"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Slay the enemy! Slay the enemy! Slay the enemy!"
"Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories!"
In the second year of Jianzhao of Yan, Yan general Zhou Fugui led two hundred cavalry out of Xuelin City to scout the strength of the Xiongnu Duoyongjian tribe and to rendezvous with Yan troops and civilians fleeing back to Sanguan. About fifty li outside Xuelin City, he led his men to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu soldiers who were tormenting Yan troops and civilians. Zhou Fugui and his more than two hundred cavalry suddenly charged in, catching hundreds of Xiongnu soldiers completely off guard, with many being cut down from their horses.
The Yan cavalry spurred their horses forward, charging towards the Xia soldiers. The thundering hooves kicked up a sky-obscuring cloud of dust. Within this swirling dust, the Yan cavalry proved to be fierce and ruthless, showing no mercy as they cut down the Xia soldiers, who fell scattered across the ground, either slain on horseback, on the ground, impaled by spears, or pierced by a myriad of arrows.
Hundreds of Xiongnu soldiers, caught off guard, suffered heavy casualties in an instant. The remaining ones let out a cry and fled in all directions, but the Yan army pursued relentlessly, cutting them down in swathes.
"Capture some alive!" General Zhou Fugui of Yan shouted, his heavy sword cleaving a Xiongnu officer from his horse.
Before Zhou Fugui was stationed in Xuelin City, his archery skills were already extraordinary. He had once killed Pu Yijian, the foremost archer of the Great Yan, with an arrow. After eight months of arduous training in the Ice Bone Camp, he had also become adept with the heavy sword, possessing immense strength and a ferocious striking power. Currently, whether in ranged or close combat, he was capable of fighting effectively. While not claiming to be the best in the world, he was undoubtedly among the elite.
"As you command!" a bald Yan general, whose monastic status or natural lack of hair was unclear, clad in heavy armor, responded loudly. He swung a massive, heavy ringed saber, its arc from left to right cleaving three Xiongnu soldiers into pieces, their bodies and dismembered parts scattering like building blocks.
"Amitabha, sin! Sin!" The wild monk of Guanzhong, Xue Wentai, yelled "Sin!" as he fought, but his attacks were no less fierce than anyone else's. He completely disregarded Zhou Fugui's order to capture prisoners alive.
The great monk of Guanzhong, Xue Wentai, was already unparalleled in his martial prowess. After the rigorous training in the Ice Bone Camp, he became even more ferocious and formidable, surpassing even Zhou Fugui.
"Hey, wild monk..." Xu Mancang, who had chosen a long-handled ring-pommel saber after his training in the Ice Bone Camp, shouted at Xue Wentai. The ring-pommel saber, with its iron core wrapped in a wooden handle and bound with silk cord, was suitable for both slashing and thrusting, offering great flexibility. For someone with great strength, it was exceptionally effective. After sending a Xiongnu cavalryman flying twenty feet with a thrust, Xu Mancang yelled, "Why don't you just renounce your vows and return to secular life? You kill like a fiend, how are you any different from a monk?"
Those who emerged from the Ice Bone Camp were all fierce and formidable, like walking killing machines.
"I refuse to renounce my vows, what will you do?" Xue Wentai, wielding his blood-drenched heavy ringed saber, glared at Xu Mancang with bull-like eyes and said, "I kill demons, not people. If one kills ten thousand demons, one can achieve Buddhahood!"
"The banner lord said to capture some alive, and you two dolts are just killing everyone?" Suchenggong said this, but as he wielded his heavy axe, he showed no mercy in slaughtering the Xiongnu soldiers. After his axe swept through, there were almost no survivors.
Suchenggong was also a warrior who had emerged from the Ice Bone Camp, and his chosen weapon was still a long-handled heavy axe.
Zhou Fugui, Xue Wentai, Xu Mancang, Suchenggong, and the other two hundred Yan soldiers were all brave and ferocious. They chased and killed the Xiongnu soldiers, striking terror into their hearts. The Xiongnu soldiers fled desperately in all directions, wishing they had been born with more legs.
Where did this group of devils emerge from? The surviving Xiongnu soldiers thought as they fled, each of them looking like demons from hell.
...
"Who... are you?"
With his mouth full of blood and flesh, the dying Danmu asked vaguely, looking at Zhou Fugui and his men.
Danmu's grandson, Yelihu, tearfully supported his grandfather.
Danmu's three sons had all died in battle when the Xiongnu Duoyongjian tribe marched south, leaving only this seventeen-year-old grandson, Yelihu.
"My surname is Zhou, my given name is Fugui..." Zhou Fugui dismounted, squatted down, and answered Danmu, "I am a guard under the Grand Commander. We two hundred cavalry were ordered by the Commander to come out of the pass to escort you. Alas... Chieftain Danmu, I have a general understanding of your situation. Chieftain Danmu is a loyal and brave warrior, and he treats his people as his children. I, as a general, respect you greatly. Please, do not speak... Can you still ride a horse?"
"Someone, make a stretcher and carry Chieftain Danmu back to the city," Zhou Fugui then turned and ordered his men.
"So, you are Guard Zhou, a close attendant of the Grand Commander?" Danmu heard this and managed a tragic smile, shaking his head slightly and saying weakly, "This old man is beyond help. I only hope that Guard Zhou can escort them back to Xuelin City, and then I can die with a smile. Thank you, Guard Zhou."
"Hmm..." Zhou Fugui pondered. "Besides escorting those returning to the city, the Commander also gave me another mission, which is to scout the enemy's strength and movements. Therefore, I cannot escort them back to the city; they will have to go on their own. However, Chieftain Danmu, rest assured, I will do my best to obstruct and delay the barbarian cavalry with my men, to buy them time to return to the city."
"Not a single person?" Danmu asked with disappointment upon hearing this.
Although Zhou Fugui and his men were few in number, Danmu had already recognized that these were all elite soldiers. With them escorting the remaining people of Mawei Fort, there was a high probability they could return to Xuelin City alive. Yet, their commander, Zhou Fugui, had refused outright.
Zhou Fugui shook his head.
"Before I die, I have one last wish, and I hope Guard Zhou will grant it," Danmu coughed a few times, took a deep breath, and said.
"Chieftain Danmu, please speak," Zhou Fugui nodded.
"All my family members have been killed by the barbarian cavalry. Only this grandson is left by my side. I hope he can follow Guard Zhou. Do you agree?" Danmu asked Zhou Fugui, glancing at Yelihu, who was already crying uncontrollably.
With Danmu's death, Yelihu would be left with no one to rely on. At the same time, Danmu hoped that Yelihu would join the army, fight the enemy, and avenge his family. Of course, Danmu also had a selfish motive: by following Zhou Fugui, Yelihu's chances of survival would be greatly increased.
"We are also in extreme danger," Zhou Fugui immediately understood Danmu's intentions. He glanced at the relatively sturdy Yelihu and said, "Chieftain Danmu's request, in principle, I should comply with. However, we do not allow crybabies and cowards in my ranks."
"I am grieving for my grandfather!" Yelihu heard this, his eyes widened in anger. He jumped up, wiped away his tears, and roared, "We Tutong people are by no means weaklings."
"Guard Zhou, this child is familiar with the hundreds of miles around here..." Danmu's breathing grew weaker and weaker. Before he could finish speaking, he closed his eyes and passed away.
...
"Bring them here!"
After Danmu's death, Zhou Fugui ordered a simple burial and then led his two hundred cavalry to a thorny thicket on a hillside. After ordering his men to guard the surroundings, he had the captured Xiongnu soldiers from the Duoyongjian tribe brought before him.
After the lesson learned from the battle on the snowfield, Zhou Fugui had become cautious, especially with enemy forces surrounding them. Not making noise, not lighting fires, and moving stealthily were the only ways to conceal their tracks.
"Under whose command are you? Why are you here? Where is your main camp located?" Zhou Fugui sat on a mound, planted his heavy sword on the ground, and asked the captured Xiongnu soldiers with a smile.
Zhou Fugui had handsome features and a gentle smile that was as warm as spring. However, these Xiongnu soldiers looked at him and shivered involuntarily, the reason being self-evident.
This seemingly gentle, kind, and thrifty young Yan general was extraordinarily fierce when he fought. The scene of his brutal slaughter was still vivid in the minds of these Xiongnu soldiers.
Perhaps if Zhou Fugui had roared angrily and interrogated them, it would have been much better than his current demeanor.
The reality was indeed the case. If Zhou Fugui had been soft-hearted before, that was in the past. After experiencing so much, Zhou Fugui had undergone significant changes. At the very least, when facing enemies, he had become exceptionally cold and ruthless, especially towards those who took pleasure in tormenting ordinary people and humiliating their women. Zhou Fugui harbored no pity for them.
Three Xiongnu soldiers shook their heads together, unsure if they did not understand Chinese or simply refused to answer.
So, Zhou Fugui called Yelihu over and asked, "Do they not understand Chinese?"
"General, they understand Chinese. Since the Han Dynasty, most people on the grasslands have understood Chinese," Yelihu replied, gritting his teeth as he looked at the three Xiongnu soldiers.
Yelihu was speaking the truth. The Xiongnu was a general term used by the Han for the peoples of the grasslands. They certainly had their own languages, which were varied and extremely complex. However, Emperor Wu of Han's sweep of the northern desert and Huo Qubing's campaign to Mount Langju had also brought the Chinese language and Han culture to the northern desert. Since then, many ethnic groups on the grasslands had adopted Chinese as a common language for trade and communication.
"So, they are unwilling to answer?" Zhou Fugui said with a smile.
"If you want to live, answer this general's questions," Zhou Fugui then looked at the three Xiongnu soldiers and said, "My surname is Zhou, my given name is Fugui. I am a Han from Yan Yun, and Han people value integrity. A man's promise is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold. Do you understand? If you tell the truth, this general will spare your lives. You can rest assured."
"Kill us then! We are men of the grasslands, how can we bow our heads?" one of the three Xiongnu soldiers, with his neck stiff, answered loudly.
"Good!" Zhou Fugui exclaimed loudly. "Courageous! The person I admire most in my life is someone with backbone. However, I have orders to follow, so I cannot spare you all."
"Old Ghost, Wei the Blind, you have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn," Zhou Fugui then said with a cold smile to Pan Jiugui and Wei the Blind.
"Heh heh, second brother, just watch. It won't take a whole incense stick," Pan Jiugui chuckled.
Pan Jiugui was sinister and cunning, and he had learned many methods of torture from unknown sources. Wei the Blind was not skilled at interrogation, but he had "instruments."
Torture for interrogation was their specialty.
After Pan Jiugui and Wei the Blind took the three Xiongnu soldiers away, not long after, the piercing screams of the Xiongnu soldiers could be heard.