Chapter 453: Mounted Battle

On an ordinary day, the lower reaches of the Oil River were an animal paradise, where all kinds of waterfowl, deer, and antelope drank and frolicked. But today, they were fleeing in panic in the opposite direction; deer and antelope raced away on their slender legs, while green-headed, yellow-backed wild ducks quacked and scattered wildly through the air.

The entire river mouth had become a battlefield where Qin and Xiongnu faced off, and the atmosphere within was so oppressive that no living creature could bear it.

Only at a very great height did a single eagle still soar with leisurely, outstretched wings, as if indifferent to the slaughter about to unfold below.

The Eagle Shooter, Wulan, sat astride his old horse, gently stroking its coarse mane to keep it calm before this vast host, while casting an envious glance at the eagle high above.

If he had the eagle's height and eyesight, he could count exactly how many enemies filled the dense Qin formation opposite. But as it was, his vision was limited to just one corner of the battlefield.

As the great battle approached, the Xiongnu riders beside him could not help feeling some tension, but in Wulan's heart, he was silently counting another, far more important number…

"Five tens, and one nine…"

Fifty-nine — that was the number of Qin men he had already slain!

Counting was a skill Wulan had learned when he was only as tall as a cart wheel. He had once been a lowly shepherd boy, herding horses and sheep for his tribe's chieftain.

In those days, both his eyes were still bright. He would stand on the grasslands, staring blankly at the eternally unchanging blue sky, the sun scorching his face red, the wind chafing his skin rough, his snot running long.

A shepherd boy's work was not difficult: holding stones in his hand, constantly throwing them to keep the foolish sheep from wandering off. Every day before sunset, he had to count the flock. If one was missing, he had to find a way to get it back. If he could not, what awaited him was a brutal flogging.

Back then, Wulan had thought his whole life would pass just like that, forever following water and grass alongside the flocks, even mumbling dream-talk of counting cattle and sheep in his sleep, terrified of losing a single head.

But when he reached the age of riding a sheep and shooting birds and rodents with a bow, he revealed a talent for archery. A little older, he could draw a stiff bow to shoot foxes and hares, reaping a rich harvest. Thus he changed from shepherd to dedicated hunter, and once, after tracking for three days and three nights, he crept near a golden eagle's nest and shot the bird, presenting its beautiful feathers to the Grand Danghu, thereby earning the prestigious name "Eagle Shooter."

Everyone in the Helan Mountains respected him. He married the most beautiful girl of a neighboring tribe; her eyes were as bright and pure as the moon, the kumis she made was sweet-sour and delicious, and she bore him four children. Though three died young, the youngest son was fairly robust and had also reached the age of counting sheep.

Later on, though Wulan lost one eye, he could still secure his prey. When his tribe migrated to the Royal Court, he occasionally joined the Grand Danghu in raiding those who hid behind earthen walls, shooting the farming peoples of Yan and Zhao and seizing their wealth. Life was plain but prosperous…

Until that banner embroidered with the character "Li." It came suddenly, repaying the Xiongnu according to their own customs. It turned the riverside tribes south of the entire Green Mountain Gorge into a sea of fire. Wulan's mother and wife both died, and his son's eyes were gouged out. A group of them, tied to a rope, groped their way all the way to the Helan Mountains, and the boy finally died in his arms.

The Eagle Shooter's tears dried up completely in that moment. Wulan's heart died in that moment too. The only drive that kept this body struggling on each day was revenge.

He tightened his bowstring, carved blood patterns onto his forehead, and swore to the blue sky: for every hundred of his tribesmen who died unjustly, he would kill a hundred Qin men in vengeance!

Since the battle for the Spotted Horse Pool began last year, Wulan had already shot and killed fifty-nine Qin men — the most among the Xiongnu. For this, the Grand Danghu and the Chanyu had rewarded him with fifty-nine goblets of wine and promoted him to Chiliarch.

Among those Qin men he had killed were roaming cavalry he encountered suddenly, scouts he ambushed, outnumbered chariot riders from Shang Commandery, and even Qin men trapped at White Goat Mountain.

Not far below White Goat Mountain was a small waterhole. Wulan had advised the Grand Chanyu to deliberately loosen the encirclement there. Every night, there were always Qin men who could not endure their thirst and tried to sneak out to draw water. Wulan would use the night moon to shoot them dead by the water's edge. Over several days, at least twenty or thirty Qin men died there.

Wulan actively joined every battle, using his arrows to reap life after life.

Though he did not understand the overall war situation, he knew that this battle at the river mouth would be the decisive one.

And the best chance to fulfill his long-cherished revenge! Because the Qin general who had slaughtered his tribe was right there on the opposite side!

But the Grand Danghu, Xubu Sheng, had not chosen him to go out. Watching the front-rank tribes already galloping forth and charging toward the Qin army opposite, Wulan could only suppress his impulse and carefully observe the battle with his sharp single eye.

The Qin general was foolish. Hiding behind their wagon ramparts, the Xiongnu could hardly do anything to them and would sooner or later retreat. But then they suddenly moved, tearing open their own defensive line. Yet the most foolish thing of all was deploying several thousand cavalry on the right wing — this was an attempt to fight the Xiongnu head-on in mounted combat!

"No one can oppose the Xiongnu on the grasslands. Not the Yuezhi, not the Eastern Hu, and certainly not the Qin." Before setting out, the Gudu Marquis beside him had said confidently.

"Indeed. The moment the Qin men spur their warhorses, they should be prepared to die beneath the hooves," Wulan agreed with him.

Wulan had seen Qin cavalry before and could tell they were well-equipped, but their mounted archery was somewhat inferior to the Xiongnu's. If the Xiongnu all used bronze and iron arrowheads and were equipped with armor like the Qin, one Xiongnu could handle two of them with ease.

Right now, over ten thousand Xiongnu riders were facing five or six thousand Qin cavalry. If they could crush them before the Qin infantry and the Chanyu's main force decided a victor, then flank the infantry, this battle would be won.

But the Grand Danghu was still somewhat troubled and only sent the Gudu Marquis with a thousand riders to probe them the first time.

The method of large-scale cavalry warfare on the grasslands differed from the chaotic skirmishes of a hundred riders clashing. Generally, they organized into groups of a hundred, taking turns charging forward to shoot. After the front unit finished a volley, it would move laterally to clear the space, and the next unit would charge. If the enemy fell into disorder under the arrows, they would charge straight in and finish the fight with blades and short spears. If the enemy did not break, they would repeat the galloping volleys while trying to encircle them, dismount, and shoot on foot.

The Yuezhi and Eastern Hu, who had fought the Xiongnu in the past, also used these tactics. And the Shang Commandery cavalry they had encountered some time ago had been divided and destroyed by the Xiongnu before they could even reveal their tactics.

But today was somewhat different. The first Xiongnu riders who roared out to meet the Qin cavalry in a head-on clash inexplicably lost the engagement…

All Wulan saw was the banner embroidered with the character "Li" on the Qin side wave gently, sending out over a thousand riders who also charged forward to meet the Xiongnu cavalry. But they did not gallop back and forth shooting at a not-too-close, not-too-far distance. At about a hundred paces, instead of slowing down, they accelerated forward!

Their speed was unimaginable. In an instant, they were right in front of the Xiongnu. Cold, long lances were leveled, and countless sharp blades instantly stabbed into the front ranks of the Xiongnu cavalry, sending men and horses tumbling before they had time to fire more than two volleys of arrows.

Quite a few of the Qin riders who charged first also died or were injured in the collision, but they quickly withdrew, and behind them, another hundred Qin riders spurred their warhorses, beginning a new wave of assault…

Just like that, the Qin cavalry units charged repeatedly. The Xiongnu, caught off guard, could only counter with their bows. But their bone and stone arrowheads, shot against the Qin riders' armor, caused little damage, and the short blades in their hands could not even reach the enemy. Meanwhile, the Qin army's iron lances and bronze swords were incomparably sharp; a mere touch could tear Xiongnu skin and draw blood, or even pierce straight through a chest!

The Qin cavalry advanced irresistibly like splitting bamboo. The thousand Xiongnu were like weeds being shredded, with no room to resist. They were quickly divided, collapsing and retreating. Screams filled the air everywhere, and masterless horses ran wild in all directions…

The Gudu Marquis returned in狼狈 disarray with his remnant troops. The Grand Danghu was furious, but Wulan noticed a detail.

"Since when has Qin horsemanship been so superb that they can spur their warhorses and wield their weapons at the same time?"

One had to know that in the past, Qin cavalry had to stop their horses before they could draw bows or cock crossbows. Some with poor riding skills even had to cling tightly to their horses' necks just to avoid falling off at full gallop.

"The survivors from Tiger Mountain were not lying."

The Grand Danghu's face was ashen. "The Qin men's horse gear is indeed strange!"

Though he could not fathom how, with that horse gear and this reckless, head-on charging new tactic, the Qin cavalry had suddenly become so powerful, the Grand Danghu had no time to ponder on the battlefield, because Touman Chanyu had already sent men several times to urge him to fight.

Right now, the Qin infantry were steadily pushing outward. Touman Chanyu had also launched ten thousand men forward in a galloping volley, but they still could not easily break through the Qin wagon and spear formations. He needed the Grand Danghu to crush the Qin cavalry and coordinate the attack from the flank!

"Wulan, do you see that banner?"

The Grand Danghu pointed at the enemy banner Wulan had been staring at for so long — a dark background with large crimson characters. In the earlier fighting, it had been waving gently the whole time, as messengers with small flags on their backs relayed information back and forth, orchestrating this slaughter.

"The men beside the Chanyu say that is the banner of the Qin general, Li Xin. He is right beneath that banner. The Qin men call him the White Horse General!"

Wulan understood the Grand Danghu's meaning. The only option now was for the entire force of over ten thousand Xiongnu riders to swarm forward and engage the Qin cavalry in a tangled melee, while Wulan, leading the bravest warriors, would charge through the gaps between the battling units and shoot the enemy general dead!

Every wild horse herd has a lead stallion. As long as the lead stallion is there, the herd can still organize to fight off wolves and evade pursuit. If the lead stallion dies, they will scatter in all directions.

"What do you say, Eagle Shooter? Do you dare go hunt that white horse for me?"

Wulan looked into the distance. The Qin riders who had returned to their position had withdrawn to the rear to rest and reorganize. Replacing them was a fresh batch of cavalry, standing their ground calmly, standing like a wall cast of iron. And behind that iron wall, the Li banner was raised high…

This was the most difficult hunt the Eagle Shooter had ever undertaken since he first took up a bow!

The blood patterns carved on his forehead throbbed faintly, as if about to split the scars open again and let the scalding blood, brimming with hatred, flow out once more.

Without a word, Wulan dismounted, scooped up some white clay from the ground, mixed it with water, and smeared three white lines down both cheeks.

This was the mark of a fight to the death, with no return!

Wulan pointed at that banner and shouted loudly:

"I thank the Grand Danghu for giving Wulan of the Helan Mountains a chance to kill his enemy with his own hands! I will personally shoot this arrogant white horse dead, cut off its head, and present its beautiful tail before the Grand Chanyu!"

(End of Chapter)