The Xiongnu scouting party headed back for an hour before encountering the main force of their tribe.
This band of Xiongnu marauders numbered three to four hundred.
At the forefront were a hundred cavalrymen. The leading barbarian generals, along with several dozen cavalrymen behind them, were clad in armor. Some wore Central Plains-style lamellar armor, while others sported Northern Xiongnu bronze scale armor. Most of them wielded Han army ring-pommel swords.
As for the rest, their equipment was much inferior. Some wore wooden armor, others bone armor, scattered haphazardly on their bodies like patchwork. As for its effectiveness, it was hard to say.
These men carried short spears or spiked hammers, far inferior to the equipment of those in front.
Upon hearing the scout's report, the leading barbarian general flew into a rage, shouting, "Damn your mothers!"
"Shameless Han dogs, you are incompetent, losing face for the chieftain!"
The scouts dared not speak.
The barbarian general, feeling agitated, turned to look at the column behind him.
The main force behind him consisted of a hundred Xiongnu infantrymen and a hundred or so large carts laden with loot.
Further back were several hundred disheveled women, mostly young, with their hair loose and clothes in disarray, stumbling along behind the carts.
At the rear was the Xiongnu chieftain's rearguard.
The barbarian general felt somewhat uneasy. It was said that the people of You and Ji Provinces were known for their martial spirit, but for mere hunters to dare provoke Xiongnu scouts seemed rather unusual.
Yuan Xi, using his binoculars, carefully observed the scene from several miles away.
Xiongnu soldiers appeared sporadically within the mountain path. Leading them were a hundred or so Xiongnu light cavalrymen. Although the valley was quite wide, these light cavalrymen were arranged in several ranks, completely filling the road in the valley.
Even more peculiar was that, compared to the rumored Xiongnu bandits who wore fur robes and rarely wore armor, a significant portion of these cavalrymen were actually armored!
Following them were a hundred Xiongnu infantrymen, advancing slowly.
Yuan Xi's expression grew serious.
Armored infantrymen were also quite numerous!
This was almost on par with the regular army of the Han Dynasty!
This force was definitely not a simple band of marauders!
Where did their armor come from?
Was it looted? Or was it supplied by some power?
Yuan Xi, through his binoculars, saw several hundred ragged women in Han-style dresses following behind the Xiongnu infantrymen.
They stumbled along, and any hesitation was met with a Xiongnu soldier rushing up and lashing them with a whip.
The cries of these Han women shook the heavens and echoed through the valley, clear enough for Yuan Xi to hear even from the hilltop.
Sun Li, hearing the sound but unable to see anything under the trees, grew impatient and tried to grab a tree trunk to climb up, but was glared at by a veteran soldier and reluctantly released his grip, muttering under his breath.
The column also included a hundred or so supply carts, loaded with boxes and provisions, indicating that this band of marauders had looted a considerable amount.
At the rear were a hundred Xiongnu infantrymen, with several richly dressed individuals on horseback in the middle, likely Xiongnu nobles.
Estimates put the size of this force at nearly a thousand, stretching for several miles through the valley.
Because of the abducted women, the column was moving slowly. Yuan Xi calculated that, at the latest, they would leave the valley by tomorrow and head towards Bing Province, at which point they would be unstoppable.
It would be best to stop them in the valley!
However, this Xiongnu army was well-equipped, with a higher armor ratio than even the several hundred soldiers in Yuan Xi's Beixin City. If the two sides clashed, the outcome was uncertain.
Although Zhao Yun would send a hundred soldiers over, the rest would remain outside Beixin City to contain the enemy. Yuan Xi also had to leave men in the city for defense.
Although it was unlikely that Zhao Yun would break his promise, things were unpredictable. What if his subordinates acted on their own?
But the current situation was already the most ideal. Originally, he would have had trouble dealing with either the Xiongnu or Zhao Yun.
Now, with a bet, both sides had freed up two hundred of their most elite soldiers, while the remaining forces were facing off and containing each other outside Beixin City. Yuan Xi had already made a profit!
Yuan Xi put away his binoculars, jumped down from the tree, briefly explained the situation to everyone, and said, "Let's discuss whether we should return to the city first?"
Several veteran soldiers expressed their agreement, but Sun Li's face showed disappointment. Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Sun Li, if you have any ideas, you can speak up."
Although Sun Li was only fourteen or fifteen years old, he was quite clever and quick-witted. He had been rescued by Yuan Xi by chance and became Yuan Xi's personal guard, so he had been following Yuan Xi ever since.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Sun Li couldn't help but feel flustered, stammering, "Whatever Brother wants me to do, I will do. I don't know anything about complicated matters."
"But I always feel that if we just leave like this, aren't we letting those barbarian dogs have it too easy?"
One of the veteran soldiers heard this and said, "Sun Li, under normal circumstances, we might have let the barbarian dogs eat a few more arrows, but now we are outnumbered. What if the young master is injured by the enemy?"
Sun Li heard this and said, "Can't we just run after we hit them?"
"Besides, we will have to fight these barbarian dogs sooner or later tomorrow. If we don't kill some of them beforehand, won't it be even harder for us when we fight?"
Sun Li's words reminded Yuan Xi.
According to his bet with Zhao Yun, he could only use two hundred men against the enemy. This group of Xiongnu people would not be easy to deal with. What if things went wrong?
But if he could weaken the strength of this Xiongnu bandit group in advance, then his chances of winning would undoubtedly be much higher!
He looked at the scouting team he had brought, seven or eight people, all of whom were skilled at fighting bandits and marauders over the years, no worse than the Xiongnu archers, but there were still too few people.
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi said, "We can try to harass them a bit."
"Sun Li, you go back to the city first and have Brother Qu bring the archers over."
Qu was the fake surname that Qu Yi had given himself. Although the two surnames were pronounced exactly the same, it was just a change of soup but not the ingredients.
Qu Yi had been responsible for training scout soldiers for the past two years and was highly respected by them. By his count, there were still a hundred archers available in the city.
It was not yet time for the bet, and although heads would not be counted, tonight was a good opportunity that should not be missed!
Sun Li listened and quickly got on his horse and left.
Below the mountain path, the barbarian general, seeing that it was getting late, ordered the main force to stop advancing and set up camp on the spot.
Campfires were lit, and the Xiongnu soldiers ate the game they had hunted, drank the wine in their leather pouches, and began to sing and dance.
The abducted women, however, could only eat coarse, moldy grain cakes, all sitting on the muddy ground, shivering in the cold wind.
A Xiongnu soldier, drunk, came over and pressed a woman to the ground. The woman cried out desperately, but the other Xiongnu soldiers laughed.
Several hundred women had their heads lowered, some with hatred on their faces. A few people wanted to speak, but their mouths were covered by their companions.
A barbarian general came over and kicked the soldier over, scolding, "You've eaten leopard's gall!"
"These women are to be presented to the royal tent!"
"I don't even get a turn, and you're already thinking about it!"
The soldier then got up and left dejectedly.
At this time, the barbarian general was in the large tent that had been set up, telling a richly dressed nobleman about the encounter with the hunters.
Finally, he lowered his head and said, "Honorable son of the Chanyu, what should we do?"
The man, who was called the son of the Chanyu, was a man in his thirties, with thin cheeks, a curly beard, and narrow eyes with a fierce look.
He did not take the general's words seriously. The war in the northern lands was endless, who would dare to provoke them now?
He thought for a moment and said, "Just a few hunters, ignore them for now. Send scouts ahead to scout the road. If there is no danger, we will set off early tomorrow morning and leave the valley first."
"Also, pick a few pretty ones and bring them over."
Before long, several women were brought in, and miserable cries immediately rang out in the tent.
The moon rose in the middle of the sky, and on the high mountain, Ju Yi arrived with dozens of archers.
Yuan Xi handed him the binoculars, briefly explained the situation during the day, and finally said, "How is the timing now?"