Chapter 52: Ambush on Ten Sides

Although Nierdu had already issued the order to retreat, the Čarlan cavalry was already entangled with the people of Ta Village.

Withdrawing was not that easy.

And Li Xiao made a prompt decision, launching an attack directly without waiting for Sixth Uncle and Dazhuang to arrive.

Woooo!

Woooooo!

Just as the Čarlan people were retreating one after another, a burst of low bugle sounds suddenly rang out in the distance.

The sound was desolate and powerful, shocking and resolute, like a mysterious force from ancient primordial times slowly awakening and reviving.

At this moment, the Čarlan people fell into silence.

They subconsciously stopped their warhorses, turning to look in all directions, and were immediately stunned by the scene in the distance.

Unknowingly, a point of orange-red flame suddenly lit up in the wilderness afar.

Immediately after, more and more flames burned on this earth, like stars in the sky, enveloping Ta Village.

At this moment, every Čarlan person had a bad premonition; fear bred in their hearts!

“What are those?”

“It’s the enemy, all enemies!”

“An ambush!”

“We are surrounded!”

Under the desolate bugle sound like a barbaric wilderness and the visual impact of star-like torches, all the Čarlan people panicked.

Looking around, there were five or six hundred torches.

This meant the number of enemies already exceeded them, and the most terrifying thing was that they didn’t know if there were other hidden enemies around.

“Don’t panic; that’s just the Han people playing tricks.”

“They deliberately used torches to deceive our eyes.”

“Don’t panic, everyone.”

“Gather towards me!”

Just as all the Čarlan people fell into panic, Nierdu, the tribal chief, roared furiously.

His voice quickly calmed the surrounding Čarlan people down.

Slowly gathering around Nierdu.

After a bloody battle, only about four hundred Čarlan people remained, but Nierdu was not flustered at all.

Five or six hundred torches were just the enemy bluffing. Based on his experience, the true number of this group of enemies would never exceed three hundred.

Why bluff and disguise the numbers?

Wasn’t it the enemy’s lack of confidence!

They were afraid!

So, Nierdu remained calm inside, only glancing at the direction of Ta Village with a trace of unwillingness, and ordered loudly: “Go!”

In the village, Zhao Tiezhu was overjoyed upon hearing the bugle of the Hexi cavalry.

“Our reinforcements have arrived!”

“Little bastards, follow me to kill our way out!”

Blocked at the village entrance and beaten by the Čarlan people for so long, Ta Village had also suffered quite a few casualties and had long held back a bellyful of anger.

Now, it was finally time to counterattack.

Thus, Zhao Tiezhu led the people of Ta Village to rush out, chasing behind the Čarlan people.

And Li Xiao’s two hundred Hexi cavalry surrounded the Čarlan people from another side.

The speed wasn’t very fast; he was waiting for Sixth Uncle and Dazhuang to arrive.

On the other side, not long after the Čarlan people ran out, they ran head-on into their own three scout cavalry.

The three said in panic: “Chief, there are enemies ahead.”

“What?”

The scouts’ voices weren’t low, so the surrounding Čarlan people heard them clearly too, their faces changing drastically.

Facing the pursuit of Hexi Fortress and Ta Village cavalry, their nerves were already tense.

Now hearing there were enemies ahead too, they instantly realized they might have fallen into an encirclement.

“Chief, let’s turn around quickly and go south!”

“Yes, Chief, the brothers just attacked the village and suffered considerable losses. If we get surrounded, we’re done for!”

“Can’t fight, Chief!”

Fighting a war relied on momentum.

One vigorous effort might turn defeat into victory, but once the order to retreat was given, the soldiers’ spirit was leaked.

If they were surrounded again at this time, people would panic, and soldiers would have no will to fight.

“Go!”

Nierdu naturally understood this principle too. His face was terrifyingly gloomy as he ordered to turn south and advance.

But before they ran ten li, another barrier of scattered sparks appeared before their eyes.

Hundreds of torches burned vigorously. In this endless darkness, they didn’t bring warmth to the Čarlan people but instead made their hearts completely fall into ice-cold fear.

“So many torches!”

“There are enemies ahead too.”

“Several hundred people; what should we do?”

“Stop advancing, turn around quickly.”

“Pursuers behind, enemies on the side; we are surrounded.”

When the Čarlan people were originally chased by Li Xiao and others, their minds were flustered and morale was low.

When Lin Dazhuang led one hundred Hexi cavalry to seal the road ahead, the morale of the Čarlan people collapsed instantly.

They finally realized they were surrounded, with no way out.

Moreover, Li Xiao previously ordered each person to light three torches and place them on the horse’s back, which also made those ordinary Čarlan people mistakenly think they were surrounded by thousands of cavalry.

But in reality, the number of Hexi cavalry and Ta Village cavalry wasn’t much more than the Čarlan people.

Unfortunately, it was dark, and the Čarlan people couldn’t figure out the truth at all, completely intimidated.

At this time, Li Xiao could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Lin Dazhuang indeed lived up to his expectations, arriving at the last moment and completing the final link of the encirclement.

“Surround them; don’t let a single enemy escape!” Li Xiao ordered loudly.

As his voice fell, the low bugle sound rang out again.

Woooooo!

Through the tone and frequency of the bugle, simple information could be conveyed.

Li Dashan and Lin Dazhuang instantly understood what to do. So the troops of Hexi Fortress and Ta Village began to approach the Čarlan people rapidly from four directions almost at the same time.

“Don’t panic; prepare for battle!”

“Whoever dares to run wildly and disobey orders, I’ll behead his whole family.” Nierdu roared loudly.

At this moment, his face finally changed completely, no longer as calm and arrogant as before.

The grim situation before him made him realize that if handled improperly, his entire army would be wiped out.

The Han people were too hateful, despicable, shameless, insidious, and cunning.

Daring not to charge at him head-on, but engaging in such conspiracies and schemes to ambush him.

However, realizing the current grim situation was not just Nierdu himself.

The tribesmen and slaves of the Čarlan tribe were even more panicked.

“What should we do?”

“Where to run?”

“Can’t run away; enemies are everywhere. We are completely surrounded.”

“They have more than a thousand cavalry; we can’t beat them.”

“How about surrendering?”

The Čarlan cavalry shouted in terror, and the warhorses beneath them also neighed uneasily, turning constantly.

Panic was spreading; every Čarlan person was fearful and uneasy.

Yet at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Like suffering while awaiting the verdict of fate.

As for Nierdu’s orders?

He could no longer control all the herdsmen.

On the other side, the troops of Hexi and Ta Village were completing the encirclement at an extremely fast speed.

Wearing heavy armor, Li Xiao suppressed the speed of the cavalry behind him, not letting them rush too fast.

Mainly using powerful momentum to constantly exert psychological pressure on these Čarlan people.

Until Zhao Dabao arrived again with a few people to join them.

“Da Long, this is the prisoner captured in Ta Village earlier.”

“Only he can speak our Han language.”

Zhao Dabao had people push up a bound Čarlan slave.

This prisoner wasn’t a true Čarlan person either, but a slave captured by the Čarlan people from another tribe, so naturally, he wouldn’t be loyal to the Čarlan tribe.

Therefore, after being injured and captured, he knelt and begged for mercy immediately, avoiding being killed by Ta Village.

Li Xiao didn’t care about his experience at all and said directly: “Go use your language and tell those people ahead loudly.”

“Those who dismount and surrender will be spared death.”

“Those who resist stubbornly will be beheaded without mercy.”

That slave trembled, nodding with a terrified look.

Soon, this Čarlan slave repeated Li Xiao’s order in the Čarlan language.

As soon as these words came out, the surrounded Čarlan cavalry surprisingly quieted down.

No longer so panicked and fearful, at most whispering doubtfully to each other.

“Those Han people said surrender and not be killed? Is it true?”

“Should be true.”

“Maybe we don’t have to die.”

The world of nomadic peoples wasn’t entirely about fighting and killing; worldly wisdom also applied.

When one tribe defeated another, without a life-and-death feud, they generally wouldn’t slaughter them.

As long as the opponent surrendered obediently, they would be incorporated as slaves of their own side.

Then based on military exploits and contributions, they could slowly become people of their own tribe in the future.

Repeating in cycles, life unending; nomadic peoples constantly completed the annexation and integration between tribes in this way.

So, the practice of surrendering to avoid death was also quite prevalent among nomadic tribes.

Thus, these Čarlan cavalry began to waver one after another; their will was no longer firm, and their curved sabers dropped unconsciously.

Most importantly, they felt that even if they continued fighting this unwinnable war, most people of the Čarlan tribe would inevitably die in battle.

Finally, as the Han cavalry from four directions quickly closed the encirclement together, more and more Čarlan people began to dismount and kneel on the ground.

No matter how Nierdu scolded or threatened, it was all useless.

In the face of absolute strength, Nierdu’s prestige had fallen to rock bottom.

(End of this chapter)