Liang Xiao heard the news and immediately began preparing his troops for battle.
Mu Hong and Liu Fan rushed in to report, "The Great Qian Iron Guard and the Qingtian Guard are fully equipped and familiar with their gear. This matter is strictly confidential!"
Liang Xiao was quite satisfied. During the pre-battle deployment, the generals received their orders and stood ready.
Zhuo Ying, leading another group of rested White Robe soldiers, rode out of the city towards the north.
"Marshal! The White Robe soldiers are still appearing around our army's perimeter!"
Upon receiving the message, the Left Virtuous King made a decisive command, "There is no need to dispatch troops to drive them away. Let them have opportunities to scout."
Another day passed, and the Barbarians finally received intelligence from the Right Virtuous King of Yun Prefecture.
"The Tian River has frozen over ahead of schedule. It should be completely sealed by now!"
The Left Virtuous King stood up abruptly, "Excellent! The entire army will prepare to divide its forces at any moment to support Yun Prefecture!"
The generals made arrangements, and the Left Virtuous King exchanged a smile with his strategist.
Cavalry movements were far more convenient than infantry. They were confident they could keep the Yan Prefecture garrison on their toes.
Mid-November, snow began to fall in the northern territory.
The section of the Tian River in the Yun Prefecture area was frozen from end to end, gradually sealing over.
A thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of snow!
This meant the Barbarians could also cross the Tian River with ease. Their original river-crossing tools would only be needed for emergencies!
The Northern Marshal, Lü Yi, immediately issued an order: "All three armies stand by, ready to defend against enemy surprise attacks at any moment! Yun Prefecture is a crucial point and must not be lost!"
Facing the Barbarians, who were primarily cavalry, the defenders of Yun Prefecture were temporarily unable to engage in open-field battles. The soldiers, upon hearing that the Tian River had frozen, had no complaints.
The initial belief that the army and civilians could fight was based on natural defenses like the Tian River. However, now that this natural barrier was compromised, the situation had changed drastically.
Lü Yi stood on the city walls, gazing at the vast expanse of heaven and earth, a sense of melancholy in his heart. "General Tian, what kind of victory will you bring us this year?"
If Liang Xiao were not General Tian, Lü Yi would never have dared to delegate power, even after Liang Xiao had won the Battle of Luzhou.
The North had almost entirely placed their bet on Yan Prefecture, and even Shuofang had opted for a scorched-earth defense, refusing to engage.
If Yan Prefecture and Yun Prefecture were to fall, it would be incredibly difficult for the Great Qian Empire to retake them!
Liang Xiao was still in the military camp, drilling his soldiers.
The Saint of Medicine, Mu Xueqin, leading the Tian Shan knights and healers, finally arrived in Yan Prefecture after descending from the mountains.
Upon learning that Liang Xiao's other wives were also pregnant, Mu Xueqin was both surprised and delighted, tending to them all.
"Although it is cold here, Liang Mansion has enough firewood, so there is no need to worry about them and the fetuses."
Mu Xueqin explained to everyone, then her brow furrowed with worry, "However... Yan Prefecture absolutely cannot fall!"
Everyone's expression grew solemn.
For the Barbarians, last year's crushing defeat was a lesson learned.
This year, the Barbarians' offensive was even greater than last year's, as if they were throwing the entire nation's might into the attack.
This implied that the Barbarians might have made peace or even formed an alliance with enemies on the western, northern, and eastern borders, determined to break the Great Qian!
If either Yan Prefecture or Yun Prefecture fell, it would pose a tremendous threat to the North.
At that point, a hasty evacuation of pregnant women would also be extremely dangerous.
Everyone knew that the Barbarians would either launch a fierce assault on Yan Prefecture or Yun Prefecture. If the Great Qian made the slightest mistake, even Shuofang could fall!
This would depend on the arrangements of the two Marshals, Lü Yi and Liang Xiao.
From the moment he learned that the Tian River had frozen ahead of schedule, Liang Xiao had not returned home. Even the Qingtian Guard had been brought by Liang Xiao to the Northern Army camp.
In late November, the Left Virtuous King, seeing that Liang Xiao was still holding his ground and controlling the surrounding lines of sight, finally made up his mind and issued a military order to the entire army.
"Divide twelve thousand troops to reinforce Yun Prefecture, leaving sixty thousand to defend. Scale down the military camp!"
Excluding feints, the Barbarians' actual troop strength was over 180,000, including logistics.
The army, carrying a large amount of supplies, set off with the pretense of heading to Yun Prefecture to provide support.
"Deputy Marshal, the Barbarians have indeed begun to divide their forces!"
Upon receiving the message, Liang Xiao's eyes sharpened, "Scout further and see where they are setting up camp!"
The White Robe soldiers, along with some fast-moving scouts, risked their lives to bypass the Barbarian camp and observe the Left Virtuous King's movements.
...
"Marshal, they have indeed sent White Robe soldiers to investigate, but we are not confident we can catch them!"
The Left Virtuous King received the news and sneered, "After forty li, set up camp and rest!"
For several consecutive days, both sides probed each other within their own perimeters. Liang Xiao accurately determined the location of the Left Virtuous King's main camp.
"Deputy Marshal! The remaining forces after the enemy divided their troops should number sixty to seventy thousand!"
"Forty li away? This is a standard deployment. The Barbarians' horses are fast; they can cover over two hundred li in a day during forced marches. It would only take a few hours to return to their original camp from there. Once we move out, they will also send out scouts to chase away our own scouts, and we might not be able to detect their reinforcements." Mu Hong reminded him.
"The Left Virtuous King's forces will definitely depart again. The sign of a feigned departure is likely the beginning of their expulsion of our White Robe soldiers, preventing them from scouting further. By the time we reach their camp, they only need to light beacon fires, and the main force can quickly return to reinforce them," Liang Xiao mused, continuing his arrangements.
Another contingent of one thousand White Robe soldiers left Yan Prefecture, spreading out northward to continue gathering intelligence.
"Liang Xiao still hasn't made a move?"
The Left Virtuous King began to doubt Liang Xiao's intentions.
"Could it be that our division of forces is not obvious enough, making him hesitant to attack?" the strategist frowned.
The Left Virtuous King nodded, "Of course, I have considered this. We will continue to withdraw troops from the remaining forces, leaving only twenty thousand cavalry and ten thousand logistical soldiers! After they rendezvous, if Liang Xiao still remains holed up in Yan Prefecture, we will divide our forces on the spot, leaving one hundred thousand to confront Yan Prefecture, and the remaining eighty thousand to reinforce Yun Prefecture!"
The Barbarian's remaining forces began to divide half of their troops again to rendezvous with the Left Virtuous King's forces.
"They deliberately reduced the scale of their military camp; it appears to be only twenty to thirty thousand left?" After obtaining the intelligence, Liang Xiao waited for the last contingent of White Robe soldiers.
"As expected, after dividing their forces, the Barbarians began patrolling the surrounding area. After marching fifty li, they started expelling us. However, it is certain that the Left Virtuous King's forces are definitely forty li away and dare not send scouts to probe our army!"
After the White Robe captain reported, Liang Xiao suddenly stood up, "Follow me, General, to mobilize the troops and make dispositions!"
In the Northern Army camp, twelve thousand soldiers had long been standing at attention, ready for battle at any moment.
Among these twelve thousand soldiers, two thousand were newly recruited and had undergone emergency training, responsible for archer and ballista fire.
Three thousand were cavalry, primarily the White Robe soldiers, not including the cavalry within the Great Qian Iron Guard and the Qingtian Guard.
Including the ten thousand recently recruited and the ten thousand sent from south of Yan Prefecture, the defenders of Yan Prefecture numbered fifty thousand, most of whom were logistical troops.
The soldiers had been holding back for two months, and upon hearing that they were finally going to march out and fight the Barbarians, they all perked up, looking towards Liang Xiao on the reviewing stand.
"All three armies, heed my command!"
"Any general who flees before the army in battle shall be executed! Any soldier who flees before the general shall have their rear guard execute their vanguard!"
Liang Xiao's words, relayed by the herald, spread throughout the army. The three armies were solemn.
Having conserved their strength until now, were they to fight the Barbarians to the death?
Suppressing their nervous emotions, they responded with earth-shattering roars: "We are willing to fight the Barbarians to the death!!"
The thirteen thousand soldiers, who had been generously supported by the nation and trained day and night, unleashed their pent-up fighting spirit at this moment, showing no fear.
A fleeting smile appeared on Liang Xiao's face, after which he personally beat the war drum.
"The entire nation supports Yan Prefecture! Achieve merit and fame to repay the nation's kindness!"
"All departments have been arranged! We will crush the enemy forces, then combine with Yun Prefecture's forces for a decisive battle against the Barbarians!"
"Beat the drums! March!!"