Chapter 340: Subduing the Captives, Striking West Against the Hu

Like fire, like tea — a phrase from the *Discourses of the States*, "Discourses of Wu."

At that time, the southern state of Wu, led by King Fuchai of Wu, joined the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains, successively defeating Lu and Qi, then led troops to meet Jin at Huangchi to contend for the position of overlord. But just then, King Goujian of Yue suddenly raised troops behind them, cutting off Wu's retreat. King Fuchai of Wu and his ministers, though terrified, also knew that with the Jin army ahead, fleeing in panic at that moment would be even more dangerous, so they devised a stratagem.

The next day, the entire Wu army of thirty thousand men was divided into three square formations of ten thousand each. The left formation was entirely in red attire, red banners, red armor, and red plumes; correspondingly, the center formation was entirely in white military dress, and the right formation entirely in black attire. The three formations set out at midnight and arrived before the Jin army's main camp by early morning, arrayed in perfect order, cheering without cease. The ruler and ministers of Jin, hegemon of the Central Plains, came out of camp to look and saw the Wu army formations like fire, like tea, and like the sea. Somewhat flustered after all, they acknowledged the martial strength of the men of Wu and allowed the Wu army to depart Huangchi unhurriedly and return home.

Of course, this tactic of using orderly formations and uniform equipment to achieve psychological intimidation has been seen repeatedly throughout history, and everyone seems to grasp it without a teacher, for it is one of the most fundamental elements of human military competence. King Fuchai of Wu's action was merely one outstanding example... From primitive men smearing paint on their faces, to tattooing the body in the tribal era, the idea is the same. Even at Mount Baideng, north of Pingcheng in Yanmen Commandery, the very place where Gongsun Xun shot the roe deer, the Xiongnu Modu Chanyu once divided his four hundred thousand troops into four: one hundred thousand white horses, one hundred thousand blue-gray horses, one hundred thousand black horses, one hundred thousand red horses, surrounding Han Gaozu Liu Bang on all four sides — the same tactical concept.

To put it plainly, four words — flaunting might and parading power!

And interestingly, returning to the present, Xubu Gudu Hou actually had a similar plan. He intended to have fifty or sixty thousand men suddenly appear before Mayi City, arrayed in full order, using an overwhelmingly large cavalry formation to intimidate the great clans and common people within Mayi City, making the other side submit completely.

Even more interestingly, Gongsun Xun, who had long been waiting in Mayi, had hit upon a scheme that coincided with the enemy's without prior consultation.

Under the nearly stupefied gaze of the small band of Xiongnu who had pressed up to the city, atop the northern gate tower of Mayi City, there rose with great prominence a white-horse banner known to everyone across the entire northern frontier, yet one that most Xiongnu were seeing with their own eyes for the first time.

Red background, white horse, unfurling in the wind — truly startling.

But this was only the beginning. Before the leaders of these men could turn back to report the military situation to the nobles behind them, horns sounded continuously from the walls of Mayi City, and then the city actually lowered its drawbridge on its own initiative and opened the gates... Faced with this sight, the Xiongnu who had thrust farthest forward felt not delight, but even greater terror, because through the opened gates, Mayi City continuously poured forth a great number of white-horse cavalry!

These cavalrymen were all tall and sturdy of build, clad in meticulously polished, gleaming iron armor, draped in white cloaks, wearing iron helmets with white plumes inserted, and beneath the long spears in their hands hung vivid white banners with black patterns... Even more fearsome, the warhorses of the first several dozen mighty cavalrymen to emerge actually had iron chamfrons on their heads!

These Han people were actually wealthy enough to outfit even their warhorses with iron armor!

The few Xiongnu who had darted before the city had no time to think further; their first reaction was to turn and flee... And no wonder — from the Xiongnu perspective, the equipment on a hundred of their own men was probably not worth as much as the equipment on a single man of the Youzhou army. How could they fight? With what could they fight?

The Xiongnu who had thrust too far forward turned and fled, but the elite Han cavalry riding white horses did not pursue. They merely seized the moment to pour out continuously — from the northern gate, from the eastern and western gates — then unhurriedly assembled and formed ranks north of the city. Close behind them were the local able-bodied men of Mayi, holding long spears and bows, dressed in undyed white clothing as the Han army required, forming up beneath the city walls right behind the white-horse cavalry.

The military formation was so elite that, seen from afar, it was like a field of white blossoms blooming on the early-winter wilderness outside the city — dazzling to the extreme, making onlookers feel ashamed of their own shabbiness... In truth, not a few Xiongnu were already stupefied just from looking.

But it was not over yet.

Just as the Han army before the city was continuously forming ranks, from the mountain ridges to the west and south, behind the gentle slopes where Emperor Wu of Han had once hidden three hundred thousand troops, horns also suddenly sounded in unbroken succession. Then, under the nearly horrified gazes of the Xiongnu, two great masses of troops, even more staggering in number and destined to be even more lethal, surged forth thunderously from behind the slopes on both sides and unhurriedly formed ranks.

Both sides were dense with banners, complete with men and horses. The western side was entirely in red armor and banners, looking like fire when gazed upon; the southern side was entirely in black armor and banners, looking like an abyss when gazed upon!

What was more terrifying — leaving aside the southern side, which was too far away to see clearly — on the nearer western slope, the Xiongnu could see with perfect clarity that the red military formation on the hillside was entirely cavalry! Moreover, this cavalry formation had not set out extra banners for concealment. These Han cavalrymen, right on the slope within the Xiongnu's line of sight, boldly and confidently divided into a dozen or so neat divisions. Two or three divisions were on the flanks, arrayed in long wild-goose-wing formation to provide cover, while seven or eight divisions were in the center, each further divided into over ten units, each separately arrayed into triangular arrowhead assault formations, and each arrowhead assault formation comprised roughly a hundred men.

Any Xiongnu with the slightest military experience could tell at a glance that this was the typical Han army organization: a platoon of fifty men, a company of one hundred, a battalion of two hundred, and then systematically each division of roughly five battalions, ten companies, twenty platoons — nearly a thousand men... In other words, on this one hillside were nearly ten thousand cavalry! Nearly a hundred arrowhead assault formations!

No superfluous banners whatsoever — only from division to battalion, from battalion to company, from company to platoon, each level had a single banner used for command and to indicate unit structure. It was clear at a glance.

The west was so clear; the south could not be seen clearly for the moment, but presumably it was the same... This matched the earlier intelligence: the White-Horse General Gongsun Xun had come from Youzhou with twenty to thirty thousand men. If you added the local troops of Yanmen Commandery, wouldn't it be exactly right for him to have gathered thirty thousand men lying in ambush here?

And with such a formidable army, one glance was enough to make a man dizzy — even without an ambush, how could one fight?

The Xiongnu who had already surged onto the several-li-wide open ground north of Mayi City were no fools. The moment this thought struck, many chieftains immediately shouted for their subordinates to pull back. But at the mountain defile behind them, Xiongnu troops who did not know the situation ahead were still continuously pouring out — how could they simply turn around on command?

And it was not only the swift Xiongnu at the front. Xubu Gudu Hou, who had just entered the basin, had just gathered a few great nobles, and had not yet had time to issue orders, stared blankly at the opposite hillside for several breaths — how could he still not understand what was happening?

This was clearly falling into the other side's "Scheme of Mayi"!

That White-Horse General's so-called thirty-day deadline, his so-called gathering of Yanmen Commandery officials and great households to Pingcheng, his so-called demarcation of the Huanggan River — they were all blatant flaws meant to lure him and his men here!

And that Zhang Ze's conduct was clearly identical to that of his ancestor!

But before he and the great nobles beside him could draw their blades to cut the man down, Zhang Ze, who had long been trailing at a distance behind them, had already changed his tone and on his own initiative began shouting loudly: "Great Chanyu, do not bring ruin upon yourself! Do not forget the words spoken at breakfast! Now that things have come to this, what use is killing me except to vent your hatred? Instead, you would face the vengeance of us Zhang family men! Keep me alive, and if you are surrounded, you will still have someone to convey your surrender, sparing your men from dying in vain."

Chanyu Xubu Gudu Hou glanced blankly at Zhang Ze, then turned back to look at the Xiongnu troops still continuously pouring into the basin behind him. His heart turned nearly to ice, yet he was utterly speechless... Truly speechless. He truly did not know what to do or what to say at this moment.

Should he order the entire army to fight to the death, or order the entire army to flee directly?

If they fought to the death, should they charge bravely straight at the smaller number of white-horse cavalry ahead, or turn and clash head-on with the red formation on the flank, which absolutely numbered ten thousand riders?

If they fled directly, should they abandon the twenty to thirty thousand men already in the basin as a sacrifice and have himself and the great nobles turn directly and scatter back the way they came, or order the entire army to scatter and flee into the mountain wilderness? And even if he made a decision, how could he transmit the order? How could he make the remaining troops, who were still pouring into the basin unaware of the situation, change direction?

But no matter what, at a time like this, as the army's Regional Commander, the more he hesitated, the more he was wasting everyone's lives... Correspondingly, atop the walls of Mayi City, the Youzhou army's horns had already ceased, replaced prominently by the rumbling of drums!

The horns, drawn out, signaled the forming of ranks; the drums, rumbling, signaled the advance... In other words, just as the Xiongnu were at a loss, the Han army, without a moment's pause, was about to launch its attack!

It turned out that Lou Gui on the city wall, seeing from afar that some of the Xiongnu pouring into the basin had been frightened by the Han army's martial display and, when they turned to try to withdraw, had become jammed at the northern pass with the follow-up troops, knew in his heart that the moment of opportunity had arrived. He no longer hesitated and directly advised beating the drums to advance!

And Gongsun Xun had no reason to let the opportunity of battle slip by. Upon hearing Lou Zibo's counsel, he directly gave the order: beat the drums and strike.

Leaving aside the distant ambush troops on the southern hillside, the Han army on the nearer western hillside, upon hearing the drums, under Han Dang's command, each camp, each division, each company immediately began to accelerate from a walk and headed down toward the basin below. And the White-Horse Volunteers before the northern gate, led by those dozen or so banner-spear cavalrymen with iron-faced horse masks, directly accelerated forward.

"I had originally wanted to fully equip all dozen or so sets of horse armor from the Yanmen Commandery arsenal, but unexpectedly they could not be fitted out. We can only use the chamfrons to bluff these Xiongnu who have never seen the world." Gongsun Xun, seeing this scene from atop the city wall, shook his head repeatedly.

"They must be white horses, and they must be tall and robust — how could they be assembled on such short notice?" Lou Gui sighed beside him. "Moreover, this kind of horse armor is inherently extremely taxing on horses; only exceptionally strong and fine steeds can bear it, and they will be exhausted to death after only a few uses... I wonder why the court made this kind of full-body horse armor in the first place? In all of Yanmen, there are only a dozen or so sets."

"They are still useful," Gongsun Xun sighed. "Since ancient times, war has been perilous and deadly. It is said that one battle can settle the affairs of ten years. In the midst of battle, if you have a few dozen armored heavy cavalry, men and horses both clad in iron, charging unchecked, who could withstand them? They might well deliver the decisive blow."

"The cost is still too great; it may not be worth it." Lou Zibo spread his palms and said, "To field one hundred such heavy cavalry with horse armor, the funds and provisions could support three hundred ordinary armored iron cavalry, or one thousand light cavalry. If converted to proper infantry wearing leather armor and carrying long spears and bows, that would be three thousand men... With that money, what about three thousand infantry instead? Three thousand infantry setting up a stockade and shooting wildly with crossbows — one hundred heavy cavalry would surely die."

"But Zibo, have you considered," Gongsun Xun said, glancing at the battlefield where the clash was imminent while shaking his head with a wry smile, "if you use heavy cavalry, you can free up two thousand people to farm and support their families..."

Lou Gui did not answer — not because he was completely at a loss for words, but because in the midst of their exchange, on the alluvial plain before them, the White-Horse Volunteers directly ahead had already been the first to engage the Xiongnu.

The two had earlier seemed leisurely and composed, but as Gongsun Xun had said, war is perilous and deadly. The outcome of a great battle involving tens of thousands of men was enough to determine the political direction of a region for the next ten years. How could the lord and minister atop the city wall truly be absent-minded? The Youzhou army's entry into Bingzhou and Yanmen this time had never truly worried about whether it could take over political power in Yanmen, which was in a power vacuum. But after taking over Yanmen Commandery, the peace and order of this place would still have to be secured with human lives... Of course, what was meant here were the lives of Xiongnu.

As for why the two had just been chatting and laughing with feigned ease, it was simply because once the war drums were beaten, the course of the battle was largely no longer theirs to decide... Or rather, as the army's Regional Commander and the "military advisor" who formulated strategy within the army, they had already done all they could before the moment the drums were struck.

Releasing prisoners of war to lull the enemy and expose a flaw; sending a doomed spy to lure the enemy deep, deliberately arranging a midnight meeting to weary them; setting a heavy ambush nearby to wait at ease for the exhausted foe, while in the distance using able-bodied men and civilian laborers to swell the numbers, uniformly arrayed, flaunting might and parading power to frighten the enemy troops and sap their morale; even dispatching some detached units to prepare to sweep the field... What more could be done?

What came next would depend on the officers and men fighting personally on the battlefield and those mid- and low-level officers... Of course, it was fortunate that the Youzhou elite troops that Gongsun Xun took pride in did not disappoint him.

The White-Horse Volunteers numbered only twelve hundred; spread out, they were but a thin layer. But under the leadership of the three commanders Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and Wen Ze, once they charged at full speed, they drove the Xiongnu troops before them like driving cattle and sheep... For the Xiongnu, upon seeing the Han army waiting at ease, the exhaustion, hunger, and cold that had earlier been masked by excitement surged up almost instantly. No one was willing to resist; everyone was fleeing.

But fleeing was utterly useless. When, from the gentle western slope, over ten thousand Han cavalry came howling down, and hundreds of red arrowhead assault formations stabbed straight into the Xiongnu formations in the basin — like red-hot iron stones shattering water-filled earthenware jars — they startled countless Xiongnu troops into scattering and fleeing in all directions... But the pass was jammed, and the surrounding basin terrain hemmed them in. These routed troops could not possibly escape to safety all at once, and so countless men became vengeful ghosts on the battlefield!

Iron cavalry trampled; disordered troops collided with each other; long spears were stained with blood; blades pierced to the bone.

It must be said, in this clash of two armies, it was indeed a case of one side waiting at ease, the other exhausted from continuous marching; one side holding the high ground, the other caught in an ambush and at a loss; one side seizing the moment decisively, the other hesitating and losing composure; one side deliberately setting deceptive formations and flaunting their might, the other with their formation only half-committed, unable to advance or retreat... But more than anything, it came down to these four words: the strong and the weak were clearly distinguished!

The strong are strong, the weak are weak!

The strong win, the weak lose; the victors live, the defeated die. On the battlefield, in a clash of cavalry, where are all those elaborate theories?

The Youzhou army was an elite force rarely seen in the world; the Xiongnu troops were a disorderly host of old and young alike. The Youzhou army had strong soldiers and sturdy horses; the Xiongnu troops were wretches so poor they could not even eat their fill... One battle and victory was won — nothing more need be said!

In fact, long before those ten thousand riders came surging down, Xubu Gudu Hou had been stricken with irrepressible dread and, on his own initiative, had bundled Zhang Ze along and fled hastily to the rear... Even he had lost his nerve before the battle!

At this moment, there were still nearly twenty thousand Xiongnu who had not yet turned into the wide-open basin. But hearing the sound of hoofbeats, the shouts of killing, and the wails of despair ahead, and seeing the nobles fleeing through the rocky mountain wilderness without regard for their horses' safety, how could they not understand that a great defeat lay ahead?!

Yet as they hurriedly followed their instincts and turned back along the original path, these men could not help but collide with and trample one another... The cavalry advantage that had once made them so proud had, in a short time, become a death-dealing thing. Countless men were buried under the hooves of their own horses, but not a few also relied on the chance that enough of their kin behind them were being pursued and cut down by the Han army to escape with their lives.

From the moment the White-Horse Volunteers began to engage, Gongsun Xun had sat motionless atop the city wall. And when he saw the red-clad ten thousand Han cavalry, under Han Dang's leadership, come surging down and utterly rout the Xiongnu cavalry formation of tens of thousands, he — though long seasoned by war and hardly moved by such a sight — could not help but recall an incident from the past and, for a moment, broke into a laugh:

"Zibo, in the old days in Liaoxi, you, I, and Cheng Demou were on a hillside watching the Han army and the Wuhuan army smash the Xianbei with a single blow... Did you not once say that a true man should command ten thousand troops just like this?"

Lou Gui clasped his hands behind his back and sighed, "There is indeed such a saying."

"But today, neither Demou nor you have fulfilled this ambition — instead, it is Yigong who has taken the first step," Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh. "Shall I give you a chance to lead troops later and pursue the Xiongnu?"

Lou Gui shook his head repeatedly, "That time and this time are different. Back then, I was young and proud, ignorant and incapable, to the point of viewing the heroes of the realm as nothing and treating matters of state and war as child's play. Now, having matured slightly, I have instead come to understand the peril of battle — every move means countless lives lost, and it must not be undertaken lightly... I lack the ability to command, so how could I speak of leading ten thousand soldiers like this? As for this pursuit of the Xiongnu, it is even more entangled with the disposition of the Xiongnu. It would be better to let Yigong lead the troops ahead, and then for you, my lord, to follow up personally."

Gongsun Xun slowly nodded, but said nothing more.

As for this battle, the Han army, using the terrain of the basin, had inflicted over ten thousand casualties, and the Xiongnu were utterly terrified. Yet the Han army did not stop when the advantage was gained... Instead, according to plan, they continued to pursue closely, seeking to cause further slaughter and ensure that the Xiongnu completely lost their ability to raid and harass Shanxi.

On the other side, the Xubu Gudu Marquis fled in panic. Relying on the Xiongnu's numerical superiority and the routed soldiers' instinctive adherence to the path they had come by, he barely managed to hold together a remnant force of twenty to thirty thousand, fleeing all the way to the northwest.

But upon reaching the border wall outside Wuzhou, the Xiongnu encountered a second massive wave of casualties... Just like the battle at Shanwu City, the abandoned, unmanned border wall played a deadly obstructive role for the defeated troops at a critical moment... Ahead lay the abandoned wall built upon strategic terrain, while the fleeing soldiers — not just the men, but even the horses — were utterly exhausted. At the same time, among the Han army, several thousand lightly equipped Hu cavalry had never broken off from the battle line and had pursued all the way here... In such circumstances, how could lives not be lost?

Those in front scaled the mountain ridges and the abandoned border wall without looking back, while those behind became targets of slaughter... This crossing of the border wall by the Xiongnu in their flight was bought entirely with human lives.

In fact, later on, seeing the Han cavalry arriving in an unbroken stream, the officials left to garrison Wuzhou County even boldly dispatched several hundred armed able-bodied men to join the interception and encirclement... In later ages, this place was called Pinglu, and later renamed Pinglu — not without reason.

Of course, the Xubu Gudu Marquis was, after all, the Chanyu and the leader of the Xiutu tribes, and there were still men willing to fight to the death to cover his retreat. So he did manage to cross the border wall and escape with his life. But this time, only a little over ten thousand Xiongnu managed to follow him.

As for those who did not follow, they certainly could not all be dead. Given the terrain of Mount Lüliang, if they truly scattered and fled into the mountain hollows, half of them could surely escape. But even so, it meant that nearly twenty thousand men became ghosts beneath the Han army's blades.

After this crushing defeat, the Xubu Gudu Marquis was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow. He dared not stop along the way, nor did he have time to deal with Zhang Ze, whom he had brought with him... However, after traveling day and night without regard for casualties or the exhaustion of horses, when he reached the valley mouth where he had parted ways with the Xubu Jucì — the place later known as Pianguan — he finally despaired.

It turned out that several thousand Han infantry were conspicuously stationed there, waiting in ease after a long rest. What was more, many Xiongnu actually recognized the leading Han general — it was Gao Shun, the Han commander who had been stationed in Pingcheng for many years, renowned across the river for a long time. Everyone was an old acquaintance.

So they also knew that with this man leading several thousand Han soldiers blocking the way here, it was not a pass they could force their way through just because they wanted to.

"Old Zhang!" The Xubu Gudu Marquis, no longer looking human, leaned against a withered, crooked-necked tree and called over Zhang Ze, who was equally disheveled but still brimming with energy. "I kept my promise and didn't kill you. You must also keep your word and serve as my envoy this once!"

Zhang Ze looked at the banner bearing the character 'Gao' on the distant pass. He first nodded slightly, then slowly shook his head. "Great Chanyu, I will naturally serve as your envoy... But as for Commander Gao here, you must understand — he was raised up by the White Horse General from a mere attendant slave. He will never presume to do you a favor on his own. You must wait for the Guard General to arrive in person before any negotiation can take place."

The Xubu Gudu Marquis looked up to heaven, speechless.

—————— I am the speechless-looking-up-to-heaven dividing line ——————

"When Xun campaigned against Dong, he passed through Yanmen and garrisoned at Mayi. He dispatched Wang Xiu, Tian Feng, Han Dang, Wei Yue, Yuwen Heita, Taishi Ci, and other forces to advance west into Lüliang and Wuzhou to encircle the Xiongnu. Xun remained with only Lou Gui and a thousand White Horse Volunteers to hold the city. Tian Feng and Taishi Ci encountered over ten thousand of the Xiongnu Xiutu tribe's Xubu Jucì forces on a narrow road and fought fiercely, unable to reach Wuzhou for the encirclement. The Xiongnu Chanyu, the Xubu Gudu Marquis, led a host of a hundred thousand straight past Wuzhou to the front of Mayi. All were terrified, but Xun alone remained composed and unruffled. He ordered the city to lower banners and silence drums, forbidding any rash movement outside the awnings. He himself donned full armor with strict formality, personally ascended the city gate tower, sat upright without moving, and further ordered the four city gates to be thrown wide open. He had Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and Wen Ze lead over a thousand White Horse Volunteers to form ranks north of the city, making a show of force. The Xiongnu had always said that Xun used troops like a god and dominated the northern frontier with ferocity, yet now they saw him appearing weak. Suspecting an ambush, they led their army north into the mountains. The next day, realizing the truth, they returned to the city walls, but by then all the Youzhou forces had arrived, surrounding them on all sides and charging down from the heights. The Xiongnu host of a hundred thousand was routed." — Records of Heroes at the End of Han, by Wang Can

PS: Everyone, continue to enjoy the New Year and eat dumplings!

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(End of Chapter)