After listening to Gu Fuzhou’s words, Wu Youyuan’s mood became a little heavy. The general had mentioned his wife, the stunning imperial physician. He had seen Imperial Physician Lin and thought he must be some immortal who stepped out of a storybook. At this moment, he was excited about the upcoming battle but Imperial Physician Lin must be worried about his husband.

It must be the same for the relatives of all the other soldiers.

Shi Pei was afraid of death; he was afraid of his brothers dying. General Gu did not want to die because he had written a letter of guarantee to his wife.

Wu Youyuan thought of his own family. When he left the capital, his mother packed his luggage for him with eyes rimmed red; his elderly grandfather sent him out of the city by himself. Though he said nothing when they parted, the hand that patted him on the shoulder had been trembling.

“I can’t die either.” Wu Youyuan stood up abruptly and said loudly, “None of us can die!”

Gu Fuzhou was startled and said with a smile, “Why are you so fired up all of a sudden?”

“General Shi is right. Whether it’s a general or a cook, we are all sons of our parents. Each life we can save matters.”

Gu Fuzhou nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. You now understand. This month has not been spent in vain.”

Wu Youyuan clenched his fists tightly. His whole body was brimming with fighting spirit. “So General, now is not the time to be admiring the moon. Please quickly help me look over the formation. With this formation, our army may be able to fight one to ten. It will greatly minimize our casualties.”

Gu Fuzhou grabbed Wu Youyuan’s arm and used him as support to stand up. “I’m a little hungry. Go to the kitchen and bring two bowls of noodles. We’ll look it over while we eat.”

“Yes, I’ll go now!”

When provisions are in short supply, this meager fare of plain noodles are exotic and luxurious delicacies. Gu Fuzhou has been eating steamed buns like all the other soldiers. The little Gu worms at home must be eating better than he was.

Gu Fuzhou was looking forward to this happiness-bringing noodles. He didn’t expect for Wu Youyuan to come back, not only empty-handed but with his face painted with anger; and it was a subtle kind of anger, as though he was shamed into anger.

Gu Fuzhou opened the water bag to drink. “What’s wrong?”

“When I went to the kitchen just now, I saw two soldiers in the dark, do-doing…” Wu Youyuan said, rushing to get it out, “Doing that cut-sleeve thing!”

Gu Fuzhou almost spit out his mouthful of water. Full of admiration and envy, he said, “Not bad.” It felt like ten years since he’s done ‘that cut-sleeve thing’. He’s almost forgotten what it was like to have a beauty in his arms.

“The barracks is a solemn place. These two men must be severely punished for their debauchery!”

Gu Fuzhou asked, “Does military law state that you can’t do the cut-sleeve thing in the barracks?”

“It does!”

“Then how does it say to deal with it?”

“By beheading them!”

Gu Fuzhou let out an “Oh”. He said, “Where are those two now? Bring them here. I’ll take a look.”

Not long after, the two men who’d been outrageously bold in their lust, with arms tied behind their backs and ropes looked around their necks, were brought before Gu Fuzhou. Gu Fuzhou felt that the two looked familiar and after a closer look, it turned out that they were Jiang Dage and Little Linzi, the two who exchanged steamed buns that day.

Both of them had their heads lowered but even when they were brought before General Gu, neither of them begged for mercy. Gu Fuzhou saw that their clothes were neat and tidy. He motioned Wu Youyuan to approach him and whispered, “Didn’t you say that they were doing the cut-sleeve thing?”

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.”

“What exactly were they doing?”

“The tall one kissed the short one on the forehead.”

Gu Fuzhou: “…”

“General,” Jiang Dage said in a rough voice, “I forced Little Linzi. If you want to behead someone, behead me alone.”

Little Linzi, who was trembling with fright, suddenly had the courage to speak, “No, no, Jiang Dage didn’t force me. I did it voluntarily.”

Gu Fuzhou glanced at Wu Youyuan, the look in his eyes was quite subtle. “What do you think should be done?”

Wu Youyuan said, “Of course it should be dealt with according to military law!”

Jiang Dage didn’t change his tune, “If the General wants my life, I have no complains. But I will be in the frontlines for the siege two days hence. I wish to die at that time, I ask that the General grant this request!”

Gu Fuzhou and Wu Youyuan looked at each other. During a siege, it is nearly impossible for those who at the very forefront to survive. But when recovering a city, there has to be one soldier who’s first to make it over the wall.

Little Linzi must have known about this a long time ago. He was not too surprised but he sobbed uncontrollably.

Jiang Dage knew that his death was approaching, so in order not to leave any regrets, he chose to break the military order and express his heart to his sweetheart. Unexpectedly, he had just kissed the other’s forehead when he was grabbed by Wu Youyuan who happened to be passing by. This reminded Gu Fuzhou of his school days when the principal would go around the playground with a flashlight, trying to catch couples making out.

After a while of silence, Gu Fuzhou asked, “What’s your name?”

Jiang Dage said, “Jiang Shiyue.”

Little Linzi said, “Li-Lin Lan.”

Gu Fuzhou appeared thoughtful and then, he suddenly smiled, “It’s settled. You will definitely not die tomorrow.”

Jiang Shiyue was surprised and asked, “Ah? Why?”

“Because you have such nice sounding names. In the Dayu, people with nice names will definitely live a long time.”

Jiang Shiyue was a little confused and asked, “The General won’t kill me tonight?”

“I won’t. The both of you go back and rest.” Gu Fuzhou said, “Xiao Linzi, spend the last day before the battle with your Jiang Dage well. Twenty-four hours, not a second less.”

Jiang Shi was overjoyed, “Thank you, General. If after two days, I can survive, I will…”

“Shhh.” Gu Fuzhou put his index finger on his mouth and instructed earnestly, “It is absolute taboo to say such things before an attack. So, don’t say those kind of things anymore.”

Jiang Shiyue couldn’t understand what the general meant, but he did as the general said. He kowtowed again and led Lin Lan back.

After walking away, Lin Lan couldn’t help asking, “Jiang Dage, what did you want to say just now? If you survive…”

Now that it was his sweetheart asking, Jiang Shiyue forgot the general’s warning, “If I survive, I will go to your family to propose marriage after the war is over. I heard from a brother from the capital that there are now a lot of men who marry male wives. Even our great General married a male beauty.”

Lin Lan smiled with tears in his eyes. “That’s great.”

Two days later, the Dayu ordered their troops to attack the city. No matter how loudly they called the Xixia to battle, the Xixia Army stood firm and did not fight. Yongliang was well-defended with its thick gates and walls thirteen meters high.

Gu Fuzhou sat astride Xiao Hei, Shi Pei and Wu Youyuan leading troops to either side of him. He had seen the gates of Yongliang countless times but it was the first time he realized just how high it was.

Banners were fluttering in the wind, the battle drums resounded. The general gave the order and the soldiers raised their arms and let out a shout. The soldiers headed straight for Yongliang.

At almost the same moment, thousands of arrows were fired from the top of the city walls. A rain of arrows poured down. The infantry rushing to the front struggled and fell, while the cavalry coming from behind stepped on the corpses of those that came before them. Immediately afterwards, they were knocked down by the second wave of arrows, their bodies buried in the surging tide of people.

When they finally set the ladder against the walls, the besiegers were greeted by boulders rolling down from high above.

After this day, Gu Fuzhou never saw Jiang Shiyue again. He only saw Lin Lan, alone in a corner, gnawing on a steamed bun and weeping silently. In two days, he wouldn’t even see Lin Lan.

For several days in a row, they failed to breach Yongliang’s defenses. The morale of the army was greatly reduced and their provisions was reaching its limit. In the barracks, wounded soldiers moaning in pain could be seen everywhere. Since the siege, Hu Ji couldn’t remember when he’s last closed his eyes to rest. Still, more and more wounded soldiers came.

“This is normal when laying siege to a city, especially a big city like Yongliang. Back then, Emperor XX took a full year and eight months laying siege to Luoyang City. In the end, didn’t he succeed?” Wu Youyuan kept encouraging the group, “The enemy will run out of arrows and boulders. As long as we hold on, the day we break into the city is within sight!”

Gu Fuzhou sounded exhausted, “I have no doubt we will capture Yongliang. The problem is, the Xixia’s Demon Commander doesn’t doubt it either. He knows he can’t hold Yongliang.”

Wu Youyuan asked, “If he knows he can’t hold it, why doesn’t he open the gates and surrender already? Why put up this desperate struggle?”

“If I were him, since I’m going to lose Yongliang sooner or later, I’m going to make the loss worth it.”

Shi Pei asked, “Then, what does the General think would make it worth it?”

“Dayu’s troops and riches, siege equipment or… me.” Gu Fuzhou said calmly, “For the Xixia, nothing is more valuable than Gu Fuzhou’s life. In the eyes of the enemy, having failed to take down Yongliang after so long and facing dwindling supplies, it is only reasonable that we withdraw our troops temporarily. If I pretend to withdraw and lure the enemy out of the city to lay an ambush on us, even if the Demon Commander knows it is a trick, he will take the bait. — After all, if Yongliang is about to be lost, they will surely die once the city’s defenses fail. Wouldn’t it be nice if the general who killed their prince died with them?”

They all looked at each other and Shi Pei said, “The General wants… use himself as bait?” The last four words stuck in Shi Pei’s throat for a long time before he could say them.

“No!” Wu Youyuan said, agitated, “I would rather we all die in battle than let the General risk himself!”

Gu Fuzhou made a “tsk” sound. “And not long ago, I said that you’d finally understood.” Looking at it now, it seems he hasn’t understood anything.

“Please reconsider, General.” Shi Pei frowned, “The Xixia is at the end of their strength and won’t last for long. Why do you…”

“You think I want to do this. We don’t have much food left, Dage. We can’t last long either.” Seeing the same expression on everyone’s faces, Gu Fuzhou smiled and said, “Strictly speaking, I’m not actually forfeiting my life. ——Come here.”

The people moved in closer. Gu Fuzhou pointed to a point on the map, and said, “The terrain here is like the mouth of a gourd. When the time comes, I will lead the enemy troops here, and Wu Youyuan will lead a thousand cavalry from the other mountain pass. We’ll bolt the door and beat those dogs. Even if the enemy grows wings, it would be difficult for them to fly away.”

Shi Pei pondered for a long time and said, “But, just in case… General, if you want to lure the enemy, I shall take your place!”

“Your courage is worthy of recognition, but with all due respect, your life is not worth much to the Xixia and it won’t be enough to make them fight to the death. Don’t worry, I believe Youyuan will come to save me.” Gu Fuzhou stood under the dappled light and shadow. He smiled and said, “Youyuan, will you allow me to place my trust in you?”

Wu Youyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “General…”

“I’ll go with the General.” Shen Huaishi said, “I promised Imperial Physician Lin that I would protect you.”

Gu Fuzhou thought for a while and said, “You can go but only if Hu Ji thinks your body is strong enough to go to the battlefield.”

Shen Huaishi immediately said, “I can.”

In the next two days, Dayu’s attacks gradually weakened and the Xixia were able to take a short respite.

Since he wanted to pretend to withdraw his troops, he naturally couldn’t withdraw openly during the daytime. Xixia’s Demon Commander always kept Gu Fuzhou in his sights. If Gu Fuzhou could not be found, he would definitely not act rashly. Gu Fuzhou ordered his subordinates to carry their packs and divide into three groups to leave. He led one of them to the mountain pass bottleneck, the location they had agreed upon in advance.

Gu Fuzhou got on Xiao Hei. Staring out into the boundless night, he suddenly found his heart beating a little fast. “It’s over.”

Shen Huaishi, following behind him, hurriedly asked, “What’s the matter, General?”

“It’s nothing.” Gu Fuzhou chuckled softly, “I’m just a little…”

Just a little scared.

But right now, he was Gu Fuzhou, the invincible commander general, the Dayu’s renowned god of war. Gu Fuzhou would never be afraid, so he cannot be afraid; at least in front of these soldiers who trusted him. He cannot be afraid.

He thought of Lin Qingyu.

It would be great if Lin Qingyu were here. If his wife were by his side, he could place his arms around the other’s waist and complain unscrupulously. He was so tired, his worries keeping him up day after day. He didn’t want to lead the army. He didn’t want to fight. He just wanted to be a salted fish, a salted fish who clings to Lin Qingyu all day long.

But he was Gu Fuzhou and Gu Fuzhou should stand majestically, with spear held straight, full of mettle. He’s tried his best. He hoped he wouldn’t disappoint his men.

Gu Fuzhou took a deep breath and comforted himself, “There is nothing to be afraid of. I have planned everything.” He heard himself say, “I am not afraid at all.”