Chapter Seventy-Eight: Elite Forces

“Send the order—light cavalry, assemble!”

Qin Cheng rushed to the central command tent, where Li Guang, hearing the commotion outside, was just stepping out. Before he could inquire, Qin Cheng spoke urgently, “General, Xiaohua Fortress may be in danger. I am about to lead the light cavalry to investigate.”

“Xiaohua Fortress?” The mention struck Li Guang immediately with understanding, and he did not hesitate. “Take the light cavalry and go. I will bring the heavy cavalry to follow!”

“The heavy cavalry cannot leave Yangzigou,” Qin Cheng replied. “The whereabouts of the Xiongnu remain unclear. To guard against their ambush on Yangzigou, the heavy cavalry should stay here. Even if something happens, with the strength of the heavy cavalry and the fortifications of Yangzigou, we will be safe. My light cavalry moves swiftly; even if the Xiongnu are deceitful, we will ensure we do not lose ground.”

Li Guang pondered briefly, then said, “Very well, do as you suggest. Go quickly.”

“Your subordinate takes leave!” Qin Cheng mounted his horse. As he passed through the gates of Yangzigou, the light cavalry had just finished assembling. The whole force carried torches, waiting in place. A group of scouts had already ridden ahead toward Xiaohua Fortress, checking the road for signs.

“Front unit forward, left and right units behind, march in a wedge formation—destination, Xiaohua Fortress!”

Xiaohua Fortress had suffered an attack that afternoon; houses were burned, and the flames still had not died down. The sky glowed red, making the direction clear even without a guide.

Shanjia followed behind Qin Cheng, his face dark. Earlier, he had volunteered to guide the army, wanting only to join the battle against the Xiongnu and vent his anger. When they arrived at Yangzigou, the Xiongnu were nowhere to be seen. He had not expected the Xiongnu might have circled around the Han cavalry and attacked his own Xiaohua Fortress. Only after chatting with Qin Cheng did he realize this possibility; whether they would arrive in time was uncertain.

Xiaohua Fortress had already suffered great wounds. If it endured another assault from the Xiongnu, who knew what would become of it. As captain of the garrison, Shanjia should have remained at Xiaohua Fortress. Without him to command, the city’s defenses would be even more vulnerable if attacked, and the consequences more severe.

Shanjia clenched his teeth in frustration.

When Qin Cheng and his men departed Xiaohua Fortress earlier, they had stationed scouts around the area to guard against surprises. Now, however, no reports had come from these scouts, keeping Qin Cheng’s nerves taut as a drawn bowstring.

Receiving a report from the scouts was surely bad news, but having no report at all pressed on his chest with an oppressive weight.

After a wild dash of a hundred li, a scout finally reached them.

Qin Cheng’s heart sank. He steadied himself and listened quietly as the scout reported:

“General Qin, half an hour ago, a group of three to five hundred Xiongnu cavalry suddenly appeared outside Xiaohua Fortress and launched an attack!”

It was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, exploding in Shanjia’s heart and making him stagger.

Qin Cheng’s expression did not change; he asked in a steady voice, “Half an hour ago—why are you only now reporting?”

A scout riding at full speed from Xiaohua Fortress should have needed only forty-five minutes; hence Qin Cheng’s question.

The scout’s face twisted in pain. “The scouts posted outside Xiaohua Fortress were all ambushed and killed by Xiongnu scouts. I barely escaped by luck and have come now to report.”

Five scouts—only one survived.

Both sides had scouts, but for Xiongnu scouts to kill Han scouts, they had to strike silently and unexpectedly; the difficulty was obvious.

Elite.

That was the word that flashed through Qin Cheng’s mind at the report.

They had encountered a formidable opponent.

“Move!” Qin Cheng signaled the scout to mount and follow.

Fifteen hundred men marched, their presence impossible to hide. The winter night was cold and silent; hoofbeats shattered the peace of the steppe.

When Qin Cheng and his group arrived at Yangzigou, the Xiongnu cavalry that had besieged it had only recently dispersed. The army had stayed at Yangzigou no more than an hour; in that gap, the Xiongnu cavalry managed to avoid the Han scouts and raced to Xiaohua Fortress—a feat of daring.

A masterstroke—avoiding strength, striking weakness, a hundred-li raid. This Xiongnu adversary was truly troublesome.

So Qin Cheng thought.

The flames at Xiaohua Fortress were weaker than in the afternoon, but not by much. To extinguish them completely would require the dawn.

With the fire lighting their way, Qin Cheng and his men could see the city’s condition from a distance.

There were no cries of despair or battle shouts as dreadful as he imagined.

As they approached, returning scouts reported that not a single Xiongnu cavalryman remained in Xiaohua Fortress.

But Xiaohua Fortress had indeed endured a fierce battle.

More than a hundred defenders had been almost entirely annihilated.

Civilian casualties were much lighter.

Qin Cheng stationed the army outside the city, then entered Xiaohua Fortress accompanied by his personal guards.

The sight was harrowing: blood everywhere, fallen soldiers being carried away by strong young men, and a few wounded civilians, interspersed with cries of anguish—amidst the flickering fires, between burnt-out homes, beneath the dark night sky.

Qin Cheng’s face was particularly rigid, beyond anger or sorrow.

“The Xiongnu came quickly and left quickly. The whole attack was brief,” reported a wounded squad leader, who had been dug out from beneath a collapsed mud wall. “But these Xiongnu were ruthless—more so than any I’ve seen. Each fought like a demon; their strength was overwhelming. We were no match for them at all. In the hurried defense, nearly a hundred brothers were killed or wounded, but we barely harmed the Xiongnu.”

The squad leader bowed his head in shame.

Shanjia supported him, his face twisted in grief and rage.

“Any findings?” Qin Cheng asked Liumu, who hurried over. As soon as they arrived, Liumu had inspected the casualties among the Han soldiers.

“These Xiongnu were extraordinary. They used iron arrows, rare in their ranks, and their archery was superb. Of the Han soldiers killed, five or six out of ten died with a single arrow through the throat.” Liumu handed an iron arrow to Qin Cheng, then paused as if hesitating over something. “Moreover, among those not killed by iron arrows, many defenders were left without…”

Qin Cheng raised his hand, signaling Liumu not to continue. “What about the civilians?”

“Only a dozen civilians were killed or wounded, mostly knocked aside by charging horses,” Liumu replied gravely.

Qin Cheng lowered his head in thought, puzzled.

All signs pointed to the Xiongnu cavalry that attacked Xiaohua Fortress being elite troops. Yet what baffled him was that during the attack, they seemed deliberately to avoid harming civilians, targeting only the defenders—a stark contrast to the earlier afternoon raid, which had been indiscriminate and vicious. It made little sense.

Furthermore, were the Xiongnu cavalry who besieged Yangzigou the same as those who attacked Xiaohua Fortress? If so, that was manageable. If not, facing two separate Xiongnu forces simultaneously, both elite, would put the Han army on the defensive.

The enemy lurks in shadow, while I stand in the light.

“General, the arrangements are complete,” Qin Qingzhi reported. He had been sent by Qin Cheng to help the townsfolk deal with the dead and wounded.

Qin Cheng nodded. “Take the guard detachment to Yangzigou. Tell the general I suggest they come to Xiaohua Fortress.”

As Qin Cheng finished, seeing Qin Qingzhi about to obey, he added, “We have little manpower; neither the heavy nor light cavalry are fully effective. In this situation, dividing our forces is a grave mistake. Combining them is the only way to handle any crisis. Though it reduces our flexibility and forces us to react rather than act, it’s still better than being defeated piecemeal.”

This advice contradicted his earlier strategy with Li Guang, but circumstances had changed; the response must change as well. Besides, border towns like Yangzigou were now on alert; Xiongnu raiders would not easily overrun one.

Qin Qingzhi quickly digested Qin Cheng’s words, realizing he was being instructed. “Why not combine forces at Yangzigou? Xiaohua Fortress is a ruin; if a large Xiongnu force attacks, it will be hard to defend. Yangzigou is a large fortress; in an emergency, we can retreat inside.”

Qin Cheng patted his shoulder. “Under normal circumstances, we’d certainly choose a place suited for both attack and defense. But now things are different. The Xiongnu cavalry act unpredictably, without rhyme or reason. We don’t know their next move. If our army leaves Xiaohua Fortress, and it is attacked again, it will have no defense at all. Even if the Xiongnu don’t kill the civilians, once they surround Xiaohua Fortress, we will be forced to rescue it—and then, we’ll be led by the nose.”

“So we must garrison Xiaohua Fortress and protect the civilians; there is no choice.”

Qin Qingzhi nodded. “Understood. No room for choice means less trouble.”

“Good.” Qin Cheng was satisfied with his insight. “I’m sending you with the guard detachment because the route is full of unknown dangers. Scouts can’t bear the responsibility; the guards are stronger but you must still be cautious.”

“Rest assured, General. I know what to do.”

“Excellent. Set out at once!”

“Understood!”

After Qin Qingzhi left, Qin Cheng fell into brief contemplation.

“With the situation as it is, have you any plan to counter the enemy?” Liumu sat nearby, warming his hands over the campfire, a hint of provocation in his question.

“No,” Qin Cheng answered, staring at the flickering flames.

Liumu was surprised by the blunt response and pressed further, “Then what should we do next?”

“What we do is not important. What matters is what the Xiongnu will do,” Qin Cheng replied.

“There are five or six small towns near Xiaohua Fortress and Yangzigou. If the Xiongnu harass them one by one, what shall we do?” Liumu was determined to challenge him. “We destroyed one group of Xiongnu cavalry, but four remain. If they attack four different places at once, how will we respond?”

Qin Cheng glanced at Liumu, unmoved by his aggressive questioning, and answered coldly, “Wait.”

“Wait?”