Chapter 45: White Wolf Mountain Water Interval (12)

  The Pin Department is a small tribe among the eight tribes of the Khitan Yelü clan alliance, ranking last in strength among the eight departments. To say that the history of the formation of the Pin Department has only less than two hundred years, the master of the Pin Department - Xianglan Shilei, this surname actually originated from the Dilebu Department, which is now the strongest among the eight departments. Whether it was for whatever reason, whether the Xianglan Shilei family wanted to leave the control of the Yelü family of the Dilebu Department and develop independently, or when the Khitan Yelü clan alliance was established, it was simply a matter of piecing together the number eight (note 1), the Pin Department finally took shape and has continued to thrive until now.

  When Lang Jun's father was still alive, the Pinglu gradually gained a foothold in the original Tang Dynasty's Yingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and together with another tribe of the Khitan Eight Tribes, the Wugu Tribe, they divided up the thousand-mile pasture on this fertile land. The Pinglu were to the west, expanding their sphere of influence centered on the original Tang Dynasty's Yingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, while the Wugu Tribe was to the east, encroaching towards the direction of the Tang Dynasty's original Xincheng Metropolitan Governor's Mansion.

  The Pian Department, through years of plundering and annexation, had unknowingly developed from a small tribe with less than 1,000 people to the master of Yingzhou. Although it was still not comparable to several large tribes in the Khitan Eight Departments, its population had grown to nearly 10,000, with about 2,000 archers. The development momentum of the Pian Department was very good, and if this continued, the prospects would be bright. Unfortunately, everything was ruined on the night when his father, Wuli, died suddenly due to illness. Due to disagreements over who should inherit the position of Pian Department's commander, Xiao Langjun Wuli, with the support of his mother from the Shulu tribe, led a group of tribesmen to leave Yingzhou and come to the banks of the White Wolf River. His brother, Tuli, who had the support of most of the tribal elders, stayed in Yingzhou.

  Although the number of elders who supported Tuli was far greater than that of Wuli, and the number of tribal households left in Yingzhou was also much larger than those who followed him south, as long as the tribal elder meeting had not been convened, Tuli could not sit on the position of Yelü Abaoji, nor would he get the recognition of the Khitan nobles. Wuli believed that relying on his mother's noble surname and with the support of the Shulu clan, the position of Yelü Abaoji would eventually be his own.

  But reality is cruel, because he didn't complete the task that his brother Agu asked of him, and now Agu has changed his attitude and wants to support his own brother instead! After analyzing it with Kadan, Wuri believes that this change in attitude definitely wasn't just Agu's opinion alone, but rather a unanimous decision made by those prestigious families, including Shulu Ping, Shulu Agu, Yelu Abaoji, Yelu Deguang, Yelu Huaguo... Just thinking about the implications of these names makes Wuri's heart even more anxious. Since these adults doubt his abilities, he can only prove himself with a victory and regain their support - this is not just what Kadan told him, but also the only solution that he could think of after racking his brains.

  Until this moment, Wuri seemed to have suddenly thought of the consequences of competing with his brother Tulie for the throne. According to Tulie's temperament, once he ascended to the throne, Wuri's fate would be sealed! Thinking of his brother Tulie's sinister gaze, Wuri couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

  So this time, Wuli gathered all the men in the tribe who could hold a knife and ride a horse. In addition to more than 20 brave warriors trained by Kedan himself, there were more than 400 regular soldiers who could fight, and more than 500 auxiliary soldiers followed. Although they were all auxiliary soldiers, they could also hold knives and kill people! In the face of such a large army, those Luolong troops who had lost their reliance on the city gate would not be the opponents of the Khitan warriors, let alone the more than 200 Luolong troops who had been blocked in the mountains and could not escape even if they wanted to. Wuli believed that this victory was almost within reach, and Kedan also said that as long as these Luolong troops were eliminated here, the military strength inside Yu Pass would be weakened, and there might even be a chance to attack Yu Pass again.

  Arriving at the White Wolf Mountain Pass, Wuri was just about to lead his men in a rush, but was held back by Kedan who grabbed his arm that was about to swing into action: "Young master, hold on for a moment and let the warriors rest for a bit."

  The troops stopped at the mountain pass, and the Khitan warriors dismounted one after another, untied their leather bags to drink a few mouthfuls of milk wine, loosened the reins of their war horses, removed their muzzle, and let them eat some grass on the spot to conserve energy. The war horses ridden by Wuli, Kedan, and those tribal brave warriors trained by Kedan were better, especially the war horses ridden by Wuli and Kedan, which came from the western grasslands and were pure-blooded, not only tall and majestic but also extremely fast, except that they couldn't be fed casually at feeding time, so the accompanying auxiliary soldiers opened the special bags brought with them, took out the dried hay mixed with bean skin, and fed it to the war horses.

  Taking advantage of the gap, Ke Dan summoned the fat man to his front, staring at that plump round face and said: "Later when you walk to the front, lead the way properly. If this matter succeeds, I will let you restore your surname. If there is any mishap, don't blame me for throwing you into the oil pot!"

  That fatty "plop" fell to the feet of Ke Dan, hugging Ke Dan's ankle, with a face full of flattering smile: "Noble sir, rest assured, I understand and will not miss your appointment... Noble sir said restore my surname, actually I didn't have this idea, please noble sir give me a new name, from now on follow you!"

  Ke Dan couldn't help but laugh, and with one kick, he sent the fatty tumbling to the ground. "Haha, you rascal," he said. "I restored your proper status for you, but you're not pleased. Instead, you want to be a slave? Are you comfortable being a slave?"

  The fatty rolled over and crawled to hug Kedan's ankle, fawningly smiling: "My greatest wish is to become a Khitan person, I'd rather be a slave of the Khitan people than be a Han person, please fulfill my wish, noble sir!"

  Ke Dan shook her head with a hint of mockery and asked: "Didn't you say that the horse team can't enter the mountain? I think this mountain path is quite spacious..."

  "Even this first section is quite spacious, but there are some treacherous places inside. Although it's possible to get the horse across, it might still cause some injury to the warhorse. Your horse is so spirited, I'm just thinking of your well-being..."

  Ke Dan nodded and didn't say anything else, calling Ke Hun to his side. He carefully instructed him: "I'll leave all the auxiliary troops with you, guard the mountain pass well for me. If even one soldier from the Lu Long army escapes, I'll hold you responsible!"

  The Khitan troops were arranged in order under Kadan's command, carrying their knives and bows, following Kadan and Uri into the White Wolf Mountain. The fat man was leading the way carefully more than ten steps ahead. After careful consideration, Kadan ordered most of the war horses to be left at the mountain pass, only he, Uri, and those twenty or so brave warriors who were personally trained by him remained on horseback, but the horses had been replaced with ordinary grassland war horses. Those twenty or so brave warriors were his most important trump cards, he wanted to ensure that these warriors could use all their strength in battle, even if the war horses suffered damage on the mountain road, it was not a pity at all.

  A team of over 400 people entered the mountain path and suddenly startled a flock of birds into flight.

  Zhong Si Lang saw the startled bird take flight, and hastily summoned up his spirit, his eyes fixed intently on the front mountain valley bend. After the Khitan people entered the mountains, it wouldn't be long before they would appear at the bend, and then it would be his turn. From the mountain valley bend to his hiding place in the small woods was less than a hundred paces away, with only a shallow stream in between. Zhong Si Lang's plan was that when the Khitan people arrived at the stream bank, he and his brothers would reveal themselves, standing on this side of the stream, facing off against the Khitan people on the opposite bank.

  According to Zhong Siliang's estimation, although they only had ten people, with a dense thicket of trees behind them, the Khitan people opposite would not dare to make any rash moves. If they could stall for a while here, it would give Doutou some time. This idea of Zhong Siliang's was learned from Doutou's arrangement during the battle at Yu Guan, where everyone marched in unison from the open gate of the pass city to the front of the Khitan people, and then simultaneously drew their weapons, causing the Khitan people to retreat quickly in confusion, thus winning time for the successful closure of the pass gate. Zhong Siliang didn't know if this would work, but in his haste, he could only think of this one method.

  As the dense footsteps and horseshoes sounded from around the bend in the valley, a stout man who looked like a Han Chinese was the first to emerge, followed by seven or eight Khitan people flashing out from around the bend. These Khitan soldiers held their sabers, cautiously charged in all directions, glanced around for a moment, then waved their hands back, and a large group of Khitan soldiers appeared before Zhong Siliang's eyes.

  Zhong Si Lang held his breath, staring at the large group of Khitan soldiers surrounding more than 20 riders approaching the creek where he was hiding. He forced himself to calm down and quickly began counting. Perhaps due to the terrain or perhaps it was the Khitan people's usual marching habit, these Khitan people's formation appeared extremely disorganized. Except for placing seven or eight scouts in front, the entire team could only vaguely distinguish between two parts: the first part was a few dozen infantrymen surrounding more than 20 cavalrymen, and the second part was purely infantrymen, densely packed and impossible to discern exactly how many there were.

  He was a bit confused, so he turned his head back and asked in a low voice, "How many people are there? Who counted clearly?"

  Two people beside him answered his question, one said it seemed like there were about 400 people, and the other said it was probably around 500 or 600. Zhong Si Lang himself couldn't count clearly, so he took an intermediate number between the two - 500.

  Zhong Si Lang led the team, which was the most elite team of Pingzhou Military's Left Wing Adu. The soldiers in this team were mostly ranked first in the emergency military competition on the way from Pingzhou to Yu Guan. When they first encountered the Khitan people under the city of Yu Guan, they were listed as the first row due to their neat formation. In the subsequent defense battle of Yu Guan, they even won collective merits, and everyone had fought face-to-face with the Khitan people who climbed onto the city head, and most people's hands were stained with the blood of the Khitan people.

  Liu Jinhou, who performed the most impressively in the Yu Guan defense battle, came from this squad. He was promoted to Deputy Lieutenant of the Vanguard due to his achievement of beheading three enemy soldiers and directly became the squad leader after skipping the rank of Squad Leader. In addition to Liu Jinhou, who had already been promoted and transferred, five others were also promoted to Squad Leaders for beheading one or two enemy soldiers, accounting for 30% of all personnel who made contributions and received awards in the Yu Guan defense battle! However, due to Li Chengzhong's haste in leading the team out, there was no time for further adjustments, so they remained in Zhong Si Lang's squad.

  In Li Cheng's center, this team's combat power should be ranked among the top three in his current army. If not counting Zhou Duan Dao personally leading the battle, its combat power can even reach first place. This is the main reason why he assigned Zhong Si Lang to complete the delaying task. However, despite being an elite unit, due to their relatively short time in service and fewer battles experienced, they still showed a few signs of tension when facing the approaching Khitan army alone from afar.

  The Khitan army approached the stream, Zhong Si Lang learned from Li Chengzhong's gesture, clenched his fist and slowly raised it above his head. As long as he was a little closer, he would signal to stand up in formation. The brothers behind him also held back their pounding hearts, took a deep breath, and stared at Zhong Si Lang's right arm gradually rising above his head...

  Note 1: Before the formation of the Yelü clan alliance, the Khitan had always been united in the form of the Dahe clan alliance, and at that time there were also eight coexisting tribes. There is no record in historical materials of the reason why the Ping tribe separated from the Dielei tribe, so I made this speculation, and you can just laugh it off and consider my words nonsense.

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