Shu Changyu stood atop the city gate, facing the blazing sunset on the horizon. Wrapped in his cloak and with his hands clasped behind his back, he watched as the rebel camp below was engulfed in flames, their glow intertwining with the sunset in the sky.
“Magistrate Zheng,” Shu Changyu said softly.
The Prefect of Huzhou, standing beside him, hurriedly replied.
“The people across from us now have no time to concern themselves with righteousness or morality,” Shu Changyu said softly. “If we continue to preach morality to them, we’ll only be asking for trouble.”
The Prefect of Huzhou paused in surprise.
“Right now, as long as we can hold Huzhou City, no matter what means we use, it’s not wrong,” Shu Changyu said.
The Prefect of Huzhou knew he was referring to today’s envoy. He smiled and replied, “Yes, I shall strictly follow Magistrate Shu’s guidance.”
Shu Changyu sighed. “I’m afraid we’ll be fighting tonight. Prefect, please return to the city first. Wounded soldiers will surely be brought back shortly, and the city walls will need supplies. These matters require your attention. As for the rest of the battle, please rest assured and leave it to me.”
“But…” The Prefect of Huzhou hesitated. “Sir, you were wounded just last night. You should go back and rest first.”
Shu Changyu shook his head. “There’s no rush.”
Just then, taking advantage of a lull in the hail of arrows at the city gate, the rebel forces below began firing arrows toward the gate. Shu Changyu caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye and hurriedly pushed the Prefect of Huzhou aside. The arrow grazed the prefect’s cheek and embedded itself heavily into the column behind them.
The Prefect of Huzhou’s heart sank, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his brow. Unable to control his trembling, he nearly collapsed to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Shu Changyu already directing the soldiers on the city gate to crouch back behind cover.
“Magistrate Zheng, you must return at once!” Shu Changyu said, turning his head toward him.
The Prefect of Huzhou was still overcome with fear. Upon hearing Shu Changyu’s words, he nodded blankly and, under the protection of his guards, descended from the city gate tower.
The two surprise attacks Shu Changyu had launched while the enemy was off guard should have inflicted losses amounting to twenty to thirty percent of their ranks. Yet the rebel forces’ numbers remained formidable. That day, while the rebels were busy putting out the fires, Shu Changyu directed the defending soldiers to launch several more surprise attacks.
By nightfall, under Shu Changyu’s relentless assault, the rebels were forced to retreat five li before finally ceasing their attacks for the time being. The rebels seemed to have never encountered a defense that fought more fiercely than the attack itself; momentarily at a loss for how to respond, they had no choice but to retreat and regroup.
Standing on the city ramparts, Shu Changyu dared not let his guard down for a moment as he arranged the soldiers for the night watch. Just as he had finished making the arrangements and was breathing a sigh of relief, he heard a soldier calling out to him from nearby.
“Lord Shu!” the soldier said. “Your wound…”
Shu Changyu lowered his gaze and only then realized that the wound on his chest had reopened at some point, staining his robe crimson and looking rather alarming.
At that moment, the military doctor accompanying him hurried forward and, without a word, tried to pull him down from the city gate to tend to the wound. Shu Changyu touched the edge of the wound and shook his head. “Go fetch the medicinal ointment and bring it up to the city gate.”
Having said that, he turned to the deputy commander standing nearby and said, “Send someone immediately to find Magistrate Zheng and have him take a team to inventory the armory. The long-range attacks over the past two days have consumed a great deal of supplies; we must use them sparingly from now on.”
“Magistrate Shu…” The military doctor tried to speak up again, but Shu Changyu raised his hand to silence him. “It’s unnecessary,” Shu Changyu said. “Just go get the medicine.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Also, bring some sheep’s-foot and belladonna seeds. If you have any […], bring some of that for me as well.”
The military doctor was taken aback.
These herbs were all used to calm the mind and relieve pain. It seemed that Magistrate Shu must be in excruciating pain right now to want to chew some anesthetic herbs. The military doctor hesitated for a moment and urged, “Magistrate, these herbs only provide temporary relief. Now that the fighting has just ceased, you really should…”
“Hurry up,” Shu Changyu said, completely unmoved, furrowing his brow as he gave the order.
Just then, night had fallen. The soldiers relieving the guard had already formed ranks on the city ramparts and taken their respective posts. Just as Shu Changyu was turning to enter the watchtower atop the city gate, he heard someone call out to him from behind.
“Magistrate Shu!”
He turned and saw a young man standing upright by the city wall behind him. To his surprise, it was the very same boy who, after his closest friend had been killed the day before, had wept on the battlefield, vowing to fight to the death. Now he was clad in neat armor, the red tassel on his helmet fluttering in the wind, and he flashed a row of neat, white teeth at Shu Changyu.
Shu Changyu was taken aback for a moment, then saw the boy’s smile vanish instantly.
“Lord Shu, your wound—?” The boy’s gaze fell on Shu Changyu’s chest, and his expression immediately turned guilty and pained. “It’s all my fault. It was me yesterday…”
Shu Changyu shook his head with a smile: “It’s nothing. That’s not my blood; I just accidentally brushed up against it a moment ago.”
This young man was the son of a local gentry. Though he’d loved practicing with swords and staffs since childhood, he’d never served in the military. He’d come forward of his own accord that day after seeing the recruitment notice, and was so eager that within two days of joining the unit, he volunteered to accompany Shu Changyu on a surprise attack.
Faced with a young man like this, even though he’d acted impulsively and made a mistake, Shu Changyu couldn’t bring himself to scold him. So, instinctively, he made up an excuse to spare the boy any guilt.
As for the cause of his injury, it was mainly due to his own lack of stamina.
The teenager, however, didn’t believe a word of it, and his eyes welled up with tears.
“Lord Shu, please go inside and rest!” he said, his voice slightly hoarse. “We’ll definitely stand guard properly—you can rest assured, Lord Shu!”
Shu Changyu smiled and nodded at him, then went inside.
The military doctor brought some medicinal ointment, bandaged his wound, and reapplied the ointment. He chewed some belladonna seeds, and the searing pain in his chest eased slightly. Leaning back on the cot, he exhaled softly, closed his eyes, and reached his hand to his side.
This had become a habitual gesture for him over the past three years. But this time, his hand came up empty.
Shu Changyu paused, then felt a dull ache in his chest.
He couldn’t help himself; for three years now, he’d been unable to stop himself from missing Jing Mu. In the past, he’d had a memento that reminded him of Jing Mu, but now, that very memento—which, by a twist of fate, had saved his life—was broken.
Shu Changyu felt as though every bond he shared with Jing Mu had been forcibly severed.
—
He drifted off into a hazy sleep, but even in his slumber he was restless, plagued by endless dreams. He had slept for little more than one hour when the messenger sent to the Prefect of Huzhou returned.
The sound of the door opening startled Shu Changyu awake. When he opened his eyes, he startled the cautious guard standing at the door.
He took the letter delivered by the Prefect of Huzhou, which outlined the basic situation of Huzhou’s armory. He rose from his couch and motioned for the guard to light the lamp for him. As Shu Changyu skimmed through the letter, his brow furrowed deeper with every page.
Over the past two days, they had already used up forty percent of their arrows—far from enough. And because they had recruited so many new soldiers, their stockpile of weapons was also running low. Defending the city required the use of long-range weapons, but it was already too late to cast new arrows.
“When we were managing the river earlier, weren’t there still quite a few stones left in the city from building the embankments?” Shu Changyu pressed his temples and asked.
The guard nodded in agreement.
“Go back and tell the prefect to have all those stones transported to the city walls. Also, go find some wooden barrels and fuel. Make sure the fuel is liquid—you can even collect cooking oil from households.”
The guard acknowledged each instruction in turn.
“That’s all. If any other matters arise, come find me again,” Shu Changyu said, setting the letter aside on the table.
The guard withdrew: “Very well, Magistrate Shu, please continue resting.”
Shu Changyu gave a soft “Mm-hmm.” His head felt as if it were splitting, yet he was now wide awake. He sat there, gazing out the window at the pitch-black sky, then picked up the cloak beside him and walked out.
As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw the same young man standing upright on the city wall ahead. He walked down the steps, tying the sash of his cloak as he came to a stop beside the youth.
“Still no sign of anything?” Shu Changyu asked.
His sudden voice startled the young man, making him jump. He quickly turned around to find Shu Changyu standing right beside him, his brow slightly furrowed as he gazed ahead. To the young man’s eyes, Shu Changyu’s dignified and handsome profile shone as brightly as the stars on the horizon.
The young man thought to himself: Although Lord Shu was only in his twenties, his demeanor and conduct were those of a mature middle-aged man, instilling a sense of calm in him for no apparent reason.
He replied, “Yes, Lord Shu, there’s been no movement.”
Shu Changyu gave a low “hm” and asked, “When you changed shifts just now, did you make sure all your bows and arrows were accounted for?”
The young man hurriedly nodded. “Yes, Magistrate Shu, they’re all accounted for.”
Shu Changyu gave a soft “hm.”
He sighed lightly and said, “It’s been tough on you all these past few days. But with a formidable enemy at our doorstep, if we don’t put up a fight, we’ll be at their mercy. The force across from us isn’t some righteous army—these men are already bloodthirsty. We can’t let your loved ones fall into their hands.”
The young man nodded vigorously, his expression one of unwavering conviction: “I know—Lord Shu’s judgment can’t possibly be wrong.”
Shu Changyu couldn’t help but smile, the corners of his mouth curving upward: “What is your name?”
“Reporting to Lord Shu, this one is Shen Ziyu!”
Shu Changyu said, “I heard about you when you arrived—they say you’re the only son of Shen Zhongcheng, a wealthy merchant in the city. Your father donated the entire family fortune; how do you make ends meet now?”
“There’s still some left—enough to provide for my parents and younger sister,” he replied with a smile. “Fortunately, I came of age last month and enlisted in the army, so I’m able to receive my rations and pay.”
Shu Changyu chuckled. His family had once been worth tens of thousands of guan; this young master had grown up in luxury, so that military pay was truly nothing to his family.
Hearing him mention his coming-of-age ceremony, Shu Changyu’s heart skipped a beat.
Twenty years old… that’s a year older than Jing Mu.
Shu Changyu pressed his lips together, lowered his eyes, and fell silent for a moment. Just then, he faintly heard the sound of the ground trembling below the city walls.
He squinted in that direction and could vaguely make out a dense throng of people surging out of the large encampment in the distance, advancing straight toward Huzhou City.
Zhuo Renyue’s rebel forces were taking advantage of the cover of night to prepare for an assault on the city.