Chapter 74

On the parade ground, the weapons were like a forest, and the banners fluttered in the wind. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses surrounded the field, making it impossible for water to pass through. The king of the Yuezhi and the nobles of the five tribes—Xiumi, Shuangmi, Guishuang, Pandon, and Dumu—sat high on the platform, quietly watching the more than fifty Han soldiers below. △↗

Li You, Tang Yifu, and the second prince of Loulan, Fumitu, sat beside the king of the Yuezhi. Hu Weishika sat slightly lower, introducing the opponents to Li You, "These two hundred soldiers are the elite of our Guishuang tribe. General Weixishika, who leads them, is a renowned general of the Yuezhi. He has won many battles against the Wusun and is deeply trusted by the king and beloved by his soldiers. Although your envoy's men are skilled in combat, it seems rather rash to use only fifty men against General Weixishika's two hundred. Why not start with one hundred men?"

"I have full confidence that General Chen can lead his men to victory!" Li You replied confidently, despite the fact that his Eagle Eye skill had not yielded any results earlier. A 1:4 numerical disadvantage was nothing to Chen Qingzhi.

"Hmph! The Han envoy is too disrespectful to our Yuezhi army!" A noble from the Guishuang tribe grumbled, thinking that Weixishika, as the pride of the Guishuang tribe, should not have to fight with such a numerical advantage. Even if they won, it would not be glorious! As for the possibility of losing, he did not think it was even possible!

"Hey! What? Do you think General Weixishika will lose? He is the genius of your Guishuang tribe! How could he lose to a much smaller force?" A noble from the Dumu tribe mocked, though the five tribes of the Yuezhi were all under the king's jurisdiction, they often had conflicts with each other.

"If two hundred men can't defeat fifty, General Weixishika won't be called the top general of the Yuezhi!" A noble from the Pandon tribe chimed in, though he did not think Weixishika would lose. He was just trying to diminish the significance of Weixishika's victory.

"Enough! No more arguments. Let General Chen and General Weixishika begin!" The king sighed inwardly, knowing that the five tribes were still at odds even with a major enemy approaching. The prospects for the upcoming battle against the Wusun did not look good!

"By the order of His Majesty the King! The martial demonstration between the Han Empire and the Yuezhi Kingdom officially begins!" A herald walked to the front of the platform and announced loudly. His voice quickly spread throughout the parade ground. "The Han Empire will guard the red flag, and the Yuezhi army will guard the white flag. The side that captures the opponent's flag will be declared the winner! This demonstration is for friendly competition, and you must avoid intentionally harming each other!"

To prevent injuries, the weapons for this demonstration were replaced with wooden swords and spears dipped in white ash. If a vital part of a soldier's body was marked with white, they had to immediately withdraw from the demonstration. This was a tactic Li You had learned from the novel "Water Margin," where Yang Zhi and Suo Chao engaged in a duel in Daming Prefecture.

As the herald's words ended, Chen Qingzhi and Weixishika led their respective teams to the center of the parade ground, dividing them into eastern and western sides. Weixishika divided his men into three parts, with fifty cavalry on each side forming smaller formations to protect the flanks, while he personally led a hundred cavalry to guard the white flag. Chen Qingzhi, with fewer men, simply grouped his fifty men together, placing the red flag slightly behind the center.

Woo~~ Woo~~ The herald on the platform blew the horn, signaling that the first clash between the Han Empire and the Yuezhi army was about to begin! Tens of thousands of spectators on the platform and around the parade ground all turned their eyes to Weixishika, the renowned general of the Yuezhi, to see how he would begin the first attack.

"Whoosh!" The sudden change in the situation made everyone gasp. The Han soldiers, far fewer in number, launched the first attack! The Han army split into two parts, with forty men forming a wedge formation and charging towards Weixishika's center, while the other ten men remained to guard their red flag.

"Center, advance to meet the enemy! Flanks, bypass the enemy and capture their red flag!" Weixishika reacted quickly, personally leading the center to engage the approaching Han army, while the flanks curved around to attack the rear of the Han army.

One hundred against forty in the center, and fifty soldiers on each flank circling around to attack the ten men guarding the red flag. Weixishika had a clear numerical advantage on all sides.

Just as the center and the Han vanguard were about to engage, a whistle sounded, and the Han vanguard suddenly turned their horses and charged to the side, apparently preparing to intercept the right flank of the Yuezhi.

"Right flank, no need to attack, just hold them off! Center, immediately support!" Weixishika reacted quickly, but the Han vanguard did not attack as he expected. Instead, they circled back to join the main force, and Weixishika's army immediately pursued them.

After this maneuver, the left flank of the Yuezhi army had slightly detached from the main force. They had not been intercepted and were now almost in front of the Han army! The fifty Han soldiers, who had fought their way from Chang'an to the Western Regions, easily crushed them! Before Weixishika's rear could come to their aid, his left flank was completely annihilated, and the Han army had not lost more than five men.

Such a flexible formation and such powerful instant killing power shocked the king of the Yuezhi and the nobles of the various tribes on the platform. This far exceeded the capabilities of the Yuezhi's most elite army and was far superior to the personal guard of the Wusun king, Liejiaomi.

Under Chen Qingzhi's command, the Han army, which had won many battles with fewer men, ran around the parade ground, making Weixishika's forces stretch out. Gradually, the vanguard and the rear of Weixishika's army became separated from the main force.

Suddenly, they circled around and caught up with Weixishika's rear, defeated the enemy, and then calmly retreated! They then turned around and crushed the vanguard that had run too far ahead, and retreated again! The Han army, under Chen Qingzhi's command, acted like a cunning wolf, constantly using its mobility to avoid Weixishika, the giant bear, and tearing pieces of flesh from him at every turn!

After an hour, Weixishika's two hundred men were completely wiped out. The remaining thirty Han soldiers easily took the white flag from him, securing a crushing victory.

"The Han army is indeed extraordinary!" The king of the Yuezhi finally recovered from his shock and praised them.

"Your Majesty is too kind! This battle was partly due to General Weixishika's unfamiliarity with General Chen's tactics, and partly because our Han military strategy far surpasses that of the Western Regions!" Li You said proudly. "In fact, even if we gave General Chen a thousand of your men and trained them to fight against General Weixishika's two thousand, he could still win!"

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