170 Ours! (1/2)
Finally, it was the nineteenth of the tenth month.
Since evening, Yutang’s military had come from every direction possible, to gather at the southern gate of Tiantang City.
The sight was akin to rivers of steel flowing endlessly towards the ocean.
All of them wore solemn faces and shiny armor, their military uniforms clean and spotless. All these rough men had cleaned themselves up to appear neat and tidy; most of the soldiers had even shaved their beards.
On a spacious piece of land near the southern gate, they halted their steps simultaneously and checked themselves again cautiously. Beyond their clothes and shoes, they had even wiped the dust off their warhorses’ hooves.
Only after straightening themselves up did they form organized formations and head towards the assigned campsite.
From the west, a hundred thousand soldiers, led by ten different generals, approached slowly in ten symmetrical rows; their flags fluttered loudly in the air but all ten flags were without the symbol of their generals.
Only four words were emblazoned on the flags – Western Troop of Yutang!
With a deafening holler, a string of horns resonated uniformly.
All the soldiers snapped to stillness simultaneously.
Boom!
A hundred thousand men had ground their spears on the floor, but only a single, sharp crack could be heard.
After the sound, pin-drop silence greeted the space as the entire army ceased to move.
Facing the foreign generals on the stage, the ten generals acted as if they did not see them and moved on to gesture their commands.
”Ours!”
It was only a single word, but it saw five thousand men from each row moving to arrange tables, chairs, and the wine that had long cavalrymen in heaps in the center.
The ten generals’ command looked like it meant – ”Bring our tables, benches, and wine over.”
All the other generals from the other countries on the stage seemed to hear another meaning.
Ours!
This place is ours!
Ours!
In less than an hour and without much commotion, the hundred thousand men from the western troops stood still around their tables, with an average of ten men to a table.
Another deafening roar tore through the sky.
”Sit!”
It sounded like roaring thunder crackling in the air, but it was only the sound of a hundred thousand men shouting ”Sit!” at the same time!
As the word echoed faintly in the air, the entire western troop sat down uniformly; their backs in an upright posture. The ten generals sat as formally as the rest of their soldiers; there wasn't a hint of laziness or slack among any of the men.
The moment they sat down, they totally ceased all movement, resembling a hundred thousand statues that had somehow moved over quietly.
The uncanny discipline and precision of these hundred thousand men from the western troop had impressed the foreign generals, although none of them would have dared to admit it openly. Nonetheless, the looks on their faces changed from disdain to grudging respect.
…
Horns sounded from the north as another hundred thousand soldiers came marching in.
They arrived in a similar fashion as their western counterparts, in ten rows led by ten generals, and wore blazingly shiny armor and high spirits.
”Northern Troop of Yutang!”
Their flags fluttered in the air; the soldiers looked alert but at ease; even their horses held a dignified air.
”Ours!”
The northern troop’s generals cried at the same time.
”Sit!”
The performance was repeated, adding another hundred thousand statues into the mix.
Each table held only a single pot of wine – it was enough!
…
The sounds of galloping horses came from the south and stopped abruptly. The troops straightened up and dusted themselves off before another hundred thousand men and their ten generals sat down to join their compatriots.
…
From the east, The Eastern Troop of Yutang was Tie Zheng’s very own command, the main host of this affair.
The autumn wind billowed wildly; smoke and dust that came from the hundreds of thousands men’s movement were blown into the air. What it revealed was the hundred thousand-strong Steel Cavalry from the east that was already in their formations.
The same horns sounded as the hundred thousand men of the Steel Calvary moved forward.
It was still the ten rows led by ten generals similar to the previous troops.
The sonorous sound grew closer, their steps remaining as uniform as the previous troops despite the additional warhorses that were in the formation. Any other noise was not allowed in this display of discipline. The heaviness, the valiance, and the aura that greeted death in its eyes were showcased naturally.
”Ours!”