Capítulo 1432: Chapter 65: How Can There Be No Armor? (Double-Length)
The night was as dark as ink. A few days ago it had snowed, and during these nights it should have been clear, with a full moon and twinkling stars. But today the sky was so dark it cast a shadow in one’s heart, layers of thick clouds obscuring the stars and moonlight, as if swallowing the entire grassland whole.
Gongsun Jing stood on the undulating grassy slope, gripping his saber with one hand, gazing outward.
In the far distance, already the border territory of Great Qin, the undulating grasslands were densely populated with Xiongnu tents, forming a camp. The fire pits filled with oil burned brightly, resembling fire snakes undulating and sprawling into the distant horizon.
This was one of the Northern Frontier’s tribes, summoned by the Northern Xiongnu King to resist the frantically advancing front line of Sima Cuo. Due to failure to achieve victory and disrupted supplies, the soldiers felt hosick, and morale was quite low. But even so, over ten thousand cavalry were stationed here, like a giant beast, exerting a terrifying pressure.
Gongsun Jing chewed on grass roots, his eyes fixed on the camp. When the national fortunes of the Six Kingdoms in the Central Plains were destroyed, countless scholars crossed northward to the Xiongnu, devoured by the Great Khan Kings. Originally, the Xiongnu army stations were far less intricate than those of the Central Plains, but at this mont the camp displayed traits reminiscent of the Chu State.
The night watch riders silently swept through the camp. Even in retreat, there were simple watchtowers at high points in the camp, with fire pits lit atop them. Xiongnu archers, teams of four, stood at the highest points, their hard bows able to cover the entire camp.
The Xiongnu loved their liquor, often shouting loudly when drunk, yet at this mont the entire camp was silent, with no voices, aside from the crackling sound of burning flas, eerily quiet. In Gongsun Jing’s eyes, this was far more oppressive than a group of shouting Xiongnu warriors.
He spat out the chewed grass roots from his mouth.
They had deliberately left traces all along the way, making the enemy think the Qing Taoqi were exhausted, ripe for the taking. Sure enough, to prevent them from slipping away, the Xiongnu generals spread out the battle lines. Based on what he saw, the weakest area had only about a thousand troops.
If it were just the Divine Martial Mansion, they could have charged through by now. But since the Qing Taoqi also had over two thousand enslaved farrs with them, he wasn’t too confident they could break through in one go, let alone reach the borders of Great Qin.
Moreover, there was the Xiongnu’s reaction speed. If the main camp were to mobilize in an instant, that would be a major problem.
Gu Qinghan stood behind Gongsun Jing, witnessing for the first ti the fiery spectacle of the long snake formation lit by fire, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. Though he had slain nurous Xiongnu Iron Cavalry elites over the past half year, facing this army of tens of thousands still made his scalp tingle. Turning to Gongsun Jing, he asked:
“What do we do? So many people, is this formation that so-called Long Snake Formation? Attacking one spot triggers reactions everywhere else, with those two thousand having no skills but dragging us down, slowing us down too much. How can we break through?”
“If we get entangled carelessly, we’ll be like dumpling stuffing for them.”
Gongsun Jing pointed remotely at those few simply constructed watchtowers, saying: “The Chu State’s camp relies on those eyes above. We have to wait for them to exchange signals once, quietly take down these two, then, taking advantage of the interval before they swap information next, charge out in one go.”
“Can you do it?”
Gu Qinghan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said:
“We’re at the point of no return, whether we can or not, we must!”
“Stick close!”
……
In the pitch-black night, several thousand people on horseback, as if with no regard for their lives, gradually approached the Xiongnu camp. Gongsun Jing’s eyes reflected the two fiery snakes as if igniting two glaring flas. From a distance, seeing the cavalry swaying, they only seed concerned about internal upheaval, showing little interest in external matters.
The Xiongnu lived on horseback, everyone upon mounting a steed and raising a curved saber was an elite light cavalryman. With tens of thousands present here, how could they fear a re two or three thousand scattered riders, two thousand of whom were just abducted farrs?
To the Xiongnu, farrs were rely slightly superior slaves compared to cattle and sheep, not even matching war horses. Many farrs were brutally whipped to death each day for a single warhorse. So, in their perception, this was just a few hundred people driving livestock here, only wishing for it to end quickly.
In their commander’s eyes, the larger issue was how to report the battle casualties to the Khan King upon return.
The few thousand Qing Taoqi, in terms of importance, were not even on par with the secret struggles of the great nobility under the royal tent. Having been routed several tis by Sima Cuo, the front-line generals weren’t overly concerned with the thousand cavalryn roaming in the rear.
If they were willing to pull out the battle reports pressed at the bottom, carefully organizing them, they would find that the strategies were similar to those of the world-renowned generals like Sima Cuo.
The Qing Taoqi had approached the limit of distance.
The flas in the fire pits above nearly illuminated Gongsun Jing’s face, as he silently watched the torches on the watchtower sway. This ti, including those farrs, they were all clad in seized leather armor, gripping curved sabers. Gongsun Jing’s right hand swung down, and the farrs, protected inside, held their sabers with trembling hands.
Gongsun Jing gave them the sabers, telling them they were not slaves, but citizens of Great Qin, born of Huaxia.
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