Chapter 868: The Great General of Yanmen

North of Dai County, atop Mount Gouzhu, the mighty pass stood tall, the perilous fortress unchanged. Because it connected the Yun-Shuo plateau to the north and reached the Xin-Dai basin to the south, the Yanmen ancient road had always been the throat of north-south traffic, a place every army sought to control. Though the terrain was treacherous, it constantly attracted the northern peoples—after all, once one broke through those few dozen li of mountain defiles, one could press on through Xin-Dai straight to Taiyuan and plunder the land of Jin.

It could be held!

Yet this mere few dozen li of mountain defiles, like a natural moat, had always checked the Khitan's ambitions to march south, while Yanmen Pass, perched high on Gouzhu, acted like an iron gate, faithfully carrying out its duty.

The Khitan and Yanmen Pass had some history between them, and they were not entirely ignorant of the Yanmen ancient road. More than twenty years ago, the Khitan army had passed through here, marching south to Jinyang to help Shi Jingtang found his state. More than ten years ago, when the Khitan fought against the state of Jin, they had also mobilized troops intending to take Hedong, but were defeated by Liu Zhiyuan, then the Prince of Beiping, who captured many prisoners and much booty.

More recently, in the early years of Qianyou, during the period when Yang Ye garrisoned Dai County, the Han and Liao clashed several times around the Yanmen stronghold. Though there were no large-scale battles, there were several engagements involving more than five hundred men, and the skirmishes between small units were equally brutal and bloody.

It was not until the fourth year of Qianyou that the Han and Liao agreed to peace, and the situation gradually eased. Of course, to say they were completely at peace was impossible. Some Khitan soldiers disguised themselves as bandits to plunder Han merchants and civilians, while the Han army also dressed up as horse bandits to raid the grasslands beyond the northern frontier in "great harvests."

To protect the trade routes and shelter their people, the regular armies of both Han and Liao matched wits and courage against the bandits. Of course, many things were known to all, but neither side exposed them, and neither was willing to yield. This tacit struggle between the two sides continued directly for seven or eight years.

From the winter of the first year of Qianyou, when he received the imperial edict to march north and garrison Dai County, nearly ten years had passed. In those ten years, Yang Ye had gone from youth to his prime, become a father, and grown into a truly mature frontier general. Long stationed at the border, dwelling in one city and one pass for ten years, Yang Ye could truly say he had devoted the finest years of his life to Yanmen.

In these ten years, Yang Ye's greatest achievement was building, on the foundation of the old Yanmen Pass and supplemented by more than a dozen mountain defiles along the ridge, a defensive system centered on Yanmen Pass, and training a crack force of infantry and cavalry.

Within the East Jing Pass of Yanmen, on the southeast drill ground, a Han army unit of more than seven hundred men was drilling. Yang Ye personally directed the formation, waving the command flag, making the soldiers follow orders and shift east, changing the formation. The entire scene was solemn and orderly, running smoothly, the formation rigorous and seamless, almost without flaw—clearly these troops had reached a certain level in formation training.

What they were drilling was the Six Flowers Formation created by Li Jing, the god of war of the early Tang. After several hundred years of development, it had become quite mature. Of course, when it reached Yang Ye, he added some new variations based on the current development of military affairs, making it simpler and reducing complex coordination as much as possible.

For ordinary soldiers, of course, the simpler the coordination and the fewer the variations, the better—and the same for generals. The Six Flowers Formation was originally created to use as few troops as possible to achieve a more stable formation, obtain the most effective results, and reduce the difficulty of command.

The Dingxiang Army that Yang Ye commanded had a strength of four thousand. Over the years, aside from his daily inspections of the various defile defenses and scouting the enemy situation beyond the northern frontier, he devoted all his remaining energy to training the troops under his command. By now, his infantry and cavalry could be driven like his own arms and move as if by thought.

Although the Six Flowers Formation was mainly for defense, Yang Ye drilled it with a strategy rooted in offense—he was already considering in advance how to fight beyond the northern frontier without relying on passes and cities. This was also something some senior generals within the Great Han court were considering.

Circle formation changed to square formation, curved formation changed to wedge formation—with imagined enemy situations and terrain, switching between offense and defense, they drilled for more than two shichen before the training ended and the troops were dismissed.

"Father!" On the command platform, the young boy who had been watching the soldiers drill gave Yang Ye a military salute.

The boy, nearly ten years old, was naturally Yang Ye's eldest son Yanzhao. He had already shown considerable military aptitude—since the age of six he had been learning to read and practicing martial arts, and he followed Yang Ye in and out of the military camp, inspecting the frontier forts.

Yang Ye now had three sons, but he was especially fond of this clever eldest son, treating him as his heir and training him from a young age.

"Dalang, are you hungry?" Yang Ye asked with a smile.

Yang Yanzhao nodded and said directly: "Hungry!"

"Then let's return to the residence to eat!" Yang Ye said.

Hearing this, Yang Yanzhao couldn't help raising a question: "Father always says a general should share hardships with his soldiers. It's already late—there's food in the camp, so why not eat there?"

Raising a thick eyebrow, looking at his eldest son's clever expression, Yang Ye's smile grew even wider. He patted his head and said: "I am both the master of an army and the master of a household. If I don't return soon, I'm afraid your mother will come looking for me at the camp..."

Yang Ye's words were, of course, said in jest. His wife was the granddaughter of the late chancellor Feng Dao, and the match had been made by the Emperor himself. With a distinguished family heritage, she was well-read, knew propriety, was sensible and well-bred—a truly excellent helpmeet. She had accompanied Yang Ye in garrisoning Dai for ten years, never complaining about the bitter cold of the frontier, always staying in her place, helping her husband and raising their children. Because their family valued poetry and books, she had even written several poems that spread across both sides of the frontier.

At the mention of his mother, Yang Yanzhao obediently said he wanted to return to the residence. Over the years, Yang Ye, constrained by official and military duties, had inevitably neglected his family. Throughout the Yang household, the raising and education of the children was all handled by Lady Feng. Toward his mother, Yang Yanzhao had also developed respect and a certain fear from childhood...

Yang Ye picked up his eldest son, intending to carry him back to the residence, but the boy squirmed a few times and struggled to the ground, wanting to walk on his own.

The Yang residence was set up within the pass, in the western part of the city. For a military fortress, life was by no means luxurious.

Lady Feng was two years younger than Yang Ye and had married him before she turned eighteen. Years of northern frontier life had caused her to lose the soft beauty of her youth, and her skin was no longer as smooth and delicate as before, but the resolute and strong temperament she had gradually developed made Yang Ye admire her all the more. Not every woman raised in comfort, gentle and delicate, could endure such loneliness and bitter cold.

"My lady (Mother)!" Yang Ye still held great respect for Lady Feng. In the main hall, he and Yang Yanzhao, one big and one small, stood there obediently, smiling carefully.

The sky had long since darkened. Before returning to the residence, Yang Ye, moved by a feeling, had taken people to inspect the garrison forts north of the pass. Making that circuit naturally made him late. In the hall, the meal had already been prepared, but it had clearly gone cold. Lady Feng sat by the table, and beside her were two hungry little children.

Seeing the slight look of guilt on Yang Ye's face, Lady Feng's beautiful features softened, and she said softly: "Since you're back, wash up and tidy yourself. I'll have someone reheat the food!"

"You two, go clean yourselves up as well!" Lady Feng also glared at her three sons, especially the two younger ones, who liked to touch and fiddle with things. After waiting so long, their freshly washed hands had long since gotten dirty again.

Lady Feng personally helped Yang Ye remove his armor and outer garments by the courtyard well. A servant brought boiled hot water, and Lady Feng mixed in well water to adjust the temperature, then attended to him as he washed his hair and bathed...

Midsummer had not yet arrived, and the weather was not yet hot, but bathing was still a very enjoyable experience, leaving one refreshed and clear-minded. However, looking at Lady Feng with her sleeves rolled up, Yang Ye couldn't help saying: "My lady comes from a scholarly family. To have these hands that hold the brush and grind ink doing such work—I feel guilty!"

Hearing this, Lady Feng laughed lightly: "If I spent all my days in the inner chambers studying poetry and books, I would hardly be fit to be General Yang's wife! Helping my husband and raising our children is my proper duty—why should my husband feel guilty!"

Lady Feng's attitude was open and magnanimous. At this, Yang Ye could only sigh—to have such a wife, what more could a man ask?

Lady Feng then said: "My husband always says such things—I am unworthy of such praise!"

A dinner, the family together, the atmosphere harmonious. But halfway through the meal, a junior officer hurried in to report: "Army Commander, someone has come from the northern frontier to warn us—the Liao army within Yun-Shuo territory is making suspicious moves!"

Hearing this, Yang Ye immediately set aside his tenderness and became serious. He turned to look at Lady Feng, who gave him a virtuous smile: "Since there is military intelligence, my husband should make preparations and respond early—do not delay!"