Chapter 91: Should Go

"Great Khan!" In the dim light of the night, a Xianbei chieftain directly subordinate to the royal court suddenly turned his head to look at his pillar of support.

"What is it?" Tan Shihuai asked calmly after withdrawing his gaze.

"We..." This Xianbei noble was clearly somewhat dazed by his Great Khan's counter-question, but in the end, he still could not hold back. "Great Khan, with the royal court in such a state, it must have been breached by the Han people. What do we do?"

"What do you think we should do?" Tan Shihuai continued to ask unhurriedly.

"I... I don't know..." The man swallowed nervously, rather timidly.

"What is there not to know?" Tan Shihuai chuckled lightly. "Just say whatever your heart thinks we should do."

"Great Khan, I think we should go back." Another middle-aged Xianbei noble, hearing this, could not help but summon his courage and step forward to reply. "Because we have stockpiled a great number of livestock, tents, fodder, provisions, and goods at the royal court, along with the wealth accumulated over the past decades. Tell me, if we hurry over now, might we still be able to salvage some of it?"

"Perhaps," Tan Shihuai nodded slightly, but remained noncommittal.

"Moreover," seeing that the Great Khan did not refute him, the man's speech grew increasingly fluent, "it is, after all, the royal court of you, the Khan. If we ignore it and let the fire burn on unchecked, I fear it will affect morale. Some herdsmen who understand nothing might even spread rumors because of this, and some small, marginal tribes with poor communication might even think that the Great Khan has lost the protection of the sun, moon, and stars, and thus become shaken..."

Tan Shihuai continued to nod: "Those words of yours do hit the mark; indeed, they cannot go unguarded against."

"Great Khan!" At that moment, a young Xianbei warrior following behind Tan Shihuai could endure it no longer. Disregarding propriety, his face full of panic, he directly interrupted the middle-aged noble's words. "You cannot listen to him! We cannot just go back like this!"

"Is that so?" Tan Shihuai remained neither impatient nor angry, merely turning his head slightly to look at the speaker behind him. "And why is that?"

"Great Khan!" The young warrior hurriedly replied. "We have only just managed to pin down this Han army on this route. If we withdraw now, would our arduous journey not have been in vain? As for the royal court behind us, no matter how you think about it, it is clear that it is at most a small Han force of two or three thousand men exploiting our absence. Losing some goods and wealth has no impact on the overall battle situation. Besides, as long as we defeat this main Han force before us and then ride that momentum to break through the Han border walls, won't there be as many good things as we could ever want?"

"That also makes sense," Tan Shihuai glanced at this man with a hint of appreciation. "But since both of you make sense, what should I do?"

"It is entirely up to the Great Khan's will!"

"Whatever the Great Khan says, we will do!"

"We are merely offering advice; the Great Khan is the sole Khan on the steppe!"

Even though everyone had been arguing their own points moments before, at this moment they could not help but speak with one voice.

"My personal will, is it?" Tan Shihuai sighed with slight emotion. "Speaking from my true intention, I wish to continue the pursuit. And after annihilating this Han army, I do not even wish to go raiding Dai Commandery... Come to think of it, counting from that battle at Yunzhong back then, I have not personally gone raiding into Han territory for many years... In truth, I would rather turn west, swallow up that other Han army on the Yunzhong route as well, and conveniently organize another alliance meeting with the various chieftains of the west. That way, for ten years, the Han border walls would remain weak and powerless, while we Xianbei would maintain unity for ten years. At that time, would the Han territory not be ours to gallop across at will?"

Hearing the Khan's exposition, the young warrior from before, without any scruple, directed a ferocious grin from behind Tan Shihuai at that Xianbei noble, causing the latter to secretly grip his horsewhip tighter... but that was all he did—just grip his horsewhip tighter.

"In that case," the Xianbei noble clutching his horsewhip forcibly resisted looking at the young warrior's face and immediately bowed his head to his Khan, "please give the order, Great Khan! We shall continue the pursuit! After we finish off this main Han force, we will turn back west. As long as the Great Khan raises his horsewhip, the warriors of our Kechi tribe will surely press forward indomitably!"

"Well said," Tan Shihuai continued to smile and nod, but then immediately put away his smile, raised his horsewhip to point at the pitch-black, chaotic scene before him, and asked in retort, "But how do I give the order now? Tell me... in this situation, how am I supposed to give the order?"

The Xianbei nobles and elite warriors gathered around Tan Shihuai were all stunned upon hearing this, and then quickly fell silent one by one. For it was just as Tan Shihuai had said: at this very moment, even if the Xianbei Great Khan before them had ideas, prestige, and decisiveness, there was simply no way to transmit his orders!

It was the middle of the night, with tens of thousands of troops—one side fleeing, the other pursuing—and then suddenly, firelight appeared from their home base behind them. And though the firelight from dozens of li away was conspicuous, it could not pierce the darkness of night; instead, it added a sense of chaos and illusion to the night. Nearby, it was the same: fighting and shouting everywhere, along with burning carts and scattered torches. Everything, all of it, only made people more disoriented...

In this situation, how exactly were orders to be relayed? By raising flags or by shouting loudly? Even if they forcibly dispatched the elite warriors around them, could they even find the various tribal chieftains?

The tens of thousands of troops had long since been scattered. Unless Tan Shihuai was an immortal, there was no way to recall them in the dead of night and act in unison again!

"Then what should we do?" someone could not help but press the question.

"Let us just watch for now," Tan Shihuai raised his head once more to fix his gaze on the firelight coming from the direction of his royal court, his tone inevitably turning somber. "Let us just watch here and see what the various chieftains, acting on their own, will ultimately think and do. And let us also see what our Xianbei people, twenty years after our founding, truly look like."

"General!" At a location seven or eight li away, a military clerk clutching a tally could not help but tug at the dazed Xia Yu.

"What?" Xia Yu, drenched in sweat, turned his head in shock.

"Should we not turn our troops around and charge back?" This military clerk's expression was agitated, his words urgent. "Such a situation must mean that Commandant Gongsun fought his way out of certain death and breached the Xianbei royal court. In the darkness, those Xianbei will surely panic and turn back to help. Should we not seize this chance to turn around and charge them once?"

"Yes, General!" Someone nearby immediately echoed. "Even just for the sake of a smooth retreat, we should take this chance to counter-charge and try to steady our formation! Otherwise, if we keep on like this, our losses will be too heavy!"

"Am I an immortal?" Xia Yu finally came to his senses, but could not help flying into a great rage. "In this situation, how do you expect me to rally the troops? Even if Bai Qi and the Marquis of Huaiyin came together, it would be impossible to counter-charge!"

The several military clerks were initially stunned upon hearing this, but then they too could only feel helpless.

"Move!" Xia Yu yanked his horse's head around and made a decisive response. "While the enemy is caught off guard front and rear, we move fast! Otherwise, when daylight comes and Tan Shihuai rallies his troops first, we will truly be beyond saving!"

With those words, this general, once famed throughout the land for his courage and for being the first to scale enemy walls, actually spurred his horse and left directly, vanishing into the night in an instant.

The military clerks looked at each other speechlessly, but could only strive to follow.

However, the clerk who had been rebuked paused for a moment at that spot, and actually hurled the tally staff in his hand fiercely onto the ground before lowering his head to chase after them.

Time crawled slowly forward. Tan Shihuai, with several dozen trusted followers, halted his horse on the pitch-black hillside, not making a sound, merely watching the scene below the slope intently. During this time, they witnessed with their own eyes more and more Xianbei halting their pursuit, and then, led by their respective chieftains, directly turning their troops back without authorization... First, it was scattered single riders or a few riders, then small groups of a dozen or a hundred men, and finally, it was large contingents of troops that simply could not be stopped!

It was very clear: at a moment that relied entirely on individual awareness, once someone opened the floodgates, the vast majority of Xianbei had no political awareness whatsoever. In their hearts, there was only their own private goods and wealth back at the royal court.

And what was most ironic was that everyone even personally 'witnessed' Helian, the youngest son of Great Khan Tan Shihuai. According to custom, this man should be the future Khan of the Xianbei. And at that time, this Xianbei prince was leading a contingent of elite troops directly under the royal court, shouting and hollering as they passed below the hillside heading north... It seemed he was saying that after returning, he had to go save his things first?

On the hillside, Tan Shihuai's expression remained as calm as ever, betraying no joy or anger. But the young warrior and the middle-aged noble from before were now both utterly pale... The former was afraid of those nobles who were retreating; he feared that his advice today would spread and be remembered by these people. As for the latter, he was in awe and fear of Tan Shihuai's reaction!

It must be said, from the latter's perspective, as someone who had followed Tan Shihuai for decades and understood this Great Khan quite well, the middle-aged noble had just realized something: Tan Shihuai had not failed to give an order... On the contrary, the other party had long ago, during the daytime, given an order to the entire Xianbei royal court army—pursue with the whole army, neither too fast nor too slow, and be sure to annihilate the main Han force completely.

And then what? And then these chieftains actually dared to ignore the Great Khan's military order and turn their troops back in a muddled haze. No wonder the Great Khan reacted this way.

Moreover, if those people could still find an excuse, could still say that in the dark of night they saw everyone else turning back and thought it was the Great Khan's order... then what about himself?

"Great Khan!" At this thought, this Xianbei noble could bear it no longer and directly dismounted to kneel beside Tan Shihuai. "I am guilty! I should not have suggested turning back out of selfish motives. What I said just now was actually only out of worry that the treasures and goods in my own tent would be damaged, not for the gain or loss of the royal court... Please punish me!"

Tan Shihuai did not even glance at the man on the ground, merely shaking his head slightly: "Get up! The one at fault is not you, but me!"

"Great Khan!" This middle-aged noble grew even more terrified. "I..."

"I am indeed angry," Tan Shihuai sighed quietly, watching the stream of people heading north below the hillside. "But I am not angry at you all; I am angry at myself... In my heart, I understand very clearly that we Xianbei are still that tribal confederation with incomplete institutions and in disunity, not a powerful, mighty state like the Han! And I know better than anyone that without restraint, a detached force of the Han army can continue to attack the royal court in such a desperate situation, while we only collectively disobey military orders out of worry for our private property. At a time like this, as the Khan, the best way to respond should have been to go along with everyone's wishes eight-tenths of the way and provide guidance for the remaining two-tenths. Yet I was counting on everyone to abandon selfishness and follow me... Is this not self-deception?"

"Great Khan..."

"I told you to get up," Tan Shihuai replied calmly. "If we want our Xianbei people to endure on this steppe for a long time, like the Xiongnu before us, there are too many things to be done... I still need someone like you, who understands the human heart, to assist me! After we return, go find some sorceresses and priests for me, and have them explain to the various tribal chieftains what it means to be a Khan ordained by the sun, moon, and stars!"

"Yes!"

"And then relay my military order." At this point, Tan Shihuai, somewhat disheartened, directly urged his horse forward toward the firelight in the north. "Convey it however you like, but be sure to tell every Xianbei you see that the Great Khan knows everyone is worried about their families and goods at the royal court being harmed, and therefore orders a return to aid the royal court. Set out immediately!"

"Yes!" The crowd of Xianbei nobles and personal guard warriors behind him all bowed their heads.

"Wenqi, we must go!" At the royal court, amidst the chaotic firelight, Lu Fan also hurriedly approached Gongsun Xun's side. "The fire has already taken hold. These Xianbei, who have lost their nerve, simply cannot stop us. We have also done all we can; staying any longer is useless."

Gongsun Xun, pressing his hand against his arm, swept his gaze over the surrounding scene. After confirming that there was no way to rally the troops, he gritted his teeth and issued one final military order: "Everyone withdraw! As we agreed before, follow this river downstream to the southeast. Going all the way down will lead to Shanggu Commandery. We will regroup once we get there or at daybreak!"

With that, he suddenly spurred his horse's belly and took the lead, heading toward the Chouchou River behind them.

Seeing this, the Han soldiers around them no longer hesitated, each spurring their own horse or finding a mount to quickly follow.

"Wenqi, how exactly is your wound?" Lu Fan spurred his horse to catch up, asking with effort in the darkness of night. "Was it truly just a hit to the shoulder?"

"It's not a matter of the shoulder or not!" Gongsun Xun replied with difficulty. "Ziheng does not understand these things. In truth, even being hit in the toe would be a great problem... because at night, there is simply no place to cut out the arrowhead. At this moment, we can only hope that this is not a dirty arrow!"

The so-called "filth arrows" refer to the common practice of inserting the arrowhead into excrement before use, in order to increase the damage inflicted... In this era, there were simply no particularly potent plant poisons or animal venoms in the north or the Central Plains, and the most commonly used arsenic could not truly kill on contact. Therefore, if one wanted to add something extra to an arrow, excrement was the simplest and most effective method.

Of course, having a mother like his, Gongsun Xun understood the ins and outs of this better than anyone... He knew that, never mind filth arrows, even arrows that were not deliberately soiled could easily cause infection, because in this era there was simply no such thing as a clean arrow! His earlier speech had been purely to boost morale and could not be taken as truth at all.

And one did not need him or his mother to know this — even any ordinary veteran soldier understood that if an arrowhead entered the flesh, it was best to gouge it out without hesitation from the very start. Otherwise, as time passed and blood and qi flowed, the filth on the arrowhead would spread contamination even faster!

But in the current situation, how could they afford to worry about too much?

Lu Fan, a scholar from Runan, was completely ignorant of such matters. So upon hearing this, he was on one hand terrified, and on the other hand had no idea how to respond.

"By the way, Ziheng," Gongsun Xun suddenly turned back to instruct him, his face flushed red. "You are a man of letters — be as careful as possible on the road... When that arrow came, I did not see its trajectory clearly at all, and I was waving my arm at the time. I do not even know whether it came from the front or from behind!"

Lu Fan's expression changed at these words, and he immediately shut his mouth, merely urging on his unskilled riding as best he could, striving to keep up behind the other man.

The chaos of the night need not be recounted further. However, as dawn approached, Gongsun Xun felt the wound growing increasingly sore and numb, and his forehead burning with heat. Cursing inwardly, he immediately reined in his horse and called out to Lu Fan beside him.

No matter what, this arrowhead could not be left in any longer. Fortunately, the man beside him was the most trusted of the trusted, so there was no need to worry about anything else!

"Commentary: The violence of the four barbarians, their power waxing in turn. The Xiongnu blazed fiercely in the glorious Han, the Western Qiang raged fiercely in the Restoration. And between the Ling and Xian eras, the Xianbei rose to prominence in succession. Shi Huai, fierce and valiant, possessed all the lands of the Chanyu!" — *Book of the Later Han*, Volume 90, Biographies of the Wuhuan and Xianbei, Chapter 80

PS: Sorry... I fell asleep on the keyboard. This is not the first time I have made this mistake. Fortunately, I managed to finish writing... I am so nervous, I dare not even look at the group chat.

Also, for the new book group, interested readers can join: 684558115.

(End of Chapter)