Before the pass-fortress of Jiange lay a narrow, sloping road, flanked on both sides by mountain ravines. Beyond the slope, the road leading into the southwest was hardly wide at all, and further on there was even a narrow plank walkway carved directly into the cliff face.

When the Jin army had withdrawn along this route, they had already destroyed the plank walkway — but by noon on the sixteenth of the fourth month, the banner of the lone star on black had already passed through that once-broken stretch of road, appearing on the slope below Jiange. The engineering corps of the Huaxia Army, skilled in earthworks and construction, possessed a set of precise and efficient standard equipment; for a mountain walkway that had not been thoroughly destroyed, they needed less than half a day to complete repairs.

The arriving Huaxia Army units gathered just beyond the range of the enemy’s cannon; since the road was narrow, the forces visible at any one time did not appear numerous. On the slope and mountain paths before the pass-fortress of Jiange, the hillsides and valleys were piled everywhere with supplies the Jin troops had been unable to carry away — smashed carts, wooden frames, felled trees, damaged blades and spears, even iron caltrops and wooden spikes meant as traps, blocking the road ahead like a small mountain of debris.

Jin soldiers watched from the walls ahead; hot-air balloons, tethered by rope, drifted in the sky above both ends of the pass-fortress, keeping watch over the Huaxia Army’s movements. The weather was clear, yet everyone could sense a pale, tense atmosphere gathering in the air.

“Heaven favors us.” Qu Zhengyan arrived at the front line first, and gave the order at once. “Burn all of this for me.”

Arrows were set alight and fired into the great mass of supplies piled along the hillside and roadway. Moments later, flames began to catch; before long, startling explosions followed — barrels of explosives buried beneath the supplies had ignited.

The great fire blazed, columns of black smoke rising into the sky, some of it drifting toward the pass-fortress itself. The Huaxia Army’s ranks, several thousand strong, stretched more than two li through the mountains, occupying nearly every space that could hold a man. Following orders, the engineering corps built wooden planking, and crates holding rocket shells and their launching racks were carried forward, positions chosen with care. Qu Zhengyan summoned the scout units, sending them to search and patrol the rugged terrain all around.

“If you find any sign of Jin troops lying in wait, avoid startling them if at all possible.”

The pass-fortress of Jiange had already been sealed off, the mountain roads ahead all blocked, the plank walkway destroyed as well; the Jin troops still remaining in the mountains of the southwest, if unable to crush the advancing Huaxia Army, would lose forever any chance of returning north. But based on past observation and judgment of Balishu, this Jurchen commander was highly skilled at springing sudden, unconventional strikes amid long stretches of monotonous, relentless assault — the fall of Huangming County’s defenses the year before had come about for precisely this reason.

Two exhausting months of unbroken assault had placed tremendous pressure on the Second Division, breeding a kind of fixed, predictable thinking — and it was only then that a single stratagem, baiting them with sufficient temptation, had shattered Huangming County’s defenses, momentarily overshadowing the Huaxia Army’s victory at Yushui Creek. Now, with several thousand men bottled up in the mountain road outside Jiange, Qu Zhengyan had no intention of giving such an “impossibility” any chance to occur again.

The task of guarding against a small elite enemy force striking from the flanking mountains was assigned to Qiu Yunsheng, commander of the First Regiment, Second Brigade, Fourth Division. The task of leading the first wave of the assault on Jiange was given to Mao Yishan.

Before them, the fire still blazed fiercely. The men climbed the nearby cliff face using ropes. Qu Zhengyan led Mao Yishan forward to look out over the burning field ahead.

“Jiange is called the most perilous pass under heaven — beyond this fortress wall lies the main peak itself, and breaking through the wall is only the beginning. In ancient times, even with ten times the enemy’s numbers, no one ever gained the upper hand here — no one has ever taken advantage here. Today the two sides’ strength is probably about even, but we have the rocket shells now. We emptied our entire stockpile and even scraped together a few unused shells from other units — seventy-one shells in total. Once those seventy-one are spent, we are going to kill Balishu…”

As the men on the ridge looked toward the walls of Jiange, the armored Jurchen commander, a white sash wrapped about him, was gazing back from the other side as well, the two sides regarding one another across the fire and smoke. On one side stood a Jurchen veteran who had campaigned across the realm for decades, who, since the death of his elder brother, had carried himself with the desperate resolve of a man with nothing left to lose — a spirit that had greatly bolstered the morale of the soldiers under him. On the other stood the vigorous, unbending Black Banner iron army. Qu Zhengyan and Mao Yishan fixed their eyes on the commander across the flames — over a decade ago, a Jurchen commander of this rank had been a legend across the entire realm; today, they stood on equal footing, weighing how best to bring him down head-on.

“The fortress wall of Jiange isn’t the greatest trouble — the fire ahead hasn’t finished burning yet. Once it’s mostly burned down, we’ll begin blasting the gate tower. The structure up there is wood, it’ll catch easily, and the flames will be fierce. Push forward while it burns — I’ll have men set charges at the gate itself, though it’s likely already blocked from the inside… In any case, the problem of reaching the base of the wall can be solved. The real question, once the fire on the wall dies down enough for you to climb, is whether you can hold your ground in front of Balishu himself — that will decide this battle.”

Mao Yishan looked toward the fortress, then said, “If we want the advantage, we need to scale the wall while it’s still burning.”

Part of the explosive charge in the rocket shells was picric acid, capable of setting a raging fire atop the wall — one fierce enough that no one could set foot there for some time. But as the flames weakened, whoever entered the burning ground first would gain the advantage. Qu Zhengyan nodded. “It won’t be easy. I’ve already had men fetch water — before the assault, everyone should soak their clothes through.”

“Just making it up onto the wall directly would already be good enough.”

Mao Yishan stood there, breaking into a broad grin. More than a decade had passed since Xia Village, and his smile still carried the same simple, honest quality — but within that simplicity now lay a tremendous strength, strength enough to stand face to face with Balishu himself.

After discussing a few more details, Mao Yishan went down to draw lots deciding the members of the first assault team, joining the drawing himself. Personnel began moving into position; wooden planks prepared by the engineering corps were already being carried forward, and the I-beam frames for launching the rocket shells were being set up.

Within the Jianmen Pass, Balishu was likewise deploying his men, waiting for the Huaxia Army’s first wave of attack to arrive.

As evening approached, the scouts sent into the surrounding mountains had still found no trace of enemy activity, though given the rugged terrain, confirming this with certainty was no easy matter. Qu Zhengyan took no chances, and had Qiu Yunsheng maintain the defensive perimeter as thoroughly as possible.

The sunset burned across the horizon, and then darkness swallowed the skyline. Before the Jianmen Pass, the fire still burned; atop the pass itself, all was silent. The soldiers of the Huaxia Army sat resting against the cliffside along the road, only now and then the sound of a whetstone honing a blade drifting through the quiet, or someone murmuring in low tones about their children back home, or some small trivial worry.

“Once the war’s over, they’ll be all grown up by then…”

“My boy just turned five this year…”

“I’ve seen him — sturdy little thing, doesn’t take after you at all…”

“That’s because I got my face busted up, and went hungry as a kid too…”

“I want a meat pie from the Chen family shop back in Heden…”

“I’m gonna cut off Balishu’s head and kick it around like a ball…”

“Ha ha…”

The flames burned on through the night wind, letting out a low, mournful sound. In the deep hours before dawn, several dozen figures deep within the mountains began to move, advancing silently toward the valley where the faint firelight still glowed. These were the raiders Balishu had chosen to remain behind in this hopeless position — most of them Jurchens, whose family fortunes were already bound entirely to the fate of the great Jin state. However hopeless their situation, they had no choice but to make one last, desperate strike against the Huaxia Army from this place of no return.

The open flames gradually died down, though embers still smoldered among the hills. In the early hours of the seventeenth of the fourth month, close to the hour of the Ox, Qu Zhengyan stood at the mouth of the pass and gave the order to the technicians responsible for the launch.

Two rocket shells tore across the night sky, and everyone watched the fiery trail they left behind. Several li away from Jianmen Pass, amid the rugged mountains, the Jurchen raiders climbing over a dangerous peak caught sight of that distant burst of flame blooming in the night.

For an instant, the whole formidable fortress was lit by those two blossoms of fire.

Not long after, two more bright trailing flares followed, then two more… Atop the gate tower of Jianmen Pass, the flames spread, becoming a wild, dancing torch against the night sky.

“Put out the fire.”

Behind the gate tower, Balishu, already prepared for this, calmly gave the order, having water carts that had been readied in advance pushed toward the walls. In flames like these, the wooden gate tower was doomed regardless — but every additional shell the enemy expended in the process was one more small advantage recovered for his own side.

As soldiers pushed the water carts and carried buckets forward, two more rocket shells screamed over the top of the gate tower — one landing harmlessly in an empty corner, the other exploding on the road, flinging two or three soldiers into the air. Balishu remained composed, calmly ordering the wounded be tended to. “The Black Banner Army is running low on ammunition — there’s no need to worry! Victory will surely be ours!”

The great torch burned on through the night. By the time dawn approached, no Jin troops remained before the gate tower, and only then did the fire finally begin to show signs of dying down. Mao Yishan’s regiment had already risen; the thirty men assigned to the first wave of the charge drank warming millet wine, threw on soaked outer garments, and passed by Mao Yishan on their way forward.

“Your task is to reach the wall safely, lay planking over any difficult ground, and confirm there are no traps. The main assault will follow immediately behind you.”

“Commander, I’ll be the first one up this time — don’t be too jealous.”

Someone said this, and the others laughed. Qu Zhengyan came over as well, clasping each man’s shoulder in turn.

“Everyone ready?”

——

“—Move out.”

The mountain wind swept through the forested peaks, howling and roaring across this ravaged stretch of land. In the darkness, the soldiers carrying wooden planks trod through the ashes, charging toward the gate tower still burning ahead. Faint firelight still lingered along the mountain road, but their figures could be seen advancing steadily along its length.

At the first quarter of the hour of the Rabbit, the sound of a landmine explosion came from the defensive zone Qiu Yunsheng had set up in the rear — the elite Jurchen force attempting a flanking raid had fallen into the encirclement. At the second quarter of the hour of the Rabbit, as the first pale light of dawn broke over the horizon, Mao Yishan, leading more soldiers, had already advanced toward the wall; scaling ladders had already been raised against the gate tower, still wreathed in flame and smoke, and the soldiers in the lead scrambled swiftly up the ladders. Hysterical shouts rose from atop the wall as well, where Jurchen soldiers, driven up likewise, hoisted rolling logs and hurled them down from the scorching-hot wall.

The leading Huaxia Army soldier was struck by a rolling log and fell. In the darkness someone shouted, “Charge—” and on the other ladder, the soldiers, facing the flames head-on, quickened their climb!

Mao Yishan raised his hand, and the bugler sounded the charge; more men carried scaling ladders across the slope. Qu Zhengyan directed the rocket shell crews: “Fire—” The shells tore across the sky, sailed over the gate tower, and fell behind it, unleashing a startling explosion. Balishu swung his spear. “Follow me—”

Mao Yishan charged across the long slope thick with swirling ash, scaling the ladder without pause. Before long, he and his men would meet Balishu himself amid those flames.

This was a collision of steel against steel, of iron shield against heavy hammer, and still the fire burned on. Men who charged forward through confusion and desperate cries, warriors forged in the abyssal fire, all fighting to seize their one sliver of a chance at a future—

On the seventeenth of the fourth month, amid this most violent and ferocious clash, the eastern sky was, just then, beginning to break with dawn…