Su Rong’s chosen location, Heiya Pass, lay two hundred and fifty Li away from the Qihuan Mountain.
She led a large number of troops to rush ahead while Yuan Zhao also brought a large number of troops to pursue from the back. After a day and night of chase, Su Rong arrived at the Heiya Pass with five hundred thousand soldiers.
At this point, she was only ten Li away from the pursuing troops led by Yuan Zhao.
Upon entering the city gate of Heiya Pass, Su Rong ordered one hundred thousand troops to guard the gate, allowing the rest to rest and prepare within the city. Then, she started arranging the city’s defenses.
Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun were helped down from the carriage. Zhang Yun handed a piece of paper to Su Rong, "Your Highness, this is the defense map for Heiya Pass that Brother Zhou, Brother Guixue and I have researched during our journey."
Without a second glance, Su Rong handed the map to Fen Ling who stood next to her, "Use this defense map and lay out the defenses quickly."
Fen Ling complied and left immediately.
Turning around, Su Rong addressed Shen Yi, "Sister, I will arrange for someone to escort you to the capital. You need not stay at Heiya Pass any longer. It is not suitable for you to wage war alongside me now."
Shen Yi, with her bulging belly, shook her head, "Why can’t I? Don’t underestimate me. I won’t leave."
Su Rong looked at her, "You must go."
"I won’t go, stop talking nonsense." Shen Yi said impatiently, "I need to rest. Find me a place to sleep."
Su Rong had no choice but to order someone to arrange accommodations for Shen Yi.
It took half an hour for their five hundred thousand troops to quickly set up the defenses of Heiya Pass.
Heiya Pass, a natural fortress and military stronghold, was the only path for Yuan Zhao’s troops to reach the Nanchu Capital. If they wanted to seize the capital, they had to take Heiya Pass first.
Five hundred thousand soldiers, coupled with the natural fortifications of Heiya Pass and the defenses, were not an impossible match against the eight hundred thousand Dawei soldiers.
"Everyone, take a rest! Yuan Zhao might not assault the city today." Zhou Gu said.
Xie Yuan nodded, "After such a long chase, both our soldiers and those of Dawei must be exhausted. Especially Yuan Zhao’s troops, they have likely not rested since leaving Dawei."
Ye Guixue said, "Your Highness, you and Sir Zhou and Brother Zhang Yun should all rest. I’ll guard the city with some men."
"How can we allow that?" Su Rong, not forgetting that Ye Guixue had been fighting, traveling, and nursing wounds the whole time, objected, "All of you should go to rest. I’m not tired. I already slept in Sister Shen’s carriage. I’ll guard the city."
"Ahem, Your Highness, let’s not argue over this. Myself, Brother Zhang Mao, and Brother Jiang Zhu will guard the city. We have solely travelled during this journey without fighting, so we are truly not tired." Ning Ze approached them, "You all should rest, we promise to defend the city well. As soon as Yuan Zhao launches an attack, we will immediately call for you."
Su Rong felt that made sense, and nodded in agreement, "Alright, I leave it in your hands."
Ning Ze immediately patted his chest in assurance, promising to guard the city gate well. Zhang Mao and Jiang Zhu also nodded in agreement.
With no one objecting, everyone resided in the inner city, leaving the city gate to the three of them.
After everyone left, Ning Ze led Zhang Mao and Jiang Zhu atop the city wall, "Come, let’s go on top and see what Dawei’s Crown Prince Yuan Zhao looks like. I heard he’s handsomely indiscernible as male or female. I wonder if that’s true."
"Even if we go to the city building, we might not be able to see clearly." Zhang Mao said.
"If he doesn’t attack the city, the Dawei Crown Prince Yuan Zhao likely won’t even show his face." Jiang Zhu added.
"Let’s still go and have a look." Ning Ze said, adhering to the belief of seeing further from a higher vantage point, "I want to observe the position of the eight hundred thousand soldiers."
The three of them climbed up the city building and indeed saw a large plume of dust rising from the distance. The ground was constantly trembling from the combined weight of the massive black army, armored cavalry, and weapons.
Ning Ze took a deep breath, "The Dawei soldiers look robust and strong."
"The Dawei has unflaggingly harbored ambitions of expansion for many years. Every Dawei ruler advocated for a rich nation and strong army, wanting to unify the world." Zhang Mao said, "In terms of military strength, Dawei is stronger than Daliang."
"Indeed, the current Emperor of Daliang thinks that having signed a non-aggression pact for thirty years would ensure peace. He cannot tolerate having an able and talented Crown Prince. He is suspicious of the Duke Residence’s military power, insisting on consolidating royalty and being overly suspicious. He’s always been diligent in political affairs, but merely manages to maintain the stability of the region and balance the political situation." Jiang Zhu said, "Thankfully, the Crown Prince is patient and gives up his positions when necessary, never giving the Emperor reason to depose him. The Duke Residence also practices humility and accommodates circumstances, maintaining its military power. This has prevented Daliang from becoming fractured making them a no match for Dawei."
"The troops my father nurtured are no worse than Dawei’s. If my third brother and I hadn’t joined the Princess, these soldiers would have been a dagger thrust into the heart of Daliang, progressing Dawei’s plan." Zhang Mao’s tone was steady when he mentioned Zhang Ping, "The soldiers the Princess borrowed from Daliang were originally under the Jibei General’s command. Don’t worry, they are competent. Apart from the disparity in numbers, their armors, cavalry, and weapons are not lacking."
Upon hearing this, Ning Ze gave Zhang Mao a strong pat on the shoulder, "I like what you said, Brother Zhang Mao. We haven’t inflated the hope of others and diminished our own prestige. Despite the disparity in military strength, we can definitely defend Heiya Pass."
Zhang Mao nodded.
Jiang Zhu said, "We must defend Heiya Pass. Nanchu is a small country with fewer checkpoints and strongholds. It only has two natural barriers, Qihuan Mountain and Heiya Pass. Dawei’s eight hundred thousand troops overran Qihuan Mountain like a hot knife through butter. The Princess had fewer troops and couldn’t resist the onslaught, so she had to retreat. Now Heiya Pass is the last barrier. Once it falls, Dawei’s troops will march straight into the royal capital. If the capital is lost, it would be hard to recapture it."
Ning Ze clenched his teeth, "We will be able to hold it."
While they were talking, Dawei’s troops had arrived beneath Heiya Pass. The massive, black army may have been substantial in number, but their formation was in perfect order.
Their thunderous momentum made the soldiers, who were guarding the city wall of Heiya Pass, shiver in fear.
Ning Ze brought out a telescope to look down on the ground. He saw Dawei’s banners fluttering in the wind, the word "Zhao" standing out prominently. Yuan Zhao didn’t ride a horse but sat in a carriage surrounded by numerous guards.
A young man with an extraordinary appearance stood on a horse in front of the carriage, looking in the direction of Heiya Pass while seemingly conversing with the person in the carriage.
Soon, a hand stretched out from the carriage to open the curtain. A person peered from within towards Heiya Pass. Indeed, he was indescribably handsome.
"The rumors were indeed true." Ning Ze sighed.
"Let me see." Jiang Zhu took the telescope and after two glimpses, he passed it to Zhang Mao and said, "The person in the carriage is Dawei’s Crown Prince Yuan Zhao, and the young man talking to him in front of the carriage, should be Nangong Zheng."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
