Chapter 433: Blood Sausage and Pig Trotters and the False Military Report

There was still a considerable distance from the Xiji border to the capital.

These battles allowed no room for defeat; time was short, the tasks were arduous, and the dangers were immense.

However, no one present objected to this long-distance raid. General Nanke immediately stated, "If Old Huyan were still alive, Xiji would be difficult to handle. With his death, Huyan Zhao will be preoccupied consolidating power, so Xiji must be in great disarray right now. If we arrive within seven days, we will certainly catch them off guard. And hey, Xiji's capital is also close to the western front, making it convenient for us to conquer. I recall that Old Huyan once wanted to move the capital eastward, but his ministers opposed it, so he had to give up on the idea."

Zhong Shengguang placed small flags on the sand table. "General Nanke has finished describing the enemy's disadvantages. Next, let's discuss their advantages."

Everyone brainstormed, discussing Xiji's domestic troop distribution and the characteristics of their generals. They then moved on to selecting the raid route, the sequence of attack, and finally, the defense tasks around Panlong City during the military expedition.

Wen Daolun also focused on analyzing the character and temperament of Huyan Zhao, Xiji's future ruler, as he was truly Panlong City's main opponent in this campaign.

Finally, they even discussed the weather conditions in Xiji for the next few days.

At the meeting, when General Hong mentioned striking Xiji, He Lingchuan shivered.

History was finally back on a track he recognized!

He had previously heard that Panlong City attacked Xiji, a small country to the east. However, later generations never understood why or how the war was fought, only that it came without warning.

Now, he was about to observe it from the perspective of an eyewitness.

After hearing his retelling, everyone in the Broken Blade Squad was eager to go. A'luo also nodded, saying, "The Jinxi Corridor is too dangerous. We cannot entrust the lives and livelihoods of millions of people to the enemy's mercy. The path we forge ourselves is the most comfortable one to walk."

He Lingchuan smiled, "Exactly. We are just the vanguard. I expect that before the main army departs, Lord Zhong will inform the entire city and explain these advantages and disadvantages clearly."

"The Huyan family, when establishing Xiji, initially had several fierce generals and received aid from Baling. They indeed blocked our path eastward. However, their luck has been poor; over the past decade or so, their veteran generals have fallen one after another, and new talents are not strong enough to shoulder the burden, causing their national strength to gradually wane. Now that Old Huyan is dead, it is a heaven-sent opportunity. How could we not seize it?"

Menban interjected, "Oh, there’s no need for so many grand speeches. As long as Lord Zhong says we're attacking Xiji, the entire city will surely cheer and offer strong support!"

Everyone laughed.

Hu Min suddenly asked their new teammate, "Old Yu, tell us about your skills."

"Me?" Old Yu scratched his head, a little shy. "I don't have any other special abilities, just that I can get close to wild beasts and monsters and communicate with them well."

"A Beast Tamer?" Willow exclaimed, "That's quite rare."

For this type of cultivation, talent is more crucial than diligence. Otherwise, no matter how much a person without an affinity constitution might feign a smile, unfamiliar beasts would still not warm to them.

Old Yu gave a dry laugh. "I usually serve on the plateau. This time, General Hong transferred me back for a mission, so I ask for everyone's guidance."

A few hours later.

Dragon Throat Pass, in the western mountains of Xiji.

As dusk approached, cooking fires were lit in the Xiji military camp, and the aroma wafted above the gate walls.

The soldiers on lookout duty swallowed, beginning to calculate their shift change.

"I heard there's wild boar today, a big one, three or four hundred pounds. When do we get to go down and eat?"

Although it was early summer, it was still quite cool in the mountains at night.

"Those two lazy bums on the next shift will definitely eat their fill before coming up. They'll gobble up all the good meat."

"Why don't we just go down now? Grab two pieces of meat first."

The sentinel hesitated, "That's not good, is it? What if we get caught..."

"It's already past shift change, those two lazy slobs aren't on time!" Another soldier fumed. "If anyone gets punished, it'll be them. Oh, I see blood sausage! Who's brilliant enough to make blood sausage?"

The sounds of swallowing immediately grew louder.

The few men on the wall could no longer resist. They jumped down in a few bounds to snatch some meat.

The meat in the pot had just finished cooking. Ribs and tenderloins were certainly destined for the officers' tents; what remained depended on the cook's favoritism.

Indeed, their absence from duty went unnoticed.

Seeing the good meat quickly leaving the pot, the three men in line grew secretly anxious.

Finally, it was their turn. "Blood sausage, blood sausage, we want blood sausage!"

"What blood sausage? I want pig trotters!"

The cook, who was serving the meat, gave a forced smile. He gave them blood sausage near the knotted end, while the fellow who wanted pig trotters received a piece of spine.

The kind that was eighty percent bone and twenty percent meat.

"Hey, hey, that's too little meat."

The cook glared. "Be grateful for what you get, now scram, don't block the line!"

The men walked away grumbling, but once they sat down to gnaw on the meat, they became happy again.

It smelled so good! They hadn't eaten meat in half a month.

Moreover, this was fresh meat, freshly butchered wild boar from that very afternoon!

"I heard that with the new demise of the ruler, the nobles in the capital have to observe a three-day fast."

"Really?" The man gnawing on a large bone mumbled indistinctly, "Then they're not eating as well as us."

"You're a pig-headed idiot! How could the powerful eat worse than us common soldiers?" The third man sneered. "I heard they all have small kitchens at home, and they can get private meals cooked for them in the middle of the night. Pig trotters and blood sausage, they can eat as much as they want!"

"Alright, alright, eat quickly and then hurry back up." The first man, devouring his blood sausage, found the portion so small that he finished it in a few bites, smacking his lips. "Don't let the next shift discover we've slacked off. Otherwise, we'll get five more planks."

They quickly finished their meal, licked their bowls clean, and were about to grab their weapons and return to duty when suddenly they heard a booming sound from behind them—

Everyone heard it. They turned around, dumbfounded.

On the beacon tower, a fierce blaze suddenly erupted!

And it was an outrageous four-beacon continuous signal. This was the protocol for a major enemy invasion.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!" Someone shrieked, and the entire camp instantly descended into chaos, with whistles and gongs blaring incessantly.

Many soldiers were still clutching their rice bowls. Their first reaction was not to drop their bowls and grab weapons, but rather to seize the opportunity to quickly take a few more bites.

Such fragrant wild boar meat—what a waste not to eat more?

What kind of barbaric enemies would choose to attack right when everyone was enjoying their meal?

The Dragon Throat Pass commander, however, abandoned the meat in his bowl and strode out, shouting, "Sentinels, report down here!"

The sentinels hadn't raised an alarm, so why was the beacon tower lit?

Countless eyes instantly focused on the narrow pass's wall.

But it was empty, not a single person in sight.

Those three sentinels hadn't gone back up yet.

"What's going on up there!" The commander was startled, thinking the three sentinels had been killed. His opponents were formidable!

He grew extremely tense. "All personnel, prepare for battle! Send more men up, quickly!"

Dragon Throat Pass was Xiji's first western checkpoint, directly facing pressure from Panlong City. As Xiji was a new nation that had recently seceded from Xiluo, Panlong City's relationship with it was far from friendly.

The Panlong Army had a formidable reputation, placing great pressure on the defenders here, even though they had never actually attacked.

But the commander instantly linked the recent death of their ruler with an enemy invasion.

Were the enemy trying to exploit their vulnerability?

At that moment, a few people pushed the three sentinels forward. "They're not dead, they just snuck down to eat meat!"

In the light cast by the beacon tower, the three men shivered.

The commander was furious.

A soldier who had climbed the wall gazed out at the mountains and plains for a long time before leaning down and shouting, "No situation. It's a false alarm!"

A false alarm?

The commander was half-convinced, half-skeptical.

A sentinel making a false report was possible, but how could the beacon tower ignite by itself?

Who would throw a fire starter in there?

The commander could only quickly say, "Extinguish the beacon tower, extinguish it!"

The soldiers frantically rushed to put out the fire.

The problem was that the beacon tower had been specially designed; even its fuel was custom-made. Once lit, it instantly erupted into a raging inferno, yet it was exceptionally difficult to put out.

This design was precisely to prevent enemies from quickly extinguishing the beacon tower, thereby preventing the signal from being transmitted.

The commander could only find a spellcaster to stop the fierce mountain winds, and then ordered soldiers to carry bags of sand and earth, stored behind the pass, to smother the beacon tower. Because all four beacon hearths were lit, the fire was particularly intense. After thirteen or fourteen trips back and forth, the flames finally began to subside.

During this time, a sentinel pointed eastward and said, "The beacon at Dragon Ridge Pass has also been lit."

The chain of beacons meant that Dragon Throat Pass was the first link; once a beacon was lit there, every beacon tower to the east would immediately be ignited.

Four beacons were lit here, and four beacons would be relayed eastward, with no room for error.

Beyond Dragon Ridge Pass, Xiji was almost entirely flatland, and only a few more beacon towers would relay the signal to the capital.

The commander's heart turned cold. He could only send someone galloping to the capital to report that it was a false alarm.

Of course, a galloping horse couldn't transmit a message as quickly as beacon fires, especially with treacherous mountain roads.

Barely half an hour later, news of a major western enemy invasion reached Xiji's royal palace. Huyan Zhao, the crown prince yet to be enthroned, was startled awake and hastily ordered the entire army to prepare for battle.

His attendants said, "We haven't heard any cannon fire."

According to regulations, one beacon meant one cannon shot, four beacons meant four cannon shots – these were standard procedures. After lighting a beacon, the pass was also supposed to fire cannons to prevent false ignitions or reports from misleading decisions.

However, the beacon tower had not been lit for many years, so no one knew the situation at Dragon Throat Pass. The royal court still made preparations overnight and dispatched riders to the west to investigate.

It wasn't until that afternoon that news from Dragon Throat Pass finally arrived:

False alarm.

Cause unknown, under investigation.

Huyan Zhao was furious.

He was already exhausted from mourning his father during the day, and then he was woken up at night, having to sleep with his armor on, ready for battle until dawn!

Investigate thoroughly! Punish severely!

Originally, the penalties for delayed or false beacon reports were extremely harsh.

Dragon Throat Pass never found the true cause, so they could only make the three unfortunate sentinels scapegoats. Consequently, these three men were beheaded.

The crown prince had initially wanted to execute the pass commander, but his ministers pleaded for him, so the punishment was changed to thirty heavy floggings and a demotion by one rank.

Those thirty planks were not easy to endure. Although the punishment took place at Dragon Throat Pass, the crown prince specifically sent palace envoys to supervise, and the soldiers carrying out the flogging dared not go easy. After enduring the thirty planks, the commander felt as if half his soul had flown away and he was confined to bed rest.