Chapter 159: Total Victory

Hearing a sudden uproar from within the pass, Li Daocheng abruptly turned his head to look behind him, only to see the soldiers inside the inner city already fallen across the ground. Taking a closer look, he realized that at some point, numerous troops of the Great Song Dynasty had appeared on the cliffs along both the northern and southern sides of the pass. These soldiers were hurling bamboo spears down into the pass, while others used repeating crossbow carts to launch bamboo spears and archers rained down feathered arrows.

Utter chaos had already erupted within the stronghold. A great many soldiers had been struck by bamboo spears and feathered arrows, leaving them either dead or severely wounded amidst a chorus of miserable shrieks. Atop the cliffs, men had bound together bundles of dried, fine bamboo twigs and leaves, set them ablaze, and cast them downward, igniting the tents and barracks where the nomad soldiers resided.

With over thirty thousand men stationed within the pass, their barracks and tents covered a vast area, presenting a massive target. These thirty thousand troops had been dispersed throughout every corner of the stronghold, each busy with their own tasks: some garrisoning the walls, some transporting supplies, and others preparing for battle. Now, however, they had all been reduced to sitting ducks. Operating from the high ground with a distinct geographical advantage, the Great Song soldiers atop the cliffs—commanded by Xiao Ding and Luo Simao—hurled bamboo spears and feathered arrows downward with effortless precision.

Xiao Ding had been leading his troops stationed on the northern cliff of Luoshui Pass, while Luo Simao commanded his forces on the southern cliff. Upon hearing the signal cannon fired by Gao Wanjun, the two had already readied themselves for the assault. Seeing the Great Song army formally begin its attack on the pass, they simultaneously ordered their men into action. Thus, the two squads of soldiers on the cliff tops echoed each other from afar, adhering to their preconceived plan as they rained bamboo spears and feathered arrows down into the pass.

Meanwhile, upon spotting the numerous barracks and tents below, Xiao Ding was reminded of the tactic of fire. He promptly ordered his men to bind together the fine bamboo twigs and leaves they had trimmed and chopped the previous day, set them on fire, and fling them directly into the nomad encampments and tents.

Indeed, this arson strategy proved remarkably effective; before long, the nomad tents were ablaze.

Seeing Xiao Ding dispatch men to set fires, Luo Simao refused to be outdone and similarly commanded his soldiers to emulate those on the opposite cliff by starting fires of their own.

Consequently, once the flames broke out within the fortress, the garrisoned soldiers were instantly thrown into complete disorder. Desperate to put out the fires, they were simultaneously forced to dodge the bamboo spears and stealthy arrows raining down from above. Yet the supply of bamboo spears and feathered arrows on the cliffs on both sides was more than ample. Falling continuously from the heights like a torrential rain, they left the soldiers inside the pass with nowhere to hide.

Witnessing this dire situation within the pass and the heavy casualties among his men, Li Daocheng knew that Luoshui Pass could no longer be held this day. Overwhelmed by sudden anxiety and a piercing heartache, he spat a mouthful of fresh blood. The guards beside him hurriedly rushed to steady his swaying body, crying out repeatedly, "Your Imperial Highness! Your Imperial Highness, what is wrong with you?"

Mao Yansun, the military strategist standing nearby, cast a glance at the Great Song army poised to charge across the front of the pass, then looked over the ignited barracks and tents and the sprawling casualties within. He let out a long sigh and said, "First Imperial Prince, it is clear we cannot hold Luoshui Pass today. We should retreat back to Hexi as early as possible!"

To the west of Luoshui Pass lay the Helan Mountains and the Yellow River. The Hexi mentioned by Mao Yansun referred to the region west of the Yellow River. As was well known, the Yellow River generally flowed in the shape of the Chinese character for "several" (ji). The location of Luoshui Pass happened to sit precisely along that segment where the Yellow River flowed from south to north.

Mao Yansun reasoned that since Luoshui Pass could not be defended today anyway, they might as well retreat into the interior of the Great Xia nation ahead of time. Once withdrawn west of the Yellow River, the river itself would form a natural barrier; even if the Great Song forces continued their pursuit, they would ultimately have their path blocked by the Yellow River.

Although Li Daocheng was deeply reluctant, the stark reality lay right before his eyes. If he refused to retreat now and stubbornly fought to the bitter end, his remaining force of some thirty thousand men would likely perish entirely within Luoshui Pass, and whether he himself could escape alive remained an unknown. Therefore, after merely a brief moment of reflection, he gave the trembling command: "Everyone, abandon the pass and retreat!"

At that moment, Gao Wanjun was already leading her charging troops right up to the front of the pass, where the soldiers were battering the fortress gates with battering rams and heavy wooden beams.

Initially, the defending soldiers had still harbored thoughts of putting up some resistance. Later, seeing that fires had broken out inside the pass and that bamboo spears were constantly plunging down from the cliffs above—threatening to strike them at any careless moment—their morale had long since collapsed, leaving them with no heart whatsoever to continue fighting the besieging army.

Hearing Li Daocheng's order to retreat, the nomad soldiers abandoned all resistance, flung open the western gates of Luoshui Pass, and poured out of the stronghold like a tidal wave.

Li Daocheng, Mao Yansun, Li Wantong, and others, escorted by several Great Xia military generals, also withdrew from Luoshui Pass.

When Gao Wanjun led her troops storming into Luoshui Pass, she discovered that the fires raging within the fortress could no longer be extinguished. The barracks and tents inside had long merged into a sea of flames, and the only thing left to do now was to watch helplessly as these structures burned to ashes before finally putting out the remaining embers.

Just as Gao Wanjun was about to order her soldiers to step back from the inferno and wait for the fire to burn itself out, she suddenly saw massive blocks of snow, along with scattered drifts, cascading down from the northern cliff directly toward the sea of flames.

Gao Wanjun naturally knew that this was Xiao Ding having his soldiers shove accumulated snow down from the cliffs to quench the fire. She could not help but silently praise in her heart how clever this tall young man truly was!

Upon seeing the soldiers on the opposite cliff pushing snow down to put out the fires, Luo Simao promptly commanded his own men to follow suit. Consequently, the raging inferno was instantly suppressed by the overwhelming influx of snow.

Seeing this, Gao Wanjun quickly instructed her own soldiers to cooperate by using the accumulated snow inside the fortress to extinguish the remaining flames.

At last, through the joint efforts of the numerous soldiers, the blaze was completely extinguished.

Xiao Ding and Luo Simao likewise led their respective men down the cliffs to garrison the interior of the pass.

Although Luoshui Pass had suffered severe devastation from the fire, fortunately, the commander-in-chief's residence remained untouched. Gao Wanjun instructed the soldiers to clear the battlefield, burn the corpses, and handle all post-battle cleanup duties. She then stepped into the main hall of the commander's residence.

The occupation of Luoshui Pass signified that the invading forces of the Great Xia nation had been completely driven out of the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, marking a resounding victory in this war. Whether to press forward with further military campaigns required reporting to the imperial court for a final decision.

Consequently, Gao Wanjun immediately drafted the battle report and official dispatches, detailing every event of the frontline warfare, and dispatched messengers to deliver them to Eunuch Ji, the imperial supervisor stationed at Dingbian City, while simultaneously sending a copy of the battle report to the imperial court.

During this assault on the pass, the Great Song army suffered minimal losses, with only a few hundred casualties resulting from nomad archers during the siege. The dead bodies within the pass were predominantly those of the nomads.

Out of the more than thirty thousand Great Xia troops originally stationed in Luoshui Pass, over half had been lost in this single battle. Li Daocheng retreated west of the Yellow River with the remnants of his shattered army and fell gravely ill from that day onward, never to recover.

Military strategist Mao Yansun and imperial preceptor Li Wantong hurriedly dispatched official dispatches to the Emperor of Great Xia, detailing the frontline situation and Li Daocheng's illness. Upon reading the dispatches, the Emperor of Great Xia let out a long sigh and immediately penned a peace-seeking letter to the imperial court of the Great Song with his own hand, dispatching messengers to deliver it to the capital of the Great Xia nation.