Chapter 84

This was the first time Xun had seen a single combat between generals, and even the first time he had witnessed a genuine cavalry battle. In the past, when he followed Taishi Ci to break out of Duchang, he did see Yellow Turban cavalry blocking their way, but either they were shot down from a distance by Taishi Ziyi's arrows, or they were knocked off their horses with a single thrust when they got close. The three of them didn't even stop their horses—this was a crushing victory, not a duel.

It wasn't until this time that he truly understood what an ancient cavalry battle was all about.

He saw both sides put away their bows and arrows, and each held a long weapon in their hands. Sun Ce wielded a long halberd, with a blade over two feet long, and the smaller branches were no less than thirty centimeters. Taishi Ci, on the other hand, used a horse spear, with a spearhead longer and thicker than Sun Ce's halberd. Each general held their long weapon under their armpit with their upper arm, then used their left hand to control the reins, pulling back to a distance of about forty to fifty steps...

Xun thought to himself, is it really like in medieval European knight movies, where cavalry battles are just about charging at each other? That would make it very easy to determine a winner. But then he thought, that's not right; knights had to bind a shield to their left arm, but these two don't have shields. Could it be that one charge would end in mutual destruction, and they would just part ways?

Upon closer inspection, the next scene was different. The two riders faced each other from a distance, then each let go of the reins and controlled their mounts with their legs. Xun saw that they both extended their right arms, flicked their wrists, and raised their weapons, using their left hands as well—although they still aimed directly at each other, using both hands to wield the weapons made them much more flexible and allowed for more intricate maneuvers. As the novels often say: one move produced ten thousand spear points!

Well, that number is a bit exaggerated... but in short, with Xun's eyesight and abilities, he couldn't tell where the halberd and spear were truly aimed. He heard a "clang" as the blades met, and the two horses passed each other. Normally, this would mark the end of one round, and the horses would turn around for the second round. However, this wasn't a charge of iron-clad knights; as the two generals passed each other, they swung their weapons back, sweeping them in a wide arc, and there was another "clang" as they separated.

Xun was mesmerized, but he was just watching for entertainment. If there were a true expert here, they would immediately notice—Taishi Ci was at a disadvantage!

The problem was the stirrups... well, only Taishi Ci had stirrups, so to be precise, it should be called the moment the two horses passed each other. The sweeping motion as they passed, though not difficult to block, could easily cause injury if not done carefully. Sun Ce, wearing fish-scale armor, would be pierced through if Taishi Ci's spearhead struck him directly, but a light swipe would be like scratching an itch. Even if Taishi Ci's strength was great and the swipe caught Sun Ce off guard, it might not even break the leather lining of the armor, let alone Sun Ce's skin.

However, Taishi Ci was only wearing a padded jacket, with no armor at all—his leather armor was still in the saddlebag, and he hadn't expected to encounter enemies here, so he hadn't put it on. If Sun Ce's halberd head swept across a part of Taishi Ci's body, it would definitely cause blood to spurt, as Taishi Ziyi hadn't practiced the "Golden Bell Cover, Iron Shirt" technique!

So when the two weapons swept past each other, both generals were forced to pull back slightly. Sun Ce pulled back a little, but Taishi Ci pulled back a lot. This larger movement naturally affected the galloping of the horses, so when they turned around to prepare for the second round, Taishi Ci was clearly half a beat slower than Sun Ce.

Each round, Taishi Ci was half a beat slower, and he soon lost the initiative, being pressed by Sun Ce. In a few rounds, Ziyi was already breaking out in a cold sweat. He was still trying to figure out how to regain the initiative when Sun Ce, not letting up, directly locked Taishi Ci's spear with his halberd when they met again.

If both were using spears, this wouldn't work, but with a halberd, it was different. The small branches on the halberd were curved upward, perfect for locking weapons. Sun Ce locked the spearhead and used his strength to twist. If the other party's strength was a bit weaker, they would have lost their weapon. But Taishi Ziyi was also incredibly strong, and not only did he not lose his weapon, he tried to twist it back. According to normal combat rules, Sun Ce should have let go and withdrawn his halberd, but Taishi Ci's twist stirred Sun Ce's fighting spirit—fine, let's see who is stronger!

The two horses didn't charge at each other but moved sideways, circling around the locked halberd and spear. "Clack, clack, clack," the hooves beat faster, and the dust rose, making it hard for Xun to see the two generals clearly. Soon, there was a "snap," and the two horses each took three steps back.

It turned out that both were evenly matched in strength, and neither could overpower the other. They both refused to let go, and in the end, the spearhead and the small branches of the halberd were broken. On the surface, Sun Ce was at a disadvantage because the small branches of his halberd flew toward his face, and although he quickly ducked, a gust of wind still cut a thin line on his face, and blood trickled down. But in reality, Taishi Ci was at a greater disadvantage because, while Sun Ce's halberd still had a large blade and could be used as a spear, Taishi Ci's spearhead, which was as thick as a forearm and had wide blades on both sides, could not be broken by human strength. What broke was the wooden part connecting the spearhead to the shaft. In short, Sun Ce still had a long spear, while Taishi Ci was left with just a stick.

The two horses pulled apart and turned to charge again—Taishi Ci didn't want to charge, but he had no choice. The enemy was already coming, and he couldn't just run away. Not only would running mean Xun's certain death, but even with a stick, he might not be able to escape. He saw the enemy general's face twisted in a chilling, smug smile and gritted his teeth, charging forward.

This time, when the weapons met, there was only a "clack," no crisp sound, because one side no longer had an iron head. Although he managed to withstand the blow, Taishi Ci felt his arms go numb, and his hands trembled, almost losing his stick. There was no choice; in a cavalry charge, it depended on the general's strength, the horse's speed, and the weapon's suitability. With his usual spearhead broken, his weapon was now much lighter, and the force from Sun Ce's halberd, without the spearhead to buffer it, was transmitted directly through the shaft. His spear shaft, made of wood and bamboo, was very flexible, so the force from Sun Ce's halberd formed a shock wave that was absorbed by Taishi Ci's arms.

As the two horses passed, Sun Ce swung his halberd again, thinking, "How will you withstand this? Without your spearhead, your weapon can't reach me, but my halberd can still reach you!"

Taishi Ci, seeing the situation, didn't block but threw his stick at Sun Ce's face. Sun Ce was forced to change the direction of his halberd, deflecting the stick. Then he saw Taishi Ci draw a ring-headed saber from his waist, not charging forward but nudging his horse's flank to approach Sun Ce from the side, and swung the saber down with all his might.

Sun Ce, seeing this, quickly brought his halberd back. If he had been faster, he could have thrust his halberd at Taishi Ci's waist, as the halberd was longer than the saber, and Taishi Ci would have had no defense. But Taishi Ci had perfectly timed his distance and timing, knowing that Sun Ce would have to block the thrown spear shaft and that he could force Sun Ce to withstand his saber blow. The saber and halberd met with a "crack," and Sun Ce couldn't help but think, "Not good!"

In theory, Sun Ce and Taishi Ci were evenly matched in strength. Although Taishi Ci was charging with the force of a mountain, he was using only one hand, while Sun Ce was using both. In terms of strength, Sun Ce might not have been at a disadvantage. Moreover, Sun Ce's halberd, made of wood and bamboo, was of higher quality, as his father was a wealthy and famous general, and it wouldn't have been easily broken by a single blow. But fate is unpredictable, and Sun Ce couldn't withstand this move!

Cavalry had an evolutionary process, which Sun Ce and Taishi Ci didn't know, but Xun had a vague understanding. The earliest Chinese cavalry were just mounted infantry, as they lacked the auxiliary tools to firmly connect the rider and the horse, making it impossible to fight on horseback. They could only run quickly to a location and then dismount to fight. Only the nomadic cavalry of the north, who grew up on horseback, could ride and fight effectively.

So, the cavalry of the Qin and early Han dynasties didn't use bows like the Xiongnu, but crossbows, as they didn't need to exert force horizontally on horseback (most cavalry crossbows were knee-drawn) and could shoot without worrying about the horse's stability. The appearance of bow-armed cavalry in China came after the invention or introduction of the high-bridged saddle, which provided a certain level of stability—generally believed to have been in the late Western Han dynasty.

With the high-bridged saddle, cavalry tactics evolved, including the transition from crossbow-armed cavalry to bow-armed cavalry and the emergence of melee cavalry, allowing the Chinese to wield close-combat weapons on horseback. Even the Xiongnu, before the high-bridged saddle, could only engage in close combat on horseback with certain elite warriors. However, at this time, Chinese cavalry were mostly spear-armed, using spears, halberds, or other thrusting weapons, with attacks mainly from the front. The saber-armed and iron-spiked cavalry that later dominated Eurasia had not yet appeared.

Why hadn't they appeared? Because—there were no stirrups!