Chapter 304

After dawn, Upper Valley Pass sprang into action; now only Wu Jian guarded the pass. He got up as usual to practice martial arts, worked up a sweat, and was about to go wash and have breakfast.

Since following the Eastern Capital Marquis and eating well, they no longer worry about food and clothing. This year's seeds for the military farms are all sponsored by Manager Zhu Da.

Humming a song, he had just stepped outside when he heard the urgent assembly bell ringing sharply inside the camp.

Before he could be confused for long, a soldier rushed over to report an enemy attack!

"Looks like, conservatively estimated, over fifty thousand, and they'll reach Upper Valley Pass in a little more than an hour."

Wu Jian cursed, and another surprise attack!

He couldn't even wash; he hurried back to put on his armor, and the whole Upper Valley Pass sprang into action.

This enemy assault made the atmosphere exceptionally tense. Upper Valley Pass now is not what it used to be; at most it has twenty thousand troops—can it withstand fifty or sixty thousand Northern Bearded?

All gathered, Wu Jian's expression grave as he encouraged them. Actually there's no need to say much; there's no choice—if the pass falls, we all die, so to survive we must fight.

When the border troops had all gathered at the pass gate, they could already see the enemy's silhouettes.

Wu Jian stood on high ground and estimated the enemy size himself; his face grew ever graver—not just fifty thousand!

"Report—!"

"What report? What's wrong? Have the Xiongnu come too?"

"No, not that! A unit has also come from the east—it's Commander Zhao of Secluded Province!"

This time Wu Jian's heart leapt into his throat; he was happy yet muttered, 'I only just found out—Secluded Province arrived this quickly?'

It must be a coincidence.

As a result, Zhao Chuan copied the tactic, hanging the still‑alive leaders of the Xianbei Three Tribes on the outer wall of Upper Valley Pass, leaving him dumbfounded.

Not a coincidence—pure support.

What level of divine stratagem is this? Youzhou has already been deified in his mind.

The three Xianbei tribes also went all out for this southern advance; earlier reports were all victories, they smoothly fought their way to Chang'an and began negotiations, and they even obtained the territorial concessions and reparations they wanted.

Celebrations and banquets in the royal cities of each tribe began.

But after waiting left and right, the meritorious officials never returned, and the silver vanished without a trace.

The festivities were halted; they finally sensed something was wrong. They sent scouts to investigate, who reported that Youzhou and Yizhou appeared normal, with Youzhou still under the rule of the You Prince.

Even if they were foolish, they now knew something had happened—entry and exit from Youzhou required a travel permit, and security was tight. The scouts went to Yizhou, where the locals said the Northern Barbarian army had been utterly annihilated by the You Prince!

No living person seen, no corpse found.

The scouts didn't believe it, asking where the bodies were; the reply: they were burned.

The news returned to the Xianbei; two of the three tribes exploded in fury, while only the Eastern Xianbei tucked in their tails, taking no part and staying silent.

The Tufa Xianbei and Western Xianbei, enraged, combined forces and marched south again.

The king skipped meals, crouching in his room to watch the battle at Shanggu Pass; it made his heart pound and his nerves fray—he had never been this nervous even when he himself went onto the battlefield.

Zhao Chuan left the relatively elite Eastern Division in Youzhou, taking the Western Division and the recently recalled slave army to the Shanggu Pass battlefield.

These troops couldn't match the elite forces he had brought out, but they were far stronger than the Shanggu Pass defenders, and they were well equipped.

The Shanggu Pass garrison had just barely eaten, their spirits were so-so; they wore the court's standard iron armor, and their weapons were nothing special. These men could really die, and the king stayed tense throughout.

Whenever someone was hit by an arrow or blade, he would sigh long and short, feeling heartbroken beyond endurance.

Wei Shen and Zhe Tian, who were crouched against the wall outside, were utterly bewildered: '... What is this? Aren't you confident about a lightning strike on the Western Regions? This doesn't seem right... Could it be that you've discovered some difficulty?'

Wei Shen shoved Zhe Tian, saying, 'Go in and have a look!'

Zhe Tian turned and snapped at him, 'Why aren't you going in? Dare you harm Lord Zhe Tian!'

He paced inside, sighing, looking unhappy—should Lord Zhe Tian go in to find some education?

The two cowards outside shoved and sniped at each other until Bai Ze, who had finished loitering at Yumen Pass, returned and walked straight in; when they tried to follow and sneak in, the door slammed shut on its own, without wind.

Wei Shen pointed at the cold, merciless gate and asked Zhe Tian, 'Tell me the truth—where did Bai Ze pick that up?'

Zhe Tian kicked him and moved to squat by the other side of the door……

Inside the room, when the king saw Bai Ze enter, he dropped the pretense and put on a tearful, whiny expression.

Bai Ze slowly squatted down and calmly said, 'What expression is that? Did you lose?'

'No. But many died at Shanggu Pass.'

'War can't be without bloodshed; peace is bought with blood. After this, the Xianbei shouldn't rashly advance south again.'

The king gritted his teeth: 'Do they even get a turn? Wait till I flip over!'

The king understood the reasoning, but he couldn't shake his low spirits; except when he restrained himself before his maternal grandfather, he usually wore a sullen face, making outsiders think he had lost thousands of men.

After confirming he was all right, Wei Shen began to walk circles around him, not daring to provoke him.

Fortunately, such days didn't last long—the supply troops arrived!

Finally, the ten thousand cavalry that set out from Youzhou, bearing supplies and the six attendant officials prepared by the chief minister, reached Yumen Pass!

Tang Qian led his officers in another round of salivating; there was nothing else—just the sudden realization that the You Prince wasn't limited to just the ten thousand elite cavalry he had brought out.

The newly arrived ten thousand, from equipment to warhorses, were no different from the ten thousand crack troops they regarded as divine troops!

That makes twenty thousand!

With twenty thousand such equipped cavalry, a lightning strike on the Western Regions is nothing—sweeping south to overturn Chang'an in minutes is no dream!

Tang Qian swallowed his saliva, then concluded, 'Our Highness is a meticulous person.' Even now he lets his elder brother sit peacefully in Chang'an—what a brotherly bond that moves heaven and earth!

His close aides echoed him, then his soul retorted, 'General, you say Chang'an… do you know about it?'

'He definitely doesn't know.... Maybe he's heard rumors? Otherwise the Cui clan wouldn't have moved first against the Wei army; logically, as the second legitimate son and the one who holds the crown prince's position in Chang'an, that should be their primary rival—this Cui clan might actually know for sure.'

Everyone who looked at the king's cavalry felt covetous; under the earnest gazes of Tang Qian and his maternal grandfather, the king skillfully drew pies.

'Uncle Tang has followed me all this way; I won't shortchange my own people. Once I unify the northern borders and return to Youzhou, I'll immediately gather five thousand black-wind horses to send to Uncle Tang! No more than that—it still needs time to breed, but whoever suffers, it can't be our frontier troops!'

Tang Qian's mouth curled up endlessly, Marquis Wei Ting hurriedly asked, "You have this much? Then giving Old Tang two thousand would be enough; give the rest to my grandfather to distribute. Next time we have more, we'll give him some. The Western Regions lightning strike plan succeeded—Jade Gate Pass will be much more peaceful. What do we need such fine warhorses for? Our Prosperous Prefecture is in chaos!"

Nonsense! Our defensive area is huge, and we still have to guard against Everlasting Peace!

You switch roles pretty fast!

Never mind, anyway give the five thousand to Jade Gate Pass first!

Then Prosperous Prefecture needs two thousand first...

Great King: ……

He swallowed back the words that he would also give the next batch to his grandfather and give five thousand when the time came.

Only what one snatches for oneself is especially fragrant.