The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 562 The Unkillable Alien Race

He turned to look at the dark northern horizon and said smugly, "In the desert, water is life. Wenhe has already ordered Qin Feng to draw a map of the rivers and tribes on the grassland. Kebineng thinks he can stop me with quicksand? He's still too naive."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the tent. Gao Shun, clad in black armor, rushed in, holding a blood-stained sheepskin in his hand: "Your Majesty, the scouts captured by the vanguard have confessed that Kebineng is retreating towards Black Wind Pass!" The Black Wind Pass marked on the sheepskin is a saline-alkali land covering a hundred miles in radius, with only three bitter water wells.

"Issue my decree." Qin Shou took the parchment scroll, his knuckles white from the effort, and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He said, "Wen Chang, immediately lead light cavalry to seize Crescent Lake on the west side. Zi Long, lead the Xuanjia cavalry to block the rocky hill on the east side, cutting off their water supply!"

At dawn the next day, the Tang army's three columns plunged into the desert like iron pincers. The yellow sand was kicked up three zhang high by the horses' hooves. Dian Wei, shirtless, carried his double halberds, sweat mixed with sand, leaving deep furrows on his bronze-colored back.

"Damn it! Not even grass grows in this godforsaken place. How can the Xianbei people survive on air alone?"

The generals nodded in agreement.

"To survive, one must persevere no matter what difficulties one faces. It is precisely this harsh environment that has forged the indomitable character of the nomadic people of the grasslands. They fight against the heavens for their lives." Xun You's entire face was dark, but his eyes shone brightly, filled with the light of wisdom.

"Let's go! I want to see where Kebineng and the others can escape to! If we can't hold out, they can't either." Qin Shou's eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty light.

He knew that even if Kebineng escaped in the end, he would suffer heavy losses and would be unable to launch a counterattack on the Central Plains for several years, as long as he caught up with him.

"promise!"

The generals sprang into action, following the great banner as they pursued the enemy forward.

Yellow sand filled the sky, and the scorching sun baked the boundless Gobi Desert. Qin Shou reined in his horse and stopped, watching the remnants of the Xianbei tribe gradually disappear into the dust in the distance. He slammed his fist heavily on the saddle. The iron armor and gloves collided with the leather, producing a dull thud.

"Your Majesty, we cannot pursue them any further," Xun You said hoarsely, his lips cracked and bleeding. "Our army only has enough water for three days. If we venture any deeper into the desert, we risk total annihilation."

Zhao Yun's white robe had long since turned a muddy yellow, and salt frost had settled on the tip of his silver spear: "The scouts report that Kebineng's remnants abandoned all their supplies, even leaving their wounded behind on the road."

Qin Shou squinted; through his distorted vision from the heat, he could vaguely make out several corpses being pecked at by vultures. He suddenly sneered, "Order the captured Xianbei nobles to be brought up."

More than ten bound Xianbei nobles were pushed to the front of the battle, among them was Suonu, Kebineng's cousin. This tattooed man, head held high, defiantly declared in broken Chinese: "Han emperor, the eagle of the grasslands will never be caged!"

"Is that so?" Qin Shou slowly drew his sword, its blade reflecting a blinding white light under the blazing sun. He suddenly swung his sword, severing the ropes binding the slave: "Go back and tell Kebineng that I have given him three years. If he does not come to Chang'an to kneel and surrender after three years, I will personally lead a large army to crush the northern desert."

Suo Nu stood frozen in place, only staggering towards the desert after being driven by Tang cavalry with spears. Wei Yan stamped his feet in exasperation: "Your Majesty! Isn't this like letting a tiger return to the mountains?"

“Wen Chang,” Qin Shou traced a winding line in the sand with the tip of his sword, “have you ever seen a poisonous snake in the desert? The more it struggles, the faster its venom spreads.” The lines eventually connected to form a complete map of the northern frontier, the sword tip emphasizing the Yinshan Mountains: “The Xianbei tribes are like this loose sand, needing Kebineng as their glue.” That night, the Tang army’s rear guard became the vanguard and began their retreat. Qin Shou specifically ordered his men to plant the captured Xianbei royal banner on the highest point of the sand dune, beneath which lay piles of bronze ritual vessels seized from the prisoners.

Dian Wei scratched his head, puzzled, and said, "Your Majesty, wouldn't it be better to bring these treasures back to Chang'an?"

“General Dian, you are unaware of this,” Xun You said with a sinister smile, his withered fingers tracing the wolf totem on the sacrificial vessel. “The Xianbei people regard these as divine objects that connect them to heaven. If they discover that the Han army has taken them away, they will fight to the death to retrieve them. Now, how will Kebineng explain to the various tribes that these divine objects have been abandoned?”

He deliberately kicked over a bronze vessel and let it roll on the sand.

The generals nodded in agreement, their faces showing joy.

The setting sun was like blood, and Kebineng's golden wolf banner was planted askew on the sand dune. He bent down to pick up a bronze ritual vessel that had rolled into the sand, his fingertips tracing the cracks on its surface caused by the trampling of horses' hooves. Budugen used the tip of his boot to lift the wolf-head crown half-buried in the sand and sneered, "The Han emperor has planted a poisonous thorn in our side."

Ten days later, inside the Xianbei king's tent by White Sandalwood Lake, a bronze cauldron simmered with pungent mutton. A small tribal chief, shirtless and revealing crisscrossing whip marks on his back, roared, "All the tribal chiefs are asking why the divine artifact of the Eternal Heaven is lying in the hoofprints of Han horses!"

At that moment, the howling of wolves echoed outside the tent; it was the small tribes holding a ritual of atonement.

"Shut up!"

Kebineng suddenly sprang to his feet, his gilded whip lashing the bronze cauldron until it hummed. He grabbed a blood-stained sheepskin map from the table, pointed it at the Yinshan Pass, and sneered, "Do the Han army think they can sow discord among us by leaving these? Send word that next spring, when the snow melts, I will use the blood of thirty Han border towns to sacrifice to the sacred artifact!"

Budugen toyed with a sharp sword, its cold light gleaming. Suddenly, he interjected in a sinister tone, coldly snorting, "I heard that Qin Shou set fire to the grasslands along the Blackwater River before he left, burning three hundred li of them? Our cattle and sheep won't survive until next spring!" He deliberately raised his voice so that the leaders of the various tribes outside the tent could hear him clearly.

Upon hearing this, Kebineng's face suddenly darkened, and the riding whip in his hand snapped with a "crack." He turned around abruptly, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over everyone in the tent, finally settling on Budugen's ambiguous smile.

"So what if the Han people burned the grasslands?" Kebineng kicked over a bronze cauldron, splashing scalding hot meat soup onto the wool carpet with a sizzling sound. He sneered, "Would an eagle of the grasslands have its wings broken because of a patch of scorched earth?"

The tent was deathly silent, save for the occasional sparks from the charcoal in the brazier. Budugen squinted, tapping his sword hilt lightly with his fingers, and suddenly chuckled, "The Chanyu is right."

Kebineng stared at Budugen's fingers tapping the hilt of his sword, then suddenly burst into laughter. The laughter shook the wolf skull ornaments on the tent ceiling, causing them to rustle. He abruptly drew his curved sword, cleaving the corner of the table in two, and coldly snorted, "Order all units to assemble five thousand elite cavalry at sunrise tomorrow!"

Budugen's expression changed drastically, and he immediately asked, "What does the Chanyu intend to do?"

"The Han people burned the grasslands, so we'll raid their granaries!" Kebineng, holding a blood-stained map on the tip of his blade, pointed it towards Yunzhong County in the southeast, and said disdainfully, "Does Qin Shou think he can starve us out by burning the grasslands? Let him see how fast the curved swords of the grassland warriors are!"

(End of this chapter)