The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 564 Zhao Zilong's Valor Remains Undiminished

The north wind howled, and the snow on both sides of the Blackwater River Valley was shaken down by the horses' hooves. Zhao Yun swept his silver spear horizontally, knocking three charging Xianbei cavalrymen off their horses. The blood droplets from the spear tip froze into ice crystals in the cold wind.

"All troops, form a circular formation! Archers in the center!" Zhao Yun's voice pierced through the sounds of battle, as steady as a rock. The Jade Lion beneath him raised its front paw and shattered the breastbone of a Xianbei warrior.

The valley was narrow, and the Tang cavalry were squeezed into an area of ​​less than a hundred feet. The Xianbei people surged in from three sides, their scimitars gleaming in the snow, howling like wolves as they pounced on their prey. Arrows rained down, and Tang soldiers fell from their horses, their blood staining the pristine snow.

"General, we are surrounded!" Despite being shot in the left arm, Deputy General Zhang Yi gritted his teeth and drew the bowstring taut, shooting an arrow through the throat of a Xianbei flag bearer fifty paces away.

Zhao Yun's silver armor was splattered with blood. His gaze swept across the battlefield like lightning, and suddenly his spear pointed to a gentle slope to the northeast: "There! The entire army should break out to the northeast!"

Just then, a burst of wild laughter echoed from the high point of the valley. Kebineng, draped in a black wolf-feather cloak and surrounded by his guards, appeared. He raised his curved sword high and shouted in broken Chinese, "Zhao Zilong! Today is your death day!"

Zhao Yun sneered, then suddenly spurred his horse forward, his silver spear like a dragon aimed straight at Kebineng. The Jade Lion Spear, its four hooves flying, carved a bloody path through the chaotic army. Xianbei warriors rushed forward to stop him, but the silver spear suddenly blossomed like a pear blossom; wherever its cold light touched, none could withstand its sharpness.

Seeing their commander's extraordinary bravery, the Tang soldiers' morale soared. Zhao Yun broke through seven lines of defense and charged to within a hundred paces of Kebineng. The Xianbei Chanyu's expression changed drastically, and he hastily retreated.

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows now!" Kebineng roared hoarsely.

Arrows rained down, but Zhao Yun turned his horse around, his spear flashing like a wheel, deflecting most of the arrows. Five guards behind him, shields raised, followed, but were all struck by arrows and fell from their horses. Zhao Yun, oblivious to the three arrows already embedded in his silver armor, swung his spear and pierced the throat of the pursuing Xianbei commander.

"retreat!"

Zhao Yun shouted and led his remaining troops back to their main force. By this time, the Tang army had lost 30% of its strength, and their circular formation had shrunk, but their formation remained intact.

High in the valley, Budugen stared in disbelief, exclaiming, "Is this...is this even human?"

Kebineng said with a grim expression, "Waste him to death! Use a war of attrition!"

The Xianbei army changed tactics, abandoning direct assaults and instead launching repeated harassment raids. Zhao Yun discerned the enemy's intentions and knew that a breakout was imperative, or the entire army would be annihilated in an instant.

"Zhang Yi, you lead the archers to suppress the enemy on the eastern flank." Zhao Yun removed his blood-stained white cloak and said in a deep voice, "I will lead the cavalry to charge. If we can break through, you will immediately lead the rest of the troops to break out."

Zhang Yi urgently said, "General, you mustn't! This humble general is willing to be the vanguard!"

Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "This is a military order." With that, he spurred his horse, brandished his spear, and led fifty elite cavalrymen straight to the most densely packed enemy positions.

"Kill!" the Tang soldiers shouted in unison.

Wherever his silver spear pointed, blood and flesh flew. Zhao Yun changed his strategy this time, targeting Xianbei generals specifically. In the blink of an eye, three commanders of ten thousand fell one after another, throwing the Xianbei army into chaos. Zhao Yun, like a white lightning bolt, charged left and right through the enemy ranks, and no one could stop him.

"Stop him! Reward him with a thousand gold pieces! Appoint him as a commander of ten thousand men!" Kebineng roared hysterically.

More than ten Xianbei warriors charged at him simultaneously, but Zhao Yun suddenly reined in his horse and stopped abruptly. He swept his spear horizontally, breaking the shaft of two enemy generals in half. Amidst the gushing blood, he hurled his spear backhand, pinning a Xianbei archer thirty paces away to the snow.

"Retreat!" Zhao Yun drew his Qinggang sword, its blade flashing like water, and slew seven more men before retreating. By this time, his silver armor was tattered, and a deep knife wound on his shoulder revealed the bone, yet he still stood tall like a pine tree.

As darkness fell, the wind and snow intensified. The Xianbei army had already suffered nearly a thousand casualties, yet they continued to surge forward like a tide. Zhao Yun counted the men; fewer than a hundred were still capable of fighting.

"General, the reinforcements are probably..." Zhang Yi's voice choked with emotion.

Zhao Yun looked towards Yunzhong City and said in a deep voice, "Wei Wenchang will not stand idly by."

Before the words were finished, a deafening sound of war drums suddenly erupted in the distance. On the eastern side of the valley, a black torrent pierced the flank of the Xianbei army like a sharp sword, led by a general wielding a long saber—it was none other than Wei Yan!
"Zilong! Wei Yan is here!" Wei Yan's roar was like thunder. Behind him, the Tang cavalry, in a wedge formation, plunged straight into the enemy ranks, and wherever they passed, Xianbei soldiers fell and horses collapsed. Kebineng shouted in alarm, "Quick! Divide the troops and stop them!"

Just as the Xianbei army's formation was thrown into chaos, another elite force emerged from the west. Xu Huang wielded his great axe and led his heavily armored infantry forward like an iron wall. The Xianbei cavalry crashed into this iron wall, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

"Hahaha! That was exhilarating!" Xu Huang cleaved two enemy riders in two with his axe, his beard smeared with blood and foam.

"Zilong, do not worry, Xu Huang is here!"

Zhao Yun, his spirits lifted, raised his Qinggang sword high and shouted, "All troops, heed my command! Follow me to kill the enemy!"

"Advance!" The surviving Tang soldiers unleashed astonishing fighting power, coordinating with the reinforcements from within and without, and actually drove the Xianbei army, which outnumbered them several times over, into a series of defeats.

Wei Yan rushed to Zhao Yun's side and, seeing him covered in blood, anxiously asked, "How are you, Zilong?"

Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "It's just a superficial wound. How did Wen Chang know I was ambushed here?"

Wei Yan smiled wryly, "I knew it was a trap when Ke Bineng deliberately released scouts. Xu Gongming and I each led an army, taking a detour to come to our aid."

In the center of the battlefield, Xu Huang was in high spirits, and no one could withstand three blows from his great axe. The Xianbei army was terrified and retreated in droves.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Kebineng hurriedly ordered his personal guards to sound the retreat horn. However, the fierce general Murong Chinu, blinded by rage, led his troops straight at Zhao Yun.

"Zhao Zilong! Prepare to die!" Murong Chinu brandished his spiked club, his momentum like that of a mad tiger.

Zhao Yun neither dodged nor yielded, his Qinggang sword meeting the attack head-on. As the two horses crossed paths, a flash of sword light appeared, and Murong Chinu coughed up blood from his throat, falling from his horse.

"Bravo!" The Tang army cheered thunderously.

The Xianbei army completely collapsed, fleeing in disarray. Wei Yan wanted to pursue, but Zhao Yun quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't pursue a desperate enemy; our army has already suffered heavy casualties."

Xu Huang, carrying a large axe, approached and, seeing Zhao Yun's injuries, frowned, saying, "Quickly return to the city for treatment!"

As the sun set, the Blackwater Valley was littered with corpses. Although the Tang army had won, it had suffered more than half its casualties. In the end, Wei Yan pursued them for ten miles, killing hundreds of Xianbei rearguard soldiers before withdrawing his troops.

That night, the city of Yunzhong was brightly lit. When the physician bandaged Zhao Yun's wounds, he discovered twenty-seven wounds of varying sizes all over his body, the most dangerous of which was only half an inch from his heart.

"General, you are truly a divine being," the old physician said in a trembling voice.

Zhao Yun smiled calmly and said, "Compared to the Battle of Changban back then, this injury is nothing."

Wei Yan flung open the tent flap and entered, his face grim. "That scoundrel Kebineng has escaped!"

Xu Huang then entered, carrying two jars of wine, and said nonchalantly, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Come, drink! Calm your nerves!"

Zhao Yun struggled to sit up, and the three raised their cups to drink together. After several rounds of drinks, Wei Yan suddenly said, "In today's battle, Zilong was incredibly brave, his might shaking the barbarians; this should be recorded in history!"

Xu Huang laughed loudly: "The Xianbei people are probably going to have nightmares tonight!"

(End of this chapter)