The Child Emperor

Cai Xinghai had just entered Divine Hero Pass when he saw numerous torches swaying in the distance. The city’s defenders were right; Prince Donghai had indeed let the mob in.

He faced several choices: he could flee, which was understandable given the enemy’s numbers; he could fight and die in the streets, which, though foolish, would earn him a loyal minister’s reputation; or he could hide, as the city had many sturdy buildings that could hold out for a while.

However, none of these options seemed bold enough to Cai Xinghai. Even fighting back felt like a desperate move. The palace had castrated this old soldier, but it hadn’t removed his courage. He lacked Fang Daye’s experience and Chai Yue’s strategy, but when opposing forces met on a narrow path, he knew what to do.

“To the walls!” Cai Xinghai shouted, leading the charge on horseback.

Divine Hero Pass was wide to the south and narrow to the north, with two paths up the northern wall, one by the gate and the other a sloping ramp.

Cai Xinghai brought a hundred cavalrymen, and with the northern gate guards, they numbered about 150. The enemy had thousands.

Dismounting, Cai Xinghai stood on the wall, looking south. The soldiers around him were terrified, especially the guards, who trembled, unsure of what this new officer intended.

Cai Xinghai did nothing but observe. After a while, he laughed heartily. “No need to worry; they are just a rabble,” he said, turning to the soldiers. “If they had stormed the northern gate, even gods couldn’t hold them off. But look, the scattered torches show they are looters focused on plunder, not strategic points.”

The soldiers felt somewhat reassured. Cai Xinghai grew more composed, pacing back and forth. “Within a day, reinforcements will come from Shattered Iron City. We just need to hold this section of the wall to leave a path for them.”

“Let them have it,” Cai Xinghai replied. “The cliffs on either side make Divine Hero Pass impassable. We just need to hold these two paths.”

Cai Xinghai divided his cavalry and the northern gate guards into two groups. The wall had some rolling stones and logs, but not enough, so he led men down to fetch more from the storehouses, ignoring the looters roaming the city.

Half an hour later, the torches neared the northern gate. Cai Xinghai and his men prepared for battle.

The city was chaotic. The looters, divided into gangs, first attacked and plundered government offices and warehouses. Most residents had locked their doors, offering some resistance.

Several military depots below the northern wall attracted a gang, uninterested in the gate or wall. They found mostly wood, stones, and iron balls. They left disappointed, and took some weapons before noticing the soldiers on the wall.

A few looters tried to climb the wall but were stopped by barricades and soldiers with crossbows, who ordered them to retreat.

The looters, not persistent, left after some threats. The city was full of loot; there was no need to capture a section of the wall.

Cai Xinghai walked the wall, encouraging the soldiers. A veteran, he cracked jokes, even making light of his experience being a eunuch. “Being cut isn’t the hard part; it’s the recovery that feels like dying. So, eunuchs have been through hell. A few thousand looters? I don’t fear them.”

There was food in the tower, which Cai Xinghai distributed. The horses ate their feed.

Later, some gang leaders came to persuade them to surrender. Cai Xinghai, unruffled, spoke from the wall, “We’re soldiers with families. We can’t join you. We just want to hold this wall so that we can tell our superiors we did our best. We won’t come down, and you shouldn’t come up. Let’s not trouble each other.”

The looters believed these were Divine Hero Pass soldiers. After some debate, some wanted to attack, others to use fire, but they decided to keep looting and guarded the gate to prevent anyone from leaving.

At dawn, the looters were still dividing the loot, even fighting among themselves, all this visible from the wall. As Cai Xinghai predicted, they were a rabble. This boosted the soldiers’ confidence; though food was gone, they were less fearful than the previous night.

The leaders seemed to have met. The city calmed somewhat, with loot piled on streets for later division. The looters divided the city into zones, knocking on and breaking doors to threaten residents.

A gang finally approached the northern gate, demanding the soldiers surrender or face dire consequences. Cai Xinghai knew he couldn’t avoid this, so he fired a crossbow, narrowly missing the leader’s ear.

Enraged, the looters ordered an attack but underestimated the difficulty and the defenders’ resolve.

Hundreds of looters split into two groups, advancing up the narrow paths, which could only hold ten men abreast and slowed their ascent.

A single volley made them retreat, abandoning bodies and wounded. They were here for loot, not to die for a wall.

Hearing the wounded’s cries, Cai Xinghai generously allowed the looters to retrieve their dead and injured.

The looters scattered but returned periodically to try different attack methods.

Most common was persuasion, offering benefits and threats. Cai Xinghai would chat, delaying until they realized the ruse and left in anger, which he met with a polite farewell.

There were also direct assaults, like fire attacks, but arrows fell into the snow and were extinguished quickly.

Another gang tried a ballista, but accidentally shot the gate instead of the men atop the wall, killing a looter and scattering the rest.

By noon, timid residents opened their doors, and weaker homes were broken into. The remaining strongholds were tough to breach, so more looters gathered at the northern gate, seeing it as an eyesore.

They sent veteran fighters, twenty archers, who found the range to hit the wall.

Cai Xinghai ordered the soldiers to hide behind the wall and shields.

After a few futile volleys, the fighters gave up.

The wall defenders posed no direct threat, so the looters’ attacks weren’t urgent. Tired and hungry from a night and morning of action, they cooked food, sending smoke up.

Another group tried to persuade surrender with food. Cai Xinghai hoped to trick them for supplies but was found out, resulting in a harmless arrow exchange.

In the afternoon, well-fed looters continued looting or focused on the northern wall, now a matter of pride.

They made giant shields from doors and armor, forming a mobile shelter, advancing slowly up the ramp.

This posed a real threat. The defenders’ arrows barely pierced the shields.

Cai Xinghai ordered them to stop shooting and drop stones and iron blocks, which piled up on the shields. Overloaded, the looters abandoned the shields near the barricade, fleeing after some struggled to escape.

Cai Xinghai didn’t shoot after them, not wanting to provoke a desperate charge.

The looters decided to besiege the wall until the defenders starved, unaware that 3,000 Chu troops were rushing to Divine Hero Pass.

At sunset, the cavalry appeared on the mountain road. Cai Xinghai breathed a sigh of relief. Holding the wall had paid off. The light cavalry needed the gate opened.

This was the most dangerous moment. The looters, busy dividing loot, hadn’t noticed the cavalry, but some watched the wall. As Cai Xinghai moved the barricade and led men down the steps, they were spotted.

The fiercest battle ensued. Cai Xinghai led fifty soldiers down, shields up, while the rest lined the wall, shooting to keep looters back. Some reached the gate.

A looter killed by a ballista lay in the gatehouse. Cai Xinghai and forty soldiers held the gate while ten opened it.

Most looters were slow to react, so the attackers weren’t numerous. Still, Cai Xinghai’s men faced a numerically superior enemy.

Cai Xinghai took a blow to the shoulder but heard the cavalry. The looters, realizing the danger, fled.

Cai Xinghai’s men let the cavalry in. He shouted, “Secure the southern gate, quickly!”

He aimed to trap the looters, gifting them to the Weary Marquis. His efforts had not been in vain.

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