Chapter 171: Chapter 98: Misplaced Praise_1
The carriage’s decorations were ostentatious; both the exterior carvings and the colorful draperies were exceptionally exquisite. This was very much in line with the aesthetics of the people of Qian State. In the pursuit of art and quality of life, the people of Qian State were arguably peerless among the Eastern Four Great Nations. The contemporary Emperor of Qian State’s beautiful Slender Gold Script, in particular, had become an object of emulation for scholars in the imperial capital and throughout the country.
This wasn’t mere flattery, nor was it akin to the saying "the King of Chu loves a slender waist." It stemmed from the excellent treatment scholar-bureaucrats received in Qian State. Consequently, these men of letters often held little fear for their "official masters" and wouldn’t stoop to currying favor at the expense of their reputations. This implied that the contemporary Emperor of Qian State was indeed a true master of calligraphy.
Much like how smaller, red-colored sedans in later eras were predominantly driven by women, it was highly probable that this carriage also transported a high-ranking lady.
When the Barbarian soldiers encountered the carriage during their raid, they were all ecstatic.
In fact, for them, the deaths of their kinsmen and comrades were commonplace. The Penal Tribes in the desert were essentially cannon fodder controlled by larger tribes. Therefore, they wouldn’t grieve excessively. They also believed that they, too, would one day die in battle and reunite with their departed companions at the end of the Ganges River.
However, capturing women was undoubtedly a grand event for the Desert Barbarians!
The Desert Barbarians had a long-standing tradition of bride capture. It was much like the saying that another person’s meal always seems tastier than one’s own; another’s wife also seemed more alluring. In the eyes of the Barbarians, capturing brides symbolized valor and virility, guaranteeing a tribe’s prosperity and development.
The fundamental reason for this was the harshness of survival in the desert. Women in the desert were considered more like property than people. To this day, the desert tribes practice traditions where a son inherits from his deceased father, and a younger brother from his deceased elder brother. This inheritance wasn’t limited to property; it often included their "mothers" and "sisters-in-law" as well.
Zheng Fan found it hard to comprehend the almost festive excitement of the Barbarians under his command. He had chosen to lead the group over primarily to try his luck. Anyone who could afford such a luxurious carriage in the northern lands, accompanied by so many guards yet carrying no trade goods, was undoubtedly an aristocrat. If they could capture this person, they would essentially have another hostage.
"My lord, you take a hundred men and secure our position. I’ll lead the team to do some ’kiting’," Liang Cheng proposed.
Zheng Fan disliked being shielded like a princess, but he had no other choice. Leading a contingent to maintain formation, observe the surroundings, and watch for ambushes was also a critical task; he couldn’t risk being encircled while trying to encircle others.
At the same time, Zheng Fan knew that if he were to lead the charge, his contribution would be predictable: swing his saber, strike a pose, yell "Ula!" and then charge.
So, Zheng Fan could only nod in agreement. In this world, two kinds of people had to consciously step aside when real work needed doing: the incompetent and the leaders. Chief Zheng, unfortunately, embodied both.
"YEEEEEAAAAAH!"
Waving his long saber, Liang Cheng began to shout. The surrounding Barbarian cavalrymen responded by raising their own sabers and echoing his roar.
This made Zheng Fan feel that the Liang Cheng leading the troops now was significantly different from before. Perhaps it was due to a change in tactics.
Zheng Fan’s guess was correct. After leaving a hundred cavalrymen with Zheng Fan, Liang Cheng led over two hundred riders in a direct charge towards the carriage.
The guards by the carriage reacted swiftly. These guards were clearly no ordinary men. Faced with the sudden cavalry charge, they didn’t panic. Instead, they quickly formed a defensive perimeter around the carriage, drawing their bows and nocking arrows; some even retrieved military crossbows from their backs!
This prompted Liang Cheng to mentally re-evaluate the distance. Once his forces had closed to a certain point from the carriage, he swiftly raised his long saber and waved it in a circle.
"YAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Over two hundred Barbarian horsemen roared, simultaneously splitting their formation. Those on the left wheeled left, those on the right wheeled right, executing a sharp, coordinated turn directly in front of the carriage.
"Fire!" the leader of the carriage escort commanded.
It was precisely at this moment. However, the majority of those arrows and bolts fell short. Aside from one unlucky Barbarian horseman whose warhorse was struck in the leg, causing him to fall, the volley inflicted no substantial damage on the attackers.
After completing the turn, the Barbarian horsemen on both flanks swiftly advanced, sweeping towards the sides of the carriage’s defensive formation, and then, in unison, began to nock arrows.
"WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ!"
"THUD! THUD! THUD!"
Guard after guard was struck by arrows and tumbled from their horses, throwing the escort team into disarray.
However, just as the guard leader managed to reorganize his men to return fire, the Barbarian horsemen on both sides had expertly wheeled away, increasing the distance. Another volley of arrows from the guards found only empty air.
A moment later, the Barbarian horsemen swept in again, nocking arrows, and more guards fell to their shots.
This was what made Barbarian cavalrymen so terrifying—their mounted archery! Their horsemanship was superior, their archery more exquisite. They avoided direct confrontation, instead using this "death by a thousand cuts" tactic, wearing down their opponents layer by layer until they collapsed.
A century ago, when the Barbarian Royal Court campaigned westward, the knightly orders of the Western kingdoms—those lumbering "tin cans"—suffered ignominious defeats against the Barbarians’ kiting tactics and mounted archery.
Zheng Fan knew Liang Cheng chose this approach to minimize their own casualties as much as possible. These guards were indeed skilled; in terms of combat prowess and fighting spirit, they were far superior to the Mianzhou City garrison soldiers from the previous night. But no matter how elite, it was unbearable to stand in one place, unable to hit the enemy while constantly being shot at.
Therefore, after a glance back at the carriage, the guard leader left ten men to continue protecting it, while he himself led the remaining men on horseback to charge the Barbarians on one flank.
However, the Barbarian soldiers still didn’t engage directly, nor did they indulge in any head-on charges. Seeing the guards advance, the Barbarian cavalry began a deliberate withdrawal.
The guard leader didn’t dare pursue too far when the enemy refused to engage. He could only order his men to slow their pace and prepare to return to protect the carriage. However, the moment the guards began to turn back, the Barbarian horsemen, who had previously feigned retreat, wheeled around more quickly than them and began firing arrows again.
In an instant, another dozen or so guards were shot from their horses.
When the guard leader roared in fury and prepared to give chase once more, the Barbarian cavalry retreated again.
On the high ground in the distance, the Barbarian horsemen beside Zheng Fan, unable to join the fray, could only continually pump their fists and cheer like a crowd, visibly excited. For them, this signature skill—this kind of engagement where they could slaughter their opponents with virtually no casualties to themselves—was a spectacle they hadn’t witnessed in a very long time.
Their opponents were usually different. In the desert, internal conflicts meant fighting other tribes. If you knew mounted archery, so did they. Externally, they faced the Zhenbei Army! The Zhenbei Army had superior equipment, stronger fighting spirit, higher morale, better tactics, and even their mounted archery was in no way inferior. Hell, that wasn’t a battle; it was sheer desperation!
Now, finally, they could rediscover the joy of crushing weaker foes.
Zheng Fan rubbed his chin. This strategy is truly dirty.
The guard captain watched helplessly as his fellow soldiers fell one by one around him, yet he couldn’t even touch the enemy. He was so furious he was practically seething. He was a Ninth Rank master.
This outcome was, in a way, inevitable. The frontiers of Qian State had known peace for a hundred years. Although a rebellion by Southwest chieftains had occurred a few years prior, those mountain-dwelling tribesmen employed guerrilla tactics, lacking any sophisticated cavalry strategies. And since Qian State had stopped warring with Yan State, they hadn’t faced the iron fist of cavalry warfare for a very long time.
These guards were household retainers from a noble mansion, so their quality was naturally high. However, they lacked experience against such mounted archery assaults and could only be kited to death.
As for the Ninth Rank master, his fate was even more wretched. After his men were mostly felled by arrows and his warhorse was shot out from under him, he roared like a crazed, cornered wolf before finally being riddled with so many arrows he resembled a hedgehog. From beginning to end, despite being a Ninth Rank martial artist, he hadn’t managed to land a single blow on the enemy.
This scene couldn’t help but remind Zheng Fan of the ending of that old director’s film, "Hero," where Jet Li’s character was killed by a volley of countless arrows.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Barbarian cavalry charged. This time, they didn’t use arrows. Firstly, few guards remained near the carriage. Secondly, they were here to capture a bride; if they accidentally shot the bride dead, what would be the point of the raid!
The few remaining guards posed little trouble for the Barbarian soldiers. They swarmed forward and quickly dispatched them.
Liang Cheng dismounted, vaulted onto the carriage, lifted the curtain, and peered inside.
A young girl’s tear-streaked face appeared before him, looking pitiful and endearing.
"Please, please, don’t hurt me..." the girl pleaded, sobbing.
Liang Cheng raised his hand.
The girl’s eyes widened as she watched him, seeing his hand draw nearer and nearer. She took a sharp breath and slowly closed her eyes, as if resigned to her fate.
SLAP!
Liang Cheng slapped the girl aside.
With the girl pushed aside, the noblewoman seated inside the carriage was revealed to Liang Cheng. Women in this era married and bore children early; though her daughter was already grown, the noblewoman herself appeared to be only in her early thirties.
Liang Cheng immediately pictured Siniang’s allure. While this woman certainly couldn’t compare to Siniang’s captivating charm, his My lord did seem to have a preference for refined, gentlewomen.
Liang Cheng reached out, pointing at the noblewoman.
"Don’t hurt my mother! Please, don’t hurt my mother! You can do anything to me, but I beg you, please don’t hurt my mother..." the girl shrieked, scrambling up and clutching Liang Cheng’s arm.
Then, SLAP!
The girl was slapped again, tumbling inside the carriage. She rolled her eyes and fainted, overcome by profound shock and incomprehension.
Liang Cheng glanced at the girl. Back at the estate in Hutou City, there were so many young ladies, yet My lord hadn’t touched a single one. It proved My lord had no interest in young girls or ’lolis.’
Liang Cheng’s hand once again pointed towards the noblewoman.
She snatched up a dagger, pressed it to her throat, and declared fiercely, "I’d rather die than let you defile my purity!"
Liang Cheng remained utterly unfazed. In truth, he was a Zombie; indifference to humans was his natural state. If not for the need to recover his strength, he wouldn’t have given Zheng Fan the time of day.
As the noblewoman displayed her resolve to die, Liang Cheng simply pointed to the unconscious girl and said, "Then die. And let these Barbarians defile her instead."
Hearing this, the noblewoman’s hand began to tremble with rage. She looked at her daughter, then involuntarily lowered the dagger. She spat at Liang Cheng, "You’re a devil! A shameless devil!"
Liang Cheng nodded and replied, "You flatter me."