“Forward!”

“Forward!”

The shield bearers advanced, providing cover for their own crossbowmen to suppress the enemy from behind, while also supporting the advance of the battering ram.

Calling it a battering ram was not entirely accurate, as this was not like the kind seen in film and television dramas where budget constraints meant a group of people just charged forward with a log.

This was more like a tall war chariot, with the battering ram inside. Above were arrow towers, and below was a covered area made of leather and wooden planks, with some critical positions even wrapped in iron to enhance protection.

During an attack, it could accommodate up to a hundred people, including archers. Those below, when ramming the city gate, did not have to worry about the threat of arrows from the city wall unless they were particularly unlucky.

Even hot oil wasn't much to fear.

The people from the Tianji Pavilion (Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets) had also taken some fire prevention measures to make it as difficult as possible to ignite.

This was just the battering ram.

Behind it,

regular tall arrow towers stood, able to be pushed forward. A dismantling port was made below, so that when they reached the appropriate position, a key component could be removed from below, and the arrow tower would naturally fall forward. At that time, the arrow tower, equipped with grappling hooks at the top, would become the most solid and durable siege ladder, and even if the defenders wanted to push it down, its sheer weight would make it very difficult.

Further behind were the siege crossbows. The thick, massive crossbow bolts could kill Fan Li, even in full armor, with a single shot.

There were countless such siege weapons, some potentially useful, some not. The specifics would have to be chosen based on the situation after actual combat.

The most crucial were the catapults.

San'er had originally designed the catapults for Xuehai Pass (Snow Sea Pass), and the people from the Tianji Pavilion had added something similar to formation patterns, making the catapults fire farther and with greater precision.

An inch longer is an inch stronger, and the same was true for catapults, because the Chu army inside the city would certainly have catapults as well.

Now, the Xuehai Pass soldiers, under the command of Liang Cheng, were directly clearing one side of the south wall of Xuehai Pass to practice siege coordination.

These soldiers were all cavalrymen, but they couldn't ride horses to crash into the city walls during a siege, could they?

Fortunately, they had seen the weakness of the Yan army in siege warfare long ago, and Xuehai Pass had focused on practicing infantry formation methods, so it wasn't entirely a last-minute effort.

"Can these be mass-produced?" Zheng Fan asked Zeng Shulang, the Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion, who was standing next to him.

"Replying to the Marquis, the key components are made in advance in our workshop and brought here. When we arrive at Zhennan Pass (Southern Suppression Pass), we can mobilize the laborers to cut down materials. As long as there are enough laborers and craftsmen, mass production is not difficult.

Before the battle, we can directly build workshops in the camp."

This was a plan to manufacture equipment while fighting.

In fact, this was a very common practice. Siege warfare often lasted for six months or even more than a year.

If it weren't for the food shortage, how could the Chu army in Yupan City have surrendered? If Qu Tiannan had been determined to hold on and had enough food, it would have been a huge problem.

And Zhennan Pass...

Unless the Chu people had lost their minds, Zheng Bo, (Marquis Zheng) wouldn't naively think that the Zhennan Pass garrison would be short of food.

"Marquis, a humble suggestion. Your men are all elite soldiers. It would be a waste to use them for a siege like ants. Such good soldiers."

"We must be prepared for anything. Who knows when it will be our turn during a real siege? We can't run, and we can't push it away. When we really have to bite the bullet, we have to make our sacrifices worthwhile.

Moreover, we have no way back."

Although the Yan Emperor's decision to attack Chu gave Zheng Bo something to do, instead of shrinking back in the northeast corner like when attacking Qian.

However, this was indeed a gamble for the Yan Kingdom, and also a gamble for him, the Marquis of Pingye (Pacified Wilderness).

Breaking through Zhennan Pass and pushing the strategic area into Chu territory would truly secure Xuehai Pass. Maybe he could even ask Tian Wujing with his godson:

Brother,

look at Zhennan Pass,

it looks like the twist bread that children love to eat.

Of course, the latter was Zheng Bo's fantasy.

But if they couldn't break through Zhennan Pass, and the Great Yan exhausted its national strength for this, the people of Jin might rise up in rebellion, the Yan Kingdom might suffer widespread poverty, and if the Qian Kingdom exerted some pressure, the Chu people would immediately leave Zhennan Pass and enter Jin East.

Then,

Zheng Fan would only be able to go to the snowfield to become the next Barbarian King.

"Put more effort into these instruments."

Siege warfare actually relies on these excellent and continuous machines, coupled with sufficient food and a stable morale. Otherwise, it will become like the Barbarians attacking Xuehai Pass, seemingly lively but essentially not posing a major threat, just wasting lives in vain.

"Yes, Marquis. I know. I will certainly not disappoint you, Marquis. To be honest, the Tianji Pavilion had made things for the Helian and Wen families, but they weren't used much. This has always been a regret in my heart."

The Tianji Pavilion was a Jianghu (martial arts world) sect, but it also had official shadows.

Initially, it was established by a Jin Emperor, but gradually, as the Yu family declined, it was stripped away and eventually became a Jianghu sect.

As for the regret that Zeng Shulang spoke of, it was probably because Tian Wujing and Li Liangting had directly defeated the elites of those two families in a ten-day forced march, and also shattered the morale of most of Jin. After the field battles resolved most of the Jin's main forces, the cities were basically captured with the mere announcement of surrender.

Therefore, the instruments that the Tianji Pavilion had built for these two families didn't really come into play.

"Don't worry, you'll have something to play with this time."

"Thank you, Marquis."

Zheng Fan went down the city wall. On the south side of the city, Liang Cheng was commanding the troops to practice siege warfare, while on the east side, the blind man was organizing a mobilization meeting.

Most of the attendees were laborers. These laborers were not considered registered households in Xuehai Pass, but on the battlefield, they were indispensable, and could become replacement soldiers at any time.

Moreover, they were basically the prime laborers of their families, with good hearing and eyesight. After publicizing to them, and then having them convey the information to their respective families and neighborhoods, the effect would easily come out.

The opening of the meeting was a community opera that the people of Xuehai Pass loved to watch.

The main plot was a group of actors dressed in Barbarian fur clothes and Chu armor first charging over, hacking and killing the Jin people, throwing children to their deaths, and insulting women.

During this time, the sound effects of the infants had to be shrill, and the screams of the women had to be miserable.

After doing all this,

these actors would then walk to the edge of the stage and laugh extremely arrogantly at the audience below.

The acting,

was indeed exaggerated.

But the audience below, even though they had seen it countless times, still hated it with a passion.

The truth was that most of the Jin people here had deep blood feuds with the Barbarians and Chu people.

At the same time, some audience members were so immersed in the drama that several actors who specialized in playing villains were ambushed on the street and sent to the hospital for treatment.

After the emotions of anger were stirred up,

"Marquis Zheng" appeared.

The actor playing Marquis Zheng was carefully selected and was very handsome.

Before fleeing to Xuehai Pass, he had been a famous young actor in the local opera troupe.

After "Marquis Zheng" appeared, he led several Barbarian actors and Jin soldier actors,

and shouted loudly:

"Where do you think you're going!"

Then,

they charged over.

The martial arts fighting scene was quite good-looking. Although it was just a show, there was actually some real skill in it.

After defeating the enemy,

"Marquis Zheng" would then walk to the center of the stage and begin to loudly say some words about "loving the people like children," and then, the curtain would fall.

Immediately,

the audience would erupt in enthusiastic cheers.

When the community opera had just started rehearsing last year, in order to better create the atmosphere, at the end of each performance, two disabled Barbarian slaves would be specially selected from those doing hard labor to be beheaded and displayed on the stage.

Wow,

that scene, that atmosphere, was something else.

Only this year did it calm down, letting the stage return to the stage.

After the community opera performance,

the blind man would first lead everyone in recalling whose food they were eating, and who allowed them to now eat their fill, stay warm in winter, and have medicine to take when they were sick.

Then the audience, who had heard it many times and knew how to cooperate, would raise their hands and fists together and shout:

"Marquis of Pingye!"

"Marquis of Pingye!"

"Marquis of Pingye!"

When Zheng Bo first saw this scene, watching the play from the back, he really wanted to raise his finger and shout with the atmosphere:

"Rock and roll will never die!"

But the eyes of the masses were actually sharp, and they could distinguish who was really good to them.

Next, the blind man began to explain to them the significance of the upcoming war to everyone. The theme was just one: only victory was allowed, and Zhennan Pass must be taken.

Zheng Bo didn't disturb the busy blind man, but went to the ice cellar.

The weather was actually starting to get hot. Here in Xuehai Pass, the season when people could feel hot was actually very short.

Zheng Bo poured himself a glass of wine, personally knocked two ice cubes into it in the ice cellar, and walked to a coffin while drinking.

Reaching out,

he knocked on it.

Soon,

the coffin lid was pushed open,

revealing A Ming lying inside.

A Ming's gaze fell on Zheng Bo's wine glass,

and he said:

"Master, that is the best batch of wine."

The implication was, Master, if you want to drink grape juice, don't waste the good stuff.

"Stingy."

Zheng Bo sat down by the coffin.

When he had taken the princess away from Xuehai Pass before, A Ming had been lying in the ice cellar, with Liang Cheng pouring blood on him every morning and evening.

When he came back, A Ming had actually recovered most of his strength.

"You have to recover completely quickly," Zheng Bo said with concern.

Faced with this concern, A Ming didn't feel too touched, because he knew that there was going to be a war.

"Master, if you promise not to drink my wine anymore, I might be able to recover before the war starts."

"So realistic?"

"Because, when I'm in a good mood, the injury might recover faster."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah."

"Then, if I said that unless you fully recover tomorrow, I'll distribute all your wine to the soldiers the day after tomorrow, would the effect be even more obvious?"

"..." A Ming.

"Alright, alright, I know, next time, squeeze some orange juice for me or something. I'm not used to grape juice anyway."

Helping A Ming put the coffin lid back on, Zheng Bo walked out of the ice cellar with his glass of red wine.

Logically speaking, he should be very busy now, but in fact, he really didn't have anything to be busy with.

Si Niang was responsible for material reserves, the blind man was responsible for the morale of the city, and A Cheng was responsible for training the soldiers.

The things he should be doing were already being done by others, and they could only do it better than him.

But this kind of leisure before the war

gave Zheng Bo a great sense of emptiness.

So,

he came to the back residence,

to Liu Ruqing's residence.

Because here,

no matter how great the emptiness was, it could be completely filled by that cry of "Uncle~."

However, Zheng Bo was a little disappointed that Xiong Liqing was actually in Liu Ruqing's residence at this time.

This made Zheng Bo hesitate,

and he stood at the gate of the courtyard for a long time without going in.

Just then, Xiao Yibo came over:

"Master, that one said he wants to see you."

That one referred to the Barbarian King. In this mansion, only the Barbarian King could not be directly called by name.

Zheng Fan nodded and walked into the other side of the back residence.

After returning from a trip to Yanjing City with Zheng Fan, the Barbarian King's treatment had greatly improved. He no longer lived in the underground secret room, but in a house.

But there was still an iron cage in this house, but a bed, a coffee table, and even a washstand were added to the Barbarian King's cage.

When Zheng Bo came in, the Barbarian King was sitting in front of the coffee table reading a book.

The book was upside down.

Zheng Bo knew that the other party was deliberately trying to make him laugh, but he just deliberately didn't laugh.

"Have you eaten?" Zheng Bo asked.

The Barbarian King put down the book and said with a smile: "Replying to the Marquis, Little Gouzi's three meals a day are on time, very regular."

"What do you want me for?" Zheng Fan sat down on a chair outside the cage.

"Marquis, Gouzi wants to discuss with you how to command my army when it arrives."

"Army? I haven't seen it yet."

"Believe me, since the letter has been sent, the news should arrive in the next few days. Please rest assured, Marquis. If it wasn't absolutely reliable, I wouldn't dare to joke with you about my head."

"I'm curious, the army you left behind only has eight hundred men."

A tribe of eight hundred people was nothing in the snowfield.

"What the Marquis doesn't know is that those eight hundred men are guarding a prison, a prison much larger than the place where I'm living now.

When I was king in the snowfield, I forced many tribes to send their young clan leaders to me as hostages. Those people are still being held by my most loyal eight hundred men."

"Most loyal?"

"They won't believe I'm dead."

Zheng Fan shook his head.

"At least, their loyalty can last for more than ten years."

"But I don't think those hostages will have any effect. Young clan leaders can be born. Some tribes may have already had their original clan leaders die, and new people have taken over."

"The Marquis is right, so I need your cooperation, Marquis. These hostages, in my hands, are difficult to use as leverage unless I'm in the snowfield. But now that I've handed them over to you, Marquis, you can have a good talk."

"Trouble."

"If you're afraid of trouble, Marquis, you can just let me out, and I'll take care of it myself. Then, let alone thirty thousand Barbarian soldiers, I'm confident I can raise up a hundred thousand. After all, I'm your loyal dog."

"Okay."

"Huh?" Even the Barbarian King thought he had misheard.

He had just said it casually.

"This Marquis, can send you on your way."

"......" Gou Moli.

Zheng Bo stood up, walked to the cage, looked at Gou Moli, and said word by word:

"I know, you're still hiding something from me. This thing about the Hundred Warriors, you can talk about it, and I'll listen, but when the day comes, if I don't see thirty thousand Barbarians coming, I'll take your head to sacrifice to my army that is about to depart."

Gou Moli lowered his head and said: "Don't worry, Marquis, I haven't lived enough yet. Now that I can live in a house with sunshine, I still want to have my own courtyard in the future."

"Heh."

Gou Moli knelt down

and said with a smile;

"Marquis, I want to hear, what can I get in exchange for the lives of these thirty thousand Barbarians?"

"Now, you want to negotiate terms with me?"

"I wouldn't dare, I'm not negotiating terms, I've already thrown that shoe on the road, and now I want to hold a new shoe."

"Oh? Then I'd like to hear what you want?"

"I heard from Mr. Bei that we have many trading teams in Xuehai Pass now, and there will only be more in the future. These teams need someone to protect them, after all, Xuehai Pass will still rely on them to produce goat milk in the future."

"Go on."

"I want to ask for an official position."

"What position?"

"Xuehai Pass, Protector-Colonel of Commerce."

…………

At this time,

about seventy miles away from the north city wall of Xuehai Pass, a Barbarian tribe with a population of nearly thirty thousand was migrating south.