To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

Chapter 442 The Legend of General Mo Feng

"When has our army ever retreated like this?"

"The immortal master doesn't understand frontier warfare tactics; he lost his brothers in vain. He was just a coward!"

The soldiers' whispers spread across the city walls.

Zhao Ben stood to the side without saying a word, but his clenched fists revealed his inner emotions.

Fusu stood beside Zhang Fan, his expression complicated, unsure of what to say.

Zhang Fan stood in front of the battlements, letting the cold wind blow on his face.

He listened to the discussions without offering any explanation, his gaze fixed on the distant hillside.

Time passed little by little.

The sounds of battle ahead gradually subsided, and only 4 Qin cavalrymen rushed out of the canyon and fled towards the pass.

Five thousand soldiers came forward to escort them into the pass.

Of the 10,000-strong contingent, only a handful returned.

The soldiers on the city wall felt their resentment reach its peak as they looked at their wounded comrades.

If we had gone out to provide support earlier, we might have been able to bring back more people.

Just then.

On the hillside west of the pass, a fast horse appeared.

A Qin scout lay on horseback, whipping his warhorse, which galloped across the snow toward Gaoque Pass.

"The scout is back!"

The soldiers on the city wall shouted.

The scouts rushed into the pass, but their warhorses, exhausted, collapsed to the ground.

The scout fell off his horse, got up, rushed up the city wall, and ran to Zhang Fan and Zhao Ben.

The scout's face was filled with terror, and he was panting heavily.

"Report!"

Zhao Ben helped him up: "What did you find? How many Xiongnu are there ahead?"

The scout swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "General, Immortal Master... the force blocking our 10,000 cavalry ahead is actually less than 20,000 Xiongnu troops!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ben was furious: "Less than 20,000 men? Less than 20,000 cavalry! We can send reinforcements out of the city and repel them! Why aren't you helping them!"

The soldiers on the city wall heard this and their indignation was palpable.

But the scout gripped Zhao Ben's arm tightly, shaking his head and shouting, "No! General, no!"

The scout pointed to the rolling hills to the north and west of the pass, his expression horrified: "My men have patrolled the high ground on both sides. Behind the hills to the north and west... we've discovered a large number of Xiongnu troops!"

"The number of people is a full 60,000!"

The scouts' voices echoed across the city walls, "They're closing in quickly!"

After he finished speaking, the city wall fell silent.

The wind whistled in everyone's ears.

Sixty thousand troops!

They were lying in ambush behind the hillsides on both sides!

Zhao Ben was stunned. He released the scout's arm and took a step back.

Fusu's eyes widened, and his face turned pale.

The Qin soldiers around them, who had been complaining and angry, held their breath.

Everything is clear now.

The more than 10,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen in front, like the 50,000 in the middle, are bait!

The Xiongnu's goal was not to devour the 10,000 men they had sent out.

They intended to use those 10,000 men as bait to lure the garrison inside Gaoque Pass out to provide relief.

If just now!

Zhao Ben led his 20,000 infantrymen out of Gaoque Pass and into the open area outside the canyon.

The 60,000-strong Xiongnu army, hidden behind the hillsides on both sides, would rush down the slopes and cut off the retreat of the 20,000 Qin soldiers.

On the Gobi Desert, where there were no city walls to rely on, 20,000 infantrymen faced 60,000 cavalrymen, and the result was that only one army was completely wiped out.

At that time, there were less than 30,000 people left inside Gaoque Pass, and they were unable to hold it against the fierce enemy attack.

The Xiongnu not only wanted to eat those 10,000 men, they wanted to eat all 60,000 soldiers guarding Gaoque Pass!

Cold sweat trickled down Zhao Ben's forehead.

A chill ran up from the soles of everyone's feet.

The soldiers felt a lingering fear, and their hands gripping their weapons trembled slightly.

Zhao Ben turned his head and looked at Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan's expression remained calm as he gazed at the distant snowstorm.

Zhao Ben bent his knees and knelt on the ground.

"Immortal Master!"

Zhao Ben's voice was hoarse, "This humble general was foolish! I almost caused a catastrophe, costing the lives of 60,000 soldiers at Gaoque Pass! This humble general knows his guilt!"

Fusu stepped forward and bowed to Zhang Fan: "Teacher... I almost lost my mind just now. If it weren't for your decisive action, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

On the city wall, the soldiers who had been whispering and criticizing Zhang Fan put down their weapons and knelt on one knee in front of him.

The doubt in their eyes was gone, replaced by awe.

Fortunately, I listened to the immortal master's orders.

If it weren't for the immortal master seeing through the enemy's trick and ordering everyone to retreat back to the city wall...

Once the army loses its defensive advantage at Gaoque Pass and is forced to fight desperately in the Gobi Desert, Gaoque Pass will become the burial ground for Qin soldiers tonight.

Zhang Fan turned around and looked at the kneeling soldiers.

"Get up, all of you!" Zhang Fan said.

Zhao Ben stood up and wiped the cold sweat from his face.

Zhang Fan pointed to the canyon ahead: "The reinforcements will remain at the city gate. The Xiongnu ambush has been exposed, and they will soon lose patience before the main army leaves the pass."

"Having failed to lure them in, their next move will be a full-scale attack!"

Zhang Fan drew his military dagger and pointed it to the sky: "Prepare to defend the city! Tonight, we will not let the Xiongnu set foot across Gaoque Pass!"

"Defend Gaoque!" Zhao Ben roared, raising his longsword.

"Defend the high palace!"

The roars of the Qin soldiers echoed from the city walls.

……

at the same time.

Five miles outside Gaoque Pass, in a valley on flat land.

The Xiongnu camp was stationed here, and the wind and snow blew through the tents.

Inside the main tent, a brazier was burning.

Luan Diyun sat in the main seat, his face pale.

A Xiongnu cavalry commander, with his head bowed, walked into the tent and knelt on one knee to report on the battle situation at the front.

"Princess, the Qin army has retreated back into the pass. Our 60,000 troops, who were left outside the valley to prepare an ambush, did not wait for the main force of the Qin army to come out of the pass."

Upon hearing the report, Luan Diyun stood up, his brows furrowed.

"It was returned?"

Luan Diyun questioned, "Didn't I give orders to the troops responsible for blocking those 10,000 Qin soldiers to slow down their attack?"

As long as the Qin army sees hope for rescue, the garrison inside Gaoque Pass will come out to provide support. Did you kill too many people and scare them away?

The commander of the cavalry raised his head, his face full of complaints: "Princess, I have relayed the order. The warriors at the front have slowed down their attack! We are fighting very cautiously, surrounding them without killing them, leaving an opening."

"But the generals at Gaoque Pass didn't care about the lives of their men at all! They stopped at the pass and refused to leave, leaving only 5,000 light cavalry outside the city gate to help the stragglers who were trying to escape."

The commander of ten thousand cavalrymen spoke with bewilderment, "Ten thousand vanguard soldiers, just like that, give up! The Qin army generals are too hard-hearted!"

After hearing the explanation from the commander of the cavalry, Luan Diyun fell silent.

She paced around the tent, contemplating the current situation.

The plan to lure the enemy out of the pass failed.

Sixty thousand troops lay in ambush behind the hillside, exposed to the cold wind, but the Qin army did not fall for it at all.

"What should we do now?"

A lieutenant asked, "If the Qin army doesn't leave the pass, are we going to launch a full-scale attack on Gaoque Pass? The walls of Gaoque Pass are high, and we are all cavalry without siege equipment. A full-scale attack would result in too many casualties."

Luan Diyun stopped in his tracks, not answering his deputy's question, but instead asking, "Who is the general guarding the city?"

The commander of the cavalry replied, "According to intelligence from our scouts, the general guarding Gaoque Pass is Zhao Ben."

Luan Diyun paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"I've heard of Zhao Ben; he's a seasoned general known for his composure in battle. But he certainly doesn't have the guts to cut off an arm to save his own life. To watch ten thousand men besieged and remain inactive—that's not Zhao Ben's style!"

The commander of the cavalry thought for a moment and continued, "Princess, the scouts say that in addition to Zhao Ben, a group of men came to Gaoque Pass two days ago!"

It seems a general named Mo Feng has been parachuted in to take charge of the defenses of Gaoque Pass!