Chapter 12: Past Events of the Coiling Dragon

Woling Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack; now, the rebels are the ones holding the defensive position.

He Chunhua straightened his expression and asked earnestly, "How shall I act, sir?"

Such a shocking thunderclap had erupted in the central region of the Yuan Kingdom, leaving the nation's fate hanging by a thread. Even an ordinary man has a duty to his country, let alone a high-ranking official like himself.

To shirk responsibility now would be dishonorable.

Just then, a servant came to change the tea. Sun Fuping took a sip of the hot brew and asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Magistrate He, you have been in Qiansong Prefecture for many years. Do you know how the wilderness turned into the Panlong Desert, and the origin of that Red Cliff Road?"

Why ask about this? He Chunhua frowned.

"That is local lore. About a hundred and fifty years before the founding of the Great Yuan, the land we stand on belonged to the Xiluo Kingdom. At that time, the Panlong Desert was not a wasteland; there was slightly less rainfall, but there were still woodlands and seasonal rivers. Hmm, at the height of its power, Xiluo built four prefectures and twelve cities in the western borderlands to guard this vital, bustling trade route that spanned east to west. The largest of these was Panlong City."

"Later, Xiluo gradually declined, suffering defeat after defeat in foreign wars. The kingdoms of Baling and Xianyou vied to carve up its territory. Except for the Panlong Wilderness, which held its ground, the entire western border of Xiluo was occupied. The Panlong Wilderness thus became an enclave, isolated far outside the borders of Xiluo, thousands of miles from the motherland."

He Lingchuan also listened silently to this history. Every citizen of Blackwater City had heard of the origins of the Panlong Desert, and his original self was no exception.

"Baling and Xianyou attacked the Panlong Wilderness for thirty-two years, and the Xiluo garrison, led by Panlong City Commander Zhong Shengguang, held out for those same thirty-two years, fighting for every inch of land!" He Chunhua turned to his eldest son. "Lingchuan, do you remember the name of this army?"

"The Dafeng Army!" He Lingchuan nodded. "Tenacious beyond the desert poplars, their lonely loyalty unrewarded by grand ambitions—that is the Dafeng Army, trapped behind enemy lines!"

The Dafeng Army was besieged by two powerful enemies and cut off from their motherland, suffering from a lack of food and water, receiving not a shred of aid from Xiluo.

Yet, they held out for a full thirty-two years.

Such a legend never grows old, no matter how many times it is told.

"In the twelfth year of the siege of Panlong City, the Xianyou Kingdom and Xiluo briefly made peace, and the Dafeng Army took the opportunity to send word to their motherland. The Xiluo monarch, not expecting Panlong City to still be standing, issued a decree of commendation and simultaneously recalled most of the Dafeng Army's elite forces to the capital to suppress riots." His father stopped speaking, so He Lingchuan simply continued, "But Xianyou soon turned hostile toward Xiluo again, and the connection between the Panlong Wilderness and the motherland was severed once more, plunging the Dafeng Army back into dire straits."

"After that, Xiluo was plagued by years of civil war and could no longer look to the west. The Dafeng Army persisted for another twenty years, isolated, without reinforcements, and having lost most of its main force."

The will of this army could no longer be described as iron. It was a pity that the motherland was weak, wasting such fine soldiers.

A country unworthy of its soldiers—He Lingchuan felt this phrase was particularly apt.

"Well said." Nian Songyu clapped twice for him. "But how did the wilderness turn into a desert?"

"The Dafeng Army never surrendered, fighting to the very last man. Panlong City was also slaughtered by the enemy in a fit of rage, leaving no survivors." This was the most classic trope of teahouse storytellers. "These battles were too tragic; the fury and resentment of the heroic spirits surged to the heavens and seeped into the earth, causing all life within a hundred miles of Panlong City to perish and the rivers to change course. Thus, the wilderness slowly turned into a desert."

"There is another theory. Panlong City Commander Zhong Shengguang himself was a powerful sorcerer. Knowing that a single pillar cannot hold up a collapsing house, he gathered the strength of tens of thousands of heroic spirits at the moment Panlong City fell and cursed this land, turning it into a barren wasteland." He Lingchuan shrugged. "This way, Xiluo could not keep the land of Panlong, but neither could Baling or Xianyou occupy it. In fact, this desert currently belongs to no country."

"Anything else?"

"But Zhong Shengguang also left a glimmer of hope for living creatures entering and leaving the desert: the Red Cliff Road. That was also the route the Dafeng Army used to travel." He Lingchuan looked at Nian Songyu. "There are many more details. If you wish to continue listening, we had better start the banquet and talk while we eat."

The Imperial Preceptor, Sun Fuping, asked He Chunhua, "Is this all that Magistrate He knows?"

"More or less." He Chunhua sensed something unusual. "What is the Imperial Preceptor implying?" Stop beating around the bush.

"It is true that the Dafeng Army was an iron-willed force, and it is true that Commander Zhong Shengguang was a formidable man. But after the main elite forces were recalled to the country, how could the Dafeng Army hold out for another twenty years? By then, the armies of Xianyou could have swept across most of Xiluo; even if Xiluo still had famous generals, they could not have resisted." Imperial Preceptor Sun said calmly, "You and I both know that this could not be achieved by mere passion alone."

The outcome of war depends only on strength. The cruelest truth is that no matter how passionate the weak are, they cannot escape the fate of defeat.

The enemy was so powerful, especially the Xianyou Kingdom, with its elite troops and strong generals, launching over three hundred attacks on Panlong City. At the most intense, there were fifteen attacks in a single month.

Lacking food, water, men, and weapons, how could the Dafeng Army have held on?

To this, He Chunhua could only reply, "Historical records are insufficient; there is no way to judge."

No matter how stirring the tale, it was, after all, something that happened over a hundred years ago. Later generations might sigh, but how many intended to get to the bottom of it?

At least He Chunhua hadn't; he had more important things to attend to.

"Imperial Preceptor Sun, what does the past of the Panlong Desert have to do with the current predicament of our Great Yuan?" It was impossible that these two had traveled thousands of miles just to hear him tell stories.

The main event had arrived. Sun Fuping stood up, took two steps forward, and stared into his eyes. "This is what I want to say. The key to how the Dafeng Army held out might also be the key to us turning the tide at Woling Pass and resolving the crisis in the capital! Magistrate He, this time, you are duty-bound!"

He Chunhua’s expression was solemn. "I am willing to hear the details."

He Lingchuan, however, felt that the other party was finally showing their true colors, but they had started by placing a heavy burden on his father's shoulders. He wondered if his father could handle it.

"He Jian, the chief clerk of the Dafeng Army, followed Zhong Shengguang for many years and died of illness before the city fell. After the Xianyou Kingdom captured Panlong City, they took inventory of his belongings and discovered that he had kept a brief record of this history."

"He Jian's notes were passed down, changed hands several times, and finally ended up in the Great Yuan palace."

He Lingchuan couldn't help but interject, "So the truth has been hidden in our country all along? Why has it never appeared in the historical records?"

Every country had an Office of National History to collect the history of their own and previous dynasties, especially the latter. Domestic history was often glossed over, but the history of previous dynasties was studied most deeply by scholars, from secret anecdotes to human nature—the reason for this went without saying; everyone understood.

Moreover, such findings were willingly made public to the people. Especially stories of loyalty like those of Panlong City and the Dafeng Army should have been set up as examples to educate the masses, achieving the effect of silent, nourishing influence.

Nian Songyu smiled. "Because, it cannot be told!"

"At that time, the notes were already badly damaged, with few complete sentences left, and it was impossible to restore the full picture of history. But one thing was clearly recorded within—"