The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

After Huo Qubing led three hundred elite cavalrymen and disappeared into the night.

A suffocating silence fell over the city walls of Shuozhou.

Chen Jing did not return to the commander's tent, but instead sat on the watchtower of the city tower, wrapped in a cotton robe.

His personal guards lit a charcoal fire beside him, but he seemed to feel no warmth. He just stared at the grassland to the north, which was being swallowed by the night, without saying a word.

The soldiers on duty on the city wall dared not utter a sound.

Only the watchman's clapper sounded once every hour, echoing lonely in the empty night sky.

Everyone is waiting.

Waiting for the flames, waiting for the shouts of battle, waiting to see if those three hundred men could return alive.

The third watch of the night passed, and there was still no movement.

The fourth watch of the night has passed, and there is still no movement.

Chen Jing's personal guards couldn't help but whisper to him to go back to his tent and rest, but he just waved his hand and wrapped his cotton robe tighter around himself.

The fifth watch of the night is the darkest hour before dawn.

Suddenly, a faint orange-red light appeared on the northern horizon.

The light was initially very small, like someone lighting a match at the edge of the grassland.

Then it rapidly expanded, spread, and proliferated, igniting into a line of fire that stretched across the sky in just a few breaths.

The color of the flames changed from orange-red to dark red, and then from dark red to a dazzling golden yellow.

Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, churning into a giant mushroom cloud against the deep blue pre-dawn sky.

"Fire! Fire!"

The sentry on the lookout tower was the first to shout, his voice trembling with excitement.

The soldiers on the city wall rushed to the crenellations and craned their necks to look north.

The firelight was so bright that it illuminated every tired face of theirs.

Chen Jing stood up from the chair.

He didn't speak, but simply rested his hands on the edge of the barricade and gazed at the firelight.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the area of ​​the fire continued to expand.

It wasn't just one place on fire; the entire camp was ablaze.

The black smoke from the burning oil mingled with the grayish-white smoke from the burning grain and straw.

In the morning light, a wall of smoke stretched for miles.

"Pass on the order!" Chen Jing turned around, his voice hoarse but full of energy, "The cavalry prepare to attack! Intercept the routed Hu soldiers outside the city, and don't let a single one enter the grasslands!"

The messenger rushed down from the city wall, his horse's hooves thundering through the streets.

The city's garrison sprang into action; cavalrymen mounted their horses, and infantrymen, carrying spears, surged out of the camp gates.

Even as dawn broke, thick smoke continued to rise over the grassland.

A rapid sound of horses' hooves came from outside the north gate of Shuozhou, and the soldiers guarding the city gripped their weapons tightly.

But they soon saw it for themselves.

The horse charging at the very front was ridden by a young man whose body was soaked in blood.

The strip of cloth on his left arm was stained with blood so much that its original color was no longer visible, but his posture on horseback remained upright, like a javelin stuck in the saddle.

Behind him, warhorses galloped out of the dust, each carrying a soldier covered in blood.

Of the three hundred people, more than two hundred returned.

The city gates slowly opened, and Huo Qubing rode his horse into the city.

He stumbled slightly as he dismounted, but quickly regained his balance.

Captain Zhao Meng personally came forward, and Huo Qubing handed him a leather bag that was still dripping blood.

Inside was the head of the commander of the Hu people's supply camp, his thick beard covered with congealed blood, his eyes still open.

"Commander Huo!" Zhao Meng grabbed his shoulder, his voice trembling with excitement, "You burned the Hu people's provisions!"

"It's half burned."

Huo Qubing wiped the blood off his face, his tone as calm as if he were reporting on today's meals, "The rest was seized by the main force of the Hu people, but it's at least enough for them to have a good drink."

After he finished speaking, he handed the leather bag to the soldier next to him, turned around and walked towards the commander's tent. Blood was dripping from the wound on his left arm, and each step left a dark red footprint on the bluestone slab.

Inside the command tent, Chen Jing listened to Huo Qubing's battle report and remained silent for a long time.

Three hundred elite cavalrymen launched a night raid on the supply camp, burning tens of thousands of bushels of barbarian grain and killing one of the guards. Two hundred and seventeen men returned alive.

This casualty ratio is almost negligible in a surprise attack, but the results achieved are enough to change the offensive and defensive situation of the entire Shuozhou battlefield.

The fact that half of the Hu people's supplies were burned meant that their siege plan would have to be postponed by at least ten days.

Ten days is enough time for Han Chong's Tiger Guards to complete the encirclement of Yunzhou from the flank.

"You deserve credit." Chen Jing stood up, walked to Huo Qubing, and slapped his blood-stained shoulder heavily. "In this battle, you deserve the greatest credit."

"I will petition His Majesty to reward you. From this day forward, you will no longer be a convict. I will exonerate you from your crimes."

Then they asked him what reward he wanted.

Huo Qubing raised his head and looked directly into Chen Jing's eyes, answering without hesitation, "My lord, I do not wish for any reward. I only ask for one thing: I wish to fight again."

"This time, I led three hundred men to burn his supplies; next time, I want five hundred cavalry."

"This humble general observed the Hu cavalry running for a day and a night. Their horses were fast, but their formation was loose and their discipline was far inferior to ours."

"Give me five hundred elite cavalry, and I can wipe out all his scouts. Once his scouts are gone, he'll be blind."

"Once he becomes blind, the Marquis can beat him however he wants."

Chen Jing looked at the young man covered in blood in front of him.

I suddenly remembered when I was eighteen.

That year, he was just a junior centurion who volunteered to cut off the Xiongnu's supply lines on the northern battlefield.

As a result, they were surrounded by Xiongnu cavalry in the valley and attacked for three days and three nights. When they returned, the old general gave them a severe scolding.

But after the old general finished scolding him, he also promoted him to captain.

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to give a few instructions to the guards beside him.

The guards quickly left the command tent and returned shortly afterward, carrying a sword.

The blade was three inches longer than a typical ring-pommel sword, and the back of the blade was thicker. Two seal characters were engraved on the hilt.

"Break the formation".

"This sword has been with me for twenty years. It has been used to cut down the personal guards of the Xiongnu Khan and the elephant cavalry of the Southern Barbarian King."

Chen Jing presented the sword with both hands, his gaze calm. "I am old. This sword has been gathering dust in my hands for far too long."

"Take this and chop off a few more heads of barbarians for me. I'll take care of the captain's matter for you."

"From this day forward, you will be the Left Wing Colonel of the Vanguard Battalion of the Shuozhou Army, leading five hundred elite cavalry, specifically responsible for striking down the nomadic cavalry."

"Food, equipment, and personnel will be given to you first."

Huo Qubing took the sword with both hands, looked down at the two seal characters on the blade, and gently stroked the characters "破阵" (breaking the formation) with his fingers.

He looked up to thank the Marquis, but Chen Jing waved his hand and said to go to the military doctor to get his wound bandaged so that he wouldn't bleed out.

Huo Qubing responded, picked up his sword, turned and walked out of the command tent. The midday sun made him squint slightly.

He glanced down at the newly acquired Breaking Formation Blade at his waist, a faint smile appearing on his lips—a smile only he himself knew.

Outside Yunzhou City, at Yanmen Pass.

Han Chong's 30,000 elite guards arrived at Yanmen Pass at the end of April and continued north without rest.

His objective was clear: to bypass the main force of the Hu people stationed in Shuozhou, to infiltrate the Hu people's rear from the flank of Yunzhou, and to cut off the connection between the Hu army in Shuozhou and the grasslands.

If this strategy succeeds, the Hu (non-Han) coalition besieging Shuozhou will become an isolated force, surrounded by enemies on both sides, and in a dilemma.

The Hu cavalry on the outskirts of Yunzhou have already engaged them in battle.

Those were the light cavalry of the Right Guli King's tribe, strong and powerful, moving like the wind.

The Tiger Guards fought several small-scale skirmishes with the nomadic cavalry on the west side of Yunzhou, with each side experiencing victories and defeats.

The Hu cavalry were too fast. Often, before the Tiger Guard heavy cavalry could even form a battle formation, they would have already fired a volley of arrows and fled, leaving behind a trail of arrows and hoofprints.

Han Chong pondered for a long time in his command tent, staring at the sand table, before summoning his officers for a short meeting.

He needed a vanguard force that was fast, quick to react, and daring, capable of catching up with the nomadic cavalry and maintaining their formation during the pursuit.

Whoever can do it will be promoted to vanguard captain.

The captains looked at each other, none of them daring to be the first to respond.

The nomadic cavalry are too difficult to defeat.

They rode on this grassland from childhood to adulthood.

Even with your eyes closed, you can tell which path is easy and which is difficult.

Although the Tiger Guard's cavalry were elite, they were not familiar with the terrain.

Just then, a young voice rang out from the corner: "This humble general is willing to go."

All eyes turned in that direction.

Li Wenzhong stood at the end of the line, dressed in a crimson Tiger Guard battle robe, with a curved sword hanging at his waist, standing ramrod straight.

Han Chong looked him over and asked him what methods he had to deal with the Hu people's cavalry.

Without wasting words, Li Wenzhong walked directly to the sand table, pointed to a hilly area on the west side of Yunzhou, and said, "This hilly area stretches about fifty li from north to south, and there are three valleys between the hills."

"After each raid, the Hu cavalry would retreat through the middle valley, because that route was the shortest and easiest to travel."

"This humble general has led his men to ambush on the hills on both sides of the valley. When the Hu people come to harass us again, Your Excellency's heavy cavalry need not pursue. This humble general's light cavalry will go around from the flank and block the exit of the valley."

"The barbarians retreated into the valley, blocking both the front and back, like catching a turtle in a jar."

There was a moment of silence in the command tent.

An old captain couldn't help but ask, "Commander Li, how did you know they always took the middle valley path?"

Li Wenzhong took out a hand-drawn sketch from his pocket and laid it on the edge of the sand table.

The map is densely marked with the routes and times of the Hu people's retreat in each encounter.

That was something he had kept a record of every battle he fought since he went north.

Each time we chased them, we had to chase them for an extra three miles to see which way they ran. It took us several rounds to figure out the pattern.

He pointed to the points marked on the map one by one.

The Left Wise King's troops marched on the right, while the Xiu Tu King's men marched on the left.

The valley in the middle is the exclusive retreat route of the Right Valley King's tribe, and it has never been changed, probably because they feel that this route is the safest.

Han Chong stared at the sketch for a long time in silence, then looked up and asked him what his name was.

"This humble general is Li Wenzhong, centurion of the Fourth Battalion of the Tiger Guard."

He straightened his chest and announced his name.

Han Chong nodded, made the name "Li" in his mind, and immediately approved giving him five hundred elite cavalry.

He was made the striker, and a promise was made to him in public.

If he wins this battle, his position as a captain will be secured, and he will also receive a substantial reward.

Li Wenzhong accepted the order and left without making any grand pronouncements. He simply turned around, strode out of the command tent, and mounted his horse.

Five hundred elite cavalrymen were already lined up outside the camp gate, waiting.

As he rode his horse, gazing at those young and resolute faces, he suddenly recalled a sentence that Zhu Yuanzhang had once told him in his previous life.

"Wenzhong, in war, don't try to get rich quick. Take the small ones first, then the big ones, and in the end, everyone will be afraid of you."

He drew his scimitar, drawing an arc in the twilight, and five hundred elite cavalrymen spurred their horses on simultaneously.

The sound of horses' hooves rolled across the grassland like muffled thunder as they galloped toward the hilly area to the west of Yunzhou.