The Xin Tribe lay due east of Jiahai Commandery. Thirty li east of Clear Spring Valley, the Xin Tribe's headquarters, stood Qingqing Gorge. It was the first major pass along the Clearwater River—the only large freshwater river on Bamboo Island—as it thundered eastward into the sea.
It had now become the frontline defense against the Han Army's assault, under the command of Elder Jin, "Iron Anvil."
Qingqing Gorge occupied an excellent strategic position, choking off the waterway the Han Army would use to advance west. Cliffs forty meters high rose on either side of the river. By stationing troops atop them and raining arrows down, they could seal off the entire river. Most of the Han Tribe's ships were sailboats; if they launched a fire-arrow attack, they could certainly stop the Han Tribe's vessels from advancing west.
On land, Qingqing Gorge commanded the heights and guarded another strategic point. It was practically a natural fortress spanning the river. If the attackers relied only on ordinary cold-weapon tactics, they would need at least six times the defenders' numbers to breach it. If they wanted to avoid excessive casualties, their only option was a siege.
Worried that the position might fall, Commander Xin had specially transferred the smartest and most capable fighter among the elders, Elder Jin Iron Anvil, to garrison Qingqing Gorge. He had a full force of five thousand men. Two thousand belonged to a previously standardized and drilled army corps, half clan soldiers and half herders in a mixed formation. The remaining three thousand were newly recruited militia, most of them without armor or weapons, carrying all kinds of farm tools.
The wives and children of these militia were all settled in Clear Spring Valley, thirty li behind them. If they could not hold this position, their own wives