Chapter 89 The Smoke of War Rises
The cold wind was biting, and the north wind howled across the winter grassland, stinging people's faces. The soldiers on duty at the border all had their faces chapped and red from the wind. The sun had been up for a long time, but the grass under the watchtower was still covered with a thin layer of frost, which shimmered brightly in the sunlight.
Looking back, you see the city wall of Daxing, which has been through a century of war, and is covered with mottled marks. Inside the city wall are houses scattered in an orderly manner. Most of the houses are built with adobe and wood, and occasionally a few bare trees stand in the cold wind, mixed in with the corners of the bustling city.
By December, the rivers on the grasslands were already frozen solid, covered with thick layers of ice. This was the best time for the Tartars to come down. Winter was tough for the people within the territory, and it was the same on the grasslands.
The neighbors on the grasslands are mostly nomadic, and are extremely dependent on the environment. In winter, the weather is cold and fodder is scarce. If they cannot find good pastures, their livestock will starve to death. Once food is scarce, they can only go south to plunder resources.
In recent years, grain supplies have become increasingly difficult to seize. There is a garrison stationed at almost every interval along the border. If the weaker ones are robbed, it's fine, but if they are slightly more capable, such as the Daxing Garrison directly under the King of Chu, the grain supplies will not only be difficult to obtain, but they will also be beaten badly.
But alas, the tribe watched helplessly as batches of children grew up, and resources became increasingly scarce. For the sake of the tribe's development, they inevitably had to go south every year to fight with the men of these garrisons. If they won, they would manage to steal some food to go back for the winter; if they lost, hundreds of warriors from the tribe would have to stay on this land. This year, Daxing was even more difficult to deal with. Not only could they not win the fight, but a small Jurchen tribe was even slaughtered by the Han people. Several other small tribes were clamoring to teach these Han people a lesson.
Hadar, who had gathered warriors from six tribes, was a nobleman of the Mongol people. The Khan of the grasslands had been in increasingly poor health in recent years, and several princes had been consolidating the power of the surrounding tribes for their own use. This year, seeing that many tribes would starve to death due to the lack of grain and grass, they finally decided to launch an invasion in December.
The six tribes, which were among the most difficult to govern, mustered their bravest cavalry from the three thousand tribes and rode towards Daxing.
Almost as soon as the city wall of Daxing came into view, the smoke from the beacon towers began to rise.
Hadar brandished his sword, and the knights formed a battle formation, quietly awaiting the moment of advance. Just a few minutes later, the city gates were tightly shut.
Watching the Da Xuan army on the other side methodically climb the city wall, prepare rolling logs and stones, and even slowly put their bows and arrows into place, Hadar gave an order, and a thousand cavalrymen charged forward first.
The volley of arrows was like spring rain, and the cavalry was quickly reduced by 30%. Many were hit by arrows and fell from their horses, but those behind continued to charge forward madly.
After only a few hundred cavalrymen reached the foot of the city wall, Qi Rong, who was standing below the wall, waved his hand.
"Put down the logs!"
At a command from Commander Ma, huge logs rolled down the city wall. The thud of the logs hitting the ground was accompanied by the screams and cries of the Tartar cavalry.
Seeing that the vanguard of more than a thousand cavalrymen was about to be slaughtered by Xuan Jun, Hadar finally couldn't hold back and personally led his men into battle.
There were many traps set up under the watchtowers of Da Xuan. They had already suffered a lot of losses this year, but the mobility of cavalry was ultimately formidable. Hadar led his eight hundred heavily armored cavalrymen straight forward into the rain of arrows, and it seemed that they were about to besiege the city.
"Kill!!" With a thunderous roar as Hadar raised his scimitar, all the Tatar cavalry spurred their horses and charged toward the city wall. Their goal was very clear: to break through the city wall and use the impact of their heavy cavalry to breach the defenses of the Great Xuan.
Seeing that the three thousand cavalrymen were about to charge up, Qi Rong led Ma Qianhu and a few other soldiers down the city wall to prepare to defend against the enemy.
The Tartar cavalry outside the gate charged towards a group of Ming soldiers with their heavy armor and the force of their horses. They brandished their spears and thrust them straight into the ranks of the Ming army. Many Ming soldiers were thrown back by the impact, but more men surged up from the rear to fill the gaps in the battle.
The agile Xuanjun avoided the cavalry's frontal charge, and in close combat, they swung their swords and broke the horses' legs. The heavily armored cavalrymen lost their balance, and as soon as they fell off their horses, they were immediately overwhelmed by the fierce border troops. Their iron armor and helmets were pulled off, and swords and halberds slashed down along their exposed necks, and in an instant, their heads and bodies were separated.
The tribe's warriors were fierce, and the border troops of the Great Xuan were valiant. For a time, neither side would give way, and blood and flesh flew everywhere on the battlefield, staining the land red with blood countless times.
Seeing that a direct assault was futile, Hadar waved his flag and gave the order that, except for the cavalry who were trapped in the Xuan Army's battle formation and unable to break free, the remaining cavalry would quickly retreat and return to Hadar's side to form a battle formation to advance.
Qi Rong led his remaining few hundred cavalrymen out to attack, flanking and attacking Hadar's cavalry from behind. They attacked like fish scales, biting and cutting down anyone they saw and then running away. This harassed Hadar so much that he was furious several times. In order to avoid falling into Qi Rong's trap, Hadar ordered his cavalry to surround the outer perimeter to cover the other cavalrymen and prepare for the next charge.
Qi Rong commanded his infantry to attack the horses if they couldn't kill the men. Once the heavily armored soldiers lost their balance and fell to the ground, they were captured and surrounded by the Xuan army and killed. If other cavalry tried to come to their aid, Qi Rong would quickly attack and entangle them.
This disgusted Hadar terribly. Normally, this commander would lead his personal guards in a fierce battle, but who would have thought he would also learn military tactics to disgust people?
Although the fish-scaling technique doesn't result in many casualties each time, it can't withstand repeated attacks. If this continues, half of Hadar's eight hundred heavily armored guards will be lost.
With red eyes, Hadar ordered the rest of his cavalry to charge, while he himself led several hundred heavily armored guards to turn and chase after the Qi Rong.
Having succeeded in his scheme, Qi Rong led several hundred light cavalry and led Hadar towards the watchtower.
This trick was learned from Lin Changning: first disgust people, then lure them into a trap.
Upon reaching the watchtower, hundreds of people instantly crossed the trap. Hada'er, seeing people riding horses across, assumed the trap was gone. Then he saw Qi Rong trapped beneath the watchtower, riding around it on horseback. Fearing there might be a trap underfoot, he also thought Qi Rong was using the empty city ruse.
Looking back, the cavalry were locked in a fierce battle with the infantry of Da Xuan, pinned down by the battle formation, unable to utilize their mobility at all. Moreover, he was carrying heavy armor, and the tribe's warriors could not break through the encircling battle formation. After a moment's thought, they realized that they had fallen into a trap.
Looking again at Qi Rong, who seemed calm and collected below the watchtower, Qi Rong felt even more strongly that the other side was just putting on an act, playing the empty city ploy.
Should they return to defend or capture Qi Rong first? Hadar hesitated for a moment, then waved to the leisurely Qi Rong opposite him: "Send two men to capture the Commander of Da Xuan alive!!"
The leading heavy cavalry charged forward, but did not find a trap even when they were almost upon the Qi Rong.
Hadar confirmed that Qi Rong was deliberately creating a false impression, grinned, and led the remaining cavalry to charge forward.
Qi Rong, standing below the watchtower, dispatched the heavily armored cavalry with just a few swift strikes. His cunning swordsmanship allowed him to pierce the cavalrymen's bodies through the gaps in their armor in an instant. The remaining personal guards then surrounded and slaughtered them.
When the hundreds of cavalrymen were only about twenty meters away, Qi Rong smiled and looked at Hadar.
Hadar's inner alarm bells rang loudly: Oh no!!!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
