Lu Bu: Invasion Hunnic

Chapter Five: Burning the Xiongnu

By the time Lü Bu and his family reached the earthen wall, the villagers had already gathered there. At this point, the area two arrow-lengths outside the wall was already swarming with Xiongnu cavalry.

"There must be over a thousand Xiongnu people," a villager said with concern.

"This is a thousand-man unit of the Xiongnu. It seems they are seeking revenge for the arrow Lai Bao shot yesterday," Lu Bu's father said with certainty.

"What should we do with so many Xiongnu people? Let's surrender," some of the more timid villagers suggested.

“If you want to die now, then go ahead and try. We’ve killed so many Xiongnu soldiers; the Xiongnu won’t let us go. We might as well fight them to the death. Killing one is enough, killing two is enough to save the day.” Some hot-blooded villagers also offered their opinions.

At this moment, the village chief stepped forward, trembling, and said to everyone, "I think it's best if those who want to stay stay to guard the city, and those who want to leave prepare immediately so they can leave at the first opportunity. We must leave some descendants for our village. I'm old, and these old bones of mine don't need to wander outside anymore. If we really can't win, I'll burn down my house and go to see my ancestors. No matter what, I've drunk the blood of the barbarians."

Everyone was deeply moved by the old village chief's words. Indeed, they had all drunk the blood of the Xiongnu; how could they possibly surrender? Thus, only two paths lay before them: either stay in the village and fight the Xiongnu to the last, or break through the encirclement in the chaos. The former was a dead end, the latter a path of near certain death.

Lü Bu's father turned to look at his wife. They nodded in unison. Then Lü Bu's father asked Lü Bu, "Have you memorized the halberd techniques I taught you this morning?"

By this time, Lü Bu had been tempered by the brutal battles, his very being filled with a fierce determination to die for his cause. He nodded to his father, who was about to give his life.

"Father, rest assured, although I am not very proficient in this halberd technique, I will never disgrace the name of our Lü family."

After hearing Lü Bu's words, Lü Bu's father smiled and said, "Your mother and I have decided to stay in the village together. But you are still young, and your life has just begun. So you must live on, leave here, take the letter I gave you yesterday, and go to Hanoi to find your Uncle Ding Yuan. He will take good care of you after seeing the letter."

As he spoke, Lü Bu's father reached out and touched Lü Bu's head.

At this moment, Lü Bu's mother was already in tears. She took out some dry food from her bosom, stuffed it into Lü Bu's arms, and said in a trembling voice, "My child, you must take good care of yourself from now on. Don't think about revenge. As long as you can live well, your mother will be at ease."

As she spoke, Lü Bu's mother broke down in tears. Lü Bu's eyes were also filled with tears. Although Lü Bu had only been a son to this couple for a day, he could no longer relinquish his feelings. He said emotionally, "Father, Mother, let's leave together. Your son will surely conquer the world and ensure you enjoy your old age in peace."

At this moment, Lü Bu genuinely wanted to do something for the couple. He wanted to do everything in his power to protect them.

At this moment, Lü Bu's father smiled and said, "My child, we are content with your filial piety. The greatest wish of parents is to ensure that the children we have attacked live well."

As he spoke, Lü Bu's father glanced around. Sure enough, all around were parents seeing their children off.

Turning back, Lü Bu's father continued, "Wipe away your tears. Remember this: a man sheds blood, not tears. You are Lü Bu of the grasslands, the Lü family's Lü Bu. There are no cowards in the Lü family, no man who sheds tears in the face of an air disaster."

As he spoke, Lü Bu's father gave Lü Bu a determined look.

After the Lü family made their decision, almost everyone else followed suit. They all unanimously chose to send their children away, while they themselves stayed behind to protect them from the Xiongnu.

After some discussion, it was finally decided that a hole would be dug behind the village entrance so that the children could escape through the hole when the Xiongnu attacked.

Of course, not everyone is resolute in the face of death; some want to leave with their children. But if everyone tries to escape together, then surely no one will escape.

Just as everyone was still pondering the matter, the Xiongnu's attack had already begun.

First, more than fifty bound Xiongnu soldiers were brought out from behind the Xiongnu army's ranks. Upon closer inspection, these bound Xiongnu soldiers were the same fifty-odd Xiongnu soldiers who had retreated the day before.

A Xiongnu officer stood before the bound Xiongnu soldiers and shouted, "You bunch of swine! You can't even take down a small Han village! You've utterly disgraced the Xiongnu! I'll give you one more chance. If you still can't get in, I'll chop off your heads!"

After saying this, the officer waved his hand, and soldiers came forward to help these people by tying up the ropes binding them and throwing a series of swords in front of them.

The soldiers exchanged glances, picked up their swords from the ground, and charged toward the village across the way, roaring.

At this moment, the officer revealed a wicked glint of anger on his lips and said to the junior officer beside him, "Order the main force to advance. Once these deserters open a breach, we'll all rush in together. s*******r everyone inside, leave no one alive. These Han people in this village dare to drink the blood of our Xiongnu people; it's utterly despicable. If this gets out, how will our Xiongnu ever be able to stand on the grasslands again?"

"Yes," the junior officer said, about to accept the order.

Lu Bu stood on the earthen wall, watching the fifty or so Xiongnu soldiers who had escaped the day before rush over like ferocious demons, about to draw his bow and shoot an arrow, but was indeed stopped by his father.

Lu Bu's father said to the village chief, "If we want the children to escape, we must lure the Xiongnu into the village. Only when the Xiongnu enter the village can the children escape in the chaos. If we don't let the Xiongnu into the village, they can burn the village to the ground with just one fire, and then I'm afraid none of us will be able to escape."

Upon hearing that Lü Bu's father made sense, the village chief said, "You handle these matters. I've already decided to bury this old man here, so I won't worry about it anymore." With that, the old man slowly went home.

At this moment, Lü Bu's father looked at the villagers and said, "Fellow villagers, today let us show the Xiongnu people how powerful the men of Han are."

So Lü Bu's father had the villagers block all the roads with firewood. Then he had everyone come down from the earthen walls, open the village gate, and hide in a secluded place.

Once all the Xiongnu people have entered the village, set the entire village ablaze. This will throw the Xiongnu into chaos. At this time, those who want to leave can take advantage of the confusion to escape through the tunnels dug behind the village.

And so, when the fifty-odd Xiongnu soldiers who had fled the day before roared and charged to the village entrance, they saw a strange scene. The village gate was wide open. And there wasn't a single person standing on the two-person-high earthen wall.

Although the Xiongnu soldiers were somewhat suspicious, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and press on, as military orders were paramount.

When these Xiongnu soldiers entered the village, they found no one there, only piles of firewood everywhere. These Xiongnu people were not usually concerned with such trivial matters, so they paid no attention to this. After searching everywhere and still finding no one, the Xiongnu soldiers quickly sent someone to report to their officers.

Not long after the fifty-odd Xiongnu soldiers entered the village, one of them came out beaming and reported to the officer outside: "Reporting to the general, we have captured the village. Please inspect it."

Upon hearing this, the officer's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Grandma, what happened? Where did the people inside go?"

The soldier who came out to report said helplessly, "General, my men, we really didn't find anyone. Did they all run away in fear when they heard that the general was coming?"

Upon hearing this, the officer looked displeased and said, "Send out scouts to investigate. I don't believe they can fly away."

After saying this, the general flicked his whip and continued, "The army will enter the village to rest, and we will pursue them again when we have news."

So he led his nearly a thousand men in a grand procession toward the village.

At this moment, a junior officer approached the Xiongnu soldier who had just reported the incident and said, "Tell your leader to lead you in ten groups to scout the direction those Han dogs fled. If you can't find any clues, watch out for his head."

After saying this to the junior officer, he strode away.

The soldier had no choice but to lower his head and go look for his own head.

When all one thousand Xiongnu soldiers had entered the village, Lü Bu's father was the first to light a fire.

Seeing the sudden fire in the village, the Xiongnu initially thought it was an accident caused by someone eating meat. However, fires soon broke out in various parts of the village, and the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard. In an instant, the Xiongnu soldiers were thrown into complete chaos.

These Xiongnu people were used to roaming the grasslands. Although they admired the culture and landscapes of the Han people, they couldn't stand being confined. Now, in this small village, a thousand Xiongnu soldiers were stationed, surrounded by earthen walls two people high, with fires raging everywhere and shouts and neighing of horses. How could these Xiongnu not be in chaos?

Even worse, some trampled each other, and deaths and injuries were inevitable. In addition, the villagers took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, and in no time at all, the Xiongnu soldiers were thrown into disarray.

At this moment, Lü Bu, with a longbow in his hand, stood on a broken wall, about to fire a fatal shot at a Xiongnu soldier not far away.

Lu Bu fired an arrow, and the Xiongnu soldier fell silent. Lu Bu then drew another arrow from behind him and, under the cover of the fire, slipped away to the other side.