As Li Jingang's secret decree and Zhao Muyun's response were relayed between Fenglingdu and the capital, the Tartar vanguard had already driven deep into the foothills of the Daxing Mountains.
Seventy li northeast of Luzhou lies Huguan, a strategic pass on the important passage from Hebei to Hedong.
Xiao Cheyun personally led three thousand elite infantrymen from Hedong, relying on the steep mountains and passes, to firmly guard this essential road leading to the heart of Luzhou.
As dawn broke, the lingering stench of blood permeated the mountain stream.
Last night, the vanguard cavalry of the Northern Barbarians attempted a night raid, but were ambushed by Xiao Cheyun's crossbows and rolling logs and rocks, resulting in a massacre of over a hundred men and horses, and a hasty retreat.
But everyone knew that this was just the beginning.
Xiao Cheyun, his armor stained with blood, stood at the front of the battle, leaning on his long sword. His beard and hair fluttered in the morning breeze, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.
He gazed at the Northern Di camp gradually becoming clearer in the distance beyond the ravine; the endless tents and cloud-like battle flags brought a suffocating sense of oppression.
"General, the scouts report that the main force of the Northern Barbarians has arrived and is gathering in the open area outside the pass. Judging from their posture, today will surely be a fierce battle!"
The lieutenant's voice was hoarse, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.
Xiao Cheyun snorted coldly: "Scared? Don't forget, Luzhou is right behind us! If Luzhou is lost, Zezhou will be hard to defend, and the flank of Hedong will be wide open!"
"Even if we fight to the last man, we will never let the barbarian cavalry cross this land!"
He was originally stationed in Jinyang, but was later dispatched by the Grand General's Office to send 10,000 troops from Cao Jun and Liu Pan south to support generals Zhang Huan and Wang Ben.
The three men led their troops to fight against Li Jingang's fierce general Niu Desheng in Zezhou and Luzhou. Although they failed to capture the cities, they suffered heavy losses.
Now that the Tartar vanguard is advancing with overwhelming force, Zhang Huan and Wang Ben have been fighting hard for two months and are exhausted. The heavy responsibility of defending against the Tartars has fallen on his shoulders.
Xiao Cheyun then chose to personally lead troops to defend the Huguan Pass fortress.
His gaze swept over the weary but determined soldiers behind him, and he raised his voice:
"Brothers! The barbarian barbarians of the North have invaded our land and slaughtered our people! Today, let this Huguan Pass become their burial ground! For Hedong! For our homeland!"
"For Hedong! For our homeland!"
A deep, angry roar echoed through the mountain stream, drowning out the horns blaring from the Northern Barbarian camp.
Just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the war drums sounded.
Instead of rushing to launch a feigned attack on the pass, the Northern Barbarians drove thousands of their auxiliary troops and captured border civilians, carrying simple ladders and shields, and surged towards the Hedong army like a tide.
Arrows rose from the rear of the Northern Di army like locusts, streaking across the sky and falling into Huguan Pass with a mournful whistle.
"Raise your shields! Dodge the arrows!" the officer shouted hoarsely.
Then came a dull thud and occasional screams.
Immediately, more arrows were fired from the Hedong army formation, landing precisely on the auxiliary troops and splashing blood.
The rolling logs and boulders were pushed down again, crushing and breaking the bones of the enemies who tried to climb the ladder, and their cries of agony shook the heavens.
The battle was intense from the very beginning.
The Northern Barbarians were using human lives to deplete the defensive resources and strength of the Hedong Army. The corpses of their vassal soldiers were piled up in layers at the mouth of the ravine, and the blood stained the mountain stream red.
Xiao Cheyun frowned. The Northern Di's tactics were ruthless and effective.
He recognized that the Hedong army had limited manpower and was willing to sacrifice the lives of his auxiliary troops to fill the gaps.
"General, we're almost out of logs and rolling stones!" the logistics officer rushed in to report anxiously.
"knew."
Xiao Cheyun said in a deep voice, "Pass down the order to prepare for close combat! Spearmen in front, swordsmen and shieldmen on the flanks! Archers and crossbowmen, concentrate your fire on the elite Tartar soldiers following behind!"
At noon, a fierce hand-to-hand battle finally broke out on the city wall of Huguan.
Braving the sparse rain of arrows and the final tumbling stones, the true elite of the Northern Di...
Warriors clad in heavy armor and wielding scimitars and battle axes roared as they charged forward.
They climbed the ladders, jumped onto the city walls, and clashed violently with the Hedong army, which was waiting in battle!
The sounds of metal clashing, roars, and screams instantly resounded through the sky.
Spears pierced through armor, scimitars cleaved through shields, and blood and severed limbs splattered everywhere.
Relying on the terrain and their formation, the Hedong army withstood wave after wave of frenzied attacks from the Northern Di.
Xiao Cheyun personally stood in the middle of the formation with his sword, his beard and hair bristling, as firm as a rock. He charged towards wherever there was danger, and his sword had already slain countless Northern Di warriors.
The battle lasted for an entire afternoon, leaving corpses strewn everywhere inside and outside Eagle's Beak Ravine, resembling a slaughterhouse.
The Hedong army suffered heavy losses, with nearly half of its three thousand elite troops killed or wounded, their arrows exhausted, and their physical strength nearing its limit.
Although the Northern Barbarians suffered casualties several times greater than those of the Hedong army, their offensive continued relentlessly, seemingly without end.
As the sun set, it dyed the sky and mountains a blood-red hue.
Xiao Cheyun was shot in the left arm with an arrow. It was simply bandaged, but blood was still seeping out.
He gazed at the still-emerging, dark mass of Northern Di troops and knew that the defensive line was about to reach its limit.
"General! Let's retreat! If we continue fighting, all the brothers will perish here!" the lieutenant cried out.
Looking at the young, weary faces around him, yet still determined to fight, Xiao Cheyun felt a flicker of pain in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a resolute determination:
"We can't retreat! The longer we hold out, the more time Luzhou has to prepare, and the more room for maneuver the young prince has!"
He took a deep breath, raised his chipped longsword, and roared hoarsely, "Soldiers of Hedong! Follow me—to the death!"
The remaining soldiers from Hedong mustered their last courage and, following their general, once again faced the surging enemy.
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