Chinese New Year

Chapter 1440 Confident Yet Ordinary

A yellowish-brown earthen city stands on the land.

The novice monk Baiduo drove the sheep to the riverbank and let them graze on the grass.

He had played a clever trick today, letting his two sheep sneak in to enjoy the fresh grass by the river with the nobleman's sheep. He was now extremely uneasy, looking around anxiously, as if he had committed some heinous crime.

However, he quickly remembered that his surname was "Bai," and he belonged to the royal family of the former Kucha. Although the royal family's population had swelled to several thousand, many of them were so poor that they couldn't even get enough to eat.

Lost in thought, he watched the sun set and prepared to take the sheep back to Wulei (present-day Luntai East) city.

To be honest, although many people like to flock to the city, he always felt that it was dirty, dilapidated, and smelly.

They were all yellowish mud houses, three or four stories high on the ground, with two more stories dug underneath. People were crammed inside like pigs and sheep, and had to keep company with livestock. The stench was unbearable.

The bazaar is somewhat fun, but it's not as crowded or lively as the large bazaar outside the city that opens regularly.

The people in the city were very snobbish and looked down on them, who had migrated from the capital.

He felt no sense of belonging in this place; if it weren't for the need to earn a living, he wouldn't bother herding sheep for others.

Just as the lead sheep was shaking its head and leading the sheep of all sizes to set off, the earth began to tremble.

Startled, Shirota looked in the direction of the sound.

Some people in Wulei City were even more shocked. They climbed to a high point and saw a large army coming from the west.

The soldiers instinctively looked at him.

The man remained silent for a long time, and seeing this, everyone understood.

Wulei City had already betrayed the King of Kucha and surrendered to the Liang people without firing a single arrow. Now that they have surrendered, why waver again? If they anger the Liang people, the few hundred able-bodied men in the city will likely all perish.

So the city gates remained open for a long time, until dozens of riders poured into the city.

The cries for food and water rang out, and the crowd sighed inwardly before complying...

Bai Duosha was stopped just as he drove the sheep near the city gate.

Soon after, the earthquake trembled even more violently.

More than a hundred gleaming silver cavalrymen appeared in the western wilderness.

The leader, clad in silver helmet and armor, was imposing and extraordinary.

The man held the reins in his left hand and a thick, long lance upright in his right. He looked straight ahead, but you couldn't see his face because his face was covered by an iron mask, leaving only three orifices exposed, which gave people a creepy feeling.

His warhorse was exceptionally swift and wore a veil, making it look like a fierce beast.

Below the veil is the "chest shield," which protects the horse's chest and abdomen from enemies in front.

The horse has a "chicken neck" above its neck and a "horse body armor" on its back, hanging down to the sides of its belly.

The horse's rump is covered with a "back cover," on which hangs a tuft of long feathers called "parasites," which are colorful and very eye-catching.

The "armor" consists of six parts: the face curtain, the chest guard, the neck guard, the body armor, the back guard, and the parasite guard.

The armored one is a horse armor.

Armored cavalry are those clad in human armor.

The two are combined into one, which is an armored cavalry.

Shirota Shami didn't understand what armored cavalry was, but he asked himself if he would be afraid and unable to resist running away when faced with a frontal charge of such a behemoth.

If you were bumped in the face and then lifted high by a spear, wouldn't you be covered in bruises?

After letting his mind wander, he gradually calmed down—his ability to calm down seemed to be the only commendable thing about him, because he had been used to observing silently since he was a child.

These hundred or so riders were definitely there to show off, because the horses were exhausted. Behind them were even more people and horses, their backs laden with various kinds of armor, identical in style to the hundred or so riders in front.

There are far more than a hundred armored cavalry gathered here!
“Baa…” The familiar voice of the lead sheep suddenly rang out, seemingly tinged with anxiety and panic.

When Bai Duosha came to his senses, he looked up and saw that several Liang soldiers had come and taken away his sheep.

He panicked and rushed forward immediately. It was one thing for a rich man's sheep to be stolen—at most, he'd get a beating—but two of his sheep were among them.

However, he was quickly subdued by a tall, burly martial artist who looked him up and down and laughed, "We need someone to slaughter sheep, so you'll do it."

Bai Duo Shami couldn't understand what he was saying, but his intuition told him it wasn't good news. He tried to struggle, but it was no use. The man's hands were like iron clamps, with astonishing strength, and he pulled Bai Duo Shami aside.

Groups of two or three people were gathering here, and they all looked like able-bodied men who had been conscripted. Bai Duosha felt as if the sky had fallen.

He should have left long ago, even if it was just to take a detour to a distant village and spend the night there. Instead, he stood there dumbfounded, watching the spectacle. Now it's all over, all over. Not only are the sheep gone, but he's been captured. Who knows where he'll die in some ditch, somewhere forgotten and forgotten?

******
Five or six miles east of Wulei City, the area is bustling with traffic and people.

Upon seeing the city, riddled with holes from the wind and rain, the laborers accompanying the army all breathed a sigh of relief; they were finally nearing their destination. They would have three days of rest, enough time to recharge and recuperate.

But fate always seemed to play tricks on them. Just as everyone mustered their remaining strength and urged their draft animals to hurry to Wulei City, dust filled the eastern horizon, and countless cavalrymen surged in.

"Form ranks!" shouted You Yi, the county magistrate in charge of escorting the goods.

Hundreds of able-bodied men from Hezhou scattered like ants whose nest had been destroyed.

Some pulled the carts, others set up traps, and still others took out equipment from some of the carriages and distributed it to the passengers.

"Bang, bang." Some heavy junk was thrown out and piled up around the carriage, acting as an obstacle.

The sound of swords being drawn was incessant, and scenes of people calibrating their bows were commonplace.

Having experienced so much along the way, these conscripts have undergone tremendous growth.

No one is born a fighter, but the environment will force you to become the type best suited to it.

Frankly speaking, the reactions and conduct of these conscripts were more competent than many of the hereditary soldiers during the great chaos at the end of the Jin Dynasty forty years ago.

But as you improve, so do your enemies. It's a never-ending hell of chaos, until a force capable of sweeping across the land is created.

The smoke and dust were getting closer, and a discontinuous black line gradually appeared on the horizon.

The black lines kept rearranging and then spreading out, as if changing some kind of formation.

You Yi was so engrossed in watching that he subconsciously licked his chapped lips, thinking to himself that the Lu Shui Hu escorting them probably wouldn't be able to hold out. Just as he was thinking this, three hundred Lu Shui Hu cavalrymen charged forward.

More than thirty armored cavalrymen charged at the forefront, wielding long spears and large lances, without hesitation.

The others followed behind, slowly dispersing to both sides.

The two sides quickly engaged in battle.

From You Yi's perspective, the Wuwei Lushui Hu cavalry fell from their horses in a single encounter and were then scattered.

The light cavalry still retained their nomadic habits; when faced with a tough enemy, they instinctively scattered to the sides, trying to create distance and win with their bows and arrows.

However, the enemy seemed to be numerous, numbering as many as a thousand cavalry. After sending some of them to the flanks, they immediately suppressed Lu Shuihu's mounted archers. They were knights who were all-around capable in close combat and long-range shooting, just like the volunteer army.

The smoke and dust grew thicker, and You Yi could barely see the scene in the distance. He could only hear the distant, chaotic sounds of horses' hooves, arrows whistling through the air, the clash of weapons, and screams of agony.

But even a fool could tell that it wouldn't be long before these Lushui Hu people were completely wiped out, and then enemy cavalry would arrive in force, circling their still-tensely surrounded camp—without reinforcements, they would surely die!

Uh, it seems reinforcements are arriving...

You Yi seemed to feel a violent tremor coming from the west.

He subconsciously turned his head and saw the "sand tents" surging in from the west.

Directly in front of the sand tent were three "arrows" advancing in a triangular formation, each arrow carrying about two or three hundred people, who were speeding forward.

Halfway through the rush, many more people accelerated forward from behind, joining the two arrows on the far left and far right, bringing the total number of people to five or six hundred, and then they began to accelerate.

The horses galloped across the battlefield, leaving behind a spectacular trail of dust.

Clearly, they were employing a flanking maneuver, trying to squeeze the enemy towards the center as much as possible.

The central arrow continued to advance, but the horses moved at a steady pace, seemingly deliberately controlled. Moreover, the formation became thicker, and the dust they generated was even greater, as if they were deliberately concealing something.

The battle in the east is nearing its end.

The Lu Shui Hu scattered and fled everywhere. A considerable number of the Kuai Hu had freed up their hands, but when they saw the reinforcements from Daliang, they did not choose to retreat. Instead, they regrouped their forces and then charged forward, hoping to win two consecutive battles.

You Yi was stunned by their actions, but also somewhat impressed. These people were really arrogant. Had they never suffered a defeat in their entire lives?
And so, the smoke and dust from the east and west sides moved toward each other, approaching at an unimaginable speed.

To the east were the Kuaihu people, an army of nearly a thousand, divided into three groups, charging in waves, arrogant and disdainful of everyone.

To the west was Liang's army, which appeared to number over 1,500 cavalry. More than 1,000 of them were flanking from both sides, while several hundred men, armed with long spears, were charging head-on into the center.

The tactics are obvious: the Kuaihu are confident they can break through with a single charge, and your flanking maneuvers will be damned.

The Liang people seemed confident that they could withstand the attack head-on, even throwing the oncoming enemy into chaos, and then coordinate with the light cavalry flanking from both sides to eliminate the enemy in one fell swoop.

You Yi looked left and right, unsure which side would achieve its goal.

He had intended to take advantage of the arrival of reinforcements to launch a preemptive strike and harass the enemy cavalry from the side with his archers, but the distance was too far, so he gave up and settled into being a spectator.

When the two sides were about 300 paces apart, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The four hundred Fallen Goose Army soldiers charging in the center turned their horses one by one, dispersing to both sides, thus revealing the formation behind them—

Amidst the smoke and dust, the silver armor was faintly visible.

They were so tall that they looked like mountains.

The impact of a horse's hooves striking the ground is deeply moving.

With a turn of the banner, the long spears that had been held at an angle were all laid flat.

As soon as the horn sounded, an overwhelming killing intent soared into the sky.

You Yi lowered his head subconsciously.

A strong wind swept by from not far away, sending sand, pebbles, and grass clippings flying and scattering in all directions.

My ears felt as if I were deaf, and all I could hear was the sound of horses' hooves striking the ground.

The tremor didn't come from the ground, but from the depths of my heart; my heart began to race uncontrollably, and my legs felt like they were going to give way.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled the fine sand from his mouth and looked up.

Suddenly, a huge commotion arose from the left front, like a flash flood or countless people banging drums and gongs.

The dust suddenly intensified, and the horses reared up, neighing incessantly.

The iron man on the iron horse wielded a powerful and heavy lance, sweeping it fiercely at the oncoming enemy.

The enemy hurriedly dodged, and at the same time subconsciously thrust out his spear, trying to knock the other person to the ground.

The sounds of collisions were incessant, and the neighing of horses pierced the sky.

One warhorse after another collapsed in agony, sending their riders flying and their fate unknown.

While the Iron Man swept through, others took advantage of their height and size to stab and poke, their muscular arms lifting their once-invincible enemies high into the air, leaving them covered in blood.

The chainmail was as fragile as paper when it was pierced by the lance that charged with immense force.

Their pride in the unity of man and horse was shattered by the brutal onslaught of the iron horses and iron men.

Extensive combat experience was ineffective against the enemy, as they were covered in iron armor from head to toe, including their warhorses, with only a cruel glint visible behind their iron masks.

What Kuaihu? Haven't you heard of the reputation of my Duan and Tuoba Xianbei?
The iron cavalry charged straight forward, like a heavy hammer, smashing the enemy to pieces, never to be reorganized again.

The long column of smoke and dust in the distance slowly closed in, gradually shrinking its encirclement.

Those were the knights of the Fallen Goose Army, armed with bows and spears, attacking from the flanks and rear, ready to give a good beating to a drowning dog.

The Kuaihu seemed to know that defeat was inevitable today. Almost without anyone's orders, they gathered into groups of several dozen riders and broke out separately.

"Kill the traitors!" As if struck by a sudden inspiration, the thought popped into You Yi's mind, and he shouted it out subconsciously.

Upon hearing this, the able-bodied men of Hezhou were all roused. Seeing that You Yi had already broken through the enemy lines with his sword and shield, they impulsively rushed out as well, blocking the confused and disoriented enemies who were trying to break through.

Meanwhile, more reinforcements, including the Left and Right Valiant Cavalry Guards and the Fallen Goose Army, have arrived from the direction of Wulei City and are pursuing the enemy as a fresh force, not wanting to let any enemy escape.

(End of this chapter)