Chapter 86: All or Nothing!

The Han army, under Li Guang’s command, and the Xiongnu cavalry, led by Yixue’er, waged a brutal battle in the cramped confines of Yangtou Town’s fortress—a grueling contest of siege and counter-siege, harassment and counter-harassment. The fighting raged from afternoon until dusk, only ceasing when the sun had fully set and darkness had shrouded the earth, at Yixue’er’s command. Though casualties on both sides numbered in the hundreds, the bloodshed and horror of battle weighed all the heavier for it, not lighter. Only when torches were lit within and without the fortress did both sides begin to tally the dead and wounded, and tend to their injured.

Inside the fortress, Li Guang sat grim-faced, his long blade upright before him. The heavy cavalry’s forward commander, Ma Dashan, had taken a wound to his shoulder and was now being bandaged by his men. The townsfolk had been shepherded to relatively safe quarters, guarded by soldiers, and were quiet at last. The day’s battle had left them shaken, but some among the able-bodied young men had joined in repairing the tower and caring for the wounded.

Outside, the Xiongnu had set up camp, with each cavalry unit attending to its tasks. Yixue’er herself was not mounted; though she had spent years in the Central Plains and was a skilled rider, she preferred not to ride unless necessary, mindful of a woman’s desire for beauty and the toll riding could take on her legs and skin. For her, riding was a necessity, not a pleasure.

Now, Yixue’er stood alone before the camp, gazing intently at the fortress, lost in thought. To her mind, there were barely three thousand Han troops within, penned into a small space. But for the high walls and deep ramparts, her ten thousand strong cavalry would have swept the place easily. The Han forces had resolved to hold fast.

A cold smile flickered on Yixue’er’s lips. Hold fast, would they?

“Centurion, order all commanders to the central command tent immediately!”

Within the fortress, both soldiers and townsfolk, spent from a day of fierce fighting and terror, were utterly exhausted. None knew whether another brutal day awaited them. At Li Guang’s order, all but the night watch gradually drifted into uneasy sleep.

But before they could even settle into rest, a shout rang out from the night watch: “Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

All sprang up in alarm. Li Guang strode to a high window, peering down through a crack in the boards. He saw, sure enough, a great mass of Xiongnu soldiers racing toward the fortress, arms full of dry wood!

“Scoundrels!” he cursed, then called for the soldiers to prepare to unseal the window. Should the Xiongnu pile kindling against the walls, he would order water poured down from above, as they had done earlier.

“General, Xiongnu with battering logs at the front gate!”
“General, Xiongnu with battering logs at the rear gate!”

“Ma Dashan, take men to watch the rear!” Li Guang called, heading to the front gate himself.

Thus, a scene replayed from the afternoon: assault and defense, chaos and alarm.

After an hour of fierce battle, the Xiongnu withdrew.

Li Guang slumped down, his bloodied blade stabbed furiously into the ground beside him. He glanced around at his men; all were weary, the uninjured slumped on the ground, the wounded being bandaged, the dead lying silently in the shadows.

The townsfolk, lacking the soldiers’ fortitude, could not sleep after such terror. They huddled together, casting anxious glances at the soldiers, the windows, the doors.

Yixue’er stood before the Xiongnu command tent, gazing at the fortress and murmuring, “Centurion Nur, it’s your turn.”

“Understood!” answered a burly man who had been standing by.

After just a brief, uneasy silence, a thousand Xiongnu soldiers once again charged the fortress.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!” The Han sentries shouted the alarm.

“Scoundrels!”

All through the night, the Xiongnu attacked in groups of a thousand, in relentless waves—a war of attrition.

Within the fortress, neither soldiers nor townsfolk knew a moment’s peace that night.

When the red sun rose again, the eyes of every Han soldier and townsman were bloodshot. The soldiers fared better, but the townsfolk were jumpy as startled birds, their nerves at the breaking point.

Half the Han troops had fallen through the night’s carnage. As the night wore on, any thought of sleep vanished; the Xiongnu onslaught was unceasing.

With daylight, the Xiongnu, rested in shifts, launched a new assault—this time three thousand strong, with even greater ferocity. The Han defenders were forced to expend every last ounce of strength.

So passed another day of bitter struggle.

With no rest, Han casualties soared. By dusk, few could even draw a bow. After a day and a night with barely a moment for food, all were utterly exhausted.

But the Xiongnu attacks did not stop.

The Han soldiers persevered by sheer will alone.

Every moment of this endurance brought heavy losses, for these exhausted Han could not match the vigor of the well-rested, rotating Xiongnu.

If this desperate resistance was fueled by some inner fire, it was one that could be snuffed out at any moment by failing bodies.

From the start, the Han had been on the defensive; now, penned in by ten thousand Xiongnu, they cowered in the fortress like so many turtles, unable to show their heads.

“General, let’s just fight these dogs to the death! Better to die fighting than rot here!” Ma Dashan and many others cried, their voices hoarse with rage.

Li Guang’s eyes were bloodshot, dark circles beneath them. Silently, he stared at Yixue’er in the distance.

He glanced north, then sighed softly.

“Rally the troops for a final assault—the Han are finished!”

“Flying General Li Guang is about to meet his end at our hands!” Yixue’er raised her sword and pointed at the fortress, her voice ringing out.

A thunderous cheer erupted from the assembled Xiongnu cavalry.

“General, the Xiongnu are preparing another assault!” Ma Dashan glared from the window at their camp, his eyes burning with a thousand iron arrows. “Let’s fight! If we must die, let’s take some with us!”

“Yes, let’s fight, General!”
“General, let’s fight!”

All the officers echoed the cry.

They knew that if they didn’t fight now, soon they would not even have the strength to lift a blade. Their anger and pride demanded one last, proper battle with the Xiongnu—a glorious death.

Li Guang’s gaze drifted back from the north. He drew a deep breath.

“Soldiers, follow me out—we will die loyal to the Han!”

“General, let us go too!” shouted several young men who had spent the day and night helping. “Either way, it’s death—better to fight them!”

“Yes, let’s fight!”
“To hell with them!”

Li Guang looked around at these volunteers, some of them barely more than boys. His heart ached, but he blinked back tears and nodded. “Very well—you’ll fight at my side!”

Yixue’er slowly drew her blade, pointed it at the fortress, and said coldly, “All forces, advance!”

At her command, the ten thousand Xiongnu began their advance. This time, they did not rush in disorder, but marched in tight formation—determined to take the fortress in one blow, yet wary of the Han making a desperate last sortie.

Li Guang stood behind the high window, watching the Xiongnu approach. He would wait until they drew close enough, then lead his men out for a final, fatal clash.

Two hundred paces. One hundred fifty. One hundred. Eighty…

A rider came galloping into the Xiongnu camp, shouting for the command tent. He leapt from his horse and almost tumbled at Yixue’er’s feet, pale with alarm as he delivered his report.

Li Guang, watching from the high window, saw this and felt a sudden jolt. Could it be…?

“General, the Xiongnu are only fifty paces away. Let’s charge!” Ma Dashan drew his blade and shouted.

“Wait!” Li Guang raised his hand, his voice grave.

“Wait for what? If we wait any longer, we’ll be overrun and won’t even be able to break out!”

Li Guang said nothing, his eyes fixed on Yixue’er.

She stood unmoving, too far away for Li Guang to read her face, but he sensed she was watching this side as well.

“General, if we don’t go now, it’ll be too late!” Ma Dashan urged.

Li Guang looked at him, then at Yixue’er and the advancing Xiongnu, sighed helplessly, and drew his sword.

“Let’s fight. I have done all I can—the Han of Shanggu have done all they can. Your Majesty, your servant goes ahead…”

Just as he was about to lead the charge—

A shout rang out from far behind the fortress!

Li Guang started.

He rushed to the rear window and looked out.

A lone rider was galloping from the north—red cloak, black armor!

“General Li! General Qin has struck the Xiongnu’s main camp and achieved victory!” the Han rider cried, heedless of the Xiongnu nearby. “General Qin has slain over a thousand, captured the Left Wise King, and is returning as we speak!”

A shock ran through the Xiongnu ranks, just as they were closing in on the fortress.

What? Their homeland attacked? Their king captured?

Could it be true? Their homeland, a thousand miles away, struck so suddenly?

“Withdraw!” Yixue’er’s sharp command rang out, confirming the news.

The tide had turned at last.