White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Luzhou.

After Zhao Yanshou left with his staff and subordinates, the government office became deserted, and the lively atmosphere of stringed instruments, music, poetry, and social gatherings was gone.

"Young master, that scoundrel Zhao Siwan has gone with Zhao Yanshou."

Fu An said bitterly, "That ungrateful wretch! All that money wasted when the General sponsored him to go to the capital to seek justice."

Upon hearing this name, Gao Huaide seemed somewhat dazed. Half a year had passed since he left Yanzhou, and the memories of those days seemed to be fading into the distance.

Everyone has their own ambitions; let him be.

After Zhao Siwan went to the capital to file a complaint against Bai Wenshen, she became a lowly clerk in the Gao family, doing errands. Seeing that Zhao Yanshou held a high position and great power, she sought a way to switch allegiance to a new master.

Gao Huaide had no intention of stopping it; after all, he had a score to settle with Zhao Yanshou, so one more small matter wouldn't make a difference.

At this time, besides Lu Qian and Fu An, he was also accompanied by the brothers Li Chuchou and Li Chuyun. Fortunately, they had volunteered to become Gao Yanei's close followers and were not taken away by Zhao Yanshou.

As the army advanced, Gao Huaide sent men to follow behind and report their daily progress.

In the first few days, the progress was less than satisfactory; although slow, it was at least moving forward little by little.

In the latter half of November, Zhao Dejun led his troops out of Tuanbaigukou and simply camped there, remaining motionless for more than ten days.

Just as the Gao family members had begun to recover their spirits, they were plunged back into despair. If they had to describe it in four words, it would be that each day felt like an eternity.

For the first few days, Gao Huaide would report his progress to his mother and sister, but soon it became the same thing over and over again.

It remains still, still, still.

Even he himself felt irritable and impatient, let alone the listeners.

"De'er, come and tell your mother when you have definite news about your father."

Mrs. Gao forced a smile and said that she had freed him from his daily torment.

In the following days, everyone ate in silence at the dinner table in the evenings. Although the dishes were plentiful, they tasted bland. No one mentioned the sensitive topic of when Gao Xingzhou would return, for fear of touching the taut string in each other's hearts.

Gao Huaide had no interest in wandering around, nor did he want to or bear to face the sorrowful faces of his mother and sister. He spent his days burying himself in martial arts training.

Occasionally, a few notes of the zither would drift from the small building where Gao Huaixuan lived, but they would often be cut off midway through a single piece.

The servants in the household were influenced by their master's emotions, and they acted cautiously and with great anxiety.

November ended in this oppressive and heavy atmosphere.

……

This year is an extremely rare leap month in winter, the last time being during the Datong era of the Southern Liang Dynasty hundreds of years ago.

The first day of the intercalary winter month in the third year of Qingtai, Bingchen.

When the envoy from Rinan paid homage to the superior nation, the ministers offered their congratulations at the temporary palace.

Upon hearing the congratulations, Li Congke sighed, "The soldiers in Jin'an Village should think of their country and their homeland."

Tears streamed down his face for a long time.

Ma Yisun, the Grand Secretary and concurrently Chancellor, assisted Prince Yong, Li Chongmei, in remaining in the capital and came to the court from Luoyang.

The ministers, having exhausted all their ideas, were overjoyed, saying, "Minister Ma's arrival must bring a plan to govern the chaos and ensure safety."

Unexpectedly, Ma Yisun came specifically to offer three hundred bolts of silk, but in the end, there was nothing he could accept.

Yang Ningshi, the Vice Minister of War, was among the imperial entourage when he suffered a heart attack and began shouting and yelling in the military camp.

Yang Ningshi was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the late Tang Dynasty. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, his father, Yang She, became prime minister and offered the Imperial Seal of the State to Zhu Wen. Yang Ningshi advised against it. His father was horrified upon hearing this and exclaimed, "Your son will exterminate my clan!"

Fearing that his plot would be exposed, Yang Ningshi immediately feigned madness, and people at the time called him "Yang the Madman".

The truth was a blur of deception, and as a result, I developed a heart condition.

Despite his seemingly eccentric nature, his calligraphy initially followed the styles of Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing, and later he studied the works of Wang Xizhi and his son. His running and cursive scripts were characterized by their unrestrained and unconventional brushstrokes, forming a unique style of his own.

The "Leek Flower Calligraphy" is a masterpiece of running script, consisting of sixty-four characters, describing waking up from a nap to find plump leek flowers and delicious food. It is second only to Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" and Yan Zhenqing's "Draft of a Eulogy for My Nephew".

Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful his handwriting, it was of no use in the current situation and only served to demoralize the army. Because of his talent and reputation, Li Congke was shown leniency and not punished, and was sent back to Luoyang with Ma Yisun. (Note 1)

At this time, Zhao Yanshou presented the imperial edict, armor, horses, bow and sword bestowed by Yelü Deguang to show his sincerity, saying that his father, Zhao Dejun, could send an envoy to write to the Khitan king and persuade him to lead his troops back to the country.

Long Min, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who had previously requested that Li Zanhua be established as the ruler of the Khitan and sent him to the West Tower with troops, thus inciting internal strife, saw this and discussed it with Li Congke's personal general, Li Yi.

"Your marriage to a member of the imperial family is a grave threat to the nation. We cannot afford to wait any longer; how can we remain silent and try to preserve our rule?"

Long Min rebuked him, but Li Yi defended himself, saying that Zhao Dejun would surely defeat the Khitan army.

"That is incorrect. I am a man of Yan and know Zhao Dejun's character well."

Long Min revealed the truth about this fellow villager in one sentence.

"This general is timid and inept in strategy; his strengths lie in defending cities and fortifying moats, and in encouraging his brave soldiers. He is not capable of facing a formidable enemy and fighting without regard for his own safety. Moreover, his position and rank threaten the emperor's authority; would he then use treachery to plot his own advancement?"

The reinforcements had already arrived, and the reason why the siege could not be lifted for so long was not due to a lack of strength.

Almost everyone is well aware of this: the biggest problem right now is the lack of communication, everyone acting independently, and the fact that some people have ulterior motives and other plans.

Li Yi asked how to resolve this.

"I have a wild plan, I don't know if it will work, but if it can be carried out, it is one way to save Jin'an Village."

Long Min offered another plan.

"I have heard that you still have over ten thousand soldiers accompanying you, and five thousand horses before you. I wish to obtain a thousand strong men and a thousand well-armored soldiers. I am willing to give you ten thousand taels of gold to travel from Pingyao along the mountains, braving the enemy at night, and rushing to the official fortress. We will fight as we go. If we can get half of our thousand cavalry to reach the fortress, then the mission will be accomplished!"

With only a thousand cavalrymen, they were to break through the Khitan encirclement. Their fate was uncertain, and even Long Min was not confident. Therefore, he declared that this was a reckless strategy.

He suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

"Zhang Jingda and his men are trapped in a tight encirclement, unaware of the distance of the imperial reinforcements. If they had known that the main army was nearby in Tuanbai Valley, they could have broken through even the iron fortifications, let alone the enemy cavalry!"

Li Yi relayed this to the emperor, and Li Congke, upon hearing these impassioned words, praised, "Longmin's ambition is extremely lofty, but it is too late to put it to use."

The mountain roads of Pingyao are winding and undulating, with long and steep slopes, clinging to cliffs and streams, and narrow and winding. Normally, troops would not choose this route for marching. Moreover, after arriving, they would have to break through the Khitan army's encirclement and storm into Jin'an Village to deliver the message, which would involve great risks.

As Long Min said, it would be a success if half of them arrived, but the possibility of the entire army being wiped out is not out of the question.

Li Congke didn't dwell on it for long. He estimated that Jin'an Village had already run out of food and could fall at any moment; every minute that passed reduced the chances of escape.

He immediately ordered the distribution of gold, silk, and other valuables to recruit brave warriors, who were to depart the day after tomorrow.

In addition to Lang Wanjin, the prefect of Chenzhou proposed by Long Min, the generals in charge of the troops included Kang Sili, a 63-year-old veteran who was the commander of the cavalry.

This veteran general was from the Jinyang tribe and was familiar with the surrounding terrain and mountain paths. Having him lead the troops as a guide was intended to increase the chances of success.

The third day of the intercalary winter month, the day of Wu-Wu.

Kang Sili and Lang Wanjin led more than a thousand elite cavalrymen and daredevils, departing from Huaizhou, crossing the Taihang Pass, passing Tianjing Pass, and entering the Hedong region. Long Min also accompanied the army.

The fifth day of the intercalary winter month, Gengshen.

Fifty li north of Pingyao lies Tuanbai Valley, where Zhao Dejun's army was stationed.

Instead of heading north, the group turned west and, upon reaching the territory of Fenyang, marched along the foot of the Great Wall, close to the foot of the Guji Mountain.

For over a hundred miles from here, you enter a territory where the outposts of the two armies are constantly at odds, their positions intertwined.

The spine, with Mount Tai on the left, Mount Hua on the right, Mount Changshan as its backing, Mount Song as its embrace, and Mount Heng as its facing direction, rises in the center, truly the spine of heaven and earth.

The mountains stretch endlessly, resembling the spine of a giant beast. The ancient people, seeing their shape, named them Lüliang Mountain. Kang Sili and his companions took this very road, avoiding both the Khitan army and Zhao Dejun.

As for why there is a section of the Great Wall here, we have to go back to the time of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, Gao Yang. It started from Huanglu Ridge and went north to Sheping Garrison, a distance of more than 400 li, with 36 garrisons. The southern end started from Fenyang and the northern end reached Shuozhou, which is this section.

Kang Sili chose this marching route to rely on the Great Wall for cover and the beacon towers for guidance, in order to avoid the Khitan cavalry as much as possible. Even so, small-scale battles involving a few to a dozen riders still occurred from time to time.

Fortunately, Yelü Deguang and Shi Jingtang focused most of their attention on the two reinforcements from Tuanbai Valley and Yuci, treating them as ordinary scouts and failing to see through their true intentions.

The eighth day of the intercalary winter month, Guihai.

More than a thousand elite cavalrymen traveled from Fenyang, Guo Ziyi's fiefdom, through Wenshui, the hometown of Wu Zetian, and arrived at Jiaocheng, a city named after the confluence of the Fen and Kong rivers.

More than ten miles away is the Khitan camp, which stretches for dozens of miles. Once this barrier is broken through, Jin'an Village will be just seventy miles ahead.

Jiaocheng had not yet fallen to the enemy, and the cavalry were taking their final rest there, waiting for nightfall.

Kang Sili inspected the entire army. When they set out, there were 1,058 riders. Along the way, 73 men were lost or strayed, leaving less than 1,000 men.

He sighed inwardly, wondering how many people would still be alive when the sun rose.

"Minister Long, the place ahead is the site of the corpses, where the danger is vastly different. I have no time to protect you."

Kang Sili advised Long Min to stay, lest another one die needlessly.

"You've come this far with the army, that's enough. Why don't you wait in the city?"

Long Min laughed and refused: "General, you are mistaken. How could I, Long, possibly shrink back in the face of the enemy when I offer this strategy? Although I am a Confucian scholar, academic studies are not my forte, but my passionate and fiery spirit is second to none." (Note 2)

Kang Sili didn't try to persuade him any further, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Eat well, get a good night's sleep, and set off at the crack of dawn. Success or failure will be decided in just one hour."