still well supplied. Thus for
three years the siege went on, and it was beginning to languish, when
new spirit was given it by fresh preparations on the part of the two
contestants. Kublai, weary of the slow progress of his armies, resolved
to press the siege with more vigor than ever, while the Chinese minister
determined to do something for the relief of the garrison.

A large Chinese army was put into the field, but it was placed under the
command of an incapable officer, whose dilatory movements promised
little for the aid of the valiant defenders. Nothing would have been
done had not abler and bolder spirits come to the assistance of the
beleaguered host. Litingchi, governor of Ganlo, a town on the Han south
of Sianyang, incensed by the tardy march of the army of relief, resolved
to strike a prompt and telling blow. Collecting a force of three
thousand men, from which he dismissed all who feared to take part in the
perilous adventure, he laid his plans to throw into Sianyang this
reinforcement, with a large convoy of such supplies as he had learned
that the garrison needed.

The attempt was made successful through the valor of the Chinese troops.
Several hundred vessels, escorted by the band of devoted warriors,
sailed down a tributary of the Han towards Sianyang. The Mongols had
sought by chains and other obstacles to close the stream, but these were
broken through by the junks, whose impetuous advance had taken the
besiegers by surprise. Recovering their spirit, and taking advantage of
the high ground above the stream, the Mongols soon began to regain the
ground they had lost and to imperil the success of the expedition.
Seeing this, and fearing the defeat of the project, Changchun, at the
head of one division of the escort of troops, devoted himself and his
men to death for the safety of the fleet, charging so vigorously as to
keep the Mongols fully occupied for several hours. This diversion gave
the other Chinese leader an opportunity to push on to Sianyang with the
store-ships, where they were joyfully received by the people, who for
three years had been cut off from communication with the outside world.

So great were the excitement and joy of the garrison that they flung
open the city gates, in bold defiance of their foes, or as if they
thought that the Mongols must be in full retreat. Their enthusiasm,
however, was somewhat dampened when the mutilated body of the heroic
Changchun came floating down the s