Chapter 155: Before the Luoshui Pass

Xiao Ding was chatting with Gao Wan-jun and discussing their bet when the sound of approaching footsteps suddenly echoed. However, upon noticing Xiao Ding and Gao Wan-jun, the newcomer abruptly turned around and walked away.

Recognizing the figure from behind as Huang Wen-long, Xiao Ding quickly called out, "Lord Huang, do you need something?"

Huang Wen-long stopped in his tracks, turned back, and said, "Oh, nothing, nothing. You two carry on, I won't disturb you." A look of "I understand, I get it" spread across his face.

Seeing that expression, Xiao Ding knew at once that Huang Wen-long had misunderstood the situation between him and Gao Wan-jun. Huang Wen-long must have assumed they were on a romantic date, which explained why he had tried to leave so hastily.

Upon second thought, however, Xiao Ding realized that under the moonlight amidst the snow, a single man and woman together in this setting did indeed carry a rather ambiguous air. It was no wonder Huang Wen-long had jumped to conclusions.

"Lord Huang, if you have something to say, please speak freely. Commander Tian and I were just discussing the exchange of prisoners," Gao Wan-jun said, realizing as well that Huang Wen-long had misconstrued the moment.

"Ah, well, actually I wanted to consult General Gao about where we should station our troops tomorrow. According to the scouts' reports, Li Dao-cheng has already retreated his forces toward Luoshui Pass. Outside Luoshui Pass lie the two prefectures of Jiuyuan and Yunzhong; which one shall we garrison tomorrow?"

"Li Dao-cheng has retreated to Luoshui Pass?" Gao Wan-jun asked instead of answering immediately.

"Yes, I just received the intelligence report and was about to brief General Gao!" Huang Wen-long replied.

"Good. Then tomorrow we march for Luoshui Pass," Gao Wan-jun said, delighted by the news.

For as long as they could capture Luoshui Pass, it would mean driving the Hu invaders completely out of the Great Song State.

Early the next morning, Bian Hong-tai arrived from Dingbian City, escorting grain and provisions. The soldiers were finally able to have a proper meal. Having gone to bed the previous night with empty stomachs, they had lacked enough tents for sleep; many had improvised temporary shelters out of tree branches, while quite a few simply huddled together directly under the open sky, enduring a cold and starving night.

With their bellies full of battle rations, the soldiers and officers recovered their morale. At Gao Wan-jun's command, the grand army set off, marching straight toward Luoshui Pass.

Passing through the prefectures of Jiuyuan and Yunzhong, they found the county seats completely sacked by the Hu forces. The former inhabitants had either been slaughtered, plundered, or driven to flight, leaving behind two utterly desolate ghost towns.

In this era, a prefecture and a county held the same administrative rank, differing only in their jurisdiction. Counties fell under the administration of states, whereas prefectures—despite being comparable in size to counties and having prefects of the same rank as county magistrates—answered directly to the imperial court, functioning much like modern municipalities directly under central administration. Generally, prefectures were established in frontier regions to facilitate imperial control over border defenses.

Presently, the prefects of both Jiuyuan and Yunzhong had long since been murdered by the Hu, leaving the cities in ruins where not even a stray dog could be seen, let alone a human shadow.

The army did not linger in the two prefectures, marching directly to pitch camp before Luoshui Pass.

Xiao Ding and the various generals reined in their horses to survey Luoshui Pass, silently marveling at the formidable stronghold. Towering and majestic, the city walls of Luoshui Pass stood flanked by the towering cliffs and precipitous, sheer mountain ridges of Jianyu Ridge. Wedged precisely at the mouth of the mountain pass, Luoshui Pass truly exemplified the saying: "With a single man guarding the pass, ten thousand would find it impassable."

After observing the pass, Xiao Ding sighed inwardly that a frontal assault would inevitably lead to heavy casualties. If the Hu forces chose to hold it to the death, the Great Song army would struggle to capture it without paying an immense price.

Gao Wan-jun and the other generals similarly furrowed their brows upon witnessing the sheer impregnability of Luoshui Pass.

Once the camp was properly established, Gao Wan-jun immediately summoned all the generals to the central command tent to deliberate on how to breach Luoshui Pass.

Having all just witnessed the towering grandeur and defensive superiority of the pass, the officers found themselves momentarily without any brilliant ideas.

"If we launch a direct, hard assault, our army will undoubtedly suffer catastrophic losses. Moreover, if the Hu forces defend it stubbornly, we will hardly be able to capture this pass anytime soon. Therefore, it is best to take this pass through strategy rather than brute force. Everyone must devise a foolproof plan," Gao Wan-jun said, sweeping her gaze across the assembled generals.

"Indeed. If we handle this poorly, our army might end up just like the Hu forces when they attacked Dingbian, Pubian, and Xinquan—suffering massive casualties while achieving nothing," Huang Wen-long chimed in, echoing her sentiment.

Everyone understood the logic, but for the moment, nobody had the slightest inkling of a foolproof siege strategy.

Just as everyone sat frowning and racking their brains for a way to break the pass, a soldier entered to report that the Hu forces had sent an emissary bearing a message.

Gao Wan-jun promptly ordered the emissary to be brought into the tent.

It turned out the messenger had been dispatched by Li Dao-cheng, primarily to negotiate the exchange of Fei Wen for Kang Lueguo.

After reading Li Dao-cheng's letter, Gao Wan-jun glanced at Xiao Ding with a slight flush on her cheeks. She had not expected Xiao Ding's prediction to be entirely accurate; the ink on their camp's banners was barely dry before the Hu forces had taken the initiative to send someone to negotiate a prisoner swap. It seemed she had lost her wager with Xiao Ding.

The Hu people had always valued their own officers and men while looking down upon those of the Great Song. In their eyes, the life of a Great Xia soldier was worth far more than that of a Great Song counterpart—to say nothing of the fact that Chibu Gou had captured a good-for-nothing like Fei Wen.

Initially, upon hearing that Chibu Gou had captured a Great Song military officer, Li Dao-cheng had been overjoyed and heaped heavy praise upon him. But upon discovering that the captive was none other than the useless Fei Wen, his enthusiasm waned considerably. A good-for-nothing like this could be captured by any ordinary foot soldier; did it really require a renowned general of Great Xia?

In Li Dao-cheng's eyes, Fei Wen's life was worth less than that of a dog—slaughtering a dog could at least fill the soldiers' bellies, whereas what use could Fei Wen possibly serve?

Just as he was about to order Fei Wen dragged out and executed, he was stopped by his military strategist, Mao Yan-shun.

"Has the First Prince forgotten? Our own general, Kang Lueguo, is still in the hands of the Great Song. Why don't we use this Fei Wen to trade for Kang Lueguo?" Mao Yan-shun reminded him.

"Trade for him? Kang Lueguo is also a good-for-nothing. Not only was he captured once, but he managed to get caught a second time! Hmph! As far as I'm concerned, he might as well be dead!" Li Dao-cheng said angrily.

"The First Prince must not speak thus. Although Kang Lueguo is inferior in skill, he remains a renowned general of our Great Xia and is a hundred times stronger than Fei Wen. Even if we execute Fei Wen now, it is no great loss to the Great Song army—merely the removal of a useless wretch. Trading a worthless fool for a general of Great Xia is a profitable deal no matter how you look at it. In my view, we would do better to return this waste to the Great Song and let him become a plague to them," Mao Yan-shun patiently analyzed.

Hearing this, Li Dao-cheng thought it made sense and consented to the strategist's proposal, immediately penning a letter to be sent to the camp of the Great Song army.

Gao Wan-jun had Li Dao-cheng's letter circulated among the generals before seeking their opinions. Although everyone privately considered Fei Wen a good-for-nothing whose exchange mattered little, nobody was foolish enough to voice it aloud. After all, Fei Wen was still an officer of the Great Song; since the Hu had proposed a trade, exchanging him for Kang Lueguo was entirely acceptable.

Seeing no objections to the prisoner swap, Gao Wan-jun immediately wrote a reply to Li Dao-cheng, scheduling the exchange to take place the next morning before the gates of Luoshui Pass.

Carrying Gao Wan-jun's reply back to Luoshui Pass, Li Dao-cheng was delighted to find the Great Song side agreeable to the terms. Trading a good-for-nothing to recover a Great Xia general was certainly no loss.

At that moment, the strategist Mao Yan-shun spoke up once more: "First Prince, we should still exercise caution. Since the Great Song side agreed to the exchange so readily, do you suppose they might seize the opportunity of tomorrow's prisoner swap to launch a surprise attack on Luoshui Pass?"