Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Ma Chao clutched the old man's calloused hand and said gravely, "Old man, what is the current situation in Wuwei County?" Tears welled up in the old man's eyes again before he finished speaking. His fingers, trembling like withered branches, pointed southeastward, "King of Liang! Wuwei City is in dire straits! The Xianbei leader, Kobe Neng, personally led the main force to besiege the city. Trebuchets bombarded the city day and night, and the city walls have collapsed half a foot!" He choked back tears, wiping them with his sleeve. "General Ma Dai and his remaining troops fought to the death for seven days and seven nights. Even the elderly, women, and children in the city went up to the city to carry stones..."

At this point, the old man suddenly coughed violently, his knuckles turning white from the exertion: "The surrounding counties have long been looted, the food, cattle and sheep have all been taken away, and the living... those who can escape have all hidden in the city." He knelt down in the snow with a plop, and knocked his forehead heavily at Ma Chao's feet: "You are finally back! As long as the flag of King Liang is raised, the Xianbei people will be terrified!" The people around him knelt down one after another, and the cries and shouts were mixed with the sad pleas of "Save Wuwei City".

Ma Chao suddenly tightened the reins, his silver armor clanging in the wind and snow, and he shouted so loudly that everyone's eardrums numbed: "Jiang Xu!"

A black-armored general quickly emerged from the crowd, clasped his fists and said solemnly: "I am here!"

"I will give you 10,000 elite soldiers! Divide them into five teams of 2,000 men each!" Ma Chao's spear swept across the vast snowy plains. "Immediately cruise around Wuwei. If you see any scattered Xianbei people, don't spare a single one!" His eyes swept across Jiang Xu's resolute face. "We must cut off the enemy's supply and clear the obstacles outside the city!"

Jiang Xu knelt on one knee, pounding his fist on the frozen ground. "I will definitely fulfill your mission!" Before he finished speaking, he had already jumped on his horse. In the biting north wind, the fifty thousand cavalry quickly split into five powerful groups, and the snow mist they raised was like a silver dragon splitting the sky.

Ma Chao watched Jiang Xu's receding figure, then turned toward the thick smoke rising from the direction of Wuwei City. He gripped the reins tightly and shouted, "The remaining 40,000 men will follow me to our aid! We must slay Ke Bineng today!" The roar of iron hooves crushed the frost and snow like thunder as they galloped toward the imperiled Wuwei City.

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Wuwei City trembled violently under the Xianbei's catapults. The rammed earth on the walls peeled off, mingling with blood and mud as it pelted the corpses scattered across the ground. Ma Dai's chainmail had turned a dark red, and the blood crusts on his mace fell off with each swing. He kicked aside the Xianbei soldiers who had scaled the wall, his roar piercing the smoke: "Get down!" Beside him, Yang Qiu's axe split the shield, sending up a spray of sawdust and blood that blinded his eyes. Hou Xuan swept his double whips left and right, the tips of which were wrapped around half-spears, stirring up a bloody mist with each swing. Cheng Yin led the crossbowmen, raining poison-infused arrows down upon the enemy formation.

On the battlements, white-haired women clutched baskets filled with rolling stones, trembling as they hurled them at the ladders. Young men hurled torches soaked in tung oil at the siege towers, their flames instantly engulfing the screaming Xianbei soldiers. Every woman and child in the city who could handle a weapon joined the battle. Women stabbed their throats with scissors, children hefted bricks, and even lame blacksmiths wielded red-hot hammers, pounding any who attempted to scale the walls into charcoal.

The Xianbei king, Kebineng, flew into a rage before the enemy lines, slashing the runner's neck with his scimitar: "A mere isolated city, why hasn't it been taken in three days?" Gazing at the piles of corpses on the city walls and the soldiers and civilians still desperately resisting, he suddenly realized that the Xiliang people were no ordinary adversary. If the Xianbei cavalry hadn't been so inept at attacking, and if Ma Dai hadn't fought tooth and nail to gather the remnants of his troops and forge a defensive line, this city, stained with the blood of the Wuwei soldiers and civilians, would have fallen long ago. And now, the smoke rising from the distant horizon signaled the approach of a greater storm.

Inside the large cowhide tent, tallow lamps flickered, and the aroma of roasted lamb legs, mixed with the stench of blood, filled the air. Right Wise King Murong Xuepo, his fingertips twirling a poisoned razor tassel, was the first to break the silence: "Great Chanyu, we've already captured hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, and countless treasures, on this southward expedition. Why waste our forces in this fortified city? The grasslands are our home. Even if we capture the Han cities, they'll be nothing but hot potatoes." His pale blue eyes swept over the red dot marked "Wuwei" on the map, his tone as dismissive as if he were discussing rotten meat.

"Ridiculous!" The black yak-hide armor of the Left Wise King Hu Yanbaye knocked over the bronze incense burner beside him, sending sparks flying onto the animal-skin carpet. "Murong Xuepo, are you frightened by the Han people? The Great Chanyu personally led the expedition, how could he return in defeat?" The Han heads hanging from his waist collided with the armor, making a dull, tooth-grinding sound.

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly changed. Tufasha's wolf-head combat boots rolled through the charcoal ash. His scimitar was unsheathed, its cold light reflecting the hideous scar on his right cheek. "Is the Left Wise King trying to suppress the Right Wise King? We follow the Great Chanyu, not to be bossed around!" Qifuyun, wrapped in a bearskin cloak, let out a beastly growl, and twelve eagle-feather arrows clattered behind him.

"Dang!" Kebineng's golden sword slammed down on the bronze table, the blade sinking three inches. "Drawing swords against each other during a military meeting, do you still have any respect for rules?" His scarred face flushed purple, and the golden wolf-head seal at his waist gleamed coldly in the firelight. The eldest prince, Ulanda, stepped forward, scimitar across his chest, his amber eyes burning with undisguised murderous intent. He crushed the Han skull beneath his leather boots.

The tent suddenly became silent, with only the sound of snowflakes blown by the north wind hitting the tent curtains.

Kebi Neng flipped the table, sending a roasted lamb leg and a bronze wine cup crashing to the ground. His eyes were red as he pointed outside the tent, toward the snowy wind. "We've united with Tadun, Huochuquan, and Midang, rallying the Jiedi tribes southward because the Central Plains are locked in a bloody feud!" His hoarse roar made the cowhide tent buzz. "But look at the grasslands! The eight Xianbei tribes are constantly at war, and the Wuhuan and Eastern Qiang are harboring ulterior motives! The glory of Chanyu Tan Shihuai unifying the northern desert has long been shattered by you!"

He grabbed the broken knife on the table and slashed the blade across his scarred chest. "The Han people's saying, 'Whoever offends the mighty Han will be punished, no matter how far away,' has suppressed generations of us! Now they are constantly at odds with each other, this is a godsend opportunity!" The tip of the knife suddenly turned towards Wuwei. "Why fight to the death against this city? Wuwei is the Wolf Mountain of Xiliang! Taking it, we can break Ma Chao's spine and let the people of Xiliang know—" His voice stopped abruptly, and the broken knife slashed into the pillar. Amidst the flying wood chips, he spoke word by word: "The iron hooves of the grassland can crush any strong city!"

Ulanda gripped his scimitar tightly and took half a step forward, his amber pupils burning with rage: "Father is right! Instead of killing each other for a few cattle and sheep on the grassland, it is better to shed blood on the Han land! Whoever wants to be a coward, just go back to the tent and drink mare's milk!" The air in the tent suddenly solidified. Although the scimitars of Tufasha, Qifuyun and others were not sheathed, they trembled slightly after these words - that was the ignited wildness and ambition rushing in their blood.

Murong Xuepo's silver armor gleamed coldly under the flickering tallow lamp. He slowly opened his cloak, revealing a prayer bead made from the finger bones of Di children at his waist. His pale blue eyes reflected the howling snow outside the tent. "Great Chanyu, the shamans of the Murong tribe once prophesied that a 'silver-armored god of war treading on snow' would cause the grasslands to flow like rivers of blood. Now, their prophecy has come true." He snapped the finger bone beads with his fingers, making a tooth-aching crisp sound. "Tens of thousands of elite Di soldiers, along with the elderly, the weak, women, and children, were slaughtered in one night. Not even a single cattle or sheep was left alive."

A deathly silence fell within the tent. Kebineng's knuckles, gripping the broken sword, suddenly turned white, and the scimitar at Ulanda's waist rang softly. Murong Xuepo, seemingly oblivious to the stifling atmosphere, continued, "The Jie people were forced into the gorge by Cheliji's Western Qiang cavalry. Ridiculous! How long can they survive in this freezing weather? As for Beidi County..." He suddenly chuckled, a chill in his voice. "Aguda and his fifty thousand Xianbei warriors were divided and annihilated in Beidi County in just one month. The wolf-head battle flag of the Right Guli King now serves as a flagpole in front of Ma Chao's tent."

"Enough!" Hu Yanbaye's black yak-hide armor knocked over the bronze tripod behind him. "Only cowards would be frightened by rumors! Fifty thousand elite troops? We're just going to test the waters!" The wine vessels made of Han skulls hanging from his waist collided with each other, making a creepy sound. "Even if Ma Chao had three heads and six arms, he can't defeat our two hundred thousand cavalry!"

Murong Xuepo simply looked at him coldly, picking up a charred sheep bone with the tip of his knife. "Zuo Xian Wang, do you think Ma Chao won by brute force? The men of Xiliang he raised through farming are even more fearless than our cavalry. The fortified forts he established have turned every village into a meat grinder." He hurled the sheep bone fiercely at the word "Wuwei" on the map. "Now, he's marching towards us with tens of thousands of fresh troops, while we're still expending our forces beneath this fortified city. Great Chanyu, do you think this is a wise move?"

Ke Bineng clenched the edge of the table, his knuckles denting the hide-wrapped wood. The wolf-head seal glowed a bloodthirsty crimson in the firelight. "Does the Right Wise King intend to send the Xianbei cavalry fleeing back to the grasslands?" His hoarse voice was shrouded in ice. "Those Han people we slaughtered, those cities we plundered—do you think the Han will just let this go?"

Murong Xuepo, however, remained unhurried. His silver armor gleamed coldly under the flickering light. His pale blue eyes swept over the restless generals in the tent. "Great Chanyu, we have captured hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, and countless gold and silk during our march south." He raised his hand and waved it gently, as if dispersing the invisible smoke of gunpowder. "The combat effectiveness of the Western Liang cavalry far exceeded expectations. Ma Dai led the remnants to defend Wuwei to the death, and even women and children were able to enter the city to fight the enemy. Do you really want the blood of the Xianbei men to be shed in vain beneath the Han city walls?"

An uproar erupted in the tent. Tuoba Ya's scimitar scraped against its scabbard with a sharp sound. Hu Yan Liehuo, wrapped in a bearskin cloak, growled, "Cowardice before battle! This is a disgrace to the Xianbei people!" Hu Yan Baye roared and overturned the copper furnace beside him. Sparks flew onto Murong Xuepo's silver armor, creating tiny streaks of light.

"Enough!" Ke Bineng's golden sword slammed down the center of the map, the blade slicing the word "Wuwei" in half. "Murong Xuepo, do you think you can rest easy just by retreating to the grasslands? If Ma Chao isn't eliminated, he'll become a serious threat someday!"

Ke Bineng slowly sheathed his golden sword at his waist. His gaze rested on Murong Xuepo for a moment before turning to the people in the tent. "While the Right Wise King's words may sound cowardly, they are not entirely without reason." His voice was deep and thunderous, rustling the animal hides in the tent. "Ma Chao is advancing with great force. If we don't stop him, our army will be attacked from both sides!"

"Yuwen Dashi!" Ke Bineng suddenly raised his head and spoke in a voice like a bell.

Right General Yuwen Dashi stepped forward, twelve eagle-feathered arrows gleaming a faint blue in the firelight—they were lethal weapons imbued with snake venom. He knelt on one knee, pounding his chest with a rough hand. "I am here!"

"Immediately lead Qi Fuyun and Guifadao and assemble 50,000 elite cavalry!" Ke Bineng pointed fiercely at the route of Ma Chao's reinforcements on the map. "Be sure to stop the Xiliang cavalry! Remember, only delay, not fight head-on. Buy time for me to capture Wuwei!"

Qifu Yun came forward wrapped in a bearskin cloak, a low beast-like laugh emanating from his throat: "Don't worry, Great Chanyu! My three thousand 'Frost Wolf Riders' will definitely let Ma Chao have a taste of the rain of arrows on the grassland!" Ghost Hair Knife had a gloomy face, and the child's shin bone bracelet wrapped around his waist rustled with his movements. He silently tightened his grip on the scimitar in his hand.