Chapter Fourteen: Frost Cold (IV)

“Slap!”
The crisp sound of a palm striking echoed through the cave, startling everyone.

“Did you help me change my clothes? Then you must have seen everything?”
Ni Xin glared at Li Kua with anger, tightening the garment on her body. These weren’t her own clothes; the boy before her must have taken advantage of the situation to change her clothes and take advantage of her!

Li Kua felt a burning, scalding pain rise on his right cheek. His heart was already seething with rage.

“Yes, it was I who helped you change your clothes. So what? If I hadn’t promptly replaced your rain-soaked clothes, you would probably have already perished from the heat stroke!”

Ni Xin raised her brows and sneered, “Hmph, do I still need to thank the Great General for this? Don’t you know the principle that men and women should not have physical contact?”

Dou Qing couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward. “You young lady have no sense of reason. You’re dressed as a male constable; how would we know you’re a young lady? If not for the General replacing your clothes with clean ones, you probably wouldn’t even have the strength to complain now.”

“Good, good, good! Everything is the General in the right. As for me, Ni Xin, I’m the one being unreasonable and ruining the General’s reputation.”

She emphasized the word “reputation” heavily, her eyes wide open.

“Unreasonable! Dou Qing, put down the clothes you dried her, and let’s go!”

Li Kua had helped with good intentions but was met with cold shoulders and scolding. He no longer wanted to entangle himself with Ni Xin and swept his sleeves away, departing.

“Hah!”
Dou Qing looked at Ni Xin and shook his head, letting out a long sigh.

The campfire flickered, the rainy night was cold, and pear blossoms fell point by point like clear tears.

No words for the night.

When they set out again, Ni Xin deliberately kept a distance from Li Kua.

Some loves are hard to speak of once they enter the door; some hatreds are silent and wordless. Towards this young school captain, Ni Xin truly felt both love and hate. With half grievances and half grievances, she really didn’t know how to face him.

“Damn it!”

Ni Xin bit her lip hard and cursed bitterly.

This man saved her; she should have been grateful. But, but does he have no desire to peek?

With no one to confide in, Ni Xin felt exceptionally suffocated. She tugged the reins and whipped the horse fiercely.

“General, the Great Wall Fortress is ahead!”

Yu Long, riding his favorite steed, rode at the front of the team and shouted excitedly upon seeing a fortress in the distance.

Li Kua gazed into the distance. He saw a fortress made of blue stone rising straight up from the front mountain range, piercing the sky.

“Full speed ahead!”

Li Kua waved his hand and gave the order.

The Great Wall Fortress was built at the mouth of Kanglang Mountain, originally to defend against Tibetan invasions. Later, generation after generation of Tang Dynasty soldiers guarding the Longyou region paid with their blood, pushing the dynasty’s borders all the way to Shimen Mountain. Consequently, the Great Wall Fortress lost its function as a guard and warning post. (Note 1) However, Longyou was a multi-ethnic gathering area, home not only to the Han people but also to Qiang, Gumo, and even some Tibetan residents. Thus, the Great Wall Fortress still served a strong military deterrent and escort function, playing a significant role in maintaining local stability in Lanzhou and Mizhou. (Note 2) Before approaching the fortress, soldiers guarding the fort shouted loudly: “The Shenqi Army of Chang’an has been ordered to proceed to Liangzhou via the Great Wall Fortress; please open the city gate!”

A head poked out from the fort’s parapet and replied, “Present your documents for inspection!”

Upon saying this, he slowly lowered a basket from the fort.

“General?”
Zhou Qing looked at Li Kua, seeking the opinion of his own school captain. Seeing Li Kua nod, Zhou Qing took out the documents from his satchel and placed them in the basket, shouting loudly, “It’s ready; please have this brother inspect it!”

“You wait here for a moment!”

The guard took the documents from the raised basket and ran into the stone fortress.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the soldier came out and said, “Our fortress commander requests his comrades to enter the pass and rest!”

Upon finishing his words, he waved his hand, and someone lowered the drawbridge.

The iron chains pulled the massive timber down slowly, making a “creaking” sound. With a dull thud, the drawbridge hit the ground.

The soldiers of the Zhuque Team of the Shenqi Army, led by their own school captain, rode their horses across the drawbridge and entered this stone fortress.

Since the Great Wall Fortress was built very solidly from the start to defend against Tibetan invasions from the east, whole blue stone slabs were used in its construction. The entire fortress was built square and quite regular. On the semi-circular wall walk, five hundred people could stand guard simultaneously, and dozens of arrow slits were provided with sufficient arrows, fuel, and rolling logs. Therefore, although it had not seen battle for a long time, whenever a beacon fire was lit, thisfortified city in the ridge could immediately go into defense and firmly guard the mountain pass.

“Li General, welcome, welcome! Quick, please come inside. I have prepared warm, cooked wine and fresh meat soup for my brothers.”

The Great Wall Fortress commander, Dian Wuxi, came out, smiling with a face full of honor.

He was originally a Qiang from the Huangshui region. Because he could not endure the oppression of the Tibetan chieftain, he moved his whole family to Longyou. Due to his immense strength and expertise in horsemanship and archery, he was appointed as the Fire Chief at that time, and step by step, relying on military merit, he was promoted to the position of Fortress Commander. He had held this position for twenty years.

“Thank you, Dian Wu Commissioner, for your warm hospitality!”

Li Guabao clasped his fists and returned the salute.
Li Guabao carefully sized up the man before him. He had a head of curly black hair, a yellowish-red complexion, a high-bridged nose, and deep-set eye sockets. Though he was already in his fifties, he appeared vigorous and showed no signs of fatigue.
The crowd was warmly welcomed into the inner chamber by Duong Vu and seated around the hearth, roasting their hands.
The stone fortress was divided into upper and lower levels. The upper level was for the residence of generals and soldiers, while the lower level was used to raise horses, store military supplies, and store grain.
The entire stone fortress was exceptionally spacious; the upper level alone could accommodate two thousand men at once.
“Duong Vu guards the fortress; I see your fortress is quite large. I wonder how many brothers you have stationed here?” Li Guabao took a light sip of baijiu and smiled.
“Ah, don’t hide it from you. The actual establishment of my Long Fortress should be two thousand men. Later, because of the Tang Dynasty’s westward advance, the Long Fortress lost its role as a forward outpost. The military funds in Long Right were tight; adding one more person means one more mouth to feed. Thus, General Guo Chu ordered a reduction of the garrisons at various fortresses. My fortress was consequently reduced to just over five hundred men. If we exclude the elderly and weak, those fit for battle probably number fewer than five hundred.”
“Oh? If the enemy were to attack, wouldn’t that be very dangerous?”
Li Guabao frowned and voiced his concern.
“Hahaha! I say, Li Ge, do you know where our Long Right garrisons are stationed now? From Shimen Mountain to the Long Fortress is two or three hundred li, with Jinshan Mountain in between. Unless the Tibetan troops are divine soldiers descending from the heavens, how could they possibly besiege the city overnight? Little brother, you don’t need to worry about this. Even if the Tibetans really attack, look at the continuous mountain ranges everywhere—we have beacon towers everywhere. I just need to light the beacon, and the wolf smoke at Jincheng will be visible. Within three days, a large force can arrive to reinforce.”
Upon hearing this, Duong Vu patted Li Guabao’s shoulder and laughed heartily, as if telling a huge joke.
“Does that mean the Tibetans have never had the intention to attack Long Fortress? This fortress is the barrier of Lan and Wei prefectures. If Long Fortress falls, Tibetan cavalry can rush into the plain, burning, killing, and looting. This kind of benefit, would the Tibetans not be tempted? As I know, the defense on the southern line of Long Right is not very tight!”
Wu Qiong, unable to stand Duong Vu’s airs and antics, argued.
Duong Vu’s face showed displeasure, but seeing Li Guabao’s face, he suppressed his anger and said in a gentle tone: “That’s actually quite good. Our main forces are mostly stationed in Huozhou and Shan Prefecture. Indeed, there are not many soldiers on the southern line. However, in recent years, only a few hundred Tibetan cavalry have crossed the Chi Ridge in autumn and winter to come here for a look, and they have never had a large army!”

Micro paused for a moment, then squeezed out a smile, raised his cup and said, “Let’s not talk about state affairs today. I’m hosting this feast for my younger brother to welcome him and cleanse the dust. Here’s to not getting drunk and not returning home!”