Chapter 454: Hammer and Anvil

As the battle lines pushed forward, the Qin army's command post had been relocated to a small hill. Heifu, Prince Fusu, and the others strained to watch the distant fighting. Heifu was extremely busy, constantly learning the battle situation from the returning scouts and ceaselessly issuing new orders.

Only during brief lulls could he sit down and drink some water, and at the same time explain to Fusu, who could not make sense of the battle: "The key to this battle lies on the right wing."

The right wing was precisely where Li Xin and the cavalry were positioned.

Seeing that Fusu still looked bewildered, Heifu drew an analogy: "When Your Highness visited the Yiju Ironworks to inspect, you must have seen the Guandong ironsmiths forging weapons. They place the unformed blade on the anvil, then hammer it repeatedly with the iron hammer."

"Right now, our twenty-five thousand infantry are the anvil, and the six thousand cavalry on the right wing are the iron hammer. The Xiongnu are the lump of iron about to be hammered!"

"The anvil's value lies in its weight and solidity—it must not be broken through by the enemy. The hammer's value lies in striking with speed and ferocity. While the infantry hold the Xiongnu at bay, the cavalry will outflank them from the side, cut off their retreat, and drive them right in front of the infantry spear wall."

Fusu suddenly understood: "So the infantry and cavalry must act in unison. But if General Li on the right wing fails to gain the advantage, he will be unable to pincer the Xiongnu together with the infantry."

The principle was that simple. Heifu was confident that, relying on the armed steel wagons and the infantry's steadfast formations, he had already placed himself in an invincible position. But if Li Xin, facing over ten thousand Xiongnu cavalry, could not secure victory, then the initiative in this battle would still not lie with the Qin army. The Xiongnu could attack at any time, and withdraw at any time.

At that moment, more scouts returned to report on the front-line fighting, and while Heifu was busy, Fusu turned his attention to the battle situation on the right wing.

The current situation was this: the Xiongnu front line continuously harassed the Qin army, pinning down the infantry, while over ten thousand cavalry on the flank, after their first wave was repulsed in a sudden assault, still refused to give up and launched a tidal-wave-like attack against Li Xin's division!

It was no longer a probe, but an all-out fierce assault!

Fusu saw that in the right-wing area, nearly two li wide, the Xiongnu charged in with a roar, each wave a thousand riders in a horizontal line. The Qin army would send out five hundred riders at a time to engage them, striving for close-quarters combat. This time, the Xiongnu did not withdraw after a single clash but fought the Qin cavalry regardless of casualties. However, due to their inferior equipment and the Qin cavalry's high saddles and stirrups, the Xiongnu, even when fighting two against one, gradually fell to a disadvantage. It was only because of their greater numbers that, after sending over ten thousand riders to tie down all the Qin cavalry, they still had over two thousand riders left...

But suddenly, those remaining two thousand Xiongnu riders also left their position and began to gallop. They advanced along the muddy riverbank, bypassing the dozen or so clusters of fierce fighting, tracing a wide arc, their objective aimed directly at Li Xin's command banner!

Fusu was greatly alarmed and couldn't help blurting out:

"This is bad! General Li is in danger!"

Li Xin stood beneath the great banner. The warhorse he rode was a fine steed the First Emperor of Qin had bestowed upon him many years ago, pure white all over. It was said to be a purebred descendant of "Bai Yi," one of the eight famous horses of the Zhou era, and when it galloped, it seemed to race upon the clouds without its hooves touching the ground.

The armor he wore was a composite of bronze and leather. The polished bronze heart-protector gleamed with a warm golden light, while the dark black rhinoceros hide was heavy and oppressive. He sat ramrod straight on his horse, the crimson greatcloak on his back draping down to cover the horse's body, like a sculpture standing immovable.

Li Xin was over thirty, his head full of graying hair, his features gaunt and hard as iron. His exterior was stern and cold, but his heart still burned with passion.

He watched as squadron after squadron of cavalry was dispatched to meet the Xiongnu's ceaseless charges. Tens of thousands of men ran and trampled the ground, making the earth tremble, kicking up dust that swirled across the battlefield and merged with the windblown dust from beyond the frontier, obscuring a small part of the sky. Friend and foe alike shouted battle cries, the neighing of horses was like thunder, and every man fought with desperate ferocity. The Qin cavalrymen sought to take heads and earn merit, while the Xiongnu of the Helan Mountains sought revenge.

Li Xin's palm on his sword hilt burned hot. How he longed to do as he had many years ago when he pursued Crown Prince Dan of Yan, or last year when he raided Green Mountain Gorge—to draw his sword, let his warhorse's hooves strike like thunder, and cut down every enemy who dared to resist beneath his horse!

But he could not. He was now the commanding general holding the center, not a commandant leading a swift cavalry raid. He needed to keep his ears open to all directions and his eyes on every sector, judge the enemy's intent, wave his command banner, and direct his subordinates to respond with composure.

If he made any sudden move, if his banner shifted or retreated, it would sow doubt among the soldiers and lead to a rout!

Even facing two thousand Xiongnu riders charging straight for him, he could not move a single inch!

"General! The enemy riders are coming with ferocious momentum. Would it not be better to withdraw slightly for now?" a personal guard suggested, but Li Xin refused.

"I once suffered a great defeat—my army destroyed, my officers slain, my troops lost, and the nation humiliated. My banners drooped low as I fled in disgrace. I swore an oath that that would be the last time Li Xin abandoned his own soldiers!"

The wind stirred his great banner. Gazing into the distance—two li, one li, half a li—the timing those Xiongnu had chosen was indeed ingenious. It was precisely the moment when the entire Xiongnu force was pressing forward, locked in tangled combat with the Qin cavalry, with victory and defeat hanging in the balance. All Li Xin had at his side were five hundred personal guard riders.

Just as Heifu liked to use young men of good family from Beidi, Li Xin also favored using young men of good family from Longxi as his personal guard riders. They had followed him to open up the lands west of the Tao River, followed him to build Jincheng beyond the frontier, followed him on an eight-hundred-li raid, and set a great fire at Green Mountain Gorge. They suffered constant attrition and were constantly replenished, always maintaining a strength of five hundred men, standing guard beside him without leaving an inch.

"I trust you men as I trust my own hands and feet!"

These simple words made every man raise his head high, filled with pride.

Li Xin slowly raised his hand. Beside him, the five hundred personal guard riders moved with the uniform precision of a single man, also slowly drawing their swords from their scabbards.

"Go. Defeat the oncoming enemy. Then tell every cavalryman of Longxi and Beidi: Li Xin's great banner is right here. It will only advance, never retreat!"

"If I can kill that Qin general, it will be equivalent to killing hundreds or thousands of Qin soldiers. The deaths of my clansmen's wives can then be avenged..."

As he galloped, crouched low over his horse, Wulan's single eye was also fixed intently on that great banner growing ever closer. He was now truly very close to his enemy. All the Qin cavalry were tied down by the Xiongnu surging forward like a great river's tide. Between him and Li Xin stood only five hundred riders!

And they numbered a full two thousand riders!

But the elite quality of those five hundred personal guard riders far exceeded Wulan's imagination.

Like the rest of the Qin cavalry, they were equipped with high saddles and had stirrups under their feet, which allowed the riders greater agility on horseback. They spurred their horses forward to meet the charge, their line stretched very long, attempting to block all the Xiongnu before that great banner.

When the two forces collided, Wulan finally understood the fear the Gudu Marquis had felt after his defeat. The Qin army no longer simply imitated the "Hu clothing and horse archery" like the Zhao people of long ago. They seemed to understand that galloping archery was their weakness, and instead pursued maximizing the use of sturdy armor and sharp blades. Close-quarters combat on horseback was undoubtedly a good choice.

Two hundred chi ahead, the five hundred Xiongnu riders charging at the front had several gaps torn open in their ranks by fewer than two hundred Qin riders and could advance no further. When the two sides tangled in close-quarters melee, the Xiongnu could not calmly shoot their arrows, while the enemy's swords and spears could reach them directly, inflicting casualties.

Fortunately, Wulan was not riding at the very front but positioned behind the charging tide. If the vanguard could break through the Qin riders, all the better. If not, he could lead the hundred or so men most skilled in mounted archery to circle around once more and launch an attack on the Qin general standing alone beneath the great banner, protected by only a handful of men!

But the Qin men were fierce and brave. When they discovered Wulan and his men's intent to strike Li Xin, those Qin riders locked in combat with other Xiongnu also began to constantly split off forces and rush back to aid him.

While dodging the Qin riders charging from ahead with leveled spears aiming to skewer him off his horse, Wulan also had to guard against crossbow bolts shooting from all directions. He continuously returned fire. As an eagle shooter, he was qualified to use bronze and iron arrowheads, and every time he drew his bow, he could send a Qin rider tumbling from his horse, if not dead then wounded!

Stumbling and staggering forward like this, he finally managed to bring the hundred or so riders not blocked by the Qin soldiers to a position two bowshots away from that great banner!

Beneath the enormous banner bearing the character "Li" stood a horse of pure white, and upon it a great general in crimson robes and dark armor. Facing the slaughter of thousands before his eyes, facing the Xiongnu's sudden strike aimed straight at the heart, he remained utterly composed, standing immovable!

Wulan felt a touch of despair, because only after getting close did he discover that behind the white-horse general, infantry wielding swords, shields, and crossbows were continuously emerging in a steady stream. These were reinforcements sent by Heifu from the Qin army's left wing—five thousand reserve troops, not just for show.

Crossbow bolts shot from the front. No one could charge before that banner and harm a single hair of the white-horse general. The Xiongnu of the Helan Mountains, bearing their desire for vengeance, fell without even being able to see their enemy's face clearly.

The Qin infantry stepped forward, intent on driving back the Xiongnu who had penetrated so close!

"Eagle Shooter, we can't break through! Let's retreat!"

A comrade shouted loudly, then his voice abruptly cut off—he had been struck by a crossbow bolt. A hundred Xiongnu began to turn their horses around, wanting to fall back.

Wulan, however, raised his head. He saw the lone eagle still circling high above, above the smoke and dust of the battlefield, between the white clouds and blue sky...

He stroked his old horse's mane, soothing its terrified heart, then lightly kicked the horse and charged straight toward the dense ranks of Qin infantry, toward that banner he so bitterly hated!

The Xiongnu to his left and right were all stunned, but then half of them gritted their teeth and followed Wulan's lead, some even spurring their horses to charge ahead of Wulan, shielding him from the deadly crossbow bolts!

Most of them were tribesmen from the vicinity of the Helan Mountains who had lost their kin in the great fire the previous year. Though the Xiongnu normally retreated when the situation turned against them, there were exceptions—and that was when facing their mortal enemies.

Under the protection of dozens of comrades, the Eagle Shooter was able to gallop forward once more without a scratch, finally reaching a distance of one bowshot!

His single eye was fixed intently on the white-horse general, the demon who could stop Helan Mountain Xiongnu infants from crying at night.

The white-horse general's gaze swept across the battlefield, and he seemed to see Wulan as well. His face was stern and cold, unmoved, but Wulan felt as if he were mocking him. The general merely said something to the men beside him, reached out his hand, and asked for a bow...

This is the moment!

As if sensing the imminent danger, Wulan suddenly straightened his back. His hands no longer clung to the horse. His left hand gripped the bow, his right hand drew an arrow, nocked it—all in one fluid motion, completed atop the galloping horse without a pause!

The arrow's fletching was eagle feather. He hoped this arrow could be as swift and true as an eagle striking through the sky, killing his mortal enemy in a single blow!

The eagle-shooter Wulan took aim at the White Horse General!

……

"My bow!"

At the edge of the chaotic battlefield, Li Xin let out a great shout and reached out his hand for his bow.

The bow was a composite horn bow — its belly made from the horn of a gazelle from the Shanglin Park, because it withstands compression; its back made from the sinew of a great eastern-sea flood dragon, because it withstands tension; its stave made from fine southern hard bamboo, bonded with glue from Qi, reinforced with wrapped silk from Ba-Shu, and moisture-proofed with grand lacquer from Suiyang — gathering the finest materials from across the realm into a single whole. It drew to a strength of two dan, a fine bow rarely seen.

This bow had not been drawn by his own hand to shoot an enemy for a very long time.

It was not that his martial skill had grown rusty, but that General Li's bow and arrow never slew common, nameless men!

The one he had fixed his eyes on was that archer who tried to hide among the mass of Xiongnu and loose a fatal shot at him!

Li Xin had been watching this man for a long time. Throughout the ceaseless charging and breaking through, it was this man who whistled orders, directing the Xiongnu to keep circling past the melee and drive straight for the command banner.

And every time Qin riders moved forward to block them, it was this man who drew his bow and shot — nearly every arrow sent a rider tumbling from his horse, dead or wounded.

This must be an eagle-shooter, worthy of a single arrow from him, Li Xin!

Li Xin scooped an arrow from his quiver, drew out a wild-goose-feather shaft, and planted his feet firmly in the stirrups. His fine horse Baiyi, though it felt its master's strength, stood obediently motionless, not even swishing its tail. As steady as on level ground, Li Xin pushed the arrow onto the string, drew it full like a round moon, aimed at that Xiongnu eagle-shooter — who was racing at speed and also drawing an arrow to shoot — and without a moment's hesitation, released!

The bowstring twanged crisply. Almost at the same instant, the other side swiftly strung their bow and loosed an arrow at Li Xin!

The two arrows brushed past each other in midair, then rapidly drew apart. The next moment, the eagle-shooter's horse collapsed to its knees as if struck by a massive iron fist, hurling him to the ground!

On the other side, perhaps because of the hundred-pace distance, perhaps because the galloping horse had affected his shot, the eagle-shooter's arrow came howling in — but barely grazed past Li Xin's ear and slammed heavily into the great banner behind him, embedding itself deep into the flagpole with a thunderous crack that gave the banner-bearer a terrible fright!

Li Xin turned his head and saw the eagle-feather fletching at the arrow's tail still faintly trembling on the flagpole. He felt a faint ache in his outer ear — that sky-splitting arrow had missed his eye by mere inches!

He could not help but silently praise: "From beyond a hundred paces, atop a galloping horse, and still able to shoot like this — this Xiongnu has uncommon skill!"

"General!"

The few remaining personal guards nearby rushed over at once, but Li Xin shook his head to show he was unharmed, then pointed to the place where the eagle-shooter had fallen and said:

"Go, capture him and bring him here!"

"This general's bow and arrow do not kill nameless men!"

……

Wulan had only just managed to loose a single arrow when his horse was struck, throwing him off in an instant and slamming him hard onto the ground far away.

By the time Wulan scrambled to his feet, dazed and reeling, he found his foot was already lame. He turned his head and saw an arrow buried in his horse's neck — sunk in so deep that only the fletching remained, blood gushing unceasingly, its limbs twitching, never to rise again. One could well imagine how terrifying the bow's power was!

Only then did he remember the most urgent matter. He hurriedly raised his head, and the first thing he saw was that enormous dark banner. Beneath it, the White Horse General still stood in place, unmoving. The gleam of his armor stung the eyes, and the crimson greatcloak at his back stirred faintly in the wind — coldly severe, yet elegant.

Wulan's heart went cold, and a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"A pity. Just a little short."

But for a hunter, failing to hit the prey means the prey may wound you — Wulan's one blind eye could attest to that.

To cover this shot, his companions had already charged forward, only to be shot down by the crossbow volleys of the Qin infantry coming to reinforce. Those who by luck reached the front were skewered through the heart by long iron spears.

Startled horses that had lost their masters came neighing and running toward Wulan. With his horsemanship, it would have been easy to swing himself onto a horse, lie flat against its back, and — so long as the Qin arrows did not strike him — leave this place entirely.

But behind him, the Xiongnu cavalry, already losing the upper hand earlier, were now retreating one after another upon seeing that Wulan's assault had failed. The path of his escape was gradually sealing shut.

Wulan seemed tired. He struggled no more, letting the horses race past him, and simply lowered his head. Limping, he began searching for his lost bow.

It lay quietly in the grass. The bow was a composite horn bow — its belly made from the horn of a northern-sai Mongolian gazelle; its back made from the sinew of an old ox; its stave made from fine desert poplar of the Forest Hu tribe, bonded with glue boiled by his wife's own hands, and reinforced with wrapped silk traded from the interior to the Xiongnu. Wulan was very fond of it.

Now, however, it was broken — the bow body snapped through the middle, the bowstring hanging limp and powerless.

Of those arrows fletched with eagle feathers, only a single one remained.

When he raised his head again, Wulan saw dense ranks of Qin infantry, bearing sword and shield, dagger-axe and spear, already advancing toward him. Crossbowmen approached slowly with their mechanisms leveled, yet they did not turn him into a target.

The Qin general wants to take me alive — Wulan understood. Last year at Green Mountain Gorge, he had also let Wulan's son go, and only gouged out his eye!

"Wulan of the Helan Mountains will have no revenge."

The forest of cold, gleaming blades slowly closed in. Wulan now felt exactly like a solitary falcon trapped in a cage, its wings broken.

The proudest falcon will refuse all food, will not touch a single drop of water, until it weeps blood and dies.

Wulan drew out his last arrow. He gently peeled away the eagle feather on its shaft, released his fingers, and let the fierce battlefield wind carry it up into the sky.

He raised the broken bow, nocked the shaft with no fletching upon it, and pretended it was still a whole, strong bow. Then he aimed at the young-faced Qin crossbowman who had already advanced to within a dozen paces, gave him a mocking smile, and made as if to draw the string that no longer existed — power flowing through both arms, his stance like a full moon!

The next instant, a bowstring thrummed, and on Wulan's chest, one more crossbow bolt appeared…

Wulan fell. His single eye gradually lost its light, its outline growing dim. He saw that lone eagle, still circling high above, above the battlefield's smoke and dust, between the white clouds and the blue sky…

Only this time, beneath the eagle, there were many more vultures, drawn by the scent of corpses, circling and wheeling in the sky…

A shadow fell over him. A Qin soldier with a full, bristling beard and reeking of sweat approached. Finding that Wulan had already stopped breathing, he shook his head helplessly, raised the sword in his hand, cut off his head, then lifted it high and let out a great shout!

This was the final story of Wulan the eagle-shooter!

……

Everything that happened below was seen by the lone eagle high above. The eagle seemed to loathe the smoke and dust below and the screeching vultures. It beat its wings once more, spiraling higher.

It could see everything clearly for a dozen li around. The iron hammer had already smashed the obstacles before it to pieces. As if raised high by a right hand, it began to contract, to clench tight, and then — with sudden, ferocious force — it swung down hard toward the Xiongnu Chanyu's main force, pressed against the anvil!

PS: A big 5,000-character chapter

(End of chapter)