Liuhe Fortress looked as though it had been set upon water.
What surrounded it was not land but rivers, marshes, and waterways that swelled with every change of season.
To the east, a great river curved gently as it flowed.
To the west lay wetlands where water had never fully drained.
To the south, a lake choked with reeds and aquatic plants rose right up to the foot of the walls.
Seen from afar, the fortress appeared to float.
Liuhe had been built with isolation in mind.
Placed between bodies of water, it functioned like an island unto itself.
There was only one path by which people or armies could enter—the north.
A low ridge stretched across the water like a causeway, reaching the fortress as if it were a dike.
Carts passed over it. Horses ran there.
For that reason, the northern gate was massive and thick.
It was the strongest point of Liuhe Fortress—
and the place where the most blood would inevitably be spilled.
The walls were built from stone, earth, and timber bound together.
Rammed earth formed the core; wooden palisades rose atop it.
Floodgates and drainage channels were integrated naturally into the structure.
Whoever designed the fortress understood water.
Whoever defended it had trusted water.
When the rains came, the waterways became part of the fortress.
Close the floodgates, and the marshes outside deepened.
Open them, and the water within the walls drained away, revealing narrow passages.
Those passages became battlefields.
Horses stumbled. Men fell. Bodies tangled—
and in every moment of chaos, spearheads rose.
Liuhe was a fortress that denied siege engines their approach.
A fortress that refused cavalry their speed.
A fortress where the greater the numbers, the more movement became entangled.
There was a clear reason Guo Zixing had chosen this place.
Liuhe was not a fortress meant to repel assaults.
It was a fortress meant to seize time.
The remnants of Zhang Shicheng's forces flowed into it.
So did the followers of the White Lotus.
Their calculations and interests layered and knotted within the walls.
Night at Liuhe
Night fell deep over Liuhe, yet the fortress remained awake.
Fewer lights burned, but more presences stirred.
Muted footsteps moved through the alleys.
The guards along the walls were doubled.
Banners snapped in the wind, their differing colors revealing competing interests.
Guo Zixing sat before a map spread across the wooden floor of the northern office.
The camps of Zhang Shicheng's remnants.
The White Lotus encampments.
The gates, the waterways, the plains beyond the walls—
all marked in red ink.
Yet his gaze did not linger long on the map.
More important were troop numbers, supply flows, and the hearts of men.
"They're coming," someone said.
"The Yuan?"
"Goryeo as well."
Guo Zixing snorted.
"Good. The more who gather, the easier they are to sweep away at once."
Laughter rippled among the commanders—boastful laughter.
One man did not laugh.
Zhu Yuanzhang.
He was pointing to a narrow waterway on the map—
shallow, difficult for horses to cross.
"That must be blocked. It's a cavalry bypass.
If we leave it open, they'll unsettle our rear before even reaching the walls."
His voice was low, precise.
Guo Zixing studied him.
"You always look behind first."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not lift his head.
"Everyone looks forward.
An army collapses from the rear—where no one expects it."
A brief silence followed.
Guo Zixing set his wine cup down on the map.
"Very well. We'll do it your way."
At the order, soldiers moved.
All night, shovels and hoes cut into frozen earth.
Stakes were driven in.
Waterways were blocked.
Narrow paths were deliberately widened.
From the outside, the defenses looked careless.
Inside, spears and traps lay hidden.
Liuhe Fortress was slowly taking the shape of a snare.
At that same hour, on the plains beyond the walls, Yi In-jung dismounted and set foot on the soil.
The wind's direction.
Flattened grass.
Marks where water had pooled.
Each entered his vision in turn.
The fortress was tall and strong—
but heavier still were the tangled interests within.
Zhang Shicheng's remnants would cling to survival.
Guo Zixing would use this fortress as a stepping stone.
Into that gap, the armies of the Empire and Goryeo would press together.
"Water on all sides," Park Seong-jin said.
"This fight won't end at the gate."
Yi In-jung answered shortly.
"No."
"If they flee?"
"We pursue again."
His voice was calm.