Volume 5, Chapter 33: The Mists of Daizhou

Lin Tong, the Crimson Clouds Princess, was the youngest child of the Marquis of Daizhou, Lin Yuanting, and the younger sister of the Princess of Jiaping. The princess had always been pampered and spoiled, treasured by her parents and elder brothers and sister. Because she liked wearing martial attire and frequently traveled alone, she always brought bow and saber to hunt.

In the first year of Great Yongs Longsheng era and the twenty-fourth year of Northern Hans Rongsheng era, the Princess of Jiaping made her way to Qinzhou to provide support. The situation was urgent with the barbarian assault upon Yanmen Pass, compounded by Yuanting falling critically ill and her second elder brother, Chenger, killed in battle. With Daizhou leaderless, the Crimson Clouds Princess stepped forward bravely and personally took command of the resistance against the barbarians. Although she was young, her majesty and ferocity were the equal of her father and elder sister. She obtained everyones support to serve as the general, leading Daizhou against the barbarians.

Northern Han Dynastic Records

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Biography of the Crimson Clouds Princess

Vestured head to toe in red, Lin Tong stood on the battlements of Yanmen Pass. Very swiftly she issued orders, commanding all to resist the fierce assault on the pass by the barbarians. Although the barbarians did not have enough siege equipment, they were able to rely on their fierce, skilled fighting abilities and numerical advantage, putting enormous pressure on the Yanmen Pass defenders. In order to effectively kill or injure their enemies, Lin Tong had precisely selected when the enemys assaults were especially fierce to pour boiling water and drop rocks. Although the barbarians forte was horse archery, having battled for so many years with the Daizhou army, they had mastered the skills to besiege a fortification. Their use of siege ladders and catapults increased the likelihood that they would overcome the defenses. In addition, barbarians who were adept at throwing lassos would use rope to try to climb the walls.

Lin Tong could sense that the barbarian numbers were growing by the day. Presumably all of the barbarian tribes of the grasslands had assembled to assault the pass. Once Yanmen Pass had fallen, they would penetrate deep into Northern Hans territory unchecked, plundering and leaving nothing behind in order to survive the spring food shortages.

Finally, the barbarians began to retreat after suffering heavy casualties. Lin Tong breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that it wasnt long before the barbarians would mass once again to attack. Although that was the case, they had been able to obtain a temporary respite. That in itself was sufficient comfort.

Having fought bitterly for so many days, Lin Tongs elegant appearance had thinned. However, the look on her face was unusually calm. In order to boost morale, she had not left the walls for three days and three nights. Her blazing red clothes seemed to continuously burn atop the walls, encouraging the whole of the army to fight. Ever since her elder brother had advanced out of the pass and was ambushed, dying after his return due to his arrow wounds, her father had fallen gravely ill and was bedridden. As for her eldest brother, Lin Chengyi, he only knew how to fight hand-t0-hand, was unfamiliar with military tactics, and was reckless. As a result, the army worried, having no alternative but to weakly honor Lin Tong as their commander. Initially, this was simply a stopgap measure.

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However, nobody could have imagined that Lin Tong was managing the entire situation with her fragile-looking body, capably commanding the defenses in a manner that would not lose out to a veteran general who had experienced over a hundred battles. Therefore, only a few days had passed before the people and soldiers of Daizhou considered Lin Tong as a suitable replacement commander-in-chief for Lin Bi.

Although Lin Tong had never led troops in battle, she was innately intelligent, and was fond of riding and archery. She had always been extremely interested with regard to warfare. Although her parents, elder brothers, and sister had a mutual understanding of preventing her from experiencing war, she was fondest of following Lin Bi about. As a result, she had been greatly influenced by her elder sister and already had some insights into military tactics. After experiencing the events of the Eastern Sea, Lin Tong seemed to have suddenly matured, diligently studying the art of war. Combined with observing firsthand Lin Yuantings leadership for several days, her natural gifts and knowledge, and her open-minded nature, Lin Tong was able to become a qualified commander-in-chief in a short time. Even if there were minor oversights, the assistance of her seniors and experienced soldiers of the Daizhou army were more than able to make up for any mistakes. Furthermore, Lin Tong had always been shrewd and quick-witted, and now had a well fleshed out understanding of the battlefield.

With that, the Crimson Cloud Princesss reputation was cemented. Of course, Lin Tong was not in a mood to bother with this. Further, she had not become aware that everyone considered her to be her elder sisters replacement, only focusing all her effort on how to deal with the barbarians.

Dragging her heavy footsteps, Lin Tong patrolled along the walls, inspecting the defenses in spite of her exhaustion. For the wounded, she expressed her sympathy. Only when she had completed all of these military matters did she tuck herself into a crenel, leaning against the merlon. Wrapping her cloak around herself, she hugged her knees to her chest and prepared to take a nap. It wasnt long before Lin Tong drifted into her dreams. At this instant, she could not notice that there was a pair of eyes attentively gazing at her in silence.

The soldiers and levy guarding the pass were divided into two shifts. The current shift had all descended from the wall to rest. Their relieving soldiers and levy began to take watch over the defenses. The Daizhou levy was also trained to the standards of the regular army, organized into squads of five, methodical

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in their progress. Among them, there was one unit that was different. Their movements were noticeably undisciplined and composed of conscripts drafted from outside of Daizhou. When the barbarians invaded every year, the Daizhou army would conscript all of the young and strong outsiders present in the region, restricting them with martial law. First, Daizhou was worried that there would be spies from the barbarians. Second, it was to increase the defenses military strength. These individuals were organized into a unit with veterans from Daizhou serving as their squad leaders. Those with courage and strength would all serve a shift