Chapter 13: The Great Error of Destiny

  Zhao Xingde, who was staying in the big camp, was awakened by the sound of soldiers running and shouting outside. He felt that the flames were flashing wildly before his eyes, hastily put on his clothes, hesitated for a moment, took out the lock-plate armor given by Song An from his package, quickly wore it inside, hastily put on his helmet, grabbed his sword, bow and arrow, lifted the curtain and went out of the tent. He saw that all around were soldiers running wildly in all directions, some holding torches, others holding swords. In the absence of the commander-in-chief, many battalion commanders and captains took the initiative to lead their men to support the nearest large camp wall. This was also a common practice in the Hebei army. According to military law, it was strictly forbidden to ride horses or run in the camp at night, but when the enemy cavalry launched a surprise attack at night, defending the outer walls of the big camp was more important than anything else.

  Compared with the Hebei expeditionary forces, the garrison of the Northern Territory had the best military discipline. Most soldiers put on their armor and assembled in the open space next to their camp, but the heads and commanders were all sleepy-eyed and somewhat bewildered. They hastily asked for instructions from the main camp, barely gathering the soldiers together. Some had just formed up when they were scattered by friendly forces, while others were squeezed onto the roadside.

  Zhao Xingde followed the soldiers and ran towards the camp wall, passing through tent after tent, with military orders shouted in various Hebei dialects filling his ears. Cavalrymen galloped past him from time to time, some officers shouting "Return to your own camps, do not move on your own!" while more were yelling "The barbarians are raiding the camp!", "Reinforce the camp wall!", "Put on armor and form ranks!", "Prepare to go out and fight!"

  As he approached the wall, Zhao Xingde saw several soldiers who had been shot by arrows outside the tent of the Langzhong army, bandaging their wounds. The arrowheads of the Kui people were not smooth and did not have enough penetration power, but they were more troublesome to remove, and generally, they were also poisonous. The ground was littered with strips of cloth used for dressing wounds, and a pot nearby was still not boiling. Some soldiers were in so much pain that they began to moan and shout, even cursing. Zhao Xingde did not dare to stay, and hastily followed other soldiers to run towards the wall, only to see flames flying wildly in the sky. This was caused by the Kui cavalry rushing forward and shooting out fire arrows, which stuck to the muddy wall of the camp without causing much harm, but those that stuck to the tents and soldiers' bodies were more troublesome.

  The soldiers of the Xingying army all hid behind the walls and carriages, looking quite disheveled. "Why aren't you shooting arrows?" Zhao Xingde asked a soldier with a slightly more pleasant face.

  "General's order, the Huns are not to be allowed in, no shooting of arrows is permitted! Those who disobey will be beheaded!" A cavalryman holding a command arrow carefully reined in his horse outside the range of the Kerulen archers and shouted loudly. This was already the sixth time he had delivered the order. His loud shout drew a batch of resentful glances from the soldiers hiding behind the stockade walls and the carts. The cavalryman did not dare to linger, after shouting twice, he immediately turned his horse's head and galloped away.

  " Bah!" - A soldier from Hebei next to Zhao Xingde spat on the ground, pulled out a steel knife and sharpened it with a whetstone, making a sharp "hiss-hiss-hiss" sound.

  The arrows in the sky flew randomly, Zhao Xingde leaned against the wall of the camp, panting heavily. This wall was made of wooden boards inserted into a compacted earth pile, quite simple. During the Wu Zong dynasty, some of the large camps in Hebei were simple, and the government was gathering troops and civilians to repair them. In about ten days, the Hebei army would move in, so this camp was temporary, without even digging a moat. Originally located in the heart of the Song Dynasty, with three dangerous passes to the north, no one thought it necessary to build a temporary camp too solidly.

  The soldiers in the camp could hear the Huren cavalry's curses and shouts, it was clear that without the archers counterattacking, these arrogant Huren cavalry charged very close. More and more soldiers from the Xingying camp gathered on the inner side of the wall, many were hit by stray arrows, and the situation became chaotic for a while, the Zhenbei army and the Dudu Yamen had to send more troops to suppress these Hebei Xingying soldiers. The sound of the leaning wall being shot by the Keli tribe's arrows made Zhao Xingde recall that night when the merchant team was surrounded by horse bandits, a feeling of shame and humiliation surged up in his heart, Xingde took out five arrows and inserted them into the soil beside him one by one.

  "Damn it, we've run into this useless General and got ourselves into a hopeless battle!" One of the old soldiers suddenly blurted out a curse. Because Zhao Xingde was wearing the newly issued military officer uniform, the old soldier even gave him a provocative glance. "How embarrassing!" "We've never been so embarrassed before!" The soldiers below began to complain.

  At this time, the commander of the Northern First Army, Xin Xingzong, was ordered to leave the camp to comfort the Kliehete cavalry. He came to the back of the arrow tower on the wall of the camp, and the interpreter who was familiar with the barbarian language had a slightly hoarse voice. Xin Xingzong then found three soldiers with particularly loud voices, and together they shouted loudly: "Those outside the Northern First Army listen well! General Tong has an order: if you have come to avenge General Kliehete of the horse depot, temporarily return to camp and rest. General Tong will definitely take charge for you!"

  The interpreter's words were complicated, and the three messengers didn't quite get it right. The Khitans, who were skilled in riding and shooting, couldn't hear clearly amidst the commotion, and their arrows kept flying nonstop. Xin Xingzong was anxious like an ant on a hot skillet, unwilling to go out and die, yet not daring to return and report failure. The soldiers from Hebei province, who had some knowledge of the barbarian language from their border patrols, simply watched the scene with cold eyes and laughed.

  After a while, the arrow rain outside the camp did not thin out. Xin Xingzong made a decision and let the communicator and three loudspeakers shout out Tong Guan's consolation. This was originally something he wanted to explain in person to the people of the First Army of Zhenbei, also showing personal feelings. "General Tong is compassionate, providing 5,000 bolts of cloth for mourning, to mourn the passing of Ke Lie."

  The Keraites on the grasslands also had people coming to collect sable fur, cattle and sheep hides, etc. The main goods for trade were fabrics, so the word "fabric" was heard very accurately, and the number 5,000 was also heard clearly. According to the rules of the grasslands, the defeated side could offer cattle and sheep as tribute to the victor to seek peace. This Keraites person had entered the heartland of the Song Dynasty, and their chieftain had died; originally they hadn't planned on returning alive, but vaguely heard that the Han people wanted to offer tribute and seek peace, so the arrows and projectiles became sparse. Several small leaders and the chieftain's son, Hu'erzha Husi, discussed it for a while, and after their warhorses had galloped for half the night, they should rest for a moment; let the Song people first bring out the tribute goods before saying anything else.

  Tong Shi translated the demands of the Kui people to Xin Xingzong, who was overjoyed and ordered his soldiers to quickly send out the 5,000 bolts of cloth. Although it was a large quantity, it required the handling of several officials and clerks, including Zhou Dingcheng, as it was an unusual task with no opportunity for corruption. As a result, the efficiency of the logistics camp was not high, and it took about half a day to load the 5,000 bolts of cloth onto carts and send them to the gate of the main camp.

  In this short period of time, the Khitai cavalry outside stopped to rest their horses, and many soldiers from the Hebei expeditionary force also relaxed, crowding near the camp wall. Not a few people stuck their heads out from behind the wall, curiously gazing at the cavalry that called itself the Fifth Army of the North, which was so bold as to attack the main camp despite its commander being assassinated.

  Xing Zong Zheng and others were anxious, seeing the 5,000 bolts of cloth finally arrive. He hastily ordered his soldiers: "What are you still dawdling for? Open the camp gate wide and hand over these relief supplies to those outside." As the pulleys creaked and turned, the large camp gate opened. Over 150 soldiers from the First Army of the Northern Garrison, some driving mules and others pushing single-wheeled carts, loaded with cloth, slowly exited the camp. Not far away, more than 2,000 cavalrymen mounted their horses, forming a sparse array, vigilantly watching the approaching Southern Dynasty troops.

  Zhao Xingde was behind the stockade, looking from a distance, and saw that the team of carts carrying silk fabrics had arrived in front of the Kui tribe's cavalry. The officer who led the way and the interpreter were together, comparing and drawing pictures, seemingly wanting the barbarians to inspect the silk fabrics on the spot so that he could return and report back. The leading Hu riders simply flipped through the silk fabrics, chattering and saying something, and then the officer in charge of delivering the silk fabrics began to argue with them. Soon, the officer waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to leave the carts and wheelbarrows on the spot, turned around and walked away. Without taking a dozen steps, one of the Hu riders behind him drew his bow and shot an arrow, which pierced the back of the officer's head, and he fell to the ground with a thud, face up.

  Almost at the same moment, the soldiers standing on the wall of the big camp suddenly let out a cry of surprise. As the soldiers who were carrying things began to rush desperately towards the gate of the big camp, the Huns behind them urged their horses, some drew their curved knives, and others strung their bows and arrows. The cavalry of the Kereyid tribe let out the special shout for surrounding and fighting, and amidst the sound of horse hooves, there were occasionally a few cries of soldiers being chopped down or shot, many people fell to the ground with expressions of confusion and terror on their faces.

  "Run quickly!" "Damn it!" "Open the camp gate and let Grandfather go to battle!" The soldiers of Hebei Army who were watching from the wall of the big camp shouted, although the world had been peaceful for a long time, but the skirmishes around the border military states and forts had never stopped. When did the soldiers of Hebei Army die so miserably?

  Other military commanders were still in their deployment accounts, and Xin Xingzong, the commander of the First Army of the North, had a pale face. He watched as his soldiers fell one by one to the ground, until the last one was only ten or so steps away from the gate of the large camp. A cavalryman rushed over from behind, holding a curved knife, and cut off his neck without hesitation. The soldier's headless body fell to the ground with a thud. The cavalryman excitedly shouted loudly, waving the curved knife at the guards of the Hebei Army at the gate of the large camp, turned his horse around, and galloped away.

  As the last soldier outside the camp was killed, the emotions of the soldiers gathered inside the camp could no longer be controlled. Xingzong's face was still pale, and he said, "The fifth army of the Northern Territory, no, those damned Khitans who ate 5,000 bolts of silk without permission, also dared to kill people from my first army. We must report this to the commander-in-chief and severely punish them." However, the soldiers at the camp gate were agitated and needed to be controlled. Before the commander's order to quell the riot came, if these people rushed out and disrupted the situation, they might have turned their anger on themselves.

  At this point, Xin Xingzong rode on his horse and instructed the deputy general beside him: "Before the commander's order comes down, no soldier or soldier is allowed to go out, nor is it allowed to shoot an arrow or a stone at the Hu cavalry. Otherwise, it will be unclear." Then, under the protection of dozens of close guards, he squeezed open a road from the chaotic army and rushed towards the commander's tent. The first deputy general in charge of guarding the gate of the large camp was Xin Xingzong's confidant, who was mediocre at fighting but very good at executing military orders. He immediately ordered the closure of the camp gate, and the bows and crossbows on the wall turned around to face the turbulent soldiers who wanted to rush out and fight the Hu cavalry to the death.

  Xingzong had just left, but the situation behind him was out of control. The Hebei soldiers who witnessed the whole event began to rage uncontrollably. The original order-maintaining Beiyuan First Army, having lost over a hundred comrades just now, was in low spirits. "Damn it! Can't let people live like this!" "Being a soldier and eating rations isn't supposed to be so humiliating!" "Shameless!" "It's all that eunuch's fault!" "Indeed a treacherous minister!" "Driven away General Liu, and now these barbarians are bullying us!" "Go back to the camp, kill the eunuch general! Then find the old general to clarify the situation!" "Kill that eunuch!" "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!"

  The pent-up anger of the soldiers who could not leave the camp finally turned around, from Liu Yanqing's resignation, being forced to bid farewell to his family and leave Daming Prefecture to move to Hejian, where the military rations were high and the supplies for other armies were getting less and less. The suppressed anger burst out at this moment, more and more soldiers blamed their misfortunes on the new commander-in-chief Tong Guan, and began to surge towards the center of the camp in groups.

  Zhao Xingde crouched under the wall of the camp, his face pale as he watched this scene unfold before his eyes. Outside, the Kerulen cavalry was wildly shouting and galloping, arrows flying chaotically. Inside, the disordered soldiers had lost control, and without an officer to command them, these troops who were normally held in check by military law, "Camp shout?" "Mutiny?" The two words flashed through Zhao Xingde's mind, and he was at a loss for what to do. Two lines of sweat slowly trickled down his spine.