Chapter 108: The Wolves Have Come

At the foot of the Helan Mountains, the first beacon tower whose piled firewood had been lit had already been taken by the Xiongnu. The beacon soldier had even wanted to surrender, but the Xiongnu, furious that he had exposed their movements, killed him.

"King of Julin! These beacon towers aren't worth attacking — let them light their signal fires. Once we push deeper into the plain, there are rich villages and towns everywhere."

Lu Fang's elder brother Lu Qin was the guide for this invasion. His family had Xiongnu blood, and the Anding Dependent State where he lived had many Hu people, so he could still speak the Xiongnu tongue.

But just as the commanderies and kingdoms of the Central Plains differed, the various Xiongnu tribes had vastly different accents, even belonging to different language families. Lu Qin could only communicate with the King of Julin through gestures and signs.

The King of Julin was subordinate to the Right Division, pasturing his herds at Sanmulou Mountain, six hundred li north of Juyan. Two months earlier, Lu Qin, under Lu Fang's orders, had slipped beyond the frontier, reached Doudi, and sought an audience with the Wen'ou King, whose territory was closest to the border, also informing him of the new army's movements in New Qinzhong.

This matter was reported up to the Right Worthy King. The Right King was also quite interested in Lu Fang, this "scion of the House of Han." But at the time, word within the frontier was rife that Lu Fang was dead, his head already hung up in Chang'an, which left Lu Qin utterly dejected. It was only last month that he re-established contact with Lu Fang, who had "returned from the dead."

After the Right Worthy King had massed his heavy troops to pursue and annihilate the Han-Devouring General Han Wei, the Xiongnu herders stripped the armor and clothing from the new army's soldiers, but the various lesser kings were somewhat unsatisfied — their own losses in that battle had not been small. Lu Qin seized the chance to propose: "Han Wei has lost his army; New Qinzhong is surely empty. If we can send a few thousand riders to attack, it will be like hungry wolves entering a sheepfold — a feast. Wenbo will also meet us there."

The Right Worthy King was somewhat tempted. In the past decade of warfare between the Xiongnu and the Xin Dynasty, they had only attacked places like Wuyuan and Dai Commandery, and had never yet set foot in the wealthy New Qinzhong. Now that an opportunity had been found, it truly should not be missed.

What was more, bringing that Liu Wenbo to the Chanyu's Court — the Great Chanyu might yet have great use for him.

So he dispatched the King of Julin with several thousand riders to follow Lu Qin. The Hu cavalry skirted the southern foothills of the Helan Mountains and swept toward the utterly defenseless plain!

"Where is Liu Wenbo? How do we contact him?"

"On the other side of the river, the other side of the great river!"

The sky had brightened. Lu Qin raised his head and looked at the beacon towers ahead, one after another, which by day had switched to smoke columns to relay their message. He laughed. "Wenbo — he's already seen the signal!"

Diwu Lun and his men were not the only ones who saw the beacon fires and smoke columns rising from the western bank of the Yellow River. Lu Fang saw them too.

Draped in a goatskin coat, Lu Fang sat astride his horse atop a bronze-hued mountain gorge, hand shading his brow. Far off, he watched slender columns of smoke rise one by one dozens of li away — black smoke columns, starkly vivid against the pale azure sky.

No mistake — last night, when some of his followers had risen on the mountain to piss and glimpsed firelight in the distance, it had not been a trick of the eyes. It truly was the warning of the beacon towers!

To the soldiers and civilians of New Qinzhong, this was news of an enemy. But to Lu Fang, it meant that friendly troops had finally come to his aid!

"Heaven has not abandoned me."

"Heaven has not abandoned the Han!"

Lu Fang spread his arms to thank the heavens, hot tears brimming in his eyes. Though the Xiongnu reinforcements were two months late, they had at least arrived before deep winter set in, before Lu Fang fell into utter desperation.

These past two months, forced to abandon his homeland and hide in the gullies of the loess plateau, had been truly wretched. In that cold snap of late autumn, over a hundred of his people had died of sickness and hunger. They had gone to raid the bountiful harvest at Tewu County. If they went in small numbers, the soldiers Diwu Lun had stationed would drive them off; if they sortied in force, they feared drawing a government encirclement. They could only eke out a miserable existence, and he was not far from being abandoned by all his followers.

Now everything was fine. In his heart, Lu Fang had already sketched out a grand plan: the Anding Dependent State and Sanshui County were good, but they were far inferior to New Qinzhong! This rich land within the frontier passes, with its hundred thousand households, backed by the Xiongnu to the west, able to advance north to Shuofang and threaten Longyou to the south — it was a fine place to gather a host and launch a great enterprise.

Lu Fang's ox-horn trumpets sounded among the bronze-hued mountain ridges. In tattered clothes, three or four hundred disheveled, grimy Qiang and Hu riders and followers emerged from every gully, gazing at him with eager eyes.

"Move out!"

Lu Fang called to the crowd: "Follow your king to attack the county seat of Tewu! Aid our Xiongnu allies and seize New Qinzhong!"

The Han dynasty had spent over a hundred years utterly transforming the face of this grassland.

Masses of immigrants and garrison soldiers had carved farmland from the desolate wilderness and planted grain. At the same time, the network of watchtowers, beacon towers, and roads grew ever more complete; post stations and relay offices lined the roads within sight of one another. Because they lived pressed close to the Hu and the Rong, the people upheld martial valor.

But over these past sixty-odd years, the military preparedness of New Qinzhong had slackened day by day. With permanent peace between Han and Xiongnu, three generations of locals had never heard the sound of border alarms.

Only the most elderly men in the villages, in their afternoon stories beneath the poplar trees, would speak of those years of towering beacon fires, of times when the Hu raiders came in vengeance to plunder within the frontier, and the beacon towers would burn through the night with smoke and flame, warning the walled towns to prepare their defenses and telling the common folk to scatter and hide.

And if one failed to flee in time, the Hu raiders, coming like the wind, would seize anything they saw that could be carried off on horseback, taking wives, children, and even able-bodied men captive.

The years when these things happened were before most people's fathers, even grandfathers, had been born. They were just stories to listen to; no one had any real concept of the Hu raiders' savagery. On the contrary, they felt that the Hu people who came from Doudi for the border markets to trade were quite amiable — after exchanging goods, the two sides would even clap each other on the back.

"In my view, the Xiongnu are far less hateful than the new army. If life truly becomes unbearable, going beyond the frontier to join the Hu wouldn't be so bad." Such were the naive views of some young fellows, which only made the old men who had lived through that era shake their heads.

And today, those scenes that had existed only in stories finally became reality.

The wolves had come!

The beacon towers could sound the alarm, but they could not stop the enemy. Along the main roads and across the grasslands, countless fine steeds bounded up and down, on their backs Xiongnu riders wearing pointed felt caps, every man bearing a bow and arrow, sweeping in with howls and whistles. The dust kicked up by tens of thousands of hooves struck terror into all who saw it.

The people's stupor lasted only a moment. Very quickly, they came to their senses and, following the countermeasures the village elders had recounted in their stories, immediately fled the open fields and returned to their villages or township seats.

On the first day, Lian County bore the brunt. The gates of the county seat were already tightly shut. The Xiongnu glanced at the walls, four or five men high, and after drawing near and taking a volley of crossbow bolts, immediately abandoned this beast too large to sink their teeth into, focusing instead on besieging the smaller prey outside the walls.

Fighting broke out at every township seat and the fortified manors of powerful families. Relying on manpower and armor, the able-bodied men hastily organized could still cope with the Xiongnu herders. It was the ordinary villages that suffered. Their low village walls could hardly stop the assault. Apart from the beacon towers, smoke and fire rose continuously from the homes of common households. The victorious Xiongnu, ignoring the King of Julin's orders, simply drove the women, children, old, and weak before them and turned back west.

Those who had failed to seize any spoils continued their advance east the next day, crossing the shallow Guanglu Canal, burning, killing, and plundering all the way as they raided into the territory of Lingzhou County.

The local people, having learned from refugees fleeing Lian County that villages could not stop large bands of Hu raiders, supported their elderly and carried their young, intending to take shelter in the county seat. But just as they reached the foot of Shanghe City, the Hu cavalry appeared in the distance. Shanghe City hastily shut its gates, cutting off several thousand commoners outside the walls.

Liangqiu Ci felt some pity, but under the strong urging of the County Magistrate and the local Elders — who argued that no one knew how long the Hu raiders would stay, and the more people they took in, the tighter the city's grain supply would become — he could only shout from the city wall with tears in his eyes: "The city is packed with people, and the garrison is insufficient to fight the Hu raiders in the open field! You must cross the Yan Canal and ferry across the river to the other bank!"

The commoners' pleas for help went unanswered; they could only continue fleeing east. Passing the fortified manors of powerful families beside the Yan Canal, they knocked on the gates. Some powerful families were willing to open their gates and take in a portion, but most ignored the life and death of their fellow countrymen.

Several thousand people, with no other recourse, could only wade across the Yan Canal and surge toward the ferry crossing called "Yellow Sand Spit."

The boats at the crossing were few, but the people desperate to save their lives were many. For a time, the place was packed with a sea of humanity, supporting the old and carrying the young, leading sons and daughters, all rolling across the river in a torrent.

To make matters worse, several plumes of dust rose in the northwest, growing larger and larger. A band of Xiongnu had also pursued them here. Their main force was busy plundering the Heqi and Haofei imperial horse pastures, and only a hundred-odd riders had reached the riverbank. Thinking they had struck it rich, they spurred their horses forward, grabbing whomever they could, prioritizing women. If anyone blocked them, they swung their blades and cut them down, sending the people behind fleeing in all directions in terror, making the riverbank even more jammed.

The Xiongnu, who had seemed so "amiable" in the eyes of New Qinzhong's people during the border markets, now saw red. Laughing raucously, they ceaselessly drew their bows and shot into the packed crowd, their arrogance utterly unbridled.

A wild dog, no matter how docilely it is raised, is still a wolf in the end. Once it tastes blood, its true nature is revealed.

"I would rather die facing the Hu raiders head-on than be shot in the back! Any man with blood still in his veins, follow me and turn back to kill the Hu!"

A youth could bear it no longer. Drawing his blade, he called on the men to turn around. Several hundred of them, relying on farming tools, drove this band of Xiongnu back to the Yan Canal, using the shallow gully to block their advance and buy time for the people crossing the river. But more Hu riders were even now hurrying toward them.

Those crossing the river grew even more frantic. Some luckier families of middling means stuffed all their traveling money into the boatmen's hands, boarded the boats, and ferried away. Many others, heedless of everything, jumped into the water and clung to the sides of the boats. The boatmen raised their oars and struck at them, but it was useless. More and more people grabbed the gunwales, trying to escape. Mid-river, the overloaded boats could not hold and capsized outright. The people aboard struggled as they drifted downstream, their fates unknown.

Now there were even fewer boats. Those who could swim tested the waters at the river's edge and plunged in. The winter river water was bone-chillingly cold; they could only grit their teeth and laboriously paddle toward the opposite bank. Some men tied inflated sheepskin bladders to their bodies and, holding their children aloft, tried to float across, but they could only abandon their parents and their first wives. As they looked back, their faces were streaked with tears, and they wailed as they went.

These scenes of tragedy, one after another, were all witnessed by the people of Tewu County on the opposite bank. Most were filled with pity and sorrow. Only the County Magistrate was unmoved; on the contrary, his face was full of terror as he clutched at Diwu Lun, who was clad in martial attire, and urged with all his might: "Major Boyu, you are only under orders to guard Tewu County. Even if Shanghe City falls, it is no concern of the Major's. Now, with Lu Fang's remnant forces still active south of the county, the Major should prioritize defending our territory and pacifying the people. Do not concern yourself with the opposite bank!"

"How is that any different from watching a neighbor's house burn and refusing to help?" Diwu Lun frowned at the County Magistrate and kicked him aside.

He had spoken of it with Ma Yuan and the others — this realm was sick.

For evils far away at the edge of heaven, Diwu Lun's whip was too short to reach; even if he wanted to, he could not manage them.

But for slaughter right before his very eyes — if his own strength were simply insufficient, that would be one thing. Yet now he held over a thousand soldiers in his hands. To sit and watch the Hu raiders run rampant on the western bank while several thousand commoners wailed in despair by the riverside — this might be commonplace in the officialdom of the Xin Dynasty, but he could not get past the barrier in his own heart, nor did he wish to be scorned by men like Ma Yuan.

If he did so, what great difference would there be between him and those he usually mocked and despised — those generals as timid as hens, those imperial armies helpless against invaders but masters at abusing the people?

"I leave Tewu County to Bohu."

Diwu Lun turned his head and said this to Company Commander Xuan Biao, but what could a civil clerk like Xuan Biao do? The man he was truly entrusting his rear to was actually the one beside Xuan Biao — Ma Yuan, the newly recruited "retainer" of Diwu Lun's.

Ma Wenyuan understood. He clasped his fists and nodded toward Diwu Lun. The day before, after spotting the beacon fires, he had already pulled his men close to the county seat. Together with the six hundred reserve soldiers Diwu Lun had left here, along with the household troops of the Zhang clan and other powerful families, they were watching the south, waiting for Lu Fang to attack.

"I shall obey the Major's command and will not fail!" This was Ma Yuan's pledge. In the past, the three of them had worked together with one heart, cutting out the county's poison and carrying out Heaven's justice. And today, just as Diwu Lun had named the Fifth Battalion the "People-Protecting Soldiers," they had to become a sturdy shield defending the common folk.

Meanwhile, Wan Xiu and the regular soldiers of six squads stood at the ferry crossing on the east bank. Diwu Lun had named them — they were to follow him to the west bank!

Their expressions varied. Men like Wan Xiu, who cherished chivalrous ideals, burned with righteous fury at the sight of the Xiongnu's atrocities. Men like Diqi Biao, long accustomed to slaughter and death, remained utterly indifferent.

Many more were deathly pale. Since its formation, the Fifth Battalion had only shot down fleeing, panicked friendly troops and skirmished briefly with Lu Fang's forces. But facing them now were massed ranks of Xiongnu — the very barbarians who had annihilated the Swallow-the-Hu General. The men could not suppress their inner terror.

Some even muttered under their breath, "If it were to save people from our own county, I'd do it willingly. But those people aren't even from Tewu — why should we go save them?"

They had gradually accepted what Diwu Lun proclaimed before every meal: "The common people clothe us and feed us; we must protect the common people completely." But they understood this to mean only the people of Tewu County.

The outsiders on the opposite bank — the Boar-Rush Braves had never received the slightest favor from them. What did their life or death have to do with them?

Ninety-nine out of a hundred men in the Fifth Battalion had awareness this low. Even those who wore looks of pity and felt a pang of reluctance still showed hesitation when it came time to truly cross over and fight.

Grand principles were useless with this bunch. Diwu Lun could only keep it as simple as possible: "Gentlemen!"

"A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. The east and west banks are like lips and teeth — when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold!"

"Think about it, all of you. Today, our neighbor is attacked by jackals and cries out for help. If we sit by and do nothing, then when the wolf pack comes to our own home in the future, can we really expect anyone else to help us?"

"Therefore, those we must protect are not only the people of Tewu County."

"We must protect all the people within the new Qin lands."

One day, sooner or later, those he must protect would be all the people under Heaven! He said this to himself.

"Follow me across. Protect the common people as they cross the river, and then we return. And while we're at it, tell the barbarians: when friends come, there is good wine; but when jackals come, the only welcome awaiting them is sharp blades and keen arrows!"

"We are willing to follow the Major, protect the people, and strike the barbarians!"

The voices were ragged and uneven, utterly devoid of heroic vigor. Morale was still low. Diwu Lun no longer cared. Even if they were a pack of rotten soldiers, even if they couldn't be propped up, he would drag them across anyway.

Let them be washed in the icy waters of the Yellow River, tempered in battle where arrows flew like rain, winnowed and forged in the slaughter of blood and fire, transforming bit by bit.

"And I myself — do I not also need tempering?"

Diwu Lun slapped his own hand, which was trembling slightly from the cold water. He tucked it against his chest and clenched it into a fist. In his heart, he had no confidence about this battle either.

The twelve boats provided by the Zhang Chun family rowed over from upstream, and Diwu Lun was the first to board. Turning back, he saw his own soldiers — afraid as they were, never having been on a boat before — still gritting their teeth and stepping on in their usual formation, following Company Commander Diqi Biao and Centurion Zang Nu.

The boats rocked. They could only crouch down, pressed one against another, spears and halberds gripped tight and held upright in both hands, breathing heavily.

Fifty men filled the boat. As the boatmen's wooden oars struck the gunwale like drumbeats, then slapped the river water, they began to row.

Waves battered the speeding boat, the cold piercing to the bone. Diwu Lun stretched out his left hand — the one that trembled slightly — turning it into a blade-like palm pointing forward. His voice hoarse, he shouted:

"Cross the river!"

The boat left the shore, carrying with it the hopes of the people on the west bank, bearing the admiration of those on the east bank, sailing toward the middle of the river.

And like an echo, the shivering, trembling soldiers on the boats behind, the Boar-Rush Braves and the people of Tewu County on the shore watching Diwu Lun depart — all raised their voices to cheer. The sound drowned out the agonized wailing, swallowed the noise of the flowing water.

"Cross the river!"

…

PS: Was fixing the content, so it's a bit late.

(First subscription bonus chapter 7/8)