Bronze Gorge in a death trap, a hidden dragon rises from the depths to win her freeborn status
Gu Moran suddenly lifted his eyelids and his gaze fell on the military report.
Si Renyou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling. " Bronze Gorge is a key copper mining area of Great Yan in Jiannan Circuit!"
Minting coins and manufacturing weapons depended on that place! Even worse, the thousand soldiers escorting the Northern Expeditionary Army's provisions were marching through the middle of the canyon when their retreat was completely cut off by the Tubo using rolling stones! The thousand men were trapped in the narrow mine passage, cut off from water and food!
Gu Moran didn't reply immediately. He reached out and tore open the envelope, unfolding the thin paper inside.
The handwriting was messy and illegible; it was a last letter written in blood by a scout from the Bronze Gorge garrison who risked his life to break through the enemy lines.
The Bronze Gorge is a long and narrow gorge, with cliffs on both sides and only one plank road leading to the outside world.
Two thousand Tubo troops occupied both ends of the pass, commanding a Great Yan point. The Dayan soldiers charged three times, but were all forced back by the boulders and powerful bows.
"They're using a siege tactic to ambush reinforcements." Gu Moran pressed the letter down on the table, his fingertip tracing heavily across the three characters " Bronze Gorge." "Two thousand men can't handle a thousand garrison soldiers? They're deliberately keeping these thousand as bait to lure our Yi Prefecture army to the rescue."
"As long as the main force of Yi Prefecture is mobilized, the supply lines will be left undefended, allowing the Tubo to easily advance their ambush forces hidden behind the snow-capped mountains."
"But that's the entire copper output of Jiannan Circuit for a year, and the life-saving provisions for the Northern Expeditionary Army!" Si Renyou stamped his feet anxiously. "If Bronze Gorge is lost, even if the Imperial Hall of State Affairs doesn't blame the Prince, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War will hold a knife to my throat!"
Not to mention those thousand soldiers, all recruited from villages on the outskirts of the city; if they were all wiped out, the morale of the people would collapse!
Fang Bi clasped his hands and knelt on one knee. "Your Highness, this old servant is willing to lead three thousand infantrymen to march tonight and launch a strong attack on Bronze Gorge!"
"No." Gu Moran interrupted directly, "Mobilizing the garrison in such a grand manner plays right into the barbarians' hands. The garrison troops are to guard the city defenses and the main post roads; not a single one can be moved."
"How can we save Bronze Gorge? Are we just going to watch a thousand people starve and freeze to death in the mine?" Fang Bi's eyes reddened.
The atmosphere inside was so oppressive it was suffocating.
Gu Moran stood up and walked to the huge topographical map of Jiannan Circuit hanging on the wall, his gaze falling on the narrow ravine in Bronze Gorge.
The backyard of the Foot Care Hall in the south of the city.
The fresh scent of newly planed pine wood mingled with the aroma of herbs wafted through the yard.
Pu Yunshan, dressed in a gray cloth outfit with his trousers rolled up high, was pushing a wide-bladed wooden plane with both hands, forcefully pushing it along a beam as thick as two people could hug.
Wood shavings curled and tumbled out of the planer's mouth, accumulating into a thick layer on the ground.
His palm strike was deep and steady, and the wood he planed was so smooth that it could be used as a mirror, without a single splinter.
" Young Master Pu, take a break and have some hot tea."
On the second floor, in the wooden corridor, Qin Hongxiu, dressed in a simple blue cloth dress, stood by the railing.
She held a newly bound account book in her hand, and only a wooden hairpin was inserted in her hair. Gone was the gaudy and luxurious beauty of her former courtesan days; instead, there was a sense of calm and composure in her eyes.
Pu Yunshan straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and grinned. "Not tired at all. With this main beam in place today, we can seal off all the partitions in the main hall in a few days. Once we open for business on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, merchants from the city will definitely be lining up at our door."
Qin Hongxiu looked at his hands covered in sawdust and his coarse cloth clothes torn in several places, and a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes.
The young master of Mount Qingcheng, a top-tier swordsman of the Fourth Rank Middle Stage, should be traveling the world in white robes, wielding his sword and revered by thousands. Yet now, for the sake of her 1,000 taels of silver to redeem her, he spends his days sawing wood and carrying cement in this dilapidated courtyard.
She lowered her head, her fingers gently caressing the jade tassel of a sword inside her sleeve, her fingertips feeling slightly cool.
Just then, a series of hurried, heavy footsteps came from the back alley.
Tuoba Mang strode into the courtyard, his face full of murderous intent, the two short axes at his waist clanging loudly.
"Pu boy, have you heard?!" Tuoba Mang roared gruffly, "Something terrible has happened! The Tubo barbarians have raided Bronze Gorge in the south and trapped a thousand grain transport soldiers in the mine!"
I just came from outside the Prince's mansion, and the people from the Prefect's office were so anxious they were banging their heads against the wall!
Pu Yunshan abruptly stopped the plane in the middle of the wood.
" Bronze Gorge?" He turned his head, his brows furrowing. "The terrain there is all sheer cliffs. If the government troops are trapped inside, they won't be able to break out at all."
"They can't even break through!" Tuoba Mang spat. "Two thousand Tubo barbarians are guarding the mountain pass, shooting arrows and hurling stones from their high vantage point."
The prince is having a real problem!
Upon hearing the words " Tubo barbarians" while standing on the second-floor corridor, Qin Hongxiu dropped the account book in her hand with a thud at her feet, her face turning pale.
Pu Yunshan stood in the pile of sawdust and slowly loosened his grip on the plane.
He looked down at his hands, which were calloused and covered in mud and dust.
Having worked as a handyman in the Prince's mansion for five years, he was able to protect Qin Hongxiu for a time and help her open this Foot Care Hall.
But then what?
At first, he didn't understand why Qin Hongxiu always rejected him.
Later I learned that because she came from a brothel and was considered of low social status, the laws of the Great Yan were strict, and women of low social status were never allowed to become wives of respectable men.
Mount Qingcheng is a prestigious and righteous sect. No matter how much my father, Pu Qinghe, tries to compromise, he would never tolerate a woman with a lowly status as a prostitute stepping into the ancestral hall of Mount Qingcheng.
Is all he can give her just to spend her life hiding in the alleys of Yi Prefecture, enduring people's gossip and pointing fingers?
No.
There is one way to wash away one's lowly status in the Great Yan Dynasty: through military merit.
Only by achieving outstanding military exploits on the battlefield and obtaining a reward from the imperial court can the death contract and the mark of lowly status be completely burned to ashes.
Pu Yunshan turned around and walked to the copper basin in the corner of the courtyard.
The cool well water washed away the dust and heat from my face.
He took a clean cloth from his bag and wiped away the sawdust from between his fingers one by one.
Then, he climbed the steps and walked step by step to the second-floor corridor.
Qin Hongxiu looked at him, her eyes slightly red, her lips trembling slightly. "You... want?"
Pu Yunshan picked up the account book from her feet, dusted it off, and handed it back to her.
" Hongxiu." He looked into her eyes, his voice soft, yet each word as heavy as a rock, "I can be a carpenter my whole life, but there are some things a plane can't plane. I need to earn merit in the army to free you from your lowly status."
"I don't want any good status, I just want you to be safe and sound here..." Qin Hongxiu reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
[Thanks to: Xixi for the certification, Emperor's Show-off, Jianjun for the update reminder and flowers, Mantou for the update reminder, Radish for 15 flowers, Knowing Milk Tea, Chenchen, Qinghan, Lingluan, Qianxian, Like, Sunset, Talking Flower, Moonlight Love Letter, Love to Eat, To Whom, Chen Qing for the likes, and everyone for their love and support!]