Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 279 No, no, this isn't Mi Qin!

The situation seemed chaotic, with wave after wave of troops rushing about between Dahengshui and Wangting Town.

This was also what Su Wu thought. Many things have an essence, just like war. The more chaotic the battlefield, the more advantageous it is for the side with greater mobility.

Su Wu just kept running southwest, completely ignoring the two waves of Tangut cavalry following him from near and far.

Thus, the Tangut cavalry pursued even more fiercely. With such deep-seated hatred, the Tangut army's desire for revenge was already beyond measure. The Song soldier in front of them really wanted to escape and ran for a whole day, still moving as night fell.

The horses were already struggling to keep up, and someone couldn't help but ask Mi Qinzhen, who was chasing the furthest, "General, shouldn't we take a break? Even if we're starving, the horses really can't go on..."

The Tanguts had no shortage of horses that could be rotated between three or two, but even so, they were exhausted by the end of the day. If this continued, the horses would obviously die on the spot, and how could the herders' children not feel heartbroken?
Mi Qinzhen hesitated. The Song army ahead was still advancing. If he rested now, how could he catch up?

Then his attendants said, "General, the Song people dare not stop because they are fleeing for their lives. Their horses must be exhausted. If we stop, they will stop as well..."

Upon hearing this, Mi Qinzhen nodded and said, "Let's rest for a while. If the Song army ahead really stops, then we can rest for another two hours. If the Song people don't stop, we'll chase them again immediately after a quarter of an hour. Even if we can't walk, we'll chase them on foot!"

Upon hearing this, the group felt no joy. What joy was there in failing to catch the Song people? They simply reined in their horses, dismounted, and immediately began eating the dried meat and flatbread from their leather pouches…

After Mi Qinzhen fell from his horse, he did not sit down on the ground, but kept looking and listening, trying to see if the roar of the Song army's cavalry in the distance had stopped...

The rumbling ahead continued, and Mi Qinzhen grew increasingly anxious. But then he heard his men say, "General, it's still a long way to Song. They have so many horses, where will they get enough fodder? We'll definitely catch up!"

"Yes, General, just look at how desperately the Song people are running. The more they run, the less their horses can sustain. The Song people don't understand this, but we certainly do. Just wait a day or two, and we'll see how the Song people's horses can keep running... As long as we don't lose them, we'll definitely be able to catch up..."

"Yes, that makes sense. Just look at how the Song people are fleeing now; their morale and fighting spirit are completely gone. We've pursued and annihilated the Song people more than once or twice. Once we catch up, we can just go ahead and kill as many as we want..."

After listening to the conversations of the crowd, Mi Qinzhen seemed to feel a little more at ease. He took the flatbread handed to him and finally sat down on the ground. He first opened his water bag and then ate.

Ahead, the Song people continued walking, the roar gradually fading into the distance…

But at some point, the Song people suddenly stopped riding. Just as the Tangut people had said, the horses were exhausted and the men were tired, so they needed to rest.

As the generals sat together, Su Wu asked, "Approximately how far is the Dangxiang behind us?"

Yan Qinglai replied, "Uncle, about twenty li!"

"They're quite fast..." Su Wu really admired these Tanguts. With so few horses on average, they were able to keep up so relentlessly, and even closed the gap a bit.

Su Wu asked again, "How far away are the pursuing Tangut cavalry from the main formation behind them?"

Yan Qing replied, "Approximately... forty or fifty li..."

"The gap isn't too far..." Su Wu was also learning new techniques. Over the course of the day, in about five or six hours, the cavalry, with several horses rotating, could cover roughly forty or fifty li more than the elite infantry.

The distance was actually much shorter than Su Wu had imagined; he thought it would be at least seventy or eighty li, or even a hundred li.

We underestimated the ability of people in this era to walk or run under extreme conditions...

I seem to have heard of a theory that the most important skill for humans in hunting is the ability to run continuously. The human species' ability to sustain running and even dissipate heat is so great that it can truly exhaust animals to death...

After much thought, Su Wu said, "It's still too close. We should travel another day..."

Liu Zhengyan seemed to understand something and immediately said, "General Su, forty or fifty li is not a short distance. If we turn back now to attack the Tangut vanguard, the Tangut army behind them will definitely not be able to provide support!"

Su Wu shook his head: "It's not a matter of whether we can provide support or not, but rather the transmission of information. If fighting breaks out at the front, it would be bad if the Tanguts in the rear could receive the news in time. Even if we defeat the Tangut cavalry, and then go to fight the infantry, we'll inevitably face another camp. We'll have to let them spread out, by a hundred miles or so. In that case, after the battle at the front, we can fly north. By then, the main Tangut camp will definitely not be able to receive the news in advance and will not have time to react!"

After a moment's thought, Liu Zhengyan immediately said, "Commander Su is truly brilliant. If we continue running like this, even the horses of the Tangut cavalry will be exhausted. At that point, they won't be able to rush back to report the news."

Su Wu nodded and smiled: "We must keep running, until everyone and the horses are exhausted!"

Everyone nodded...

Su Wu added, "But tomorrow we can slow down a bit, allowing the Tangut cavalry to catch up even closer, ideally within five or six li..."

Wu Song laughed and said, "In that case, we can save some horses. When we turn around to attack him, he won't even have time to react."

Su Wu then added, "I'm also afraid that the Tanguts will lose heart if they can't catch up for a long time. In that case, the closer they get, the more anxious they become, and the more excited they will be, the more energetic they will be in the pursuit..."

As soon as Su Wu uttered those words, everyone turned to look at him, both surprised and amused. They were surprised that their husband was so adept at strategizing and dealing with people, and amused that he seemed to be walking the Tanguts like dogs... and that victory was truly not far away...

"Alright, take a break now. Make sure all patrols and sentry commands are properly arranged and there is no room for slackness." Su Wu said this and left.

Everyone then got up and dispersed to make their own arrangements.

The horses also need to be fed, and fed more of them.

While still asleep, Su Wu heard shouts from his left and right. He quickly got up and heard the thunder of the Tangut horses' hooves, as the scouts returned to report.

Let's keep going then, heading south. We can take our time and let the Tanguts catch up a bit.

Passing by a pond where the moonlight still shimmered, Su Wu reined in his horse and had the knights take turns passing by to refill their water bags.

At this moment, they were no longer heading towards Huangyangping, but straight towards Anqingze. The Tanguts behind them were getting closer and closer, while the Song people in front of them still appeared somewhat composed.

As soon as dawn breaks, it will be much closer.
Mi Qinzhen continued to boost morale: "Brothers, we're getting closer, closer still! The Song people are only ten miles away. If we put in a little more effort, we can kill them!"

How could those around them not spur their horses on even harder to give chase? Some even shouted from behind, "The Song people ran too fast yesterday and are already exhausted. The Song people are exhausted. Ten miles, that's ten miles!"

Unbeknownst to Mi Qinzhenren, Li Liangfu's men were also chasing him. Li Liangfu had sent an order instructing Mi Qinzhenren to keep his distance and not to get too close, just to keep up.

Li Liangfu's thoughts were naturally extremely cautious. It was a wise general's plan. Mi Qinzhen only had a little over a thousand cavalry. If they caught up, the odds would be against them. They had to wait until the two thousand cavalry heading to Libu arrived as well. Only then, with a total of four thousand cavalry, would they have a real fighting force. Even if they couldn't win the battle, they could at least hold off the Song army until reinforcements arrived.

The soldier was galloping away, but he couldn't see the Tangut cavalry chasing after him. The military order was right behind him, but he couldn't catch up.

It was also because these Tangut soldiers had won too many victories, and their last victory was too great, that they became too confident. Three years ago, the Song army was like a flock of startled sheep, scattering in countless numbers across the mountains and fields before their very eyes...

Therefore, the Song army was fleeing again at this time. If we went closer, we would find lambs everywhere, just like last time.

Whether Su Wu was a lamb or not, we will only know once Mi Qinzhen is truly close by.

By mid-afternoon, Mi Qinzhen was able to close the distance considerably. If his vision was good, he could even see the Song army cavalry at the edge of his field of vision, perhaps four or five miles away.

In fact, both sides were no longer running wildly, but rather walking at a brisk pace, with the Song army at the front clearly moving slower than the Tangut army.

As night was approaching, Mi Qinzhenren took the initiative to say, "Stop the horses and rest!"

The many Tangut cavalrymen then reined in their horses to rest, eating and drinking as they pleased. They were now close to Anqingze, with many streams and creeks nearby, where they could water their horses.

Mi Qinzhen further boosted morale: "The Song people can't run anymore. If this continues, we will definitely catch up with them around noon tomorrow. At that time, just go and kill them. If you make a great contribution, His Majesty and Prince Jin will surely reward you with countless rewards."

What came to everyone's mind was the scene of chasing down Liu Fazhi's army in the past. How exhilarating that great victory was!

This time, compared to last time, the credit... might be even greater, except for that Su Wu, whose reputation is far too small compared to Liu Fa.

Displaying Su Wu's head on a tall pole is certainly not as satisfying as displaying Liu Fa's head around in the past!
It was Liu Fa, a veteran general who had made a name for himself over the years and was also renowned among the Tanguts. Liu Fa had killed quite a few Tanguts in the past. How satisfying it was to kill Liu Fa on the spot!

As for Su Wu? I've only recently heard of him, from snippets of conversation with the Liao people.

They ate, drank, and watered their horses. The Song army at the front seemed to have gradually stopped, clearly unable to hold on any longer. They figured they could catch up tomorrow.

At this moment, Mi captured the Dangxiang. Although his men and horses were exhausted, how could their morale not be high?

Many people were even chatting and laughing, and some were even talking about how to spend the rewards they received after the great victory...

Some people were filled with hatred, saying that if they caught up with the Song people tomorrow, they would kill them, how many Song people they would kill, and how they would steam, boil, roast and eat them. They were not joking, they really meant to steam, boil, roast and eat them!

The Song people stopped, and the Tanguts stopped; they were clearly resting and eating and drinking.

Once everything was done, they lay down on the ground, and many people actually fell asleep. However, some couldn't sleep and looked up at the stars in the sky. The night sky was clear, and the stars were bright.

Suddenly, a roaring sound arose.

Mi Qinzhenren was the first to get up from the ground. The rumbling sound came from the south, from the Song people's side. Mi Qinzhenren blurted out, "Oh no, the Song people want to leave first..."

There was an unspoken agreement last night: the Song people only acted after the Tanguts made their move first.

Today, the tacit understanding is gone, and someone else has come to say, "General, the Song people are panicking. They were pursued so closely today that they want to escape even faster..."

"Haha... General, it's alright. The more the Song people do this, the less time they can hold out. We'll just have to keep chasing them slowly, and we'll definitely catch up tomorrow..."

"Call the brothers up! Since they're leaving, we should chase after them and see where they can go!" Mi Qinzhenren smiled, like a hunter who had already seen the struggling prey in his own trap.

Many Tanguts were also shouting from the sides, and they moved quickly, installing saddles, mounting their horses, and forming ranks.

But something was amiss. Mi Qinzhen, a seasoned veteran, sensed something was wrong as soon as he heard the sound and shouted, "Where are the scouts? Why haven't they returned yet? The sound of Song horses' hooves seems to be approaching!"

Those around them quickly listened intently, somewhat puzzled, as if... the sound of horses' hooves was indeed approaching.

Ahead, scouts indeed galloped back, shouting from afar, "General, prepare quickly, the Song people are turning back!"

It wasn't that the scouts were slow to send back news; it was that the Song soldiers were really good at acting. When they were reorganizing their troops, it seemed like they were heading south, but somehow, suddenly the rear guard became the front guard and they rushed north in an instant...

Someone beside Mi Qinzhenren cried out, "This is bad! This is a trap set by the Song people! General, we must leave quickly!"

Hurry up?

Mi Qinzhen mounted his horse and looked around. He said, "The Song people are panicked and in a desperate situation. They are fighting like cornered beasts and cannot retreat. If they retreat, Wangli is only twenty or thirty miles behind them. If Wangli sees us retreating, he will think we are defeated and his morale will plummet. We should fight! We should fight for a while. The Song people have been fleeing all the way, but they are all like frightened birds. As soon as the bowstring is taut, they will lose their courage and become cowardly! If we leave, it will only cause the Song people's morale to plummet. We cannot do that!"

Upon hearing this, many of the soldiers nodded in agreement. How could there be no reason for this? The Song army always did this when they fled for their lives.

Little did Mi Qinzhen know that today, his strength was no match for that of the Song people. If he were to turn and flee, how could he possibly escape?
Su Wu had meticulously planned every step of the way for this moment; how could he possibly let Mi Qinzhen escape?
Not far to the south, the Song cavalry roared like thunder as they approached.

How could Mi Qinzhen not simply thrust forward with his spear?
The moonlight was bright and clear, but it couldn't really illuminate many faces and eyes. Many outlines were clearly visible, but a dark shadow still enveloped the earth.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies charged forward, arriving as soon as they were told and engaging in battle immediately.

In the darkness, it's impossible to distinguish friend from foe; all you can see is the direction in which you are facing, and that which is the enemy.

Kill! Faces and blood were indistinguishable amidst the chaos of battle!
Countless weapons thrust and stabbed, and those who fell from their horses were sure to have no chance of survival under the countless hooves of horses.

Mi Qinzhen charged into the enemy ranks, displaying remarkable bravery. He struck down a man with a single spear thrust, but as he returned, his horse was already deep within the enemy lines. He saw enemies everywhere, as numerous as hairs on a cow.

In the darkness, if you look closely, you can see a forest of spears; if you don't look closely, you can only feel something moving everywhere.

For some unknown reason, Mi Qinzhen suddenly felt a numbness in his chest and abdomen, his whole body went limp, and the world spun around him. Everything happened extremely fast, and he didn't even know how it happened.

For a moment, you could still hear someone shouting, "General, where is the general?"

General Mi Qin was about to reply when he seemed to be bumped by something again. Then, a series of clanging sounds erupted from the battlefield—the sound of horseshoes pounding against armor and helmets.

Everything has become blurred...

The great battle continued. The Tangut cavalry, led by Mi Qinzhi, charged into the enemy lines. The Song army's formation was wide and thick, and they kept advancing as if there was no end in sight...

In the darkness, nothing could be seen—nowhere to see the spears coming from, no way to see where the friendly forces were, only one Song cavalryman after another approaching...

He ran, ran straight ahead, until suddenly the view opened up, and there were no more Song cavalry in front of him. He looked left and right, then left and right again, and then back again...

What about people?

Looking around, there was nothing but empty horsebacks and not a single Tangut comrade in sight.

The Tangut man was somewhat taken aback. Wasn't it said that the Song people were already like frightened birds, ready to lose their courage and become cowardly at the first twang of the bowstring?
"General!"

"Apang!"

"Buy C..."

No one responded, and in a short while, all of the more than a thousand people fell from their horses.
How can this be?

It was highly unlikely, given that the Tangut cavalry were certainly elite. Even if they weren't elite to an extreme degree, they were at least stronger than the Song cavalry!

But it actually happened!

Why?

In the darkness, one's senses are infinitely weakened. When facing an enemy many times one's own size, and having lost all senses, what difference is there between elite and elite? Isn't it simply a matter of numbers prevailing? No matter how capable one person is, how can they face several spears that are impossible to see coming from?

Many times, they couldn't even block that shot.

However, not all of them fell from their horses. In fact, another Tangut man shouted, "Is anyone else here?"

There was a hint of panic in his voice.

The man quickly replied, "There's someone here! I'm over here, come over quickly!"

They hadn't forgotten their tactical maneuvers; after setting out, they immediately regrouped.

The two men gathered and shouted several times, and then three or five more men gathered. After gathering and gathering, they had gathered more than a dozen riders. They turned around and looked, and saw that the Song army's horses had not turned back to fight a second battle. They just kept going north without stopping.

The dozen or so Tangut riders led by Mi Qin seemed somewhat stunned. Why didn't the Song people come back and fight again?

Where is the general?
"General!"

"General!"

The general did not reply, and had already become stuck to the grass and soil somewhere.

Suddenly, a cavalryman named Mi Qinzhi exclaimed in surprise, "The Song people are launching a night raid on Wangli!"

They've come to their senses, and they've gained some insight, but what can they do?
Some people have asked, "What should we do?"

We should quickly inform Wangli, who is about twenty miles behind us, so that they can make preparations as soon as possible... Hmm... It would be best to turn around and leave immediately.

I have the idea, but... I can't do it!

Everyone knows it's impossible, and then another seven or eight riders gather over there...

They huddled together, exchanging glances, but could not make out their utterly dejected expressions; only silence remained…

They neither walked nor moved, and simply did not know what to do.

The roaring sound went north, getting farther and farther away.

People from the outskirts should have been able to hear such a massive roar from afar, and would have immediately known to avoid its impact...

They should know...

Twenty li is neither far nor near; within ten li or so, the roar can echo in the sky like thunder, and the earth can rumble.

Lying on the ground, the sensation was even faster, and countless people got up from the ground.

Some people were already shouting, "Oh no, this isn't Mi Qin!"

Why not capture with rice?

The Mi Qin people didn't have that many hooves, so the roaring sound wasn't as powerful.

The Tanguts were experienced and shrewd.

So who is this?

"These are Song people! The Song people have turned around! Mi Qin has probably already been defeated... Quickly, saddle the horses! Quickly, gather them together! Hurry!"

More than two thousand people from the capital quickly gathered together, forming a tight group in no time.

How to do?
To fight or to retreat?

Without much hesitation, the leader headed towards Liqi, asking his men only one question: "To fight or to retreat?"

Those around him replied with only one sentence: "The young clan leader shall make the decision!"

Li Qi tried to calm down, but the roar was getting closer and closer. He said, "Let's go, we'll talk about it at dawn!"

The horse's hooves kicked up, and we had to turn around and hurry, heading northeast first. After several trips, we became increasingly calm as we approached Liqi, and then slightly turned the horse to head due east, making the northeast trip worthwhile.

In that instant, I calmed down and thought about many, many things.

If we really don't know what's going on, we can't lead them northeast. Although the main camp is still far away, if we lead them all the way to the main camp, the main camp's army might panic...

Head due east; dawn is not far off. Let's make some progress and see how things go by at daybreak before making a decision.

Logically speaking, the Song people's strength couldn't have lasted much longer...

For some inexplicable reason, there was a strange feeling. They were chasing after the Song people and running away, but why were they being chased by the Song people again?
I wonder where the Xiazhou army is...

Behind him, amidst the Song army, Wu Song pointed ahead and said, "Brother, they are turning east!"

Su Wu simply said, "Second Brother, you take your cavalry and head northeast to find a place to hide, such as behind that raised mound. Hide and rest until I return. Then I will chase them. After chasing them for half an hour, I will turn northeast and pass by your hiding place. Listen for the horses' hooves. Do not come out until you see the Dangxiang people!"

"Understood!" Wu Song nodded without asking any further questions. His brother always had a plan. He simply led his army and five battalions to break away from the ranks, shouting out their unit numbers as they went.

"Left Forward Vanguard Battalion, Right Forward Vanguard Battalion, Left Forward Elite Battalion, Right Forward Elite Battalion, General Wu's Personal Guard Battalion, break formation to the left!"

In the darkness, shouts rose from all sides. As long as the soldiers heard and understood, they would continue to shout, passing on the message one by one: "Five battalions, the left flank has broken away!"

Su Wu led more than 9,000 men and continued to pursue them relentlessly. However, they could not catch up for a while, as there was a gap of at least seven or eight miles.

As they chased, Su Wu's horse gradually slowed down, and the army slowly came to a stop. Then they turned around, stopped chasing, and headed northeast towards the Daheng River.

Heading towards Li, the horse slowed down and gradually came to a stop. The thunderous hooves were its guide. Li Qi asked his men, "Why didn't the Song people pursue us?"

In fact, Li Qi already had the answer in his heart, and Zuo Youzi also answered: "They definitely can't catch up with us, so they went straight to raid our main camp."

"What should we do?" he asked again, looking to Li Qi's left and right.

"Young clan leader, shouldn't we follow behind the Song army? That way, we can tie them down..."

Wang Liqi frowned; the reason he asked the question was because he was hesitant.

It seems Mi Qin has truly perished; it was all a ruse, a scheme by the Song army!
The Song army's intention was to lure them into pursuit, thus separating the infantry and cavalry, allowing them to defeat them one by one.

Why were the Song army so skilled in battle?
This is truly unheard of! When have the Song people ever fought in this way?
After calming down for a moment, Wang Liqi nodded slightly: "We must go back. If we don't, our main force will only have two thousand cavalry left, and we will truly have no power to fight back!"

Everyone seemed to understand this principle and nodded in agreement.

"But don't get too close. Rest your horses more often, slow down first, and keep a distance of twenty li. Twenty li is a safe distance!"

Wang Liqi was extremely calm and thought things through very quickly.

The group then turned and headed northeast.

With his horse moving at high speed, Su Wu was thinking about how to improve himself. Mobility represents another form of tug-of-war.

Su Wu also made great progress, and even thought that if he had rushed into battle against 50,000 elite Jurchen cavalry without understanding these principles, he would have suffered a great loss.

It is worth considering that the Mongols, who were skilled cavalrymen in history, could defeat their opponents wherever they went. Their bravery was secondary; the real reason for the Mongols' superior cavalry tactics was their ability to maneuver and utilize their cavalry. Where in West Asia, Central Asia, and Europe had such tactics ever been seen?

The Mongols' true battle tactics were actually quite simple: heavy cavalry in the center, attacking from both flanks. These tactics, along with their use of mobility, all originated in the Central Plains, from the cavalry archery of the Warring States period, to the bitter battles between the Han and Xiongnu, to the chaotic wars of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and finally to Li Shimin's Xuanjia Army…

Later, the Khitans, the Jurchens, and the Tanguts also joined the fray. Cavalry tactics had already been developed to an unparalleled level, and then the Mongols and Jurchens clashed...

The Song dynasty had essentially lost its cavalry tactics, and at this moment, Su Wu was slowly picking them up again…

These Tanguts are truly good; they're neither too strong nor too weak, making them perfect for practice.

Su Wu traveled northeastward, not too quickly.

Wang Liqi followed behind, neither too close nor too far...

Behind a mound that obscured his view, Wu Song listened intently to the hoofbeats of horses all around him...

He knew the Tanguts would definitely be nearby, they definitely would be; his brother's words were never false!
It doesn't matter if they're near or far, as long as they follow behind my brother's army, and as long as I charge out and get behind the Tanguts, I'll catch them red-handed and it will be another great victory.

Wu Song was also secretly memorizing it, and he learned another move.

(Hey guys, muah!)
(End of this chapter)