Chapter 440: The Chanyu's Royal Court

Sha Niu Pan and Hu Luohuai were both Rong generals from Dayuan, under the direct command of Five Hundred Leader Fu Zhi — the one who always wore two pot-like helmets strapped to his back. Though broadly considered "Rong barbarians" by the Central Plains people, after a century of Qin rule, the Dayuan Rong actually resembled the Qin far more closely than the Xiongnu and other northern captives did.

Ever since the Emperor and Beidi Commandant Heifu granted the Rong people the right to earn pastureland through head-taking military merit, nearly every household in Dayuan Rong had sent a son to join the northern expedition. They formed the backbone of the northern cavalry.

As the army's scouts and vanguard, the cavalry always ranged far ahead. After leaving Huamachi, they trekked for ten days through the wilderness at the edge of the yellow sands. Apart from a sparse patch of vegetation at Divine Spring Mountain, they saw hardly a trace of green.

They traveled along the desert's fringe, a parched and desolate land littered with dead desert poplars and riverbeds dry as withered bones. Fodder was scarce; the horses survived on tough, brownish-yellow hard grass that grew in clumps beneath rocks and dead trees. Drinking water was even rarer — only shallow, stagnant bitter pools exposed to the scorching sun. The deeper they pushed into the wastes, the smaller the pools became, and the distance between them grew ever longer.

Ten days later, after cresting a mountain ridge, Sha Niu Pan and Hu Luohuai, riding at the very front, were stunned by the vast expanse of green that suddenly unfolded before them!

They saw a pale yellow great river flowing a dozen li away, and along both its banks stretched lush, verdant grasslands! Glistening marshes and lakes dotted the landscape. The eastern bank was already rich with water and grass, while the western bank was an endless steppe. Where it bordered the snow-capped Helan Mountains, vast swaths of forest covered the land from the foothills to the mountainsides!

The Yellow River was the mother of this southern oasis beyond the frontier, bringing abundant fresh water. The Helan Mountains were like its father — their towering bulk blocked the desert's eastward creep and weakened the invasion of the northwestern cold currents, serving as the natural shield of the Ningxia Plain.

"Is this the land flowing with milk and honey that the Emperor and the Commandant promised to the Rong of Dayuan?"

Gazing at the scene before them, Sha Niu Pan and Hu Luohuai could not help but dismount, tears streaming down their faces.

Dayuan in Beidi Commandery was fine, but the land was too small to support too many herders, and the Qin authorities forbade the Rong from migrating outward. So every year, the five tribes of Dayuan fought and killed each other in feuds over water sources and pastureland — and in doing so, reduced their own population.

Ordinary Qin people craved farmland; they craved rich, fertile pastures where they could raise cattle and sheep.

And this lush green plain before them, stretching continuously north and south along the great river, was at least a dozen times the size of Dayuan!

If they could drive out the Xiongnu entrenched here, all five tribes of Dayuan could migrate over and still not occupy a tenth of the grazing land!

"It's not just the Rong of Dayuan — this place can settle at least ten thousand households for farming colonies, to put down roots and multiply!"

Fu Zhi also climbed the ridge soon after. This was ground no Qin soldier had ever set foot on. They had only heard from Chen Ping and Wushi Yan's descriptions that such a water-rich, grass-abundant plain existed beyond the frontier, but none had quite believed it.

Now, seeing was believing. Several new counties and towns could indeed be established here, sending settlers to open up farming colonies!

The appearance of several hundred Qin riders on the hilltop on the river's eastern bank immediately drew the attention of mounted scouts who had long been patrolling the area. Several hundred cavalry came howling across the plain. Fu Zhi at once ordered his men to stand ready — until, at a distance of over two li, they clearly made out the Qin army banners those riders were flying…

"They're our own. Longxi troops."

Fu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and led his men forward at a gallop to link up with the approaching Longxi cavalry.

"Qiang Huang, Cavalry General of Longxi! By Commandant Li's order, awaiting the Beidi army here!"

The young officer riding up to meet them announced his name and rank. Fu Zhi was momentarily taken aback — so this man before him was the cousin of his good friend Qiang Hua. No wonder they looked somewhat alike; even that proud, sharp-edged spirit seemed cast from the same mold. But Qiang Hua had been wounded by a Xiongnu eagle-shooter at Divine Spring Mountain and could not make it to the front lines.

Not wanting to tell Qiang Huang about this just yet, he simply gave his own name and rank.

"Commandant Wei is a day behind us and will reach the riverbank tomorrow to join forces with General Li!"

"Excellent. General Li has already led his troops to camp on the river's western bank. There is one matter, however, that I must ask Five Hundred Leader Fu to report back to Commandant Wei at once."

Qiang Huang cupped his hands in salute and said, "The situation has changed. We have scouted for two days, but across the entire vast Helan steppe, we have not seen a single felt tent, not a single Xiongnu!"

……

Twenty li away, where the long, winding Beidi main army marched, Heifu stood on a war chariot, his lips cracked dry by the frontier wind and sand. He read the report from the Longxi outriders and furrowed his brow.

His chariot-right, Gong Ao, offered an optimistic guess: "The Xiongnu must still be reeling from the battle at Huamachi and the Longxi army's scorched-earth push all the way to Green Mountain Gorge. They fear the Qin army and fled at word of our approach."

"No."

Heifu shook his head. "Chen Ping reported every detail of his dealings with the Xiongnu, so I know that although they each have their own territories, they have no walled cities and no fixed abode for farming. Their cattle and sheep follow the water and grass, so it is common for an entire tribe of tens of thousands to migrate hundreds of li in a single year."

"Therefore, we must never use Qin thinking to guess at Xiongnu actions."

When Qin fought the Six States, an army on the march would always find the enemy defending some pass or stronghold, absolutely unwilling to let the foe cross even half a step into their territory. Their common people might also flee their homes because of war, but only as a last resort. Except in the direst moments, the people of the Central Plains rarely left their native soil, for that meant abandoning all their property and the family holdings built up over generations.

But the Xiongnu were different. To a Xiongnu, the most important property was cattle and sheep — and cattle and sheep had to migrate to graze. Wherever the herds went, there the Xiongnu made their home.

Over the past half year, Qin had been stockpiling grain and conscripting soldiers in preparation for a massive push beyond the frontier. The Xiongnu, sensing Qin's intent to destroy them, had not been idle either. They would not foolishly stay put, defending every pasture like a land of caps and sashes. They had ample time to move their people and herds elsewhere.

Never mind the Helan steppe — if the Xiongnu were pressed hard enough, even Touman City, even the Chanyu's Royal Court, they would likely abandon without a second thought.

"This tactic has two advantages. Even if our great army occupies Helan, we cannot obtain livestock locally for supplies, while our own supply lines grow ever longer."

The Qin army was primarily infantry; the longer the supply line, the fewer soldiers could advance.

This gave the Xiongnu the chance to concentrate their forces and destroy them one by one…

Their able-bodied men, unencumbered by families to look after, could mount their fine horses, sling their bows on their backs, and rally at the Chanyu's call to gather at some point. Wherever the Chanyu's eagle banner pointed, they would come howling at a gallop, capable of covering a hundred li a day and launching sudden attacks…

"The Xiongnu are notorious for bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Thinking this, Heifu realized that apart from the main armies in Shang Commandery and Yunzhong, the other three flanking divisions were all in danger!

He gave the order to the outriders: "Go at once and inform General Li. The Longxi and Beidi armies are to join forces and make camp together tomorrow, then advance slowly northward together and search for the Xiongnu's whereabouts!"

After a moment's thought, he also summoned the elite family son Gan Chong. "Gan Chong, take a hundred riders and head northeast. Go two hundred li to the upper reaches of the Dumiantu River — the one Chen Ping described, with that oily sheen on the water. Inform General Feng Jie's force with the White Goat tribe to be on the highest alert!"

……

When he heard the distant sound of hoofbeats and whistling, the eagle-shooter Wulan raised his head warily, scales still clinging to the corner of his mouth.

After all the Xiongnu on the Helan steppe had withdrawn west and north, staying behind to scout and cover the retreat was not a wise choice. The Qin soldiers were too many — more than all the Xiongnu on this steppe combined. They had also trained formidable chariot and cavalry units. In a fight of one against three, the Xiongnu scouts were utterly routed. Only Wulan, an eagle-shooter of consummate riding and archery skill, had managed to escape.

His subordinates were either dead or scattered; Wulan alone had fled into the forest, using the cover of night to evade the Qin cavalry's pursuit. Thanks to his many years hunting this land and his intimate knowledge of the terrain, Wulan skirted the Qin army's dense scout patrols, traveling by night and hiding by day, riding north along the great river.

When Wulan passed through the White Goat tribe's territory, he encountered a group of White Goat people fleeing from the upper reaches of the oil river. They were in a panic, saying that warriors in black robes carrying shields had overrun their tribe and were advancing this way.

"Thirty-three."

Wulan had sworn an oath to Heaven and to the Helan Mountains that he would kill a hundred Qin men to avenge his people. Through several engagements so far, he had only shot dead thirty-three — still far short. He suppressed the urge to head upstream and ambush those arrogant Qin riders, and continued north. He had to find the Grand Danghu and tell him that the Qin had already taken Divine Spring, taken Helan, taken the White Goat lands!

They were like greedy black crows, bent on devouring every pasture where the Xiongnu grazed their herds.

With this thought, Wulan viciously shot a black fish swimming upstream in the river, as if it too were his enemy. Using his knife, he roughly gutted it, tore off the scales with his teeth, and began chewing the pink flesh in great mouthfuls.

Qin scouts might not be far behind him. Lighting a fire here to slow-roast the fish would be courting death.

Just as Wulan was devouring the raw fish, two Xiongnu riders who had come to the river to draw water spotted him!

After that, the lone rider became a party of three. The two young riders, learning that he was Wulan, the famous eagle-shooter of the Helan steppe, were both very excited and kept sharing news of their tribe's recent migrations.

Wulan listened carefully but said not a word about his own experiences. He feared it would shatter these two young men's courage.

Not everyone could face that rolling, sky-covering black tide with composure!

They encountered more and more scouts. Everywhere were Xiongnu encamped: men no taller than a horse's shoulder, with very few women, elderly, or children.

Once it was known that he was among the last rearguard to return from Helan, Wulan's guides changed several times. Finally, they passed through ten li of felt tents and reached the center of the great camp…

Outside the great tent, a tall banner was planted in a pile of stones. At its top was a silver disc, its rim fringed with tassels of silver-white stallion mane. At the center of the disc stood a golden eagle, wings spread as if poised to take flight…

Wulan was an eagle-hunter; even before the Grand Danghu, he only needed to bow. But upon seeing this banner, he solemnly dismounted, knelt on one knee, placed his hand over his chest, and lowered his head.

He spoke a line that every true Xiongnu warrior knew by heart!

"Do not ask where the Royal Court is!"

"Wherever the Chanyu's Eagle Banner stands, there is the Royal Court!"

(End of chapter)