Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 24: Going into Battle

The 2nd day of the 12th month, Year 30 of the Republic December 24, 1071, in the Calendar of Light The nearly two-month wait had finally paid off. Early that morning, Hamuha, who had been sent out on reconnaissance, ran back to the village and reported that the target had appeared. That Qunrong youth was indeed quite fast and possessed remarkable stamina. He had covered more than thirty li of mountain trails through the snow in just one night. This gave the Yiren army, lying in ambush, at least half a day’s advance warning. Yang Gudai, who had been on edge for dozens of days, finally breathed a sigh of relief—as long as he could find an opponent, he was confident he could defeat them—everyone here was just waiting to take their frustration out on the enemy. “Over thirty barbarians and a hundred giant wolves,” Yang Gudai said through gritted teeth. “We have a hundred men. Let’s throw our full force at them and wipe them out before nightfall!” The Qian Headquarters deployed forty men this time, with the 1st and 8th Armored Units each contributing thirty—making exactly one hundred. The Han people liked to divide their forces into combat and auxiliary troops; this time, forty men had come under the designation of auxiliary troops. But in reality, most of the Di Yi auxiliary troops from Pai Jia Village were equipped identically—with long axes and flexible hunting bows; that was all. For the Di Yi slave soldiers, the distinction between combat troops and auxiliary troops was the same as that between able-bodied men and semi-able-bodied men. Of the hundred men on this expedition, only Hamuha was a semi-able-bodied man; therefore, in Yang Gudai’s eyes, everyone was a combat soldier. As for armor, most of them didn’t even have a complete set of clothing. This was also a key reason why Yang Gudai sent only eight armored men on the reconnaissance mission—Ou Yang had issued a new set of cotton garments to each Di Yi soldier who had participated in the previous campaign. Without this, forcing men to crouch in the snowy wilderness for so many days would not be reconnaissance, but murder. Yang Gudai’s purpose in taking the initiative was simple—his mission was to capture at least one suitable prisoner for interrogation. If the enemy discovered that the Di-Qiang village had already been overrun, they would most likely turn tail and flee—they numbered only about thirty. While those giant wolves might have some use in open-field combat, treating them as combat assets in an assault on a fortified settlement would be nothing short of a joke. Tong Zhongjian, however, had some reservations. He had previously sent five men from his unit on a reconnaissance mission, but only Hamuha had returned. Moreover, the young man from the Quanrong tribe had been running through the wilderness all night; after reporting on the enemy situation, he had gone down to drink a bowl of meat soup and had just fallen asleep. If they launched a proactive attack, he clearly wouldn’t be able to keep up with the group. As it stood, he had only twenty-five men at his disposal, and each unit had to leave a few behind to protect the village; it was practically impossible for all one hundred men to go on the offensive. Unlike Yang Gudai, his mission this time was to assist in combat. Whether Yang Gudai could actually complete his mission was not his concern. If they launched a field attack and suffered too many casualties, he was terrified he wouldn’t be able to answer to Ou Yang. Moreover, in such cold weather and without a doctor, being wounded was tantamount to death. Last time, Ouyang had taken the initiative to propose treating all the seriously wounded. Before he left, his wife had repeatedly warned him: “Don’t expect civilians to act like Han Chinese just because they’ve been promoted; you must follow Ou Yang’s lead at all costs.” Therefore, Tong Zhongjian did not want his actions to diverge from Ou Yang’s intentions. “We’ll deploy no more than eighty men,” Tong Zhongjian said. “If we don’t leave a garrison to guard the village, and if we fail to block the enemy and let them raid our base, I certainly don’t want to have to turn back and attack the fortress walls.” The commander sent by Liu Chenyong added, “How much of a combat advantage will we have that way? We have no cavalry—what chance do we stand against the highly mobile Giant Wolves in open combat?” Yang Gudai glared at them both in anger; it was clear from their words and tone that they had no desire to go out and fight in the open. But without an open-field battle, the chances of completing the primary mission were slim. Although he had been entrusted with a crucial mission by Huang Qianzong, his status was, after all, nothing more than that of a slave. He had very little authority over the other two commanders, especially Tong Zhongjian. Yang Gudai had no choice but to invoke their own platoon commanders to pressure them: “This isn’t just about Huang Qianzong! It’s also different from last time—that caravan isn’t made up of local Shengdi whose lives are worthless! If the Empire really goes to war with those so-called Orcs, killing all thirty-odd people would earn at least fifteen merit points. Do you think Platoon Commanders Liu and Ou would let you let so many merit points slip away?” Tong Zhongjian and the commander of the 1st Unit exchanged glances: ‘That does make sense.’ “We’ve been resting and regaining our strength for many days, while they’ve traveled a long way.” Seeing the two men fall silent, Yang Gudai continued, “Those wolves are indeed a nuisance, but who among us hasn’t shot dozens of those beasts? Besides, their wolves are pulling carts—they’re not demon wolves. No matter how strong they are, they can only charge once at most. What’s there to be afraid of?” Tong Zhongjian recalled how Ou Yang had been eager to go hunting as soon as he took office; before this sortie, he had even lent him his chain mail. Clearly, Ou Yang’s thirst for glory was considerable. If they didn’t take the initiative to strike, there was a good chance he would have simply led his men here to eat rations for over a month—nearly two—without ever going on a single hunt. That would be hard to explain to both Ou Yang and his men. So, in the end, he had no choice but to nod in agreement. Once the three non-Han commanders reached an agreement, the rest was straightforward. All were veteran hunters from bitterly cold regions who had seen plenty of battle. They quickly devised a simple battle plan—there were wolves across the way, and Hamuha reported spotting well-hidden scouts from over a li away. So an ambush was out of the question; they had no choice but to engage head-on. Yang Gudai left ten auxiliary soldiers from the Thousand-Man Headquarters behind. Their first task was to guard the village and tend to Hamuha, who was exhausted to the point of collapse. Their second was to wait for the other scouts to return—logically, they should be back within the next few days. Having been away for so long, they would certainly need a good rest once they returned. Third, they needed to boil water and prepare meat broth and congee. Yang Gudai shared Tong Zhongjian’s concerns. He hoped that after the battle, they could at least rescue the lightly wounded—everyone knew how vital hot water and meat broth were for the wounded struggling in the biting cold. In total, eighty-five men were deployed. Yang Gudai chose the exit of a forest path ten li from the village as the battlefield. There was a very level clearing there; if a pack of wolves attempted to flank them, they could spot them from a distance. There was another advantage to fighting here: the orc caravan clearly had no idea that the Di-Qiang village had already fallen and that the lion and his men had been wiped out; otherwise, they wouldn’t have come back. By intercepting them midway, the orcs might mistake this encounter for a raid by a local Sheng Yi tribe and thus underestimate their opponents. Furthermore, if they dare not keep that so-called prince waiting too long, they’ll have to launch a proactive attack to clear the passage as quickly as possible. This would give our side a significant defensive advantage. Yang Gudai led thirty men from the Thousand-Man Headquarters and about thirty from the First Company to form a battle line. Tong Zhongjian led twenty-five men from the Eighth Company to provide fire support and serve as a reserve force. Just before departure, Ou Yang’s order from SF Express finally arrived in full. As a result, the men Tong Zhongjian brought along were exceptionally well-equipped—all twenty combatants carried a one-shi bow, equipped with twelve light arrows and twelve heavy arrows. Such gear was considered luxurious even among the Di Yi slave soldiers. Yang Gudai believed that Tong Zhongjian’s men could seize the opportunity to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy in the shortest possible time—the marksmanship of the Wukeshan people in the 8th Company was renowned throughout Anxi Garrison, and he had come along this time as well. “Hurry up and wipe them out! Tonight we’ll feast on wolf meat!” Yang Gudai bellowed, rallying the entire army: “Tomorrow we’ll go home for the New Year!”