From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 61 Interrogation of Guli

The Crown Prince's spies in the Northern Military Command must have already sent the message back.

"They will sell the defense map of Zhenbeiguan to the barbarians."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yan spoke.

Liu Shijie's face turned pale.

Lin Yan turned and walked out, Ye Qingxue followed, "Where are you going?"

"Find Gu Li."

Guli was imprisoned in the dungeon of the supply camp.

This commander of the Blood Wolf tribe has been held in solitary confinement since his capture at Iron Coffin Cliff. The Northern Barbarians sent envoys to negotiate his ransom, but the military government refused.

Inside the dungeon, Guli sat against the wall.

His imprisonment during this period had made his beard even more disheveled, but he was in good spirits. When he saw Lin Yan enter, he even grinned at Lin Yan and said, "Commander Lin, what brings you here to see me today?"

"Whom does your Blood Wolf tribe do business with in the Great Yan court?" Lin Yan asked bluntly.

Gu Li's smile faltered for a moment. "Why are you asking this?"

"Have you obtained the defense map of Zhenbeiguan?"

Gu Li was silent for a moment, then asked, "You know?"

"Who gave them to you?"

Gu Li didn't say anything.

Lin Yan squatted down, looking Gu Li straight in the eye: "Gu Li, you fought me for fifteen days at Iron Coffin Cliff. You lost, but you didn't die. Do you know why?"

"Because you need my help."

"Now you'll be of some use. Tell me who the people the Crown Prince is doing business with. If you tell me, your head will remain on your neck for now. If you don't, I'll hang you on the city wall right now, so your people will see you first when they attack the city."

Gu Li stared at Lin Yan for a long time. "Can you still go berserk?"

"meeting."

"Who taught you to go berserk?"

"Self-taught".

Gu Li looked at Lin Yan's serious face and fell silent. He thought to himself, "You don't treat me like a human being either. You're still lying even now."

However, being in a weaker position, Gu Li could only endure it: "There's more than one person doing business with us. The leader is a steward from your Crown Prince's Office, surnamed Lu. He has someone above him, but I don't know who it is."

"Have you received the deployment map?"

"Yes, I gave it to you. The time we agreed on was last night."

Gu Li said, "Manager Lu still has subordinates in Zhenbei City, responsible for sending intelligence out of the city. Our plan was that around 5 PM last night, a special person would deliver the secret letter to the barbarian camp outside the city. Moreover, the messenger is highly skilled in agility, able to scale the city walls and watchtowers without the sentries noticing. Want to catch him? Don't even think about it!"

This time, Guli did not resist again. After all, from his perspective, it was a good thing for the Northern Barbarians to let these people fight like dogs.

Ye Qingxue suddenly turned to look at Lin Yan and said sharply, "Around 5 a.m., his lightness skill was extremely high. It is very likely that he is the same person who killed Governor Cao."

Lin Yan stood up.

That evening, smoke signals were lit in the direction of Zhenbeiguan.

It wasn't just one beacon fire, but three pillars.

This is the highest level of warning.

At this moment, not far from Zhenbeiguan, the main force of the barbarians mobilized, with a single operation involving more than 10,000 troops, heading straight for Zhenbeiguan.

Zhenbeiguan Pass is the gateway to Zhenbei City. Once Zhenbeiguan Pass is breached, Zhenbei City will become prey for the barbarians.

Liu Shijie convened a military meeting that very night. All the battalion commanders and deputy commanders gathered in the main hall, their faces grim.

"The garrison at Zhenbei Pass numbers two thousand, but the barbarians have come with at least ten thousand. At the fastest marching speed, they will reach Zhenbei Pass before dawn."

Liu Shijie said, "We can send out less than three thousand reinforcements in total."

Fang Dahai stood up with his severed hand in a sling and said confidently, "Commander Liu, my Left Vanguard Battalion of four hundred men can still fight. Leave it to me."

"Your hand isn't healed yet."

"My left hand is broken, but my right hand is still intact."

Fang Dahai stared with his one eye and said, "Back in the day, I only had a hundred men and I still managed to fight three thousand barbarians in Qing Shi Gou."

Just as Liu Shijie was about to speak, a messenger rushed into the hall, stumbling and crawling: "Report! The deputy commander of Zhenbei Pass has sent a messenger on horseback to report that General Sun, the garrison commander of Zhenbei Pass, has been struck by a poisoned arrow and is already dead. The deputy commander is temporarily in command and requests reinforcements!"

The lobby was deathly silent.

The garrison commander of Zhenbei Pass was struck by a poisoned arrow—this must have been the work of an inside traitor. With the defense map sold and the commander assassinated, Zhenbei Pass is like a soldier stripped of his armor, waiting for the barbarians' butcher's knife to fall.

Lin Yan stood up. "Governor Liu, I request permission to lead a team to Zhenbeiguan to quell the rebellion."

The supply corps departed at 11:45 AM.

Lin Yan took Xiong Kuo, Sun Dayong, and Zhang Dabiao with him, leaving only Lao Zhou and the wounded soldiers to guard Chen Shi and Lin Xiu in Zhenbei City.

Ye Qingxue's left vanguard battalion of one hundred light cavalry followed, and Fang Dahai also led three hundred soldiers to follow behind.

It was just dawn when we arrived at Zhenbeiguan.

The fortress walls were riddled with arrows, and several sections of the crenellations were breached. The deputy commander, covered in blood, rushed forward: "Deputy Commander Lin, the barbarians attacked twice before dawn. We were repelled the first time, but they almost breached the walls the second time. We only have eight hundred men left—"

"Enough."

Lin Yan interrupted him, "How many crossbows are left after shutting them down?"

"We have fewer than thirty usable guns, and we don't have much gunpowder left, only enough for two volleys."

Lin Yan looked up at the terrain outside the gate wall.

Zhenbei Pass is nestled between two mountains, with a slope in front of it, below which the barbarian camp flags are planted.

The Blood Wolf tribe's wolf-head banner was at the very front, followed by the banners of at least six other tribes, with their camps stretching for several miles.

"So many people."

Sun Dayong clicked his tongue. "I've never seen so many barbarians in my life."

Lin Yan didn't speak; he was surveying the terrain.

[Viewing the Mountain] unfolds, and every blade of grass and every tree inside and outside Zhenbei Pass is imprinted in my mind. There is a slope in front of the pass, a narrow path at the bottom of the slope, and low cliffs on both sides of the narrow path, with shrubs on the cliffs.

The Bagua formation he had been practicing for half a month flashed into his mind.

Three people form a group, two groups form a team, and they take turns moving in and out.

It was used for martial arts drills at the time, and it was small in scale, with only sixty people.

But now he has 120 men in the supply battalion, 100 light cavalry in the left vanguard battalion, plus 300 soldiers under Fang Dahai and 800 garrison troops in the pass, totaling more than 1,300 men.

With more people, the formation will naturally need to change.

"Xiong Kuo, Sun Dayong, Fang Dahai."

Lin Yan called the three over and instructed them:

"Zhenbei Pass is in a predicament where holding the walls won't last more than three days. The barbarians outnumber us, have a traitor who opened the city gates, and possess the structural blueprints for the walls. Holding out is tantamount to waiting for death. We must take the initiative and launch an attack."

Fang Dahai frowned: "Go out and fight? Thirteen hundred against ten thousand, are we just going to throw our lives away?"

"A direct confrontation would be suicide. But we won't engage in a direct confrontation."

Lin Yan drew on the muddy ground with his scabbard, "The slope in front of the pass is the only way the barbarians can attack. The slope is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a narrow path at the bottom and low cliffs on both sides. When the barbarian army comes up from the narrow path, they must shrink their formation. This position is the most suitable for intercepting them halfway."

Xiong Kuo squinted at the sketch on the ground. "You want to set up a formation on the slope?"

"That's right. The upper part of the slope is wide enough to spread out the formation and enlarge the Bagua formation. Instead of three people per group, we can change it to thirty people per team, ten teams per formation. Five teams will face the enemy head-on, and five teams will flank the enemy from both sides."