Battle of Meiling

The Battle of Meiling or Massacre of Meiling is an event from the novel The Langya List, the show Nirvana in Fire and the manhua.

Great Yu invaded the north of Liang with 200,000 men, seizing Sutai and moving towards Meiling. The Chiyan Army, garrisoned in Ganzhou, moved to stop their advance. Lin Xie sent a report to the Emperor, which never arrived. Great Yu's forces and the Chiyan Army arrived at Meiling at nearly the same time.

Marshal Lin ordered the Vanguard Battalion, lead by Nie Feng, to move through Juehun Valley to provide flank support. The Chiyu Battalion, accompanied by Nie Zhen, went to the Northern Valley of Meiling, attacking with it fire. The battle lasted for three days and nights, under heavy snow and strong winds. Finally, the Chiyan Army prevailed over Great Yu’s imperial army.

The exhausted Chiyan Army remained in place, the Chiyu Battalion in the Northern Valley and the main army in the Southern Valley of Meiling. Lin Shu started to worry about the fact Nie Feng's forces never joined them, and sent Wei Zheng to the main army camp to get news.

By that time Xie Yu and Xia Jiang’s 100,000 men had already destroyed Nie Feng's contingent and were fighting the main army, being mistaken at first as reinforcements. Seeing that the battle was lost, Lin Xie ordered his men to run, but the majority, and nearly all of the officers, stayed, defending him and later his corpse. He died before seeing the Northern Valley destroyed.

The Northern Valley was entirely burnt down, and Lin Shu was the only survivor, pushed into a snow pit by Nie Zhen, who did not make any demand of him.

According to Xia Jiang, The Emperor had ordered the arrest or death of 17 high-ranking officers. Eleven died in battle, four were arrested, and two were not found (one of them being Wei Zheng).

Adaptations
In the show, episode 1 opens in the battle of Meiling. The Chiyu Battalion appears to be fighting alongside the main army, since Lin Shu and Lin Xie are together. Lin Xie is the one to push his son off a cliff to give him a chance to survive, asking him to live for the Chiyan Army.

In the manhua, the first chapter also opens in the battle of Meiling, showing Nie Zhen saving Lin Shu's life.