Chapter Twenty-Three: Sudden and Unexpected Upheaval

Dushi, Chicheng, and Longmen belong to the Kaiping, Bao’an, and Longmen Garrisons respectively, positioned to the east and north of Xuanfu. They serve as three defensive lines shielding the main town of Xuanfu. Should any of these three fortresses fall, the gates of Kaiping, Bao’an, and Longmen would be wide open, allowing the Wala army to surge across the border walls—advancing west to attack Xuanfu itself, or south to assault Huailai and Juyong Pass, thus threatening the capital.

When the Taizong Emperor established the grand border at Xuanfu, after founding the command posts for the Kaiping, Bao’an, and Longmen Garrisons, he set up thousand-households posts at Dushi Fortress, Chicheng Fortress, and Longmen Fortress. He further ordered that, within the five hundred and fifty li stretch from Longmen to Dushi and Heiyu Pass, every strategic pass accessible to cavalry must be guarded by a hundred households; those open for woodcutters and shepherds were to be guarded by ten armored soldiers. Such painstaking measures, consuming countless manpower and resources to build the border wall defenses, were all for the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of Xuanfu—the northwest gateway to the capital.

If the Song dynasty’s loss of Youyan led to national weakness, then the Ming dynasty’s loss of Xuanfu would mean national ruin. With such understanding, it is not difficult to grasp why the Taizong Emperor placed such importance on Xuanfu’s border defenses.

The news brought by his younger brother Yang Neng left Yang Jun deeply unsettled. When Yang Neng came from the Right Guard of Wanquan, Alar was still loitering outside the border wall—neither attacking nor retreating, clearly intent on watching and waiting. Moreover, Alar’s forces were few, so Yang Jun never imagined Alar would have the audacity to attack Xuanfu. But now, not only had the enemy arrived, their first strike was aimed directly at Dushi, Chicheng, and Longmen Fortresses. This was no mere probing for advantage; it was a full-blooded attempt to uproot Xuanfu entirely!

If any of the three fortresses fell, Xuanfu would be shaken. The imperial carriage was presently en route from Huailai to Xuanfu, and if Alar breached the border at such a critical juncture, the consequences would be unimaginable. It was hard to picture the emperor, who had come with high spirits to personally lead the campaign against Wala, hearing that Xuanfu had lost its defenses—what reaction would he have?

Yang Jun, son of Yang Hong, wasted no time upon realiz