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

Tongguan Pass, a formidable pass under heaven.

Bordered by the Yellow River to the east, the Qinling Mountains to the south, and the Loess Plateau to the north, a narrow passage winds through the area, truly making it a place where one man can hold off ten thousand.

Since Zhao Chong fled into Guanzhong with the false emperor Xiao Yu, he knew that this pass was the lifeline of Chang'an, and he spared no effort to pile most of his remaining elite troops and the last of the resources he had plundered here.

The garrison commander was Zhao Ben, a cousin of Zhao Chong. He was brave and fierce and loyal to Zhao Chong. Moreover, Tongguan was already a fortified city with high walls and deep moats. After several months of construction, it was even more fortified with a dense network of trenches, numerous arrow towers, and piles of rolling logs and stones, making it a veritable impregnable fortress.

When Chen arrived at the pass, he did not rush to launch a full-scale attack.

He knew the danger of Tongguan Pass and that a direct assault would inevitably result in heavy losses.

Therefore, he first sent an envoy to persuade Zhao Ben to surrender, but Zhao Ben beheaded the envoy and hung his head in front of the pass.

He then ordered Zhou Meng to lead cavalry to repeatedly harass the rear of the pass, cut off their supply lines, and exhaust their morale.

Meanwhile, the army set up camps in front of the pass and worked day and night to build siege equipment—towering siege engines, heavy battering rams, catapults that could throw boulders weighing hundreds of kilograms, and countless ladders and trench bridges.

However, Zhao Ben, a seasoned general, remained unmoved.

He relied on the formidable pass and defended it effectively.

The Han Yuan army launched several probing attacks, but each time they were repelled by a dense rain of arrows and rolling logs and rocks, resulting in considerable casualties.

Although Zhou Meng's cavalry had achieved numerous victories in the rear and burned several batches of grain, Tongguan still had enough grain stored up, making it difficult to shake its foundation in the short term.

Time slipped away slowly in the stalemate. With each passing day, the puppet regime in Chang'an gained another day to breathe, and the opportunists in Guanzhong hesitated for a little longer.

When Chen arrived at the commander's tent, the atmosphere was heavy.

The model of Tongguan on the sand table stands majestically, representing numerous obstacles.

"General, Tongguan Pass is treacherous, and Zhao Ben is putting up a stubborn resistance. A direct attack may not be the best strategy. Should we continue the siege and wait for their supplies to run out before they collapse?" a subordinate suggested.

Chen Dao stared at the sand table and slowly shook his head: "Guanzhong is not yet settled, and Chang'an has not yet fallen. If this drags on, things may change. Although Wu and Chu have not sent troops, it is hard to guarantee that they will not secretly provide assistance, or take advantage of our army's entrapment under the fortified city to make some moves. Moreover, our army is deep in enemy territory, and a swift battle is advantageous. His Majesty is in the capital, waiting for news of victory, not a stalemate."

He pointed to a section of the Tongguan city wall: "Zhao Ben has deployed a large number of troops at the east gate and several key passes, making the defenses very strong. However, the northwest corner of the city wall is built against the mountain, where the terrain is relatively gentle, and the wall is old. The other day, a spy reported that there were signs of water seepage and repairs on that section of the wall, making it a weak point. Although Zhao Ben has also deployed troops there, they are relatively weak compared to his main force."

"What does the general mean?" The generals' gazes sharpened.

"Openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass."

Chen Dao’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “At dawn tomorrow, concentrate all catapults and ballistae to launch a fierce attack on the east gate and the front wall of the city, so as to attract the main force of the defending army.”

Meanwhile, select elite assassins to infiltrate under the cover of night to the cliff at the northwest corner of the fortress. I observed the celestial phenomena; there would be thick fog in the latter half of the night, which would provide cover.

When the frontal assault was at its fiercest and the defenders' attention was diverted, the suicide squad scaled the cliff, launched a surprise attack on that section of the city wall, and created a breach! General Zhou!

"Your subordinate is here!" Zhou Meng stood up.

"You will lead your elite cavalry to ambush five miles behind the pass. Once the pass is ablaze, or there is any commotion, immediately launch a full-scale assault on the gates! Seeing that their rear is under attack and they are attacked from both sides, the defending troops inside the pass will surely collapse!"

"This subordinate obeys!"

"All other units, heed my command: launch a fierce frontal offensive, sparing no expense, and firmly pin Zhao Ben's main force down at the East Gate!"

"promise!"

The generals responded with a resounding roar, their fighting spirit soaring.

Everyone knew that this was a tough battle, a fight to the death with the lives of elite soldiers.

But there is no turning back; Tongguan must be taken as soon as possible!

At dawn the next day, before the sky was bright, war drums thundered like thunder beneath Tongguan Pass.

The Han Yuan army formed a battle formation, and dozens of huge catapults, operated by strongmen, emitted a teeth-grinding winch sound, hurling hundred-pound boulders with a fierce whistling sound towards the Tongguan city wall!

The short spears fired from the ballista were like the scythe of death, whistling as they shot towards the defenders behind the battlements.

The arrows flew as densely as locusts, obscuring the morning sky.

"Fire arrows! Fire rolling logs! Smash these traitors to death!"

Zhao Ben, fully armed, was giving orders from the East Gate tower, shouting himself hoarse.

The defenders, their eyes bloodshot, hurled logs and stones down the city walls without restraint, while archers fired indiscriminately down below.

The narrow terrain in front of the pass had now become a grinding wheel of flesh and blood.

Soldiers of the Cold Abyss Army were constantly being smashed into mincemeat by boulders, crushed by rolling logs, and riddled with arrows, but the soldiers who followed still stepped on the corpses of their comrades, carried ladders, and roared as they charged forward.

Under the cover of crossbows, the chariot made a difficult approach to the city wall, where the soldiers and defenders engaged in a fierce exchange of fire.

On the main battlefield, the fighting intensified instantly, with countless lives being lost every moment.

Zhao Ben's full attention was drawn to the East Gate, and he kept drawing troops from other sections to reinforce it.

He believed that with the natural defenses of Tongguan Pass, as long as they could withstand this fierce attack, Han Yuan's army would inevitably run out of steam.

However, just as the bloody battle at the East Gate was raging and the sounds of battle were deafening, at the northwest corner of Tongguan, under the city wall that was considered relatively "safe," thick fog was spreading as expected.

Hundreds of the most elite and fierce soldiers of the Cold Abyss Army, with gags in their mouths, their horses' hooves wrapped, and hooks and short blades on their backs, stealthily made their way to the bottom of the cliff like ghosts.

The cliffs are steep and slippery, but not impossible to climb.

These soldiers were all top-notch mountain warfare experts, and under the cover of the thick fog of night, they began to climb silently like geckos.

On the cliff, there were indeed few guards, and most of their attention was drawn to the deafening fighting sounds at the east gate.

The alarm only sounded mournfully when the first Cold Abyss assassin grabbed the crenellation, leaped onto the city wall, and silently slashed the sentry's throat with his short blade.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack in the northwest corner!"

But it was too late! More and more Cold Abyss warriors climbed onto the city wall, forming small battle formations and launching a fearless attack on the defenders.

The city wall was narrow, and the defending soldiers were caught off guard and then engaged in close combat with these ferocious assassins, which immediately threw them into chaos.

Blood was splattered on the city wall passageway, and screams of agony filled the air.

"Set it on fire! Send the signal!" The leader of the suicide squad, covered in blood, lit the bundles of firewood that had been prepared and soaked in kerosene, and threw them toward the barracks and supplies inside the pass.

At the same time, three whistling arrows shot into the fog-shrouded sky with a piercing whistle.

"Fire breaks out inside the pass! This is a signal!"

Zhou Meng, who had been on edge the entire time, saw the fire and the signal arrows, and his eyes gleamed with a fierce light. "Soldiers, follow me! Today is the day we break through!"

Five thousand elite cavalrymen, like black lightning, sprang from their ambush and charged toward the west gate of Tongguan!

At the same time, the Han Yuan army, which was attacking the city from the front, saw the signal and their morale soared, making their offensive even more frenzied.

Chen Dao personally went to the front line to supervise the battle, and the war drums beat loudly.

Chaos had already broken out within Tongguan Pass.

With the northwest corner lost, fire broke out inside the pass, and the thunderous sound of horses' hooves came from behind. The defending army was attacked from both sides, and their morale collapsed instantly.

"Hold on! No retreat! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

Zhao Ben's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He personally wielded his sword and killed several fleeing soldiers, but the army was in complete disarray, and panic spread like a plague throughout the entire garrison.

Under the double blow of the Han Yuan army's relentless attacks and news of the collapse of their rear, the garrison at the East Gate also began to waver and retreat.

"General! The west gate has been breached! Cavalry! It's the northern cavalry who have broken in!" A blood-soaked bodyguard crawled in to report.

Zhao Ben felt a wave of dizziness; he knew that all was lost.

Watching the Han Yuan soldiers surge onto the city walls like a tide, and seeing the raging fires and chaotic routs within the pass, Zhao Ben gave a bitter laugh, raising his sword to commit suicide. But his trusted confidant beside him held him back tightly: "General! As long as we live, we must survive! Retreat to Chang'an, protecting the Duke and His Majesty is of utmost importance!"

Zhao Ben dejectedly put down his sword and, under the desperate protection of his personal guards, fled in panic through the south gate. He gathered his remaining troops, numbering less than a thousand, and fled in disarray toward Chang'an.

With Zhao Ben's escape, the last bit of will to resist of the Tongguan garrison vanished.

The Han Yuan army completely controlled this formidable pass.

As Chen Dao stepped over blood and corpses and ascended the Tongguan city tower, the first rays of dawn were just breaking in the east.

Sunlight shone on the blood-stained, dilapidated gate walls, on the bodies of fallen soldiers, and on the faces of the living, weary yet determined Han Yuan soldiers.

Tongguan, the formidable pass that had blocked the Hanyuan army for nearly a month, was finally captured.

But this victory was won at the cost of countless warriors' lives and blood.

Both inside and outside the pass, corpses lay strewn across the fields, and blood flowed in streams; the casualties on both sides were extremely heavy.

Although Han Yuan's army won, it also paid the heaviest price since the start of the war.

"Collect the remains of the fallen soldiers, give them a proper burial, register them, and provide generous compensation to their families."

Chen Dao's voice was heavy with sorrow, but quickly hardened with resolve. "Treat the wounded soldiers with all our might. The rest of the troops, rest for a day, inventory your spoils, and repair your fortifications. Tomorrow, we will march on to Chang'an!"

The fall of Tongguan was like the death knell for the puppet regime in Chang'an.

When the news reached Chang'an, the false emperor Xiao Yu was terrified and turned pale in the court, while Zhao Chong was so angry that he vomited several liters of blood.

The sky over Guanzhong seemed to be completely shrouded by that black banner.

The last and strongest barrier to Chang'an had crumbled in blood and fire. The advance of the Hanyuan Army was unstoppable, heading straight for the Western Capital, which trembled in fear.

The real decisive battle is about to unfold beneath the walls of Chang'an.

The bloody battle at Tongguan proved in the most brutal way that any force that tries to stop this black torrent will pay a heavy price, but in the end, it will be unable to change its crushing trajectory.