Chapter 756: We Dismount

She didn't know how long she had slept. When she opened her eyes again, the eastern sky was already faintly pale. Mu Shulan looked around from horseback and realized that the originally tight formation had become very spread out — one rider with two or three horses, but with a dozen or even twenty-some paces between each other. At some point, all the horses had already been fitted with bit muzzles.

Although this company had over a hundred riders and nearly three hundred horses, it moved very quietly; even the hoofbeats of the distant scouts were perfectly clear. As the sky gradually brightened, though night still lingered in the west, the east grew brighter and brighter. When the scouts returned for the third time, Zhao Jin gave the order. Two light-cavalry scouts stayed behind, while the rest of the household troops mounted up. The horses left empty were handed over to the men remaining on guard.

Mu Shulan noticed something else: everyone was already fully armored. While leading the horses on foot, the formation had been very loose, but once mounted, they drew tighter and tighter together — just like an infantry unit on the march.

"Grip the reins tight, stay behind us, and don't panic. Whatever happens, we'll be here to shield you!" a heavyset, burly man beside her said in a deep voice.

Mu Shulan nodded silently and reached out to grip the reins tightly. Her riding skill was quite mediocre, but her mount was very docile, and with her light frame, all she had to do was sit on it and follow the main body as they ran.

The camp in the distance was already visible. Compared to the neat and orderly encampment of Zhao's Camp the night before, the one not far off looked more like a marketplace — a chaotic mess even from afar, without the slightest discipline.

Mu Shulan could also see corpses felled by arrows lying on the ground not far away; they might have been sentries shot dead by the reconnaissance scouts.

The mounted household troop unit led by Zhao Jin had already begun to accelerate into a canter. The camp before them still showed no reaction. The first light of day had just appeared — the time when people sleep their deepest. In that groggy state, how could they possibly notice?

The horses outside stood listlessly. Feed bags stuffed with fodder lay scattered on the ground; the grain inside had long since been eaten clean by the horses. Many mounts still had their tack on — they had probably arrived here last night and simply used the horses to form an outer ring as a windbreak.

They drew closer and closer, until they could even see the men inside sprawled in deep sleep. Inside was just as disorderly, each man a different sight. Some had a felt blanket draped over them; some were curled up in their clothes; one man had crawled up from the ground and was walking outside, bleary-eyed, untying his trousers as he went — apparently to relieve himself.

The rumbling hoofbeats were already clearly audible. That man also saw the mounted company a few dozen paces away. He stood there frozen, letting his trousers drop straight to the ground.

A moment later, the man finally came to his senses and frantically turned to run back, shouting — but the moment he turned, he tripped over his own trousers and sprawled flat on the ground. By the time he could get up, it was too late. The mounted company trampled straight over him.

The others were no more awake than the one who had gotten up to relieve himself. By the time the shaking ground and the shrieks and shouts jolted them awake, Zhao's Camp's household cavalry was already upon them.

Those who scrambled up tried to dodge, tried to fight — but how could they evade the collision and trampling of a cavalry charge, or the spear thrusts and saber slashes from above?

Amid this slaughter, someone in Zhao's Camp's cavalry blew a whistle — the sound was piercingly shrill, making the heart pound even more in terror. Not long after this whistle sounded, another whistle answered from a different direction, and then whistles rang out in response from two more directions.

The men clustered together sleeping through the night numbered in the hundreds. Their weapons were placed right at hand. The scene was a complete mess — one could see leftover food, even the remains of wine and meat. This cluster of armed men far outnumbered Zhao Jin's unit; in a face-to-face fight, they might even have had the advantage. But caught at their most unguarded moment, with Zhao's Camp charging in, it was a one-sided bloodbath.

To the accompaniment of the whistles, the unit led by Zhao Jin punched straight through this campsite, leaving behind a ground covered in blood and corpses, then wheeled in a circle and charged back again.

Some cavalrymen had already reacted and mounted up, but they could not rally together at all. They could only flee in panic in all directions. Those who dodged a moment too late — even on horseback, they could not stand against the formed ranks of Zhao's Camp's cavalry. They were stabbed and hacked down by long spears and great blades, or else shot dead by volleys of arrows.

They cut through a second time. This time, the toll was not as high as the last. Those startled from their sleep scrambled onto their horses, crying, cursing, and shouting, or fled in panic straight toward any direction with no one in it.

Some wanted to fight, but in their haste, they could not even control their mounts properly. With no one to cover them or coordinate, they were either stabbed by spears and hacked by blades, or struck by multiple arrows.

In the end, no one was willing to fight anymore. Everyone lashed their horses and fled outward with all their might. More and more fled, until the rout was total. Every man fled without looking back. No one was willing to face Zhao's Camp's pursuit. No one was willing to fight Zhao's Camp.

Under cover of night, they had scouted out the enemy's camp, then rushed over and launched the attack. The enemy thought Zhao's Camp was fleeing, never imagining that Zhao Jin would strike first. The interceptors believed they were waiting by a stump for a hare, dealing with birds startled by the mere twang of a bow. They never expected that they themselves were the prey, and Zhao's Camp was the hunter.

Mu Shulan could roughly piece together this logic. She had just been wrapped inside the main body, charging and sweeping back with them. She simply found it unbelievable. Was it really that simple? Arrive, charge — and then win?

The unit led by Zhao Jin did not stop. After a brief regrouping, guided by the light-cavalry scouts, and paying no heed to the carnage and wreckage behind them, nor to the many riderless horses and the valuables scattered on the ground, they charged directly toward the direction of another whistle.

The scene over there was much the same as here. Along the way, they even ran into dazed deserters. This position, too, had been thoroughly shattered. Mu Shulan saw that this unit was led by Ji Xiang. The two units merged into one, and one of the whistles fell silent. Now, three whistles still echoed.

By the time the combined unit of Zhao Jin and Ji Xiang reached Liu Yong's position, the fighting there was also drawing to a close. The enemy here had been even more pathetic than at the first two places. Only a dozen or so corpses lay on the ground; everyone else was kneeling and begging for mercy.

At this moment, the whistles became two — but this made Zhao Jin and the others tense. Three units had linked up in succession, three battles had occurred one after another, and all had been surprise attacks at such an opportune time. Every position should have been crushed like dry weeds and rotten wood, ending swiftly. Why was Chen Sheng's side still fighting?

The three units merged. Without any thought of rest or reorganization, they headed directly toward the direction of the next whistle.

The unit led by Chen Sheng had become locked in a stalemate. His opponent was very peculiar. No one knew where they had gotten so many trunks, chests, and bundles, which they had mixed together with saddles and bridles to actually build a simple low-wall fortification. The men hid behind it, and they even had a dozen or so bows. As soon as Chen Sheng's men approached, they shot arrows. Chen Sheng's cavalry kept probing forward, then pulling back, while the men inside the fortification also tried to seize an opening to run out — but Chen Sheng's riders would wheel in a wide circle and force them right back in.

However, Zhao Jin and the others also noticed something else: there were hardly any horses inside or outside that low-wall fortification. Instead, they could see horses halted in the distance, as if they had scattered and then wanted to return to find their masters.

What was both laughable and infuriating was that Chen Sheng led a total of one hundred riders, yet nearly three hundred men were penned inside that crude low-wall fortification of chests and horse tack. Their identity was easy to discern — some had already put on the robes of government troops and were shouting furious curses with false bravado: "Are you trying to rebel?!"

But when they saw Zhao Jin's several hundred riders arrive, the faces of the men inside the low-wall fortification turned rather grim. Chaos erupted; even more tried to run out, only to be killed or driven back by Chen Sheng's cavalry.

Seeing Zhao Jin and the other two brothers converge on him, Chen Sheng's expression was very ugly. Everywhere else, the enemy had been dealt with cleanly, like a sharp knife cutting through tangled hemp. Only on his side had it become a stalemate.

Outside Xuzhou, with large bodies of enemy cavalry blocking the way, only a quick, decisive battle could guarantee total safety. The longer the delay, the more trouble would pile up. Chen Sheng felt he had dragged everyone down.

"... This group on this route came from the government army. Along the way, they either violently took over other bands or looted the estates of wealthy households. They've brought a pile of trunks, chests, and bundles. In the innermost circle, there are probably women they seized. These men still follow some military rules — they posted hidden sentries when setting up camp, and used all these trunks and bundles to build an enclosure..."

Chen Sheng frowned as he explained to Zhao Jin and the others. Things on the battlefield truly changed in the blink of an eye. The few sentries posted outside had all been silently killed by the light-cavalry scouts, but a hidden sentry had actually fallen asleep in his concealed spot and was never discovered. As a result, when Chen Sheng's main force charged over, the hidden sentry was startled awake and raised the alarm, alerting the men inside.

In the government army, those who could ride were usually the elite, the best of the best, and archery and horsemanship went hand in hand. When they saw men charging at them, their reaction was not slow. A dozen or so bows shot arrows directly outward. The first few horses in the charge were hit, and the riders were thrown off. Fortunately, they had iron armor protecting them and were not wounded by the arrows, but several suffered injuries from the fall. The government troops even tried to rush out and capture them, but were driven back by the archers Chen Sheng had brought.

But that wave of surprise assault was not without effect — at the very least, it had spooked all the government troops' mounts into bolting far away, leaving them unable to leave. And so it became a deadlock, a stalemate. Chen Sheng's side had too few men to besiege them. The enemy, though numerous, had lost their mounts and dared not maneuver; they could only huddle inside that crude camp. These men of government-army origin remained fairly unruffled the whole time, shouting things like, "Do you really mean to kill officials and rebel?" — blustering with fierce momentum. And seeing Chen Sheng's unit encircling them from a distance, they even thought the attackers were afraid.

Zhao Jin narrowed his eyes and studied the camp, even riding his horse in a wide circle around it. When he returned, he spoke bluntly: "Leave fifty riders to watch the horses and guard against these men escaping. The rest, dismount and form ranks. We'll storm this place. We don't have that much time to waste."

The order was given. Shouts and calls rang out as everyone dismounted one after another. Niu Jinbao gave a few words of instruction to Sun Dalin and Meng Zhiqi, then dismounted himself and walked toward Zhao Jin. Watching from horseback, Mu Shulan was utterly baffled. In battle, weren't cavalry the strongest? Why dismount when you have horses to ride? It wasn't just the girl who was confused — even the government troops behind that crude camp were thoroughly puzzled. A few bold ones even poked their heads out to look.

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