"Charge!"
Wu Li commanded the army with his lone arm. He lived up to his reputation as a Tu Fang warrior, his horsemanship so superb that he could control his galloping mount with his legs alone.
The Tu Fang cavalry desperately urged their horses onward. Once they crossed the border, they could go home.
"Stop! Stop!" Wu Li waved his arm sharply. He had realized they could not get through.
Rows of earthen walls had inexplicably appeared on what had been empty, level ground, blocking their way.
The earthen walls were not actually very high. People could easily climb over them, but horses could not.
Yi Shangxie felt his heart bleed. Linking everything that had happened together, he peeled away the tangled threads and understood in an instant.
It had all been a scheme!
From the moment construction began on the Great Wall and Ji Xian came to their tribe to urge their chief to march south, this conspiracy against Tu Fang had already begun!
They had used the Great Wall and Ji Xian's persuasion to lure them into invading the south, stripping them of their geographical advantage.
Then King Zhou had used an inspection tour as his pretext and waited for Tu Fang to besiege the city. He had shown weakness to the enemy, pretending he could not defeat them and was forced to sign a treaty. Then he had used that treaty as an excuse to meet their chief and behead him, seizing the momentum to slaughter their troops and force them to retreat.
And when they retreated, they would discover that earthen walls had been built across the plains they had traveled through on their march south. People could pass, but horses could not!
If they wanted to return north, they had to abandon their horses!
*Those