Chapter 491: I’ll listen to you, Lord Xiao Zhang!

After a snowfall four days earlier, heavy snowflakes began to fall once again. Despite the army surrounding the fortress, Xinghe Fort had no shortage of food or weapons. While firewood and hay were somewhat scarce, there was still an ample supply of coal, so it was mainly the horses that suffered. Though the cavalry soldiers cared deeply for their horses, they could only curse those damned Tartars and do nothing about the horses losing weight. Even so, morale remained high.
That was because they had the Great Wall and the Ming Dynasty behind them! They were inside the fortress and could sleep on warm kang beds when not on duty! They had already forced wave after wave of enemies to retreat!
Zhang Yue, Zhou Bailing, and Zheng Pingyuan were now patrolling the fortress defenses in shifts. After all, it was not only important to defend against external threats but also to keep an eye on the soldiers’ morale—no one wanted any internal strife at such a critical moment. Moreover, while the soldiers had previously deliberately watered the outer walls to freeze them in order to repel attackers, there was no need to do so now, as Xinghe Fort had already become an ice and snow fortress. In addition, after repelling the enemies several times, they had also captured a few prisoners.
Due to the large number of wounded soldiers, Zheng Pingyuan initially didn’t want to keep those injured Tartar prisoners, fearing they would waste food. Zhang Yue wasn’t particularly merciful either, but he was puzzled by Arutai’s decision to launch a massive attack in such weather. So he gave his two reliable candidates for the Jinyiwei full authority, instructing them to find a way to make the prisoners talk.
After checking the East Gate and West Gate to ensure there were no problems with the fortress’s main entrances and that everything on the city walls was normal, with no signs of an enemy attack on the watchtowers, Zhang Yue wrapped himself in his heavy cloak and headed back. Along the way, anyone who saw him would stop to greet him affectionately as “Lord Xiao Zhang.” From time to time, people would stop him to ask casual questions like about reinforcements. He always responded with a smile and offered words of comfort and encouragement.

Returning to the thousand-household officer’s quarters, he felt almost completely frozen. Entering the only room with a heated kang, he downed an entire cup of hot water in one gulp before finally regaining his senses. He casually threw his heavy coat on a chair nearby and pulled off his boots to put on thick cotton shoes. His new boots, made of double-layered sheepskin stuffed with cotton, were already torn in several places, while the sable coat made by imperial craftsmen was covered in various stains from days of fierce fighting, with some areas even worn out. Add to this the continuous heavy snow, which left the coat constantly wet and then dry again. Even though it was a gift from the emperor, in this life-or-death situation, with no proper winter coat to replace it, he couldn’t afford to worry about its cleanliness.

After all, he had thought this journey would take only a few days, so both of his suitcases were left in Meng Jun’s courtyard in Xuanfu. Although Xinghe had dug two deep wells, the large number of soldiers increased water consumption, so now they mostly boiled snow water for drinking. To save black coal, he would at most wash his face with snow water in the morning, too lazy even to tidy his stubble.

Rubbing his chapped, frozen hands, Zhang Yue saw Lian Sheng and Lian Hu standing there, grinning but not daring to speak. Annoyed, he snapped, “This isn’t home. What are you standing around for? Take off your shoes! After walking such a long distance, they must be soaked. Do you want to go back with frozen feet?”

Lian Sheng and Lian Hu exchanged a glance before taking off their shoes. Since commoners and slaves were forbidden from wearing boots, they used to put a layer of oilcloth over their cotton shoes in winter. But after walking around the city nonstop these days, sometimes even running in emergencies, the oilcloth had long disappeared. As soon as they took off their shoes, a foul smell spread. Zhou Bailing stumbled in upon entering and saw their feet blue and purple from the cold. He shook his head and sighed.

Sitting down at the other end of the kang, at Zhang Yue’s signal, he too took off his half-high black leather boots and then grinned, saying, “Now that we’re trapped in the city, the Tartars are also in a difficult situation. The two guys on the watchtower have seen the Tartars slaughtering more cattle and sheep. I wonder how long they can keep going!”

“Old Zhou, don’t get too happy. If I were Arutai, I’d probably send troops to encircle this place and then split them to harass areas like Wanquan by crossing the Outer Great Wall. But as long as we hold our ground here, their life won’t be easy. After all, Wanquan is garrisoned by a large force and isn’t that easy to deal with. Besides, it’s winter—there are many military households and few civilian households in Xuanfu. With proper handling, the losses should be limited. I just hope the Marquis of Xing’an can be more decisive.”
“The Marquis of Xing’an is far inferior to the Marquis of Wu’an!”
Zheng Pingyuan also entered the room at this moment. His fur hat was covered in snowflakes, and his cheeks were red from the cold. Fighting side by side these past few days had made him less cautious. In his mind, even if Xinghe was held, he, as a thousand-household commander, had caused the commander Wang Huan to die in battle. Not to mention his future, he might not even remain a thousand-household commander. Now, all he could think about was Zhang Yue’s words to fight for survival, casting aside all other considerations of profit and loss. Seeing Zhou Bailing move to make room for him, he sat down without hesitation.
“I was a former subordinate of the Marquis of Wu’an. I also went beyond the Great Wall in the 12th year of Yongle. Back then, I followed the Marquis of Wu’an in chasing Husiwen. The enemy forces kept retreating, the Marquis of Wu’an was hit by two arrows, and I was also hit by one arrow behind him. But in the end, we only stopped briefly. After the main army rejoined us, we cut off the arrowheads and continued the pursuit, defeating Husiwen! It’s a pity that the Marquis of Wu’an returned to the capital due to his injuries after that. The Marquis of Xing’an who came later even had to cater to a group of eunuchs. It’s truly infuriating!”
Spitting out an angry curse, Zheng Pingyuan couldn’t help but think about how he had stayed in Xinghe for six years. His cheeks, once red, turned even darker: “Xinghe wasn’t a difficult place back in the day. During the Yuan Dynasty, it was said to be a prefectural city. But after the prefecture was abolished and the thousand-household command post was established, it gradually declined. Eventually, the fortified city turned into an earthen city, with Kaiping being only slightly better off. If it weren’t for the embezzlement by the eunuch governors, the food supplies would have been sufficient. I would have long raised troops to reinforce and repair this earthen city. After all, there have often been refugees from the north returning over the years, and with their help, such work wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Enough, talking about these things now is like shooting arrows after the horse has left!”
Although Zhang Yue knew that neither he nor Zhou Bailing in this room would reveal anything, he didn’t want to waste time on such depressing topics, so he interrupted Zheng Pingyuan. Just as he was about to speak, the thick cotton curtain at the front of the room was pushed open again. This time, it was Xiang Long, who came in with a joyful expression. Before he could even steady himself, he started shouting happily.

“My lord, we’ve finally gotten those captives to talk! According to them, besides Arutai, there are also the Khorkhin tribe, along with two small wandering tribes we encountered during the march—roughly twenty thousand men in total. They also revealed that their superiors told them there are tens of thousands of bushels of grain in Xinghe Fort, and a few days ago, they were told there’s an abundance of firearms. In short, they were promised all sorts of things, which is why they dared to attack the city in such cold weather! But since their flag was shot down earlier, the Tatars’ morale isn’t what it used to be.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yue immediately felt a chill. Since they had frequently used firearms while defending the city, it wasn’t surprising that the enemy knew there were plenty of firearms inside. But where did the claim of tens of thousands of bushels of grain come from? Glancing at Zheng Pingyuan, who was frowning deeply, and Zhou Bailing, who seemed deep in thought, he suddenly had an idea and then laughed.

“Since the captives say so, I have an idea. It’s snowing these days, and the Tatars’ attack strength is far less than before. We might as well take these captives around Xinghe Fort, announce that they’ll be executed publicly the next day, and then create an opportunity to let them slip some information to the Tatars, allowing us to release them. Of course, we need to make it seem real—kill one or two of them during the ‘pursuit.’ Even if it doesn’t disrupt the Tatars’ morale, as long as their nobles know there’s no such abundance of grain in Xinghe…”

“That should drive them crazy!”

As soon as Zhou Bailing finished speaking, Zheng Pingyuan immediately jumped off the kang and nodded without hesitation: “That’s a good idea! I’ll arrange it right away! Although it’s a pity for those damned Tatars, if it can relieve the siege of Xinghe, it’s worth sparing their lives!”

Seeing Zheng Pingyuan rush out of the room like the wind, Zhou Bailing shook his head irritably: “Old Zheng is indeed a man of strength, but he lacks cunning. No wonder he couldn’t leave Xinghe after staying there for so many years. I think that information wasn’t fabricated by Arutai to deceive his subordinates—it’s likely they really received such intelligence. And the fact that their army attacked as soon as we arrived in Xinghe seems too coincidental. If I had more men, I would have launched a night attack!”

“You’re right; coincidences do happen, but some things are probably not just the result of bad luck. Zhang Yue frowned thoughtfully before asking, ‘The first time, five arrows compatible with the divine bow were used, and then another one was used. The divine arrows have also been almost used up by your musketeers. But I heard that as long as there’s gunpowder, ordinary arrows can work for the divine bow and divine arrows?’”

Zhou Bailing didn’t understand why Zhang Yue was asking this. After calculating, he raised his head and said, “That’s true, but the effect isn’t as good as those specialized ones… Lord Zhang, why are you asking this? Are you really planning a surprise attack?”

Zhang Yue gently stroked his chin, feeling somewhat regretful. Back when he and Wan Shijie were running around the armory, they had indeed asked those craftsmen some strange questions, and the craftsmen had given various suggestions. It was a pity he hadn’t expected to become so skilled with arrows; otherwise, he could have achieved even better results. Thinking of this, and seeing Zhou Bailing’s excited face, he quietly shared his idea.

After listening patiently, Zhou Bailing nodded firmly. “At this point, risk is nothing! Since Captain Zheng has agreed to your idea, what reason do I have to object? In short, I’ll follow Lord Zhang’s plan!”