The Red Plains (The Forbidden List Book 3) Read Online Free

capital and the Emperor. If they take that, the Empire is weakened. The armies will not have the command and control they need. They will chase us to the capital. We will drag them if necessary. Attack them if we can, defend if we cannot, but they must be focused on us. The bulk of their force must be forced to follow us.” Haung adjusted the hang of the sword on his belt and took a step forward, to the edge of the Wall, gazing out over the field of death before it and the army beyond.
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    The thunder of horses’ hooves reverberated through the wall, a rhythm of life and death. There were great shouts from the attacking horde accompanied by the neigh of horses and the clash of metal on metal.
    “To the wall,” Gongliang shouted.
    “Archers, loose when ready,” Haung called the order. “Shields to the wall, guard the crossbowmen.”
    “Another day, another battle, Liu,” Gang shouted.
    “Keep your hammer up then,” Liu called back.
    “That’s never been an problem in the past,” Gang laughed.
    “Don't get killed today, Haung,” Enlai said in a soft whisper.
    “That's not my intention,” Haung replied.
    “It is never anyone’s intention,” Xióngmāo said. Today she carried only Zhou's staff into battle though she was still dressed in the leather armour she had been given upon her arrival.
    The first volley of arrows struck the wall of shields and the stones below. There were grunts from the soldiers and the hollow sound of wood being pierced by the sharp metal points. Better wood than flesh, Haung thought. The Empire crossbowmen returned the arrows with a volley of bolts. Firing from height gave them greater range than was normal for a crossbow and Gongliang had deployed the repeating bows too. These were inaccurate, lacked the power of the wound crossbows, but more than made up for that in their ability to loose bolt after bolt. It was also the case that the bolts could be made more easily, little more than sharpened, fire-hardened wood. The metal tips were saved for their more powerful cousins.
    After all these days of battle it was clear that the Mongols either did not care about life and death, throwing away soldier after soldier against the Wall, or had limitless numbers. Each day, the battle was tougher than the last. And now, Haung was sending his tired troops, his battle weary but practiced troops, away with the refugees. There were enough experienced men amongst the ranks of reinforcements on the Wall to keep them steady. He hoped.
    “Tonight, we clear the Wall and the town, Gongliang,” he said.
    “That is not a lot of time,” his second in command replied.
    “I think that’s all the time we are going to get. Can you set traps on the wall and in the town?” Haung asked.
    “The town, yes. I've begun that process already. My engineers are weakening buildings, disguising pits in the roads and leaving a few more surprises wherever we can. The main road is open though. Once the bulk of the refugees are away, the engineers will move in and lay traps. The Mongols will pay a heavy price for the town,” Gongliang said.
    “The Wall?”
    “That's more difficult. Not a great deal we can do with the stones, but the gate we will reinforce and barricade. It won`t stop them forever, but it will hold them up,” Gongliang replied.
    “Do you really think this is time for planning an evacuation?” Xióngmāo snapped at them. “We have a day’s fighting ahead. Your troops already have their orders, trust them to carry them out. If we lose today, all those plans are worth nothing.”
    Before Haung could draw breath and respond, the shout of ladders rushed along the wall followed by the first sound of swords striking flesh and bouncing off armour accompanied by the screams of wounded Empire soldiers.
    Haung drew his sword, settled into the quiet place, building the image before his eyes, and let the battle take him. A Mongol, fur-lined helmet bobbing as he climbed over the parapet was the first he