Tiger Guards

Chapter 504: The Enemy Is Strong
About thirty li south of Yulin City, at the location of the Qin Straight Road.

He Tulin, the vanguard general of the Xianbei, and his chief, Uyghur Dou, came to the roadside to examine the solidly frozen dead ox, with a dozen or so minor chieftains following him.

The Uyghur bean was in his prime, with a thick, tangled beard under his chin.

Unlike some yellow-headed or brown-headed Xianbei, the two braids hanging down from the ears of the Uyghur Dou are black, glossy black, with thick and strong hair roots.

He stepped forward, took out his hand axe, and chopped at the frozen cow carcass. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the fleeing Huns had only had time to cut the meat from the sides; the meat pressed underneath had not been cut off, and even the tenderest tenderloin was relatively intact.

The Uyghur chieftain, Dou, remained expressionless, chopped several times with his axe, grabbed a piece of frozen pork tenderloin, put it in his mouth, and turned to look at the other junior chiefs: "The Han and Xiongnu people have really fled. Let's chase them together."

The other minor leaders also went forward to look at the cow carcass. The lower part of the carcass was covered by snow, but now they could see it clearly. The flesh underneath had not been cut off in time, which shows how panicked the Huns were when they fled.

As a Xianbei tribe that migrated westward to explore the Helan Mountains area, they viewed the Xiongnu and Qianghu people as utterly vulnerable.

The current behavior of the Xiongnu and Han people is consistent with their existing understanding and is not at all incongruous.

"Chase!"

One of the leaders stepped forward, pried open the gaps in the tenderloin of a dead cow, and put a bit of meat on his fingernail into his mouth. He grinned at the other leaders, his face narrow and his teeth black and yellow.

"Then let's go after them!"

Other leaders responded, and under the original democratic military tradition, these Xianbei leaders, large and small, quickly returned to their horses, rallied their followers, and, amidst shouts and cheers, accelerated their horses, forming a vast, orderly procession heading south along the Qin Straight Road.

As they continued to advance southward, some of the Xiongnu volunteer groups that were slow to react and lagged behind in the retreat did not even dare to drive away the herds of animals, and fled south in panic.

Some of the captured Qiang men and women were also hacked to death by the roadside, which further enraged the northern Qiang mixed in with the Xianbei, and the Xianbei chased even faster.

On the afternoon of the 15th, when Zhang Liao withdrew to the camp south of Fushi City, the Xianbei vanguard arrived at Fushi.

The Xiongnu volunteer troops did not trust Xu Huang and his men's command and combat capabilities, and did not stay in Fushi. Instead, they drove the herd of beasts south along the Qin Straight Road toward the Sheyan royal court.

From the southern camp of Fushi, Pei Xiu climbed to a high point and looked northwest for about five or six miles, where Zhao Yun's camp was located on the east bank of the Sheyan River.

Zhao Yun also climbed to a high place to observe. Since the great defeat in the three-pronged campaign against the Xianbei, the Xianbei people had formed a consensus among the people and scholars of the border region that they were powerful and not to be trifled with.

The three-pronged campaign against the Xianbei was a political war lacking the support of the people and gentry in the border regions. Although Xia Yu and his generals were skilled in battle, there were also forces in the court and the countryside that could hinder them. In order to hinder them, it was normal to inform the Xianbei.

When opposing the eunuch faction, supporting the Xianbei people led to the eunuch faction's military campaigns suffering major defeats... This behavior was also seen as a righteous act by the scholars who were subjected to the Party Prohibitions.

In other words, if these traditional scholars viewed the Grand Marshal as the same as the eunuch faction and Dong Zhuo of yesteryear, then it would be perfectly reasonable for him to continue colluding with the Xianbei people; these people would not have any emotional or cognitive obstacles.

As for whether the Xianbei people would take the opportunity to wipe out the families and clans of these traditional scholars when they raided the border, that is another matter.

For some far-sighted heroes in the border regions, perhaps using the Xianbei to eliminate or severely cripple the military power of the Zhao clan, even if it meant some losses for themselves, was a sacrifice made for the sake of justice and the Han dynasty.

This is a great sacrifice, immeasurable.

Therefore, the increasing feedback on enemy activity indicates that the current situation is somewhat similar to that of that year. The various Hu tribes in the three commanderies have actually taken measures, not only deceiving the caravan reconnaissance of the Xiutu Dada, but also deceiving the scout reconnaissance of Xu Huang, and even instigating the Xianbei people to take the initiative to intervene.

This shows that traditional scholars are still playing a role, attempting to use the strength of the Xianbei people and the various Hu tribes of the three commanderies to weaken the military power and prestige of the Grand Marshal.

Zhao Yun gazed northeast at the west gate of Fushi. From there, he could see the north gate of Fushi wide open, with a steady stream of Xianbei and Qiang cavalry from the three commanderies pouring into the city. Meanwhile, in the newly constructed southern camp of Fushi, Zhang Liao could also clearly see the east gate of Fushi wide open, with Xianbei and mixed Qiang cavalry entering the city.

As Zhang Liao was observing, a military officer came to the foot of the tower: "General, Commander Xu and Protector Pei have sent envoys to invite you."

"Stay vigilant about the enemy situation."

Zhang Liao instructed a military officer beside him, then turned and grabbed the ladder to descend. His personal guard had already driven a sled. Zhang Liao strode onto the sled, and the guard gently shook the reins. The two horses moved forward, and the sled headed towards Xu Huang's central army camp.

In the forward central command tent, after Zhang Liao announced his arrival, he entered and saw Pei Xiu writing furiously with a pen. Xu Huang, standing to the side, asked, "General Wen Yuan, what is your opinion on the current changes in the enemy's situation?"

"Nothing more than fighting to the death."

Zhang Liao removed his helmet, the turban wrapped around his head emitting white steam. He placed the helmet on the table below him and went to the stove to warm his hands by the fire.

He didn't have much respect for Xu Huang, which was a source of pride for someone from the Imperial Guards of the Capital.

He became famous in Bingzhou for his bravery and was recruited by Governor Ding Yuan as an aide. Ding Yuan then recommended him to General He Jin... At that time, Xu Huang was just a county official.

More than 100,000 Bai Bo soldiers gathered and rebelled. Yang County, where Xu Huang was located, was separated from Bai Bo Valley by the Fen River. It was only natural that county officials and local strongmen like Xu Huang were coerced by the rebelling villagers.

Although Xu Huang made many meritorious contributions after surrendering to Yang Feng, in Zhang Liao's eyes, Xu Huang had the stain of the rebel army.

Even though Zhang Liao attached himself to Lü Bu after Lü Bu killed Ding Yuan, then followed Lü Bu to follow Dong Zhuo, then killed Dong Zhuo, and wandered in Guandong... all of this was internal struggle within the court, and Zhang Liao's resume was always clean.

If Zhang Liao showed excessive respect for Xu Huang, it would be disrespectful to his own resume.

Regarding their respective achievements, Zhang Liao did not consider him inferior to Xu Huang.

Although Xu Huang was granted the title of Marquis of Ting with a fief of 500 households for his meritorious service in escorting the emperor eastward, if Lü Bu had not deliberately obstructed the assessment of Zhang Liao's merits, Zhang Liao would certainly have also been a Marquis of Ting, and his fief would have been higher than Xu Huang's.

Zhang Liao could restrain himself in front of Pei Xiu because Pei Xiu was the Protector of the Army and the Grand Marshal's childhood friend and brother.

Even in front of Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao would not be so rude, because Zhao Yun's surname is Zhao, and his bravery and reputation are known throughout Hebei and parts of the Central Plains. If he were to provoke Zhao Yun into a direct confrontation, Zhang Liao felt that he would suffer a loss.

As if bullying an honest person, Zhang Liao replied with a statement that was neither wrong nor meaningful.

Xu Huang was not annoyed and said with a smile, "Judging from the speed of the Xianbei's intervention, it can be seen that when our army crossed Mengmen, the Xianbei had already begun to gather troops. The fact that the Qiang and Hu people of Fushi and Yulin have remained silent shows that there are also strategists among the enemy."

Xu Huang took a teacup to the stove, picked up the copper kettle on the stove and poured hot water into several teacups. He handed one to Zhang Liao and said with a forced smile, "What I am worried about is that the Xiongnu followers are panicked and disorganized when they see the Xianbei banners. They are really difficult to use. After the Xianbei and the Qiang people have eaten their fill tonight, they will definitely attack."

Zhang Liao took the teacup with both hands, looked at the tea, and raised his eyebrows to look at Xu Huang: "General, there is no need to worry. Our army is in high spirits and can hold out for several days, wearing down the Xianbei and Qiang tribes."

Confirming that Xu Huang was worried that he might withdraw without permission, Zhang Liao's expression turned serious: "For tonight's battle, I request that the Commander prepare more than a thousand elite cavalry to support me. If the enemy comes, I will lead my soldiers out of the camp to fight back. After a fierce battle, my cavalry will provide support. However, I fear that we may not be able to keep up with their strength, and that our soldiers may be trapped in the enemy's encirclement."

"good."

Seeing that Zhang Liao was not just giving him the runaround, Xu Huang said, "If General, you lead your elite troops out of the camp to fight back, I, Xu, will personally lead the strong cavalry of Hedong to support your troops."

(End of this chapter)