Chapter 409: Bing Province Cavalry

The Hu-Han general besieging the fortified village was none other than Sui Yu, Governor of Wuyuan Commandery — said to be a descendant of Sui He, a meritorious official from the early Han. Under his command were a full ten thousand Hu-Han foot soldiers, conscripted from Shuofang, Wuyuan, and other regions. Their composition was quite mixed: half were descendants of Han-era garrison troops and settlers, the other half were borderland Hu people who had gradually submitted to the Han over the past century.

During the glorious reigns of Emperors Wu, Zhao, and Xuan, these surrendered Hu had once felt the fervor of converts toward the mighty Han. As auxiliary troops of the dependent states, they eagerly followed Han generals beyond the frontier. In the Mobei campaign, the sealing of Langjuxu Mountain, and even the Five Generals' strike against the Xiongnu, they were there — serving as guides and vanguard for the Han army, striking at the Xiongnu in ways the Xiongnu themselves knew best.

But as the Han declined, the benefits given to the dependent-state Qiang and Hu dwindled. And Wang Mang, all by himself, in the span of a single generation, managed to alienate these Bing Province Qiang and Hu who had nearly been assimilated into Han culture.

In terms of status, Wang Mang regarded them as "not of our kind." He demoted the nominal kings and marquises among the dependent-state tribal chieftains by one rank each. Ordinary people were bullied and humiliated by corrupt officials, driven like slaves.

Wang Mang talked of a decisive battle with the Xiongnu and stationed twelve divisions — two hundred thousand troops — along the border fortresses. They lived off Bing Province, ate and drank from Bing Province, yet the people of Bing Province fell into dire straits, with nearly every household forced to support one soldier of the Imperial Army.

On top of that, those years brought severe drought to Shuofang and Wuyuan. The people were left destitute. The descendants of the garrison troops turned to banditry, to say nothing of the dependent-state Qiang and Hu — they simply joined the Xiongnu ranks, turned their horses around, and began plundering the border commanderies, serving as guides and vanguard for the Xiongnu.

After the Hu-Han regime was established, they did genuinely miss the Great Han — because life had been good in those years.

But the convert's fervor had shifted direction, becoming a fawning over the Xiongnu, in hopes of getting a larger share of grain and slaves during the raids.

And when facing their former compatriots, they became utterly vicious and ruthless. These Hu-Han soldiers, half-Han and half-Hu, were even more cruel and bloodthirsty than the Xiongnu, showing not the slightest regard for the bonds of their shared province. In the Meiji City massacre early this summer, the Xiongnu started it, but the Hu-Han soldiers carried out most of the atrocities.

As the King of Wei summed it up in private: "The second-rate devils are more hateful than the devils themselves!"

But today, the second-rate devils, the fake caitiffs who had run rampant all year in the lands south of the bend, finally provoked a fierce counterattack!

The rumbling war drums sounded like thunder from every direction. The soldiers and civilians of New Qinzhong, who had been cowering inside the fortified village, burst forth like a sudden downpour long pent up in dark clouds, surging toward the firelight of the Hu-Han encampment.

The Hu-Han soldiers had grown accustomed to rampaging unhindered with Xiongnu cavalry backing them up. Commandery after commandery, county after county had collapsed before the sweeping hooves of the Xiongnu. They had been coasting along on these easy victories, quite relaxed — and were caught completely off guard by today's counterattack.

They only had time to hastily form ranks. Their spears and halberds were still in disarray when the New Qinzhong soldiers and civilians, armed mainly with short weapons, pressed in upon them. White and yellow cloth strips were tied around their foreheads or arms to tell friend from foe. The firelight reflected in their furious eyes, as if blazing flames were shooting forth!

Meng Ze, Commandant of Beidi, gripped his ring-pommel saber and charged at the very front, hacking straight down at the heads of the Hu-Han soldiers.

Every stroke carried long-suppressed fury!

It was time for the invaders who had wantonly destroyed their homes to pay the price!

……

While Meng Ze led the soldiers and civilians of the various fortified villages in a tangled melee with the Hu-Han troops, Zang Nu led the main force of Fuping County straight toward the great Xiongnu camp between the Qin Canal and the Han Canal.

In Han times, Chao Cuo had summed up the strengths and weaknesses of Han and Xiongnu: Dismount and fight on foot, sword and halberd clashing, pressing in and pulling back — the Xiongnu's feet cannot keep up. With sturdy armor and sharp blades, long and short weapons intermingled, roving crossbowmen darting back and forth, squads of five and ten advancing together — the Xiongnu's soldiers cannot withstand it.

To put it plainly, when cavalry is insufficient, do not engage them on flat, open wilderness. The unique terrain around Fuping County — hemmed in by these two canals and dotted with fortified villages — combined with the cover of night, was the only chance to annihilate the invaders!

Yet the mounted Xiongnu were far more mobile and agile than the horseless Hu-Han troops. By the time over ten thousand soldiers and civilians of Fuping County surged furiously to the Hu camp, they found only empty felt tents and campfires that had not yet been extinguished. Outside the camp, hoofprints were chaotic — the Xiongnu lesser king, in a very short time, had slipped away with his ten thousand Xiongnu riders.

"After them!"

Zang Nu was frantic: "According to the plan, each fortified village will also destroy the bridges to block them. The Hu caitiffs must cross the Han Canal to escape — we must catch them at the canal!"

"Back then, when we followed the Great King across the river to strike the Hu, we fought in the canals and ditches, bogging the Hu caitiffs' horses in the mud, stripping them of mobility. We closed to short weapons, and in the chaos of melee, we achieved extraordinary feats!"

But two legs, in the end, could not outrun four. By the time Zang Nu and his men, panting for breath, reached the Han Canal, they had only caught the Xiongnu's rear guard of a few hundred riders, trapping them in the canal. The main Hu caitiff force had abandoned the second-rate devil Hu-Han troops and all withdrawn to the open ground beyond the canal, regrouping several li away.

"Commandant of the Guard, let's charge over and finish them!"

After a night of bitter fighting, the blood was up among the New Qinzhong men, and they clamored for battle. But Zang Nu shook his head. This was a long war — they must never pit their weakness against the Hu's strength. There could be no rushing.

He dispatched several thousand men to reinforce Meng Ze, but his gaze could not pull away from the Left Guli King's banner in the Xiongnu army.

"As for whether the Hu caitiffs leave or stay — that depends on when General Geng arrives!"

……

The "Left Guli King," Wuda Tihou, straightened the helmet on his head and turned back. He looked at the New Qinzhong men who had cut off the heads of several Xiongnu stragglers in the Han Canal, hoisted them on spear tips, and were brandishing them, shouting incessantly. A lingering fear gripped his heart.

He had never imagined that the people of the Central Kingdom, meek as sheep, would launch such a ferocious counterattack — and with numbers far beyond what he had imagined. Had every man in New Qinzhong become a soldier?

Like a young wolf butted in the belly by a ram's horn, Wuda Tihou felt both lingering terror and a surge of shame and fury.

But he also understood that in the chaotic melee within the Han Canal, the Xiongnu's strengths could not be brought to bear at all. He could only send mounted detachments to scout the perimeter, to see if there was an opening to charge in and rescue the trapped Hu-Han troops.

The Xiongnu's advantage lay in their mounted archery — riding and shooting on the move — which required good visibility and light. Wuda Tihou kept looking east, hoping the morning sun would rise soon.

But as the east began to show the pale belly of a fish, the veteran riders beside Wuda Tihou furrowed their brows.

He seemed to hear something.

The older Xiongnu dismounted, lay flat on the ground, and pressed his ear to the earth. After listening for a moment, his face changed dramatically.

It came from the east, making the ground tremble faintly, making the mounts subtly uneasy.

It was the sound of hoofbeats — wave after wave.

It was a host of thousands!

And now, amid a rising chorus of startled cries, Wuda Tihou could see the distant arrivals too.

Leading them were the hundred-odd Xiongnu scouts deployed to the east. They were spurring their horses desperately, fleeing pursuit. The newcomers had come so fast, so urgent, that there had not even been time to send back a report.

And behind them, the dust of the wasteland boiled madly. A thousand horses surged, light cavalry driving forward. Though they numbered only three thousand, they advanced with the imposing momentum of ten thousand riders!

They halted three li away. At their head, Geng Yan reined in his horse. The general wore black armor, draped in a crimson cloak, with a yellow scarf tied around his iron helmet. In New Qinzhong, this was the mark of the "Fifth Regiment" — seeing it, one knew their own had arrived.

Geng Yan drew his hundred-forged ring-pommel saber and raised it high above his head, pointing westward. The riders followed suit one by one. As the morning sun rose in the east, three thousand blades reflected the dawn light, dazzling and brilliant!

"Today is the first battle of our 'Bing Province Cavalry'!"

……

The Bing Province Cavalry recruited mainly from refugees along the border commanderies and counties — those whose families had been destroyed, their homes ruined, by the Xiongnu and Hu-Han. The requirements were: height of at least seven chi five cun, able to ride a horse, shoot on foot, and possessing strong arms.

In the inner commanderies of the Central Plains, such men were one in a hundred. But in the borderlands of Shang Commandery and Xihe, one or two could be found among every ten adult males.

After four months of training — with stirrups and high saddles added — they at least somewhat resembled cavalry.

And the first to charge today, under Geng Yan's orders, was a mounted retinue called the "Meiji Youths." They numbered over a hundred, all survivors who had fled to Shang Commandery after the Meiji County massacre. Their leader was the little rascal who, years ago, had ridden a bamboo horse with his companions and tricked Guo Ji, the Governor of Bing Province, out of some fruit. Now he was grown.

The Meiji Youths were the bravest and sharpest men under Geng Yan's command. They sought only two things: first, to recover their homeland, Meiji County, as soon as possible; second, to carry the flames of war into Shuofang and Wuyuan — and even into the Xiongnu heartland!

"Once we rode bamboo horses — now we ride real horses!"

"One day we'll strike into Xiongnu lands — and ride their mares!"

The Meiji Youths took the role of the beak in the wild-goose-wing formation. When they were a few hundred paces from the enemy line, they spurred their warhorses and began to accelerate!

Compared to the Bing Province Cavalry, the Xiongnu's tactics had not advanced one bit from a hundred, even two hundred years ago.

The Xiongnu's enemies on the steppe were mainly the Wuhuan. Their method for large-scale engagements was generally to organize a thousand riders as one wave, charging forward in turns to shoot. The front wave, after loosing one volley, would wheel aside to clear the way, and the next wave would advance. If the enemy scattered under the arrows, they would charge straight in and finish the fight with swords and short spears. If the enemy did not break, they would repeat the riding-and-shooting, while simultaneously attempting to encircle, dismount, and shoot on foot, wearing them down bit by bit.

But as for how the cavalry of the Central Kingdom fought — after decades of peace, the Xiongnu had nearly forgotten.

The Left Guli Prince, Wuda Tihou, remembered that elders who had once served under Zhizhi Chanyu and fought in the Western Regions used to say: when Han cavalry go into battle, they dislike shooting from the gallop; instead, like the Qiang, they favor charging in at close quarters.

Sure enough, after encountering the enemy riders today, Wuda Tihou saw the opposing banners sway gently. First, over a thousand horsemen were sent out, forming a wild-goose-wing formation. At about a few hundred paces, far from slowing down, they spurred forward even faster!

Wuda Tihou hurriedly dispatched two thousand riders to block them, but the enemy charged straight through the Xiongnu's rain of arrows, leveling their long spears for a direct thrust!

Their first real battle — their movements a little raw, their hearts surging with emotion — but courage was the one thing they did not lack!

Seeing the enemy's excellent armor, the Xiongnu scattered at once, yet some could not evade in time. Countless sharp blades plunged into the front ranks in an instant, throwing the Hu riders — who had only managed two volleys of arrows — into chaos, men and horses tumbling.

The Bingzhou cavalry charging up from the rear ranks wielded ring-pommel blades, swinging them as they chased the scattered Xiongnu riders, locking them in close-quarters combat.

At such close range, the Xiongnu had no time to draw their bows and could only snatch up straight blades and short spears to fight back.

Thousands of riders raced and trampled across the fields; the earth shook, dust billowed up, mingling with the windblown grit of the northern frontier and blotting out a patch of the sky. Friend and foe roared their battle cries; the neighing of horses was like rolling thunder. Every man fought desperately — clashing on horseback, or wrestling together after being unhorsed.

The advantage of superior arms and armor now showed itself, and the Xiongnu gradually lost the upper hand. The Bingzhou cavalry drove forward with irresistible force; the two thousand Xiongnu were like weeds ripped to shreds, swiftly cut apart, their masterless horses running wild in every direction…

On that day, the Xiongnu at last recalled the terror of once being dominated by the men of the Middle Kingdom.

Wuda Tihou watched the scene in astonishment. He too could read something of what was happening: "Why do these Middle Kingdom riders seem as skilled in horsemanship as the Hu? How can they spur their mounts on while wielding their weapons so expertly?"

One must understand that even soldiers of Hu–Han regimes, who have the chance to ride from childhood, still have to halt their horses before they can draw a bow or cock a crossbow. Those with poorer riding skills must even cling tightly to the horse's neck to keep from falling at full gallop — let alone performing all manner of difficult tactical maneuvers on horseback.

There seemed to be something odd about their horse tack, but Wuda Tihou had no time to dwell on it. Using the time bought by his two thousand riders, he had already sent his left and right wings, seven thousand riders in all, sweeping around to envelop the Bingzhou cavalry.

After all, they had a threefold advantage in numbers. So long as they kept their distance and avoided close combat, they could wear the enemy down to death. The Xiongnu's horses had not been greatly exhausted, but the Bingzhou cavalry were different: even traveling with two horses per man, they were still quite weary after coming a hundred li.

Yet before the Xiongnu could deploy at leisure, the sound of war cries and drumbeats erupted behind them!

Only then did Wuda Tihou, whose gaze had long been fixed on the Bingzhou cavalry, whip his head around and remember the enemy at his rear.

He saw the thousand-odd riders he had placed as a rearguard retreating in disarray from the canal bank, and behind them, countless soldiers and civilians of New Qinzhong, gripping dagger-axes and spears, were crossing the canal and closing in on the Xiongnu!

The battlefield was narrow to begin with; once caught between two fronts, the Xiongnu no longer had any room to exploit their strength in mobile archery.

Wuda Tihou understood now. Fuping County's peculiar terrain, ringed by two canals, was a natural trap — and they, after a year of too-easy success, had grown arrogant and leapt right into it!

"Withdraw!"

It is the nature of the Hu to advance when it profits them and retreat when it does not, without the slightest shame. Their ancestor Yizhixie Chanyu escaped the Battle of Mobei in a cart drawn by six mules, and Wuda Tihou was no slower. He gave the correct order: his main force, over eight thousand riders remaining, spurred their horses, abandoned the Hu–Han soldiers trapped by the Han canals, and withdrew northward.

"Come and chase us." The Left Guli Prince, Wuda Tihou, turned his head and cast a sidelong glance at the Wei general's great banner behind him. Once the pursuit began, the enemy's infantry and cavalry would lose all cohesion, and the Xiongnu could then, at a rhythm of mobile warfare they excelled in, wear down and destroy the Bingzhou cavalry bit by bit!

Yet from beginning to end, Geng Yan remained beneath the general's banner, using scouts with small flags strapped to their backs to relay messages back and forth, orchestrating this slaughter. He sat ramrod-straight on his horse, the crimson cloak at his back draping down to cover the horse's body, like a statue standing utterly motionless.

The Bingzhou cavalrymen were itching to go: "General, shall we pursue?"

"No."

A few years ago, Geng Yan would have charged forward without a second thought, drawn his saber, and let his warhorse's hooves pound like sudden thunder, cutting down every enemy beneath his blade!

But Geng Yan could not. He was now the commanding general holding the center, not a Commandant leading a light-cavalry raid. He had to keep his ears open in all directions and his eyes on every front, discern the enemy's intent, wave the command flags, and direct his subordinates to respond with composure.

One wrong choice, and the newly formed Bingzhou cavalry under his command would face utter annihilation. Besides, after a full day and night of forced march, both men and horses were utterly spent. The Bingzhou cavalry could not catch the Xiongnu.

They were the stout shield guarding Bingzhou, and a shield must have the resolve to defend and not attack. As things stood, the Bingzhou cavalry could only fight defensive counterattacks; they were simply not yet qualified to race the Xiongnu across a thousand li.

"Deploy cavalry to the north and guard against the Xiongnu returning. The rest of you, enter the Han canals and help the New Qinzhong soldiers and civilians annihilate the Hu–Han troops to the last man!"

"These false captives — slaughter them all, accept no surrender! We must make these jackals who serve the tiger never dare set foot on the soil of New Qinzhong again!"