Futile Devices Scans

Wang Xu had intended to ride, but his horse had also gone without feed for several days and was gaunt and weak. Unable to bear putting his weight upon it, Wang Xu instead leaned on his saber as he walked. Refusing the company of his personal guards, he made his way alone along the walls toward the northern gate.

As he walked slowly, he gazed upon the bleak desolation within the city. Then he looked back at the Xiao encampments spread outside the walls, all gradually merging into the darkness of the night.

Tears gathered in his eyes, but he did not wipe them away. He did not want the passing defenders to see and further weaken their already dying morale.

He did not fear death. Who upon the battlefield did not die? Of those who went to war, how many ever returned? Yet his heart was filled with grief and fury—for this defense that had lasted an entire year, and for the blood and tears of the tens of thousands who had fallen one after another.

Could such a desperate struggle truly come to nothing in the end? Had all of it been futile? Could their only fate be the fall of the city and the death of its people, with no escape from being slaughtered to the last?

How could he possibly accept it?

–

The night was deep, and the cold wind mourned. Atop the northern gate tower, Wang Xu’s father, Wang Qi, Deputy Commander-General of Hedong, stood leaning upon his sword, silently gazing into the pitch-black night below the walls.

A crude wooden chair stood beside him. Seated upon it was Prefect Zhang Xiao of Kuiyuan City. Prefect Zhang struggled to remain upright against the railing, staring into the dark void alongside Chief Commander Wang.

Footsteps sounded behind them. Wang Xu climbed the stairs and stopped three or four paces away. He tidied his disheveled hair, carefully wiped the dust and ash from his face, then bowed and addressed them. “Prefect. Chief Commander.”

His father turned to glance at him and nodded slightly.

Wang Xu could hardly be blamed for arranging his appearance so carefully. Even amid such desolation, his father’s armor remained immaculate, his face solemn, and his back straight as a pine, without the slightest hint of laxity. Though the long ordeal had turned his temples withered white and weathered his features, a steady, brilliant light still shone within the elderly general’s eyes.

Prefect Zhang, meanwhile, had grown so thin that his bones protruded sharply beneath his skin, his loose purple robe swaying like a frail willow in the bitter wind. Yet somehow, the gale had not carried him away. He merely raised one feeble hand and motioned for Wang Xu to approach and speak.

Wang Xu stepped forward and reported, “We have still received no news from outside the city these past several days. Another Xiao army arrived from the east today. From what we could see, it numbers tens of thousands and is most likely a reinforcement force.”

Neither superior showed much reaction. After defending the city for a year, there was little they had not seen. Even Prefect Zhang, who had once become anxious over every slight disturbance, had long since lost the energy to startle at anything.

Prefect Zhang sighed. “Brother Zheng Chen, I fear the final moment has arrived. Now that Xu’er is here as well, there is something I have considered for a long time and wish to discuss with father and son.”

Chief Commander Wang said nothing. Wang Xu waited for his father to respond, but finally had to answer himself. “Please speak, Prefect.”

Prefect Zhang said, “As prefect, I receive the sovereign’s salary and must loyally serve him. But tens of thousands of common people remain within this city. What wrong have they committed? I intend to send a letter to Mo Han declaring that our stubborn resistance was my decision alone. I will take my own life in atonement and ask him to spare the soldiers and civilians of the city…”

Wang Xu exclaimed, “Prefect!”

Chief Commander Wang, who had remained silent throughout, suddenly reached out and pressed one hand firmly upon Prefect Zhang’s shoulder.

Tears filled Prefect Zhang’s eyes. “Brother Zheng Chen, this foolish younger brother has made up his mind…”

Chief Commander Wang interrupted him in a deep voice. “Yong Xi! If that day truly comes, my son and I will also die to demonstrate our resolve! But you speak too soon. This is not yet the final moment!”

Prefect Zhang asked, “What does Elder Brother mean?”

Chief Commander Wang said, “Xu’er, you said the Xiao reinforcements came from the Taihang Mountains to the east?”

Wang Xu replied, “Yes.”

Chief Commander Wang said, “Xiao lies to the north, and the northern route is unobstructed. Why would reinforcements not come from there? Since they arrived from the east, they must belong to the Second Prince’s eastern army. That means the Second Prince has withdrawn from the capital and come to join forces with Mo Han. If he has retreated, then Great Xuan’s reinforcements must also be on their way. This is not our final moment. On the contrary, it is our one chance of survival!”

Gripping Prefect Zhang’s shoulder, he said sternly, “We must immediately reorganize the remaining forces and use the inner city as our second defensive line. Even if the outer city falls, we can hold out for several more days and wait for the reinforcements to arrive. Yong Xi, even if you no longer trust the court or the emperor, do you not trust me? Do you not trust Pacification Commissioner Li, General She, Commander Zong, Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo, and Commander Zhang? All of us have planned and persevered until now precisely for this final struggle.”

The night was plainly so dark, yet the old general’s voice shattered its curtain, ringing firm and deafening.

No sooner had he finished than hurried hoofbeats sounded below the tower. The personal guard who had reported earlier came riding upon a swaying, emaciated horse. He rolled from the saddle, and though his steps staggered, his face was wild with joy as he rushed up the stairs.

“Report! We have received a reply from Jinyang City!”

–

The northern wind blew endlessly, carrying the first snowfall of winter. The early snow whirled across the sky and descended upon the fertile Wen River valley, stretching for a thousand li.

In the darkness, the warm breath of more than ten thousand laborers pushing carts melted the falling snow. A thousand enormous war wagons rolled across the thin white covering, their wheels producing a thunderous roar that shook the formerly silent valley.

From Tianmen Pass in the west, Jinyang City in the south, and the valleys of the Taihang Mountains in the east came the rustling sound of countless footsteps in the darkness, like colonies of ants gathering beneath the night. The sound grew more orderly and more immense with every moment.

The long night was about to break.

–

Three days later, the Xiao army breached the walls at Kuiyuan’s northern gate and flooded into the city like a surging tide.

Kuiyuan’s soldiers and civilians retreated into the inner city. Sheltered by the second wall, they stubbornly continued resisting the Xiao army. Every civilian between fifteen and sixty took the place of a fallen soldier and joined the defense.

The various Xuan reinforcement armies, totaling one hundred and fifty thousand troops, arrived outside Kuiyuan in time.

Abandoning the disorder and disunity that had plagued Xuan armies in the past, the reinforcements were divided into three forces under Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo’s unified command. They encircled Kuiyuan and instead launched a siege against the Xiao army. More than a thousand war wagons were transported from Jinyang and distributed among the three forces, tying down the main strength of the Iron Pagoda cavalry. The Xiao army repeatedly failed to break through and instead became trapped amid Xuan’s torrents of wagons and seas of soldiers.

The two sides fought fiercely without pause for half a month. Although the Xiao army was ferocious in battle, it had failed to capture any city upon which it could rely, while provisions from the rear could no longer be sustained. The longer it fought in the open wilderness, the more exhausted it became.

At the end of the twelfth month, the Xiao Commander-in-Chief, the Second Prince, withdrew first, retreating north toward Shiling Pass under cover from Deputy Commander-in-Chief Mo Han’s army.

Mo Han ultimately failed to breach Kuiyuan’s inner city. At last, he abandoned the siege and withdrew in haste.

–

It was noon on a winter day.

Although the sunlight was fierce, the bitter wind continued howling.

Amid the chaotic fighting across the open country, Mo Han had become separated from the main army and was fleeing north under the protection of several hundred Xiao cavalrymen. Young General She Ke Cun, commander of Tianmen Pass, led one thousand She family cavalry in pursuit.

Among the pursuing Xuan cavalry was a tall black stallion clad entirely in armor. Powerful and vigorous, its four hooves flew like the wind as it charged at the very front. Its rider wore light armor with a longbow strapped across his back. His hips never touched the saddle as he lowered his waist and bent forward, sprinting at full speed with the horse.

The black stallion was the first to overtake the rear of the Xiao cavalry. Mo Han’s figure appeared and vanished among the riders ahead.

Li Si straightened atop the horse. Despite the violent jolting, his expression remained calm as he drew his bow and nocked an arrow, its point aimed steadily at Mo Han’s head.

The feathered arrow left the string and shot straight toward Mo Han, only to be knocked aside midway by a melon-headed hammer. The heavily armored hammer warrior riding behind Mo Han released a piercing whistle, and the surrounding Xiao cavalry turned in their saddles and drew their bows. Arrows scattered toward Li Si like spray filling the sky.

Li Si nimbly flipped from the saddle and hid beneath the horse, wrapping his arms and legs around its belly. The arrows clattered against the horse’s armor.

Big Black Ghost was clad in heavy armor and showed no fear of the rain of arrows. His hooves suddenly drove forward, carrying him straight into the Xiao cavalry.

The fleeing formation reacted as though struck by a massive boulder, instantly erupting into chaotic waves.

Amid the confusion, three or five Xiao riders surrounded the black horse. Their curved sabers flashed like crescent moons, stabbing from every direction toward Li Si beneath its belly. Li Si shifted the bow onto his back, drew his saber, and rose. In the blink of an eye, he spun back onto the saddle. His Tang-style saber swept out like an iron fan, provoking a ringing clash of blades.

The Xiao cavalry failed in their first attack and drew back their sabers to strike again. Suddenly, a tiger’s roar thundered from the distance.

Another tall warhorse charged toward them. Zhang San had tucked a long-handled Tang-style saber beneath his arm and was using it like a lance. He cut through the mass of horses like a blade and plunged straight into the encirclement.

The long saber swept across the riders like an army-cleaving stroke, scattering everyone surrounding Li Si. One Xiao cavalryman failed to dodge and was knocked from his horse, where he immediately screamed beneath the chaotic trampling hooves.

Zhang San rode beside Li Si and cursed with a frown, “Little Fool, why did you charge ahead alone so quickly? Next time, I won’t let you ride Big Black Ghost!”

Li Si gave him an embarrassed smile, like a bashful little flower blossoming beneath the blazing sun. Zhang San’s brows twitched, and he cursed again, “All you know is how to act spoiled!”

The remaining Xuan cavalry arrived one after another, and the two sides became locked in fierce combat.

–

Under the protection of Zhang San’s sweeping blade, Li Si found an opening. His sharp gaze searched in every direction until he precisely located Mo Han between the intermingled red and black armies.

He urged his horse forward while sheathing his saber at his waist, drawing his bow, and nocking another arrow.

The arrowhead shifted slightly, but he could not release it. Though the distance between him and Mo Han steadily narrowed amid the chaotic armies, countless riders continued crossing between them.

His hooked fingers were just about to loosen when Li Si’s ears twitched at the sound of something tearing through the air. He decisively abandoned the shot and threw his body aside, evading the melon-headed hammer hurled in ambush. But the empty release made the bowstring snap back across his palm, instantly cutting the flesh and drawing a trail of blood. His bow also fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Zhang San roared in fury and swung his long saber down at the hammer warrior’s head. The armored man raised his hammer to block. The twin hammers collided with the blade in a deep, resonant clang.

Both men’s hands shook violently from the impact, but their grips remained firm, neither loosening in the slightest.

Zhang San pressed both hands against the long saber and forced it downward, driving the armored warrior inch by inch toward his horse’s back. He exerted such strength that veins bulged across his hands and forehead. This was the warrior who had injured Sisi with his hammer beneath Ant County several months earlier, and now he had injured Sisi’s hand again. Zhang San bared his tiger teeth and forced out a furious laugh as he bore down with the blade—he had been looking for this bastard to kill him.

Just as the blade crept toward the warrior’s skull, a hidden arrow suddenly shot toward Zhang San from the side, only to be cut down by Li Si’s saber.

Worried about Li Si’s injured hand, Zhang San’s strength faltered. The warrior seized the opportunity to thrust both hammers upward, finally knocking the long saber aside before turning his horse and escaping.

Zhang San had no time to pursue him and called loudly, “Sisi! How is your hand?”

Li Si glanced at the shallow wound across his right palm. He tore off a strip of his wrist guard with his teeth, tied it roughly around the injury, and tightened his grip upon his saber again. “I’m fine!”

The hidden archer nearby was another old acquaintance—the grassland woman general skilled with the bow whom Zhang San and Li Si had encountered during their night raid upon the Xiao camp. She and the hammer warrior were both Mo Han’s personal generals. At the time, the warrior had injured Li Si with his hammer, while the woman had shot Zhang San. It could truly be called an ill-fated reunion, with old hatred compounded by new.

Zhang San wheeled his horse toward the woman general and swung his saber at her. She rolled down beneath her horse’s belly and nimbly avoided the blow.

Zhang San laughed in exasperation. “Hey! Why is everyone copying Sisi?”

As he spoke, the hammer warrior rode back to rescue his companion and swept one hammer toward Zhang San from the side. Zhang San therefore copied Sisi and flipped beneath his horse—only to discover that, having never practiced the maneuver, he failed to clamp his legs in time and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

At the very height of his humiliation, he nearly received another arrow from the woman general. Fortunately, Li Si caught up and cut it down with his saber.

Zhang San rolled across the ground like a bedraggled tiger, while his frightened horse fled. Fortunately, Li Si arrived at full speed and reached down to pull him up in front of the saddle, leaving the two of them sharing one horse again.

Leaning back against Li Si, Zhang San coughed awkwardly and immediately switched to discussing tactics. Tilting his head back against Li Si’s cheek, he whispered, “Take down the archer first. Kill that woman!”

Li Si obediently urged the horse onward. Seated in front, Zhang San tucked the long saber under his arm and wielded it like a lance, charging straight toward the woman general.

The weapon was heavy but not especially fast. The woman tugged her reins and lightly turned aside, only to see Zhang San bare his tiger teeth in a crafty smile.

The attack had merely been a feint. Zhang San’s large body dropped forward with the momentum, revealing Li Si behind him. Li Si launched himself from the horse, soaring through the air before descending from above and cleaving his saber into the woman general’s shoulder, knocking her from the saddle.

Blood splashed across Li Si’s face. The woman made no sound before falling heavily to the ground.

–

Seeing his companion die, the hammer warrior released a furious roar and charged from the side. Twisting in his saddle, he swung one hammer toward Li Si.

Li Si had only just landed upon the woman general’s horse and had not yet caught the reins. As the hammer swept toward him from the side, he simply tilted and slid to the ground, avoiding the blow.

The warrior attempted to pursue and smash Li Si again, but Zhang San’s saber swept toward him. Unable to evade it, the warrior released the melon-headed hammer in his left hand, caught the incoming saber shaft beneath his arm, and copied Li Si by leaning sideways and sliding from his horse.

With the saber shaft trapped beneath his shoulder and his left hand gripping it, he used the force of his fall to wrench downward, dragging Zhang San from the saddle as well. The two rolled to the ground one after another. The armored warrior rose first and rushed toward Zhang San before he could regain his footing, raising the hammer in his right hand to smash it down upon Zhang San’s head.

At that moment, Li Si shot forward like an arrow. His Tang-style saber stabbed violently into the warrior’s chest, interrupting his movement.

But the warrior wore heavy armor, and the blade penetrated only an inch. The man froze, then realized he had suffered no real injury and released a cold laugh.

Li Si bared a neat row of little white teeth and smiled back at him. Then he abruptly released the hilt and stepped aside. Zhang San, concealed behind him, crashed forward with the force of a collapsing mountain and surging sea. Seizing the saber hilt with both hands, he drove the blade—already embedded an inch—straight through the armored warrior’s chest with the full strength of his tiger-like body.

The blade burst from the man’s back.

The warrior’s eyes widened, and he finally fell backward toward the sky, unwilling even in death.

–

Zhang San planted his boot against the warrior’s chest and exerted considerable effort before finally pulling out the saber. Raising it for a look, he saw a small chip in the tip.

He coughed guiltily and told Li Si, “It struck the heavy armor. I wasn’t the one who damaged it. You made the first stab.”

Li Si looked at him aggrievedly, silently accepted the saber, and wiped the blood from it against his arm.

Big Black Ghost came running over. Li Si silently mounted and extended one hand toward Zhang San, his expression still wounded.

Zhang San caught his hand and swung onto the horse. This time, he insisted upon sitting behind Li Si. “I’ll hold you and coax you. All right, all right, it was my fault the saber chipped… Hey! Why is the little colt hoof hitting people? Don’t hit me! Let me see the wound on your hand…”

–

They could bicker for only a sentence or two. The battle remained fierce, and the pair quickly plunged back into the fighting.

The Xuan cavalry’s morale was high. The fewer Xiao riders had no desire to continue fighting. Before long, they began seizing opportunities to break through and scatter in every direction.

Li Si’s sharp eyes caught sight of a dozen personal guards protecting Mo Han as they escaped the encirclement and fled northeast. He hurriedly urged his horse after them.

Because the hammer warrior and woman general had delayed them, the distance between the two sides was considerable. Though Big Black Ghost was a mighty divine steed capable of traveling a thousand li, he was clad in full armor and carrying two grown men, so even he could not unleash his full speed.

Just as Mo Han’s figure was about to disappear where heaven met earth, Li Si grew anxious. Suddenly, he saw another force of thirty or fifty cavalry approaching from a different direction and intercepting Mo Han’s path in time. Red robes streamed beneath the sunlight, making them appear to be Xuan cavalry as well.

Zhang San asked from behind him, “Who are they?”

Li Si shook his head. “I don’t know.”

They were only a small Xuan detachment and carried no banner.

Li Si watched Mo Han attempt to turn and escape. The leader of the cavalry removed a bow from his back, drew it beneath the blazing sun, and released an arrow that flew like a falling star, knocking Mo Han from his horse.

What magnificent archery! One martial artist naturally appreciated another, and Li Si could not help exclaiming, “Wow!”

Zhang San said, “What are you wowing about? What is so remarkable? I could make that shot too. Look—he didn’t even hit the right place.”

In truth, the arrow had deliberately struck Mo Han’s shoulder.

Mo Han rolled to the ground. His personal guards surged around him, attempting to help him back onto a horse. The leading Xuan general wore a scarlet cloak and carried a long spear. He charged into the encirclement like a flame piercing the sun, moving as though no enemies stood before him. Within only a few exchanges, he scattered the guards and captured Mo Han alive, hauling him onto his own horse.

The cavalry under his command were also highly disciplined and swiftly struck down every remaining Xiao rider who tried to escape.

Zhang San exclaimed, “Wow…”

The two had become so absorbed in watching the excitement from horseback that they forgot to ride closer. Only when Young General She approached from behind did they remember themselves and follow.

Zhang San pinched Li Si’s waist, signaling him to hurry after the others.

–

Young General She galloped forward and called repeatedly, “Hero, spare him! Mo Han is the son of Xiao’s chancellor. Keeping him alive will be extremely useful!”

The unfamiliar Xuan general understood this as well. He had deliberately shot Mo Han in the shoulder to preserve his life. He dismounted and saluted Young General She.

Young General She hurriedly dismounted and returned the salute. “We owe this victory to the general’s assistance! This subordinate is She Ke Cun of the She family army. May I ask which reinforcement force the general belongs to?”

The Xuan general replied in a powerful voice, “You flatter me. This subordinate is Yue Peng, a general under Commander Zong Duo.”

Zhang San and Li Si arrived just in time to hear his introduction. General Yue had a broad, square face and a powerful build, radiating the bearing of a true hero. Beneath the blazing sunlight and rushing wind, his scarlet cloak billowed like the wings of a great peng spreading toward vast ambitions.

Before long, this hero followed Commander Zong Duo north into battle and began displaying his brilliance. Many years later, he rose to the offices of Junior Guardian and Grand Commandant, led the Yue family army to repeated victories over Xiao, and ultimately recovered Yanyun for Great Xuan. His name was recorded in history, and his glory endured through the ages—but that is another story.

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