Chapter 43

"The outcome of this battle is already decided!" When Chen Qingzhi saw the first Qiang person fleeing, he made his judgment; in a battle between two armies, most casualties occur during the rout, and the Qiang people fight with sheer courage and rush forward. Now, under the intimidation of Pan Feng, their courage has been completely lost. With the first one fleeing, it won't be long before the entire army collapses!

"Chase them! Don't let them send messages to the Xiongnu!" Li You also drew his long sword and charged forward. The intense fighting on the battlefield made his adrenaline surge; the journey ahead would be long, and it might be his turn to fight personally at any moment. He might as well use this opportunity to practice his skills!

Thus, the few bodyguards originally assigned to protect him also rushed forward, leaving only Chen Qingzhi and the attendants Li You had arranged to guard the mission's supplies.

A combat strength of 23 might not sound impressive, but it was enough to deal with these Qiang youths who were starving and had lost the courage to fight back! The sword skills he had learned from Xu Guang came in handy, and the famous eight-sided Han sword, crafted by a renowned sword master, flashed like lightning across the necks of the fleeing Qiang people.

The sharp blade easily cut through the neck with almost no resistance, and the Qiang person didn't even have time to scream before his head separated from his shoulders, a gush of blood spurting out.

Without time to savor the feeling of his first kill, Li You faced the second Qiang person. He leaned back, lying flat on the horse to avoid the curved blade, and then slashed upward with his sword, slicing open his opponent's chest and abdomen. The Qiang person's chest and abdomen were wide open, and he couldn't die immediately, only able to let out futile cries, further eroding the already exhausted courage of the Qiang people.

"Lord Pan is mighty!" Pan Feng, who had just beheaded three people, turned around and couldn't help but cheer.

"Governor is mighty!" Tang Yifu also joined in, shouting to the young ruffians, "The governor has taken the field personally; why don't you fight with all your might?"

At this time, it wasn't long since the end of the Qin Dynasty, and Dong Zhongshu had not yet been favored by Emperor Wu of Han, so Confucianism had not yet become the ruling ideology of Central China! The martial spirit had not been eroded and was still deeply ingrained in the Han people! It was this spirit that led to the glory of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing driving out the Xiongnu, and Chen Tang's bold declaration, "Those who dare to offend our mighty Han will be punished, no matter how far they are." It was this spirit that inspired these wandering knights to follow Li You deep into enemy territory for wealth and glory.

Seeing the governor take the field personally, these wandering knights couldn't help but put forth all their strength. They sang songs and swung their swords, charging at the Qiang people.

These songs made Li You's blood boil, and he couldn't help but sing along:

"Clad in iron armor, wielding a long sword. We fight together, the road is long.

United in enmity, sharing life and death. We fight together, our hearts never tire.

Stepping on Yanran, chasing the barbarians. We fight together, singing without fear."

This was a popular military song in the Han army after the famous general Dou Xian defeated the Northern Xiongnu and inscribed his victory on Yanran Mountain; the engraving on Yanran Mountain, along with Huo Qubing's sealing of Langjuxu, became the highest glory in Chinese military history!

Today, Li You sang this song to boost the morale of the soldiers. No matter how rampant the Xiongnu are now, one day our Han army will flatten their Yanran Mountain; with me and you fighting together, whether it's the Xiongnu or the Qiang, these barbarians will ultimately be swept away by our great army!

"Clad in iron armor, wielding a long sword. We fight together, the road is long.

United in enmity, sharing life and death. We fight together, our hearts never tire.

Stepping on Yanran, chasing the barbarians. We fight together, singing without fear."

This song was easy to sing, and the young ruffians from Chang'an quickly joined in, even Chen Qingzhi in the rear couldn't help but start clapping along!

This military song seemed to give them a morale boost, and the Han soldiers fought more bravely, while the Qiang people kept retreating in the song, soon being scattered and killed! The few dozen who survived were quickly surrounded by Pan Feng and Li You!

"Tell them to drop their weapons and kneel to beg for mercy, and we will spare their lives for now!" Li You said to Tang Yifu, who then repeated it in both Xiongnu and Qiang languages. The Qiang people, no longer daring to fight, dismounted, threw down their weapons, and knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed tightly to the ground, not even daring to look at these brave Han soldiers.

"Bind them, secure the horses! Rest for a while, and then we will go to their tribe!" After Li You ordered the tally of the battle results, the Qiang people had about 70 to 80 dead and wounded, with only about 40 left unharmed!

On the Han side, only a few soldiers were lightly injured. They didn't care as the doctors in the mission treated their wounds, loudly boasting to their companions about their bravery.

As for the injured Qiang people, Li You didn't bother to waste medicine on them and ordered them to be finished off, sending them to join their fallen comrades! He then asked about their tribe with the help of Tang Yifu.

After a while, Li You stood up and shouted, "Lads, are you hungry? Do you want to eat meat and drink wine?"

"Yes! Governor! We've been eating dry rations for over a day, and our mouths are dry!" After a few days of interaction, these young ruffians knew that Li You had no airs, so they spoke more freely, "Is the governor going to treat us to wine and meat?"

"It's not me!" Li You kicked the captive who had just answered, "This fellow said that their tribe has already started slaughtering sheep and preparing wine to celebrate their victory! But now that they have been defeated by us, the celebration wine will be wasted, won't it?"

"Haha! Not wasted! Even though most of them are dead, aren't we still here?" The young ruffians laughed loudly, "We'll help them eat it; we can't let them prepare it in vain, can we?"

"Good! Then what are we waiting for?" Li You pointed his long sword in the direction of the Qiang tribe, "Can you see the smoke from the roasted lamb? We shouldn't keep the hosts waiting!"

The young ruffians mounted their horses, continuing to sing the military song Li You had taught them, and drove the captives toward the Qiang tribe!

As they approached the tribe, Chen Qingzhi directed the troops to split into several groups, tightly surrounding the tribe and cutting off their route to the south to seek aid from the Xiongnu. Then they slowed their horses and approached the Qiang camp.

"Hmm? Something's wrong!" Dian Liang, who was dreaming of wealth in his tent, sensed something amiss and hurried to the camp entrance, just in time to meet Li You, Pan Feng, and Chen Qingzhi approaching.

Li You waved his hand, and dozens of heads were thrown at Dian Liang's feet. Then he looked down at Dian Liang from above, "I heard your tribe has prepared wine and meat. We have come uninvited. Do you welcome us or not?"