Chapter 89: Crossing the River

The entire area on both banks of the Chuoqiu River was thrown into chaos. Xianbei shouts, Han shouts, the neighing of warhorses, the clashing of armor, angry curses, triumphant cheers, the sounds of desperate combat — all intertwined together… This was the inevitable confusion of a night battle. It must be understood that although the Xianbei were initially alarmed by Gongsun Xun’s rapid approach, they still held the advantage in numbers, so they truly never expected the other side would dare launch a surprise night raid, and thus grew increasingly disoriented after the fighting began.

However, despite such commotion between the two armies, the only place where true desperate combat occurred was that permanent pontoon bridge spanning the Chuoqiu River, and the attention of both sides was almost entirely focused there.

After all, on a bridge — whether a pontoon bridge or any other kind — its narrow terrain dictates that both sides can only engage in close-quarters melee. And in melee combat, the Han armored soldiers clad in double-layered iron armor were undoubtedly even more unstoppable.

Under the glow of countless torches, the Han troops all held blades and braced shields, bending low at the waist, their formation tight yet unbroken. In stark contrast were the Xianbei, caught off guard — not only were they individually scattered and panicked, but worse still, most of them carried long spears, which were utterly unwieldy in close-quarters fighting. Time and again, one could see these Xianbei thrust a spear at the Han soldiers only to achieve nothing, then before they could thrust a second time, they were pinned by Han shields, and finally either a short blade stabbed out from between the shields, or they were simply shoved bodily off the pontoon bridge.

Of course, the most conspicuous was the one who broke from the formation and charged ahead — Gao Heng of Bohai. This man was fierce beyond compare; wielding a round iron shield in one hand and brandishing a short spear in the other, he exploited his short stature to dart left and right, dodge forward and back, and every so often a single spear thrust would finish off a Xianbei warrior, then he would lead the troops forward several more paces…

As the saying goes, when the commander is brave, the soldiers are strong. Under this man’s leadership, those two hundred Han soldiers maintained a solid formation, shouting and fighting fiercely all the way, pressing forward with valor. And though the Xianbei on the opposite side were vastly more numerous, they were actually pushed back along the pontoon bridge by this Han force, so much so that the nobles of the royal court on the northern bank of the Chuoqiu River frantically redeployed troops and commanders, concentrating even more Xianbei warriors at the northern end of the bridge. Meanwhile, on the other side, seeing Gao Heng’s divine valor and their comrades’ overwhelming might, the Han troops grew ever more roused, shouting and cheering in support!

Gongsun Xun sat atop a small slope, watching this man fight so valiantly, and he too was filled with a myriad of emotions, his thoughts drifting far and wide… If this youxia leader from Bohai was already so outstanding, he wondered what Yue Jin — one of the Five Elite Generals, likewise “short of stature” yet “repeatedly the first to scale the walls” — must be like? And what of Gao Shun, who led seven hundred troops yet was reputed to command a thousand, charging and breaking enemy lines?

How numerous are the heroes of the realm!

His mother always told him to preserve his life through the chaos… But what exactly counted as preserving it, and how could one do so?

At the very least, he could no longer place his life in the hands of others as he had today. And if he wished to grasp his own destiny… to put it bluntly, facing so many heroes and such a tumultuous era, if one did not possess and display the ability to shake the realm, did one truly have the right to grasp one’s own destiny?

It was just laughable that he had lived twenty empty years, and only now, in this desperate situation, did a heroic spirit and resolve to shake the realm’s course arise within him… He hoped it was not too late!

Of course, this sentiment was merely Gongsun Xun’s personal reflection. In truth, he did not realize that as far back as outside Lulong Fortress, he had already inadvertently and thoroughly altered the course of the realm — he had simply never become aware of it.

Think carefully and it becomes clear: what was the status of Kezuique, who died that day in the battle at Lulong Fortress?

He was the Chief of the Central Xianbei, one of the leaders of the three Xianbei divisions under Tanshihuai… Such a figure, because of a single night raid, because of that one arrow from Gongsun Xun, because of a muddled order from the chief of a small Sinicized Xianbei tribe, had his head chopped off in utter confusion.

And then?

And then certain things spiraled out of control.

Kezuique was dead, but the Kezui tribe remained the largest tribe of the Central Xianbei, so his young nephew Kezuitan succeeded him as Chief of the Central Division.

And because he had just ascended to the high seat, in order to stabilize his authority, Kezuitan — a young and incompetent tribal leader — opportunistically launched an invasion of Liaoxi.

Likewise, because Kezuique had died, the original Grand Administrator of Liaoxi, Gongsun Zan’s father-in-law, was soon transferred to Shanggu Commandery, while Gongsun Xun’s father-in-law, Zhao Bao, took up the post alone and subsequently sent men to bring his own mother over…

Through a series of coincidences and misalignments, a battle of that magnitude erupted!

And at that moment, Gongsun Xun had actually jumped in and disrupted the situation once more, causing the Central Xianbei Chief to lose his life yet again, and moreover, ravaging the powerful Central Xianbei until they were battered and broken!

In truth, Gongsun Xun would probably never know in this lifetime… that without his earlier actions at Lulong Fortress and outside Liucheng, according to the original course of history, Tanshihuai could have leisurely devoured all three Han armies in this battle by sheer strength alone, forcing the three commanders to flee in disgrace with only a few dozen riders.

And after that great battle, in retaliation against the Han army, another invasion of Liaoxi would have occurred. That time, although the Han army would still have been victorious, Gongsun Xun’s grandmother-in-law, mother-in-law, and his yet-unwed wife Zhao Yun would all have died cleanly and decisively. In the end, Zhao Bao would have resigned from office, returned home, and died of melancholy just over a year later.

But all of this — everything — had been completely reversed as far back as several years ago outside Lulong Fortress, by that single desperate arrow he had loosed.

When Gongsun Xun had earlier resolved to fight desperately, he had told several confidants that Tanshihuai had underestimated him. In truth, he himself had always underestimated himself as well!

“Young Lord!” Suddenly, Han Dang’s voice roused the distracted Gongsun Xun from his wandering thoughts. “Gao Heng has already crossed the bridge!”

Gongsun Xun immediately looked toward the pontoon bridge… Indeed, that Gao Xuanqing of Bohai had not disappointed him. Relying on two hundred armored soldiers and a bellyful of fierce courage, he had pushed straight through to the far side of the pontoon bridge in one charge.

But that was as far as it went, because once across the bridge, the battlefield area rapidly expanded, and the Xianbei’s numerical advantage immediately became apparent. Although Gao Heng and his unit still charged left and thrust right with unmatched valor, they could only barely form the armored soldiers they had brought over into a circular formation and strive to hold on.

And even this holding action seemed somewhat precarious, for the battle-hardened Xianbei soon discovered a method that could deal with these armored Han troops. Arrows were prone to friendly fire at night, and against a combination of heavy armor and shields, unless one’s luck was exceedingly good, they were truly harmless. However, close-range javelin throws could avoid such friendly fire and still produce some effective casualties.

Ultimately, the enemy was too numerous; for two hundred men to hold this situation was already impressive… They needed reinforcements.

In the darkness, Gongsun Xun saw this and hesitated no longer. He abruptly rose to his feet: “In that case, my Volunteer Followers, cross the river with me!”

“Young Lord,” Han Dang was greatly alarmed at these words. “You need only give the order. Our troops on the opposite bank are too few — it is far too dangerous!”

Lu Fan and the others nearby were also terrified.

Yet before they could speak, Gongsun Xun let out a rueful laugh: “Yigong, do you think this place is not dangerous? Our army has entered deadly ground — every man should emulate Gao Xuanqing, fighting desperately to carve out a path to survival! When a true man lives in this world, how can he sit and watch his subordinates risk their lives while he skulks in safety across the river?”

Han Dang and the others were left speechless.

“Besides,” Gongsun Xun continued, grasping the other man’s arm, “on this journey, do I not still have you, Yigong? That day in Liaoxi, you and I clasped hands and swore to share wealth and honor in this life — we should have long since realized that we must also share life and death.”

Hearing this, Han Dang no longer objected. He immediately dropped to one knee: “In that case, I beg the Young Lord to stay close behind me. If we live, may the Young Lord live; if we die, let Han Dang die first!”

“Good!” Gongsun Xun did not help him up, but turned back and solemnly instructed Lu Fan and the others: “If I succeed in crossing the river, Ziheng and Demou, do not hesitate — immediately urge the entire army to cross. At that time, Ziheng will lead the Wuhuan shock cavalry, the Caiguan, and the Peili ahead, while Demou leads the Han armored soldiers to hold the rear. After crossing, the former are to immediately exploit the chaos and set fires; Demou is to strive to break the enemy behind the bridge… And if we succeed, once the enemy is largely routed and the royal court is ablaze, do not linger in battle for any reason, nor seek out others. Each of you gather the troops around you and, as previously discussed, flee eastward… Gentlemen, we shall reunite at dawn downstream on the Chuoqiu River.”

“Aye!” From Lu Fan down, Cheng Pu, Cheng Lian, Wei Yue, and the rest all bowed their heads.

“Let us go!” With that, Gongsun Xun raised Han Dang with one hand and, gripping his saber with the other, descended the small slope.

The commanders and soldiers behind him watched Gongsun Xun depart in silence, then each turned back to adjust their armor, weapons, and horses.

Meanwhile, after Gongsun Xun and Han Dang reached a concealed spot and regrouped with the hundred-odd Yanmen Volunteer Followers, they did not head toward the pontoon bridge to provide support. Instead, they shed their armor, bent low to lead their warhorses, and strove to keep their voices down as they arrived at a shallow ford upstream from the pontoon bridge…

That’s right — from the very start, Gongsun Xun had never counted on breaking through the Chuoqiu River frontally. Gao Heng’s force had been, from the beginning, a decoy meant to draw the Xianbei’s attention!

Of course, given the Han army’s combat strength at this moment, the distinction between decoy and main force no longer mattered. After Gongsun Xun and Han Dang crossed in this wave and stabilized a beachhead, they would still have to hurry over to rescue those two hundred armored soldiers — otherwise, breaking the enemy would be nearly impossible!

“Is this the place?” Gongsun Xun placed his armor onto his warhorse, then tentatively stepped into the water. Yet the moment his foot entered, the icy river water made him slip, and he would have fallen had a Follower behind him not steadied him.

“This is the place,” Han Dang, ahead in the water, turned back to reply only after steadying himself. “Earlier, when we drove several horses across the river, they all crossed from here. Then we had men hold onto the horses’ necks and secretly follow on foot to confirm — this is a shallow ford that can barely be crossed.”

“Then let us move quickly,” Gongsun Xun said, hesitating no longer. “While the Xianbei are all drawn to Gao Heng, cross the river at speed!”

“Aye!”

However, though it was called a shallow ford, at its deepest the water nearly reached the chest, and beneath were all stones and sludge. Even while gripping the horses, even with the horses linked by ropes fore and aft to form a strange and makeshift pontoon bridge, walking was exceptionally slippery — one misstep and one could easily lose balance… Under such conditions, if the enemy had a few dozen men on the opposite bank shooting volleys of arrows, and another few dozen standing with long spears to block the landing, it would be death for every man who came — a hundred would come and a hundred would be thrown in!

In short, this stretch of the journey was exceedingly arduous. From time to time, someone would let out a muffled grunt and slip straight down. In such cases, although most could clamber back up by clinging to the horses with help from those ahead and behind, the horses would inevitably be painfully wrenched and would neigh aloud, making everyone’s hearts pound with fear.

There was an even more extreme case: one horse, halfway across, suddenly could bear no more and toppled over entirely, along with the weapons and armor on its back, even hurling a soldier downstream until he vanished from sight. In the end, the soldiers ahead and behind made an immediate decision — they slashed the ropes with their blades, swiftly killed the horse that was still struggling, detoured around the horse’s corpse, and only then barely managed to continue!

Yet no matter how harrowing the process, with Han Dang at the head and Gongsun Xun second, this wave of men finally managed to stealthily cross the Chuoqiu River and catch their breath on the opposite bank. But the Han army’s luck ended there, for before they could don their armor and establish a position, a passing Xianbei patrol spotted this covert assault and, in their alarm, raised a loud cry!

At this point, Gongsun Xun and his men, having already reached the opposite bank, cast aside all restraint. Without even time to don their armor, they leaped onto their horses and fought back with all their might!

And at that moment, several hundred paces downstream at the pontoon bridge, Gao Heng, who had long seen no reinforcements, was already verging on despair!

“…As the crossing was about to begin, all the commanders strove to be first, each seeking to be the vanguard, and they beseeched the Grand Ancestor to sit in safety on the southern bank. The Grand Ancestor sternly asked: ‘When facing battle in the field, how can a true man watch from across the river and hope to live?’ With these words, he used a decoy force to feint at the bridge and harass the enemy, while personally leading troops to secretly link horses with ropes to form a pontoon bridge, then grasped a horse’s head and crossed. Once across, the Grand Ancestor, with no time to don his armor, again displayed divine martial prowess by leaping onto his horse and charging the enemy lines. The commanders, watching from across the river, were all roused, and vied with one another to enter the water.” — Old Book of Yan, Volume 1: Annals of the Martial Emperor, Grand Ancestor

PS: My parents are going to Japan for a trip… Spent several hours on a video call with them today discussing things… Didn’t have time to write enough words… Sorry.

(End of Chapter)