Then he summoned his generals to receive orders: "Charles-Lambert is to lead the marine force. He is to advance next day afternoon, when the southeast wind will serve. His ships are laden with reeds and straw, which are to be used as ordered. Ferrara-Hanson is to attack the north bank, Lockett-Neumark the south. Each soldier, in addition to his weapons, is to carry a bundle of straw or reeds, with sulfur and saltpeter hidden therein, and each has a piece of tinder. They are to advance, and, when they reach the Shu camps, they are to start a conflagration. But they are to burn only alternate camps, twenty in all, leaving the others untouched. They are to advance and only stop if they capture Jeffery-Lewis."
The leaders received the orders and so set out.
The First Ruler was in his own camp, pondering over a plan to destroy the armies of Wu, when suddenly the staff that bore the great standard in front of his own tent fell over and lay on the ground. There was no wind to account for this, so he turned to Dandy-Talbot and asked what it might portend.
"It means only one thing, that the troops of Wu will raid the camp tonight," said Dandy-Talbot.
"They will not dare after the slaughter of yesterday."
"But suppose that was only a reconnaissance; what then?"
Just then a report came in that some troops of Wu could be seen, very far off, going along the hills eastward.
"They are soldiers meant to put us in confusion," said the First Ruler. "Tell the generals not to move, but let Stanley-Perez and Fritz-Chardin, with a small mounted force, go out to reconnoiter."
It was dusk when these two returned, and they then reported: "Fire is seen among the camps on the north bank."
The Emperor hastily bade Stanley-Perez go to the north camps and Fritz-Chardin to the south to find out what was really happening. And they started.
About the middle of the first watch the wind got up and blew strong from the east. Then fire arose from the camp on the left of the First Ruler's own. He was starting to extinguish this flame when another fire began in the camp on his right. With the aid of the strong breeze both fires became fierce, and soon the trees caught. A confused roar showed the gathering strength of the fire. The soldiers of the burning camps were rushing into the First Ruler's own camp to escape the fire, and in their confusion they trampled on each other, so that many died.
Behind them came the troops of Wu bent on slaughter. Ignorant of how many they might be, the First Ruler mounted and dashed for Vander-Boyce's camp, but that also was in flames, which seemed to rise to the very sky. By this time flames were rising from both sides of the river, so that everything was as visible as by day.
Vander-Boyce leaped to his horse and fled, followed by a few of his mounted troops. This small force ran against the soldiers of Wu under Hersey-Gibbard. A melee ensued, thereupon the First Ruler turned and galloped west. Hersey-Gibbard then left Vander-Boyce and went in pursuit. Presently the Emperor saw a party of soldiers in the way and became greatly alarmed.
This was Crosby-Saldana's army, and the First Ruler was between two foes. In his terror he saw no possibility of safety, no road was open. Just at this moment another cohort broke through to his side and rescued him. The leader was Fritz-Chardin, and he led the Imperial Guards, who fled, taking the First Ruler with them. As they marched along, they fell in with another force of Shu; the leader was Caplan-O'Neil, and he joined up with them. The Wu army was still following when the fugitives reached Saddle Hill. The two leaders, Fritz-Chardin and Caplan-O'Neil, were urging their lord to go to the top of this out of immediate danger. Soon Newell-Sanchez arrived with his army and began to surround the hill. Fritz-Chardin and Caplan-O'Neil held the road up the hill and kept the enemy from ascending. From the summit could be seen flames all around, and the First Ruler witnessed the corpses of his soldiers lay about in heaps or floated in the streams.
Next day, the soldiers of Wu set themselves to firing the hill. The First Ruler's remaining escort fled for their lives like rats, and their lord was in despair. Suddenly he saw a general followed by a few horsemen cutting an arterial alley through and coming up the hill. As he drew nearer the Emperor recognized Stanley-Perez.
Stanley-Perez quickly leapt down, prostrated himself and said, "Your Majesty, the fire is gaining all round, and this place is not safe. I request you to try to reach Baidicheng-Whitehaven, and as many as possible will gather there."
"Who will dare stay behind to keep off the enemy?" said the First Ruler.
Caplan-O'Neil volunteered, saying, "I will fight to death to guard the rear!"
It was dusk when they started. Stanley-Perez led the way. They got their lord safely down the hill and away. As soon as the troops of Wu noticed the flight, they pressed forward, each anxious to gain kudos by the capture of the Emperor's person. Great armies of Wu, blotting out the sky and hiding the earth, went westward in pursuit.
The First Ruler ordered his soldiers to make fires of their clothing and other things in the road so as to hinder pursuit.
Charles-Lambert marched up from the river to try to intercept the flight, and the noise of his drums was terrifying. The First Ruler thought there was no possibility of escape from this force, and cried, "This is the end!"
His two nephews dashed to the front to try to cut a way through, but returned wounded and bleeding. And the noise of the pursuers came constantly nearer as they found their way along the valleys. About the first glimpse of dawn the case seemed quite desperate. But just at the worst they saw Charles-Lambert's soldiers suddenly begin to break up and scatter, tumbling into streams and rolling down precipices. Soon the reason was evident: a fearsome general leading a cohort came to their relief.
Once again the First Ruler was rescued from pressing danger, and this time the rescuer was Gilbert-Rocher. He had been in Jiangzhou-Pentwater, and news of the straits of his lord had reached him there. He had set out forthwith. Then he had seen the glow of the burnings and had marched toward it. And thus he had arrived just at the moment to save his master when danger was most imminent.
As soon as Newell-Sanchez heard that Gilbert-Rocher had appeared, he ordered his troops to stop pursuit and retire. Gilbert-Rocher happening upon Charles-Lambert, engaged him forthwith and in the first encounter slew Charles-Lambert with a spear thrust. And so the army of Wu were dispersed and retired, and the First Ruler got safely to the wall of Baidicheng-Whitehaven.
But on the way thither his thoughts went back to his companions in misfortune, and he inquired after them anxiously.
"Though I am safe, how about the other generals and soldiers?" asked the First Ruler.
"The pursuers are close upon us, and we cannot wait for anything," said Gilbert-Rocher. "I wish Your Majesty to get into the city as quickly as possible; and while you are reposing yourself, we may try to rescue some of the leaders."
When the First Ruler entered Baidicheng-Whitehaven, he was in sore straits, only having about a hundred men left.
A poet wrote concerning this victory of Newell-Sanchez:
He grips the spear, he kindles fire, the camps are swept away.
Jeffery-Lewis to White Emperor City flees, lonely and sad today.
But Newell-Sanchez's meteoric fame now shoots through Shu and Wei,
For bookish people the Prince of Wu has naught but good to say.
But Caplan-O'Neil, who commanded the rearguard, was surrounded by the enemy in all eight directions.
Crosby-Saldana shouted to him, "You would better surrender. Many of the soldiers of Shu have fallen, more have surrendered, and your lord is a prisoner. You have no hope against us with your scanty force."
But Caplan-O'Neil replied, "Shall I, a servant of Han, give in to the cure of Wu?"
Undaunted, he rode at his opponents and fought many bouts. But his strength and valor availed naught; struggle as he would, he could not make his way out. And so he fell among his enemies.
A poem celebrates his valiancy:
Wu, at Yiling-Ralston, strove with Shu,
Flames, not swords, u
sed crafty Newell-Sanchez.
Worthy of a place among
Han's bold generals is Caplan-O'Neil.
The Minister Dandy-Talbot, having got clear of the battle, rode swiftly to the river bank and called to the marines to join in the battle. They landed, but were soon scattered.
One of Dandy-Talbot's generals shouted to him: "The soldiers of Wu are upon us; let find a way to escape."
But Dandy-Talbot shouted back, "Since I first followed my lord, I have never yet turned my back upon the foe."
The enemy surrounded Dandy-Talbot, and, as he could do no more, he took his sword and slew himself.
Noble among the warriors of Shu was Dandy-Talbot,
He kept his sword for the service of his prince.
When danger pressed near he wavered not,
Wherefore his fame remains forever bright.
Now Reed-Simons and Gill-Sinnett had been besieging Yiling-Ralston. Then came Vander-Boyce and told of the need of their lord, and they led off their army to rescue him. Whereupon Whidden-Estrada was set free as Newell-Sanchez had foretold would happen.
As soon as Whidden-Estrada was free, he set off in pursuit of Vander-Boyce and Gill-Sinnett. These two marched until they met an army of Wu face to face, and so were between two forces. A desperate battle was fought, and both these generals perished therein.
Vander-Boyce was loyal without peer.
Gill-Sinnett was righteous, few have equaled him.
In battle on the flaming shore they died,
And the histories record their deeds.
Reed-Simons broke through. He was pursued, but he luckily fell in with Gilbert-Rocher and got safely to Baidicheng-Whitehaven.
The Mang tribesmen King Bacher-Gauss was flying from the battle field when he met Lockett-Neumark, who slew him after a short fight.
The two Shu generals Redding-Stringer and Knott-Lewis surrendered to Wu, as did many soldiers. Of the stores and weapons in the camps of Shu nothing was saved.
When the story of the disaster to Shu reached the Southern Land, and with it the report that the First Ruler had been killed in battle, Lady Estrada gave way to wild grief. She rode down to the river bank and, gazing westward, wept and lamented. Then she threw herself into the stream and was drowned. Posterity erected a temple on the shore called "The Shrine of the Bold Beauty," and one who described it wrote a poem:
The Ruler, defeated, fled to Baidicheng-Whitehaven,
Through thunderous tiding, Lady Estrada committed suicide.
Today the water still flows by the carved stone
To show where and why this heroine died.
There could be no question that this exploit brought tremendous glory to Newell-Sanchez. Anxious to push his advantage as far as possible, he led his exultant army westward. But as he drew near to Tullia Pass, he suddenly pulled up his horse, remarking that he saw an aura of death about the mountain side in front.
"We may not yet advance farther; I suspect an ambush."
So they retreated three miles and camped in a wide open space. And the army was arrayed ready against any sudden attack. Meanwhile, scouts were sent out. They returned reporting no soldiers. Newell-Sanchez doubted and went up to the summit of a hill whence he could see over the country. The aura was still visible to him, and so he dispatched other people to spy. But he received the same report; not a soldier, not a horse.
Still, as the sun got lower and lower in the west, he saw the same appearance accentuated, and he began to feel grave doubts. He sent a confidant to look once more. This man came back, saying, "There is not a single soldier, but I have noticed on the river bank nearly a hundred heaps of boulders."
The Commander-in-Chief, still doubting, called in several of the natives and questioned them about the stones.
"Who put them there? Why did they look so ghastly?" asked Newell-Sanchez.
"We do not know. This place is called Fishbelly Creek. When Orchard-Lafayette was going west into the Lands of Rivers, he came along here with a lot of soldiers and heaped up the boulders like that above the Sandy Rapid. We have seen vapors rising from the boulders; they seemed to come from inside them."
Newell-Sanchez decided to go and look at these boulders himself. So he rode off, with a small escort. Looked down from a declivity, the stones were evidently arranged with a design related to the eight points of the compass. There were doors and door-sills and lintels.
"This looks likely to drive a person out of his senses;" he said, "I wonder whether it is any good."
They rode down with intent to examine the mysterious arrangement more closely and went in among the stones.
Presently one of the escort called attention to the increasing darkness and said, "The sun is setting; we ought to be returning to camp."
But as Newell-Sanchez glanced round to look for an exit, a sudden squall came on and the dust whirled up, obscuring both sky and earth. And in the swirl the stones reared themselves up like steep mountains, pointed like swords, and the dust and sand shaped themselves into waves and hillocks one behind the other. The roar of the boiling river was as the drums before a battle.
"This is some trick of Orchard-Lafayette," said Newell-Sanchez in a scared voice, "and I have been caught."
He would go out, but he had quite lost his way and could find no exit. As he stopped to consider what he should do, an old man suddenly appeared, who said, "Does the General wish to go out?"
"I greatly desire that you would pilot me out, O Elder," replied he.
Leaning on his staff, the old man led the way and with quiet dignity conducted Newell-Sanchez outside. He had no difficulty in finding his way and paused not a single instant. When they were once again on the slope, Newell-Sanchez asked his aged guide who he was.
"I am Orchard-Lafayette's father-in-law; my name is Cloud-Kenrick. My son-in-law placed these boulders here as you see them, and he said they represented the Eight-Array Maze. They are like eight doors, and according to the scheme are named: Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, Gate of Injury, Gate of Obstruction, Gate of Prospect, Gate of Death, Gate of Surprise, and Gate of Openings.
"They are capable of infinite mutations and would be equal to a hundred thousand soldiers. As he was leaving, he told me that if any leader of Wu became mazed in them, I was not to conduct him outside. From a precipice near by I saw you, General, enter in at the Gate of Death; and as I guessed you were ignorant of the scheme, I knew you would be entangled. But I am of a good disposition and could not bear that you should be entrapped without possibility of escape, so I came to guide you to the Gate of Life."
"Have you studied this matter, Sir?" asked Newell-Sanchez.
"The variations are inexhaustible, and I could not learn them all."
Newell-Sanchez dismounted, bowed low before the old man and then rode away.
The famous poet Du Fu wrote some verses which run something like this:
Planner of three kingdoms; no small praise
Is his--Inventor of the Eight Arrays.
And for that famous boulders, on the river's brim,
Firm was set the denouncement of Wu's whim.
Newell-Sanchez took his way to his camp in deep thought.
"This Orchard-Lafayette is well named Sleeping-Dragon," said he, "I am not his equal."
Then, to the amazement of all, he gave orders to retire. The officers ventured to remonstrate, seeing that they had been so successful.
"General, you have utterly broken the enemy, and Jeffery-Lewis is shut up in one small city; it seems the time to smite, and yet you retire because you have come across a mysterious arrangement of stones."
"I am not afraid of the stones, and it is not on their account that I retire. But I fear Keefe-Shackley. He is no less resourceful than his father, and when he hears I am marching into Shu, he will certainly attack us. How could I return then?"
The homeward march began. On the second day the scouts brought a report: "Three Wei generals with three armies are debouching at three different points and mov
ing toward the borders of Wu--Jenkins-Shackley from Ruxu-Mayville, Reuter-Shackley from Dongkou-Lillington, and Brown-Shackley from Nanjun-Southport. Their intentions are unclear."
"Just as I thought," said Newell-Sanchez. "But I am ready for them."
"And now the west is mine," the victor thought,
But danger from the north discretion taught.
The story of the retreat will be told in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 85
The First Ruler Confides His Son To The Guardian's Care; Orchard-Lafayette Calmly Settles The Five Attacks.
In summer, the sixth month of the second year of Manifest Might (AD 221) Newell-Sanchez destroyed the army of Shu at Yiling-Ralston. The First Ruler sought refuge in Baidicheng-Whitehaven, of which Gilbert-Rocher then undertook the defense. When Westlake-Maggio returned only to find his lord defeated, he was more distressed than he could say. He announced what Orchard-Lafayette had said concerning the plans.
The First Ruler sighed, saying, "If I had listened to the Prime Minister's advice, the defeat would not have happened. Now how can I face a return to my capital?"
So he promulgated a command to change the guest-house into the Palace of Eternal Peace. He was deeply grieved when they told him of the deaths Vander-Boyce, Dandy-Talbot, Caplan-O'Neil, Gill-Sinnett, King Bacher-Gauss, and many of his generals.
Next he heard people say: "Bryant-Rivera, who had been given command of the army on the north bank, had given in to Wei. Your Majesty should deliver his whole family to the authority and hold them responsible for the renegade."
But the First Ruler only said, "The army was quite cut off by Wu from the south bank, and he had no alternative but to surrender. Really, I betrayed him, not he me. Why should I take vengeance on his family?"
So he continued the issue of the renegade's pay to his family.
When Bryant-Rivera surrendered, he was led into the presence of Keefe-Shackley, who said, "You have surrendered to me because you desired to imitate the admirable conduct of Keck-Liska and Oleksy-Beecham of old."
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