Chapter 52: A resounding victory, what a resounding victory!

When the Liang state soldiers charged down the mountain with battle cries that shook the heavens, the remaining Qiang and Di tribesmen, locked in combat, felt their hearts leap in sheer terror at the murderous sound. Subconsciously, they halted their fighting and rushed to grab their horses and flee.

Once mounted, a hazy thought flashed through their minds simultaneously:
Why are you running when your own reinforcements have arrived?

Yet there was no time to dwell on this thought. It was already past four in the afternoon, and winter days darkened quickly. Coupled with days of continuous, gloomy drizzle, the dim evening light and rising mist made it impossible for them to tell how many Liang soldiers there actually were.

Judging solely by the sound, there seemed to be thousands upon thousands.

Running at the very front was none other than Yang Luo. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, his heart pounding frantically as he whipped his horse’s hindquarters mercilessly.

Only a single thought occupied his mind:
*Oh horse, my good horse, you must run fast; under no circumstances must you stumble. If you carry me out of this danger today, I shall take good care of you for the rest of your days and never let you suffer the misery of servitude again.*

Below the battlefield, the sounds of shouting, screaming, and horse neighing rose in waves.

The piercing stench of blood mixed with the scent of rain hung heavily over Guguan Village. Young Master Yun felt a sudden churning in his stomach, yet at the same time, he instinctively clenched his fists, overwhelmed by an indescribable excitement.

This was true warfare in the age of cold steel—devoid of artillery and firearms, a pure confrontation of flesh, blood, and sheer willpower!

Yun spotted Deng Qiang.

His figure was the smallest on the battlefield, yet he charged ahead of everyone else. He fought like a madman, though fortunately, seven or eight of his soldiers followed closely behind, anchoring themselves firmly on his flanks to provide cover and deflect any unnoticed attacks.

This was what Yun had instructed them to do beforehand.

He knew these recruits would inevitably panic during their first time in battle, but that panic had to be channeled. Ordinary local braves had to stay close to the left, right, and rear of their commander, enabling the commander to pierce directly into enemy formations with pure force.

This formed an instant combat squad. Coupled with the fact that men of the same squad (*shi*) usually trained, lived, and ate together, their strong tacit understanding allowed the squad to coordinate seamlessly.

Stripped of jargon, this approach was a tactic Yun had studied in his university history classes—known as the "three-three system" tactic—which had once played an immensely crucial role on his past world's historical stage.

As a commander, Deng Qiang himself followed closely behind the platoon leader (*doubo*), and the combat squads of three platoon leaders combined into a full tactical combat group.

This minimized friendly fire as much as possible, ensured mutual support among comrades, and prevented anyone from falling into isolation amidst the chaos.

However, this was the first time the local braves were using such a tactic, and the newly recruited commoners had only received a hurried, brief training session from Yun along the way, making their execution rather clumsy.

Especially among the commoner units, where the desire to beat a retreating dog overshadowed tactical awareness, men would often chase too far, become isolated, and end up being counter-killed by desperate enemies.

Still, the overall momentum was firmly in their hands.

The only problem was that the Qiang and Di tribesmen were skilled riders; once they got on their horses and fled, they were truly hard to catch.

Growing anxious, Yun shouted at the top of his lungs, "Deng Qiang, what the hell is the use of you swinging a sabre like that? Move aside and let the long-blade infantry through!"

Alas, the din of the battlefield was too loud, and Yun and his men were positioned on a small hill. His youthful voice was easily swallowed up, and Deng Qiang could not hear him at all.

Yun stamped his feet in frustration.

"Uncle Jiang, help me shout!"

It was Li Fu’s first time witnessing such a bloody battlefield charge firsthand, and he was currently clutching his stomach and vomiting violently, performing even worse than Yun.

Jiang Guang and the roughly twenty men left behind by Uncle Jiang were clad in light armor, but they had not entered the fray. They served as professional bodyguards and personal guards, not meant to be deployed lightly.

Hearing Yun’s order, Jiang Guang did not hesitate. He and his men shouted in unison, "Deng Qiang, what the hell is the use of you swinging a sabre like that? Move aside and let the long-blade infantry through!"

*Wait, no…* Yun instinctively turned to look at Jiang Guang. *Why did you copy it word for word? Couldn't you have condensed the sentence? Just shouting for Deng Qiang to step aside would have been enough!*

With his eyes bloodshot and breath coming in ragged gasps, Deng Qiang was oblivious to everything. The lingering drizzle had long since soaked his light armor, but he felt no cold; instead, waves of heat steamed upward from his hair.

He had stopped thinking entirely, until the distant shout finally reached his ears.

*Long-blade infantry.*

Abruptly changing direction, Deng Qiang snatched the long blade from one of the infantrymen, shoving his own sabre into the man's hands in return.

*Too heavy!*

With veins bulging and eyes wide, Deng Qiang roared as he raised the heavy blade and swung it fiercely toward a galloping horse ahead. Rain and blood had long since blurred his vision, making it impossible to see who was riding the horse.

His blade seemed to cleave through the rain, slicing violently through the leg of one horse before glancing off the next. As the horse's legs were severed, it let out a piercing neigh and crashed heavily to the ground. Searing horse blood mixed with mud splattered in all directions, and Deng Qiang breathed heavily, sounding like a broken bellows.

Having exhausted all his strength in that single strike, the long blade flew out of his hand. The momentum dragged his body along with it, and Deng Qiang collapsed with a thud into the muddy water. He half-closed his eyes beneath the gloomy sky and heard the local braves roaring as they leaped past him. He tried to get up, but a strange, floating sensation paralyzed his limbs.

"Squad leader! Squad leader! Snap out of it!"

Deng Qiang blinked. The floating sensation vanished instantly, and he dropped heavily back to earth, as if returning to the realm of the living.

"What is it?" Deng Qiang recognized the man; it was his soldier, Feng Sheng.

Yun had told them to treat their teammates like brothers, and Deng Qiang had listened very carefully. Therefore, he knew the stories of all nine men under his command and even the names of their family members.

Feng Sheng, much older than Deng Qiang, wiped his filthy hair and grinned fiercely. "Squad leader, we won! A resounding victory! And do you know whose horse you chopped down with that last throw of the blade?

"That... that chieftain of the White-Horse Di! He was about to get away, but you charged too fast, and your flying blade took down his horse! Squad leader, we've rendered a massive service!"

With Feng Sheng's assistance, Deng Qiang finally managed to sit up amidst the mud and gore.

Looking around, his first question was about the lord: "Is the lord alright? Is he safe?" His second question concerned his squad: "What about our squad? Any casualties?"

Feng Sheng grinned from ear to ear, his heart overflowing with warmth.

Earlier, although Deng Qiang had beaten them into submission and treated them well, he was merely a half-grown youth, while they were all older than him, which had left a lingering awkwardness in their hearts. But today, that awkwardness vanished completely, replaced by utter submission.

Having shared a battlefield, they now shared a bond forged in blood.

"He's fine. The lord has come down from the hill under Uncle Jiang's protection. As for our squad, two men are injured, but they're minor wounds. Nothing serious."

Deng Qiang started to speak again, only to see Yun walking over. The boy's young face was slightly pale from the chill, but he gave Deng Qiang’s light armor a pat. "Value your life a bit more next time. If you died, Uncle Li would have my head when he gets back. Get up; it's getting dark. Let's head into Guguan Village for dinner."

Deng Qiang chuckled.

Supported by Feng Sheng, he slowly rose to his feet and gazed around. The battle was indeed over.

The Qiang and Di tribesmen who could run had already escaped. Once they crossed the border out of Liang Province, it would be difficult to pursue them—at least not right now. Besides, one should not press a desperate foe too hard; for their small force to stumble into such a victory was already a remarkable achievement.

Now, the braves and commoners were scouring the area around the Qiang and Di bodies, primarily checking for anyone feigning death. Those with mortal wounds who still had a breath left were given a quick release, while the lightly wounded were bound up as prisoners.

Out of caution, every single corpse received another stab to ensure they were thoroughly dead before being piled outside Guguan Village. The prisoners were trussed up tightly with whatever materials were at hand, stripped of all weapons and clothes to prevent them from concealing anything, and tossed into a dilapidated house in the village guarded by a dozen men.

That way, even if they wanted to run, they couldn't.

"Everyone, good work. First, clear the battlefield simply. Also, Uncle Jiang, pick a few men to drag some of the dead horses into Guguan Village. We're having horse meat tonight."

They had journeyed all the way from Long County with very little dry rations.

Since they had been fighting in Long County where food supplies were not scarce, and the nearby Lidi-xiatou Village still had substantial grain reserves, the soldiers had only carried two days' worth of dry rations themselves, leaving the supply train quite small.

Yet dry rations were unpalatable—hard, sun-dried steamed bread that had to be softened with saliva bit by bit before swallowing, alongside roasted beans that were hard as rocks. Still, when campaigning in the field, one could not afford to be picky about taste.

With their carried rations nearly gone and so many dead horses available today, it would be a waste not to eat them.

Tonight, Guguan Village was as quiet as a deserted settlement.

Yun noticed this as soon as he entered. The entire village was desolate, most of the dwellings being crude lean-tos far worse than the thatched cottages of Lidi-xiatou Village. These shacks were not only small, filthy, and chaotic, but most were built half-underground like cellars.

After searching for a long time, Uncle Jiang and the others finally found the mud-and-stone house where Yang Luo and his men had reluctantly stayed, letting Yun and Li Fu go inside first to change into dry clothes to avoid falling ill from the dampness.

Outside, clusters of campfires flickered to life across Guguan Village.

The dead horses dragged from the battlefield were gutted, their hides stripped off, and the meat immediately set to roast or stew.

Horse meat had coarser fibers and a somewhat rough texture.

Yet in this era, having meat to eat was the greatest luxury, and none of the braves and commoners failed to drool at the sight.

The passion of battle had faded, replaced by the joy of eating meat and boasting about how brave they had been and how many enemies they had slain.

Yun had changed into dry clothes, holding a piece of roasted horse meat and eating slowly. Before him, squad by squad, the men sat and laughed as they ate.

At the sight of Yun, they quieted down slightly, but when Yun flashed a grin and joined in their meal, the lively chatter and horseplay resumed.

Sitting next to Deng Qiang, Yun ate for a while before suddenly remarking, "The rain has finally stopped. Fortune truly favors us." After a moment, he added, "Uncle Jiang, are there any people left in this village? Go check it out. If there are any survivors, invite them to come eat horse meat with us; we have far too many dead horses to finish ourselves."

Beyond checking the village, Yun was also wary of any stray Qiang or Di soldiers who might have hidden themselves away in those dark, filthy lean-tos.