Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 213 Mountain Collapse (Part 2)
It should be understood that Lu Shang of the Great Wilderness and Lu Shang of the Yama Realm are essentially two sides of the same coin.

Furthermore, as the two Lü Shangs advanced their cultivation levels, the connection between them became increasingly close.

If Lu Shang of the Great Wilderness can undergo tribulations and even transcend them to attain enlightenment, Lu Shang of the Yama Realm can also advance his cultivation and attain incredible supernatural powers through this connection.

If Lu Shang of the Great Wilderness were to attain the Dao Fruit of the Saint King and become the fifth Saint King of the mortal realm after Emperor Yu, then correspondingly, Lu Shang of the Yama Realm would also be able to shatter the void and cultivate into a Primordial Qi Supreme Immortal.

"The road is hard, the road is hard, there are three thousand forks in the road, where is the great emptiness?"

Just as Lü Shang was sighing softly, a hurried report broke the silence of the governor's mansion.

"My lord,"

After the report, General Ling Yue, clad in black armor, strode into the main hall of the government office, the armor plates clattering against each other. He said, "A beacon has arrived from Baiyakou, reporting that barbarian tribes are harassing the border and raiding the passes."

"Miscellaneous Hu people?"

The candlelight flickered in the main hall, illuminating Lü Shang's suddenly furrowed brows. After a moment, he gave a heavy snort and said, "Prepare armor, muster eight hundred elite soldiers, and rush with this prefecture to reinforce Baiyakou."

"promise,"

Ling Yue bowed his head in response, accepted the order, and turned away as the sound of armor plates clashing faded into the distance.

“These mixed-race barbarians,”

Watching Ling Yue's departing figure, Lü Shang tapped his fingertips on the table, the candlelight flickering in his eyes, reflecting a hint of coldness.

The so-called "miscellaneous barbarians" refers to various non-Han tribes such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qiang, and Di. They lived by following the water and grass, without city walls or mulberry and hemp cultivation, and relied entirely on plundering with bows and horses for survival.

More than half a year after Lü Shang took office as the governor of Liangzhou, beacon fires from Zamukou and Baiyakou, south of Liangzhou, never ceased. Miscellaneous Hu tribesmen, numbering anywhere from a hundred to a thousand cavalry, would raid the border every month.

Sometimes these Hu cavalry would even split into more than a dozen groups, making noise simultaneously in different locations.

Lü Shang has launched several military campaigns in the past six months, killing many barbarian tribes, but this is only a temporary solution. Although he possesses unparalleled martial prowess, he cannot take the initiative to launch a full-scale invasion due to various checks and balances.

It is now the seventh year of the Kaihuang era of the Northern Sui Dynasty. Emperor Yang Jian of Sui is actively preparing for a southern expedition. In order to avoid fighting on two fronts, Yang Jian’s attitude towards the northern barbarian tribes is mainly defensive with limited attacks.

As the governor of Liangzhou, Lü Shang was naturally able to command the Liangzhou troops and his horses roamed the grasslands. However, while it was easy to pacify the various Hu tribes, the Tuyuhun behind them was not so easily dealt with.

It should be noted that the Tuyuhun occupied the land of Qinghai and controlled the southern foothills of the Hexi Corridor. Although their power was not as strong as that of the Turks, they were still a regional hegemon.

Moreover, compared to the Turks, who had already split into eastern and western parts, the Tuyuhun, which adopted the Han system and established a hundred officials, was clearly more threatening.

After all, the strategy of dividing the Turks and uniting the weak could be used to sow discord among their forces. But the only option to deal with the Tuyuhun was to seek peace through war.

Lü Shang and He Louzigan, the governor of Liangzhou, both knew very well that these invading mixed barbarian tribes were mostly backed by the Tuyuhun.

However, they were well aware that they could not afford to wage war against Tuyuhun now. Even if they were to take action against Tuyuhun, they would have to wait until after the Southern Chen dynasty was destroyed and the Sui dynasty unified the country.

“Angelfish armor,”

Lü Shang rose, causing the lampstand on the table to tremble slightly and the candle flame to pop. He walked to the side of the hall where the armor was hung, and reached out to run his hand over the cold patterns on the goat-and-antelope armor.

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves thundered outside the mansion, and eight hundred elite soldiers were already arrayed in the drill ground in front of the government office. Black armor and black flags, the character 'Lü' on the flags fluttering in the night.

Of these so-called eight hundred elite soldiers, three hundred were Lü Shang's personal guards as governor, while the remaining five hundred were veteran soldiers carefully selected from the Liangzhou army.

"Walk,"

Lu Shang donned his armor and stepped out of the hall. A night breeze swept through the corridor, causing the strands of hair at his temples to flutter slightly.

In the drill ground before the yamen, eight hundred elite soldiers stood in a square formation, their black armor gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Not a single one of them spoke; only the soft thud of horses' hooves and the occasional clinking of armor plates broke the silence.

Upon seeing Lü Shang emerge, the four generals at the front of the formation—Xiao, Yan, Huo, and Ling—clenched their fists and pounded their chests, saying, "My lord," "Let's proceed."

Lü Shang nodded, mounted his horse, and with his command, eight hundred elite soldiers in black armor surged out of the governor's mansion like a black torrent.

There were no horns, no drumbeats, only the muffled thud of horses' hooves on the stone pavement.

Nothing was said that night, and when dawn broke through the fog, the beacon tower at Baiyakou had already been extinguished.

Lü Shang reined in his horse, turned it around, and saw that the eight hundred elite soldiers behind him had already formed a battle formation.

Last night, Lü Shang led his troops out of Liangzhou, marching three hundred li in one go to reinforce Baiyakou, where he beheaded more than three hundred Hu people.

At this moment, the mountain wind swept through the pass, carrying with it the stench of blood. He had piled more than three hundred barbarian heads into three heaps, like three small black and red mountains.

The garrison commander of Baiyakou stepped forward to pay his respects, saying, "My lord,"

As Lü Shang approached the garrison commander, he asked, "How many soldiers have been killed or wounded at Baiyakou?"

The garrison commander knelt on one knee and said, "Reporting to the lord, last night the barbarian cavalry launched a surprise attack. The brothers fought desperately, but lost thirty-seven men, and nine more were wounded."

"Get up and speak,"

Lu Shang dismounted, his gaze sweeping over the broken walls on both sides of the pass before finally turning to look at Huo Xiao on the side of the formation.

"Take ten brothers and properly collect the remains of the fallen soldiers, and send them back to Liangzhou City in the best coffins. As for their families, provide double the compensation according to military regulations. If they need anything, just go to the governor's office to get it."

"promise!"

Huo Xiao clasped his hands in response.

After nodding, Lü Shang's gaze swept across the White Crow Pass and towards the southwest. There, the outline of a mountain ridge was hidden in the morning mist, its bluish-gray shadow resembling a sleeping behemoth.

"Tuyuhun,"

The direction he was looking was where Tuyuhun was located; that mountain ridge was called Chiling, a vital point for Tuyuhun.

Liangzhou had six passes, two each in the east, south, and north, all of which were garrisoned. Among them, the Hulang Pass and Tumen Pass in the east served as passages between Liangzhou and the Central Plains and Longyou.

The Heishan Pass and Shixia Pass in the north were built to defend against the invasion of the Turks, while the Baiyakou Pass and Zamukou Pass in the south were built to defend against the attacks of the Tuyuhun.

The reason why Tuyuhun supported the various Hu tribes and launched raids on Baiyakou and Zamukou could very well be that they were preparing for a southward expansion.

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the outline of Chiling became clearer, and wisps of smoke seemed to rise from the mountain valleys, but it was unclear whether they were herding tents or sentry posts.

Lü Shang raised his hand and pressed the bamboo whip at his waist, then suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, "Ling Yue, take fifty riders and scout along the White Crow Pass for thirty li."

"Yes, sir," Ling Yue mounted his horse, and the fifty black-armored riders disappeared into the morning mist like arrows released from a bow.

Yan Rui, who was standing nearby, stepped closer and whispered, "My lord, the Tuyuhun have been making frequent moves lately. Could it be that they are really planning to invade the south?"

"It's hard to say,"

Lü Shang withdrew his gaze and said, "The Tuyuhun people have been cunning and treacherous. In recent years, relying on Qinghai, their strength has grown day by day. They have established a hundred officials according to the Han system and called themselves Khan. They are very ambitious."

"The reason he didn't break ties with the Sui Dynasty was that he knew our country's strength far surpassed theirs."

He paused, looked at Yan Rui, and said in a heavier tone, "But things are different now. The Emperor has hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in Huainan, and supplies and equipment are being continuously transported to the Jianghuai region."

"All eyes are on Jiangnan. Perhaps Kua Lü sees this as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation,"

(End of this chapter)