Chapter 4, Using the Few to Strike at the Many

  The two arrows shot by Zu Chao had a considerable deterrent effect on the Hu riders, and at a distance of 100 paces, they were also high-speed riding, even these horseback-riding ethnic groups couldn't keep up. Moreover, in the hundreds of years of historical river of the Great Han Dynasty, there have been names that made the northern minority peoples tremble with fear, so a sense of fear had already grown inside them.

  At this moment, facing the ridicule of the Huns in front of them, many barbarians couldn't help but speculate that the more than 20 Han people who were being chased, seemingly ordinary, might actually be soldiers stationed on the border. And the young man at the lead was very likely to be a general's son or an exceptionally selected officer. Otherwise, how could they dare to come and attack with just so few men?

  It was precisely because of this speculation that the hearts of the barbarians grew more fearful. Many people subconsciously slowed down, afraid of becoming the target of the divine archer youth when they reached the front of the queue.

  At the same time, Zu Chao's heart was very pleased. He certainly knew that the two arrows he shot out earlier had some luck, but nothing in the world is absolutely safe, and doing anything requires relying on luck. Of course, a more important point is that he mastered more advanced technical equipment.

  Since the impact has already been made, the next step is to further expand the influence. He turned back with a pretended air of nonchalance and said to his followers in a teasing tone: "I'll make a bet with you all - if I can shoot down another bandit, you must all shout 'Bravo!' three times for me, okay?"

  The crowd was initially tense facing the Huns' pursuit, but as Zu Chao's two arrows hit their mark from a hundred paces away and he remained calm throughout, they soon became excited. Now, as Zu Chao seemed to be strolling through a garden, betting on a lucky shot, treating the Huns as if they were nothing, it truly stirred up a surge of hot blood in people's hearts, and they all cheered "Good!"

  This time, Zu Chao did not raise his bow to aim like the previous two times. He didn't want to give the Hu people a chance to dodge in advance because of his shooting posture. In any case, this time he had to shoot one person down. After brewing his emotions for a moment, he took a deep breath and, during the process of turning around, he pulled the bowstring full with all his might. His eyes were like those of an eagle hunting its prey, and in just an instant, he locked onto a Hu person who was charging at the front. He released his fingers decisively, and the arrow flew out like a bolt of lightning.

  After five or six years of persistent practice every day, a deep foundation was built up. Before the sound of the bowstring had faded away, the barbarian had no time to dodge and the arrow hit him right in the chest.

  "The Grand Young Master has hit the mark again! Cheers, cheers, the Grand Young Master's divine prestige is unmatched!" Zujizi was the first to shout out.

  "The Great Young Master's divine power is unmatched! The Great Young Master's divine power is unmatched! The Great Young Master's divine power is unmatched!" The crowd of followers shouted in unison, each person was excited beyond measure, and their morale reached its peak.

  As the three loud shouts rang out, all the Huns' hearts turned cold as ice. Some people couldn't help but shout in surprise, while others called out in their native language to retreat. Moreover, all the Hun horses that had been galloping at the front suddenly slowed down, and no one dared to advance easily again. The entire formation became chaotic in an instant, and no matter how loudly the leading Huns shouted, they couldn't calm the troops' nerves. In less than a moment, all the Hun horses came to a gradual stop, with the people in front and those in back milling around each other, unsure whether to continue pursuing or hurry away.

  Taking advantage of the Huns' confusion, Zu Zhao led the crowd to open up a distance from them. Coincidentally, they came across a slightly raised mound and stopped on top of it. He signaled for everyone to line up in a row on the mound, turn around, and face the Huns directly. At this point, they were about three hundred paces away from the Huns. Even if the enemy wanted to chase after them, their side would have enough time to relocate.

  "Gentlemen, look at this! These barbarians have been scared stiff and don't dare to move. Such a bunch of rats also dared to offend the borders of Great Han, it's truly seeking death."

  Zu Zhaowang looked at those Huren who were still in a state of confusion and said with his head held high, "

  Everyone present was impressed by Zu Chao's fearless and unconventional demeanor from start to finish. Who would have thought that this young master, who is gentle and refined at home, knowledgeable and reasonable, would be so dashing and spirited on the battlefield, exuding a heroic aura? He is indeed a young hero who embodies both literary and martial prowess.

  Everyone couldn't help but laugh and agree after hearing this.

  The rolling laughter on the mound stimulated the distant Huns even more. However, these horse thieves were originally ordinary herdsmen and didn't have a big temper. After staying in place for a while to discuss, the leader of the Huns had no choice but to call on everyone to retreat northward and catch up with the team that was escorting the hostages ahead. If these Han people dared to pursue, they would kill them with a counterattack at the right time, anyway, their side had more people and momentum, and were worried about not being able to engage in a frontal battle.

  The barbarians' retreat was clear at a glance. Zu Ji, who was following behind Zu Zhao, exclaimed excitedly: "Look quickly, the bandits are going to escape."

  Zu Zhaow observed the Huren's retreat for a while, and saw that the disordered Huren turned their horses around on the spot and rushed to the northeast direction from slow to fast. However, they didn't run far before the team suddenly split into two teams, with more than 40 yards between them, maintaining a parallel advancing formation. But after all, due to the lack of strict discipline, the people and horses that were divided into two teams still looked disorganized.

  He could see that the Huns' intention was to hope that the two teams would take turns covering each other, and once they pursued one team closely, the other team would take advantage of the opportunity to circle back and encircle from behind.

  "Great prince, why must the Hu people be separated?" Asked Zu Ji, who stood beside him, looking puzzled.

  "But that's all. You all listen, don't disperse later, and closely follow me from the north side to attack their left flank." Zu Zhao said calmly. For him, the Huns' idea was too simplistic, unless it was a regular cavalry with strict training and good tacit understanding between the two troops, they could smoothly complete the containment and encirclement. No one would be so foolish as to directly rush into the position between the two troops.

  "Good, we will all follow Young Master." The crowd of followers responded in unison.

  Zu Zhao lowered his head and took a glance at the quiver, where only eight arrows were left. This time when he went out for hunting, he didn't bring more equipment, including others who also only brought longbows and a small number of feathered arrows, a few individuals had daggers or short swords, but there wasn't even one long-handled weapon equipped on the horseback.

  "Each of you give me one arrow." He said to his attendants after some thought.

  Everyone did not hesitate and took out an arrow one after another to pass it into Zu Zhao's hands. Zu Zhao's quiver was suddenly full.

  "Go." With his quiver in order, Zu Chao gave the command with a full breath, and with a slap on the horse's rump, he led the charge.

  The two teams of Hu Ma galloped northeast, while the team in front responsible for escorting the prisoners slowed down and waited far away for the return of the large group. Zu Chao's party pursued the left team of Hu Ma with a direct route, which was more efficient than the other side's progress, and they were close to each other in about a minute.

  The barbarians naturally discovered Zuozhao's movement early on. The leader of the team, who happened to be on the left side of the team, immediately shouted a few words and waved his whip to signal to the right side of the team. In his view, this time he finally had the opportunity to surround the Han people and kill them with a counterattack, redeeming the loss of face from before.

  Soon, Zu Chao's troops had cut to the side and rear of the Hu people, and the distance between the two sides was still slowly decreasing. He glanced at the right team cavalry that was trying to approach in a roundabout way, these Hu people had to deliberately slow down their speed to insert into a more rear position, so for themselves there was still a period of time that could be used.

  "Pursue the Hu people in front, don't bother with the troops on the right." He loudly instructed to left and right.

  Receiving Zu Chao's order, the attendants took out feathered arrows one after another and prepared to shoot.

  When a line of people approached within 100 steps, Zu Chao didn't hesitate to draw his bow and shoot in quick succession. At this point, he no longer cared about accurate shooting, but only sought to cause more casualties in the shortest time possible. The attendants behind him also followed his example, quickly shooting in succession, and the continuous shooting of over 20 people immediately formed a small rain of arrows.

  "The raindrops" swept in with the wind, enveloping half of the left wing of the Hu people. Many Hu people were just about to turn back and counterattack, but they did not expect that the Han people would come up with such strong firepower from the start. Five or six people were shot off their horses on the spot, and many others were hit by arrows and injured. The wounded cried out in pain, clinging tightly to the horse's back to avoid falling off, and urged the horse to run faster, which only disrupted the formation of the troops.

  A group of sixty or seventy people split in two, with one team having only twenty or thirty people. With just this one blow, they lost half their combat strength, and the rest were thrown into chaos by the wounded, so they had to abandon their previously planned plan and start running away without any regard for anything.

  "Pull back to the north, prepare to counterattack the enemy on the right." Seeing that the left wing of the Hu people was in disarray, Zu Zhao seized the opportunity to turn and deal with the Hu people's army coming from the right.

  At this time, the right team Hu Ma has approached the side rear position, and Zu Zhao is at a disadvantage.

  However, the sudden and swift attack of the Thunderbolt earlier had instantly defeated the left team, also causing a huge blow to Hu Ma's right team. Coupled with Zu Chao's three hundred paces of piercing arrows at the beginning, now even the leader was only thinking of escaping, and less than thirty people in the right team were not thinking of retreating, no one had the mind to calmly consider the pros and cons.

  Zu Zhao and others retreated a distance in the opposite direction, but considering that the defeated left team might return to kill them, they couldn't retreat too far. After slowing down, he let everyone on both sides shout loudly at the same time, first creating a strong momentum, then turning around in an arc towards the northwest, and at the same time, picking up their longbows and shooting wildly backwards.

  The sunlight in the afternoon was slightly skewed, shining directly on the right side of the Huns' faces. The Huns narrowed their eyes one by one, and although they could still see something, even a slight loss of vision would be a huge loss for the hunters. Zu Chao took advantage of this moment to launch a quick counterattack, shooting seven arrows in one breath, and his followers were not stingy either, suddenly catching the Huns off guard.

  The Huns' hasty counterattack was affected by their line of sight, and nine out of ten arrows missed their mark. Even when they did hit someone, the wounds were not fatal.

  In one round, seven or eight Huns fell off their horses and more than ten were injured. The morale of the troops completely collapsed. The speed of the team slowed down overall, and then under the chaotic shouts and wailing cries, they turned their horses' heads and fled in all directions.

  "Xiao Si, Ah Zhong, Ah Da, are you all right?" Zu Zhaole reined in his horse and first asked several injured attendants.

  "I'm fine." "I can hold on." "Thanks for your concern, young master, but it's just a flesh wound."

  "Alright! Now follow me back and kill!" Zu Zhao's blood was boiling, his voice excitedly shouting.

  "Kill!" The emotions on both sides surged, and they shouted in unison.

  As usual, I'd like to ask for some collections and red tickets for the previous chapters! Hehehe!