Chapter 154: Unlucky Faiwen

Luoshui Pass is situated adjacent to the Luoshui River, built at a mountain pass in the Jianyu Ridge. To the west of the Pass lie the Helan Mountains and the Yellow River. This is roughly the location referred to in the famous Ci poem written by Yue Fei, the renowned anti-Jin general of history, when he wrote, "Driving our chariots, we will trample through the Helan Mountain pass."

The mountain pass at Jianyu Ridge serves as an essential and inevitable thoroughfare leading to the Great Xia Kingdom. Jianyu Ridge derived its name from the abundance of arrow bamboo growing upon its slopes, which is a premium material utilized for crafting arrow shafts. Furthermore, the source of the Luoshui River originates from within Jianyu Ridge.

Ordinarily, with the natural barrier of the Yellow River to its west and its mountainous terrain, Luoshui Pass was considered by the soldiers and generals of the Great Song Dynasty to be a stronghold easily defended and difficult to attack. Yet, for reasons unknown this time, Luoshui Pass had fallen and slipped into the hands of the Great Xia Kingdom, resulting in several county towns in Yongzhou suffering a tragic devastation.

When Li Daocheng originally led his troops to breach Luoshui Pass, he left only several hundred men behind to guard the stronghold. Consequently, the provisions stored within the Pass at this moment amounted merely to the rations for those few hundred soldiers.

Having traversed the two commanderies of Jiuyuan and Yunzhong, Li Daocheng led his remaining troops, numbering over thirty thousand defeated men, in a forced march throughout the entire night before finally arriving at Luoshui Pass. Upon entering the Pass, both men and horses were exhausted and famished. Regrettably, the grain stored within the Pass was scarce, forcing Li Daocheng to order his men to boil all available food into a thin rice gruel to be distributed among his soldiers to appease their hunger.

Fortunately, this place marked the border between the Great Song Dynasty and the Great Xia Kingdom; the grain and fodder escorted by the Great Xia Kingdom should be arriving here shortly.

After pursuing the enemy for a while, Gao Wanjun halted her troops upon seeing that it was growing late. She ordered the main army to pitch camp on the spot and reorganize the ranks, while dispatching Fei Wen with five hundred soldiers back to Dingbian City to oversee the coordination of provisions and supplies. Her intention was to strike in one single effort and drive Li Daocheng all the way back into the Great Xia Kingdom.

Relieved from having to fight desperately on the front lines, Fei Wen was naturally overjoyed. He joyfully led the five hundred soldiers toward Dingbian City, never expecting that along the return journey, he would suddenly encounter a troop of nomadic cavalry head-on, which gave him a severe shock.

This unit of nomadic horsemen also numbered around five hundred, and the commanding officer leading them was none other than Chibu Gou.

As it turned out, Chibu Gou had been leading men upstream along the Dingbian River to construct a dam and remained unaware that a battle had broken out near the main camp. When evening approached and he led his troops back to camp, he discovered that the camp had been reduced to ashes. By then, he surmised that the Great Xia army must have engaged the Great Song army during the day and should have already retreated.

Unaware of how far Li Daocheng had retreated with his troops, he had no choice but to lead his soldiers searching all the way in the direction of the Great Xia Kingdom, thus encountering Fei Wen on his return journey to Dingbian City.

Chibu Gou had met Fei Wen before. He knew that Fei Wen had previously served as the commander-in-chief of the garrison troops, and he also knew that this man was utterly useless, having nearly been killed by Balatian not long ago.

Therefore, brandishing his twin whips, he spurred his horse forward and roared, "Are you that good-for-nothing named Fei Wen?"

Fei Wen never dreamed in his wildest dreams that he could be so unlucky as to run into a detachment of nomadic soldiers in the rear of his own army. Seeing that the enemy commander was tall, fierce in appearance, and fiercely bold, with an iron-reinforced whip in his hand almost as thick as his own calf, his heart failed him, and how could he possibly dare to step forward and meet the enemy in battle?

Chibu Gou also noticed Fei Wen's cowardly demeanor. Brandishing his twin whips, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brothers, charge! Slaughter every last one of these Song pigs for me!" The nomads had always looked down upon the people of the Great Song Dynasty, feeling that the army of the Great Song was far too weak and vulnerable, like pigs awaiting arbitrary slaughter.

Although the soldiers under Chibu Gou's command were each and every one of them exhausted and had not eaten their fill for days, the troops led by Fei Wen lacked all will to give battle due to Fei Wen's cowardice. From the very moment Fei Wen caught sight of Chibu Gou, his mind was entirely occupied with how to escape as quickly as possible. Thus, the moment the battle commenced, he whipped his horse and fled.

Seeing their commanding general take flight, who among the subordinates would be willing to stay behind and fight for their lives? They followed suit and scattered in flight, resulting in Fei Wen's forces suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Chibu Gou.

The direction of Fei Wen's flight led toward the main army of Gao Wanjun, with Chibu Gou and his men in close pursuit. Fei Wen's horsemanship was inferior to Chibu Gou's, and realizing he was about to be overtaken, Chibu Gou drew his bow and loosed an arrow straight at Fei Wen's back.

Fei Wen was not as fortunate this time. Because the distance was short and Chibu Gou possessed immense strength coupled with a powerful bow, the arrow struck squarely in the center of Fei Wen's back. Although protected by armor which prevented the arrow from piercing his flesh, Fei Wen's poor horsemanship caused him to be knocked violently off his horse by the tremendous momentum of the impact.

Chibu Gou hurriedly ordered his men to bind Fei Wen securely. By this time, Fei Wen had been frightened out of his wits, his face turning as pale as paper.

After a brief spell of routing the enemy, more than half of the five hundred soldiers led by Fei Wen were either dead or wounded. Chibu Gou ceased his pursuit, and leading his men with the captive Fei Wen in tow, he headed toward the Great Xia Kingdom.

Passing by the encampment of Gao Wanjun's forces, he spotted the banners of the Great Song Dynasty flying within the camp and accordingly detoured around it. Along the way, he happened to encounter some nomadic stragglers, and upon inquiry, learned that Li Daocheng had already led his forces through the night toward Luoshui Pass.

Without further delay, Chibu Gou likewise galloped through the night toward Luoshui Pass.

Gao Wanjun had established her encampment and was currently awaiting the forward transport of provisions and military supplies from the rear when the defeated soldiers led away by Fei Wen suddenly straggled back, reporting the sequence of events truthfully to her.

Livid with rage, Gao Wanjun cursed Fei Wen as utterly useless, yet finding herself helpless against the situation, she had no choice but to dispatch Bian Hongtai with a detachment to return to Dingbian City and arrange for the transport of grain and supplies.

Because Gao Wanjun's main force had marched out during the day to give battle, they carried minimal military supplies. At present, the camp suffered not only from a shortage of provisions, but logistical necessities such as tents, cooking utensils, and drinking water equipment were also severely lacking.

Consequently, Gao Wanjun was in no rush to pursue Li Daocheng. In military operations, logistical supply was of paramount importance. Well-versed in the art of war, Gao Wanjun naturally understood that the greatest taboo in campaigning was to advance deep into enemy territory alone. It would not be too late to pursue the enemy once logistical supplies were fully replenished. Besides, she knew that Li Daocheng could not escape very far; if he simply scurried all the way back to the Great Xia Kingdom, it would actually save her the trouble.

Xiao Ding was also encamped along with the main army. Standing in the camp at this moment, gazing at the all-encompassing blanket of pristine snow and the crisp moonlight in the sky, he could not help but think of his hometown. He wondered how Erniu and the others at home were faring now. In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed since he joined the army, and the twelfth lunar month was about to begin. With just over a month remaining until the Lunar New Year, he wondered if the war could be concluded before the year's end.

As he was lost in thought, he suddenly caught sight of a slender figure approaching. It was none other than Gao Wanjun, who had by then removed her armor and changed into women's attire.

"Commander Tian, you haven't rested yet!" Gao Wanjun took the initiative to greet Xiao Ding.

"Not yet, I couldn't sleep," Xiao Ding replied, thinking to himself, *Why has she come? Could it be she's worried I harbor ulterior motives?*

"What's the matter? Are you homesick?" Gao Wanjun asked with a smile, breaking away from her usual cold demeanor.

"A little. I also wonder when this war will ever end," Xiao Ding sighed.

"Are you missing your little wife at home? Your wife must be very pretty, right?" Gao Wanjun asked half-jokingly.

"Not at all, why would you ask that? My wife is merely a country girl born into a impoverished family who has labored since childhood. How could she possibly compare to an aristocratic young lady like General Gao, who has lived in a prince's mansion since youth?"

"You think I'm pretty? I'm warning you, you are not allowed to harbor any improper thoughts toward me, or I will never forgive you," Gao Wanjun warned.

"General Gao is of noble birth; how could it be something a humble person like me dares to presume upon? General Gao can set her mind completely at ease," Xiao Ding said.

"That's good. But you needn't belittle yourself either. Today I saw you fight valiantly on the battlefield—I never imagined you possessed such formidable skills!" Admiration flickered in Gao Wanjun's eyes.

"I merely possess somewhat greater physical strength than the average person," Xiao Ding replied modestly.

"Sigh... If Fei Wen had even half your ability, he wouldn't have been captured by the nomads." At the mention of that good-for-nothing Fei Wen, Gao Wanjun's brows furrowed.

"You needn't worry too much. Didn't we also capture the nomadic general Kang Leguo alive during the day? At worst, we can simply exchange prisoners once more," Xiao Ding consoled.

"Exchange them once again? You exchanged prisoners before?" Gao Wanjun asked, unaware of the previous prisoner exchange.

"Indeed. I must say this Kang Leguo is truly unlucky, having already been captured alive by our army for the second time," Xiao Ding chuckled.

"Do you think the nomads will agree to a prisoner exchange?" Gao Wanjun asked.

"They will. My guess is that before we even bring it up, the nomadic side will be the first to propose it," Xiao Ding stated with absolute confidence.

"Are you speaking the truth?" Gao Wanjun questioned skeptically.

"Naturally!" Xiao Ding affirmed.

"Very well, then let's place a wager," Gao Wanjun proposed.

"What wager?" Xiao Ding asked.

"If the nomads do not take the initiative to propose a prisoner exchange, it will be considered your loss. If you lose, you must pass down your cultivation technique to me. What do you say, do you dare to take the bet?" Gao Wanjun put forward the wager, then looked slyly at Xiao Ding while awaiting his response. As it turned out, she still had her mind set on Xiao Ding's cultivation technique.

"And if I win?" Xiao Ding countered.

"If you win, I will permit you to harbor improper thoughts about me in your heart."

"..." Xiao Ding broke out in a cold sweat.

*Note: This book is a fictional time-travel historical novel. The characters, place names, and other elements involved in the text are entirely fabricated by the author. Any similarities are purely coincidental and should not be compared with actual history.*