Chapter Sixty-Two: The Brutal Bloody Battle Is About to Begin

Because there had already been the lesson of the Cavalry Commandant Wang Fei, who had charged into the city at the head of his men only to perish in the ensuing inferno, the next time Commandants Li Qian and Cheng Wei led their forces into Han Tong Pass, they did not rush in at the front themselves. Instead, they ordered the ordinary soldiers to advance first, while they brought up the rear.

This arrangement spared them from disaster; only a handful of the more impetuous soldiers who charged ahead lost their lives.

Although the number of soldiers who fell into the traps was not large—forty or fifty across all three gates—the blow to the rebels’ morale was devastating. The agonized screams and moans of those soldiers impaled by wood or bamboo, still alive but close to death, and the sight of their exposed entrails made even their comrades shudder with dread. Li Qian and Cheng Wei themselves were not immune to this fear.

The situation was precarious. The Tang army had abandoned Han Tong Pass but left behind so many traps, inflicting considerable casualties and severely dampening the spirits of the vanguard. Who could say how many soldiers would still have the courage to charge when they reached Sui Tong Pass?

Li Qian and Cheng Wei could only order their men to ignore those who had fallen into the traps. Everyone understood that even if they hauled out those still alive, their lives could not be saved—indeed, it might only hasten their deaths. Yet the pitiful wails of the dying were so harrowing that, in the end, the two commandants could only order their men to shoot the wounded soldiers in the pits, granting them a swifter release from their suffering.

These traps had clearly been dug well in advance, not far from the city gates. Anyone entering the city from the gates could hardly avoid them. Li Qian and Cheng Wei ordered their men to search the area, cut down wood and bamboo, and lay planks or unburned doors over the pits so that the rest of the army could pass.

But even after crossing the first traps near the gates, the troops dared not rush headlong through the city. There had to be more traps elsewhere. They proceeded carefully, searching as they went to avoid further casualties. Sure enough, at several intersections within the city they discovered more well-concealed traps, always at the cost of more lives: only after a few soldiers had fallen in did the traps become known. Having learned from the earlier losses, Li Qian and Cheng Wei kept their troops spread out, searching slowly rather than running in formation, lest more lives be lost.

After more than half an hour, the army finally secured most of the city and marked all the traps they could find. The two commandants again reported their findings to the anxious Cui Qianyou, who waited in the rear.

Upon receiving their report, Cui Qianyou immediately relayed the news to An Qingxu, who had already flown into a rage several times.

When An Qingxu heard that the Tang army had fought off his "Great Yan" troops only to slip away under cover of night, he was furious. He repeatedly berated Cui Qianyou for failing to obtain timely intelligence, allowing the Tang to pull off an empty-city ruse that wasted an entire night. In his wrath, the Prince of "Great Yan" was on the verge of summoning Cui Qianyou for a face-to-face reprimand.

An Qingxu then ordered Cui Qianyou to seize Han Tong Pass at once and immediately press the attack on Sui Tong Pass, just a few miles away.

Receiving these orders, Cui Qianyou dared not delay. He commanded Li Qian and Cheng Wei to lead their troops without hesitation to Sui Tong Pass and prepare for a series of assaults.

Li Qian and Cheng Wei, equally wary of incurring blame, gathered their men as soon as they had finished searching Han Tong Pass and reporting to Cui Qianyou. They prepared to march west through the gate toward Sui Tong Pass.

At the west gate, Pang Zhong—the last Tang general to withdraw—had, of course, not left the gate intact for the rebels. As the soldiers moved to open the gate, the door, left only slightly ajar, crashed down with a thunderous roar. Thanks to their caution, only two men were injured, none killed, and those wounded were dragged out by their comrades. But the shock was enough to make the rest of the troops hesitate before proceeding.

Beyond the west gate, more traps awaited. But forewarned, no soldiers fell in; only two unfortunate warhorses, sent ahead to test the ground, became their victims, their cries echoing as they fell. Stones and earth were again heaped into the pits, and planks, bamboo, and doors used to cover them, so that the army could pass.

By now, however, the rebel vanguard was like a flock of startled birds—jumpy, anxious, afraid of further traps or Tang ambushes. Their progress slowed to a crawl, though, thankfully, they encountered nothing worse along the way.

It was only after noon, in the hottest hours of the day, that the vanguard reached the battlefield outside Jingou. The weather was stifling; not a breath of wind stirred, and great mountains of cloud gathered on the horizon, white at the tips, dark below, pressing down on the entire Mount Hua. The air was heavy as an oven, and the soldiers, exhausted by forced marches and weighed down by dread, began fainting from sunstroke, some collapsing from their horses.

Cases of heatstroke, even resulting in death, began to appear not only among the rebel troops gathering out of range of the crossbows at the base of Tong Pass, but even among the Tang forces standing ready on the ramparts.

Seeing the rebels slowly emerging from the west gate after noon, Yang Xi and Geshu Han ordered all soldiers resting in the shade to take their posts atop the walls and prepare for battle. The sun had shifted a little westward, so the tall city towers and peaks cast some shade on the ramparts, sparing a lucky few from the blazing heat, but even so, some men collapsed from sunstroke.

The world seemed to have frozen—no wind, no escape from the heat, the air thick with the scent of impending battle and blood. The soldiers sweated so profusely it was as if streams ran down their bodies.

Yang Xi stood atop the gatehouse, his bearing upright and proud before his troops, his face the picture of confidence and valor. Even as he watched the rebel forces slowly gather outside Tong Pass, he showed not the slightest fear. His composure spread to his officers and men alike: no panic, everyone at their positions, awaiting orders to attack once the enemy drew near.

"Young Master, the rebels are about to assault the city!" Yang Zheng, standing beside Yang Xi, felt his legs trembling.

"Stand up straight! Show the same swagger you use to bully the common folk. The rebels, having just suffered a heavy blow, won't take Tong Pass by force!" Yang Xi did not even turn to see Yang Zheng's embarrassment, but could sense the terror of his attendant. He snapped impatiently, "If you can't pull your bow when the time comes, don't expect me to go easy on you!"

With those words, he kept his gaze fixed coolly on the gathering rebel forces.

The brutal battle was about to erupt, yet Yang Xi was calmer than ever.