Chapter 856

On the southern bank of the Nv’er River, in the western theater of war. The Nv’er River is a tributary of the Xiao Ling River, originating from the Zhangmao Mountains west of Ningyuan. Northern rivers have a particular characteristic: their water volume decreases significantly during the freezing season. Although winter had not yet arrived in Liaodong, the drought brought on by the Little Ice Age had already severely impacted the flow of the Nv’er River. In some places, it had already run dry. Furthermore, because the riverbed is relatively wide, much of it had become passable for pedestrians and livestock—let alone cavalry mounts. Surveying the parched riverbed and the countless Eight Banners troops on the opposite bank, Li Xingzhong gave a bitter laugh. "I had hoped the Nv’er River would serve as a barrier against the Jiannu, but who would have thought the western line would offer no natural defenses at all!"