After killing the sentry, the logical next step should have been to attack. Catch them unprepared and seize the upper hand. But the nomadic tribes excelled at riding and archery, and even the mighty Dayu Warriors would be at a disadvantage in unfamiliar terrain against their tall and robust foes.
Everyone knows there will be casualties in battle, but it's always painful when the soldiers you live and laugh with suddenly drop dead, their warm bodies turned cold. Fang Heng still remembered his father's gloom for half a month after a close attendant died. Later General Fang taught him, "If you don't want to lose many people, you must plan ahead to protect them."
But how does one provide such protection?
Fang Heng thought back to the days at the dilapidated temple, the pit he dug for Zhou Zhiquiang, how he outsmarted the county magistrate at Xieyang, and the game of cat and mouse he played with the Wang family.
Those bits and pieces of life experience, combined with his father's military teachings, proved increasingly useful.
His eyes lit up brilliantly as he held back the restless Dayu Warriors and said in a low voice, "Jiang Yi and Fifth Jiang, take twenty men to lure the enemy. Be careful and protect yourselves. The rest come with me and lie in ambush."
After several joint attacks annihilating the Northern Nomads over the past period, Jiang Yi and company had absolute trust in Fang Heng and obeyed without question.
Jiang Yi immediately led his men forward while the others retreated to conceal themselves, ready to fight at any time.
The tactics were not difficult to understand.
More than twenty Dayu Warriors rushing forward would first surprise the Northern Nomads, then anger them. Seeking to avenge their lookout, they would try to surround and wipe out the warriors.
It was known the nomads had at most thirty men. Being cautious, they would send out forty or fifty but not empty the nest.
When they chased the warriors to the ambush point, the lying-in-wait Dayu Warriors would jump out and slaughter the Northern Nomads.
"Do we keep going, Captain?" Jiang Yi asked.
Fang Heng shook his head.
The same trick wouldn't work twice. The Northern Nomads weren't fools. They would be vigilant and suspicious.
"What do we do now then?" Jiang Wu asked hesitantly. "Should we keep hiding?"
Bingo.
Fang Heng snapped his fingers. "All troops stand by and ambush."
Having lost their lookout with dozens of tribesmen also missing, the cautious Northern Nomads would send troops to investigate.
Now it came down to the abilities and numbers on both sides.
If the nomads sent more men, the Dayu Warriors would stand still until they were far away, then raid the home base. Otherwise, they would directly kill through and raid the Northern Nomads outpost.
In warfare, flexibility and responsiveness were key. One couldn't simply follow others' precedents or memorize stratagems from books. This was the conclusion Fang Heng had reached after two years of fighting.
He held his breath, crouching behind the lush green grass with eyes fixed ahead.
After about the time needed to drink a cup of tea, there was the sound of hooves. Over thirty Northern Nomads came cursing foully upon seeing signs of fighting. From experience over the years, the cursing was quite nasty.
Jiang Liu sidled over and asked in a low voice, "Captain, there aren't many of them. Should we take them out?"
Everyone immediately gripped their long knives, ready to charge in at any time.
Fang Heng pressed his lips. By convention, now was the best time to rush in and kill the Northern Nomads. But they weren't fools either. It wouldn't be so easy every time to lead them step-by-step into a trap.
To put it bluntly, if the Northern Nomads were that easy to deal with, the Dayu Dynasty’s borders wouldn’t have been unsettled for decades.
"Wait first." Fang Heng whispered.
Though itching for action, his men still suppressed their emotions out of respect.
After another cup of tea’s time, just as the front Northern Nomads were about to mount their horses, several hundred more nomads came from behind, babbling as if to confirm there was no ambush.
Jiang Liu broke into a cold sweat. If they had attacked earlier, they would now be prey surrounded by the Northern Nomads.
Though fairly evenly matched in numbers, engaging Northern Nomads in mobile warfare on horseback would be no easy victory for the Dayu Dynasty.
"Captain, what should we do now?" Jiang Yi also came over to ask.
Fang Heng’s mind raced.
With just over a hundred elite Dayu Warriors, their combat power tripled against four hundred Northern Nomads. A head-on clash had to be avoided. It would take strategy to minimize casualties.
Through decades of fighting the nomads, the Dayu Dynasty knew its weakness in mounted combat, inventing the "stumbling rope" to target these equestrian peoples. But due to geographical restrictions, it was gradually abandoned.
Fang Heng remembered bringing more than twenty this time just in case. Now he wanted to use them.
"Jiang Wu, immediately gather fifty top riders and archers and tie outer robes to their horses’ tails."
"Jiang Yi, lead the others to prepare. After the Northern Nomads give chase, bury the stumbling ropes on site, marked with two branches."
The two responded without hesitation.
Soon Jiang Yi caught on. "Captain, the Northern Nomads give chase? Chase where?"
Fang Heng didn’t reply. He took off his robe, tied it to his horse’s tail, mounted his horse and nodded to Jiang Wu. Then he pulled the reins taut and shouted, “Ride!”
The fifty top riders followed shouting, “Ride!”
The wind howled as it blew back the youths’ hair. Four hundred murderous Northern Nomads flanked them, ready to trample the Dayu Warriors into the dirt at any moment. But they felt no fear, continuing to gallop ahead.
The robes tied to the horses’ tails also fluttered up in the wind, expanding the original fifty riders to over a hundred.
"Dayu men!"
"Damn Dayu men. They killed our brethren!"
The enraged Northern Nomads swiftly turned their horses in pursuit.
The nomads’ horses were extremely fast. The distance between the two groups shortened rapidly. Fang Heng turned around, untied the robe from his horse’s tail, and threw it back forcefully.
The rest followed suit. A countless number of clothes flew at the Northern Nomads, briefly slowing them down.
But the unrelenting chase continued. The Northern Nomads’ unintelligible cries and murderous aura stayed glued behind the Dayu Warriors, ready to crush them into the ground at any moment.
“Warriors, faster!” Fang Heng yelled. “Don’t end up Northern Nomad fodder!”
At his word, the youths picked up speed, galloping so fast they seemed to disappear.
Yet their path drifted imperceptibly to the right, tracing a circle on the plains as they eventually looped back to their starting point from another direction.
It took about three cups of tea, nearly exhausting the horses and drenching the youths in sweat. Still, the Northern Nomads clung stubbornly to their heels, the gap between them shrinking.
Fortunately, the stumbling ropes were already set.
Fang Heng eyed the branches marking their position, whistled, and the fifty riders cleverly scattered and threw themselves left and right, precisely avoiding the hidden ropes.
In that instant,
Dayu Dynasty horses tumbled, and the closely tailing Northern Nomads horses tumbled as well. The ferocious nomads fell, crashing heavily—some even fractured bones.
The lying-in-wait Dayu Warriors burst out with long knives, fighting fiercely with the remaining Northern Nomads.
Horseless, the Northern Nomads retreated from their dominant stance over the plains. Without horses, the Dayu Dynasty might be second best, but none dared claim first!
Kill!
Long knives slit throats. Hot blood splattered everywhere. No cries for help or wails sounded.
The exhausted survivors and the angrily dead-eyed.
