Chapter 953: Paving the Path with Blood

To ensure military orders could be delivered safely to Sangzhou, the number of messengers doubled at every checkpoint; by the time the orders reached Zhuozhou's territory, their number had swelled to a full hundred!

These hundred messengers approached Sangzhou by various means—some galloped on warhorses, others disguised themselves as civilians, or even impersonated Di messengers.

Unfortunately, the Di lands were vast and sparsely populated, and with heavy winter snow, even the well-trained Jin Yi Wei messengers could advance no more than a few miles per day through the deep snow; to ensure the orders reached as quickly as possible, they had no choice but to follow the Official Road or rural paths where snow was thinner and flatter.

But this meant they had to find ways to slip through the enemy's layers of checkpoints.

The enemy could not concentrate their main forces within their borders, yet due to the heavy snow, local defenses had become impregnable.

To deliver the orders, over one hundred seventy messengers died; no matter how perfectly they disguised themselves, they were still filtered out and exposed by the layers of checkpoints.

In contrast, those messengers who forced their way through checkpoints, galloping hard on horseback and using the snow to shake off pursuers, managed to reach positions closer to Sangzhou.

Unfortunately, news of Qin Feng's secret mission had already spread across all of Zhuozhou; garrisons and county cities throughout Zhuozhou were all hunting down Jin Yi Wei messengers, and so far, not a single messenger had succeeded in reaching Sangzhou.

In just this single day, eighteen messengers who had forced their way through checkpoints were intercepted and sacrificed heroically one after another.

Yet even in such dire circumstances, one messenger remained less than five li from Sangzhou!

He wore a thick fur overcoat, his body wrapped in white cloth, first riding a warhorse to break through a checkpoint, then immediately abandoning the horse and vanishing into the wasteland, lying flat beneath deep snow to conceal his form, inching slowly toward Sangzhou's border.

The pursuers had already discovered the abandoned warhorse, but seeing the messenger vanish into the snow, they were helpless—few raiding cavalry lacked the capacity for large-scale searches.

After a day and night of crawling, the border was within reach, but the messenger's hands had frozen solid, completely numb; he could only push forward with his legs, inching forward bit by bit.

Finally crossing the border, the messenger fell into utter despair.

For behind the border lay endless snow and vast stretches of Wuren District.

After all, Sangzhou had once been Di territory, equally vast and sparsely populated; the messenger, relying on terrifying willpower, crawled for another half-day until far beyond the border, then used his last breath to pull a stone from his chest, clenching it between his teeth, scraping sparks to ignite his cloak.

A small flame flared into fire, but the fire lasted only a moment before being smothered by his own flesh, extinguished by the barrier of blood and tissue.

A wisp of smoke rose into the air, then vanished instantly.

A villager digging rabbit holes several li away happened to see that wisp of smoke and immediately reported it to the Village Chief, who swiftly notified the Li Zhang; the news climbed up the chain until, the next day, it reached the army camp; the garrison troops, assuming enemy activity, immediately dispatched a hundred-man light cavalry unit to investigate.

When they found the messenger, he was already frozen into an ice block, over half his clothing burned away, his body curled tightly, clutching his chest as if guarding something.

The garrison soldiers did not recognize Jin Yi Wei messengers, but they recognized the armor plates on his inner lining—crafted by Tianji Camp.

Realizing this corpse was likely a friendly soldier, they hurriedly carried it back to camp; once thawed by campfire, they carefully pried open his arms and, upon discovering the military order and secret letter sealed within the armor, understood the gravity of the situation and immediately dispatched cavalry to Xiongying Ridge.

Due to snow-blocked roads and impassable terrain, the military order and secret letter reached Li Zhang only three days later.

After reading the order, Li Zhang did not hesitate and shouted: "Send messengers at once to Beixi County—order Xu Mo to mobilize troops and march north to attack Zhuozhou! Also, prepare the three generals to respond to any emergency!"

"Deliver the strategic secret letter to the interior—to Grand Commandant Qin Feng—without error!"

"Launch immediate offensive against the Wild Emperor Party in Zhuozhou!"

"Each garrison in Sangzhou must send one thousand troops to assemble at Xiongying Ridge."

"Collect the body of the messenger who sacrificed himself to deliver the order, place it in a coffin, and return it to Beixi County; inform County Magistrate Lin Quqi of the reason and hold a Military Funeral."

"Given how difficult it was to deliver this order, countless messengers must have perished along the way—contact the Jin Yi Wei; register all confirmed fallen messengers. Since Di has entered a state of war, we cannot recover their bodies; temporarily hold a ceremonial burial with clothing and insignia alongside this messenger, record their names, and await the war's end to find a way to return their remains to their homeland."

Li Zhang issued these orders with utmost speed, never forgetting Qin Feng's military philosophy: no soldier shall die in vain.

All he could do was this; compensation and resettlement for the messengers' families would be handled by Lin Quqi—none of Li Zhang's concern.

Jing Qianying, upon learning the order had arrived, hurried over; hearing Qin Feng had held fast to Changshui County, and the Winter War had finally begun, she clenched her fists in excitement.

She had waited so long—this day had finally come!

"Your Highness, I will join the Vanguard and advance—urgently break through the enemy's DefensiveLine to relieve Feng'er!"

Considering Jing Qianying's noble status, if anything happened to her, no one would inherit the Imperial Throne; even if Di were conquered, what meaning would it hold? It would only bring the shame of an unjustified campaign.

Li Zhang's tone was firm: "Yu Shu, this is not yet the time for you to go to the Front Line. If the battle turns unfavorable, you will naturally need to appear to boost Military Morale."

"The Vanguard will join the Wild Emperor Party to launch the first assault on Zhuozhou's key counties—the fighting will be fierce; it is too dangerous for you."

"Wait until Xu Mo arrives in Sangzhou, then accompany him across the border."

Though Jing Qianying was desperate to move, she knew Li Zhang had been promoted by Qin Feng to Main General, holding absolute Command Authority from the Rear; she could not defy his orders, so she gritted her teeth and waited for Xu Mo, Main General of Beixi, to arrive.

But now that the Winter War had begun, crossing the border was merely a matter of time—and it would come soon!

Jing Qianying rushed out the Door, looked up at the snowstorm sweeping in, and declared firmly: "Feng'er, wait for me—we will reunite soon!"