Chapter 24: Battle of Yúnzhou

Hedong. What he feared most was that Helian Tuo of the Tuyuhun would take advantage of the situation and seize Taiyuan. Once Taiyuan fell, Shatuo would be like a river without a source.Li Cunxiao's p...It was frosty overnight, and it felt chilly this morning.

When Abaoji stepped out of the tent, he saw a faint mist in the distance. Behind the mist, Mount Bai stood vaguely visible. That was the mountain that the khanates of the grassland took pride in, because Emperor Liu Bang of Han had once been besieged there at Bai Deng. 。After that, the powerful Han Dynasty consistently used a humiliating policy of conciliation to make peace with the Xiongnu. Whenever the Xiongnu felt displeased, they would lash out at the Han people and launch another war. 。

What a golden age for the nomadic tribes!

Abolji mused to himself.

On the eastern horizon, the gray-white sky gradually brightened as the sun emerged, pouring golden sunlight onto the prairie. The quiet and mysterious frost-covered grassland began to teem with life. The thin layer of frost flowers on the grass now sparkled like crystal.

Abao looked towards Yunzhou and suddenly felt a chill. 。

This is not the chill brought by hoarfrost.

To be precise, it's killing intent. 。Abaoji couldn't see Yunzhou, but he remembered that to the southwest of the Khitan camp was a dark and dense forest. 。Through the frost-covered woods, in the rays of the rising sun, it should reflect some silvery light. 。But now the reflected light was much stronger, not like the frost on leaves, but like the gleaming of a warrior's spear under the sun - no, it was as if the sunlight were reflecting off a spear. 。

They are the Shatuo people! They've arrived!

As Abo reacted, the alarm horns sounded at the same time. The siren wailed back and forth, raising people's hearts high only to let them down again gently, but just as it calmed a little, another alarm went off, raising their hearts once more.

All the Khitan soldiers rushed out of the camp, the cavalry mounted their horses, and the infantry picked up their shields and raised their spears, forming a battle array in an orderly and rapid manner. 。In a flash, the well-trained Khitan iron cavalry surged toward the Shatuo people. 。After that, they suddenly formed a solid wall of bronze and iron, halting at a distance from the Shatuo soldiers. 。A rough voice boomed from afar: "Let the Khitan Khan speak!"Aboluo turned his horse and rode forward, surrounded by generals like Li Ge and Yelu Deguang. He rode slowly past the banners of each tribe until he reached his own Khan's banner. 。He glanced at the Khan's banner fluttering in the morning wind. The massive war drum stood silently beside it. 。These were all bestowed upon the Khitans over two hundred years ago, during the Tang Dynasty's peak of power, as symbols of authority. 。The Khans of the Qidan dynasty no longer viewed the flags and drums bestowed by the Heavenly Dynasty as mere objects of veneration; they saw them as sacred symbols. 。Now this sacred banner and drum belong to Abaoji. 。Wherever the Khan's banner pointed, the enemy scattered like leaves before the wind. 。Abaoji shifted his gaze and suddenly saw Zhen Ruyue beside him. 。He did not speak to his daughter, but continued to look forward, trying hard to make out the shape of the Shatuo King. 。The frost on the grassland had already been trampled dry by millions of horse hooves and human feet, except for a thin layer of frost still clinging to the blades of grass between the two armies. 。Looking at these frost-bitten blades of grass, Abol didn't know why a sense of unease surged within him. 。Suddenly, a magnificent steed galloped onto the battlefield. The mounted Han warrior held a finely crafted bow, aiming its arrow at the Khitans' ranks. 。

Abaoji felt a strong killing intent.

He enjoys this murderous aura, the thrill it brings. It's more invigorating than drinking fine wine. 。He rode out of the central army on horseback. 。Abaoji shouted loudly, "Are you Li Keyong"Li Keyong answered loudly, "I am Li Keyong." 。"Is that Aboji Khan over there" Aboji laughed, "What do you want to know Want to have a duel with me"Li Ke sneered, "I just want to ask the Khan, why would you invade without reason!"Aboji had an answer ready, spreading his hands wide, "It's not without reason, the Khitans are simply out of food." 。This winter is colder than usual, and the pasture in the winter ranch has already frozen. 。"Shatan Wang, we didn't cross the border to commit crimes. We are here asking for your help with relief efforts. Surely that's not a problem"

Li Kuang's heart secretly laughed: The cunning Khitan people, using this trick again.

"But, he still pretended to ask:

“If Khan runs out of clothes and food, although Hedong is not rich, it will do its best to send some grain and grass over to help you through the winter” 。”Li Ke replied calmly: “Khan Abolq, your joke is a bit too big.” 。

"With a whip in hand, Abochi pointed at the dense Khitan army. His face was tense: 'Even if I was joking with you, my 200,000 iron cavalry wouldn't joke around!'

Li Kuang let out a cold snort: 'Don't be arrogant just because you have more people! All I ask is Khan, dare you fight me one-on-one'

Abochi narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Kuang, who stood tall against the wind. Suddenly, he burst into laughter: 'Let's have a battle first and see if you have the qualifications to challenge me!'

Abochi turned his head and looked at Lize...

Li Ge immediately drew his saber and shouted: "Kill!" Yelude Guang led the charge, and the Khitan army rushed towards the right wing of the Hedong army. 。

The Khitan generals led their troops to charge in.

Seeing the Khitan army sweeping in like a raging tide, Li Ke used also swung his gleaming silver spear forward, "The cavalry of the left army, meet the enemy!"His lieutenant behind him, Li Sizyuan, waved his dark green flag with his left hand, signaling the left army to meet the enemy. 。

Li Cunzhang, the commander of the left army and horse army, was a young general. He rose to prominence alongside Li Keyong in Yunzhou. As one of the "Six Loyal Ministers," he was always Li Keyong's most loyal sword, responsible for the safety of the palace guards.

At this time, he wore a wolf-toothed helmet, a sun-lion scale armor, rode a high warhorse named Golden-Eyed Jade Flower Qíu, and held a pair of thirteen-section bamboo steel whips in his hands. 。

Whips, as weapons, are divided into soft whips (made of leather or bamboo) and hard whips (made of metal). Because steel whips are heavy and have no blade, they rely entirely on striking to kill enemies, so whip-wielding commanders need superhuman arm and wrist strength.

Li Cunzhang's double whips, male and female, were each four feet long. The left, the female whip, weighed seventeen jin, while the right, the male whip, weighed eighteen jin. 。Seeing the banner of General Li Cunxu, Li Cunzhang shouted "Kill!" and led the way, commanding over ten thousand cavalry to charge towards the Khitan army. 。The right wing of the Khitans was commanded by Ye Lu Bei, the eldest son of Abaoji, and consisted of cavalry. 。This was a white and handsome general, who loudly commanded, "Kill the enemy general!"

Several Khitan generals rode their horses towards Li Cunzhang, with spears raised. Their hooves thundered across the green grassland, and a thick wave of killing intent enveloped Li Cunzhang. 。Li Cunzhang whipped with his left hand, entangling the leader of the Khitan soldiers' spear tip. With his right hand, he swept across the horse, knocking down the first Khitan general. The second Khitan general glared angrily and thrust his spear towards Li Cunzhang. Jin Yan Yu Hua Qiu suddenly stopped its advance, just as the Khitan soldier charged forward. His neck had already been broken by Li Cunzhang's whip, blood spraying from his skull, turning the green grass on the ground into red in an instant. 。Li Cunzhang immediately rushed towards the third Khitan general. His right hand brandished his whip like a venomous snake, wrapping it around the opponent's neck. With his left hand, he whipped at the opponent's head, smashing his helmet and skull to pieces. Blood splattered everywhere, and his body went limp as he fell from his horse. 。

Li Cunzhang killed three Khitan generals in a row, his spirits soared.

At this time, the raven warriors in their black armor and helmets were already engaged in fierce combat with the Khitans. Li Cunzhang spurred his horse forward to attack Yelu Bei, the commander of the Khitans' right wing. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Yelu Bei ordered a retreat. 。In fact, before Yelü Bei could issue an order, the Khitan cavalry had already begun to retreat. 。The middle army's Abaoji saw this and became furious. Zhenyue immediately spurred his horse forward and said to his father, "Father Khan, let me deal with that barbarian!" 。Ah Bao seemed to have forgotten the rule about not letting his daughter go on adventures, and nodded quickly. 。 Zhen Ru Yue led a thousand cavalry archers to charge at the side of the A'er army, and Wu Yun Ga Lien quickly followed. 。When they arrived near the Sparrowhawk Army, Zhenyue led the charge and began shooting arrows. Suddenly, arrows rained down like a storm. The pursuing Sparrowhawk Army was caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties. 。Li Cunzhang was furious. He immediately turned his horse and charged towards Zhen Ruyu's cavalry archers, but to no avail, for Zhen Ruyu had already led her cavalry archers away. 。And her elder brother Yelü Bei, who was covering for her, also seized this opportunity to reorganize the ranks. 。Li Cunzhang thought rapidly, if he continued to assault the Khitan right wing, the Khitan had already prepared for battle and it was not certain whether he could break through. 。 。He raised his whip, leading the Crow Army to continue pursuing the horsemen. 。However, the Khitans' cavalry archers rarely carried swords or guns, and many didn't even wear armor. Their horses were light-laden and fast, giving them extreme mobility. 。Under Zhen Ruyue's command, they all bent their bows and nocked arrows. Each turned their heads to look at the moon as a flurry of arrows rained down on the Ya'er army. The fast-charging Shatuo cavalry were struck by arrows one after another. Others hurriedly reined in their horses and swatted away the incoming arrows. 。Li Cunzhang had no choice but to order a renewed assault on the Khitan right wing. The two armies clashed once more, and Li Cunzhang's two steel whips lashed out like venomous snakes, each strike bringing down Khitan cavalrymen. 。But at this time, truly like the archer of the moon returning, he rained arrows down upon the Crow Army once more. 。

The right army commander of the Khitans, Yelu Be, led the right army to counterattack.

As the situation turned unfavorable, Li Cunzhang ordered a retreat, personally leading a contingent of personal guards to cover the withdrawal.

The Khitans didn't seem to have any intention of pursuing, and the two armies gradually moved apart. 。

Abo sensed a smile spreading across his face when he saw Zhenru Yue's light cavalry charging into battle and achieving success.

He cast his gaze to the other end of the battlefield. 。On one side, there were the elite Khitan troops led by Yelü Deguang, while on the other, the Shatuo right army was commanded by Cheng Haixin, the governor of Yunzhou. 。Cheng Huaixun was also one of the "Six Ministers from Long," He somewhat resembled Ge Congzhou, a general of the Bian Army. He also had sword-shaped eyebrows and hawk-like nose. 。Because of his exceptional martial arts skills, he always considered himself superior and disdained joining Li Kuocheng's "義兒軍" ranks. 。This man was six feet tall, with a face full of thick beard. In his hand was a bright silver spear with a tiger head, and under him was a warhorse whose mane around its neck resembled the mane of a lion when it ran, hence its name, "The Wind-Chasing Lion Horse". 。Seeing the Khitan left army charge, Cheng Haixing did not dare to be careless. He immediately ordered the pre-prepared spring-loaded crossbows to fire. Arrows and crossbow bolts flew out together, and the Khitan army suffered heavy casualties in several charges. 。Yelü Deguang couldn't help but gallop forward on his horse. He was nimble and agile, effortlessly deflecting several arrows with his hands. 。Suddenly, something dark flew over. Yelü Deguang didn't have time to dodge, so he jumped off his horse and rolled eighteen times before looking up. It turned out that what had flown over was a spear! Three swords were tied to the spearhead! Although this strange weapon didn't hurt him, his warhorse was scratched by the iron feather and galloped backwards in fright. 。 Yelü Deguang mounted his subordinate's warhorse and, with a wave of his hand, signaled for a retreat. 。Seeing the performance of his three children, Abe's face darkened. 。Li Ge asked, "Khan, our central army has not yet charged the enemy..." 。"I lead my brothers, to break through from the middle road, is that possible"

A Baoji looked at the battlefield, thinking that the right wing was too powerful with enemy crossbow arrows, while the left wing was almost collapsing. Now that there was Zhen Yue's cavalry archers assisting, they could also withstand the Sha Tuo army's attack. 。Moreover, the Sha Tuo Left Army was composed of "ya'er" soldiers, which were his elite troops. The Central Army should have been less powerful in combat than the Left Army. 。Then give it a try. 。Abaoji nodded to Li Guang, and Li Guang immediately spurred his horse forward, waving his arms and shouting, "Kill!" Seeing the Khitan charge with their central army, Li Sizhen hurriedly said to Li Ke-yong, "Father, I'll go meet the enemy." 。Zhou Dewei smiled and said, “Lord Taibao, please be patient. Zhou's Tie Lin Army has not yet attacked.” 。Li Siguang looked at Zhou Dewei, also a little puzzled in his heart. How did this heavily armed cavalry become a brooding hen today Zhou Dewei winked at him, but Li Siguang didn't understand what Zhou Dewei meant. 。Li Ke used did not speak, he just stared at the Khitan cavalry charging towards him. Their horses trampled on the frost-covered grass, bringing the scent of death to the Shatuo army. 。Li Sijian rushed: "Father!" Li Ke used a smile to point at the Khitan cavalry rushing over: "Miaokjilie, look" 。Li Sizhen followed his father's finger and opened his mouth wide in surprise: the Khitan cavalry suddenly fell from their horses, tumbling to the ground. Because their steeds were moving too fast, some of the riders were thrown three or four zhang away. 。The cavalry following up rammed into their comrades who had fallen at the front, instantly causing chaos. 。

The agile Li Ge reacted quickly, leaping off his horse, but his momentum still sent him crashing to the ground. He just got back on his feet when a hail of arrows rained down from the Shatuo soldiers. The Khitans were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties.

Abaoji's brows furrowed: Oh no 。The Shatuo people actually set up caltrops beforehand Or dug a horse pit No wonder Li Ke used had nothing to fear! It turns out that the feeling I had this morning was right, there really were ghosts on this patch of grass, the Shatuo people had already dug traps! He immediately ordered the army to retreat and at the same time sent messengers to shout: Cease fire! Cease fire!

Li Sijing asked: "Father, when did you dig so many horse pits"

Li Ke used a smile and looked at Zhou Dewi: “The Zhenyuan led the team to dig…” 。Zhou Dewei answered: "It was dug at the hour of Zish (17:00-19:00), not very deep, one or two feet should be enough." 。But we dug so much. 。Li Ke used was very pleased: “His cavalry charged, with these horse pits making me a hidden wall, of course I'm not afraid of him” 。“It was so cold at night that frost had fallen, hiding the pits where horses were being trapped completely.” Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated!。When Li Keku heard the shouts of the Khitan envoy, he pointed to the Khitan army and said, "Si Lang, go and ask Abogi why they have stopped fighting"Li Cunxu was about to urge his horse forward when he heard the Khitan envoy shout: "Prince Li! Our great Khan invites you to meet at the ancient shop by Yugu River tomorrow!"Li Siyuan laughed and said, "They surrender to negotiation just because they can't win The Khitan people are really shameless." 。Li Ke shook his head: "One-on-one was Guo Ti's idea." 。Li Cunxin grabbed Li Kuang's reins: "The Khitan people are untrustworthy. Father, you cannot risk venturing alone." 。"You think too lowly of your father, " Li Ke said with a faint smile. 。He waved his hand and said, "No one in the world can make it difficult for an isolated family like mine!"esty's great righteousness!Li Ke greeted, and several generals hurried to follow the king's footsteps. At this time, Li Cunzhang saw Zhen Ruyue beside him, and couldn't help saying, "Your archery is e...