Chapter 115: Kill the General—Capture the Flag
A Xiongnu cavalryman was struck by an arrow and fell from his horse. Zhao Xiping took advantage of the chaos to grab the fat and strong warhorse. A Xiongnu scimitar was thrust at him from the ground, and he leaned over and pierced the horse's belly. The scimitar pierced the horse's leg, and the warhorse, startled, kicked hard with its hoof, hitting the Xiongnu's head. The Xiongnu cavalryman broke his neck and fell to the ground, vomiting blood.
The frightened warhorse bolted, and Zhao Xiping, tugging at the reins, galloped away at full speed, crossbow strapped to his back, sharp saber in hand, using the horse's cover as he harvested heads along the way. His arm wielding the saber grew limp from the blows, and his legs could no longer keep up with the horse's speed. The blood-soaked man was practically dragged along by the frightened, galloping horse.
A feathered arrow dropped from midair, piercing the air and piercing the horse's belly. The warhorse neighed in pain, its gallop slowing to a crawl. Zhao Xiping seized the opportunity to free himself from the reins, falling to the ground and rolling, avoiding the stampeding horse's hooves. He dragged the fallen body against the scimitar's blows, beheading two more Xiongnu soldiers before sprinting towards a nearby pile of rocks. His rapid breathing made his eyes dizzy in the howling scorching wind, and his sword-wielding arm drooped with aches. He struggled to climb the pile of rocks, his throat dry and tight, the sweet taste of blood welling in his mouth.
The neighing of war horses, the roaring of fighting, and the beating of war drums in the distance became more and more urgent. Zhao Xiping hid behind a rock and gasped for breath. He wiped the sweat from his face, and the blood on his hands came into his eyes. Perhaps it was someone else's blood. After all, he could not feel the pain.
His dizzy and tense mind gradually became clear. Zhao Xiping counted the arrows in the quiver and twisted the last two arrow shafts with marks on them with his fingers. He leaned out and looked at the battlefield below. It was a sea of blood and corpses. Smoke rose everywhere, mixed with the dense dust, and the sky and the earth changed color.
With trembling arms, he pulled out two arrows, loaded the crossbow with feathers, and with a sharp sound of breaking through the air, he quickly landed on the Xiongnu cavalry who was swinging his sword. The Wusun general who was kicked off his horse was able to catch his breath, and he quickly added another sword, pulled the man down, and then jumped back on the horse.
The Gongcao who was recording the military achievements in the distance quickly added a stroke on the wooden board and looked at the wave of soldiers attacking the Xiongnu general's flag.
There are four major military merits on the battlefield: being the first to reach the enemy, breaking through the enemy's formation, beheading the general, and capturing the flag. Sui Wen'an, posing as a wandering merchant, infiltrated the Wusun army along with a Han envoy. His goal was clear: to achieve merit. He knew his own abilities, and if he wanted to earn a military merit that wouldn't be stolen, capturing the flag was the only way he could possibly try.
There were many soldiers who had the same idea as him. They attacked in the direction of the flag one after another. Waves of them fell, and the ones who came later stepped on the fallen corpses on the ground and advanced step by step.
After killing a flag-keeper, Sui Wen'an shook off the blood on his hands. The blood was sticky and slippery, making it difficult for him to swing his sword to kill the enemy. He wiped the blood with his hand, swiftly took off his clothes and tied up the hideous knife wound on his right arm. He pulled up a warm corpse from the ground and tied it to his back, then continued to fight with all his might.
The saber snapped, the thigh pierced by an arrow. Sui Wen'an was nearly exhausted. He could hear his own heavy breathing, the thumping of his heart beneath his skin. The dripping blood blurred his vision, and the sounds of fighting faded away. He looked up, and saw the people, the smoke, the earth, the distant mountains—everything was distorted at an extremely fast speed. The blood-red sky rose high, and with a loud bang, he fell to the ground.
Gongcao sighed softly and looked away, looking at the flag-grabber who was running up again.
Heavy footsteps stepped on the exposed chests, and the people standing did not consider whether the people lying on the ground could still breathe. Once they fell, the predecessors became stepping stones for those who came later.
Several people stepped on him, and then he was driven back by the counterattacking Xiongnu soldiers. A stream of blood splattered, followed by a heavy corpse. Sui Wen'an was hit and bounced back, dark blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, and he woke up from his coma.
The blood-red color in his vision faded a little, and Sui Wen'an stared blankly at the changing sky. His lost hearing returned, and he listened motionlessly to the clanging of weapons colliding, the hoarse shouts, the muffled sound of swords and axes piercing flesh, and the sound of blood dripping.
The last corner of his vision was blocked by fresh corpses. Sui Wen'an smelled the strong smell of blood and became extremely calm. In the dying state, he suddenly felt relieved. Dying in this unknown wilderness without having to face his sinful past was a pardon for him.
The two armies were tired from fighting, and the inspiring war drums began to beat loudly, the drum sounds connected with the heartbeats, a large wave of feather arrows fell, and another group of people fell on the battlefield.
A group of Wusun soldiers who had come a long way to ambush came running from the northeast after killing the fleeing Xiongnu soldiers. The loud sound of trumpets and the sound of horses' hooves that shook the earth were a powerful shot in the arm. The tired Wusun army instantly became energized, howling and raising their swords to chop at the panicked Xiongnu.
The pile of corpses shifted, the bodies piled on top tumbling down, and a bloody, wriggling figure crawled out from a gap. Sui Wen'an grabbed the dead man's clothes and wiped the blood from his face. He shuddered in pain at the tumbling flesh, forgetting the knife wound on his face.
His vision cleared, and Sui Wen'an saw the Xiongnu in disarray, their troops fleeing westward, with the Wusun army hot on their heels. More men were driven mad, their minds blinded by the rush of blood, becoming mere knives of slaughter, intent on chasing and killing the enemy. He turned his head to look at the drooping general's flag. The two groups were still fighting, and the outcome would soon be decided.
Sui Wen'an picked up a bright yellow battle flag and put it under his body. He dragged a corpse onto his back, picked up the scimitar with one hand, grabbed the dead body's arm with the other, and crawled up.
A Wusun soldier swept his spear across and cut off the Xiongnu general's flag. Before he could cheer, a wooden arrow flew from a distance and pierced his neck.
Sui Wen'an looked up, then changed direction and crawled. He picked up the dark blue general flag that had fallen on the ground, tore it apart violently, and then tied the frayed bright yellow military flag that was pressed under him onto it.
The bright yellow military flag slowly rose, the banner spread out in the wind, and the dark black character "Han" revealed its shape.
"We won!" Sui Wen'an shouted. He stood up with difficulty on his injured leg, dragging a corpse and waving the flagpole.
A wooden arrow shot towards him, and Sui Wen'an heard the sound of a corpse being pierced behind him. He waved his flag even more vigorously, shouting with all his might: "The Xiongnu are defeated! The Han are victorious!"
"The Huns have been defeated and their flag has been captured!" The Wusun soldiers not far away shouted in Wusun language.
Gongcao glanced quickly and made a note with his head down.
The beat of the war drum changed, and those who heard the sound looked in the direction where the general's flag was flying. The Huns' general's flag was replaced by the Han army's flag. The Huns were defeated!
The morale of the Xiongnu army dropped sharply, while the morale of the Wusun army was high, and the situation on the battlefield was completely reversed.
Zhao Xiping was standing on his horse when he saw the archers moving on the high ground. He immediately turned his horse around and ran towards them, shooting arrows to intimidate them, but he was still a step too late. He watched helplessly as the arrows broke through the air and shot towards the soldiers holding the flags.
As the sound of breaking air got closer, Sui Wen'an realized that it was a wooden arrow flying from the side. His injured right leg trembled, and he leaned sideways. The wooden arrow that was shot at his neck hit his shoulder. The arrow head hit the shoulder bone, and he heard a teeth-grinding sound of sawing wood.
Zhao Xiping arrived and shot the archer guarding the flag with one arrow. Later, the Han army led by Captain Chang arrived. He turned his horse around to clear out the fleeing Xiongnu cavalry.
As the sky darkened, the army retreated, and flames erupted across the battlefield, now littered with corpses. Cleaners held torches and counted the casualties on both sides. Firefighters cooked in the cleared space, and army doctors roamed around, treating wounds with sedatives and setting bones.
When it was Zhao Xiping's turn, he tore off his sleeves and let the doctor apply medicine to his knife wounds. He put on armor, and there were no arrow or knife wounds covered by the armor.
"Captain Zhao, come here for a moment." Captain Chang's subordinate came over to look for someone and said, "We don't have many people with us. Please come and help sort out the aftermath. Are your injuries not serious?"
"It doesn't affect anything." Zhao Xiping walked over.
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