Chapter 843: Receiving Orders

A group of people walked along the access ramp onto the patrol path of the new city's northern wall section. Among them was Li Gongde, the Beiliang Provincial Commissioner. This leader of civilian officials, who had once enjoyed a life of ease in Lingzhou and was formerly known as the top official in Beiliang, had personally attended to almost every matter since becoming the Governor of Xincheng. He had lost nearly twenty pounds and, though showing signs of fatigue, was as rejuvenated and spirited as a withered tree coming back to life, no less energetic than a young person. For the past six months, Li Gongde rarely wore his official uniform. It wasn't that the Commissioner no longer cared for the demeanor of a high-ranking border official; rather, this "iron rooster" truly felt pained by the cost of replacing official uniforms, eventually opting to appear in civilian clothes. It was said he had changed over a dozen pairs of boots, gradually transitioning from flashy but impractical ones to durable and affordable options, opting for whatever was most sturdy.

Today, however, Li Gongde wore his second-rank official uniform with a pheasant emblem. He walked alongside Yuan Zuozong, the commander of the Beiliang Cavalry and the highest-ranking military official, positioned to the left and right of the young lord. Besides these two leading civil and military officials, who were key ministers of Beiliang, the assembled group was considerable. Only Chu Lushan, the Protector-General of Beiliang, who needed to monitor border movements north of Hutou City, and Yan Wenluan and Chen Yunchui, two veteran infantry commanders, who were busy with the reconstruction of Hukou Pass, were not present. The rest, including cavalry deputy commanders He Zhonghu and Zhou Kang (the "Brocade Partridge"), infantry deputy commander Gu Dazu, Liangzhou Prefect Tian Peifang, the newly appointed Liangzhou General Shi Fu, and Hu Kui, Prefect and top military and civil official in Youzhou, along with Youzhou General Huangfu Ping, all appeared on the city wall today. Li Mofan from the Dragon Elephant Army was present, as were Chen Xiliang from Liuzhou and Kou Jianghuai, the Liuzhou General who used a pseudonym externally. From Youzhou, there was also cavalry commander Yu Luandao, Hong Xinjia, who single-handedly built the Wubao Fortress system at Hukou Pass, and Cao Xiaojiao, the powerful general who earned the nickname "Swift Blade" in the battle of Hukou Pass. It was this controversial general, leading four thousand cavalry alongside Yu Luandao, who completely blocked the retreat route of Beimang's Grand General Yang Yuanzan's personal army. Furthermore, it was Cao Xiaojiao himself who personally beheaded Yang Yuanzan.

The city wall's top indeed featured a functional patrol path. The outer battlements on the north side were complete, and the inner parapet, commonly known as 'pinie', was also nearing completion. Next would be the construction of the gate tower above the main northern gate. Xu Fengnian stood at a merlon and gazed north. From this point, stretching all the way north to the Huaiyang Pass, Willow Bud, and Fuling defense line, was flat terrain ideal for cavalry maneuvers. He Zhonghu's Left Cavalry and Jinzhegu Zhou Kang's Right Cavalry were stationed there. In Xu Xiao and Li Yishan's original conception, if Beimang were to capture Hutou City, these two main Beiliang cavalry forces stationed outside the pass would suffer the heaviest casualties. However, because of the heavy casualties Beimang sustained on the left and right flank battlefields during the first Beiliang-Beimang war—namely, Qingcang City in Liuzhou and Hukou Pass in Youzhou—and their failure to establish a firm foothold, an unprecedented outcome occurred: these two Beiliang cavalry forces, totaling over seventy thousand troops, suffered no casualties. This was also the true confidence Beiliang had for fighting the second war against Beimang.

Xu Fengnian multitasked, simultaneously listening to Li Gongde's detailed account of the new city's progress and contemplating the upcoming cavalry deployments. Initially, to hold Liuzhou and gain strategic depth for Beiliang, the Dragon Elephant Army was expanded under Xu Xiao's command, increasing from ten thousand to thirty thousand troops with the requirement that it should not affect combat effectiveness. Border cavalry couldn't simply conjure up an additional twenty thousand troops, so elites were naturally drawn from the Left and Right Cavalry, which inevitably weakened the combat effectiveness of the main border cavalry. The problem now was that the thirty thousand Dragon Elephant troops were almost annihilated outside Qingcang City. Liuzhou, of course, absolutely could not be abandoned; in fact, it would become even more crucial in the future context of no warfare in Youzhou. What to do? Xu Fengnian, a grand master of martial arts, could wield his will as a sword, but even a Land Immortal wasn't a true deity who could conjure an army out of thin air. He could only continue to request men from He Zhonghu and Zhou Kang. Not only did the Dragon Elephant Army need men, but Kou Jianghuai, the Liuzhou general who had performed great deeds, also needed to establish his own loyal troops, and Yu Luandao's Youzhou cavalry, both logically and emotionally, required reinforcement. As a result, not to mention the hot-tempered Jinzhegu Zhou Kang, even He Zhonghu, who was usually very agreeable and willing to prioritize the bigger picture, privately approached him, the King of Beiliang, with great concern. The implication was that the Left Cavalry could spare men, but he hoped it wouldn't cripple them. Cao Wei wanting two thousand men was one thing, but Kou Jianghuai and Li Mofan, those two big figures in the Liuzhou army, were truly making outrageous demands: one wanted eight thousand, the other fifteen thousand! And they had to be veteran elites! He Zhonghu then wryly joked to Xu Fengnian, "Even if I disassembled all my old bones, I couldn't satisfy the appetites of these two generals." As for Zhou Kang, also a cavalry deputy commander, he was even more unyielding; he wouldn't even meet Kou Jianghuai or Li Mofan. He directly declared that he only had his old life to give, and not a single soldier from the Right Cavalry would be taken!

In this matter, only three people in all of Beiliang truly had a say: Chu Lushan of the Protectorate General's office, Xu Weixiong of Wutongyuan, and Xu Fengnian himself. Even others, like the "Spring and Autumn veteran" Yan Wenluan, whose accomplishments were so great they might eclipse the lord, as an infantry grand marshal, would certainly not interfere with cavalry affairs, especially such extremely sensitive large-scale changes. Gu Dazu, the progenitor of the "Theory of World Affairs," though part of the infantry, benefited from his lack of deep roots, allowing him to offer a suggestion or two. However, in the upheaval following the fall of Hutou City regarding whether to "fight or defend," he had fallen out with the entire pro-war faction of the border army and had even openly antagonized Zhou Kang, almost coming to blows. Yuan Zuozong, whether due to his status in the Xu family or his position and prestige in the Beiliang army, was also one of the few who could speak up. Unfortunately, Yuan Zuozong remained silent on the matter. Ostensibly, this was related to his current preoccupation with reorganizing the ten thousand Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and two heavy cavalry units, but Xu Fengnian knew full well that Yuan Zuozong was being considerate of Chu Lushan, who had remained silent after the war. And even if Xu Weixiong wanted to speak, Xu Fengnian didn't want her to.

Beiliang was different from Liyang. Deciding the life or death of others with a single word brought no joy, only burden.

As long as there was still a man in the Xu family, the burden would not fall on Xu Weixiong's shoulders.

Xu Fengnian gazed into the distance. In the martial world, he had experienced many life-or-death battles, often narrowly escaping death, but rarely felt lingering fear afterward. The deadly battle with Tuoba Pusa even left him feeling a bit unfulfilled. As for taking Qi Jiajie's sword strike and the Celestial Bureau's execution of the Celestial in Taian City, it was like turning a page in an old ledger—once turned, it was done. But this time, in the Beiliang-Beimang war, Xu Fengnian truly felt, for the first time, a sense of having survived a catastrophe, because Huang Man'er (Xu Longxiang) almost died outside Qingcang City. If not for Deputy General Wang Lingbao, Huang Man'er would truly have perished. This time, as soon as Huang Man'er heard his brother was coming to Xincheng, he led his cavalry back to Liuzhou that very night, perhaps out of fear of being reprimanded by Xu Fengnian, or perhaps due to an unspoken guilt. Huang Man'er dared not return to Qingliang Mountain in Liangzhou, where his second sister, Xu Weixiong, resided. For Xu Longxiang, the weight of his second sister's words when angry was no less, perhaps even greater, than Tuoba Pusa's full-force strike.

The sun set in the west, a full orb descending into the long river.

No more wolf smoke signaled danger at the border.

But in six months, or even less, scenes of widespread war would return.

In Beiliang's next major conflict, even if there wouldn't be major battles within Hukou Pass, there was now a new, unpredictable factor: Chen Zhibao, the King of Shu, in Western Shu, even further south of Lingzhou.

As long as Beimang continued to view the western front as its breakthrough point, Beiliang's precarious situation had not eased in the slightest.

They could only continue to trade lives for lives, with the outcome dependent on whether Beiliang could exchange one life for many, and how many lives of the Beimang barbarians one life could exchange.

Xu Fengnian let out a soft breath. Without turning around, he said in a deep voice, "Zhou Kang!"

Jinzhegu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subordinate is here!"

Xu Fengnian said calmly, "Including the two thousand cavalry from the Dasui Camp, a total of eight thousand men are to be transferred from the Right Cavalry to Yu Luandao's Youzhou Cavalry."

The old general Zhou Kang remained silent. Xu Fengnian didn't force the cavalry deputy commander to respond, and for a moment, the atmosphere on the city wall became heavy.

Zhou Kang finally gritted his teeth and said, "As you command!"

Xu Fengnian turned to Yu Luandao and said, "All Youzhou border cavalry are to be moved outside Liangzhou Pass, responsible for garrisoning the Kouer Pasture area. You have a maximum of six months for integration."

Yu Luandao said in a deep voice, "Your subordinate understands!"

Next, Xu Fengnian issued a series of military orders at a rapid pace:

"He Zhonghu, excluding the two thousand cavalry allocated to Cao Wei, transfer ten thousand cavalry, including the Tiebei Veteran Camp, to the Liuzhou Dragon Elephant Army."

"Yuan Zuozong will no longer command the Jibei Camp Cavalry; they are to be allocated to General Kou of Liuzhou."

"Shi Fu, you are authorized to draw five thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry from within Beiliang to garrison the Mabeipo area to the north."

"Hong Biao is promoted to commander of the Heavy Cavalry Rouge Army."

"Cao Xiaojiao will concurrently serve as Youzhou Deputy General."

"Youzhou General Huangfu Ping will be solely responsible for the eastern front of Helan Mountain."

"Chen Xiliang is promoted to Liuzhou Prefect (or Administrator), responsible for recruiting six thousand young able-bodied men from Liuzhou within three months; three thousand will remain to guard Qingcang City, and three thousand will enter Lingzhou. These six thousand young men and their families will be granted Beiliang military registration."

A chorus of "As you command!" gradually echoed across the city wall.

Finally, Xu Fengnian turned around, looking at the faces before him: the elderly like He Zhonghu and Zhou Kang, the middle-aged like Yuan Zuozong and Shi Fu, and the young like Yu Luandao and Cao Xiaojiao.

Beiliang's three generations of military commanders.

Xu Fengnian slowly said, "Gentlemen, for the next three years of Xiangfu, even if we are to die in battle, we must die before this new city beneath our feet is completed."

On the city wall, there were no grand pronouncements, no fervent speeches.

Only silent stillness.

Everyone simultaneously and sharply cupped their fists.