Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 144: Arughtai - the First Battle

Chapter 144: Arughtai - the First Battle

[Suggested song for this Chapter – Victory, Two Steps from Hell, Thomas Bergersen]

Commander Bai glared at the soldier in front of him who had slipped on the steep rocky slope of the ravine, sending a rock tumbling down into the valley.

"Sorry Commander," the man whispered, ducking his head sheepishly.

The bulk of Bai Li’s army wound their way single file up the wall of the ravine, trying to stay as quiet as huge numbers of armoured men could manage.

One hundred metres away, First Brother supervised an identical parade of scrambling soldiers making their way up the same ravine.

As they reached the summit, the soldiers lined up behind huge rock formations, hiding them from the enemy’s view.

Arughtai’s army lay in wait for them between the two rocky outcrops, their positions hidden by the rugged terrain.

Unluckily for them, their position had been exposed to the Commander and his Chief Strategist, First Brother, by their clever scouts.

Lieutenant Ju and a smaller contingent of the army lay in wait down in the deep gully of the ravine.

Ju Rong was dressed as the Commander, wearing Bai Li’s helmet and armour. He was under orders to lead a smaller contingent of the men through the ravine and into the target zone for the Mongols’ attack.

A runner appeared, zig zagging down the steep slope above the Lieutenant and his men. The Sergeant raised a flag, and the man stopped his flight, pulling out a signal flag and raising it in response.

"The men are in position up the hill, Lieutenant," the Sergeant reported.

"Thank you, Sergeant," Ju Rong nodded.

He raised his sword high, and then lowered it, indicating to the men that they should set off deeper into the ravine.

"Alright men, let’s go! Make it snappy!" shouted the Sergeant.

Lieutenant Ju lead the column of soldiers through the narrow valley. The men were spaced out further than was usual, making use of the horses of the soldiers now hidden at the summit to make their piece of the army look bigger than it was.

"Resist the urge to look up!" called the Sergeant, as the column wended its way through the gully.

It was incredibly hard not to peer up at the ridgeline, knowing that your enemy was up there somewhere, waiting to rain down hell upon you.

"We’re coming into the kill zone, get ready to seek shelter," the Sergeant rode up and down the column, alerting the men at a volume that wouldn’t carry.

When the majority of the column had passed into the line of sight of Arughtai and his men, a shout was heard from the peaks.

"Attack! Take cover!" yelled the Lieutenant.

Instantly, the men ran or rode for the edge of ravine, where the overhanging rocks provided some shelter.

"Form up!" yelled the Lieutenant, and the soldiers smoothly created a wall of shields.

Huge boulders had been pushed down the ravine walls by the enemy, and the enormous rocks were now crashing into the valley, creating clouds of dust making visibility poor for those on the valley floor, who were deafened by the roar.

Now came a flurry of arrows, though there was little to aim at; the Emperor’s army all lay huddled against the same side of the ravine as their enemies. They were almost impossible to see as the dust rose in thick clouds.

"Send down the oil!" shouted Arughtai.

The enemy lit their oil-covered bamboo balls to send them down the hillside.

"Send up the firework," Bai Li commanded.

A single firework was shot into the sky and exploded, it’s import probably lost on the enemy in the mayhem they had created, but certainly not lost on First Brother.

"Time to attack!" he shouted to the Sergeant.

"Attack!" roared the Sergeant, accompanied by the attack drums.

He rushed forwards with the soldiers running behind him in formation.

On both sides, Arughtai found himself engulfed by a huge army, with soldiers streaming out from behind the rocks in tight formation, moving quickly to encircle them from both sides and behind, so that their only escape was to head down into the valley, now filled with fire, dust, boulders and their enemy.

"We’re being surrounded!" Arughtai yelled at his Lieutenant. "Tell the men to fight their way backwards. Cut a hole through the soldiers to our rear and escape!"

"Yes Sir!" his Lieutenant raced across the battlefield to give the Sergeants their orders.

Hand-to-hand fighting had begun in earnest now, made difficult by the steep terrain and the loose rocky surface.

The screams of men who had lost their footing or been injured and rolled down the steep slope, rang out from all directions.

"Stay in formation!" yelled Commander Bai, making use of their superior numbers to pincer Arughtai and his men.

"Reinforce the rear!" he shouted to his Sergeant, seeing that that was the likely push by the Mongols to break through and escape their trap.

"Take your men behind the frontline at the rear! Don’t let anyone escape!" the Sergeant ordered two of the junior sergeants.

Arughtai watched with dismay as his men started to fall like flies under the onslaught by the superior numbers and better weaponry of the Ming army.

"Retreat!" he yelled. "Down the hill everyone!"

The horn rang out, signalling to his soldiers to retreat, and they started to make their way down the steep hillside, heavy fighting still everywhere across the ravine.

"Send a runner down to Lieutenant Ju," said First urgently to the Sergeant. "Tell him Arughtai’s forces are coming towards him, and he should be ready to fight."

The Sergeant raced off to find a runner.

Arughtai’s men had now rallied around him and his leadership, who were deep in the centre of their soldiers, protected on all sides as they carefully backed down the hill.

They were losing men at an alarming rate as Commander Bai’s soldiers fought those soldiers on the outside of the enemy’s ranks.

"Don’t break and run!" shouted Arughtai, well aware they would be slaughtered from behind and in front if his men lost their nerve and tried to make a break for it.

"We’re making good inroads into his troops," grunted Bai Li with satisfaction to the Sergeant who fought at his side.

"He’s lost almost half his men," the Sergeant agreed.

Sweat dripped down Bai Li’s face and into his eyes, despite the late-winter chill. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, smearing blood across his face as he fought on, single-handedly killing many of the enemy with his superior swordsmanship.

The Mongol army reached the rocks that overhung the valley, and Lieutenant Ju was ready for them.

He and his soldiers emerged from their hiding places and prepared a welcome party of steel for their enemies.

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