The problem currently facing the Han army, however, was how to find the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu were cunning, and as their influence in the Hexi region waned, they became increasingly cautious. Finding them was no simple task.
Wei Qing was in the middle of assigning tasks to his various colonels when Huo Qubing stepped forward.
"This is easy, Uncle..."
Huo Qubing had a wide smile on his face. As he spoke, Wei Qing’s expression grew stern, and he rebuked him, "Colonel of the Agile Cavalry, in the army, you are to call me the Great General!"
Hearing this, Huo Qubing’s face remained bright with a smile as he replied, "Yes! Great General!"
A mere title meant nothing to Huo Qubing; he never cared for such things.
He laid out his idea.
When the colonels heard that Huo Qubing wanted to take a group of men to sweep through the Hexi region, capturing Xiongnu to interrogate them for directions, their expressions were filled with astonishment.
Capturing Xiongnu to act as guides?
Who didn't know about that!
But wasn't the very point of their discussion how to find the Xiongnu in the first place!
"The teacher taught me that in war, one must come and go like the wind and move like a thunderclap! Great General, I am willing to sign a military order. Give me just eight hundred men! I guarantee I will bring the Xiongnu back!"
Huo Qubing was the picture of confidence, his expression proud.
Wei Qing looked back at Shaodian Qingnu. After a moment of consideration, he nodded and said, "Very well! Colonel of the Agile Cavalry, I shall give you eight hundred men!"
With these eight hundred men, Huo Qubing became even more self-assured. At dawn the next morning, he had the men assemble, ready to set out.
Shaodian Qingnu stood on a grassy hill, sighing softly.
The frost and dew on the grasslands were heavy. Unlike the Han soldiers who had campaigned for years, Huo Qubing was pushing himself far too hard for his first time on the battlefield. It was foreseeable that he would fall ill from overwork.
Shaodian Qingnu called out, "Huo Qubing! Rest when you are tired. Take care of your health."
"Don't worry, Teacher!"
Huo Qubing brandished the long sword in his hand as he bid Shaodian Qingnu farewell.
This excursion lasted many days. Just as Wei Qing was beginning to worry if something had happened to him, Huo Qubing returned to the camp carrying the heads of several thousand Xiongnu and bringing several captives!
Eight hundred men!
Led by a young man on his very first battlefield, and yet they achieved such results!
The entire army was stunned!
With Huo Qubing’s contribution, the Han army won a resounding victory.
Liu Che issued an imperial decree, enfeoffing Huo Qubing as the Champion Marquis and promoting him to General of the Agile Cavalry. The following year, both he and Wei Qing were ordered to lead Han armies out of the passes to face the enemy.
The Champion Marquis, the General of the Agile Cavalry—he was born for glory!
The war between the Han and the Xiongnu slowly unfolded across thousands of miles of the Han border!
The great armies came and went with rapid speed. Huo Qubing implemented the lightning war tactics Shaodian Qingnu had described to the absolute limit; he was faster than even the Xiongnu.
The name 'Champion Marquis' became a lingering nightmare for the Xiongnu. Even tribes far removed from Han territory heard of Huo Qubing’s great name; he was a sword hanging over the heads of the Xiongnu in all of Monan.
Shaodian Qingnu watched every one of Huo Qubing’s expeditions.
'He pushes himself too hard...'
Shaodian Qingnu murmured to herself.
She stood on the loess highlands, gazing into the distance at Huo Qubing, who was once again leading fifty thousand cavalry deep into Mobei to hunt the Xiongnu.
Huo Qubing was twenty-two this year.
He was already twenty-two!
Three years prior, Shaodian Qingnu had sent Chunyu Tiying to accompany Huo Qubing on his campaigns. She was the Medicine-Dispensing Fairy, a healer.
Yet even with her at his side, Huo Qubing’s complexion gradually took a turn for the worse.
Others could not see it, but Shaodian Qingnu could.
She knew that in this battle, Huo Qubing would achieve the rite of Feng Langjuxu, reaching the highest pinnacle of achievement for a military commander in thousands of years of this land's history.
Shaodian Qingnu arrived at Mount Langjuxu ahead of time. At this moment, many Xiongnu were still there. Aware of the Han army’s expedition, they were performing a sacrifice to Heaven, praying for victory over the Han people.
She watched from high in the sky. Only after the Xiongnu dispersed did she descend upon the peak of Mount Langjuxu.
Shaodian Qingnu watched the departing Xiongnu and suddenly asked, "Damned Heaven, can he really not live on?"
The wind atop Mount Langjuxu was fierce, scattering her voice.
Seeing that no one answered, Shaodian Qingnu raised her hand toward the high heavens. Clouds began to churn and roil as snow-heavy clouds began to blanket the entirety of the Mobei grasslands.
Hongluan, perched on her shoulder, saw this and cried out in alarm, "Stupid snake, what are you doing?"
"Opposing Heaven is dangerous! Stop quickly! Have you forgotten what happened back then?"
The bird hopped anxiously, quickly manifesting her human form to stop Shaodian Qingnu.
But Shaodian Qingnu raised her other hand to hold her back and said, "Sister Bird, do not worry! This snake knows what she's doing! Damned Heaven, you’d best think carefully. If you do not answer me, once this snow falls, let alone Monan, there will be no Xiongnu left even in Mobei."
As Shaodian Qingnu spoke, her finger began to slowly point downward.
However, before the snow could fall, it vanished. This was because a person had appeared before Shaodian Qingnu and grabbed her hand.
An angry voice spoke, "Shaodian Qingnu, do not push your luck!"
The figure before her had no discernible gender. When the entity spoke, the voice sounded like men, women, the elderly, and children all at once, making one's head spin.
Shaodian Qingnu rubbed her ears and asked, "Are you the Damned Heaven?"
Heaven held Shaodian Qingnu’s hand and nodded. "Indeed, it is I!"
Hongluan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Heaven actually came out?
Shaodian Qingnu pulled her hand away with a look of distaste and said, "You look decent, but your voice is truly hideous! Let me ask you, is Huo Qubing’s health your doing? Otherwise, with Little Tiying’s medical skills, how could he possibly not be cured?"
Heaven remained silent for a moment before saying, "Go and become your dragon of providence. Why do you meddle in these things?"
"The Way of Heaven is to take from the surplus to supplement the deficient!"
"Just as the Yellow River floods and creates a thousand miles of barren earth, this is a tribulation the Han must undergo! My allowing you to resolve the Yellow River flood was already an act of leniency toward you!"
Shaodian Qingnu fell silent after Heaven finished speaking. After a long while, she suddenly began to laugh.
"So you’re saying that there truly is a designated time for a person to die?"
"...But I insist on saving him!"
When Shaodian Qingnu spoke those words, Heaven closed Its eyes.
That night, a campfire was lit on the peak of Mount Langjuxu.
Shaodian Qingnu sat on the ground by the fire. Heaven crouched beside her, painstakingly advising, "Under the heavens, no human is immortal! Even if Huo Qubing dies, the name of Han has already been etched into the hearts of the people. In the future, providence will surge and flourish. What more are you dissatisfied with?"
Shaodian Qingnu replied, "But if he lives, the people of Han will have a much easier time."
The realm was exhausted and the population halved, largely because the deaths of Huo Qubing and Wei Qing left the Han court without any great generals truly capable of leading troops.
No matter how Heaven tried to persuade her, Shaodian Qingnu would not change her mind.
Heaven grew frustrated and cursed, "You jiao-snake, you are truly infuriating! If I had known, I would have used a bit more strength back then and struck you dead with lightning!"
Years ago, that lightning tribulation had indeed been intended to kill Shaodian Qingnu.
"Don't get worked up. Here, eat..."
Shaodian Qingnu raised her hand and offered Heaven a beef leg.
Heaven glanced at the leg in her hand, stood up, and said, "I won't eat it!"
Before leaving, It spoke to Shaodian Qingnu once more, "Jiao-snake, remember! Heaven follows a path. For every change made to destiny, one must be prepared to bear the consequences!"
I have explained it very clearly!
The reason for saving Huo Qubing is that after he and Wei Qing died, the Han court had no generals capable of leading troops, and they lost more foreign wars than they won! This resulted in too many deaths!
In the sixteen years following Wei Qing's death, Liu Che launched four campaigns against the Xiongnu!
They didn't win!
They didn't win!
They didn't win!
You can say it is hard for a single person to influence history, but the fact is that Wei Qing and Huo Qubing could win against the Xiongnu, and after they died, the Han could not!
Why do you all focus on her saving Huo Qubing instead of looking at why she is saving him?
Rate on N.U.
