Chapter 63: On the Eve of Battle (Finale)

Time rewinds to a few breaths earlier — just as Gongsun Xun had stabbed to death that bald man named Tayou, Gongsun Fan saw it clearly, and from within the Xianbei ranks he shouted, "Strike!"

However, the greatest unexpected trouble here was... don't forget, Mohu Tan had fled back!

In fact, when the several chieftains of the Mohu tribe, such as Mohu Lü and Que Li, heard Gongsun Fan's shout and were about to act according to the earlier plan, before the order could even be relayed, they already saw their own headman racing back toward them. And so, the Mohu tribesmen, in bewilderment — or rather, in utter stupefaction — eerily kept their silence and instead chose to wait for their headman.

And what made these Mohu tribesmen even more at a loss was that Kezuitan, not far behind them, had watched his most trusted confidant die on the small slope ahead, then saw Mohu Tan racing toward them, and then heard the Han army's drums rolling in wave after wave... For a moment, seized by shock and suspicion, he actually spurred his horse straight through the crowd to the very front line.

"What exactly happened?" Kezuitan fired off questions at Mohu Tan, who was rushing straight toward him. "How did Tayou die? Which dog of a villain killed him? And why have you fled back? Where are those three? The Han army..."

Before his words had even faded, suddenly an arrow shot from the side and rear, like a shooting star, and struck him square in the back of the head!

To think that this Kezuitan, who at such a young age had inherited one of the largest tribes of the central Xianbei and become a chieftain of the central Xianbei, before he could even enjoy the future wealth and honor, would die in such an absurd manner on his very first campaign leading his people.

Lamentable indeed, pitiable even more, and most laughable of all!

It happened so suddenly — as Kezuitan tumbled to the ground with a thud, the various chieftains of the Xianbei central army turned back in bewilderment, only to see, where the Mohu tribe stood, a lean, capable man with a sparse beard and hawk-like eyes slowly lowering his bow.

"A thing no better than a dog, and it dared to call my young lord a villain?!" Han Dang's face was expressionless, as if what he had just killed was indeed nothing more than a dog.

The Mohu tribesmen were all struck with awe. In the very next instant, led by chieftains Mohu Lü and Que Li, they raised a unified war cry and fell directly into hand-to-hand combat with the Xianbei Kezui tribe's central army right beside them.

At the very front of the great Xianbei formation, chaos and battle erupted in an instant!

Returning to the small hill where Lady Zhao was hidden — although Tian Kai, knowing that Gongsun Fan was the eldest grandson of the Gongsun clan's direct line and understanding the stakes, had immediately spurred his horse to rescue him, the Han troops gathering around this place grew more and more numerous as the rumbling vibrations drew near from afar and then receded into the distance, and they were mostly familiar faces, troops primarily from the Yangyue city garrison.

And as even Zhao Bao's own grand banner began moving toward this spot, Gongsun Xun, now completely safe, let out a long sigh. He knew that worrying further about Gongsun Fan and Han Dang at this moment was useless, so he set about stripping off the filthy leather robe he wore and casually checked the painful spot on his back... However, the moment he loosened the robe, a fuzzy ball-like thing darted out from his chest and then burrowed into the arms of the commandery governor's daughter.

"Does this cat truly have nine lives?" Gongsun Xun was utterly speechless. "I nearly died, and it's still bouncing around full of life?"

"Many thanks to you, Young Lord Gongsun." The young lady of the Zhao household had by now managed to sit up with effort, and she bowed her head slightly toward him. "To think you even helped me retrieve this little cat."

Gongsun Xun, who was reaching through his silk robe to feel the wound, grew even more speechless: "Earlier I saved your grandmother, then turned back and pulled you up from the ground, and in half a day I never heard a single word of thanks from you. How is it that for saving a cat, you make such a great fuss?"

"It is not that I do not understand propriety." The young lady of the Zhao clan answered with lowered head, her voice already tinged with tears. "It is that this morning, the serving women who had been with me in our household since childhood were all slaughtered by those Xianbei, one by one, like chickens being killed... Seeing a familiar thing from the past so suddenly, I could not help but be moved."

Gongsun Xun nodded slowly — he could understand that. But understanding was all it was; he went on stripping off his clothes just the same, went on inspecting his wound just the same... Fortunately, the "wound" on his back that he had been worried about was soon proven to be nothing at all — a spent stray arrow had struck his back, and it had even been blocked by the silk inner lining his mother had prepared for him. It was merely a bit of bleeding, nothing more.

At this point, Gongsun Xun was truly and completely at ease. And so, paying no mind to the young lady weeping beside him, he put his silk robe back on, boldly climbed up the small hill, and looked toward Gongsun Fan and Han Dang's position to assess the situation.

Yet the moment he climbed up, he could not help but stand there, dazed and lost in spirit!

It turned out that, beneath the blue sky and white clouds, standing atop the small hill, Gongsun Xun happened to see the twenty thousand cavalry, split into two wings, slanting in from the sides and plunging into the great Xianbei formation... Such a magnificent scene of tens of thousands of cavalry charging together was utterly beyond the power of words to describe.

If one must speak of it, one could only say its momentum was like mountains crumbling, like the earth splitting open — that, and nothing more!

It must be said, the Han army's uniforms favored red, dancing like clusters of flame, while the Wuhuan people, having long dwelt within Han territory, could often buy cheap, undyed white cloth and make it into clothing, so that now they looked like clusters of white flowers blooming. Thus, this military momentum — what they call "like fire, like flowering rushes" — was perfectly fitting!

And the Xianbei, universally clad in leather robes and looking from afar like a mass of darkness, were probably blocked at the front by the Mohu tribe and could not build up their horses' speed at all. Their entire military momentum was completely frozen in place, just like dead things — clay pots and the like! And the result was just like a clay pot struck by a stone: shattered at a touch, instantly reduced to a field of fragments!

An army of over ten thousand, rampaging across western Liaoxi for days, shaking all of Youzhou, alarming the whole of Hebei, stirring up who knows how much trouble before and after — and Gongsun Xun and the others had first been at their wits' end, then had risked death nine times over to infiltrate the enemy camp, this and that... But the source of all the trouble, that colossal entity that in one's personal consciousness had seemed utterly impossible to resist, was completely reduced to nothing in this single slanted charge from both wings!

And after that, once the single strike had succeeded, the Han army and the Wuhuan cavalry did not continue charging forward, pressing the attack. Instead, they dispersed their formations on the spot, splitting into cluster after cluster of independent units that swept lightly past both flanks of the shattered Xianbei army. At times they plunged straight into the enemy ranks to block the Xianbei forces from regrouping; at times they bent their bows and loosed volleys to cut off the Xianbei's escape routes. The wondrous rhythm of the Han army's momentum was as if they were playing a piece of immortal music.

That's right — immortal music!

Clearly, all around his ears was the thunderous roar of hooves and a chaotic cacophony of every kind of shout and cry, yet at this moment Gongsun Xun felt as if he were listening to immortal music, stirred beyond all self-control.

However, just as he was savoring this immortal music, there were always those with no sense of occasion who would open their mouths and disturb it.

"I knew it, I knew it!" Having also climbed up to watch the magnificent scene of ten thousand charging soldiers, Cheng Pu merely pursed his lips, but Lou Gui was shouting and gesticulating wildly, utterly devoid of decorum. "Back in Nanyang, I told people every day that a true man must one day lead a thousand horsemen, ten thousand soldiers — only then would he not have lived in vain! That pack of fools only laughed at me! But if they could see such a sight, let's see how many of them would still dare to refute me!"

Gongsun Xun and Cheng Pu exchanged silent glances — whether because they could not be bothered to deal with this half-wastrel who was all talk, or because they felt the same and did not wish to speak more, it was hard to tell.

"Wenqi!" Lou Gui, this scholar from Nanyang, was acting as if deranged, utterly disregarding that Governor Zhao's grand banner had already arrived beside them. He grabbed tightly onto Gongsun Xun's silk garment and questioned him relentlessly. "You tell me — when a true man lives in this world, should it not be exactly like this?!"

"The Grand Ancestor, having rescued the commandery governor's mother before the battle together with Cheng Pu and Lou Gui, then stood with Gui and Pu atop a hill to watch the Han army strike the Xianbei. Twenty thousand horsemen, roaring like the tide, heaven and earth changing color, shattered the foe in a single blow. Pu, seeing this, was stunned and knew not what to say. Gui sighed deeply and exclaimed: 'In this life, a true man should lead ten thousand soldiers just like this!' Only the Grand Ancestor remained calm and composed, and said with a smile: 'If that is so, should I ever gain power, how about I give the two of you ten thousand horsemen each?' The Governor of Liaoxi, Zhao Bao, was at his side; moved by his kindness and stirred by his bold words, he marveled at him all the more." — The Old Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Martial Emperor, Grand Ancestor

PS: The triple-update you asked for on Sanjiang is here — surprised? Unexpected?

Lastly, there's a reader group: 684558115, welcome to come and chat nonsense.

(End of Chapter)