readytorunbook Chapter 700 Come on, let's have a one-on-one fight!
Chapter 700 Come on, let's have a one-on-one fight!
Ma Chao set off from Liangzhou, traversed the Western Regions, and plundered his way here, taking with him over a million people. Although these million Western Region natives were a motley crew, their sheer number made up for it.
More importantly, after entering Parthia territory and robbing Parthian tribes, they were classified as third-class citizens by Ma Su. The natives of the Western Regions, who were at the bottom of the food chain, were promoted one level. Their original bottom position was replaced by the fourth-class Parthian natives. In other words, the natives of the Western Regions had been upgraded from the exploited to half-exploiters.
Therefore, after entering Parthia, the natives of the Western Regions fought with extra vigor and looted with extra enthusiasm, not for any other reason than to take back the humiliation of being bullied by Ma Chao from the Parthian natives.
Therefore, despite being repeatedly repelled by the powerful Northern Xiongnu, the Western Regions allied forces were unwilling to leave. Instead, they quickly regrouped and organized the next round of attacks.
Despite this, they were still unable to withstand the fierce attacks of the Northern Xiongnu and there was a tendency for the Northern Xiongnu to break through their encirclement.
Seeing this, Ma Chao could no longer sit still. He led the elite Han and Qiang troops, whom he usually hesitated to use, to personally charge into the Northern Xiongnu's ranks, intending to give his fellow countrymen a little shock.
The Han people and the Northern Xiongnu were indeed from the same hometown, and they had a lot of exchanges. They established contact with the Han Dynasty when Emperor Gaozu of Han was besieged at Baideng Mountain. They had a friendship of four hundred years. What else could they be but fellow countrymen?
But there's a saying: when fellow villagers meet, they'll rip you off without hesitation.
Therefore, when Ma Chao met the Northern Xiongnu, his fellow countrymen who had been driven away by Dou Xian, he saw no kinship in them, only the obsession to defeat them.
Ma Chao charged into the formation on horseback, sweeping his silver spear horizontally and easily sending three Northern Xiongnu soldiers flying. Then, he gripped his spear and thrust it out swiftly, skewering another Northern Xiongnu soldier like a gourd.
The strength of an army is directly proportional to the courage and martial prowess of its commander. If the commander leads the charge and is brave and invincible, the army behind him will naturally unleash strength far exceeding its usual level.
Ma Chao was not only one of the top ten strongest warriors in the Han Dynasty, but he was also younger than those ranked ahead of him. He was in his prime and ready to fight to the death. Wherever he went, he swept away everything in his path, and none of his men could withstand his attacks.
Seeing Ma Chao's bravery, the army behind him also unleashed its own formidable fighting power, quickly driving back the Northern Xiongnu army that was about to break through the encirclement of the Western Regions coalition.
At the same time, the Northern Xiongnu also learned Ma Chao's identity from the prisoners of the Western Regions coalition they had captured. Upon learning that Ma Chao was a Han Chinese, the Northern Xiongnu Chanyu Tulin was furious and angrily cursed, "Damn Han Chinese! They are so hateful! We Xiongnu have already left the northern grasslands, why are they still chasing after us? What kind of grudge do they have?"
Upon learning that the attackers were Han troops, Tu Lin was both angry and aggrieved. The Northern Xiongnu had never invaded the borders of the Han Dynasty, not because they didn't want to, but because the distance was too far. To invade the borders of the Han Dynasty, they would have to pass through the territory of the Southern Xiongnu, but the Southern Xiongnu wouldn't let them pass.
Therefore, when they were on the grasslands, they always robbed the Southern Xiongnu and other grassland tribes, and did not directly rob the Han people.
Even though, for example, Dou Xian was still invited by the Southern Xiongnu and defeated them so badly that they fled the grasslands in disarray. He thought that the matter would be over once they left the grasslands, but who would have thought that even though they had fled tens of thousands of miles outside the territory of the Han Dynasty, the Han army could still catch up with them. What kind of situation is this?
What drove him even more to despair was that the Northern Xiongnu had been away from the grasslands for almost two hundred years. All this time, the Han people hadn't done anything but chase after us, had they? We Northern Xiongnu hadn't dug up your Han people's ancestral graves, had we? Why the hell did you have to go to such lengths?
Tu Lin grew angrier the more he thought about it, feeling that the Han army was going too far. So he decisively led two thousand personal guards to charge over, determined to teach the Han army a lesson.
Tu Lin quickly rushed to the battlefield and was enraged to see Ma Chao, who was hacking down their Northern Xiongnu warriors like cucumbers. As he spurred his horse toward Ma Chao, he roared in Chinese, "Damn Han general! Tu Lin, the Northern Xiongnu Chanyu, is here! I'll fight you to the death!"
Hearing the shout, Ma Chao, who had just knocked several men away, was filled with righteous fervor. Without hesitation, he swung his spear at Tu Lin and roared, "Tu Lin, Shan Yu, then! I'll give you a handicap. If you lose, I'll surrender immediately. But if you win, what will you say?"
what?
Give me a hand?
That damned Han general is going too far! Who is he insulting?
Feeling insulted, Tu Lin became even angrier and replied without thinking, "Even if I lose, I surrender and will serve you like a slave from now on."
Ma Chao wanted to hear those words, so he grabbed his spear with one hand and charged at Tu Lin, delivering a sweeping blow. Tu Lin sneered and swung his sword, determined to cut Ma Chao off his horse.
I admit that your Han army is powerful, and I admit that I can't beat you, but even if you are powerful, you can't beat me with one hand, right?
Since you're so arrogant, I'll teach you a lesson and show you why flowers are so red.
With this thought in mind, the moment Tu Lin swung his scimitar, a vivid image of Ma Chao being cut off from his horse and trampled into a bloody pulp by the horse's hooves flashed through his mind.
Unexpectedly, this blissful moment did not last long. The moment the curved blade in his hand touched the gun barrel, Tu Lin's cold smile suddenly froze, and his eyes widened in horror.
The force of that shot was so great that he couldn't block it with both hands. It felt like he had been hit head-on by a raging bull, and even his warhorse couldn't withstand it and staggered back several steps.
Tu Lin was repelled, but Ma Chao did not give him a chance to catch his breath. He raised his silver spear again and swept it horizontally, forcing Tu Lin to have no choice but to swing his sword to block again.
Tu Lin was caught off guard this time and was not able to exert half of his previous strength. As a result, as soon as the sword and spear made contact, he was mercilessly swept off his horse and fell to the ground. Before he could get up, Ma Chao's spear tip was pressed against his throat. He was so frightened that he quickly retreated and distanced himself from the spear tip.
Ma Chao, however, laughed smugly and said, "So, shall we continue?"
What's the point of fighting? I can't even beat you with one hand. If we keep fighting, aren't we just asking for trouble?
Tu Lin sighed, both unwilling and helpless, "I surrender."
The rest was easy. Tu Lin grabbed Ma Chao's spear shaft for leverage and stood up, shouting to the surrounding Xiongnu soldiers, "Surrender! Surrender to the Han army!"
The question of whom to surrender to needs to be clarified. The Xiongnu soldiers would certainly be unwilling to surrender to the Western Regions allied forces, but there would be less resistance if they surrendered to the Han army.
Isn't it normal that we Xiongnu can't defeat the Han army? Besides, how many times have the Xiongnu surrendered to the Han army? What's wrong with surrendering again?
As expected, upon receiving the order, the Northern Xiongnu soldiers who had learned of the surrender to the Han army laid down their weapons and surrendered on the spot. Some even cursed and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? If we had known that the enemy was the Han army, why were we struggling? It was a complete waste of time."
The Xiongnu had long been traumatized by the Han army, so they felt no psychological pressure whatsoever about surrendering to the Han army.
However, this only applies to the Han army. If they were to surrender to other people, they would certainly show them the glory and splendor of the Xiongnu Empire.
The battle quickly came to an end. Ma Chao turned around and ordered, "Ma Su, treat the wounded immediately. The Xiongnu soldiers should be treated with the same priority as the Han soldiers. The Western Region allied forces should be put aside for now."
Then he turned around, put his arm around Tu Lin's neck, and laughed, "I never thought that more than a hundred years after the inscription on Yanran Mountain would be the day we brothers would meet again. It seems that our Han Dynasty and your Xiongnu are truly destined to meet, don't you think?"
Tu Lin forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, awkwardly made a few perfunctory remarks, and finally couldn't help but ask the question that concerned him most.
"General, why are you here? Did you come here specifically to chase after us Northern Xiongnu?"