Chapter Four: Strange Occurrences at the Salt Lake

Many thanks to "Alarm Clock on Bed" for the 2,000-point reward and "Want an Older Sister to Dote On" for the 500-point reward! I recall the user ID "Alarm Clock on Bed" from my previous book, where they were a helmsman.

...

The price Guo Zihe paid to hold Lingzhou City was devastating. His third brother, Guo Ziduan, had been killed in action, and his second brother, Guo Zisheng, had been struck in the chest by an arrow, piercing a lung; whether he would survive remained uncertain.

He had originally commanded two thousand core troops, but now over a third had fallen, leaving fewer than a thousand still fit for combat. What troubled Guo Zihe most was the bitter cold; the city’s supply of firewood was nearly exhausted. The common people had begun, in silent desperation, to dismantle their furniture and wooden doors to burn for warmth.

This was undoubtedly a case of drinking poison to quench thirst. Tearing down furniture was one thing, but once the doors were gone, how long could they last? Once the fires went out, Lingzhou would become a city of the dead without needing to be stormed.

Liang Shidu had suffered over three thousand casualties beneath the city walls and was no longer capable of attacking, so he was of little concern. What weighed most heavily on Guo Zihe were the increasingly numerous Turks.

Suddenly, an acrid, scorched stench drifted into Guo Zihe’s nose. He knew exactly what it was: the smell of burning human remains. Looking toward the source of the odor, he spotted a house not far from the wall. After a moment’s hesitation, he dragged his numb legs toward the building, accompanied by a dozen personal guards.

Before he even reached the house, several other small courtyards began to emit the same nauseating, scorched smell. He didn't need to look to know what was happening.

"When the Chu state attacked Song and besieged its city, the people exchanged their children to eat and split bones for fuel," Lingzhou Registrar Yang Ze sighed heavily. "I never imagined that such a horrific tragedy, recorded in history books, would play out within the walls of Lingzhou today!"

"It hasn't come to exchanging children for food yet," Guo Zihe replied. "The city still has enough grain to last half a year. It is only this fuel that can only..."

In truth, Guo Zihe was helpless. If not for the joint siege by the Turks and Liang Shidu, the people could have left the city to gather wood and survive this crisis. But now, trapped inside, stripping flesh from corpses and burning the bones was their only remaining option.

Suddenly, Yang Ze knelt, facing toward the direction of Chang'an, and drew his sword, holding the blade against his throat. "I have failed the Emperor's trust; I deserve death a thousand times over!"

He was about to draw the blade across his neck when he found he could not move it. He turned to see Guo Zihe holding the hilt. "Why does General Guo stop me?" Yang Ze demanded, his face filled with indignation.

"Registrar Yang wishes to die and be done with it! Have you considered the twenty thousand souls within Lingzhou?" Guo Zihe sighed. "If you do not wish to be a turncoat, do you think I desire to be one?"

"This..." Yang Ze fell into a thoughtful silence.

"Death is the easiest path; living is much harder!" Guo Zihe said. "This year’s Great Freeze and the 'White Disaster' have caused the Turks heavy losses, killing countless cattle and sheep. Raiding the passes through the snow is their usual tactic. Does Registrar Yang truly believe that if we surrendered, the Turks would spare these twenty thousand people?"

Without waiting for an answer, Guo Zihe roared, "They will not! The Turks will not leave a single Tang citizen alive. They will slaughter everyone in Lingzhou, leaving not even a dog or chicken behind."

Hearing this, Yang Ze’s expression turned bleak.

Everything Guo Zihe could foresee, Yang Ze could as well; he had simply been unwilling to face it. His composure shattered. "General Guo, what are we to do?"

"We must hold fast and await reinforcements!" Guo Zihe declared. "His Majesty will not sit idly by while Lingzhou falls into enemy hands, nor will he watch our people perish. Perhaps the reinforcements are already on their way. At most a fortnight, at least ten days, they will arrive!"

...

The reinforcements Guo Zihe spoke of had, in fact, already arrived. The Hot Spring Pool was only a hundred miles from Lingzhou; if Chen Ying wished, he could reach the city walls in two days.

However, Chen Ying had no way to launch a decisive attack. Without the twenty thousand Turks stationed at Boguli Town, he would have already sent his troops marching toward Lingzhou. Until that thorn in his side was removed, there was no way to advance.

Through Lin Chuanfu’s efforts, over a hundred pairs of skis were fashioned that very night. Chen Ying led a hundred of the fittest soldiers selected from the army to begin training.

Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, these men could not master the skis to glide across the snow like the soldiers of legend. One after another, they tripped and tumbled, face-planting into the drifts. Even Chen Ying began to wonder if he should abandon the plan to infiltrate Lingzhou on skis.

They could not master this in three or five days, let alone ten or fifteen. By the time they learned, Lingzhou would surely have fallen.

In truth, Chen Ying could not recall if history recorded Lingzhou being breached by the Turks, but he had prepared for the worst. The pressure on Crown Prince Li Jiancheng regarding this rescue mission was immense; any failure on Chen Ying's part would likely leave the Prince in a vulnerable position.

As Chen Ying’s mind wandered, a sharp "crack!" suddenly echoed from ahead.

He looked up to see Liang Zan let out a cry and vanish from the surface of the snow.

"Liang Zan! Liang Zan!" Chen Ying exclaimed, panicked. "Liang Zan!"

He rushed toward the spot where Liang Zan had disappeared, but Gao Yunquan intercepted him. "General, you are the commander of this army. If something happens to you, the morale will collapse—the consequences would be dire!"

Luo Shixin stepped forward. "Let me go!"

Before Luo Shixin could reach the spot, Liang Zan struggled to climb out of the snow pit, shouting nervously, "Stay back! There are ghosts here!"

Chen Ying did not believe in ghosts. After a long while, Liang Zan spat out a mouthful of snow and said, "My Lord, we must leave this place!"

"What is happening?" Chen Ying asked, confused.

Liang Zan explained, "This must be a salt lake. It is nothing but layers of salt, not frozen solid at all."

Chen Ying took a closer look. As Liang Zan said, although the snow looked no different from the rest of the terrain, it was merely a thin layer. Even with skis, one would break through into the salt beneath. The hole Liang Zan had fallen into was fortunately only three or four feet deep.

"Deputy Commander Gao!" Chen Ying turned to Gao Yunquan. "You are knowledgeable; do you know what this is?"

Gao Yunquan pondered. "Lingzhou produces salt; this must be a salt lake. In years of drought, the lake dries up. Where there is salt, the snow does not freeze, forming hole after hole. Look, there is even the skeleton of an antelope here!"

At these words, it suddenly occurred to Chen Ying that during the era of the Song, Liao, and Western Xia, Lingzhou had been part of Western Xia, which was famous for its green salt.

"How large is this salt lake?" Chen Ying stared at the endless expanse of snow, a vague notion forming in his mind.

"I have never been to Lingzhou before," Gao Yunquan replied, cupping his hands. "According to rumors, the salt lake spans about a hundred miles square!"

"A hundred miles... a hundred miles..." Chen Ying muttered. "Mark this place clearly. No one is to enter, lest we suffer unnecessary losses!"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

He knew what he had to do.

As several soldiers took out flags to mark the edge of the lake, Chen Ying suddenly said, "Stop! Let's head back."

He skied rapidly back toward the Hot Spring Pool camp. No sooner had he entered the main tent than he ordered Liang Zan, "Summon all officers of the rank of colonel and above to the main command tent immediately!"