The twenty-first day of the seventh month. Clear skies.

Prince Wu Yang Jiju personally inspected the remaining provisions and supplies in the camp. His initial thought was that, if possible, he would have the soldiers eat well tonight.

After the inspection, he revised his expectations. Given their situation, the most he could offer was letting them eat their fill tonight.

Throughout this day, by standing orders, most of the soldiers in camp were to sleep, and those who couldn’t sleep were to lie down.

Prince Wu still hadn’t issued the formal command declaring tonight’s breakout, but when the generals suddenly ordered everyone to rest during the day, the men could more or less piece it together.

Even as soldiers of the Zuo Wu Wei, in circumstances like these, very few of them could lie down and actually fall asleep. Everyone was inevitably on edge — feeling anticipation and anxiety in equal measure.

The two most anxious were Zhao Chuanliu and Wu Suohai. One was to command the main body; the other was to hold the rear.

“Old Zhao.”

Wu Suohai offered his pipe to Zhao Chuanliu. Zhao Chuanliu shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Wu Suohai packed the tobacco, lit it, drew a deep breath, and exhaled heavily.

This was how Wu Suohai showed his nerves. Zhao Chuanliu, as his old companion of many years, could see it plainly.

“I…”

Wu Suohai opened his mouth, wanting to say he had never been this nervous before. But the words wouldn’t come out.

“Neither have I,” Zhao Chuanliu said.

Wu Suohai sucked hard at the pipe again. “I’m starting to hate myself right now. No ability. Can’t lead the charge.” He paused. “Do you know what it feels like to be left at the back by His Highness?”

Zhao Chuanliu sighed. “How are you and I any different?”

He leaned back and looked up at the white clouds moving across the sky. They seemed to be moving rather fast.

How much of the day was left before tonight’s breakout? The day was already half gone. How far away was night?

Yet this afternoon felt like an entire lifetime.

“We don’t even know if we’re the lucky ones or the unlucky ones,” Zhao Chuanliu said softly. “All these years serving under His Highness, you and I have always been among the least capable. By any accounting, we’ve both ranked near the bottom. And yet we’re the two who have lasted the longest.”

“That’s being lucky,” Wu Suohai said. “How could you call that unlucky?”

“But in the end, we’re the two left keeping company with His Highness, and neither of us has much to offer…”

Wu Suohai was quiet for a moment. “That we’re the last two at His Highness’s side — for us, that’s also luck.”

Zhao Chuanliu: “And for His Highness…”

Wu Suohai fell silent.

Over all these years, the stronger, more capable men had left one by one. The two of them had watched almost all of it happen.

“Whatever comes…”

Wu Suohai said, “Whether we’re dull or slow-witted — when His Highness has given us something to do, we’ve never once failed him. This time will be no different.”

He extended his hand. “Come on. Let’s pull ourselves together.”

Zhao Chuanliu reached out as well. They slapped hands.

Helping each other to their feet, they looked across to a clearing in the distance and saw Prince Wu sitting among the soldiers, telling stories. Every now and then, a burst of laughter rang out.

Prince Wu had seen that no one could sleep, so he had simply gone out to the clearing, sat down, and let the soldiers gather around him. He told them about the past. The soldiers — who had all been tense — relaxed as they listened to Prince Wu describe how he had beaten enemies in the old days, how those enemies had begged for mercy. They all laughed.

Zhao Chuanliu and Wu Suohai sat down to listen as well. The soldiers’ laughter was loud and full-throated — but the two of them wept.

What Prince Wu was telling them wasn’t stories. These were things they themselves had lived through. This was their own past. Their own honor.

“Since you’re all curious, I may as well tell you outright.”

Prince Wu stood and called out to his assembled men: “Tonight, we break out. My wife, leading the hundreds of thousands of soldiers sent by His Majesty, has already crossed the Panxing River. She is not far from us now.”

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone erupted.

The sound of that cheering shook the earth and the mountains.

Prince Wu had told a lie. Princess Wu’s forces had not yet crossed the Panxing River.

But the Zuo Wu Wei desperately needed a lift right now. This news was like a shot of pure adrenaline directly into their veins. The thought that hundreds of thousands of imperial reinforcements were nearly upon them — that freedom was close — that excitement would become fighting spirit.

“Tonight, we have two ways to fight,” Prince Wu declared, sweeping his gaze across the assembly. “First: we break out, and then we coordinate with my wife’s forces to strike the Ning army from both sides — aim for a decisive, overwhelming victory. Second: we break out, rendezvous with my wife’s forces first, and decide whether to fight only after consulting with her.”

He called out in a powerful voice: “What do you say — how should we fight?!”

The soldiers roared back: “Strike the Ning army from both sides! Total victory!”

Prince Wu laughed heartily. “In the past I would have agreed to that on the spot. But not this time — because this time, my wife is the one commanding the army. I’m in a hurry to see my wife. You all go ahead and fight — I’ll come help after I’ve had a chance to greet her.”

Another wave of laughter from the soldiers.

Prince Wu looked at them — every face bright with smiles — and inwardly let out a breath of relief.

As long as the spirit is there, the Zuo Wu Wei can still fight any force under heaven.

All that was left now was to wait for dark.

—

Half a day earlier, just as dawn was beginning to break, in the Chu army camp on the southern bank of the Panxing River.

Inside the main command tent, every general of the fourth rank and above had assembled. They looked at Princess Wu and waited for her orders.

“Tonight Prince Wu makes his breakout, and we are still a hundred li from Mangdang Mountain. Have you calculated how long it would take to march there without stopping?”

General Dou Yong replied: “For cavalry riding at full speed, the better part of a day. For infantry marching at double pace from now, they would arrive around nightfall.”

Princess Wu said: “So in order to be there to meet Prince Wu, we must launch our attack today. The Ning forces on the opposite bank are far outnumbered by us — they cannot afford to pull more troops here. So if we cannot push through, that only means we are incompetent.”

She looked at Dou Yong. “The main assault I entrust to General Dou.”

Dou Yong called out in a firm voice: “General, have no concern. If we cannot force-cross the Panxing River, you may take my head.”

Princess Wu nodded. “The Ning army will also be on alert for Prince Wu’s breakout tonight, so their best commanders are all at Mangdang Mountain. The Ning commander on the northern bank is named Shen Shanhu — she is the only female commander under the King of Ning’s banner. I will not underestimate her, but I will say this: you may take orders from me, a woman, and follow my command. But you must not lose to another woman.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The Chu army commanders answered as one.

Among them, the Liangzhou forces had never fought the Ning army before. The Yuezhou forces had, but the Yuezhou troops who had been at the capital were those of the bandit Zhai Li, not of Li Xionghu — and those five units of garrison troops had never fought the Ning army either, because they had spent all their time guarding the capital city.

But everyone’s thought was the same: we’ve long heard that every single one of the Ning army’s commanders is formidable. But men we might forgive — how could we possibly lose to a woman?

Princess Wu looked at a general of Liangzhou origin. “Xu Junji.”

A powerfully built man of around thirty stepped forward. “Here.”

“Take all the cavalry and leave the camp now,” Princess Wu instructed. “Circle around to the stone bridge upstream and cross there. The Ning forces will certainly have a presence there, but their numbers will be small. After you break through the bridge defense, circle back and strike the Ning army’s flank to support the main crossing force.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Xu Junji clasped his fists. “I’ll go at once.”

He took his orders and left with long strides.

“Guo Songde!”

“Here.”

Another general stepped forward.

“I’m giving you forty thousand troops. Circle around to the downstream crossing — the water there is calm, and I’ve already had people check it thoroughly. Crossing will not be a problem. The Ning forces guarding the Panxing River don’t have the numbers to post a meaningful garrison downstream. Cross the river there and then loop back to attack the Ning army’s other flank.”

Guo Songde received the orders immediately. “Understood.”

Princess Wu had not dared to attack earlier, out of fear that the Ning army would learn of Prince Wu’s planned breakout tonight. By launching her offensive now, the time it would take for the Ning army to receive warning from the Panxing River would be nearly a full day — by which point, her forces should already have crossed. If the Ning army then tried to split their forces in response, Prince Wu’s pressure would be significantly reduced as well.

“Is General Wei Qingyi present?”

“This subordinate is here.”

“General Wei — all archers are under your command. The moment General Dou’s forces land on the north bank, your archers must follow immediately and suppress the Ning forces.”

Wei Qingyi came forward and received the order. “Understood.”

Princess Wu addressed the full assembly. “I will personally command the main body. After General Dou secures the crossing, the entire army must be across the Panxing River within half a day. Anyone who delays will be executed on the spot.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Everyone clasped their fists and received their orders.

Princess Wu drew a deep breath and looked down at the armor on her body. Prince Wu had given her this set of armor. At the time, she had laughed and said to him: with you here, why would I ever need to wear armor?

She had never imagined that one day she would be wearing the armor her husband gave her — to go and rescue him.

“This battle requires everyone to stand united and press forward with full courage. Let me add one more thing: as you all know, I have many business interests under my name. I have accumulated a considerable fortune. If today’s battle succeeds in rescuing Prince Wu — I will divide my entire fortune equally among the soldiers.”

Princess Wu seized her blade and strode forward. “My word is my bond. I will not fail you. I ask that you not fail me.”

—

Northern bank of the Panxing River.

Grand General Shen Shanhu raised her telescope and looked toward the south, a slight frown forming on her brow.

“Something’s off.”

She gave the order immediately: “Send word to Mangdang Mountain to His Lordship and the Grand General at once. The Chu forces on the southern bank are already moving. We don’t know how Princess Wu learned that Prince Wu is breaking out tonight — but her army will certainly attack today.”

Her messenger mounted immediately and charged northward.

“Pass down the order — yield the Panxing River!”

Shen Shanhu spoke: “All forces, withdraw fifty li.”

Her generals were baffled. Weren’t they supposed to hold the Panxing River at all costs? Why were they suddenly pulling back fifty li?

Pulling back like this meant handing the Panxing River completely to the Chu army. How were they supposed to fight now?

—