The Assault on Luocheng
"M-Military Advisor! Stay with me!"
I hauled him out of range as fast as I could, set him down on the ground, and called his name in a frantic rush.
"We've killed the enemy general Pang Tong! Sortie out and wipe them out!"
At that moment the gates of Luocheng swung wide, and enemy troops poured out in a roaring flood. Convinced they had struck Pang Tong down, they came surging straight at our lines.
Whether he was truly dead or not, no one yet knew—but every man on our side had seen him fall from his horse. Our soldiers' morale sagged visibly; eyes that only moments before had burned with the hope of taking Luocheng now clouded with fear as they watched the enemy close in, and the ranks began to edge backward.
"Hurry—get the Military Advisor to the rear, now!"
I snapped the order at the nearest soldiers. Then—
"Shiyuan! Lieutenant Jin!"
The clatter of hooves and a familiar voice cut through the din. Xu Shu.
"Military Advisor Xu…"
"The battle looked wrong, so I rode hard—what happened? Where is Shiyuan?"
"He was thrown from his horse and lost consciousness…"
"Damn it… I don't know whether to call this timely or simply rotten luck…"
Xu Shu bit down hard on his lip.
"Get Military Advisor Pang to the rear at once—move!"
"Yes, sir!"
Several soldiers lifted Pang Tong and raced him back. Even as they fled, the enemy kept driving our men hard, pressing closer by the second.
"Shall we counterattack, Military Advisor Xu?"
Xu Shu thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No. If we lock horns in this state, the losses will be severe. Better to feign defeat and pull the army back. I have something in mind."
I sensed at once that he already had a plan. Even so, someone still had to hold the rear.
"Then I'll cover the withdrawal. Military Advisor Xu, take command of the operation."
"That is far too dangerous!"
"Someone still has to stay—"
A third voice cut between us.
"This old man will hold the rear. Lieutenant, fall back and assist Military Advisor Xu."
"General Huang Zhong!"
"Don't worry. At my age I've learned to read a room—I know exactly what needs doing."
Huang Zhong spoke with easy calm, but a spark of fire flickered in his eyes. There was no time left to argue; Xu Shu and I agreed to withdraw.
"Very well. We're counting on you."
As I turned away I caught Huang Zhong's low mutter.
"Work like this is for an old man. Can't have the young ones always throwing themselves into danger. Tsk, tsk."
With that, he swung his great blade and charged straight into the oncoming enemy.
Luocheng.
"At this rate, the fall of this city is only a matter of time."
"Yes. We're still holding, but honestly, we're at our limit. Is there no better way?"
They had fought well against Pang Tong, yet a dark shadow was settling over Luocheng. Deng Xian, Leng Bao, Liu Gui, and the others put their heads together, but no clear solution emerged. Then Zhang Ren, who had been silent off to one side, spoke.
"I have a plan—one that can reverse this entire battle."
"Oh! What is it?"
Liu Xun brightened at once.
"Liu Bei's army is under Pang Tong's overall command right now. We kill him."
"Of course killing him would shatter their momentum—but can it really be done so easily?"
Zhang Ren answered with quiet confidence.
"His talent is extraordinary, but that very brilliance carries a fatal flaw. He is both strategist and field commander, and he insists on directing every detail himself. Time and again he rides so close that arrows nearly graze him just to issue orders."
Liu Xun's eyes lit up.
"So you mean to exploit that."
"Exactly. From the intelligence we've gathered, we already know his appearance and the horse he rides. We wait, and the moment he enters range, we loose a concentrated volley."
Liu Xun slammed his palm on the table. It felt as if a shaft of light had pierced a dark cave.
"Excellent. We will teach those dogs a lesson they will never forget!"
"Hold! Keep holding!"
Luocheng, a dagger hidden in its breast, continued to weather Liu Bei's assault. Liu Xun directed the walls; Zhang Ren held the gate below, ready to sortie the instant the moment came. From the battlements Liu Xun watched with a hand-picked company of archers, already certain of Pang Tong's description.
The man they took for Pang Tong rode back and forth across the field, directing troops wherever the line wavered. Yet the chance to kill him never quite arrived. One bodyguard clung to him like a burr, throwing himself into the path of every shot the instant the range closed, yanking his charge back by a hair's breadth. The constant interference grated on Liu Xun.
Maybe I should just kill that one first.
He shook the thought away. Do that, and the real prize—Pang Tong—might grow cautious and pull back.
A little farther. Just a little farther forward…
But the tide kept turning against them. Battering rams had already drawn close and begun hammering the gate.
"Loose! Do not let them breach the gate!"
Boom. Boom.
Every blow of the ram against the timber sent a matching thud through Liu Xun's chest.
Even if the gate falls, we can hold for a while. General Zhang Ren is waiting inside.
Crack—crash!
At last the bar that locked the gates snapped, and the doors swung inward.
"The gate is open! All units, enter and take the city!"
The moment Liu Bei's men surged to pour through, a storm of arrows erupted from within, cutting down the soldiers massed for the charge.
"General Zhang Ren!"
"Leave it to me!"
Zhang Ren answered Liu Xun's shout.
"Shield-bearers to the front! Seal the entrance!"
Just as Zhang Ren had prepared, soldiers gripping shields locked into formation and plugged the gateway. Archers waiting immediately behind them loosed volley after volley.
Whizz! Whizz!
"Agh!"
"Urgh!"
Men trying to haul the ram clear screamed and toppled. The very engine that had shattered the gate now became an obstacle choking the entrance.
"Hold them! Not one step of the enemy gets through!"
The front-rank shield wall edged forward; the rear-rank archers advanced with them, still shooting. The Liu Bei troops crowding toward the gate flinched and hesitated.
Then Liu Xun saw it—far off, Pang Tong spurring his horse toward them.
Got you, you bastard!
He thrust his arm forward and roared.
"Open fire! Target that man alone!"
The specially trained archers drew as one; dozens of shafts streaked toward their mark.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
Hit—!
In that same instant the familiar bodyguard shot forward like an arrow, wrapped himself around Pang Tong, and thrust a shield into the path of the storm.
Damn that man! Should I have killed him first after all?
Pang Tong and the bodyguard tumbled together from the saddle. Pang Tong lay motionless on the ground. Judging by the reactions of the soldiers around him, the arrows had found their mark.
"We've hit Pang Tong! The enemy's supreme commander is dead!"
Without another thought Liu Xun leapt and shouted from the wall, veins standing out in his neck. It was no empty performance—he meant every man, friend and foe alike, to see and hear.
"We've slain their general! Their general is dead!"
Few things reverse a battle as swiftly as the fall of a commander. His own men roared; the enemy faltered.
"Now! Sortie and sweep them away!"
Zhang Ren bellowed from below the wall. He led the troops he had held ready and burst through the gate like a thunderbolt. Leng Bao and Deng Xian seized the moment as well, spurring hard after him.
The enemy began to withdraw, carrying the fallen Pang Tong. Emboldened, the Luocheng forces gave chase. A white-haired veteran barred Zhang Ren's path for a time, but even he could not hold and at last turned and fled.
"The enemy is running! Don't let this chance slip—pursue! Inflict every wound you can!"
Certain they held the advantage, Zhang Ren, Leng Bao, and Deng Xian drove their men forward in a full charge.
Then war cries erupted from both flanks.
"Waaaah!"
"General! Ambush on the left!"
"They're on the right as well!"
Zhang Ren's face went rigid. In so short a time—had they truly laid a trap this elaborate? There was no room to hesitate. If this was an ambush, they had to break free at once.
"All units, back to the city! Hurry!"
But an army already drunk on the chase could not reverse itself cleanly. In the confusion feet tangled, and in that heartbeat the Liu Bei forces crashing in from both sides closed the pincer. The main body that had seemed to retreat now wheeled about and came thundering straight at them.
"General Liu Xun—disaster! The troops that sortied have fallen into a trap!"
"What?!"
He could scarcely believe it. Only moments ago he had thought victory was theirs…
"There's no time to stand here. Send a relief force at once—"
"General Liu Xun! The north gate is under attack!"
Before he could even dispatch reinforcements, a second report struck him. To Liu Xun it felt like being clubbed across the back of the head twice in succession.
"What—how have the enemy already reached the north gate…?"
Panic seized him; he could no longer find his bearings.
"All forces—charge!"
Xu Shu, now in full command, raised the cry that signaled the counterattack.
Pang Tong had already been carried safely back to the rear camp. I flung my shield aside, swung into the saddle, and took up my spear.
It was time to take Luocheng.