The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 153

Chapter 153

The Battle for the Defense of Shanggu had now raged for over half a month.

The thick, heavy walls, cast from solid rock, were covered in scars from axes, blades, and scorching fire. Blood had stained the black earth beneath the walls, seeping layer by layer into the stone; the very air was thick with the foul stench of gore.

The Xiongnu's tidal waves of attacks came one after another, only to be repelled again and again.

Several days prior, a Qiang army of fifty thousand, led by Qiao Ci, had finally arrived, providing critical support to the besieged Wei family soldiers.

With lightning speed, and catching the unprepared Xiongnu army off guard, the Qiang forces tore a hole in the siege line from the flank. Upon receiving word, the Wei soldiers within the city, amidst the thunderous beating of war drums, threw open the gates and charged out in formation to fight side-by-side with the Qiang reinforcements.

The Xiongnu had always excelled in open-field cavalry warfare. Having focused their heavy forces on a siege that failed to yield for days, their morale had already begun to wane. Suddenly faced with this unexpected shift—a prepared enemy force fighting in formation—they were caught completely off guard. Not only were they driven back over ten miles, but they also lost several thousand-man commanders, retreating in total disarray.

Unsure of the reinforcements' true numbers, Wuwei dared not launch another assault. He ordered his troops to reorganize, intending to use the time to catch their breath and scout the enemy’s true strength.

...

The agony of the siege, which had dragged on for ten harrowing days, was finally eased by the timely arrival of reinforcements.

The Wei soldiers, vastly outnumbered, had bled and fought with desperate courage. That the two generations of Wei Lady-mistresses had personally climbed the city walls to live and die with the soldiers and civilians was a story that grew wings and spread across the plains of Yuyang. More and more civilians began to turn back from their flight, spontaneously arriving from every direction to join the fray.

Men donned armor stripped from the fallen, taking up blood-stained swords and spears to join the ranks of the defenders.

Under Xiao Qiao’s leadership, women cared for the wounded, ensuring hot meals and soups reached the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

In just a few short days, tens of thousands of citizens flocked to volunteer for the defense.

The soldiers and civilians were united as never before, sharing a common hatred for the enemy.

Everyone held only one thought: hold on, and never yield a single inch.

...

Wuwei began to feel uneasy about the state of the battle.

He was the Chanyu’s son, the Tuqi Prince. Yet, his prestige in the Royal Court had always lagged behind that of his uncle, the Rizhu King, Wuzhuqu.

Years ago, when Wuzhuqu took a Wei woman as his royal consort, the Xiongnu were not offended; rather, they viewed his ability to seize a Wei woman as a badge of honor.

Years later, Wuzhuqu welcomed back Wei Yan, the son of that Wei consort.

It was not rare for Xiongnu royalty or nobility to have Han blood. The Yeqiuwo King and the strategist Yizhizi—a man deeply trusted by the Chanyu—currently in the Royal Court were both descendants of Han princesses sent for marriage alliances in the past.

But none of them were like Wei Yan, who had made Wuwei feel an unprecedented sense of threat the very moment he laid eyes on him.

In just a few short years, Wei Yan's fame had skyrocketed. Ever since he conquered the Eastern Hu—who had tenaciously occupied the Congling region for decades—and incorporated their land into one of the Xiongnu’s twenty-four tribes, the Xiongnu had begun to affectionately call him by the name Hutukun.

Even the Chanyu had broken protocol to ennoble him as the Jianjiang King—a title for a great king qualified to lead ten thousand horsemen.

Wuwei was extremely wary of this.

Therefore, not long ago, when Liu Yan, the Emperor of the Langya court, sent an envoy through a Han official who had previously surrendered to the Xiongnu to express his desire for friendship and military aid, Wuwei had intervened strongly, finally persuading the Chanyu to dispatch troops under his own command.

According to his original plan, he should have captured Yuyang by now. He intended not only to wash away the humiliation of the Xiongnu being suppressed by the Wei family for years and having the Hetao region stolen away, but more importantly, in the Xiongnu Royal Tent—where the strong prey on the weak and the victor is king—he desperately needed this victory. He needed it to show the Chanyu, his tribesmen, and especially the Xiongnu noble families like the Huyan, Xubu, and Qiulin—who had always questioned him—his true capabilities.

But he had not expected the battle to stall in Shanggu like this.

He had failed to seize the opportunity to annihilate the one hundred thousand Wei defenders in one fell swoop, allowing them to secure Qiang reinforcements. He had missed his best chance, and now, every day that the conflict dragged on added another layer of disadvantage for him.

If he delayed any longer, and Wei Shao returned with his army, he had no confidence in the outcome.

He commanded the elite forces of the Xiongnu, fighting with a numerical advantage; he could not afford to lose this war.

The next day, Wuwei reorganized his forces. Just before dawn, he personally took command and emptied his camp, launching yet another ferocious assault on the combined Han-Qiang forces.

Kill one man, and receive gold.

Kill ten, and receive a beautiful woman.

Kill one hundred, and be promoted to a centurion.

And if they could breach the city and seize that Wei Lady-mistress who beat the drums to boost morale, they would be granted a thousand households and titled as a Marquis!

...

The brutal combat raged from morning until dusk.

Lei Yan and Qiao Ci fought regardless of their own safety, leading the masses to resist and hold the line.

The sounds of slaughter filled their ears, and the wild fields near the city gates were so packed with corpses that there was nowhere left to step.

The Xiongnu trampled over layers upon layers of their own comrades' bodies, raising siege ladders and digging at the walls.

On the city walls, whenever a soldier fell, another from behind immediately stepped forward to fill the gap.

Suddenly, at the southeastern corner of the city gate, a thunderous explosion erupted, accompanied by a wild, ecstatic roar from the Xiongnu.

Stray arrows whizzed overhead; one struck the back of a fallen soldier, landing barely a half-step away from Xiao Qiao.

Xiao Qiao could no longer feel fear.

She and two other women were carrying a basket of rocks to continue climbing the walls when she saw Jia Cai running toward her, his face covered in blood.

"My Lady, hurry and come with me!"

Jia Cai bellowed.

"Is the city about to fall?"

Xiao Qiao asked, her tone calm.

She had not closed her eyes for several days and nights. Her face was as pale as paper, her eyes dry and burning; though the wind felt as if it would draw tears from her, she felt no trace of fatigue.

"The southeastern wall has been breached. Young Master Qiao is leading men to block the gap, and the rest of the troops have prepared for street fighting! They swear to defend Shanggu to the death and will not yield a single inch! General Jia has ordered me to escort you away immediately! All remaining women must also evacuate the city at once!"

"You must all leave through the South Gate immediately! You are no longer needed here!"

Xiao Qiao commanded the women instantly.

With tears in their eyes, the women knelt to her before rising to depart.

If the defense of the city had reached the point of street-to-street combat, Xiao Qiao knew that if she remained, she would indeed only become a burden.

Madam Xu’s condition was grave, but fortunately, she had been evacuated from Shanggu several days ago.

Facing thirty thousand fierce Xiongnu cavalry, every person here had already reached their absolute limit.

She suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

She closed her eyes for a moment, steadying herself against the wall.

"My Lady!"

Jia Cai sensed something was wrong; he reached out to steady her but stopped just before making contact.

Xiao Qiao steadied her mind, opened her eyes, and said, "I am fine. I will leave now."

Just at that moment, a sound like ten thousand horses galloping seemed to drift faintly from the distance.

At first, it was barely perceptible, but it steadily grew into a low rumble, clear and distinct.

As the sound surged forward, the very ground beneath their feet and the corner towers of the city walls began to tremble to its rhythm, as if in the midst of an earthquake.

The blood-crazed combatants on both sides also felt this increasingly clear and unusual tremor.

The Xiongnu stopped their climbing; the soldiers on the walls ceased their swinging of blades and spears, turning their heads one after another to follow the sound.

Xiao Qiao stood dazed for a moment before suddenly gathering her skirts and rushing up the stairs.

She ran in one breath to the high platform atop the wall and gazed out into the distance.

In the direction of the setting sun, at the very edge of the vast plains, she saw a long, dark line like a tidal wave surging rapidly toward the city.

...

On the twenty-second day of the arduous battle for the defense of Shanggu, the Marquis of Yan, Wei Shao, finally returned with his grand army.

...

Wei Yan sat alone on his horse atop a high ridge, watching the silhouette of the army approaching amidst the golden glow of the sunset, his expression indifferent.

A moment later, he slowly shifted his gaze toward the city of Shanggu.

The distance was a bit far; he could not see her face clearly. He could only vaguely make out the blurred, elegant silhouette standing atop the high drum platform.

But he knew it was her. No matter the distance, he would recognize her at a single glance.

He suddenly recalled that year, much like this moment, when he had gazed from afar at her back as she beat the drums on the Lu-Li Platform, harboring unspeakable, delusional thoughts.

And now, she was still the noble Lady-mistress of the Wei clan.

But he—he no longer even called himself Wei Yan.

He remained lost in thought for a moment before abruptly lowering his gaze. He pulled on his reins, let out a low shout, and turned around. Alone, horse and rider, he galloped away, his figure gradually disappearing into the end of the high ridge.

...

With the Lord Marquis leading his troops home in the nick of time, joyous shouts thundered from the walls of Shanggu.

The war drums boomed, the sounds of slaughter flared, and the Xiongnu who had climbed halfway up the walls began to plummet to the ground one after another.

The soldiers threw open the city gates and rushed out to meet the enemy.

The Battle for the Defense of Shanggu, which had lasted for over half a month, concluded without any suspense.

Wei Shao had returned with that iron cavalry of the Wei family, which was in no way inferior to the Xiongnu’s own—a force filled with such murderous intent and thunderous rage that it reached down into the depths of hell.

Having lost their military advantage, and with their morale already shattered by days of failed sieges, the Xiongnu spirit plummeted to the very bottom.

After putting up a cursory resistance, their army collapsed like a falling mountain, fleeing in total rout toward the north.

The pursuit lasted until the following day.

The number of Xiongnu dead and captured reached a staggering one hundred thousand.

...

There were many times when it felt clear that if they just charged once more, the city defenders would be unable to hold, and victory was right before their eyes.

But time and again, the opportunity slipped away. The city stood fast; though separated by only a single wall, they could never breach it.

When Wuwei crossed the river boundary and fled back to the grasslands in a panic, he still could not believe that the campaign he had set out upon with such ambition—leading a massive force south for a surprise attack—would end in such a miserable, disastrous defeat.

...

With the siege of Shanggu lifted, the stifling, heavy atmosphere that had weighed upon the city for so many days finally vanished completely.

Joyful laughter could be heard everywhere.

Xiao Qiao did not even have time to catch her breath; she immediately rushed to the temporary infirmary set up not far from the city gate to see her younger brother.

Qiao Ci had suffered wounds to his arm and back. A military doctor was currently treating him.

Because he had lost quite a bit of blood, his face was pale, but his spirit was high. He was stretching his arm to let the doctor wrap his wounds while laughing and talking with a group of Wei family soldiers who had gathered around.

"Young Master Qiao, I’ve heard that Qiang women are charming and passionate. If they have a lover they fancy, they take the initiative to present flowers as a sign of affection. A man of your talents, Young Master, you must have received such flowers?"

A soldier who had just finished bandaging his own wound asked.

After a great battle, men’s minds inevitably drifted toward such things.

Qiao Ci lacked any airs. Having lived and died alongside the Wei soldiers and the Beihe Qiang troops he had brought with him, he had long since become one of them. When the soldier asked out of curiosity, the others nearby roared with laughter.

Qiao Ci’s face grew slightly warm, and he hurriedly waved his hand. Suddenly, he saw Xiao Qiao enter. His eyes lit up, a joyous expression appeared, and he called out "Elder Sister," immediately standing up to greet her.

Xiao Qiao signaled for him not to rise.

The soldiers turned and, seeing the Lady-mistress had arrived, hurriedly made way for her.

The once-boisterous infirmary fell instantly silent; countless gazes turned toward her.

Xiao Qiao walked quickly to Qiao Ci. Seeing that he hadn't yet had time to change out of his blood-stained battle robes, covered in wounds with a bleeding gash still on his forehead, her heart ached with tenderness. She reached out and lightly touched it, asking, "Does it hurt?"

Qiao Ci grinned and said, "Just minor wounds! It doesn't hurt!"

The soldiers nearby, seeing this, could not help but feel a secret pang of envy.

"Elder Sister, are you well?"

"I am very well," Xiao Qiao smiled.

"My Lady, is the Old Madam well now?"

A lieutenant asked.

Xiao Qiao looked up, saw many pairs of eyes watching her, nodded to them all, and said, "The Old Madam has already been sent back to Yuyang for recovery; she will surely make a full recovery. Thank you, all soldiers, for your concern. This time, it was entirely thanks to your disregard for your own lives that the city was preserved. I offer my thanks to you all on behalf of the Lord Marquis."

"For the sake of serving the Lady, we would die ten thousand deaths without complaint!"

A bold soldier shouted loudly.

The crowd immediately chimed in one after another.

Xiao Qiao smiled. Facing the faces of the soldiers who looked at her with such eager eyes, she suddenly began to feel a wave of vertigo.

Throughout these days, following Madam Xu’s collapse, she had not had a single moment to catch her breath. Relying on the sheer conviction that she absolutely could not fall, she had been forcing herself to carry on.

She had finally waited for the siege to be lifted, and then, learning that her younger brother had been injured, she had rushed over to see him.

Now that she saw he was safe, her entire being relaxed. The string that had been pulled taut within her body seemed to snap, and she could no longer support herself.

"Elder Sister—"

"My Lady—"

Amidst a ringing in her ears, accompanied by fading, chaotic sounds, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.