The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 119 First Steps into Taihang
That night, Xiao Yi and Li Rong camped at the main camp outside Chanzhou City.

He paid special attention and found that although the soldiers were still elite, they were subtly different.

As I led my black horse across the drill ground, I overheard some whispered conversations.

"If we attack Kaifeng and then leave, wouldn't that be a pointless attack?"

"I threw away all my coarse clothes, just waiting for the commander-in-chief to sit on the dragon throne, so I came out again."

"..."

Facing the battle of Hedong, morale was somewhat low, and the generals' commands were noticeably less enthusiastic than before.

Sensing all this, even Xiao Yi felt a sense of worry.

If the main army doesn't advance, and he and Li Rong are left to venture deep into enemy territory alone, what if they get trapped in Hedong... all that hard work to achieve merit by following the emperor would be for naught, and the outcome would be utterly absurd.

Having devised a strategy, Li Rong pulled Xiao Yi to share a military tent with him.

"Wrap this up."

Xiao Yi took a heavy felt blanket. The smell of old blood and foot odor was overwhelming. He shook it and it was covered in dust.

Li Rong rubbed his hands together, moved closer to the brazier, sighed from time to time, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Tell me, how did we end up with such a job?"

"Doesn't the general like fighting?"

"That depends on the time!"

Li Rong spat into the brazier, probably feeling that he couldn't explain it clearly, so he simply used an analogy.

"It's like I like roasted meat, but I urgently need to poop. I can't just offer you roasted meat and ask if you want some, can I?"

Xiao Yi asked, "What kind of excrement is the general preparing to take?"

"Of course it's good shit! How could you not know that? You're a shrewd little rascal."

"I know that, but Liu Chong is standing there with a knife, watching. Wouldn't it be more satisfying to kill him first and then take a dump?"

"Bullshit!" Li Rong scoffed. "I'm not some shy little lady. Let him stand there if he wants. Won't the stench kill him?"

Xiao Yi smiled and said, "Since you have already accepted the military order, why bother thinking about these things, General?"

Li Rong's face was still anxious, and his voice was hoarse as he said, "You don't understand. In this awful weather, if we go to Hedong, our toes and fingers will freeze, and we'll suffer more casualties than on the battlefield. The terrain is treacherous, we don't know the roads, and our supplies are not guaranteed. How can the men not have concerns?"

"Once Luzhou submits and Qinzhou is in our hands, why should we fear the cold or hunger?"

"You still don't understand."

Li Rong glanced at the figures of the guards swaying outside the tent, and lowered his voice even further.

"The emperor has been killed, so what are the men doing here? The position is vacant, and without the commander-in-chief in charge, who can feel at ease? Don't speak, I understand the logic, I'm not stupid, but can the common soldiers understand? A bunch of peasants, they don't care about the intricacies of the situation. Let me give you another example..."

"No need for an analogy."

"It's like you're with a young lady from Kaifeng, all of you stripped naked, all the while, and you're about to make love. Then she says, 'Stop, go to Hedong and kill that dead man first, then I'll feel at ease submitting to you.' Does that make sense?"

Xiao Yi remained silent.

He discovered that Li Rong was quite eloquent.

"look."

Li Rong spread out his hands, his palms covered in thick calluses.

"I've wielded a knife my whole life, I'm not afraid of fighting, and I'm not afraid of dying. But to be honest, I'm not confident about this battle."

Xiao Yi shook his head and said, "General, you are mistaken. Your Excellency has a long-term vision and a sense of responsibility. As long as we are in Hedong, he will never abandon us."

Li Rong said, "I'm not afraid of Liu Chong's strong and well-equipped army, but I am afraid of missing out on a major event."

"event?"

"To be honest, several old generals have sent people to Yedu to ask Madam Bai, hoping that the commander-in-chief will ascend the throne. My men do not want to miss such a grand event."

Xiao Yi said, "So what? Your Excellency has no shortage of people who support him as emperor; what you lack are people who understand and implement his strategies..."

"But I feel terrible!"

Li Rong picked up the wine flask and took a big gulp. Finally, he said, "I don't want to think about it anymore. If we kill that bastard Liu Chong, you and I will be the greatest heroes!"

Xiao Yi went to bed early because he was so tired that he even found Li Rong's thunderous snoring quite helpful for falling asleep.

Before dawn, two thousand elite cavalrymen, along with necessary auxiliary troops and pack horses, set off westward.

As the procession passed, snow dust billowed up.

Xiao Yi felt as if he had returned to the time when he and Chen Guanghui sped through Yedu, braving the wind and snow, running wildly and selflessly.

He wrapped his battle robe tightly around himself, covered his head with felt so that not even his eyes were visible, and looked ahead through the gaps in the coarse cloth. There wasn't much to see, really; the world was a vast expanse of white, and the horses followed closely behind the guide's old horse.

He passed through Xiangzhou but did not enter.

After that, the population became even sparser and the villages became deserted. It wasn't until they reached Fukou Pass that their pace finally slowed down.

Xiao Yi almost always fell off his horse every time he dismounted because his body was frozen stiff.

After resting for a night, the scouts reported that there was no danger ahead, so they entered the pass.

The Fukou Pass winds for over a hundred miles through the Taihang Mountains, with cliffs on both sides as if cut by a knife and axe. The narrow path winds between cliffs and deep valleys, and at its narrowest point, it can only accommodate two horses side by side.

It was deep winter, and no one was walking on the pass. The snow was knee-deep, and the ice on the shady sections was thick and slippery. One could easily fall off the cliff if you weren't careful. The cold wind whistled through the pass, and the thick snow on the cliff top could also fall and kill people.

Xiao Yi had often hiked the trail before, but he had never been to such a dangerous place in such bad weather.

Fortunately, he wasn't in charge alone, otherwise his subordinates would definitely have mutinied.

Li Rong, with tears in his eyes, executed a soldier who dared to suggest retreat, thus allowing the troops to proceed with their original plan.

The old guide taught them a simple trick: collect horse manure and wrap it around their feet to prevent their toes from freezing to death in the snow.

Li Rong then sent auxiliary soldiers ahead as the ice-cutting team, and it took them two days to finally manage to break through the icy pass.

Suddenly, the view opened up, and they had reached the territory of Luzhou. The next day, the troops advanced towards Luzhou City. When they were more than ten miles from the city, scouts reported that a large contingent of Zhaoyi Army had appeared ahead.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Li Rong muttered to himself, "Our lives are in the hands of Wang Pu, a mere scholar. If he can't persuade Chang Si, alas!"

Xiao Yi looked back and saw that the two thousand elite cavalry were exhausted and unlikely to be able to fight against the Zhaoyi Army.

Afterwards, the scouts reported again that Chang Si, the military governor of Zhaoyi Army, had led his troops to welcome them.

Li Rong was still uneasy and said, "Who knows if they're just trying to fool me?"

After marching for another seven or eight li, they saw the Zhaoyi Army in the distance. Judging from their banners, they estimated that there were three or four thousand of them.

"Damn it, we've been tricked by Wang Pu." Li Rong spat on his horse and said, "That old thief brought a lot of people with him, I'm doomed."

A group of people escorted the two as they rode out.

One of them, with a smile on his face and a composed demeanor, was Wang Pu.

His companion, dressed in silver armor and a sable coat, was about fifty years old. His refined appearance revealed the authority of someone who had long held a high position and the fortitude of a warrior. He must have been Chang Si.

"This humble general is Li Rong."

"Xiao Yi".

"Greetings, Lord Chang!"

Chang Si reined in his horse, glanced around at the Tianxiong Army cavalry, and a hint of shock appeared in his eyes.

Xiao Yi then realized that the Zhaoyi Army was actually hiding in the winter and was not prepared for battle at all. Although his cavalry crossed the Fukou Pass, it had a significant deterrent effect on the enemy.

Chang Si's expression changed several times before he cupped his hands and said, "Wenbo has already informed me of Lord Guo's sincerity and the general trend of the world. I am not a stubborn person who goes against the tide. My mind is made up. I will follow the will of Heaven and the people and submit to Lord Guo!"

With Luzhou captured, the troops finally had a good night's rest and replenished their supplies.

That night, Wang Pulai chatted with them and said with a smile, "Chang Si was hesitant at first, but seeing the mighty momentum of our army, he immediately made up his mind. I am deeply grateful to the two generals."

Now that he was already here, Li Rong's fighting spirit grew, and he put aside his worries about the "big event" in Chanzhou, saying, "This is nothing! Once I wipe out Liu Chong, he'll be scared to death!"

In short, he first bragged about it to intimidate Chang Si.

Wang Pu had been in Luzhou for two days and had collected some intelligence and maps, which he handed over to them.

On this trip, Xiao Yi was accompanied by Li Rong leading troops, guides leading the team, and Chang Si and Wang Pu providing support. Most of the time, all he could do was to understand and familiarize himself with the situation in Hedong.

After a night of rest and recuperation, the next day, scouts were sent to report to Guo Wei that Chang Si had surrendered and the army could proceed into Hedong.

The next task is to defeat Li Cungui.

So two thousand elite vanguard cavalrymen went first, leaving the auxiliary troops behind to advance slowly, and marched straight towards Qinzhou.

This is the heart of the Taihang Mountains, where the team meanders through snow-covered valleys.

As Xiao Yi looked around, he saw rolling mountains, deep ravines, covered in white snow, and sparse trees; the world was filled with only black and white.

When they arrived at Tunliu County, which was under the jurisdiction of Luzhou, at night, the city walls were low mud bricks, the city gates were tightly closed, and it appeared desolate and lifeless.

Li Rong wanted to station troops in the county town, so he sent soldiers with Chang Si's order to the city gate.

But then they saw a basket lowered from the city wall, inside which sat an elderly official, wearing a worn-out light blue official robe with many layers of padded jackets underneath, making him look very bulky, with a bitter smile on his face.

"This humble official, Li Jizhen, the magistrate of Tunliu County, greets the two generals."

"Whatever you call us, open the city gates and let us stay for the night."

"General, there is an old fortress of the Zhaoyi Army outside the city. I will lead you there and send someone to bring food later."

Li Rong was displeased. He raised his riding whip, flicked it lightly, and cursed, "Didn't you hear me? I need to go into the city to rest."

"General, Tunliu is a poor place, and there are few walls in the city. It is really not as good as the old fortifications of Zhaoyi Army."

"You old donkey, I think you want to die!"

Xiao Yi looked over and saw that Li Jiyi was shrinking back with his hands tucked in, looking very cowardly, but there seemed to be no fear in the depths of his eyes, but rather a kind of stubbornness.

He thought to himself that the other side must be determined to refuse to let them into the city no matter what.

They had Chang Si's warrant, so they wouldn't do anything to the county magistrate upon entering the city. Therefore, Li Jizhen was protecting the people in the city.

"General, let's rest at the old fortress," Xiao Yi said. "I think the city wall is about to collapse."

"go!"

Li Rong had no intention of lingering and kicked his horse away.

Li Jiyin expressed his gratitude profusely, glancing at Xiao Yi several times.

Xiao Yi spurred his horse and rode away, glancing back at Tunliu County. He thought to himself that if he were to fight Liu Chong here, the city gates wouldn't stand up to two blows... It's too poor.

The next day, as they set off, Li Rong kept cursing Li Jizhen.

"That damn old bastard, the lousy cake he sent was so hard it knocked my teeth out. If I ever run into him again, I'll kill him."

"General, please calm down." Xiao Yi smiled and said, "That cake can still be swallowed after being soaked in hot water."

Li Rong said, "You need firewood to boil water. He's really unlucky to be an official here in this lousy place."

Xiao Yi, however, thought otherwise.

He had been observing the area all the way. The west was high and the east was low. The eastern part was flat and had the Jiang River, Lan River and Gu River running through it. The tributaries were numerous and it was suitable for farming. The central part was hilly and suitable for building a city. The western part was mountainous and could serve as a barrier.

Moreover, this place is a thoroughfare connecting the four prefectures of Bing, Lu, Ze, and Fen, with an ancient post road passing through it, and it is also close to the Fukou Pass, making it of great significance for commerce and military affairs.

Assuming a protracted war with Hedong ensues, if he were to replace Chang Si as the military governor of Zhaoyi, he would simultaneously construct canals along the Jiang River to irrigate fields, open waterways, establish water defenses, and cultivate land for grain production. Then, he would build mountain fortresses, recruit displaced people, develop commerce, train mountain troops, and transform Tunliu into a forward outpost for conquering Hedong.

Of course, this is just a momentary fantasy to train myself.

Thinking about this, Xiao Yi realized that even he himself lacked confidence in Guo Wei's campaign against Hedong.

He snapped back to reality, looking at the snowy road ahead, as if he could sense the approaching threat of war.

(End of this chapter)