Chapter Twenty: The Decisive Plan

  "Zuo Gutou's array has been defeated..."

  "Zuo Gutou's army has been defeated."

  "Report! Zuo Xian Wang, Zuo...Zuo Gutouhou's formation has been defeated."

  Those Huns cavalry retreated while still shouting in surprise.

  As the Xiongnu cavalry in front of him began to retreat, Qin Cheng suddenly turned around and helped Wu Daliang up with his two arms, carefully but quickly.

  "What's so great about that?" Wu Daliang looked at Qin Cheng with a weak gaze, wanting to smile but instead spitting out a mouthful of blood.

  "Shut up." Qin Cheng wiped away the blood from Wu Daliang's mouth with one hand, and his movements didn't stop as he picked up Wu Daliang.

  Wu Daliang was already covered in blood, his iron armor had many knife scars, and one of the ring buckles had fallen off. The whole set of dark armor hung crookedly on him. Qin Cheng furrowed his brow, first helping Wu Daliang onto the horse before mounting himself.

  At this time, a loud shout came from the hundreds of Xiongnu cavalrymen who were originally fleeing in all directions, followed by a scream.

  "Halt, all of you! Anyone who retreats will be killed without pardon!" The Left Guardian King spurred his horse forward, cutting down the cavalrymen who were fleeing in front with one slash of his sword. His long sword pointed straight at the crowd of cavalrymen before him, his eyes filled with majesty glaring fiercely at these warriors whose minds had already been thrown into disarray. His iron-like face showed his indignation.

  "Why did you retreat?!"

  "Zuo Gutouhou has fallen in battle, are you all going to flee now?!"

  "When did the brave warriors of Great Huns become fleeing soldiers on the battlefield?!"

  "What face do you have to meet the spirits of Zuo Botou and other martyrs who died in battle? What face do you have to meet the wives and children on the grasslands?"

  "How dare you show your faces before the Kunlun God?!"

  The enraged Zuo Xian Wang shouted loudly, spitting stars flying everywhere, one sentence louder than the other, one sentence angrier than the other!

  He felt extremely unreasonable. Had the brave warriors of Xiongnu ever fled like this before? Even when facing Flying General Li Guang, they had never been so defeated.

  The Left Virtuous King, who had just been blocked from view by hundreds of cavalrymen, did not see the scene where Qin Cheng beheaded Zuo Gutouhou and could not understand the behavior of these fleeing cavalrymen and their mentality just now.

  After being scolded by Zuo Xianwang, after a burst of horse whinnies, these Xiongnu cavalrymen who had just been intimidated by Qin City barely stabilized their formation, and they all looked at Zuo Xianwang in terror.

  "A mighty warrior of the great Xiongnu, a descendant of the Kunlun god, can he flee in the face of battle?" The cavalry before him steadied their formation. Left Xiāo Wáng's rationality recovered somewhat, "Under the protection of the Kunlun god, we will surely be invincible in battle!"

  "Kunlun God!" Left Xian Wang shouted with a raised arm.

  "Kunlun God!"

  "Kunlun God!"

  "Kunlun God!"

  The Xiongnu soldiers, who were just in a state of fear, involuntarily shouted the name "Qunlun God", and gradually they calmed down, their eyes no longer filled with fear, replaced by a growing fervor. The tone of shouting "Qunlun God" also grew louder, and soon they almost regained their usual fearless spirit.

  "Now, I command." Half a sound, Left Xian Wang looked around at the surrounding Xiongnu cavalry and shouted loudly, "The whole army gathers to hold a funeral ceremony for Zuo Gutu Marquis. I want to take his ashes back to the grassland and let his soul return to the arms of Kunlun God!"

  "May Kunlun God see not only the soul of Zuo Botou Hou, but also your glorious victory!"

  ……

  Qin Cheng rushed back to Lao Ying Kou on horseback, a distance of twenty or thirty zhang, in just a few breaths. After dismounting, Dong Zhu and others who had been waiting aside helped to lift down Wu Daliang and handed him over to the military doctor who had been waiting for orders.

  Wu Daliang's injury was severe, but fortunately, his life was not in danger, and Qin Cheng slightly relaxed. Qin Cheng, who had been paying attention to Wu Daliang all along, did not notice that the surrounding soldiers were looking at him with a respectful gaze.

  "Well done!" Li Guang patted Qin Cheng's shoulder heavily, his eyes full of unreserved praise. Even Li Gan by his side looked at him with admiration.

  "Lucky to have fulfilled your orders." Qin Cheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Beheaded the Left Bone Lord, greatly boosted our Han army's prestige, this battle's top merit, belongs to none other than you." This battle had been forced by the Xiongnu people to this point, Li Guang could be said to be extremely stifled. Now that Qin City has beheaded the Xiongnu Left Bone Lord, Li Guang is also very relieved at heart.

  "But the Xiongnu will not retreat, does the general have a plan?" Qin Cheng didn't talk about military achievements, only asked about military affairs, and also acknowledged his own merits. However, compared to military achievements, he was more concerned about whether he had a life to receive this achievement.

  When asked by Qin Cheng, Li Guang walked up the mountain stone and gestured for Qin to follow him. He didn't seem displeased that Qin had asked an improper question. Perhaps in his heart, he was also feeling stifled because he hadn't thought of a good plan yet.

  The Huns opposite did not immediately organize a counterattack, and from the mountain pass, looking down at the stone, you can see that the post road was crowded with cavalry, but in the middle, a considerable empty space was left.

  Qin Cheng crouched beside Li Guang, quietly observing everything in front of him. However, he couldn't help but think about the reason why Li Guang didn't brush him off and instead brought him along directly.

  It's hard to say, but Li Guang has already taken a liking to you, and wants to cultivate you?

  "General, what are the Huns doing?" a soldier asked in a low voice.

  "Just take a look and you'll know." said Li Guang.

  Before long, the Xiongnu cavalry began to cut down trees, remove branches, and divide the trunks into sections, each about one zhang (a unit of length) long. After finishing this, the Xiongnu people started building a high platform with these logs. By nightfall, a half-zhang-high platform was built.

  "Father, are these Xiongnu people going to make sacrifices here?" Li Gan asked, seeing the Xiongnu people building a high platform.

  "You ignorant child, stop speaking nonsense." Li Guang shouted, his eyes fixed on the direction of the Xiongnu people, his face changing between sunny and cloudy.

  Li dared to scold, not at all embarrassed, as if he was used to such a lesson.

  "General, I'm afraid something is amiss!" Qin Cheng suddenly said.

  "What's good and what's not, you're just a small thing, how do you know? Stop speaking nonsense here!" Before Li Guang could respond, Li Gan interrupted, looking very displeased.

  Qin Cheng was just a Shi Chang after all, and among a group of school lieutenants, it was naturally not his turn to speak.

  "Shut up!" Li Guang glared at Li Gan, who reluctantly shrank his neck. Only then did Li Guang turn to Qin Cheng, "Speak freely, what's the bad news?"

  "General, look." Qin Cheng pointed to the edge of the open space in the middle of the Xiongnu people, where there was a frame similar to a stretcher, and on the stretcher, it seemed that someone was lying down.

  Following Qin Cheng's finger, Li Guang's eyebrows tightened a few more degrees.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, before long, the Xiongnu people carried the stretcher with the person on it to the high platform.

  Then, a Hun-like leader holding a torch approached the platform, with his hands open, saying something to the night sky, vaguely hearing some sounds like Zu Bone Hou and Kunlun God. After finishing speaking, all the Huns bowed their heads towards the platform, with their right fists on their chests. At this time, the leader-like person ignited the platform with the torch in his hand.

  "Kunlun God, Kunlun God, Kunlun God......"

  This time all Han military officers including Qin Cheng heard the loud shout of the Xiongnu people.

  Li Guang's face suddenly turned extremely ugly.

  "The Xiongnu people are cremating Zuo Biwu Hou?!" Li Gan exclaimed. Having followed the army for so long, he also knew what it meant for the Xiongnu to cremate Zuo Biwu Hou at this time.

  In short, the Xiongnu Left Wise King is using this ritual to stimulate the revenge of the entire Xiongnu army and boost morale. It can be imagined that on the next day, these Xiongnu people, driven by hatred, will launch what kind of attack on the Han army's stronghold at Laojuntou. Originally, losing a great general was a huge blow to morale, but the Left Bone Duhou managed to turn this funeral into an advantage, making the death of the Left Bone Duhou become a pretext for stimulating the Xiongnu army's morale.

  The means of Zuo Xianwang can be seen from this.

  The Xiongnu's determination to thoroughly defeat Li Guang this time can also be seen from this.

  "What shall we do, General?"

  "I will lead the remaining cavalry in a final charge, General, take this opportunity to retreat quickly!"

  "General..."

  Understanding the intentions of the Xiongnu people, all the generals immediately became anxious.

  "Gentlemen, calm down!" Li Guang's heart was also shocked, but his face remained very calm.

  After the crowd calmed down, Li Guang said: "The order is issued, and the whole army will eat immediately and rest for a while. Half an hour later, the cavalry captain led all the cavalry to launch a frontal attack, not seeking to behead, but only to disturb the Xiongnu people!

  "Agreed!" The cavalry captain replied.

  "Light infantry is responsible for covering the cavalry's retreat!"

  "Promise!"

  "Heavy infantry in charge of drumming and cheering!"

  "Hello!"

  "The whole army acts immediately!" Li Guang waved his big hand, and the generals went to prepare accordingly.

  "Father, the child is not clear." After the crowd dispersed, Li Gan muttered to himself. As for this arrangement of Li Guang's actions, like many school lieutenants, he was also unclear in his heart.

  "Can Qin Lang understand?" Li Guang did not answer directly, but turned to Qin Cheng.

  Qin Cheng smiled and said, "I know a thing or two."

  "Do you know? I don't even know how a small fry like you dares to say that you know! It's simply ignorant of the heights and depths!" Li Gan sneered, his expression extremely arrogant, clearly looking down on Qin Cheng.

  "Shut up!" Li Guang shouted at Li Gan, who involuntarily shrank his neck again. "You tell me."

  Qin Cheng couldn't help but chuckle at the father-son duo's interaction. Li Gan was always outspoken, saying whatever came to mind without considering others, while Li Guang would only respond with a single phrase: "Shut up!" At which point Li Gan would immediately fall silent, like a mouse seeing a cat. Suppressing his smile, Qin Cheng said: "The terrain here makes it impossible for the Xiongnu to launch a direct attack from the mountain pass. If they want to break through our defenses, they'll have to find another route. From what I know, the post road on the right side of the gourd-shaped valley can be used to circle around to our rear. Although the journey is long, with the Xiongnu's endurance, it's possible for them to arrive in one night. If that happens, we're done for!"

  Here is the translation:

  "Up to this point, Qin Cheng paused for a moment, seeing Li Gan already staring at him with a stunned expression, his mouth slightly raised. He continued: 'The general mobilized cavalry to harass and intimidate, and also used the main army to beat drums and shout loudly. This was nothing more than making the Xiongnu people have something to worry about, best if they thought our reinforcements had arrived, so they wouldn't dare divide their troops. Even if the Xiongnu didn't think this way, keeping them in a state of tension at all times, on guard against our surprise attacks, would also make them not dare act rashly.' Qin Cheng smiled confidently: 'Is that what you were thinking, General?'"

  "Indeed! Indeed! Qin Lang is indeed a good judge of character!" Li Guang laughed.

  "War is a deceitful art, with false and true mixed together. It's indeed a clever plan. However," Qin Cheng shifted his tone, "I humbly think that this move of yours, General, should not be taken at this time!"