The Strife of Chaos Chapter 55: Mongol Uprising

Half a year passed.

Just as the grand transformation of Beitong Pass concluded, the Tang Empire was confronted with a thorny problem.

Chang’an, Daming Palace.

“Your Majesty, news from the front has arrived. The Mongol Khan himself is leading ten thousand steppe cavalry and a force of one hundred fifty thousand soldiers in an assault on Kaiyan Pass. General Xue barely repelled the first attack, but suffered heavy losses and requests reinforcements.”

“What? The Mongol Empire can no longer restrain itself,” Emperor Tangzong said grimly.

Kaiyan Pass was garrisoned by five thousand Divine Martial troops and fifty thousand defenders—a significant disparity compared to the well-prepared Mongol army. Should Kaiyan Pass fall, just like Yue Ming Pass before, the swift Mongol cavalry would surely make straight for Chang’an.

“What are your thoughts, ministers?”

A general clad in black-gold armor stepped forward and said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, I believe we must immediately dispatch troops from Chang’an to reinforce Kaiyan Pass and intercept the Mongols before the gates.”

Tangzong only nodded, seeming lost in thought, expressing neither approval nor disapproval.

“Your Majesty, the garrison of Chang’an must not be moved,” another minister objected.

Seeing his advice challenged, the black-armored general retorted angrily, “If we allow the Mongol cavalry to break through Kaiyan Pass, then true peril will be upon us! Have you not seen the current state of the Han Empire?”

The white-bearded minister was not cowed. “If the Chang’an garrison is redeployed, what of His Majesty’s safety? Have you considered that?”

“Silence,” Emperor Tangzong commanded.

At his word, both men fell quiet.

“General Qin, as the supreme commander of the Chang’an garrison, what is your view?” the emperor asked.

Qin Shubao stepped forward, replying slowly, “Your Majesty, the Chang’an garrison indeed cannot be moved. Yet, we must aid General Xue. Thus, in my opinion, it would be best to transfer about half of the Dragon Guard from Beiyan Pass to support General Xue, and then assemble a new, regular force from Chang’an to send to Kaiyan Pass.”

“Your Majesty, I believe recruiting a new force would take too much time. Why not order the lords of every city across the empire to each draw several thousand men from their city guards? This way, we can immediately muster a force of tens of thousands,” Prince Ming, who had been silent until now, added.

Tangzong nodded. “General Qin and Royal Uncle speak well. Let it be so. General Qin, you will oversee the redeployment of the Dragon Guard. Royal Uncle, you shall assemble the city troops. Prime Minister, you will manage logistics and supplies.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Very well then, court is dismissed for today.”

“Long live the Emperor! May he live ten thousand years!”

Beitong Pass.

“Tong, I have basically perfected the training and equipment for the Eight Trigrams Army. We’re only waiting on your martial arts techniques,” Ren Xingtian reminded Li Qiutong, who had just risen from bed.

“No worries, I finished all the revisions last night.” Li Qiutong yawned.

“Excellent.” As he spoke, Ren Xingtian spread several blueprints upon the table.

Pointing to the illustrations, he explained, “This is my concept for the army branches, as I previously discussed with you. Look, first are the Thunderstrike Army and Blazing Fire Army, collectively called the Azure Dragon Army. They have the strongest overall capability and endurance in battle. They’ll be armed with long halberds and swords for offense, armored in blue-bright plate. The unit will be heavy cavalry, fully equipped, like the Iron Cavalry of Qin, suitable for all kinds of combat.”

“And this one?” Li Qiutong pointed to a diagram of a soldier completely encased in armor.

“That is the Black Tortoise Army, formed by the Earth Guard and Mountain Guard. This is a fully armored heavy infantry force, characterized by absolute defense. They wield giant shields modeled after A-Xuan’s battle-axe, with blades attached for offensive capability. Their armor is heavy black-hammered plate, covering the entire body. No one has ever attempted such a pure heavy shield unit before.”

“How will they attack?”

Ren Xingtian picked up two more blueprints. “We’ve prepared for that, of course. These are the Vermilion Bird Army, formed by the Sky Guard and Marsh Guard—light cavalry archers. They’ll be equipped with bows, swords, and lightweight armor, offering both agility and fierce attack power. They can fully coordinate with the Black Tortoise Army to form a battle formation that was once highly popular.”

“What’s a battle formation?” Li Qiutong, as Ren Xingtian expected, was unfamiliar with the term.

He explained patiently, “Battle formation refers to the strongest troops on the field before military arrays became prevalent. These forces were made up of various types of units working together, each compensating for the other’s weaknesses to maximize overall effectiveness. But since the rise of military arrays, battle formations’ advantages have waned. Arrays require uniformity and synchronized aura—once combined, if the coordination is disrupted, the martial essence can collapse. So military arrays can’t utilize the old battle formation philosophy. However…”

“But our Eight Trigrams Army isn’t limited by those concerns, right?” Li Qiutong caught on.

“Exactly. That’s another of our advantages besides numbers.”

“What about the White Tiger Army?”

Ren Xingtian picked up the final blueprint. “The White Tiger Army is formed by the Wind Guard and Water Guard. I’ve also included Ruiyun’s Silver Spear Cavalry, since their martial essence attributes are very similar.”

“So that’s why you asked me to revise those two fist forms based on my brother’s skills—you’d already planned this.”

Ren Xingtian nodded and continued, “Yes, with this arrangement, the White Tiger Army’s core will be the Silver Spear Cavalry. They’re capable of independent operations but can also combine with the other units in battle.”

“Are you sure this will work? After all, the martial essence forms of those two skills are different.”

“Of course I’m sure. Do you think I spent all those years studying for nothing? As long as you follow my suggestions and adjust some details in the Wind and Water Fist forms, when both martial essences are added to the Silver Spear Cavalry’s soul forms, they’ll fuse and form the White Tiger martial essence,” Ren Xingtian explained confidently.

“In that case, training can begin, right?”

“I’ve already started basic training. Once the techniques are distributed, we’ll assign positions based on each person’s progress. Anyone who can master both techniques and merge the Four Symbols martial essence will be placed in the Four Symbols Army; the rest will join the Eight Trigrams Army. Regular training will be overseen by Chief Instructor Ruiyun, with Yang Hu, Zhu Yan’er, Biluo, and Deng Zhanxuan as assistant instructors,” Ren Xingtian outlined. Though he was clear on the theory, he had little practical experience with drilling troops, so he’d have to rely on Yang Ruiyun and those who’d grown up in the army.

“Big brother, what are you two discussing?” Yang Ruiyun, clad in silver armor, entered.

“Second brother, we’re discussing the Eight Trigrams Army’s training details. What brings you here?” Li Qiutong asked, turning to him.

Yang Ruiyun glanced at the blueprints on the table, showing little surprise—he’d clearly seen the designs already.

“Big brother, it seems our one hundred thousand-strong military array is finally on track,” Yang Ruiyun said joyfully.

“There’s still a long way to go before actual combat. How’s the training of your Silver Spear Cavalry?”

“Very well. I recruited two thousand cavalrymen from the Western barracks, and after half a year of training, they can already achieve martial essence fusion. Now, they just need actual combat to hone their skills,” Yang Ruiyun replied with confidence. Over the past six months, he’d devoted nearly all his time to training the Silver Spear Cavalry—practicing martial arts from dawn, drilling for unity at noon, and merging martial essences at night, with hardly a moment’s rest. Many new recruits had wanted to quit, but from Yang Ruiyun, Yang Hu, to the original few hundred of the Yang family, none ever faltered. Inspired by their perseverance, more and more men stuck with it, becoming qualified Silver Spear Cavalrymen.

Ren Xingtian had once said that this was the spirit of the military array. Only by forging an array with a true spirit of its own could one unleash unimaginable combat power on the battlefield.

Li Qiutong patted Yang Ruiyun’s shoulder. “You’ve worked hard, brother.”

But Yang Ruiyun smiled easily. “It’s not hard. More than anyone, I want to see the Silver Spear Cavalry ride across the continent once more. It’s my dream.”

“All right. By the way, what brings you here?”

Only then did Yang Ruiyun recall his purpose. “A court envoy has arrived outside. I’m not sure what for—I had Axuan and Biluo keep him at the southern barracks. He says he has urgent news to announce, so I came to fetch you.”

Li Qiutong was also puzzled. “An envoy from the court at such a time—could they have discovered something?”

Ren Xingtian frowned. “Let’s go see.”

The three hurried to the envoy’s location in the southern barracks.

When Li Qiutong arrived, he saw a vaguely familiar eunuch talking with Biluo.

The old eunuch, spotting Li Qiutong approaching, turned and greeted him respectfully. “General, it’s been a long time. Are you satisfied with life here?”

Though Li Qiutong couldn’t place the man, it was clear he frequented the court. He replied politely, “This environment is very good. I’m quite content.”

Indeed, this remote and neglected military outpost had offered Li Qiutong countless opportunities for growth. The old eunuch, however, failed to catch the true meaning in his words.

“Good, good. His Highness was worried you’d dislike such a remote posting and regretted it for some time. Hearing I was coming, he sent many fine gifts for you. They’ll arrive shortly.”

Li Qiutong racked his brain to recall which prince this was. Since coming here, he’d had almost no contact with anyone in Chang’an, only occasionally writing Qin Shuyu. How could he remember Prince Ming, whom he’d met but once?

Still, Li Qiutong was not foolish enough to say so. He smiled politely, “The prince is too kind. Everything here suits me well.”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Li Qiutong got to the point. “May I ask, what brings you here?”

“It’s not a major matter. The Mongol Empire launched a massive assault on us a few days ago. His Majesty has ordered every city in the land to send no fewer than three thousand soldiers each, forming a western expeditionary force to support Kaiyan Pass. I’m here to inform you, General,” the old eunuch explained.

“The Mongols have attacked the Tang Empire? How large is their force?” Ren Xingtian interjected.

The eunuch, eyeing the unfamiliar Daoist, was disinclined to answer, but seeing Li Qiutong’s interest, he relented. “I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but it’s said to be no fewer than one hundred thousand. Still, with General Xue there, they won’t stir up much trouble. A few thousand of your men at the front will suffice.”

Biluo, who clearly already knew, watched Li Qiutong and Ren Xingtian in silence.

Training at Beitong Pass was just beginning, and each unit’s members had been carefully assigned. To suddenly dispatch several thousand men as reinforcements would inevitably disrupt their plans. But the imperial edict had arrived—if this modest, rarely engaged outpost failed to send troops, it would certainly arouse suspicion.

So Li Qiutong fell silent, glancing at Ren Xingtian, who was lost in thought as well.