The Northwest King ordered his men to gag Qin Zheng and throw him aside in a corner, then summoned his generals for a meeting.

Before long, the general who had been sent by the Northwest King to probe the Hu cavalry returned.

As expected, when the Northwest Army cavalry went out in full force, the Hu people began to retreat. Once the Northwest Army cavalry had retreated, they returned.

If you ignore them and they keep marching, the Hu people will harass them from a distance, forcing you to engage in a drawn-out battle with them.

This barbarian cavalry force was like a persistent nuisance, annoying yet impossible to deal with.

A day later, in the Northwest King's tent, the generals of the various armies gathered again to discuss countermeasures.

The Northwest King glanced at Qin Zheng, who was lying in a corner looking like he was about to grow mushrooms, and ordered his men to feed him some water and food.

The moment the gag was removed from Qin Zheng's mouth, he shouted, "Your Highness, I have a way to defeat the enemy!"

...

That night, the Northwest Army frequently mobilized, and the Hu cavalry were on high alert. Taking advantage of the fact that the Hu people's attention was drawn to the main force of the Northwest Army's cavalry, Qin Zheng led 6,000 men and took the opportunity to leave the Northwest camp.

After the 6,000 troops left the reconnaissance range of the Hu people, they immediately split into two groups. One group carried supplies and took advantage of the night to detour north, while the other group, led by Qin Zheng, detoured to the east side of the Hu people.

The following day, the Northwest Army once again pretended to send troops to provide support, and the Hu cavalry, who had not slept all night, had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue to tug at the Northwest Army's defenses.

That night, the Northwest King sounded the retreat, and Qin Zheng's three thousand men appeared in the sight of the Hu scouts at that moment.

His three thousand men were not fully armored and looked like a remnant army that had come to seek refuge with the Northwest King.

The people of Hu knew that things were not peaceful within the territory of Yun Kingdom.

As the most powerful ally of the Yun Kingdom, the Northwest King often had troops who came to join him.

The appearance of Qin Zheng's remnant army did not arouse suspicion among the Hu people.

All cavalry have one obvious weakness: they cannot carry too much food and supplies.

The advantage of cavalry is speed, but provisions and supplies are a burden. Carrying too much will affect speed and prevent cavalry from exerting their full advantage.

Why did the Hu people raid the border every year?

It's because there isn't enough food on the grasslands to survive the winter. In order to prevent the children in the tribe from starving to death, they have no choice but to steal food from other people's homes.

It's obvious without even thinking that the 20,000 Hu people responsible for delaying the Northwest Camp wouldn't have much food on them.

With the Northwest Army frequently making moves these past two days, they had to move along with them, which accelerated the consumption of their food supplies.

Seeing Qin Zheng's "remnant army," which numbered only three thousand, how could they not be tempted?

The two sides pursued and fled, eventually reaching a place called Arashiyama in the north.

On the top of Lanshan Mountain stands an old fort abandoned by the Yun army in its early years. It is backed by a high slope, with only one main road leading to Lanshan Fortress above.

Inside Lanshan Fort, the three thousand soldiers who had separated from Qin Zheng earlier to transport supplies were already waiting there.

Qin Zheng must use these 6,000 men to hold off these 15,000 cavalry for a day.

Moreover, he couldn't defend too tightly, otherwise the Hu people would turn around and leave if they saw that they couldn't take it down. He had to give them the feeling that he could break through at any time.

This requires the commander to be able to accurately grasp the rhythm of the battle and adapt to changing circumstances at any time.

...

Time passed second by second, and the Hu people's patience gradually wore off.

They thought that with 10,000 troops, it would only take an hour to take down Lanshan Fort, which was defended by only 3,000 soldiers.

But that seemingly impregnable fortress always managed to hold off their attacks at crucial moments.

"I don't believe it! How can we not take down such a small place as Lanshan Fortress!" One of the leaders of this group of Hu people was furious.

A leader beside him, dressed in a different style, said, "Luye, we've been gone for half a day. If the Northwest Army makes any unusual moves..."

The leader, named Lu Ye, said, "So many of our men have died at Lanshan Fortress. If we can't take Lanshan Fortress, are you willing to leave like this?"

"Of course I'm unwilling, but the Khan's orders are for us to hold off the Northwest Army..."

"The Northwest Army has five thousand scouts keeping watch. They will come running to report any disturbances! If you are worried, take your people back yourself. But when Lanshan Fort is captured, you will not be included."

“That’s right,” another leader echoed Maya.

This cavalry force of the Hu people was composed of three Hu tribes.

Qin Zheng, who had been a slave in the Hu tribe for several years, certainly knew this.

These small tribes are all vassals of the large tribes on the grasslands. They live very hard lives and have limited vision and perspective. They will flock to any benefit they see, like flies to meat.

If there were only one leader, perhaps they would know to send troops to pursue him, but there are three leaders here.

Everyone is afraid of being beaten to the punch by someone else and taking away the biggest benefits.

Therefore, Qin Zheng was certain that the other side would all come after them.

On the northwestern camp side, the five thousand scouts left behind by the Hu people were almost completely wiped out.

To prevent the news from leaking out and the Hu people from fleeing in advance, the Northwest King sent out all his personal guards to participate in this scouting campaign. These men were all martial arts masters!

All this was done to completely block news of this troop deployment.

Although some scouts were not killed, they were driven far away by the Northwest King's scouts and could not return to report.

By the time the Hu army besieging Lanshan Fort received news of the Northwest King's approaching forces and attempted to retreat, it was already too late.

The messenger, a Hu scout, ran ahead, while the Northwest King's large cavalry force pursued him on horseback.

Their retreat route had been blocked by the rapidly approaching Northwest King.

Knowing they were doomed, the Hu people desperately attacked Lanshan Fort, hoping to capture the fortress and use it as a defense against the large army led by the Northwest King.

Seeing the reinforcements arrive, Qin Zheng no longer held back, revealing all his trump cards and managing to withstand the onslaught from the Hu people.

Ultimately, the Northwest King surrounded and annihilated the more than 10,000 Hu people's army, and captured more than 10,000 warhorses.

Of the six thousand men who went out with Qin Zheng, less than five hundred remained, and all of them were injured.

This was a resounding victory!

Five thousand for twenty thousand, and the opponent was the Hu people who struck fear into the hearts of the Yun people. This was definitely a brilliant battle that could be recorded in history and passed down through the ages!

The glory of victory filled everyone's face with excitement and joy, even the wounded, except for Qin Zheng.

While ordering his men to clean up the mess, the Northwest King also sent people everywhere to search for Qin Zheng.

But then a wounded soldier who had come down from Lanshan Fortress reported, "After the great battle, General Qin took the Crown Prince's seal and mobilized 10,000 Swift Wind Battalion troops from the Crown Prince's main force and 10,000 captured warhorses, with each soldier riding two fast horses to Luoyan Pass for reinforcement. He... didn't tell you?"

Upon hearing this, the King of the Northwest was taken aback. His gaze involuntarily turned towards the direction of Luoyan Pass in the distance. Suddenly, he sighed and said, "With this boy's help, what worries do you have about my great cause not being accomplished!"

...

Standing on the city wall of Luoyan Pass, Zhang Yun looked indifferently at the tragic battlefield below.

Zhang Caixing walked over, his battle robe already stained red with blood. "The Hu people have temporarily retreated. We held this wave."

"Okay." Zhang Yun nodded. "Third Sister, you should go and rest for a while. I'll keep an eye on things here."

Zhang Caixing nodded, "Okay."

Below the city wall of Luoyan Pass, the ground was already covered with corpses.

Ten days ago, Zhang Yun would turn pale and feel nauseous in the face of such a scene.

But now, he can calmly remove and throw away any eyeballs, severed fingers, or other human parts that have splashed onto him.

Since the Hu people began attacking Luoyan Pass, countless people have died, and Zhang Yun has become numb to it all.

He had previously served in the Northwest Camp and had gone out with the Northwest King to hunt down small groups of Hu scouts, but he had never seen such a large scene with so many corpses.

The Hu army that came to attack them was led by Huren Tiankehan Huyan Zhuo, with a main force of 100,000 and 20,000 Yun Kingdom prisoners, for a total of 120,000 troops.

Sending prisoners of the Yun Kingdom to their deaths before attacking a city is a common tactic used by the Hu people when conquering passes.

If the Yun Kingdom generals are indecisive and unwilling to take action against these Yun people, then the Hu people can easily capture Luoyan Pass under the cover of these Yun people.

If the Yun Kingdom generals ordered the killings, these Yun prisoners could also deplete some of the city's defensive supplies.

Either way, you'll make a profit.

The corpses left at the foot of Luoyan Pass were mostly prisoners of the Yun Kingdom.

Those 20,000 prisoners of war from the Yun Kingdom were actually innocent civilians of the Yun Kingdom. They were captured because the Yun Kingdom court was incompetent and unable to protect them. They had not done anything wrong.

But that's war.

Which is more important, one person's life or the lives of a group of people?

This is a dialectical question that philosophers need to consider, not something a general should think about.

Luoyan Pass is extremely important; if it falls, tens of millions of people in the Yun Kingdom will suffer.

There aren't many ways in this world that can satisfy both sides; as the commander-in-chief, he has to make a choice.

The soldiers guarding the Luoyan Pass city wall were cleaning up the enemy corpses on the wall. They were in a very optimistic mood and were even joking around.

The Hu people would attack Luoyan Pass every two or three years, because if they captured it, they could plunder it, and if they failed, they could reduce the population of the tribe and save food for the winter.

The soldiers on the border were used to it.

But Zhang Yun couldn't be optimistic.

An army of 100,000 men pressed in, more than the troops that attacked Luoyan Pass two years later in the original story.

This time, the Hu people were clearly serious.

Moreover, he knew that no reinforcements would come from Luoyan Pass.

Despite feeling so heavy-hearted that she could hardly breathe, Zhang Yun still had to appear calm and composed.

Because he is now the most prestigious person in Luoyan Pass, and the backbone of the army, his every move will shake the morale of the troops.

Although they couldn't understand why the Hu army, which was supposed to launch a major attack on Luoyan Pass two years later, had attacked them so far in advance.

But since things have come to this, there's no point in thinking about it anymore; all we can do is try our best to defend Luoyan Pass.

Zhang Yun's feelings were quite complicated.

Back then at Luoyan Pass, my eldest sister and I disagreed on whether we should abandon the city and flee because we couldn't defend it, and she lectured me.

I never imagined that he would actually be the one making this decision.

Zhang Yun had carefully calculated the advantages and disadvantages of both sides in recent days, and finally concluded that Luoyan Pass could only hold out for a month and a half at most.

He was able to hold out for half a month longer than Zhang Caiyue two years later, thanks to the fact that he had previously transported a lot of defensive supplies and equipment to Luoyan Pass.

Moreover, when he came from home, he brought his two thousand personal guards with him, bringing the total strength of Luoyan Pass to over ten thousand.

But all of this seemed rather meager compared to the 100,000-strong army of the Hu people.

Time was still too tight; he only managed to transport two truckloads of gunpowder.

If he could be given even a year to stockpile gunpowder, he would be able to hold out until reinforcements were sent from the Northwest camp.

But there aren't that many "what ifs".

Suddenly, a horn sounded from the city wall. Zhang Yun looked down and saw that the Hu people had launched a new attack.

...

Inside the military tent at Luoyan Pass, Zhang Yun sat in the center.

Zhang Caixing led Yang Xin in.

“Your Highness, Princess, in theory, the reinforcements from the nearby Chuanyuan City should arrive in five days, or at the very least ten. But Luoyan Pass has been besieged for fourteen days, and no reinforcements have arrived yet. Our situation is dire.” Yang Xin greeted Zhang Yun and then said with a solemn expression.

"Yang Xin, the imperial court will not send troops to support Luoyan Pass," Zhang Yun sighed.

Yang Xin's eyes widened. "Why is that?"

"For the imperial court, the barbarians are formidable enemies, as are my Northwest Prince's Mansion. Why wouldn't the imperial court be happy to sit back and watch the tigers fight?"

"But... if Luoyan Pass falls, it will be the people of Dayun who suffer!" Yang Xin still refused to believe it.

Zhang Yun sneered, "How could those people in the court care about the lives of ordinary people? To them, human life is as worthless as grass. Even if the barbarians enter the pass, they will just plunder and leave. They can't even reach the capital, so it won't affect their lives in the slightest."

Yang Xin angrily said, "Aren't they afraid we'll just abandon the pass and leave? The barbarians on both sides don't dare to come into the northwest!"

"If we abandon the city and leave, then the Northwest Prince's Mansion will be the sinners who let the Hu army into the pass. They will be nailed to the pillar of shame, condemned by scholars and writers, and abandoned by the people. The Northwest Prince's Mansion will lose the hearts of the people and its years of prestige will be destroyed in an instant."

Zhang Yun shook his head; Yang Xin was still too young.

"This..." Yang Xin said anxiously, "Your Highness, what should we do now? In this situation, if the court doesn't send reinforcements, we simply can't hold out!"

"Let me think of another way. You should arrange for more people to defend the city with more supplies and equipment to minimize casualties among our troops. Also, don't tell anyone that there are no reinforcements, so as not to shake the morale of the troops."

"Your Highness, rest assured, I understand." Yang Xin bowed and left with a heavy expression.

After Yang Xin left, Zhang Caixing, who had been sitting silently in the chair to Zhang Yun's right, got up.

"If Luoyan Pass cannot be defended, you take your personal guards and escape, while I stay behind to defend it to the death."

Zhang Yun was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "Third Sister, don't joke around."

“I’m not joking with you.” Zhang Caixing glared at him.

“The commander of Luoyan Pass appointed by the court now is me, not you! If I die at Luoyan Pass, no one in the world can find fault with me! They will only blame the court for not sending reinforcements.”

“You’ve been mischievous since you were little, and my older sister and I were worried that you wouldn’t be able to shoulder the responsibilities of the Northwest Prince’s Mansion in the future. Now it seems that our worries were unfounded.”

"Although I don't want to admit it, you have indeed surpassed your predecessors. With you in the Northwest Prince's Mansion, my elder sister and I are at ease. You have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders, so you must live."

As Zhang Caixing spoke, her eyes reddened.

"Third Sister..."

"Let me finish."

Zhang Caixing interrupted him, saying, "There's something else I haven't told you. Four years ago in Qingshan Village, your... Qin Zheng asked me to pass on a message to you."

She recounted the entire conversation between Qin Zheng and Qin Zheng that day, word for word.

Finally, she said, "I originally thought that you and him were just young and impulsive, but later I heard from my mother that you had... I realized that you lied to me when you said you broke off your relationship with him. Can't you still forget him?"

Zhang Yun remained silent.

Zhang Caixing smiled through her tears, looking exceptionally beautiful.

She said, "Now I understand. In this life, how difficult it is to meet someone who understands you and will never abandon you in life. Rather than being burdened by these worldly rules and regulations, why not just follow your heart?"

“It was wrong of me to force you apart back then. I apologize to you. After you leave Luoyan Pass, you can go and find him yourself. Whether he becomes your servant or your attendant, with your current abilities, it will be easy for you to deceive your father and mother.”

Zhang Yun chuckled.

Zhang Caixing looked at him and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Third Sister, can you please not give your last words so soon? It's too early to say anything now. Maybe none of us will have to die?"

"Oh, and also, Qin Zheng and I got back together a long time ago. You're way behind the times."

Zhang Caixing's eyes widened: "?!?!"

...

After Zhang Caixing left, Zhang Yun stopped smiling, sat down in his seat, put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes.

what to do?

How can he defend Luoyan Pass?

He read through the original novel about Qin Zheng commanding the battle again and again, but it seemed that none of the scenarios could be applied to this particular battle.

In the original novel, Qin Zheng commanded countless battles, large and small, throughout his life.

He was unconventional in his military tactics, but he loved taking risks.

Generally, one should first feign weakness to the enemy, proactively set a trap, and then eliminate the enemy in one fell swoop once they take the bait.

Putting himself in Qin Zheng's shoes, Zhang Yun wondered what he would do if Qin Zheng were here.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, "Zhao Xu!"

Zhao Xu entered from outside, "Your Highness."

"There's something I need you to do with some people."