Chapter 67: Fierce Mounted Archery

Han Xian was in his early thirties, in his prime, with a robust and formidable physique. He rode a sturdy, bluish-gray horse, wearing a golden helmet and golden armor without any embroidered robes, draped only in a crimson campaign cloak.

Seeing the Northern Tiger Guard dare to form ranks along the imperial highway and slowly press forward in a horizontal line, he reined in his horse and laughed with the chieftains flanking him, "I originally thought Hou's partisans were just lying to deceive me, but who would have thought these little brutes are actually this arrogant. Aside from ambushing Li Le, they even dare to raid me!"

The chieftain on his left held the reins with his left hand while carrying the battle flag of the 'General Conquering the East' on his shoulder with his right hand, and also laughed, "The little brutes have traveled from afar, and their men and horses are exhausted. They are simply bringing horses for the General."

"Indeed! We shall seize their horses, and then go to Jiangyi to ask the old fool Zhao Yan what he is up to!" Han Xian said with a smug smile, raising his voice, "We shall also demand a clear explanation from the Son of Heaven!"

"Precisely! We must demand a clear explanation!"

Another flag-bearing cavalry general loudly echoed, "The imperial court has failed the General; nothing less than the title of Great General will suffice!"

He was carrying the battle flag of the 'Governor of Youzhou', and another cavalry general beside him, who bore the battle flag with the character 'Han', glared and immediately chimed in loudly, "When the Great General establishes his headquarters and records the affairs of the Masters of Writing, the General must appoint me as a subordinate official!"

"Haha! What subordinate official? I shall make you a General! A commandery administrator of your own territory!"

Han Xian laughed heartily, raising his horse whip in his right hand. The hundred-odd cavalrymen gradually slowed their pace, and the dust stirred up from behind followed the wind.

A mile to the north, Zhao Ji had completed the formation of his four troops. He turned his head to look right, where Cavalry Commandant Wang Qi and four troops of Chang Mao's cavalry had also outflanked the western side of the imperial highway by half a mile and begun reorganizing their formation.

With a slight headwind, the dust drifted northward.

Seeing the opposing cavalry showing signs of slowing down and reforming, Zhao Ji tilted his head and asked Han Shu beside him, "Are you afraid?"

Han Shu was momentarily stunned, then resolutely replied, "Not afraid!"

"We outnumber the enemy, so let's charge!"

Zhao Ji lightly kicked his horse's flank, and behind him on the chariot, Gaoyang Long held high a newly sewn battle flag bearing four characters: *Acting Under Imperial Decree to Punish Rebels.*

The four troops of Tiger Guard cavalry formed a V-shaped wild-goose array and drove their horses forward, though the formation could hardly be called neat. Zhao Ji was like a golden gem embedded at the very front of the V-shape, followed by a dozen mounted retainers including Han Shu and Pei Bao. Even Hu Ban held a crossbow, waiting for the opportunity to engage and shoot down the enemy cavalry.

To Zhao Ji's surprise, the hundred-odd enemy cavalry reined in their horses and remained stationary. Could it be that they were simply waiting for his side to charge? Or perhaps they assumed his force was only there for mounted archery harassment?

That made sense. In the present era without dual stirrups, only true elite cavalry could drive their horses into a charge and engage in close combat on horseback. The vast majority of cavalry relied primarily on scouting and mounted archery, with close-quarters combat as a secondary tactic. Only elite Han and nomadic cavalry possessed the qualities required to launch assault tactics.

Seeing that the enemy refused to move, Zhao Ji felt they intended to wait for his side's horses to tire out and then strike back with the advantage of rest.

On the western side of the imperial highway, Jia Tong held a halberd pointing diagonally southeastward at the enemy infantry, who were advancing in a brisk march. "Go harass them! I shall lead my own troop to support the Colonel!"

"Understood!"

Though young, Chang Mao waved his cavalry spear and spurred his horse forward instantly. His two troops of cavalry followed him as he pushed south.

As Chang Mao's unit set into motion, the advancing enemy infantry column twisted in disorder. Dust filled the western side of the imperial highway, and the opposing marching column could only see Chang Mao's troop charging forward amid the flying dust, unable to discern the true strength hidden behind him. Out of caution, the entire infantry marching column halted to form a defense, grouping themselves in clusters of two to three hundred men to form roughly three battle groups.

Amid the shouting of military officers and leaders, shield-bearers lined up at the front, and archers drew their bowstrings in formation.

As Chang Mao noticed the dust rising behind him, a clever idea came to mind, but unfortunately, time was too tight to put it into practice. He could only rein in his horse to slow down, keeping his cavalry troop at a distance of two hundred paces while glaring at the enemy.

At this moment, Jia Tong watched anxiously, fervently hoping that Zhao Ji would shoot down Han Xian. Even if he could not kill him, he wanted him to throw Han Xian's cavalry into complete disarray.

Looking back to the south, Han Xian saw the infantry marching column suddenly halt and cursed, "Those little brutes have some nerve!"

What angered him even more was the infantry's poor execution, growing slack the moment they encountered a shred of opportunity.

At this time, the south gate of Wenxi opened, and a force of a hundred infantry and cavalry attempted to sally forth. A nearby troop of Tiger Guard cavalry immediately swarmed to entangle them. This band of rebel soldiers did not dare to let their infantry and cavalry fight detached from one another; instead, their cavalry covered both flanks while infantrymen armed with heavy bows fired from a standing position to drive away the harassing Tiger Guards.

This troop of Tiger Guards belonged to Jing Chun, who quickly led another troop to converge on the spot. Meanwhile, Cavalry Commandant Wang Qi still held two troops of Tiger Guards in reserve, remaining vigilant against any other contingencies that might arise. He also watched the battle a mile south of the highway with tense nerves.

"Hit!"

Zhao Ji grabbed his ox-horn cavalry bow and drew it to its limit, loosing an arrow. Ninety paces away, Han Xian tilted his head to dodge, and the flag-bearing cavalryman directly behind him took an arrow straight to the forehead. The arrow struck dead center on the helmet and bounced off, causing the man's neck to snap backward violently. With wide eyes, he fainted and slowly tumbled sideways off his horse.

Seeing the flag about to fall, another nearby rider reached out to grab the flagstaff, staring in horror at Han Xian, who had turned his head back.

Mounted archery usually took place at thirty or fifty paces, while javelins and throwing axes were limited to just over a dozen paces. For the enemy to fire arrows against the wind while mounted at a distance of eighty or ninety paces was completely beyond the comprehension of the men around Han Xian. Foot bows generally had a twenty-pace greater range than cavalry bows, and mounted archery lacked the piercing power of infantry archery.

Just as Han Xian turned his head back, he saw Zhao Ji loose another arrow. This time, he ducked low, but a knight behind him took an arrow straight to the face and likewise plunged off his horse.

"The rebels insult me by treating me as a man of no consequence!"

Han Xian was consumed with rage. Seething with anger, he fiercely kicked his horse's flank and yanked hard on the reins, violently forcing his mount into a sideways turn to flee. The surrounding riders, seeing this, scattered their horses toward both flanks.

Seeing the enemy cavalry dispersing to the flanks, Zhao Ji kept his eyes fixed on the three battle flags as he gave chase, no longer bothering with meticulous aiming. Pouring more concentration into controlling his horse to keep his posture steady, he drew his cavalry bow to the full and loosed arrows toward the banners.

As the distance between the two sides rapidly closed, his shooting accuracy recovered swiftly.

When they were about thirty paces apart, Han Shu beside him raised his crossbow, took aim ahead, and tripped the trigger. He immediately stowed the crossbow into his horse's gear, drew his cavalry bow, and fired rapidly at six or seven-tenths draw, primarily to disrupt the enemy archers.

Pei Bao and Hu Ban kept their crossbows loaded without firing, and the accompanying mounted servants did not aim carefully either, relying on rapid fire to suppress the enemy. As long as an arrow struck an enemy horse, the animal would panic and become uncontrollable, effectively stripping the enemy of any capacity to counterattack.

The Tiger Guard cavalry on both flanks flowed like water, veering toward the wings as they closed to within twenty or thirty paces, unleashing volleys of rapid archery. Though there were numerous Tiger Guard cavalrymen and an occasional rider was hit, instances of falling from horses were rare.

The enemy also dispersed and retreated to the flanks. For a time, panicked horses reared and bolted in dense confusion, and these frightened mounts disrupted the counterattacking horsemen nearby, preventing them from suppressing the Tiger Guard's mounted archery.

Chasing after Han Xian, Zhao Ji closed the distance to a dozen paces. Each time he drew his bow, he shot down another of the enemy.

A rider holding the 'General Conquering the East' battle flag was clad in gleaming silver armor; Zhao Ji struck him at close range with an arrow through the back of his skull, leaving the man slumped motionless over his horse's neck. The banner in his hand crashed to the ground. A mounted servant behind Zhao Ji executed a classic maneuver, sliding down to hang by one foot in the stirrup while reaching out to scoop up the banner and drag it behind him.

Just as the servant caught his breath, engaged his core muscles, clamped his thighs around the horse's barrel, and vaulted back up into a secure seat in the saddle, a stray arrow flew from the front and pierced his left shoulder, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the reins and tumble from his horse.

As Han Xian fled westward, Jia Tong, who had been watching from the sidelines, immediately joined the pursuit.

Seeing this, Han Xian abruptly whipped his horse around and bolted eastward, where the Suo River flowed turbulent and wide. Ignoring whether he might drown, he preferred to drive his horse into a desperate leap into the Suo River rather than be surrounded by the Tiger Guard cavalry. Once trapped in encirclement by the numerous Tiger Guards, who could save him?

Just as Han Xian wheeled his horse around in a panic, another close retainer carrying the battle flag with the character 'Han' took an arrow in the back and instantly pitched forward. The banner slipped from his hand, but unfortunately, his left foot became entangled in the single-sided leather stirrup. After tumbling down and bouncing back up, he was dragged along the ground by the running horse.

As Han Xian glanced back to assess Zhao Ji, his peripheral vision caught sight of that unfortunate retainer, and he saw yet another retainer abandon the 'Governor of Youzhou' battle flag and flee southward in reckless desperation.

The imperial highway was barely three miles from the Suo River. Han Xian drove his horse to leap into the rice paddies, only to find the paddy fields muddy and his horse's hooves sinking deep.

Zhao Ji pursued him to the edge of the paddy field and saw Han Xian whipping his mount frantically, struggling to wade forward. The two were barely thirty paces apart.

With a swift leap, Zhao Ji dismounted, drew his painted bow from the horse's gear, pulled an arrow, drew the bow to a full circle, and gently released the string.

The arrow left a trailing blur within his field of vision, plunging deep into Han Xian's shoulder and back.

Han Xian's entire body jerked violently. Before he could turn his head, Zhao Ji's second arrow arrived, striking dead center on the back of Han Xian's helmet and piercing straight through the base of his skull.

"His death was certainly swift."

Zhao Ji turned to survey his surroundings. Spotting another enemy horseman in the distance, he drew his bow to full string and loosed another arrow.

Without even bothering to look at the result, he stowed the painted bow into its housing, remounted, and noticed Hu Ban riding up with his crossbow still leveled. "Big Brother, why didn't you shoot?"

"When the enemy is within ten paces, a lethal strike actually carries meaning." Hu Ban was panting heavily, his face flushed red. "Killing rebels alongside younger brother Axiu is truly exhilarating!"

Several mounted servants had already dismounted, splashing through the muddy paddy fields to drag the corpses. A few others urged their horses along the raised earthen ridges of the paddies to capture Han Xian's sturdy, prized steed.

Looking back, Zhao Ji saw Pei Bao dismounting forty or fifty paces away, busy hacking off heads with his ring-pommel saber. The discarded battle flags nearby lay there quietly; Pei Bao had no inkling of what those banners truly signified.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Zhao Ji still felt his head spinning slightly, unable to fathom why the enemy had proven so brittle in combat. In his understanding, regardless of whether they had shock cavalry or not, a direct charge was the proper course of action.

Yet Han Xian had actually abandoned the cavalry's most vital attribute—mobility. Without mobility, man and horse alike became nothing more than massive, stationary targets. While armored knights could endure arrow strikes to some extent and retain enough control to withdraw, horses possessed no such self-control. Once struck by arrows, they would invariably panic and bolt, throwing their companions into disorder as well. Moreover, a horse struck by arrows while charging at full gallop behaved entirely differently from one struck while standing still.

Perhaps Han Xian had grown too accustomed to the harassment tactics of the Xiongnu nomads, never expecting his opponent's mounted archery to be so ferocious.