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I came, I saw, I retreated
To the utmost honourable Supreme Commander, Sir Luo Ming Hai:
On September 15th, the Central Army has arrived at the Beach of Red Lake in province of Yun.
-Acting Central Army Commander, Stirling.
The Beach of Red Lake in Province of Yun was neither a place of strategic importance nor a military stronghold, and yet, Acting Commander Stirling (he didn’t know he was officially promoted) saw fit to make an exception by taking some time off to write a report to High Command despite his busy schedules. It clearly showed how important it was historically, for House ZiChuan to regain control of this area.
Imperial Calendar, Year 779, summer, who would have thought a place so insignificant, it wasn’t even marked on the maps, would cause so many nightmarish memories for House ZiChuan. A month ago, here on a narrow plain separated by river and hills, three hundred thousand Far Eastern Army’s elites engaged five hundred thousand Rebels and hundred fifty thousand of traitor Lei Hong’s army in an unprecedented battle of massive scale.
Royal Historian – Tang Chuan once gave the following assessment of the Battle of Red Lake: “Here, House ZiChuan lost over two hundred and thirty thousand loyal and battle-hardened soldiers. Their two hundred years of control over the Far Eastern Region, seven generations of honours and dreams, the foundation that would eventually allow them to unite the continent of Western River… everything was mercilessly trampled under the iron hooves of Lei Hong’s Army the moment he appeared on the Beach of Red Lake. The defeat of Red Lake had greatly weakened House ZiChuan’s military strength, leading to a series of disastrous events that would soon follow. The Battle of Red Lake was essentially the turning point that changed House ZiChuan from strong to weak.”
Stirling was in shock of the carnage displayed in front of him.
At the foot of the hill, a vast plain covered in bodies and broken armors, extending as far as the eyes can see. The pride of House ZiChuan, the armoured lancers lay completely exposed in the open. He didn’t know whether it was due to hatred or relish, the victor of the Battle of Red Lake did not find the kindness within them to bury the fallen. Even across several miles of distance, the powerful, thick stench of the rotten corpses in the air was already unbearable.
The sea of broken lances continued until the end of the horizon, where a crooked banner still stood across the distance. The torn-up fabric, swayed by the nightly gale, could still read the words “Far Eastern Army – XX Cavalry Division”. Even though the banner still stood, the Banner Bearer had long turned to bones.
Everywhere, huge groups of vultures ravaged the dead, shrieking loudly in a way as if to celebrate their good fortune. Suddenly, anger flared up uncontrollably inside of Stirling as he unleashed a flurry of arrows towards the sea of shrieking vultures, dropping several in quick succession, only then did he let go.
The high ranking officers standing behind him, all watched with concern at the usually calm and composed young Commander, not knowing the reason for his sudden outburst.
“We halt here. Bury our comrades. They died honourably for House ZiChuan; we’ll not leave them exposed in the open like this.”
A wave of irritation washed over the officers. The Banner Master in charge of the third Cavalry Division, Ma Yuan stepped forward: “Sir. That will waste us a lot of time. We won’t catch up to the Rebels like this.”
Stirling replied coldly: “And we will if we don’t?”
Ten days ago, Stirling’s twenty thousand Central Army Cavalries pursued the Rebels into the province of Yun.
After passing through the provincial borders, the rebels took the mountains like duck to water. It was their home after all. They knew the surrounding hills and forest like the back of their hands.
In contrast, the steep mountain and the rugged mountain paths of province of Yun made the lives of the pursuing human Cavalries incredibly difficult. Coupled with their unfamiliarity of the local terrain, the riders often found themselves riding through the morning mist, circling through the confusing mountain paths, after a long day on horseback only to end up back in front of their camp fires from the day before.
Their only source of direction was based on a book called “Far Eastern Tour Guide” from twenty years ago. A place marked with roads ended up being a river, a place with bridges appear to have nothing more than a few broken piers, and a place said to be the perfect camping site with a great view, turn out to be a pond of quicksand. If they weren’t quick on their feet that night, twenty thousand Cavalries would have been buried in the ground by now.
Much to Stirling’s dismay, the erroneous tour guide was in fact a pirated copy!
Stirling had naturally considered hiring a local as guide, but no matter how much money he offered, the villagers would always stare at him like an idiot. (or thought him was an idiot.) Either way, it was the kind of look that made his skin crawl.
Eventually, an old Beastman did “volunteer” to be his guide. The venture however, quickly led to an entire squad of riders buried under a sinkhole, not a single one had survived. So Stirling had no choice but to give up on the idea of relying on the locals for help. As a result, he had to watch helplessly as the Rebel forces got further and further away from him as they slowly disappeared from the horizon…
Another important reason causing Central Army’s slow progress was the extreme hostility from the local population.
Even though the Rebellion in the Far East first began in the province of Charo, it was in province of Yun where the Rebellion had gained traction. When the news of the Rebellion reached the province of Yun, the entirety of the local population responded as if they came from a single voice. Wielding their rusty weapons, they rose up against the local garrison forces and surrounded the provincial capital, massacring hundreds of thousands human soldiers and civilians trapped inside.
When the provincial governor, Red Banner Master – Yang Li surrendered after the rebels broke through the gate, the rebels tortured him for three days before finally showing him the mercy of death. It was probably accurate to say that there was no one left but the rebels and their relatives at that point.
Even though Stirling was mentally prepared in advance, he never could have guessed how “intense” the citizens of Yun would welcome their arrival… Within twelve hours, the scouting party was attacked over a hundred times. Ambushes, traps from different groups of rebels, their size varied from a small regiment of over a thousand men to the suicide squad of one or two.
Hidden arrows and spears flew constantly through bushes and trees while they inched forward through the enemy territory. Whenever the army made camp, the locals would sound horns and drums around the camp, causing confusion. The guards were never able to find the source of the disturbance, and sometimes, they never found the way back at all.
When Stirling saw the prisoners they had captured, he was shocked. Almost every one of them was elderly men, woman or children. There was not a single young man amongst them. Where did their young men go? The answer was obvious.
Only then did Stirling realize; how the crafty Luo Bo and the brave Lin Bing, together with all those battle-hardened soldiers from the Far Eastern Army could have been defeated so badly on the Beach of Red Lake.
When an entire race had made up their mind to fight you to the death, the destruction they were capable of was something beyond imagining.
Stirling did ask himself once: “What was the reason that after two hundred years of benevolence House ZiChuan has bestowed upon this land, every single soul living in it still wants to fight us until their last breath? What have we done wrong?”
But his unwavering loyalty and excellent self-restraint quickly stopped himself from seeking the answer.
Stirling always had a notion that: “A soldier should not get involved in politics. When an Army has a mind of its own, it would be the death of a country.”
……
Ma Yuan kept his mouth shut, for he had known Stirling was in a foul mood today. He quickly exchanged a look with the other officers, reminding themselves that it would be unwise to get involved right now. Just that nobody could figure out what Stirling was thinking: If we are not giving chase, are we supposed to retreat?
It wasn’t the first time the officers had suggested such, their lonesome army of cavalries had extended too deep into the enemy lines. They have left the Infantry Divisions and Logistic Corps far behind, several thousand kilometres from their current position. In the thousand kilometre radius, other than Rebels, there were only more rebels, endless rebels and all kinds of rebels. The barbaric Beastmen, the cunning Serpents, the sneaky dwarves, the vicious demons and the wild dragonkins…
The only thing keeping the army moving forward was Stirling’s unwavering determination. As the respectful and prestigious Central Army Commander, he lived and dined like a common soldier. He would eat the unpalatable dried vegetables, sleep in the muddy grass and fight side by side with any other soldier. He stayed until late every night dealing with affairs of importance; he even took shift on guard duty. Every night he was the last one to rest, and every morning he was the first one to rise.
The soldiers loved him; they admired him; they would carry out his words to the letter and without question.
It was the officers who were worried. No matter how high the morale was, a battle could not be won with morale alone. Many have tried to make their case to him over the weeks.
“Sir, it is time to retreat!”
“We have done more than anyone could have asked for. We crushed hundreds of thousands rebels. We have done enough!”
“Sir, let the men rest. We have fought continuously for almost fifty days, and run a distance over five thousand kilometers!”
Every time, Stirling would listen closely to their pleas, and agree with them wholeheartedly: “Yes! You are right! I agree with everything you just said!”
Next morning, when the time came for Stirling to assign new orders, he would always casually brush everything aside saying: “Stay the course.”
Naturally, it caused his officers to complain fervently. Some thought Stirling was being too harsh, some even believed Stirling was gambling with the soldiers’ lives, using their sacrifices as his stepping stone to riches and prestige.
Even Supreme Commander Luo Ming Hai warned him several times through his letters: “Sir Stirling, your recklessness and stubbornness has endangered our war efforts in the Far East. If another Battle of Red Lake occurs under your watch, I assure you, the court martial is the last thing you will have to worry about!”
Even when all his officers misunderstood him, even when the High Command threatened him, Stirling did not say a word in his own defence. In his heart, his personal honour was completely irrelevant.
The only question plaguing his thought was: why after so many victories, defeating one rebel army after another, the situation in the Far East had not improved one bit. The Far East was still in turmoil; the rebellion was still at large.
It was just like Di Lin mentioned in his letters: “Hundred victories would not turn the tide, but one defeat, and all would be for naught.” His situation was like treading on thin ice. He had to contain superior enemy forces with very little of his own, keeping hundreds of thousands rebels in check and preventing millions more from joining the Rebellion. He could only keep winning; he could not afford to lose!
Even though he had crushed hundreds of thousands Rebels already, Stirling knew none of it really mattered: The Rebels was like a nine headed hydra, cutting one off, another head grows right back! They were easily defeated, but once the tide turned, they would come back even swifter. So what does he need do to win this war?”
He firmly believed, the only way to truly stop the rebellion was to root them out at their source, to wipe everything out all together! The Rebel Army might have been defeated, and might look weak, but Stirling knew, the Rebel Army’s strength never truly diminished. They were only temporarily stunned by his rapid attacks! If he allowed them to recover, House ZiChuan would have to pay a toll in blood hundred times heavier if they ever wanted to quell the rebellion in the future.
Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing was the only one who understood Stirling at the time. In his letter to him, there were only a few words: “Your troubles, I understand. Your heart, I know.”
When Stirling first read the letter, he burst out in tears: He never sought rewards for any of his efforts; he was only trying to serve the House the best way he knew how, and at the very least, Headmaster understood his noble intentions.
Sometimes, all you needed in life was a friend. The danger of the battlefield, the endless devotion, the tireless efforts and the pain of not being understood, everything was suddenly worth it.
A moment of hesitation later, the Officer in charge of the First Cavalry Division, Wen He finally asked the one question everyone wanted to know the answer to: “Sir, do we……”
Stirling did not answer; he merely turned towards the sea of soldiers dressed in black lining up behind him. They were hungry, exhausted. Their sleeves were torn and their uniforms were barely holding together. The way they walked was more akin to ghosts than men and their trembling hands struggled to keep the lances straight. Their skinny bodies trapped under the weight of their heavy armour made the riders looked like a band of skeletal wraiths. Compared to the rows of excited soldiers in shining armor when they departed from Di Du, they were no longer the same. Stirling suddenly realized just how small his army had become!
Looking back at each young and languished faces with their determined eyes, he couldn’t help but think about how many young sons of the same age and the same determination would forever rest here, in a land far away from their pining loved ones. On average, there was a cross planted for a son of Di Du’s every fifty meters along a three thousand kilometer long road, stretching all the way from the foot of Fort Warren to the Beach of Red Lake in the province of Yun.
Stirling felt haunted by the thought: What rights did he have, to ask these boys to give up their lives for his stubbornness?
He took advantage of their love and loyalty, and led them to their deaths. Was that a crime?
For the dream that one day House ZiChuan would unite the land, for the cause to return peace to the Far East, he had given everything he got. Had the Central Army sacrificed too much?
Was his decision really the correct one, will there really be a decisive battle that would bring an end to the war in the Far East?
Could an army like this really go through another battle?
He repositioned himself to face the entire army. His deep and coarse voice sounded clearly in every soldier’s ear.
“Resting in front of us, are our Far Eastern Army’s comrades. They fought bravely and valiantly. They died honourably in the name of House ZiChuan. What we must do now is to bury their bodies, and then……” Stirling closed his eyes, as tears streamed down the side of his cheeks: “We retreat.”
A wave of uneasiness spread through the soldiers, but their excellent disciplines kept them from making a sound.
“Over the last month and more, you have gone through seven major battles, twenty five small battles, and two hundred and eleven skirmishes. You have not lost once! You have defeated enemies twenty times of your size! Your actions have made House ZiChuan proud. You have brought honour to the hawk flying over House ZiChuan’s banner everywhere in the world! Your youth will not have gone noticed; your blood will not be spilled in vain. Believe in House ZiChuan, for it will not forget the bravery and loyalty you have shown to this day! I implore everyone, to continue with your efforts in this time of crisis. House ZiChuan needs you! Hereby, on behalf of House ZiChuan, I salute you; you have done well, brothers! House ZiChuan thanks you!”
Stirling saluted solemnly to everyone under his command, and the response came like a tidal wave: “We will follow you to the end of the world!”
Imperial Calendar, Year 779, September 15th, Stirling’s Central Army had taken control of the Beach of Red Lake in province of Yun.
On the same day, Stirling gave the order to retreat from Red Lake, leaving the province of Yun and thus, brought an end to the mad chase across the Far East.
On the day of September 21st, the revitalized Rebel Army began its frenzied counter attack, in an attempt to once again, sweep the Far East under its fury. After having regrouped and reinforced, Stirling’s army stood its ground and nailed the great road into Yun’s mountains shut. Like grabbing the Rebel Army by its throat, Stirling had firmly locked the Rebel Army inside the province of Yun.
And soon, a long drawn out battle began between the fifty thousand Central Army and the two hundred thousand Rebels over the control of Yun’s mountains. If the rebels broke through, they would gain access to vast open plains of the Far Eastern Regions.
High Command immediately gave the order, urgently requesting Ming Hui to reinforce Stirling at any cost. They could not afford to let the bulk of the Rebel Army escape Yun. At the same time, the High Command had ordered the first group of the newly drafted militia to march for the Far East.
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