Chapter Thirty

Chapter 30

Gu Yusheng achieved victory in his first battle, reclaiming Iron City.

Soon after, the central army led by Marshal Yang Wenhua and the military supervisor Wang Wuliang arrived at the southern outskirts of Iron City. Gu Yusheng rode out twenty miles to welcome them, and the entire central army was stationed within the city.

No sooner had the supervisor, Wang, entered Iron City than he busied himself with drafting a memorial to the throne. He was eager to report the good news of the city's recovery to the imperial court. He dispatched messengers to deliver the memorial to Chancellor Tan, requesting that his cousin-in-law present it to the Emperor. Meanwhile, Yang Wenhua and Gu Yusheng were already strategizing their next campaign.

Over the following three months, Marshal Yang requested that Supervisor Wang remain to guard Iron City. He combined his central army with Gu Yusheng’s vanguard and pushed toward the northwest. They successfully reclaimed Water City, which had been occupied by Empress Dowager Liang’s Third Route Army; Ding City, held by the Fourth Route Army; and Qing City, held by the Fifth Route Army. Thus, of the six border cities seized by the Empress Dowager, four had been recovered by Yang and Gu, leaving only Gu City and Qing City remaining.

Gu City, held by the Empress Dowager’s First Route Army, served as her main base of operations. After capturing it, she had constructed over a dozen fortresses around the city, controlling the watershed of the Yongding River and the Li River, threatening seven hundred miles of Southern Han farmland. Beyond building fortifications, she and her young grandson, the boy emperor, had resided in Gu City.

Qing City, a vital stronghold ninety miles northeast of Iron City, was built on high, rugged terrain with a complete defensive system. Situated on the west bank of the Gourd River, it controlled the vast region to its west and blocked the eastern route for the Autumn Kingdom’s invasions.

Qing City had originally been defended by the renowned Southern Han general Hua Cheng. It was said that before the assault on Iron City, Empress Dowager Liang had ordered an attack on Qing City first. However, after careful reconnaissance, Princess Chongwen argued that Qing City was strategically perilous and difficult to assault, whereas Iron City was flat and accessible. Furthermore, she noted that while Hua Cheng was a legendary commander, the defender of Iron City, Tan Qinglong, was merely a man of hollow reputation. The articulate Princess eventually persuaded the Empress Dowager to attack Iron City first. The Empress Dowager, a shrewd and ruthless stateswoman and strategist, agreed but secretly ordered her Sixth Route Army commander, Tuwu, to split his forces: one half to lie in ambush at the Sichuan Pass—the necessary route between Qing City and Iron City—and the other to wait for the battle at Iron City to begin before seizing the opportunity to attack Qing City.

When Princess Chongwen began her assault on Iron City, the defender Tan Qinglong should have held his ground and waited for reinforcements. Instead, overestimating his abilities, he marched his troops out to face the Princess in open battle. He was no match for her. Ultimately forced to retreat into the city, he finally realized the need for help and sent numerous messengers out to seek aid, including repeated pleas to Hua Cheng in Qing City.

At that time, Qing City held only ten thousand troops. General Hua Cheng knew that while his city was defensible, splitting his forces to save Iron City would leave Qing City vulnerable to any sudden attack. However, his primary concern was political: Tan Qinglong was the Chancellor’s cousin, and the Chancellor held absolute power at court. If Hua Cheng failed to act, his career would be over. Moreover, with the two cities only ninety miles apart, he felt he could not watch his neighbor perish. After much deliberation, he left ten thousand men under a deputy commander to hold Qing City while he led several thousand soldiers to Iron City’s rescue. He hoped to break the siege and return quickly. Instead, he fell into the Sixth Route Army’s ambush at Sichuan Pass, and his entire force was slaughtered. Hua Cheng returned to Qing City alone, only to see the banners of the Autumn Kingdom flying from its walls. He wailed in despair, turned his horse eastward, and has been missing ever since.

Now, Qing City is garrisoned by the Empress Dowager’s Sixth Route Army commander, Tuwu, with one hundred thousand Autumn troops.

...

After escaping from Iron City, Princess Chongwen returned to Gu City. She went to the Empress Dowager to beg for mercy, but a mother’s heart prevailed; she was not punished, only stripped of her position as vanguard commander and left to entertain the young emperor. However, military command was her life, and she blamed Gu Yusheng for her downfall.

On the road from Qing City to Gu City.

The moon dipped behind the western mountains, and Gu Yusheng ordered the vanguard to halt.

As the order was given, the soldiers went about their duties: some set up camp, some prepared meals, others stood watch. Ten days earlier, Marshal Yang had brought Supervisor Wang to Qing City, ordering him to guard it while Gu Yusheng took his twenty-thousand-strong vanguard toward Gu City to strike the Empress Dowager’s main base. The Marshal himself took his main force of over one hundred thousand toward Qing City.

Gu Yusheng did not keep his advance secret. On the contrary, he marched in broad daylight, setting up camp at sunset without regard for tactical positioning.

As night fell, campfires illuminated the road like a series of lanterns stretching for miles. Soldiers gathered around the fires, eating and whispering.

In his tent, Gu Yusheng sat down as his deputy, Gao Jin, entered with a jar of wine. "Commander, the wine you ordered!"

Gu Yusheng smiled enigmatically. "Perfect timing! My bones are aching from a day in the saddle. Let us drink until we drop!"

Gao Jin, a newly appointed military official, was highly skilled but plain-looking and unmarried. Soon, the sound of clinking cups echoed through the tent.

"Gao," Gu Yusheng asked, "do you want a wife?"

Gao Jin, shy, only smiled.

Gu Yusheng took a large gulp and chided, "You just sit there smiling! If you want a wife, say the word, and I will have one delivered to you tonight."

Gao Jin sniffed the cup and shook his head. "Commander, you're getting drunk on white tea?"

"This is strong liquor!" Gu Yusheng laughed. "I am not drunk!"

Eventually, both men fell asleep. Silence descended upon the road.

Under the deep night sky, a team of phantom-like figures emerged from the mountains. Suddenly, battle cries pierced the air.

As the cries intensified, the campfires—which had seemed like dying embers—flared up again. They revealed ranks of soldiers standing ready with long spears.

Princess Chongwen led her men toward Gu Yusheng’s tent, shouting, "Gu Yusheng, you are finished tonight!"

There was no response from within. Suddenly, soldiers from both sides of the road closed in, surrounding the Princess. Gu Yusheng had arranged his camp in the "Long Snake Formation," with his tent serving as the head and Gao Jin’s as the tail. The formation was designed to coil and crush its prey.

Princess Chongwen tried to fight her way out, but the circle grew tighter.

...

The ground was littered with the bodies of the Autumn troops.

"Princess, come in for some tea," Gu Yusheng’s voice called out from the tent.

The Princess charged inside, only to find Gu Yusheng sitting on his bed, stretching as if just waking up.

"You're sober?" she cried. "Prepare to die!"

"Sober? Princess, I never drank wine! Gao and I only had tea."

Enraged, she thrust her sword at him, only to fall straight into a hidden pit beneath the floor.

Several soldiers hauled the bound Princess onto Gu Yusheng’s bed. As he ordered the pit filled, the Princess watched and listened. She was struck by his kindness and wisdom. In fact, she had been attracted to him since their first encounter at Iron City, where his peerless martial arts had overwhelmed her, forcing her to flee.

Now, as she lay bound on his bed, she felt a strange mix of emotions. She realized he was the man of her dreams—brilliant and talented. She lamented that they were on opposing sides of a war.

The next morning, when she awoke, she saw Gao Jin staring at her with a grin. Shocked, she leaped up, realizing she was no longer tied. Gao Jin explained that Gu Yusheng had ordered her release. He conveyed a message: the war was unjust, and she was a warrior who had shown restraint toward civilians. Gu Yusheng hoped she would return home and persuade the Empress Dowager to end the conflict.

The Princess was stunned. Upon returning to Gu City, she was imprisoned by the Empress Dowager, who eventually stripped her of her title and sent her back to the Autumn Kingdom to rot in the royal dungeon.

...

Meanwhile, Gu Yusheng’s forces continued to clash with the Empress Dowager’s troops. After a long stalemate, Gu Yusheng finally reclaimed the seven fortresses around Gu City. Marshal Yang, who had been displeased with the slow progress, mockingly suspended Gu Yusheng’s position, sending him to the rear to oversee grain supplies. Gu Yusheng accepted the order with a smile, knowing it was part of a larger plan.

At sunset, a supply train traveled the winding road. The Empress Dowager, watching from the city walls, sent her general, Weige, to intercept it.

"Weige," she said, "I am craving the rice of the south."

"I shall 'hunt' some for you tomorrow," Weige replied.

The next day, as the supply train appeared, Weige and his men ambushed them. Gu Yusheng, disguised as a wagon driver, stood amidst the grain carts.

"If you want the grain, take it, but do not hurt us!" Gu Yusheng shouted, before drawing his sword and severing the heads of the attackers.

Weige charged forward, shouting, "Who are you?"

"I am the Southern Han vanguard, Gu Yusheng," he replied.

With a single arc of his blade, Gu Yusheng severed Weige’s right hand and disarmed him. Before Weige could react, Gu Yusheng had him pinned.

At that moment, Marshal Yang launched a full-scale assault on Gu City. The Empress Dowager searched everywhere for her general, only to find that Weige had been taken captive by Gu Yusheng.