Chapter 135: Pincer Maneuver

Three thousand elite Han cavalrymen charged right through the right vanguard camp of the Wuhuan army, swept past the central army camp, and finally burst out from the flank of the vanguard camp like a gust of wind. The entire maneuver was executed with such fluid precision that it could truly be described as clouds flowing and water moving.

After the three thousand Han cavalry broke out of the Wuhuan camp, the fire in the Wuhuan right vanguard camp had reached its peak. Countless tents were reduced to ashes, and some soldiers were engulfed in flames from head to toe, merging indistinguishably with the roaring inferno. The crackling sounds of burning objects and the agonizing screams of the soldiers created an indescribably eerie and bizarre atmosphere in the dead of night.

Although the Wuhuan right vanguard camp was practically ruined, and this battle had cost the Wuhuan no less than a thousand horsemen, the rest of their camps remained completely intact and as steady as Mount Tai. After all, Qin Cheng only had three thousand elite cavalrymen at his disposal, which was not enough to trample the entire Wuhuan encampment. If he had possessed ten thousand elite horsemen, Wuhuan King Zhamucuo would certainly not have been standing so calmly in front of the royal tent at this moment.

Regardless, Qin Cheng's raid tonight had ultimately culminated in a resounding victory, achieving the outcomes he had initially envisioned. As Qin Cheng led the three thousand elite cavalry charging out of the Wuhuan camp, some among the Wuhuan forces were jumping with rage and cursing to the heavens, while others heaved sighs of relief.

When Qin Cheng swept past the Wuhuan vanguard camp at a distance of a single arrow shot, two hundred paces behind the three thousand Han cavalry, several thousand Wuhuan light cavalry, led by a Myriad-Man Commander, came in hot pursuit with murderous intent. Their furious, howling cries in the dark night were exceptionally piercing, driving the Han army before them as herdsmen drive cattle and sheep across the grasslands.

Yet, it was abundantly clear that in this current tableau, the Wuhuan horsemen were no longer the herdsmen, and the Han army was certainly no flock of sheep.

No flock of sheep could ever slaughter this many herdsmen.

Qin Cheng had long since grown accustomed to being drenched in blood from head to toe. The huan-shou saber in his hand, gleaming with tiny specks of crimson under the moonlight, possessed an inherent aura of ferocity, yet Qin Cheng's expression remained entirely calm.

As a military commander, Qin Cheng had to remain calm. Even if his inner thoughts were actually turbulent, he had to suppress that restlessness and excitement. Only by maintaining a cool head could he effectively respond to any sudden emergencies that might arise later.

"General, the Wuhuan cavalry is catching up! They are less than two hundred paces away from the rear of our main force!" Ji Zhu reported the military situation from behind Qin Cheng.

Qin Cheng glanced back at the pitch-black mass of pursuing Wuhuan cavalry and said indifferently, "Pay them no mind. They will turn back on their own."

Naturally, the Wuhuan cavalry would turn back on their own. After chasing them for three to five miles and realizing they could not catch up to the rear of the Han army within a short timeframe, the leading Myriad-Man Commander issued the order to return to camp.

Visibility in the dark night was poor to begin with, and who knew what kind of sudden ambush awaited a lone pursuing force? This Myriad-Man Commander was not a man to act recklessly in the heat of the moment—otherwise, Zhamucuo would never have made him a Myriad-Man Commander. He knew that under tonight's circumstances, the most important thing was to remain calm. Since the Han army had already inflicted damage upon the Wuhuan camp, the best course of action for these Wuhuan horsemen now was to minimize any potential further losses! As for retaliation, wouldn't it be far better to wait until tomorrow when the entire army marched out together?

"Haha, General, the Wuhuan cavalry has indeed retreated!" Ji Zhu felt exceptionally gratified tonight. The humiliation he had suffered earlier was being paid back with interest; how could he not be overjoyed?

Seeing that the pursuers had fallen back, Qin Cheng issued an order: "Pass down the command: the left and right wings of the light cavalry, along with the left wing of the heavy cavalry, are to return to the fortress city. All other units will follow me to make camp at Yangpo!"

"Understood!" The messenger acknowledged the order, immediately whipped his horse around, and galloped back and forth alongside the main army to relay Qin Cheng's instructions.

"The General has ordered: the left and right wings of the light cavalry, and the left wing of the heavy cavalry are to return to the fortress city! All other units are to follow the General to make camp at Yangpo!"

"..."

Ahead of the fortress city, the three thousand elite cavalry split into two forces. Half returned to the fortress city, while the other half continued forward with Qin Cheng.

Shortly after the cavalry split up, about five miles directly ahead of Qin Cheng, a large circle of torches suddenly flared into life.

Qin Cheng rode straight toward the location of those torches.

The ones who had lit this circle of torches were none other than the thousand foot soldiers who had marched out of the city right behind the cavalry when Qin Cheng first led the army out. By this time, these infantrymen had almost finished setting up the encampment. Seeing Qin Cheng return victorious, they naturally raised torches to guide the way.

Upon entering the camp, Qin Cheng immediately issued his orders: "Send out scouts five miles beyond the camp, let the military medics treat the wounded, and have everyone else enter their tents to rest. Li Gan, you must bear a hardship tonight—you will be in charge of the night watch!"

"Understood!" Li Gan cupped his fists in salute and withdrew to arrange the night patrols.

"Liu Mu, come into the tent with me!" Qin Cheng dismounted, walked only a few steps, and added, "Infantry captains, follow me into the tent as well."

Ever since returning from Chang'an, tonight's raid was the first time Qin Cheng had seen Liu Mu again. Liu Mu maintained his usual aloof and indifferent demeanor. His face was stained with a considerable amount of dried blood; having likely wiped his brow earlier, the bright crimson blood smeared across his cheek like rouge. Seeing Liu Mu's dual flushed cheeks, Qin Cheng suddenly felt that he possessed a somewhat feminine, striking beauty at this moment.

However, Qin Cheng had no heart to dwell on such thoughts right now. He entered the grand tent, unbuckled his long saber, placed it upon the desk, and turned to ask the infantry captains, "Have all the preparations I requested been completed?"

"Reporting to the General, the bows, arrows, and incendiary oils have all been arranged according to your instructions. The soldiers are stepping up the construction of the chevaux-de-frise and deep ditches, and we expect to have them completed before daybreak," an infantry captain replied.

"Good. Be sure they are finished before dawn, so the Wuhuan scouts cannot discern any flaws. You are dismissed." Recalling the flying sand and churning earth he had witnessed upon entering the camp just moments ago, Qin Cheng pondered for a moment, concluded there should be no issues, and dismissed the captain. Afterward, he summoned a personal guard and instructed him: "Order the scouts to widen their search radius, especially around the mountain paths on the left flank. Not a single Wuhuan horseman is to be allowed near that area."

With these matters settled, Qin Cheng seated himself behind the desk, invited Liu Mu to sit as well, and then spoke: "Tell me, what flaws do you see in my arrangements?"

Liu Mu possessed genuine military talent and a prodigious memory. Qin Cheng always welcomed his insights on military affairs, largely to let him point out his shortcomings. While Qin Cheng was somewhat proud, he was not arrogant enough to believe his single mind could always consider everything perfectly.

Liu Mu seated himself inside the military tent, already accustomed to Qin Cheng's repetitive inquiries. He glanced at Qin Cheng, his brow furrowing slightly, and said, "Your subordinate never truly agreed with the General's arrangements in the first place."

"Just because I divided my forces—having one part make camp here while another is stationed in the city?" Qin Cheng asked with a smile.

"Dividing the forces to make camp, with the camp outside the city and the fortress city forming horns of mutual support to assist one another in times of trouble so as not to be trapped and starved within the city—such a concept is not wrong in theory, but it simply does not fit our current reality." Liu Mu could not fathom why Qin Cheng, normally so thorough in his deliberations, would make such a seemingly clever yet utterly foolish move. As he spoke, he observed Qin Cheng's expression, only to find nothing there save a faint smile, leaving Liu Mu entirely in the dark about what was truly on his mind. Yet this was precisely what irritated Liu Mu the most, causing his tone to turn somewhat colder and more annoyed. "Does the General fail to see even this?"

Watching Liu Mu's irritated expression, Qin Cheng felt a surge of triumph and said, "I have already ordered the infantry in the camp to step up the construction of defensive fortifications. You have seen these preparations yourself; it will not be simple for the Wuhuan cavalry to charge into this camp the way I did tonight."

"The General may hold them off for a moment, but can you hold them off forever? If the Wuhuan cavalry attacks with their full force, even with tight defenses, how many charges can an army of less than three thousand men withstand? Once our military supplies are exhausted, defeat will be inevitable!" Liu Mu was truly angry now. He simply could not understand why Qin Cheng was so stubbornly confident. In his view, Qin Cheng was glaringly in the wrong yet stubbornly convinced of his own brilliance—was this not treating the lives of thousands of soldiers as a joke?

"..." Seeing Liu Mu's blazing fury, Qin Cheng chuckled helplessly.

...

The Wuhuan Central Army Camp.

Zhamucuo's face was as dark as ink. Looking at the Myriad-Man Commander kneeling before him with his head bowed, he had the intense urge to deliver a fierce kick, but he managed to restrain himself—as if he had grown accustomed to practicing restraint lately.

"Get out of my sight!"

Dismissing the commander who had returned empty-handed, Zhamucuo forcefully suppressed the blazing anger within his chest and walked back to his royal throne. His gaze brushed against Yixue'er's enigmatic, mocking smile, causing his fury to flare even higher. He found that he was growing increasingly tired of this Xiongnu princess before him, because this allied princess always wore an expression of absolute detachment.

His own army had suffered a crushing defeat, yet his ally remained utterly indifferent; no one would ever be pleased by such a sight.

Just as the Wuhuan King was nursing his smothered rage, biting back his irritation at Yixue'er's indifferent composure, and pondering strategies for tomorrow's battle, the scouts sent out to tail the Han cavalry returned to report.

"The Han army split into two groups before the fortress city," the scout reported. "One part entered the fortress city, while the other proceeded to Yangpo, where they have set up a temporary encampment."

"The Han army is attempting to use the camp outside the city and the fortress city as horns of mutual support, so that when our Wuhuan main force attacks one side, the other can immediately come to their rescue," the Wuhuan King sneered. "The Han people are cunning indeed."

With that, he glanced sideways at Yixue'er and Yudan. Filtering out Yudan entirely, he looked at the composed Yixue'er and asked, "Princess, do you have any countermeasures to break this mutual support of the Han army?"

Unable to think of a way to crack this seemingly simple yet highly effective Han formation on his own, the Wuhuan King had asked the question partly to knock Yixue'er down a peg, for he truly found her serene expression unbearable.

To his surprise, Yixue'er offered a faint smile and replied to Zhamucuo, "Wuhuan King, the Han army is merely handing us an opportunity to wipe them out completely, are they not? Does the Wuhuan King really need me to spell this out? Or do you look down upon the wisdom of the Great Xiongnu and seek to test me on purpose?"

Zhamucuo nearly bit his own tongue upon hearing Yixue'er's words. Yet, upon second thought, he immediately grasped the meaning behind her statement. He was far from a fool; had he not been intentionally trying to spite Yixue'er, he never would have asked a question that allowed her to turn around and mock him.

Before Zhamucuo could voice his thoughts, Yixue'er continued, "You possess an army of thirty thousand, Wuhuan King, while how many men do the Han have? Their forces are already severely depleted, yet they stubbornly attempt to deploy a mutual support formation to block the iron hooves of your Wuhuan army—is that not simply drawing a prison circle around themselves and calling it a fortress? You need only deploy a portion of your forces to besiege the fortress city, preventing the Han soldiers inside from coming out, and then use your main force to strike the Han camp at Yangpo. Even with tight defenses, there are only two or three thousand of them. A single charge by twenty thousand iron horsemen of the Wuhuan army will shatter the Han camp! Once the Yangpo camp is broken, you can lure out the eager Han reinforcements from the fortress city and surround them. Total annihilation of the Han army will be unavoidable!"

"..." Although the Wuhuan King was annoyed that Yixue'er had stolen his thunder and robbed him of the chance to prove his own brilliance, hearing her analysis still brought a triumphant smile to his face.

Because in his eyes, victory was right before them.

The Han army was bound to be defeated, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?