Yuan Xi, seeing the enemy scouts retaliate, didn't know if it was a lucky shot or accurate, but a bone arrow flew straight towards his face with extreme speed.
In his haste, he only managed to turn his head, and with a loud clang, the bone arrow struck the side of his helmet, shattering the arrowhead. The arrow shaft bounced away, and the iron helmet continued to ring.
The vibration traveled from the helmet to his head, and Yuan Xi's ears rang. Blood foam appeared in his mouth, and he couldn't help but stagger back a couple of steps, quickly lowering his body.
He cursed himself for his stupidity.
Damn it, seeing such a large formation for the first time, he made such a low-level mistake!
In the past two years, he had practiced archery with Qu Yi, often going out hunting, and had encountered small groups of bandits several times, personally shooting and killing a few.
But this was the first time he had encountered such a swift and fierce counterattack. This group of Xiongnu people was not simple; he had been too careless!
Yuan Xi used the trees for cover, changed his position, and stood up. By this time, the other archers beside him had already stood up and fired their second volley, and then squatted down again.
He stood up with the others, and together they fired their third volley of arrows. The rain of arrows fell, and several Xiongnu light cavalry who had charged to the front were shot down, men and horses together.
While changing positions and crouching, Yuan Xi clearly saw that his iron arrow had struck the enemy's horse's head, and the rider on top had fallen heavily.
He thought to himself that it wasn't bad; at a hundred paces, it was basically luck, but at least he didn't miss completely.
But it was also time to leave.
This was a slightly sloping but not very high hilly area. The enemy could charge up on horseback. Now that it was daylight, unlike at night, they wouldn't be able to escape if they didn't leave now.
He called to the dozens of archers to retreat back to the other side of the hill, where dozens of inferior horses were tethered.
These so-called inferior horses were of poor quality, unsuitable for warhorses, and were only used for miscellaneous tasks. Usually, they were simply released to eat some wild grass, and it was enough if they could survive.
Yuan Xi, as the commander of this cavalry archer team, could only ride such an inferior horse.
The remaining few dozen good horses were all given to Qu Yi to train heavy cavalry.
Because raising a true warhorse was simply too expensive.
To raise a true warhorse, not only did one have to choose a high-quality warhorse, but it also had to eat good pasture, interspersed with refined grains and eggs. Only horses raised in this way would have breakthroughs in endurance and strength.
A Han soldier's monthly ration was about three shi (approximately 180 pounds), while the fodder and grain required for a warhorse were several times that of a soldier!
And that wasn't all; a cavalryman had at least three horses.
A warhorse, a riding horse, and an inferior horse.
The riding horse was the horse that the cavalryman usually rode during marches, the inferior horse was used to carry military equipment and grain for transportation, and only the warhorse with the best quality was used in battle!
Adding in the weapons and armor used by the cavalry, and the barding and saddles used by the horses, it could be said that raising a cavalryman was extremely expensive, comparable to dozens of infantrymen!
Good steel should be used on the blade. Yuan Xi's private soldiers were few in number, only a few dozen, all of whom were heavy cavalry under Qu Yi's command.
Moreover, they were all people who couldn't be seen in the light. Usually, Yuan Xi could only scrimp and save a little food from his own salary.
Not only that, but these private soldiers also needed to be rewarded regularly, which was extremely expensive to calculate.
As Yuan Shao's son, ending up in his situation, there was probably no one else like him.
But relatively speaking, the rewards were also amazing. These private soldiers were extremely loyal, trained according to Qu Yi's standard for vanguard daredevils!
Yuan Xi called for everyone to mount their horses, and with a whistle, the cavalry archer team disappeared into the forest behind the hills.
By the time the Xiongnu cavalry caught up, they couldn't find a single person.
They had no choice but to return and report the situation to the Xiongnu chieftain. How could that chieftain not know that they had been tricked!
The hunter from yesterday was probably also disguised by this group of people!
This wave today had killed more than a dozen of their own men, using iron arrows with greater killing power!
Including those who were hit by gold juice and wooden arrows yesterday, their side had already suffered fifty or sixty casualties, and it would be difficult for the injured to fight at full strength in the short term.
For this team of several hundred warriors, it was no small number!
However, what puzzled the Xiongnu chieftain was that even if the other party had ambushed them in advance, did they know too much about their movements?
An inside man?
He shook his head and rejected this idea. Even if there was a spy, there wouldn't be enough time to send a message. Besides, the Han people here were all women.
He looked at the mountain pass ahead. After another ten or so li (approximately 3 miles), they would be able to leave this valley. Outside the valley, to the south, was Beixin City, and the surrounding dozens of li were all plains.
As long as they reached the plains, no matter what tricks the other side used, the men of his tribe could tear them apart on horseback!
Thinking of this, he shouted loudly, ordering the light cavalry to rush up the hillsides on both sides to be on guard, the infantry to advance in front, and the cavalry to put on their armor and mount their horses, preparing to defend against possible ambushes at the mountain pass.
He sneered in his heart. Unless the enemy had a large army coming, no one could withstand them.
But that was impossible.
Would Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan be so full that they would send troops to encircle and suppress them?
The hundreds of women walking at the back of the column, seeing the Xiongnu soldiers suddenly become nervous, looking as if they were facing a great enemy, also lost their color. Some were afraid and cried out, but were whipped by the escorting Xiongnu soldiers, screaming and falling to the ground.
The ugly woman, whose face was mottled with black and red, who had previously played the Hujia in the Xiongnu chieftain's tent, stepped forward to help the fallen woman up.
The soldier who had whipped her saw her appearance, felt disgusted, and didn't bother with her, snorting coldly and walking away.
The ugly woman saw that the Xiongnu soldiers were not as violent as usual, but instead frequently looked towards the direction of the mountain pass, thinking that if a fight really broke out, it would be a good opportunity to escape.
Although the opportunity was small, it was better than being captured to beyond the pass and being used as a slave.
She turned her gaze to the carts pulling boxes of supplies, her heart hesitant.
There were some things in those boxes that she had to get back.
At this time, Yuan Xi was spacing out outside the valley.
Where was Qu Yi?
When he left last night, didn't they agree that he would take dozens of cavalry archers to wait here, and Qu Yi would bring the other elite cavalry and infantry from the city?
Where did he go?
Could it be that he left without saying goodbye?
Thinking about it, it was possible. His father, Yuan Shao, wanted to kill him. He had barely survived, and had helped him a lot in the past two years, which was enough to repay the favor. It was normal for him to leave, right?
No, Qu Yi wasn't that kind of person.
He was from Liang Province, and usually had a heroic spirit. Even if he wanted to leave, he wouldn't choose to leave at this time.
Then where did he go?
Yuan Xi didn't know. At this time, in the forest behind him, two groups of soldiers were eyeing each other warily.
Zhao Yun sat on his horse, straightening his body, and said to Qu Yi, who was dozens of zhang (approximately 100 meters) away: "What, do you want to break your promise and attack directly?"
Qu Yi laughed loudly: "Your bet with the Second Young Master Yuan naturally counts."
"But I want to know if you have enough weight to bear this bet!"
"If you can't get past me, don't even think about leaving this forest!"
Zhao Yun frowned slightly as he looked at the cavalry behind Qu Yi.
There weren't many, only twenty or thirty riders.
But they were fully armored, and each was equipped with extremely expensive long spears and ring-pommel swords.
This was heavy cavalry!
On his side, only a few deputy generals had such treatment.
In addition, there were forty or fifty infantrymen, all of whom were armored, far exceeding the Han army system!
Most of the soldiers Zhao Yun brought were infantry, all wearing the simplest cotton armor and leather armor, with only a few armor plates in the vital parts of their chest and back. Facing these fully armored soldiers, the chances of winning were extremely small.
So Yuan Xi was hiding his strength, using the bet to trick him into coming out for an ambush?
A trace of killing intent flashed in Zhao Yun's eyes.
Qu Yi seemed to see what Zhao Yun was thinking and laughed loudly: "This matter has nothing to do with the young master!"
"He always thinks I'm not as good as you!"
"So this time, you and I will duel!"
Zhao Yun's eyes flashed when he heard this: "If you lose, then what?"
Qu Yi laughed loudly, raised his horse spear, and charged towards him: "How could I possibly lose!"