Chapter 23 Fighting
In the third year of Taihe, at the end of April, the grassland knights gathered a thousand cavalrymen to launch a surprise attack on Daxing.
For the border troops stationed in Daxingwei, the battle was no different from peacetime. It was just a matter of you coming down to rob me, you killing me, and me killing you. Killing a Tartar was a meritorious deed, while being killed by a Tartar meant certain death.
Strictly speaking, this is Lin Changning's first time facing a war fought with cold weapons. Unlike the previous time when she was surrounded by spies, this time she is facing the most ferocious cavalry on the grasslands. Looking down from the city wall, the cavalry on the grasslands are like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, trying to open the city gates and rush into Daxing City to burn, kill, and plunder.
The Tartars haven't had it easy these past few years either. The old emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty refused to open trade, and none of the princes stationed on the frontier were easy to deal with.
In the past two years, the harvest in Da Xuan has been poor, and the amount of grain and grass they can harvest has decreased by more than half. If they don't rob, they will starve to death; if they do rob, the guards around Da Xuan are not to be trifled with either, and half of them will be killed or injured if they are caught.
Especially in the garrisons under the jurisdiction of the King of Chu, the fighting against them was absolutely inhumane; it was a miracle if half of the cavalry that were defeated could return.
So nowadays, you can only frequently get off and rob, grab it and run away quickly. If you can't escape, you have to restart. Eighteen years later, it will be another mighty Wuhan.
In the past, the Tartars on the grasslands would often come to our door after the autumn harvest. However, in the past two years, disasters have frequently occurred in the territory of Da Xuan, and the harvest has been reduced by half. Every household has little surplus grain, and the imperial court has to provide some grain for disaster relief from time to time. Since even the landlords have no surplus grain, the neighbors who come to plunder naturally can't take much either. There's no other way, and everyone's life is difficult. In order for the people to survive, the Tartars have no choice but to visit frequently.
This creates a vicious cycle: poor harvests in Daxuan lead to frequent attacks by the Tartars, resulting in heavy casualties on the border and the need to conscript soldiers. Conscription reduces the labor force in every household, thus decreasing the harvest. This creates a vicious cycle.
With the waist knife in hand, the familiar weight reassured Lin Changning somewhat. However, the deafening shouts of battle reached her ears, and for a moment, she did have second thoughts.
Young people living in the 24th century are educated from childhood about world peace, so suddenly entering the battlefield can indeed feel somewhat unreal.
Zheng Baihu shouted something fiercely, but Lin Changning couldn't quite hear it. He just reflexively drew his sword along with the others.
"Brother Lin, are you scared?"
A border soldier jokingly looked at Lin Changning's hand, which was tightly gripping his waist knife.
"It's alright, but I'm still a little nervous."
Despite their words, the group of border soldiers beside them acted swiftly, drawing their bows and arrows with practiced ease.
Arrows rained down from the city walls and ramparts, momentarily halting the cavalry's advance. With only a thousand or so cavalrymen, capturing Daxing was out of the question; their primary objective was to bring back the city's grain, crops, and livestock.
Lin Changning gripped his waist knife tightly, staring intently at the approaching Tartars. The horn sounded again, the tightly closed city gates opened once more, and a troop of Da Xuan cavalry rode out. Leading them was Commander Qi, whose silver armor and long sword, along with his cavalry, pierced through the Tartar cavalry like a sharp sword. The impact disrupted the Tartars' advance, and Qi Rong, the leader, was like a god of war, killing anyone who stood in his way.
Before the Tartars could react, another cavalry force charged out from the side, instantly blocking their retreat. The two Xuan cavalrymen tacitly cut the Tartar group apart.
Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, Lin Changning and the border troops formed a battle formation and fought their way forward. The skills they had practiced in their daily training came out like a conditioned reflex. She instinctively stood in the middle of the formation with the others, slashing and hacking with her sword.
"kill!"
"kill"
"kill"
Having used a knife for nearly a decade, Lin Changning felt the sound of a blade entering his body for the first time. The ferocious face so close to him revealed a ruthless determination.
More than a decade of swordsmanship training allowed her to instinctively parry the slashing curved blade, and then effortlessly plunge the blade into the attacker's heart, as if her swordsmanship was born for the battlefield.
Oh right, she had almost forgotten that her father had said that the Qi family sword technique was originally a sword technique that evolved from war.
It was born to protect the country.
The Tartar riding his warhorse's eyes instantly dimmed and fell.
The border soldier standing nearby laughed loudly, "You're something else, kid!"
Before he could finish speaking, another blade slashed down fiercely. The sound of the blade cutting through flesh was clearly heard by Lin Changning, and the border soldier who had just been laughing and joking fell to the ground instantly.
With a muffled thud, Lin Changning watched helplessly as the young man who had just been joking with him fell to the ground. Before the smile on his face could fade, blood gushed from the wound, staining the yellow grass red and also staining Lin Changning's eyes.
Unable to describe the emotion, Lin Changning felt a surge of sorrowful anger welling up in his heart. He grabbed his waist knife and stabbed it fiercely into the waist and abdomen of a Northern Yuan cavalryman. Before the man could retaliate, the sharp blade sliced across his neck, blood gushed out, and the cavalryman, who hadn't even had time to react, fell from his horse.
Lin Changning didn't know what was supporting her actions, but she instinctively mounted her horse, her waist knife swinging so fast that it was almost a blur. Cavalry heads rolled around the battle formation, and her slender body seemed to be filled with murderous intent.
Lin Changning stood on his horse in front of the battle formation, and the nearby Northern Yuan cavalrymen felt a sudden chill of fear when they looked at the slender border soldiers in front of them.
It's unclear where Lin Changning got the courage, but he brandished his long sword and charged straight forward.
With the added power, almost no cavalry could withstand more than two moves from it. It was too fast. The silver blade light exploded, and before anyone could even see how Lin Changning had made his move, a head rolled off.
The area beneath the city wall was eerily empty, with a dozen or so unridden warhorses standing forlornly beneath it. The border soldiers behind them swallowed hard as they looked at the slender, murderous figure before them.
"What are you standing there for! Gather your warhorses!"
The reminder from the person next to him brought Wan Jin back to his senses. After gathering their warhorses together, they formed a battle formation once again.
The cavalrymen in other places turned around and saw that their men were gone and their horses had been gathered up. This was unacceptable, as every warhorse was precious, even on the grasslands.
The once empty city walls were suddenly surrounded by more than a dozen cavalrymen. Before the battle formation, Lin Changning charged forward with his sword drawn.
"Hey! You idiot, don't stray from the battle line!!!"
A flag bearer behind them shouted and led his men to follow.
The north wind carried the mournful howls of wolves. Lin Changning's longsword instantly slashed at the oncoming Tartar. The blade got stuck in the bones of the man, making a teeth-grinding crunch. Lin Changning withdrew his sword and used the flat of the blade to slap the Tartar hard, knocking him off his horse. He then wiped the blood that had been smearing his eyes.
The blood gushing from his artery was still warm, flowing down Lin Changning's forehead, leaving a blush on his face, making him appear even more ruthless.
A dozen or so corpses were scattered across an area of about seven zhang in diameter, with blood flowing down the low-lying areas and pooling in the shallow pits of the hoofprints.
The blades spun like silver wheels, clanging and deflecting the arrows fired by the Tartars. More and more people died, and more and more warhorses appeared behind the battle formation. Strangely, the Tartars on the surrounding watchtowers all gathered around this side.
A strange scene unfolded on the battlefield: as Qi Rong's cavalry charged into battle, a group of madmen suddenly rushed toward the edge of the fortified village. Qi Rong was stunned for a moment and turned to look.
The other border troops also looked over, somewhat bewildered. They saw nearly a hundred cavalrymen charging forward from a watchtower not far away, while the other fortified villages remained empty.
When Qi Rong saw the dozens of warhorses below the fortified village, he understood and led his cavalry back to provide support.
No wonder the Tartars rushed towards the fortified village like madmen; it turned out that dozens of their warhorses had been captured.
They lost dozens of warhorses before even getting anything; no wonder they were so desperate.
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