From E Prefecture to north of Huaiyang Mountain, across a thousand miles of mountain wilderness, hawks and falcons were extremely numerous. When the two carrier pigeons flew back to the pigeon coop at Wujin Ridge military camp, their wings and bellies bore injuries—they had nearly failed to return.

This was also the most significant uncertainty factor in using carrier pigeons for long-distance message transmission.

At this moment there was no time to pity whether the two carrier pigeons could be nursed back to health. The secret letters transmitted back by Guo Que and Feng Yi were enough to shock everyone.

“Wanhong House must be worried that news of dramatic changes in Hebei cannot be hidden from us for long. Yao Xishui leaving Lingshan military camp and borrowing passage into Dongting Lake must intend to stir up trouble in Xuzhou to attract our attention!”

Feng Liao was still at Wujin Ridge military camp at this time. Upon receiving the intelligence report sent back by Guo Que via carrier pigeon, he immediately summoned everyone to convene in the courtyard where Han Qian resided daily. Feng Liao was the first to speculate that Yao Xishui’s elusive movements must harbor ill intentions toward them.

As a core disciple of the younger generation of Wanhong House, Yao Xishui enjoyed Lu Qingxia’s greatest trust—one could say she was Lu Qingxia’s successor. Now with Lu Qingxia holding down the palace, whenever anything happened, it was Yao Xishui who moved about outside.

Therefore, the Military Intelligence Staff Bureau also paid extremely close attention to Yao Xishui’s movements. But unfortunately, as remnants of the Shenling Bureau, Wanhong House was also extremely skilled at concealment. Confirming Yao Xishui’s whereabouts at all times was not easy—even the Weaving Bureau’s official ships numbered about a dozen simultaneously operating outside, collecting silk and textile products from prefectures and counties to supply the palace, providing tremendous convenience for their secret agents and informants’ activities.

That Yao Xishui had run to see Li Zhigao, Zhou Shu, Li Xiu, Deng Tai and others a few days ago could further validate their predictions about the Hebei situation. But Yao Xishui hadn’t stayed long with Li Zhigao before suddenly running to Dongting Lake. Those now gathered at Wujin Ridge could not possibly believe Yao Xishui was going to admire Dongting Lake’s spring scenery.

After the Great Chu navy was annihilated at Hongze Lake, Han Qian had transferred more than three-quarters of the officers and officials from Xuzhou to form the Tangyi army. Only a small force remained in Xuzhou to maintain watch.

Before Han Qian and Wang Jun’s grand wedding, he had specifically brought Zhao Ting’er over for reunion. Afterward Zhao Ting’er became pregnant and bore Han Qian a daughter at East Lake. She had never departed to return to Xuzhou.

Currently Xuzhou’s military and political affairs were mainly presided over by Xi Xunqiao, Qiao Weiyan, Xi Chang, Wei Xu, Han Dong, Guo Xiao, and Tan Yuliang who remained guarding the Wuchuan River valley.

To draw out as many resources as possible to support Tangyi, Xuzhou’s state troops and Tianping Command’s active forces had only about two thousand officers and soldiers maintaining the defenses and public order of the eight counties.

Considering Xuzhou’s surrounding military-political environment, this force level could be said to be quite inadequate.

In Xuzhou’s periphery, not counting Zheng Hui’s forces on the eastern side of Xuefeng Mountain, the three Xi, Yang, and Tian families in Chen, Si, and Ye states possessed over six thousand tribal soldiers. The indigenous clan forces in the prefectures and counties of the old Qianzhong commandery in the upper reaches of Qianjiang and Ruan River possessed even stronger military power.

In the past, with the Tangyi army attacking cities and seizing territory in Jianghuai with unmatched military prowess, and the Han family’s words carrying great weight at court, plus long-term large-scale commercial exchanges, Han Qian didn’t need to worry about the Xi, Yang, and Tian clans daring to act rashly. But if Yao Xishui secretly plotted something in the name of the Palace of Benevolent Longevity, one or two of these forces might be instigated into restless action.

Of course, whether the Yang clan of Sizhou who had suffered greatly in the Sizhou civil unrest, or the Tian clan of Yezhou, or the Xi clan who was militarily the strongest of the three forces—perhaps they wouldn’t dare leave evidence by openly using troops against Xuzhou. But if they took lessons from the Sizhou civil unrest and secretly encouraged roving bandits, or if they sent out elite forces directly disguised as bandits to burn, kill, and plunder throughout Xuzhou territory, how should those remaining in Xuzhou respond?

“Guo Que, Feng Yi, and Lin Sheng have all followed to Xuzhou. As long as Xi Ying, the Yang family, and the Tian clan don’t dare so brazenly as to openly dispatch troops to invade Xuzhou, the situation in Xuzhou may have small disturbances but nothing much to worry about,” Guo Rong said with furrowed brows. “What we need to consider now is, if we still want to deceive heaven and cross the sea, when something happens in Xuzhou, how should we respond to make Wanhong House mistakenly believe we know nothing about the Hebei situation?”

The secret letter sent back by Guo Que via carrier pigeon arrived just as Han Qian was getting up. Before he had even finished washing, he sat disheveled behind the long desk, his fingers rhythmically tapping the wooden desk as he contemplated this question raised by Guo Rong.

Wang Jun, dressed in jacket and skirt, sat beside Han Qian and said, “Looking at the current preparations of the Yiyang forces, they mainly still plan to advance on Luoshan City without excessively greedy intentions. Yao Xishui heading west should be an idle move, a cold piece on the board…”

“Li Zhigao uses troops steadily. Without a sure opportunity, he won’t easily make a move. Yet this is also the biggest problem.” Han Qian said with a bitter smile.

When it came to using stratagems, without possessing crushing power, one could only place hope in the opponent making more mistakes.

Yao Xishui heading west was definitely to stir up trouble. If Li Zhigao placed great hopes in Yao Xishui’s westward move, they could naturally make targeted deployments accordingly.

However, the problem was that Li Zhigao used troops extremely steadily. Currently their troop movements and deployments along the Yiyang-Luoshan line showed no excessive greed and displayed no signs of particular expectations for Yao Xishui’s westward move.

This meant that no matter how they deployed or deceived heaven and crossed the sea, in the end they might not achieve their expected effects and could even be too clever by half.

“Should we respond to all changes with constancy?” Feng Liao asked hesitantly.

The messengers sent by Guo Que and Feng Yi from Lingshan military camp had arrived at Wujin Ridge military camp two days ago, bringing back information on the troop defense deployments of the Left Vermillion Bird Army and Left Martial Guard Army in the Yiyang-Luoshan area, as well as the preliminary coordinated operation plan reached between the two armies.

Based on previous intelligence, they could preliminarily deduce that even if Li Zhigao already knew dramatic changes were imminent in Hebei, his target was still relatively conservatively placed on Wen Bo’s forces defending Luoshan City.

When dramatic changes in Hebei alarmed the southern defense line of Liang Kingdom, Li Zhigao should lead forces to cut off the retreat route of Luoshan City’s defending troops, forcing defending general Wen Bo and his ten-thousand-plus elite troops to surrender. At the same time, the entire Guangzhou region west of Luoshan City would also fall under the control of the Xiangbei Regional Defense Command.

Feng Liao’s suggestion to respond to all changes with constancy meant assuming Li Zhigao’s intentions would not change significantly due to Yao Xishui’s westward actions, or at least his intentions would not undergo major changes before Yao Xishui’s westward move actually stirred up trouble. Then the Tangyi army would also make no major deployment adjustments. When the Shouzhou Army’s footing fell into great chaos, the first objective would merely be limited to taking over Anfeng Stockade, Gaocheng, Yincheng, Qisi and other counties and stockades in southern Huozhou…

At this moment a guard reported and entered, directly passing a secret letter before Han Qian.

Han Qian unfolded the secret letter, pondered for a moment, and said, “Then we’ll respond to all changes with constancy!”

Wang Jun leaned over curiously to look. She saw that Han Qian had been quite hesitant just moments ago, not knowing what news was written in the secret letter to suddenly make Han Qian resolve his decision.

After those seated had viewed the secret letter, Han Qian didn’t hand it to Guo Rong for filing but directly threw it into the copper brazier to burn to ash. He said to Feng Liao, “I’ll go to Yanzi River these next two days. You and Guo Rong accompany me to take a look…”

…

…

Over the past year, with Anfeng Stockade as the core, the Shouzhou Army had built a batch of city stockades garrisoned with elite forces, blocking the passage out of the Nanfei River valley extremely tightly.

Never mind that the Tangyi army at Wujin Ridge military camp had only six thousand-plus cavalry and infantry. Even if their forces doubled, it would be very difficult to directly dispatch troops northward along the Nanfei River valley.

Whether they could seize southern Huozhou’s city stockades at the first opportunity when the Hebei situation changed dramatically and the Shouzhou Army’s morale was unstable with footing in great chaos—completing the Huazhu Peak plank road beforehand was a key to determining success or failure.

Although the Southern Huo Special Task Battalion had gathered eight to nine thousand troops on the north slope of Huaiyang Mountain, dragging along the old and carrying the young totaled over forty thousand people.

Among them, over ten thousand people had fled into the mountains to escape the Shouzhou Army’s forced relocation or fearing the Shouzhou Army’s conscription of able-bodied men. They had absolutely no foundation for survival in the mountains.

Before the Southern Huo Special Task Battalion entered, these people in the mountains had subsisted on tree bark, grass roots, or kaolin clay, their survival situation utterly precarious.

After the Southern Huo Special Task Battalion entered the north slope mountain region, although they mobilized bottom-tier poor people to stand up and overthrow the rule of wealthy households, confiscating fields, houses, grain, and millet with great fanfare, because material production in the mountains was already in a scarce state, plus with a large number of refugees flooding in previously, the obtained stored grain still had difficulty feeding such a large population base.

Never mind armor and weapons—the Southern Huo Special Task Battalion’s current situation of enduring hunger hadn’t been fundamentally improved. How could they have much combat capability, much less actively strike out, kill out of Huaiyang Mountain’s north slope, enter the Huonan Plain, and attack city stockades defended by the Shouzhou Army?

Before the plank road was completed, relying only on three to five hundred people carrying loads on shoulders and backs, averaging three to four thousand pounds of supplies transported over mountains daily was already the limit. But with over forty thousand women, children, and elderly crying out for food, they needed at least thirty to fifty thousand pounds of supplies supplemented daily to fundamentally change their state of enduring hunger. The gap was too large.

However, after over two thousand craftsmen’s continuous efforts for more than four months, the main body of the Huazhu Peak plank road was also approaching completion. Currently there were still three chain bridges not yet finally connected. These three chain bridges were also key nodes of the Huazhu Peak plank road.

The first chain bridge was located in the upper river valley of Yanzi River, also the first location Han Qian would inspect.

The climate inside Huaiyang Mountain was still more temperate and moist than outside the mountains. By late in the second month, ice and snow had already melted. Occasionally on mountain cliffs a cluster of new green or tender yellow flower buds emerged, especially pleasing to the eye.

The upper stream channel of Yanzi River had craggy rocks with no navigable waters. Coming from the downstream dock, one could only travel by land route.

Wang Jun wasn’t skilled at riding horses, and the post road built in the upper Yanzi River valley was particularly steep and dangerous. So Han Qian and Wang Jun rode the same horse, slowly proceeding along the road.

Wang Jun nestled in Han Qian’s embrace without constraint, watching the flowing waters of Yanzi River below the post road already become abundant, rushing rapidly over reef rocks, splashing white spray. Looking again at the western bank’s dark brown stone walls where occasionally one or two green pines stubbornly grew from between the rocks, she thought how wonderful it would be if this lingering spring day could continue endlessly as they slowly traveled this road with no end.

In the upper reaches of Yanzi River, the western bank had many cliff walls, while the eastern bank’s terrain was relatively gentle. Over thousands of years mountain people and herb gatherers had trampled out small paths. Previously they had repaired the eastern bank post road on this foundation. But reaching the upper reaches of Yanzi River required building a chain bridge to connect with the starting point of the Huazhu Peak plank road on the western bank.

Over a thousand years ago there were already precedents for constructing chain bridges horizontally across streams, rivers, and gorges. Xuzhou had prioritized developing iron smelting and casting in recent years. Forging over a thousand zhang of iron chains wasn’t particularly strenuous work. But the key problem was that the eastern bank of Yanzi River lacked giant stones to secure the chains.

The final decision was to spare no cost in pouring stone mortar to build bridge piers.

Before winter began last year, they first built kilns on the eastern bank of Yanzi River, mining clay and limestone to fire in the kilns, then built water-powered trip hammers to grind coarse material to finally produce stone mortar. Then continuously using stone mortar and specially-made iron reinforcing bars for pouring—four whole months had passed. When Han Qian and Wang Jun, escorted by many guards, arrived at the upper reaches of Yanzi River, they saw on the eastern bank two massive bridge piers five feet square and over five zhang tall had been poured.

It was also fortuitous that Kong Xirong had also come today from the north slope of Huaiyang Mountain to check on the construction progress of the Yanzi River chain bridge.

Although the Huazhu Peak plank road still had three key nodes not yet connected, temporary hanging ropes or simple floating bridges had been built at all three nodes to transport craftsmen and construction materials.

Now traveling between Yanzi River valley and Baishui River valley was much more convenient than before. The supplies transported daily to the upper Baishui River valley had also increased from the early two to three thousand pounds to over ten thousand pounds. Small numbers of personnel traveling had also shortened from the previous four to five days needed to cross mountains and ridges to within a single day.

However, before the three chain bridges were completed enabling horses and carts to pass, large-scale material transport and personnel travel were still unrealistic.

Kong Xirong had personally entered Huaiyang Mountain’s north slope these past months. His cheeks grew thick stubble. With his large, burly frame, he now appeared even more rugged. Seeing Han Qian and Wang Jun approach escorted by Guo Rong, Feng Liao and others, he cupped his hands in salute and pointed at the bridge piers, saying, “These two bridge piers can be said to represent the great achievements of Xuzhou’s engineering and construction.”

Although the chief engineer presiding over the Huazhu Peak plank road construction was Qiao Jun, a disciple brought out by Chen Jitang, and neither Chen Jitang nor Ji Xiyao had personally emerged from the mountains, from four years ago when they first successfully fired the first kiln of usable stone mortar material in the experimental furnace at the Engineering School using clay and limestone, stone mortar as a building adhesive and mixed with river sand into concrete, together with specially-made bamboo, wood or iron reinforcing bars applied to pouring foundations and beams and columns—Chen Jitang and Ji Xiyao had guided disciples at the Engineering School in exploring for four years front to back.

Kong Xirong saying these two bridge piers represented the great achievements of Xuzhou’s engineering techniques was not the slightest exaggeration. What came next was simply connecting the bridge piers with the western bank using six iron chains, then laying thick wooden planks—these methods were actually simpler.

Since he had encountered Kong Xirong, Han Qian also inquired in detail about the situation of the Southern Huo Advance Battalion.

Also in the past ten-plus days, the scale of material input had greatly improved. The various stockades of the Southern Huo Advance Battalion mainly concentrated in the upper river valleys of Baishui River and Guan River—their situation had greatly improved compared to the most difficult times. At least they had emerged from the relatively severe famine state. Spring plowing work in the upper valleys of Baishui River and Guan River had also successively commenced. Officers and soldiers had also restored a certain degree of training.

The situation of the refugees who fled last year from southern Huozhou counties into the depths of the north slope had also been sorted out.

Among these ten thousand-plus refugees, almost every household had able-bodied adults who before the great victory at Wujin Ridge had been forcibly conscripted by the Shouzhou Army as laborers for use in attacking Wujin Ridge in the warfare.

After sorting it out, of these laborers, approximately four thousand people front to back had been captured by Tangyi during the great victory at Wujin Ridge. After the war, almost all had been incorporated into supply battalions as auxiliary and garrison troops.

The Southern Huo Advance Battalion now, besides still needing to add a batch of experienced military officers, Kong Xirong now hoped to transfer these four thousand auxiliary troops from the supply battalions to be incorporated as regular soldiers into the Southern Huo Advance Battalion. It could be foreseen that these people’s combat capability and cohesion would not be poor.

Whether it was Wujin Ridge military camp initially mobilizing bottom-tier poor people from the northeast slope heartland to be incorporated into the ranks, or the Southern Huo Advance Battalion entering the north slope heartland before the year to mobilize bottom-tier poor people, the scale of personnel was absolutely not low. But bottom-tier poor people had long endured hunger—their physical condition upon initial enlistment was very poor. Measured by traditional standards, the proportion qualifying as elite healthy soldiers was very low.

Besides abundant polished rice and flour foods, the army also supplied a certain amount of meat, bean products, poultry eggs and such. It required approximately one to two years before officers’ and soldiers’ physical condition would improve somewhat, barely reaching elite soldier standards.

The officers and soldiers at Wujin Ridge military camp had rested and recuperated for nearly a year. Naturally their condition had greatly improved. But the Southern Huo Advance Battalion had only in the past ten-plus days seen supply become slightly more generous.

If dramatic changes in Hebei were imminent, hoping the Southern Huo Advance Battalion’s nearly nine thousand officers and soldiers could recuperate into elite troops within the next one or two months was obviously unrealistic.

However, supplementing a portion of experienced, bravely fighting grass-roots military officers and four thousand auxiliary troops who had recuperated for over a year with a certain training foundation, whose subsequent cohesion and morale were guaranteed—Kong Xirong believed the Southern Huo Advance Battalion’s overall combat capability could see considerable improvement.

“We’ve also just decided that the various units of the left and right armies will temporarily all maintain the status quo unchanged, mainly considering strengthening the Southern Huo Special Task Battalion so that when dramatic changes occur in the Hebei situation, we can recover southern Huozhou’s city stockades at the first opportunity. Currently it appears we still need to transfer these personnel from the various supply battalions into your hands at the fastest possible speed.” Han Qian said.

Immediately he had Guo Rong draft military orders while riding, which he would sign, sending people to rush back to Wujin Ridge military camp on fast horses to have the Military Intelligence Staff Bureau transfer these personnel from various battalions according to the roster…

…

…

By late in the second month, the Jianghuai land was already full of spring radiance, but heavy snow in Hebei still lay unmelted.

On the last day at the end of the second month, above Dingzhou City’s lead-gray gloomy firmament, snowflakes fluttered down again in profusion, as if the arrival of warm spring season still couldn’t be seen for quite a while.

“What’s wrong with heaven these past years? Spring starts later and later each year. When summer and autumn arrive, it’s drier year after year. Does heaven still let common people live? What time is it already, and there’s still such heavy snow!”

In the teahouse across from Guanjiang House, several rough men pushed the door open and entered, loudly complaining about the profuse heavy snow outside.

Wind and snow rushed in with the pushed-open door curtain, causing everyone sitting in the warm teahouse to involuntarily shiver.

Han Bao and Zhang Shigui sat in a corner by the window drinking hot tea covered in tea foam. The tea broth was somewhat bitter—Han Bao and his companion weren’t accustomed to drinking it, but the scalding tea entering the belly was comfortable.

They glanced at the rough men who entered the teahouse at this moment, then through the window gap peered toward Guanjiang House across from the teahouse. They lowered their heads, holding pottery bowls with small chips missing, drinking the tea.

The several rough men walked toward them. Six of them sat around an adjacent tea table, while two more squeezed to the table where Han Bao and Zhang Shigui sat. While roughly calling the server to brew tea, they also took wheat cakes from their bundles. Looking at their dog fur jackets covered with patches, they appeared to be ordinary traveling merchants going from village to village.

The teahouse wasn’t some high-class establishment. Besides tea, it also provided some simple foods. Sharing tables was quite normal. But Zhang Shigui vigilantly pressed the short blade under his clothes.

Han Bao grabbed his wrist, telling him to remain calm.

“Han Bao, these are the two deserters you captured from Beiheng Gully. Very vigilant—good material.” A man with a face full of beard pressed his voice low and smiled.

“His name is Huo Li. He’s a maternal cousin who joined Tangyi with Lady from Yangzhou, also a staff officer in the Military Intelligence Staff Bureau.” Han Bao introduced to Zhang Shigui.

“Don’t deliberately mention my status as if I’m inferior to you.” Huo Li grinned. Though he was only twenty-five years old, with his full beard, or perhaps having experienced considerable wind and frost during this period, his appearance looked more rugged and weathered than his actual age.

Huo Li and Wang Tang both once served in the Military Intelligence Staff Bureau. Even this team of elite scouts Han Bao led north to reconnoiter enemy conditions had been selected by Huo Li accompanying Xi Fa’er. Han Bao naturally recognized Huo Li who had deliberately grown a full beard. Seeing that Huo Li had arrived at Dingzhou earlier than they expected, it was clear the Dingzhou situation had indeed attracted Tangyi’s extreme attention.

At this moment Han Bao pulled an iron ring from his bosom and placed it on the table, turning the ring face with special markings toward Huo Li.

Seeing Han Bao produce this iron ring, Huo Li somewhat dejectedly pointed at the man across with a relatively delicate, refined, much weaker appearance and few words, introducing him: “Wang Zhe—Master Bao may not have met him. He’s Wang Tang’s seventeenth brother. Previously he served in the Administrative Bureau. In earlier years he traveled to Hebei, so this time he came with me. His Lordship and Lady specifically instructed us to come and follow Master Bao’s command. You don’t need to specifically display this Jinyun Martial Ring. However, that Master Bao could fix attention on Guanjiang House before we arrived is truly remarkable. I thought Master Bao only knew how to charge into battle and kill enemies…”

Han Bao joined the Chishan Army during the Jinling Incident. Previously he and his elder brother Han Donghu had roughly studied fist and foot kung fu. Afterward he practiced with blade and spear alongside military masters, progressing rapidly with extraordinary martial skills. In combat he was also extremely brave, repeatedly charging into battle at the forefront in bloody battles, claiming nearly a hundred heads, repeatedly establishing battle merit. He also loved learning. Before heading north he had already been promoted to Battalion Commander. But he had only just turned twenty-one years old.

Although young martial generals like Han Bao were everywhere in the Tangyi army, and Han Bao like his elder brother Han Donghu possessed rare composure for his peers, rarely displaying sharp brilliance, at this moment before Huo Li and Wang Zhe, he still became somewhat different.

Although Wang Yan, Wang Zhe, Huo Li and others were all born as illegitimate sons within the Wang and Huo clans, in the eyes of Tangyi officers and officials, they were after all scions of aristocratic families. Some estrangement was difficult to completely eliminate in a short time.

At this moment Han Bao was somewhat worried that Huo Li would rely on his birth and age to not obey his command, or even act on his own initiative. Therefore he immediately clarified the primary-secondary superior-subordinate distinction with Huo Li to avoid differences of opinion delaying major matters.

Of course, Wang Zhe and Huo Li both entered Tangyi following Lady. In terms of birth and status, they were stronger than ordinary officers. But at this moment, seeing they could fearlessly travel two to three thousand miles into enemy territory to meet up with them, Han Bao’s heart was also quite moved.

Especially that they could arrive so quickly to rendezvous showed that to ensure meeting up with them as soon as possible, they had traveled day and night without rest. In reality, besides being doubly arduous, they also had to risk even greater danger.