Chapter 888: Autumn Wind Has Not Risen, Yet People Die First

Category: Fantasy NovelAuthor:Title: __

In wars between two nations, spies are the first to die. In battles between two regions, scouts are the first to die. In the war between Liang and Mang, both spies and scouts perished.

In the scorching summer of the second year of Xiangfu in Liyang, the major war had not yet officially begun, but an atmosphere of impending storm already hung over the northwestern border. Unlike the previous cautious patrolling and observation by both sides' scouts, after the enraged Northern Mang Empress issued her decree, groups of Northern Liang light cavalry (You Nushou) and Northern Mang horsemen (Ma Lanzi) began to engage in deadly combat, fighting to the death almost upon sight. In just two fortnights, over forty skirmishes and encounters occurred. The Northern Liang White Horse You Nushou suffered more than 800 casualties. Dong Zhuo's Crow Ma Lanzi and Liu Gui's Black Fox Ma Lanzi, as the main Northern Mang scout forces, suffered over a thousand casualties. As for the miscellaneous Ma Lanzi from the Long Pass border army of the Southern Dynasty, their losses were countless. Perhaps only on this windswept, sandy battlefield could such a grand display of large-scale scout duels between enemy forces occur. It is worth noting that in the history of the Central Plains, there are records of a mere hundred bandit cavalry plundering several prefectures and spreading chaos over a thousand li, shaking the capital. This illustrates that, whether it was advance scouts, light field cavalry, or decisive heavy cavalry, both Liang and Mang achieved a peak in cavalry combat power that would astound later generations.

As the scout battles along the border near Hutou City grew increasingly fierce, it signaled that the Northern Mang army, now stronger than ever, was about to launch an all-out, desperate offensive. When that happened, the vast northern steppes would be emptied, as their entire military force would move south, knocking on Liangzhou's border.

Before autumn arrived, a battle decided the fate of most scouts from both Liang and Mang, ensuring they would not live to see the autumn winds.

Yelü Chucai, commander of the Crow Ma Lanzi and brother-in-law to the former Southern Court King Dong Zhuo, along with Lin Fu, general of the Black Fox Ma Lanzi and trusted favorite of Grand General Liu Gui, used 200 Long Pass Ma Lanzi as bait to lure the enemy deep into Dragon's Eye Plain. With a total of 1,400 elite cavalry in ambush, they managed to draw 400 Northern Liang White Horse You Nushou, led by Sun Ji, one of their three captains, into the heart of Dragon's Eye Plain, 160 li north of Hutou City. Captain Sun Ji died on the spot, and all three of his lieutenants perished while covering the retreat. Only 120 You Nushou broke through to the southern end of Dragon's Eye Plain, all wounded, but their escape route was still cut off by Lin Fu's 200 Black Fox Ma Lanzi.

At this moment, Lin Fu's cavalry formed a line between the outnumbered Northern Liang You Nushou and Hutou City. Behind him, the faint outline of what was once the Liyang Dynasty's premier border fortress was visible. After capturing the city, Dong Zhuo had personally climbed the ramparts and snapped a "Xu" banner.

Lin Fu, clad in light armor, rode a magnificent rouge-colored warhorse. He was a survivor of the Spring and Autumn period, having personally witnessed the Hongjia Northern Retreat in his youth. By rights, with his military achievements, he had already risen to the rank of a myriad-man commander, a key position in Liu Gui's army, and should not have needed to personally lead troops in this scout battle. However, first, the Black Fox Ma Lanzi were Grand General Liu's pride and joy. Second, Lin Fu, whose ancestors hailed from a prominent clan in Qingzhou in the Central Plains, had an old score to settle with the Xu family and intended to collect some interest first. Furthermore, although the scout forces on both sides were not numerous at present, it was clear that His Majesty the Emperor and many of the Grand Generals with imperial credentials were all keenly observing every battle report sent to the Southern Dynasty's court. Even his patron, Liu Gui, who had never shown much interest in officialdom, had earnestly advised him privately upon their departure to perform exceptionally well this time, frankly stating that whether he could advance further from myriad-man commander and, as Liu Gui's confidant, smoothly transition into an independent high-ranking official of the Southern Dynasty, depended entirely on this single battle.

Earlier, during the chase of the "stray dogs" of Northern Liang southward, Lin Fu, who had not engaged in close combat, had been quite leisurely, neither drawing his bow nor his sword. Consequently, he and his 200 Black Fox Ma Lanzi, who had been conserving their strength, naturally appeared stronger and better equipped compared to the heavily wounded You Nushou before them. When they finally accelerated to outflank the Northern Liang cavalry, they did so with remarkable ease and fluidity. Northern Liang's Iron Cavalry was renowned throughout the world, and its White Horse You Nushou were considered the elite of Liang's cavalry.

Sitting high on his horse, Lin Fu couldn't help but let out a sneer. It wasn't that he underestimated the strength of the Northern Liang You Nushou responsible for the Hutou City direction. Rather, as a myriad-man commander, he felt it was undignified and not exhilarating enough for the enemy to perish so miserably under such disparate forces. Of the three Liangzhou border scouting units, the veteran Captain Sun Ji was in the center, Wei Tumu was stationed at the Liang-You border where two Northern Liang heavy cavalry units had quietly passed, and the new young Captain Li Hanlin's 600 cavalry primarily patrolled north of Qingyuan Military Town, the western gateway to Liangzhou. This time, to decisively eliminate all of Sun Ji's You Nushou in one go, Lin Fu had to invite Yelü Chucai's Crow Ma Lanzi, from the imperial family, to join the hunt. He had absolutely no confidence in the "useless" Ma Lanzi trained by the Long Pass nobility of the Southern Dynasty; they were a disgrace to the name "Northern Mang Ma Lanzi." In engagements with equal numbers, they stood no chance against the Northern Liang White Horse cavalry, and it was no wonder the Northern Liang border army once mocked them as "Donkey Ma Lanzi."

A Black Fox Ma Lanzi deputy lieutenant, glancing at the more than one hundred retreating Northern Liang cavalry, rode his horse to Lin Fu's side, his eyes burning with increasing fervor. "General, what's next? We can't just hand over all the military merits to that outsider, Yelü, can we? General, look, that fellow Sun Ji's head is now hanging from Dong Zhuo's brother-in-law's saddle! Our own brothers are green with envy! According to His Majesty, a You Nushou captain's head is incredibly valuable. If we add the heads of Wei Tumu or Li Hanlin, we could practically be granted marquisates directly. Ha, General, aren't you tempted?"

Lin Fu looked around, hesitated for a moment, and then gave a frustrating answer that greatly deflated his deputy. "No rush. Let's further wear down the morale of these Northern Liang cavalry. We'll continue to withdraw, just make sure to block their retreat."

At his command, the Black Fox Ma Lanzi slowly continued to retreat, mirroring the movements of the Northern Liang You Nushou, like a pack of wolves lurking on the steppe, biding their time.

Lin Fu possessed a keen intuition honed by years of warfare. Sun Ji, who had taken the bait and lost his life, was certainly a big fish. However, he sensed that there might be more than one big fish on the line, and pulling in too early could snap the fishing line.

Yelü Chucai, leading the pursuit of the enemy, suddenly tilted his head slightly, effortlessly dodging a crossbow bolt. The Crow Ma Lanzi cavalryman behind him, although sweating profusely from the close call, still deflected the bolt with his bow arm. Enraged, this Crow Ma Lanzi, a former horse catcher from the plains, spurred his horse forward, spun his lasso, and precisely snared the neck of a White Horse You Nushou at the rear of the enemy formation. With a powerful tug, he yanked the man violently from his horse. The Northern Liang cavalryman, crashing heavily to the ground, tried to rise but was instantly met by the approaching Crow Ma Lanzi, who bent down and slashed his throat with a sword. Just as the head was about to be claimed, another Crow Ma Lanzi preemptively extended his saber and pierced the head as he rode past, laughing heartily and deftly securing it to his saddle. The first Crow Ma Lanzi couldn't help but curse, but seeing four or five heads already hanging from his own saddle, he quickly dismissed his complaints.

Yelü Chucai grinned. The most valuable head, that of the Northern Liang You Nushou captain, hung from his warhorse's side. After the long, dusty pursuit, it was no longer gory, the blood at the severance dried.

At a distance of about fifty paces, arrows flew back and forth between the two sides. Constantly, Crow Ma Lanzi and Northern Liang You Nushou fell from their horses after being struck, most dying from arrows to the face. However, after death, the fate of all Northern Liang cavalrymen was to have their heads severed. Some Northern Mang Ma Lanzi in the rear, who hadn't gained many merits, would even vent their anger by shooting more arrows into the headless corpses or simply riding their warhorses over them. The Crow Ma Lanzi and Long Pass scouts, holding an absolute advantage, rotated through synchronized slowdowns and accelerations. Many Ma Lanzi prowled the flanks of the retreating Northern Liang You Nushou, unleashing volleys of arrows. A few cavalrymen even brandished their sabers, shouting loudly and flaunting their prowess. Especially after someone dodged a Northern Liang crossbow bolt with a flamboyant maneuver, hiding behind their horse's belly, it drew wild cheers from the large group of Ma Lanzi, their morale soaring.

Yelü Chucai suddenly felt a sense of weariness because the Northern Liang You Nushou were dwindling, now fewer than a hundred cavalrymen. More importantly, the two groups of enemy cavalry consistently assigned to lead the breakthrough at the front and cover the rear — those destined to die before their comrades — always seemed to be the highest-ranking officers among the You Nushou. This pattern held true from Captain Sun Ji to the three lieutenants, several deputy lieutenants, and now the few remaining You Nushou sergeants. Yelü Chucai narrowed his eyes, observing these elite Northern Liang border troops who, without exception, fought in silence and died in silence from start to finish. An inexplicable surge of anger welled up within him. This fierce general, who had participated in the first great war between Liang and Mang, his face grim, spurred his horse forward in a swift charge, quickly overtaking several Crow Ma Lanzi. In an instant, he closed the distance between his warhorse and the enemy's to less than ten paces. The You Nushou sergeant, who turned to witness this, silently dropped his light crossbow and drew his Liang knife. Blood streamed down his arm, staining his saber red even before he could strike an enemy.

Yelü Chucai's powerful rouge-colored warhorse was now galloping abreast of the enemy. Before the You Nushou sergeant could swing his knife, Yelü Chucai delivered a ruthless slash, severing the head. With a flick of his wrist, the head was flung high into the air, only to be sharply pierced by an arrow from a keen-eyed Crow Ma Lanzi rider in the distance.

The head, which had rolled to the ground, was then picked up by a cavalryman from the Northern Mang rear, who bent down and impaled it with his saber, claiming it as a military trophy.

Scouts from both sides crisscrossed the extensive border. Moving a cavalry force of over a thousand unseen was incredibly difficult. Only elite cavalrymen like Dong Zhuo's Crow Ma Lanzi could achieve silent maneuvers of several hundred riders. More precisely, they possessed the strength to eliminate all "nails" (obstacles or enemy outposts) along their route, not only winning engagements but also completely severing intelligence communication among small groups of You Nushou, thereby paralyzing enemy reconnaissance in localized battlefields.

If one were to look down from the sky above the southern end of Dragon's Eye Plain, the two cavalry forces would resemble a moving carpet, a carpet upon which blood continually splattered.