Wei Shao’s grandfather had moved the provincial capital from Fanyang to Yuyang, which was closer to the border military garrisons, to defend against the Xiongnu.
Upper Valley was only a two or three-day horse ride from Yuyang. If Upper Valley fell, Yuyang would also be in grave danger.
After the messenger departed and the subsequently arriving Yuyang Magistrate was briefed, Madam Xu arranged various matters concerning the evacuation of border civilians. She then summoned Madam Zhu and Xiao Qiao, instructing them to quickly pack their belongings and take Fei Fei to the safer Fanyang.
“If Grandmother doesn’t leave, I won’t leave either,” Xiao Qiao immediately refused.
Madam Zhu had already learned about the Xiongnu’s southern invasion and was already anxious. Upon hearing Madam Xu’s arrangement, she realized that Yuyang might also fall. Her face immediately turned ashen. After hesitating, she said, “I… I won’t leave either…”
Madam Xu slammed her cane forcefully, angrily saying, “I’m staying to command Yuyang. What use is there for you two to stay here? You’ll only add to my worries! My decision is final and won’t be changed! You two take Fei Fei and leave immediately!”
Perhaps due to her intense emotions, she started coughing again.
After just a few coughs, she forcibly suppressed it, her breathing somewhat unsteady.
Madam Zhu glanced at her, shrinking back, and said no more.
Xiao Qiao looked at Madam Xu’s gray-haired countenance and paused for a moment. “In that case, your granddaughter-in-law will obey Grandmother’s words and leave now.”
Madam Xu’s expression finally softened. She gazed at Xiao Qiao for a moment, then slowly said, “Yuyang will be fine. I’m telling you to leave just as a precaution. Don’t worry too much. You should go now.”
Xiao Qiao’s nose stung as she suppressed the myriad emotions in her heart. She approached Madam Xu, knelt before her, and kowtowed.
……
With the Xiongnu advancing southward, Madam Xu would stay in command, resisting the invasion alongside the military and civilians. Reinforcements would arrive in a few days, and she called upon the people to join in the resistance.
Those willing to participate in the battle could go to the Yuyang government office to receive armor and weapons.
This official announcement was posted at the four city gates of Yuyang.
However, following Madam Xu’s orders, the Yuyang Magistrate also opened the city gates for two days, allowing civilians to evacuate Yuyang voluntarily, with the promise of returning once the situation stabilized.
At first, the city’s residents were unwilling to evacuate. Or rather, they were unwilling to believe.
Everywhere, in streets and alleys, people were discussing this matter.
Gradually, from some unknown household, people began to leave through the south city gate, carrying their belongings.
The atmosphere of panic began to spread, and more and more civilians left in succession.
As Xiao Qiao sat in the speeding carriage along the road to Fanyang, she saw that on both sides of the road, everywhere were civilians who had been left behind by her carriage, heading in the same direction as her. Some were with their families, some pushing wheelbarrows, and some walking on foot. Mothers carried children on their backs, sons supported their elderly mothers. From north to south, looking into the distance, two streams of people stretched endlessly like long dragons.
Xiao Qiao and Madam Zhu sat in the same carriage, with Chunniang holding Fei Fei beside them. The rest of the accompanying servants and maids sat in another carriage.
After leaving the city, Madam Zhu hadn’t said a word, her expression blank. Even Fei Fei seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere among the adults, and contrary to her usual coquettish behavior, she obediently allowed Chunniang to hold her, neither fussing nor making noise.
They traveled for two days on the road. On the third day, the carriage finally arrived in Fanyang. They were welcomed into the city by the Fanyang Magistrate and settled in. After putting Fei Fei to sleep on the bed, Xiao Qiao was lost in thought when suddenly a maidservant came running in urgently, saying that Madam Zhu had suddenly lost control of her emotions and they couldn’t calm her down, begging Xiao Qiao to come and see.
Xiao Qiao asked Chunniang to watch Fei Fei and hurried over. She saw Madam Zhu pacing back and forth in the room, muttering, “The ancestral tablets! The ancestral tablets! How could I have forgotten to bring your father-in-law’s and your elder brother-in-law’s ancestral tablets? It’s my fault! It’s my fault!”
Her mental state had not been good these past few days on the road, and now her face was pale, sweat rolling down her forehead, her lips trembling, looking extremely distressed.
As soon as she saw Xiao Qiao, she rushed over, tightly grasping her arm: “We didn’t bring out your father-in-law’s and elder brother-in-law’s ancestral tablets! What are we going to do?”
Her grip was so strong that it hurt Xiao Qiao’s arm.
Xiao Qiao broke free: “Grandmother said Yuyang will be fine! Mother-in-law should stay here and wait patiently. There will be good news soon!”
Madam Zhu stared at her and sneered, “Of course, you’re not worried! You married into our Wei family with no good intentions! If Yuyang falls, you’ve already escaped, what does it matter to you?”
Xiao Qiao looked at Madam Zhu and said, “Mother-in-law, I was just coming to tell you that I’m going back.”
Madam Zhu was stunned.
“Grandmother is elderly and her health is poor now. We can’t let her stay in Yuyang alone. But if I had insisted that day, Grandmother wouldn’t have allowed it, so I first brought Fei Fei here. Once you’re settled here, I’ll return today.”
Madam Zhu’s mouth opened slightly.
“Mother-in-law has had a tiring journey and hasn’t slept well. Now that you’re here, please rest well and don’t overthink things! Don’t worry, Father-in-law’s and Elder Brother-in-law’s ancestral tablets will be safe!”
Xiao Qiao instructed the maidservants to take good care of Madam Zhu.
She was only seventeen years old, her face still carrying traces of girlish youth.
However, at this moment, whether it was the tone of her voice or the determination in her eyes, she carried an undeniable force.
Not only the nearby maidservants but even Madam Zhu couldn’t utter a word of objection.
She just stared at Xiao Qiao’s retreating figure, her expression defeated and dejected.
……
The news Wei Yan brought was accurate.
Just two days later, 300,000 Xiongnu cavalry crossed the border river, heading straight for the three regions of Yunzhong, Baideng, and Upper Valley.
Although the defending generals had done their utmost, Wuwei was determined to succeed. He deployed all his elite forces, and the cavalry’s momentum was overwhelming, bringing terrifying destructive power. After several days of holding multiple points, most of the civilians in Yunzhong and Baideng had evacuated. Madam Xu decided to actively abandon Yunzhong and Baideng.
She concentrated all forces to defend the line of Upper Valley, which led directly to Yuyang.
Outside Upper Valley City, every twenty li, a defensive line was set up. Deep trenches were dug and sharp stakes were planted to obstruct the fierce advance of the Xiongnu cavalry, trying to turn the horse battle into close combat, which was more advantageous for the Wei family’s soldiers.
Three such defensive lines were set up.
Each line had to hold the Xiongnu for at least one day.
The Xiongnu seemed to have the intention of taking Yuyang, focusing on Upper Valley as their primary target for conquest from the start, launching a fierce offensive against this place.
As soon as the war began, Madam Xu left Yuyang and personally rushed to the border city to boost the morale of the valiant soldiers.
But due to her advanced age and the arduous journey, she fell ill on the way from Yunzhong to Baideng, and then to Upper Valley.
For three consecutive days, Madam Xu, despite her illness, insisted on going to the battlefield, personally beating the drums to encourage the soldiers defending the lines.
Under Madam Xu’s inspiration, the defending army repelled wave after wave of the Xiongnu’s frenzied attacks.
The defensive lines, originally planned to hold for three days, actually held for five full days.
It wasn’t until the sixth day that they finally retreated into the city walls.
That day, facing the Xiongnu’s siege, Madam Xu still personally went up to the city walls with the soldiers to beat the drums and boost morale.
But when coming down from the wall, Madam Xu finally collapsed.
She was already elderly, her health had been poor before, and she had been overly worried for days. Now that her physical strength was exhausted to the extreme, once she fell, her illness became very severe.
Lei Yan, who was in overall command of this defensive battle, wanted to conceal the news, but the information about Madam Xu’s collapse spread quickly among the defending troops.
The 300,000 Xiongnu cavalry, attacking day and night, with waves of assaults coming like tides, created a spectacle so grand it could be described as earth-shattering.
With the main force of the Marquis not yet returned, the current battle objective was to try to hold off the Xiongnu’s offensive and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
But with 300,000 Xiongnu besieging the city, the pressure was immense.
The reason the Wei family’s soldiers had persevered until now was entirely based on one belief.
Madam Xu was like their spiritual pillar. Her sudden collapse and absence today had somewhat affected the morale of the defending army.
Then, news came that the Xiongnu Left Xian Wang’s crown prince, Wuwei, had personally arrived at Upper Valley to oversee the battle, offering a reward of 10,000 taels of gold for the cavalry commander who could take Yuyang.
The Xiongnu were in high spirits and invincible. Outside the north gate of Upper Valley, wolf banners filled the field, blocking out the sky. During the lulls in the battle, the Wei family’s soldiers, with grave and tired expressions, could hear the orderly singing of the Xiongnu’s iron-clad warriors faintly carried by the wind into the city.
……
Madam Xu regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes. She seemed to hear the thunderous sounds of battle on the city walls and struggled to get up.
Mama Zhong stopped her.
“How is the battle going? I must go there personally! Don’t stop me!”
“The Lady has arrived!” Even the usually calm Mama Zhong couldn’t contain her excitement, her voice trembling slightly.
“Old Madam, please rest assured. The Lady has brought the old Marquis’s battle flag from years ago. She has already taken your place to boost the soldiers’ morale and encourage them to fight bravely!”
……
The Xiongnu had rested briefly and launched a new wave of attacks.
Since last night, the siege had not stopped.
The Xiongnu’s goal was to take Yuyang before Wei Shao could return with his troops.
Lei Yan’s eyes were bloodshot from killing, and he had lost count of how many times he had led these soldiers to repel the Xiongnu’s attacks.
Arrows fell like rain, and stones flew everywhere. At the foot of the city wall, bodies piled higher and higher. The Xiongnu’s howls seemed to be right next to their ears, and as the sky brightened, their blood-stained, excited faces became visible.
At this moment, on the high platform behind the city wall, the war drum that had fallen silent since yesterday suddenly began to beat again.
The drum sound was thunderous, like rolling thunder and surging clouds, echoing in everyone’s ears.
In this fierce thunderous sound that seemed to descend from the heavens, the Wei family’s soldiers turned their tired faces, stained with dust and blood, and were amazed to see that where Madam Xu had once stood, there was now another person.
The Lady had appeared!
She wore Madam Xu’s armor, taking her place to continue defending the city and Yuyang with them!
Beside her, a new black banner fluttered in the wind.
In the center of the banner was embroidered a golden tiger head, its fangs bared, as if displaying its might and striking fear into souls.
“Soldiers of the Wei family, listen! Forty years ago, your Marquis’s grandfather, carrying this tiger banner, reclaimed the occupied Hetao from the Chanyu’s hands, making the Xiongnu never dare to graze their horses southward again! Now the Xiongnu want to tarnish its glory, can you allow that? Reinforcements will arrive soon, and your Marquis will also return with his troops! He needs you to hold on! I swear to you in the name of the Wei family’s Lady that I will stand firm here and fight with you until the last moment when we drive back the Xiongnu!”
The Lady’s voice, accompanying the war drums, seemed to overpower the clamor below the city walls.
“We won’t allow it!”
“We won’t allow it!”
The soldiers, recovering from their shock, all shouted angrily, their roars shaking the heavens.