Chapter Twenty-Five: The Battle of Wits

  "Zhao Wu Xu 2014", every time a chapter is released, I can always see the figure of brothers on time, thank you!

  Ma Xun led the 24 Han cavalrymen, and as soon as they galloped out of more than ten miles, they saw a vast expanse of yellow dust in the northwest direction, which was a sign of the emergence of a large number of cavalry.

  Ma Hu led the cavalry to stop, with more than 20 riders scattered in a semicircle behind him. Under Tang Nu's leadership, they inspected their knives, axes, and armor. After finishing, they put down their bows and arrows, and hung the cloth cover on both sides of their feet, covering the stirrups. As for this secret weapon, they would keep it confidential as long as possible, at least until the Han cavalry formed a combat force, and try not to let the Huns know.

  The Xianbei cavalry currently uses bows, arrows, and armor, which are basically taken from the defeated Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes. These tribes are relatively weak, with poor military strength, lack of iron, and few armor, even arrowheads are made of bronze, some are even bone-made. Ma Xian had to capture seven tribes to barely gather 40-50 sets of old leather armor, 20-30 knives and axes, and 50-60 usable short bows to equip the regular cavalry. As for the reserve cavalry, they basically belong to the "three noes" type without armor, iron arrows, or knives and axes, only equipped with rough bows and bone arrows, their individual combat power is not even comparable to that of ordinary herdsmen.

  At first, the small amount of fine armor captured by Ma Xian was only awarded to cavalry officers above the rank of Shi Chang. Ma Xian had already been considering that when the Han Gua unit expanded and had the strength to protect itself, he would have to go to Shanggu Ning City to seek an audience with the protector of Wuhuan, Xing Ju. See if he could get a mutual trade qualification, participate in border transactions, and exchange goods for materials such as furs, horses, etc.

  Of course, these are all afterwords, and for now, the urgent task is how to get through this current ordeal.

  On the horizon, a large number of cavalry suddenly emerged, with shaved hair and gray coats, strong bows and angry horses. Among them, a considerable part of the cavalry wore leather armor, and dozens of riders wore leather helmets, their equipment was so fine that it almost caught up with the personal guards of Khan Lu. In the middle of the cavalry unit, a cyan flag with an animal-shaped tip stood out, which was the tribal emblem of the central Xianbei.

  Ma Xun's face was solemn, and in the past month, he had not only learned the Huns' language (a common language of the Rong and Di peoples), but also gained a general understanding of the distribution of power among the three counties of Wuhuan and the three branches of Xianbei, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each branch's leaders. The blue-colored corner beast flag was the emblem of the middle branch of Xianbei, next to the main account. Could it be that the visitor was not the younger brother of Chebiyan, the lord of Zhuluo? If so, it would be a great reward.

  More than 300 Xianbei cavalrymen, raising a vast cloud of dust, slowly approached Ma Xian's party, stopping about 100 paces away. The cavalry formed a fan-shaped array, surrounding them from three sides.

  Ma Xun took one look at the opponent's formation and knew that this was a cavalry with combat experience. A hundred paces is a relatively subtle distance, not close enough to provoke the enemy, but also not far enough to be unable to catch up when the enemy escapes. The semi-encirclement formation serves the same purpose. If the enemy relies on their large numbers and surrounds them with a fierce momentum, they would have fled long ago and wouldn't dare to face them head-on.

  Ma Xun turned back, and what he saw was Tang Nu's tense and resolute face. This man had put life and death aside since the day of declaration of resistance, and facing a strong enemy was nothing but a fight to the death. The more than 20 Han Goguryeo cavalrymen were as nervous as their war horses, with pale faces, unstable breathing, and trembling hands holding bows and arrows... Regardless of whether they performed well or poorly, at least one thing everyone had achieved - all the Han Goguryeo cavalrymen were facing the Xianbei people head-on.

  Ma Yuan was very satisfied. In his view, the enemy and our forces were so uneven, and the Han Gou cavalry who had just come out of the thatched cottage dared to face the enemy head-on without running away, which was already remarkable. As a leader, he wanted a team that dared to fight. How to fight was the responsibility of this leader; whether or not to fight was the responsibility of every soldier.

  "General." Tang Nu said in a low voice, "Take advantage of the enemy's unsteadiness, we'll launch a surprise attack and strike first to intimidate them."

  Ma Xun gazed at the enemy commander under the giant flag, shaking his head slowly: "We are still too weak now, we can't afford to lose even a bit, it's not worth taking risks."

  Tang Nu worried: "But if we let the Xianbei people take the lead, our twenty or so men will probably not be able to withstand their first charge..."

  "In that case, we won't let the Xianbei people make the first move." Ma Heng urged his horse to gallop out and threw back a sentence that left Tang Nu bewildered, "I've long heard that the Hu wind is fierce and bold, and now is the time to verify whether this saying is true or not."

  When Ma Hu rode out, a Xianbei cavalryman also rushed out and loudly said in the common language of the Huns: "Xianbei Jianditai's deputy king, Xiaogui Muduo, led the great Xianbei invincible warriors to punish the evil slaves who invaded our tribe. Can you surrender?"

  Kanti Department, Ma Huan had heard of this tribe, which was one of the more powerful branches among the central Xianbei tribes, second only to the Kui tribe. The Kanti Department's yurt is over 500 miles away from here, what wind blew hundreds of cavalrymen from that tribe to come here?

  Ma Xian held the leopard bow high, his arm slowly sinking down to chest level, with the bow tip pointing forward, exuding a fierce killing intent: "I've always heard that the Huns settle disputes with force and are ashamed of using reason, so I won't waste words either - I, Ma Xian! The Han Dynasty's Goguryeo Department Commander, challenges the Xiongnu Ti Department's strongest warriors. You can choose your three strongest warriors to engage in a three-round duel with me: horseback archery, horseback combat, and horn-butting. Choose as you please. If I lose, do with me as you will; if I win, you'll retreat! How about it? 'The Great Xiongnu Invincible Warrior', dare you accept the challenge?"

  As soon as Ma Xian spoke, the opposing side was in an uproar. From time to time, a Xianbei cavalryman would ride out, gallop to the foot of the great banner, and loudly ask for battle. Even more Xianbei warriors brandished their whips, urged on their horses, waved their sabers, and danced with their bows, constantly shouting at Ma Xian in a show of intimidation. What's more, some even charged right up to within thirty paces of Ma Xian's horse, drew their bows, fired blanks, and loudly threatened him. The swift horses were like the wind, the shouts were like thunder, the bowstrings rang out with empty shots, and the momentum was frightening.

  The Han cavalry were pale with fear, reins in hand, and the joints of their bow-holding fingers turned white. Ma Xiu was as steady as a silver arrow, unmoving like a living root, his gaze at the Xianbei people like watching monkeys play. Tang Nu's emotions were mixed with joy and worry, joyful that the general had issued a challenge, undoubtedly the best solution at present, the Xianbei people would certainly accept. Worried was that although the general was very strong, to win all three battles, it couldn't help but make one break out in cold sweat.

  After about an incense stick, the Xianbei people seemed to have made a decision. More than ten riders rushed out under the big flag, led by a Xianbei youth who was about 15 or 16 years old, with a square face and broad forehead, thick eyebrows and big eyes, high nose and thick lips, strong physique, surrounded by more than ten riders, obviously not an ordinary identity.

  A Xianbei youth galloped up to within thirty paces of Ma Huan and stopped, carefully sizing him up. He nodded slowly: "Indeed, you have a bit of the air of a Han dynasty brave warrior. The great Xianbei Khan Ti's brave warriors will never refuse to engage in a test of strength with an opponent, nor will we take advantage of you. We'll send out three men for each of three rounds; you can also change three men for each round. As you said, if you lose, I'll deal with you as I please; but if you win, I'll turn around immediately and never cross the Nu River."

  Ma Xian stared at the Xianbei youth and said word by word: "Can you represent the three hundred riders of the Jian Ti department?"

  "I can!" The Xianbei youth replied loudly without hesitation, "Because I am Xièguīní."

  Ma Xun raised his bow with one hand, and the young man also raised the short bow in his hand. The two sides clashed remotely, striking the bow and making a vow, and the battle began!