Chapter 173

Chapter 173

The first four passes each had only a thousand defenders and about fifty barracks. The Right Route Army arranged for ten men to slaughter each barrack. Since the defenders were sleeping soundly and were unprepared, the Right Route Army only lost more than twenty men in the four night raids.

This time, the attack on Lion Mouth Pass also took advantage of the night raid, but the overwhelming number of enemies versus our few men gave them a chance to counterattack. Fortunately, most of the soldiers were slow to react, and the Right Route Army eventually won at the cost of seventy-eight deaths.

They had left with six hundred and twenty men, and now only five hundred and forty-two remained. Except for the archers, everyone who fought down below was covered in blood.

Xiao Zhen first led people to inspect the area, ensuring that not a single defender was hiding. He then signaled for the archers who were blocking the north and south sides of the pass city to come in.

When Tong Sui and the other archers who had been lying in wait on the rooftops came down, they heard someone ask Xiao Zhen, "Second Master, you actually took a knife blow?"

When the Right Route Army stormed into the barracks, one man always stood guard by the weapon racks. This way, the defending soldiers either died on their beds or on their way to grab weapons, or they fled in desperation after realizing there was no hope of seizing weapons, only to be shot down by the archers on the rooftops. Only a few managed to grab weapons and fight back.

A soldier said with lingering fear, "Second Master encountered a fierce one. I was in the next room, and after finishing off my targets, I went to check next door. Second Madame's arrow saved me."

The eight hundred elite soldiers sent out this time were quite familiar with Tong Sui and her husband. Privately, everyone was more accustomed to calling them Second Master and Second Madame.

Tong Gui said, "We targeted the commanders first, but the fiercest one turned out to be among the regular soldiers."

Qi Yun replied, "It's not surprising. When Second Master and Third Master helped the imperial court fight the false emperor, they were just a few regular soldiers in the army."

Xiao Zhen just watched Tong Sui as she approached, looking at her face, her shoulders, and her chest.

Under the intertwined moonlight and lamplight, Tong Sui's clothes were intact.

Warmth finally returned to Xiao Zhen's eyes.

Tong Sui, however, found the knife wound on his left arm, where the sleeve had been slashed open.

But now wasn't the time to worry about that; she could only pretend to be indifferent.

Xiao Zhen instructed, "First, clean up the pass city. After the work is done, rest. Tomorrow morning, sleep as much as you want."

Everyone laughed. The most dangerous fighting was over, and now it was time to enjoy the spoils of war. Who would mind being tired?

One team was responsible for cleaning the barracks, another for boiling water and cooking, while the rest moved the thoroughly looted bodies outside to be burned. Another team chose a good spot for burial and dug a pit to bury the seventy-eight brothers from the Right Route Army who had died.

Xiao Zhen also went outside the city.

Tong Sui tended to the wounded inside. She had learned a bit from her grandfather, so she was quite adept at handling such external injuries.

The smell of smoke and a nauseating scent like roasted meat came from the north side of the pass city.

After helping the wounded rest, Tong Sui climbed up the enemy tower on the north side and saw a blaze of fire in the valley ahead.

The terrain there was too low. With this pass city and the surrounding mountains blocking the view, people outside would never see it.

On the other side of the mountain, silhouetted by the firelight, were the figures of their comrades burying their fallen brothers.

Tong Sui looked up.

The night sky was vast and filled with stars, just as she remembered from her childhood. At that time, there was no war, no bandits terrorizing the mountains, and although the people already bore heavy taxes, they did not have to constantly fear losing their lives to the ravages of war.

—

It was not until the third watch that Xiao Zhen returned to their shared barracks.

Tong Sui was anxious to treat his wound, but as soon as she approached, Xiao Zhen tightly hugged her.

Tong Sui reminded him nervously, "Don't use your left arm."

Xiao Zhen rubbed his head against hers and said, "When you fell on the rooftop, I thought you had been hit by an arrow."

Tong Sui was stunned, suddenly understanding why Xiao Zhen had charged over when she had just flipped a few times and crawled a bit on the rooftop.

Tears fell, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. "When that man stood at the door, I thought you wouldn't make it out."

Xiao Zhen paused, smiled, and said, "Luckily, I made him show his face first, or your arrow would have hit me."

Tong Sui said, "I would have recognized your face first..."

Xiao Zhen suddenly cupped her face, stopping her from saying more.

Tong Sui was still afraid, her face wet with tears, and Xiao Zhen absorbed them like spring water. Eventually, Tong Sui became embarrassed and pushed him away, saying, "You're not afraid of it being dirty?"

Xiao Zhen replied, "Not dirty, sweet."

Tong Sui looked at his knife wound and said, "Alright, let's treat your wound first."

The knife wound on his arm was more severe than the skin injury on his face. While Tong Sui could remain calm when helping other wounded soldiers, her hands trembled when it came to her own husband.

Xiao Zhen leaned against the kang, his eyes always smiling as he gazed at her.

—

Others might be able to sleep in, but Tong Sui and Xiao Zhen had things on their minds, and both woke up at dawn the next day.

Tong Sui said, "I'll go outside and take a look. You sleep a little longer."

Xiao Zhen replied, "You've never seen me sleep in unless you keep me company."

Tong Sui gave him a glance, helped him change his bandages, and wiped his face before the two of them went out together.

The early mountain breeze was cold. Xiao Zhen picked a set of clothes left behind by the defending commander, while Tong Sui still wore her own clothes, which had only accumulated dust from the journey, a small matter compared to the rigors of battle.

After watching the sunrise for a while, the couple sat down to discuss in the meeting hall.

Tong Sui took out a map and pointed to Golden Tail Pass at the northernmost part of the Dragon Path, saying, "Only this one is left, with three thousand defenders."

Xiao Zhen: "The Lion Mouth Pass is critically important and is also the pass where we are most likely to encounter the imperial court's messengers, supply troops, or reinforcements. I will stay here with 300 men. You return with the rest of the troops via the original route. Leave only 20 men to defend Carving Horn Pass, Tiger Whisker Pass, Fish Spine Pass, and Eagle Claw Pass. This way, you will have 330 men at your disposal."

Tong Sui: "It's been ten days since we left. By now, Grandfather should have taken the third fortress and stationed his troops outside Jin City. I will leave my 300 men at Eagle Claw Pass and have Second Brother return via the original route to inform Grandfather to lead the troops to attack Gold Tail Pass. When Gold Tail Pass is attacked, the defending general will definitely send messengers to alert the following passes to prepare for the enemy. At that time, we 300 men will disguise ourselves as reinforcements sent from Eagle Claw Pass. The Gold Tail Pass will be in urgent need of manpower and will surely let us enter the city. Then, we will coordinate with Grandfather from inside and outside."

Xiao Zhen: "The plan is good, but you should switch tasks with Ah Gui. You go over the mountains to inform Grandfather, while Ah Gui and Qi Yun lead the troops to Gold Tail Pass. The coordination from inside and outside requires close combat, where your archery skills won't be useful. Moreover, even if you disguise yourself as a man, your figure is likely to be discovered by the defending general of Gold Tail Pass. If we are exposed, the 300 men will face total annihilation."

This coordination required both delivering the message in time and successfully infiltrating Gold Tail Pass. While the former seemed simpler, the mountainous path was a dead end, and the natural barriers could also be deadly.

Due to her figure and appearance, Tong Sui was indeed more suitable for delivering the message, and she could continue to assist the vanguard troops with her archery skills when attacking the passes with Grandfather.

"Alright."

——

On the afternoon of the 15th of October, Tong Sui, Tong Gui, Qi Yun, and the 280 men they had gathered along the way returned to Eagle Claw Pass.

After a brief rest, Tong Sui and the other three set off again with rations, ropes, and other supplies, sneaking into the deep mountains via the original route.

The weather grew colder, and the night winds became more biting. When resting in a cave, Tong Sui slept on the inner side of the fire, while the three soldiers slept on the outer side.

Having experienced life and death together, the three soldiers had no ulterior motives towards Tong Sui, and Tong Sui fully trusted them.

With Tong Sui guiding the way, the four of them accurately found the path they had taken before. When encountering cliffs, they could climb up and down the small path that had already been carved, saving a lot of effort.

By the evening of the 19th of October, the four quietly returned to the main camp of the Right Route Army, which was stationed south of Jin City.

Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, Xiao She, and the young generals from the Qiao family came over first.

"Second Sister-in-law, why only you four returned? Where are the others?"

"Where's Second Brother?"

"Was it successful? How is it there?"

Tong Sui ignored them all and headed straight to Grandfather's central command tent, covered in dust from the journey.

Xiao Mu sat steadily in his chair, and when the tent flap was lifted, he looked up and saw his granddaughter-in-law, who had been away for half a month. Her clothes were dusty, her face smeared with dirt, and she had lost some weight, but her eyes were clear and bright.

Xiao Mu smiled. "Did you succeed?"

Tong Sui nodded. "In the five passes, we killed 7,000 enemies and lost 104 men. Now, Second Master is stationed with 300 men at Lion Mouth Pass. Each of the four middle passes is left with 20 men. Tong Gui and Qi Yun are leading over 300 men at Eagle Claw Pass, waiting to coordinate with our main forces to attack and break through Gold Tail Pass."

Xiao Yan and the others who had followed in were speechless.

Even Xiao Mu, who had remained calm when they broke through Taiyuan City, stood up excitedly and paced back and forth in joy. "Excellent, excellent! With just 800 elite soldiers, you've cleared an entire Dragon Path, sparing our main forces from several bloody battles. Even heavenly soldiers couldn't have done better!"

Xiao Yan stared at Tong Sui and asked, "There were so many mountains, each more treacherous than the last. How did you manage to finish it in just half a month?"

Tong Sui didn't like to boast, and Xiao Ye suddenly realized and said to the three soldiers behind Tong Sui, "You tell them!"

The three soldiers were immensely proud, puffing out their chests as they took turns recounting the events.

At first, the results seemed unbelievable, but once the details and dangers were known, everyone could only describe these 800 elite soldiers as 'heavenly soldiers.'

One soldier said, "It mainly depended on Second Master and Second Sister-in-law. Without them tricking open Fish Spine Pass, we wouldn't have been able to fly up even with wings. And at Deer Horn Pass, it was entirely thanks to Second Master and Second Sister-in-law's divine archery that we successfully shot four sentries. Otherwise, with only a narrow path, if the defending troops had been prepared, we would have become sitting ducks."

Tong Sui looked at the three soldiers and said, "Without the support of the 800 of you behind us, what would be the point even if Second Master and I successfully broke into the passes? Every single one of us 800 soldiers was indispensable in this Dragon Path campaign."

The three soldiers said in unison, "Yes!"

Xiao Mu patted the shoulders of the three soldiers. "Go and rest first. When we leave the mountains, I will request merits for you from the General."

After the three soldiers left, it was time for Xiao Mu, Tong Sui, and the commanders to discuss tactics.

Now that the Right Route Army had 52,000 troops remaining, Xiao Mu ordered Xiao Ye and Zhang Wengong to lead 3,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry to continue stationing outside Jin City. The next morning, Xiao Mu personally led nearly 40,000 main forces to attack Gold Tail Pass.

The scouts obtained the information and immediately reported it to the Jin City commander.

The Jin City commander spit out his tea and laughed while coughing. "Xiao Mu is really in a hurry. He even dares to target the Dragon Path. Let him be. I bet he won't be able to take Gold Tail Pass within a month!"