On the vast Gobi desert, I saw a cavalry galloping in the night, their horses' hoofs wrapped in cloth, making no sound. They bypassed the city and headed straight for a pass. The defenders at the pass were lax and were drinking and gambling. The cavalry suddenly burst out, and the defenders had no time to react before being chopped down to the ground. The pass was lost, and the barbarian army marched straight in, breaking through three cities in a row and approaching Yumen Pass, an important town in the western border.
The general guarding Yumen Pass is a veteran with rich experience, but he has insufficient troops and is struggling to support himself. When the imperial reinforcements arrived, the pass had been broken, the veteran generals had died in the battle, and only 8,000 of the 30,000 defenders remained.
