Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 102 'Telegram' Informs Ji Yuan, Yu Army Enters the Pass

Wang Dalong, inside the prison, heard a deafening roar that swept in like a tsunami, while officials and guards in the prison corridor hurriedly ran back and forth.

"what happens?!"

He gripped the prison bars and shouted out to the outside.

But no one paid him any attention; they were all busy with their own things.

At this moment, Song Shi'an, who came out of the office, was also carrying a knife and seemed to be running away.

"Song Sheng, where are you going?!"

Seeing that he was about to leave, Wang Dalong called out to him loudly to stop him.

"Ji Yuan has attacked, of course we must fight the enemy, why ask such a question?"

Song Shi'an ignored him and was about to rush out.

"What are you, a civil official, doing fighting the enemy!"

"What utter nonsense!"

Song Shi'an stopped, turned around, glared at him, and said with righteous indignation, "Now that the Qi bandits have invaded our borders, the entire Wuwei has been slaughtered. Every Dayu citizen has a duty to resist the enemy. In this Shuofeng City, women and children are helping to push carts and transport stones. Even old men in their seventies and eighties are helping to gather firewood, leaning on their canes. Even the stray dogs in the city bark at the Qi bandits..."

"Stop cursing, stop cursing." Raising his hand to interrupt his barbed sarcasm, he compromised, "Just let me out now."

"The city is now surrounded; you can't leave."

"I don't want to leave the city..."

"You can't go out and spread rumors to undermine morale."

"Oh dear! I want to go out and fight the enemy. Give me a knife and a bow, and I'll go out and fight the enemy. Can I be a common soldier?" Wang Dalong was so anxious he almost stomped his feet.

Song Shi'an looked slightly suspicious, then glanced at the people around him and said, "Let him out."

Then, the jailer released the last prisoner in the city.

As soon as Wang Dalong came out, he snatched the knife from Song Shi'an's hand and ran out of the prison.

Song Shi'an's solemn expression immediately relaxed and became casual.

I'm really getting tired of acting.

It's exhausting to have to put on an act for everyone just to get something done.

When can I be myself?

"San Gou, let's go," Song Shi'an said.

"Master, are we going to the city wall?" San Gou asked.

“Commanding the defense of the city is not my forte, and getting close to the city walls could result in injury from flying stones and arrows. All I need to do is keep this Shuofeng City running non-stop.”

Song Shi'an had done what he could. Therefore, he naturally let go of the so-called weapons: "Trust Xiao Wei."

"?!"

San Gou didn't know who else in the city had that surname.

But by adding the character "小" before this surname, he truly understood Song Tangzun's fearless attitude towards death.

.........

Wang Dalong was released from prison and finally saw the light of day again.

Then, to his surprise, he discovered that the entire city of Shuofeng was completely filled.

Everywhere you look, there are people; it's as crowded as a military camp.

Moreover, there was wood everywhere, as if all the trees within dozens of miles of Shuofeng City had been cut down.

As they approached the city wall, a hail of arrows rained down upon them.

Many of the laborers carrying stones into the city were pierced by arrows.

The boulders launched by the catapults landed on houses near the edge of the city, causing them to collapse with a loud crash.

This was the first wave of strong attacks.

He walked close to the houses along the street until he reached the city gate, where he ran up the side steps.

This is the inner city gate. There is also the outer city gate. Between the two city gates is a slightly oval barbican with a diameter of about fifty paces, which is to prevent the enemy army from pouring in directly after the first city gate is breached.

After climbing up the city wall, he crouched down along the corner and moved quickly toward the gate tower on the outer city wall.

The soldiers on the city wall basically walked with their backs bent and close to the wall.

Otherwise, thousands of arrows in an instant could turn a person into a hedgehog.

"General Wang!"

Suddenly, a soldier from Langya recognized him and exclaimed excitedly.

"Defend the city well!"

Wang Dalong nodded and continued to move forward.

Finally, we arrived at the city gate.

He saw that the Wei banner, torn by the wind of arrows, was already riddled with holes.

He crouched down and peered through a small, angled square hole in the city wall.

Archers would typically pass through this hole and shoot arrows at the attacking soldiers below.

Because of its ingenious design, arrows from the outside cannot penetrate, making it a relatively safe place to observe the situation.

He froze the moment he saw the outside.

This moat is as deep as a building, at least three zhang (approximately 10 meters) deep, and more than four zhang (approximately 10 meters) wide.

It is seven meters deep and ten meters wide.

Is this the result of 40,000 to 50,000 people digging day and night?
There were also completely enclosed pillars, with only a small attic space at the top for hiding soldiers, which could also be used as a defensive tower for firing arrows from outside the city.

The original plan was that this city could not be defended because it was fundamentally different from Wuwei—it was not a strategic location at all.

Wuwei's city walls are towering and sturdy, and the moats have been dug deeper and deeper each year. But the most fatal flaw of the north wind is that the city walls are too short.

It is difficult to build a tall building in a short period of time.

Therefore, the only option is to focus on the area outside the city.

This is Song Shi'an's work of emptying Langya... This guy is truly a genius!

If that's the case, with the entire army fighting to the death, holding out for more than two months is absolutely no problem!
Just then, a massive cloud ladder slowly, with a clattering sound, was erected on the city wall.

Wang Dalong picked up his shield, stood up, and braving the heavy blows of arrows and hail on the shield, went to give the order: "Pour oil, set it on fire!"

Inside the city gate tower, Wei Wusheng and Zhu Qing were staying, with Xin Yue beside them.

Outside, catapults hurled boulders, which pounded against the walls, causing the plaster on the inner walls to slosh down.

"They have too many powerful arrows, and our men are dying very quickly. For every three Qi rebels who die, one Yu soldier is lost," Zhu Qing relayed.

Looking out from inside the city gate, it seemed as if those people could pounce at any moment. Wei Wusheng's heart pounded wildly.

“One of them carried a shield, and the other carried sandbags, advancing towards the moat at the city gate…” Wei Wusheng said, “They were risking their lives to fill the pit.”

"They're going to fill in the trenches to create a path so the siege engines can ram the gates." Zhu Qing immediately set off, preparing to leave the building. "It won't be that easy, unless they pile up corpses!"

From the city tower, Wei Wusheng could see that after Zhu Qing went there in person, the morale was instantly boosted, the command became more precise, and the attacks were all directed at the shield soldiers who were trying to fill the way, slowing down the speed at which the sandbags filled the pit.

"what can I do?"

Wei Wusheng suddenly realized that as the great battle approached and blood and flesh flew everywhere, he was as bewildered as an ignorant child, unable to make any decisions.

No, no help whatsoever.

“Your Highness, your presence here is a great banner,” Xin Yue comforted her.

But those words offered no comfort whatsoever: "No, I don't want this!"

As he spoke, he slipped his hand through the hand loop at the intersection of the straps on the back of a sturdy, thick shield and descended from the city wall.

Seeing this, Xin Yue also grabbed her shield and hurriedly followed.

Every soldier on the city wall held their breath, dodging arrows while simultaneously firing arrows and throwing stones.

Just then, they suddenly saw a 'general' wearing golden scale armor and a red robe, carrying a shield and bowing as he passed by them, patting them heavily on the shoulder and saying, "Hold on."

"It's the Sixth Prince!"

All the soldiers saw it; amidst the rain of arrows, their prince had arrived in person.

In ancient times, the emperor personally leading an expedition was the best way to boost morale.

Having your commander by your side when you're fighting hard can boost morale.

If this commander-in-chief is also a prince.

That would naturally double the morale!

.........

Ji Yuan, mounted on horseback, watched the siege unfold.

“This Song Shi’an doesn’t look like a pampered young master at all,” Chen Xing couldn’t help but praise. “His initial idea was to turn this place into a war vortex. And in such a short time, he made this place ‘easy to defend and difficult to attack’.”

"How about the martial prowess contest?" Ji Yuan asked.

“Of course, it’s far from good,” Chen Xing replied.

The inherent disadvantages are there, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Shuofeng City is smaller, shorter, and thinner than Wuwei.

However, if the food supply is not a concern, then forcibly defending the area would be a major problem.

"I was still too harsh on them."

Ji Yuan was slightly angered by Song Shi'an's daring challenge, but after looking at him directly, he smiled faintly: "Song Shi'an is quite resourceful, and Wei Wusheng is also very brave."

“This city is indeed quite difficult to conquer,” Chen Xing said.

“What I mean is,”

Looking towards the north wind, Ji Yuan, unusually, took the two children seriously: "This place must become their burial ground. Otherwise, it will bring considerable trouble to the Great Qi in the future."

.........

Qinzhou and Huaizhou each sent out 10,000 troops, advancing simultaneously from the west and east sides of the Beiliang Valley, namely Langya and Qiya Valley.

Xiao Qun himself was at Jiamen Pass, which was in the very center.

He sat calmly atop the city wall.

At this moment, a cavalry scout from the back of the pass galloped up to the city wall and reported: "General, it has been twenty days, and the north wind has not been lost! Moreover, the Qi army's offensive has slowed down slightly!"

"It's just a short-term consolidation; the offensive will come wave after wave." Even so, Xiao Qun, who was sitting down, couldn't help but sigh, "To be able to hold out for twenty days against an army of 100,000, this city is truly remarkable."

"Yes, General," an aide chimed in. "The north wind is different from Wuwei; to be able to do this is nothing short of a miracle."

"Your Majesty is also remarkable." Xiao Qun praised the emperor, "After the defeat at Tongmen Pass and the defeat of Zhao Xiang, Wuwei would have been defeated sooner or later. Under such circumstances, you were still able to make up your mind to send more troops."

“For us, it’s definitely something we don’t want to give up,” the aide said.

"Of course, the Beiliang Valley is too important. If it were lost entirely, Ji Yuan would always be a sword hanging over our heads. Now that we have been able to reclaim half of it and confront each other with the Chishui River as the boundary, this is a great achievement that can save the day."

Everyone is criticizing Song Shi'an.

But it must be admitted that what Song Shi'an was betting on was a wealth that was unimaginable to them.

Nobility is earned through battle.

To become a new noble, you have to fight your way up.

In a chaotic world of division and fragmentation, military achievements always outweigh all other merits.

"Judging from this, it's impossible for Ji Yuan to achieve a quick victory."

Slowly, Xiao Qun stood up.

"But the pressure from the north wind is still immense."

"Then we should put the same pressure on Ji Yuan as well."

Xiao Qun finally decided, "Enter the pass."

At a command, the gates of Jiamen Pass were lowered.

Behind the pass, an endless array of eight thousand elite soldiers raised the banner bearing the character "Xiao" of the Marquis of Liang and marched toward the Northern Liang Valley.

(End of this chapter)