Chapter Ninety-Two: The Battle at the Boundary Bridge, Part Six: A Contest of Wits and Courage

Nature did its best to veil the traces of blood, yet it could not conceal the litter of carnage and the corpses.

Some time had already passed since the battle here.

A company had come to this place.

It was not many in number: only several dozen heavy crossbows and a little over a hundred men with halberds.

They were utterly at ease, not at all like men upon a brutal and bloody battlefield, but rather as though they were out on a spring outing in the countryside.

Protected in the center was a man in bright, gleaming golden armor. Handsome in countenance and imposing in bearing, he was accompanied by two middle-aged scholars and two armored generals, one older and one younger. The five of them all wore expressions of relaxed delight.

“Hahaha! Who would have thought that the famed White Horse Cavalry of the northern frontier would prove so vulnerable? Gongsun Zan is truly a useless man!”

“Rather than say Gongsun Zan is incompetent, my lord, it would be more accurate to say that General Qu Yi’s command is so steady and his deployment of troops so godlike that he has won this great victory,” Ju Shou said.

“Mm.” Yuan Shao’s face was bright with pleasure. “Yan Liang and Wen Chou are brave enough, but in the end they lack the talent to command armies in battle. They may serve as generals, but not as commanders. Among those in my army who are skilled at war, there are only Gao, Zhang, Qu, and you, Chunyu Qiong. From what I see now, Qu Yi may stand foremost among them.”

“Yes, yes, yes...” Chunyu Qiong replied with a fawning smile.

“Congratulations, my lord, on gaining such a great general. It will not be long before the lands of Hebei are pacified!” Guo Tu added cheerfully.

Not long after, a scout galloped back from the front. “My lord, General Qu Yi has won a great victory and has driven Gongsun Zan’s army entirely to the east of Jieshi Bridge. Generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou are now pursuing them.”

“Good!”

They had ridden for quite some time, and Yuan Shao himself was not greatly troubled by it, but the two advisers were finding their bodies rather unable to endure it. Now that they heard the front was secure, the party dismounted, removed their saddles, and found a low wall where they could rest for a while beneath the thick shade.

“It has been some time since we last met. Xia’er has grown even more refined.”

“Thank you for your praise, my lord.”

“Still, warfare is terribly dangerous. You should come less often in the future.”

“Thank you for your concern, my lord. But in these chaotic times, where can one truly be safe? Until the realm is unified and the Han house is restored, those of us who live in this age should cast life and death aside. How could we avoid danger merely because it is dangerous?”

“Hahaha, good!” Yuan Shao laughed. Guo Tu and Ju Shou both cast admiring glances at Chunyu Xia, while Chunyu Qiong looked so pleased with himself that his face had turned red, as though he had drunk immortal wine.

“However,” Yuan Shao went on, changing tone, “if anyone else said those words, I would surely reward them. But if you, Chunyu Xia, say them, I cannot.”

“How old are you this year?”

“Replying to my lord, I have just reached the age of twenty-three.”

“That is not young,” Yuan Shao said, glaring at Chunyu Qiong. “I truly wonder whether Xia’er is really your own flesh and blood. You bring him to the battlefield day after day, and yet at his age you do not even arrange for him to seek a good match?”

“Heh heh heh, my lord, you know as well as anyone that my skill in commanding troops and fighting battles came about only because of Xia’er...”

Yuan Shao shot him a disgusted look, then turned back to Chunyu Xia. “When this battle is over, I’ll personally arrange it for you!”

“My lord!” Chunyu Xia cried anxiously. “Back in the day, the Marquis Champion once said: until the Xiongnu are destroyed, how can one concern oneself with family—”

“Nonsense. You compare yourself to the Marquis Champion?”

The scout’s cry had already drawn everyone’s attention. The halberdiers and crossbowmen resting nearby all sprang to their feet as well, readying their weapons and shifting into alert formation.

Looking toward the source of the cry, they saw a mounted soldier appear on the crest of a grassy slope in the distance. Before he could even shout anything out, an arrow pierced him clean through, and he tumbled from the horse.

Everyone stood stunned. It was Chunyu Xia who first recovered himself. “Crossbowmen, aim at the grassy slope! Halberdiers, spread out, and do not expose the lord!”

In their haste, the troops followed his orders at once. When Yuan Shao and the others looked again toward the top of the slope, panic seized them all.

Cavalry, white horses!

The White Horse Cavalry!

No fewer than a thousand!

Nearly a thousand White Horse Cavalry charged in from afar, finally revealing the divine ferocity with which they had once dominated the northern tribes.

Mounted archery! A storm of arrows across the sky!

The White Horse Cavalry were unmatched in mounted shooting!

Those thousand riders seemed, in the vast battlefield, like dragons returning to the sea—nimble and swift, yet capable of terrifying slaughter.

The cavalry split into two routes of their own accord not far away, circling around Yuan Shao’s force from both sides, clearly intending to encircle them.

As for the crossbowmen Yuan Shao had left by his side, they were nothing like the First Ascenders, who had undergone systematic training. After a scattered volley of bows and crossbows, they had not even managed to take a single hair from a horse.

In the blink of an eye, they were trapped in a tight encirclement, arrows falling like rain.

“Where are Qu Yi and Yan Liang and Wen Chou? Inferior generals have betrayed me!” Yuan Shao roared in fury.

“My lord, my lord, quickly take cover!” Ju Shou stepped forward to shield Yuan Shao.

“My lord, this way!” Guo Tu rushed over in a few quick steps and dragged him toward the earthen wall.

Who could have known—

Crash!

Yuan Shao suddenly hurled his helmet to the ground, then flung Guo Tu aside. “A true man would rather charge forward and die in battle than do something so disgraceful! If I hide behind a wall, who will protect my soldiers?”

At these words, scholars and generals, halberdiers and crossbowmen alike were moved to the core.

“Crossbowmen, aim carefully and fire! One fighter, take a shield and protect the crossbowmen. The rest, keep your guard up. If any enemy breaks in, kill them without mercy!”

“Yes!”

“We are willing to give our lives!”

Thus the three armies fought with all their strength, united in a desperate stand to the death.

“Such fighting spirit. Since when did Yuan Shao have so many elites under his command?” Zhao Yun thought in silent admiration, then spurred his horse forward.

“My lord, the white horse and silver spear!”

Guo Tu had already spotted Zhao Yun racing in from afar and hastily informed Yuan Shao.

“Zhao Zilong?” Yuan Shao was shocked inwardly. This was a man who could match Wen Chou in battle. How was he to resist him now?

The crowd hesitated in panic, utterly at a loss, when suddenly Chunyu Xia charged straight out.

“Xia’er!”

“May I ask if you are General Zhao?”

Amid Chunyu Qiong’s shouts, Chunyu Xia ran beyond the formation and called out to Zhao Yun, who was riding in on a flying horse.

“It is indeed Zhao Yun. Who are you?”

“I am the close friend of your sworn brother Zhang Yu. I am now serving under Lord Yuan’s command, and I beg you to spare us.”

Hearing that he was Zhang Yu’s friend, Zhao Yun wavered. How could he forget the kindness his sworn brother had shown him?

Yet now he served under Gongsun Zan, and should properly work to ease his lord’s burden...

Seeing his hesitation, Chunyu Xia pressed the advantage. “Look at my side here—there are only so many soldiers. What great person could be among us? How much harm could we possibly do to your army? We are just a small scattered band, swept here by the chaos of war.

In these troubled times, who would willingly raise a blade if not forced to fight for their lives? In the end, we are all pitiful people. If I may not fear making you laugh, though I barely count as a commander of men, I still cannot stomach this bloody slaughter. When the battle line collapsed, I seized the first chance to flee here and hide. I assure you, these men have not stained their hands with much of Gongsun’s blood at all!

If you can spare our lives, we will retreat a little farther and return only when the fighting has truly ended.”

“That is so. After all, it is only living that forces men to such lengths. These hundred-odd men can hardly amount to much. Even that great general from before said that Yuan Shao is more important behind his own lines... This little general does resemble my sworn brother in his refinement,” Zhao Yun mused silently. Then he said to Chunyu Xia, “I will spare you this time. If we meet again, I shall not be so lenient. ...Give my greetings to Yu Lang.”

“Yes!” Chunyu Xia answered happily, smiling like a flower.

Without knowing why, Zhao Yun’s heart gave a sudden twitch. He then wheeled his horse about, spear leveled, just as a White Horse soldier galloped up and cried, “General Zhao, a large force of Yuan troops is charging from the rear. We—”

“Retreat!”