Chapter 51: The Raid on Tazhai

It was precisely afternoon!

Some people from Tazhai were grazing cattle and sheep in the meadows outside the village.

Although the rebellion of the Karluks had not yet been completely resolved, the pressure from them no longer existed following the Battle of Sanhe Fortress.

Furthermore, Tazhai was located in the western part of Jinzhou, and if the Karluks wanted to come over, they would definitely be spotted by Hedong Fortress and Hexi Fortress.

Therefore, the people of Tazhai had let their guard down and went about their respective businesses.

After all, Tazhai possessed a considerable number of cattle and sheep, many of which had been plundered from the Aslan tribe.

It was impossible to constantly cut grass and bring it back to feed them indoors!

However, just as the herdsmen of Tazhai assumed everything was safe and sound, tending to the cattle and sheep grazing across the hills while wearing joyful smiles, a low rumble of hooves suddenly echoed.

The herders of Tazhai turned their heads in unison, and those who had been dozing instantly opened their eyes, springing straight up from the ground.

"What people are those?" a woman asked.

Some experienced men immediately turned pale with shock.

"It's the enemy!"

"There are a lot of them!"

Looking into the distance, a cavalry force had appeared out of nowhere on the distant grassland, numbering around two hundred men.

They were galloping swiftly, and their direct target was the area where the Tazhai herdsmen were pasturing.

"Quick, hurry and leave!"

"Everyone back to the village!"

Some men shouted at the top of their lungs.

In that instant, everyone on the grassland—men, women, and children alike—quickly vaulted onto their horses.

Some women were reluctant to leave the livestock behind, but they were scooped up by sensible men and tossed onto the horses.

"What time is it to still care about these cattle and sheep?!"

"Lives are what matter most!"

"Get moving, now!"

The men cracked their whips, rapidly leading their families away from the meadows and galloping toward the village.

All the cattle and sheep were completely abandoned.

The enemy forces were overwhelming, so for the time being, they would just leave the animals behind!

Unlike nomadic peoples for whom livestock was their entire existence, the consequences of losing one's herd were only threefold: either starve to death, become someone else's slave just to trade for a mouthful of food, or go plunder someone else's livestock.

For the Han people, however, even without cattle and sheep, they still had grain and could survive just the same.

"Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!"

"Kill~"

"Charge forward, catch up with those Han people!"

Xierda led two hundred Zhelan cavalrymen, charging forward at breakneck speed.

Arrogant and excited grins split their faces as they continually waved their lances and scimitars, howling and roaring ahead like a pack of baboons on the savanna.

Most of these Zhelan tribal cavalrymen wore leather armor, their hair unkempt and filthy, yet exuding a fierce and rugged aura.

As for the cavalrymen without leather armor, their status was that of Zhelan slaves; through combat, they might possibly earn the chance to become free citizens.

"Hahaha!"

"Han people, as cowardly as mice, they're running away, hahaha!"

"Give chase, kill all the men!"

"Seize the women!"

The Zhelan cavalry laughed recklessly, spurring their horses to even greater speeds as they charged in for the kill.

They completely ignored even the cattle and sheep left abandoned on the grassland.

Livestock couldn't run away.

But if they failed to breach the Han village before sunset, they wouldn't be able to enjoy the delicate Han women tonight.

"What kind of people are they?"

Zhao Dabao glanced backward as he ran, his expression extremely grim.

A man nearby said, "Judging by their appearance, they don't look like Karluks."

"Nor could the Karluks have slipped into our Tazhai without a sound."

"They're coming from the west? Could they be from the Yinshan side?"

There were four administrative regions in the Northern Frontier: Jinzhou, Beihai, Yinshan, and Damo.

Each prefecture was established with a Xiangwen Office, equivalent to a Governor-General's Office, administered by Khitans as governors.

Yet Yinshan held the most special status.

It derived the name "Yinshan" from being located north of the Tianshan Mountains.

After Yelü Dashi's western expedition, he proclaimed himself emperor in Yemili, adopting the title "Gurkhan."

Yemili was precisely situated in Yinshan!

Although Western Liao later moved its capital to Husi Ordo, Yemili's status remained extremely lofty.

Known as the "Eastern Capital," it served as the political center of the entire Northern Frontier.

The Eastern Capital Pacification Office was located in Yemili, responsible for governing the entire Northern Frontier.

Therefore, cavalry coming from the direction of Yinshan were most likely troops from the Pacification Office!

"Damn it, no matter who they are, anyone who dares to snatch our Tazhai sheep will never be let off," Zhao Dabao declared angrily.

Not long ago, he had followed Li Xiao, sending the Karluks and the people of Houzhai fleeing in panic.

He had been brimming with vigor and confidence, yet in the blink of an eye, he was being hunted down in such a humiliating manner.

Zhao Dabao was furious!

"Get back to the village first, we can settle accounts later," an elder of the Zhao family shouted loudly.

"Giddyup!"

The distance between the two sides rapidly closed as the trench of Tazhai came into view ahead.

Xierda took the lead, completely fearless, waving his scimitar and shouting orders at the top of his lungs: "Follow me and charge right in!"

In his eyes, these Han people were merely timid mice, unworthy of fear.

Without the protection of parapets and trenches, those Han people were like women stripped bare of their clothes, at his mercy to ravage.

Xierda wanted to prove his valor to everyone, to tell his father and the rest of the tribe that he could lead the Zhelan tribe to become even stronger.

Yet just as Xierda pursued the Tazhai herders and rushed headlong into the village in a single breath, the scene before him caused his expression to undergo a drastic transformation.

He screamed in terror, "Armored cavalrymen?"

Upon receiving the news that the pasture had been attacked, the people of Tazhai immediately began assembling their forces to prepare for battle.

By the time Xierda and his men charged in, they were met squarely by seven figures completely encased in iron armor.

Gripping long lances, even the warhorses beneath them clad in iron plating, they charged at a steadily accelerating pace directly toward Xierda and the Zhelan men who had entered the village.

Behind them followed numerous light cavalrymen clad in leather armor.

Coupled with the herders who had just been pursued, the forces of Tazhai actually outnumbered the Zhelan cavalry.

Most importantly, the entrance to Tazhai was narrow, flanked by trenches on both sides, with only a single path through the middle for entry.

Consequently, within a short span of time, the Zhelans had been unable to flood in.

Only a dozen or so men led by Xierda had made it through!

"Fall back!"

Xierda shrieked in horror, his voice cracking entirely.

Faced with the charge of heavy cavalry without any preparation whatsoever, they dared not engage in combat.

The best course of action was to evade and slowly wear the heavy cavalry down using blunt weapons.

However, Xierda had charged too fiercely, and only a dozen men had made it into the village with him.

There was no way to retreat, nor any place to take cover.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as the heavy cavalry bore down upon them.

"Ah—"

Cries of agony rang out as the Zhelan men were instantly sent flying and tumbling.

The seven heavily armored cavalrymen, gripping long sabers, lowered their heads and charged relentlessly.

No lance could pierce their armor, and any scimitar that slashed against them glanced off instantly with sparks.

Though the Zhelan men outside the village continued to press forward desperately, they were blocked relentlessly by the seven heavy cavalrymen.

All the while, volleys of arrows rained down from the surroundings.

Before long, a wave of panic-stricken cries erupted among the Zhelans.

"The young chieftain is dead!"

"The young chieftain has been killed by the Han people!"

"What? Xierda has been killed?"

Hearing these shouts, the Zhelans outside the village instantly descended into chaos.

Their eyes frantically searched for Xierda's figure, but ultimately they found only his horse.

The man himself had long since been struck down from his saddle and trampled into paste by the chaotic hooves.

At that moment, the expressions of the Zhelan troops shifted dramatically.

They knew full well that Xierda was Nierdu's favorite son and the future chieftain of the Zhelan tribe.

Yet now, due to sheer recklessness, he had perished right here.

Nierdu would certainly never spare any of them.

Contemplating that terrifying consequence, the Zhelan cavalrymen shuddered with dread.

Now, only a single option remained.

"Kill them!"

"Avenge the young chieftain!"

"Slaughter all these Han people!"

Only by capturing Tazhai, massacring every single Han person, and avenging Xierda might Nierdu perhaps forgive them.

Driven to madness, the Zhelans surged forward frantically.

Yet the trench outside Tazhai acted like an insurmountable chasm, completely blocking these Zhelans.

Amidst volleys of flying arrows, a growing number of Zhelan soldiers collapsed outside the trench.

"It seems we've killed an important figure among the enemy," Zhao Tiechu, observing the agitated enemy forces outside, guessed aloud.

"That's fantastic! Making those bastards chase us—this is just retribution. It would be best if we slaughtered every last one of them," Zhao Dabao said resentfully.

Having participated in two battles under Li Xiao, his temperament seemed to have grown fierce and unyielding.

"Hmph, what's so fantastic about that?" Zhao Tiechu glared at him.

"The enemy out there is desperate for our blood now."

"Besides, I saw two of them slip away; they've definitely gone to fetch reinforcements."

"When more enemies arrive next, it will be a fight to the death," Zhao Tiechu said with a solemn expression.

Zhao Dabao froze. Lacking experience, he hadn't anticipated nearly as much as his grandfather.

He had simply assumed that once these enemies were driven off, everything would be fine!

"Go immediately to Hexi Fortress for reinforcements. Tell Dalong to bring some men over here," Zhao Tiechu instructed Dabao.

"Understood!" Zhao Dabao nodded heavily.

Switching to a fresh horse, he bolted away from another exit in the direction of Hexi Fortress.

In the distance, Nierdu stood upon a high vantage point, gazing toward Tazhai and watching his brave Zhelan warriors continuously assault the enemy village.

Nierdu nodded with satisfaction.

He said to the men around him, "How much longer do you suppose the Han people can hold out?"

"I reckon before the sun sets, those Han people will come out and surrender."

"I give it less time than it takes to eat a meal before those Han people crack under pressure."

...

Nierdu laughed heartily and nodded. "If those Han people had the sense to willingly offer up their livestock and women, I might have forgiven their ignorance."

"Spared their lives and turned them into our slaves, instead!"

Hearing Nierdu's words, the surrounding men nodded in deep agreement.

Yet shortly thereafter, two fast horses galloped over in a flurry, and a Zhelan cavalryman shouted in terror to Nierdu.

"Chieftain, disaster has struck!"

"The young chieftain has been killed by the Han people!"

Upon hearing this, the confidence and smile on Nierdu's face vanished instantly. His eyes widened abruptly, frozen in sheer disbelief.

"What?!"

The surrounding Zhelans were equally stunned, staring at one another in blank dismay.

Then, a roar of furious rage erupted from Nierdu atop that high ground: "Slaughter every last Han person!"

"Pfft—"

"Chieftain, Chieftain—"