Taiheiki

Chapter 83 Father and Son
"Captain, what are you looking at?" Zhao Yannian asked.

"Draw water. Did you see that? Someone is drawing water over there!" Wei Cong pointed to the stream in front of the bandit camp.

Everyone looked in the direction Wei Cong pointed, and saw twenty or thirty men filling water into an ox cart by the stream. Everyone looked at each other, and no one thought there was anything strange about this.

"Captain, bandits are also human beings, and everyone needs to drink water!" Zhao Yannian replied.

"I just thought of a way to lure the thieves out of the camp!" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"Do you have a way to lure the thieves out of the camp?" Zhao Yannian was overjoyed when he heard this: "I'd like to hear the details!"

"This method is very simple!" Wei Cong laughed and said, "Let me ask you, if we also send people to the river to fetch water, what do you think the bandits will do?"

"This..." Zhao Yannian thought for a moment and replied, "Most people pretended not to see it and fetched their own water. In fact, the soldiers on both sides of the battlefield were not very interested in fighting to the death over such a thing. After all, everyone needs water. If they had to fight for it, the result would be that neither side would have water to drink, and many people would die in vain!"

"You're saying exactly what I was thinking!" Wei Cong laughed. "What if the enemy you encounter is drinking water upstream from a water source, and the beast is still defecating and pissing in the water?"

"This..." Zhao Yannian gave a bitter smile. "That's too immoral! How can you let your horse water upstream, let alone poop and pee? No one would tolerate that!"

"That's right, they're going to fight, right?" Wei Cong said with a smile, "What if they can't win? Will they ask for help from their comrades in the camp?"

Hearing this, everyone understood. With the exception of Huang Ping and Wei Cong, everyone present was a veteran with many years of service. They knew very well that there was a set of explicit rules in the military camp: such as strict observance of orders, unified commands, and bravery in fighting the enemy, etc.; but in addition to these, there was another set of unwritten rules that were not recorded in books but actually existed. For example, as Zhao Yannian had just said, without the orders of an officer, the water-drawing and wood-collecting personnel on both sides would not attack each other when they encountered each other. Once one side broke this unwritten rule, it would provoke the anger of the other side, triggering an extremely fierce battle. In this way, a trivial skirmish could very well become the fuse of a major war. However, what puzzled Zhao Yannian and others was that this was something that only the veterans in the army knew, so how could a child from a noble family like Wei Cong know?

"Don't look at me like that! There are too many such things in "The Gallic War" and "The Civil War"!" Wei Cong thought to himself. He was too lazy to explain. He waved to Nie Sheng and said, "Asheng, just do as I said. This is your first battle. Remember, don't pursue, don't fight to the death. If you see a large number of enemies, retreat. The more enemies you attract, the greater your contribution!"

"Yes, sir!" Nie Sheng responded excitedly. He still had the heart of a child and was quite interested in the plan proposed by Wei Cong. He led more than ten riders to the stream. When the enemy soldiers who were drawing water saw Nie Sheng and his men coming, they were a little wary at first, but when they saw that the people coming were not coming towards them, but heading towards the river section further upstream, they relaxed their guard and continued to get busy.

But soon, the people drawing water discovered that Nie Sheng and his men had begun watering their horses near the stream. That was fine, but worse was the situation: some even drove their horses into the water to wash them, while others even defecated directly in the stream, sending a flood of filth drifting downstream. This was unbearable. The people drawing water erupted in furious curses, and Nie Sheng's men retorted. Soon, the verbal abuse turned into a brawl, and then swords clashed, staining the stream red with blood.

Nie Sheng expertly maneuvered his mount with his feet and adjusted his center of gravity, freeing his hands to wield his double-headed spear. Though his muscles hadn't yet fully developed, the horse granted him extraordinary strength. He effortlessly charged into the enemy ranks, piercing their vital points with the spear's tip. Even as a child, Nie Zheng had taught him that a knight's hands were merely used to direct the weapon's attack; the true strike was the horse beneath him. As long as a knight could maintain a steady position on horseback, he could easily defeat even stronger enemies on foot.

"Someone, push the bucket off the ox cart. Let's drag the ox back so we can have a good meal!" Nie Sheng shouted.

"Yes!" the elite soldiers accompanying Nie Sheng shouted in unison. They pushed the wooden barrels off the oxcart one by one, untied the reins, and pulled it across the stream. This arrogant action infuriated the former owners of the oxcart. They shouted to their own camp, calling on their companions to retaliate against the enemy who had violated the unspoken rules. Soon, hundreds of armed bandits rushed out of the camp and rushed towards Nie Sheng.

"Hurry, everyone get on your horses, let's drive the ox cart backwards, and go slower! Don't let these guys think they can't catch up and then stop chasing us!" Nie Sheng shouted.

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"You did a good job, sir! The thief has taken the bait!" Zhao Yannian said with a smile.

"Yes!" Wei Cong nodded: "Let the crossbowmen advance from both wings and try not to attract the attention of the thieves!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yannian responded, turned around and whispered a few words to the messenger. Soon, more than a hundred archers came forward from both wings. After Nie Sheng and others had distanced themselves from the enemy, they rained arrows at them. The arrows fell like hail, and countless people were hit in an instant. The shouts turned into wails, and chaos broke out immediately.

"Whoa! Whoa! Turn back, turn back!" Nie Sheng turned his horse around, brandishing his double-pointed spear overhead as he charged toward the pursuers, who were stunned by the sudden hail of arrows. A clever rider, he didn't plunge headfirst into the crowd. Instead, he easily broke through from the enemy's left, leaving a trail of corpses and driving the enemy back toward the camp. Most of the enemy were exhausted by the time they reached the stream. Many were unable to wade through the knee-deep water and fell into the water, desperately waving their arms and calling for help.

All this finally aroused the anger of the bandits in the camp, and more and more people rushed out of the camp and rushed towards the stream. Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Wei Cong raised his arm and signaled his men to blow the horn.

Woo-woo-woo-!
A drawn-out blast of trumpets resounded through the air, and the Han army, already formed in horizontal lines, began to slowly advance. To the rhythmic beat of drums, the troops flowed like sticky honey across the space between the two armies, their vibrant armor gleaming in the sunlight. In comparison, the rebels' appearance was much shabbier. While not quite as poor as Diwu Deng had claimed, with only one set of armor for every twenty men, the number of armored soldiers was far less than the Han army's, further widening the gap in the quality of their bows and crossbows. Yet, the bandits continued to shout, brandishing spears, sickles, and axes, ignoring the constant stream of arrows falling around them. They charged towards their enemies, either slaying them or dying at their own hands. Wei Cong knew the enemy's courage was simply a surge of blood, a courage that could not be sustained for long! He rode behind his own ranks, shouting, "Hold the line! Don't wade across the stream! Hold on! This is the enemy's last resort. Hold on for another half-minute, and victory will be ours!"

As if in response to Wei Cong's shout, a rapid horn sounded from behind the bandits. Following the horn sound, a scout ran over from the left, his face covered in dust. "Captain, Captain! There are more bandits. They've surrounded us. Bandits, bandits, at least three hundred of them."

"Shut up, idiot!" Wei Cong whipped the scout hard, so that no one could hear. He then shouted to Nie Sheng, "Son, I've entrusted the lives of my elite soldiers and everyone else to you. Don't let me down!"

"Don't worry, father!" Nie Sheng excitedly jumped onto his horse and took the double-pointed spear from the attendant: "Leave everything to me!"

Wei Cong took off his helmet, put it on Nie Sheng himself, buckled the belt, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Kid, if it's too late, just run away! Don't worry about us!"

Nie Sheng was stunned when he heard this, and then tears welled up in his eyes. He turned his head abruptly, raised his double-pointed spear, and shouted, "Wedge formation, follow me!" Then he squeezed his feet hard on the horse's belly and galloped forward. The others followed closely behind, but the formation soon became chaotic.

"Beat the drum quickly! I hope those bastards on the mountain won't continue watching the show!" Wei Cong shouted.

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"It seems that Wei Cong is much stronger than Cai Buyi! Although he is equally brainless!" On the city wall, Wang Gui sneered.

"I don't think it's that bad!" Luo Hong said, "Look, the government troops' armor and weapons are much better than the bandits'. To be honest, I have no idea where Wei Taoni found so many sets of armor. With such a big difference, the bandits won't last long!"

"It's useless. He has at most a thousand men, and the bandits have twice as many!" Wang Gui sneered, "His only chance of winning is to charge head-on. Fighting by the river like he did is doomed. The bandits are not fools. If they have more men, they will definitely split up and attack from the flank!"

"What if we go down the mountain as agreed?" Luo Hong asked. "The bandits will surely be defeated!"

"There was no agreement, only a request, and I didn't agree!" Wang Gui said, "No one forced him to fight the bandits so hastily!"

"Captain, that Captain Wei is leading his troops to support us. We are in a very difficult situation!" Luo Hong said anxiously.

"I am as stable as a rock in the city, while they are as fragile as eggs. How can we even talk about lips and teeth?" Wang Gui sneered.

Luo Hong looked at Wang Gui's cold face, as if he knew him for the first time. Finally, he sighed: "At the beginning, I thought you were mature and prudent, and put the city first. Now it seems that you are just a narrow-minded, jealous villain. Well, if you don't want to save me, then don't save me. But I can't watch my comrades fall into despair with my eyes open! Goodbye!" After that, he bowed to Wang Gui and turned to run towards the city.

"Narrow-minded, jealous of talented people?" Wang Gui sneered at Luo Hong's back, "I want to see what your final fate will be! Cai Buyi can still have his body wrapped in three feet of white hemp, but your body will only be fed to stray dogs!"

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On the Han left, Nie Sheng, wielding a double-pointed spear, led a disorganized wedge-shaped formation, charging into the enemy's flanking lines. The enemy's flanking column was thrown into disarray, forcing them to regroup in a circle to resist the knights' flanking attacks. Wen Sheng, in charge of the left flank, seized this precious moment, forcing the two rear rows of soldiers to the left, forming a new line that blocked the enemy's flanking formation and immediately tangled up in chaos. Wei Cong could see more and more enemies crossing the stream, unable to break through his own lines. Arrows rained down on them, and the stream's flow was blocked by the endless stream of fallen bodies, flooding the banks with blood. He knew this was the enemy's last resort. If he could hold out for just a moment, no, a few minutes, the enemy in front would collapse, the stream and the piles of corpses becoming obstacles to their escape. But the question was, could he hold out until that moment?

Thinking of this, Wei Cong instinctively glanced to his left. There, the bandits still held a clear advantage in numbers, but the Han army had the advantage of armor and steeds. In the center of the battlefield, Nie Sheng rode atop a towering horse, his crimson cloak and his helmet with a pheasant's tail making him striking. He brandished his double-pointed spear, piercing every enemy who dared to stand in his way, breaking through the enemy ranks. Wei Cong's elite troops followed closely behind him, but the enemy gathered in ever-increasing numbers. Wei Cong watched as his adopted son's horse reared, its hooves thrashing, and was pierced in the chest by a spear. Then, the young man fell from his horse, and he lost all sight.

"Asheng!" Wei Cong subconsciously stretched out his right hand, as if trying to grab something. Tears welled up in his eyes. He felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and he couldn't breathe. "You silly boy, didn't I tell you? Run away if the situation is not right?"

As Wei Cong mourned deeply for his adopted son, he heard the slow, deep beat of drums from behind the bandits. Then he saw a familiar flag fluttering in the sky. Then, with their drums at the center, the broad shields of the Bantun Barbarians formed a tight wedge formation. The bandits resisted stubbornly, but were trampled by their attackers. Despite their numerical superiority, the bandits were unable to withstand the pincer attack from both front and back. The flag of the bandit center finally fell, and they were then overwhelmed by the Bantun Barbarians.

It was over. Wei Cong breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally won, and the enemy had collapsed. The enemy abandoned their weapons and fled: barbarians, clan rebels, and former Han soldiers who had surrendered—all took flight. In the bandit camp, flames leaped from tent to tent, even some trees were ablaze, like a giant torch celebrating the Han army's victory!
(End of this chapter)