Siege of Dongmuyang: Udog's Demise
Jao In's reinforcement force of a thousand men arrived at Dongmuyang after marching for six straight days. We hurriedly made arrangements for the exhausted soldiers to rest.
The day after their arrival, the Black Mountain Bandits appeared in the distance.
"Good thing we hurried. We almost missed linking up entirely."
"They must've heard the rumors about us attacking their base on the way here. Losing their supplies and troops there would make any victory here meaningless."
With so few soldiers at Dongmuyang, the bandits would be even more rattled. Naturally, they'd think we only had a handful to throw at them. They'd buy the rumor that we were really hitting their base.
"By the way, have you heard anything about what this Udog guy looks like?"
"Nothing specific."
I passed the time chatting idly with Hahou Yeon atop the walls. Before long, a small group of Black Mountain Bandits approached the walls of Dongmuyang. Their skillful horsemanship marked them as the leadership.
"Who the hell are you to come charging in here?!"
"I am Udog, leader of these Black Mountain Bandits! Drop your weapons and surrender, and I'll spare your lives!"
Jao In bellowed from atop the gate, and the foremost enemy declared himself Udog while demanding surrender.
"While you were marching here, our lord has already turned your base to ashes. This is no place for stray dogs like you without a home!"
"Ha! As long as I, Udog, live, our base stands firm! I'll send your lord screaming to his death in Fuyang Castle, just like the last one!"
As Jao In kept insisting their base was under attack, Udog spat back that it was nonsense.
The verbal sparring across the walls dragged on boringly, thanks to Udog's poor rhetoric.
"Why not just shoot him, Major?"
"Sharp eyes, as always, Advisor."
I suggested to Hahou Yeon that we simply take out Udog. I'd gotten permission from Jao In to handle sniping at my discretion, so it wasn't insubordination. Hahou Yeon, clearly annoyed by the fool's bluster, agreed readily.
"On three. One, two..."
From behind the parapet, I readied my repeating crossbow while Hahou Yeon nocked an arrow in his powerful bow.
"Three!"
We rose in unison, sighting on Udog. The distance was great, so the tube didn't point downward. No risk of the short arrow slipping out prematurely.
Twang—twang—
The arrows whistled through the air before piercing Udog and the soldier right behind him.
After wrestling with paperwork late into the night, I couldn't tell who'd hit whom.
"Did I get Udog? My eyes are blurry from poring over ledgers yesterday."
"Arrow in the head means mine. Yours is too short to see."
The foolhardy Udog who dared provoke us dropped dead on the spot. No way he saw it coming from that no-bow range—not even in his dreams last night.
"That's one point for me."
"You gave me three already, so I'm still up by two."
"Killing their boss before the fight even starts—should be fun watching the bandits' morale crumble."
As Hahou Yeon and I bantered about our bet, Jao In commented on their spirit.
Makes sense. With their leader sniped before blades even clashed, morale must be in tatters. And now they'd waste time squabbling over who takes command.
Dong-dong-dong.
"They won't let it end with broken morale—they're attacking."
"I'll hold the west. Major, take north; Advisor, south."
"Yes, sir."
Just two enemy dead, and the odds were still three thousand against forty thousand. Outnumbered, but I didn't fancy losing to those rabble.
As dusk fell, the Black Mountain Bandits beat their drums, calling off their men. The earthen walls, soaked in anonymous blood, drank it greedily.
Touching the parapet for cover brought down clumps of blood-caked dirt.
"Gotta repair this once the fighting's done."
Like most, Dongmuyang's walls were earthen ramparts. Peering over, I saw soil piled a handspan high at the base. Thousands scaling the walls had chipped and scraped the surface—damage was inevitable.
Leave it like this, and when Yellow Turbans hit next summer, it'd be a headache.
Wait. The Yellow Turbans already raiding north of the river got smashed by Gongsun Zan, and reports say they're heading from Qing Province toward Yanzhou...
I'd dismissed it as no issue at the time, but now it screamed preparation.
First, lure in Zhen Palace to convince Yanzhou's noble houses. After Yuzhou's Governor Liu Dai dies, push Jojo forward...
"...Sir. Advisor!"
"What is it, Adjutant?"
"You didn't respond when I called—I thought something was wrong."
"Ah, just lost in thought. I'll warn you next time."
With my usual adjutant Wang Jun, a shoulder tap would've sufficed.
"What's our casualty count?"
I asked my temporary adjutant about losses on the south sector I commanded.
"Thirty-seven dead, ninety-two wounded."
More than I'd guessed. Considering the south saw average pressure, we'd lost nearly twenty percent. But their mad charges explained it. They couldn't keep that frenzy up tomorrow.
"How many wounded can return to duty?"
"Hard to say exactly, but about thirty percent within three days."
The rest wouldn't recover before this siege ended. Treatment was limited under attack; deaths would rise.
"Advisor, you look pale. Feeling ill?"
"No. You must be beat—let's head down."
I shook off the gloom and descended with my new adjutant.
"Advisor, how many did you bag today?"
En route to my tent, Hahou Yeon slung an arm over my shoulder and asked. Glancing back, I saw Wang Jun too.
"The Advisor took down four leaders."
My temp adjutant reported to Hahou Yeon.
"Adjutant, and the Major?"
"The Major dropped four as well."
Wang Jun confirmed the tie. We were asking each other's original adjutants—there was a reason.
—So how do we prevent fudging the score?
—Good point; can't ignore that.
When Hahou Yeon and I set our bet on leader kills, we'd swapped adjutants to prevent cheating. Both were sharp; no issues arose.
"Tie today."
"At this rate, I'm winning."
"Today they held back after Udog's messy end. As morale dips, leaders will step up to rally them. Plenty of chances for you to pull ahead."
Hahou Yeon's vision clashed with mine. I figured crumbling morale would force a bandit retreat. But saying so sounded like claiming easy victory, so I held my tongue.
"There you are. Good work, both of you."
"You've had the worst of it, Colonel."
The fiercest assaults hit the west, facing the bandits directly. Jao In had held firm against their waves.
"Colonel, how do you see the bandits moving next?"
"One of two ways. Either charge to avenge dead Udog at Dongmuyang, or flee in terror after their boss got sniped."
Jao In's prediction matched both our futures. Shame we didn't know Udog's underlings to gauge them.
"If they charge, we fight till the Governor arrives and crush them. If they run, straight to Bing Province would be ideal."
"That'd cost you the bet, Major."
"Then it's off. Can't settle on one day's skirmish."
We bantered idly as we left the walls. Thus ended the first day of Dongmuyang's defense.
Six days passed since Udog's fall. Jojo's army climbed the walls in armor caked with blood and dirt, silent.
Below, unburied corpses from six days rotted, stinking.
Dong-dong-dong.
The Black Mountain Bandits hammered Dongmuyang until our main force arrived. Relentless rotations buried our quality edge under numbers. Targets for arrows popped up endlessly; scores topped twenty.
Slash!
But enemies reached the walls before arrows flew, so sword time grew.
"Knock 'em down before they climb!"
I cleaved a bandit peeking over the parapet, then shoved the body outward. Screams overlapped from below as it tumbled.
Corpses tripped climbers; pre-scale shoves scored double.
Bwooo!
Retreat horns blew; bandits halted and withdrew. I shook blood from my blade with a long sigh.
"Kill and kill, but they never end."
Uncollected bodies piled below. A corpse field stretched ten paces out, peaks over three feet. Ninety-five percent bandit climbers; five percent our tumbled dead.
They'd cleared some on retreat—casualties topped five thousand easy.
Processing that post-battle? Daunting.
"Still, you can see their morale cracking from the bodies."
Adjutant was right. Bandits floundered in the growing corpse mire. Ankles snagged; stamina drained before walls.
"Three days—Governor arrives in three."
Donggu to bandit base: six days. Two for fighting, seven back to Dongmuyang. Jojo due in two days. Buffer one more: three days max.
No chance Jojo lost to mere bandits. I trusted that.
"Let's head down."
I quashed inner doubts descending the wall. At the base, Hahou Yeon waved, approaching—consistent these six days.
"Dropped three today. You?"
"Four leaders; total twenty-three."
"Tie again."
Scores even, but I trailed. Tiebreaker: who got the boss.
New bandit chief unknown—frustrating.
"They've sussed the south commander's no warrior; more leaders now."
"Explains my lead shrinking to four."
Chat cut by faint horns.
Bwooooo!
"Damn! Full moon tonight—they're going all out!"
Hahou Yeon cursed in fury. But while he fixated on the sound, I honed on the horn.
I'd caught the anomaly.
"Major, that's our horn, isn't it?"
"Hm? Yeah, sounds like."
We realized before climbing; a sentry rushed down, panting.
"Main force advancing from afar! Bandits retreating in chaos—caught mid-withdrawal!"
Jojo had cleared the base far quicker than expected and returned.