Chapter 2: The Stormy Weather of Yan and Zhao Section 17

  Tian Chong led his men to rush into the fodder field quietly. As Li Hong had expected, more than a dozen soldiers were lying on the thick dry grass, sleeping soundly. Tian Chong swung his hand forcefully, and ten soldiers wielded their swords, immediately launching a massacre.

  "Two people in a group, search around quickly." Tian Zhong ordered in a low voice.

  The soldiers immediately ran around the hay yard, searching for other enemy traces. At this time, they can't make any mistakes. If there are still fish that have escaped the net and set fire to the hay yard in a hurry, all their previous efforts will be wasted.

  Tian Chong stood near a horse shed on the outermost side, patiently waiting for the soldiers to return. Before long, everyone came back one after another, indicating to Tian Chong that no other enemies were found.

  Tian Jingliang lit the torch. This was the signal he and Li Hong, Xian Yu Fu's two troops had agreed upon. As soon as they fully controlled the fodder field, they would immediately send out the signal to notify them to start the attack.

  A faintly shining flame suddenly appeared in the pitch-black night, and from a distance, it seemed especially eerie.

  Li Hong kicked the horse's belly, and the warhorse, in pain, let out a loud whinny and galloped out. The soldiers formed two rows, closely following behind, silently rushing towards the barracks on the west side of the pasture.

  It was the middle of the night, and the weather was extremely cold. The soldiers in the tent were all asleep, and the sentry soldiers couldn't bear the cold and fatigue, hiding behind the tent to sleep. There were also a few soldiers who were more responsible, propping themselves up against the wooden fence of the camp to doze off.

  A soldier suddenly woke up, feeling like something was moving. He slowly walked to the entrance of the camp and looked around, but found nothing. The soldier shook his head in confusion, just about to leave when he faintly heard a low rumbling sound. Then he saw a huge black mass rushing out of the darkness. The soldier was momentarily stunned, unsure what it was or what was happening. But instinctively, he reached for the bugle hanging from his neck.

  He didn't get the horn, he grabbed a long arrow, a long arrow that pierced his own chest. Immediately, he felt an intense pain, he opened his mouth in agony, ready to let out a mournful cry. In the darkness, another long arrow shot again, straight through his open mouth, out of the back of his neck, with a burst of fresh blood, and the huge impact force brought him down, pinning him to the grass.

  Feng Qiang's powerful and majestic figure appeared outside the gate, followed by several soldiers who quickly killed the sleeping sentry leaning against the wooden fence. The gate was wide open. Xian Yu Fu led his warriors into the enemy's camp, more warriors rode their horses to crash into the fence and rushed in directly.

  "Kill...!" Xian Yu Fu's loud shout was echoed by the warriors, and for a moment, the sound of killing filled the dark pasture.

  At the same time, Tian set fire to the horse stable, and a big fire burst into the sky.

  Li Hongyi took the lead, charging directly at the enemy's wooden palisade. The warriors following close behind almost simultaneously charged and crashed into it. A large section of the wooden palisade immediately collapsed.

  "Kill...!" Li Hong shouted loudly.

  "Kill..." The warriors echoed in unison, and the thunder-like voice suddenly tore through the quiet of the black night.

  Xian Yu Fu's iron spear tore through the first tent, four or five war horses roared in anger, trampling the sleeping enemy soldiers' bodies as they galloped by, and immediately more war horses followed behind them, trampling over the already dead enemy soldiers' corpses. In an instant, a dozen or so soldiers were reduced to a bloody mess of flesh and mud.

  Two hundred soldiers yelled, crazily whipping their war horses, and recklessly galloping over the enemy's tents. The front row of people used long weapons to tear open the enemy's leather tent, the middle row of people trampled over the bodies of the enemy who were still asleep or had woken up in confusion, and the back row of people held weapons in their hands, not only whipping their horses but also swinging their weapons to slaughter the remaining enemy soldiers. The place that was swept by the iron cavalry was a mess, and it was a pitiful sight.

  Xian Yu Fu's iron cavalry roared like a fierce tiger, all the way bloodthirsty, madly killing towards the depths of darkness.

  Li Hong's long spear was like a blood-drinking ghost in the dark night, wildly howling and ferociously devouring the living souls in their sleep. The warriors' ferocity was unleashed, their hatred bursting forth from their battle cries, they furiously roared, mercilessly whipping their horses into a frenzy, trampling down both fallen enemies and collapsing tents with abandon, wantonly crushing and destroying, drowning the enemy's despair and wails of agony in a sea of blood.

  More than 200 tents of the Wuhuan and Xianbei people were distributed in a narrow range, less than 300 steps long and no more than 50 steps wide. This dense formation gave the raiders a great opportunity, and they slaughtered thousands of lives without much effort. The effect of trampling on the connected camps was truly astonishing.

  Many soldiers died in their sleep, and more died in a daze. When the warriors stationed in the middle of the camp ran out of their tents in a state of panic, their fate was even more tragic. Han soldiers emerged from the darkness on both sides to carry out a bloody massacre against them.

  The soldiers, awakened by the cries of killing and rumbling sounds, were disheveled in their clothes, wailing and fleeing in all directions within the camp. They roughly knew that their troops had been raided, and as soon as they saw the flames soaring into the sky from the fodder field, they knew that the enemy was extremely numerous and massive. Having just retreated from the nightmare-like Lulong Pass, the soldiers were extremely frightened and disheartened, without rest or recovery from the shadow of defeat. Without any defense, they were immediately subjected to an even more terrifying night raid, with no escape.

  Li Hong's long spear danced up and down, Xian Yu's iron halberd chopped left and right, the warriors' weapons rose and fell like flying birds, the fierce warhorses brutally collided, countless lives quietly disappeared in the dark night. The dim moon in the sky couldn't bear to witness the slaughter of this world, and quietly hid behind thick black clouds.

  Yan Wuyi led his brothers through the dense rows of tents, like a whirlwind sweeping across the plain, and burst into the central command tent with lightning speed.

  Wu Yan and Que Ji, along with the two thousand-man commanders of the Xianbei people, were extremely disheartened. After spending a sleepless night taking leave to discuss future plans with Murong Feng, they indulged in excessive drinking of kumis in the grand tent, eventually collapsing from intoxication. Having lost nearly nine thousand soldiers' lives and with Lulong Pass already under their feet, at the moment when victory was within their grasp, the fruit of victory was snatched away before their very eyes. Where is justice? Is there still justice in this world?

  They were heartbroken, for the lives buried at the Lülong Pass were their kin; they were resentful, for the great Han people had exchanged their blood for a glorious victory; they were worried, for the huge losses had already forced them to take the road of no return. On the grasslands, without strength, one would become someone else's prey and fall into a lowly tribe.

  But an even greater disaster was approaching.

  Yan Wuyi and his brothers rushed in, their war horses rising and falling as they struck down several guards who came to meet them. They then charged into the great tent with their horses. Wu Yan, Que Ji and two Xianbei thousand-household heads were immediately startled awake, but were still dazed and had not yet fully woken up.

  The four soldiers at the front did not stop, continuing to ride their horses high and jump over the middle of the big tent, charging directly to the other end of the big tent. Only the flashing knives were seen, and the tall tent was torn open from the middle as the horses galloped out, they flew out of the big tent.

  Yan Wuyi and the other soldiers tightened their reins. The war horses, in pain, raised their front hooves high, and although the horse's head with a muzzle could not let out a long whinny, it also rose up high, making a terrifying scene. Wu Yan and Que Ji were startled, immediately came to their senses, and made a move as if they were about to draw their swords. Yan Wuyi and his men, following the war horses' upright bodies, flew off the horses and pounced on Wu Yan and his three companions in mid-air. More than ten people were instantly entangled together, only hearing Wu Yan's miserable cries like killing a pig, which was particularly terrifying in the crowd. His chest was injured, and he was pressed to the ground by Yan Wuyi and several soldiers as fierce as tigers, kicked and beaten, already covered in blood, and fainted from pain.

  Li Hong and his Iron Cavalry crossed paths with Xian Yu Fu's Iron Cavalry in an instant.

  The surviving soldiers in the two large camps had not yet found a way to escape, when suddenly the iron cavalry appeared again, these devil-like knights brought with them an atmosphere of thunder and lightning, like a burst dam, roaring, howling, destroying everything, sweeping away all remaining life.

  The fire in the direction of the hayfield grew bigger and bigger, with flames soaring into the sky, casting a red glow over half the horizon. The sheer scale of it left people aghast, their livers and gallbladders shattered. Many soldiers who had run towards the horse grounds were frightened out of their wits, let out a miserable cry, turned around and ran back to the battlefield, seeking an opportunity to escape.

  The battlefield, which had been shaken by the sound of killing, was suddenly illuminated by flames. The enemy, who had been rushing about like wolves and pigs, were terrified to the extreme. They cried out in despair, shouting and running wildly, just like a group of sheep waiting to be slaughtered in a pen.

  When Li Hong and Xian Yu Fu led their respective iron cavalry to brush past the enemy's main camp for the second time, the ferocious enemy began to counterattack. They woke up from their initial fear and confusion, and after the iron cavalry rushed past, they started looking for weapons, gathering in groups of three or five, forming small formations, preparing to fight to the end.

  Long arrows whizzing through the air from different directions, the warriors beside Li Hong were suddenly shot down from their horses by the enemy's cold arrows.

  Li Hong suddenly shouted: "Accelerate, accelerate..."

  Li Hong's loud roar in the dark night was majestic and mournful, surpassing the killing sounds on the battlefield. The clear echo resounded in the ears of the warriors. The flying war horses accelerated again under the whip and kick of the knights. Some enemy soldiers who were preparing to fight saw the war horses charging like mad and were scared away. Small groups of three or five enemies did not need to swing their weapons, relying solely on the speed of the war horses to knock them flying. However, some enemy cold arrows and some fierce enemies who feared death blocked the charge, causing casualties among the cavalry to gradually increase.

  Li Hong rushed towards Xian Yu Fu and shouted loudly: "Speed up, we must speed up."

  Xian Yu Fu Gaosheng responded: "Accelerate, full-body acceleration..." The iron spear in his hand pointed forward, piercing and lifting an enemy who was about to sneak up and shoot an arrow, throwing him high into the air. The enemy's mournful cry stopped abruptly as he fell to the ground.

  The fierce battle soon entered a white-hot state. However, the enemy, having lost the command and organization of their leader, also lost the familiar sound of the horn to communicate, resulting in each fighting separately, with an outcome that was self-evident, their disastrous defeat and annihilation were already irreversible.

  The two iron riders' speed accelerated on the battlefield that was gradually losing its resistance, their battle cries grew fainter and fainter, and the fleeing silhouettes of the enemy became increasingly sparse under the repeated trampling of the iron riders. The surrendered enemies clung tightly to the fence, fearing they would be swept away by the wild iron riders and never see the morning sun again.

  When Li Hong and Xian Yu Fu led the warriors to gather in the enemy's camp for the fifth time, it was only a short distance from leaving the battlefield, just two miles away. Too fast. The warriors seemed to be dreaming, still immersed in the bloody and cruel killing, looking at the hundreds of captives surrounded by the two troops, looking at the chaotic battlefield with blood and flesh everywhere, looking at the flames rising into the sky on the pasture, no one could believe that they had defeated the fierce Huns and eliminated more than 2,000 Hun soldiers.

  It was unclear who it was, but someone suddenly shouted out loud, shattering the brief dream.

  "We won, we won, we won, ah..."

  The soldiers suddenly welcomed the great joy brought by victory from their shock, everyone was excited, each holding up their weapons and cheering loudly, the roar of celebrating victory echoed across the battlefield, echoing through the dark night.

  The ferocious Wuhuan people and the Xianbei were caught off guard by the Han army's iron cavalry, with no chance to fight back. Until the end of the battle, they had no opportunity to organize an effective resistance. They were stunned, knocked down, and crushed by the speed of the Han army's iron cavalry. Over a thousand soldiers were trampled or killed by the war horses or struck down by the Han soldiers. More than 300 people surrendered as prisoners, while only 200-300 people managed to escape under cover of darkness. The Han army suffered over 100 casualties.

  The raid on the Hundred Spirits Pasture ended with the warriors' battle cries.

  The sky gradually brightened, and the big fire on the grassland had been extinguished, leaving only a few long black smoke columns drifting with the wind.

  Li Hong sat on a dead war horse, letting the cold wind blow his long hair. The battlefield was littered with corpses, and the air was filled with a strong bloody smell that made people want to vomit.

  Yan Wuwei and several soldiers escorted Wu Yan, Que Ji and two Xianbei thousand-household officials to Li Hong's presence, forcing them to kneel down on the ground.

  Wu Yan's face was twisted in agony, with a layer of dense sweat on his forehead. He looked up and saw Li Hong, the Han man who had cut him, and let out a startled cry: "Is it you?"

  Li Hong gazed at him coldly, his face expressionless. It was this man who led the army to attack Lulong Pass, killing over a thousand soldiers of Lulong Pass, killing Tian Jing, killing Ji Ming, and killing so many good brothers of his own.

  He stood up and drew his sword from his waist. He was going to kill this man, kill the one who had started the war.

  "Are you a leopard?" Wu Yan shouted fiercely.

  Li Hong gazed at him with a face full of murderous intent. He walked to Wu Yan's side, grasped his knife with both hands, ready to behead him with one slash.

  "How dare you kill me?" Wu Yan saw Li Hong's murderous gaze and finally couldn't bear the fear in his heart, shouting out loud.

  Li Hong sneered and raised his knife to chop.

  Suddenly, an iron spear flew through the air and swiftly stabbed towards Li Hong.