Warning: swearing.
Chapter Eight: Tung Shao Pass
Shang entered his tent to find Chi Fu standing there. "I was told that there is a message."
Chi Fu nodded and moved to reveal an exhausted soldier sitting in the chair, bowed over, breathing hard. "He came from your father's army."
The soldier looked up and stood up to salute. He stopped as he saw Shang wave his hand to dismiss his salute and sat back down. "Captain Li. We have been holding down the fort in the Tung Shao Pass in the past couple months. No one could get in or out. The Huns have attacked. I managed to slip out to come to you."
Shang, "and my father?"
"He is waiting for you." The soldier pulled out a scroll and handed it to Shang. "This is the location."
"How long ago did you leave?" Shang asked as he read the scroll.
"I rode straight here without stopping. My horse collapsed and died from exhaustion, and I had to make the rest of the journey on foot for about a few hours before getting here. I have been riding hard for a day." He took the bag of water from Chi Fu gratefully and drank deeply before continuing, "the location," he gestured to the scroll with the bag. "Is three days ride with stops. You must leave immediately."
Shang shook his head, "we will, at dawn. We're going to break camp now." He went to the flap of the tent and waved down couple soldiers, "take him to the medic tent. Tell the lieutenants to gather the men immediately." One bowed and ran off to search for the lieutenants, and another entered to help the exhausted soldier to the medic tent nearby.
Chi Fu frowned, "that explains why we have not heard from General Li."
Shang nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the tension coming on. "The time has arrived." He turned as the six lieutenants entered his tent. "We are to break camp, and we are leaving dawn. Dong, your group, is to remain behind to protect the village. We will leave enough arsenal for you."
Lieutenant Dong saluted and bowed, "yes sir!"
"Rest of you, get your men and pack up! We will all bunk up in the remaining tents. I want everything ready in an hour and a half. We need to rest before we start the journey." Shang turned to Chi Fu, "go and pack your things."
The men left, shouting commands and soon, the entire camp was breaking up.
Chi Fu decided to open his mouth, "your army is not ready. You need to send out some men to other camps and have them respond to assist General Li!"
Shang rounded on the governor and grabbed his robe, raising him up to meet his eye-level. He snarled at the wide-eyed man, "you do not have the command here! General Li, my father, specifically asked for me to respond! It said so here in the letter. If you can get it in your little head that we are the closest army camp to the Tung Shao Pass. All the other camps are days and weeks out of range! I have enough of your incessant squawking. Get out!" He nearly threw the man down and turned his back.
Chi Fu wisely said nothing and scrambled out of Shang's tent. Terrified, he went to his tent and began to pack. He started to think and mutter to himself. "Undisciplined! Not suited for his title! I'll be sure to report to the Emperor once we get to the Imperial City! I have never!"
Within the time frame Shang had ordered, the camp broke and was packed. Wagons were filled, and men were reassigned six or seven to the remaining tents to rest for the night. Shang had his tent taken down and packed. He glanced around tiredly and rubbed his face. Fang approached him, "I have assigned you to the last tent."
Shang nodded, "who am I bunking with?"
Fang grinned, "I figured you needed a break. You are bunking with one soldier, sir. I'll be in the next tent if you need anything." He patted the Captain's shoulder and walked past him. Shang had missed the underhand comment and headed to the last tent. He yawned and stopped, realizing it was the small one, only enough to fit two or three men. He reached for the flap and ducked in. He blinked, "Ping?"
Ping rolled over in his bed and sat up, "Shang."
Shang gave a small chuckle, "Fang is one sneaky bastard." He knelt down and pulled his bedroll closer to Ping's bedroll and laid down, pulling the smaller man to his chest and pulled the blanket Ping was using on them. He wrapped his arms around Ping and buried his nose into the silky hair and inhaled the magnolia blossom scent. Ping said nothing and wrapped his arm around Shang's waist and closed his eyes.
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They left at dawn. Only twenty-five men including lieutenant Dong remained behind. Ping had lent his horse to pull a large wagon full of rockets. Khan was easily the largest and powerful horse, he was a Clydesdale horse. Ping looked tiny next to his beloved horse.
They traveled all morning, passing several villages, rice farms, and the road was starting to become steep. The men were nervous, no longer anticipating for war, it had become reality, and they were nervous. The first day of the journey was mostly quiet, the men's talking in low tones among themselves. Shang rode in the front, leading the army. He was silent most of the day, only responding to the lieutenants and ignoring Chi Fu.
They reached their first stop on a farm. Shang ordered his men to set up camp and required them to bunk up like last night to cut down the time of breaking camp in the morning. Usually, in training camp, the soldiers would bunk up to four per tent. Ping had been one of the last ones to arrive at camp in the beginning and was given a small tent for himself because all of the tents were full. Now, with doubling the number, he still had no place to bunk with, and Fang had doubled him with Shang when the Captain was supposed to have his own tent. It had worked out in the end, and no one was wiser for it as long Chi Fu does not make a fuss about it.
Dinner was a simple affair and quick. The farmer was kind enough to give the army rice and vegetables from his own farm in thank for protecting them from the Huns.
"I think the men need a distraction from what is to come," Shang said as he sat back against a tree, looking on to his men that were scattered through the field, surrounding several fires. Ping was seated next to him, sharpening his sword.
"What distraction?" Ping asked as he inspected his sword for sharpness.
Shang rolled his head over to glance at his lover and grinned, "I miss hearing your voice. Sing for us. A happy song or something."
Ping looked up, "I think it is you who wants to be distracted."
"Okay, you caught me. Go on."
Ping laughed and stood up. He took a deep breath and started to sing, turning the men's heads to listen;
"For a long time, we've been
marching off to battle
In our thundering herd
We feel a lot like cattle.
Like the pounding beat
Our aching feet aren't
easy to ignore."
Ping walked around the field, seeing the men smile at him and he continued;
"Hey, think of instead.
A girl worth fighting for
Huh?
That's what I said
A girl worth fighting for."
He paused and nudged Fang and laughed as Fang grinned in response. Shang watched and smiled, enjoying Ping's melodious voice.
Ping strikes a pose, his hands under his chin and his hips cocked to the side and batted his eyes as he continued;
"I want her paler than the
moon with eyes that
shine like stars."
He changed pose to show off his strong arms and beat his chest, the men laughed as he sang;
"My girl will marvel at
my strength, adore my
battle scars"
He moved around to the next fire and grabbed an empty bowl with chopsticks and pretended to stir food in it and held it out;
"I couldn't care less what she'll
wear or what she looks like
It all depends on what
she cooks like
Beef, pork, chicken
Mmm"
He pretended to eat and rub his belly before turning the bowl over to land on a soldier's head like a hat and stuck the chopstick in the next soldier's topknot. The soldiers laughed, and he kept going, walking around the field;
"Bet the local girls thought.
you were quite the charmer
And I'll bet the ladies love
a man in armor
You can guess what we
have missed the most
Since we went off to war
What do we want?"
The men joined in chorus;
"A girl worth fighting for."
Ping continued on and gestured as he sang;
"My girl will think I have no faults.
That I'm a major find
How 'bout a girl who's got a brain
Who always speaks her mind?"
"Nah!" The men chorused together.
"My manly ways and turn of
phrase are sure to thrill her."
Ling stood up and gestured to Ping;
"He thinks he's such a lady-killer."
Yao stood up and belted out in his growly voice but kept in harmony;
"I've a girl back home who's
unlike any other."
Ling laughed and replied;
"Yet the only girl who'd
love him is his mother."
The men hooted, and Yao grumbled, sitting back down.
Ping wagged his finger;
"But when we come home.
in victory, they'll line up
at the door
What do we want?" He gestured to the men, and they replied;
"A girl worth fighting for
Wish that I had
A girl worth fighting for
A girl worth fighting for!"
Ping made a grand gesture and bowed his head. The men cheered and clapped and yelled encouragement. He laughed and waved as he went back to the tree where Shang sat. He slumped down, feeling in high spirit.
"Thank you," Shang told him and clapped his knee, "that did the trick." He tilted his head and murmured softly, "you are worth fighting for, my White Magnolia."
Ping gave a half-cocked smile, "and you are for me, my Captain."
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The army kept on moving the next couple of days, but in better spirit because of Ping's songs and performances he gives during dinner. Occasionally, they would belt out in song and sing together. It made the passing of time bearable.
Ping had left his horse to another soldier and joined to walk beside Shang up at the front of the group. "We're getting close, aren't we?" They had started up the mountain trail the day before, and it was getting colder and colder as they kept on. Chi Fu had pulled out his thick lambskin jacket and donned it, complaining of the coldness.
Shang nodded, "the village should be over the next hill. I've been there a few times with my father in the past. It is a nice place." He held his hand down for Ping to grasp and pulled him up to sit in front of him on the horse.
"A village high up in the pass?" Ping asked, leaning back against Shang. Chi Fu had looked over to them and grumbled to himself.
"It is actually a fortress. Some of the soldiers eventually settled to protect the pass. They had their families relocate to stay with them. It has been about three generations since the fortress turned into a small village. This is the fastest way to the Imperial City."
"I can see why the Huns would want to try to get through this way to get to the Imperial City."
"My father had set up camps along all of the paths to the city to fortify the defense. It is apparent that this is the path the Huns had chosen."
"And we're the closest one."
"Yes."
They rode on in comfortable silence. The soldiers chatted and amused with different songs. Shang chuckled as they finished a drinking song. He spied a familiar landmark and waved his hand to single the men to be quiet and stop. They immediately silenced. Ping slid off the horseback and went back to Khan and took the reins. "The village is over the hill," Shang announced and turned his horse, urging it on.
The men followed, and suddenly, Shang reared his horse, staring on with an astounded face. Ping frowned and hurried to see what had gotten the Captain to stop and the other men to look on with horror on their faces. He gasped as he got to the top of the hill. Below, the village was decimated, burning and there was no one left alive. Bodies littered the ground, and the wind shifted, blowing the putrid smoke toward them. They had been downwind and unaware of what had happened.
Shang demounted and commanded, "Search for survivors!"
They left the horses and wagons outside the edge of the village and moved along the ruin of the village. It was clear to Ping that there was none. He felt his feet hit something and looked down to see a doll. He picked it up and felt his heart wrench, afraid to find the owner of the doll.
"I don't understand. My father should've been here." Shang murmured as he looked around the charred village.
"Captain!" Chi Fu called from the hill and gestured to the valley below past the village. Shang ran up and recoiled as he saw the carnage before him in the valley. The snow was stained red, bodies of soldiers laid everywhere.
Chein-Po came up the hill, sorrow on his face as he handed the helmet to Shang, "The… General, sir."
Shang took the helmet and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the cold metal. Ping went up to him and watched as he pulled out the sword and stuck it into the snow and set the helmet. He knelt and said a silent prayer.
"I'm sorry." Ping softly said as Shang stood up and turned. Shang simply nodded and patted Ping on the shoulder, unsure what he wanted to do. Part of him wanted to run away and forget all of this happening, but he knew his place. He made his way back to the front of the village, Ping following close by in silence.
He grasped his horse's saddle and mounted, turning to the men. "The Huns are moving quickly. We'll make better time to the Imperial City. We're the only hope for the Emperor now. Move out!" He waved his hand and commanded for his horse to turn and go.
The army of roughly a hundred and thirty men marched silently on through the treacherous pass of the mountain. Shang has believed that they would manage to reach the Imperial City by nightfall.
Ping held onto his horse's rein tightly. Khan seemed restless and was thrashing his head around. He reached up and patted the horse's flank and murmured softly, "What is it? Khan, it's all right." He brushed the horse's snout and looked over to see Shang looking back to take stock of the army. Their eyes met. Shang silently asked if everything was all right. Ping replied with a nod. As soon Shang turned around, a cannon exploded from the back of the wagon. Ping gasped, and his horse whinnied, rearing in surprise. Ping held onto the reins and gasped as his arms jerked up along with the powerful horse and winced as the pain shot through his arms.
Shang's eyes widened, and he turned, rushing to Ping's wagon and demanded, "What happened? We're exposed now!"
Ping shook his head and rubbed his shoulder, "I don't know. Something made the cannon explode."
He gasped as Shang was thrown off the horse. The Captain stood up, an arrow stuck in his arm, and he grimaced, pulling it out. "Positions!" He yelled, and the men scrambled, lining up, facing the vast field of snow. They glanced around, keeping watch as everything became still and quiet. Ping went around the back of the wagon and spotted an arrow. He pulled it out and went over to Shang, showing the arrow. "The Huns. They tried to blow up our wagons but only got to one. The rest of them are safe. Luck is on our side."
"Let's not decide so soon." Shang took the arrow and looked up to see a lone figure on the top of the cliff. "Shan-Yu." He whispered.
"Who?" Ping asked softly, feeling fearful. The lone figure looked frightful. He inhaled sharply as more dark figures of the Huns filled the horizon of the cliff. They were only a hundred and thirty men, and the Huns are in thousands.
"Fuck." Shang muttered turned to the soldiers, "Get the cannons."
The cannons were passed and lined up. Shang gestured for the archers to take place behind the cannons and held his sword up. "Hold!"
Ping knelt beside his own cannon, holding the flints, waiting for Shang's command.
"Prepare to fight! If we die, we die with honor!" Shang shouted and turned, they saw the Huns spilling down the cliff, rushing toward them. "Fire!" He shouted, throwing his sword down. The cannon boomed, exploding among the Huns. They realized immediately that their cannons were not making impacts. The Huns were hardy and kept going. He twirled his sword in the air, "Archers! Aim!" The archers drew back and held, "Fire!" and released, sending a volley of arrows into the air. The archers had better luck hitting targets, but Shang commanded for the cannons to be set as well.
Ping hurried as he set up the next cannon and sparked, sending it to fly.
"Sir! We're out of cannons!" A soldier ran up to Shang. "These are the last ones."
Shang shouted, "Yao! Aim that cannon to Shan-Yu!" Yao grunted and realigned his cannon, watching as the lone figure in the front of the Huns sped toward them.
Ping gasped, pulling his sword out, ready to fight upon Shang's command. He glanced down to the surface of the metal and frowned, being the reflection within. The sheer mountain above them had a thick sheet of snow. An idea came to him. Quickly putting his sword away, he ran to Yao and grabbed the cannon and turned, running down the field. He heard Shang shout after him.
He kept going, heading directly toward Shan-Yu and his army. He glanced up and decided the spot would be ideal, he knelt and aimed the cannon and fumbled with his flints. It fell into the snow, "shit…" he muttered and fumbled, searching. His hands hit the rocks in the freezing snow, and he pulled it out, striking the rocks furiously. He could hear Shan-Yu's growl. The Hun was getting close. The fuse lit, and he grinned, standing up and pulled his sword out.
As soon his sword came free, he yelped as Shan-Yu was on top of him. The cannon exploded and whistled toward the mountain, nearly missing the Hun leader. The jagged sword came down in an arc and Ping yelled, feeling the sharp sting of the blade hit his side, and he fell.
Shang watched on with horror as Ping ran down the valley with the last cannon. "Ping! Get back!" Horrified as he saw Ping get closer to Shan-Yu and wondered if Ping had intended to shoot at the Hun leader at point blank, but he saw the angle was wrong and clenched his hands. "Shit. The angle is wrong."
Yao nodded, "it's suicide. Fucking kid's nuts."
The cannon blasted, they gasped as the cannon missed Shan-Yu, speeding toward the mountain. Shang looked up and shouted, "Fall back! Now!" He had realized what Ping had intended to do. He yelled, "Ping!" He saw Shan-Yu strike Ping. He grabbed his horse and jumped on, rushing down to the valley, hoping to get to Ping.
The cannon exploded against the mountain. Shan-Yu glanced up and then back to Ping, "you missed." He laughed and raised his sword to strike again. The Huns leader looked frightening up close, massive body, dark skin, yellow eyes under the hooded leathers.
Ping sat up from the snow, holding his side. He could tell he was bleeding badly, his hand was coated in warm blood. "I don't think so."
Shan-Yu narrowed his yellow eyes and turned to see the mountain begin to crumble, and the snow crumbled, falling down. Avalanche of the massive amount came rolling down, billowing white cloud of snow thundered, spilling over the valley.
Ping held up his fingers to his mouth and whistled. He got up and turned to see Khan rushing toward him. He grabbed the reins and used the horse's momentum and jumped, allowing the horse to twist and pull him up. Ping straddled the saddle and held on, shouting, "Get out of here, Khan!"
Shang's horse reared and refused to continue on and turned. He watched over his shoulder as the avalanche roared, covering and burying the Huns. He saw Ping do his crazy stunt with his horse. Hope surged in him but plummeted as he saw the avalanche quickly overtaking, swallowing him into the white clouds.
"Here!" Ling waved from the top of the rock near the edge of the cliff. His men had found cover. Shang urged his horse on, and they ducked behind the overcrop of the rocks, holding onto for their lives as the avalanche crashed and roared overhead, shooting across the rocks into the cliff below.
"Ping?" Chein-Po asked over the roar. Shang shook his head, wrenched. He did not know if Ping had made it or not.
It took a while for the avalanche to settle and stop. Shang peered over the rocks and saw a vast field of white. No Huns were seen and exhaled. "They're all dead." The men cheered, but he could not feel their joy.
"What about Ping?" Yao asked as he popped up next to Shang, searching the field.
"Should we search for him?" Ling asked.
"He saved our lives. He saved China." Fang said as he climbed onto the rocks and shielded his eyes, searching for a sign. Everything was white, and there was no bodies or anything to give a hint of where they would have been buried. The snow was too deep.
Chi Fu sputtered and brushed the snow off his hat and stood up from his cowering position. "We should get to the Imperial City immediately."
Shang swallowed, "Regroup." He commanded, "We're going to check our supplies and see who is missing."
"No, we need to get to the city." Chi Fu demanded, "the Huns are destroyed, and there's no reason to stay here any longer."
Shang turned and grasped Chi Fu's jacket and pulled him up, snarling, "I said, regroup! We will go when I say so."
Chi Fu sputtered and fell back onto his bottom as Shang dropped him.
Lieutenant Fang and Ruchong reported that they have only lost several men to the avalanche, the majority of the wagons with their supplies had been buried. Lieutenant Young informed that they did not have any rations, having lost them along with the wagons.
"I see." Shang nodded and turned to see Lieutenant Zhong approach him. "Anything?" He had sent Lieutenant Zhong's team to search through the snow.
""Sir. The snow is too deep, there's no way anyone could have survived that. I sent some men out to where we last saw Soldier Fa, nothing."
Shang swallowed hard and nodded somberly. "All right, get your men. We're moving out. Next stop, Imperial City." He turned to Fang, "Take the lead. I am going to ride in the back."
Fang bowed, "yes, Sir." he looked up and sighed, "I am sorry."
"Thanks," Shang muttered and mounted his horse, watching as the men began to march, following Lieutenant Fang down the snow-covered trail, leading down the mountain. He glanced over his shoulder, hoping against hope for Ping to pop up anytime. After the last of the soldier passed him, he closed his eyes and clenched his hands. He breathed shakingly and dropped his head to rest on the horse's neck. A tear fell from his eye, and he inhaled once again, regaining control of his tumbling emotions. He murmured softly, nearly choking, "Ping…" He decided he would grieve later when he was alone and urged his horse on.
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A hand shot out of the snow and grasped. Gasping and wheezing, Ping pulled himself out of the snow. He remembered being knocked off Khan once the avalanche hit them and felt the rumbling snow crush him, rolling and tumbling him violently. It felt like an eternity, tumbling and rolling in the white, unable to breathe. Once everything turned black and became silent, he had thought he died. It was a little while before he was gasping for breath but getting the freezing snow into his mouth and realized he was buried alive. He wasn't sure if he was digging the right way, but the snow felt softer in one direction and went that way. It had hurt so much, and he was freezing. His armors were heavy, and he decided to abandon them, pulling his way out of his armors and broke through the surface. He inhaled the sharp cold air and felt his lungs burn painfully.
Lying on the top of the snow, halfway out and panting. He winced and felt his side, the blood had stopped bleeding, but it had hurt so much. He was sure he had broken ribs. He managed to get his breathing to calm down and the pain lessened. He squinted his eyes from the bright snow and looked around. He saw Khan break out from the snow and gave a whinny. He smiled weakly and dropped his head onto the snow, closing his eyes.
He felt the horse nudge against his head and patted the horse on its nose. "Khan. I am glad you're alive too." He grasped the bridle and held on. The horse reared his head, pulling Ping out of the snow. "Thanks." He muttered and grasped the saddle and winced. He definitely had broken ribs. He saw the bag on the side of the horse saddle and opened it, digging into it, searching. "How you managed to keep the bags, and the saddle is beyond me." He muttered and shook his head, "no, how we managed to survive this is beyond me."
Khan nickered in agreement, and Ping laughed and winced at the shooting pain in his ribs.
"Ah, here it is." He pulled out the vial and uncorked it. He held it to his mouth and drank the vile liquid and grimaced, "opium. Every soldier has one in their supply bag to hold them over until the medic gets to them. It's weak, but it's enough to keep the pain down." He threw down the empty vial and checked his body gingerly. He felt the medicine take effect and exhaled deeply. The pain in his ribs was no longer stabbing but throbbing. He pulled out the bandages and pulled his tunic open and started to wrap around his torso. He saw the cut under his ribs from Shan-Yu's sword. It was an ugly cut and muttered, "that's going to scar. Hope Shang appreciate war scars." He finished and pulled his tunic back on and tied the sash.
Khan nickered frantically, and Ping looked to see what the horse was trying to tell him. He gasped as he saw a figure climb out of the snow in the distance. A hawk screeched overhead, and he looked up, realizing it was Shan-Yu's hawk, remembering it from the attack. "Shit." He looked around and noticed the holes in the snow, a sign that the Huns had already climbed out. He grasped onto his horse's saddle and jumped on, straddling the saddle. He pulled the reins, "let's get out of here, Khan."
References/notes for this chapter:
A Girl Worth Fighting For song: the approach for the song is different here than it was in the movie.
Opium: I have no idea if the soldiers would carry this with them in their pack. I just thought it might be a good idea since it would be really painful for Ping to continue on with several broken ribs, slashed up side and bruised from the avalanche.
