Chapter 17: A Triumphant First Battle, The Hun Youth

Chapter 17: First Victory, The Xiongnu Youth

"Charge!"

Behind him, the Qin soldiers erupted in a deafening roar. Everyone hammered their stirrups against their horses' bellies, urging their mounts forward with cracking whips. Clad in black armor, the soldiers leaned low over their saddles, drawing out their crossbows and readying them to fire.

Tens of thousands surged forward like a black wall spreading across the steppe toward the yurt encampment.

"The Qin army is coming! Run!"

In panic, some tribal men brandished bows and arrows and rode out to meet them, while others fled in every direction. Some clung desperately to their cattle and sheep, whipping them to keep them moving.

"Raise the crossbows!"

"Fire!" came the sharp command.

"Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!" Countless crossbow triggers were pulled, sending a dense swarm of bolts flying like a plague of insects toward every living target ahead.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!" The charging Xiongnu warriors and fleeing herders alike fell like straw dummies, pierced by bolts and tumbling from their mounts one after another. Their blood soaked the grass before being trampled under the pounding hooves of the cavalry. When the riders passed, the chaotic plain was strewn with hundreds of mangled, bloody corpses, almost crushed into the mud.

"General, many Xiongnu are fleeing north!" a captain shouted at Wang Li.

"Hmph! Trying to run? Orders given! Divide the army into squads. None who dare to flee shall be left alive, not even their bodies to bring back! Anyone who escapes will be sentenced to coal digging!" Wang Li sneered, spurring his horse toward the largest yurts.

With that command, the entire army split into 120 squads, sweeping out in all directions, cutting down anyone who fell or tried to flee. The grassland rang with the clash of blades and the screams of the dying.

This was the bitter truth of the era—the relentless cycle of ethnic warfare. There was no right or wrong, no mercy—only fierce loyalty to one’s own people.

After nearly an hour, the slaughter in the Xinya tribe gradually ceased. Every man, woman, and child who had dared resist lay beheaded. The survivors huddled trembling in a large circle, surrounded by cold-faced riders wearing masks etched with the Black Tortoise emblem.

Abandoned horses grazed calmly, while startled cattle and sheep scattered. Bodies lay strewn across the scarred grasslands.

"Arrange for medics to treat the wounded, gather the horses and livestock, and tally the spoils and prisoners!" Wang Li dismounted and went to wash his hands and face by a nearby stream, where a few Xiongnu corpses still lay.

The Xiongnu, regardless of age or gender, were nearly all warriors. In past battles, entire clans were often slaughtered, for these nomads pillaged and burned villages on their raids into the Central Plains.

Hence, the Central Kingdoms fought the Xiongnu and other tribes with equal ruthlessness—a centuries-old grudge that only bloodshed could cleanse.

Originally, this campaign intended to exterminate the tribe entirely, but the court mystics declared that such slaughter was too lenient a punishment. Instead, the captured men would be forced into mining and road-building labor, while the women would bear Qin children, repaying their crimes with a lifetime of toil.

But anyone caught armed, regardless of age or sex, was to be killed on the spot. Any who dared mount a horse were to be slain as well. Since they were nomads, they were better off tending cattle and sheep—there was no need for swords.

Half an hour later, the battlefield was cleared. Over ten thousand soldiers regrouped. Thousands of Xiongnu left ears were cut off and collected by the accompanying clerks for merit records. Those with tribal tattoos were treated specially—their heads were severed and counted separately for greater military honors.

Tattoos marked the bravest Xiongnu warriors, blessed by shamans in ancient rites whose meanings were lost to time. To Qin soldiers, killing a tattooed warrior was a significant feat.

In a thousand-strong tribe, only about ten bore such marks and enjoyed the best treatment, making them the tribe’s elite fighters—roughly equivalent to low-ranking Qin officers.

According to the new Qin merit system, killing a common soldier earned one merit point; killing an elite warrior earned five; killing a squad leader earned ten; killing a decurion earned twenty; and killing a centurion earned three hundred.

There was also collective merit for victories, based on the ratio of losses, with twenty percent of captured spoils distributed as rewards.

Merits could be accumulated to gain promotions, exchange for supplies, or redeem family members from punishment.

“General, the tally is complete. We have killed 452 Xiongnu, captured 2,088 prisoners, rounded up 2,456 horses, 323 cattle, 5,123 sheep, and seized 1,524 taels of gold and silver. Qin casualties: five. These are the official figures,” a clerk reported, handing Wang Li a ledger.

Wang Li glanced over it and set it aside. This was a decent haul. By this reckoning, the campaign would be quite profitable. He had also invested heavily in shares, and the Wang Trading Company had accompanied the army.

Without further thought, Wang Li approached the prisoner camp and sat down astride his horse, his sword gleaming.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes! If not for His Majesty’s mercy, I would have slaughtered you all!” Wang Li growled when he saw hateful stares among the captives.

“Now, tell me how many tribes are near yours? What is their strength? Speak, or I will make your lives so miserable you’ll regret ever being born into this world. The Qin’s mining skills are quite advanced! If you cooperate, I will let you live in luxury and honor.”

The young prisoner’s fearful eyes flickered at these words. Just as everyone pondered his fate—

“Crack!”

A flash of white steel, a severed head flew through the air, spraying blood and causing screams to erupt. “You just said that, and now you kill?” the captives were stunned.

Wang Li brandished his great sword. “My patience is limited.I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.