Chapter 467: Still Fucking Driving the Carriage? Where's My Camel?

In 944 CE, the first year of Kaiyun of the Later Jin, on the sixth day of the second month, the siege of Baituanwei Village continued.

The heavy snow that had stopped for three days began falling again, thin and scattered, and the Jin army in Baituanwei Village gained another small reprieve.

It must be said that the warriors of this Five Dynasties era, many of whom brutalized the common people and acted with reckless arrogance, also possessed truly formidable endurance and willpower.

Over eight days, they held on by collecting rain and snow, digging for muddy water, and slaughtering mules and horses to quench their thirst.

This placed enormous mental pressure on the Khitan ruler Yelu Deguang, who was besieging them, because the Jin army had enough grain to eat and lacked only water.

Though he understood in his heart that the Jin army probably could not hold out much longer, he also feared that they truly might.

For rain and snow not only gave the Jin army a trickle of water to prolong their lives, but also because the Khitan troops were camped out in the open.

The howling north wind mixed with rain and snow was hardly easy to endure, and if the snow grew heavy enough to force them to abandon the siege, then all their previous efforts would be wasted.

After much deliberation, Yelu Deguang prepared to urge surrender.

However, he had once again forgotten the "bold words" he himself had spoken ten days earlier.

At that time, Yelu Deguang had sat beneath his yellow silk canopy and declared from his carriage, "Let all the Han troops come; this is all they amount to. Today I can capture them alive, and then pacify the realm."

At these words, the Jin army commanders all felt insulted, and Huangfu Yu even charged straight at Yelu Deguang's battle line with his iron cavalry to curse him.

Nevertheless, when Yelu Deguang's letter urging surrender was shot into Baituanwei Village by Khitan cavalry, it still caused a stir.

Because Yelu Deguang had miscalculated: the Jin army lacked not only water, but also firewood.

They faced the same predicament Li Yiyin had encountered years before: grain was sufficient, but firewood for cooking was not, unless they were willing to dismantle the chevaux-de-frise.

So some officers felt that surrender was better than dying of thirst or starvation.

This was the moment for Fu Yanqing to play his part.

Pointing at the Khitan troops flaunting their might outside the village, he said: "The Liao army now outnumbers us twofold, and the Khitan ruler's urging of surrender at this moment is nothing but charity.

Since Qicheng, we have slain tens of thousands of Khitan soldiers, and at Mancheng, Qingyuan, and Suicheng we killed more than five thousand tribal chieftains, soldiers, and civilians of the various Khitan divisions. With such deep enmity, how could mere charity let us live?

Even if the Khitan ruler does not kill us today, will the Khitan meritorious ministers not demand our lives another day? Once we kneel, how can we protect our families and our wealth?"

These Jin soldiers and officers were no virtuous sort; after invading Khitan territory, they had not shown the slightest mercy.

They took Qingyuan and killed the Khitan chieftain Molei Xianggong along with two thousand tribal and Han soldiers.

They captured Mancheng, seized the Khitan chieftain Mola and his two thousand soldiers, and killed them all.

They recovered Suicheng County, and apart from sixty-three Khitan leaders left to hold the city, the remaining thousand-odd defenders were all beheaded.

These were not Han people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun, but tribal chieftains sent by the Khitan to control the region, and the Jin army had slaughtered them all in one sweep. This enmity was no small matter.

Huangfu Yu was utterly furious. He stepped forward and roared with resounding force: "The Khitan have invaded south again and again. How many of our comrades in Hebei and Hedong have they killed?

The Son of Heaven has bestowed gold, silk, grain, and rice upon us. As great men deeply favored by the state, how can we grovel and bow the moment we face danger?"

"Rather than grovel and bow, better to die for the country." Wang Zhou, ever loyal and brave, also cried out. In his view, surrendering to the Khitan was worse than dying for the country.

At the same time, the commanders in the tent began clamoring, one after another declaring their unwillingness to surrender. Even Du Chongwei was unwilling.

Fu Yanqing's words were correct: a way out granted as charity was no way out at all.

Finally An Shenqi came forward and calmed everyone's emotions. "We are now trapped in a desperate place and may find it hard to escape, but it is not that there is no way."

Du Chongwei was overjoyed at these words and hurried forward to ask, "What excellent plan does the honorable Guorui have? Please speak."

A bitter look appeared on An Shenqi's face. "What excellent plan? It is only that we still have more than ten thousand mules and horses. If we bring out the snow water we have collected and let them drink their fill,

then once they have recovered their strength, we can take advantage of the Khitan troops' unpreparedness and break out under cover of night, while sending men to block the southwestern valley pass. Perhaps we can escape."

It was indeed no excellent plan. An Shenqi's idea was simply to abandon the twenty thousand infantry here and break out at night with only the ten thousand cavalry.

But Du Chongwei could not be bothered with all that. In any case, none of the officers here lacked horses, so they could all get away. As for the infantry, there truly was nothing to be done.

He was just about to order the reserved snow water brought out when he heard a great clamor outside. It turned out the Khitan had come to attack again.

Huangfu Yu, stifled with frustration, burst out of the room and bellowed, "The northern caitiffs bully us too far! They come to fight before dawn even breaks. Watch me charge out and cut them down!"

But when the commanders went outside, they immediately froze.

It was not a clamor of voices at all, but a fierce gale blowing in from the northeast with tremendous force, whipping up dust that blotted out the sky. The cold wind howled like a hundred ghosts wailing in the night, and many trees around Baituanwei Village had been blown over.

Outside the village, some tents had been ripped up by the roots, sending the Khitan's pots, pans, bowls, ladles, clothes, and bedding flying through the air. The commotion just now must have been from this.

The commanders stood at the village entrance, barely able to open their eyes as the swirling sand and stones stung their faces.

The sky, which had just been bright with the rising sun, darkened in an instant, and all around was a murky black haze.

"This is bad! This wind is blowing straight at us and favors the northern caitiffs. They are coming to attack!" Hucile's heart lurched, and he suddenly shouted.

The other commanders' hearts lurched too. This gale came from the northeast, blotting out the sky and blowing straight into the Jin army's faces.

Not only would the archers and crossbowmen be unable to aim, but the force of their arrows would be greatly reduced, while the Khitan arrows would ride the wind and be impossible to withstand.

Hucile's words proved prophetic almost at once. Although Yelu Deguang was so buffeted that he could not even keep his yellow canopy open, his heart was filled with joy.

He personally turned around and tested the direction from which the gale blew. Never mind fighting, he could not even open his eyes.

"This wind is Heaven aiding me! Order the troops to pull up the abatis and advance in separate columns, using the wind to sweep down upon the enemy. Victory is certain!" the overjoyed Yelu Deguang said to those around him.

"First have the soldiers set fires and raise dust to strengthen our momentum. Only when the Jin army is completely unable to respond should we attack." Yelu Wuzhi offered timely counsel.

So Yelu Deguang immediately ordered Zhao Yanshou to organize soldiers with their backs to the northeast wind to kick up the dust from the ground, then pile up kindling, douse it with tung oil, and set it alight.

In an instant, the fire rode the wind, blowing burning branches, hemp cloth, and the like all into Baituanwei Village, terrifying the Jin soldiers and their mules and horses. Combined with the dust raised into the sky, their situation grew even more dire.

At this point, everyone could see how perilous things were. The Khitan iron cavalry might charge in at any second.

Not to mention the commanders, even squad-leader-level officers and ordinary soldiers ran outside Du Chongwei's room and shouted urgently: "Why does the Commander-in-Chief not commit the army, instead letting the soldiers die in vain?"

The commanders all looked at Du Chongwei with grave expressions, waiting for him to make a decision.

At this moment, the cowardly nature crept back into Du Chongwei's heart, and he actually said to them:

"The wind is at its strongest right now, and everything is dark. Would it not be better to wait until the wind dies down a little before deciding?"

The commanders were all stunned. By the time the wind died down, the Khitan blades would probably already be at their throats, would they not?

Li Shouzhen, the Army Supervisor of Horse and Foot, leaped onto the earthen wall in front of Du Chongwei and shouted: "They are many and we are few. Within this black wind, no one can tell how many they are. If we wait for the wind to stop, not one of us will survive."

Better to lead the troops out now. Grand Tutor An and Grand Tutor Huangfu, take the elite cavalry and charge straight at the Khitan ruler's position. I will follow with the infantry. Strike where they least expect it — only those who fight with all their strength will prevail."

The character 噍 is pronounced the same as 叫, meaning to open the mouth and eat. 噍类 refers to any creature that can open its mouth and eat. "No 噍类" means unable to eat — which naturally means dead and gone.

This was the first time Huangfu Yu had ever looked favorably upon Li Shouzhen. He looked at An Shenqi and Fu Yanqing and said in a loud voice.

"This wind blows against us, but it also shields us. If we strike suddenly now, the Khitan ruler will never have expected it. We may yet win a great victory!"

As soon as Huangfu Yu finished speaking, Li Shouzhen roared, "Gentlemen, let us all charge the enemy!"

The commanders agreed at once, paying no heed at all to Du Chongwei behind them. They swiftly settled on a plan of attack.

Fu Yanqing, the Left Wing Cavalry and Infantry Formation Commander, was the first to assemble his troops. He then led three thousand iron cavalry out from the west side.

The remaining cavalry commanders — An Shenqi, Zhang Yanze, Huangfu Yu, Yao Yuanfu, Hu Cile, Wang Zhou, and others — led their troops out one after another.

The more than eight thousand iron cavalry of the Jin army in Baituanwei Village charged into the black wind almost without a single man left behind. Relying on rough impressions, they rode toward Yelu Deguang's position.

At that moment, Yelu Deguang saw that the blowing dust had already driven the Jin soldiers guarding the north side of the village back inside. Impatient, he ordered all cavalry except the Iron Sparrowhawk Army to dismount, pull up the chevaux-de-frise, and press the attack with the wind at their backs.

In front of the Khitan lines — especially in front of Yelu Deguang himself — there were also chevaux-de-frise. After all, the Jin army had nearly ten thousand cavalry, and a charge from them would carry considerable force. Yelu Deguang had taken precautions.

But now, since he was taking the offensive himself, and sending his own imperial guard cavalry in as well, the chevaux-de-frise naturally had to be moved aside.

In the sky-darkening gale, the Khitan heavy cavalry — the Iron Pigeon, Iron Eagle, and Iron Falcon units — had just dismounted and donned their armor, and were moving the chevaux-de-frise aside, when through the howling wind they heard the sound of many hoofbeats approaching.

The Khitan officers looked left and right. Even Yelu Deguang was straining to make it out. Whose cavalry was on the move?

Suddenly, a cavalryman holding a long saber pointed to the right. "Yilijin, the hoofbeats seem to be coming from the right."

This was a cavalryman from Yelu Wuzhi's own tribe, ordinarily the most alert of them all.

Yelu Wuzhi looked in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, the dense hoofbeats and the clash of weapons seemed to be coming from exactly there.

Yelu Wuzhi's face changed drastically. A possibility flashed into his mind!

But before he could report to Yelu Deguang, a yellow-brown warhorse suddenly burst out of the rolling sandstorm!

It was as if a ghost had materialized out of thin air, straight from hell.

Fu Yanqing rode at the very front. Relying on his formidable memory, he had found Yelu Deguang's position with precision — though the windblown sand forced him to squint, and he could see only a few paces ahead.

All along the way, he had passed unknowable numbers of Khitan soldiers, close enough to brush past. Just when he was on the verge of despair, Fu Yanqing caught sight of Yelu Deguang's great banner in the distance.

This imperial great banner was made from a great timber that took two men to wrap their arms around. That was why, even in the gale, it had not been lowered — and instead stood out starkly amid the wind and sand.

Fu Yanqing struck down the armored soldier with the long saber in front of him with a single thrust of his lance. The tail of his lance blade had an iron-ring structure, so that when he swung it, it could serve as an iron hammer.

The force of this blow was so great that it sent the armored soldier flying.

After Fu Yanqing appeared, the nearly ten thousand Jin cavalry emerged one after another. All of them carried cavalry lances, long spears, and sabers suited for close combat. Not one carried a bow — there was no need.

Ahead of them were thousands of Khitan armored soldiers. The poor wretches — they were originally fierce riders on horseback, but now, because they had been preparing to set out, they had all dismounted.

Moreover, their warhorses were mostly not at hand. Many of them held only the long sabers meant for close combat inside Baituanwei Village, and they had not yet formed ranks. How could they be a match for the Jin cavalry?

In almost a single instant, their line was broken through. Countless elite warriors among the Khitan were struck down to the ground with such ease.

The Jin army rode through the chevaux-de-frise the Khitan had moved aside, trampled over their corpses, and charged straight for Yelu Deguang.

At this moment, Yelu Deguang had just put on his armor and was preparing to go forward in person to rally the troops. When he saw the Jin cavalry bearing down on him, his face drained of all color.

Yelu Wuzhi was right beside Yelu Deguang. Seeing that the Emperor was already terrified out of his wits, he hastily took over command.

Boom-boom — the great war drums sounded. Wooo — the ox-horn trumpets blew. Yelu Wuzhi had the soldiers around Yelu Deguang raise a great clamor, to pass word of the situation to the outside.

At the same time, he ordered the dismounted troops to hold with all their strength, covering the Iron Sparrowhawk Army — the only unit still guarding Yelu Deguang with their horses at hand — while they donned their armor.

The drumbeats and horn calls pierced through the wind and sand. The Khitan troops all around Baituanwei Village were thrown into alarm.

For such dense drumming and horn calls sounding together meant that the Emperor was in danger.

At this, even those raising dust and setting fires dared not continue. The various armies on left and right, without any prior agreement, all raced desperately toward Yelu Deguang's position.

Matters had reached the final moment. Li Shouzhen, who had remained in the village the whole time, raised a great red banner and ordered the more than ten thousand infantry in the village to charge out with him, toward the place where the drumming was thickest.

As the sovereign of a nation, Yelu Deguang's security was, in truth, quite strict.

For example, from where Fu Yanqing and the others had appeared, there was still a distance of over a hundred paces to reach Yelu Deguang himself.

And under Yelu Wuzhi's arrangements, countless Khitan armored soldiers threw themselves forward without regard for their lives, desperately blocking the Jin army's advance.

These Khitan armored soldiers, charging over in disorder, did not inflict much damage on the Jin army — but they greatly slowed Fu Yanqing and the others.

Yao Yuanfu, in a moment of carelessness, had his warhorse killed by the Khitan and was forced to dismount and fight on foot.

And the Khitan's final line of defense was right before them. Armored soldiers in dazzling lamellar armor formed a dense spear wall. Behind them, several hundred Right Pishi Iron Sparrowhawk troops were nearly finished donning their armor.

If these several hundred or a thousand men finished arming, then charged out, supported by the armored soldiers covering the hills and fields all around, the Jin army would never be able to reach Yelu Deguang again.

In the crisis, Fu Yanqing, Huangfu Yu, and Hu Guang did not shy from the spears. They spurred their horses and hurled themselves into the Khitan spear wall.

Fortunately, the wind and sand were so thick that the warhorses could barely see, and simply charged straight in.

The Jin army had brought nearly ten thousand cavalry. Even if only two or three thousand followed behind them, once they broke through, the infantry would not be able to hold.

As the Jin cavalry fell like dumplings into boiling water, the Liao soldiers in their gleaming lamellar armor suffered even more terribly.

At last, unable to withstand wave after wave of assault, they broke and fled after losing more than half their number.

Outside, at this time, the twenty thousand Jin troops under Li Shouzhen's command had blocked the road by which the remaining Liao troops sought to rescue Yelu Deguang. The Khitan soldiers, drawn by the drumbeats, attacked Li Shouzhen's force like madmen.

The Jin army formed a circular formation, holding the gap and refusing to yield. The Khitan soldiers, frantic with anxiety, fought to the death.

Li Shouzhen and the Vanguard Chief Commander Xue Huairang both took the field in person. Xue Huairang broke two long spears in succession and hacked two long sabers to pieces, yet refused to retreat even in death. In an instant, the ferocity reached its peak.

The critical point now was whether Fu Yanqing and the others could crush the Iron Sparrowhawk Army, the last force guarding Yelu Deguang.

The Iron Sparrowhawk Army was considered the absolute elite even among the Khitan Pishi Army. They guarded Yelu Deguang and the great banner, and the first to fly at the enemy were over a hundred riders who had finished donning their armor.

These Khitan iron cavalry truly had skill. They advanced like a wall, first raising their cavalry lances high, then bringing them down in unison with a mighty smash.

One fierce charge, and the Jin vanguard was caved inward. Hu Guang, at the very front, was struck until his head was split and bleeding, his fate unknown.

Their assault complete, the Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry reined in and withdrew, preparing for the next charge.

"The moment is desperate! I will hold the northern barbarians' iron cavalry — you take advantage of the wind to break through and hack at them up close!" At the critical moment, Huangfu Yu stepped forward.

In truth, by now, after the long charge, the cavalrymen around Fu Yanqing and Huangfu Yu who could still hear their orders were no longer many.

While they were deliberating, the Khitan cavalry charged again, and several hundred more riders were also nearly finished donning their armor.

At this critical moment, Fu Yanqing, gripping a great axe and leading the few hundred cavalry he could still command, used the cover of the flying sand and stones to charge straight into the place where the Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry were forming up. Then he pulled out great axes and iron hammers and surged forward, hacking and hammering at the warhorses' legs.

That's right — they hacked and hammered at the warhorses' legs. The Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry armored both man and horse, and with the warhorse's own weight, the whole came to nearly a thousand jin.

Never mind having a leg cut off — even if a horse was knocked over, it could hardly get back up.

Fu Yanqing had spotted this weakness. Once they charged in among the Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry, a furious bout of hacking and smashing threw them into chaos at once. Great numbers of warhorses toppled over and pinned the armored riders beneath them, leaving them utterly unable to rise.

Huangfu Yu and Hu Cile seized the moment and charged in hard, scattering the Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry completely.

Yelu Wuzhi gave a long sigh. Seeing that the situation was beyond saving, he lunged forward, seized Yelu Deguang, and made to have him step on his own body to climb onto the horse's back.

This warhorse was a Ferghana blood-sweat horse that Yelu Deguang had been given years ago when he met with the Great King of Liang, Zhang Zhao, at their alliance council. It was extremely fast and should be able to get clear of the battlefield.

Tears streamed down Yelu Deguang's face. His Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry and Iron Falcon cavalry were all elite troops of the Pishi Army! So many had been lost here.

But before Yelu Deguang could mount, his personal bodyguard commander, the Zhihou young lord Xiao Gan, threw himself over.

"Your Majesty's heavenly horse is known to all the Han folk. With the wind and sand blotting out the sky, if by mischance it carries you somewhere else, would that not be walking into a trap? I beg to ride Your Majesty's heavenly horse eastward to draw off the Han army."

At that moment, the Xi King Zhuaila also ran up, seized Yelu Deguang's sleeve, and said: "Your servant has a carriage, drawn by two fine horses, and can still command more than a hundred guards — enough to protect Your Majesty."

The Xi people were most skilled at building carts, and their carriages were indeed of excellent make.

Yelu Deguang was deeply moved. Sure enough, loyal ministers were many!

There was no time for more words. His close attendants helped him strip off his armor, and he departed with the Xi King Zhuaila.

Xiao Gan then mounted Yelu Deguang's blood-sweat horse and galloped off eastward.

At this moment, Hu Cile, his eyes red with slaughter, caught sight of a tall, long-bodied horse flash past in the distance.

He immediately thought it must be the one Zhang Zhao had once given Yelu Deguang. He pointed at the distant figure and roared: "The Khitan ruler is fleeing!"

At these words, everyone's blood boiled. This was the Khitan Emperor! If they caught him, would they not be enfeoffed as kings on the spot?

One second An Shenqi was hacking at enemy horse legs; the next second he saw his comrades around him tearing off eastward like wild dogs loosed from a cage.

His heart stirred, and he wanted to join the chase, but in the blink of an eye the crowd had vanished from sight.

And by now he had also come to his senses: he should not be chasing the Khitan Emperor, but should be toppling the Khitan great banner.

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out. Even on a battlefield where wind and sand were heavy and the shouts of killing shook the sky, this crash was utterly distinct, because everyone was watching that distant great banner.

The Khitan soldiers who had been fighting desperately a second before saw the great banner fall, and at once they collapsed.

They could no longer summon the strength to fight the Jin army, because it had all become meaningless.

By now the gale was gradually dying down, and thirty thousand Jin troops were charging and slashing back and forth through the midst of seventy or eighty thousand Khitan soldiers.

The Khitan army was routed utterly, collapsing like a mountain. Tens of thousands fled weeping and wailing toward the north of Baituanwei Village.

Some even stripped off their armor and threw away their weapons as they ran.

On the ground, the horses, armor, and military gear abandoned by the Khitan Pishi Iron Falcon, Iron Pigeon, Iron Eagle, and other units alone were beyond counting.

The Jin infantry and cavalry advanced together, chasing and hammering the Liao army. The two sides tangled and fought to the death, and the Jin army drove the Liao army more than ten li, leaving Liao corpses strewn across the field, all the way to the Rushui River north of Baituanwei Village.

This was a river that would vanish in later ages. Its volume was not great, but its channel was very narrow, so the water was rather deep.

The Khitans had no way out. Led by Yelu Wuzhi, Yelu Anduan, and others, they fought back desperately.

But by now the Jin infantry and cavalry were intact, most had donned armor, and their formations had not fallen into disorder.

The Jin army first shot them with massed crossbows and bows, then charged with armored cavalry, then pressed in with heavy-armored infantry bearing long spears. Once the Khitans could no longer hold any formation at all, they charged again with armored cavalry.

Under this combination of blows, the Liao army finally collapsed completely. Yelu Anduan killed more than ten men and still could not stop it. Even the Pishi Army threw down their weapons, utterly without the will to fight.

After that, the Jin infantry advanced again with long spears, and amid wails and cries the Liao army collapsed entirely. They could only leap into the Rushui River. Men and horses were so many, stretching for several li, that they nearly choked the river channel full.

The Jin arrows fell like rain. No one knows how many Khitan soldiers sank to the bottom; the river water suddenly turned red.

But the Jin pursuit stopped there.

They had been besieged at Baituanwei Village for eight days, hungry and thirsty — above all thirsty. By the time they reached the Rushui River, the men could still hold out, but the livestock could no longer be driven on.

Several thousand mules and horses, heedless of the river water turned red, all lowered their heads and drank frantically. Even the whip could not make them raise their heads.

Seeing the livestock like this, the Jin soldiers could hold out no longer either. Great numbers of them set down their swords and spears and, heedless of the Khitans still struggling in the water, ran to the riverbank and drank.

Seeing this, Du Chongwei began to scheme.

The Khitans had suffered such a defeat today that it could be called utter exhaustion of strength and spirit. Moreover, the Khitan ruler was nowhere to be seen — it was said he had already fled on his heavenly horse.

If he held back now, and the Khitan ruler learned of it, he would surely be grateful to him.

And in this great battle, he himself had won little merit; it had all been gained by his subordinate officers and men fighting on their own. If he kept pursuing and something went wrong, would it not drag him down too?

So Du Chongwei pointed at the soldiers and warhorses drinking frantically by the river and said to those around him: "Having met with bandits and been lucky enough not to die, do we still demand their clothes and packs?"

That is to say: having encountered bandits, narrowly kept our lives, and won a great victory besides, what more could we ask for?

"Men and horses are parched. Now that they have water to drink, they are all heavy and can hardly pursue the enemy. Better to return with the whole army."

Li Shouzhen also supported Du Chongwei at this point, for the Jin army truly was thirsty and hungry, and he too believed the Khitan ruler Yelu Deguang had long since fled far away. Better to return in victory.

With the commanders having spoken, the fierce-tiger momentum of the Jin army drained away at once.

All along the way, the fleeing Khitan soldiers had abandoned countless horses, suits of armor, and gold and silver, enough to make any man's mouth water.

Once they heard there would be no pursuit, the soldiers scattered in a rush, all laughing — some drinking water, some seizing horses.

As for the armor, that was even more tempting. Even some generals turned a blind eye and let their yabing guards seize the iron armor.

What they did not know was that the Khitan ruler Yelu Deguang was in fact hidden among that very crowd of retreating soldiers.

While everyone was still scrambling for spoils, a burst of hoofbeats rang out. Hu Cile came galloping in from afar, holding a blood-soaked man in his hand, with Yao Yuanfu, Fu Yanqing, and others following behind.

"How long ago did the Khitan soldiers cross the river?"

Li Shouzhen, unconcerned, asked with a smile: "Barely the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Where has old Hu been? Did you catch the Khitan Emperor?"

The assembled generals burst into laughter, all delighted by the victory.

But Hu Cile, frantic, flung the blood-soaked man in his hand to the ground, spittle flying onto Li Shouzhen's face.

"That's the man riding the heavenly horse — but he's only a member of the Liao imperial clan, not the Khitan ruler. The Khitan ruler most likely slipped away hidden among that routed mob just now!"

What the hell!

Everyone froze as if struck by lightning. They had all assumed Hucile and Fu Yanqing were chasing Yelu Deguang, so none of them had imagined the Khitan ruler was hidden among the routed troops just now. They had all been fooled.

Li Shouzhen let out a howl, grabbed a horse, and with a splash leaped into the Ru River.

In an instant, dozens of Jin officers and yabing guards on the riverbank also went shouting and hollering as they charged across to the opposite bank.

Yelu Deguang felt a soreness in his backside. The Xi cart had been driven so fast by Xi King Zhuailie that it nearly flew, and Yelu Deguang had clung desperately to the handrail just to keep from being bounced out.

Fortunately, the ride lasted only a little over ten li, because they had reached the banks of the Ru River.

The cart certainly could not cross the river — that would be far too conspicuous. Yelu Deguang, even more afraid of being spotted as out of place, refused to let anyone help him and waded across the river himself.

Fortunately, after years of campaigning north and south, though his martial prowess might not be especially high, his body was at least well conditioned, and he did not freeze stiff in the February river water.

The only problem was that his current mount was in terrible shape. Because the warhorse had to cross the water, the saddle and stirrups were all gone — it was completely a bare horse.

Good heavens. As the bare horse broke into a run, Yelu Deguang on its back was practically performing acrobatics. With every rise and fall of the warhorse, his body went flying through the air in time with it.

Every time he came down out of sync, Yelu Deguang could feel the powerful muscles and bones of the warhorse's hindquarters slamming hard into his soaking-wet backside.

The Emperor of the Great Khitan very nearly burst into tears.

It hurt so much! Like being beaten with planks!

"Stop, barbarian chieftain! Stop, barbarian chieftain!"

A heaven-shaking roar came from behind. Yelu Deguang turned and saw a great mass of pursuers already within a little over a hundred paces.

Damn! The Han troops were upon him, and the horse beneath him was an ordinary army mount — it would never outrun the pursuers' fine steeds.

In an instant, hearing that the pursuers had arrived, the guards around him immediately closed in to shield Yelu Deguang, leaving a dozen or so riders behind to intercept them.

To hell with you!

Yelu Deguang looked at the loyal guards around him, and tears nearly spilled from his eyes.

It was not from being moved — it was from fury!

You brainless pigs! There were at least several thousand men fleeing here. The Jin troops had no idea who the emperor was. Shouting from this far away was just a way to flush out the target.

Sure enough, the moment they saw a cluster of cavalry forming a protective escort, the nearest Han cavalry instantly grew excited, and their cheers could be heard from several hundred paces away.

"The barbarian chieftain is here! The barbarian chieftain is here!"

"Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!" Yelu Deguang no longer cared about anything else. He bellowed at the top of his lungs, directing the cavalry around him to go intercept.

Many other Khitan soldiers and officers, hearing the emperor's shouts, also hurried over to guard him.

They had not known this was the emperor either, since everyone was dressed in nothing but thin underclothes.

Yelu Deguang now ignored the searing pain in his backside. He clenched his teeth, gripped the horse's flanks tightly with his legs, and pushed the speed to the limit.

Hucile's eyes had gone red. If he failed to capture Yelu Deguang, his losses would be enormous!

He had watched with his own eyes as his son Hukuang was knocked from his horse by Yelu Deguang's Iron Sparrowhawk cavalry — for all he knew, the boy was dead.

He had to capture the barbarian chieftain and avenge his son!

Wave after wave of Khitan soldiers and officers charged at them, some without even weapons, throwing themselves forward with nothing but flesh and blood to block the way.

Hucile swung his saber, cutting down one after another, he did not know how many, until suddenly the space before him was empty.

His gaze was hawk-sharp. He spotted the figure in the distance, shielded by a dozen or so cavalrymen. That was the barbarian chieftain.

Yao Yuanfu had caught up as well, and wild joy blazed in both men's eyes.

Their horses were fast, and they should be able to catch him. The two men drew their mounted bows, clamped their legs tight around their horses' flanks, and sent arrows flying forward in a steady stream.

The fear in Yelu Deguang's heart grew and grew. He felt that this time, he might very well be finished.

To be captured by the bootlicker of his own bootlicker — that would be too humiliating.

Wuwuwu! I am the Emperor of the Great Liao! I am the son of the Heaven-Ascending Emperor! I will not die here!

Before the wailing in his heart had even ended, Yelu Deguang suddenly felt the world spin. Amid the terrified screams of those around him, he felt himself go flying through the air.

It turned out his warhorse had collapsed from exhaustion. One misstep, and it had thrown him off.

"My life is over!"

One of the three great warrior-emperors in Chinese history.

The philosophical brother of Second Brother Zhao.

The time-space friend of Choulos Qizhen.

I, Yelu Deguang, Emperor of the Great Khitan, finally burst into tears.

Amid his wailing, he went tumbling down a slope, and the taste of grass and mud flooded into his mouth.

But Yelu Deguang, even with a bloody lump already swelling on his forehead, had at last met the benefactor destined for him by fate.

A two-humped Bactrian camel — tall and handsome, its yellowish-brown coat gleaming with the sheen of strength — was grazing, though not entirely at its leisure.

By rights, there were no camels in the Hebei region; only traveling merchants had them.

And camels were a traveling merchant's treasure, not something usually left wandering in the wild.

Yet this camel had appeared before the Khitan emperor's eyes as if by destiny.

Yelu Deguang dashed forward, and in a few quick motions threw the goods off the camel's back — they must have weighed two hundred jin. The camel had been laboring to graze, and when it suddenly felt the weight lift from its back, it immediately took something of a liking to this person before it.

This human is all right! He doesn't make me carry such heavy goods.

Man and camel, eyes meeting, seemed like bosom friends of many years.

Yelu Deguang swung himself onto the camel. The moment his wet backside touched the far-from-soft camel hair, he instantly felt a rush of relief.

A strange sensation he had never felt before rose in the Khitan emperor's heart.

The camel raised its four hooves and galloped swiftly into the sunlight. Between heaven and earth, it seemed only its four swiftly churning hooves remained.

Along the way Yelu Deguang saw many cities — Suicheng, Yizhou, Guizhou — and he even seemed to catch sight of the walls of Youzhou.

But he had no desire to stop. This feeling of man and camel as one intoxicated him.

Suddenly, a strange BGM started playing.

"This is the feeling of flying! This is the feeling of freedom!"

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