The Long Ballad Episode 13 Recap
> The Long Ballad Recap
Gongsun Heng saw Li Changge’s determination to protect the people, so he led her to the east of the city to meet the enemy. At the eastern gate, Asher Sun wore a mask and led over ten thousand of the elite Eagle Warriors from Asher’s Tribe to launch an attack. Gongsun Heng knew it would be a difficult battle to win, but he still bravely faced the enemy. The two armies clashed at the city gates.
Gongsun Heng held the eastern side with his life, and the Eagle Warriors of Asher’s Tribe lived up to their reputation. In the midst of the battle, Gongsun Heng was injured. He wanted to hold out until the end, but Li Changge, worried for him, insisted that he retreat to have his wounds treated, saying she would defend the eastern gate herself. Mu Jin completed the task Asher Sun had entrusted him with and arrived with reinforcements.
Asher Sun instructed him to wear a mask. Asher Sun looked toward the city wall and spotted Li Changge’s figure. Mu Jin was surprised to see her as well. He knew the two were close, but since they were not truly friends, he decided to kill the leader first by taking Li Changge’s life. Asher Sun immediately told Mu Jin to shut up. Asher Sun then ordered an assault on the city.
Seeing the ferocity of the Eagle Warriors, Li Changge predicted that, having come on a surprise raid, their warhorses must be thirsty and hungry. She ordered her soldiers to throw fodder from the walls to disrupt Asher Sun’s plan. Mu Jin hadn't expected their plan to be thwarted by Li Changge. He urged Asher Sun to shoot her with an arrow. After some hesitation, Asher Sun did draw his crossbow. Li Changge aimed her crossbow at him as well.
The two fired arrows at each other. Asher Sun dodged Li Changge’s bolt and deliberately aimed his own shot off-target. Although Li Changge was hit, the injury was not fatal. Li Changge collapsed after being shot. Mu Jin tried to shake the soldiers’ morale, urging them to surrender since the defender of Shuozhou was now dead.
Hearing the cries from Asher’s Tribe urging surrender, Li Changge used all her strength to pull out the arrow and forced herself to stand on the city wall to rally her troops. Seeing her resilience and stubbornness, Asher Sun felt both heartache and conflict. He ordered the troops to camp outside the city, giving Li Changge a brief moment to breathe.
When Li Changge regained consciousness, she asked A Dou to change her dressing and then go discuss a way to request reinforcements with Gongsun Heng. Outside the city, Asher Sun was anxious about Li Changge and even considered sneaking into Shuozhou to see her. Mu Jin knew Asher Sun had deliberately missed his shot and advised him not to act impulsively.
Though Li Changge was safe for now, their scorched-earth tactics had already ruined the farmland, and he feared the soldiers in Shuozhou would starve. Asher Sun then moved to eliminate the threat of Tuka She, asserting that the Eagle Warriors must take control of Shuozhou. At this time, Sima Jian was still advising Tuka She to attack Junzhou to save himself. Asher Sun exposed Sima Jian’s plan, which had caused heavy losses for the Bear Warriors.
Enraged, Tuka She killed Sima Jian himself. Forced into a corner, Tuka She reported their defeat to the Great Khan under Sima Jian’s name and reluctantly handed over the right to command the siege to the Eagle Warriors. The next day, Asher Sheer's Wolf Warriors took over Daizhou.
As the citizens fled in panic, Li Leyan, who was in Daizhou, heard the cries for help from outside her room and mustered the courage to ask Hai Lao to let the people in. As Hai Lao was about to erupt in anger, Wolf Warriors stormed in. Hai Lao hurriedly hid. Li Leyan distracted the soldiers toward Hai Lao’s hiding spot and used the opportunity to escape.
Hao Dou found Li Changge and attacked her, intending to execute her on the spot. Fortunately, Old Qin intervened in time to save her. Though he didn’t know Li Changge’s true identity, he knew she was the Mounted Captain of Junzhou who resisted foreign invaders and was a hero of Shuozhou.
Li Changge came up with a plan to save Junzhou—there was a drained stone canal near the river that led outside the city, and they could use it to sneak out and send for help. Li Changge wanted to go to Daizhou herself to seek aid, but Gongsun Heng stopped her. She was gravely wounded and had no strength left.
Gongsun Heng’s guard, Xu Feng, wanted to go, but Gongsun Heng needed to stay to defend the city, and Xu Feng was too large to fit through the canal. A Dou, understanding the greater need, volunteered without hesitation. Though Li Changge didn’t want A Dou to take the risk, they had no other choice, so she urged him to be extremely careful. Asher’s Wolf Warriors occupied Daizhou and committed brutal massacres against the people.
Li Leyan refused to kneel before them, and the soldiers tried to kill her. At the critical moment, Mu Jin arrived in Daizhou on Asher Sun’s orders and inadvertently saved Li Leyan, sparing all the old, weak, women, and children. A Dou went out to seek help but heard the news that Daizhou had fallen. He had no choice but to return to Junzhou and deliver the message to Li Changge.
On the way, A Dou was captured by the Bear Warriors. Tuka She initially wanted to kill him, but A Dou claimed he knew the situation in Junzhou and was willing to negotiate on the Bear Warriors’ behalf with Gongsun Heng. Tuka She spared his life and decided to bind A Dou to a horse and take him to the battlefield.
