Tiger Guards

Chapter 508 A Stagnant Pool

On the night of the 16th, the night sky was still bright.

Before nightfall, the Han army lit the firewood in the trench, and the trench, which was seventy or eighty paces long, quickly caught fire under the north wind.

The horizontal beams above the moat resembled a grid, and the Qiang people were layered upon each other.

Soon, the firewood in the trench received a continuous supply of flammable liquid, and the fire grew rapidly and vigorously.

A strong north wind blew, and flames soared into the air, reaching three or four zhang high, while waves of fire spread southward, reaching seven or eight zhang in distance.

The participating parties either rested in their tents or quietly gazed at the burning trench that rivaled the brilliance of the moon.

As the flames burned, Xiu Tu Dada led more than three thousand Tu Ge followers northward once again.

As they filled the roads and set up camp along the way.

The wounded soldiers of the vanguard, treated by Xu Huang's three armies, began to evacuate towards the Sheyan royal court by sled. The soldiers evacuated during the day were prisoners of war and some of their own wounded soldiers who were not affected by the war but had lost their ability to fight.

The lives of the wounded were more precious at night, and they were only able to evacuate south after receiving reliable assistance.

The fire in the trenches gradually died down in the latter half of the night, and dawn broke in the silence of the howling north wind.

The newly arrived Xiongnu cavalry cut down nearby trees, dragged them to the vicinity of the trench, and set them up again on the trench.

Before they could finish their work, the south and east gates of Fushi City opened, and the two Qiang cavalry forces merged into one. The Xiongnu righteous army immediately retreated without engaging them.

The Qiang cavalry approached the trench, intending to vent their anger, but they couldn't easily attack the bones, grass, and charcoal ash that had fallen into the trench. Furthermore, the logs that the Xiongnu had dragged to the vicinity were not something the Qiang cavalry could easily destroy.

On the walls of Fushi City, the Xianbei vanguard general, Huihe Dou, along with other leaders, watched as the Xiongnu retreated to avoid battle, just as they had expected. However, the Han army camp did not stand idly by and organized two cavalry units, each with a size of nearly a thousand, to give chase.

The Qiang cavalry retreated slowly, attempting to lure the Han cavalry into pursuit.

The Han cavalry advanced in rows, retaliating with powerful crossbows from horseback without pursuing the enemy. They relied on the superior range and numbers of their crossbows to defeat the equally large Qiang cavalry.

After observing for a moment, Uyghur Dou said to his men, "The Han army is fierce and not like before; we should not underestimate them."

He had no interest in confronting the Han army outside the city; there was no real benefit in taking on such a tough opponent.

If the chieftain Kui Tou is willing to let him be the leader of the west, or to hand over control of the Qiang and Hu tribes of the three commanderies to him, then he can also persuade other Xianbei minor chieftains to act together.

Otherwise, if we act rashly now, the other Xianbei chieftains traveling with us will certainly not fight with all their might and will all try to preserve their strength.

He was somewhat willing to fight, but the internal situation of the Xianbei made it difficult for him to muster the desire to fight.

This is different from back then. When Tan Shihuai was around, he could force the other junior leaders to fight to the death with just one order; because regardless of victory or defeat, as long as he carried out Tan Shihuai's orders, Tan Shihuai would definitely give him an explanation.

After Tan Shihuai died, his son Helian succeeded him. Helian also had some prestige, and the Uyghurs were willing to gamble with Helian.

After Helian was shot and killed when he led various tribes to invade the northern lands, his nephew Kuitou was supported as the nominal leader. Kuitou himself could not even control his cousin, Qianman, Helian's son, so how could he let the Uyghurs fight for the Xianbei cause?
Even after a night battle, the various Qiang tribes that participated in the battle retreated back to their cities and could not even calculate the exact losses.

During the night battle, some Qiang tribes may have been defeated and fled into the distance, or they may have actually been captured and killed by the Han army. Another possibility is that the Qiang leaders deliberately exaggerated their losses to avoid attrition.

According to a rough estimate, the casualties of various units on the night of the 15th exceeded 30,000!
Anyway, it was data that was discussed and compiled by the leaders of the Xianbei and various Qiang tribes. Uyghur Dou had no choice but to believe it. In any case, he had already reported the battle report of more than 30,000 casualties to the chief chief, Kui Tou.

Whether or not it was up to Kui Tou, but Huihe Dou believed it; he trusted the guarantee the Qiang leader had made with his chest pounded. The Han army's vanguard was so powerful and fierce that Huihe Dou couldn't handle it alone. He had to wait for the great chief, Kui Tou, to arrive and let him deal with it.

The Xianbei and Qiang people on the Fushi battlefield decided to calmly observe the changing situation, while the main force of the Xianbei had already passed the Yulin Pass.

The chieftain, Kui Tou, naturally wouldn't ride a horse in the wind and snow. He sat in a carriage with tall wheels, lined inside and out with leather and fine felt, and inside there was a small furnace forged from red copper.

These exquisite little items smuggled from the Xiongnu were very expensive, but Kui Tou liked them very much because they allowed him to be surrounded by warmth while on campaign.

The small stove comes with a thick, arm-sized chimney made of the same copper sheet, as well as small copper pots, copper teapots, and the like.

Kui Tou's primitive little RV moved forward steadily. On the copper stove was a slender-spouted copper kettle, which was only one-third full of water. Steam rose from the kettle spout, filling the air with the aroma of milk tea.

Kui Tou remained quietly inside the carriage, showing no interest whatsoever in looking at the snowy scenery outside or his troops' marching journey.

He had seen far too many snowy landscapes in his life, and no matter how many times he had seen his people trekking through the snow, it wouldn't lessen their suffering in the slightest. On the contrary, peeking out to observe would only expose him to the cold and snow.

For the Xianbei people, the harsh climate was an integral part of their lives, and they had become accustomed to the scarcity of resources.

When Kui Tou's small RV arrived in Yulin City, Kui Tou finally put on his snow leopard-patterned helmet... This was also smuggled by the Xiongnu people. The Xianbei people really liked the helmet invented and made by the Grand Marshal, and Kui Tou wrapped the helmet with rare snow leopard skin.

The helmet came with a luxurious neck guard, and there were two sable tail ornaments on both sides. At this moment, these two sable tails hung down in front of the head's ears and down five or six inches down his shoulders.

Nobles are always quick to accept novel outfits if they are practical, and they are keen to compete with each other.

Zhao Ji's aesthetic sense was ahead of its time. Kui Tou not only adopted smuggled goods from the Xiongnu for his daily utensils and clothing, but he also liked the shorts, trousers, vests, sleeveless vests, and short-sleeved jackets that were popular in Zhao Ji's army.

The ornately dressed leader stepped off the small carriage, his feet resting on the backs of slaves. He surveyed the surrounding royal nobles and asked, "How is the battle situation in Shangjun?"

"Your Majesty, the situation is not optimistic."

An old servant handed over a sheepskin book from the Uyghur people: "It is said that the night raid failed, and the Han army went out of the camp to pursue them. No less than 30,000 Qiang people from Shangjun and Beidi died. The Han army burned the corpses outside the city for a whole night."

"I understand, it's because the Uyghurs refuse to fight."

Kui Tou couldn't help but chuckle as he spoke. It was already a great favor that Huihe Dou was allowed to stay on the front lines. Given the current situation within the Xianbei, Huihe Dou might even dare to lead his troops to retreat at any moment.

And he didn't even have a good way to get the beans back.

Even if they caught the Uyghur chieftain Dou in the act and wanted to lead troops to punish him, the tribes in the Helan Mountains would definitely help the Uyghur chieftain Dou, not him, the chieftain.

Without the intervention of external forces, the Xianbei people, with their internal rigidity, mutual restraint, and checks and balances, had become a stagnant pool.

Even the mixed Qiang people in these three counties could become the catalyst for changes within the Xianbei.

Some people within the Xianbei people longed for change, but most disliked it and preferred the current environment.

For the vast majority of tribal leaders, a powerful supreme leader is definitely not good news.

The Xianbei chieftains in various places, if they could make do with their lives, would never want to follow a powerful ruler like Tan Shihuai again.

Unfortunately, Kui Tou wanted to restore his grandfather's glory and make the Great Xianbei shine again, instead of being stuck in the northern extremes like this, with only four or five months of vibrant flowers each year, and the rest of the year spent in ice and snow.

(End of this chapter)