Duan Yun Fortress, East Wall.
The heavy siege crossbows of the Great Sheng army roared without pause, precisely suppressing the archers and crossbowmen atop the city wall. They blasted several sections of the crenellations to pieces, forcing the defenders to retreat from their defensive positions. Under this cover, several enormous, preassembled siege towers finally reached the east wall, and their heavy assault bridges crashed down onto the edge of the battlements.
The heavily armored infantry of Great Sheng surged up the siege towers and scaling ladders like a torrent of iron, pouring onto the city wall and engaging the Northern Di army in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Under the extreme pressure, casualties among the Northern Di defenders on the east wall rose sharply, and their defensive line began to teeter on the verge of collapse.
On the command platform, Chimu Khan’s eyes were bloodshot.
He had keenly discerned Qin Feng’s true intentions. The intense pressure at the southern gate was a decoy. The east wall was the real killing blow!
“The east wall!” Chimu Khan roared hoarsely. “Transfer all three thousand men of our final mobile reserve force there. Take the central passage through the inner city. They must reinforce the east wall within fifteen minutes and drive the enemy off the battlements!”
This was the correct tactical response.
These three thousand men were the last fresh troops he had managed to scrape together from the grain depot garrison, inner-city defenses, and wounded soldiers’ camp, all drawn from his total force of thirty thousand. As long as they arrived, Great Sheng’s heavily armored infantry could be driven back toward the moat.
The three thousand reserve troops hurried into the broad central passage of the inner city at a rapid march.
At that very moment, several shadowy figures concealed deep within Duan Yun Fortress sprang into action.
The Prince Su’s Guards did not attempt to assassinate Chimu Khan, nor did they try to seize the city gates. They merely sabotaged the winch’s locking pin on the thousand-jin iron gate above the passage, which they had secretly sawed halfway through, just as the reserve troops were about to pass beneath it.
“BOOM!”
The heavy gate of tempered steel crashed down, sending dust billowing into the air and completely sealing off the central passage.
“The gate has fallen! There are infiltrators!” the reserve force’s commander shouted at the top of his lungs. But there was nothing he could do. Gritting his teeth, he yelled, “Take another route! Go through the market in the lower city!”
Forced to abandon the fastest main road, they detoured into the narrow, crowded market lanes, which were filled with barricades previously erected to defend against surprise attacks. In this siege, where every second counted, the twenty minutes they were forced to spend taking the detour became a fatal gap in time.
Those twenty precious minutes allowed Qin Feng’s vanguard assault troops to establish a firm foothold atop the east wall.
They rapidly expanded the area under their control, advancing along the ramparts and seizing the defensive positions on both sides.
By the time the three thousand reserve troops finally struggled out of the market and arrived beneath the east wall, gasping for breath, they saw the black banners bearing silver wolves fluttering above them.
Everyone stopped in their tracks, staring blankly.
The defenders of the east wall had already been physically exhausted by half a month of the unrelenting “battle to protect the grain.” During those twenty minutes without reinforcements, their defensive line had completely collapsed.
Qin Feng’s second wave of troops was already pouring in like a flood through the gates and along the ramparts captured on the east wall.
“The east wall has fallen!”
The shrill cry reached the command platform, and Chimu Khan’s figure swayed violently.
Yet he did not lose his reason. He did not draw his sword to take his own life, nor did he charge blindly into battle.
As an experienced commander, he immediately made his final decision to minimize losses.
“Abandon the outer city walls! Fall back and defend the inner-city streets!”
Chimu Khan shoved his personal guards aside and drew his curved saber.
“Destroy all important military records immediately! Assemble the personal guard battalion, protect the senior officers, and withdraw toward the north gate. Prepare to break through!”
…He had done everything he could.
But the Great Sheng army’s advance was far faster than he had anticipated.
Qin Feng gave him no opportunity to reorganize his forces for street fighting in the inner city.
After entering the fortress, the Great Sheng army quickly split into separate units and seized the inner city’s main transportation hubs, following the Northern Di retreat routes they had calculated in advance.
Amid the chaos and flames, the breakout force led by Chimu Khan was intercepted head-on by Great Sheng’s elite cavalry in the square before the north gate.
After half an hour of fierce, bloody fighting, Chimu Khan, struck by two arrows, finally collapsed to his knees in a pool of blood, exhausted. His personal guards lay fallen all around him.
Qin Feng did not kill him. Instead, he ordered his men to bind Chimu Khan and all the important Northern Di officers securely and take them into custody.
Duan Yun Fortress had officially fallen.
Qin Feng strode across the bloodstained bluestone pavement toward the enormous grain warehouses in the north of the city.
“General!” His deputy general hurried forward, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice. “We have taken control of all the grain warehouses and armories. Although several small fires broke out, they have all been extinguished. The warehouse gates and locks are mostly intact. The Northern Di troops retreated too hastily to carry out large-scale destruction by fire.”
Qin Feng looked at the enormous storehouses filled with strategic supplies and let out a long breath.
This was the ultimate result of Prince Su’s half-month psychological campaign.
The Northern Di had exhausted themselves protecting this grain, only for it to fall into Great Sheng’s hands completely intact.
However, Qin Feng did not allow himself to be swept away by excitement and joy over this victory. Instead, he continued to carry out his sovereign’s orders with calm precision.
After the fortress fell, the city actually became more chaotic than it had been during the siege.
There were no longer deafening cries of battle, but there were dense, disorderly footsteps, the muffled sobs of civilians, and the sounds of people pulling and struggling with one another.
On the bloodstained stone roads, where the blood had not yet dried, wounded soldiers were carried down from the city walls and sent to the field medical camp, while captured weapons and equipment were transported into the storehouses box by box.
Northern Di prisoners who had laid down their weapons were escorted in groups to the square and confined under guard.
The footsteps going in and out of the stone steps before the enormous grain warehouses never ceased.
Some were checking accounts and taking inventory. Others were searching for remaining embers. Still others were desperately looking for water.
Qin Feng stood outside the main grain warehouse in the north of the city and carefully finished reviewing the final ledger.
“The grain quantities match.”
The quartermaster beside him hurriedly wiped away his sweat and replied, “Yes. They are roughly the same as what we determined earlier.”
“What about the weapons?”
“They have all been sealed inside the armories. Bows, crossbows, arrows, and long weapons are being registered separately. As for the fire oil…”
“Seal it away first and assign elite troops to guard it. No one is permitted to take any without authorization.”
“Yes, sir!”
Qin Feng closed the ledger and asked again, “Where is Chimu Khan?”
“He has been taken to the inner courtyard and placed under strict guard. The quartermaster, weapons officer, and scout commander are also in custody. The remaining mid- and lower-ranking officers have been detained separately to prevent them from conspiring with one another.”
Qin Feng nodded slightly.
There was no wild elation on his face after victory, not even the slightest smile of relief.
He raised his head and looked toward the towering city wall, where the banners of the Cangyuan Khanate had been removed and replaced by Great Sheng’s black banners bearing silver wolves.
The fortress had fallen.
But this battle was far from over.
In fact, one could say that the real, grueling struggle that would test their courage and resolve had only just begun.
“Pass on my orders.” Qin Feng turned around, his voice as steady as a rock.
The personal guards and several officers behind him immediately stepped forward, standing at attention with their chests held high.
“First, all units inside the city are to regroup immediately. Except for those ordered to conduct searches, escort prisoners, treat the wounded, or stand guard, everyone else must assemble according to their assigned battalions. No one is permitted to wander around the city without authorization.”
“Second, no one is to kill prisoners, wounded soldiers, or civilians in the city without authorization.” Qin Feng’s gaze sharpened, and his voice dropped. “No looting private homes, no stealing grain, no privately dividing livestock, and absolutely no setting fires. Anyone who takes advantage of our victory to commit disorderly or violent acts in the city will be dealt with under military law. They are to be killed without exception.”
One of the personal guards was momentarily taken aback. Almost instinctively, he said, “General, what if the men under our command…”
Qin Feng raised his eyes and looked coldly at him. “What if what?”
The personal guard was shaken by Qin Feng’s piercing gaze and hurriedly lowered his head.
“…Nothing! This subordinate will obey your orders!”
Qin Feng withdrew his gaze. He understood perfectly well what the personal guard had wanted to say.
The soldiers had just crawled out of a bloody meat grinder on the city walls, narrowly escaped death, and watched their comrades lie in pools of blood beside them. After storming an enemy city, many soldiers would feel the urge to vent their anger and plunder. Such things had not been uncommon on battlefields in the past.
But the fact that something was common did not mean it could be tolerated under his command.
Especially this time, with His Highness Prince Su standing behind them, he would never allow anyone to tarnish the good name of Prince Su.
“We took this city with the lives of our brothers, not by looting it.” Qin Feng’s voice was not loud, but every word carried the weight of a thousand jun. “We entered this city to protect it, not to destroy it all over again.”
The officers felt their hearts tighten. They solemnly cupped their fists.
“This subordinate understands!”
“Third.” Qin Feng turned and pointed toward the east wall, where thick smoke was still rising from the breach.
“Repair the east wall first.”
Several officers followed the direction of his finger.
That was where Great Sheng’s siege towers and heavily armored infantry had first mounted the walls. Several sections of the battlements had been damaged, the wreckage of the siege towers lay at the foot of the wall, and the wall itself was riddled with breaches from stone projectiles and heavy crossbow bolts. Although the main structure had not collapsed, if Helian Cang’s reinforcements counterattacked now, this would be the most vulnerable point through which the defenses could be torn open again.
“Repair the battlements first, then clear away the wreckage at the points where we scaled the walls. The gate mechanisms and all three defensive positions along the east wall must be manned by our own elite troops and held to the death before nightfall,” Qin Feng added. “The archers and crossbowmen must also be redeployed in the arrow towers and watchtowers.”
“Yes, sir!”
“What about the wells in the city?”
“We have already sent the engineers to inspect them.”
“Inspect them again, thoroughly.” Qin Feng’s expression was stern. “Pay particular attention to the several main wells in the city. Mark every one of them on the map. If there are signs of blockage, contamination, or poisoning, seal them off and deal with them immediately.”
After speaking, he turned toward the grain warehouses.
“Declare the area within one hundred paces of the warehouses a military exclusion zone.”
The quartermaster was taken aback. “An exclusion zone? General, you mean…”
“The grain warehouses are military installations, not a marketplace.”
Qin Feng looked at him.
“From this moment onward, unauthorized personnel are forbidden from entering even half a step. The troops guarding the grain must serve in rotating shifts. At every handover, verify the headcount, seals, and keys again. No single unit is to maintain sole control of the warehouse area for an extended period. The grain ledgers, warehouse entry and exit seals, and warehouse keys are to be entrusted to three separate people. No one person may access any of them alone.”
The quartermaster was initially stunned, but then immediately understood. He lowered his voice and asked, “General, are you afraid that enemy spies still hiding in the city will try to burn the grain?”
“I’m not only afraid of enemy spies,” Qin Feng interrupted calmly. “I’m even more afraid that our own men might have sticky fingers, or that our ranks might fall into disorder first.”
After those words fell, the surrounding officers immediately fell silent, understanding the point.
These two enormous grain warehouses were the lifeline of the northern army in the battles to come. They were not spoils of war for the soldiers to divide among themselves, but the foundation upon which victory would be built.
“One more thing.” Qin Feng turned his gaze away from the warehouses. “Inspect and register the residents of the city, household by household. Those who wish to remain may temporarily stay where they are. Soldiers are not permitted to forcibly drive them out. Those who wish to leave the city must be registered, and once the area outside the walls has been confirmed safe, they may leave in groups through designated gates.”
An officer looked up in surprise. “Let them leave? General, what if enemy troops are using them to gather intelligence?”
“Military provisions, weapons, warhorses, military registers, and government documents are absolutely not to be taken out of the city.” Qin Feng gave his instructions calmly. “As for personal clothing, travel money, and other private belongings, there is no need to search excessively or plunder them. Set up two checkpoints along the road out of the city. Check only for military supplies and military intelligence. No one is permitted to use this opportunity to bully or rob civilians.”
“This subordinate receives the order!”
Qin Feng raised his head and looked at the buildings on both sides of the street.
Behind the wooden windows and through the cracks in the doors, many of the city’s residents were secretly watching the army that had just entered. Some had eyes filled with fear, some were bewildered and at a loss, some women clutched their children tightly to their chests, and some elderly people watched the soldiers with coldness and hostility.
Qin Feng did not expect the residents of these Northern Di cities to feel grateful to Great Sheng.
War was never something these ordinary people could choose.
“Go tell them this.” Qin Feng withdrew his gaze. “The Great Sheng army has entered the city only to take over military affairs and city defenses. Anyone who is not carrying a weapon or intending to cause trouble has nothing to fear.”
After settling the matters within the city, he asked in a deep voice, “How is the reconnaissance outside the city?”
A scout officer immediately stepped forward to report.
“Reporting to the general, observation posts have been reestablished in the southeast at two locations. We have not yet completely cleared out the remaining enemy scouts to the north. No signs of large enemy formations have been found on the western road leading to Baishui Pass so far.”
“Not finding them doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” Qin Feng said coldly. “Push the reconnaissance line farther out.”
“Three li?”
“Five li.” Qin Feng looked toward the gloomy northern horizon. “If you encounter enemy advance scouts in the open, do not engage them in a prolonged fight. Withdraw immediately and report back. I want accurate intelligence, not a few heads.”
“Understood!”
The scout officer cupped his fists and hurried away.
Just as Qin Feng was methodically arranging the city’s defenses, a personal guard came running over.
“General, urgent news from His Highness at the central command tent. His Highness has instructed us that now that the fortress has been captured, we must immediately carry out the previous military orders.”
Qin Feng took the secret message and unfolded it for a glance.
The instructions on the paper were extremely concise and exactly in line with his earlier arrangements:
[Duan Yun Fortress has been captured. The grain must not be burned, the weapons must not be lost, and important prisoners must not die. Immediately reorganize the city defenses. Deal with the original residents according to the previous instructions.]
There was not a single unnecessary word, nor any praise for the victory. Every word concerned the strategic essentials.
After reading it, Qin Feng folded the message and put it away. A trace of tacit understanding and composure appeared between his brows.
“Understood.”
The personal guard asked quietly, “General, should we report back to His Highness immediately?”
“Yes.” Qin Feng nodded. He turned and glanced at the silver wolf battle banner fluttering high behind him, then said in a deep voice:
“Tell His Highness that Duan Yun Fortress is now in our hands. The grain is still here, the fortress can still be defended, and the people are still alive. He may rest assured.”
“Yes, sir!”
The personal guard accepted the order and left.
Qin Feng stood alone on the high stone steps and drew a deep breath of cold air tinged with the smell of gunpowder and rust.
Behind him lay the siege battlefield that had just fallen silent, its blood still wet.
Ahead of him lay the counterattack that Helian Cang might launch at any moment.
Helian Cang might not immediately come to retake Duan Yun Fortress, but Qin Feng could not afford to be unprepared.
He turned around, looked at the officers standing ready beside him, and delivered his final instruction in a deep voice.
“Take good care of this city. We must not spend the lives of so many brothers capturing it, only to lose it because we failed to defend it.”
The assembled generals shouted in unison, their voices shaking the streets and alleys.
“We solemnly obey the general’s orders!”
On the city wall, the howling wind whipped the silver wolf battle banner.
And beneath the wall, the first group of soldiers carrying timber and hauling stone blocks to repair the east wall had already silently begun their work.
◆◇◆◇◆
When news that Duan Yun Fortress was completely under their control reached the command tent, Xiao Yuan was still standing before the sand table, showing none of the wild elation one might expect after reclaiming the first lost territory in the Northern Frontier.
So far, everything had unfolded according to his calculations.
He had not personally led the expedition for this battle. Instead, he had entrusted it to Qin Feng while remaining at Yan Gui Plain to direct the overall campaign.
This was only the first step.
And the matter was far from over.
“How many casualties have we suffered? How many combat-ready soldiers does Qin Feng still have?” Xiao Yuan asked.
The messenger replied, “Reporting to Your Highness, more than two thousand men have been killed or wounded. However, thanks to the rapid triage and treatment provided at the front lines by the field medical camp under Military Adviser Su, most of the wounded received timely treatment to stop the bleeding and save their lives. Those with minor injuries will be able to return to combat after recovering. General Qin’s main force remains largely intact.”
“What about Chimu Khan?”
“Captured alive.”
“The grain warehouses and weapons?”
“Almost entirely intact. Heavy troops have already been assigned to take control of them.”
Xiao Yuan nodded, took a deep breath, and turned his gaze toward the northern part of the sand table.
“Has Tuoba Lie at Baishui Pass made any moves?” Xiao Yuan asked.
“No. General Pei is still pinning him down in place.”
Xiao Yuan turned around.
“Send orders to Qin Feng to immediately establish a new defensive line centered on Duan Yun Fortress. Order the reserve troops to advance along the entire front and take over the city’s defenses, prioritizing repairs to the defensive fortifications along the east wall. In addition…”
He issued another military order in a deep voice.
◆◇◆◇◆
On a high piece of ground just ten li from Duan Yun Fortress, Helian Cang sat astride his warhorse as the wind whipped his cloak.
Behind him stood the mobile main force of the Cangyuan Khanate, which had finally arrived after suffering ship malfunctions, a bridge fire, a difficult journey against the current, and a congested, arduous march.
A burst of hurried, disorderly hoofbeats shattered the grim silence of the military formation.
A warhorse nearly collapsed right in front of Helian Cang. The messenger on its back tumbled to the ground, the inside of his thighs rubbed raw and bloody from hours of riding at breakneck speed. He had changed horses three times along the way. He had pushed himself to the limit to deliver this message.
“Great Marshal…” The messenger’s voice was hoarse, like a broken bellows. “Urgent report from Duan Yun Fortress!”
Helian Cang looked at him but did not take the bloodstained military report.
Instead, he raised his head and gazed toward Duan Yun Fortress.
Although he could not make out the details of the city walls from ten li away, he knew that the Cangyuan Khanate banners that had once flown there had most likely already been replaced by Prince Su’s black banners bearing silver wolves.
“When did it fall?” Helian Cang’s voice was terrifyingly calm.
“At approximately the Chen hour… The east wall fell first. General Chimu Khan… was captured while attempting to break through.”
The surrounding generals instantly fell into deathly silence.
One general could not restrain his anger and roared, “We came here as fast as we possibly could! Is Chimu Khan useless? He couldn’t even hold the fortress for a few hours!”
“Silence,” Helian Cang said coldly.
He did not fly into a rage or draw his saber. He simply stared steadily at the distant Duan Yun Fortress.
In his mind, every scene from the past day and night replayed itself.
Pei Yi had genuinely been attacking Baishui Pass. Tuoba Lie’s decision not to send reinforcements had been absolutely correct; otherwise, the barbican would have fallen.
Chimu Khan had not defended the fortress incorrectly. He had even made the right decision to abandon the grain warehouses and reinforce the city walls at the first opportunity.
And Helian Cang himself had indeed discerned Xiao Yuan’s intentions immediately and ordered fifty-five thousand reinforcements to set out ahead of time.
The ships had not all been damaged, the bridges had not all been destroyed, and the army had indeed been on its way.
Everyone had made the most correct decisions.
And yet, crossing the bridge had taken a little too long. The ships had moved a little too slowly. Towing them against the current had delayed them a little more. Chimu Khan’s reserve troops had lost a little too much time taking the detour.
Every link in the chain had been delayed by just a little.
Xiao Yuan had stolen their time.
Through this battle, Helian Cang finally realized that Xiao Yuan’s army and its operations were different from those of every previous battle.
They were faster, more precise, and capable of carrying out simultaneous actions at different locations within the same span of time, like a perfectly engineered mechanism.
Xiao Yuan had changed.
He recalled earlier intelligence reports mentioning strange flashes of light that had begun appearing intermittently during the day and night in the Northern Frontier. Recently, these flashes had been spotted with increasing frequency.
He suspected that Xiao Yuan might have mastered a technology of which he knew nothing.
The Xiao Yuan of today was no longer the Prince Su he had known in the past.
Helian Cang drew a deep breath of the cold, biting air.
He finally understood that Xiao Yuan had never been calculating the attack and defense of a single fortress. He had been calculating the time available to the entire defensive line.
Baishui Pass, Duan Yun Fortress, and Yanqi Ferry had originally formed an iron-triangle defensive system in which each position could support the others.
But now, through half a month of psychological warfare and precise, small-scale sabotage, Xiao Yuan had forcibly created a fatal time gap in the network of support connecting them.
No… From the moment that secret imperial decree had arrived, Xiao Yuan had been preparing for this battle at every moment. Or perhaps… even earlier.
Helian Cang tightened his grip on the reins, his knuckles turning slightly white.
“The mistake was… that in this contest of time, we were still one step slower than Xiao Yuan.”
Helian Cang looked toward Duan Yun Fortress.
What had once been the heart of the Cangyuan Khanate had now become a nail driven by Great Sheng deep into the north.