At the front, Zheng Wenchang visibly staggered before pushing past the bewildered soldiers flanking the city wall steps and charging even faster toward the battlements.
Fan Changyu was a step behind. When she reached the top, she saw soldiers kneeling in grief-stricken sobs and civilians wiping away tears. Whether from overwhelming sorrow or exhaustion after the battle, for a moment, the world seemed to spin around her. A wave of desolation and uncertainty surged within her.
Though she had imagined the fall of Lu City on the way here, witnessing the old general’s lifeless body still gripping his sword on the battlefield unleashed a tidal wave of grief that choked her breath.
"My lord?"
Zheng Wenchang’s throat tightened as he rasped out the words to the stiffened figure. The towering man’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice breaking into sobs the moment he spoke.
After closing the deceased elder’s eyes—still wide with unyielding fury in death—he dropped to his knees, kowtowing heavily until his forehead split open, tears and snot streaming down his face. He repeated only one phrase: "This student came too late... I returned too late..."
The deputy general, his own eyes red, couldn’t bear the sight. He steadied Zheng Wenchang and said, "Wen Chang, don’t do this. The lord was already gravely wounded and overworked. When he heard of the rebels’ sudden attack on Lu City, he rushed here despite his failing health, holding out until your reinforcements arrived. He must have died in peace. Now, with the enemy at our gates, don’t waste yourself. Crushing the rebels is what he would have wanted!"
Zheng Wenchang lifted his bloodshot eyes to the sea of rebel troops below the walls and muttered, "Yes... the rebels. They deserve death!"
His clenched fists creaked as he stood and barked an order: "All troops, heed my command! Follow me out to battle—we take Sui Yuanhuai’s head and avenge our lord!"
The deputy urgently countered, "Wen Chang, don’t act rashly! Twenty thousand rebels surround us. Charging out now is suicide!"
Fan Changyu’s cavalry, originally three thousand strong, had dwindled to two thousand after the brutal fight to break into the city.
Two thousand against twenty thousand? Defending the walls was feasible, but opening the gates meant certain death.
Veins bulged on Zheng Wenchang’s hands as he glared at the eight-horse war chariot shielded at the heart of the rebel forces below. His jaw clenched. "Then I’ll go alone—I’ll bring back Sui Yuanhuai’s head myself!"
With that, he grabbed his spear and stormed toward the stairs like a maddened bull, the deputy’s grasp slipping from his arm.
As he passed Fan Changyu, the silent woman struck like lightning—a brutal chop to his nape sent him crumpling into darkness.
"Wen Chang!"
The deputy caught him, relieved to find him merely unconscious. Recognizing Fan Changyu as the sole female officer in the northwest army, he bowed gratefully. "Thank you, Commander Fan, for your aid."
"Take General Zheng below," she said. "Let him rest."
The deputy signaled soldiers to carry Zheng Wenchang away, then called for a stretcher to bear He Jingyuan’s body with care.The elderly man closed his eyes, his face still dignified, yet with a trace of serenity between his brows.
As the soldiers carried He Jingyuan’s body away, Fan Changyu quietly observed the departed elder for a moment and softly called out, "Uncle."
Then she made a promise: "I will defend Lucheng and not allow a single inch of Jizhou to fall to the rebels."
The first words were spoken as the daughter of an old friend, addressing this noble and virtuous elder. The latter was a pledge made in her capacity as a subordinate.
The deputy general watched with mixed emotions and could only say, "Captain Fan, please accept my condolences."
He Jingyuan’s body had already been carried away by the soldiers. Fan Changyu nodded silently and was about to turn back to assess the situation below the city walls when a scout, who had been monitoring the rebels’ movements, rushed to report to the deputy general: "General, the rebels are preparing to attack the city again!"
The deputy general paled in shock and hurried to the battlements to look down.
Below the city, the rebels had reorganized their formation, which had been scattered by Fan Changyu’s cavalry. Once again, they advanced with shield formations and archers at the forefront, covering the rebels carrying ladders as they approached the city walls.
The deputy general, frantic, issued orders: "Archers, quickly! Fill every battlement—two men per group, rotating!"
Turning to Fan Changyu, he said, "Captain Fan, how many of your cavalry are skilled archers? Deploy them immediately to man the battlements!"
Fan Changyu promptly instructed Xie Wu: "Bring all archers still fit for battle up to the city walls."
Most cavalrymen were already elite among ordinary soldiers, and archers required considerable arm strength to draw longbows. Thus, soldiers skilled in mounted archery were even rarer.
Of the three thousand cavalry Fan Changyu had brought back, five hundred were originally archers. Many had been lost in the battle to enter the city, leaving just over three hundred still combat-ready. Xie Wu led them all up to man the battlements of Lucheng’s walls.
The civilians who had been assisting in the city’s defense voluntarily went below the inner walls to help transport weapons, stones, and logs.
Fan Changyu had fought in several siege battles before, but this was her first time defending a city.
Unlike the relentless charge forward in an offensive siege, the sight of rebels swarming like a tide below the walls was far more visually overwhelming. The vastness of the enemy formation was fully visible, creating immense psychological pressure and easily instilling fear.
The deputy general, clearly experienced, shouted encouragement to the troops as the rebels’ shield-and-archer formation entered firing range: "During the rebels’ last attack, we held the walls with fewer than a thousand men. Now we have thousands of elite reinforcements—close your eyes if you must, but drive these rebels back!"
As soon as the enemy formation entered range, he roared, "Loose arrows!"
Instantly, arrows rained down like meteors from the walls. Each battlement was manned by two archers—one firing while the other nocked an arrow behind him. When the first archer stepped back, the second immediately took his place to shoot, ensuring a continuous barrage.
Fan Changyu and the deputy general peered down from the battlements and saw rebels falling in the enemy ranks. But their numbers were vast—as those in front fell, those behind trampled over the corpses and continued their charge.
Through sheer numbers, they eventually managed to raise their ladders against the walls once more.After the previous city defense battle, the guards on the city walls reacted swiftly this time. While the archers fired their arrows, other soldiers and civilians began hurling stones and logs, lifting barrels of oil to pour down. Another torch was thrown, and soon the ladders and the rebel soldiers climbing them were engulfed in flames. The soldiers screamed as they tried to extinguish the fire on their bodies, but their clothes, soaked in oil, inevitably turned them into human torches before they plummeted from the ladders.
When Fan Changyu first stepped onto the battlefield, the sight of corpses had made her nauseous. Now, witnessing this hellish scene, she still felt disgusted, though she no longer retched or vomited.
She could even calmly analyze the battle situation with the deputy general: "General He, I notice our oil reserves are running low. Should we conserve it? Some ladders can be destroyed with stones and logs—let’s use those instead."
The military supplies in Lu City had been transported to Chongzhou along with the defending troops after the initial siege was lifted. After all, no one had expected the rebels, already cornered like desperate beasts, to break through the encirclement of tens of thousands of troops and counterattack Lu City.
Deputy General He sighed. "I initially thought the same as you, Captain Fan. But Lord He insisted we mustn’t let the rebels know our supplies are dwindling. If we repel their assaults several times, even if they use human wave tactics, they’ll eventually tire. If they realize our supplies are running out, they’ll only attack more fiercely."
Fan Changyu fell silent at his words.
Deputy General He’s reasoning was sound. In this defensive battle, they were the weaker side, already short on manpower. If their supplies ran out, the rebels’ morale would soar, and capturing Lu City would become effortless.
With the help of the two thousand cavalry that had entered the city and the civilians, Lu City managed to hold off another wave of the rebel attack.
As the rebels retreated like beaten dogs, sounding their gongs to withdraw, the soldiers and civilians on the walls cheered in triumph.
But the quartermaster, after taking stock of the meager remaining supplies on the walls, approached Deputy General He with a grim expression. "General, we’re nearly out of arrows, and only a few barrels of oil are left."
Deputy General He glanced at the rebels below, who seemed to be regrouping once more, and asked Fan Changyu, "Captain Fan, how much longer until General Tang’s forces arrive?"
Fan Changyu replied, "Lu City and Chongzhou are over a hundred li apart. Even if General Tang’s troops march at full speed without any baggage, we’ll still need to hold out for at least two more hours."
Deputy General He turned his gaze back to the smoke-filled battlefield below and said simply, "Then we’ll hold for two more hours."
Xie Wu, standing behind Fan Changyu, showed a flicker of unease but remained silent.
On the walls, only the low-ranking soldiers celebrated this brief victory. The officers above seemed to understand that arrows, oil, stones, and logs were nearly exhausted—Lu City could not be held.
Every face bore the weight of the situation, yet no one spoke of it. They continued their duties methodically.
It was less a preparation for the next defensive battle and more an acceptance of a heroic death.
In such moments, even grief seemed superfluous.
Fan Changyu observed the faces around her—some heavy with dread, others radiant with fleeting joy. After a brief silence, she suddenly said to Deputy General He, "I have an idea that might help Lu City hold out longer."
Deputy General He quickly asked, "What is it?"Fan Changyu said, "This subordinate will lead a dozen men out of the city to challenge the rebel generals to single combat. Deputy General He, take this opportunity to reinforce the city gates."
Upon hearing that she intended to trade her life for a few more hours of defense, Deputy General He immediately objected, "Absolutely not!"
Fan Changyu replied, "This is the only method I can think of right now to buy us more time."
She looked at Deputy General He and continued, "The rebels fled here overnight—their military supplies and provisions must be insufficient. If they breach the city, the civilians will suffer. Lord He defended Lu City with his life—how can we let it fall through our hands simply because we fear death? The city still needs you to oversee the situation, Deputy General He. Therefore, I request to lead this charge."
Deputy General He hesitated, conflicted.
Xie Wu urgently interjected, "If the Commandant insists on going into battle, this subordinate is willing to go in your stead."
For the first time, Fan Changyu spoke harshly to Xie Wu: "You're not qualified."
Deputy General He said with difficulty, "Commandant Fan..."
Fan Changyu pressed her lips together, then clasped her fists and declared, "Deputy General He, this subordinate, Meng Changyu, is a descendant of General Meng Shuyuan of Changshan. Deceiving the emperor is already a grave crime. If I cannot uncover the truth of the Jinzhou Massacre in this lifetime to clear my ancestors' name, then at least let me do one good deed for the people—to uphold the Meng family's honor. I beg you to grant me this!"
Deputy General He was deeply shaken. After a moment of internal struggle, he finally shut his eyes in resignation and said, "Permission granted."
Fan Changyu bowed gratefully. "Thank you, General."
With that, she turned to descend the city wall.
Xie Wu hurried after her. "This subordinate will accompany the Commandant to issue the challenge outside the city."
Fan Changyu stopped in a secluded spot and spoke with unexpected calmness, "Xiao Wu, thank you for your support all these years in the army. I know you and Xiao Qi stayed by my side on his orders. But now that he's about to marry a princess, keeping you here would weigh on my conscience."
Xie Wu, who had been by Fan Changyu's side all this time, was unaware that the emperor had sent an envoy to arrange the marriage. Hearing this, he felt both bewildered and alarmed by what Fan Changyu was about to do. He pressed urgently, "Commandant, there must be some misunderstanding—who told you His Lordship is marrying a princess?"
Fan Changyu ignored the question and said instead, "I don't blame him. The Jinzhou Massacre shocked the world—no one could forgive that. I've always believed my father and grandfather were innocent, but that's just my own belief. If I die defending Lu City today, consider it atonement for their sins. There's just one thing I’d like to ask of you, Xiao Wu. If I fall and Lu City holds, evade the palace and Wei Yan's spies, and find a good family to adopt Ning Niang."
She paused, then added after a long moment, "She's the only one I can't let go of now."
There was still one other person in her heart she couldn't forget, but their fate had long since run its course.
Xie Wu's eyes reddened. "Commandant..."
Fan Changyu clasped her fists toward him. "I leave it to you."
Before Xie Wu could say more, Fan Changyu turned and strode toward the assembled troops below the barbican.
The dozen men were all locals of Jizhou, their faces solemn with resolve.
Fan Changyu scanned each of them and said, "We go out there. If we can hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive, our comrades, brothers, and fellow townspeople won’t have to die. Our names may be remembered by future generations, and our families will receive imperial compensation—enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.""If we can't hold the city and it falls, we'll just be another corpse among the countless bones beneath the yellow sand. Our wives, children, and elders at home may be displaced by the flames of war, or they may die beneath the rebels' blades."
With that, she mounted her horse and shouted boldly to the soldiers guarding the city gate, "Open the gates!"
The heavy city gates slowly creaked open with a sound like rolling cartwheels. As Fan Changyu rode out from the city, saber in hand, the distant mass of rebel soldiers visibly froze in shock.
Sixteen elite troops followed her out of the city, forming a V-shaped formation behind Fan Changyu like a pair of wings sprouting from her back.
The last remnants of the setting sun cast a crimson glow as the Jizhou flag atop the city walls flapped fiercely in the wind. In the deathly silence of the battlefield, Fan Changyu's voice tore through the gale, reaching every ear: "Meng Changyu, daughter of Meng Shuyuan, stands here today. Does any rebel general dare come forth and fight?"
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