When the new day arrived, it was a bright, clear day.

Galloping on horseback across the wilderness, the winter sun shining on them felt almost warm.

The person in the lead unwrapped the scarf covering his head and face, gently stroked his goatee, and squinted at the path ahead.

“Sir,” the attendant beside him said in a low voice, “better to be cautious and not expose your identity.”

The goateed man’s expression showed some displeasure as he looked at the attendant: “How would I expose my identity? Am I any different from the people here?”

The attendant hurried to placate him with a fawning smile: “I’m not saying you look different from Great Xia people. I mean that since it’s wartime after all, your manner is too leisurely.”

The goateed man smiled faintly: “Although I’m from Great Liang, although it’s wartime, walking within Great Xia’s borders I can still be leisurely and at ease. Unlike Great Xia people, who at this moment are already startled birds, anxious and uneasy—”

As his words fell, he saw ox carts approaching across the wilderness. Three oxen pulled three carts, each cart carrying three or four people—elderly men with white beards, handsome young men, and pretty young women.

Accompanying them were melodious music and women’s singing.

These people riding ox carts weren’t fleeing as refugees with their families, but rather playing instruments and singing.

The goateed man froze, stroking his beard as he stared.

“What are you doing?” he couldn’t help asking.

The music and singing didn’t stop. Among them, an elder responsible for recitation looked at him and said with a smile: “After days of overcast skies and cold wind, today we finally welcome the winter sun’s warmth. Naturally we should celebrate with an outing in the wilderness.”

What nonsense was a celebratory wilderness outing? And what was this about winter sun’s warmth? The goateed man was even more bewildered.

That elder laughed heartily: “Sir, don’t be offended. This is just us scholars playing with our pedantic ways.”

At his self-deprecating words, the others showed no displeasure and joined in the laughter.

“Wangshan Sir, you’re the most pedantic of all. Just now you were reciting your own poetry again while falsely attributing it to the ancients.”

“Come, come, listen to my tuneless playing.”

The people on the ox carts made merry.

The goateed man only felt his ears buzzing, with hidden irritation rising. Were they mocking him as a barbarian?

He raised his voice to interrupt them: “Naturally I understand all this you speak of. I often engage in such amusements myself.”

The people on the ox carts looked at him, neither denying nor questioning this point, but simply nodded with smiles.

Their smiles made the goateed man even more uncomfortable.

“But now, Great—no, Xi Liang has already gone to war with Great Xia,” the goateed man stammered, then said in a heavy voice, “The war situation is tense, the circumstances critical. How can you still have the mood for wilderness outings? Shouldn’t you be hiding in the city at home?”

As his words fell, the men on the ox carts laughed, and even the three women among them showed no fear.

“Sir, the war is happening at the border commandery. There’s no need for everyone to be terrified,” the elder said with a smile. “Moreover, Yunzhong Commandery has General Chu Ling. When the general guards a pass, ten thousand cannot break through. What’s there to panic about from small Xi Liang?”

Having said this, his hand fell to stroke the zither. The ancient instrument rang out sharply as a battle-breaking melody rose, cold and clear.

Following his zither music, flute sounds and singing arose in harmony. The ox carts slowly passed by the goateed man’s group and continued into the wilderness.

The goateed man sat on his horse in place, watching, his face covered with dark clouds.

“With Chu Ling, one man guards the pass and ten thousand cannot break through,” he said slowly, his eyes filled with deep hatred. “Over a decade has passed, Chu Ling is about to die, yet these people still trust him so much.”

The attendant said in a low voice beside him: “Although over a decade has passed, General Chu Ling’s military achievements are too deeply rooted in people’s hearts.”

“Those achievements were all forged with our flesh and blood,” the goateed man said through gritted teeth.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand these common people’s trust in Chu Ling. Even in Great Liang now, hearing Chu Ling’s name—or even without mentioning his name, just the three words “General Chu”—could make many people’s hearts fill with fear.

He even suspected that the Great Xia Emperor deliberately didn’t grant Chu Ling higher rank and noble title, purposely keeping him with the title of General Chu, because this title was a nightmare for Great Liang people.

Although the Great King had been preparing for war for many years, if not for Prince Zhongshan sending a private letter saying Chu Ling was about to die, he wouldn’t dare do battle with Chu Ling at this time.

Add to that the fact that emperor had also died, and now the one sitting as emperor was a six-year-old child—this was the Great Liang King’s best opportunity, his only opportunity. The messenger from Prince Zhongshan had said with a smile that seemed like selling out the country to invite the wolf in, but also seemed like a threat:

Once Chu Ling dies and the emperor’s throne changes hands again, won’t the Great Liang King lose even the chance to do battle with Great Xia?

The goateed man twisted his beard and squinted. The ox cart with the wilderness-outing scholars had already disappeared from his line of sight, but their laughter and singing still echoed in his ears.

“Times are different now from the past,” he said. “We should give everyone a reminder.”

The attendant guessed his thoughts and hesitated slightly: “Prince Zhongshan letting us in was a secret matter. If we make a move here, won’t it expose him?”

The goateed man smiled: “No need to worry. Since Prince Zhongshan dared to let us in, he has ways to avoid exposing himself.” Then he looked toward the wilderness where the outing scholars could no longer be seen, his smile turning fierce as he raised his hand and waved.

He didn’t understand the elegance of scholars going on wilderness outings to play music and sing because the sun came out, but there was one elegant matter he did know: dying beneath peony flowers, even as a ghost one is romantic.

……

……

Blazing flames burned across the wilderness. Standing on the city wall, one could see many common people fleeing.

“Quickly, quickly!” The county magistrate stood on the city wall, stamping his feet anxiously.

Faster, faster—run into the city before the bandits arrive.

But stamping feet couldn’t shrink the distance. Soon, behind these running people, a mounted group appeared in swift pursuit. They wore no armor, held crossbows in their hands, carried long swords on their backs, had scarves wrapped around their heads and faces, and made strange howling cries like wild wolves.

Seeing this scene, people on the city wall cried out in alarm: “They’re coming!”

The common people who had already run close to the city gate immediately surged toward the city even more frantically, while overhead came shouts of “Quickly close the city gate!”

The county magistrate, who had been chilled to the bone, snapped to his senses when he heard these shouts.

“We cannot close the city gate!” he shouted. “There are still several hundred people outside.”

The subordinate officials naturally knew this, and moreover saw the galloping bandits drawing their bows to shoot arrows, with fleeing people constantly falling dead.

“Sir,” they said mournfully, “if we don’t close the city gate, if the Xi Liang bandits charge into the city, our ten thousand people will all be unable to escape death.”

The county magistrate turned to look at the city interior. What had been a prosperous, bustling main street had descended into chaos. Countless people were running and wailing, doors and windows were closing, but if the bandits truly killed their way in, how could those doors and windows possibly stop swords, spears, and fire—

“The beacon fire, has the beacon fire been lit?” the county magistrate asked.

The officials nodded, but their expressions remained grief-stricken: “Sir, all of Yunzhong Commandery’s military defenses are at the border and cannot provide support. The garrisons in other commanderies to the rear are too far away, and moreover we’ve heard the court has ordered that garrisons everywhere must not act without authorization to come to Yunzhong Commandery—”

They had once celebrated being far from the border. Who could have imagined there would be a day when calling to heaven brought no response and calling to earth brought no answer?

They couldn’t worry about those people anymore. They had to close the city gate. The city was their only refuge now.

The county magistrate naturally understood this principle as well. He looked ahead. Those bandits were getting closer and closer to the people. The foremost bandit had already put away his bow and arrows, taken down his large sword, and was laughing wildly as he looked at the fleeing people—

The people had nowhere to go. The city gate ahead was their only path to survival.

The county magistrate turned to look at those on the city wall and shouted: “How many constables do we have?”

The officials were startled: “Sir, what are you planning to do?”

The county magistrate said: “This official cannot watch the people die before my eyes. This official will go kill the enemy and block them, so everyone can enter the city.”

He looked again at the constables.

“You and I all receive the sovereign’s salary and are supported by the common people. Today, are you willing to join this official in rescuing the people, rescuing our own families, and our city?”

The constables raised the swords and spears in their hands: “We are willing!”

“Sir!” The officials grabbed the county magistrate and knelt down, their voices choked with emotion. “You cannot go—this is going to your death!”

The county magistrate looked toward the wilderness outside the city, at more and more people about to be caught and cut down, the people crying out in despair.

“Even unto death, without regret,” he said. He shook off the officials and strode toward the city gate below.

Behind him, over thirty constables followed closely.

“Once all the people have entered the city, close the city gate.”

The county magistrate threw back one last sentence.

“Don’t concern yourselves with our lives or deaths.”

The officials on the city wall knelt down, their heads to the ground, sobbing.

……

……

In the winter of the fifth year of Yongning, Gao County in Shangjun was raided by Xi Liang infiltrators who burned, killed, and plundered. The county magistrate led thirty constables and died fighting.

Outside Yunzhong Commandery, beacon fires also rose on all sides.