Chapter 160 Attempting a Night Raid
"In your opinion, how should these Han people in the Western Regions be dealt with?" Shibi Khagan felt that Tuoba Shishu made some sense, and vaguely sensed Tuoba Shishu's underlying intentions. However, this was ultimately just his own conjecture, and until it was spoken from Tuoba Shishu's own mouth, it counted for nothing.
"From my perspective, either we drive these Han people to the extreme north, make them companions to the Kirghiz, and turn them into slaves so they can experience the agony of freezing and starving to death when winter arrives; or we slaughter every last one of them to demonstrate to the world the miserable fate that awaits anyone who dares to violate the territory of us Turks," Tuoba Shishu replied, offering two distinct outcomes he had prepared for the Han people of the Western Regions.
Shibi Khagan was well aware that Tuoba Shishu's father had died at the hands of the Han people, which was precisely why he felt so confident in appointing Tuoba Shishu as his personal strategist. Bearing a deep blood feud against the Han of the Central Plains, Tuoba Shishu was naturally incapable of betraying him to defect to the Han side. On the contrary, he had to rely on the military force in Shibi's hands to seek vengeance against the Han. Moreover, having grown up among the Han people since childhood, Tuoba Shishu was thoroughly familiar with their stratagems and tricks, making him a valuable asset to keep close at hand to guard against Han tactics.
"Among these Han people, there are many rather resourceful individuals who possess boundless talent yet find no arena in which to display it. To use their own phrasing, this is called 'possessing unappreciated talent.' For such people, as long as we provide them with a platform to exercise their abilities, we need never worry about them failing to pledge their allegiance to us. Why is it that in the nearly thousand-year struggle between the grassland peoples and the Han, we are always the ones ultimately defeated? It is nothing more than the fact that the Han are adept at employing stratagems. Time and again, when facing our armies descending with the force of a thousand jun, they need only exert four ounces of effort to completely rout us. That is the power of strategy.
"In other words, once we are able to master Han stratagems and combine them with our invincible cavalry, the entire world will be ours for the taking. Since that is the case, why should we ruin such a bright future with our own hands, sacrificing a century of our Turkic national fortune merely for a momentary burst of anger?" Having lived in the Central Plains for a long time, Shibi Khagan's vision was naturally far beyond that of native grassland khagans.
He had witnessed the prosperous era brought by a unified dynasty, and he had even served as a distinguished guest accompanying the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty to receive the tribute-bearing envoys of surrounding vassal states. Naturally, he had also fantasized about the day when he would sit in that receiving position, accepting the homage of the surrounding vassal states. Therefore, when pondering matters now, he did not act like the grassland khagans of the past, who sacrificed a magnificent future for momentary gratification.
Seeing that Shibi Khagan had seen through his intentions and vaguely perceived Shibi's warning to him, Tuoba Shishu fell silent. Instead, he gazed out from afar toward the Great Wall defense line not far to the south and murmured to himself, "This Great Wall truly is rather formidable and difficult to conquer."
Seeing that Tuoba Shishu no longer pursued the previous topic and instead shifted the conversation to the Great Wall, Shibi Khagan decided to let the matter rest and did not dwell on it further. Following Tuoba Shishu's gaze toward the Great Wall, he said with a solemn expression, "It matters not. No matter how sturdy the city walls may be, they cannot stop the soaring eagles of the grassland. Now that our grand grassland army has arrived beneath the walls, we need only rest and regroup before launching a single, overwhelming assault to capture the Great Wall and reclaim the territory that is rightfully ours. We will secure a place for the people of all our tribes to escape the harsh winter cold. Gone are the days when we were driven back from grazing south; this year, we shall lead our herds of cattle and sheep across the Great Wall and spend the winter in the warm south."
The camp pitched by the massive Turkic army north of the Great Wall could naturally not escape the notice of the scouts dispatched by the defense line. Shortly after the Turks began setting up their camp, Zhang Deqing received word of their movements. On one hand, he dispatched messengers to inform Li Wenyuan in Dunhuang Commandery of the enemy's situation; on the other hand, he personally ascended the Great Wall to inspect the condition of the defensive installations.
Earlier, at Li Wenyuan's request, Zhang Deqing had reduced the garrison forces along the Great Wall defense line by more than a fifth. Although, under the planning of the Great Wall garrison's staff officers, even if an unexpected event occurred and the Turks successfully scaled the ramparts, the garrison had several backup plans in place to swiftly recapture any lost sections, these were, after all, mere plans. For a veteran general who had guarded the Great Wall for nearly a decade, he had never fought a defensive battle with such insufficient manpower. Therefore, even though precautions had been made in advance, Zhang Deqing chose to inspect the fortifications himself to eliminate potential risks as much as possible.
Along the Great Wall, wherever Zhang Deqing cast his eyes, he saw soldiers outfitted with the pristine, meticulously crafted Mingguang heavy armor provided by Li Wenyuan, alongside fire-pots, fire-lances, and corresponding gunpowder and projectiles neatly arranged along the ramparts just as practiced in drills. Night had just fallen, and apart from the essential sentries on duty, the remaining soldiers had retired to nearby watchtowers to rest.
A few soldiers caught sight of Zhang Deqing approaching and were about to salute and greet him when Zhang Deqing raised a hand to stop them. He walked over to the side of a sentry, placed a hand on the parapet, and gazed out into the northern expanse. Although the moonlight was as clear as water, under the shroud of the heavy night veil, nothing could be clearly discerned beyond a hundred paces. Zhang Deqing turned to the sentry beside him and asked, "A night like this is prime for an enemy surprise attack. Have all your preparations been completed?"
The soldier had just nodded and was about to speak when, from the night sky to the north of the Great Wall, a sudden, thunderous explosion rang out. A ball of fire materialized out of thin air on the ground, its persistent flames illuminating a radius of over thirty paces.
Seeing that the force he had sent out for a probing night raid had apparently triggered some sort of trap—with a thunderous roar echoing across the entire plain and a fire spontaneously igniting on the ground that illuminated the entire raiding party and exposed them completely to the eyes of the defending Great Wall troops—Shibi Khagan immediately issued an order to those beside him: "Call them back. The night raid route is unviable. Let the entire army rest and seize the time; we begin our assault on the city the moment day breaks."
Watching the Turks, who had triggered the trap, retreat in a tide-like fashion, Zhang Deqing nodded and said to the sentry, "Keep a good watch, and make sure you don't fall asleep."
With that, Zhang Deqing patted the soldier's shoulder, turned, and escorted by his personal guard unit, descended the Great Wall to return to his command post. In his heart, he felt a deep admiration for the batch of equipment Li Wenyuan had temporarily sent over, thinking to himself that at the first opportunity, he would ask Li Wenyuan for more of these supplies. After all, with such gear in hand, the nighttime defense line of the Great Wall would become even more impregnable.