Chapter 690

"Wu Zun, I entrust you to lead ten thousand troops with the civilians and establish camp directly at the main gate of Yanmen Pass, awaiting my next order!"

After assigning Wang Xiaojie, Bolhu gave orders to Bi Xuan.

Yesterday, Bi Xuan openly defied military orders and suffered a defeat, which shook morale.

According to military law, he should have received at least the punishment of bastinado.

But Bolhu did not enforce military law; instead, he granted him a merit.

Now Bi Xuan was much more obedient; after accepting the order on horseback, he departed with Wulisu's troops.

"The remaining troops are divided into two parts: one ten thousand strong to proceed to Dongmen, the rest will follow me to Nanmen."

Yanmen Pass has only three gates: Dongmen, Beizhen, and Nanmen.

The west side is bordered by a towering mountain.

With the deployment settled, the Yuan army and civilians immediately moved according to orders.

Watching the Yuan army's maneuvers outside the city, they soon surrounded Yanmen Pass completely.

Yuchi Zhen smiled faintly, knowing the Yuan army had not followed military doctrine by attempting the classic "encircle but leave an opening."

In truth, they intended to starve the defenders inside.

It also signaled the Yuan's absolute determination to take Yanmen Pass.

After calculating the time, according to Di Renjie's estimation, once Youzhou fell,

and the Yuan captured Beizhen and began preparing to attack Lanruo Temple,

I could then act without restraint.

According to Di Renjie's calculation, there were still seven days!

Seven days from now, I will make this Yuan army regret it!

After the Yuan forces at each gate took their positions, they established camps and prepared defenses.

Then Bolhu personally led Meng Chixing and the other generals, riding their horses to the base of the southern wall.

"Hear me, Tang soldiers! This is Grand General Bolhu of the Great Yuan! Have your commander of Yanmen Pass come forward to speak!"

Bolhu's personal guards shouted loudly toward the city wall.

The Tang defenders atop the wall had already seen Bolhu's standard appear and knew the enemy commander had arrived.

They immediately relayed the news to Yuchi Zhen.

Upon receiving the news, Yuchi Zhen had already arrived there.

At this moment, he appeared on the ramparts in civilian attire, and the defenders beside him immediately introduced him,

"This is Lord Sikong of the Tang, Right Grand General of the Jin Wuwei, Yuchi Zhen—Yanmen Pass is now under Lord Yuchi's command."

Bolhu let out a soft exclamation; he had faced off against the Tang's northwestern frontier troops for years.

He knew nearly all the commanders stationed at Yanmen Pass.

He had assumed that with Wang Xiaojie gone, one of the familiar generals would take command of the defense.

Yet he never expected the Tang to send such a young Lord Sikong here.

Judging by his age, he was barely in his early twenties.

How could such a young man be dispatched here?

Could he possess astonishing cultivation, or perhaps unparalleled military strategy?

Upon hearing Yuchi Zhen's title, Bolhu's mind raced with possibilities.

"So this is Lord Sikong of the Tang in person—Bolhu offers his respects."

The Tang operated under the Three Departments and Six Ministries system; the title of Lord Sikong was, in fact, an honorary post.

Yet to hold such a title at such a young age clearly meant Yuchi Zhen was no ordinary man.

Bolhu first saluted from horseback, then gestured with his whip, saying,

"Lord Sikong, my Great Yuan has mobilized one hundred thousand troops southward; your nation's northwestern Erzhou has seen its military and civilians flee in terror.

Now, across the entire thousand-li expanse of northwestern Erzhou, only Yanmen Pass resists—yet why do you so foolishly defy Heaven's will?"

Yuchi Zhen knew Bolhu, who prided himself as a strategist, would surely follow the Central Plains tradition of diplomacy before battle.

Hearing his words, he confirmed his suspicion.

He couldn't help smiling inwardly, and replied casually,

"Why does General Bolhu believe the Tang military and civilians have abandoned Erzhou?

Is what you see always the truth?"

This was pure sophistry. The Yuan's three thousand elite vanguard cavalry

had scouted the thousand-li region, and though some Tang civilians had not evacuated,

in truth, the vast majority had retreated behind Xiao Pass.

Bolhu had no confirmed intelligence from Xiao Pass, but he firmly trusted his three thousand vanguard cavalry's reports.

Yet his belief did not mean his subordinates shared it.

Hearing Yuchi Zhen's bold bluff, the generals could not suppress their doubt.

After all, even though northwestern Erzhou was impoverished by Tang standards,

it still housed one to two million households.

To avoid drawing the attention of the Yuan's western army, they evacuated one to two million households—

such an action completely exceeded the judgment of Yuan commanders at all levels, even that of Mu Huali.

Bolhu had already reported this situation to Mu Huali.

Upon learning of it, Mu Huali found it inconceivable and ordered Bolhu to proceed with caution.

This was one reason Bolhu had remained cautious since his southern advance.

As Yuchi Zhen said, these one to two million soldiers and civilians never actually moved south—they hid instead.

The thought of suddenly being stabbed in the back by a dense swarm of Tang soldiers and civilians during his siege made them shudder.

These Great Yuan generals, imagining this scene, could not help but feel a chill of fear.

"Enough! Stop making false excuses."

But Bolhu would not be swayed by this, and said,

"Out of pity for the cruelty of war, I cannot bear to see these loyal and brave Tang soldiers bleed pointlessly here."

Therefore, I grant Lord Sikong and the soldiers of Mancheng a little time.

If you surrender, I guarantee your lives will be spared.

Those willing to stay may enroll in the Great Yuan's household registers on the spot.

Those unwilling to stay may be safely repatriated to Chang'an of the Tang.

I give you half a day to decide.

At dawn tomorrow, we will launch the assault!

When that time comes, all will be destroyed—when the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be left alive!"

Indeed, Bolhu had merely come to play the game of undermining morale.

He sought to use the might of his hundred-thousand-strong army to crush the morale of the Tang defenders.

Once the Tang defenders' morale broke, the Great Yuan's losses in taking Yanmen Pass would shrink considerably.

"Tang shall triumph!"

Yuchi Zhen heard this and noticed that some young soldiers nearby had indeed shown a flicker of fear.

Yet he paid it no mind and simply said,

As soon as he spoke, the Tang soldiers on the wall all rallied and shouted together,

"Tang shall triumph!"

Then this cry spread into Chengguan.

The Tang defenders who had been resting now stepped out and spontaneously raised their voices in shout,

"Tang shall triumph!"

In the end, the chant reached the northern and eastern walls.

The five thousand Tang defenders remaining at Yanmen Pass all shouted in unison,

"Tang shall triumph!"

Though five thousand Tang defenders were few, and their voices were not necessarily loud,