Ch68 – Ambush

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Over the horizon, golden rays of light rose slowly from behind the mountains, piercing the darkness.
Such vibrant sunlight was rare in the winter days – it should’ve been especially pleasant.
But Wu Ling’s face was ashen gray when he leaned over the parapets and looked down from the walls.

At the base of the walls, dozens of rebel corpses laid in haphazard heaps.
For a whole night, they’d sent wave after wave of people, about twenty to thirty each time, to yell battle cries and scale the walls.
Some of them even brought bucketfuls of dirt and attempted to pile up a mound.
Gaodu’s walls were only little more than five meters tall.
A few people standing on each other’s shoulders could reach the top.
Colonel Wu and his bodyguards were forced to sweep them off time after time.
Finally, the footsoldiers had stopped coming about an hour ago. 

But Colonel Wu dared not let down his guard.
The footsoldiers weren’t the only ones who’d come to attack the city, there was an army of cavalry too! The armed riders who’d defeated his reinforcements had set up camp less than a kilometer away, eyeing them greedily as starving wolves.
Their presence prevented Colonel Wu from mustering his soldiers and fighting head-on outside the walls; they had no choice but to endure the grueling wave after wave of harassment.

And now, the cavalry was finally stirring.

 

 

There was a bitter taste in Wu Ling’s mouth.
He knew that the Xiongnu’s real attack had only just begun.
After a full night’s rest, they were all full of vigor, while his own subordinates hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.
How long could his weary soldiers last against the ferocious rebels?

“Hurry and report to Magistrate Guo, get him to send a few more men over! The enemy’s about to attack the city!” Wu Ling rasped to his subordinate. 

The subordinate staggered down the wall.
Wu Ling raised his voice, “The enemy’s about to attack! I want you all to buck up! As long as we hold out for three days, reinforcements will arrive! I’ll make sure everyone who manages to kill a rebel gets rewarded!”

 

Some scattered cheers arose from the soldiers on the wall, most of whom were his personal bodyguards.
It did raise the mood a bit.
Without another word, Wu Ling drew his sord and stood by the parapet, staring down at the rebels with bloodshot eyes.

If they lost, then they’d all die here on this land!

“Boss, everything’s ready!” Lu Long hollered sprightly.

 

He’d slept like a baby, had a hearty meal, and fed his horse.
Their warriors, having recovered their strength, mounted their horses.
Each and every one of them was raring to go.

Lu Ge nodded, then raised his saber and yelled, “First one to get over the wall gets ten taels of gold!”

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The cheering surged in volume.
The saber swished downwards, “Charge!”

A stampede of horses rushed towards the city. 

※

Squatting in the bushes, Sun Jiao whispered to Yiyan, “Captain, is it time yet?”

There were around a dozen large carts parked in the cramped valley floor right below them, guarded by about thirty cavalry.
The valley had a narrow opening; it was obvious at a glance that it was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Yesterday night, Yiyan, leading a small troop, had crept into the mountains behind the enemy and camped out until dawn.
But even though it was bright and sunny already, he still hadn’t given the order.
Sun Jiao couldn’t help his restlessness.
The lackadaisical Xiongnu soldiers had already lit cooking fires.
Just when would they act? 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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Ktf gfyfir rja lc rwjii mierafgr ys atf ybcolgf jcv rajgafv vluulcu lc.
Vec Aljb rkjiibkfv yjmx j wbeatoei bo rjilnj.
Aera jr tf kjr jybea ab rjs rbwfatlcu, Tlsjc revvfcis vgfk j olgf jggbk jcv bgvfgfv, “Oluta olgfr!”

Immediately, Sun Jiao ignited the wormwood.
Yiyan drew his bow.
The bowstring twanged as the arrow shot forth!

The arrow flew true, thudding into a cart full of dry grain.
Helped by the winter dryness and the northern winds, the cart instantly burst into flames! 

“What’s goin’ on?! Ambush! Enemy ambush!”

The rebels below devolved into utter chaos.
Many threw down their utensils and ran towards the grain carts.
They needed that food to survive, they couldn’t let anything happen to it.
Others whipped out their bows and arrows and started shooting in Yiyan’s direction.
Though the Xiongnu were all good at archery, Yiyan had chosen an excellent spot.
The ten archers, with their one-and-a-half stone bows and the wind in their favor, had a far greater range of fire.

 

The sound of pained screams rang out through the air.
Yet more of the rebels had been shot.
After the Xiongnu quickly determined their enemy’s number and location, a few of the courageous ones drew their sabers, “Charge them! There’s just a few of them!”

As the Xiongnu began to turn in their direction, Yiyan yelled, “Blow the horn!” 

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Without hesitation, a soldier sounded the horn.
Its low whine echoed through the valley, followed not long after by the sound of hooves pattering on the ground.

“Crap! Enemies! There’s more of ‘em!”

But it was too late now to mount their horses and face the enemy on horseback.
The cavalry rushing into the valley didn’t give them the time.
They rushed through like a gust of wind glinting with the flash of blades.
The disordered rebels had no chance; they started panicking.

Yiyan threw down his bow and drew his saber as well, “To battle!” 

The Liang Estate’s training began with spears, then progressed to sabers and shields, then bows, then horseriding.
Good archers had exceptional arm strength, aim, and steadiness, and generally made for good sabermen too.
Cavalry needed to have expertise in all areas.
The archers didn’t hesitate to draw their sabers as well.

Taken by surprise, and attacked from both fronts, the Xiongnu were helpless.
They soon degenerated into a rout.
Only those fearless enough to risk their lives to grab a horse managed to escape.
Yiyan didn’t give the order to chase them down.
Instead, he ordered his subordinates to isolate the burning cart and collect the rest of the provisions.

The rebels’ plunder was indeed plentiful, though he didn’t plan to take inventory yet.
Yiyan mounted his horse and said, “A few auxiliary troops will stay behind to transport the provisions.
The rest of you, follow me!”

The food and riches were no more than bait.
The enemy forces were the more important matter at hand, Yiyan knew this, of course.
Now they only had to wait and see how important this loot was to the rebels! 

※

“Hurry! Keep killing! There’s more enemies coming!” Wu Ling roared at the top of his voice as he thrust his spear through the head of a rebel that’d popped over the wall.

“Where’s the water? Get the boiling water!”

Following his order, several soldiers, carrying buckets, dashed up to the parapets.
The boiling water splashed down, causing an outburst of agonized wailing.
Several of the rebels nearing the top of the wall toppled down.
These buckets of boiling water were hot enough to make skin bubble off from flesh.
Once the water froze into their ragged wounds, they’d wish they were rather dead.
It was the defenders’ simplest tool. 

But while the rebels here were dealt with, the rebels over there weren’t.
One Xiongnu took advantage of the lapse to leap over the parapet and swing his saber at a young man.
He didn’t even have the chance to scream before he fell over, clutching at his throat.
Colonel Wu roared and pounced towards him.

Their blades clanged together.
Colonel Wu was driven back half a step.
The Xiongnu man bellowed and raised his saber for another blow! He couldn’t dodge! Colonel Wu tried as hard as he could to duck and bring his blade up.
He managed to slash the rebel’s belly.

“Aaaargghh!” The Xiongnu man screamed as he fell.
A number of spears stabbed into him not long after.
In the blink of an eye, a live person turned into a fountain of blood!

“Colonel! Your injury!” A bodyguard yelled. 

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“What’re you yelling for? Attack!” Wu Ling gritted his teeth and, ignoring the burning pain in his arm, burst towards the parapet and started hacking away at the enemy.
But a moment later, he suddenly yelled, “Duck!”

Dozens of projectiles swooshed up from below.
The bodyguard right next to him hadn’t moved out of the way in time and took an arrow to the face.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take his life.
His hysterical wailing was heard by everyone on the wall, sending cold shivers down their spines.
Wu Ling gritted his teeth, reversed his grip on his saber, and put him out of his misery.
The blood that splattered on his blade dripped like searing oil on his heart.

 

Wu Ling clenched his jaw.
He had to endure, endure this wave.
These Xiongnu were even more fearsome than he’d expected.
The four hundred cavalry split into waves and took turns providing cover fire for the soldiers scaling the wall.
Their cover fire hamstrung the defending soldiers, preventing them from using most of their weapons.
All they could do was meet the rebels who made it up the wall in battle again and again.
Thank goodness the rebels’ numbers were few; if they had a few hundred more footsoldiers, the wall would’ve long since changed hands already!

Having fought from dawn up till now, the first batch of civilian men had been swapped out already, and his bodyguards were starting to flag.
If they weren’t rescued that night, could they last another day? 

The rain of arrows stopped.
Wu Ling shouted, “Hurry! To battle!”

But this time, nothing happened.
There weren’t any rebels clambering onto the wall.
The Xiongnu had actually turned tail and left the city, gathering in one place.
What were they up to? Heedless of the risk, Wu Ling craned his neck to get a better look.

“What did you say? The grain’s been robbed?!” Lu Long threw his saber down in a fit of anger, “How could they be robbed? The thirty of you couldn’t fight them off?!”

“They didn’t seem like mountain bandits.
They came too fast, there wasn’t anything we could do!” wheezed the dirty, bedraggled Xiongnu man who’d spent the last two hours riding for his life. 

“Did they burn the supply carts?” Lu Ge questioned coldly.

“They only torched one cart of grain!”

“How many of them were there?”

“Shouldn’t be any more than thirty…” 

“Everyone, assemble! We’re going back!” Lu Ge instantly commanded.

“What? If we leave now, won’t that mean all our fighting was for nothing?” Lu Long asked disbelievingly.
In just one day, they’d lost most of the slaves they’d captured, and over fifty cavalry had gotten injured.
What a waste of effort id’ be If they gave up now!

“They came especially for the provisions! There’s few people, and lots of carts, there’s no way they can get away that quickly.
If we go back now we can seize the grain back!” Lu Ge snapped.

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If they lost their riches, they could always steal more.
But if they lost their foodstuff, they’d lose their ability to wage war.
Lu Ge knew what was more important. 

“We’ll take the shortcut through the valley!” Lu Ge steered his horse around and galloped away.

“Damnit,” Lu Long cursed.
Without delay, he whistled, signaling for the cavalry to close ranks and follow the boss.
They steadily disappeared into the distance like a dark cloud.

“They retreated? Why would they retreat?” Wu Ling, standing on the wall, incredulously watched the Xiongnu cavalry leave.
Why would they leave when they had such a good opportunity before them? Did they not want Gaodu anymore? Had the Eastern Xiongnu Division sent troops?

After blanking out for a while, the pain in his shoulder called Wu Ling back to his senses, “Hurry and find Magistrate Guo, get some healers and start saving people!” 

Unable to spare another thought for the rebels, Wu Ling strode down from the walls.

※

 

Squatting behind a large rock, bow in hand, Sun Jiao stared intently at the narrow valley below.
This was the “shortcut” that the captain had mentioned.
The entirety of the Liang Estate’s militia laid in wait on the valley’s slopes.
He, as the leader of the archers, was responsible for lighting the pile of wood lying at the valley’s exit.

If only the rebels would take the “shortcut!” 

His heart beating faster and faster, Sun Jiao took a deep breath.
Why hadn’t they come already? Would they really take this road?

Just as he was beginning to waver, a spate of clattering hooves suddenly broke the silence,  turning into a thunderous roar as it got closer.

They came!

Sun Jiao immediately lit his arrow and nocked it.
The scorching flames licked the back of his hand, but he didn’t let go.
Instead, he drew his bow, watching as the cavalry entered the valley.
Almost, just a bit more… now! 

“Shoot!” Sun Jiao let go of the string as he shouted.
Like a comet, the arrow trailed shining embers in its wake.
The nine archers beside him loosed their fire arrows as well.
One after another, they accurately struck the heap of wood at the mouth of the valley.

The dry branches and withered grass had already been covered with oil.
With a boom, the flames surged towards the sky.
The raging conflagration blocked the cavalry’s path.
The rebels were trapped in the narrow valley!