Chapter 26: Chapter 25 Chongshan Pass, Chongshan Town Chapter 26: Chapter 25 Chongshan Pass, Chongshan Town Yang Zhenshan saw the timing was right and once again shouted fervently, “Faced with the enemies who invade us, there’s only one thing we can do, and that is to kill!”
“With our long spears, we must carve out a path to life for our parents, wives, and children!”
He kicked a steel spear standing by his side into the air and pointed at the stalwart young men below, bellowing, “Kill!”
“Kill, kill, kill!”
The young men with bloodshot eyes raised their long spears, roaring with hoarse voices.
They were both fearful and angry—fearful of the scene where their parents, wives, and children might be slaughtered, angry at the invasion of the enemy.
The roaring echoed under the icy cold wind, unceasing for a long time.
The surrounding villagers also clenched their fists, eyes reddening as they watched the scene.
Yang Zhengxiang stood among the crowd, silently watching with a flicker of distinct emotion in his eyes.
“Zhenshan has the makings of a general!”
Meanwhile, Yang Zhenshan, standing above, listened to the blood-boiling roars and a hint of a smile appeared in the depths of his eyes.
What is the most important thing for an army?
Yang Zhenshan thought it should be belief.
The young men before him were like blank sheets of paper, and the first thing he needed to do was to imbue them with a strong belief.
The belief in protection!
Belief was the reason and motivation for fighting; it was the foundation for fearlessness.
Feeling that the time was nearly at hand, Yang Zhenshan pressed down on the spear in his hand and said, “Stop!”
When the voices ceased, he took a deep breath and said, “You now understand why you fight, so next you must use your blood and sweat to forge a wall for your parents, wives, and children!”
“The training to come will be dull and tough—are you all prepared?”
“We are prepared!”
“Good! Then let’s start with lining up!”
Yang Zhenshan commenced formal training.
Lining up was basic; it was the beginning of molding military discipline.
With a belief established, the next step was to shape military discipline, waiting for these young men to reach a level where commands would be met with immediate action—that would be the time to train for combat on the battlefield.
Actually, for these young men, combat capability was actually the easiest to train—do not forget, they each had practised the Yang Family Spear Technique.
The Yang Family Spear Technique was forged through battles, with the foundation of this technique, training for combat would naturally come easier.
There’s no need to go into the specifics of the training. Yang Zhenshan referred to his own military training experience and combined it with his predecessor’s experience in the army to sum up a set of satisfactory training methods.
As the young men underwent training, the entire Yang Family Village also fell into busyness.
Yang Zhengxiang led the villagers in making caltrops, digging pitfalls, and reinforcing the exterior walls of the village. Meanwhile, he also sent a dozen young men into Changqing Mountain to look for suitable temporary shelter.
It would be best to hold Yang Family Village, but if it couldn’t be held, at least they could hide in Changqing Mountain to avoid the Hu Clan’s massacre.
As time passed day by day, news regarding the border conflicts grew more prevalent.
In the twenty-third year of peace, on the eighteenth day of the first month.
The East Sea Hu Clan gathered an army of fifty thousand and approached the city below Chongshan Pass.
On the twenty-second.
The Hu Clan launched an attack, assaulting the city three times in a single day, all repelled by the defenders within the city walls.
Since then, the Hu Clan attacked the city every two to three days, but each attack felt halfhearted.
On the third day of the second month.
Da Rong’s first-class Duke Dingyuan, Deputy Magistrate of the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, and General of Chongshan Pass Zhang Shouwang stood upon the city walls, overlooking the unending camps of the Hu Clan outside the city.
At the same time, several Vice Generals and Assistant Generals from Chongshan Town stood next to him, their expressions grave as they looked outside the pass.
Zhang Shouwang was nearing sixty, his long and elegant beard fluttering in the biting cold wind. His eyes were especially profound, as if containing an indelible sorrow.
“They are not aiming to take Chongshan Pass!”
He stroked his long beard, affirming his statement.
Vice General Ji Feiyu pondered, “If not for Chongshan Pass, why then would they gather an army of fifty thousand?”
Although the Hu Clan had frequently attacked Chongshan Pass during this period, every assault seemed like a feigned attempt, withdrawing as soon as they suffered casualties.
Zhang Shouwang shook his head; he too couldn’t fathom the Hu Clan’s intentions.
Times have changed.
Twenty years ago, the Da Rong Dynasty thrived in power, and Chongshan Town’s troops were strong enough to crush the main force of the East Sea Hu Clan in a single battle. But now, after consecutive years of disaster in the heartland of Da Rong, the nation’s strength has waned daily, with the soldiers of the Nine Border Towns having long neglected the battlefield.
Especially Chongshan Town, which hasn’t experienced large-scale warfare in twenty years, the soldiers have grown lax and no longer possess the might they once had.
What’s more, over these two decades, they’ve considerably relaxed their vigilance towards the East Sea Hu Clan, and now they do not even have an accurate estimation of the enemy’s strength and foundation.
In such circumstances, it is impossible for them to grasp the movements and intentions of the East Sea Hu Clan accurately.
“These years, we’ve been too slack!” Zhang Shouwang’s eyes were filled with worry and helplessness.
Born into nobility, he had served in the military for decades, witnessing firsthand Chongshan Town’s fall from its once flourishing state.
Recalling the Chongshan Town of old and looking at it now, the mountains and rivers remain, but the once mighty spirit is no more.
Faced with a mere fifty thousand Hu Clan, he dare not lead his men out of the pass to meet them in battle, thinking of this fills him with desolation.
Sadly, he has no power to change Chongshan Town, nor can Chongshan Town change.
The reason Chongshan Town has become what it is today isn’t the town itself, but the court.
The battle at Black Cloud Mountain once forged the brilliance of Da Rong’s northern frontier but also exposed many contradictions within Da Rong itself.
Consequently, mistrust flourished between the emperor and his subjects, military achievements and penalties became unclear, leading to numerous unjust and mistaken cases, which ultimately brought the once-mighty Chongshan Town to decline.
The grievances of the past are too many and complicated to explain in short.
Just as Zhang Shouwang’s heart was inundated with feelings of impotence and helplessness, suddenly, an urgent report sounded.
“Alert—smoke signals have been spotted rising from Zhanghe Castle!”
Zhang Shouwang and several generals’ expressions changed dramatically as they looked toward the west.
Beneath the gray white sky, a column of smoke signal rose straight up, conspicuously noticeable.
However, this was just the beginning. Zhang Shouwang’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and his brows instantly furrowed into a knot.
Column after column of smoke signals arose, and in the blink of an eye, they had spread across the western horizon.
Chongshan Town refers not to Chongshan Pass, but spans from the coast of the East Sea to Three Peaks Mountain in the Qianzhong Mountain Range, extending over eight hundred li.
With signal beacons spaced every five li, signal towers every ten li, a fort every thirty li, and a city every hundred li, they formed the defensive system along the border.
Now, with the western smoke signals connecting, it signifies a massive invasion by the enemy.
“General, they are all single smoke signals!” Ji Feiyu’s face fluctuated with emotion, growing increasingly somber.
Whenever Hu Zei invaded, a single beacon was lit for an incursion of fifty to less than five hundred people.
Two beacons were lit for five hundred to less than three thousand Hu Zei.
Three beacons for three thousand to ten thousand, and four beacons for more than ten thousand.
The current solo beacons at the western garrison indicate not just an invasion of less than five hundred people, but rather the infiltration of numerous small enemy groups.
If it were only one enemy force, the smoke signals would form a line, spreading towards the direction of Chongshan Pass, not blooming everywhere as they now are.
Zhang Shouwang once again looked down at the enemy encampment beneath the city.
The fifty thousand enemy soldiers still remained within their camp.
“Their goal is small-scale raiding!” At this point, Zhang Shouwang finally understood the East Sea Hu Clan’s objective.
The fifty thousand strong enemy army below was merely a ruse to draw attention and tie down the defenders within Chongshan Pass. Of course, if he dared to deploy the city’s defenders to rout the small groups of infiltrating enemies, the enemy army outside the city would attack with full force.
“Indeed, they do not dare engage us in full-scale warfare right now; they are merely after plunder,” Zhang Shouwang’s eyes drooped slightly as a tide of gloom and despair washed over him.
Although this situation could avoid an all-out defeat for Chongshan Town, the civilians near the border were bound to suffer.
With numerous small enemy groups penetrating and plundering, even if they sent troops to exterminate them, they wouldn’t be able to eliminate them all.
“Orders to the Five Camps: have the Left Camp and Right Camp disperse and launch counterattacks against the enemy forces!” Zhang Shouwang gave the command.
The Five Camps stood as Chongshan Town’s last elite forces—altogether, a mere fifteen thousand soldiers and horses, of which the Left and Right Camps were cavalry.
Facing the scattered enemy invasions, they also had to disband to pursue and suppress.
Infantry cannot catch mounted enemies, so Zhang Shouwang could only deploy the two most elite cavalry camps under his command, hoping to eliminate more enemies.
“Acknowledged!”
Two Assistant Generals stepped forward, cupping their fists to accept the order.