Chapter 98 Thousand horses galloping, very lovely tonight! (1)
Gradually, thunder-like horse hoofs shook the ground of the Xiongnu court. All the sleeping Xiongnu ran out of their tents in panic and looked at the direction where they bred the horses.
“Report…!”
A Xiongnu soldier quickly ran to Muke’s tent and knelt. He panted and reported at the door, “Khan! Not good, I don’t know why our horses suddenly became agitated and went crazy. Not only on the place where we bred horses, even the horses on the camp are going crazy. Moreover, our people could no longer control them now. The horses already struggled to ran away!”
Muke heard the voice outside, quickly put on his clothes and walked out of the big tent. After listening to the report from his subordinate, he immediately said with a gloomy face, “Immediately summon all the people to give me a way to calm the horses, otherwise, come meet me with your head!”
The small soldier immediately said yes and hurriedly left. It was simple to say, but the horses kept at the Xiongnu court were at least a few ten thousands horses. Moreover, there were a few thousand that have been used as a warhorse on their camp. Even the fiercest lion on the grassland would’ve been trampled into scum. The situation was more serious than Muke thought.
All the horses went to drink today at the brook that Zhao Zimu had drugged. Even if the efficacy of the drug would be reduced by the flow of the river, but it may take more than an hour to let the horses restore to their normal state. However, the Xiongnu didn’t know this. They may kill the horses in order to control the commotion and collusion of those horses.
Even if they wanted to protect the hoses in the beginning, but when those frantic horses, especially when those warhorses appeared and began to injure people and colliding in the camp, so much that some people died under the hoofs of those horses, should Muke choose to protect his personnel or his horses?
The answer was self-evident. If he didn’t choose to save the Xiongnu soldiers who worked for him first, let alone the tribal leaders, even a small Xiongnu shoulder wouldn’t obey Muke anymore. How would they still serve him as their khan?
The situation soon developed in the direction that Zhao Zimu hoped. The frantic horses rushed and fled without a direction. The Xiongnu soon discovered that the usual docile horses were now running around on the grassland like a mad cow. They were fleeing in disarray on all sides of the grassland. Furthermore, they were frightened to discover that a portion of the horses were storming to the court from the horse breeding ground on the west of the court. It was at least twenty to thirty thousand horses!
The scene of ten thousand stampeding horses in the night was like a black large-scale avalanche rolling violently in the direction of the Xiongnu court. It was terrifying and dreadful.
The ground shook and the sound were like thunder, making the heart of all the Xiongnu tremble.
Muke’s eyes were red. So many horses were enough to supply for twenty to thirty thousand soldiers to go on battle. Besides, how much blood of the Xiongnu was used to raise them to be able to achieve today’s result?
Furthermore, if they lost these horses, what else could they go fight against Great Liang with?!
Muke’s heart was aching. The machete in his hand was tightly grasped. In his ears were the screams of horror by his Xiongnu soldiers, the noise and bellow of the warhorses and the lamentations.
Seeing that the situation was uncontrollable, left Tuqi king Dali knelt in front of him and pleaded, “Khan! It can’t go on like this anymore. The frantic horses are less than a kilometer away from us now. Without the effort to make a cup of tea, we would be trampled by those crazy horses! Furthermore, some of us had already been trampled to death by those horses. Khan, quickly issue a command!”
Dali raised his head and spoke anxiously. Muke fixed his gaze at the chaotic horses and figures in the distance. He couldn’t figure out how things had become like this in only one night. Lin Qing had escaped and their bravest and most loyal partner went crazy.
Who was culpable for all of this? He had never suffered such a big loss in his life!
A fierce light suddenly appeared in Muke’s eyes. He said to Dali in a fierce voice, “Give my command to all the Xiongnu soldiers, if they truly can’t control the horse, then kill it! If they dare to let those frantic horses come within a hundred feet of the Xiongnu court, then come see me with their heads!”
Dali was stunned. He immediately bowed his head and took the command.
Soon, the Xiongnu archers had gathered and lined three hundred meters away from the camp on the grassland. They raised their bows and arrows. The black point of the arrow was pointed at the horses who where rushing over to here.
Ten thousand soldiers could shoot almost all the horses in front of them in three rounds.
When the first row of horses fell down because of the arrow and bows, Muke closed his eyes. Not long after, the wailing of the horses gradually increased. The one after another heavy fall to the ground also sounded in the ears of the Xiongnu, resounding like a song of sorrow and joy over the grassland and under the night sky.
Soon the strong smell of blood drifted across the grassland along with the slightly hot breeze of the night. Even the wolves hiding in the depths of the grassland smelled the smell of blood. They stood up from the wolf den, looked in the direction of court of the Xiongnu and were stirred up.
All the Xiongnu were silent and heartbroken. They watched these without making a sound. Although the people from the grassland were very cruel and merciless towards Great Liang’s people, but they treated their horses quite well. They even saw the horses as their most loyal partner. It was hard for them to accept what was happening in front of them.
Muke’s eyes were bloodshot. He stared at the Xiongnu soldiers and said, “Investigate everything that had happened today! Chachar, you will be in charge of this matter. If you can’t give me an explanation within three days, then, you can cut off your arm yourself!”
“Yes!” Chachar immediately took the command in panic.
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Dang…. RIP, thousands of horses
I’m starting to think this woman alone can help them turn the tides of war. She’s so brutal, capable, and decisive like general needs to be.