Chapter 5
The night wind swept across the garrison camp, and tonight's march was far more lively than usual. The sleepless wounded still tossed and turned, while the newly recruited soldiers gathered in groups of two or three to share their experiences with the veterans of months of battle. Perhaps they had always lived close together. The villagers spoke of this year's harsh grain taxes, the muddy mountain roads they had traversed, and their newly acquired weapons and armor. The veterans recounted the old scenes of their hometown, the ever-shifting camp eastward, the galloping Hu people, and the fortunate escapes they had each time.
Li He sat cross-legged among them, unnoticeable. Occasionally, a man would try to hum a ballad he remembered. The songs of Longxi have always sung of the yellow wind, the stillness of the desert, the returning souls of the sandy land, and the heroic spirit of the north. As per tradition, there were no night watches tonight, but after the new recruits were deployed, it was bound to be a noisy night.
"I don't know when the first snow of this year will fall. After we drive the damn Hu people back, we have to go back to farming next year. If the fields don't produce any harvest, I'm afraid we won't be able to meet my brothers in the camp again next year." The old soldier who made the fire lit the dry grass, and the flames shot up. He was worried about the harvest in the fields.
"If you ask me, now that Big Brother is here, forget about farming. In my opinion, we should kill a few more barbarians and then reward them according to their merits after the final victory. The more years of tax exemption we can get, the better. Even if we return with injuries, we'll still look good in the countryside."
"It's not our turn to be rewarded based on merit. You young men will only be considered to have earned enough if you can be promoted to higher positions. Then you can marry a beautiful wife. In the future, Big Brother will also like to invite you to his wedding. I wonder if you are willing to do so?"
The chorus of voices echoed with a teasing chorus, the age difference between the people teasing each other a rare encouragement. Li He listened to their constant chatter, as if hearing these nightly conversations for the first time. They constantly imagined the majesty of wielding swords, the joy after every victory, and the endless days ahead.
No one could fall asleep in such an atmosphere except the wounded soldiers who were enduring pain. The noisy sounds gathered in groups, coming out of one tent and going to the next.
Li He took off his straw sandals and used them to tie the new shoes he had just been given. Only then did he realize that he was one of the younger ones among them. The shoes that didn't fit him were tightened again and again to fit his feet. An enthusiastic veteran put his arm around his shoulder. He looked up and glanced at the people sitting around. They had finished talking about old times and were about to start introducing themselves. "Why are you quiet, little brother? I see they've been talking for a long time. What's wrong? Are you homesick?"
Li He wrapped the last loop of the cloth shoe around his ankle and tied it tightly. "Don't worry, I don't think this war will last much longer. It's raining so hard at the beginning of winter this year. How can those Hu people have enough food and grass to fight with us, the Shang Dynasty?" He listened to the others reminiscing. "I've been fighting for almost two years. When I first came here, I couldn't talk to you just like I didn't. I don't know if my sister is married yet. If not, I will make sure she finds a good husband when I return home with enough military merit."
"My name is Jiang Er. My ancestors specialized in business with the Hu merchants. Unfortunately, our family fell into poverty. After only a few years of good life, I followed my father to farm. What's your name, little brother? Where are you from?" Li He looked at Jiang Er and added some firewood to the fire before thinking about his answer. "Li He, the word 'He' has the character 'water' in it. My family left early, and I followed them from the west to the east."
Jiang Er also reached out and picked up a few pieces of dry grass, holding them up to let the flames burn out. "I see you're quite a bit younger than me, so don't be shy. Just call me Brother Jiang." He drew a few strokes on the ground with his fingertips. "So it's this character 'He'. What a nice name! Please excuse my embarrassment, little brother. I went to school for two years when I was little, and I barely knew a few words. I was forced to learn martial arts from a Hu master, but I didn't learn much. If I had known this would happen, I would have studied martial arts diligently. Maybe I would have taken the initiative to fight and become an officer years ago, fulfilling my father's long-cherished wish and bringing honor to our family."
"My name just came by chance. I envy Brother Jiang for being able to recognize characters in books. When you're free, could you teach me how to write it?" Li He took the initiative. Ashes drifting from the fire obscured his vision, and he couldn't see the strokes he was hoping to see. But now he thought, being here wasn't all bad. Perhaps he could know how to write his name much earlier than he had previously imagined. The winding river was about to flow out of his dream, flowing before his eyes, flowing where he could reach out and touch it.
Jiang Er clapped his hands and laughed. "Learning to read is a good thing, little brother, as it can make you more active." He put his arm on Li He's shoulder. "Okay, okay, as long as there is no fighting during the day, little brother, feel free to come and learn to write. So, little brother, your village is probably built by the river. It's a rare thing to have a river in Longxi. Isn't this a good thing? We will definitely fight all the way west. If we drive the Hu people back to the west of Yumen Pass, we will win. Then we can go home on the way. Fighting is like going home, what a wonderful thing."
Li He responded, a rare chuckle echoing Jiang Er's words. The flames continued to surge upwards, and the tent was packed with people, completely blocking out the raging sandstorms from Longxi. Chatterboxes erupted, and everyone chatted over the burning firewood. As the new occupants of the tent, they shared a vision of war and battle, of vast deserts and icy rivers.
The drums beat, signaling the soldiers to marshal their troops. Li He stood in formation, his medicine bag still tucked into his arms. Armor and weapons clashed frequently, and the clashing of voices died down beneath the increasingly rapid drumbeats. They rested for only a day and a night before continuing eastward. The veterans in the camp said they were going to reinforce the troops, first clearing out a few stray troops eastward before turning back to defend Yumen Pass.
Li He walked with them, sword in hand. Armor was indeed warmer than linen. With more than ten miles to go, the weeds were being cut down by the advancing army. The yellow sand and the strong wind threatened to blow away the darkened banner, reducing it to a fluttering red thread. All they could hear was the relentless drumbeats.
The encounter with the Hu people came much earlier than the lieutenant-general had anticipated. As they descended the hillside, they saw cavalry leading the way. Their warhorses, tightly reined in, the clatter of their hooves was chaotic. Bugles blew. The militia, recruited for grain collection, had little experience in training and deployment. The combined forces, including the wounded trailing behind, numbered only a few thousand men.
Horns blared loudly, echoing with cries of killing. All they could do was rush to the foot of the mountain and engage in close combat. Their battered armor was little more than useless, as swords clashed in a stalemate. The Hu cavalry, their horses surging into the distance, bows drawn and arrows released, charging towards the center of the fray. Li He gripped the rough hilt of his sword with both hands. The longsword was considerably heavier than the wooden club he'd wielded before. His sight was filled with countless people.
Only their attire could distinguish friend from foe. Aside from the cavalry, the Hu people mostly wore cloth armor, and their build was taller and more robust. Their long, braided black hair was often matted with blood. He slashed the Hu people's waist and abdomen with his sword, and the spurting blood stained his armor red again. The bodies piled up in ever-increasing numbers. Blood-soaked cries of pain echoed through the wasteland, bending the weeds and tumbling gravel as the instantly fired arrows pierced through.
Li He felt his overwhelming vision soften. Blood flowed as rapidly as a summer river. He seemed deaf to the sounds around him: the crackle of arrows, the blast of horns, the fluttering of flags. He gripped his weapon even tighter, the sharp edge scraping at the enemy's flesh, picking up the snaking scraps of cloth. Even the feeling of exhaustion vanished. He simply walked forward, striking at anyone without armor.
He even felt that his eyes were about to be covered with blood. Li He stepped over the corpses blocking his way and slashed at the Hu man's back. The feather arrow also pierced his shoulder, going straight through the broken armor. The sharp arrow gnawed at the fresh flesh, swallowing it like a beast, eating raw meat and drinking blood.
The first wave of pain naturally washed over him. Li He distracted himself for a moment, continuing to use his sword to block the scimitar blows from behind. As the forces clashed, the pain transformed into a flowing loss. Dark red blood streamed down from his armor to the hilt and then to the blade. The barbarian behind him was felled, giving Li He time to step back and re-tighten his arm guard. He continued to charge forward, swinging his sword at every barbarian who stood in his way.
Blood flowed from the dead into the dry cracks of the earth. Rising yellow sand blurred every fallen face. Scimitars and longswords, ravaged by countless flesh and blood, had lost their original silver luster. Their blunt, rusted blades slashed at every fresh wound. The north wind finally blew the banners to the ground. The rumble of drums echoed once more, and the clatter of horses' hooves faded into the empty wilderness. The blood flowed freely, mingling with the blood of the fallen. Armor, swords, and broken halberds were clutched tightly in every hand.
The corpse, its eyes still open, gazed up at the cloudless sky. The sun at its zenith somewhat dispelled the chill of Longxi. Li He knelt on the ground, holding onto his longsword stuck in the ground, gasping for breath. Overwhelming fatigue and flesh fought fiercely for his remaining consciousness. He could hear it now, the few who could still stand shouting, the sparse cheers that erupted, "We won, we won. The Hu people have fled."
Li He supported his exhausted body by holding the hilt of the sword. He thought that this seemed to be his first victory, the first time he heard cheers from his own team after the battle, and the first time the drum beats sounded again and for a long time. He was helped up and found a clean place to sit down.
Li He still held the long sword in his hand, watching those who could move drag the bodies scattered across the ground. The sand would make it easier to dig a large, shallow pit. They would throw the dead into the pit, occasionally dragging up a bloody corpse, regardless of whether it was a Hu or Han Chinese.
They refilled the sand pit and continued to scavenge the wasteland for any usable weapons and armor. Horses lay dead in the distance, easily visible from this side of the wasteland. Li He stared at the scene, feeling as if this were his first time killing someone, and also his first time surviving a near-death experience, even if the price was excruciating pain and a hand that could barely hold its weapon.
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