Chapter Fifteen: Cowardice and the Fear of Death

Zhao Shuijiao led his soldiers in a direct leap from the city wall, charging toward the Later Jin troops. The Later Jin forces shifted to flat-trajectory fire, and before the Ming troops had charged forty paces, over a hundred soldiers had already fallen. The men behind, seized by fear, began to retreat. By the time Zhao Shuijiao reached the front of the enemy line and pierced an armored soldier with his spear, his personal retainers cried out, "General, the rear has broken! We must retreat!"

Zhao Shuijiao looked back to see only a few retainers remaining; the rest of the Ming army was in full flight. With a heavy sigh, he shouted, "Fall back! Watch your rear!" and retreated with his men.

By the time he reached the city wall, seven or eight of his retainers had been killed. Ignoring his grief, he turned to Yuan Chonghuan and said, "Lord Yuan, this cannot continue. Please allow me to lead a force to strike the enemy's rear. That is where the Han troops are concentrated; if we can open a path for the able-bodied civilians to escape first, it will be easier for us to hold off the Jiannu here."

Yuan Chonghuan was already regretting not having heeded Zhao's earlier advice to let the civilians leave, as their presence was now severely undermining the morale of the Ming troops. However, he would never admit this. Zhao’s proposal tempted him. "General Zhao, you hold this position. I shall lead men to assault the enemy's rear myself."

Without waiting for a response, he ordered Li Chengxian and Lu Zhijia to lead five thousand soldiers against the Later Jin rear, following behind with the civilians. Li Chengxian, his wounds largely healed, took the lead, charging through the hail of arrows.

Zhao Shuijiao had no choice but to turn and defend against the armored Later Jin soldiers in front. He ordered his men to crouch, using shields to block the arrows while archers returned fire, with pikemen positioned behind to deal with any enemy infantry storming the walls.

The Later Jin force in the rear was not large. Li Chengxian, spearheading the charge, hoisted an enemy soldier into the air and hurled him deep into the enemy ranks. Morale surged, and the men surged forward in a scramble. Yuan Chonghuan, overjoyed, roared, "Charge! There is a heavy reward for capturing a Jiannu commander!"

The Later Jin soldiers, however, remained calm. The front line held the Ming charge steady, while the rear ranks fired arrows into the air, quickly suppressing the Ming assault. Though the Ming army had the advantage in numbers, they gradually began to falter.

As the Ming forces started to fall back, Yuan Chonghuan’s shouts became useless. Yang San and Liu Boze attempted to rally the civilians, but terrified by the ferocity of the Jiannu, the people scattered in panic, ignoring all orders. Taking advantage of the chaos, Bi Mazi and Bi San and their cohorts began to scream, "We can't win! The Ming army is finished! Run!" This threw the civilians into total confusion and disrupted the Ming formation.

Li Chengxian and Lu Zhijia were helpless; they were fighting at the front while the rear collapsed. They had no choice but to retreat. By the time Yuan Chonghuan returned to the city wall, the original force of five thousand had dwindled to just over three thousand. Few had died, but most had scattered. Of the civilians, only the five hundred with Yang San and Liu Boze remained; the rest had fled far away.

Only about six thousand men remained in the city. Ironically, this was a relief; with fewer people, almost everyone now had armor, and there were enough shield-bearers to blunt the effectiveness of the Later Jin arrows. The Ming archers managed to wound several armored enemy soldiers, and the two sides reached a stalemate.

The Later Jin had come from afar and carried little grain. Attempting to forage would surely provoke a Ming breakout attempt. If the Ming did not have to feed the civilians, their own supplies would last four days. Now, it was a question of whose reinforcements would arrive first.

The low city wall proved useful, barely holding off the enemy's rushes. Small-scale skirmishes occurred constantly, but both sides exercised restraint, lacking the strength for a major offensive.

On the second night, the Later Jin reinforcements arrived. Though they were Han troops, their numbers—over two thousand—tipped the balance. Yoto, naturally, would not attack at night; he ordered the reinforcements to set up camp and prepare to crush the Ming at dawn.

Seeing the enemy reinforcements, the morale of the Ming army plummeted. Yuan Chonghuan was consumed with regret. Had he not been so greedy, he would have reached Shanhai Pass long ago. Now, it seemed he would have to die for his country—but he could not reconcile himself to it. He was a man destined for unparalleled glory; how could he die in such an insignificant place?

He summoned Zhao Shuijiao, the three commanders, Yang San, and Liu Boze to discuss strategy. Zhao Shuijiao said, "The only path now is a desperate fight. A general is the soul of his army. The Jiannu do not outnumber us significantly. If we are of one mind, there is still hope." Li Chengxian and the others agreed that holding out for reinforcements was still possible if the troops remained united.

Yuan Chonghuan countered, "Reinforcements? Where would they come from? The Jiannu will attack tomorrow. These walls are low; how can we hold them? Master Yang, I hear your martial arts are exceptional. Can you ensure my safe retreat to Shanhai Pass?"

Zhao Shuijiao hurriedly urged, "Lord Yuan, if you leave first, our army will collapse immediately. I have already sent retainers to Shanhai Pass to call for help; reinforcements should arrive soon."

Yuan Chonghuan snapped, "I am a dignified Ning-Qian Circuit Defense Commissioner. How can I die here? If you hold this position, I will slip out tonight and wait for you all at Shanhai Pass. Why would the troops mutiny?" He looked at Yang San with expectant eyes.

Yang San, knowing Yuan was the de facto commander, felt no desire to escort him in flight. Hesitating, he said, "Lord Yuan, my skills are mediocre. I fear I cannot guarantee your safety amidst the chaos of battle. Please reconsider."

Yuan was relentless. "We leave at night. With so few of us, we won't alert the Jiannu. Is that not possible?"

"My Lord, please understand: the Jiannu have heavy forces on both the east and west. With their reinforcements now arrived, they will surely tighten their watch on the west to prevent a breakout. Martial arts are nothing before a great army. I cannot guarantee your safety."

Yuan turned to Zhao Shuijiao. "If General Zhao leads men to strike the eastern flank, the western flank will surely be thrown into chaos. We could then seize the opportunity to break out. What say you?"

Zhao Shuijiao felt a profound contempt for him. "Lord Yuan, most soldiers suffer from night blindness. An attack at night is suicide. The Jiannu would not even need to engage; they would simply rain arrows upon us. We would suffer heavy casualties and scatter before the fighting even began tomorrow."

Yuan Chonghuan finally lost all hope, sighing in resignation to his fate. The commanders returned to their posts to let the soldiers rest, bracing for the brutal battle to come.