Chapter 729: Heap of Earth

The four riders, who caused no trouble, came and went in the vast Dazhan City, like a drop of water falling into a chasm, stirring no ripples whatsoever.

After Xu Fengnian settled matters with Zhang Xiucheng, he quickly left the restaurant. When seeing him off, Qingzhu Niang only spoke one sentence: during their last parting, he had given her a saying, and this time she would return it to him. Xu Fengnian smiled and said he accepted it.

Zhang Xiucheng returned to the window of the private room, watching the four riders disappear down the street. He did not turn. The woman was slowly clearing the wine pots, wine cups, and the dishes that had held wine accompaniments. Qingzhu Niang gracefully smiled, "What can't be said? He told me to live well last time, and there's no greater truth in the world than that."

Zhang Xiucheng sighed with emotion, "This world is about to descend into chaos."

"Then don't say it, Qingzhu Niang."

Zhang Xiucheng turned around, somewhat puzzled. "It really can't be said? But I talked so much with him; Qingzhu Niang, didn't you guess?"

Qingzhu Niang's cheeks flushed slightly. "I don't know what I was thinking at the time. Anyway, it feels like I can't remember anything now."

Zhang Xiucheng paused, suppressing a laugh. "Just think of him as Xu Lang. His true identity will eventually be revealed anyway; by then, even if you flee back to Beimang and cover your ears, it won't help. From the details of how he treated that maidservant, one can tell that while he might not be a 'good person,' he certainly isn't bad."

Qingzhu Niang rolled her eyes at this Taoist, who always liked to mock himself for only exorcising demons in old texts, and softly said, "He's quite bad, actually."

Zhang Xiucheng did not understand and was unwilling to get involved in this matter, lest he end up in an awkward position. Oh, by the way, after the 'submergence of the Central Plains' in the eyes of Spring and Autumn scholars, some ill-mouthed scholar said something very damaging that spread widely: "Xu Xiao looking in the mirror, he's not human inside or out." When Zhang Xiucheng first settled in Jizhou, he didn't understand, but later he learned it was to insult the old King of Northern Liang for killing too many people, calling him a vengeful spirit who invaded the mortal realm. As for other sayings like "The Grand General walks, one leg high, one leg low," this was simple and straightforward, subtly mocking Xu Xiao for being lame. "A crooked beam leads to a crooked pillar" was once used to ridicule the hunchbacked Human Butcher and his profligate eldest son Xu Fengnian, but with Xu Fengnian's growing fame, few people mentioned it anymore.

Zhang Xiucheng sighed, regretting that he wouldn't be able to see the Grand General, who was so meritorious that he overshadowed his lord and still met a good end. Dismissing these useless thoughts, Zhang Xiucheng looked out the window at the sky. He, too, should leave the city soon; the Chief was waiting for his news. Zhang Xiucheng suddenly sat back down, told Qingzhu Niang to put the cups, chopsticks, and dishes back, poured a cup of wine, and slowly drank it.

She leaned against the window, quietly watching the bustling, noisy foreign market.

After the four riders of Xu Fengnian passed Yanping Pass north of Dazhan City, to prevent complications, they abandoned their horses and proceeded on foot, crossing mountains and ridges, quickly heading north along rarely traversed mountain paths. Mi Fengjie and Fan Xiaochai were both impressed by the child; they just couldn't comprehend it. Of course, it never occurred to them that the shepherd boy, Yu Dilong, had inherited half of Wang Xianzhi's mantle. During their trip to Jizhou, Xu Fengnian always managed to find Liuzai accurately, relaying updates on the Youzhou battle situation. As the group of four hurried along the high ridge of a canyon, Xu Fengnian suddenly stopped again, raising his arm to support the magnificent sea eagle that descended from the clouds. Mi Fengjie noticed that the normally placid King of Northern Liang looked somewhat grave this time, standing entranced on the cliff edge. Yu Dilong plopped down on the ground, took off his sturdy leather boots, and inverted them to shake out the irritating grit.

Mi Fengjie couldn't help but ask, "Is the battle at Hulu Pass going unfavorably?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head. "The first engagement at Zaoma Stockade, the casualties on both sides were actually within the expectations of Chu Lushan and Yan Wenluan. But according to the intelligence I've received so far, some 'unexpected' factors outside the battlefield must be taken seriously. Yang Yuanzan personally led the vanguard directly to Wogong City. Since ancient times, northern nomadic peoples, who live half their lives on horseback, are naturally skilled in horsemanship and archery. But in the early days of the Great Feng Dynasty, it still maintained an absolute advantage over the grassland forces. You might not imagine that even in the late Great Feng Dynasty, without relying on strong fortresses or elite bows and crossbows, the Feng army could still fight the grassland cavalry to a stalemate. The reversal of victory and defeat only happened in the last two hundred years. Countless border trades involving smuggling for huge profits, coupled with two centuries of numerous southern raids and plunder, allowed the northern grasslands to acquire a considerable number of artisans and ironware. Furthermore, when the Spring and Autumn scholars fled north with Hong Jia, they brought a wealth of population, profound Central Plains culture, and subtly changed military philosophies to Beimang. Dong Zhuo's private army, for example, prioritizing infantry, siege warfare, and auxiliary troops, is one significant change."

Xu Fengnian squatted down, scooped up a handful of yellow earth, and gently clenched it in his palm, saying, "Beimang claims to have committed three hundred thousand troops to the eastern front. If we were to go back thirty or forty years, to the early Spring and Autumn Nine Kingdoms in the Central Plains, we would naturally assume that 'three hundred thousand troops' meant at most a hundred thousand combat soldiers. Even with additional civilian laborers for transporting grain and auxiliary troops for maintaining provisions and equipment, it wouldn't reach three hundred thousand. This bad habit of bolstering one's own courage before battle – Xu Xiao might not have been the first to resist it, but he was certainly the most resolute and thorough martial general in his resistance. From the moment he began attacking the various separatist forces in Liyang, if he had five thousand troops, he would say five thousand. Later, a huge joke arose: when he first fought Northern Han, the Northern Han frontline generals heard intelligence that Xu Xiao brought twenty thousand troops on his campaign. The defending general calculated, 'Well, according to old rules, it's only six or seven thousand, at most ten thousand. This battle can be fought, no need to retreat.' In the end, that Northern Han general was captured by Xu Xiao. Before being beheaded as a sacrifice, he furiously cursed Xu Xiao as a great liar. Xu Xiao was so enraged that he kicked out half of the general's teeth and cursed back, 'When I say twenty thousand, I mean twenty thousand! I'm an honest man, I don't deceive young or old! How dare you call such an honest man a liar?!'"

Yu Dilong had been swinging his two boots back and forth, as if trying to catch some air in them. Hearing this, he quieted down and pricked up his ears, listening to his master talk about something so distant from him: "war."

Xu Fengnian tightened his grip, feeling the cool earth in his palm. He sighed, "Leaving aside the Beimang central line in Liangzhou and the western line in Liuzhou, the three hundred thousand on the eastern line in Youzhou comprise over two hundred thousand combat soldiers. Moreover, the remaining hundred thousand auxiliary troops are actually no different from combat soldiers. Beimang has many cavalry and few infantry. Dong Zhuo set a rule that for this campaign, combat soldiers are strictly forbidden from setting up tents during their swift advances; they must sleep dismounted with their eyes closed and fight mounted with their eyes open. The reason for the hundred thousand auxiliary troops is largely to target Hulu Pass's fortress system. Yang Yuanzan's strategy against the Zaoma stockade cluster is to hand over the task of attacking and capturing these fortresses to various auxiliary forces. Most of the commanding generals among these hundred thousand auxiliary troops have fathers who were refugees from the Spring and Autumn period, or are themselves Spring and Autumn refugees in their forties or fifties. As for Yang Yuanzan's personal army and Hong Jingyan's Rouran Iron Cavalry, these main cavalry forces bypass the stockades directly, driving straight down, striving to reach Wogong City as quickly as possible. When the main army besieges the city and siege equipment arrives, the rear lines will have been mostly cleared, and the conscripted civilian laborers responsible for grain supply in Longyao Prefecture can continuously and safely move south. Therefore, in this war, Beimang and Dong Zhuo are fighting very much like 'Central Plains' strategists."

Fan Xiaochai, who had been listening with furrowed brows, finally interrupted with a sharp question, "So, the fortresses north of Wogong City are clearly meant to be annihilated. Why didn't Youzhou simply line up Wogong, Luanhe, and Xiaguang cities in a row at the northernmost point of Hulu Pass? Wouldn't that block the Beimang army outside the pass? And you wouldn't have to worry about the various fortress clusters being slowly eroded by the Beimang cavalry. Ultimately, you in Northern Liang, for the sake of your vaunted reputation as 'foremost under heaven,' don't care about the lives of your soldiers!"

Mi Fengjie looked at the woman with an expression reserved for idiots. A rare smile appeared on the old man's withered face, though this smile certainly had nothing to do with goodwill. It wasn't that Mi Fengjie immediately caught the loopholes in Fan Xiaochai's words. The Sword Cave Master's thoughts were extremely simple: how could a Northern Liang general who had been steeped in blood on battlefields and lain among piles of corpses, especially an old general like Yan Wenluan who had proven his military genius in the Spring and Autumn wars, be a fool seeking fame?

Xu Fengnian did not mock Fan Xiaochai for speaking carelessly or ridicule her for being narrow-minded. Instead, he raised his earth-clenched fist and pointed at the canyon at their feet, calmly saying, "Hulu Pass is not here. I have personally traveled beyond the border, and I can generally imagine how wide the mouth of Hulu Pass truly is. Moreover, in military affairs, where to build cities against mountains, where to construct barriers and chokepoints, where to build forts by water, and where to erect beacons in dangerous terrain, all have specific considerations and various complex adaptations. Hulu Pass is the most strategically advantageous and the only defensive stronghold with natural depth in Northern Liang. You say that the soldiers in the fortresses are meant to die, and you are actually correct. Once a 'great enemy approaches,' the danger these defenders face is insufficient for them to 'defend to live'; they can only 'defend to the death.'"

Xu Fengnian clenched his fist. The wind and sand from the cliff struck his face, blowing his temple hair into disarray. He said, "Northern Liang only told Liyang that Hulu Pass could swallow fifteen or sixteen thousand northern barbarians, but most Central Plains people are unwilling to believe it. If it were said that Yan Wenluan initially intended for all five hundred thousand Youzhou defenders in the three cities and two hundred fortresses of Hulu Pass to die in battle there..."

Xu Fengnian, whose tone had remained level, paused slightly, then smiled. "Perhaps even if the Central Plains heard of this, they would pretend not to have heard. Maybe they'd utter an 'Oh,' and then there would be no follow-up. They would continue drinking, admiring snow, and engaging in pure conversation. Life is short, so one must enjoy it to the fullest."

Fan Xiaochai bit her lip, still stubbornly asking, "One person is willing to fight to the death, a hundred are willing, even a thousand are willing, but are all fifty thousand Youzhou border troops truly willing to die in Hulu Pass, knowing they will perish? Their parents gave them two legs; won't they flee?"

Mi Fengjie finally had a righteous reason to lecture this woman who knew nothing but killing. He scoffed, "How could a descendant of a former first-rank noble of Northern Han possibly understand how Northern Liang people think? The Grand General only took charge of Northern Liang about twenty years ago, and the army's morale is still strong. Moreover, the Northern Liang border has not been peaceful all these years. Soldiers go to war, kill enemies; Northern Liang is foremost under heaven, not just because of its fine horses, bows, crossbows, and Liang blades. At its root, it's that spirit that sustains it! Do you understand, Fan Xiaochai?!"

Xu Fengnian did not commit himself, merely saying softly with a hint of bitterness, "Northern Liang has always claimed to have three hundred thousand iron cavalry. Those busybodies in Liyang have always been very curious about how much wealth Xu Xiao accumulated for me, how many cavalry and infantry there are, and how many border troops versus local garrisons."

Yu Dilong softly asked, "Master, how many are there, really?"

A fleeting look of wistful distraction appeared on Xu Fengnian's face. After turning his head, he smiled gently and said, "Guess?"

Yu Dilong shook his head.

Xu Fengnian looked back at the northwestern sky. There was once an old man, who had aged without him noticing, who loved to say "Guess?" Xu Fengnian would always roll his eyes and retort, "Guess your grandpa!" and the old man would just smile and reply, "That's right, he's your father."

Xu Fengnian reined in these fleeting thoughts and said in a deep voice, "The Youzhou garrison at Hulu Pass is willing to defend to the death for the reasons Mi Fengjie mentioned, but there's a more important reason he didn't state. Northern Liang has less than two million households. Limited by its small territory, no matter how much it recovers, its population remains under ten million. So I ask you a simple question: with only two million households, how can Northern Liang's military number hundreds of thousands? Which household doesn't have someone serving in the army?! If the Northern Liang border army is annihilated, which household won't need to wear mourning clothes?!"

Xu Fengnian gritted his teeth. "Almost all the young and strong men of Youzhou are in the local Youzhou army. Behind all the garrisons in the three cities and two hundred fortresses of Hulu Pass, almost within arm's reach, are their hometowns! If one more of them dies, their family might live one more day! The principle is that simple!"

Xu Fengnian slowly stood up and said, "Yan Wenluan, who oversees the Youzhou military affairs, established an unwritten rule. When Xu Xiao was alive, countless Youzhou officials vehemently attacked it. After I inherited the title, all scholars who came to Liang, including Huang Shang, strongly demanded that this rule be abolished."

Mi Fengjie was unaware of this, but Fan Xiaochai, who had become a major spy for the Fushui Chamber, knew it well.

"The Youzhou border army has an iron rule: anyone who retreats in battle, once confirmed, will have their entire family executed!"

"Yan Wenluan once personally told me that he could step down as the commander of Northern Liang's infantry, and even hand over military authority in Youzhou to others, but this rule, until his death in battle, no one can change. Not even I, Xu Fengnian!"

Xu Fengnian exhaled a turbid breath, squinting his eyes and softly murmuring, "This is war, and this is Northern Liang."

The mountain wind was sharp. Xu Fengnian stood on the cliff edge, somewhat distant from the other three, appearing a little solitary.

Fan Xiaochai hesitated, then asked, "What do we do next?"

Xu Fengnian smiled. "We do whatever we can. Since coming to Jizhou, I've been doing the same thing throughout this journey."

Mi Fengjie, who had noticed something earlier, cautiously asked, "Is Your Highness trying to return to the peak of martial arts?"

Xu Fengnian replied, "When mountains end and rivers cease, one doubts there's a path; and even if there truly is no path beneath my feet, I must forge one myself."

Outside Dunhuang City stood a giant stone Buddha, formed from a mighty mountain.The Great Buddha, day after day, year after year, smiled upon the human world, pitying its inhabitants.In the main hall of Wudang Mountain stood Emperor Zhenwu, holding his sword for hundreds of years.Inside the Holy Temple, the Most Holy, the Second Holy, and countless accompanying sages, though dead, their spirit remained.

He softly recited, "Observing ultimate freedom, one sees ultimate freedom; when there is no other, there is no self. Inquire where one truly resides at this moment; knowing one's place brings natural ease. The Tathagata Buddha, the Buddha who has come; there is a future, there is what is yet to be. Pondering how this life came to be, having passed through it is like seeing the Tathagata."

Taoists sit in oblivion to comprehend longevity. Buddhists meditate to seek release. Confucians uphold benevolence, observe rites, and embody fortitude.

Xu Fengnian closed his eyes, extended his hand, and let the strong wind scatter the handful of yellow sand in his palm.

When Xu Fengnian finally arrived at Hengshui City, a middle-aged man, specially dressed in a plain Confucian robe, came out alone to greet him, spoke a sentence, and presented him with an item.

As Xu Fengnian rode away, the Bangyan scholar of Yonghui's sixth year bowed deeply in farewell.

"I left Jiangnan in the seventh year of Yonghui, carrying with me a bag of my hometown soil. Fourteen years later, the soil has long since dispersed and vanished, leaving only this old cloth bag. I earnestly request that after my death, should the hooves of Northern Liang one day tread upon the heartland of Beimang, then please take a handful of Beimang soil and offer a distant sacrifice to Wei Jingtang!"