Chapter 30: Breaking the Camp

Jia Jing raised the spear in his hand, and the Han cavalry behind him also drew their swords and spears, the dim weapons emitting a chilling gleam in the moonlight.

"Follow me in the charge!"

Jia Jing let out a fierce shout, holding his spear, and charged forward on his swift horse.

"Whoo!" The deep, muffled horn blast suddenly echoed in this quiet midnight, the Han Iron Cavalry galloped out, closely following Jia Jing,

Like a steel torrent, it swept down, aiming to smash into pieces any obstacle blocking the way!

"Kill……"

The Han Army roared as they charged forward!

At this moment, the Qing scouts finally detected the Han Army's movement, and a sharp alarm rang out throughout the camp.

"Enemy attack……"

"The Han Army is coming……"

"Prepare for battle……"

The Qing Camp seemed to spring to life in the moonlight, with clamor rising everywhere,

Shadows of people darted everywhere, panicked and flustered, trying to form ranks to meet the enemy.

The entire Qing Camp instantly fell into chaos, countless Qing officers shouting wildly,

Everyone was panicked and uneasy, unable at once to mount any effective resistance.

"Whoo! Who! ……"

"Clop-clop……"

The horn and hoof sounds drew ever nearer to the Qing Camp, seeming under the quiet night sky to become a death knell for the Qing.

Under Jia Jing's leadership, the Han cavalry were now less than one li from the Qing Camp, each of their faces bearing endless coldness.

"What's going on? Where did the Han Army come from?" At this moment, a person walked out from the central large tent of the Qing Camp.

He appeared to be in his thirties, with a rugged appearance, not tall, slightly stout, his face full of the weathered vicissitudes of wind and frost.

This person was none other than the commander of the Qing Left Route Army, Aisin Gioro Jidu, responsible for commanding the thirty thousand Qing soldiers of this camp.

Jidu's face showed shock mixed with confusion.

He simply could not fathom where the Han Army dared to launch a night raid on their Qing Camp.

One must know that since crossing the Great Wall into Han territory, their Qing Army had been unstoppable, and even minor resistance collapsed instantly.

Major resistance was rare, let alone daring to launch an active night attack on the Qing.

The Han people were like weak sheep, only weeping, wailing, and then offering up all their wealth, slaves, and women.

Meanwhile, the Jurchen people were ferocious, bloodthirsty, cruel wolves, like the sea‑eastern goshawk soaring in the vast sky, destined from birth to be masters of the Han.

The Han Dynasty was merely a gift of great natural bounty for them to take and seize as they pleased!

Whenever they needed, they could come and plunder once.

They even eagerly yearned for war with the Han people, for through war they could seize everything they desired.

And yet, at this moment, Han cavalry dared to night‑raid their camp—how could this be possible?

"Exactly where did this Han cavalry come from? From the Han Capital City, or from the direction of Jizhou City?"

Jidu had not considered it to be cavalry from Liaodong, because they arrived too quickly.

They had calculated that Han forces from Liaodong could not arrive this fast.

"General, outside the camp there are large numbers of Han cavalry charging at us; in the darkness we can't see clearly, but it's at least ten thousand or more."

A Qing officer rode up to Jidu on his horse and loudly reported.

"Which route of the Han Army? Have you seen their banners clearly?"

Jidu roared loudly, his heart filled with endless anger.

"Can't see! The Han Army came too fast; in the night we can't see at all." The Qing officer replied.

"Damn it! Hurry up and organize defenses! I'll make this clueless Han Army look foolish."

Jidu also stopped worrying about who dared to attack the camp; the urgent task was still to quickly organize the Qing defenses.

If the Han Army really managed to breach his camp, he would become a laughingstock among the Qing.

Now the Qing Camp was in utter chaos—some had just scrambled out of their beds cursing, some had already dressed and taken up weapons, some had already mounted their warhorses, yet they still hadn't had time to form proper ranks.

The incident happened too suddenly, the time too urgent; even though Jidu was actively organizing, it was hard to be effective in the short term.

Meanwhile, Jia Jing, having endured a scattered rain of arrows, had arrived before the gate of the Qing Camp.

"Boom!" A loud bang.

The antler‑like obstacles before the Qing Camp were flung several meters away by Jia Jing's spear thrust.

Dozens of Qing sentries before the camp were also picked off one by one by Jia Jing,

and the Xuanjia Army behind him followed closely, harvesting the heads of Qing soldiers, each strike fatal, showing no mercy.

Jia Jing and Qin Qiong, leading the Xuanjia Army as vanguard, swiftly broke through the camp's outer defenses and charged inside.

"Shubo, take a cavalry unit and set fire everywhere, ignite the Qing Camp."

Jia Jing speared over the fire basin used for lighting and warmth in the Qing Camp, knocked it onto the dry tents, and the rising flames instantly ignited the tents, lighting up the surrounding night.

Although Jia Jing already had victory in hand, he still ordered the use of fire to inflict greater panic and loss on the Qing, in order to reduce unnecessary resistance and casualties among his own troops.

"Yes, General! Brothers, follow me! Burn the Qing Camp down!"

Qin Qiong loudly accepted the order, leading about two thousand cavalry, splitting into several small teams to slaughter and set fire everywhere,

In an instant, countless tents were set ablaze, smoke curling throughout the Qing Camp.

"Fire! Fire! Fire! The Han Army has set fire!"

"Run! The Han Army has broken in!"

"Ah! Who will come save me!"

In the Qing Camp, countless chaotic shouts rose amid the flames.

And Jia Jing, without hesitation, led the remaining troops straight to the commander's tent at the very heart of the Qing Army.

In this chaotic camp, the Han cavalry moved as if through an empty land.

Under the slaughtering blades of over ten thousand Han cavalry, countless Qing heads flew up, bodies torn apart by horse hooves.

"Han people..."

At this moment, a Qing officer shouted unintelligible gibberish and charged at Jia Jing, followed by hundreds of soldiers rushing toward the Han Army.

"Die!" Jia Jing snorted coldly, riding his horse like a ghost, swiftly crossing paths with the Qing officer,

In the astonished eyes of all Qing soldiers, the Longdan Bright Silver Spear traced a dazzling angle, piercing the Qing officer's throat.

Only then did a duck-egg-sized blood hole appear at his throat, blood spurting out nonstop.

The Qing officer fell from his horse, eyes filled with shock, staring lifelessly at the night sky.

The Qing soldiers who had followed saw their once-brave general killed in a single move, they all lost courage, but it was now too late to flee.

Jia Jing's Xuanjia Army moved like a merciless war machine, their broad, heavy, sharp sabers constantly raised and lowered, reaping the heads of Qing soldiers.

"Kill!" Jia Jing charged straight into the central command tent without pause, his Longdan Bright Silver Spear waving continuously, each sweep taking the lives of several Qing soldiers.

Over ten thousand Han cavalry surged like tigers into a wolf pack within the Qing Main Camp, carrying out a one-sided slaughter that continued unabated.

Shrieks, roars, pleas for help, and cries of terror rose and fell, echoing throughout the Qing Main Camp for a moment.