A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Twenty miles outside Yangguan Pass, Huo Qingluan did not rush into battle, but instead wrote a letter and sent it to the commander of the Black Cavalry.

"Within the territory of Xinwu, there is no need to cross the border."

Huo Qingluan folded the letter, placed it under the bronze token, and handed it to the guards on the city wall.

"Send it to the commander-in-chief of the Black Flag Army."

The messenger took the letter, but hesitated. "General, what if they refuse to accept it?"

"Then throw it in front of their camp gate."

"What if they shoot arrows?"

Huo Qingluan glanced at him.

"Run faster."

The messenger immediately mounted his horse and led two cavalrymen out of Yangguan.

On the city wall, Shang Wanqing held up her binoculars, watching the figures approach the Black Flag Army camp.

She was watching intently, her fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the lens.

"They accepted it."

"Where is the commander-in-chief?" Huo Qingluan asked.

"No one has come out from the central command tent."

Huo Qingluan did not ask any further questions.

She wrote these eight characters not to show weakness, nor to negotiate.

Fang Zhaoru has already entered Xinwu territory. If the Black Flag Army is only chasing people, she can wait for Wei Zhao's orders.

However, if 30,000 troops were to enter the pass and force Xinwu to hand over the people, it would not be a private feud in the Western Regions, but rather someone holding a knife to Xinwu's neck.

Huo Qingluan couldn't swallow this insult.

Wei Zhao wouldn't swallow it either.

However, she could not fire the first arrow for His Majesty before the order arrived.

This place is too far from the capital. Any decision here could become a reason for various departments to test the bottom line of Xinwu in the future.

Since the enemy had sent a message, she sent it back.

Xinwu's territory is not an inn where they can come and go as they please.

The Black Flag Army broke camp early the next morning.

The soldiers guarding Yangguan City had just finished their shift change when a series of muffled hoofbeats sounded in the distance.

Thirty thousand black-armored cavalrymen emerged from the camp without the slightest panic. Tents were dismantled, waterwheels were loaded, and even the wooden stakes on the ground were pulled out cleanly.

Half an hour later, they advanced ten miles eastward and formed ranks ten miles outside Yangguan Pass.

"They deliberately got close." Nie Yinniang stood by the battlements, her voice low.

Huo Qingluan took the binoculars.

This time, she saw the Black Flag Army clearly.

The cavalrymen were all tall, almost seven feet tall, wearing black iron armor, with broad shoulders and backs, and their broadswords were longer than the new military sabers.

The white camel beneath him was covered in thick hide, with water bags, grain sacks, and crossbow bolts hanging on either side of its hump.

What Huo Qingluan cared about most was not their size, nor the camels.

It was a military formation.

Thirty thousand people were divided into more than ten square formations, with equal distances between them.

Each team consisted of a standard bearer, archers, and swordsmen with shields, and there was enough space between the camels to turn around.

If someone charges into the formation, the teams on the left and right can close in a very short time.

These are not desert bandits.

This is a highly trained army.

"They're not here to scare us," Huo Qingluan said, putting down her binoculars.

Shang Wanqing asked, "Then what are you here for?"

"Forcing us to make the first move."

Huo Qingluan stared at the black wolf flag.

The enemy came from three thousand miles away, but instead of rushing to attack, they deliberately positioned their formation outside the firing range.

This way, they can demonstrate their military strength while also leaving themselves a way out.

If Xinwu fires an arrow, they can claim they have been attacked.

If Xinwu doesn't release them, they will continue to press closer.

Well thought out.

Unfortunately, they misjudged their opponent.

From within the Black Flag Army formation, a white camel emerged.

The man was holding a white flag, wearing black armor, and had a broadsword hanging at his waist.

The white camel stopped a hundred paces from the city walls. The cavalryman looked up and shouted in broken Chinese:

"Listen up, General Da Xinwu!"

The sound reached the city walls, and the defenders gripped their weapons tightly.

"My Khan only seeks one person! An old man surnamed Fang, named Zhaoru!"

"Hand over this man, and the army will immediately retreat westward and never invade eastward again!"

"If you don't pay..."

The cavalryman raised his hand and pointed towards Yangguan Pass.

"Clear this pass and find your people on your own!"

No one spoke from the city wall.

After the words "Crush this pass" were uttered, the expressions of many of the guards changed.

Yangguan only has two thousand men, and reinforcements are still on their way.

Outside the city, however, stood 30,000 fully equipped black-armored cavalry.

If the other side really wants to break through, Yangguan won't last long.

But Huo Qingluan's expression remained unchanged.

She took the binoculars from Shang Wanqing and looked at the cavalryman who had shouted for a moment.

The man did not raise a shield, nor did he have any guards.

The white flag was white, the armor was black, and they stood a hundred paces away, as if deliberately offering their necks to the new crossbow bolts.

Once an arrow is fired, there's no turning back for either side.

Huo Qingluan knew perfectly well the bottom line of the Black Flag Army's desire to use an old man to test their new martial arts.

They also wanted to use 30,000 people to test Wei Zhao's bottom line.

Killing the person who shouted at this moment would certainly be satisfying.

A quick fix won't solve the problem.

What she wanted was to stall the Black Flag Army, wait for the military orders from the capital, wait for the 50,000 reinforcements, and wait for Wei Zhao to define the nature of this battle.

Is it a manhunt?

Is it an intrusion?

Or was it a test of the new weapons by the tribes of the Western Regions?

"General."

Shang Wanqing asked in a low voice, "Where can the ballista hit?"

Huo Qingluan returned the binoculars to her.

"Will it hit?"

"If the wind direction remains unchanged, it's 80% likely."

"Eighty percent?"

Shang Wanqing frowned: "I meant hitting a person. If you aim for a camel's head, it's a sure thing."

That's very much like Shang Wanqing's words.

She focused on the distance, wind direction, and crossbow string, never caring whether the other side was speaking human language or ghost language.

In her view, camels were simply bigger targets than warhorses.

Huo Qingluan stared at the cavalry below the city.

Are you sure you want to do it?

Shang Wanqing was taken aback: "Didn't you ask that?"

"I'm asking you, if the first arrow is fired and the Black Flag Army immediately attacks, can the ballistae withstand the attack?"

Shang Wanqing pursed her lips.

She turned to look into the city.

Thirty improved ballistae have been disassembled and placed on wooden frames behind the city wall.

Three hundred crossbows were distributed to various sections of the city wall, with steel-tipped arrows piled up in a row.

There were enough crossbow bolts and the ballistae were heavy enough, but the walls of Yangguan were too old and the garrison only numbered two thousand.

If the Black Flag Army were to charge forward regardless of casualties, the ballistae might be able to repel them in one volley, but they might not be able to hold out for a second.

She didn't like the answer.

"We can manage."

Shang Wanqing said, "But I can't guarantee the city walls won't collapse."

Huo Qingluan nodded.

She turned to look down at the city walls, her voice not loud, but everyone around her could hear her clearly.

"I will not fire the first arrow until Wei Zhao gives the order."

Shang Wanqing's eyes lit up.

Huo Qingluan rarely swore.

The fact that she could say that means she already sees those 30,000 people on the other side as enemies, but she just needs a formal reason to start the war.

"But what if they make the first move..."

Huo Qingluan raised her hand and pointed at the white-flag cavalryman.

"Aim the ballista at the camel's head."

Shang Wanqing hugged the binoculars tightly and nodded earnestly.

"clear."

She strode into the city, shouting to the armorers as she went:

"Bring the ballista up! Raise the arm two inches, and switch to heavy-headed arrows! Camels have big heads, don't miss!"

The soldiers guarding the city wall felt a chill run down their spines.

Those were 30,000 enemy troops, not wooden targets on the training ground.

But Shang Wanqing spoke so naturally, as if she was about to shoot a bunch of pheasants standing outside the wall.

Huo Qingluan ignored the commotion behind her and looked at the main formation of the Black Flag Army below the city.

The cavalrymen who had shouted the order remained standing there, the white flag drooping at their sides.

He seemed to be waiting too.

Wait for panic to break out on Xinwu City, wait for Huo Qingluan to send someone to respond, wait for Yangguan to reveal a crack that can be pried open.

Huo Qingluan turned and walked down the city wall.

"Nie Yinniang".

The person in the shadows responded, "Here."

"The guards oversee all water sources in the city will be tripled."

Nie Yinniang asked, "Including the wells where ordinary people draw water?"

"include."

"What if someone approaches?"

"Stop them first, check their identities. Anyone who tries to force their way in, kill them."

Nie Yinniang nodded, then turned and left.

Huo Qingluan stopped on the city wall steps and glanced back at the black wolf flag.

In this battle, the Black Flag Army wanted to find Fang Zhaoru.

She wanted them to understand first that Yangguan was not a road sign for them to find the old man.