"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill the Xiongnu dogs! Kill the Xiongnu dogs!"
"Xiongnu dogs, you've wronged us and gone too far! Today, this hatred will be avenged!"
"We'll fight the Xiongnu dogs to the death! Kill! Charge!"
The Xiongnu Left Great Commander Qi Wuhan and his troops had been cautious, but they still fell into a trap while passing through a maple forest.
"If the enemy brings their troops across the water to fight, do not meet them at the water's edge. Wait until they are halfway across, their formation unsettled, and their flanks disconnected. Then attack, and victory is assured."
Whether it was attacking them mid-crossing or midway, the strategy was to use the terrain and geographical features to launch a surprise attack on the enemy, utilizing mountains, water, vegetation, and anything else that could be used.
This tactic was even more crucial when outnumbered and outmatched.
Maple forests, with their sparse trees, were not ideal for setting up ambushes. However, the skilled attacker moves above the heavens, and the skilled defender hides beneath the earth. As Qi Wuhan and his more than five thousand subordinates swaggered through the maple forest, those with agile bodies, hidden amongst the dense branches, drew their bows and loosed arrows. Those without bows and arrows hurled stones. A rain of arrows and stones rained down on the Xiongnu army, causing them to fall from their horses, their shouts and neighs erupting into chaos.
With arrows and stones flying in unison, the Xiongnu army was thrown into disarray as they fell from their horses. Before they could recover, countless "earth people" emerged from beneath the ground.
These "earth people" were slaves hidden deep underground, their bodies concealed by mud and grass to achieve the effect of a surprise attack and catch the enemy unprepared.
The sparse maple trees made it impossible to deploy a large number of ambushing soldiers, so Zhou Fugui and Ye Guanting devised this ingenious plan to hide underground.
The "earth people" pushed aside the grass and mud that concealed them and leaped or crawled out from the ground like Tu Xing Sun, charging wildly at the Xiongnu soldiers. Countless "earth people" raised their great sabers, and as they chopped down, screams and battle cries echoed through the sky.
Many other "earth people" used grappling hooks or wooden staffs to strike the Xiongnu soldiers' ankles, eliciting cries of pain.
The Xiongnu army descended into chaos. Some fled in panic, while many were ensnared by grappling hooks or had their horses tripped, sending many cavalrymen crashing to the ground. They were then overwhelmed by a barrage of blades, their screams filling the air. The slave archers also inflicted significant damage, having already shot down countless Xiongnu soldiers. The "earth people" who had infiltrated the enemy ranks engaged in fierce combat with the Xiongnu soldiers.
The Xiongnu generals and soldiers at the front or rear, who had not yet been attacked, could still observe the situation. They rallied their elite troops and charged towards the center, intending to provide aid. However, the Xiongnu soldiers in the center had also suffered many casualties, and the center was already on the verge of collapse.
Qi Wuhan's troops were ambushed in the maple forest. Qi Wuhan was so terrified that he almost fell from his horse, his face ashen and his body trembling, rendering him incapable of command. However, the Xiongnu vanguard general, Sador, was experienced. Seeing that the ambushing slave army was not large, he rallied over a hundred fierce cavalrymen and charged back. Upon reaching Qi Wuhan, he raised his saber and shouted, "The rebels are feigning strength! Their numbers are not great, do not panic! Cavalry on the outside, archers on the inside! Hold your formation and charge out of the forest!"
Sador, a veteran of many battles, knew that the slave army was merely using the maple forest for a surprise attack. Therefore, as long as they could break out of the forest, the slave army would lose its advantage, and the Xiongnu army might even turn the tide. This was because the Xiongnu army was numerically superior, and most of the slave army were infantry, while the Xiongnu army was primarily cavalry.
The advantage of cavalry was that in open terrain, they were unstoppable, whether in battle or in retreat.
Furthermore, at this moment, retreating or scattering would only lead to greater defeat. Therefore, Sador's command was quite appropriate at this critical juncture.
Under Sador's command, countless Xiongnu cavalry charged forward, forming circles on the outer perimeter, with Xiongnu archers or dismounted soldiers within the circles.
The outer Xiongnu cavalry frantically slashed at the charging slave army. Even if they died or were knocked from their horses, their mounts, whether dead or alive, formed barriers. Within the circles, the Xiongnu archers fired outwards desperately, accuracy no longer a concern, as long as the arrows were launched.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The slave army desperately charged, impacting the Xiongnu formations, only to be hacked down or shot by the Xiongnu cavalry or the archers within the circles.
Countless slaves emerged from their hiding places and surged towards the Xiongnu army. The Xiongnu, after the initial chaos, quickly stabilized their ranks and began to organize a counterattack.
The Xiongnu army's archery was exceptionally accurate. During the counterattack, they felled ranks of charging slave soldiers.
Shouts and battle cries erupted from both sides as they fought fiercely.
The Xiongnu soldiers formed a circle, back to back, creating an arrow-encircled perimeter, with the bodies of fallen slaves at its edge.
Some slave soldiers who braved the Xiongnu arrow storm and managed to reach the inner circle were brutally cut down by the Xiongnu. Those who fell but were not yet dead were trampled to death by the Xiongnu horses.
However, Sador only considered the outside and not the inside, or perhaps at this moment of chaos, he had no time to attend to the interior.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill the Xiongnu dogs! Kill the Xiongnu dogs!"
The hundreds of slaves who had previously "surrendered" suddenly seized the opportunity to rise up, wielding various crude weapons and charging towards the central army of Qi Wuhan and Sador. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they charged recklessly, knowing that if Qi Wuhan and Sador's central army was broken, the Xiongnu army would collapse.
A fierce Xiongnu warrior, though stabbed in the belly, was not yet dead. He was propped up by two slaves, who carried him as he directed the slave army's charge.
"The slaves indeed resorted to treachery!" The Xiongnu commander, Qi Wuhan, spat out a mouthful of blood upon seeing this, cursed, and fell from his horse. His subordinates rushed to his aid.
The slave army, attacking from both within and without, threw the Xiongnu army, which had just gained an advantage, into renewed chaos. The Xiongnu now had to deal with the slave army charging from the outside and the rebelling slaves from within.
The Xiongnu army instantly lost its advantage, but they still outnumbered the enemy. The two sides fought to a near stalemate, resulting in a deadlock.
"Break out! Break out!" Sador, his eyes bloodshot, chopped down a charging slave and shouted loudly, "Charge!"
Under Sador's loud command, several fierce Xiongnu generals, heavily armored and wielding iron shields to protect their faces, led dozens of elite soldiers and charged forward through the arrow rain.
These dozens of Xiongnu generals carved a bloody path through the slave army like a boat cutting through waves. The Xiongnu defensive perimeter slowly began to shift in this direction, moving towards the edge of the maple forest, on the verge of breaking through the encirclement.
The Left Great Commander Qi Wuhan, his face now pale and his body weak, was propped on his horse by a strong guard and charged towards the outside of the maple forest.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill the Xiongnu dogs! Kill the Xiongnu dogs!"
Along the way, the slave soldiers, one after another, intercepted the Xiongnu attempting to escape the maple forest. Even in death, they showed no fear, like moths flying into a flame.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance. The more severe the oppression, the fiercer the resistance. For a long time, the Xiongnu's cruelty towards their slaves had instilled deep hatred in the hearts of the enslaved. Now that they had an opportunity for revenge, why would they not fight with all their might? Why would they not resist bravely? At this moment, what was there to fear in death?
Furthermore, if the slaves failed to resist the brutal Xiongnu, they would all die, and their deaths would be excruciating.
The Xiongnu army was numerous, and the vast grasslands were a harsh environment. People who grew up in such places possessed an innate fierceness, whether men, women, old, or young. Therefore, the Xiongnu army fought desperately against the slave army while simultaneously trying to escape the maple forest. Along the way, blood flowed like a river, and bodies lay scattered everywhere.
There were Xiongnu bodies and slave bodies, tangled together, their flesh and blood indistinguishable. The scene was extremely tragic.
"Warriors, hurry! We're almost out! Kill! Kill... Ah?"
Sador, covered in blood, finally led his troops to the edge of the maple forest. As he raised his saber and shouted, he suddenly saw dust rising in the distance under the setting sun. He froze, his words cut off as if by a blade.
"Boom... Boom... Boom..."
"Wuwu... Wuwu... Wuwu..."
The drums beat incessantly, and the horns blared. A valiant general, clad in a black cloak and wearing black armor, holding a sharp long spear, charged forward on horseback amidst the fading sunlight, leading five hundred elite cavalry towards the Xiongnu army.
Although the cavalry charging towards the Xiongnu army numbered only a little over five hundred, the dust rose behind them, darkening the sky. Behind them was a small hill, and beyond the hill, dust billowed, and the sound of dense hooves could be heard. It was clear that a large cavalry force was approaching.
This was not the force of a few hundred men! It was clearly a formation that required tens of thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of men... Who had reported the false intelligence?
The dense sound of hooves pounded the ground like thunder, striking the hearts of every Xiongnu soldier, making their bones chill. The Xiongnu were immediately thrown into panic, cursing inwardly while their morale plummeted.
Panic in the army was contagious. If one person wanted to flee or surrender, it would infect the second, third, and fourth, leading to a total rout.
Once the morale of an army collapsed, a great rout would ensue, and even the fierce Xiongnu could not escape this fate.
Although the Xiongnu army had not yet completely collapsed, they were not far from it.
Some Xiongnu wanted to resist, others wanted to flee, and some simply wished to kneel and beg for mercy to save their lives.
If they died, their wives and children in the tents, along with their cattle, sheep, and other possessions, would belong to others.