"Here," I pointed to the south gate of the city, "the rebel reinforcements, a hundred thousand strong, have yet to arrive. The only force that can threaten us now is Long Jie's army, currently stationed north of the city and within its walls. When we make our move, we just need to find a way to block the south gate, and the rebel cavalry won't be able to pursue us out of the city."
"How can that be done?" Dongfang Ji Bai asked.
"You don't need to worry about that. If we can't even block such a small city gate, we wouldn't have dared to embark on such a grand venture. Give me half an hour, what do you say?"
"Half an hour?" Dongfang Ji Bai exclaimed in surprise, "That's a bit tight. Can you prepare in time?"
"We have the tools ready. It all depends on when you can clear the water outlet."
"I'll do my best!"
"You can't just do your best, my princess," I said with a wry smile. "If we charge down and your drainage port isn't open yet, we'll be trapped like fish in a barrel!"
Dongfang Ji Bai pondered for a moment, biting her lip. "Fine! Then I'll take the plunge. No excuses, no informing the public, I'll clear it directly! If the rebels ask, I'll say it's a public works project to prevent spring flooding!"
I gave her a thumbs-up. She was even better at making up stories than I was!
There was no more time to delay. If we waited until the rebel reinforcements arrived and discovered that Han Li had died under mysterious circumstances, the rebels would surely demand the head of the Little Yama King as a sacrifice!
After arranging matters within the city, I returned to the cliff top along the same path. However, I did not announce the plan; there was no rush yet. I simply kept an eye on the rebel movements, waiting for an opportunity.
The Little Yama King and the commanders probably thought I had run out of ideas and didn't bother me with any further questions.
About ten minutes later, I noticed that the rebel forces below the mountain had begun to move. About thirty to fifty thousand troops were deployed, entering the north gate and exiting through the south gate towards Da Hang Village. The news of the burning granary must have reached them, and Long Jie had sent troops to extinguish the fire.
Unfortunately, they drew troops from the east side, not the west.
If they had drawn from the west, it would have significantly eased our pressure.
But then I thought, why not use their movement to create a diversion?
I found the Little Yama King and requested to lead a contingent to proactively attack the rebel encampments.
"...To throw our lives away?" the Little Yama King frowned.
"Trust me, it won't be a suicide mission. If we can't win, we'll retreat," I said.
"How many men do you need?"
"Two hundred will suffice."
The Little Yama King took off the golden token from her waist and tossed it to me. "Do as you please."
She was primarily cold and hungry, and already acting somewhat emotionally—this indicated that the rebel tactics were effective, aiming to starve this elite force into submission without a fight.
I returned from the small platform to the cliff top and found a camp commander, asking him to select two hundred elite soldiers for me. The camp commander said no selection was necessary; all the Xuan Jia soldiers were top-notch elites.
"Then select two hundred men from your camp to descend the mountain with me," I said.
"Ah? Descend the mountain... to do what?"
"Naturally, to carve out a path for Your Highness's safety!" I declared fiercely.
The camp commander was helpless, but seeing the token in my hand, he dared not refuse. He selected two hundred men and formed them into a line within the ice wall.
However, I had no intention of letting these two hundred brothers charge to their deaths in vain.
There was a problem now. Both the rebels and the Xuan Jia soldiers wore cowhide boots, which were somewhat slippery on the ice. This made combat rather inconvenient. But they couldn't take off their boots; in this weather, doing so would result in frostbite and render them completely incapable of fighting.
I pondered for a moment. Since the warhorses were no longer needed, I had them pry off four hundred horseshoes from the horses' feet. I flipped them over, threaded them with cloth ropes through the holes, and tied them to the soles of their boots. The front of the horseshoe was smooth, but the back had protruding nails, which were used to fix them to the keratin of the horse's hoof. I tried them out. The effect on the ice was not as good as professional ice crampons, but it would prevent slipping.
Once everything was prepared, I instructed other soldiers to share some shields with these two hundred warriors. Their cavalry used small shields that couldn't offer full body protection. So, they each ended up with two shields, holding one in each hand, and strapping the other to their backs like a cushion.
Two shields, one saber. As for bows, crossbows, spears, and the like, they were all discarded.