On the high slope of Hongliutan.
Warhorses snorted, their hooves digging shallow pits in the dry, hard gravel.
Left Gully King Ashina Dubi reined in his mount, his gaze sweeping across thirty li of barren flats as he fixed his eyes on Zhenbei Pass.
That city sat squarely at the throat of the north-south thoroughfare.
The city backed onto the severed mountain range of Yinshan, with steep peaks and sheer cliffs piercing the clouds. To its left, the Heishui River raged, its currents swift and its shoals dense.
Both sides were impassable natural barriers where even birds could hardly cross.
A great cavalry formation reaching this point had no choice but to proceed straight ahead.
Only through a frontal assault could they step into the heartland of the Central Plains.
Ashina Dubi pressed his hand on his sword hilt. The wind and sand struck his deeply lined cheeks, stirring no ripple on his expression.
Three scout horsemen kicked up a cloud of yellow dust as they galloped to the foot of the slope, rolling off their horses to kneel on one knee.
"Reporting to the Great King! At Zhenbei Pass, banners are dense atop the city walls, all four gates are sealed with sandbags, and not a single soldier emerges from the city!"
Ashina Dubi paid no heed to the city's defensive realities; instead, he first posed two questions:
"How many days can our camp provisions last? Has any messenger returned from the Baiyin Grasslands?"
"Reporting to the Great King, provisions only last three days."
Speaking of the grasslands, the scout was just as puzzled and could only tell the truth.
"But the messenger... has not yet returned to camp."
Chiliarch Bayar of the thousand-man unit stood behind them. Upon hearing this, he stepped forward.
"Great King! These Han have long been terrified of our iron-clad cavalry! Grant me three thousand men—while our warriors' morale is soaring—and within half a day, I shall flatten that earthen wall!"
Ashina Dubi raised his hand to halt Bayar's request.
"Bayaer, do you think those inside Zhenbei Pass are all soft clay dolls?"
Ashina Dubi raised his eyelids slightly, his tone icy.
"Altan, the Vanguard commander's twenty suits of heavy armor were smashed into a pile of mud by a single arm."
"The fearsome reputation of that 'Iron-Mace Floater' still hangs over our camp."
"If you take three thousand men, do you intend to be the side dish for that one-armed killer?"
Bayar flushed, arguing roughly.
"Great King! That was Altan acting recklessly and pressing forward! I am willing to sign a military pledge—if I cannot take the city wall, I will offer my head!"
"And what use would I have for your head?"
Ashina Dubi scolded coldly.
"Recall the bloody battle of White Wolf River sixty years ago. Our ancestors stormed in the same rash manner. And what was the result?"
His voice was low and deep, grainy with the wear of time.
"The corpses of fifty thousand warriors filled that frozen river, yet that city stood firm as a mountain."
"In war, you fight with strategy. Besiege first, then attack—that is the superior plan."
As he spoke, Ashina Dubi's mind flashed to the eastern border's Right Luli Prince Ashina Gudu.
Ashina Gudu clung to the border, monopolizing the black market that smuggled goods between the two countries, wealth rivaling a nation, yet born with an insatiable jackal's heart.
This man only knew how to seize trade routes and flaunt savage courage. Recently, he had gone before the Grand Khan's tent, holding useless scrap metal remnants of firearms, boasting arrogantly and pressing for a southern campaign.
Ashina Dubi let out a cold snort.
Ashina Gudu, that greedy, impetuous provocateur, could never handle the patient grind of taming a hawk.
Storming a fortress relied not on brute force, but on a step-by-step strangulation.
The tent flap lifted, and Qin, the Han strategist sent by Chen Changfeng, walked in slowly.
He bowed with clasped hands, laying out the pros and cons clearly.
"Great King, the military strategist holds that the Grand Qian Dynasty has hidden all their firearms within the city. If you force the gate, you risk being devoured by thunderous fire. I dare offer the strategy of besieging first, then attacking."
Ashina Dubi was not entirely convinced by the talk of firearms.
The Han were weak; they made a big fuss over any small noise.
But he did not refute it—Qin's counsel aligned perfectly with his own thoughts.
Prolonged siege warfare was precisely the plan he had set.
"Transmit my command,"
Ashina Dubi issued the military order.
"Dispatch several thousand mounted scouts into the wilderness beyond the pass, encircling it from three sides."
"The remaining side shall be left to the natural barrier of the Heishui River."
"Those who water their horses at the river shall cut off the crossing; those who roam on distant slopes shall sever external reinforcement; those who come and go in groups shall suppress their breakout momentum."
Having arranged this, Ashina Dubi summoned his trusted confidants and lowered his voice to give a secret order.
"Divert a unit of horsemen. Let them simply gallop back and forth beneath the city walls, raising dust and spurring their mounts."
"Mix real warriors among them, so the city walls see banners shifting east and west, dust rising and falling without pattern."
"I want the defenders, in three days' time, to be completely unable to count how many troops we truly have beyond the pass."
His subordinates all found this strategy excellent and very steady.
It would confuse the enemy's sight and hearing, concealing the reality of their thin numbers, while also hiding the lack of supply trains behind the main army.
...
The scene shifts to the northern section of Zhenbei Pass's city wall.
Xu Qinghuan stood facing the wind, gazing at the yellow dust cloud over the wilderness beyond the pass.
The smoke and dust rose and fell erratically, banners dashed east and west, troops and horses shuttled without pause—it was hard to tell reality from illusion.
Xu Chengguang stood by Xu Qinghuan's side, looking at the chaos outside the pass and speaking.
"Magistrate Xu, your vision is sharp. When the Northwestern Pingqiang Army fought against the Qiang, they often used dust-raising tactics like this."
"But the Helian tribes here this time are doing it more convincingly—they've even tied branches to their horse tails."
Xu Qinghuan did not take his gaze off the scene beyond the pass.
"The more convincingly they play the act, the emptier they are inside."
"Ten thousand heavy cavalry, all sustained by a single breath."
"If that breath is spent, that iron armor becomes scrap."
"The scouts' paths double over each other, horses are never rotated, and though the dust is great, there is no formation."
Xu Qinghuan's tone was as calm as still water, but in his heart, he truly felt this tactic was utterly unoriginal:
"This is misdirection."
"What he seeks to conceal is the fatal flaw of having no rear army, no supplies."
Tie Lanshan, gripping the battlements, asked in a low voice:
"In Magistrate Xu's opinion, what should we do to respond?"
"Turn his trick against him."
Xu Qinghuan stated her plan without hesitation:
"Send word to the city walls. Lower the flags, silence the drums, and hold the troops in place."
"Let us appear too fearful to fight, leading him to trust that his siege strategy is succeeding."
Having spoken, Xu Qinghuan added in just the right measure: "Of course, military decisions like these must rely on Commander Tie's strategy."
Tie Lanshan listened, nodding inwardly: This Magistrate Xu does understand a thing or two about military tactics.
"With this wall to shield us, I can hold for not just three days, but thirty!"
Xu Qinghuan shook her head.
"We cannot hold for thirty days."
"If they have not withdrawn by the third day, they will turn into starved wolves. Their counterattack will far exceed today's ferocity."
"Therefore, in these three days, we must make them believe that if they wait just a little longer, the city gates will open."
Inside the central tent, Xu Qinghuan laid out the full picture.
"The enemy has ten thousand heavy cavalry, men and horses alike wearing full armor. Their daily consumption is an endless pit."
With a delicate hand, she pointed to the sand table:
"With no supply train, if the city does not fall in seven days, they will starve outside the passes."
"Their only hope rests on the supply line from the White Grass Pastures behind them."
Xu Qinghuan lifted her eyes, her gaze clear:
"But as for that White Grass Pastures—all you officers need do is await good news."
...
At the Red Willow Beach camp, the sun was setting over the western hills.
The courier sent to the White Grass Pastures still had not returned.
Ashina Dubi assumed the delay was due to the long journey and the desert winds, dismissing any suspicion.
Just then, a scout came again to report:
"Great King, the city walls have lowered their flags and silenced their drums—not a single movement is seen!"
Qin stroked his beard and offered advice:
"Mighty is the Gully King. The Great Qian Northern Garrison has been cowed by our army's might and dares not give battle."
Ashina Dubi nodded faintly, convinced that the outcome was already settled.
Beyond the pass, on three slopes, wolf banners stood planted everywhere, yellow dust reaching the heavens.
Ten thousand iron-clad cavalry became an iron wall spanning the wilderness, arrayed between the willows along the river.
The encirclement was complete, the river's peril seized, the deceptive troop placements set in motion.
...
The sun of dusk was spent, dyeing half the sky crimson.
Ashina Dubi once again climbed the high slope of Red Willow Beach, gazing down at the solitary city.
Bayar stood by his side, still unwilling to relent, opening his mouth to request battle again.
Ashina Dubi raised a hand to silence him, his tone steadfast:
"No need for haste, no need for haste."
"This fish is already in the pot—why worry it will not be cooked?"
"It will only be a matter of time before it leaps out to seek its death."
