Chapter 22: Forced to Take Action

Yufuluo could no longer concern himself with his missing son. He immediately rallied the Xiongnu warriors from both inside and outside the royal court and fled Meiji through the east gate. Once the Xiongnu cavalry had formed their ranks outside the city, he ordered his grand standard raised and the long horns sounded. Regardless of the circumstances, Yufuluo could not abandon his city’s warriors to save his own life; otherwise, by tomorrow, he would no longer be the Great Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu.

...

Chen Cong led his troops in another charge.

*Woo!!~~~ Woo!!~~~ Woo!!~~~*

The deep, lingering sound of the long horns resonated three times. The scattered and disorganized Xiongnu troops, no longer fighting back, retreated like a receding tide.

"Hmm? Where is that horn sounding from?" Chen Cong reined in his warhorse and peered into the distance. Everything around him remained in chaotic disarray, making it impossible to discern directions.

A veteran of the Flying Bears stepped forward. "General, the long horns have sounded repeatedly. Judging by the source, it comes from outside the east gate. The Xiongnu must be abandoning the city."

Chen Cong turned his head slightly. The man who had spoken was Chu Qing, formerly a coordinating officer of the Flying Bear vanguard. His seniority even surpassed that of Cheng Zhuo; he was a warrior seasoned by countless battles. Chen Cong trusted his judgment implicitly.

He immediately issued the order: "Regroup the forces first and rest in place for a moment."

Chu Qing cupped his hands. "Understood."

The battle, reaching this point, was undoubtedly a great victory. Yet, because Yufuluo had not been captured, Chen Cong felt something was missing. It was not that he couldn't pursue him; the problem was that beyond Meiji lay open wilderness. To face the Xiongnu cavalry—who were already in formation—with only a hundred horsemen was a losing proposition, no matter how one calculated it.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chu Qing returned to report. "General, our troops have suffered no casualties. We only lost ninety-seven warhorses during the chaotic fighting."

Chen Cong felt a sharp pang of distress. The Flying Bear unit maintained a ratio of four horses per man, so losing ninety-seven mounts was not a disaster in terms of logistics. But the thought that nearly a thousand gold pieces had vanished in a single stroke was hard for him to swallow. This was only a hundred riders, and in a situation where they held the absolute upper hand! If they ever faced a headwind, he would surely lose everything down to his very undergarments.

What troubled Chen Cong even more was this: If he stopped now, he could immediately complete his glorious transformation from a fierce warrior to a renowned general. After all, a hundred horsemen raiding the Southern Xiongnu royal court and forcing the barbarians to abandon the city with zero casualties was an achievement worthy of being recorded in history. But if he stopped, a new problem would arise. The Xiongnu were fleeing eastward, right across his path of retreat.

If Chen Cong led only the Flying Bears to break through, he naturally wouldn't fear the Xiongnu cavalry; even if he couldn't win in a head-on clash, it would be easy enough to leave. But if he wanted to swallow the wealth of Meiji, he would have to integrate the Han civilians in the city as laborers to drive the sheep, herd the cattle, and transport the grain and loot back to Jinyang. Once that happened, the Xiongnu cavalry, having recovered their breath, would be like the most annoying, persistent plaster. They might not be able to defeat the Flying Bears, but could they not defeat the laborers? Furthermore, if he let these barbarians run loose to the east or south, it would be the people of Bingzhou who suffered.

"General, why not drive the horses ahead to strike them?" Xu Huang, who had clearly realized the problem, offered his suggestion.

*Hiss!*

Chen Cong gasped inwardly. Drive the horses ahead? Using the pawns to pay for the master's gain? Chen Cong didn't know what state of mind had prompted Xu Huang to say such a thing. He only hoped that one day, if the man ever had the chance to govern a territory, he would remember this shameless face of his own!

Pulling himself together, Chen Cong ignored Xu Huang and turned to Chu Qing. "Order the formation of the 'Bull Formation' and move slowly out of the south gate, then turn east. Wait for me to seize the Xiongnu grand standard. I will strike from south to north and drive the remaining Xiongnu forces toward the north."

Chu Qing’s eyes lit up with excitement. He bowed heavily. "Order received!"

In the past, he had always heard Cheng Zhuo praise how brave the 'Invincible General' was. Since that fellow wasn't here today, after witnessing the general's valor in seizing the flag, he would be the one boasting to everyone he met!

Truth be told, Chen Cong had studied military strategy very diligently and genuinely wanted to be a mastermind who led with calm intellect. Charging out alone now would certainly elevate his reputation for ferocity, but the budding image of a "renowned general" he had just established would vanish into thin air. When people spoke of him, they wouldn't associate him with words like "renowned general," "great commander," or "military genius." Instead, it would be: "Chen Zining is nothing but a reckless brute who only knows how to rely on brute force and violence."

The excitement in Chu Qing's eyes particularly stung Chen Cong. If another commander had suggested "seizing the flag single-handedly," his men would surely have talked him out of it. With him, the soldiers were practically begging him to go. There was no helping it; the capable must do more...

As Chen Cong let his mind wander, he tugged on the reins. Jueying, even more excited than he was, suddenly reared up, let out a piercing neigh, and bolted forward like an arrow released from a bow.

"Not you, Blackie! Do you even know which way is the east gate?"

*Snort! Snort!*

Jueying snorted with disdain. It didn't know which way was east, but did it not know which way the Xiongnu had fled?

...

Outside the city, as the Xiongnu warriors gradually gathered, Yufuluo had his men conduct a count. Excluding women and children, there were over seventeen thousand able-bodied warriors. He finally felt a glimmer of confidence. The only regret was that his most beloved son was nowhere to be seen; he didn't know if he had perished in the chaotic fighting.

"Left Wise King, what do you say if we kill our way back into the city now?"

Huchuquan shook his head repeatedly. "Great Chanyu, the roads in the city are narrow and not suitable for mounted combat. It would be better to surround the city on all four sides and starve the Han army to death."

Yufuluo frowned upon hearing this. All the Xiongnu supplies were inside the city. If they didn't enter the city to fight, the Xiongnu warriors outside would starve to death long before the Han army inside did. However, Huchuquan's first point made sense; the roads in Meiji were chaotic, and entering the city would be unwise.

Yufuluo wasn't particularly heartbroken about losing the royal court. It was merely abandoning Han customs to return to the Xiongnu’s old trade of raiding. The Han army here was fierce, but he didn't believe other Han people were equally fierce. At worst, he would simply raid his way south to Baibo Valley, join up with Guo Tai, and plan from there. He refused to believe that with his ten thousand warriors, joined with the hundred thousand soldiers of the Baibo Army, he couldn't handle a mere hundred Han soldiers.

The long horn sounded three more times. There were almost no more warriors exiting the gate. Yufuluo shook his head and was just about to order the march south when he suddenly saw a lone Han rider exiting the city...

Instantly, a surge of rage erupted in his chest. He raised his horse whip, pointed it directly at the approaching figure, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Warriors of Eternal Heaven, kill him!!"

Whether it was to vent his frustration or out of impotent rage, at this moment, Yufuluo only wanted to purge the foul air in his chest!

*Hoo!!~~~*

Chen Cong let out a long, heavy breath. Taking advantage of the moment he was slowing his horse, he carefully observed the location of the Chanyu’s grand standard. With a peripheral glance, he roughly estimated the eight barbarian riders charging toward him. They had plenty of momentum, but that was all they had. He didn't know what was wrong with these people—they were charging, yet they held their scimitars high above their heads and waved them about for no reason. They were shouting and yelling in some bird-like tongue he couldn't understand, which was truly annoying.

Only when the scimitars were inches from his face did Chen Cong lift his halberd to deflect them. As they crossed paths, he swung it casually toward his rear, instantly cutting a man in two. He retracted the halberd, thrust forward to pierce a second man's chest, and continued the momentum to impale a third on the shaft. Then, withdrawing the halberd and using his shoulder as a fulcrum to spin it around his body, he gripped the tail end of the 'Flying Tiger' and whipped it out with force. The small blade at the tip sliced into a barbarian's lower abdomen and out through the horse's belly; the charging barbarian and his mount fell to the ground, rolling away in four pieces.

The remaining four riders were already terrified. As they frantically reined in their horses, Chen Cong drove his halberd into the ground, grabbed his iron bow with a flick of his hand, and fired four arrows in rapid succession. The arrows, one after another, pierced into the skulls of the barbarian riders through their left eyes, the force knocking them from their saddles.

At this moment, Jueying had taken only eight slow steps.