Chapter 452: The Sharpness of My Spear

The Qin army's crossbowmen, who gave the Xiongnu endless headaches, all carried arrow quivers on their backs and advanced slowly behind the armored war wagons. On their left and right flanks were square formations of Qin spearmen and sword-and-shield soldiers, stepping forward in short strides to the beat of the war drums, keeping an equal pace.

Though impeccably neat, in Touman Chanyu's eyes, the once seamless Qin battle line, the moment it began to move, suddenly revealed a massive flaw!

Especially on the right! As the Qin formation advanced, a gap half a li wide appeared...

A cavalry force of over six thousand riders slowly emerged from behind the formation!

The Qin chariot and cavalry reinforcements had arrived. Judging by the posture, the Qin general, counting on reinforcements, had abandoned defense and wanted a great battle with the Xiongnu!

"This Chanyu could not wish for anything more than the Qin army engaging me in battle!"

Touman Chanyu instead burst out laughing and said to the Xiongnu nobles urging him to withdraw, "They have reinforcements, and so do I! Go and tell the Grand Danghu Xubu Sheng to see me!"

Xubu Sheng had earlier, by Touman's order, led over ten thousand men to rush to the aid of the herds grazing at Tiger Mountain. Pity he was a step too late, letting this Qin chariot and cavalry force strike first. Two thousand Xiongnu riders and herders were mostly killed, and the livestock scattered, not to be recovered any time soon. This was precisely why the Xiongnu nobles were deeply worried and did not wish to fight another hard battle — without their herds, the Xiongnu were effectively cut off from their food supply.

But Touman Chanyu felt that, with the Qin general now inexplicably going mad, suddenly abandoning a flawless formation to advance and seek battle, this was a golden opportunity to reverse his minor setback, win a great victory, and gain supreme glory!

If he could utterly rout these tens of thousands of Qin troops here, seize their weapons, armor, and baggage, and carry off the laborers and craftsmen, then even if he lost all of Henan and Beijia to the main Qin force, he could still establish immense prestige, withdraw into the northern desert, and return in force once winter came...

And so, Touman Chanyu also gave orders to the various divisions, telling them to pull back a little and clear a space of several li.

He knew very well that Xiongnu cavalry were not skilled at positional warfare but loved to gallop and wheel about. They needed a relatively large space as a battlefield to bring their strengths into play.

As the Xiongnu collectively moved, the soaking-wet Grand Danghu Xubu Sheng also arrived. He dismounted and prostrated himself before Touman Chanyu, begging forgiveness for failing to save the herds, and for letting this Qin chariot and cavalry force escape right under his nose, even circling around to cross the river again.

Besides this, there was one more matter that Xubu Sheng was very concerned about.

"Survivors from Tiger Mountain say that the Qin cavalry who raided them had strange horse gear..."

Xiongnu horse gear was cruder than that of the Central Plains. In the eyes of Xiongnu herders, the raiders' high saddles were described as "barbarian beds placed on horseback," and the stirrups they stepped on were called "boots fitted onto the horse," sounding utterly bizarre.

Pity the Qin troops came and went like the wind, leaving not even a single corpse behind. Xubu Sheng had seen none of the actual items and could only describe them to Touman Chanyu with empty words, which instead made it seem somewhat like he was making excuses for his own defeat.

"Grand Tutor Ju, does the Central Plains have the horse gear the Grand Danghu describes?"

The Chanyu looked at Ju Wu. Old Ju Wu shook his head blankly — not to mention their state of Yan, even Zhao, the most skilled in cavalry, did not have it.

Touman Chanyu therefore dismissed it. Xubu Sheng wanted to speak further, but the Chanyu stopped him, saying, "Grand Danghu, do not let a few battles with the Qin men frighten the courage out of you!"

Xubu Sheng hastily shut his mouth.

Touman put away his angry look and said, "A hunter gives his hound three chances. The first and second times it lets the prey escape can be forgiven, so long as on the third time, the hound can sink its teeth firmly into the fox or hare and deliver it to its master!"

Xubu Sheng knew that he was the Chanyu's hound. At Huama Pool and Tiger Mountain, he had already failed twice in a row.

Touman Chanyu pointed at the cavalry on the right of the Qin formation and said, "I heard that last year, it was that cavalry general who wiped out several tribes along the river and gouged out their eyes. What is his name?"

"Li Xin."

Ju Wu reported that Qin general's name. He could never forget how, many years ago, it was precisely Li Xin who crushed Yan's chariot and cavalry forces, then chased the King of Yan and the Crown Prince to the Yan River with a thousand riders. That battle had beaten the courage out of Yan.

Now, if he could be made to die here, it would also count as avenging the tens of thousands of Yan men who met a tragic death at the Yan River!

Touman Chanyu nodded. He planned to have the great army led by his own four Wanqi Generals confront the Qin army's war-wagon formation and infantry, while sending Xubu Sheng with over ten thousand riders to attack that Qin chariot and cavalry force.

"Li Xin is the enemy of the Helan Xiongnu tribe. This vengeance should be exacted by the Helan people themselves! Grand Danghu, this is the prey I want! The fox or hare you let escape last time — this time, you must personally bite through its neck!"

"The Xubu clan will have one more son named 'Xin'! I will not disappoint the Great Chanyu again!"

When a Xiongnu warrior fought a duel with someone, he always had to first learn his name, and he often used the name of a defeated warrior to name his own son.

The Grand Danghu struck his chest heavily with his hand, then mounted his horse and left to direct his men, still soaking wet from just crossing the river, to prepare for battle.

Thinking of the strange horse gear he had mentioned earlier, Ju Wu said worriedly, "Li Xin is the Qin state's general most skilled in using chariots and cavalry. Great Chanyu, you must still be cautious."

"The Qin soldier most skilled at riding a horse is still only the equal of a Xiongnu child who rides sheep and shoots hares."

Touman Chanyu, however, was utterly dismissive. The Qin men's weapons and armor were fine, and their war-wagon formation was flawless, but chariots and cavalry? Hah. The three thousand chariots and cavalry of Shang Commandery had been utterly helpless under the Xiongnu cavalry's assault. In several past small engagements, it was also common for over a hundred Qin riders to surround a few dozen Xiongnu, only to be defeated in return.

He smiled contemptuously. "This Qin general has grown arrogant. They're fine hiding behind their wagons, but in a head-on cavalry battle, how could they be a match for the Xiongnu? By the way, what is the name of the Qin general commanding this army directly at the front?"

Ju Wu had learned a few things about Qin border generals. No matter how tightly the borders were sealed, over in Daibei, there were always Yan and Zhao heroes dissatisfied with Qin and longing to restore their states who communicated with him in secret, and those men could even get news from Xianyang that was several months old.

He narrowed his eyes, looked at the great banner with the character "Wei" in the Qin formation, and said hesitantly, "Perhaps it is the Commandant of Beidi Commandery, Hei Fu, whom the Qin Emperor bestowed the surname Wei upon."

The two characters "Hei Fu," translated into the Xiongnu tongue, became "Hari."

Ju Wu said, "It is said his face is black — he is a Hari Hun, and is also trusted by the Qin Emperor, who says he is his own hound, that is, a Hari Nohai."

Hari Hun meant "black man," and Hari Nohai meant "black dog."

Touman Chanyu did not find it distasteful at all; on the contrary, he thought the name was excellent and rolled off the tongue. Moreover, in the Xiongnu language, the words "black" and "white" both had multiple meanings. Besides black, "Hari" also meant vast and majestic, just like the black firmament they gazed up at every night...

So Touman said happily, "Good. Once this battle destroys the Qin army and kills that Hari Hun, after I cut off his head to make a drinking vessel, I will also change my son's name to Hari."

The son Touman spoke of was the youngest child born of his most beloved Yanzhi, whom he wished to make Crown Prince...

"Many years from now, after I die, he will be the 'Hari Chanyu,' established by Heaven and born of the sun and moon!"

"Pass the order down: have each division form up in columns of five riders, twenty paces between front and rear, four paces left and right, fifty paces between squads. Ten riders to one clerk, one hundred riders to one commander, two hundred riders to one general, one hundred paces between them in all directions."

While Touman Chanyu was dreaming of acquiring a new drinking vessel and changing his son's name, on the right side of the Qin formation, Fu Zhi — who, after both his companions were injured for various reasons, had been ordered to command all one thousand riders of the Good Families — was also relaying General Li's orders to his subordinates.

Taking advantage of their own side's surging morale and the Xiongnu's budding timidity, advancing to meet the Xiongnu in battle was General Li Xin's proposal. Commandant Wei, after much hesitation, had agreed.

"In this battle, victory in the cavalry engagement shall take precedence."

Hei Fu had also handed command of the one thousand Good Family riders and two thousand Rong cavalry of Beidi Commandery over to Li Xin. In Hei Fu's view, in the past, cavalry in the Qin army had been little more than auxiliaries to the chariots and infantry, doing tasks like cutting supply lines, scouting enemy movements, and chasing down fleeing soldiers. The scant cavalry forces, under the command of various generals, were scattered across different battlefields fighting on their own, unable to form a large cavalry force under unified command.

But in campaigns beyond the frontier, facing the Xiongnu who came and went like the wind, cavalry, as a precious mobile force, should be concentrated and placed in the hands of the man who could bring their greatest strength to bear!

Hei Fu considered himself incapable of doing so, but Li Xin could!

With his early battle merits in Yunzhong and Taiyuan, his famous victory chasing the Crown Prince Dan of Yan, the results of his administration in the Qiang lands, and his two lightning raids last year and this year, Li Xin was beyond doubt the most formidable chariot and cavalry general under heaven.

The sharpest spear should be given to the bravest and most fearless man to wield. Hei Fu felt that, as a latecomer to learning, he should just hold the shield firmly.

And Li Xin, in turn, asked Hei Fu to take over command of the Shang Commandery infantry on his behalf, with infantry and cavalry directed separately but fighting in coordination.

And in this battle, the sharp weapons that Longxi and Beidi had long kept hidden would finally be put to use.

In Longxi, two thousand cavalry were equipped with high saddles and stirrups; in Beidi, one thousand.

Their horse gear, along with the new tactics they had drilled for over a year, were the key to this campaign, and the very source of the courage that let Hei Fu and Li Xin dare to meet fifty thousand Xiongnu cavalry with thirty thousand men!

As the warhorses whinnied softly, Fu Zhi, recalling the scene of the two generals finalizing the battle plan beneath the tower wagon, also shouted loudly to his subordinates:

"General Wei once said: 'A soldier is trained for a thousand days, to be used in a single moment!'"

"And General Li said: the battles of the past year were all mere skirmishes. Only today's battle is a true head-on clash with the Xiongnu cavalry! The success or failure of our Qin riders all hinges on this one fight!"

"Exactly — mule or horse, we'll see today!" The men laughed heartily, jesting, perhaps to ease their own tension.

The thousand knights of the northern Good Families had fought the Xiongnu the most. Over the years, many comrades had fallen or been maimed, and they had been holding in their fury. Striking only small Xiongnu bands brought no satisfaction — they had long wanted a great battle with the Xiongnu!

Fu Zhi felt the same. Of his two companions, Qiang Hua had been struck by a hidden arrow from an eagle-shooter and was too gravely wounded to ride; the other had hidden and fled alone in the wilds for many days, too weakened even to draw his bow.

In this battle, he was not fighting alone — he carried the fighting spirit of both his companions!

As the Qin riders advanced slowly, several li ahead, the Xiongnu had also withdrawn to a position they deemed sufficiently open, turned around, and prepared to attack.

Yet no matter how far they withdrew, they still had not left the region where the two rivers intersected. Previously the width had been five li; now, it was no more than eight or nine li.

The battlefield was only this large, and the Qin infantry's battle lines already occupied most of it. Little room remained for cavalry combat, which meant the Xiongnu riders would lose their advantage of wheeling and pulling — a head-on collision would be the most direct form of battle!

"This favors us!"

Fu Zhi tightened his grip on his wolf-tooth club. The Good Family knights had also finished checking the three-foot iron swords at their waists and the seven-foot long spears in their hands.

Their primary method of combat was not the traditional mounted archery or dismounted bow-fire — it was the charge!

Across the field, the Xiongnu surged into motion, preparing to attack the Qin army that had left its original position! Fu Zhi could even hear their sound — though the distance was great, it was closing fast: the thunder of ten thousand galloping horses!

At the same moment, the beat of war drums rose. Looking back, Li Xin's command banner had already been raised high, and the signal flags slanted forward — the order to advance!

A messenger with small flags strapped to his back came racing over, shouting aloud Li Xin's words to rally the troops.

"General Li says: this battle must make the Xiongnu know!"

"That the Qin army has the firmest of shields! And the sharpest of spears!"

The shield was the infantry; the spear was the cavalry.

"So firm is our shield that nothing can pierce it! So sharp is our spear that nothing it strikes remains unpierced!"

After the messenger raced past, Fu Zhi loudly repeated his words, had them relayed to the rear, and raised his weapon high.

"Dayuan riders, Yiqu riders, Good Family riders — three thousand northern horsemen, all follow the general's command: charge, and meet the enemy!"

Thousands of blades and spearheads rose high, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight. Thousands of voices, in accents all different, roared in unison.

"Where the Qin riders' sharp spears point, the Hu curs shall wail and howl!"

PS: The Xiongnu language should belong to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family, which is distinct from the Mongolic branch of the Mongols. However, the author is lazy and finds it a hassle to research, so when forced to use it, I just borrow Mongolian directly. Don't mind it.

(End of chapter)