Chapter 76: Survival Hangs By A Thread
Jinshan East, Northeast Mountain Pass.
It is one of the most suitable passes in the Jin Prefecture mountains for a large army to cross, and it is also the place where Xiao Simo’s main army force is attacking.
At this time, the sky had already darkened, the moon had risen over the mountain peaks, yet the mountain valley was filled with a nauseating thick bloody scent, like an invisible mist that lingered and refused to dissipate.
On the ground, broken weapons were scattered in disarray, shattered blades and broken spears crisscrossing, some deeply embedded in the mud.
The dark red blood clots congealed on them gleamed with a cold, hard luster under the moonlight, recounting the fierce fighting that had once taken place.
Under the cover of the moonlight, Naiman people’s figures could still occasionally be seen in the mountain valley and on the peaks on both sides.
And to the east of the mountain valley was the Naiman people’s camp.
Like a giant beast lurking in the mountain forest, stretching across several li.
Once they discovered the Northern Frontier Army attacking the mountain valley, the soldiers in the camp would quickly rush out to provide support at the mountain valley.
The Naiman people had utilized the terrain’s advantages to make this Jinshan area nearly impregnable.
However, the camp at this time was filled with a heavy atmosphere.
The low wails of Naiman soldiers could be heard from time to time.
“What the hell is Xiao Simo up to?”
“A few days ago he was cowering and not coming out, but these past two days his attacks have suddenly become so fierce.”
In the field hospital, Naiman Prince Qu Chulü walked out from a wounded soldier’s tent, his face extremely grim.
For an entire day, the Northern Frontier Army and the Naiman people had engaged in fierce fighting over the peaks on both sides of the mountain valley.
In this process, Qu Chulü had personally supervised the battle and successfully repelled the Northern Frontier Army before nightfall.
But in this one day, the Naiman people had also suffered no small casualties.
The entire field hospital camp was filled with miserable cries everywhere, and many soldiers even needed amputations to survive.
This weighed heavily on the heart of the young Prince Qu Chulü.
“Perhaps Xiao Simo’s reinforcements have arrived,” Naiman Old General Kekexue Wu said in a deep voice.
But little did they know, Xiao Simo was providing cover for Li Xiao, drawing the Naiman people’s strength to this pass as much as possible.
“Xiao Simo is determined to wear us down!”
“And there’s no deep grudge between us.” Qu Chulü said angrily.
It was just supporting the Geluolu people’s rebellion from behind!
It hadn’t even succeeded anyway, yet Xiao Simo refused to let it go, which was simply excessive.
“When will our reinforcements arrive?” Qu Chulü asked.
At present, the Naiman people in Jinshan numbered only around fifteen thousand. Although they held a favorable terrain, they too could not endure a prolonged standoff.
“Hard to say.” Kekexue Wu shook his head.
To this day, he still had not received any news of reinforcements, and in truth, he no longer held hope for them in his heart.
The Naiman people were known as the overlords of the Mongolian Plateau, with over a hundred thousand tribesmen.
But their territory was equally vast, their troops relatively dispersed, and sometimes they were stretched thin.
Moreover, the Naiman people did not have only Western Liao Dynasty as an enemy; the Kereit Tribe to the east was also a longstanding foe with the Naiman Tribe, an overlord of the grasslands no weaker than the Naiman Tribe.
The grievances between the two tribes dated back to the time of Qu Chulü’s grandfather.
At that time, Ong Khan of the Kereit Tribe had just ascended the throne, and the people’s hearts were unstable. The Naiman Tribe saw an opportunity and supported Ong Khan’s younger brother in an attempt to split the Kereit Tribe.
Unfortunately, it ultimately failed. Instead, when the old Khan of the Naiman Tribe died, Sun Khan’s two brothers split the Naiman Tribe, in which Ong Khan’s scheming was undoubtedly involved.
Thus, the grievances between the two tribes were forged.
While fighting the Northern Frontier Army, the Naiman Tribe also had to reinforce their eastern border to prevent the Kereit Tribe from taking advantage of their weakness.
“Stalemating with Xiao Simo here in Jinshan is not a solution; we still need to find a way to end the war quickly,” Qu Chulü said.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him: “Perhaps we can launch a night raid on them.”
At these words, Naiman Old General Kekexue Wu’s face changed.
He hurriedly spoke up to stop this young and impetuous prince who was full of wild ideas.
“Your Highness the Prince, you must not.”
“Xiao Simo is the direct grandson of Xiao Wulila and is well-versed in Xiao Wulila’s way of using troops; he absolutely will not give us an opportunity for a night raid.”
“It’s possible that right now, he has already set up an ambush in the main camp, waiting for us to launch a night raid.”
Kekexue Wu did not dare let Qu Chulü issue reckless commands, lest he himself become a modern-day Lian Po.
A lifetime of fame ruined by a mere youth.
Seeing that Kekexue Wu disagreed with his idea, Qu Chulü had no choice.
After all, the other was the commander of the army; he had only been sent here to learn at the front lines.
“Your Highness the Prince, although we cannot afford to stalemate, Xiao Simo even less so in Jinshan.”
“As long as we hold the pass, before winter comes, Xiao Simo’s army will inevitably retreat back to the Yin Mountains,” Kekexue Wu said in a deep voice.
He was not merely a simple military general; he had also studied Western Liao politics.
He had heard that the relationship between Xiao Simo and Western Liao’s Jie’er Khan was not at all harmonious.
Would Yelü Zhilugu watch idly as Xiao Simo achieved great merits and threatened his status?
“Alright!”
“General Kekexue Wu is right; it is a steady and prudent strategy,” Qu Chulü nodded and said.
Although he wanted to showcase his military talents to gain greater power.
But winning over this old general Kekexue Wu was equally important.
He had quite a few brothers as well.
……
And that evening, as the Northern Frontier Army withdrew from the Northeast Mountain Pass, the army led by Li Xiao entered from A Lai Ridge Pass and smoothly passed through.
“Finally out.”
As the towering peaks on both sides gradually receded and the view ahead turned back into rolling mountainous terrain, Li Xiao let out a heavy sigh of relief in his heart.
The road through A Lai Ridge Pass was fairly passable, but the ground was littered with rocks and stones, making it difficult to traverse.
One also had to constantly worry about dangers from the peaks on both sides.
Although Li Xiao had already sent people ahead to scout and confirmed that the Naiman people had no garrison here, this perilous terrain still kept people on edge.
At this moment, Li Xiao could fully empathize with how Deng Ai had felt back then when leading his army through the Yinping trail.
“Success or failure hinges on this one move.”
Deng Ai back then had been fortunate that Zhuge Liang was dead and no one in Shu paid attention to the Yinping trail.
Now, Li Xiao was fortunate that no military genius like Zhuge Liang had emerged among the Naiman people.
“All centurions and sergeants, take roll call, set up camp.”
Watching more and more soldiers emerge from the mountain valley, Li Xiao sat tall on horseback beside them and loudly commanded.
Passing through the mountain valley had taken quite some time, and night was falling.
They would have to camp in the mountains tonight.
Soon after, Li Xiao selected a relatively flat hillside to set up camp, ordering the soldiers not to light fires or cook.
Instead, they were to eat the mutton, dried rations, and such they carried with them, and not to make loud noises.
After the kill the chicken to warn the monkey incident before the mountain valley, these soldiers had clearly become much more “sensible” and dared not openly violate military orders.
Li Xiao showed no mercy when he took action.
The mountains at night were utterly quiet, with only occasional bird and beast cries and the war horses’ huffing breaths audible.
After watching the soldiers set up tents and begin eating on the ground, Li Xiao also took out a piece of dried meat from his horseback.
He tightly wrapped his sheepskin jacket around himself and tore into it bite by bite.
“Where do we head next?” Da Hu asked quietly beside him.
Li Xiao looked up at the position of the North Star and pointed in the opposite direction: “Head southwest.”
Although they had crossed the crucial A Lai Ridge Pass, Jinshan was a vast mountain range, an endless stretch of mountains.
Li Xiao estimated they still had several days to travel in the mountains!
Over the next few days, Li Xiao killed a few more soldier ruffians to bolster morale.
But he could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the troops had changed, becoming increasingly oppressive.
The soldiers spoke less and less; everyone silently rode their horses, closely following the person ahead.
They did not know where they were going, or even what they were supposed to do anymore.
Their eyes saw only endless mountains, one peak after another, as if there was no end.
This deathly silence permeated the army, nearly crushing everyone.
Li Xiao knew the soldiers were nearing their limits.
Even just one loud shout could cause the entire army to erupt in a camp riot.
After all, they were just a ragtag army temporarily assembled by Li Xiao, not true elites tempered by blood and fire.
That day, as the sun’s rays were blocked by the Jinshan peaks, a scout suddenly reported that a Naiman tribe had been spotted ahead.
Li Xiao immediately perked up, ordering the main force to rest in place while he took some men with the scout to check the situation.
It was a mountain valley covered in flowers and green grass, full of low shrubs.
In the twilight, herds of cattle and sheep gathered under the drive of their masters’ horsewhips, slowly ambling toward home.
In the middle of the valley, tents were scattered here and there; at a glance, there were several hundred, spaced far apart from each other.
On the grassland, children were running about, women were preparing dinner, and the air was filled with laughter and cheerful voices everywhere.
This formed a stark contrast with Li Xiao and his men, who were travel-worn from crossing mountains and ridges, their clothes covered in mud.
Standing on the hillside, Li Xiao looked at this warm scene, roughly wiped his coarse, flaky face, and slowly smiled.
He turned to Da Hu and the others, who were equally weary-faced, and sighed with relief: “Tonight, we can finally rest well.”
Most importantly, this army of three thousand, already on the verge of collapse, would not fall apart.
