Chapter 1: The Sun Rises for the First Time Section 16

  The leader of the Changluo tribe, Da Ren Que, had a famous nickname among the Xianbei: Changluo Pig. It wasn't that he was fat, but rather his personality was as fierce as a wild boar's.

  He is now sitting opposite Ke Zui, laughing viciously. Ke Zui was defeated, and he lost very badly. He was also a famous general of the Xianbei state and had made great contributions to the unification of the Xianbei state. But the biggest failure in his life was that he betrayed Murong Feng for power and position. Betraying anyone is fine, but betraying Murong Feng, the god of war in the hearts of the Xianbei people, is not acceptable. He was ridiculed by the entire Xianbei tribe. Helian Bobo fulfilled his promise and made him one of the three frontier generals in the country, the Central Xianbei General. However, from then on, the rebellious tribes in Central Xianbei were the most numerous, accounting for more than half of the entire Central Tribe.

  He has finally suffered the punishment of Murong Feng. Although the Tiger Tribe is a large tribe in the central Xianbei tribes, it only has 10,000 soldiers. Now that Murong Feng has annihilated 8,000 of them, the position of the Central Xianbei leader will not last for many days. The most important thing is to preserve the tens of thousands of old and weak people and women of the Tiger Tribe. Once Murong Feng eliminates the Tiger Tribe, all survivors will become slaves of the victorious tribe, and all tribal property will be divided up. From then on, the Tiger Tribe will disappear from the Xianbei territory.

  Kuo Tzu asked for help from Ch'üan Chu, who naturally agreed since they were relatives. But even brothers have to be clear about accounts and rewards. The reward was extremely expensive, and Kuo Tzu could not accept it. He shouted at Ch'üan Chu's ugly face like a madman: "We people of the Tiger Clan would rather die than accept your hypocritical kindness."

  The laughter that had just risen to his lips froze on his face. Because suddenly, a shrill alarm horn sounded in the entire stable. As soon as Ke Zui heard this sound, he couldn't help but shudder.

  Kong Yu gazed coldly at Ke Zui, "Do you want revenge? Murong Feng has arrived."

  Tie Lang, Gong Sun Hu, and Duan Song rode their horses and stood on the grass outside of Juntu.

  Jiu Tun is a small plain, originally with more than ten households of the Hu ethnic group living here, but now they have all escaped to other places. Behind the small plain is a not-so-big hill. Walking in and looking around, it's also 30-40 meters high, and about two or three miles in circumference. The main camp was set up at the foot of the mountain.

  At this time, pairs of neat cavalry ran out from the big camp one after another, and lined up in formation on the plain. Various different bugle sounds came from all corners of the big camp, showing that the commander was frequently mobilizing troops and issuing order after order.

  "Tie Lang, how are we going to attack?" Gong Sun Hu turned his head and asked Tie Lang.

  "We can't attack too early, or we'll suffer greater losses. Nor can we be too late, we must disrupt the enemy's formation and allow General's cavalry to easily defeat them. So... "Iron Wolf looked up at the sun in the sky," let's rest first."

  "General said they would arrive around late afternoon, but didn't say how late. What if they rush here all at once and we haven't launched an attack yet?" Gong Sun Hu hesitated to say.

  The iron wolf ignored him and rode away on his horse.

  "General said so, let's listen to Iron Wolf, we'll just listen to him." Duan Song smiled and said beside.

  Gongsun Hu made a face at the back of Tie Lang, "This kid has been a slave in the Tiger City for several years, but his temper is still not getting better." Then he said to Duan Song, "You don't know, he either scolds or beats the leopard, it's simply a thug, where does it look like a commander of a thousand men?"

  At noon, Murong Feng ordered the main force to rest in Yantail Valley. The soldiers dismounted one after another, each finding a place to eat and drink, and feeding their horses hay. Everything was orderly, busy but not chaotic. Scouts were coming and going at high speed. Except for the occasional neighing of war horses and the clashing sound of weapons when the soldiers moved, there was no other sound in Yantail Valley.

  The atmosphere above the pasture is extremely tense. The nameless small birds flying over from time to time, however, feel nothing, still freely and leisurely soaring in mid-air, chirping happily with their mouths, entwining with each other, playing and chasing. In the dense grass thicket, insects are jumping and shuttling back and forth from time to time. Several colorful butterflies flap their five-colored speckled wings, lightly and freely floating, stopping on the tip of the green small grass, swaying.

  A big horse's mouth suddenly burst into the world of these colorful butterflies. The butterflies were frightened and flew away in all directions. The grass was then rolled up into the horse's mouth.

  Iron Wolf rode on horseback, pointing at the enemy formation four hundred steps away, and said to Gong Sunhu, Duan Song: "I can't see how many tricks Qiao has left. This kind of deep defense formation looks like it's slightly weak in the middle, but in fact, its counterattack force is extremely strong. The two wings are thickly protected, can be defended or attacked. In a situation where the strength of the two armies is equal, this war of attrition is indeed a huge loss."

  Gongsun Hu said to Tie Lang, "I don't know if Quan Ju's main force is hidden on the left or right wing. Why don't I lead a thousand-man team to launch a surprise attack and break into the center of Quan Ju's army? If he launches a strong counterattack, his main force must participate. You can confirm it and then lead the main force to charge at it."

  "There's no other way. If we can't find the main force of the enemy and tie them down, we won't be able to guarantee the complete annihilation plan of General Duan. Lord Duan will lead a thousand reserve troops to press the formation, and as soon as he discovers which wing of the enemy army moves towards the center first, he'll immediately sound the horn to inform me. Then I'll lead my troops to attack the main force of the enemy, while you lead your troops to insert into the left and right sides of Gong Sunhu and continue to attack the center and block the enemy's supporting wings. Do you understand?"

  Duan Song nodded slightly. The three of them rode their horses towards the troops that were already lined up and ready to attack.

  "Old Wolf, are the thousand Tiger Clan prisoners you brought placed in the assault troops or the vanguard?"

  "Of course, it's the vanguard. They used to be from small tribes and were enslaved by Ke Zui after being destroyed. Speaking of Ke Zui, Que Yu also has a deep blood feud with him. Giving them this chance for revenge, they're grateful beyond words. The original soldiers from the Hu tribe I let Xiang Liang take away."

  "Ghostly spirit." Gong Sunhu smiled and boasted.

  Under the scarlet banner opposite, several swift horses galloped out one after another towards the left and right rear of the troops. Ke Zui raised his hand to signal to Que Yu, and blew the prepared war horn.

  Kuai Ju's experience in battle is far less than Ke Zui's, but that doesn't mean he can't fight or won't use his advantages to win. After Ke Zui was defeated and escaped to Kuai Ju's camp, Kuai Ju warmly welcomed him and comforted him in every way. He needed Ke Zui's battle experience as well as his tribe. With no face to return home, Ke Zui had nothing to lose by trying his luck - if he helped Kuai Ju defeat Murong Feng, he would at least gain some merit. If the king was merciful, he might even be able to keep the old Tiger Tribe's homeland of Hu Du as a place to live.

  The soldiers of the Long Deer tribe have been marching to the battlefield since noon, and it has already been two hours. Under the September sun, the soldiers are sweating profusely, constantly cursing their leader in their hearts. But no one dares to move. Murong Feng's surprise attack made Ke Zui remember the military discipline deeply. Without strict military discipline, the only thing waiting for the soldiers is death. A few soldiers tried to test it out by offending slightly. As a result, as soon as they got off their horses, they were killed by Ke Zui's men.

  Nobody is allowed to move.

  Hearing the enemy's mobilization call, the soldiers' long-suppressed anger finally erupted.

  "Huff... huff... huff..."

  Like a burst of thunder, it heavily slammed onto the vast and empty plain. The loud voice stimulated the soldiers' war horses to become restless one by one, either raising their heads to neigh loudly, or kicking their legs to bellow, or shaking their heads. The small birds flying in the air were frightened, and with a sudden whoosh, they flew away in all directions, disappearing from sight in an instant.

  Iron Wolf seemed to have not heard the roar of the Changluo tribe's soldiers, and continued to deploy his troops in an orderly manner. The soldiers arranged themselves according to the horn signals, gradually forming their battle formation. Gong Sunhu led a thousand of the most ferocious soldiers at the front line. Iron Wolf was in the center. Duan Song held Mo Rongfeng's great banner, with a thousand soldiers holding down the rear.

  The horn of advancement finally sounded in anticipation. Murong Feng's army began to move slowly, accelerating gradually, the sound of horseshoes sparse at first but growing denser.

  Ke Zui quickly passed down the orders one by one. The orderlies scattered like birds in a cage when someone suddenly opened the window. The hornblowers following closely behind Ke Zui immediately blew out the latest orders in turn.

  "The long spear soldiers move forward, preparing to intercept."

  "The archer takes aim, ready to shoot."

  "Order the Iron Cavalry to prepare for battle."

  "Order both wings to prepare to cover the center with bows and arrows."

  The Changluo tribe's army began to adjust in a tense and orderly manner under the command of the horn.

  The two sides were three hundred paces apart (approximately equivalent to four hundred and twenty meters today). Duan Song's rear army halted its advance.

  Iron Wolf raised the war knife in his hand and shouted loudly: "Wild Goose Formation! Accelerate forward!" The loud and clear horn sounded exceptionally prominent amidst the dense hoofbeats.

  The warhorse's speed suddenly accelerated. The dense sound of horseshoes immediately turned into a rumble, and then like thunder, shook the entire battlefield.

  A massive army of 4,000 men suddenly formed a goose-head formation led by Gong Sun-tiger, with adult men forming a dense and swift array in the midst of rapid running. The goose head grew longer and sharper, like a sharp sword flashing with murderous intent, ready to devour anyone at any moment. And the thick bottom was like the head of an iron hammer, giving the feeling that if someone picked up the handle, he would roar down like a tiger descending a mountain, crushing anything in his path.

  Ke Zui's face showed a painful expression, as if he had been stabbed by this sharp sword.

  He originally thought that Murong Feng would launch a probing attack with a thousand troops, so he only ordered the central army to press forward with all its might. Now it seems that he was wrong again. Murong Feng's four thousand troops pressed forward together. Murong Feng's wild goose formation was specially used to tear open the enemy's defense line. Its head would drill into the enemy's heart like a wedge, inch by inch, until the enemy collapsed.

  He drew his sword with all his might and roared: "The left wing closes in on the central army, the right wing covers, the central army attacks, full speed ahead!"

  He kicked the horse's belly with all his might, and the warhorse, in pain, shot out like an arrow. The thousand-strong central army immediately wrapped him up in their ranks, drowning him in a torrent of rage.

  Kui Ju stood on a small hill overlooking the entire battlefield. Seeing Ke Zui lead the charge with reckless abandon, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of regret and said to a lean, burly man standing beside him: "Ke Zui has gone mad."

  "He has lost his dignity, lost his power, lost his tribe, and all that's left is this last bit of courage. If he dies, then so be it. Dying on the battlefield is a decent way to go."