Zheng Wenchang, walking in front, noticeably stumbled before pushing past the still-anxious soldiers on either side of the city wall stairs and rushing up to the top of the wall even faster.
Fan Changyu was a step behind. When she reached the top of the wall and saw the kneeling, weeping soldiers and civilians wiping away tears, whether from overwhelming grief or fatigue from just coming off the battlefield, for a moment she felt the world spinning and her head heavy. A sense of desolation and uncertainty welled up within her.
Although she had imagined the scene if Lucheng fell on the way here, seeing this elder die standing with his sword on the battlefield with her own eyes, the surge of grief in that instant was truly like a tidal wave, gripping her so tightly she could hardly breathe.
“My Lord?”
Zheng Wenchang’s throat tightened as he struggled to call out to the now-rigid elder. The eight-foot-tall man’s eyes were bloodshot, and after that one utterance, he was already choking with sobs.
After helping to close the eyes of the deceased elder, which had remained angrily open even in death, he knelt and kowtowed heavily to the elder, banging his head until it split open, tears and mucus flowing as he repeated only one phrase: “This student came too late, I came back too late…”
A nearby vice general, seeing this, reddened his eyes with sympathy and supported Zheng Wenchang, saying, “Wenchang, don’t be like this. The Lord had not yet recovered from his serious injuries and was already ill from overwork. When he heard the rebels had suddenly attacked Lucheng, he ignored his illness and rushed here on horseback. With his last ounce of strength, he held out until you arrived to support Lucheng. Surely the Lord would be comforted by this. Now, with the great enemy before us, don’t waste your strength. Driving back the rebels is what the Lord would want to see!”
Zheng Wenchang raised his blood-filled eyes to look at the vast rebel army below the city wall, muttering, “Yes, the rebels. They must die!”
The joints of his clenched fists cracked audibly as he stood up and immediately ordered, “All soldiers, hear my command! Follow me out of the city to meet the enemy in battle. Cut off Sui Yuanhuai’s head to avenge our Lord!”
The vice general hurriedly advised, “Wenchang, don’t be rash! There are now twenty thousand rebel troops surrounding the city. Rushing out to meet them in battle would be like eggs smashing against rocks!”
The cavalry Fan Changyu and her group had brought back numbered only three thousand, and after the fierce battle to enter the city, only two thousand remained.
Two thousand against twenty thousand – they might be able to defend the city, but opening the gates to meet the enemy in battle would be suicide.
The veins on the back of Zheng Wenchang’s hand bulged as he stared at the war chariot drawn by eight horses at the center of the army below, protected by countless soldiers. His back teeth clenched tightly: “I’ll go out of the city alone to take Sui Yuanhuai’s head!”
With these words, he picked up his long spear and was about to head down from the city wall. He was like a maddened bull; even when the vice general reached out to pull him back, he couldn’t stop him.
As he passed by Fan Changyu, the previously silent woman suddenly acted. Her hand moved like lightning, delivering a heavy chop to the back of Zheng Wenchang’s neck. His vision went black, and he collapsed.
“Wenchang!”
The vice general hurriedly supported Zheng Wenchang. Though initially worried, upon seeing that he had only fainted, he quickly understood Fan Changyu’s good intentions. There was only one female general in the entire Northwest military, so the vice general easily guessed her identity. He gratefully said, “Thank you, Commander Fan, for your help!”
Fan Changyu said, “Take General Zheng down and let him rest for a while.”
The vice general beckoned some soldiers to carry Zheng Wenchang down, then called for a stretcher to carefully place He Jingyuan’s body on it.
After the elder’s eyes were closed, his face remained stern, but there was a sense of peace in his brow.
As the soldiers carried He Jingyuan’s body away, Fan Changyu quietly gazed at the deceased elder for a moment and softly called out, “Uncle.”
Then she promised, “I will defend Lucheng and not let the rebels set foot on an inch of Jizhou soil.”
The first phrase was spoken as the daughter of an old friend to this elder of high integrity, while the latter was a promise made as a subordinate.
The vice general, watching this, felt quite moved and said, “Commander Fan, please accept my condolences as well.”
He Jingyuan’s body had been carried away by the soldiers. Fan Changyu nodded silently and was about to turn back to observe the situation below the city wall when a scout who had been watching the rebels’ movements ran over to report to the vice general: “General, the rebels are preparing to attack the city again!”
Hearing this, the vice general was shocked and hurriedly walked to the wall to look down.
He saw that the rebels below had reorganized their formation, which had been scattered by Fan Changyu’s cavalry charge. Once again, they were advancing towards the city wall with a shield formation and archers in the lead, protecting the rebels carrying scaling ladders.
The vice general, flustered, issued orders: “Archers, quickly! Fill all the embrasures, two men to a group, taking turns!”
Turning to Fan Changyu, he asked, “Commander Fan, how many skilled archers are there among the cavalry? First, send people to fill the embrasures on the city wall!”
Fan Changyu quickly instructed Xie Wu: “Call all the archers who can still fight to the top of the city wall.”
Those who could become cavalry were usually the elite among ordinary soldiers. Drawing a long bow required considerable arm strength, so soldiers skilled in both riding and archery were even rarer in the army.
Of the three thousand cavalry Fan Changyu had brought back, there were originally five hundred archers. After entering the city and suffering casualties, only about three hundred remained who could fight. Xie Wu brought them all up to fill the embrasures on the walls of Lucheng.
The civilians who were originally on the city wall helping to defend the city voluntarily went down to the inner city to help transport weapons, stones, and logs.
Fan Changyu had fought in several siege battles before, but this was her first time defending a city.
Unlike attacking a city, where one could charge forward with valor, looking down from the city wall at the rebels surging up like a tidal wave to attack the city had a much greater visual impact. The formation of troops below could be seen clearly for miles, greatly increasing the psychological pressure and easily causing people to lose heart.
The vice general was experienced. As the rebels’ archer and shield formations approached within range, he shouted to boost the soldiers’ morale: “The rebels’ first wave of attacks was repelled by less than a thousand men on our walls. Now we have several thousand elite soldiers coming to our aid. We must drive the rebels back even with our eyes closed!”
As soon as the rebels’ archer and shield formations came within range, he shouted, “Release arrows!”
Instantly, arrows flew from the city wall like shooting stars. At each embrasure on the wall stood two archers. While one was shooting, the other was nocking an arrow and drawing the bow. When the first archer retreated, the one behind immediately stepped up to shoot, ensuring a constant stream of arrows from the city wall.
Fan Changyu followed the vice general to look down from the embrasures and saw that although soldiers in the rebel army were constantly falling, there were so many of them that as those in front died, those behind stepped over the corpses and continued to charge forward.
Relying on these human wave tactics, they eventually managed to set up scaling ladders against the city wall once again.
Having experienced the previous defense, the defenders on the city wall reacted quickly this time. In addition to the archers shooting arrows, other soldiers and civilians began throwing stones and logs, pouring barrels of oil down, and then tossing down torches. The scaling ladders and the rebel soldiers climbing them were engulfed in flames. The soldiers screamed as they tried to put out the fires on their bodies, but with their clothes soaked in oil, they ultimately became human torches, falling from the ladders.
When Fan Changyu first went to the battlefield, she would feel nauseated at the sight of corpses and want to vomit. Now, witnessing this scene of human hell firsthand, she still felt sick but no longer felt the urge to throw up.
She could even analyze the battle situation with the vice general: “General He, I see we’re running low on oil. Should we use it more sparingly? Some ladders can be destroyed with stones and logs, so let’s use those instead.”
The military supplies in Lucheng had been transported to Chongzhou along with the city’s garrison after the initial siege of Lucheng was lifted.
After all, at that time, no one had imagined that the rebels, already trapped like cornered beasts, could still escape under the siege of tens of thousands of troops and counterattack Lucheng.
Vice General He sighed and said, “I initially had the same thought as Commander Fan, but Lord He said we can’t let the rebels know we’re short on supplies. If we repel their attacks several times, even with human wave tactics, they’ll tire out. If we let them know we’re running low on supplies, they’ll only become more eager to attack the city.”
Hearing this, Fan Changyu fell silent.
Vice General He’s words made sense. In this siege, they were the weaker side. With insufficient troops, if their supplies ran out, the rebels’ morale would surely soar, and taking Lucheng would become as easy as turning over one’s hand.
In this round of the rebels’ assault, Lucheng managed to hold out once again thanks to the two thousand cavalry who had entered the city and the help of the civilians.
Watching the rebels retreat like defeated dogs at the sound of the gong, the soldiers and civilians on the city wall rejoiced.
However, after the quartermaster checked the remaining military supplies on the city wall, he came to Vice General He with a grave face and said, “General, we’re running out of arrows, and there are only a few barrels of oil left.”
Vice General He glanced at the rebels below the city wall, who seemed to be reorganizing their formation again, and asked Fan Changyu, “Commander Fan, how long before General Tang’s army arrives?”
Fan Changyu said, “Lucheng is over a hundred li from Chongzhou. Even if General Tang’s troops travel light and march at full speed, we still need to hold out for at least two more hours.”
Vice General He looked back at the smoke-filled battlefield below the city and said, “Then we’ll hold for two more hours.”
Xie Wu, standing behind Fan Changyu, showed a strange expression but said nothing.
On the entire city wall, only the lowest-ranking soldiers were cheering for this brief victory. The officers above seemed to know that they were running out of arrows, oil, stones, and logs and that Lucheng couldn’t be held.
Everyone’s face was heavy with the weight of the situation, but no one said much. They all continued to do their duties methodically.
Rather than preparing for the next round of defense, it was more like welcoming a heroic death.
At such a time, even grief seemed superfluous.
Fan Changyu looked at the faces, some heavy with worry, others beaming with bright smiles. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said to Vice General He, “This subordinate has an idea that might allow Lucheng to hold out a bit longer.”
Vice General He quickly asked, “What idea?”
Fan Changyu said, “This subordinate will lead a dozen men out of the city to challenge the enemy, engaging their leaders in single combat. During this time, Vice General He can seal the city gates.”
Hearing that she was proposing to sacrifice her life to buy a few more moments, Vice General He hurriedly said, “Impossible!”
Fan Changyu said, “This is the only way this subordinate can think of to buy time.”
She looked at Vice General He and continued, “The rebels fled here overnight, so their supplies must be running low as well. Once they enter the city, it’s the civilians who will suffer. Lord He gave his life to defend Lucheng; how can we let it fall because we value our own lives? The city still needs Vice General He to manage the overall situation, so this subordinate requests to fight.”
Vice General He’s face showed his difficulty.
Xie Wu urgently said, “If the Commander insists on going out to fight, this subordinate is willing to go in your place.”
For the first time, Fan Changyu spoke harshly to Xie Wu: “You’re not qualified.”
Vice General He said with difficulty, “Commander Fan…”
Fan Changyu’s lips tightened slightly as she saluted and said, “Vice General He, this subordinate is Meng Changyu, a descendant of General Meng Shuyuan of Changshan. Deceiving the emperor is already a great crime. This subordinate cannot investigate the truth of the Jinzhou incident in this lifetime to clear my ancestor’s name, but doing something good for the common people can be considered as continuing the Meng family’s good name. I hope Vice General He will grant this request!”
Vice General He was greatly shaken. After a struggle, he finally closed his eyes tightly and said, “Granted.”
Fan Changyu gratefully said, “Thank you, General.”
With these words, she headed down from the city wall.
Xie Wu hurriedly followed, saying, “This subordinate will go out with the Commander to challenge the enemy.”
Fan Changyu stopped in a less crowded area and spoke with unexpected calmness: “Xiao Wu, thank you for your support during these days in the army. I know you and Xiao Qi stayed by my side because of his wishes. But he’s about to marry a princess now, and if I keep you two around, I won’t be able to face myself.”
Xie Wu had been by Fan Changyu’s side all along and didn’t know about the emperor sending an envoy to arrange the marriage. Hearing this suddenly, he found it strange and was also anxious about what Fan Changyu was about to do. He urgently said, “Commander, there must be some misunderstanding. Who told you that the master is going to marry a princess?”
Fan Changyu didn’t answer, only saying, “I don’t blame him. The Jinzhou tragedy shocked the world; no one could forgive it. I’ve always felt that my father and grandfather were innocent, but that’s just my own belief. If I die in Lucheng today, consider it atonement for them. I have only one more thing to ask of you, Brother Xiao Wu. If I’m gone and Lucheng is held, avoid the eyes and ears of the palace and Wei Yan, and find a good family to adopt Ning Niang.”
She paused for a long while before saying, “She’s all I can’t let go of now.”
There was another person she couldn’t let go of in her heart, but that fate had long since ended in this life.
Xie Wu’s eyes reddened: “Commander…”
Fan Changyu bowed to him: “I’m counting on you.”
Before Xie Wu could say anything more, Fan Changyu had already turned and walked towards the troops gathered at the bottom of the barbican.
The dozen or so men were all locals from Jizhou, their faces showing a solemn readiness to die.
Fan Changyu’s gaze swept across their faces one by one as she said, “We’re going out of the city. If we can hold out for one more moment until reinforcements arrive, then our comrades and fellow citizens inside the city won’t have to die. We might be remembered by future generations, and our families will receive compensation from the court, ensuring they won’t worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.”
“If we can’t hold out and the city falls, we’ll just be one of the countless skeletons under the yellow sand. Our wives, children, and elders at home might be displaced by the war, or they might die at the hands of the rebels.”
Having said this, she mounted her horse and shouted with spirited authority to the soldiers guarding the city gate: “Open the gates!”
The heavy city gates slowly opened with a creaking sound like cartwheels turning. As Fan Changyu rode out of the city with her sword drawn, the mass of rebel soldiers in the distance was visibly stunned.
Sixteen elite soldiers followed her out, forming a goose formation behind her, like wings sprouting from her back.
The sun had only a last trace of red left, and the Jizhou flag on the city wall fluttered in the wind. In this deathly silent battlefield, Fan Changyu’s voice tore through the long wind, reaching everyone’s ears: “Meng Changyu, a descendant of Meng Shuyuan, is here. Does any rebel general dare to come out and fight?”