Chapter Eighty-Three: Three Thousand Pursuers

Qin Cheng’s rescue of Li Gan also had an effect within the army. Many soldiers had once thought Qin Cheng weak, that he had cowered the great army inside Small Blossom City and dared not face the Xiongnu in battle. Now, seeing that Qin Cheng had led only a personal guard detachment into the Xiongnu camp and successfully brought Li Gan back alive, that sentiment had faded considerably. Moreover, the words Qin Cheng had spoken before personally going to rescue Li Gan had stirred quite a reaction among the troops. Many soldiers now believed that even if they themselves were surrounded by Xiongnu, this Cavalry General would lead the army to save them. Though Qin Cheng still had not issued an order to march, the soldiers could all settle their hearts and wait a little longer, no longer grumbling in secret.

In truth, the main reason for risking the rescue of Li Gan was to steady morale in the army. Now that the aim had been achieved, Qin Cheng could finally breathe easier.

After returning to camp, he rested for half a day. When he rose in the afternoon and asked about the military situation, he learned that there had been no report of Xiongnu raids on the villages and settlements nearby.

Because it had already been expected that Xiongnu cavalry would not attack Small Blossom City, the city’s resettlement work had continued these past days. Crops that needed to be dealt with were dealt with, and houses that could be raised had already begun to take shape. Though the court would provide assistance in rebuilding after the war, New Year’s Eve was now almost upon them, and the people of Small Blossom City all hoped that several houses might be built before then, offering at least some comfort to the heart. With the soldiers’ help, the rebuilding proceeded smoothly and at a good pace.

It was no small thing for soldiers trained for marching and battle to help the people with construction, but Qin Cheng’s position was firm, and seeing the state of Small Blossom City, the troops had little ground to object.

...

Since Qin Cheng brought Li Gan back, the Xiongnu had made no move for several days. The scout cavalry sent out to gather intelligence also reported that no trace of the Xiongnu had been found, as though they had vanished into thin air.

“Could it be that the Xiongnu have already withdrawn?” someone speculated when the generals gathered once more in the main command tent to confer.

“Well, that’s fine and dandy. How are we supposed to fight now? We’ve barely seen a shadow of the Xiongnu, yet we’ve let them run wild for all these days. They’ve harassed villages and settlements all over the place, and now they’ve burned what should be burned, destroyed what should be destroyed, and gone back satisfied!” Ma Dashan said with a dark face, unable to hold back his complaints.

“The Xiongnu have only about two thousand horsemen after all. Naturally they are no match for us in a direct clash. Their earlier ambush failed as well, and since they’ve already achieved their purpose in harassing Shanggu, it is only natural for them to withdraw,” Ji Zhu said, following Ma Dashan’s line of thought. After several days of frustration, he too could not help but feel resentful, so his words carried a note of displeasure.

“If you ask me, we should have split our forces and gone after them a few days ago. Even if the Xiongnu’s tracks were hard to find, it wasn’t as though there was no chance. Now we’ve let those Xiongnu bastards run off for nothing. It’s enough to make me furious!” Seeing that Ji Zhu shared his view, Ma Dashan’s complaints became even more direct.

From first to last, Li Guang and Qin Cheng said nothing.

“The Xiongnu are gone. There’s no point in us staying here any longer. General, when do we set out and return to camp?” someone asked tentatively.

Li Guang straightened and said, “Wait three more days. Double the number of scout riders. If there is still no news of the Xiongnu, then we may return.”

After a pause, Li Guang added, “This expedition has not dealt a heavy blow to the Xiongnu, but we have still achieved some results. Besides, with our army stationed in Small Blossom City, the Xiongnu’s movements have not been too reckless. That too has had its effect. You all need not brood over it any longer.”

When the generals left the main tent, Ma Dashan still could not suppress his anger. “What kind of battle was that? Three thousand cavalrymen, and we still refuse to strike, spending all day holed up in this damned place building houses. Now those Xiongnu run off for nothing. Truly hateful!”

“Captain Ma, could you keep your voice down a bit? What are the soldiers below to think if they see this?” Ji Zhu hurried after him, warning him.

“The battle isn’t allowed to be fought, and now even words aren’t allowed?” Ma Dashan retorted. “What do you mean, ‘some results,’ what do you mean, ‘has had its effect’? This is plainly enough to suffocate a man. Old Ma has never fought such a stifling battle in his life. It’s worse than a defeat!”

Ji Zhu pulled him aside and sighed. “Do you think you’re the only one in the army who feels this way? We all think the same. But it’s a military order—what can we do?”

“What kind of damned order is that? No, I’m going to speak to the general about it, or I won’t be able to swallow this!” Ma Dashan said, turning as if to head back to the main tent.

Ji Zhu caught him by the arm and cursed him for a fool. “Why didn’t you say it earlier? What good would it do to say it now? The Xiongnu have already run off! Do you mean to chase them beyond the Great Wall and fight your way into the desert?”

The two men bickered and tugged at each other for a while, but in the end they did nothing out of line. After some time, each returned to his own tent.

“It seems the temper of the generals in this army will need some refining,” Qin Cheng said solemnly, stroking his chin after they had left.

Li Guang gave a chuckle. “Everyone is used to speaking plainly. Battles like this are truly rare; it is only natural that they are not accustomed to it.”

“As a commander, one must have wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and strictness. Without even one of these, one cannot be a great general, and one may also ruin important affairs. If even the ordinary soldiers below are restless, so be it—but how can the commanders be the same? In the future, cavalry operations will rely even more on long-distance raids; getting lost is a common occurrence. If the commanders cannot steady the army’s morale, then there will be the danger of utter defeat.” Rarely did Qin Cheng take a contrary stance to Li Guang’s, but when he spoke, his tone brooked no doubt and was very firm.

Li Guang pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Brother Qin speaks reasonably. Indeed, I have not seen as far as you. It seems that in the future I must temper the temperaments of the generals well.”

Three days later, on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month, the Little New Year arrived, with only six days left until New Year’s Eve. The Han army, which had been stationed in Small Blossom City for more than ten days, finally struck camp and began its withdrawal.

During those ten-odd days, with the help of several thousand soldiers, the people of Small Blossom City had already built a good number of houses. When New Year’s night came, the people of Small Blossom City would no longer need to sleep in flimsy shelters open to the wind on all sides. It must be said that, even without any military merit to speak of, this was a deed of real value.

On this campaign, there had been two small engagements and no major battle. What mattered most was that everyone was full of pent-up frustration. Thus, even though the people of Small Blossom City came out to send them off, the soldiers all wore dark expressions.

Three thousand men had come like lightning, and the opening battle had been fought with tremendous force and vigor. Yet on the return journey, their pace was quite slow, the whole force gloomy and listless, with not a trace of spirit. It was truly a beginning of thunder and an ending of rain.

Along the way, there was almost no speech at all; even the grumbling had vanished.

After linking up with the light cavalry company stationed at Old Horse Plain, the army did not stop and continued on toward the Shanggu military camp.

They traveled at an unhurried pace for a day and finally reached Qiansang before sunset. The soldiers ate their meal, night fell, and they all went to rest.

Li Guang did not return to the prefectural city; he also remained to rest in the Qiansang camp.

The men slept with heavy hearts, until midnight...

“Urgent report! Urgent report! Urgent report!”

The sound of hoofbeats rang through the camp, racing straight toward the main command tent and waking the soldiers from their sleep.

Before long, the drumbeats sounded.

The high-ranking officers of the army hurried to the main tent, only to see that Qin Cheng and Li Guang were already inside, fully armored.

Li Guang raised the military dispatch in his hand and said gravely, “An urgent report from Yangzi Gorge. At dusk, it was attacked by nearly two thousand Xiongnu cavalry. The situation is critical.”

With those words, the tent erupted at once.

“Damn them to hell!”

“Let’s march, General!”

“March out and butcher these sons of bitches!”

“Wipe out these Xiongnu thieves! Just two thousand of them, and they really think we’re afraid?”

“What are two thousand Xiongnu horsemen? Cut them all down!”

“...”

Li Guang gestured for the generals to quiet down and said, “For the military deployment below, all shall follow General Qin’s arrangements!”

The generals turned their eyes to Qin Cheng, all thinking the same thing: do not, under any circumstances, say that we should wait now!

“Let the heavy cavalry be led by the general, the light cavalry by me. The entire army will assemble at once and set out immediately!” Qin Cheng ordered.

All the generals clasped their fists and said in unison, “Yes!”

Thereafter, the Shanggu cavalry camp, which had returned to camp for less than half a day, again formed ranks and went to war. This time, the cavalry of the Shanggu camp were enraged to the extreme, splendidly dressed, mounted on spirited horses, torches held high. Their momentum was even more imposing than it had been more than ten days earlier, and they drove straight toward Yangzi Gorge!

When they passed Old Horse Plain, Qin Cheng no longer ordered the light cavalry company to remain at the mountain pass.

The furious Han cavalry swore to grind those two thousand Xiongnu to powder; their intent to return to camp only after annihilating the enemy needed no words. When the army reached Yangzi Gorge, as expected, there was no sign of the Xiongnu.

The scene at Yangzi Gorge was worse than what had befallen Small Blossom City. Flames soared skyward, houses were utterly ruined, and fortunately neither the soldiers nor the people of Yangzi Gorge had suffered major losses.

After the army arrived, the commanding officer at Yangzi Gorge reported that the Xiongnu had only recently gone north. Most likely their scout riders had heard the sound of the Han army’s rapid advance, and thus the main body of the Xiongnu besieging Yangzi Gorge had withdrawn.

Hearing this, the generals all requested pursuit.

At that moment, Qin Cheng’s personal guards, who had earlier gone to Small Blossom City to find Shan Jia, arrived together with him on horseback. In his dealings with Shan Jia over the previous days, Qin Cheng had learned that Shan Jia was very familiar with the terrain along the frontier and had even been to the Xiongnu royal camp. Bringing him now was to serve as a guide for the army.

“Pursue at full speed!” Qin Cheng ordered decisively.

Enough was enough!

These Xiongnu were truly detestable. With only two thousand cavalry, they had dared to toy with three thousand Han soldiers in such fashion, showing no respect whatsoever for the Han army.

If the generals had previously worried that there might be a hidden force behind the Xiongnu, that doubt had already been dismissed. All signs indicated that this time the Xiongnu had come south relying only on five detachments of cavalry to harass the frontier!

That meant the Han army’s earlier caution had been entirely unnecessary.

With anger impossible to restrain, the Han army no longer had any misgivings and launched a furious pursuit after the two thousand Xiongnu. It was a retaliatory rage born of humiliation, long suppressed and now fully unleashed.

The army pressed northward at great speed. After more than half an hour of pursuit, Shan Jia, who led the way, pointed ahead and shouted, “Look, firelight!”

The men at the very front looked closely and indeed saw faint firelight far ahead. It was dim, likely because the Xiongnu feared exposing their trail and dared not carry too many torches. Yet in their flight for their lives, they could not help but bear torches after all, so the light could now be glimpsed faintly!

“Catch up to them. Don’t let them get away!” Qin Cheng and Li Guang ordered.

They pursued all the way until dawn.

After daylight, the Han cavalry could clearly see the Xiongnu horsemen fleeing ahead. Thanks to Shan Jia’s familiarity with the terrain and roads, the heavy cavalry, though slower on horseback, was gradually closing the distance. The gap did not shrink by much, but at least the enemy could not shake them off.

Nearly two thousand Xiongnu cavalry fled frantically in front, while three thousand Han soldiers chased relentlessly behind.

Both sides were locked in a contest of speed.

Three thousand? Judging by the momentum and the marching formation, that was indeed the number.

As for Shan Jia, who had led the way, he vanished before dawn.

They raced on and on, until nearly noon.

Both armies had already switched to reserve mounts.

Li Guang led his men into the vicinity of a small hill. The hill was covered only with grass and stone, with no trees to be seen. It was called a small hill, though in truth it was not small at all. Jagged rocks jutted everywhere, none of them very large. By the time they had reached this place, the army was already drawing ever closer to the Xiongnu. It seemed that if they pursued for another half hour, they would enter bow range.