Chapter 182: Who Else But You?

The winter sun rose once more from the earth, shining down on a small grove forty li south of Xiangcheng. The air was thick with cold. Over a dozen horses were tethered to the trees around them, and several hundred soldiers sprawled crookedly against one another — some lying, some leaning, some sitting. Their weary faces and the wounds, large and small, covering their bodies made it plain: this was a remnant force of broken troops who had endured bitter hardship.

At the center of the gathered men, Li You, lying flat on a cart, was woken by the pain of his wounds. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Hei Fu changing the blood-soaked bandages for him.

"Hei Fu."

Li You looked at this subordinate who was dressing his wounds with practiced skill, his feelings complicated. After a long moment, he spoke weakly: "Who lent you the gall to abduct your Commandant and flee?"

At these words, everyone around opened their eyes. The military judge in particular stepped behind Hei Fu and gripped his sword, as if a single order from Li You would be enough for him to cut Hei Fu down.

But Hei Fu did not change expression. He continued the work in his hands, using silk cloth to re-treat the wounds that had been hastily bandaged in the dark the night before. Only after carefully tying the final knot did he step back a pace and say with a solemn face:

"To follow the general's orders, hold the rear for the main army, and not retreat half a step — that is the duty of a Commandant."

"Once the order is given, to press forward with all one's might, behead the foe and kill the enemy — that is the duty of the common soldier."

"To guard one's flanks, shield the Commandant, and place the Commandant's safety above all else — that is the duty of the personal guard."

"Last night the Chu army's assault was ferocious. Our troops held out for over two ke, but we were outnumbered and could not hold. The battle lines collapsed. The general was intent on dying for the realm and refused to retreat. But if the general had died, we personal guards, even if we managed to flee back safely, would still be investigated and executed. Therefore, in this humble officer's view, I was merely fulfilling my duty. If the Commandant believes I am guilty, then put me to death by military law!"

With that, Hei Fu dropped to one knee and bowed. The personal guards who owed their survival to him also gathered around — Dongmen Bao, Ji Ying, Gong Ao, and the others knelt together: "If the Hundred-Leader fulfilled his duty by saving the Commandant and is still guilty, then we deserve to die together!"

"Enough, enough. You were indeed only fulfilling your duty. What crime is there? If we are to speak of guilt, I lost this battle. I cannot escape the charge of destroying an army."

Li You weakly closed his eyes. He felt as if his whole body was about to fall apart, especially his chest where the arrow had struck — it burned with searing pain. The gentle morning sunlight seemed to touch the grief deep in his heart, filling him with a nameless sorrow.

Looking back, yesterday's battle had been nothing short of a disaster. When the Southern Commandery troops ordered to hold the rear gradually faltered and collapsed under the Chu assault, Li You had wanted nothing more than to curse aloud.

Curse the arrogant and reckless Li Xin. Curse Meng Tian, who had assigned him to the rear guard.

Li You had two choices. The first was to die with the army, to fall on the battlefield. But he had only just married the King of Qin's eldest princess. He was at the very start of a new life of wine, women, and marriage, with a bright official career and boundless prospects ahead. How could he be willing to die here, senselessly and without reason?

The second was to abandon the main army, turn around, and flee. But that would violate military law.

The military law of Qin states: In any battle, should a general or officer abandon his troops and flee north alone, he shall be beheaded without exception.

Before Li You could make his choice, the position he occupied came under a sudden rain of arrows loosed by Chu bowmen. Although Hei Fu and the other personal guards immediately mounted the war chariot and raised shields to block many of the arrows for Li You, the unlucky Li You was still struck in the chest by a stray bolt. The chariot horses panicked and bolted wildly, throwing him from the vehicle...

At that moment, Hei Fu led men to lift Li You up, shouting "Protect the Commandant!" Before the main Chu force could charge over, they, along with several hundred personal guards, broke away from the battlefield.

For a time, Li You had wanted to vent the guilt of not fighting to the death and leaving the battlefield onto his personal guards. But opening his eyes and watching Hei Fu carefully dress his wounds, in the end he could not harden his heart. He was right — everyone was simply being faithful to their own duty.

"I was ordered to hold the rear. I fought with all my strength against several times our number of Chu troops and held firm to the very end. That does not count as abandoning the army and fleeing."

There is a great difference between abandoning the army and fleeing, and fighting hard but being outmatched. The former marks one as a "traitor to the realm," a crime beyond pardon. The latter is an act of helplessness.

Generals who fight the enemy with all their might yet still suffer defeat are, by law, also to be executed, but they may still use their noble rank to atone for the crime. This system has a long history in Qin. As far back as the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Mu of Qin pardoned Mengming Shi, Xiqi Shu, and Baiqi Bing — the three generals who suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Jin army at the Battle of Xiao and were even taken captive — and restored their offices as before. Several years later, the three generals wiped away their disgrace in a single stroke, leading troops to attack Jin, crossing the river and burning their boats, and dealt the Jin a crushing defeat to avenge the Xiao campaign.

Thus Qin has always maintained this tradition, never excessively harsh toward defeated commanders. After all, apart from Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, no one dares claim they can win a hundred battles out of a hundred.

In the past, great generals like Wang He and Meng Ao also suffered defeats, some even catastrophic, losing armies and territory. In the end, they all used their noble ranks to atone and were not executed. After a few years of silence, they were appointed once more. These commanders, afterward, would learn their lessons and devote themselves even more fervently to earning merit and washing away their shame.

"The primary blame for this campaign lies with Li Xin and Meng Tian. If I use my rank to atone, at worst I will be stripped down to a commoner."

Brooding over distant matters was useless. First, they had to escape danger. Li You lifted his head and asked:

"Where is the Commander of the Five Hundred personal guards?"

No one answered. Hei Fu lowered his head. "The Five-Hundred Commander held the rear for the Commandant and died amid the chaos of battle."

"A pity."

Li You sighed. The night before, after being gravely wounded and then thrown from the chariot, he had been unconscious for a time. Placed on the cart by the personal guards, he had drifted in and out of awareness, losing the ability to command. Thus he knew nothing of what had happened afterward.

"How many men have you gathered in total?"

Hei Fu reported: "In total, we have gathered over six hundred men, four hundred of whom are personal guards. Among the officers, only three personal-guard Hundred-Leaders remain, along with one other ordinary Hundred-Leader."

"So few?!"

Li You was shocked. The Southern Commandery troops under his command were not at full strength — unlike other Commandants who led ten thousand men, he had only five thousand at best. How could so few have escaped?

Hei Fu and the nearby Hundred-Leaders like Di Chong exchanged glances, then offered their apologies: "We have not yet informed the Commandant. The situation at the time was critical. The soldiers scattered in all directions. Most fled westward along the Ying River, but we saw that Chu troops had also dispatched chariots and cavalry in relentless pursuit. We chose not to go west, but to head south instead... This was a decision we discussed together. We hope the Commandant will not blame us."

"South?"

Li You was startled again. Another jolt of pain shot through his chest. He steadied himself, then surveyed the unfamiliar grove around them. "Where are we?"

"Forty li south of Xiangcheng."

Cheng Shang, a haggard-looking Mohist of Qin, also walked over. He too had been caught in the chaos of the routed army, separated from Master Tang and Tang Duo. In the end, he could only follow this group south. The entire way, he had been silently calculating the distance they had traveled.

"A map."

Li You wanted someone to bring a map for him to examine, but Hei Fu and the others merely looked at one another. Embarrassed, they said, "Commandant, the withdrawal was too hasty. We did not bring a map."

Li You was resigned. Fortunately, he was a native of Shangcai and had some impression of the surrounding towns. He directed the personal-guard Hundred-Leaders, sketching out a rough layout of the positions on the ground.

First came the Ying and Ru rivers, murmuring as they flowed southeastward. Then the towns scattered across the land like stars...

"The direction General Meng Tian retreated toward should be the line from Dun to Yangcheng."

Hei Fu described the scene they had witnessed during their withdrawal the night before. Meng Tian had likely gathered around twenty thousand remnant troops. By now they knew that the one who had led the men to besiege Xiangcheng was not Li Xin, but Meng Tian.

"The Chu army's pursuit route should also be along this road. Perhaps they intend to retake the towns along the way as they advance."

Although Meng Tian had rallied a small portion of the Qin army and it had not completely disintegrated, the Chu forces, chasing the defeated and hunting the fleeing, would surely be able to kill and wound many. Thus, the night before, Hei Fu and the others had taken Li You and avoided their sharp edge, turning south instead. It was undoubtedly the correct decision. The Chu troops had come from the east and north; the south, which Li Xin's forces had just swept through, was completely empty of soldiers.

"We can go to Pingyu."

Li You recalled the military intelligence Meng Tian had relayed to them and pondered. "Half a month ago, General Li Xin launched his troops from Shangcai, capturing Pingyu and Qinqiu in succession, routing the Chu army, and leaving a small number of troops at those places. Pingyu in particular has three thousand soldiers..."

Once they reached Pingyu, they would be safe, and Li You could receive better treatment. Hei Fu had already said that he could only bandage wounds to stop the bleeding; more complex treatment for metal-inflicted injuries was beyond him, and the army physician had long since vanished without a trace.

Li You now yearned with all his heart to leave behind this battlefield that had brought him such painful memories, to return alive to Xianyang, to the side of his newlywed wife.

At this thought, he rallied himself once more and addressed the several Hundred-Leaders who had gathered to receive orders: "From here to Pingyu, it will likely take a day and a night. We shall..."

Before he could finish, another violent pain struck his chest. Li You coughed up a mouthful of blood, spraying it onto the crude map they had just drawn, staining the space between the Ying and Ru rivers a patch of red!

"Commandant!"

Hei Fu and the others hurriedly supported Li You, laying him back down.

"The Commandant needs quiet rest. He must not speak further."

"It seems I cannot even personally lead you out of Chu."

Li You gave a weak, bitter smile. He had lost quite a bit of blood and could lose consciousness again at any moment. At most, he could set a general direction for the withdrawal. But this was Chu territory — enemies were everywhere. Who knew what they would encounter along the way?

Therefore, they needed a commander who could replace Li You and adapt to changing circumstances on the fly.

In the Qin army, five men form a squad, ten a section, a hundred a company, a thousand a regiment, and ten thousand a division under a general. In battle, if a commander dies in the morning, someone takes over in the morning; if he dies at night, someone takes over at night. The order of succession in command was much like later ages: first by rank, and if ranks are equal, then by military title (noble rank).

By rights, when Commandant Li You could no longer command, authority should pass to a regiment commander or a five-hundred commander as temporary replacement. But now the five-hundred commander of the short-weapon troops was dead. The heavy responsibility of leading everyone out of Chu territory could only fall to the four junior centurions before him.

That junior centurion of the Southern Commandery troops named Man — Li You had no impression of him. He had probably just fled along in the chaos, so naturally he was not under consideration.

Among the three short-weapon junior centurions, Zhai Chong's noble rank was only Bugeng, lower than the other two, so he too was disqualified.

Li You looked at the two remaining men. One was a centurion who had followed him since Xianyang, named Xu Yang. His family were minor military-merit aristocrats, serving as officials for generations — an excellent candidate. Xu Yang was also gazing eagerly at Li You right now.

But in the end, Li You shifted his gaze to Heifu.

This junior centurion from Anlu County in Southern Commandery, who did not even have a clan name, had first caught Li You's attention with something as simple as folding bedding. After becoming his short-weapon guard, he had offered counsel and strategies, further revealing a resourcefulness his outward appearance belied.

Even more难得的是, Heifu was highly ambitious. While the army was halted, he had borrowed Li You's copy of *Wu Sunzi* to study, and had even hand-copied two scrolls himself. The hundred men under his command also had the highest morale and strictest discipline among the Southern Commandery troops, and their unit structure was still intact.

"Heifu, come forward," Li You said.

Heifu immediately came to Li You's side and knelt on one knee.

Li You took out the tiger tally he carried with him and handed it to Heifu. "To take my place in command and lead everyone out of peril — who else but you?"

(End of Chapter)