Chapter 388: Hunter or Prey

Xiao Shilu held a snowball in his left hand and a piece of dried meat in his right, eating as he walked. The warhorse behind him needed no lead rope; it knew to follow close at his heels.

As the younger half-brother of the Empress Dowager Shulu Ping, Xiao Shilu enjoyed extraordinary prominence in the Liao state.

Not only was he a Commander of the Palace Guard and Supervisor of the Night Guard, he also held command of three thousand men of the Left Pishi Fengsheng Army.

Both of his elder brothers had likewise once commanded the palace guard and held charge of the Left and Right Pishi Armies. His eldest brother, Xiao Dilu, had even been appointed Chancellor of the Northern Administration, making him one of the most powerful men among the Liao imperial consort clans.

The Khitan of this era were still in the rising phase of their founding, and had not yet been wholly corrupted by their complete mastery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun.

So even a supervisor of several thousand Pishi Army troops like Xiao Shilu could still quench his thirst with snow and gnaw on smoked dried meat, and on a heavy-snow day, if ordered to move out, he could move out at once.

Four days earlier, on Yelu Deguang's orders, Xiao Shilu had led three thousand men westward to reconnoiter. After passing Jingbian Army, Xiao Shilu's three thousand men had continued west along the Hun River.

Of course, this Hun River is the Yellow River tributary that flows through Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, not the Hun River in the northeast, in western Liaoning.

A cold wind blew down from the north. Xiao Shilu tossed away the snowball in his hand, now somewhat blackened, and lightly clapped his hands.

"Xiao Gan, take three hundred men and see whether that forest over there can serve for a rest stop. Find a spot sheltered from the wind and let the lads rest. We're not moving on."

Xiao Gan was the eldest son of Xiao Shilu's elder brother Xiao Dilu. He was plain-spoken and straightforward by nature, and Xiao Shilu had brought him along this time so that, after winning some merit in battle, he could inherit his elder brother Xiao Dilu's post of Chancellor of the Northern Administration.

Of course, this Xiao Gan was not the last Xi king of two hundred years later, the one who repeatedly thrashed Eunuch Tong's northern expeditionary army. They merely shared the same name.

"Uncle, are we stopping here? His Majesty ordered us to find out as quickly as possible whether there are enemy troops to the west."

Xiao Gan looked at Xiao Shilu with some puzzlement. They were still more than three hundred li from the Tiande Army, yet ever since passing Jingbian Army, the main force's pace had begun to slow.

They could cover only twenty or thirty li a day. They were called cavalry, but they moved slower than infantry.

Xiao Shilu shook his head, drew Xiao Gan over to his side, and then said in a lowered voice, with some feeling: "His Majesty has let his head be turned by the wild joy of suddenly gaining the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun.

Before, His Majesty only felt that in matters of governance he would surpass the Ascended Emperor (Yelu Abaoji). But now that he has gained the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun, he believes that in military affairs he has also surpassed the Ascended Emperor. This is extremely dangerous."

"Is that not so? The Ascended Emperor attacked the Southern Court several times, and each time was beaten back with heavy losses.

Now His Majesty, with hardly any effort, is on the verge of gaining precious Han territory like the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun, so that the Khitan lads can descend on the Southern Court at any time. Even the Ascended Emperor never managed that."

Xiao Gan countered his uncle Xiao Shilu with a touch of emotion. In his view, Yelu Deguang had indeed surpassed Yelu Abaoji, who had lost more than he won against the Southern Court, in martial achievement.

"Hmph!" Xiao Shilu had not expected his nephew to think the same way. As an old minister from the time of Yelu Abaoji, he was deeply displeased, and he glared fiercely at Xiao Gan.

"The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun were not won by His Majesty's fighting. They were sold out by men of the Southern Court. And even now we have not yet gained Yunzhou. If all of you hold the Southern Court in such contempt, then it is we Khitan who are truly in danger."

With that, the furious Xiao Shilu did not even let Xiao Gan go reconnoiter, but directly summoned the officers behind him and said:

"This place is not far from the East Surrender City of the Zhenwu Army. We must be wary of the Zhe family troops of Fuzhou. Rest for two watches, then find a small town that can be garrisoned, and send men back to report to His Majesty every day."

"Supervisor, but His Majesty's order was for us to be sure to scout out news of the Tiande Army," said an officer with the typical Khitan shaved-pate hairstyle.

Xiao Shilu shook his head. "We have only three thousand men. If there is an enemy able to cut off contact between the Tiande Army and us, then they could also swallow up the Tiande Army. If our three thousand men rashly push west, we must beware of a trap.

The men of the Southern Court are not all soft eggs like Shi Jingtang. The Zhe family of Fuzhou alone is a troublesome opponent. Everyone will follow my orders."

And at that very moment, not far from Xiao Shilu's three thousand men, Zhe Deyi, with Murong Xinzhang and Chai Rong, and three hundred white-robed cavalry, had already fixed their eyes on these Khitan.

Murong Xinzhang shook his head lightly and said with some feeling: "I do not know who commands this Khitan cavalry, but he is a man who understands war. They march only thirty-some li a day, with strict vigilance. Ambushing them does not seem easy."

"It is indeed not easy, but it does not seem difficult either." Chai Rong disagreed. Now that the initial sense of distance born of their difference in status had faded, Chai Rong was increasingly showing, in every respect, his unique insight and uncommon ability.

"Then tell us, why is it not difficult?" Murong Xinzhang did not find being contradicted by Chai Rong unpleasant.

Because in daily life, no matter who contradicted Zhang Zhao, right or wrong, so long as the other party was not being unreasonable, Zhang Zhao had never once lost his temper over such a thing. Murong Xinzhang had been imperceptibly influenced by this.

"Because this cavalry was clearly sent out by the Khitan ruler to search for us. That leaves them with only two choices: continue west, or stay in place and watch.

If they continue west, the farther they get from Yunzhou, the sooner or later we will find a chance to ambush them.

If they stay in place and watch, we can cut off their contact with Yunzhou along with them, forcing them to turn back. Once they retreat, we can pursue and strike their rear, and victory is certain!"

"Well said!" Zhe Deyi looked at Chai Rong with appreciation.

"We have a thousand suits of cloth-faced iron armor, a hundred divine-arm crossbows, and fifteen hundred horn crossbows.

With thick armor and sharp weapons, waiting at ease for a weary enemy, no matter how it is fought, the other side cannot beat us. It is only a question of sooner or later."

"A little over ten li to the east there is a small town, originally a beacon fort of the Zhenwu Army. I suspect these Khitan cavalry will certainly go there to rest. Let us go there and wait for them!"

Murong Xinzhang chuckled. In the Eastern Capital, he had only heard people talk of how fierce the Khitan cavalry were, and it had made his hands itch unbearably. He was just longing to test himself against those brave and hardy iron horsemen.

The Zhenwu Army had originally been the home ground of the martial clans of Daibei. But after they poured great resources into going south to contend for the Central Plains, the Zhenwu Army gradually declined.

Once there was the dazzling world of the Central Plains, few people could still look favorably on this bitterly cold northern land.

In past years, after the Daibei people left, people from farther north would come to occupy the place and fill the void.

But in fact, when the Central Plains was in chaos, the steppe was much the same. Once the three Daibei tribes left, the place began to go desolate. The Yellow River, with no one to manage it, also began to rampage unchecked, and the region was long past its former prosperity.

Even after the Khitan seized Fengzhou, they could only throw a tribe of a few thousand people at the Tiande Army, and Fengzhou itself was abandoned by them.

Xiao Shilu stood atop the collapsed beacon tower of the beacon fort, gazing west. He could not shake the feeling that something over there was watching him, and it gave him a deeply ominous sensation.

The news of gaining the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun had set the entire Khitan state ablaze with excitement. Everyone walked as if carried by the wind.

Many people were already saying: if the the the Shatuo can be Son of Heaven in the Central Plains, why cannot the Khitan?

And Yelu Deguang, who should have been responsible for cooling this mood, was precisely the one most carried away, dreaming the sweet dream of becoming Son of Heaven of the Central Plains, believing his martial virtue was overflowing, and looking down on the heroes of the Southern Court.

But Xiao Shilu did not think so. He felt that just because the Southern Court had produced a Shi Jingtang, one should not assume that everywhere in the Southern Court there were Shi Jingtangs.

If they gained one or two heroes, they could make the great Khitan state suffer a serious loss, because in essence, the Southern Court's strength and population both exceeded the Khitan's.

"Supervisor! The situation is not good. Look at this." The shaved-pate Khitan officer ran swiftly toward Xiao Shilu, holding a piece of armor lamella in his hand.

Xiao Shilu took it and looked. It was a fragment of an armor skirt, with dried purple-black bloodstains still on it.

"This was found more than thirty li to the south. There were many hoofprints on the ground. The tracker made out at least twenty-some different horseshoes, and all these hoofprints had strange rings on them, as if something had been fitted onto the horseshoes."

"Someone has their eyes on us. Is there any tribe north of the desert that habitually fits strange things onto their horseshoes?"

Xiao Shilu was not particularly alarmed, because the three thousand Fengsheng Army troops under his command were the elite of the Pishi Army, and not to be trifled with.

Ordinary tribal cavalry, even thirty thousand of them, could not hope to face his three thousand in battle.

The shaved-pate Khitan officer shook his head. He had never heard of such a strange tribe.

"Then they can only have come from the west. Who could it be? The Zhe family of Fuzhou surely would not have such boldness!"

Xiao Shilu frowned. "Starting tomorrow, stop sending men out to scout. Let the lads rest well, eat and drink their fill, and then we head back."

"Does the Supervisor intend to draw these people out?" asked the shaven-haired Khitan officer.

"In this vast desert, unless we make them show themselves, we'll never find them!"

Xiao Shilu gave a cold laugh. "Our great Khitan have roamed these steppes for many years — we are the finest hunters on the grassland. I'd like to see who dares make prey of us!"

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