Chapter 41

More than ten thousand Manchu cavalry chased westwardsafter the Third Unit of the Muslim's Black FlagBrigade. The Muslims were riding the best horses, butthe commander of the Manchu troops was under ordersfrom General Zhao Wei to catch the Muslim force, andhe urged his men on mercilessly. The two armiescharged across the desert, the roar of horses's hoovessounding like thunder. After a few dozen miles, a herdof several thousand cattle and sheep suddenly appearedin the path of the Manchu army and the soldiers chasedafter them shouting for joy, and killed as many asthey could for food. Their pace slowed. The Muslims,meanwhile, galloped on, never once being forced toclash with the pursuing Manchu troops. Close toevening, they saw a pall of thick smoke rising fromthe east.

　　"Mistress Huo Qingtong has won!" The Muslim commandershouted. "Turn back east!" The warriors' spiritssoared and they reined their horses round. Seeing themturning, the Manchu troops were perplexed and chargedforward to attack, but the Muslims swung round them ata distance, the Manchus following.

　　The Muslim units galloped through the night, theManchus always in sight. The Manchu commander wantedto gain great merit for himself, and many of hiscavalry horses died of exhaustion. Towards midnight,they came across General Zhao Wei riding in front ofabout three thousand wounded. Zhao Wei's hope roseslightly as he saw the Manchu column approach.

　　"After their success, the enemy will be in a state ofunpreparedness," he thought. "So if we attack now, wewill be able to turn defeat into victory." He orderedthe troops to advance towards the Black River, andafter ten miles or so, scouts reported that the Muslimarmy was camped ahead. Zhao Wei led his commandersonto a rise to view the scene and a chill shook eachof them to the bottom of their hearts.

　　The entire plain was covered in camp fires, stretchingseemingly endlessly before them. They heard from faroff the shouts of men and the neighing of horses, andthey wondered how many warriors the Muslims hadmustered. Zhao Wei was silent.

　　"With such a huge army against us, no wonder...nowonder we have encountered some set-backs," one of thesenior military officials, Commander Herda, said.

　　Zhao Wei turned to the others. "All units are to mountup and retreat south," he ordered. "No-one is to makea sound."The order was received badly by the troops who hadhoped to stop at least long enough for a meal.

　　"According to the guides, the road south passes thefoot of Yingqipan Mountain and is very dangerous afterheavy snows," Herda pointed out.

　　"The enemy's forces are so powerful, we have no choicebut to head southeast and try to meet up with GeneralFu De," Zhao Wei replied.

　　The remnants of the great army headed south, and foundthe road becoming more and more treacherous as theywent. To the left was the Black River, to the right,the Yingqipan Mountain. The night sky was cloudy andink-black, and the only light was a faint glowreflecting off the snow further up the mountain slope.

　　Zhao Wei issued a further order: "Whoever makes asound will be immediately executed." Most of thesoldiers came from Northeast China and knew that anynoise could shake loose the heavy snow above them andcause an avalanche that would kill them all. They alldismounted and led their horses along with extremecare, many walking on tip-toe. Three or four milesfurther on, the road became very steep, but as luckwould have it, the sky was by now growing light. TheManchu troops had been fighting and running for awhole day and a night, and there was a deathlyexpression on the face of each one.

　　Suddenly, there was a shout from a scout and severalhundred Muslim warriors appeared on the road aheadstanding behind a number of primitive cannons. Scaredout of their wits, the Manchu troops were thrown intoconfusion and many turned and fled just as the cannonswent off with a roar, spraying iron shards and nailsinto them, instantly killing more than two hundred.

　　As the boom of the cannon faded, Zhao Wei heard afaint rustling noise, and felt a coldness on his neckas a small amount of snow fell inside his collar. Helooked up the mountain side and saw the snow fieldsabove them slowly beginning to move.

　　"General!" Herda shouted. "We must escape!"Zhao Wei reined his horse round and started gallopingback the way they had come. His bodyguards slashed andhacked at the soldiers in their path, franticallypushing them off the road into the river below as therumble of the approaching snow avalanche grew louderand louder. Suddenly, tons of snow intermingled withrocks and mud surged down onto the road with adeafening roar that shook the heavens.

　　Zhao Wei, with Herda on one side and Zhang Zhaozhongon the other, escaped the catastrophe. They gallopedon for more than a mile before daring to stop. Whenthey did look back, they saw the several thousandtroops had been buried by snow drifts more than ahundred feet thick. The road ahead was also covered indeep snow. Surrounded by such danger and having lostan entire army of forty thousand men in one day, ZhaoWei burst into tears.

　　"General, let us go up the mountain slope," saidZhang. He picked up Zhao Wei and raced off up theslope with Herda following along behind.

　　Huo Qingtong, watching from a distant crest, shouted:

　　"Someone's trying to escape! Catch them quickly!"Several dozen Muslims ran off to intercept them. Whenthey saw the three were wearing the uniforms ofofficials, they rubbed their hands in delight,determined to catch them alive. Zhang silentlyincreased his pace. Despite the weight of Zhao Wei, heseemed to fly across the treacherously slippery slope.

　　Herda could not keep up with him and was cut off bythe Muslims and captured after a spirited fight. Apartfrom Zhao Wei and Zhang, only a few dozen of theManchu troops survived the avalanche.

　　Huo Qingtong led the Muslim warriors back to theircamp, along with the prisoners. By now, the Muslimshad taken the main Manchu camp, thereby acquiring hugesupplies of food and weapons. The Four Tigers wereamong those taken prisoner after being found bound andgagged inside a tent. Chen asked them why they hadbeen put there, and the eldest of the four giantsreplied: "Because we helped you. General Zhao said hewould have us killed after the battle." Chen pleadedbefore Huo Qingtong to allow the four to go free, andshe agreed.