Chapter 136: Of Little Consequence

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When Yi Xue’er and Yu Dan stepped out from the tent of the Wuhuan King, it was nearly dawn; the night was still faintly lit.

After a long moment of contemplation, Yu Dan asked Yi Xue’er, “In the battle at daylight, can the Wuhuan truly annihilate the Han army in one stroke?”

Yi Xue’er did not look at Yu Dan but instead replied with a question, “What do you think, brother?”

“I can’t see through it,” Yu Dan answered honestly. If there was any merit to Yu Dan, it was undoubtedly his humility.

“If even you can’t see through it, how could I?” Yi Xue’er said. Then, seeing Yu Dan hesitate to speak further, she urged him gently, “If the Wuhuan King truly meant to confine the battlefield so tightly, he wouldn’t have won so many battles before.”

“But... just now, you confidently told the Wuhuan King that the Wuhuan army would surely triumph in the daylight battle, that the Han forces were too thin, and that dividing the troops would only lead to failure...” Yu Dan asked, puzzled.

Yi Xue’er glanced at Yu Dan, noticing his sincere expression, and sighed softly. “That is precisely what I cannot understand.”

She paused, then said, “Since we cannot see through it, let the Wuhuan army try and we will understand. Why should we trouble ourselves?”

Yu Dan was stunned into silence.

After parting ways with Yu Dan, Yi Xue’er returned to her camp but did not enter immediately. Instead, she stood silently, gazing toward the fortress city for quite some time.

Finally, she murmured to herself, “I want to see what surprise you can give me this time. I hope you won’t disappoint me. Otherwise, my snow wolf will no longer have a worthy opponent.”

With that, she smiled faintly and entered the tent.

Yu Dan, upon entering his tent, extinguished the lamps but did not sleep. He sat quietly for a long time; his eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

After a long while, he murmured, “Actually, you don’t truly care whether the Wuhuan King can defeat the Han army this time. Rather than wanting the Wuhuan King to annihilate the Han army in one fell swoop, deep down you prefer to personally defeat the Han general who twice caused you the shame of defeat. You hold yourself in very high regard...”

“As long as the Wuhuan King marches out, our goal is achieved. Why should I fuss over the outcome of this battle?” Yu Dan laughed bitterly, lying down on his bed and staring at the tent’s ceiling. “The daylight battle should be quite spectacular, right?”

...

The common folk finally arrived. The once lively Wuhuan army camp, which had been bustling half the night, was now very quiet. All the soldiers disturbed from their sleep had yet to rise, and Chamuco himself was still in deep slumber, showing no intention of immediately regrouping for an attack.

At the same time, the Han army’s Yangpo camp was also very quiet. Except for scattered cavalry roaming five li around, few soldiers were visible. Even the patrolling troops were sparse.

Yangpo, named for its terrain, faces southeast and is a gentle slope. Though not large, it easily accommodated the two or three thousand troops encamped there.

The Han camp at Yangpo was built beside a mountain, directly facing the Wuhuan marching camp. The camp was narrower in front and wider at the rear. On the surface, it looked no different from a typical marching camp; the fortifications were sturdy but not remarkable at first glance.

After last night’s fierce battle, Qin Cheng, like Chamuco, was still sound asleep. In fact, most of the Han soldiers were deep in slumber. The cavalry, having ridden hard all night, naturally needed rest; the infantry, having labored long to build the camp, were exhausted as well.

The Wuhuan and Han camps, as if by prior agreement, were each quietly recuperating. Yet both commanders knew that the battle would not come in the morning but in the afternoon. Both armies were gathering their strength, waiting for the fierce clash to come.

At noon, thick smoke rose from the camps as soldiers prepared their midday meal. At a quarter past noon, Qin Cheng emerged from his tent to eat with his officers.

At the hour of Wei, all Han troops gathered in the camp.

Qin Cheng stood before his soldiers, scanning their faces with satisfaction at their high spirits. He then waved his hand: “Infantry, take your positions! Cavalry camp, stand by!”

Immediately, the Han troops stirred, their orderly footsteps stirring up a thick cloud of dust.

A moment past the hour of Wei, the Wuhuan camp suddenly erupted. The thunder of hooves rolled like thunderclaps. The camp gates flew open, and countless cavalry, led personally by the Wuhuan King, charged out.

Five li from the camp, the Wuhuan forces split into two groups. One group of eight thousand horses galloped toward the fortress city, while the other fifteen thousand cavalry charged straight at the Han camp at Yangpo. The remaining Wuhuan cavalry stayed behind to guard the camp.

The eight thousand riders heading for the fortress divided again three li from the city, circling left and right, surrounding the fortress like two mighty rivers encircling an island. Finally, they stopped before the four city gates, arrayed in formation.

These eight thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen were tasked with blocking the fortress, preventing its cavalry from aiding the Han camp at Yangpo.

Li Guang stood calmly on the northern gate tower of the fortress city, his blade lowered. He looked upon the three thousand Wuhuan cavalry outside the gate with a serene gaze. Though solemn, his face betrayed no emotion. From the moment he agreed to Qin Cheng’s battle plan, he had anticipated this scene and was not surprised.

The fortress was high and the moats deep; the Wuhuan cavalry could not easily breach it, so Li Guang had no concern for the fortress’s safety.

He turned his gaze toward the Yangpo camp. When he saw the massive fifteen thousand Wuhuan cavalry charging toward it, although he firmly believed Qin Cheng would hold firm, his heart could not help but skip a beat.

The tides of battle shift in an instant; there are never absolute plans.

“Are the troops all ready?” Li Guang asked his deputy, Li Xi.

“All ready,” Li Xi replied.

Li Guang nodded silently.

Before the Yangpo camp, Qin Cheng led fifteen hundred Han cavalrymen, standing ready in tight formation. Three li away, the Wuhuan army halted.

The Wuhuan had no intention of storming the camp immediately. In fact, battles fought so openly rarely began without some form of parley; before the fight, the two commanders customarily “met” on the field.

“Fifteen thousand against two thousand five hundred,” Liu Mu muttered absently as he looked at the Wuhuan army.

“No, no!” Qin Cheng corrected, smiling as he turned toward a surprised Liu Mu. “It’s two thousand five hundred against fifteen thousand.”

“...” Liu Mu rolled his eyes. “Is there really a difference?”

“Of course there is,” Qin Cheng smiled faintly.

“What difference?” Liu Mu frowned.

“You’ll understand after this battle,” Qin Cheng said. “Saying it now would spoil the fun.”

“...”

As Qin Cheng and Liu Mu exchanged their endless banter, a rider suddenly galloped out from the Wuhuan ranks toward the Han army.

“Our king requests the Han commander to come out and speak!” the Wuhuan rider shouted, stopping just an arrow’s distance from the Han camp.

Qin Cheng heard the polite tone and knew this was customary before battle in this era. He rode out with a personal guard.

“This is General Qin, commander of the Han cavalry. What message do you bring?” Qin Cheng’s guard called out.

“General Qin, please follow me. Our king awaits your presence on the field!” the Wuhuan rider said, wheeling his horse and leading the way.

Qin Cheng rode to the center of the two armies, where Chamuco was already waiting. They stopped a hundred paces apart, leaving their guards behind, then slowly advanced on horseback.

Finally, Qin Cheng and the Wuhuan King reined in their horses ten steps apart.

Chamuco appraised Qin Cheng before speaking first. “It was General Qin who led the attack on our camp last night, wasn’t it?”

Calling the night raid “disturbance” was a clear slight.

Qin Cheng smiled slightly. “I had no intention of disturbing your good rest, but the allure of your camp was too great. I had no choice but to take the risk. You see, when the reward is great and the risk low, people tend to act impulsively.”

Chamuco looked down on the small Han force—only three thousand—thinking their raid was mere mischief that could not truly harm the thirty thousand Wuhuan troops. Qin Cheng’s words implied the same: that charging into the Wuhuan camp with so few men was a small risk. Coupled with the success of the night raid, Qin Cheng’s words cut deep.

Chamuco’s expression darkened, then he laughed twice. “General Qin, you are still very young, aren’t you?”

“Certainly younger than you,” Qin Cheng replied.

“Such a young hero, General Qin. What a pity, what a pity!” Chamuco feigned regret.

Qin Cheng smiled faintly, refusing to follow Chamuco’s lead. Instead, he said, “You pity me, yet I pity your thirty thousand cavalry. I pity your entire Wuhuan tribe.”

“You pity me? Though you are such a young hero, you will soon die! Why pity me?” Chamuco sneered.

“I pity that your hard-assembled thirty thousand horsemen will soon all fall in battle, and your Wuhuan tribe is nearing extinction,” Qin Cheng smiled more brightly.

“Scoundrel!” Though somewhat broad-minded, Chamuco could not endure Qin Cheng’s words and shouted, “Arrogant brat, do you think your mere few thousand men can withstand my thirty thousand iron riders of Wuhuan?”

“Whether we can withstand it or not, we’ll find out,” Qin Cheng said calmly. “But setting aside the outcome of this battle, after today, do you still think the iron hooves of Han will not trample all of Wuhuan? Even if I fall today, even if my seven thousand Han soldiers all lie buried here, with your entire tribe of over a hundred thousand souls as our companions, we will smile in the afterlife. And you will pay the price for your foolish actions, bearing eternal disgrace!

“Compared to that, my personal pity is truly insignificant!”