Volume One: Flames of War on the Frontier Chapter Twenty-five: Defending to the Death
In times of chaos and slaughter, even parents and brothers sometimes cannot look out for one another, and human nerves and emotions grow coarse. Li Ling had fought and killed all his life, was used to seeing death, and did not much mind his son’s arrow wound.
Li Jun tended to his wound and went back to rest.
Chen Qingyun said, “Yu, you’ve been fighting all night. Go back now—Lantern must be anxious waiting for you.” As she spoke, a wave of bitterness swept through her heart.
Chen Jing added, “After this setback, Tianxiong Fortress won’t make another assault for a while. Qingyun and I will keep watch here. Go home and get some rest—today is still your special day, after all.”
He Yu thought this made sense, saluted the two of them, and descended from the city wall.
When he returned to the Plum Pavilion, the sky was already turning pale. A few slender plum blossoms bloomed in the courtyard, sending forth a faint fragrance. Lantern, clad in a sheen of frost, stood amid the shadows of the flowers, as if she hadn’t slept a wink all night.
No one’s devotion could match Lantern’s.
He Yu hurried over, took her small hand, and brought her back to the bridal chamber. Lantern prepared breakfast for him, and then asked about his night raid. Fearing she would worry, He Yu sketched over the events lightly.
To his surprise, Lantern did not seem as tense as before. She said softly, “Husband, there’s something I want to tell you. From now on, whenever you go to the South Gate, I’ll go with you to help. I’ve practiced martial arts since I was a child—most people can’t best me.”
He Yu had never considered taking Lantern with him into battle. His instinct was to refuse outright, but then he thought: Lantern is right—she’s well-trained and can defend herself. Instead of sitting at home, suffering endless worry, perhaps it’s better for her to be by my side, sharing life and death; at least she won’t be tormented by fear.
With this thought, He Yu clapped Lantern on the shoulder and said heartily, “A woman can rival any man. I agree—but on the battlefield, you must obey my every command.”
A flash of joy passed over Lantern’s face as she clapped her hands. “As long as I can follow you, I’ll do whatever you ask.”
The two ate their fill, slept for less than an hour, then rose, dressed, and rode out toward the South Gate. Lantern wore light armor and a fitted outfit, her long hair flowing, her bearing heroic—quite different from her usual appearance.
There were two main places where affairs of the fortress were discussed: the Great Hall inside the inner keep, and the Lesser Hall behind the South Gate tower. He Yu and Lantern arrived at the Lesser Hall, where the fortress stewards, centurions, the Chen siblings, and the Li father and son were gathering. Greetings were exchanged, but no one paid any mind to Lantern at He Yu’s side. With the military situation so dire, everyone’s attention was on defending the fortress. Only Chen Qingyun’s bright eyes lingered on Lantern, her heart burning with anger and jealousy.
Chief Steward Li Ling presided over the meeting. In a grave tone, he reported, “According to the prisoners we captured yesterday, Tianxiong Fortress has mobilized its entire force: two thousand cavalry, three thousand infantry. That’s nearly everything they have. Their purpose is clear—they mean to wipe out our Chen family fortress.”
“Worse still, Tianxiong Fortress has indeed colluded with Murong Kai, Prince of Taiyuan, and behind them are the thirty thousand imperial cavalry stationed at Yanmen Pass.”
Everyone fell silent at Li Ling’s report. The facts were plain: even after weeks of mobilization, the Chen family fortress could muster only eight hundred cavalry and nearly twelve hundred infantry—less than a third of the enemy’s numbers. If it came to a direct clash, they stood little chance.
Moreover, behind Tianxiong Fortress loomed thirty thousand battle-hardened Xianbei heavy cavalry under Prince Murong Kai. The odds were even more impossible.
At that moment, a junior officer entered to report: an arrow had been shot into the city, bearing a silk letter with a few lines written on it.
Chen Jing took the letter, glanced at it, and laughed coldly. “Can anyone guess Tianxiong’s intent in sending this message?”
Someone stood up and said, “My lord, if I’m not mistaken, this must be a letter urging us to surrender.”
Chen Jing smiled. “Centurion Cao, your guess is spot on. The letter says that if we surrender, all past grudges will be forgotten, our two families will unite in the service of the empire, and I will be recommended as General Suppressor of Rebels. Each of you will receive your due reward. Whether we fight or surrender—let us decide together.”
He Yu thought, Chen Jing is asking what he already knows. If we meant to surrender, why would we have spent weeks preparing to resist Tianxiong’s attack? He’s clearly testing everyone’s resolve. As a cunning leader, he would never hand over the Chen family fortress, centuries in the making, so easily.
“No, we cannot surrender...”
“We would sooner die than surrender…”
“My lord, we must not surrender—Tianxiong Fortress cannot be trusted…”
“Tianxiong is faithless, and the imperial court even more so. Every stronghold that’s surrendered these past years has been utterly massacred…”
“My lord, as the old saying goes, ‘Better to be a rooster’s head than an ox’s tail.’ The Chen family’s legacy cannot be so easily betrayed…”
As soon as Chen Jing finished speaking, the hall erupted in indignant clamor—no one supported surrender, not a single voice in favor among the dozens present. There was none of the usual divide between scholars advocating peace and warriors demanding war; all unhesitatingly chose resistance.
Li Ling, steady and respected, raised his hands for silence and analyzed, “You are all correct. Neither Tianxiong Fortress nor the imperial court can be trusted. Every stronghold that surrendered in recent years has been slaughtered. If we accept imperial amnesty, we’ll be conscripted to fight Wei—a deadly enterprise. Better to defend our fortress to the last.”
His words struck home, and everyone nodded.
Li Jun stood up. “Our fortress is ringed on three sides by mountains, with water on the fourth. We have enough provisions to last three to five months. Despite Tianxiong’s numbers, if we unite and make use of our defenses, it won’t be easy for them to overrun us.”
He spoke from a purely military standpoint. The Chen family fortress was protected on three sides by mountains, each gate facing a narrow mountain path—one man could hold off a thousand. Tianxiong’s strength lay in their cavalry, but the terrain gave them no room to maneuver.
The south gate, though exposed, was protected by a wide moat and sturdy walls, making it equally hard to breach. The fortress’s advantageous geography was a key to its century-long survival.
He Yu, synthesizing everyone’s views, stood and declared, “In my view, Tianxiong and the imperial court seem united but have different aims. The imperial army is at Yanmen, preparing to attack Wei. Murong Kai fears instability behind him and wants to eliminate us. Tianxiong is stronger than we are, but do you think Murong Kai doesn’t want to destroy them as well?”
“Tianxiong is using Murong Kai’s army to swallow us, but surely they fear the court’s designs on them as well?”
“The situation is this: if we fortify our defenses and hold our ground, Murong Kai will have no pretext to intervene. Without his help, Tianxiong doesn’t have the appetite to consume us.”
His analysis, fusing modern political and military reasoning, was a cut above the rest, earning their admiration. Chen Qingyun smiled, her heart overflowing with love for He Yu.
Chen Jing laughed. “A single conversation with you is worth ten years of study. I have no more doubts—we’ll fight Tianxiong to the end. If the worst comes, we’ll take to the mountains as outlaws.” Everyone stood and saluted. “We await your command, my lord!”
With the plan settled, Li Jun began assigning men and issuing orders for a drawn-out resistance.
He Yu was assigned to defend the vital South Gate. Li Jun, now overseeing all military affairs, had no time for details and appointed Chen Qingyun as his assistant.
Chen Qingyun was overjoyed to stand alongside her beloved in defense, happy despite the surrounding peril. But Lantern, always at He Yu’s side, annoyed her to no end. She repeatedly tried to send Lantern home, but Lantern, no longer her docile self, ignored her suggestions. Worse still, He Yu always shielded Lantern.
He Yu found himself deeply troubled. The enemy massed at their gates, Murong Kai harbored ulterior motives, and now the young lady Chen, shamelessly competing with Lantern for his affection, refused to let things rest.
Emboldened by He Yu’s favor, Lantern grew less patient with her former mistress, no longer yielding, and met Chen Qingyun’s provocations with gentle but steadfast resistance. Stung and embarrassed, Chen Qingyun only grew more brazen, her jealous temper flaring as she vied for He Yu’s attention.
Caught in the middle, He Yu tried to appease one, only to displease the other, comforted one and the other pouted. He was at a total loss.
After suffering a heavy loss on the night of their failed assault, Tianxiong’s forces no longer dared approach the walls, choosing instead to camp at a distance. From the ramparts, He Yu saw their new camp, bristling with chevaux-de-frise, trenches, iron caltrops, battering rams, and watchtowers—a clear sign they’d learned their lesson and would not again be careless.
For several days, Tianxiong’s forces issued challenges and insults outside the walls, but the Chen family fortress refused to take the bait. Finally, Lord Diao Bao of Tianxiong appeared in person, calling He Yu out by name.
He Yu thought, “Diao Bao, a regional lord, has lost all composure, stripping off his armor and lounging in front of our lines. Compared to Chen Jing, he lacks all sense of the bigger picture.”
In contrast, Chen Jing spent his days calmly inspecting the defenses and overseeing the command post, never succumbing to reckless bravado.
Diao Bao grew bolder each day, even sitting unarmored before both armies to taunt them.
He Yu mused, “Diao Bao is the enemy leader. If I catch him off guard—suddenly lower the drawbridge, charge out on my white horse, and shoot him with an arrow—it would be a great feat.”
The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed, so he sought Li Jun’s permission to challenge Diao Bao.
Li Jun neither agreed nor refused, instead pointing at the ground behind Diao Bao. Looking closely, He Yu noticed the earth there was a different color.
On careful inspection, he realized that a piece of felt, colored to match the ground, had been laid behind Diao Bao. Thanks to Li Jun’s hint, He Yu broke out in a cold sweat: beneath that felt were trenches filled with archers and crossbowmen. If he had rashly charged out in pursuit of glory, he’d have been shot to death before even reaching Diao Bao.
How close—how very close!
After half a year in this world and two battles, He Yu’s courage had not grown, but shrunk. No matter how skilled, a single misstep could end his life. If not for Li Jun’s warning, today would have been his last.
The enemy was cunning and ruthless—their traps were not to be taken lightly. Diao Bao, regarding He Yu as the fortress’s most valuable target, had tried for days to lure him out. When nothing happened, he must have realized his plot was seen through, and stopped appearing.
By now it was April; the moat’s ice was thin, unable to support a cavalry charge. Forced to improvise, Tianxiong’s men tried to build a bridge with siege wagons.
Li Jun waved his sword from the wall, unleashing a hail of arrows and stones. Tianxiong’s engineers were cut down in droves, their blood staining the ice red, and the bridge was never completed.
With their army camped outside, unable to advance or retreat, Tianxiong sent small detachments to harass the other three gates, but each was easily repelled.
Against such a fortress, Tianxiong’s two thousand armored cavalry were useless—their strength had nowhere to be spent. So, they reverted to their old tactics, returning again to the walls to taunt and challenge.