The next day at dawn.
Ten miles outside the city, beside a water source called Crow Spring, over a dozen ragged laborers were pushing wheelbarrows and struggling to scoop water from muddy pits into wooden buckets.
The leader of the laborers, Old Li, wiped the sweat from his forehead, straightened his back, and squinted toward the northern horizon.
A faint tremor came from the ground. At first, it was just a numbness in the soles of his feet, but it soon turned into a muffled rumble.
Old Li's face changed. He dropped his water dipper and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Enemy attack! Run!"
Before he could finish his words, a cloud of yellow dust rose from behind the sand dunes to the north.
A squad of about a hundred Helian light cavalry howled out. They wore no heavy armor, only light fur coats, and the steppe horses beneath them, though small, had great endurance.
The cavalrymen spread out in a fan shape, skillfully drawing horn bows from beside their saddles and nocking arrows.
The arrows pierced the air with a piercing shriek.
Old Li hadn't taken a few steps before an arrow hit him in the back, the arrowhead piercing through his thin, coarse tunic and emerging from his chest.
He stumbled and fell forward onto the scorching sand, his blood quickly seeping into the parched earth.
The rest of the laborers fled in terror, but they couldn't outrun the four-legged warhorses.
The Helian cavalry followed unhurriedly, like driving a flock of sheep, shooting the laborers down one by one.
After the slaughter, the Helian centurion leading the squad reined in his horse, glanced at the corpses strewn across the ground, and spat contemptuously.
He waved his hand, and several cavalrymen dismounted, dragging the carcasses of dead horses and filth into Crow Spring. Then they mounted their horses and rode off.
In less than an hour, the same tragedy played out at two other woods and water sources outside the city where people gathered firewood.
The Helian century was like a pack of wild wolves on the prairie, taking a bite and leaving, never coming within ten miles of the Zhenbei city walls, leaving the defenders on the walls to watch helplessly, their ballistae useless.
At noon, in the main hall of the Commander-in-Chief's mansion.
Although the doors and windows were wide open, not a hint of a cool breeze could enter. The atmosphere in the hall was more oppressive than the sun outside.
Tie Lanshan sat upright in the main seat, his face ashen. On his desk lay several feathered arrows stained with blood and sand, which the city patrol soldiers had picked up from outside the city.
Xu Qinghuan sat in the first seat on the left, holding a cup of cold tea in her hand, her eyes falling on those feathered arrows, saying nothing.
Below the hall stood over a dozen military officers of Zhenbei City, all wearing angry expressions.
He Minghu stood at the very front of the right-hand queue. He looked around, his gaze pausing on Xu Qinghuan for a moment, then took a fierce step forward and slammed his hand on the wooden pillar beside him.
"Commander! The Helian barbarians are pushing us too far!" He Minghu said loudly. "Early this morning, three water sources outside the city were destroyed, and over forty laborers who went out to gather firewood and fetch water were killed or injured."
"These sons of bitches are killing people right under our noses. If we let them continue to run rampant like this, the morale of Zhenbei City will be shattered! I request permission to mobilize five thousand elite infantrymen, march out of the city to meet the enemy, and crush their arrogance!"
These words were spoken with impassioned fervor, and several young captains below the hall nodded in agreement, battle lust igniting in their eyes.
The Zhenbei Army had been suppressed for too long. With their rations and pay just replenished, morale was high, and no one wanted to swallow this humiliation.
Tie Lanshan did not answer immediately, looking deeply at He Minghu, then turning to Xu Qinghuan.
Xu Qinghuan set down her teacup, suppressing the clamor in the hall, her tone carrying an undeniable coldness.
"Vice General He wants to lead five thousand infantrymen out of the city. I will ask you one question: after these five thousand men leave the city, where will they go to find the enemy?"
He Minghu snorted coldly and raised his chin to answer, "Naturally, head north and strike directly at their main camp! As long as our grand army presses down on their borders, those light cavalry will naturally retreat."
"Absurd." Xu Qinghuan spat out two words mercilessly.
He Minghu's face changed, and he was about to erupt, but Xu Qinghuan didn't give him a chance to speak, continuing, "The Helian people are all light cavalry, coming and going like the wind. How many miles can infantry march in a day? How many miles can cavalry run in a day?"
"If you lead five thousand men out of the city, they will never engage you head-on. They will only trail you from a distance, and when you pitch camp, they will launch a night raid; when you break camp and march, they will poison the water sources along the way."
Xu Qinghuan stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and broke down the calculation for them: "Five thousand men, how much water and forage will they consume every day? A baggage train marching across the Gobi Desert is a sitting duck."
"In less than three days, these five thousand elites will be dragged to death outside the city. The enemy is not attacking the city, only roaming the perimeter. They are playing a strategy of exhausting the enemy."
"Vice General He's proposal to send the main force out of the city at this time plays right into the enemy's hands. Once the main force is bogged down outside the city, the interior of Zhenbei City will be empty. If the enemy has other hidden troops to exploit the weakness, who will defend this city?"
"Doesn't Vice General He understand such logic?"
The hall suddenly fell silent. The young generals whose blood had been boiling looked at each other, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.
Fighting battles on the border all year round, they naturally knew that infantry pursuing cavalry was a major taboo in military strategy. They had just been blinded by anger, and now that the Imperial Envoy had pointed it out with a single sentence, they realized the danger behind it.
He Minghu's face flushed red. "So we just watch them kill people? The firewood and water in the city will eventually run out. By then, we won't need them to attack; we'll thirst and starve to death ourselves!"
"So we must break the stalemate, but absolutely not by using brute force to seek death." Xu Qinghuan turned around and looked at Tie Lanshan. "Commander, the enemy's true strength is unknown, and the main force must not be moved lightly. The most urgent task right now is to figure out the patrol routes and camping locations of their light cavalry before making any further plans."
Tie Lanshan nodded slightly. Xu Qinghuan's words hit the nail on the head and coincided with his own calculations.
He was just about to assign personnel when a man stepped out from the ranks of military officers.
Xu Zhan walked to the front of the hall, cupped his fist with one hand, his voice steady as iron. "Commander, I am willing to lead fifty scouts out of the city to investigate."
Tie Lanshan looked at Xu Zhan, a look of appreciation flashing in his eyes. Scouts were the most elite reconnaissance units in the border army, skilled at concealing their tracks and long-distance raids. Led by Xu Zhan, a highly skilled Fierce Deity, it couldn't be more fitting.
"Granted," Tie Lanshan ordered in a deep voice. "Centurion Xu, this mission is perilous. Remember not to linger in battle! Your task is to ascertain the true situation. Once you discover the movements of the enemy's main force, return to the city immediately to report. There must be no mistakes."
"I accept your orders." Xu Zhan answered crisply, turned, and strode out of the main hall to select his men in the camp.
The meeting ended, and the generals dispersed one after another. He Minghu flicked his sleeves and left with a calm expression.
For him, the logic Xu Qinghuan had spoken was naturally clear to someone who had fought battles all year round.
In the end, it was just acting.
Coincidentally, Xu Qinghuan naturally understood as well.
...
Soon, only Tie Lanshan and Xu Qinghuan were left in the hall.
Tie Lanshan sighed and rubbed his aching brow. "Imperial Envoy, Centurion Xu's departure can only ascertain the enemy's situation, but it cannot resolve the dead end of our being besieged."
"The Helian cavalry is simply too fast. We cannot deploy our heavy crossbows in time, and our archers lack the necessary range. If this continues, the city's supplies will run dry, and it will ultimately spell disaster for us."
Xu Qinghuan sat back down in her chair, her gaze falling once more upon the feathered arrows. Her mind raced, quickly sifting through the blueprints of ancient weapons she remembered seeing in videos during her past life.
For infantry to overcome cavalry, aside from relying on sturdy city walls, they had to depend on specialized defensive weaponry.
While the heavy crossbows of the Great Qian Dynasty boasted tremendous power, they were far too cumbersome. It took the combined strength of over a dozen men just to draw the bowstring, making rapid deployment with the army completely impossible.
There had to be a weapon that could be easily assembled and dismantled, carried alongside the marching troops, and still effectively halt a cavalry charge.
