Chapter 159: Chasing the Northern Invaders (Part 8)

When Wang Rengong assumed command of Mayi Commandery, he placed his trusted kinsmen in key military positions, suppressing the native officers and soldiers of Mayi. For all of this, the Mayi Eagle-扬 Garrison could only bear it in silence.

After all, this was simply the rule of the world. Born into a prestigious and influential clan, one was naturally destined for high office. No matter how incompetent one might be, or how accustomed to a life of pampered luxury, a position would invariably be waiting. Conversely, for those of humble or impoverished origins, no matter how much blood they shed in mortal combat, no matter how diligently they toiled, ascending to high office remained an elusive dream. At best, they would end their days as petty, corrupt clerks or low-ranking frontline officers.

During the reigns of the emperors of the Kaihuang and Daye eras, a path to advancement had indeed been opened for those of humble and lowborn origins. As long as one was willing to put in tenfold the effort of a scion from a noble family, coupled with extraordinary fortune and serendipity, and should one catch the eye of the emperors of Kaihuang or Daye, there was still a chance to rise to prominence. Men like Han Qinhu and Lai Hu'er were prime examples of this.

Yet, after the Emperor of Daye fled south, the realm quickly reverted to its old ways. It once again transformed into a battlefield where aristocratic clans vied for supremacy and carved up the spoils, a reality that everyone simply had to accept.

Had it not been for the past four hundred years?

Wang Fan, holding the position of a distant relative to the Grand Administrator, possessed not a single day of combat experience, nor any exceptional martial prowess or daring, yet he commanded a camp of Mayi Brave Cavalry composed entirely of veteran soldiers. Not a single person raised an objection; the officers and men in the camp simply accepted it.

Wang Fan could also be considered a decent superior officer. In daily life, he cared for his men and was neither arrogant nor tyrannical. Everyone saw this clearly.

However, for a military commander, the most crucial thing was not how pleasant his personality might be. There was only one thing that truly mattered: could he lead his brothers-in-arms into battle? Did he know *how* to lead his brothers-in-arms into battle?

The battlefield was a place of piled corpses. Only a commander who knew how to fight and could win could allow his brothers to survive in greater numbers and seize more victories, honors, and rewards.

No matter how good one's character was in peacetime, it was utterly useless!

Out of the dust and smoke, the charging troop of horsemen emerged in a formation that was both disciplined and dense. Their horse-lances and spears formed a veritable forest, flashing with a chilling light. From over a hundred paces away, they maintained a steady trotting pace; once they entered within fifty paces, they would break into a gallop, followed by a fierce and devastating charge.

Such a dense, wall-like cavalry formation had never been witnessed by the veterans of the Mayi Eagle Garrison. At a single glance, an instinctive chill gripped their hearts.

No matter how peculiar the formation might be, anyone who dared to charge directly at the enemy while maintaining their rhythm and the integrity of their formation was undeniably a formidable opponent!

Yet these veteran soldiers of the Mayi Eagle Garrison were hardly afraid of engaging such an enemy in battle. They would simply deploy skirmishing cavalry on both flanks to harass the foe with arrows, while the main body of cavalry met the charge in a loose formation for close combat. Whether a dense formation was superior or a loose one was better could only be determined after exchanging blows. They were all men who lived on the edge of a blade, licking blood from the steel—what was there to fear?

Moreover, and most importantly, these Mayi Eagle Garrison veterans had already realized that the opponents charging out of the dust and smoke numbered only a few dozen horsemen!

Under normal circumstances, at a single command from the camp commander, everyone would naturally have surged forward to meet them.

***

Yet now, the camp commander had bloody well turned tail and run. What reason did anyone have to risk their lives? The men under Commander Liu's command, just like their own, were locals from Mayi. Would anyone fight to the death for the Wang family?

A squad leader shouted at the top of his lungs, "Run! This blame can't be pinned on us!"

With that single cry, everyone responded in kind.

"If heads are going to roll, let Wang Fan's roll first! Let's get out of here!"

"Even the Vanguard Camp has been defeated; we can't match them head-on either. We're beaten too!"

Others shouted across to the opposing side, "We're all Mayi folk, let's clear out first. Brothers, remember one thing: anyone without a Mayi accent gets a beating, and we'll have a chance to meet again as townsfolk!"

amidst the shouting, whether it was the main body of cavalry in the middle of the road or the scouts patrolling the hills on the flanks, every single one of them turned their horses' heads and scattered in frantic flight. They discarded banners and weapons all along the path, and some even shed their armor just to run faster.

The dust and smoke billowed even more fiercely as an entire camp of battle-hardened Mayi Eagle veterans collapsed and fled in panic, not a single one looking back!

Yet even in the midst of this panicked flight, these Mayi Eagle Garrison veterans maintained their squad formations without the slightest bit of disorder. The soldiers could find their commanders, the commanders could look out for their men, and with their command structures intact, they fled for their lives.

Xu Le pointed his horse-lance forward, preparing to charge and engage in a fierce battle. Seeing this spectacle, even with the composure and calmness that Xu Le could usually maintain amidst tens of thousands of troops, he could not help but be dumbfounded. He reined in his horse, lowered his lance, pushed back his facial guard, and stared blankly at the scene before him.

The thirty horsemen behind him also reined in their mounts. The horses, just preparing to pick up speed, neighed in dissatisfaction, milling about in a commotion. Everyone, just like Xu Le, stared in utter shock at what was unfolding before their eyes.

Xu Le viciously wiped his face.

During the engagement with the Vanguard Camp, Xu Le had already keenly observed that the cohesion and combat effectiveness of Wang Rengong's forces were utterly lacking. That was precisely why he had resolutely pressed forward, intending to crush a few more scattered units while the enemy was still on the march, thereby delivering an even greater shock to Wang Rengong.

His intuition had indeed been correct, but what he had failed to anticipate was that Wang Rengong's army of ten thousand men could suffer from such a profound lack of unity between officers and men, rotting from the top down to such a pathetic degree of external toughness masking inner weakness!

Han Yue hung his shield back onto his shoulder, looked toward Xu Le, and shook his head slightly.

The Mayi Eagle Garrison was supposed to be one of the elite forces of Mayi, with the Heng'an Eagle Garrison traditionally holding the front line and the Mayi Eagle Garrison providing support from the rear. Together, they had historically repelled the endless harassment and southern incursions of the various northern tribes, ensuring the peace of the entire commandery.

***

The ambitious young gallants of the countryside all shared a ultimate dream: to join one of the two Eagle Garrisons, win military renown on horseback, and eventually attain the rank of squad leader. The commandery government would allocate several hundred mu of public land sufficient to support their families, allowing them to hunt in times of peace and don armor in times of war. Should the Son of Heaven issue a summons, they would buckle on their armor and bind their weapons to serve as the hunting dogs of the Son of Heaven, subjugating rebellious territories in all directions.

Wang Rengong had only been in control of Mayi for two years—how on earth had he managed to reduce the Mayi Eagle Garrison to such a wretched state?

Nearly two hundred cavalrymen on the opposite side were fleeing in disarray toward Shanyang, shouting wildly and leaving a trail of scattered debris in their wake.

Xu Le looked at the churning dust across the field, then glanced at Han Yue, and also shook his head. Turning his gaze back to his own brothers, he issued a loud command: "Since it has come to this, let us press further forward and see just how great a shock we can truly bring to Wang Rengong!"

In circumstances like these, failing to push deeper would mean forfeiting the qualifications of a true military commander. Deep down, Xu Le knew the wisdom of quitting while ahead. Yet his intuition told him that the time to stop was still far away!

Let Wang Rengong experience a thorough and terrifying shock!

If only he had a full regiment at his disposal...

This thought rose irresistibly in Xu Le's chest, but he immediately smiled and cast it aside. There was no use dwelling on things that had not happened.

So what if he only had thirty estate retainers? He would still make Wang Rengong understand that he harbored no fear whatsoever of this aristocratic scion; the man would pay the price for his actions!

Right, they were no longer mere estate retainers. They were the Black Armor Cavalry personally led by Xu Le!

Pointing his horse-lance forward, Xu Le's clear and resonant voice rang out:

"Black Armor Cavalry, forward!"

The echoing response roared like thunder: "Understood!"