The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 560 Dragon Fighting in the Wild
The setting sun, like blood, illuminated the battlefield strewn with corpses. A bald man, alone on horseback, stood on a high slope, gazing at his routed tribesmen, his eyes burning with cold fury. His black leather armor was stained with blood, and the wound on his left arm, grazed by a stray arrow, still bled.

"Brother, we have lost nearly two thousand warriors!" Tuoba Liwei arrived, his face covered in blood, his voice choked with emotion.

Bald-haired Pigu did not answer, his gaze fixed on the distant Tang army banners. Wei Yan's troops were clearing the battlefield; captured women and children were being herded into heaps, and cattle, sheep, and horses were being seized by the Tang army.

"Where is Dou Bin?" he suddenly asked.

"That old fox was wounded and fled back to Hexi with his remaining troops," said Bald Tree Energy through gritted teeth. "He never truly helped us!"

Bald-haired Pigu sneered, violently tearing off the blood-stained silver ornament from his waist and throwing it to the ground: "Send the order: all warriors capable of fighting, assemble! We will march west tonight."

"But."

"Dou Bin thinks we're finished," a ruthless glint flashed in Tuoba Pigu's eyes, "This is the perfect opportunity to take Hexi!"

That night, the remnants of the Tuoba tribe quietly marched westward under the moonlight. Tuoba Pigu sent out light cavalry ahead to spread rumors along the way that Dou Bin had colluded with the Tang army and betrayed his allies. Upon hearing this, the small tribes on the Hexi grasslands, who had long suffered under the oppression of the Meilu Hui tribe, all sent people to make contact.

Three days later, while Dou Bin was recuperating from his injuries in the royal tent, a scout rushed in with a panicked report: "Sir, the remnants of the Tuoba tribe have broken through the Ruoshui defense line, and tribes along the way are responding in droves!"

"What?!" Dou Bin sat up in shock, his wound reopening and staining the bandages red. "Weren't they defeated by the Tang army?"

"The bald-headed Pigu, under the guise of seeking justice for the tribes of Hexi," the scout said, trembling, "is saying... saying you colluded with the Tang army to betray your allies."

Dou Bin trembled with rage and roared, "Gather all the troops! I will personally kill this treacherous little beast!"

However, it was too late. Tuoba Pigu's army grew like a snowball, and when the two armies met on the east bank of the Ruoshui River, Dou Bin was horrified to find that he was facing not only the remnants of the Tuoba tribe, but also a coalition of dozens of small tribes in Hexi.

On the battlefield, Bald Pigu led the charge, his black banner fluttering in the wind. He raised his blood-stained scimitar high, his voice echoing across the battlefield: "Dou Bin colluded with the Tang army, betraying our people on the grasslands! Today we act on behalf of Heaven!"

The morale of the allied forces soared, and their battle cries shook the heavens and the earth. The Meilu Hui tribe, already demoralized by their defeat, retreated even further. Seeing that all was lost, Dou Bin had no choice but to flee in panic under the protection of his personal guards.

After the battle, Tuoba Pigu stood before Dou Bin's royal tent, receiving the homage of the tribal leaders. Tuoba Liwei excitedly approached: "Brother, we found this in Dou Bin's secret chamber!" He handed over a scroll of sheepskin map.

When Tufa Pigu unfolded the map, his eyes gleamed – it was a detailed topographical map of the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions, marking the distribution of water and grass, passes and tribes in various places.

“Heaven is on my side,” he murmured softly, his fingers tracing the distant Western Regions on the map.

Just then, a swift horse galloped in. The scout dismounted and reported in a panic, "Chief, urgent report from the eastern front! Kebineng has been defeated and retreated another hundred li. The Tang army has breached the Yinshan defense line and is advancing towards Hexi!"

A commotion immediately arose among the crowd in front of the tent. Tuoba Liwei's face turned deathly pale: "Brother, what should we do?"

After a long silence, Bald Pigu suddenly burst into laughter. He held up a sheepskin map, his voice ringing out: "The Tang army wants the grasslands? Then give them to them! We'll continue westward and establish a new kingdom in the Western Regions!"

"But what about my father and my clan?"

“Send a message to Father,” the bald-headed man said, his eyes gleaming with ambition, “those who wish to create a future with us, gather westward. As for those who yearn for their homeland—he paused, “let them submit to the Tang Emperor.”

On the southern slopes of the Yin Mountains, a howling north wind whipped up clouds of yellow sand. Emperor Qin Shou of Tang stood atop his chariot, his golden dragon-patterned armor gleaming in the sunlight. He squinted, gazing at the Xianbei cavalry pressing in like a dark cloud. "Your Majesty," Zhao Yun rode up, his silver armor and white robe covered in dust, clearly having just returned from reconnaissance at the front. "Scouts report that Kebineng has amassed 80,000 cavalry, and Budugen's forces have also arrived."

Qin Shou nodded slightly, tapping the carriage saddle lightly with his fingers, and asked, "What does Zilong think?"

Zhao Yun's eyes shone brightly, and he said disdainfully, "Although the Xianbei are numerous, they lack discipline. Our army has a tight formation; we only need to hold our ground and wait for their momentum to wane before launching a decisive attack."

"Hahaha!" Dian Wei laughed loudly, his dark face brimming with fighting spirit. He raised his short halberd and said, "Why bother with all this! Let me lead three thousand iron cavalry and take Kebineng's head straight for him!"

Xu Chu patted Dian Wei on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Old Dian, don't worry, His Majesty has a brilliant plan."

Qin Shou's lips curled slightly: "General Dian's bravery is commendable, but today's battle cannot be decided by the courage of one person alone." He turned to the strategist Xun You beside him, "Gongda, what do you think?"

Xun You stroked his beard and pondered, "If General Wei Yan can arrive in time and launch a surprise attack from the west, this battle can be won. However, I wonder what the situation is on the western front."

As they were talking, a bugle call suddenly sounded in the distance, and the Xianbei army began its advance. A dark mass of cavalry surged forward like a tide, the sound of their hooves making the earth tremble slightly.

"Prepare for battle!" Qin Shou gave the order, and the war drums thundered in the Tang army's ranks.

At the front of the Xianbei army, Kebineng, clad in a wolf-skin cloak, stared intently at the Tang army's formation with eyes as large as copper bells. Beside him, Budugen whispered, "The Tang army's formation is tight; a direct frontal assault will likely be difficult to achieve."

Kebineng sneered, "Then let them see the might of the steppe warriors! Issue the order: the left and right flanks will encircle them, while the central army will feign an attack!"

As the Xianbei horns changed their rhythm, the massive cavalry suddenly spread out like a fan, with their left and right wings slicing towards the Tang army's flanks like scimitars.

Within the Tang army's ranks, Qin Shou's gaze sharpened: "Change formation! Fish scale formation!"

With command flags waved, the Tang army's formation swiftly adjusted, the front ranks of shields rising like scales, and long spears extending like a forest. Archers and crossbowmen were already arrayed behind the shield wall, arrows nocked.

"put!"

At a command, thousands of arrows whistled through the air, tracing deadly arcs. The front ranks of the Xianbei cavalry were instantly thrown to the ground, but the following cavalrymen, fearless, continued their charge, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

“Play it again!”

A second volley of arrows rained down, and hundreds more cavalrymen fell from their horses. But the Xianbei were incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye, they were within a hundred paces.

"Prepare the gun formation!"

The Tang army's front-line spearmen crouched down in unison, their three-meter-long iron spears pointing diagonally forward, while the soldiers in the rear rank slammed their shields heavily into the ground, forming an ironclad defensive line.

With a deafening roar, the Xianbei cavalry crashed into the Tang army's spear formation like waves crashing against rocks. In an instant, screams of men and neighing of horses filled the air, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. The front rank of cavalrymen were pierced by spears, and the momentum of their horses broke the spear shafts, but the cavalrymen behind them continued to surge forward.

(End of this chapter)