The Warring States, Books 1-3

by Greg Strandberg

  A new concern quickly replaced that posed by the chariots. Instead of running like most men would, the archers were determinedly standing their ground, grabbing arrows from their quivers and nocking them to their bows. Already men were aiming at them, and a few arrows flew over their heads as they got closer. Wu saw Min yell something to Dao that he could not make out, and which the Duke only shook his head at. A moment later Min began steering his chariot into a more direct line with the archers, the movement forcing Dao to do the same with his own chariot. Wu made the same maneuver, and glancing over his shoulder he saw that the others in line behind him were making it as well. When he returned his eyes to the archers ahead of them he saw the first few men begin to break ranks and run. They were quickly followed by more as their column of chariots got closer, and by the time they were within a hundred yards all of them had taken to their heels.

  Wu would have smiled but for the chariots quickly filling the gap left by the archers. The Yue chariots were plowing right through the retreating ranks of archers, heedless of the fleeing men’s safety in their rush to break the enemy’s charge. Min and Dao and then Wu quickly flew by the advancing cars, but Wu could tell that the main thrust of that force would bear down on his companions just a few chariots behind.

  Min tried to buy them speed and time by cracking his reins repeatedly, especially after they heard the first wing of Yue chariots slam into them further back down their long line. Wu had thought that they would lose only a few dozen to that chariot charge; now he realized that it was only a few dozen that would survive. Shouts and cries erupted in their rear as their men were surrounded. There was nothing they could do, however; to turn back and fight would mean certain death for themselves and defeat for the entire army. They had to press on, and that’s exactly what Min did.

  They plowed through the fleeing archers and ran over any foolish enough to hold their ground. Arrows still flew at them, but most were high, while the few well-aimed embedded themselves in the cars more often than not. The threat of the chariots and archers behind them, they still found they had one obstacle to contend with, and that was the large cluster of infantry now blocking their path. They were already passing the second column of infantry, but the third had found enough time to pull some men back in an attempt to stop the chariot charge. It was too late however, for even with the archers regrouping in their rear and ready to fire down on them as they rushed to the river, their whole right flank was clear. Min simply steered them up and around the men and they were quickly heading back south, the mouth of the river, and their own ranks of infantry, before them. Wu had never seen a more welcome sight.

  The ranks cheered them when they wheeled into their midst, the few that were not busy fighting it out over the river. Min pulled up on his reins and brought his chariot to a halt well into their ranks and quickly hopped out of the car. He stood staring back at the few chariots coming in behind him, and Wu saw him shake his head sadly as he brought his own horses and car to a halt and handed the reins to Chou.

  “I didn’t think we had lost so many,” Min was saying to Dao when Wu walked up. “Where those chariots came from I don’t know.”

  “Yi had them in reserve,” Wu quickly said. “I thought more would get through as well.”

  The three men stood and watched as the last of the chariots came in behind them. Wu did a quick count and was appalled. Of the more than two hundred that had broken free of the fighting in the field to rush north and around the infantry, less than fifty remained.

  “We won’t be blocking the mouth of the river with this force,” Min said sadly. He waved over one of the nearby officers. “Get a division of infantry up to block the mouth of the river,” Min said to the man when he reached them.

  The officer nodded and ran off toward the sound of fighting coming from the river to their right. Min watched him go before turning to look around.

  “There’s got to be some type of command here,” he said.

  Wu glanced about but could see no such thing. They were on the very edge of the first division of infantry, the one furthest away from the fighting that was raging somewhere south of them.

  “Further down the river, most likely,” Dao said. “A chariot will take us the length of the line more quickly.”

  Min nodded and wiped the dust and sweat from his face, and Wu saw for the first time how dazed and tired the man truly was. The battle had obviously taken its toll on him, especially the loss of the chariots. They had started the battle with seven hundred and fifty, and, unless some had escaped from the fighting to come across the river on their own, they were now down to a few dozen. Wu had no idea what shape their infantry was in, but if the ferocity of the fighting from the field was any indication, they had also taken a hard hit. The only force that appeared unscathed were their archers, still high atop the hills on their left, but who would no doubt be forced to scatter once the Yue archers got reorganized and fired upon them.

  The infantry was the real question, however; without them they had nothing. They’d started the battle with nearly twenty thousand. If all of divisions had managed to get across the river they would be able to hold for some time; long enough, Wu hoped, for their main force to finish its long march from the northern pass. They would soon find out, Wu knew as they walked to Dao’s chariot, the Duke taking the reins and putting them into motion.

  The two divisions of Chu infantry closest to the river when the battle had started had managed to make it across when the order had been given. As the three men went by in their chariot the soldiers cheered them, happy to see their Duke and leading general still in the fight. Already they were moving further up toward the river’s mouth to block the chariots they knew would come. The further they rode down the river, however, the worse things became. Half of the third division of infantry had made it across the river, but the other half was in the process of making its way across or still on the plain fighting. The fourth division was wholly across the river, unable to break away from the chariots that assaulted them. By this time the main force of the Yue infantry had reached the river and was slamming hard into the Chu infantry. Officers tried to rally the men and get them across the river, where they would at least by away from the chariots, but in the chaos of the fighting it just wasn’t happening. Bodies floated in the shallow river which was already turning red with blood.

  “We’ve got to get those men across!” Dao shouted out when they came upon the thick of the fighting.

  “We can’t risk sending the other two divisions into the river to aid them,” Min yelled back. “The rest of the Yue infantry will be down upon them in moments anyway.”

  “So we just leave them to die out there?” Dao shouted.

  “No, we leave them to fight,” Min shouted back.

  They came to the end of the line where the fighting had yet to take hold and Dao swung the chariot back around, bringing it to a stop.

  “There’s no point in all three of us riding in one chariot,” he said. “Min, I want you to get into another car and rally these men still across the river. Wu and I will go aid in the stand against the chariots.”

  Min only nodded and jumped out onto the ground. He waved down one of the chariots that had been following them and hopped in while it was still moving. Dao glanced over at Wu and cracked the reins, sending them back toward their left flank near the river’s mouth.

  They were still passing by the third division, itself still trapped in and on the other side of the river, when they heard the sounds of battle coming from further ahead. Another few moments brought them in sight of the fighting which had started fresh since they had first left. The Yue infantry had pushed their way across the river and were now engaged with the Chu infantry stationed on the other side. Most still stood in the river, swinging away at the men on the banks with their dagger-axes and swords, but a few had broken through the line to get onto the bank. So far the men of Chu were doing a good job holding them off, but there were thousands more still assembling o
n the opposing bank. Wu knew that it would be nearly impossible to hold them back once they charged across the shallow water.

  They went further up past the third division and were soon behind the fourth. These men were fighting on two sides. The men had managed to form up into a wedge so they could simultaneously make a stand against the chariots coming down on them from the north and the infantry coming at them from across the river. The few dozen chariots that still remained helped as best they could, mainly rushing about to draw off the enemy chariots, but there numbers were too few to make any real difference.

  Dao spun the chariot around in a circle and brought it to a stop well behind the line of fighting. He stared hard at the battle taking place on two sides then glanced up at the hills behind them.

  “The archers are still doing well,” he said so quietly that Wu had to strain to hear him over the clash of steel. He turned suddenly to look at Wu. “We won’t stand a chance here for long if we don’t take some drastic measures, and soon.”

  Wu’s eyes narrowed and he knitted his brows. “What do you have in mind, Sire?”

  “I want you to get up that hill. Locate King Yi down there in all that chaos. He must be across the river directing his troops from some safe vantage.”

  “And if we find him, then what?”

  “Then we kill him.”

  Wu stared at Dao for another moment, but the Duke’s attention was already back on the battle. Wu didn’t think it was much of a plan, but he had to admit that he couldn’t think of anything worse at the moment. It was obvious that they would be finished within the hour unless their main force arrived, but that seemed less and less likely with each minute that passed. With a shrug Wu jumped from the car and started to rush up the hill.

  Rocks scattered and tumbled down behind him as he went up, and several times he stumbled and only barely stopped himself from falling completely by throwing his hands out in front of himself. After a time he started to use his arms as well as his legs to propel him up the steep incline. The sounds of the fighting diminished the further he went up, but they did not go away entirely. A few stolen glances over his shoulder was all it took to remind him of how dire their situation was.

  After several minutes, his fingers bloodied in from the jagged rocks, he reached the first of the archers. The men had spotted him several minutes before, but they were so intent on loading and reloading their bows that they paid him scant attention.

  “Where’s the officer in charge?” Wu shouted at the first group he came upon.

  One of the men, his bow drawn up to his face as he took aim on some distant target below, cocked his head slightly behind him and to the left.

  Wu scrambled on, moving around large rocks and boulders that dotted the hillside. Other groups of archers gave the same directions as the first, and finally after several minutes he asked one group where the officer was and a man had said that he was in charge.

  “Duke Dao wants to know where King Yi is,” Wu said panting, the sweat pouring down his face and into his already soaked robes.

  “That’s easy,” the man said, pointing out onto the plain below. “He’s in the middle of that large circle of men behind the infantry and just out of range.”

  Wu put his hand to his forehead to block the sun’s glare and narrowed his eyes. There was a circle of chariots drawn up, several more men standing about in a wider circle. It appeared to be the seat of command, that was for sure, but Wu couldn’t make out King Yi.

  “Are you sure Yi’s in that group?”

  “Can’t you see him?” the man asked. “He’s got the bright blue robes on. We watched when that group came to a stop there, and the first thing that happened was a new set of robes was brought out for that man to change into. Seems their king doesn’t like to spend too long in dusty clothes,” the officer finished with a laugh.

  Wu could make him out now, the bright blue gave him away easily, and he was surprised he hadn’t noticed before. It was hard to make out, but Wu was sure that the other men around him were getting orders which they then relayed to the men on foot around them, who then went rushing off down the line of battle. Looking down on them Wu realized that Dao’s plan of killing the King wasn’t so far-fetched after all. There were few men guarding him, and most of the infantry was occupied with fighting their way across the river. The majority of chariots that the King possessed were buffeting the mouth of the river, while the archers that had been scattered by Min’s charge were still trying to get reorganized further up the range of hills.

  “Sir,” Wu said to the man, “gather together your best marksmen and send them down the hills to the right flank of the infantry line. Have them wait there for further instructions.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on? Are you truly meaning to strike against the King?”

  “You’ll be the first to see it if we do,” Wu said as he turned and began hopping down the hillside.

  FIFTEEN

  Rocks scattered all about as Wu hopped and slid down the hill, and in just a minute he was behind the infantry lines once again. Putting his arms on his knees he bent over to catch his breath and peered about, looking for Min or Dao. After a few moments he spotted the Duke, riding up and down the line of men, shouting orders for where to firm up and get ready for the assault that was already coming at them from across the river. Wu straightened up and rushed to the chariot, hoping that it wouldn’t dash off suddenly.

  Another man in the car spotted Wu rushing up and clapped Dao on the shoulder. The Duke nodded when he caught sight of Wu and turned the chariot toward him.

  “Well, what did you find out, Wu?”

  “King Yi is in a tight circle of men and chariots just behind the infantry. It’s nearly a straight line from the mouth of the river to his location.”

  Dao nodded. “How many men does he have guarding him?”

  “No more than twenty afoot with another twenty in the chariots.”

  Wu gestured back up toward the hills. “I told the officer in charge to gather together his best marksmen and send them down to the end of our line.”

  “Good,” Dao said before turning to the man next to him. “Rush to the mouth of the river and tell General Min to spare as many chariots as he can. Tell him we have fighting on the right flank.”

  The man nodded, hopped from the car, and sped off north. Wu climbed up into the car.

  “Is there fighting on the right flank? I didn’t see any?”

  “It wouldn’t do to tell Min that I mean to lead a charge against King Yi.”

  “It wouldn’t do to lie to him either.”

  Dao shrugged. “By the time those chariots get here there will be fighting on the right flank.”

  Wu glanced further down the line. The Duke was right; already Yue infantry were massing heavily across the river, ready to storm across against the Chu fourth division.

  “We’ll have to get over the river to the south, where it comes through the mountains,” Wu said, turning his attention back to Dao.

  “I realize that. The fighting at the mouth of the river is too fierce; we’d never be able to break through it undetected.”

  “And how do you plan on getting a dozen chariots across the river?”

  “There’re shallow spots,” Dao answered.

  Wu nodded. They would tackle that problem when they got to it. “The camp should provide enough cover to get out behind their lines unseen.”

  “Exactly. That camp is nearly a mile long and no one in the Yue Army will be looking at it.”

  “And then what?” Wu asked. “We just charge at Yi and hope that we kill him.”

  Dao looked hard at Wu and with not a trace of doubt on his face. “Yes.”

  Wu only nodded, surprised at how the battle had hardened his ruler. He’d never seen Dao so serious before, nor so determined. It was as if all of his frustrations over what had befallen the once powerful State of Chu were coming to a boil under the hot sun and the unmerciful heat of the desert plain
around them. For the first time since the battle started Wu felt that they would prevail.

  The archers began arriving down from the hills just as the first chariots came down from further up the river. As ordered, Min had sent down a dozen of the chariots, a third of his force. Their absence would make protecting the left flank all the more difficult, but Wu knew that if Dao’s plan succeeded, if King Yi was somehow killed in their risky charge, it could well spell the end of the battle. There were more archers than there were chariots, so Dao quickly yelled out for the best to take up positions on the chariots. There was room for only two men and a driver in each car, so by the time the men had separated themselves out there were thirty-six men total on their twelve chariots. Duke Dao and Wu were in the lead, with another archer named Po, the commander of the small battalion down from the hills.

  “Gather round,” Dao yelled when the cars were full, and the drivers moved about them in a circle. “We’ll be heading south, looking for a shallow spot to cross the river. I mean to come around behind and circle around our camp then charge up the plain at the unprotected rear of the Yue forces. King Yi has been spotted commanding from a ring of chariots with no more men guarding him than we have here. If we do this right we’ll have a chance of ending the battle.” He paused to look at each of the men in the chariots around him. “Either King Yi or I will die this afternoon. I mean for it to be him. Help me make that possible.”

  The men nodded solemnly, for the speech was not one to cheer for. Each man knew the risks of moving behind an enemy force that numbered in the tens of thousands, completely cut off from their own forces by that enemy, a vast plain, and an un-fordable river. Even if they did manage to kill King Yi they would still have to somehow make it back across their own lines, a difficult undertaking given that most of the enemy would surely have spotted them by that time. And even getting to Yi would be difficult: there were still plenty of chariots left to the Yue forces, chariots which could easily turn away from their assault of the river’s mouth and back to the rear of their lines. But possibly most worrisome to the men, considering that the majority riding out with Dao were marksmen, were the enemy archers. The largely untouched force still numbered nearly two thousand and stood in a large block just behind the infantry. A single volley from them could spell the end of their charge before it even had a chance to begin.