SFS Chapter 797 The War of Founding the Nation (7)
Chapter 797 The War of Founding the Nation (7)
On the command platform.
Zhuge Liang's feather fan had long since disappeared, its whereabouts unknown, and in its place was a sword hilt that had never been seen before.
The hand that used to wave a fan was now gripping the sword hilt tightly, his eyes fixed on the battlefield ahead, his expression more solemn than ever before.
Guan Xing followed his gaze and discovered that the people being stared at by Zhuge Liang were actually the Nanman soldiers.
Seventy to eighty thousand Nanzhong barbarian soldiers, led by Yong Kai, Zhu Bao, Meng Huo, and others, have fully integrated into the battlefield and are fighting against the Xianbei cavalry.
With the battle at this point, the two sides are already intertwined, rendering the cavalry useless. After all, while a charge could hit the enemy, it could also hit its own men. Even the most ruthless butcher would be hesitant when facing his own people and wouldn't be able to strike with the same ferocity as when facing the enemy.
Moreover, if they push their own people too far, they might mutiny on the spot and immediately turn against the enemy.
Therefore, although the Wei cavalry had many men, they dared not charge freely, and the Xianbei cavalry did the same. As a result, these cavalrymen were naturally forced to dismount and become infantry.
Wearing the bright armor given to him by Liu Shan, Yong Kai wielded a large ringed sword and charged through the formation like a bulldozer, quickly reaching the Xianbei leader Budugen.
Budugen was also a man of exceptional martial prowess. Seeing Yong Kai charging towards him, he advanced instead of retreating, and after exchanging a blow with Yong Kai, he cursed, "Damn barbarian! The Han and Wei dynasties are fighting for the throne, why are you blindly following along?"
The word "barbarian" struck a nerve with Yong Kai, who immediately retorted, "You're the barbarian! Your whole family are barbarians! My ancestor was Yong Chi, the Marquis of Shifang, who helped Emperor Gaozu establish the Han dynasty. I'm a pure-blooded Han Chinese, a legitimate descendant of meritorious officials. What's wrong with following the Han emperor?"
"But you, Budugen, what are you doing in Nanyang instead of herding sheep on the grasslands? No, you northerners should call you a bearded man."
These words also struck a nerve with Budugen, who immediately retorted, "Do you think I came willingly? I was forced into it!"
He really didn't want to come. As the grandson of Tan Shihuai, the leader of the Xianbei, he also wanted to unify the Xianbei and become the new master of the grasslands. However, he encountered Kebineng, his destined enemy, and was suppressed for decades.
Some time ago, Kebineng was killed, and his forces instantly split into countless small tribes. It was the perfect time to launch a swift attack and annex them one by one. Unfortunately, besides Kebineng, his enemy was the even more powerful Cao Wei.
Cao Wei wanted to fight a decisive battle against the pseudo-Han. What could he do if he was asked to lead the Xianbei cavalry into the battle? If he dared to refuse, he would immediately become the next Kebineng.
He's probably not even as good as Kebineng.
It should be noted that Kebineng had more than 100,000 troops, which was enough to give him the right to confront Cao Wei head-on. However, under Kebineng's suppression, his power continued to shrink, and his troops were reduced to only 30,000 to 40,000. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly refuse Cao Wei?
If he dares to refuse, Cao Wei will dare to delay the decisive battle with the pseudo-Han and come to destroy him first.
In front of the Han people, the Hu people had no prestige whatsoever, whether they were Xianbei or Xiongnu.
Budugen became increasingly angry after Yong Kai exposed his true feelings, but dared not offend Cao Wei. He could only channel his anger into morale, swinging his broadsword and slashing at Yong Kai repeatedly, hoping that after helping Cao Wei win, Cao Pi would be merciful and grant Kebineng's territory to him, even if it was only half.
If you can't beat Cao Wei, join Cao Wei. No problem.
Yong Kai was also working desperately, trying to prove to Liu Bei the Yong family's loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Although the Yong family were the founding dukes and marquises of the Han Dynasty, their reputation among dukes and marquises was not good, and could even be described as particularly bad. When people mentioned the Marquis of Shifang, they would define him as the mortal enemy of Emperor Gaozu, after all, the Yong family patriarch had betrayed Liu Bang quite a bit back then.
Therefore, Yong Kai wanted to change the image of his family, and the way to do so was to kill the enemy. He had no psychological pressure in killing Wei soldiers, and even less psychological pressure in killing Xianbei cavalry. You know, it was a broad road for Han people to gain military merit from the Hu people!
Yong Kai and Budugen each had their own agendas, both wanting to use the other's head as a stepping stone to their own advancement, so they went for the kill right from the start.
After fighting for twenty or thirty rounds, Yong Kai, with the slight advantage of his sturdy armor, successfully cut Budugen to the ground and then swung his long sword down at Budugen's head.
Knowing he was no match for the Han, Budugen quickly begged for mercy, saying, "General, spare my life! We are all of different races, there's no need for us to risk our lives for the Han people."
Without hesitation, Yong Kai continued to exert force, severing Budugen's head before kicking it away. He then cursed, "I'll say it again, I'm Han... Han... pureblood..."
After saying that, he swung his sword and killed the next person, shouting as he killed, "You Xianbei bastards, your leader has been killed, what are you barbarians doing serving Cao Wei?"
If these words were to get out, they would definitely affect the morale of the Xianbei army. However, his Central Plains Mandarin accent was too heavy, and the Xianbei soldiers, unlike Budugen, had not specifically studied Central Plains Mandarin, so they couldn't understand it at all.
If you can't understand, you can't communicate; if you can't communicate, you can't do anything else; you can only keep killing.
In addition to the Xianbei, Cao Pi also brought over troops from the Xiongnu, Qiang, Jie, and Di tribes to the front lines. These foreign tribes would have been unstable factors in the rear, but they became a fighting force when brought to the front. This not only strengthened Cao Pi's own power but also allowed him to use the Han army to weaken the influence of these foreign tribes and stabilize Cao Wei's borders. It was a win-win situation.
Therefore, the Five Barbarian tribes who later caused chaos in China all became Cao Wei's henchmen at this time, and like Budugen, they all threw themselves into the battlefield. Among them, the most outstanding performer was Liu Bao, the Left Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu.
The Southern Xiongnu Chanyu was Huchuquan, Liu Bao's uncle. However, Huchuquan's repeated surrenders and rebellions angered Cao Cao, who placed him under house arrest in Ye City. He died of illness in the twenty-first year of Jian'an.
After Cao Cao placed Huchuquan under house arrest, he divided the Southern Xiongnu into five tribes, each led by a general surnamed Liu, and appointed a Han Chinese Sima to supervise them, thus continuously weakening their power.
For this expedition, Cao Pi promised Liu Bao the following benefit: if they won, Liu Bao would become the new Xiongnu Chanyu and take full control of the five Xiongnu tribes.
Therefore, Liu Bao performed with great effort, charging left and right through the formation as if it were empty, and then he bumped into Liu Feng's arms.
Upon seeing the large banner bearing the character "Liu" behind Liu Bao, Liu Feng reacted immediately, leading his troops out to charge and shouting, "You traitor, don't be so arrogant! You, a mere Xiongnu, dare to bear the surname Liu?"
Liu Bao also brandished his sword to meet him and retorted sarcastically, "What does it matter to you if my surname is Liu? My ancestor was a princess of the Han Dynasty, so what if my surname is Liu? On the contrary, your banner has both Liu and Zhao on it. If I'm not mistaken, you are King Zhao Liu Feng, no, you should be called Kou Feng. So what if I am a Xiongnu? Even if I am a Xiongnu, I still have Liu blood flowing in my veins. And you, what does your blood have to do with the Liu family?"
These words struck a nerve with Liu Feng, who immediately went berserk and abandoned his defense to launch a fierce attack on Liu Bao. After a few moves, Liu Bao could no longer withstand the onslaught.
It should be noted that Liu Feng was one of the few fierce generals among the second generation of the Han Dynasty. Only a handful of people, such as Guan Ping, Zhang Bao, and Xia Tong, could stand up to him. Liu Bao was no match for him in terms of martial prowess.
After being beaten several times in a row, Liu Bao realized he had been too sharp-tongued and quickly begged for mercy, saying, "Your Highness, calm down. I was just joking. Please don't take it seriously."
Liu Feng wouldn't listen to a word. Upon hearing this, he swung his long sword down fiercely and roared, "You bastard, die!"
Liu Bao was so frightened that he hurriedly raised his knife to block, but Liu Feng used too much force and his weapon was too sharp. With one stroke, he cut the hilt of Liu Bao's knife in two. Then, the blade continued its momentum and slashed down at Liu Bao's cheek, instantly splitting the Southern Xiongnu Left Wise King in two.