🦊: Sorry for the delay. I was so tired after travelling to my hometown that I overslept. 😅
Not long after dawn, Yun Qing received news that Ji Xuan had dispatched tens of thousands of troops to attack him once again. However, Yun Qing remained completely calm and asked, "How many soldiers have they sent?"
The walls of Lanzhou City were sturdy, and the defending forces outnumbered them several times over. Moreover, they, the enemy, lacked siege ladders and other tools necessary for an assault. Therefore, Yun Qing had no intention of launching an attack before the New Year. He was waiting for Du Zheng's 30,000 troops to arrive while they also prepared the siege equipment. However, Ji Xuan sending troops to attack them was actually good news— the more troops Ji Xuan sent, the more casualties he would suffer.
The scout reported, "At least seventy to eighty thousand."
When Cui Mo heard that Ji Xuan had sent another army and that it was about to arrive, he burst out laughing. "Excellent! I was worried they'd just hole up inside the city and refuse to come out! Yesterday's battle wasn't satisfying enough—today, I will slaughter them to my heart's content." No matter how formidable the cavalry were, they were powerless against towering city walls, but they could fully unleash their strength in ground combat.
Yun Qing didn't respond immediately. Instead, he pointed to a spot on the map and instructed, "Yu Cong, take five thousand troops and circle them around using the small paths. Once the battle begins, ambush them from the rear."
Feng Dajun's eyes lit up with excitement. He eagerly asked, "General, are you planning to annihilate all of them this time?"
Yun Qing replied, "If we can wipe out this army, we can begin our assault on the city as soon as Du Zheng's thirty thousand troops arrive." Usually, attempting to destroy seventy to eighty thousand soldiers with just thirty thousand would seem like madness. However, the men following Yun Qing didn't think it was crazy at all. On the contrary, they rubbed their hands together in anticipation, eager for battle. As the saying goes, when the commander is a madman, his subordinates are rarely sane either.
Cui Mo laughed with excitement. "General, don't worry! This time, we'll make them piss their pants in terror whenever they see us in the future." As cavalry, he had every reason to be this confident.
Ji Xuan had four trusted generals under his command: Bao Xiaofan, Leng Bufeng, Chen Wei, and another called Dai Xingguang1. This time, it was Dai Xingguang who led the troops.
When the two armies faced off, there was no immediate charge into battle. Instead, Dai Xingguang rode forward and bellowed, "Yun Qing! If you lay down your weapon and surrender now, Grandpa Dai will spare your life!"
Dai Xingguang was a tall and burly man known for his great strength and fearless fighting. However, he had one fatal flaw—he was arrogant and looked down on others. Despite Leng Bufeng's warnings about the formidable strength of the Northwest Army, Dai Xingguang had dismissed them outright, thinking that Leng Bufeng was simply incompetent. He refused to believe the Northwest Army could take on three times their number. If they truly were that strong, how could they have been defeated repeatedly by the Northern Barbarians?
Of course, Ji Xuan had another reason for ignoring Leng Bufeng's warnings—the two had never gotten along. His four generals were outwardly cordial, but secretly, they were at odds, constantly vying for power. Ji Xuan was well aware of this dynamic, but he found their infighting reassuring. If they were too united, then he would have a real problem on his hands.
Despite Dai Xingguang's provocation, Yun Qing didn't even raise an eyebrow. However, Feng Dajun and Yu Cong were seething with anger. Feng Dajun turned to Yun Qing and said, "General, let me go and take his head!"
Yun Qing glanced at the iron hammer in Dai Xingguang's hands and estimated that it weighed at least one hundred jin2. Feng Dajun was highly skilled, but if he went up against Dai Xingguang, he would likely be at a disadvantage. Yun Qing then shouted, "Guan Tai, step forward!" Guan Tai was the strongest man under Yun Qing's command. The pair of copper maces he wielded were forged from refined iron and weighed 120 jin each.
Upon seeing this situation, Feng Dajun immediately retreated to his original position.
Guan Tai was overjoyed and promptly responded, "Yes, Great General!" Then, he urged his horse forward and said to Dai Xingguang, "You, surnamed Dai, have quite a big mouth. Come, let Grandpa Guan see what you're capable of." Daring to demand their Great General surrender his weapon—now that took guts.
If Dai Xingguang refused to fight on the battlefield when the enemy called his name on the battlefield, he would immediately lose the upper hand. He was also hot-tempered, so he raised his iron hammer and charged at Guan Tai.
Both Guan Tai and Dai Xingguang were strong warriors with comparable martial arts skills. For a time, neither could overpower the other, and the battle ended in a draw.
After returning to their respective armies, before Dai Xingguang could order an attack, Cui Mo led 3,000 cavalrymen in a charge against them. Meanwhile, Yun Qing retreated to a nearby hillside. No one questioned why Yun Qing withdrew instead of joining the battle because everyone in the Northwest Army knew their General was not one to retreat. If he did so, it was surely for a reason.
Dai Xingguang had always been fearless. Even though the Northwest Army was known for its ferocity in battle, he would not retreat a single step, always fighting at the front lines. His action of fighting so fiercely naturally inspired his soldiers, and their morale soared.
Standing on the hillside, Yun Qing observed the situation below clearly and remarked, "He's quite a man." This surnamed Dai was stronger than the one surnamed Leng from yesterday. That Leng hadn't even shown his face, hiding behind his army the entire time.
Feng Dajun said, "General, in order to capture the bandits, we must capture their leader. Let me go and kill this Dai!" If they killed Dai Xingguang, the enemy's morale would surely collapse.
Yun Qing looked at Dai Xingguang, who was fighting fiercely, and reminded him, "Be careful."
Feng Dajun was stunned for three seconds but quickly realised what had happened. Overjoyed, he said, "Rest assured, General, I will bring you this man's head." The reason for his initial hesitation was that Yun Qing usually handled these crucial assassinations himself. Today, the General acted unusually, but it was a lucky opportunity for him.
As it turned out, luck was not so easy to seize.
Feng Dajun soon engaged in battle with Dai Xingguang. After exchanging dozens of blows, Dai Xingguang couldn't help but curse. D*mn it; why did every random rebel he encountered have the same fighting ability as him? How was he supposed to survive this? Dai Xingguang was the bravest general under Ji Xuan; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so arrogant.
Watching the fierce duel, Yun Qing turned to Gao Song and ordered, "Send the signal." This command was for Yu Cong to take action.
When Dai Xingguang's deputy, Cao Hao, heard that rebels had appeared behind them, he cursed, "These lunatics!" With less than 30,000 troops, they still dared to split their forces and attack from the rear. Only madmen would do such a thing—no sane person would.
One guard asked nervously, "General, what are we going to do now?" The Northwest Army may have been outnumbered, but they were fearless. Even when badly wounded, they would charge at their enemies, killing as many as possible before dying. The local troops had never seen such brutality—many were paralysed with fear.
Cao Hao snapped, "What do you mean 'what are we going to do'? Who am I supposed to ask? Hold the line for now and see how General Dai fares. If he can't hold out, we'll retreat into the city immediately." Were it not for the fear that the Governor-General would execute him if he fled back to the city, he would have done so already. These Northwest troops weren't even human—they were a pack of bloodthirsty wolves.
Despite fighting Feng Dajun for so long, Dai Xingguang was still not defeated. Seeing this, Cui Mo rushed in to help. With two against one, Dai Xingguang was quickly at a disadvantage. Seizing the opportunity, Feng Dajun swung his sword at Dai Xingguang's head. Just as the blade was about to strike, three arrows shot towards him. He dodged one but was struck by the other two and collapsed onto his horse.
Cui Mo panicked and shouted, "Madman—!" In the heat of the moment, he even called out the man's nickname.
Although Dai Xingguang had narrowly escaped death, he showed no fear. Seeing that Cui Mo was distracted by Feng Dajun's injury, he swung his iron hammer at him. Fortunately, Cui Mo reacted quickly and used his exceptional horsemanship to lean against his horse's body to dodge the deadly blow.
Yun Qing took in everything and instructed Gao Song to eliminate the archers who had hit Feng Dajun. He then mounted his horse and charged down the hillside to face Dai Xingguang himself.
Seeing Yun Qing personally enter the fray, Cui Mo immediately retreated, leaving the battlefield to him. He remained vigilant, keeping an eye out for any further surprise attacks. As for Feng Dajun, he had already been carried off the battlefield.
In just three moves, Dai Xingguang was defeated. He shouted, "Yun Qing, I refuse to accept this!" He wouldn't have lost so badly if he hadn't been so exhausted.
Yun Qing ignored him. With a swift stroke of his Qiushui3 Sword, Dai Xingguang's head was severed, leaving only a pool of fresh blood on the ground.
Cui Mo lifted Dai Xingguang's head high on his spear and shouted, "Dai Xingguang is dead! Surrender now!"
At these words, the enemy troops fell into chaos. With their commander slain, what was the point of continuing to fight? They all wanted to flee, but the Northwest Army was in a killing frenzy, making escape impossible.
Seeing this, Yun Qing shouted, "Lay down your weapons and surrender, and we will not kill you."
Cui Mo was surprised. When they had fought the Northern Barbarians before, they had always slaughtered every single one of them. But he quickly realised that these people were not Northern Barbarians. These men could have been potential recruits for their own forces if not for their current opposition.
Understanding this, Cui Mo shouted, "The General has ordered—those who lay down their weapons will be spared!" This message spread rapidly through the ranks.
The Northwest Army was known for its strict discipline. Since Yun Qing had given the order, they would not disobey. They would spare anyone who surrendered.
When the remaining local soldiers saw that the Northwest Army would not kill those who disarmed, they hastily threw down their weapons and crouched on the ground with their hands over their heads.
When Cao Hao heard that Yun Qing had slain Dai Xingguang, he dared not stay any longer. He immediately ordered a retreat. Due to Yu Cong's interference, another portion of their force was lost before they could escape back to Lanzhou City.
When Ji Xuan heard that he had lost more than 40,000 men this time, and that Yun Qing had killed his trusted general Dai Xingguang, and most importantly, that Yun Qing himself was utterly unharmed, he was so stimulated that he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
Realising the gravity of the situation, Cao Hao pleaded, "Daren4, please grant me a chance to atone for my failures!" He did not want to die—otherwise, he would never have returned to the city.
Ji Xuan coldly ordered, "Drag him out and execute him." Out of 70,000 troops, only a little over 10,000 had returned. Ji Xuan needed to kill Cao Hao to quell his fury.
Footnotes Full List
- 星光 xīngguāng = starlight
- a traditional unit of weight, each containing 10 liang (市两) or 16 old liang (旧市两) and equivalent to 0.5 kilograms or 1.102 pounds
- 秋 qiū = autumn, 水 shuǐ = water
- title of respect toward superiors
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi