Chapter 326: Cavalry Tramples the Linked Camps

Zheng Fan knew A’Ming was right.

At this point, he no longer had any choice.

Tian Wujing had indeed treated him well.

He genuinely appreciated him too.

But one had to remember something:

Tian Wujing was a Marquis of Great Yan who had personally buried his own clan for the sake of the state.

If Tian Wujing learned that Zheng Fan had captured Snow Sea Pass and then simply dusted off his backside and left, once the war ended, Zheng Fan would be the first man whose head came off.

He could not even come up with an excuse to explain why he had refused to hold Snow Sea Pass.

Strictly speaking, across the entire land of the Three Jin, there were only two routes by which one could enter or leave the snowfields.

One was through the region around Shengle City.

But even traveling light and fast, entering the snowfields from there still required at least twenty days.

If a great army moved through carrying a little more baggage, one month was the bare minimum.

The other route was Snow Sea Pass.

Once Snow Sea Pass was crossed, the road from Jin territory into the snowfields was essentially open country.

At present, the main battlefront lay along the Wang River.

The forces of Yan and Dacheng were confronting the savage and Chu armies there.

Unless the savages could break through the Wang River line, fight all the way to Shengle, then spend an enormous amount of time circling back into the snowfields from there...

Truthfully, that route was basically impossible.

First, the distance was absurdly long.

Second, it meant the savages would have to break not only the Yan–Dacheng defensive line west of the Wang River, but then Yingdu as well, and finally the defensive line formed by Xinsu City and Shengle City.

Three separate layers.

If the savages truly possessed the ability to smash through all three, then why the hell would they bother returning to the snowfields?

They could simply “restore” the entire land of the Three Jin.

So as long as Zheng Fan blocked Snow Sea Pass, the savage army that had entered the pass this time would be trapped here.

A gigantic version of catching turtles in a jar.

Even someone completely ignorant of military affairs could understand the value of holding this place.

And after that, what excuse could he possibly offer the Marquis of Jingnan for refusing to defend it?

Was Tian Wujing really that easy to fool?

He could not even claim stupidity.

Because General Zheng was the Marquis of Jingnan’s “proud disciple”!

So there really was no choice.

“Tell me something,” Zheng Fan said, looking at A’Ming. “Why didn’t you warn me earlier?”

A’Ming took a drink of blood.

“Master, that zombie may have planned this from the beginning.”

There was another sentence A’Ming did not say.

He suspected Liang Cheng had deliberately bought the ticket only after putting everyone on the train.

Before taking Snow Sea Pass, Master might still have cherished his hard-earned foundation and been unwilling to gamble it in a desperate battle.

But once the pass was captured, whether he wanted to gamble or not, he had to.

The rice was already cooked.

Accept it.

Still, saying that aloud would sound a little too much like he was deliberately poisoning Zheng Fan against Liang Cheng.

Zheng Fan suddenly remembered what he had told Liang Cheng atop Fengxin’s city wall that night:

*Go ahead and do it boldly.*

*Even if we burn through our entire foundation, it doesn’t matter.*

And Liang Cheng had truly not been polite.

“My head feels a little dizzy.”

Zheng Fan rubbed his forehead.

“Anemia?”

A’Ming held his wineskin toward him.

Zheng Fan rolled his eyes.

Then he slapped both palms hard against the battlement and said:

“Fine.

“Let’s play.

“To hell with living responsibly.

“We’ll play this out properly, motherfucker!”

...

Liang Cheng was extremely busy over the next several days.

Part of that was because Snow Sea Pass had only just been captured and there was an enormous amount of work to do.

The other part might have been because he did not particularly dare appear before his Master right now.

The Master had handed over the little foundation he had painstakingly accumulated and told you to make a modest investment.

Then, like an amateur pretending to understand finance, he had even said something like:

*As long as the return is a little higher than a fixed deposit and keeps ahead of inflation, that’s enough.*

And the moment you turned around, you leveraged the entire portfolio.

Still, to be fair, there really was a great deal to do.

First, the massive breaches in Snow Sea Pass’s southern wall had to be repaired.

There was no time to rebuild the wall properly.

They could only tear down buildings inside the fortress and use the materials to plug the gaps first.

Fortunately, it was deep winter and the fortress stood close to the snowfields.

Once the damaged sections were packed, they could pour water over them at night and let the cold freeze everything solid.

The repairs still would not be especially strong, but they would be barely sufficient.

At the very least, the savages would not be able to do what the Shengle Army had done remain on horseback and charge straight through.

Inside Snow Sea Pass were slaves belonging to two tribes who had been preparing to transport them into the snowfields.

There were roughly eight thousand people.

Because the savages had been strict when selecting slaves, nearly all were young men and women in the prime of life.

The ratio between men and women was close to one-to-one.

The men were meant to return to the snowfields as slaves and herd livestock for their masters.

The women were meant to bear children and increase the population.

Now, every last one of them man or woman was ordered into the construction teams.

The men were also issued simple weapons and bits of armor.

When the time came to defend the walls, they would naturally be used as auxiliary troops.

Before blade and spear, all living things were equal.

Perhaps you had never held a saber or sword before.

Perhaps the man climbing the wall in front of you was a savage warrior.

But if you stepped forward and stabbed him the moment he reached the top, he would still die.

Or you could simply shove away the ladder beneath him.

He would still fall and cripple himself.

At the very least, more bodies on the wall meant more people available to absorb arrows for the regular army.

There was another point.

One could not entirely blame the savages for wanting to destroy Snow Sea Pass’s walls.

The fortress had genuinely restricted the speed at which they could transport plunder.

But precisely because of that, a large quantity of grain was still stored inside Snow Sea Pass.

It had not yet been moved into the snowfields.

For defenders, one of the greatest fears was running out of food.

At least for now, grain was not something they needed to worry about.

Liang Cheng also assigned a group of men to cut down the forest south of Snow Sea Pass.

One section was felled and hauled back.

The woodland farther out was simply set ablaze.

“Strengthening the walls and clearing the fields” included this sort of thing too.

In ordinary times, it did not matter much.

But around a true fortress where battles erupted frequently, the surrounding land was always stripped bare.

If thick forests grew all around the walls, was that not simply leaving timber in place for the attackers to use?

In the past, Situ Clan power had long since extended beyond Snow Sea Pass.

They had even built cities in the snowfields.

Naturally, no one had cared much about defenses on the southern side.

Now, those surroundings had to be cleared as thoroughly as possible.

There was one unfortunate discovery.

Liang Cheng personally inspected Snow Sea Pass’s armory.

Originally, it should have contained a great stockpile of weapons and military equipment.

But the savages had most likely removed all of it after breaking through the pass.

Not a scrap remained.

Xue San, meanwhile, led men in constructing simple defensive equipment.

Rough towers.

Swinging beams.

Wooden shields.

Barricades.

And so on.

There was no time to dig proper fieldworks outside the fortress.

Even the finest design was useless without time.

Still, Liang Cheng ordered an earthen wall raised in front of the southern gate.

In short—

Snow Sea Pass lacked everything except grain.

Replacing all those shortages in a short period was impossible.

Properly reorganizing the entire fortress would require at least a month.

All they could do now was work as hard as possible and patch whatever could be patched.

In the past, using cavalry to defend a city would have been an enormous waste.

But when the enemy was also composed primarily of savage cavalry, defending behind walls was actually perfect.

The Yan were famously poor at siege warfare.

The Shengle Army might be somewhat better than ordinary Yan forces.

But the savages?

There were barely any proper cities in the snowfields.

How much could they possibly understand about attacking fortresses?

Considering everything together, relying on the walls offered the best value and the greatest chance of holding for a long time.

Everyone inside and outside Snow Sea Pass worked without regard for sleep or meals.

Only General Zheng was permitted leisure.

Of course, even his leisure had conditions attached.

Every day, General Zheng had to spend some time visiting several designated points to encourage morale.

He was truly fulfilling his role as the army’s mascot.

On the third day, Jin Shuke and the vanguard detachment led by the First Prince returned.

The other two supporting vanguard detachments, each only one hundred riders strong, did not.

Most likely, they never would.

Without their sacrifice without the false trails they had laid the main army could never have escaped the net and launched a surprise attack on Snow Sea Pass.

The only fortune inside the misfortune was that the First Prince truly possessed a hard life.

At last, on the fifth day savage scouts appeared outside Snow Sea Pass.

Once the news arrived, the soldiers and civilians who had worked continuously for five days were finally allowed to rest.

The men cutting and burning the forest outside were all recalled into the fortress.

And the first Ten-Thousand Household Commander to arrive at Snow Sea Pass—

Limuer saw the Great Yan Black Dragon Banner and a banner bearing the character “Zheng” flying above the gate tower.

His entire face twisted with rage.

Limuer’s force had originally been responsible for guarding Snow Sea Pass.

But after Gelimu summoned him, he had taken the main body of his troops out to assist in encircling the Yan.

When the encirclement failed and no Yan main force could be found, Limuer instinctively realized something had gone wrong.

He immediately rushed back day and night.

Who could have imagined that by the time he returned, the king’s banner atop the city walls had already changed?

Limuer gritted his teeth.

Only with great effort did he suppress the impulse to order an immediate assault.

His emotions were raging.

He understood perfectly what Snow Sea Pass falling into Yan hands meant.

Whether one considered the actual military situation or the effect upon the morale of the savage army at the front, his loss of Snow Sea Pass was an unforgivable failure.

But at least he had not completely lost his head.

The breaches the savages themselves had knocked through Snow Sea Pass’s southern wall had already been blocked.

The warriors beneath him had just raced day and night to return here.

They were already exhausted.

He could hardly order them to attack immediately.

Attack what?

They did not even have ladders!

In the end, Limuer ordered the army to make camp.

First, his warriors needed rest and recovery.

Second, the other Ten-Thousand Household Commanders would arrive over the next day or two.

Now that Snow Sea Pass had already been lost, everyone would have to work together to take it back.

Naturally, Limuer bore responsibility.

But Gelimu had been the one who summoned him and ordered him to move his troops out.

Did Gelimu somehow bear no responsibility?

...

Night fell.

Snow Sea Pass’s southern gate quietly opened.

A cavalry force of eight hundred riders slipped outside.

At this moment, the earthen wall in front of the gate revealed its value.

Savage scouts were certainly watching the fortress from the perimeter.

But it was night.

There was no moon.

And the wall blocked the view.

That allowed the small cavalry detachment to leave almost silently.

This force of eight hundred riders could be called the concentrated essence of Snow Sea Pass’s Yan army.

General Zheng Fan was among them.

Liang Cheng, the army’s principal battlefield commander, was there too.

So were Xue San, A’Ming, and Fan Li.

If this small cavalry force were surrounded and destroyed by the savages, Snow Sea Pass might not fall immediately, but chaos would erupt inside the fortress at once.

Because at that point, it would not merely be an army without a dragon’s head.

Even the dragon’s claws would be gone.

Using the darkness as cover, the cavalry first rode along the walls.

Only after they had traveled some distance did they turn outward and spur their horses forward.

In moments, they vanished from the immediate vicinity of the fortress.

When they reached the perimeter of Limuer’s camp, the entire force halted again.

Once more, Zheng Fan saw the depth of Liang Cheng’s understanding of warfare.

In Zheng Fan’s mind, if you were defending a fortress, then you simply defended it honestly.

Yet Liang Cheng had actually predicted in advance where the first savage force reaching Snow Sea Pass would most likely camp that night.

And while men were earlier cutting and burning the surrounding forests, he had already arranged for Xue San to bury oil paste and other combustible materials nearby.

These details had been planned when Liang Cheng first ordered the woodland clearing.

He had deliberately left the savage vanguard a “parking space.”

“Everyone take your torches.

“Wrap yourselves properly.

“Come on, move.”

The cavalrymen began preparing.

Xue San personally smeared oil paste across Fan Li’s enormous iron-can armor.

As he worked, he asked:

“Ah Li, you’re wearing that gold-thread garment Siniang made for us, right?”

“Got it on.”

“Good.

“That thing should work like fireproof clothing.

“There probably won’t be a problem.

“If you get burned anywhere, I’ve still got salve.”

“Got it.”

Then

Xue San nodded toward Zheng Fan.

“Master, preparations are complete.”

Zheng Fan immediately turned toward Liang Cheng out of habit.

He could handle a rousing speech before battle.

As for the actual deployment and details—

General Zheng had no courage to interfere.

Liang Cheng immediately addressed the surrounding riders.

“According to the Master’s orders, once we charge inside, ignite their tents first.

“Their camp has no outer palisade because there was not enough timber nearby, so entering will be easy.

“But remember— during the first charge, you are only starting fires.

“The moment you throw your torches, withdraw immediately.

“Regroup due north.

“Once the formation is restored, we charge a second time together.

“On the second charge, we must punch all the way through their camp!

“Remember.

“You are elites trained personally by me.

“And they are—”

“Cough, cough...”

A’Ming suddenly began coughing beside him.

Liang Cheng immediately corrected himself.

“You are elites personally trained by General Zheng.

“And they are nothing more than savages.

“They may have learned to imitate a proper army on the surface, but once the fires rise, they will descend into chaos immediately.

“Do not overestimate them.

“Do not underestimate yourselves.

“In General Zheng’s eyes, you are no worse than the elite troops of the Zhenbei Army or Jingnan Army!

“This battle— we will win!”

Then Liang Cheng looked toward Zheng Fan.

“Master.

“We can light the fires.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

He reached inside the armor over his chest and removed a small iron case.

From it, he took out a cigarette and held it between his lips.

Then he drew out a fire striker.

First, he lit the cigarette.

Afterward, he passed the flame down so the riders could begin lighting their torches.

Fan Li set his own massive iron-can armor on fire.

In an instant, he became a towering pillar of flame.

Zheng Fan took a drag from his cigarette.

Then slowly exhaled the smoke through his nose.

The cigarette rested between two fingers.

Calmly, he tapped away the ash.

Then he leaned slightly forward.

With the same hand holding the cigarette, he pointed toward the savage camp ahead.

In an exceptionally peaceful voice, he said:

“Kill.”

In an instant torches rose high.

And hoofbeats thundered like a storm.

[End of Chapter 326]