After suffering two consecutive blows, one covert and one overt, the Xiao army’s western camp was nearly wiped out and utterly disgraced. The day after the prisoners were rescued, just as Chief Commander Wang had predicted, the Xiao army gathered heavy forces and a large number of siege engines, launching assaults on both the northern and eastern walls.
After General Sun died in battle, his body had been taken by the northern Xiao army. Before the assault began, the Xiao army built a wooden tower and hung General Sun’s corpse high above it, using it to humiliate and provoke the defenders on the wall.
The defenders on the wall, in turn, threw down the Xiao banner Li Si had shot and snapped with his arrow. It had been smeared all over with dog dung, so foul that the stench drifted with the wind as it fluttered lazily down beneath the city.
Both sides hated each other to the extreme, and drums and gongs thundered from both armies.
The Xiao army lined up dozens of stone-throwing carts and hundreds of heavy crossbows, fiercely attacking the city wall and its defenders with stones and bolts. Amid the chaos, they pushed wheeled cloud ladders and assault bridges up to the wall, intending to scale the city with them. But the Xuan army answered with stones and fire arrows, forcing back the soldiers on the ladders and bridges. The Xiao army then wrapped goose carts and wooden donkeys in fireproof oxhide and wet felt, hiding fresh troops inside and pushing them to the foot of the wall as well. These too were beaten back by the Xuan army’s stones and heavy crossbows.
The two sides fought bitterly for the entire day. The Xiao army left behind over a thousand corpses and countless ruined siege engines, yet still failed to breach the city.
——
The setting sun sank. The Xiao army sounded the gong to withdraw, retreating like a swarm of locusts.
The remnants of fire still clung to life among abandoned war carts, broken shields, and shattered siege gear. The dim yellow glow of sunset covered the heaps of corpses below the wall. Vultures and crows circling overhead dropped like a sudden rain, beginning the feast they had waited for all day.
Inside the city, everything was busy yet orderly. Medical soldiers carried stretchers back and forth, treating the wounded. Soldiers coming on duty replaced their exhausted comrades. Craftsmen who had long been waiting beneath the gate towers hurried up the wall to repair every damaged section.
Zhang San had followed Wang Xu on patrol until late the previous night, then fought another full day at the northern wall today. Both of them were utterly exhausted.
As soon as the battle ended, Wang Xu dragged Zhang San down from the wall and found a military tent in the camp. He called two personal guards to watch the entrance and prevent Zhang San from sneaking out, then collapsed onto the crude bed inside without even removing his armor. “Sleep. They might attack again tomorrow morning.”
The guards brought in wooden planks and made Zhang San a low cot on the ground with a quilt, then withdrew.
Zhang San was also exhausted. He had the guards call a military physician to change the dressing on his left shoulder, then lay down and fell asleep as well.
——
Wang Xu slept until midnight, but some instinct told him something was wrong. He jolted awake and immediately looked down from the bed—Zhang San’s low cot was empty, and even the quilt had been taken.
The two guards at the door had fainted. Zhang San had been considerate enough to worry they might catch cold lying outside, so he had dragged them into the tent and covered them with Wang Xu’s cloak.
Wang Xu: “…”
He shook awake the two useless fellows and stormed straight toward the prefectural dungeon, cursing as he ran through the night. “Heartless bastard! We fought all day, and you still won’t let your older brother sleep! I should’ve let Father behead you the night before last!”
Wang Xu charged into the dungeon with bear-like force. Sure enough, the two jailers on duty had also been knocked out and were sleeping peacefully beside the brazier.
Wang Xu went straight to the innermost cell, thinking Zhang San had already succeeded in helping Li Si escape… only to find Zhang San sitting quietly on the ground, leaning against the bars.
Zhang San had draped the quilt he had stolen from the military camp over himself. Half was wrapped around his own body, and the other half had been pushed through the bars and wrapped around Li Si. The two young men were like two little beasts huddling together for warmth, relying on each other through the bars, their heads touching as they slept.
——
Wang Xu waved a hand, signaling the guards behind him to withdraw.
Alone, he slowed his steps and walked over to the two of them, silently lowering his head to look at them.
He had known A’Xiao for four years.
Back then, A’Xiao had only been a nineteen-year-old hothead. His martial skill was outstanding, but his temper was fiery, and he had offended many superiors. Even when he earned merit, it was never reported upward. For several years, he had remained a lowly vanguard soldier, always sent on missions that were little more than suicide. Yet A’Xiao could eat, could fight, and was as fierce and slippery as a wildcat. He escaped death countless times, and sometimes even managed to carry or drag a few wounded comrades back with him.
Four years ago, Grand Preceptor Tong led troops south to suppress Fang La’s rebellion. During the campaign, A’Xiao had been kicked around like a cuju ball until he landed under the command of Wang Xu and his father. Wang Xu was straightforward by nature and loved studying martial arts, so he got along well with A’Xiao. His father, meanwhile, was upright and stern, clear in reward and punishment, and deeply respected by A’Xiao. The father and son quickly tamed A’Xiao’s wildness. Under their guidance, A’Xiao gradually learned the ways of human relationships and conduct. His temperament was no longer as sharp and untamed as it had been in youth; he also revealed a talent for cleverness and quick thinking, was promoted to squad leader, and began learning how to lead troops and conduct marches.
Wang Xu had watched A’Xiao grow up. The A’Xiao of today still had his sincere nature, but he had long since learned to judge the situation and plan things carefully.
To seize a chance to leave Grand Preceptor Tong’s army, bearing the tattooed marks on his face and the obvious identity of a deserter, then make his way north through hardship and finally attach himself to an “envoy” to successfully return to the city—the dangers and difficulties of that journey could easily be imagined. But A’Xiao had done it.
He had already done it, yet he had nearly thrown it all away for this young envoy.
Wang Xu was certain: the reason A’Xiao was holding back now was because he trusted Father to save the boy. If Prefect Zhang truly intended to execute the young envoy, A’Xiao would certainly find some other way to resist.
They had only known each other for a few short days, yet A’Xiao had said, “He really is different from everyone else.”
This kid had truly fallen for him.
——
The lamps in the prison were dim, and Wang Xu’s vision gradually blurred.
Looking down at the two of them leaning against each other, he suddenly thought of his wife and children far away in the capital, and of his wife’s silent, reluctant gaze when he had left home years ago.
In their youth, they too had been tender and affectionate, once walking hand in hand through a bustling night market with lanterns in their hands. In early adulthood, they had been blessed with twin children, a boy and a girl, but the birth had nearly cost his wife her life. He had been terrified, wiping the sweat from her face with tears in his eyes. Now, in middle age, war was frequent and they were more often apart than together. Love was no longer easily spoken aloud, and longing was buried beneath national hatred and family grief.
When would they be reunited? When would they be able to lean warmly against each other and sleep peacefully through a cold winter night like this?
Even a steadfast general like him, firm as a mountain, could not help the heat rising in his eyes.
——
But a prison had its rules, and allowing Zhang San to sleep here was ultimately improper. Wang Xu moved lightly, bending down to wake Zhang San—only to feel someone’s gaze on him. He stopped.
Zhang San was truly exhausted and sleeping deeply. But Li Si had been startled awake and was looking up at him.
Li Si’s face was still hazy with sleep, his pupils pure and dark. He stared blankly for a long while before recognizing him as Brother Wang, who had brought Zhang San to see him yesterday. Brother Wang had also told the jailers not to mistreat him and to give him three full meals.
He did not know Brother Wang had come to catch Zhang San. He thought Brother Wang had come again to visit and care for him, so he blinked quietly, pressed his lips together, and gave him a shy, grateful smile.
Brother Wang: “!!!”
The boy’s brows and eyes were delicate and handsome. Though his features had already matured, he still carried a clean, youthful innocence that had not yet faded. When Wang Xu left home, his son and daughter had only been children with their hair in twin knots. If they grew a few more years, they would probably look just as young and tender.
Wang Xu was struck as if by lightning. He stiffly straightened, waved at Li Si to indicate, “Go back to sleep,” then quickly turned and left.
——
At dawn, Zhang San opened his eyes and carefully pulled the entire quilt back without waking the sleeping Li Si. He also rubbed away the dusty marks he had left on the floor with the sole of his boot, covering up all evidence that he had sneaked in and slept there for the night.
He moved his stiff body a little, bundled the quilt in his arms, and tiptoed back the way he had come.
He passed soundlessly by the two jailers, who were still sleeping deeply, and crept out of the dungeon on tiptoe. Thinking his plan flawless, he was just about to sneak back to the northern military camp.
But as soon as he stepped out of the dungeon, in the faint morning light, Wang Xu stood outside like a mountain. He had changed into clean battle robes and looked full of energy, his powerful arms folded as his bright eyes glared at Zhang San.
Zhang San: “…”
Guiltily, he hid his face behind the quilt. Knowing he was in the wrong, he still tried to argue. “I only came to look at him. I didn’t let him escape.”
Wang Xu snorted through his nose, shot him a disdainful glance, then looked around to make sure no one else was present. He snatched the quilt away, tucked it under one arm, and took out two steamed cakes wrapped in dried lotus leaves, stuffing them into Zhang San’s hands. “Take these to him.”
Then he took out another dried lotus-leaf packet. Inside was a small pinch of sugarcane frosting. “Got it from the prefectural yamen cook. It tastes good dipped with the cakes. Give this to him too.”
Xuan’s sugar-making craft was advanced. Cane sugar was common and cheap enough for ordinary households to afford, but in wartime it was extremely difficult to find, especially in the army. Wang Xu’s large hands, hands used to wield blades and kill enemies, held that tiny pinch of sugar carefully, afraid the wind might scatter it. He showed it to Zhang San, then carefully wrapped it back up and stuffed it into Zhang San’s hands as well.
Zhang San: “???”
He suspected Wang Xu had been kicked in the head by little colt hooves in his dreams last night. “Brother, I’ve never seen you treat me this well.”
He fed the little brother sugar, and fed the big brother fists.
If Wang Xu had not been holding the quilt under his arm, he would have liked to feed both of Zhang San’s cheeks another punch. “As if you deserve it, you useless brat! Just to sneak into prison and sleep for a night, you knocked out four people. Did they offend you?”
——
The Xiao army attacked for only one day, returned defeated, and did not come again the next day.
By this stage of the war, both sides had already realized that this city was as solid as iron. It could not be taken by force. A siege like this, aside from exhausting manpower and resources on both sides, was little more than a show of intimidation. The Xiao army could not enter the city, and the Xuan army could not leave it. What the two sides were competing with was not military strength, but time.
All they had to do was trap the city and let time pass. Wait until the other cities in Xuan’s north fell one after another. Wait until the Xuan reinforcements were defeated one by one. Wait until Xuan’s already scarce elite troops were gradually exhausted. Wait until the supplies and grain stockpiled inside Kuiyuan were eventually emptied.
Then this would be nothing more than an isolated dead city, helpless, waiting to die, and ready to be taken.
——
That morning, Prefect Zhang, who had slept unconscious for two days, finally woke.
The subordinates and servants waiting outside were overjoyed. Some poured soup into him, others medicine; those who needed to notify Chief Commander Wang hurried off at once.
Chief Commander Wang rode quickly from the eastern wall to the prefectural yamen, only to find it empty. A servant said Prefect Zhang had ignored the objections of the servants and physicians and insisted on going to the northern gate, where yesterday’s fighting had been fiercest.
Chief Commander Wang rushed to the northern gate. Wang Xu and Zhang San were both standing guard on the wall, but neither had gone up into the gate tower. The subordinates waiting below said Prefect Zhang was currently alone in the tower, and would see no one except Chief Commander Wang.
Chief Commander Wang removed his weapons and went upstairs alone.
The gate tower had been built directly above the northern gate. In order to display the grandeur and prosperity of Great Xuan to envoys from the northern nations, it had been constructed on a magnificent scale. Dragons coiled around the pillars on all four sides, and the five-ridged hip roof stood solemn and imposing. Rows of ridge beasts lined the green glazed tiles, each one lifelike and vivid.
Author’s Notes: A hip roof was a stately architectural style generally reserved for imperial buildings and the main halls of temples.
Unfortunately, after being battered by Xiao siege stones for more than a month, most of the green tiles had collapsed, the ridge beasts had long since been shattered, and a great hole had been punched through the roof. Cold wind howled through it unceasingly, chilling everything to the bone.
Prefect Zhang stood alone by the railing of the second-floor gallery. From a distance, his tall figure appeared refined and elegant, like a cultured gentleman gazing into the distance. But up close, his hair had been blown loose by the wind, strands flying wildly about his face. The bruises and swelling had yet to fade, his eyes were puffed up like those of a giant fish, and he looked as bleak and battered as this half-ruined symbol of prosperity.
Chief Commander Wang walked up behind him and saluted. “Prefectural Lord.”
Prefect Zhang turned around, squinting through swollen eyes as he struggled to make him out. “Brother Zheng Chen has come. Please, sit… No, stand here instead.”
Chief Commander Wang stepped to his side. He had intended to ask after his health, but seeing the man’s swollen face and miserable appearance, the question felt almost like mockery, so he wisely swallowed it. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Yong Xi, the wind is strong out here. You’ll catch a chill. Whatever needs discussing, let’s return to the prefectural yamen and speak there.”
Prefect Zhang shook his head weakly and raised a pale hand, pointing below the tower. Several craftsmen were busy repairing sections of wall that had been smashed open by siege stones.
“At first,” he said, “their stone-throwers could only reach halfway up the wall. Later, they could strike the top of the wall itself. And now, look—they can even punch a hole through the gate tower.”
Chief Commander Wang replied, “I’ve already ordered the craftsmen to dismantle abandoned buildings within the city and use the timber to build barricades. At the same time, they are making thousands of rope nets covered with cloth screens. If we erect these barricade nets atop the walls, they can intercept incoming stones.”
“These nets are made of rope and cloth. What if they attack with fire bombs?”
“Fire bombs are a Great Xuan invention. The Xiao do not possess that technology.”
Prefect Zhang sighed. “Many northern cities have already fallen or surrendered. Those cities contained fire bombs. The Xiao will master the technique in no time at all. They were a nomadic people, uncivilized, who founded their state barely ten years ago. Back then they did not even understand ordinary siege engines. Yet ten years later, they have conquered countless cities of the Northern Lang Kingdom, destroyed the kingdom itself, and now have turned their gaze toward Great Xuan.”
Chief Commander Wang answered, “If the Xiao gain new techniques, we will devise new responses. When soldiers come, generals block them. When floodwaters come, earth dams stop them.”
Prefect Zhang gave a bitter smile. “Brother remains as you always were. No hardship can shake your resolve. Do you remember, when the Xiao first surrounded the city, I once considered surrendering Kuiyuan? It was Brother who stopped me and explained the greater cause. Otherwise I might have committed a terrible mistake.”
Chief Commander Wang said, “When Grand Preceptor Tong fled south with the army, I personally saw you trying desperately to persuade him otherwise, even at the risk of offending him. We have known each other for years. I know you are not someone who chases power or fears death. You were thinking of the people of this province and feared what would happen if the Xiao breached the city.”
Prefect Zhang smiled bitterly. “Brother understands me, and I understand Brother. Though I am weak, after your persuasion I understood that Kuiyuan’s fate is tied to the fate of Great Xuan. We must never surrender. Besides, the Xiao are cruel and lawless. The cities that surrendered to them were still massacred and looted. They treat our people like cattle and horses, selling them to nobles to be enslaved, abused, and killed at will. Worse still, during sieges, they bind our civilians and drive them before their armies as shields of flesh and blood…”
As he spoke of these things, hatred twisted his features. He shut his eyes and ground his teeth together until they creaked. Trembling, he said, “If Kuiyuan were to fall into their hands as well… I am afraid. So afraid that I cannot sleep at night.”
Chief Commander Wang sighed. Zhang’s careful and meticulous nature was both his strength and his weakness. Such caution inevitably came with deep worries and constant anxiety.
Still trembling, Prefect Zhang continued, “The day I refused to open the gates to General Sun, I heard with my own ears as he died beneath the walls. I have regretted it ever since. Then, that very night, the Emperor’s secret decree arrived…”
Chief Commander Wang straightened at once.
That was right. He had stormed off in anger that night, and then Prefect Zhang had spent the following days unconscious. In all the commotion, he had completely forgotten about the secret decree.
“What instructions did His Majesty send?” he asked quickly. “Are reinforcements coming? Is there some strategy to defeat the enemy?”
Prefect Zhang laughed bitterly. “You thought the same thing I did. Reinforcements? A plan to defeat the enemy?”
He withdrew a scroll from his robes. It was the decree he had spent the entire night deciphering. His hand trembled as he pressed it into Wang’s hands.
“Brother, read it yourself. Let us see what our Emperor, the Son of Heaven of Great Xuan, chose to entrust to us when the nation stands on the brink of ruin.”
Chief Commander Wang lowered his head to read. His expression gradually darkened, and he frowned in silence for a long while.
Suddenly, Prefect Zhang burst out angrily, “The eastern Xiao army has marched south. The Retired Emperor has already abdicated and fled south! Yet our new Emperor has neither reinforcements nor a strategy for victory. Instead, he listens to some charlatan Daoist and orders us to search Kuiyuan for a supposed descendant of dragons whose elemental affinity is fire, so that the Daoist can perform rituals and pray for blessings!”
His voice dropped into a furious growl.
“If Kuiyuan falls! If the capital falls! If Great Xuan falls! What use are these damned dragon descendants then?!”
“Watch your tongue!”
Chief Commander Wang lunged forward and clapped a hand over his superior’s mouth.
Ignoring all etiquette, he glanced anxiously down from the tower. Fortunately, the wind was fierce and the pillars were high. The craftsmen below were focused on their work and had heard nothing of the prefect’s treasonous words.
Chief Commander Wang immediately dragged Prefect Zhang back inside from the gallery and beneath the ruined section of roof, where they could calm down in private.
“Yong Xi! Never say such things again!”
Prefect Zhang looked as though he had frightened himself out of his wits. After standing there in a daze for a while, he asked shakily, “No one heard that… did they?”
The two senior officials, whose combined age exceeded a hundred years, stretched their necks and peered down the staircase together. Seeing no one there and realizing their subordinates had faithfully kept everyone away from the tower, they finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Now they truly were bound together in life and death.
First thoughts of surrender, then words bordering on treason.
More than enough to wipe out nine generations of their families.
——
The two officials stood beneath the drafty roof, the great stone that had smashed through it lying at their feet. Both still looked shaken.
After a long silence, Chief Commander Wang finally let out a bitter laugh.
“You’re usually so cautious. I never imagined I’d hear such words from your mouth.”
Prefect Zhang sighed. “It is precisely because I am weak by nature. First came the matter of General Sun, which drove even Brother away in anger. Then I spent the entire night deciphering the Emperor’s decree by myself. My heart turned to ashes, and I never slept.”
He rubbed at his swollen eyelids. His expression relaxed somewhat.
“But on the following day, Brother insisted on riding out to rescue the prisoners. You charged out bravely and returned safely. That eased my mind greatly. Then, after I finally woke up… that little envoy beat me senseless.”
He stopped rubbing his eyes and let out a long breath.
At the memory, Li Si’s face reddened in Zhang San’s embrace, though he did not struggle. He heard Zhang San sigh softly beside his ear.
“You little fool.”
Li Si focused on enduring the heat in his face and did not answer.
Zhang San stroked his hair and murmured, “Little colt.”
“Big tiger,” Li Si replied.
Zhang San laughed aloud. The vibrations in his chest made both of them tremble slightly, and he reached up to ruffle Li Si’s hair again.
Chief Commander Wang continued, “He’s still young. He acted on impulse…”
Prefect Zhang shook his head.
“Brother need not blame him. After taking that beating, I actually woke up to a few things. I am a provincial Pacification Commissioner and a prefect, yet I had less courage and insight than a mere youth. It is truly shameful.”
He straightened his robes, adjusted his headpiece, and smoothed down the hair the wind had disordered. Then his expression grew serious.
“I did not invite Brother here merely to exchange gloomy thoughts. I sincerely wish to resist the enemy, yet I see no path forward. The capital now faces danger, and His Majesty concerns himself only with rituals. Hedong has become an isolated land, and the Xiao assaults grow fiercer with each passing day. In Brother’s opinion, how should Kuiyuan save itself?”
Chief Commander Wang replied, “I have been considering that very question these past two days. After hearing Zhang Xiao speak of Ant County the other day, I have come up with a few ideas. They may be able to buy us a sliver of hope.”
Prefect Zhang’s spirits lifted.
“I would very much like to hear them.”
——
No one knew what the two officials discussed upstairs, only that they talked for nearly an hour.
Below the tower, Wang Xu and Zhang San stood guard, growing more anxious the longer they waited. At one point they even thought they heard raised voices drifting down from above, but the wind was too strong and they could not make out a single word.
At last Zhang San could not stand it any longer.
“Brother Xu, why don’t you go up and take a look? They’ve been talking forever. What if they’re arguing over Sisi’s case?”
Wang Xu felt uneasy as well. He hovered near the entrance to the tower, looking as though he might force his way in. The prefectural officials did not dare offend him, but they still tried to dissuade him.
“General Wang, we are only following orders. We mean no disrespect. Please don’t make things difficult for us.”
General Wang was not unreasonable. With no choice, he dragged the restless Young Officer Zhang away and the two of them circled the tower once more.
When they returned, they finally saw the two officials descending the stairs one after the other.
The pair hurried forward and saluted.
“Prefectural Lord. Chief Commander.”
Prefect Zhang’s face was still swollen, but the despair that had previously hung over him was gone.
“My health has caused Envoy Li unnecessary suffering these past few days. I must trouble the two of you to bring Envoy Li back and escort him to the rear courtyard of the prefectural yamen, where he may bathe and change clothes. At noon today, I will hold a memorial ceremony at the western gate to honor the souls of the fallen Shuozhou reinforcements. Please bring Envoy Li with you.”
Zhang San froze, not expecting such a response.
Wang Xu promptly kicked him in the shin.
Only then did Zhang San recover his senses. He and Wang Xu immediately saluted together and repeatedly voiced their assent.
——
Li Si was still wrapped in the coat Zhang San had left behind two nights earlier, curled up in a corner like a rice dumpling.
His hands were still locked in the wooden cangue. With his long, callused fingers, he idly played with a dried lotus leaf that had once held sugar frosting. Every now and then he lifted it to his nose to sniff the lingering sweetness.
The scent made him feel a little happy.
Then he rubbed his cheek against Zhang San’s coat and felt a little warmth as well.
That was enough to satisfy him.
After staring blankly for a while, he tried folding the dried leaf into a kite. But he had never folded a kite before, and with his hands separated by the restraints, he could not bring them together properly. Eventually he gave up and resumed his peaceful daze.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from above the dungeon.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
They were coming fast.
Li Si raised his head, immediately clenched the dried leaf in his hand, and stood to approach the bars.
Before he even reached them, Zhang San had already strode up.
With one hand, he seized the iron bars and yanked hard several times, bending several of them out of shape. Then he reached through and hauled Li Si straight out of the cell.
The next moment, Zhang San drove a heavy punch into the wooden cangue. It shattered in two, and he tore it from Li Si’s body.
Then he pulled Li Si into his arms.
Chest against chest.
Holding him tightly, as though he meant to press him into himself.
Futile Devices Scans 
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