Chapter 49: Heavenly Questions (I)

Thirty li outside Suiyang City lay the rapid Cang River, with a dilapidated suspension bridge upstream.
After seizing Suiyang, Linghu Chao didn’t get a moment’s rest before receiving orders from his commander Yin Ziqi to lead three thousand cavalry south across the Cang River and advance into Jianghuai. They had wasted too much time around Suiyang City—there could be no further delay.
The land of Jianghuai lay before him like a piece of fatty meat, easily plucked into his bowl with just a slight movement of his chopsticks. Of course, Linghu Chao wasn’t willing to miss such an opportunity. Upon hearing the orders, he immediately led his troops forward with fierce determination.
The combined forces of the provincial armies along the Jianghuai route numbered less than twenty thousand, most of them concentrated in the Yangzhou area. In other words, he would face no real resistance upon arriving near Yangzhou. And Linghu Chao had no intention of attacking Yangzhou outright. His task was merely to act as a vanguard, establishing camps and footholds for the main army to follow—decisions regarding actual sieges would have to wait until the main force arrived.
Holding the reins in one hand, Linghu Chao thought of his own remarkable military achievements and the heavy responsibilities entrusted to him by the Emperor of Great Yan, a smile spreading across his face. Zhang Xun, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun—all of them fools. The Tang court was clearly a stagnant pool, yet they plunged into it headlong. What good was dying or destroying one’s family to relieve the crisis? If they could really save Suiyang or the Tang Dynasty? It would only mean sacrificing their lives and becoming objects of ridicule!
“Huh!”
The cavalry at the front suddenly stopped, startling Linghu Chao, who quickly pulled back on the reins.
“What happened?”
Linghu Chao glared angrily at the soldier holding the flag ahead and snapped at him.
“Reporting to the general, a group of Tang soldiers has been spotted at the suspension bridge ahead!”
One of his deputy generals bowed to Linghu Chao and replied resolutely.
Frowning, Linghu Chao looked in the direction the deputy general indicated and indeed saw an army.
“Damn it, still are there people willing to volunteer for death these days!”
Linghu Chao cursed viciously, “Charge at them! Kill them all!”
“Yes!”
Though skeptical about Linghu Chao’s order, the soldiers wouldn’t dare question it. Facing a superior officer’s decision, their only choice was to obey.
“The general orders an all-out attack!”
“The general orders an all-out attack!”
“The general orders…”

The orders given by Linghu Chao were passed backward wave after wave from the front troops. In no time, all the armored soldiers in the formation were in position. With a wave of the command flag, three thousand cavalry split into four columns and charged across to the other shore.

Linghu Chao glanced at the Tang army on the opposite shore. Judging from the number of banners and horses, he roughly estimated their strength to be around a thousand.

The most important factor in cavalry combat was momentum. And there were only two things that could determine momentum: quantity and speed. Now that he had a decisive numerical advantage, as long as he could boost their speed, he would surely be able to crush the Tang army across the suspension bridge in one fell swoop.

“Charge, the whole army, charge!” Linghu Chao drew his sword from his waist and shouted loudly.

Since the enemy was fighting bravely to defend the other shore, he should naturally charge over and cut off their heads to throw them into the reward bags. He would never show the slightest mercy toward the enemy, even if they were Tang people.

The cavalry at the front had already stepped onto the bridge. The clanging of their horse hooves on the wooden planks of the suspension bridge made a screeching noise. Under such heavy weight, the old bridge swayed precariously, seemingly on the verge of collapsing at any moment. Yet Linghu Chao wasn’t afraid at all. Though the bridge seemed old, it was actually very sturdy. Not to mention cavalry riding on it, even if heavy supplies were pushed across, they wouldn’t fall apart.

“Speed up, speed up! Don’t slow down—charge faster! It’s only a hundred steps left, charge faster!” Linghu Chao waved his whip while shouting sharply. In his view, the hundred-step distance could be covered in an instant. He could easily cross the bridge before the Tang soldiers could react and slaughter them.

The speed of the cavalry was increasing—he could feel it!

One hundred steps, eighty steps, fifty steps—closer, closer…

Just when the cavalry led by Linghu Chao was only thirty steps away from the bridgehead on the other shore, he suddenly noticed something strange. The cavalry on the opposite shore suddenly scattered to both sides, and behind them, five hundred crossbowmen rushed forward!

They all held crossbows tightly, aiming at him with cold eyes!

“Turn the horses around, quickly turn them around!” Linghu Chao shouted urgently. These crossbows were no ordinary bows and arrows—they were the standard crossbows of the Tang army, extremely powerful. If they fired a volley at them, his cavalry would be instantly reduced to shreds.

“Turn the horses around, hurry up!” The deputy generals also realized the severity of the situation and echoed his orders.

It was simply because they had charged too swiftly before, and the suspension bridge was too narrow—how could they possibly turn their horses around completely in such a short time? It would have been fine if Linghu Chao hadn’t given this order; as soon as it was issued, the Yan army cavalry on the bridge immediately became chaotic. The riders in the front collided with those behind them, their warhorses letting out mournful cries, with some even lifting their front hooves, nearly throwing the panicked Yan cavalry off.
“Neigh! Neigh!”
The warhorses snorted and spat white foam, staring in terror at the Tang army before them, refusing to take another step forward…
Li Kuo stared coldly at the rebels on the bridge, his eyes almost blazing with fury.
After learning that Suiyang had fallen, he realized the rebels would surely invade Jianghuai next, so he led a thousand soldiers to the only route the rebels would take southward—the Cang River. The remaining soldiers were led by Zhou Wucui, Li Sheng, and others to assist the people of Xuzhou, Yingzhou, and other areas in migrating south along the Fei River. With Suiyang fallen, the gates to Jianghuai were open, leaving the Tang army with few defenses. Now, all they could do was try to ensure the safety of the people.
But relocating the people required ample time, so he had to secure this precious time for his comrades and fellow villagers.
This suspension bridge was the only one within a hundred miles that could cross the Cang River. If the rebels didn’t want to take a detour, they would definitely choose to cross here.
Li Kuo intended to block them from passing through here!
The rebels, having just captured Suiyang and riding high on morale, surely wouldn’t take his mere thousand men seriously. They would surely launch a full-scale attack, aiming to crush him in one battle. But they clearly overlooked one thing: the space on the bridge was limited. They wouldn’t be able to fully utilize their cavalry advantage and would instead get crowded together, hindering each other. So he didn’t need many soldiers—just five hundred archers to block the bridge entrance would be enough to make the rebels sigh in despair at the sight of it.
He had been waiting, waiting for the moment the rebels rushed onto the bridge, waiting for them to become careless. And now, the time had come!
“Pass my order—first round of firing!”
Li Kuo’s tone was icy, as cold as the ice in a thousand-year-old cave.
“Yes!”
Xianyu Yucheng respectfully saluted Li Kuo and turned to give the order.
“First row of archers, prepare—fire!”
With a short, crisp sound, the first row of Tang soldiers pulled the triggers.
“Thwack! Thwack!”
These sounds were slightly different from those of bows and arrows, mixed with a faint metallic clinking sound, which sounded quite eerie at first.
“Bang! Bang!”
Tens of thousands of arrows flew from the crossbows, targeting the rebels on the bridge!
“Ah! Ah!”

In the chaos, many rebels were struck by arrows and tumbled off their horses, letting out cries of agony.
“Thwack!”
“Thwack!”
Arrows with great force pierced through the rebels’ intricate chainmail and sank into their flesh, causing them to scream in pain.
These arrows were tipped with deadly poison; once they entered the flesh, the poison would spread through the blood to the heart, and even Hua Tuo could not save them.
“Neigh!”
Some warhorses, struck by arrows, lifted their front legs and flung their riders off. Some riders were thrown straight off the suspension bridge into the Cang River. Others, though lucky enough to land on the bridge, were trampled to death by the panicked horses.
“Help! Save us!”
“Thwack! Thwack!”
Cries of despair came from the suspension bridge, but Li Kuo felt no pity.
“Second unit, fire in unison!”
“The general orders it—second unit of archers, advance and fire in unison! The general orders it—second unit of archers, advance and fire in unison!”
Xianyu Yu Cheng gave firm orders, signaling for the second unit of archers to move forward.
The sound of triggers being pulled in unison echoed again, and another wave of arrows rained down on the Hu soldiers on the bridge.
After several rounds of firing, over two hundred Yan soldiers had already been killed. Watching the panicked enemy forces on the bridge, Linghu Chao was filled with anger and hatred.
“Charge! Don’t hesitate—charge!”
Remaining on the bridge would only make them easy targets for the Tang soldiers. But retreating now would be unbearable for him. So, at this point, there was only one option: fight to the death against the Tang forces.
When two strong sides meet, the brave prevail! Fighting gives them a chance to survive!
Arrows, unlike bows, could only be shot in straight lines, so they couldn’t reach the cavalry in the back. No matter how many arrows the Tang army had, they couldn’t kill all their cavalry. As long as half of their three thousand men could cross the bridge, they could easily wipe out the Tang forces on the other side.
“Charge! Kill all those Tang invaders and avenge our brothers!”