Reunion at the World's First Pass

The Hangu Pass. One hundred years ago, Duke Xiao of Qin, who had elevated the state of Qin to the strongest among the warring states through the reforms of Shang Yang, was said to have built this great gateway. Even before now, enemies had pushed all the way to the front of Hangu Pass and hammered at its gates. Seventy years ago, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was Gongsun Yan, who first proposed the alliance against Qin, along with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠combined forces of Chu, Wei, Zhao, Yan, and Han. Fifty years ago, it was Lord Mengchang and the three-state alliance of Qi, Han, and Wei. Yet since the day Hangu Pass was constructed, not a single enemy force had ever set foot inside it.

The two previous alliances were by no means weak. Gongsun Yan, who had advocated for the alliance even before Su Qin and had drawn in not only five states but also the nomadic state of Yiqu to the northwest of Qin, had fiercely pressed Qin from both east and west. Yet Gongsun Yan’s allied army was ultimately repelled by Qin’s renowned general Chuli Ji. And what of Lord Mengchang’s alliance? He had nearly destroyed and vassalized the state of Yan, and had even crushed the powerful state of Chu—proving beyond doubt why the state of Qi had been called one of the two hegemons of east and west alongside Qin. The brilliant general Kuang Zhang had marched with him. At the time, Chuli Ji—who had defeated Gongsun Yan and inflicted Kuang Zhang’s only loss—was already dead. Yet even Lord Mengchang and Kuang Zhang had failed to capture Hangu Pass.

This was the impregnability of Hangu Pass. It was the power of the strongest defensive line protecting the state of Qin.

And now, Hangu Pass once again faced a challenger at its gates.

“So that… is Hangu Pass….”

“What are you gawking at like some country bumpkin? Both Handan and Ji are far larger than that.”

Sima Shang’s sharp rebuke pulled me out of my reverie. In terms of blocking a narrow passage and earning its reputation as an impregnable fortress, Hangu Pass lived up to its name. Yet in scale or appearance alone, it was not particularly impressive compared to other cities. Like most fortifications of this era, it was an earthen wall built by piling up soil, and its height was actually lower than that of Handan. What made Hangu Pass overwhelmingly superior in defensive power was its geography.

Unlike Handan, which stood on flat ground and could be attacked from all sides, Hangu Pass blocked a narrow defile. No matter whether an army of one hundred thousand or a million came, only a limited number of troops could actually engage in battle at any one time. It was no coincidence that those who had reached this point before Lord Xinling had all turned back in defeat.

Lord Xinling’s expression as she stood beside me was utterly impassive. Unlike me, she showed no trace of emotion at having arrived at Hangu Pass, nor did she display the cynicism Sima Shang had shown. She simply observed the pass with calm, steady eyes.

“What a shame.”

“Pardon?”

“The defenses of Hangu Pass are simply too perfect. There’s no way we can break through.”

It was hard to believe such weak words had come from Lord Xinling’s mouth. Yet every single person here who had laid eyes on Hangu Pass would surely nod in agreement with her assessment.

Even after losing one hundred and thirty thousand troops, the Qin army still had one hundred and fifty thousand men remaining. Adding the reinforcements that had attacked the Han army and the troops already stationed at Hangu Pass, they likely numbered two hundred thousand. The state with the largest population, the greatest resources, and the production capacity to support them all—Qin’s true terror had not yet shown its depths.

Having apparently abandoned any thought of attacking Hangu Pass, Lord Xinling turned her gaze away from the fortress and looked back at us.

“Sun Tzu once said: ‘To win a hundred battles a hundred times is not the highest excellence. The highest excellence is to subdue the enemy’s army without fighting at all.’”

“And also, ‘the worst policy is to attack cities.’ He said that besieging a fortress is the poorest strategy of all.”

“Heh. The future of Zhao looks bright indeed. Exactly right. A siege is the worst possible move.”

I, too, knew something of the Art of War. Its author, Sun Wu, had written that one should only attempt a siege when there was absolutely no other choice, that it required at least three months of preparation, and that one must be prepared to lose a third of one’s soldiers. Was it any wonder that attackers were said to need three times as many troops as the defenders?

The problem was that the allied forces had made zero preparations for a siege, and Hangu Pass was a fortress situated in terrain that favored the defenders far more than any ordinary city.

“This is the limit of our alliance. If we had truly intended to strike at Qin from the beginning, we should have found a way to bypass Hangu Pass or brought siege engines with us. I’m not even asking for siege towers or catapults. If we had even a single cloud ladder, things might be different—but we don’t have any of that.”

Lord Xinling continued to list the reasons why a siege was impossible, point by point. Every reason she raised was so irrefutable that even the generals who had been flushed with excitement at reaching Hangu Pass gradually cooled their fervor and began to make rational judgments.

Yet as a consequence, their morale visibly began to plummet. The name “impregnable” inspired both fear and a human urge to challenge it. The soldiers and officers, buoyed by their great victory, had swelled with the hope that they might even be able to take Hangu Pass itself. But now, with the glorious prize right before their eyes and the thought that they might actually win lingering in their minds, they were being told to turn back. Their heads understood, but their hearts could not help but feel lingering regret.

Lord Xinling was not blind to their feelings. After laying out sixteen separate reasons why a siege must be avoided, she suddenly broke into a mischievous, almost playful smile.

“But it would be a shame to simply slink away like this, wouldn’t it?”

Light returned to the men’s eyes. Heads that had begun to droop lifted once more, and expectation bloomed across their faces.

“We must show them that they cannot simply attack however they please forever.”

The gleam in Lord Xinling’s eyes as she spoke those words burned with something dangerous.

“These lunatics.”

General Biao, who had barely survived thanks to Ying Zheng’s reinforcements, snarled viciously. The allied army, which had been keeping its distance so that only its presence could be confirmed, had finally begun advancing toward Hangu Pass.

If they had any sense at all, they would know that launching a siege against Hangu Pass without any siege equipment was practically synonymous with suicide. Where had the near-miraculous tactics Lord Xinling had displayed on the Henei plains gone? The meticulous strategy that had lured the enemy into a reckless charge, crossed the Yellow River to link up with the Han army, and forced them into a desperate battle of annihilation—what had happened to that woman?

“General Biao, do not let your guard down. The enemy is none other than Lord Xinling. Did we not experience her capabilities with our own bodies in the last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠battle?”

Before they dispersed to their positions, Zhang Dang calmly issued the warning.

“I know, I know. That woman called Xiang Yan from Chu was a monster too. I was surprised Chu still had talent like that left. And the old man from Yan, Ji Xin, was still perfectly fit.”

Yet in Biao’s analysis, the shocking defeat in the last battle had largely been due to the allied forces’ superior cavalry, including the Hu armored horsemen.

“Cavalry is useless in a siege. No matter how brilliant Lord Xinling may be, even she wouldn’t charge at a fortress with nothing but ladders and no siege engines. Not even Zhao Kuo would do something that stupid.”

When Biao spoke forcefully, even invoking the name of Zhao Kuo—the incompetent general who had led the Zhao army to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ruin at the Battle of Changping—Meng Wu stepped forward.

“Even so, we must never neglect our defenses.”

“…I will keep that in mind.”

Whether because of the wound to his pride from the previous defeat, Biao had been bristling like a porcupine, but even he lowered his head before the words of the supreme commander, Meng Wu.

Yet even Meng Wu, who had rebuked Biao for his carelessness, could not understand what Lord Xinling was thinking by taking such a reckless gamble. There had to be some scheme behind it—otherwise she would never have chosen an obviously foolish siege. But no matter how he thought about it, he could not guess what it might be.

There is nothing more fatal than having one’s expectations overturned… You keep forcing me into difficult decisions, Wei Wuji.

It did not matter if the enemy employed some clever stratagem. As always, he would meet them with straightforward, honest tactics. Especially in a siege, such direct methods were the best possible approach. There would be no further defeats.

With that resolve, Meng Wu glared at the allied forces swarming toward Hangu Pass.

As they drew closer to Hangu Pass, the blurry shapes gradually became clear. I had thought I had grown somewhat accustomed to the pressure and terror of the battlefield after witnessing the battle at Henei and the encirclement at Mengjin, but the sight of that cliff-like wall rising before me brought a different kind of despair.

The frustration of a siege was fundamentally different from that of an open-field battle. Yet the soldiers charged forward with ferocious momentum, as if their emotions had been worn away to nothing.

As I watched the scene, I suddenly felt a gaze directed at me. The moment I recognized it, my eyes instinctively turned toward where the feeling originated.

“Ah…”

A soft gasp slipped unconsciously from between my lips. It carried countless condensed emotions.

Our eyes met.

Those beautiful golden eyes that I had never once forgotten.

It was you.

The reinforcements that had driven back the Han army at the Yellow River and saved the Qin forces. The one leading them had not been Meng Wu, as the alliance had guessed from their banners. It was none other than the young Queen of Qin, Ying Zheng.

She was the one who had snatched complete victory from the alliance’s grasp at the very last moment.

The distance was too great for voices to carry, and neither of us spoke a single word. But none of that was necessary.

Dan and Zheng simply looked into each other’s eyes and read one another’s hearts.

It was their first reunion in three years.