Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 446 I really want to go home (1)

The sky gradually darkened.

The sunset glow was like a furnace, and the setting sun was like blood.

The orange-red light fell on him, and even the cold of the northern frontier seemed to be dispelled. Old Li grinned, a slightly silly smile on his face. He wondered if the sun was shining like this back home at this moment.
After an unknown amount of time, Old Li turned to look further north. A biting wind whipped up dust from the ground, creating a hazy, indistinct scene. From a distance, the view seemed frozen in time, very quiet.

Old Li smiled again, then finally lowered his eyes and closed them to rest.

I hope today will be another peaceful day.

……

Abalu rode his horse, pausing on the Broken Ridge Grassland, gazing southward into the distance.

"A" is the surname of the Xiongnu royal family, meaning great, noble, and supreme; while "Balu" means brave and valiant. Together, they mean a noble and supreme warrior.

As the eldest prince of the Xiongnu, Abalu liked the name very much, feeling that it suited his temperament.

The weather had been sunny for several days in a row, but it was still cold in the northern desert. However, for Abalu, who had lived in the northern desert since childhood, this low temperature was nothing. He even took off most of his fur coat, revealing his hard chest, letting the cold wind beat against his body.

On his chest, amidst the thick, furry hair, a gray-blue wolf's head gaped open, howling towards the sky, symbolizing the most noble bloodline and status of the northern grasslands. Around his neck was a necklace of wolf teeth; perhaps not as valuable as the gold, silver, and jade artifacts of the Central Plains, the wolf tooth necklace was a symbol of the glory of the Xiongnu warriors. At his waist was a belt made from the sinews and hides of fierce beasts, tightly binding his leather trousers. A half-draped shawl, made of the finest silk, woven with gold and silver threads, shimmered in the afterglow of the setting sun.

As for where this silk came from, it was naturally stolen from the Central Plains.

The horses' hooves pounded restlessly on the sand dunes, as if they had already sensed the oppressive atmosphere between heaven and earth.

Through the swirling sandstorm, his fierce and tyrannical eyes gazed at the distant border town... It was too far. Even with Abalu's good eyesight, he could only make out a blurry outline, and in the distance, he could even vaguely see thick smoke rising into the sky, distorted by the cold wind. At this time, the Ning soldiers in Yongchang City should be cooking, right? There were quite a few Tang soldiers stationed there, thirty thousand, perhaps forty thousand?

Who knows.

Abalu dismissed them with disdain; perhaps he never truly cared about those weak Ning soldiers.

Turning around, I saw a dense crowd of people, a dark mass, like thick clouds churning violently in the sky.

come down.

It was pressed down on the grassland.

One hundred and fifty thousand.

A full 150,000 elite troops.

Without seeing it with your own eyes, you'll never understand the visual impact of having such a force before you, as if it filled every corner of the vast grassland, with heads everywhere you looked.

Even their mixed breathing sounds resembled muffled thunder.

With such an impressive army, there's really no need to worry about the mere 30,000 to 50,000 Ning troops.

Closest to him were two young men who looked nothing like Abal. One of them was dressed as a Han Chinese from the Central Plains, wearing a scholar's robe and a scholar's hat, with a jade pendant seemingly tied around his waist. Most absurdly, this guy was holding a book in his hand... Although Abal didn't know Chinese characters, he had seen them so many times that he recognized those two characters:

The Analects!
Abalu glanced at the other person's thin body again and scoffed.

This man was his second brother, Alibu. In the Xiongnu, "Libu" means wisdom. Although Abalu did not think the other party was particularly clever, nor did he think that cleverness was of much use... No matter how clever a person was, he was no match for him.

If Abalu looked down on Alibu, his dislike for the other young man was blatant and undisguised.

Agsang, his third brother, was a symbol of darkness among the Xiongnu.

Although that face always wore a hearty smile, Abal didn't like it, especially his eyes, which were as sinister as a venomous snake in the grass.

The three brothers invaded Ningguo together. The Great Chanyu Suochuoluo did not clearly designate anyone as the leader, nor did he appoint any generals to oversee the three brothers. All actions were arranged by the three brothers themselves. Even though the three brothers would part ways once they entered Ningguo, the battle to attack Yongchang City would ultimately require all three to work together.

Since the three of them are joining forces, they need a unified commander.

Abal understood this principle, and he unceremoniously demanded to become the supreme commander as the eldest prince and elder brother... Alibu handed over command of 50,000 cavalrymen without the slightest hesitation, and even Agsang, after a brief hesitation, also handed over 50,000 cavalrymen to him.

This made Abalu even more smug, his chest filled with boundless pride. Even as he turned his back, he spat and muttered to himself: "Two cowards, they don't even have the courage to fight back."

In his eyes, Agsang was a fool who thought that having more tribes supporting him gave him the right to challenge him. However, Agsang failed to realize that apart from his mother's relatives, the many tribes supporting him were all small tribes and not worth mentioning.

Alib was a coward; even if he saw himself walking out of his concubine's tent with his pants up, he would still come over and greet him with a smile.

Thinking of Alib's concubine's limp body, hot breaths, and painful moans, Abal felt a fire ignite in his lower abdomen, and his spirits soared... It was a pity that this was a war, otherwise he really wanted to take that woman with him and torment her until she begged for mercy... But it wasn't a big problem. As long as he could take that city in front of him, there were countless beautiful women waiting for him to enjoy in the vast Central Plains.

Taking a deep breath, Abalu barely suppressed the restlessness within him, raised his riding whip high, and his powerful, resonant voice carried across the grassland on the wind: "Pass down the order..."

"All troops... attack!"

There were no tactics, no strategies.

In Abalu's mind, those Ningguo soldiers were like sheep, posing no threat whatsoever.

Tens of thousands of cavalrymen galloped down the sand dunes, using the terrain to reach their maximum speed in a very short time. Their hooves trampled the grass, breaking off blades of grass and mud, and scattering sand everywhere.

The rapid clatter of hooves sounded like a torrential downpour, or like muffled thunder in thick clouds, causing the entire grassland to tremble slightly. Abalul led the charge, the warm evening breeze whipping his cloak, the speed igniting his blood. His scimitar, seemingly drawn without his noticing, gleamed coldly in the setting sun. Abalul couldn't wait to storm into Yongchang City and slaughter the weak Han people like cattle; for him, that was the ultimate pleasure, even more exciting than the concubines of Alibu.

Behind the cavalry were tens of thousands of infantry.

……

hum!
hum!
hum!
The faint sound began to echo in my ears, as if it were just the sound of the wind.

Old Li, who was taking a nap, suddenly opened his eyes. His body, which had been exhausted and almost powerless, showed extraordinary agility at this moment. He sat up abruptly from the ground and grabbed the crenellations of the city wall with both hands.

"Old Li, what's wrong?" A younger soldier next to him asked instinctively when he saw Old Li's appearance.

Old Li shushed the other party, signaling them to be quiet. The next second, he pressed his ear against the city wall, and a faint tremor came from the wall. Old Li's face turned pale instantly, his pupils contracted sharply, and he suddenly raised his head to look north again, his eyes reflecting the endless yellow sand.

"Enemy attack..."

The next instant, a piercing scream tore through the sunset.

On the city wall, the soldiers who had been lying on the ground immediately received the signal and quickly got up.

thump.

thump.

Boom!
Boom!
The war drums were sounded.

The dull sound roused all the soldiers.

He gripped his weapon tightly, his eyes filled with fear as he gazed at the distant dust cloud. Before long, he saw a dense mass of tall horses charging out of the dust cloud.

Cavalry! They are Xiongnu cavalry.

Throughout history, cavalry has been a nightmare for infantry on the battlefield, especially in open field battles. With their powerful impact and unparalleled mobility for their time, cavalry firmly held the throne of battlefield dominance. The Central Plains states almost always suffered heavy casualties when facing foreign tribes, and the significant inferiority of their cavalry was a crucial factor.

Of course, cavalry are not good at sieges.

However, tens of thousands of Xiongnu cavalry swept in like dark clouds covering the earth. The muffled sound of their hooves, like thunder in the sky, the surging torrent, and their unstoppable and domineering momentum still made the hearts of every soldier on the city wall beat faster with the sound of their hooves, as if they were about to break free from the restraints in their chests.

That is a power capable of destroying and trampling everything.

What's even more astonishing is that even during high-speed charges, the Xiongnu cavalry seemed to be one with their horses, their upper bodies as still as mountains, and all the warhorses seemed to maintain the same frequency, keeping a tight but never bulky formation. Their horsemanship was far superior to that of the soldiers from the Central Plains.

"hidden!"

Just then, a loud shout rang in the ears of the many soldiers guarding the city. In an instant, everyone quickly ducked down and hid behind the city wall, preparing to avoid the first wave of attacks from the Xiongnu.

It's Wei Tiancheng!

The newly appointed general of the Yongchang border army.

The reason he was appointed as a new general was that the previous border general went to the governor's mansion in Anzhou to demand military provisions, but was eventually beheaded by the governor of Anzhou on charges of disrespecting his superior and plotting rebellion.

Even Wei Tiancheng felt his lips go dry when he saw the cavalry charging towards him. He subconsciously licked them. Fortunately, there was a city wall here. If it were in the wild, how could flesh and blood withstand such a fierce impact? The sound of hooves grew louder and louder, and the city wall under their feet was trembling slightly. The battle had not yet begun, but the momentum was already suffocating.

The distance between the cavalry torrent and the city walls was getting closer and closer.

Finally, one by one, the Xiongnu cavalrymen untied their longbows from their backs.

Bow and arrow.

With a furious roar from Abal, "Release!"

hum!
The sound of the bowstring vibrating violently blended together, almost shattering people's eardrums.

The next instant, a dense barrage of arrows, like raindrops, flew through the air in parabolic arcs, falling towards the walls of Yongchang City.

At first glance, it looks like a locust swarm passing through, blotting out the sky.

In a daze, I seemed to hear the sound of arrows tearing through the air.

The Xiongnu in this timeline were simply not good at attacking cities, not that they were incapable of doing so.

Yongchang City has stood here for a hundred years. Over the past century, there have been countless battles, large and small, with the Xiongnu. The soldiers stationed here are extremely familiar with the Xiongnu's tactics when attacking the city. First, the cavalry charge to crush the morale of the defending soldiers with overwhelming force. Then, a volley of arrows is fired to suppress the soldiers' counterattack. Finally, the infantry takes the stage.

Puff, puff, puff...

That was the sound of an arrow piercing flesh.

Some soldiers who were not well-hidden were instantly pierced by arrows. Their armor was like paper, offering little protection, and blood immediately spurted out.

Accompanied by piercing screams, a thick stench of blood began to spread across the city walls.

The archers defending the city began to fight back, taking advantage of the opportunity when the enemy re-draws their bows and arrows to aim at the wolf cubs diagonally below the city wall. However, before they could even draw their bows, a second volley of arrows had already descended upon them.

Although Abal wasn't particularly bright, he was lucky to have a brilliant strategist by his side. Tens of thousands of cavalry were divided into two groups; after the first volley of arrows, the second followed immediately, giving the Ningguo defenders no time to breathe. Caught off guard, the numerous archers on the city walls had no time to react before a hail of arrows rained down upon them.

"Puff puff."

The sharp crossbow bolt pierced the body deeply, and the victim screamed and fell to the ground.

Just like harvesting wheat, a large section of the city wall immediately collapsed.

Old Li's pupils contracted sharply, and he lunged forward, tackling a young man to the ground. Behind them, several arrows clattered and lodged themselves in the city wall. Looking around, hundreds of bodies lay scattered across the wall, some already dead, seven or eight arrows piercing their chests and abdomens; others still alive, their bodies writhing and struggling, uttering cries of anguish, screams, and pleas.

A sense of tragic grandeur welled up in the hearts of every soldier.

The cavalry began to split off to the sides.

The Xiongnu infantry appeared from behind.

They were like a dense pack of wolves, howling as they swarmed towards Yongchang City, carrying crudely made siege ladders—their only siege weapon.

Even if someone was hit by an arrow and fell, someone else would immediately take his place. Finally, the Xiongnu infantry rushed to the city walls, and the siege ladders were placed on the walls. The Xiongnu barbarians, like a dense swarm of insects, began to climb up the siege ladders rapidly.

Old Li gritted his teeth, picked up a stone from the side, and smashed it down on the head of a Xiongnu wolf cub.

boom.

With a scream, the wolf cub's skull shattered instantly, spraying red and white matter everywhere. The corpse, along with rolling stones, plummeted down the ladder, crushing everyone on it.

Old Li grinned maliciously; he had just recouped his losses.

He bent down and picked up another stone, just as he was about to smash it down, when with a whoosh, a crossbow bolt accurately struck Old Li between the eyebrows.

He heard the sound of bones being pierced.

A sticky, moist substance rolled down between his eyebrows.

It fell into my eyes, and everything I saw turned scarlet.

His body swayed, his fingers trembled, and he felt as if he could no longer hold onto the stone.

He took a deep breath and shifted his body.

A boulder fell.

The skull of a Hun infantryman who had just climbed halfway up the mountain cracked instantly.

Pfft... Pfft... Pfft...

He was hit by several more arrows in the chest.

Old Li's body swayed. He could no longer feel the pain, but he still instinctively wanted to reach out and grab something, perhaps his sword, or perhaps a rolling stone on the ground. But his body had finally reached its limit, and in a blur, Old Li's body plunged headfirst towards the outside of the city wall.

In a daze, his consciousness seemed to drift to a very, very far place. He saw his seven-year-old son, naked, catching fish in the ditch by the stream in his hometown; he saw his wife sitting under a big tree, looking at him with a gentle smile...

He saw blood staining large sections of the city wall.

Like the setting sun on the horizon.

"I want to...I want to go home so badly!"

(End of this chapter)