The thirty thousand men attacked shortly after sunrise.
This was rude.
I was still eating.
The first horn sounded from the eastern wall.
Then another.
Then several thousand soldiers began moving at once.
I looked toward the window.
Xu An continued pouring tea.
Neither of us spoke.
A third horn sounded.
I sighed.
“Do you think breakfast is still protected under military law?”
“I am not familiar with military law.”
“Find out.”
A messenger ran past outside.
Then another.
Men shouted somewhere below.
I picked up another piece of bread.
General Duan had said he could hold.
I had chosen to believe him.
This was not cowardice.
It was respect for professional expertise.
Outside, something heavy struck the ground.
Dust shifted from one of the roof beams.
Xu An looked up.
I looked at him.
“That seemed close.”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps ask from farther away.”
He bowed.
“Of course.”
He left.
I continued eating.
Several breaths later, he returned.
I stared at him.
“That was impressively fast.”
“The eastern wall is still standing.”
“Excellent.”
“I did not reach it.”
Less impressive.
Another impact sounded.
I put the bread down.
Fine.
Apparently war required supervision.
The eastern wall was crowded.
Archers stood ready behind the parapet.
Officers moved between positions.
Below, beyond the defensive works, enemy formations stretched across the approaches.
Thirty thousand had sounded like a number.
From the wall, it looked like a geographical feature.
Banners.
Men.
Horses.
Dust.
More men behind them.
I stood beside General Duan.
He did not appear particularly concerned.
That helped.
“They have a lot of people.”
“Yes.”
“Do they need all of them?”
He looked at me.
“Usually.”
Wasteful.
An officer approached.
“General. Their forward units are testing the southern approach.”
“How many?”
“Perhaps two thousand.”
“Let them.”
The officer bowed and left.
I watched him go.
“You are letting them?”
“They are testing distance and response.”
“And if they find something?”
“They will discover why the wall is here.”
Reasonable.
Another messenger arrived.
Then another.
Duan Wei gave orders without hesitation.
Archers shifted.
A reserve unit moved.
Cavalry waited farther inside rather than wasting horses outside the defenses.
Nobody asked me anything.
Perfect.
I leaned slightly toward Xu An.
“This is considerably better than council.”
He looked at the enemy army.
“Young Master has unusual standards.”
“Here, when people disagree, they shoot each other from a distance.”
“That is better?”
“More efficient.”
General Duan heard that.
He chose not to respond.
Professional man.
The enemy pushed forward twice that morning.
Neither attack came close to breaking the position.
The first withdrew after arrows began falling heavily.
The second reached one of the outer barriers, discovered General Duan had prepared men behind it, and apparently reconsidered several life choices.
By midday, the approaches were littered with abandoned shields and broken equipment.
Our walls remained ours.
I found General Duan near the command table.
“So.”
He looked up.
“You were correct.”
“About?”
“Holding.”
“Yes.”
Good.
I pointed toward the enemy markings.
“Are they going away?”
“No.”
Less good.
“They may remain for several days.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“To pin us here.”
That sounded personal.
“What happens if we ignore them?”
“We are already ignoring them.”
I looked outside.
Thousands of men had spent the morning trying to kill each other.
Military definitions remained strange.
Duan Wei continued.
“They do not need to take the position immediately. If they keep us here, we cannot reinforce Luoyang or interfere farther east.”
I considered that.
“So their plan is to inconvenience us.”
“At minimum.”
“I dislike them more now.”
Duan Wei almost smiled.
Almost.
Then another officer arrived with a report, and I returned to the stores.
The war could continue without me.
It had been managing for several thousand years.
By afternoon, I had returned to carts.
The eastern wall shook occasionally.
The carts did not.
Easy choice.
One quartermaster had somehow counted the same twelve mules twice.
I placed both records beside each other.
“Do these twelve work two shifts?”
He went pale.
“That was a joke.”
Somehow this made him look more frightened.
I pointed to the duplicate entries.
“Fix it.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
He fled.
Xu An watched him leave.
“You terrify clerks now.”
“That was not one of my ambitions.”
“You have many?”
“Fewer every day.”
Outside, another horn sounded.
I did not look up.
Then shouting came from the courtyard.
Not military shouting.
Different.
Confused.
Urgent.
A horse entered the yard much too quickly.
Someone shouted.
A man nearly fell from the saddle.
Household colors.
I frowned.
Mother had found me remarkably quickly.
The rider looked around wildly.
“Where is the Young Master?”
“Unfortunately, here.”
He saw me.
Then I recognized him.
One of the eight men Mother had sent with Qiao’er.
Everything inside me became very quiet.
He stumbled toward me.
“Young Master.”
I looked at the blood on his face.
“What happened?”
“Yanshi.”
“Where is Qiao’er?”
The guard dropped to one knee.
“Still there when I left, Young Master.”
I walked toward him.
“What happened?”
“Enemy riders appeared east of the road yesterday afternoon. Not many at first. Scouts, we thought.”
Yesterday.
He was breathing hard.
“We began loading immediately. Lady Qiao’er ordered the servants to leave the cloth.”
Good.
Of course she did.
“She remembered what you said.”
I did not care.
“Then?”
“More riders appeared before sunset. Villagers came from the east saying soldiers were moving along the roads.”
“How many?”
“We did not know.”
“Why didn't you leave immediately?”
“We tried.”
My stomach tightened.
“The western road?”
“Already crowded. Refugees. Carts. Then mounted men appeared north of it.”
Coalition cavalry.
“How did you get out?”
“The captain sent me before the road closed completely. One horse. No cart.”
He swallowed.
“I was ordered to reach Luoyang and warn the household.”
“Where are the others?”
“At the residence when I left.”
“And Qiao’er?”
His answer took half a second too long.
“At the residence.”
Alive.
When he left.
“When?”
“Yesterday evening.”
A day.
Almost a full day.
“What happened after you left?”
“I don't know.”
I stared at him.
He lowered his head.
“I am sorry, Young Master.”
Sorry.
I turned.
General Duan had entered the courtyard.
Several officers were behind him.
He had heard enough.
I looked at him.
“Where exactly are their forces?”
His eyes shifted to the household guard, then back to me.
“Come inside.”
He turned toward the command room.
The military map looked different now.
It was the same map.
That was the problem.
Yesterday, the marks had meant roads.
Rivers.
Walls.
Enemy forces.
Today one small place east of Luoyang meant Qiao’er.
I pointed at Yanshi.
“Here?”
The guard nodded.
General Duan placed several markers.
“Coalition elements have been moving through this area.”
“How many?”
“We do not know.”
“How many could reach the residence?”
“We do not know.”
I hated that answer.
“Find out.”
One of the officers looked at Duan Wei.
Duan Wei said:
“Send scouts.”
The officer left.
I stared at the map.
The main enemy force was still in front of Xin’an.
Thirty thousand.
Between us and Luoyang.
Beyond Luoyang, farther east, Yanshi.
Too far.
Too many roads.
Too many soldiers.
I looked at the guard.
“How defensible is the residence?”
He hesitated.
“Walls around the main compound.”
“How high?”
“Not military walls.”
Meaning useless.
“How many men?”
“Seven guards after I left. Some household men.”
“How many can fight?”
“Perhaps twelve.”
Twelve.
Against what?
I looked at Duan Wei.
“If enemy troops reach it, what happens?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“The unit. Their officers. Whether they are passing through or taking the area.”
“And if they take it?”
He did not answer immediately.
I stepped closer to the map.
“What happens?”
Duan Wei's voice remained even.
“If soldiers enter a settlement after fighting, command is rarely perfect.”
“For how long?”
“Sometimes hours.”
Hours.
“Why?”
“Units separate. Men pursue. Some search houses. Some take food. Some loot. Officers restore order when they can.”
I stared at the mark representing Yanshi.
“Civilians?”
Duan Wei was quiet.
“Those without protection are vulnerable.”
I looked at him.
“Women?”
This time his silence answered first.
Then:
“Yes.”
My mind supplied images I did not ask for.
Not this world.
Mine.
Black-and-white photographs.
Cities after soldiers entered.
Bodies in streets.
Women hiding in houses that did not protect them.
Stories from wars separated by centuries and countries that always somehow sounded the same once discipline disappeared.
I had read them.
Seen documentaries.
Skipped photographs because looking longer did not improve anything.
Things men did when nobody could stop them.
Qiao’er.
Pale green robes.
That little mole beneath her eye.
Standing beside my bed calling me useless.
Straightening my collar.
Laughing when I complained.
Qiao’er surrounded by men who had spent days marching and fighting and killing.
Something hot moved through my chest.
No.
I looked back at the map.
No.
“What is the fastest route from here?”
Duan Wei pointed.
“East through the main road.”
“How long?”
“With cavalry only?”
“Yes.”
“If the road were open, perhaps a day depending on pace.”
“And now?”
“The enemy controls the approaches.”
“Another road.”
“There are smaller routes.”
“How long?”
“Too long for a large force.”
“How long?”
“Two days. Possibly more.”
No.
“Send cavalry.”
Duan Wei looked at me.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
“That is not a number.”
“Five hundred.”
One officer shook his head before Duan Wei answered.
“Five hundred could be isolated before reaching Luoyang.”
“One thousand.”
“The same problem.”
“Two thousand.”
Duan Wei's expression hardened.
“If I send two thousand horse east, the enemy watches them leave. They either pursue with a larger force or attack us here with fewer defenders.”
I pointed toward the thirty thousand.
“You said you can hold.”
“I can.”
“Then hold with eight thousand.”
“I can hold these walls with eight thousand.”
He tapped the road.
“I cannot guarantee two thousand cavalry survive crossing ground watched by thirty thousand men.”
I hated that he was making sense.
“Send a messenger.”
“We will.”
“How fast?”
“As fast as someone can get through.”
Not enough.
“Luoyang can send men.”
“Perhaps.”
“Father has troops.”
“Yes.”
“Then send to Father.”
“I already will.”
That stopped me.
Duan Wei continued.
“But Luoyang is preparing evacuation. Forces are moving. Roads are uncertain. Even if His Excellency responds immediately, we do not know which routes remain open.”
I stared at him.
Everything was perhaps.
Maybe.
If.
Could.
I hated all of them.
Xu An stood near the wall.
He had said nothing since the guard arrived.
I looked at him.
“Qiao’er is smart.”
“Yes.”
“She'll leave if she can.”
“Yes.”
“She knows not to protect the property.”
“Yes.”
“She has guards.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Good.
There.
She was not stupid.
She would not sit inside a residence and wait for an army.
Maybe she had already left.
Maybe the guard's information was old enough to be useless.
Maybe she was already on another road.
Maybe she was somewhere safe right now, furious because the carts had been abandoned.
That was reasonable.
Very reasonable.
I looked back at the map.
“Send scouts.”
“Already done.”
“Send the messenger to Father.”
“Already done.”
“Then we wait.”
The words felt wrong.
But they were rational.
Duan Wei nodded.
“For now.”
I hated him for agreeing.
The scouts returned before sunset.
Too soon to bring news from Yanshi.
They brought worse news instead.
Enemy cavalry had spread farther west and south of the main body.
Several roads east were under observation.
Not occupied completely.
Observed.
That was enough.
Duan Wei moved markers across the map.
I watched every one.
“Why are they spreading?”
“To prevent us moving.”
“Specifically us?”
“Us. Luoyang. Anyone trying to coordinate between the positions.”
“So they are blocking the roads.”
“Yes.”
“To pin you here.”
“Yes.”
I looked at the thirty thousand.
Yesterday I had admired their professionalism from a distance.
Now they were becoming irritating.
“How many cavalry do they have?”
“Unknown. Several thousand at least.”
“Where are their supplies?”
Duan Wei looked at me.
I did not notice immediately.
“Where?”
He pointed.
“Likely here and here.”
“How do you know?”
“Scouting. Camp smoke. Wagon movement.”
“How many roads feed them?”
“Three major approaches.”
“Water?”
He pointed again.
“Here.”
“How long have they been there?”
“The main body, less than two days.”
“Food for how long?”
“We cannot know.”
“Estimate.”
One officer answered.
“Several days carried. More if supply continues.”
“Are all thirty thousand together?”
“No.”
I looked up.
Duan Wei was watching me now.
Not the map.
Me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I hated that answer when other people used it.
I pointed at the enemy markings.
“If the roads were clear, how quickly could ten thousand men reach Yanshi?”
One officer looked at another.
Duan Wei answered.
“Too slowly.”
“That wasn't the question.”
He considered.
“With forced movement and clear roads, perhaps two days to reach the area. Faster elements sooner.”
Two days.
Qiao’er had already been there one.
Maybe longer by the time we arrived.
“How quickly could cavalry reach her?”
“Selected cavalry, perhaps within a day from here if nothing stopped them.”
“And something will.”
“Yes.”
I stared at the map.
“Can they be hidden?”
“What?”
“The cavalry.”
“Not for the entire route.”
“Can they leave at night?”
“Yes.”
“Then send them.”
Duan Wei shook his head.
“The enemy has scouts.”
“So kill the scouts.”
One of the officers shifted.
Duan Wei's expression did not change.
“Then they send more.”
“Kill those too.”
“Young Master.”
“What?”
“This is not a household road.”
I looked at him.
“I know.”
That came out sharper than intended.
The room became quiet.
I lowered my voice.
“I know.”
Duan Wei studied me.
Then pointed at the enemy army.
“If I commit a significant force east, they respond.”
“How?”
“They attack. They pursue. Or they move to cut the returning force off.”
“Then send enough that they cannot.”
“That means the army.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
I looked at him.
“No?”
“I cannot abandon this position.”
“Why?”
He glanced at the officers.
Then back to me.
“Because there are thirty thousand men outside it.”
“You said you can hold them.”
“From here.”
He tapped the fortification.
“Behind prepared walls. With supply. With controlled approaches.”
Then his finger moved into the open road.
“Not while marching east.”
I said nothing.
Duan Wei continued.
“If I leave Xin’an with ten thousand men, they will follow.”
“Then fight them.”
“In open ground?”
“Yes.”
“With one man for every three of theirs?”
I stared at him.
He was right.
Again.
Infuriating man.
He continued.
“And if I lose, Xin’an is open. The western route is open. The court's retreat is threatened. Your father loses this position.”
Father.
The Emperor.
The entire Han dynasty I had somehow helped pack into carts.
All behind us.
I looked at Yanshi.
Then the enemy.
Then Yanshi again.
There had to be something.
“There are smaller routes.”
“Too slow.”
“Send only cavalry.”
“Too exposed.”
“Luoyang.”
“Unknown.”
“Another army.”
“Not one we can summon in time.”
Every answer closed something.
Every road became longer.
Every marker became heavier.
I hated maps.
They made impossible things look very organized.
The household guard remained near the door.
I looked at him.
“When you left, was she frightened?”
He blinked.
“Lady Qiao’er?”
“Yes.”
He thought.
“No.”
Of course not.
“What did she say?”
The guard hesitated.
“She told us to load food before cloth.”
I almost laughed.
Nothing came out.
“Anything else?”
“She said Young Master would complain if we lost the second cart.”
I closed my eyes.
Idiot.
Stupid woman.
I would burn every cart we owned.
I opened my eyes.
The map was still there.
Thirty thousand men.
One fortified position.
Yanshi beyond them.
Duan Wei spoke quietly.
“Young Master.”
I looked at him.
“If the woman is sensible, she may already have left.”
Woman.
Qiao’er.
“She is.”
“Then waiting for more information may still be the wisest choice.”
Wisest.
Yes.
Sit behind walls.
Wait.
Let scouts search.
Let Father respond.
Let Qiao’er solve it herself.
All rational.
All safe.
Exactly what I would normally do.
I looked toward the eastern wall.
Another horn sounded outside.
Thirty thousand men were still there.
Still pinning us.
Still controlling the roads.
Still standing between me and her.
I turned back to Duan Wei.
“How long before that army moves?”
“We don't know.”
“If they decide to march east?”
“We follow as best we can without exposing the pass.”
“And if they remain?”
“We remain.”
“For how long?”
“As long as necessary.”
No.
My hand rested on the edge of the map.
For weeks I had been trying to stay away from armies.
From generals.
From famous men.
From history.
That army had nothing to do with me.
Yesterday.
This morning.
Even an hour ago.
Duan Wei followed my eyes to the enemy markers.
Then to Yanshi.
His expression changed.
He understood.
“Young Master.”
I looked at him.
“We cannot leave while that army remains.”
I looked down at the thirty thousand men between me and Qiao’er.
“Then they can’t remain.”