The autumn wind was bleak and biting.
General Kou Jianghuai of Liuzhou sat tall on his horse, squinting as he gazed northward.
He and Xu Longxiang had once submitted a military pledge to the Protectorate: before Huang Songpu’s army could advance to the walls of Qingcang City, they would launch at least three effective strikes against the Western Front of the Northern Mang forces!
Ten days prior, the ten-thousand-strong cavalry raid had seemed like a resounding victory for the Dragon-Elephant Army, but in terms of actual losses, they had gained little advantage. The six thousand vanguard cavalry of the Northern Mang might have been considered elite forces of the Southern Dynasty’s border army, but Liuzhou was different from the Western Front of the Northern Mang. The Northern Liang Dao could no longer spare reinforcements from elsewhere. In other words, on the gambling table of Liuzhou, Kou Jianghuai had only the chips in front of him—losing even a single copper coin was a loss. Yet Huang Songpu of the Northern Mang could continuously replenish his reserves, with enough capital to play casually, needing only one major victory to claim success. Thus, Kou Jianghuai’s earlier probing had a deeper purpose: to tighten the nerves of Huang Songpu, the veteran general of the Northern Mang, and then decisively gamble on one big move—betting on Huang Songpu’s momentary lapse in vigilance.
Moreover, though the scouts of Liangzhou were exceptionally skilled, they could not bypass the numerous “Green Grass Fences” under Huang Songpu’s command to gather detailed intelligence on the Northern Mang camps. Kou Jianghuai had no choice but to use the Dragon-Elephant Army to pay with lives for this information. He had braced himself for Xu Longxiang and Li Mofan to reject him outright, but to his surprise, neither raised objections. Li Mofan, a master of military tactics, even personally led ten thousand Dragon-Elephant cavalry to charge the enemy lines. Afterward, Kou Jianghuai bluntly stated that given the crude and disorganized state of Huang Songpu’s and the Longguan cavalry’s encampment, the deaths of three thousand Dragon-Elephant soldiers were not worth it.
At the time, Xu Longxiang crouched beside his massive black tiger, merely grinning without a word. Li Mofan, drenched in blood, wore a dark expression but did not direct his anger at Kou Jianghuai, the general of Liuzhou.
Kou Jianghuai closed his eyes, swiftly mapping out the layout of the Northern Mang’s Western Front in his mind. Fifteen thousand troops were divided into five camps. The main force of thirty thousand under Huang Songpu was stationed centrally, a mix of cavalry and infantry. The elite troops of a certain “Jia”-ranked noble family from Longguan formed their own camp—twenty thousand cavalry, formidable in strength, nearly all armored, with several hundred even equipped as proto-heavy cavalry, both rider and horse clad in armor. These were a spearhead force, self-sufficient in supplies and logistics. Then there were the forty thousand cavalry assembled from three “Yi”-ranked noble families, forming the front line. Behind them were two camps of forty thousand troops drawn from six or seven Southern Dynasty border garrisons, along with a newly established logistics camp.
According to the observations of Li Mofan’s Dragon-Elephant Army during their charge, the Northern Mang had roughly one hundred and twenty supply wagons, carrying about eight hundred *dan* of grain and fourteen hundred *dan* of black beans for the horses. However, since Northern Mang cavalry traditionally carried their own supplies and traveled with large numbers of mares, this logistics camp would only be crucial if the siege of Qingcang City dragged on.
Historically, steppe cavalry raiding the Central Plains’ borders—especially in autumn—rarely faced fatal supply issues. In contrast, even at the peak of their power, Central Plains cavalry relied on the entire nation’s resources to sustain their fragile supply lines during northern campaigns. The ruler who truly changed this predicament was the old emperor Zhao Li of Liyang, who unified the Central Plains. His two decisions shaped the golden age of Central Plains cavalry: first, rejecting proposals to move the capital to Guangling Dao, insisting on keeping the old Tai’an City as the capital while vigorously supporting the border armies of the two Liao regions, pouring vast taxes from Guangling and Jiangnan into the north. Second, allowing the formidable Xu Xiao to leave the capital and establish his fief in the horse-rich northwest, directly facing the Northern Mang!
The two northernmost strategic points of Liyang’s vast territory were garrisoned by the empire’s finest cavalry, while the central Jizhou, with its natural defenses, boasted the “Peerless” southern infantry trained by the veteran Yang Shenxing. This was not merely to compete with Yan Wenluan of Northern Liang—Jizhou’s borders simply no longer required large cavalry forces.
Kou Jianghuai, eyes still closed, instinctively pressed his palm against the hilt of his Liang saber, twisting it slowly.
According to intelligence, the Northern Mang camps were shockingly crude—three hastily dug trenches encircling flimsy fences that looked ready to collapse in the wind. Ropes tied to wooden poles were haphazardly knotted, and the pathways between camps, which should have been orderly and off-limits to wandering soldiers, were instead chaotic and unregulated. During Li Mofan’s earlier charge, his vanguard cavalry had penetrated to within a hundred and fifty paces of the Northern Mang’s central camp, witnessing the disarray of the flanking camps, with soldiers and horses clogging the pathways in panic. Compared to the strictly disciplined Northern Liang border army—the most regimented in Liyang—Kou Jianghuai believed even the Western Chu army would have done better.
Of course, this did not mean the Northern Mang cavalry was weak. On the contrary, precisely because steppe cavalry was accustomed to lightning-fast maneuvers, they struggled to internalize the cumbersome encampment practices of the Central Plains.
Had any Central Plains army faced the Northern Mang’s hundred thousand iron hooves, who would have had the luxury to scrutinize their camp’s flaws? They would have relied on natural barriers or fortified cities, and even in open battle, only heavily armored infantry formations and dense arrow volleys could hold the line.
Kou Jianghuai’s meticulous planning hinged on one premise:
The Northern Liang cavalry, even when outnumbered, dared to fight, could fight, and could win!
Kou Jianghuai suddenly opened his eyes and sneered, “For over four hundred years, since the decline of the Great Feng, your steppe cavalry has raided our northern borders, treating our cities and fortresses as nothing, coming and going like the wind!”
Behind him, ten thousand cavalry began advancing steadily, their momentum awe-inspiring.
This ten thousand-strong force was peculiar, their aura overwhelmingly fierce.
※※※
In the Northern Mang’s central command tent, Huang Songpu stood armored, hand resting on his saber, calm and composed as he addressed the dozen or so commanders of varying ages—some his trusted aides, others representatives of powerful Longguan noble families, and a few young officers who had risen through sheer merit.
Huang Songpu declared solemnly, “All thirty thousand Dragon-Elephant troops of Liuzhou have appeared. Knowing they cannot hold Qingcang City and unwilling to expose Liangzhou’s western gate at Qingyuan Garrison, they seek to gamble everything in one strike. This saves us trouble! You are all seasoned veterans—no need for me to dwell on trivialities. Remember only this: we hold absolute numerical superiority. Use it well. Aside from the rear logistics camp holding position, the other four camps must mobilize swiftly. Keep your formations tight, support one another, and avoid reckless advances. For this campaign, the Grand Preceptor offered four words: *A small loss is a victory!*”
He raised a fist northward. “Gentlemen! I, Huang Songpu, am nearing seventy. I once resigned as the Southern Court’s Great King, and only the dire state of war brings me here today. I seek nothing more in this life. But among you, the eldest is barely fifty, the highest-ranked only a third-grade official of the Southern Court! After taking Liuzhou, the one with the greatest merit—regardless of the Emperor’s rewards—may take my title of Great General!”
The tent erupted in fervor.
In the Central Plains, mobilizing a hundred thousand troops would take considerable time. But the Northern Mang cavalry was different. As the commanders hurried back to their camps, the four camps resounded with the deep blasts of war horns.
Yet the sudden, inexplicable appearance of thirty thousand elite Liuzhou cavalry, advancing at breakneck speed, left the three front camps scrambling to form up, costing them precious initiative.
Cavalry charges relied on the momentum of galloping horses to deliver devastating impact, requiring sufficient distance to build force. If one side could time their charge to peak at the moment of collision while the other faltered, the latter would suffer dearly.
The disparity in discipline among the camps was stark.
Huang Songpu’s personal elite cavalry formed up fastest, spreading layered lines at the forefront. The “Jia”-ranked noble family’s troops followed closely, though their several hundred proto-heavy cavalry remained unseen. The forces of the “Yi”-ranked noble families were in disarray—not cowardly, but their chaotic energy unsettled even their horses.
Cavalry was cavalry because of the horses.
For the undisciplined Northern Mang cavalry, the late Northern Liang Protector Chen Zhibao had mocked them as “infantry on horseback.”
But in Northern Liang, every horse, every Liang saber, every spear seemed imbued with the ironclad traditions of Xu Xiao, the Butcher of Nations.
On the battlefield, no officer, regardless of rank or seniority, could wield a halberd or lance at will, wear gilded armor, or ride ahead of the front lines!
Across the boundless yellow sands, the Northern Liang cavalry advanced like the tidal bore of the Guangling River, relentless and unstoppable.
Huang Songpu, now mounted and armored, gripped his iron spear and exhaled softly.
Fortunately, four hundred “Green Grass Fences” were still scattered around the perimeter. Had the Liuzhou cavalry advanced another three *li* undetected, his forces would not have had time to form up—costing thousands more lives.
He glanced sideways.
The situation was manageable, though still rushed—especially on his right flank, struggling to keep pace with the center and left. But the Northern Mang cavalry had a tradition: thirty thousand horsemen under three commanders could adapt to any crisis on the battlefield, whether attacking, retreating, feinting, or covering one another.
If the Northern Liang cavalry were strict schoolmasters, the Central Plains cavalry were cunning street urchins. To Huang Songpu, both had reached their respective peaks—victory hinged only on the commanders’ adaptability.
Raising his spear high, Huang Songpu spurred his horse and roared, “Men! With me, we crush Liuzhou and storm Liangzhou!”
Great General Huang Songpu led the charge.
Every commander of the Northern Mang’s Western Front—ten-thousand-captains, thousand-captains, hundred-captains—did the same.
Fearlessness in death was not unique to Northern Liang!
To the Northern Mang, the distant armies of Liyang were insignificant. Only the Northern Liang border troops, right before their eyes, were worthy opponents!
The first Great Liang-Mang War had been dominated by sieges—the Northern Mang had breached Liangzhou’s Tiger-Head City, Youzhou’s Bow-Lying City, and Luanhe City.
Both sides’ cavalry had likely found it unsatisfying.
Now, in the second Great Liang-Mang War—from the Cloudy Mountain Pass in the Western Regions to Liuzhou, to the heart of the Southern Dynasty, and beyond to Liangzhou’s borders—
The cavalry battles would never cease.
Both sides would fight fiercely, and die gloriously on horseback!
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