CH 311: Night Assault on Jincheng

Nights in the north still held a few traces of chill, and the cloak on his body rustled in the wind. Han Ruzi pressed both hands against the wall and glanced at the distant military camp, where there were few lights, making it look like a small village with only a dozen or so households, yet it could bring life-saving hope to lost travelers.

The night wind blew against his face, and Han Ruzi remained motionless. The so-called inspection patrol was merely an excuse—he wanted to come out for a walk. While the zither music could indeed stir feelings of heroic melancholy in his heart, only by truly stepping out of his room could he gain a visceral understanding of what “heroic melancholy” meant.

Cui Teng hid behind the wall’s battlements. He had arranged to meet several good friends for late-night drinking, but now his plans were completely disrupted. “The north is truly cold. Has Your Majesty ever been to Linzi?”

“Probably not.” Han Ruzi was born in Donghai, not too far from Linzi, the capital of Qi, but he didn’t remember ever visiting that city.

“I went there once a few years ago. Linzi is truly a wonderful place. In terms of thick walls and deep moats, it certainly can’t compare to the capital or Luoyang, but more than half the city consists of shops—you couldn’t finish browsing them all in six months. Luoyang produces singing girls, while Linzi produces dancing girls. Tsk tsk, those figures, those dance moves—so beautiful they could make a man forget to drink the wine in his hand.”

Cui Teng pulled his cloak tighter, his face flushed red, looking as if he had indeed drunk a jar of fine wine.

Han Ruzi gazed into the distant darkness. “In that case, wine sellers must surely dislike dancing girls.”

“Uh… not really. Though they forget to drink the wine, they still hold it in their hands and spill it on the ground, so the wine sellers still collect their money. Sigh, Your Majesty keeps too tight a rein on yourself and can’t appreciate the benefits of wine and women. Let me tell you… actually, I’d better not say anything.” Cui Teng suddenly came to his senses—if he managed to persuade the Emperor now, the first person to receive imperial favor would probably be Zhang Qinyan, which would be a tremendous loss for him.

Han Ruzi didn’t notice Cui Teng’s scheming thoughts. He was simply marveling silently at the vastness of the realm. After traveling for so long, they had only passed through a small portion of it. To tour the entire realm like the Martial Emperor would probably take more than ten years, and he didn’t yet have the Martial Emperor’s resources—he would have to wait until the treasury was full and the people lived in peace before he could visit all the famous mountains and great rivers.

This was Great Chu’s realm, his own realm. This feeling was something Han Ruzi couldn’t describe to outsiders; he could only experience it silently by himself.

“Your Majesty, the Xiongnu… probably won’t come tonight. Shall we… continue our patrol tomorrow?” His fantasies about Linzi weren’t enough anymore—Cui Teng urgently needed several cups of real hot wine.

Han Ruzi leaned forward, startling Cui Teng, who quickly turned and grabbed the Emperor’s arm. “Your Majesty, be careful.”

Han Ruzi pointed at a moving point of light in the distance. “To come to Jincheng City in the dead of night, there must be urgent business.”

“Then let’s go wait inside the gate tower.”

The city gate tower had three floors. The people inside had already spotted the rapidly approaching light. The gate commander was looking out from a window on the second floor when he heard “His Majesty has arrived” and quickly knelt with more than ten soldiers on either side. Han Ruzi ordered them to rise and continue their duties, then stood at the entrance with his guards, wanting to hear the news firsthand.

The light reached the base of the city gate, and someone shouted loudly: “Open the gate! Urgent military intelligence!”

Under normal circumstances, the gate commander wouldn’t waste words—at most he’d take a look before ordering the gate opened. But with the Emperor watching from behind, he didn’t dare act carelessly. Enduring the burning sensation on his back, he asked with complete seriousness: “Where do you come from? What is your business? Whom do you wish to see?”

The person below replied impatiently: “Requesting aid from Mayi City. I’ll see whoever can make decisions here.”

The gate commander frowned slightly. Even for the most urgent military intelligence, this messenger’s tone seemed too arrogant. But he couldn’t lose his temper. Turning his head to glance at the Emperor from the corner of his eye, he replied: “I’ll have someone open the gate right away. Have your military badge and credentials ready for inspection.”

“Hurry up! The military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed!”

The commander felt even more embarrassed but still didn’t dare lose his temper. Just as he was about to order the city gate opened, Han Ruzi said: “Tell him the Emperor is here and have him state the military intelligence first.”

The commander hurriedly turned around, bowed to receive orders, then called down to the city gate: “His Majesty is right here. If you have urgent military intelligence, speak now. Has Mayi City come under attack by the Xiongnu?”

There was silence outside for a moment. “The Emperor is beside you?”

“That’s right, speak quickly if you have something to say.” The commander emphasized his tone, vaguely sensing something odd about this person.

“I don’t believe you. Let me see the Emperor.”

At these words, the commander no longer needed to restrain himself and rebuked: “Who are you to dare be so insolent?”

Han Ruzi was about to step forward when Cui Teng blocked him, walked to the window himself, pushed the commander aside, and after brewing for a moment, burst into curses: “Damned bastard, ignorant fool! When told to respond, you respond – how dare you make demands! Is the Emperor someone you can see? You’ve eaten too much horse dung and forgotten who you are! Why don’t you kneel down immediately? Someone, bring the bow and arrows…”

Even the gate commander felt this was excessive, thinking that favored ministers were indeed favored ministers – the Cui clan’s power was even stronger than before.

Han Ruzi was very displeased, thinking Cui Teng might say something meaningful, but it turned out to be just cursing. Just as he was about to speak up to stop him, Cui Teng said in surprise: “Huh? What’s this? He actually ran away! Stop! I order you to stop! I am the son of Grand General Cui Hong, how dare you— He really dares, he’s run across the bridge.”

Cui Teng turned to look at the Emperor with disbelief on his face. He had cursed countless people but had never encountered such a situation.

Han Ruzi strode to the window and indeed saw that the messenger had already run across the moat, thrown his torch onto the road, and galloped away.

“Immediately notify the Northern Army camp,” Han Ruzi commanded.

“Yes… notify them of what?” The gate commander was still confused.

“There are foreign enemies…” Before Han Ruzi could finish speaking, an arrow suddenly shot from outside. Though its aim was poor and it struck the city wall, it startled everyone.

It turned out a group of people had been lying in ambush below the earthen slope across the moat. They now charged onto the bridge, running while shooting arrows at the tower. In the darkness, it was impossible to tell how many there were.

Cui Teng threw himself forward to knock the Emperor to the ground, shouting: “Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty!”

Han Ruzi pushed Cui Teng away and said to the commander rushing over: “Notify the Northern Army and order the defense of the city.”

This time the gate commander knew what to notify. He ran upstairs, and moments later, horn sounds rang out in long and short blasts. This was to notify the Northern Army camp outside the city and to warn the entire city.

Han Ruzi stood up and said to his accompanying guards: “Go summon the commanders of each battalion to meet Us on the city wall.”

Several guards received the order and withdrew. Han Ruzi also headed upstairs, but Cui Teng blocked him once again. “Your Majesty, it’s too dangerous here. Please go downstairs.”

“Stand aside,” Han Ruzi said sternly. He didn’t even know what was actually happening outside and absolutely would not leave immediately.

Cui Teng had no choice but to step aside and follow closely behind the Emperor. Some of the guards followed them up while others remained on the lower level.

The soldiers on the top floor had already blown the horn and were waiting for a response from outside the city. The gate commander was so anxious he was at a loss, pacing in circles, not knowing what to do next. Upon seeing the Emperor, he immediately knelt down.

The top floor had pillars and flying eaves but no enclosed walls – it was open on all four sides. Han Ruzi stood at the parapet looking out, while Cui Teng and others closely guarded both sides.

The attackers were not numerous, only several dozen men. They had all gathered on the bridge over the moat, shooting arrows at the gate tower. Some seemed to be ramming the gate. The top floor was high and temporarily safe, but with random arrows shooting through the dark night, Cui Teng and the others were still terrified – if the Emperor were even grazed, they could not bear the responsibility.

A low horn sound came from the distant Northern Army camp. After listening for a while, the gate commander explained: “The Northern Army has discovered the enemy.”

Han Ruzi could see the lights in the Northern Army camp rapidly multiplying – dozens, then hundreds, more and more, connecting into a continuous expanse.

There were also soldiers on the city wall, though not many. They had now gathered above the gate entrance, shooting arrows downward and forcing the people on the bridge to retreat.

“Go notify the other city gates. Every section of the wall must have patrols at all times,” Han Ruzi continued giving orders.

“Yes, yes, yes…” The gate commander hurried downstairs, leading his soldiers to spread the orders everywhere.

This surprise attack was completely unexpected. Jincheng City hadn’t even sent out scouts, allowing the enemy to reach the city gates. If not for Cui Teng’s sudden inspiration, they might have even lost the city gates.

“You have rendered meritorious service,” Han Ruzi said when he had a moment.

“Ah?” Cui Teng looked bewildered, thought for a while, then said, “Tackling Your Majesty to the ground is my duty. I only hope Your Majesty won’t blame me for the breach of decorum.”

Han Ruzi shook his head and continued looking outward. The attackers had retreated, but reinforcements had already arrived – all cavalry, moving with incredible speed. They carried no torches, whistling back and forth in the darkness.

“They’re Xiongnu!” Even Cui Teng could tell from their voices. “How is this possible? Have Mayi City and the passes all fallen? How did we receive no news at all?”

Han Ruzi couldn’t guess the reason, but he knew this was definitely not an ordinary siege. The earlier messenger had clearly been from Chu, yet was serving the Xiongnu. The enemy had come prepared, while Jincheng City had only a few thousand troops inside and outside the city.

Han Ruzi turned to the horn-blowing soldier and said, “Order the Northern Army to retreat into the city.”

The soldier had never seen the Emperor this close before and was too nervous to speak. He nodded, gathered his strength three times in succession, and finally managed to blow the horn.

The whistling sounds outside the city grew louder and louder. It was impossible to tell how many Xiongnu cavalry there were, and quite a few among them could draw strong bows. Apparently having heard that the Emperor was atop the gate tower, they shot arrows frantically, forcing Han Ruzi to take cover.

The horn sound was drowned out by the whistling, and it was unclear whether the Northern Army had heard it. The soldier dared not stop and blew repeatedly.

Drum sounds rose and fell all around the city, indicating there were enemies everywhere.

Fan Zhuangshan was the first to arrive, striding up to the tower. Before he could speak, Han Ruzi said, “Lead your soldiers to guard inside the gate and prepare to receive the Northern Army from outside.”

Fan Zhuangshan acknowledged the order and turned to go downstairs.

The commanders of the Imperial Guards arrived next. Han Ruzi had them assemble their troops and prepare to support any city gate under excessive pressure.

The Jincheng commanders arrived last. With Marshal Deng Cui imprisoned, the generals were leaderless and thus appeared even more panicked.

Han Ruzi took personal command, dispatching officers and soldiers to various city gates and sending men to patrol back and forth along the city walls to prevent enemy troops from scaling them.

Cui Teng urged him again, but Han Ruzi still refused to go downstairs. He was waiting for a response from the Northern Army. Although caught completely off guard, he had understood one thing in a very short time: the most important matter at hand was not repelling the enemy forces, but saving as much as possible of that Northern Army outside the city. He could not let them sacrifice themselves in vain.

As long as they held out until noon tomorrow, more Northern Army troops would arrive.