Hua Mulan looked down and suddenly revealed a relieved smile: "Who said Xiang Da Ge'er is just a brute?"
I chuckled and said, "Haven't you been the one doing all the talking?"
Hua Mulan let out a long sigh and said, "He dared to lead 500 men to fight 5,000 men because he has rich theoretical and practical experience. It seems he often did this before."
At this moment, Xiang Yu once again organized his attack formation, and they carried out the back-and-forth charges with ease. One of his guards couldn't help but laugh and say, "Your Majesty, I just heard General Hua's men say that the Xiongnu soldiers are brave and skilled in battle, but it turns out they are nothing special."
Xiang Yu laughed heartily, "We took advantage of their surprise attack. How about this, we give them some time to regroup, shall we?"
The guards laughed arrogantly, "Great!"
Seeing this, Mulan gritted her teeth in anger and said, "A leopard can't change its spots, this brute!"
Chapter 180 An Introduction to Warfare in the Age of Cold Weapons
Xiang Yu pointed his spear at the opposite side and said, "Hey, listen up. You have time to regroup your troops. We'll attack again in a bit. Understand?"
The Xiongnu had never suffered such humiliation. Another barbarian general in the ranks roared in anger, hissing, "All of you, listen to my command! Charge forward and kill them all!"
The Xiongnu soldiers, regaining their composure, finally charged forward, brandishing their swords and spears. Xiang Yu sneered, "No wonder they can't even defeat a woman; they really are a rabble." Xiang Yu's words were not without reason. If it were cavalry against infantry, it would be one thing, but in a cavalry charge, if one side is significantly outnumbered, charging forward so carelessly is indeed something only a fool would do. It's tantamount to handing over one's advantage for nothing. Because in a charge, many soldiers will be running aimlessly, unable to face the enemy, resulting in nothing but pointless attrition in a back-and-forth battle. Xiang Yu may seem reckless, but he is a classic example of strategically underestimating the enemy while tactically overestimating them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to use 30,000 cavalry to launch a large-scale flanking maneuver and utterly defeat Liu Bang's 600,000 troops at the Battle of Pengcheng.
However, the Xiongnu had their own reasons for doing so. They were a people skilled in horsemanship and archery, and they had never suffered such a great loss on horseback. They had reason to believe that if they hadn't been caught off guard, they wouldn't have lost even if it were 500 against 500.
This is the reason why even the best swimmers can drown. Those who drink themselves to death in hospitals are usually the kind of people who can drink without getting drunk, those who drive their cars all the way down the mountain are experienced drivers, and those who die on horseback are the cavalrymen under Jin Wuzhu.
In their next encounter, Xiang Yu's forces once again breached the Xiongnu's defenses. However, while the previous attack was like a sharp knife slicing through water, this time, with the Xiongnu prepared, it was more like a saw cutting through a thin plank. At this point, the battle came down to individual soldier quality. Xiang Yu's guards were handpicked from hundreds of thousands of men, while the enemy consisted of ordinary cavalry. Their skill in battle was relative; some Xiongnu soldiers were even shorter than 1.6 meters…
There's also a matter of mentality involved. As the saying goes, the ruthless fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the suicidal. The Xiongnu were essentially at the top of the food chain; they were indeed fearless. But Xiang Yu's guards didn't care about death at all. Years of warfare had honed their indifference to both their own lives and the lives of their enemies. They were a group of born killing machines—the difference between someone who scrimps and saves hoping to get rich through the lottery and a billionaire who just plays around is completely different.
Although Xiang Yu wasn't wearing his golden armor, he wielded a large spear, swinging and striking, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. His guards, constantly bored, remained the undisputed protagonist amidst the chaos. After circling back and forth several times, a clearing was created in the middle of the Xiongnu lines that had tightly surrounded Xiang Yu's army, like a hot coal thrown into snow, impenetrable to anyone.
Hua Mulan watched for a while longer and couldn't help but sigh, "In terms of bravery, Brother Xiang is indeed the greatest general of all time. If a country has such a fierce general, its morale and combat theories will definitely be different."
I said, "Then why couldn't he beat Bangzi?"
Hua Mulan smiled and said, "Brother Xiang only cares about his own pleasure. If you ask him if he truly cares about the world, I'm afraid even he himself would find it hard to say. However, although Brother Liu fought him for many years and finally won the world, he still lamented, 'Where can I find brave warriors to guard the four directions?' He probably felt the same way about Brother Xiang—he was afraid of being beaten."
I laughed and said, "I didn't expect Sister Mulan to analyze the situation between the two of them so well."
Hua Mulan said somewhat awkwardly, "Our Marshal He is very interested in this history. To use a trendy phrase, he is also a die-hard fan of Brother Xiang. Every time there is a debate, he will definitely bring up his and Brother Liu's examples, and at the end he will make a lot of remarks. I have been fighting under his command since I was a private, and after so many years, I'm tired of hearing about it."
I suddenly realized, "No wonder you always argue with Brother Yu."
Hua Mulan asked in confusion, "What's the connection between these two things?"
"Of course. You were only 17 years old 10 years ago, right? You wouldn't listen to anything adults said. You listened to Brother Yu's heroic deeds every day, so you probably developed a rebellious mentality. Anyway, back then my dad would pull my ear every day to stop me from fighting, otherwise I wouldn't have such good skills."
Hua Mulan was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "You might be right. Although the Tuoba clan, the emperors of our Northern Wei, also established their country through military force, they couldn't fight the Xiongnu with their bravery. Old He lamented every day that the country had no brave generals. Tell me, which soldier wouldn't feel resentful? I probably started to hold a grudge back then."
I said, "Oh dear, this is a family feud between you two. You should ask Teacher Chen to resolve it."
"Teacher Chen?"
"Xuanzang!"
...
Below, Xiang Yu led his guards to spread out in all directions, attacking. His men were already suffering losses, but the situation was still developing in a one-sided manner. The Xiongnu were unable to organize an effective coordinated attack, like a piece of white paper ignited in the center, gradually spreading to the surrounding areas. Xiang Yu, caught up in the heat of battle, suddenly saw one of his men surrounded by more than a dozen Xiongnu in the distance, on the verge of defeat. Seeing that it was too late to rush over, he suddenly jumped off his horse, gripped the center of his spear, took a few steps, and threw it upwards. The pure iron spear twisted in the air with a "whoosh," piercing through the chests of several Xiongnu simultaneously. Its momentum undiminished, it flew for a while longer before suddenly embedding itself in front of us. My horse was startled, leaping high into the air, and I almost fell off. Hua Mulan, quick as a flash, grabbed its reins and chuckled, "Xiao Qiang, you should really learn how to ride."
I chuckled and said, "I'm not used to riding with stirrups."
The guard who had been saved by Xiang Yu swung his sword and cut down the remaining two enemies. He even took the opportunity to say to Xiang Yu, "Your Majesty, you go about your business. Don't worry about me. I can handle it."
Xiang Yu laughed, "Still got a tough tongue. How about a match?"
The guard wiped the blood from his face and said, "Good!" As he spoke, he killed another Xiongnu and shouted, "One!" He dodged a knife that came from behind, flicked his wrist, and let the enemy's corpse fall off his horse. Without even looking at it, he said, "Two!" Then he said, "Your Majesty, if you don't get on your horse soon, you'll lose."
Xiang Yu laughed loudly, "I can still beat you without a horse!" With that, he casually punched a Xiongnu cavalryman, sending him flying from his horse, and shouted, "Me too!" Standing on the ground, he was almost as tall as the others on horseback, like a god. The enemy, taking advantage of his lack of a horse, swarmed forward. Xiang Yu punched and kicked, like an adult beating a group of children riding on toy cars, sending them flying in all directions with a series of thuds. He kept counting aloud, and the guard who had bet with him said, "Your Majesty, don't cheat; it only counts if you kill him."
Xiang Yu was taken aback. Seeing his enemies, who had been knocked to the ground and were now incapacitated, being killed by others, he stamped his feet in anger. The guards, while killing, watched him with smiles and said, "Your Majesty, you've only killed one."
Just then, a swift Xiongnu horse charged in from afar, its rider brandishing a long spear, rushing towards Xiang Yu with lightning speed. Xiang Yu didn't have time to draw his sword; he simply raised his arm to dodge the spearhead, then with a sudden twist of his waist, he seized the horse's head and, with a sharp twist of his waist, with a "hey!"—the galloping horse was thus brought to the ground, and the Xiongnu soldier tumbled a considerable distance, breaking his bones. Xiang Yu straightened up, saw that the horse was also dead, and asked those around him, "Does the horse count?"
The guards laughed loudly, and the Xiongnu soldiers looked at each other in horror, none daring to step forward to challenge them again. Xiang Yu reached out and pulled another man from his horse, stomped him to death, then climbed onto his steed, Bird Steed, and shouted, "Alright, it's time to end this. Hear my command, you may only pursue the enemy for ten li." The guards responded with a roar.
I was chilled. The enemy still has half its forces, and he's already planning a pursuit.
Xiang Yu annihilated half of the enemy's forces at the cost of fewer than 50 men. Of course, this advantage was mostly gained in the early stages by concentrating their formation, and it seemed like the outcome was certain if the fighting continued. In reality, Xiang Yu's troops were already at their limit. They were, after all, only human, and although their casualty rate was much lower, everyone was exhausted after the fierce fighting. Continuing the battle would only result in mutual destruction for both sides. However, the Xiongnu didn't realize this. Even if they had, they probably wouldn't have wanted to do it. At this point, they saw Xiang Yu as a demon, their legs trembling. The last remaining minor leader could no longer bear it and shouted, "Retreat!"
His order to retreat was undoubtedly a command for Xiang Yu's army to pursue. Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded on the vast grassland: 500 men chasing 2500, the guards constantly throwing javelins. After ten li, the Xiongnu, having lost another fifth, finally escaped. Xiang Yu's ugly men cheered loudly, making all sorts of strange gestures on horseback. When they returned to the battlefield and saw their fallen comrades, they were all saddened, silently burying their brothers. Then these murderous monsters re-formed their ranks, awaiting Xiang Yu's command. Xiang Yu glanced at the half-destroyed ranks and said in a deep voice, "In this battle, we lost 51 brothers and killed nearly 3000 enemies. Those lying on this land, whether enemies or our loved ones, are gone. All grudges are wiped clean. May they not be lonely on their journey to the underworld. Salute!" Xiang Yu led the way, followed closely by the 449 ugly guards, who saluted the ravaged battlefield with a deep military salute.
Mulan was moved to tears, and her troops watched this scene in awe, remaining silent for a long time.
To be honest, I don't quite understand Xiang Yu's distinction between enemies and friends. He was so ruthless when killing people; did that mean they deserved respect just because they were dead? Well, the death of an enemy at least means that a friend can live longer. In that sense, a dead enemy does indeed deserve respect; this is the so-called "killing is just a matter of beheading." Looking at it this way, Wu Zixu, who whipped the corpse back then, was a bit petty.
Mulan's men were left to clean up the battlefield, while the ugly guards went back to rest. Xiang Yu approached us; his spear was deeply embedded in the rock beneath our feet, and I struggled to pull it out for a long time, but it wouldn't budge. Seeing the tear stains on Mulan's face, Xiang Yu said calmly, "What are you crying about? After ten years as a soldier, haven't you ever seen a dead person?"
Mulan said angrily, "If you had listened to me, maybe they wouldn't have died."
Xiang Yu chuckled sarcastically: "Even if you haven't studied the basics of war, don't you know what it means for tens of thousands of people to fight in our time—it can't be less than 51, unless you even pity the enemy."
Hua Mulan was speechless. Xiang Yu patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't be sad, their deaths can save many people."
They were talking in a way that was hard to understand, while I was struggling to draw my gun. After a while, I gave up and shouted, "Brother Yu, I think this gun is no good."
Xiang Yu walked over, casually pulled out the spear, and gave me a disdainful look.