Chapter 968: No One as Lucky as Me

Since ancient times, border poems have extolled the martial spirit of the Longs in the northwest. Today, the lands further west are even more so.

Xie Xichui, the deputy general of Liuzhou, personally led ten thousand Langtou Mountain monk soldiers out of the city. Their objective was to deliberately impede the northern retreat of the Northern Mang Buba cavalry and two thousand Southern Dynasty border cavalry. They avoided full-scale engagement; whenever the Northern Mang army turned to prepare for a charge, the monk soldiers would similarly form ranks and hold their ground. Their posture resembled that of a wealthy host, having prepared ample wine and patiently awaiting guests.

The Buba cavalry, who had suffered significant losses in the attack on Fengxiang military town, quickly realized the precarious situation. With six thousand combat-ready soldiers remaining, and an additional two thousand cavalry moving swiftly to support them, they could maintain the initiative whether they chose to fight or retreat. The Buba cavalry commander hailed from the Beiting Khashar Guard. Northern Mang was founded on military might, and securing official positions through inherited privilege or military merit were the two most crucial paths to advancement. To be one of the three commanding generals of the Buba cavalry, he might not have been a brilliant military strategist, but he was certainly not an incompetent individual who usurped power solely through family connections. The defense of Fengxiang military town had an uncanny feel. It could have been made much more impregnable from the start, but the commander had clearly deliberately whetted their appetite, like a courtesan's alluring hesitation—determined to perform but not sell herself, yet creating the illusion of feigned resistance. This delayed realization caused the Buba cavalry to needlessly leave behind four thousand bodies.

Thus, with ten thousand monk soldiers clinging tightly to their tail, their intention was not difficult to guess: a Northern Liang border cavalry unit was undoubtedly on its way. As for who it might be, the Buba cavalry commander couldn't fathom or guess. Logically, the Liuzhou cavalry units should not have been able to spare forces to intercept them. For this sneak attack on Fengxiang and Linyao military towns, the Southern Dynasty border army had deployed twenty thousand Buba infantry and five thousand elite cavalry for escort along the way. Even if divided into two routes, they were not something a mere few thousand Northern Liang cavalry could defeat. Moreover, the Liuzhou cavalry was already at a numerical disadvantage; how could they spare a large contingent of cavalry from the main battlefield north of Qingcang City? Could it be those two Northern Liang light cavalry units that bypassed many garrisons and fortresses, pushing deep into the heartland of Gusei Prefecture? But then, how could they return to the border in time? Could it be that these two weakly defended military towns were decoys from the very beginning? That made even less sense. Even he, the Buba cavalry commander, after receiving Huang Songpu's urgent order to leave his station, didn't know where he was headed. He simply marched south until he crossed the Liang-Mang border, only then learning they were to launch a surprise attack on Fengxiang and Linyao. During this time, the confidential Spiderweb intelligence report he held explicitly stated that the twenty thousand Langtou Mountain monk soldiers should have passed through Fengxiang and Linyao directly to Qingcang. Or did Northern Liang's Qingliang Mountain and the Protectorate genuinely house divine seers?

Facing the relentless harassment of the ten thousand Langtou Mountain monk soldiers, the Buba cavalry commander was utterly frustrated. If he were to fight recklessly to the death, there would be no chance of victory, only a waiting game for the Northern Liang border cavalry to arrive and claim their heads. But if they didn't fight, those incredibly strong and fearless bald monks were truly unscrupulous. Every so often, two or three hundred monk soldiers, regardless of physical exhaustion, would act as suicide squads, taking a harsh bite out of their rear. What was most frustrating was that these Langtou Mountain bald monks had probably emptied Fengxiang military town's armory before leaving the city, carrying no fewer than two thousand light crossbows and infantry bows. Judging by the number of quivers the monk soldiers carried, there were at least forty to fifty thousand arrows. Their accuracy was mediocre, not even comparable to the cavalry bows of the grassland youths shooting from a bouncing horse. But the power of infantry formations always lay in density. With every monk soldier strong and robust, drawing their bows to full moon, what accuracy did they need? Volleys like pouring rain were enough! The most terrifying aspect was the young Liuzhou general's tactics. He made those forty to fifty thousand arrows, a quantity not particularly shocking, seem endless. The monk soldiers leisurely retrieved arrows from bodies or picked them up from the ground, one by one, returning them to their quivers. This rendered the two thousand elite cavalry, who had launched three charges unwilling to wait for death, utterly unable to utilize their innate advantage of free-ranging cavalry combat. As for slowly eroding the monk infantry, that was mere wishful thinking. Cavalry bows inherently had a shorter range than infantry bows, and this Southern Dynasty border cavalry unit was uniformly equipped with light armor and light bows. In the end, the Buba cavalry commander reluctantly discovered that while his two thousand cavalry still had a considerable force of sixteen hundred remaining, the Langtou Mountain monk soldiers had actually gathered over two hundred warhorses. After usurping them and mounting, it was as if they suddenly gained over two hundred additional cavalry!

This battle frustrated the Buba cavalry commander to the point of nearly spitting blood. That Liuzhou general, who never personally engaged in battle from start to finish, was truly infuriating!

Finally, with no more time to delay, the Buba cavalry commander had no choice but to seek out the cavalry general from Shiya military town in Gusei Prefecture. He hesitated, finding it extremely difficult to speak. The cavalry general, who knew exactly what was implied, smiled freely and said little. Though they had previously only been nodding acquaintances, he unbuckled a heavily worn white jade python belt from his waist. He earnestly requested the commander to deliver it to his eldest son, who was still a youth, once he returned to the Southern Dynasty, saying only that it had been bestowed upon his father by the late emperor, and though now worthless, it was a family heirloom of their small clan.

The sixteen hundred cavalry finished preparing, their horses' heads facing south, their sabers pointing south. The cavalry general turned to watch the Buba cavalry rapidly retreat north from the battlefield. This ordinary cavalry general, little known on the Northern Mang border, perhaps did not know that recently, on another battlefield in Liuzhou, a similar cavalry charge had occurred, where a Northern Liang cavalry general had uttered the tragic and heroic declaration, "Those willing to die, die with me!"

As Hongjia fled north, bringing hundreds of thousands of refugees to the Northern Mang Southern Dynasty, the martial spirit of the grasslands did not diminish, but subtly absorbed many softer influences, like the perennial lush grasses of the steppe. This border cavalry officer, whose rank was merely fourth grade, occasionally traveled to the Xijing imperial court to participate in military and state discussions. During those times, he encountered many civil officials and scholars, most of whom he found incompatible and never befriended. Yet, at scattered victory celebrations or banquets where he was pulled in to fill a seat, he had heard of unfamiliar sights and sounds that he could scarcely imagine. For instance, the misty apricot blossom rains of Jiangnan: deep-hued branches, pale-hued branches, every branch welcoming spring.

He knew that he and the sixteen hundred border cavalry behind him were destined never to see the landscapes of Jiangnan in the Central Plains.

It was merely death.

The cavalry general drew his Northern Mang saber and roared, "Kill!"

Xie Xichui, who had ridden a Northern Liang warhorse when leaving the city, now halted his horse behind the monk infantry formation, looked up, and smiled faintly. The monk soldiers, fighting cavalry on foot, would soon be followed by a Northern Liang light cavalry unit of ten thousand, who would retaliate by fighting infantry with cavalry. Moreover, Northern Liang now held a numerical advantage in both forces—a favorable situation that should ideally not occur on the Liang-Mang battlefield, naturally credited to this man, one of the 'Twin Jades of Great Chu'. However, as Xie Xichui watched that Northern Mang cavalry unit heroically ride to their deaths, the Liuzhou deputy general couldn't help but recall the horrifying slaughter at Miyun Pass, where mountains of corpses made it impossible to distinguish between Northern Liang border soldiers and Northern Mang barbarians. It turned out that not only did Northern Liang Iron Cavalry treat life and death lightly, but Northern Mang did so as well. In his subsequent long military and official career, Xie Xichui, the peerless scholar-general who eventually rose to the rank of Grand General of the Second Rank in Liyang and held the title of Pillar of the State—a steadfast bulwark of the nation's northwest, continued to suppress rebellions on the grasslands even after the broader situation was decided. Yet, throughout his life, he never once prefixed 'barbarian' to the Northern Mang soldiers.

South of the outer wall of Huaiyang Pass, a lone rider who had not entered the city stopped his horse on a sandy dune, seemingly waiting for someone. Soon, a burly figure swept through the air, arriving with overwhelming momentum. The young prince, who had left the eighty Wu family riders inside the pass, dismounted and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

The man, a sect unto himself, looked grim. "By the time I reached Dunhuang City, it was too late. Tens of thousands of steppe cavalry, even after breaching the city, kept it tightly encircled. After I forced my way in, I couldn't find the woman you mentioned. Later, I gathered intelligence and only confirmed that a man named Xu Pu had died in battle."

Xu Fengnian's lips were tightly pressed together, trembling slightly.

Xu Pu.

A man he had called 'Uncle Xu' in his youth. Along with Wu Qi, he was among the first generation of Xu family cavalry generals, with a military seniority even higher than Chen Zhibao, Yuan Zuozong, and Chu Lushan.

Huyan Daguan, who had secretly infiltrated the Northern Mang grasslands, hesitated, seemingly with words on the tip of his tongue that were difficult to utter.

Xu Fengnian gave a bitter smile. "Is there any worse news than this?"

Huyan Daguan remained silent.

Xu Fengnian said calmly, "Speak."

Huyan Daguan let out a heavy breath. "That old woman's original decree to the besieging cavalry was to kill everyone upon breaching Dunhuang City, regardless of whether it resisted or surrendered."

Xu Fengnian slowly loosened his horse's reins. His figure vanished instantly.

The next moment, a loud bang suddenly echoed from the top of the dune. Huyan Daguan stood firm on the north side of the slope, casually shaking his wrist. The young prince stood at the southern edge of the slope. Between the two of them, a sudden gully had formed.

Huyan Daguan said expressionlessly, "At least thirty to forty thousand Northern Mang cavalry are waiting for you to walk into their trap, along with hundreds of Spiderweb spies and suicidal agents personally overseen by Li Mibi. They are all waiting for you."

Another thunderous boom. Huyan Daguan remained in a stance with both fists thrust forward, speaking sternly: "Xu Fengnian! Don't you realize that the reason there's no definite bad news about that woman is precisely because it's a trap set by that old woman and Li Mibi to lure you to your death?! Can you not see through such a crude trick?!"

In an instant, the thunderous sound far surpassed the already astonishing volume of the previous two. Huyan Daguan almost full-force punched the young man, who was insistent on going north, several yards back. Huyan Daguan said coldly, "Since reason won't get through to you, and you won't listen anyway, fine! Although I, Huyan Daguan, may not necessarily defeat you, fighting you half to death won't be difficult. I'd like to see how you, Xu Fengnian, will enter Dunhuang City then!"

Perhaps it was in response to the old Central Plains saying, 'Things don't happen more than thrice.' The young prince no longer continued northward but slowly walked to the north side of the dune, standing shoulder to shoulder with Huyan Daguan, one facing north and the other south. The young man squatted down, hands tucked into his sleeves, quietly looking north.

Huyan Daguan comforted him, "If you don't show yourself, she truly has a glimmer of hope. Do you understand?"

The young man hummed in assent. "Just understood it."

Huyan Daguan felt a sense of relief. If he were truly to fight this young man to the death, he would genuinely be a little afraid. There was nothing for it; Huyan Daguan was an old man with a family. With mixed feelings, Huyan Daguan could only sigh.

The young man's lips moved slightly, muttering inaudibly.

"Do not say I am so poor my pockets clink, my wide sleeves embracing the clean breeze. Do not mock me for having no bed when tired, with heaven and earth as my blanket. Do not laugh that I have no fine wine when thirsty, with the jianghu as my flask. Do not think my life is joyless, with a three-foot sword at my waist... There is no one in this world as fortunate as I, no one as fortunate as I..."