Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

An army's defeat is like a landslide, and a rout is like a breached dam.

Murong Chui, with his remaining troops of less than ten thousand men, fled north in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons.

Along the way, the wind howled and the grass and trees seemed like soldiers. Whenever they saw dust rising behind them, they thought it was the Iron Cavalry of Hanyuan coming after them, and they would turn around in a panic like startled birds.

The 60,000-strong army that once marched south, its banners obscuring the sun and its might sweeping across the land, is now scattered and desolate here. Murong Chui's heart is filled with grief, remorse, hatred, and fear, and he almost vomits blood.

But he cannot die, much less be captured. He is the Northern General of the Northern Yan, the mainstay of the Murong tribe. He must bring this remnant army back, even if it is for future revenge.

He rallied his defeated troops and, relying on his familiarity with the terrain, finally escaped to Longquan Pass, the last barrier on the northern slope of the Yanshan Mountains.

This pass is located at a strategic pass on the main ridge of the Yanshan Mountains. The cliffs on both sides are steep as if cut by a knife and axe, and a majestic pass blocks the way in the middle. It is truly a place where one man can hold the pass against ten thousand.

The wall is built of large bluestone blocks, more than four zhang high and two zhang thick. It has been repaired and reinforced by several generations and is exceptionally sturdy.

There are provisions and weapons stockpiled inside the pass that can sustain 5,000 garrison troops for more than half a year, as well as several hidden water sources.

Since its fall to the Northern Yan at the end of the previous dynasty, this pass has become a springboard and shield for the Northern Yan's southward expansion, as well as a poisonous thorn stuck in the throat of Hanyuan.

Murong Chui led his remaining troops into the pass, where they joined up with the original 3,000 garrison troops, bringing his forces back to just over 13,000.

He immediately ordered the four gates to be closed, the drawbridge to be taken down, and all Han Chinese merchants and civilians inside the pass to be moved into the inner city for guarding, leaving only the garrison in the outer city.

At the same time, he dispatched several messengers, carrying his handwritten plea for help written in blood, to slip out of the pass under cover of night via secret paths and deliver it to the Northern Yan royal court as quickly as possible.

"Xiao Chen! Han Yuan! If I don't avenge this, I, Murong Chui, swear I will not be a man!"

Standing atop the towering gate tower of Longquan Pass, gazing at the road from the south, Murong Chui gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging deep into his palms until blood seeped out.

He stroked the cold, rough edge of the wall, feeling somewhat calmer.

With this formidable pass in hand and ample supplies, as long as we hold out for half a month, no, even ten days, reinforcements from home will surely arrive.

With an attack from both inside and outside, they might be able to turn the tide. He refused to believe that the Han Yuan army could fly over this four-zhang-high wall!

Several days later, Han Yuan's army arrived as promised.

Black banners fluttered in the wind, armor reflected a cold light, the army was in perfect formation and silent. They slowly advanced from south to north, finally stopping three miles outside Longquan Pass. They set up camps along the mountain and the river, completely surrounding Longquan Pass.

The chilling atmosphere emanating from that silence was far more unsettling than any noisy challenge.

On the gate tower, the Northern Yan garrison gripped their weapons tightly, holding their breath as they watched the army below that had inflicted repeated defeats on them and struck fear into their hearts.

Especially when the hundreds of Cold Abyss Type III crossbows, gleaming with an eerie light, were pushed to the front of the battle line, their thick bolts pointing towards the pass wall, many soldiers subconsciously shrank back, recalling the terrifying rain of arrows at Eagle Beak Cliff.

However, after besieging the pass, Han Yuan's army did not immediately launch an attack.

For several days in a row, apart from the daily drills and patrols, one could see a large number of laborers and craftsmen going in and out of the mountain valleys and forests several miles from the pass, felling trees and chiseling stones. The clanging and banging sounds were endless, but due to the distance and obstructed view, it was impossible to see exactly what they were building.

"What trick is Xiao Chen up to now?" Murong Chui frowned, feeling uneasy.

Scouts sent out to investigate were all driven back by the Cold Abyss cavalry, and some scout teams never returned. This uncertainty of waiting was more agonizing than an open siege.

Inside the central command tent of the Hanyuan Camp.

Xiao Chen was staring intently at the model of Longquan Pass on the sand table. This pass was indeed treacherous, and a direct assault would inevitably result in heavy casualties, which was not what he wanted.

"Your Highness, Ou Ye, the head of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Imperial Academy, has been brought here on orders," the guard reported.

"Let him in."

Blacksmith Ou strode in, his attire befitting a low-ranking official of the ninth rank, yet his craftsmanship and focus remained undiminished. He held a thick scroll of blueprints in his hands, his eyes brimming with excitement and confidence.

"This humble servant, Ou Ye, greets Your Highness!"

"Master Ou, no need for such formalities." Xiao Chen offered a slight gesture of support, his gaze falling on the blueprints in his hand. "Is the work complete?"

"It's done! Your Highness, it's completely done!"

Excitedly, Ou the blacksmith spread out the blueprints on the table in front of Xiao Chen. The blueprints depicted a complex and massive wooden machine with a huge counterweight box, a long boom, and a complex winch pulley system.

"Your Highness, please look. This object, along with my colleagues in the Mechanics Department, after referring to ancient records and combining Your Highness's guidance on levers and counterweights, has undergone repeated calculations and experiments over a year, and we have finally completed it! We call it—'Thunderclap'!"

Pointing to the blueprints, he explained, "This device relies entirely on ingenuity, without the need for manual pulling. A winch pulls down the launching arm, and a large rock or gunpowder charge is placed in the leather cartridge case, with the weight acting as a counterweight. Upon launch, the mechanism is released, the counterweight drops, and it propels the launching arm rapidly upward, launching a hundred-pound object to three hundred paces or even further! By adjusting the counterweight and the angle of the launching arm, the range and impact point can be controlled, making it far more accurate than ordinary catapults! Moreover, its launch interval is much shorter than that of manual dragging!"

Xiao Chen listened intently, a look of approval in his eyes. This was clearly the modern version of the "Huihui Cannon," a powerful siege weapon!

"How did the test firing go?"

"Your Highness, at the secret testing ground of the Academy of Natural Sciences, using an earthen wall as a target, three 100-pound stone projectiles can destroy a wall several feet high! If a specially made gunpowder pack is used, the power will be increased several times! However, this object is huge and difficult to assemble and transport, so it needs to be constructed in front of the battle beforehand."

"Great job, Master Ou!"

Xiao Chen clapped his hands. "This is the key to breaking through the barrier. How many people, how many materials, and how much time do you need to create a sufficient number of Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolts before the barrier?"

After a moment's thought, the blacksmith replied confidently, "If we have enough craftsmen, laborers, timber, and stone, I can build thirty Thunderclap Bombs in a secluded spot near the pass within ten days! And we'll also prepare enough stone projectiles and gunpowder!"

"Approved! General Wang Dashan will assist you with everything you need. Be sure to do so discreetly and swiftly!" Xiao Chen ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

For the next ten days, the mountains and forests in front of Longquan Pass were transformed into a huge, busy, and secluded workshop.

The craftsmen worked day and night, following the blueprints, to process the large pieces of wood into sturdy components.

The laborers quarried the stone and polished it into perfectly round bullets.

The gunpowder workshops worked day and night to produce specially made gunpowder packets tightly wrapped in oiled paper and linen, containing iron slag and broken porcelain.

All the work was carried out under the cover of camouflage nets and temporary sheds. From a distance, one could only see the normal camp and some activities of the Hanyuan Army from the wall, and it was difficult to detect the destructive power that was being bred in the mountains and forests.

Murong Chui's unease grew stronger.

He sent out more lookouts, but to no avail.

The Han Yuan army only occasionally sent small groups of men to the pass to provoke and insult them, and there was no real sign of them attacking the city.

This unusual calm made him feel extremely uneasy.

On the tenth day, everything was ready.

Xiao Chen ordered someone to shoot a letter of surrender into the pass.

The book enumerates Murong Chui's crimes of invading the south, demonstrates the might of Han Yuan's army, and gives the garrison inside the pass two hours to open the city gates and surrender, in exchange for their lives.

The letter of surrender was delivered to Murong Chui.

He glanced at it, then flew into a rage, tearing the letter to shreds and throwing it to the ground. He then drew his sword and chopped down the wooden pole used to deliver the letter, shouting, "Xiao Chen, you brat, you've gone too far! I, Murong Chui, would rather die fighting at this pass than surrender to a mere brat like you! Pass down the order: prepare for a fight to the death! Anyone who dares to speak of surrender again will be executed!"

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and there was no movement from inside the pass.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a thin mist enveloped the mountains and the gate walls.

After a tense night, seeing that the Hanyuan army below the pass still made no move, many of the Northern Yan garrison relaxed slightly, began to change shifts, and started cooking.

Just then, a series of deep and orderly shouts, along with the creaking of wood rubbing and winches turning, suddenly came from within the Hanyuan army formation.

The Northern Yan garrison on the gate looked on in confusion, only to see that the camouflage in front of the Han Yuan army camp, which had been concealed for many days, was quickly removed, revealing dozens of enormous objects!

What is that? The guards stared wide-eyed.

It was a wooden structure resembling the skeleton of a prehistoric behemoth, several meters high, with a long, massive, diagonally pointing arm and an incredibly heavy counterweight box at the rear.

In the morning light and mist, they stood silently, exuding a chilling, mechanical sense of oppression.

"What...what is that?" a veteran murmured, his voice trembling slightly.

They had never seen such a huge and complex catapult.