to Feng Li is already blocked, we can only flee elsewhere. Hence, we have come here to take a detour home! Please, brothers at Hu Yang Pass, provide some convenience!”
This branch of the Feng Li Prefecture army did indeed look utterly miserable. Not only were their banners askew and their clothes soaked, but their weapons were also incomplete – an assortment of sabers, spears, halberds, and lances, some even wielding only a stick, and more with empty hands… In the rain, they resembled a group of homeless vagrants.
Jiang Wang listened to the barely suppressed shock emanating from the city tower.
“What? Xi Ming City has already been attacked and occupied by the Qi army? Doesn’t that mean the entirety of Lin Wu Prefecture has fallen?”
“How can this be? How long has it been?”
“What is Duke Feng Guo doing—”
“Enough already! So many words!”
Under the glow of the city protection great array, the voices of the people became restless for a time.
Suddenly, a person with the bearing of a general stepped forward: “Feng Li Prefecture brothers, it is an extraordinary time, we dare not be negligent. Please present your order flags and seals for inspection!”
“The flag is broken, the letter is lost, and the order seal I carry on my person is all that’s left!”
Chong Xuan Sheng shouted bitterly and uneasily: “I don’t know if this is acceptable? I am truly a person of Feng Li Prefecture, my home is in Slanting Sun Lane, Duan Hu City, my surname is Zhang, and I am the third in my family—”
In reality, he possessed a complete set of order flags and seals. Not only for the Feng Li Prefecture army, but also for Shao Kang Prefecture, and even Hui Ming Prefecture… his storage box contained everything. However, having suffered such a crushing defeat, with soldiers unable to even hold onto their weapons, it would be strange if the order flags and seals were all perfectly preserved.
“Then present the order seal!”
The general on the city tower probably couldn’t endure so much chatter and quickly interrupted him.
As he spoke, a basket was lowered from the city tower, and a small soldier jumped out, running quickly towards them in the rain.
Jiang Wang, who was about to go and present the order seal, had to stop in his tracks.
That small soldier guarding Hu Yang Pass ran quickly in the heavy rain, and soon, he was drenched. But he didn’t shy away, instead looking at this branch of defeated soldiers with an unperturbed expression.
Qing Zhuan took the order seal from Jiang Wang’s hand, walked forward and handed it to him, saying in the Feng Li Prefecture accent: “Brother, I trouble you!”
That small soldier took the order seal, wrapped in leather, with one hand – the leather was torn from armor, indicating the haste of the time.
One could almost imagine the wretched scene.
A defeated army, encountering continuous night rain, a general tearing leather from his armor, just to protect the most important order and seal…
“Don’t you all have storage boxes?” the small soldier asked.
“Where did they get used up?” Qing Zhuan said bitterly: “Brother, please inspect it quickly, the rain is truly unbearable!”
“Good, good.” The small soldier guarding the pass nodded, yet looked at them several more times: “Are you all truly people of Feng Li?”
Qing Zhuan said: “I also wish I were a person from a noble county, I also wish for brocade clothes and fine food, to enjoy glory, not to hang my head on my belt and still be drenched in rain here! But can I become one?”
The small soldier chuckled: “Ah, don’t be angry, I’m afraid you all remembered wrong. After all, the situation is so chaotic, and you are again in scattered groups.”
Qing Zhuan’s face sank: “The place where my dad gave birth to me and my mom raised me, who could remember it wrong? We suffered a defeat, but we also exhausted our strength. Don’t make fun of us!”
Chong Xuan Sheng, as the main general of an army, also turned his head to look at him at this moment.
The sudden rain hitting his fat body, those small eyes, truly held a hint of fierce battlefield aura.
“I’ll go report!” The small soldier guarding the pass, holding the order seal, hurried back.
His military boots stepped on the muddy ground, splashing mud and water, truly sending chills down one’s spine.
On the city tower, that general-like person again amplified his voice, shouting: “Feng Li Prefecture brothers, wait a moment longer!”
Chong Xuan Sheng wiped a handful of rain from his face, shouting loudly: “The rain is too heavy, and there are so many of us, it’s not convenient to enter the pass now. I understand your difficulties, good brothers, could you not first send down some tents, so my brothers can have a place to shelter from the rain? My skin is thick and my flesh is tough, it doesn’t matter, but many injured brothers on the battlefield can’t endure the drenching any longer!”
He realized that the defending general of Hu Yang Pass, named Chu Shuo, who had not yet appeared, was a very difficult person to deal with. Compared to the degree of caution of the defending general at Xi Ming City, he was both more and less cautious.
Hu Yang Pass, no matter what, would not let them in today. Even if they were allowed in, they would surely be supervised under threat of knife and crossbow, which would make it easier to spot problems. Hence, he simply took the initiative to propose not entering the pass, helping the defending general of Hu Yang Pass dissolve his vigilant psychology – how could an army that doesn’t enter the city have any schemes?
There was silence on the city tower for a while, likely asking for instructions from someone, and soon a voice responded: “No problem!”
In ordinary times, the law arrays for transmitting messages between the two prefectures would communicate, asking Feng Li about this person named Zhang. A comparison would reveal the deception immediately. But during wartime, the transmission law arrays were isolated, giving Chong Xuan Sheng an opportunity for disguise. Unless Hui Ming Prefecture were to immediately send people to Feng Li to verify – and leaving aside whether they would do so, even if they did, a round trip would take time, and what needed to be done would have been completed long ago.
Inspecting the order seal didn’t take too much time, and the tokens Chong Xuan Sheng produced were all genuine, so there was naturally no problem. Before long, the city gate opened wide, and several dozen carriages laden with tents and other supplies came out under the escort of a troop of cavalry – the city protection great array remained open.
This defeated army from Feng Li Prefecture also waited silently in the rain.
The carriage train soon approached, led by a young general in bright armor.
Jiang Wang looked closely, and this fellow was clearly that small soldier guarding the pass who had run over to take the order seal just now! Although he had washed his face and changed clothes, he had even pulled out two strands of dragon whisker bangs from his tied hair. Yet he still pretended as if he were seeing them for the first time, greeting Chong Xuan Sheng from afar: “Brother Li!” Then waving to the other soldiers in the rain: “Feng Li Prefecture brothers, you have worked hard! I have brought you all tents, and brought you food and drink!”
“My surname is Zhang, Zhang Gu! People call me Zhang Big Eyes!” Chong Xuan Sheng said in a rough voice.
The young general looked at his small eyes, and instead of laughing, he merely said: “My apologies, I remembered the wrong person. Your seal matched my inspection here, so I thought it was that person named Li.”
“I don’t know who that Li is!” The rudeness of the defeated army general did not anger the young general. In his opinion, this General Zhang Gu clearly recognized him, but being under someone else’s roof, and for the sake of his brothers, he had to pretend not to know. Not a bad general!
He made this judgment in his heart, and presently said with some pride: “Brother Zhang is a man of character, very much to my liking. It is only a pity that the country is in difficulty and heaven is not kind, and we only meet under such circumstances… My name is Chu Yu Long.”
Chong Xuan Sheng’s face showed just the right amount of surprise: “So you are the descendant of a famous clan, no wonder your temperament is so extraordinary!”
Chu Yu Long thought to himself, why didn’t you see my extraordinary nature earlier? But he was already accustomed to people’s awe of his family background. Hence, he said: “The defending general of Hu Yang Pass is my uncle. He has long since established a strict defense strategy, where even a sparrow flying over must be questioned several times before being allowed through. It is not specifically aimed at Brother Zhang… Has Xi Ming City already fallen?”
“I truly do not know!” Chong Xuan Sheng said bitterly: “Our brothers had not yet gathered when we were ambushed by the Qi people. It was with great difficulty that we escaped with our lives, and we did not actually see Xi Ming City.”
Chu Yu Long said: “It seems Xi Ming City is still resisting, but it’s almost as good as fallen… No wonder the letter seeking aid from Xi Ming City could be easily sent out, this is the strategy of surrounding the point to attack the reinforcements!”
Chong Xuan Sheng cursed inwardly. You all received the old man’s plea for aid, and yet you didn’t come to help, truly a bunch of cowardly bandits, with thin emotions and cowardice, without a shred of brotherhood! His face then took on a suddenly enlightened expression: “So that’s how it is! General Chu saw through it!”
Chu Yu Long waved his hand: “It’s a small trick. Our Great Xia has ten thousand li of fertile land, but if every place can be like my General at Hu Yang Pass, how can the Qi army, even if they come with a million more, succeed?!”
“Naturally!” Chong Xuan Sheng adopted an appearance of pride: “If all the pass cities in the world are like General Chu Shuo, if all the pass cities in the world have young generals like Yu Long, our Great Xia will naturally be firm and indestructible! Perhaps we will even reach Lin Zi early!”
After flattering him several times, he had already become quite friendly with Chu Yu Long and took the opportunity to say: “I have long admired General Chu Shuo, I wonder if I will have the opportunity to pay my respects this time?”
What kind of expert is only one step away from the God Lin Realm? If you let me and Brother Wang get close, I guarantee you’ll become a spirit tablet! You’ll ascend and become a god!
“Impossible.” Chu Yu Long refused without any room for negotiation: “My uncle’s body is tied to the safety of Hu Yang Pass, it is absolutely impossible for him to see outsiders during wartime.”
“So that’s how it is…” Chong Xuan Sheng wore a look of regret, but said very sensibly: “I understand! General Chu Shuo is wholeheartedly dedicated to the city’s defense, absolutely not giving outside thieves an opportunity. A good fighter has no flaws, this is truly a master of the way of the soldier.”
These two, one using Dao Yuan to part the rain curtain, still elegant and composed in the downpour. The other was already drenched like a drowned chicken, yet he did not seek shelter. This indeed perfectly embodied their identities.
Jiang Wang couldn’t bear to listen to Chong Xuan Sheng’s flood of flattery. He quietly went away, going to Fourteen’s side to help set up a tent. She was fully armored and doing this kind of work wasn’t very convenient.
While chatting, Chu Yu Long glanced at the small orderly who had walked away and casually said to Chong Xuan Sheng: “Your small orderly, he doesn’t seem very bright.”
What kind of position is a small orderly? They transmit orders to the entire army on behalf of the main general, considered among the most trusted of the trusted.
At such a moment of urgent wind and sudden rain, he didn’t even know to first set up a tent for the main general to avoid the rain, but instead stood there in a daze for a long time. When he left, he didn’t even offer a greeting, completely lacking in courtesy… He came from a rural place, so perhaps one shouldn’t expect more.
Chong Xuan Sheng chuckled: “This boy’s lack of awareness isn’t a day or two, I’m actually used to it!”
Chu Yu Long was flattered just right by Chong Xuan Sheng, to the point of feeling like he was in the clouds. His speech also gradually became less mindful of propriety. Of course, in his view, this was perhaps a kind of respectful condescension, a sign of closeness.
He tsked and said: “And that one wearing armor, to be able to follow you so far in full armor and with a heavy sword, I suppose she’s a fierce warrior under your command? Why doesn’t her brain turn, how can she set up a tent in armor, so clumsy.”
Chong Xuan Sheng continued to laugh, laughing until his eyes squinted. He said in the rain—
“She is quite stupid.”