Chapter 106: Swallowing the Hu

Banners streamed westward as the three armies tramped through the gap in the Helan Mountains.

The sun shifted, and the mountain's shadow seemed to scurry aside in fear, clearing the way for the General Who Swallows the Hu.

"That the barbarians dare not ride south to pasture their horses is not enough."

The white-haired Han Wei lifted his head and gazed at the towering mountain shadow. Though advanced in years, his ambition was no less than that of Feng Tang or Li Guang. "In Qin times, Meng Tian drove the Xiongnu north and seized this land, only for it to be lost again. In Han times, relying on the merits of famed generals, commanderies and counties were established here. But today, this general shall push the borders of the Middle Kingdom four hundred li farther out!"

Behind the General Who Swallows the Hu, infantry and cavalry banners were raised high, and carts were piled full with grain and dried meat, enough provisions for a month.

Once past the Beiyi Mountains — the Helan Mountains — they left the Xin Dynasty and entered Xiongnu territory.

East of the mountains lay the rich soil of the Hetao Plain in New Qinzhong, dense with city walls and fields. Beyond the mountains was a barren world. The knee-high lush pasture grass by the Yellow River gave way to sparse weeds dotting a red Gobi. Rivers and lakes were rare, while dried salt flats stretched one after another. Gradually, the grasslands vanished entirely, leaving only a rolling sea of sand. With the Helan Mountains no longer blocking it, wind-blown sand struck the soldiers full in the face.

Most of the troops had never left the frontier forts, nor had they ever seen such a vast desert. The army clerks could only click their tongues and ask, "Is this the legendary Great Desert that Wei and Huo crossed to strike the Hu?"

"This is only the Lesser Desert." Han Wei had men spread out a map. They were on the barren land between two deserts — the Ulan Buh and the Tengger — where shrubs were occasionally seen and water sources could even be found. Following this green corridor straight west would lead them to the Xin army's objective beyond the frontier: Dou Land.

Dou Land was a stretch of territory that had jutted into Han borders after the Han and the Xiongnu made peace and demarcated boundaries in the reigns of Emperors Xuan and Yuan. It faced the former Zhangye, now the Sheping Commandery. Though north and south were bound by kinship and peace, the beacon towers had never been dismantled. To guard against the Wen'ou King of Dou Land, the Han had stationed garrison troops all along the border.

In the time of Emperor Cheng of Han, a Han envoy proposed to Wang Mang's uncle, the Grand Marshal and General of Agile Cavalry Wang Gen, that since the Xiongnu had declared themselves vassals to the Han, they might as well demand this land directly from the Chanyu. It could serve as a buffer beyond the frontier and cut the northwest border's garrison troops by half.

Emperor Cheng of Han wanted the land but feared that a Xiongnu refusal would damage the Emperor's dignity. He only allowed the envoy to raise the matter in a personal capacity, and the Xiongnu, as expected, politely declined. At that time, the Han house was already in decline and lacked the strength to send troops beyond the frontier, so the matter was dropped.

But as Wang Gen's successor, the Emperor Wang Mang brooded on this matter. Now he launched a war, ordering Sheping — Zhangye — Zhangye — Wuwei — Gousou — Shuofang — and New Qinzhong to advance in four columns. Tens of thousands of troops aimed straight for Dou Land!

"Four columns march forth together, to spread the majesty of August Heaven and visit punishment upon his person!"

Compared to the distant expeditions of Wei and Huo in Han times, which routinely covered thousands of li, this march beyond the frontier was a mere skirmish. Dou Land was close to Sheping and Zhangye, only two or three hundred li away, and a mere four hundred li from New Qinzhong. Ten days would surely see them there.

The General Who Swallows the Hu's command was nominally ten thousand strong, but in truth, after subtracting the phantom payrolls, he had only six thousand — four thousand regulars and two thousand auxiliaries. After ten days beyond the frontier, they had eaten half their grain, and after a good number of their pack animals had died of thirst or been slaughtered, they finally saw a steep, towering mountain.

Unlike the bare rock mountains common beyond the frontier, this one was lush with vegetation. It was late autumn north of the frontier, and the mountain's conifers, birches, and aspens displayed a riot of colors — green, yellow, red — a brilliant and beautiful sight.

It matched the guide's description of "layers of mountain hues" with perfect accuracy.

Han Wei stood on his cart and gazed at the mountain from afar. "In the Xiongnu Right Territory, within a thousand li south of Lady Fan's City, this is the only mountain with good timber. Strange woods grow on it, and when fletched with osprey feathers, they make excellent arrow shafts. The wood for the felt tents and carts of the Right Division's various tribes also comes mostly from here."

Clear springs, long unseen, reappeared on the surface. The soldiers cheered and rushed over to drink their fill. The pasture grass had not yet fully withered, and the famished horses, mules, and donkeys lowered their heads and tore at it ravenously.

This was the economic value of Dou Land. Wang Mang hoped that after taking it, he could send the puppet Chanyu Xubu Dang here to recruit Xiongnu and establish a separate royal court, thereby splitting the Xiongnu, using Hu to control Hu, and achieving the goal of "guarding the realm with the four barbarian tribes."

But... where were the promised allied forces?

By all reasoning, the other three columns should have long since reached Dou Land and then continued north to join battle with the Xiongnu Right Division's main army. Yet now, not only had the Xiongnu fled far away, leaving not a soul within a hundred li, but not a single Xin army scout could be seen either.

"Could it be that the Xiongnu concentrated their main army to strike one column first, blocking them halfway?"

That didn't make sense either. Han Wei had studied the battle records from Emperor Wu of Han's reign. The Middle Kingdom often sent multiple columns beyond the frontier, and the Xiongnu preferred to concentrate their forces against one. How could they possibly strike three columns simultaneously?

Han Wei ordered the army to encamp temporarily at Dou Land and sent outriders to search in the other three directions. Three days later, reports came back.

"General, we have found traces of encampments where the three other divisions once stationed themselves!"

Han Wei was overjoyed. "Then how far away are they now?"

"I venture to report to the General: the General Who Pacifies the Hu, with over ten thousand men, marched east from Juyan in Sheping, went a hundred li beyond the frontier, and then turned back."

"The General Who Subdues the Di, with over ten thousand men, marched north from Xiutu Marsh in Zhangye Commandery, went eighty li beyond the frontier, and then turned back."

"The General of Renewal, Lian Dan, with twenty thousand men, marched out from Gaique Fortress in Gousou Commandery, and went beyond the frontier... This humble officer could not find his encampment, nor can I say how many li he actually went."

Han Wei was stunned. This was a far cry from the scene he had imagined: the four forces converging, banners pointing north, the Xiongnu cowering in fear, and the Chanyu bowing in submission.

Now, of the four-pronged advance, only his own column had honestly trudged the long distance and arrived. The others had merely poked their heads out and then gone back. What was he to do now?

Just as Han Wei hesitated, another scout came rushing in with a report. "General, a large Xiongnu army has been discovered north of Dou Land!"

Han Wei had once heard a story: in his later years, Emperor Wen of Han met the young Li Guang. Seeing how fiercely Li Guang fought, how superb his archery was, and how he bagged the most game on hunts, Emperor Wen greatly admired him, yet also felt regret. He could only say, "A pity — you were born at the wrong time. Had you been born in the time of the Exalted Emperor, a marquisate of ten thousand households would hardly be worth mentioning!"

Han Wei had always felt he had been born in the wrong era. When Fu Jiezi, Chang Hui, and Zheng Ji were opening up the Western Regions in Emperor Xuan's time, he had not yet been born.

In Emperor Yuan's reign, when Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou made their distant expedition to a forsaken land and cut off the head of Zhizhi Chanyu, hanging it on Gaoxie Street and shaking the realm with their fame, he was still too young.

For most of Han Wei's life, the Han house and the Xiongnu had kept the peace. For three generations, the frontier had seen no alarms. There was nowhere to go to win merit and a marquisate, let alone the fact that his family had an ancestral injunction forbidding him to hold office.

But Han Wei had interpreted his grandfather's dying words only as "forbidding him to hold office under the Han dynasty."

After the Xin was founded, he, already sixty years old, talented yet frustrated and unrecognized, had finally caught a favorable wind. He joined the army to quell rebellions, and then boasted that he could sweep the Xiongnu clean with five thousand men. He gained the Emperor's esteem, finally received a general's commission, and took sole command of a front.

"The Rong and Di are jackals and wolves. Not exterminating them is bad enough — how can they be raised like domestic animals? Sooner or later, they will turn and bite." Han Wei's thinking was exactly the same as the Emperor Wang Mang's. They hit it off immediately during a sovereign-minister consultation. As the most hardline hawk, Han Wei stood in stark contrast to the others' ambiguous attitudes.

And today, Han Wei had truly met the scene he had long yearned for: war with the Xiongnu.

Only the numbers on each side were somewhat disproportionate. With not a single allied column having arrived, Han Wei had, in real terms, only six thousand soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Xiongnu, who had long been patrolling north of Dou Land and, upon discovering Han Wei's isolated deep thrust, had cautiously encircled him, numbered at least thirty to forty thousand riders — the entire strength of the Right Division had been concentrated to deal with him.

"Don't panic! Wei and Huo fought battles just as lopsided as this!"

Han Wei used stern words to mask the terror in his heart. Truth be told, in the ten years since the Xin Dynasty and the Xiongnu had gone to war, this was the first time the Xin army had marched beyond the frontier. Their combat experience against the Xiongnu was zero. They could only rely on methods passed down by word of mouth from old frontier veterans, using the terrain to build a fortified camp.

The Xin army used their supply carts as a forward screen, deploying their formation outside the camp. Soldiers in the front ranks held halberds and shields; soldiers in the rear ranks held bows and arrows, as they waited nervously for the Xiongnu attack.

The Xiongnu riders stretched vast and mighty, seeming to outnumber the very trees and grasses on Dou Land Mountain. Seen from afar, they were like a black cloud pressing down on a city. Most of them were also hastily conscripted herders, lacking strong order or fighting power. From time to time, they sent a company forward to probe, but when met with a volley of crossbow bolts, they would leave behind a dozen or so corpses and retreat.

The Hu raiders grew less impatient. They merely encircled from a distance, exactly like a wolf pack on the hunt, waiting for the moment their prey exhausted its strength.

Han Wei's cart-barricade was well laid, and with no route of retreat, the soldiers did not break and flee. Holding the position was not a problem. The greatest trouble lay in food and water. The dry rations brought beyond the frontier were down to only five days' worth. Worse, the soldiers who had earlier drunk their fill from the clear spring had begun to suffer from diarrhea. The Xiongnu must have laid a curse upon the water source, burying diseased animal carcasses in it.

Now Han Wei could only pin his hopes on reinforcements from the allied forces. He began to think this was the General of Renewal's stratagem: to use himself as bait, luring the main Xiongnu force into a siege, after which the three Xin columns would rush in and counter-encircle them. Then they could annihilate the Xiongnu Right Division's main strength and shock the Hu raiders to their core.

But they waited and waited, for five full days and nights. The food was nearly gone, and the drinking water had long been exhausted. They had no luck digging wells — no water came up. The soldiers drank dew at dawn to quench their thirst. Those who could endure no longer had already begun slaughtering livestock to drink their blood.

And after dealing with the Han dynasty for several generations, the Xiongnu had grown clever. Besides sending outriders daily to shoot arrows from upwind as harassment, they also sent men over to call for surrender in the Han tongue.

The man who came was Lu Qin, the elder brother of Lu Fang. After Lu Fang had ordered him beyond the frontier, he found the Xiongnu's Goulin King and became an advisor under his command, reporting on the situation within the frontier.

Then he discovered that there were large numbers of Han people in the Xiongnu tents — men who had defected from the Western Regions ten years prior, all styling themselves loyal subjects of the Han. Now, the eloquent among them also called out for the Xiongnu, shouting downwind, "Gentlemen, hear my words!"

The regulars and auxiliaries, hiding behind the armored carts and enduring their hunger, pricked up their ears. They heard the opposite side shout, "The Xiongnu and the Han were originally brothers. When the Xiongnu fell into civil strife in the past, it was the Han's Filial and Exalted Emperor Xuan who helped Huhanye Chanyu ascend the throne. Therefore, the Xiongnu declared themselves vassals to the Han as a sign of respect. But Wang Mang, a subject of the Han, usurped the imperial throne and then arbitrarily altered the seals and tallies that had been passed down for generations, deliberately humiliating the Chanyu, which led to the rupture between the two states."

"Ten years ago, the Han's Chief Clerk of the Western Regions Protectorate, Chen Liang, and Zhong Dai, among others, longing for the Han, killed the Wuji Colonel and brought civil and military officials, along with their dependents, men and women, some two thousand people in all, to seek refuge with the Xiongnu. The Great Chanyu appointed the two men jointly as Wuben Commandants, and those two thousand people were all properly settled, with food and clothing and no worries."

"All the calamities of war on the border are the result of Wang Mang's obstinate and willful actions. The Xiongnu are merely forced to retaliate. If you are willing to surrender now, you can preserve your lives just like the surrendered troops from the Western Regions Protectorate. You lived as sons of the Han — how can you die as rebels of the Xin?"

It must be said, this bout of shouting indeed threw Han Wei's army into turmoil. The soldiers muttered and whispered among themselves, debating how much truth the other side spoke. Alarmed, Han Wei immediately ordered the drums beaten, drowning out the shouts from across the way.

But the stirring in the hearts of the common soldiers could not be hidden.

"Do not believe the words of Xiongnu spies! That Chen Liang, Zhong Dai, and the others were all sent back to Chang'an by the Xiongnu later and executed by burning — that is the consequence of surrender!"

Wang Mang, citing the words "burn as though dead" from the Book of Changes, was deeply fascinated by this punishment. Whenever he caught rebels, he would mostly erect a wooden frame and burn them alive, letting their agonized screams before death terrify petty criminals.

Yet these words did not reassure the soldiers; instead, they further highlighted the cruelty of the Xin. What's more, those sent back and executed were only the officers — weren't the common soldiers still doing just fine among the Xiongnu? Inside the camp, they exchanged glances on the road, and the army's morale grew even more chaotic.

As the days passed and friendly forces still showed no sign, Han Wei's hopes faded bit by bit. The Xiongnu attacks grew more and more frequent, while his own men's strength and morale sank lower. Most critically, the crossbow bolts they had brought were nearly exhausted after days of reckless shooting by inexperienced soldiers — this had been the Xin army's greatest reliance.

They had fallen into a desperate situation. The old general licked his cracked lips and had no choice but to make the same agonizing decision Li Ling had made over a hundred years before.

"Strike camp — break through to the south!"

The breakout went surprisingly smoothly. The Xiongnu barely fought; they resisted halfheartedly for a while, then opened the encirclement. They disliked pitched positional battles — pursuit and tailing were the rhythm the nomads loved.

The reason Han Wei did not choose to return east to New Qinzhong was that the Helan Mountains were four hundred li away, while Xiutu Marsh to the south was only two hundred li distant, reachable in five days. Perhaps the Xin troops stationed there, upon hearing the news, could come out beyond the frontier to the rescue, turning back for a great victory.

Even in today's dire straits, Han Wei still could not let go of the thought of victory.

But with tens of thousands of Xiongnu cavalry tailing and pursuing them, the army's speed became agonizingly slow. Every few steps they had to turn and fight. Han Wei deliberately lured the Xiongnu into the forest, using the terrain to coordinate infantry and cavalry in close combat, and they cut down several hundred riders.

Han Wei did not forget to instruct his subordinates: "Put all the heads on the carts — these are proof that we fought hard."

"But the supply carts only have room for the wounded soldiers to lie down."

"Then let the wounded hold the heads in their arms. They must not be thrown away!"

It seemed the entire Right Division's barbarians had mobilized. In just a few days, several thousand more riders joined them. The Xin army was like a lone boat on a vast ocean, never knowing when or from where a great wave might crash down.

They staggered forward. By the second day of the march, the grain was completely gone. Soldiers, their eyes red with hunger, fixed their gazes on the cavalry's horses.

Han Wei set the example by offering up his own warhorse, hoping the colonels and majors under him would follow suit. Unexpectedly, this matter triggered the most severe desertion since they had encountered the enemy. The officers and cavalrymen who had still grudgingly obeyed Han Wei's orders the day before, upon hearing they would take turns slaughtering horses to stave off hunger, fled completely in a single night, taking the troops under their command with them — abandoning their infantry comrades!

As if setting off a chain reaction, the foot soldiers — who had never understood why they were fighting this war in the first place and had no desire to fight to the death for the Xin Dynasty — also began to rout. Han Wei stood in the wind, leveling his halberd and cursing bitterly; he personally stabbed several deserters to death, but it was of no avail.

Seeing the Xin army's morale in utter chaos, the tens of thousands of barbarian riders seized the chance to close in once more, attacking with their eyes fixed on Han Wei's great banner.

Han Wei could only halt again. With fewer than three thousand men remaining, he fought as he retreated. The severely wounded lay on the carts; the lightly wounded pushed the carts; those even less hurt held weapons and fought.

In the old days, one Han soldier could match five barbarians. Now, how many barbarians could one Xin soldier match?

Relying on their superior armor, they could withstand the Xiongnu firing several arrows in succession, but as their strength drained away, more and more men fell. Not to mention, between assaults, Xiongnu riders kept coming forward, shouting encouragement in Chinese.

"Surrender! What grace has the Xin ever shown you, that you should die for it?"

Soldiers kept losing all will to fight, throwing down their weapons and defecting to the Xiongnu ranks. Han Wei's forces dwindled as they fought. Night fell and came again; no one knew how many days had passed. To the south, west, and east, still no friendly troops came to the rescue.

They could only fight on by sheer last will. In the end, fewer than a hundred remained, all drenched in blood. Some had over ten arrows stuck in their lamellar armor and could only snap them off one by one.

Food was utterly gone. Han Wei could only say to his subordinates with shame: "In the old days, I submitted a memorial to His Majesty, saying I wished to have five thousand brave men, carrying no provisions, eating the flesh of captives when hungry, drinking their blood when thirsty — and thus we could rampage across the Xiongnu."

"Now we have fallen into such dire straits. It is not my fault, but that friendly forces have failed me! Though we cannot rampage across the Xiongnu, this flesh and blood — we can still eat it."

He took the lead, cutting flesh from a Xiongnu corpse nearby and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing in great mouthfuls. His white beard was stained red with foul blood. Amid laughter and talk, he even said the taste was delicious, only a bit gamy. This sight made even the Xiongnu recoil in horror.

The men calling for surrender came again. They had once held Han Wei in contempt, but now, seeing him fight to the death, they felt a measure of respect. They only shouted from afar: "Surrender! The Right Worthy Prince and King Goulin have said: if Han Wei can submit to the Great Chanyu, the great shall be kings, the lesser shall be marquises! You will not be treated poorly!"

Han Wei nocked his last arrow. When the man drew near, he suddenly raised his bow and shot him off his horse.

"I am the Swallow-the-Barbarians General, personally appointed by His Majesty!" he roared at the top of his lungs.

"From the time I took office past the age of fifty, I have been a minister of the Xin, receiving the Son of Heaven's grace — I do not know the Han calendar!"

The Xiongnu abandoned persuasion. Several thousand riders surged forward as one, their horses' hooves trampling the corpses strewn across the ground into a bloody pulp. They reined in their horses several dozen paces away, drawing their bows and aiming at an angle.

The final moment had come. One of Han Wei's legs was injured, his body covered in wounds, his lamellar armor somewhat shattered. He propped himself up with the battle standard alone, raised his blade, and charged forward, cursing: "For the Xin's might to swallow barbarians is no different from fleas and lice in the mouth..."

Ten thousand arrows fell like a sudden downpour. A stray arrow struck Han Wei square in the face, and then more falling arrows buried him.

The white vulture feathers on the shafts seemed to cover Han Wei with a brocade quilt.

The battle standard toppled. The Xiongnu spurred their horses forward, raised their blades in a chaotic frenzy, and slaughtered the last remnants of the Xin army.

A mere hundred li from the border, while friendly forces stood by watching from the sidelines — Han Wei, the Xin Dynasty's Swallow-the-Barbarians General,

was swallowed by the barbarians!

PS: Chapter 2 at 13:00. A new week — begging for recommendation votes.

"I wish to have five thousand brave men, carrying no provisions, eating the flesh of captives when hungry, drinking their blood when thirsty — and thus we can rampage!" — Han Wei, Book of Han: Biography of Wang Mang

This should be the earliest source of the allusion; Eastern Han's Geng Gong came after him.