Chapter 14 Frost Cold (4)

«Slap!»
A crisp sound echoed through the cave, startling everyone.
«Did you help me change my clothes? Then you must have seen it all?»
Valerie glared at Li Qiao with anger, tightening the garment she was wearing. It wasn’t her own clothes, so it must be this boy taking advantage of the situation to change her clothes!
Li Qiao only felt a burning pain rise on his right cheek. His heart was already seething with rage.
«Yes, it was I who helped you change your clothes. So what? If I hadn’t timely replaced your rain-soaked clothes, you would probably have already died of heat stroke by now!»
Valerie raised her brows and scoffed: «Hmph, do I still need to thank the Great General? Don’t you know the principle of ‘men and women should not touch each other’?»
Dugu Qing couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward: «You this young lady speak so unreasonably. You’re dressed as a male constable; how would we know you’re a woman? If not for the General replacing your clothes, you wouldn’t even have the strength to complain now.»
«Good, good, good! Everything is right with your General, and I, Valérie, am the one being unreasonable, ruining your General’s innocence.»
She emphasized the word «innocence» very heavily, her eyes wide open.
«Unreasonable! Dugu Qing, put down her dried clothes, and let’s go!»
Li Qiao helped wholeheartedly but was wrongly snubbed and scolded, and had no desire to continue entangling with Valérie. He swept his sleeves and left.
«Hah!»
Dugu Qing looked at Valérie and shook his head, letting out a long sigh.
The campfire flickered, the night was cold and clear, and pear blossoms fell point by point like clear tears.
No words for the night.
When setting out again, Valérie deliberately kept a distance from Li Qiao.
Some loves are hard to return once spoken; some hatreds hide in the heart without words. Towards this young General, Valérie truly felt both love and hate. With half grievances and half hatred, she really didn’t know how to face him.
«Damn it!»
Valérie bit her lip hard and roared.
This man saved her; she should have been grateful. But, but does he have no desire to peek?
With no one to confide in, Valérie felt extremely annoyed. She pulled the reins and whipped the horse fiercely.
«General, the Great Wall Fortress is ahead!»
Uryong, riding his favorite horse, rode at the front of the team and shouted excitedly upon seeing a fortress in the distance.
Li Qiao gazed into the distance. He saw a fortress made of blue stone rising straight up from the front mountain, piercing the sky.
«Full speed ahead!»
Li Qiao waved his hand and commanded.

The Great Wall Fortress is built at the mouth of Kanglang Mountain, originally used to defend against Tibetan invasions. Later, generation after generation of Tang Dynasty soldiers from Longyou paid with their blood, pushing the dynasty’s territory all the way to Shimen Mountain. The Great Wall Fortress thus lost its function as a guard and warning post. (Note 1) However, Longyou is a multi-ethnic gathering area, home not only to the Han people but also to Qiang, Tuyuhun, and even some Tibetans. Consequently, the Great Wall Fortress still possesses strong military deterrence and escort functions, playing a significant role in maintaining local stability in Lanzhou and Dunhuang. (Note 2) Before approaching the fortress, soldiers guarding the fort shouted loudly: «The Shenqi Army of Chang’an has been ordered to proceed to Liangzhou, passing through the Great Wall Fortress. Please open the city gate!»

A head poked out from the fort’s parapet, replying: «Present your documents for inspection!»

Upon saying this, he slowly lowered a basket from the fort.

«General?»
Zhou Qing looked at Li Kua, seeking the opinion of his own school captain. Seeing Li Kua nod, Zhou Qing took out the documents from his satchel and placed them in the basket, shouting loudly: «It’s ready! Please, brother, inspect it!»

«You wait here first!»

The guard took the documents from the raised basket and ran into the stone fortress.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a soldier ran out: «The garrison commander at home requests his comrades to enter the pass and rest!»

Upon saying this, he waved his hand, and someone lowered the drawbridge.

The iron chain hoist slowly pulled down the massive timber, making a «creaking» sound. With a dull thud, the drawbridge hit the ground.

The soldiers of the Zhuque Team of the Shenqi Army, led by their own school captain, rode their horses across the drawbridge and entered this stone fortress.

Since the Great Wall Fortress was built very solidly from the start to defend against Tibetan invasions from the east, whole blue stone slabs were used in its construction. The entire fortress is square and quite regular. The half-round wall head can accommodate 500 guards simultaneously, and dozens of arrow slits beside it are amply supplied with arrows, fuel, and rolling stones. Therefore, although it has not seen battle for a long time, whenever a beacon fire is lit, this stronghold on the hill can immediately go into defense and firmly guard the mountain pass.

«Li General, welcome, welcome! Please come inside quickly. I have prepared warm cooked wine for my brothers, and fresh meat soup.»

The Great Wall Fortress garrison commander, Dian Wuxi, came out, smiling with a face full of glory.

He was originally a Qiang from the Huangshui area. Because he could not bear the oppression of the Tibetan chieftain, he moved his whole family to Longyou. Possessing immense strength and skilled in horsemanship and archery, he was appointed as the Fire Chief by the then Great Wall Fortress garrison commander, and step by step rose to the position of garrison commander through military merit, serving in this position for twenty years.

«Thank you, Dian Wu Garrison Commander, for the warm hospitality!»

Li Kuo clasped his fists and returned the salute.
Li Kuo carefully sized up the man before him. He had a head of curly black hair, a yellowish-red complexion, a high-bridged nose, and deep-set eyes. Though he was already in his fifties, he looked vigorous and showed no signs of fatigue.
The crowd was warmly welcomed by Duan Wu into the inner room and seated around the hearth, roasting their hands.
The entire stone fortress was divided into upper and lower levels. The upper level was for the residence of generals and soldiers, while the lower level was used to raise horses, store military equipment, and store grain.
The whole stone fortress was exceptionally spacious; the upper level alone could accommodate two thousand men at once.
«Duan Wu guards the fortress. I see your fortress is quite large; I wonder how many brothers you have in total?»
Li Kuo took a light sip of the fiery liquor and smiled.
«Hah, don’t hide it from you. The actual establishment of my Longcheng fortress should be two thousand men. Later, because of the Tang Dynasty’s westward advance, the Longcheng fortress lost its role as a forward outpost. The military funds in Longyou were tight; adding one more person means one more mouth to feed. Thus, General Ge Shu ordered a reduction of the garrisons at various fortresses. My fortress was consequently reduced to over five hundred men. If we exclude the elderly and weak, those fit for battle probably number fewer than five hundred.»
«Oh? If the enemy attacks, wouldn’t that be very dangerous?»
Li Kuo frowned and voiced his concern.
«Hahaha! Say, Li gege, do you know where our Longyou garrisons are stationed now? From Shimen Mountain to Longcheng fortress is two to three hundred li, with Jinshan Mountain in between. Unless the Tubo people are divine soldiers descending from the heavens, how could they suddenly attack the city overnight? Old brother, you don’t need to worry about this. Even if the Tubo people really attack, look at the continuous mountain ranges; everywhere are our beacon towers. I just need to light the beacon, and the wolf smoke at Jincheng will be visible. Within three days, a large army can come to aid.»
Upon hearing this, Duan Wu patted Li Kuo’s shoulder and laughed loudly, as if a teenager were telling a huge joke.
«Does that mean the Tubo people have never had the intention to attack Longcheng fortress? This fortress is the barrier of Lan and Wei prefectures. If Longcheng falls, Tubo cavalry can rush into the plain, burning, killing, and looting. This kind of benefit, would the Tubo people not be moved? As I know, the defense on the southern line of Longyou is not very tight!»
Wu Qing couldn’t stand Duan Wu’s act of relying on age to sell age and argued.
Duan Wu’s face showed displeasure, but seeing Li Kuo’s face, he suppressed his anger and said in a gentle tone: «That’s indeed true. Our main forces are mostly stationed in Huo Prefecture and Shan Prefecture. The southern line indeed has few soldiers. However, in recent years, only a few hundred Tubo cavalry come over Ling Ridge in autumn and winter to get some air. There has never been a large army!»

微顿了顿，他挤出一抹笑容，举杯道：“今日莫谈国事，愚兄为老弟你设宴，接风洗尘。当是不醉不归！”