# **Chapter 10: Fire Against Horse
Day seven.
Wei observed evening drill. Fourth Company practicing fighting withdrawal—falling back by bounds while maintaining covering fire.
Slow. Clumsy. Spacing off.
But they understood the concept.
"HALT!" Wei called. "Fourth Company—reform at start position!"
The company re-formed, breathing hard. Sweat despite cool air.
"That was adequate. Not good, but adequate. You understand the principle—retreat in stages, maintain fire, support each other." Wei walked through formation. "In two weeks, you execute this under pressure. Real pressure—enemy cavalry, chaos, soldiers dying around you. That's the standard. Work toward it."
A soldier raised his hand—young, maybe nineteen. "Sir, how do we prepare for chaos?"
"You don't. You prepare for fundamentals—spacing, fire rotation, discipline. Chaos happens anyway. But if your fundamentals are solid, you function through chaos. That's the difference between soldiers who survive and soldiers who break."
The young soldier nodded slowly, understanding settling in his eyes.
---
Day ten brought the first real challenge.
A messenger rode in from the western watchtower, horse lathered. "Sir—Oirat patrol! Fifty riders, moving south along western approach!"
Wei gathered his officers in the command post. The tactical map was spread on the table, corners held down by stones.
"Fifty riders. Reconnaissance patrol, not a raid. They're testing our response." He pointed to terrain features. "If we ignore them, they report Xuanfu is weak and passive. If we engage poorly, they still report weakness. We need to engage professionally."
Captain Liang spoke up, hands clenched. "Sir, ten days of training. They're not ready."
"Nobody's ever 'ready.' Combat isn't something you're ready for—it's something you survive through training." Wei turned to Dong. "Take First and Second Companies. Intercept the patrol at that valley two *li* west. Terrain negates their cavalry advantage. Coordinated fire, force withdrawal, no pursuit. Demonstration of competence, not glory."
Dong nodded. "Clear."
"Zhang, go with him. Tactical advisor. No heroics, no chasing, clean engagement and clean break."
"Understood."
Wei looked at assembled officers. Liang still looked doubtful. "This is the first real test. Not just for troops—for doctrine. It works here, it works everywhere. It fails..." He left it there.
"It won't fail," Dong said quietly. "We've got this."
---
One hundred soldiers marched out thirty minutes later.
Wei watched from the north wall until they disappeared over the horizon. Then he waited.
The engagement happened two hours later. He couldn't see it, but he heard it—distant crack of crossbow volleys, thunder of hand cannons.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Then silence.
His gut tightened. *Too short? Or efficient?*
Thirty minutes later, Dong's force returned.
All one hundred soldiers. No casualties.
Wei met Dong in the command post. The captain's face was flushed from exertion, uniform dusty.
"Engagement successful. Caught them in the valley, hit them with two volleys from elevated positions. They tried to charge upslope—Third squad held them with spear wall. They withdrew after losing maybe fifteen riders. We didn't pursue."
"Our casualties?"
"Two wounded—minor injuries from falling rocks during scramble to positions. No combat casualties."
Wei felt something loosen in his chest. "Equipment losses?"
"Minimal. Some spent ammunition. Nothing we can't replace."
"Morale impact?"
Dong smiled—the first genuine smile Wei had seen from him. "The troops are excited. They engaged Oirat cavalry and won. That's huge for confidence."
Wei nodded slowly. "Good work. Debrief the companies, identify what worked and what needs improvement. We run the scenario again tomorrow with other companies watching—turn it into a training event."
After Dong left, Zhang remained. He poured two cups of rice wine from the garrison commander's private stock.
"That worked better than expected."
"It worked because Dong followed doctrine and terrain favored us. Next time might be different—more enemies, worse ground, less luck." Wei took the cup but didn't drink yet. "But it proves the concept. Undertrained troops can engage professionally if they follow doctrine and have competent leadership."
"So we replicate this across other garrisons?"
"That's the plan. One garrison at a time. Build competence, establish confidence, create functional defensive network." Wei paused. "It'll take six months minimum. Maybe longer."
"The Oirats might not give us six months."
"Then we work faster."
---
Three weeks transformed Xuanfu.
Wei observed the change during evening formations. Troops stood straighter. Moved with purpose. Responded to orders crisply.
Demoralization being replaced by professional pride.
On day twenty-eight, Wei assembled the entire garrison. Two hundred thirty soldiers in clean formation. Not parade ground perfect, but competent.
"Four weeks ago, you were broken. Undermanned, undertrained, convinced you'd die when the Oirats returned." He gestured to the formation. "Now? Now you're soldiers. You've engaged enemy cavalry and won. You've learned doctrine that works. You've proven you can function under pressure."
He paused, looking at faces. Young and old. Veterans and recruits. All watching him with something new in their eyes.
Belief.
"I'm moving to the next garrison tomorrow. Captain Liang resumes command here. But the cadre—Captain Dong, Major Lin, the training teams—they're staying another week to finalize transition. After that, you're on your own."
A voice from the ranks. "What if the Oirats come back in force?"
"Then you hold. Use what you've learned. Support each other. Follow doctrine." Wei's voice was firm. "You're not invincible. You won't win every engagement. But you're capable. Capable troops with good doctrine hold against worse odds than you'd think."
He raised his voice. "I held the capital with troops who started exactly where you started—broken, scared, doubting themselves. They became the garrison that held forty-five days against forty thousand cavalry. You can be the garrison that holds Xuanfu against whatever comes. The question is whether you believe it."
The garrison shouted back—ragged but sincere. They believed.
Or at least, they were starting to.
---
That night, Wei stood on the north wall. Stars blazed overhead—still unfamiliar constellations, still beautiful in their strangeness.
Zhang joined him, breath misting in cold air. "Fourteen garrisons left to train. How long do you think this takes?"
"Six months if everything goes perfectly. A year realistically. Longer if we hit complications."
"The Ministry is already questioning the pace. Inspector Liu's reports say you're moving too slowly, not producing fast enough results."
"Inspector Liu can go to hell." Wei's voice was flat. "Building functional garrisons takes time. Rush it and it breaks under pressure. This works. Slow, methodical, one garrison at a time."
"And when the Oirats attack before you're done?"
"Then the garrisons I've trained hold, and the ones I haven't get overrun. But at least some of the frontier survives."
"That's cold."
"That's triage. I can't save everyone, so I save who I can and hope it's enough."
Zhang was quiet for a moment. Wind whispered through the watchtowers. "You've changed since the capital. More... pragmatic."
"More realistic. The capital taught me perfect solutions don't exist. You make the best decision you can with incomplete information and hope the outcome justifies the cost." Wei turned from the wall. "Come on. We leave at dawn. Next garrison is three days' ride north."
"Which one?"
"Dushikou. Supposedly the worst garrison on the frontier—barely holding together, commander is incompetent, troops are one step from mutiny."
"So, a challenge."
"A disaster. But that's why we're going there—if we can fix Dushikou, we can fix anything."
---
**End of Chapter 10**
