Synopsis
Autumn bled into winter again. Eight hundred thousand barbarian troops swept south and slammed into Shanhe Pass — the northern border's last real chokepoint. Garrison commander Li Yunfei held the line with every soldier and civilian he had, fighting a brutal, grinding defense that cost them hundreds of thousands of lives before the barbarians finally broke. There was no time to breathe before an imperial decree arrived. The empress was ordering a withdrawal. She had decided to marry Prince Tuoba Hao of the barbarian tribe — and she wanted Shanhe City as her wedding gift.
