The Suppression Journey (Part 4)

“Reporting to my lord, we have confirmed that Qushui County City is fifty li ahead, and the rebel army is currently laying siege to it.”

“What is the situation now?”

“The rebel army lacks siege equipment and only has crude bamboo ladders. However, their numbers are vast, and with the defenders' forces insufficient, the city will fall at any moment.”

The Scout's assessment was correct; at this moment, Qushui County City was already tottering on the brink of collapse.

The Wen Prefecture Commandant had already fallen in battle. The provincial inspector and the county magistrate were mobilizing all the able-bodied men in the city to assist in the defense. Currently, the one commanding at the city walls was the Qushui County Lieutenant, Xue Linfeng.

This man came from the Xue family of the Hedong Region and could be considered a scion of an Powerful Families family, though he belonged to a fallen branch. Otherwise, he would not have ended up as a county lieutenant in such a remote place.

Watching his brothers fall one after another beside him, Xue Linfeng's eyes were filled with rage. He swung his broadsword like a madman, slaughtering the rebels who climbed onto the city walls.

The supplies for defending the city had long been exhausted; now, their bodies were the only things they had left to hold back the rebels.

Outside the city, the corpses of the commoners who had been forced to serve as cannon fodder had already piled up like a mountain. Seeing that the city was on the verge of falling, Ge Changsheng and the qiang people brought out their reserves and launched a fierce assault.

“Lieutenant, the qiang people are coming up! What do we do?”

Compared to the rebel army, which was essentially composed of rogue soldiers, scoundrels, bandits, and mountain brigands, it was these brutal qiang people that worried Xue Linfeng the most.

He finished off a rebel with a slash of his blade, then went to the edge of the city wall to look out. Sure enough, he saw some people wearing furs and sporting strange hairstyles climbing up the bamboo ladders.

“What do we do, Lieutenant? Are there any reinforcements?”

“Reinforcements? Where would we get reinforcements!”

Xue Linfeng was very clear that Long Prefecture was now under the control of the rebels, and the main force of the Jiannan Army was in Hanzhong and Song Prefecture, with no spare capacity to reinforce them.

Licking his parched lips, Xue Linfeng said nothing and raised his broadsword, charging toward a qiang person who had just climbed onto the wall.

The men beside him understood the situation all too well, but they had no other choice. They knew that if the rebels entered the city, they would all be dead anyway. And it wouldn't just be them who died; the commoners in the city would also be unable to escape their fate.

The defenders had already suffered sixty to seventy percent casualties, which was extremely rare in the age of cold weapons. As their numbers dwindled, the fall of the city was imminent.

Two refined, middle-aged men led a group of yamen runners, weapons raised, charging up. They were none other than the Wen Prefecture provincial inspector and the Qushui County magistrate. The thirty-plus runners and servants behind them were the last armed force in the city.

Xue Linfeng felt a slight surge of encouragement, but he also understood that such a small force was simply not enough to turn the tide. He knew his final moments had arrived.

In an instant, the sight and sound of his mother flashed through his mind. The family's contempt, his father's early death—as a proper scion of an Powerful Families family, he had suffered bitterly since childhood and tasted the coldness of human relationships.

He still remembered that in order for him to get ahead, his mother had knelt before the doors of every elder in the clan to earn him the opportunity to join the Jiannan Army.

After joining the army, he trained day and night, through freezing winters and scorching summers without interruption. Only then, in just three short years, did he become a Brigade Commander and concurrently serve as the Qushui County Lieutenant. He had originally planned to bring his mother to his side next year to fulfill his filial duties, but he never expected...

“Mother, your son has failed you...”

At this moment, Xue Linfeng felt his hand gripping the hilt of his sword trembling; it was from exhaustion, but he dared not fall.

Just then, a rumbling sound suddenly arose from the distance. It was the sound of a large number of warhorses, and it immediately drew everyone's attention.

Even some of the qiang people climbing the bamboo ladders couldn't help but stop and turn their heads to see what was happening.

Soon, their questions were answered: it was Cavalry, and at a glance, they were not the Cavalry of the rebels or the qiang people, but Cavalry clad in iron armor.

“The Valiant Cavalry Guard? Impossible. I haven't heard of the imperial court sending troops. Then where is this Cavalry from?”

Countless thoughts flashed rapidly through Ge Changsheng's mind, but he quickly dismissed them.

But soon he didn't need to fret, because this wave of suddenly appearing Cavalry had already pounced into his formation like fierce tigers.

If it came down solely to Horsemanship, Gao Yuan and the group of Cavalry under his command were likely no match for the qiang people, and even the quality of their horses was inferior. But who told the qiang people to only think about getting into the city to have fun? At this moment, they had all dismounted to prepare for the siege.

Gao Yuan soon made them understand what regret meant.

Each lance had already skewered at least two corpses, which were then carelessly tossed aside by the Cavalry, who switched to Golden Gourd Maces the size of an adult's fist.

The previous iron maces were just too ugly. As Gao Yuan's Personal Guards, Zhao Xiyao had approved replacing them with a pair of better-looking and more powerful Golden Gourd Maces for these Cavalry.

Borrowing the unstoppable momentum of the warhorses' charge, these Golden Gourd Maces only needed to be held in hand to have the power to shatter bones and snap tendons. Even a heavily armored soldier couldn't withstand a single blow, let alone these rebels who had no armor at all.

Bursts of screams felt like hammer blows to the hearts of Ge Changsheng and the qiang tribe leaders, but even so, they were still comforting each other:

“It's only a few hundred Cavalry, it's only a few hundred Cavalry. Nothing major will happen.”

It was indeed as they thought; Gao Yuan's Cavalry exhausted their strength after two charges, but that was already enough. The rebels' sure-fire offensive for the day was shattered.

There was no tallying of the results, but Gao Yuan made a rough estimate: in this single day, they had slaughtered at least two thousand people, while suffering dozens of casualties themselves. It could be considered a great victory.

Inside the city, things were bleak and gloomy. Following the death of the Commandant, the County Magistrate had also died in battle today.

The provincial inspector was now on his last breath, clearly not going to survive, and only Xue Linfeng remained, covered in wounds.

“County Lieutenant Xue, was that Cavalry force today reinforcements?”

Xue Linfeng shook his head.

“I don't know. The Jiannan Army shouldn't have such elite Cavalry. But if it were the imperial court's Valiant Cavalry Guard, there shouldn't only be a few hundred of them.”

“I don't know if they will come to reinforce us again tomorrow, otherwise...”

Everyone's eyes dimmed. They knew that although the rebels had suffered heavy casualties, their core strength remained intact.

They would not be able to hold out tomorrow, no matter what.

Looking at his brothers covered in wounds, as well as the able-bodied men forced to take up weapons, and even a few young, immature faces, Xue Linfeng felt heavy-hearted.

At night, after confirming that the rebels had withdrawn their troops, Gao Yuan also returned to the main camp.

Because he was worried that Qushui City wouldn't be able to hold out, Gao Yuan had taken his Personal Guards Cavalry and gone ahead.

The infantry only arrived at dusk; after all, they had to consider maintaining combat effectiveness and could not march at full speed.

Otherwise, if they arrived exhausted with weak hands and feet, wouldn't that just be delivering themselves as food?

Hearing that Qushui City had not yet fallen, everyone was very excited, rubbing their hands and preparing for a big fight.

Seeing how excited they all were, Gao Yuan couldn't help but remind them:

“Among those rebels, there are many commoners who were coerced. Unlike the rebels in Long Prefecture, they haven't committed evil acts...”

“Rest assured, my lord, the brothers will be careful tomorrow.”

“That's right. As long as they don't take up weapons and don't resist, we will not wantonly kill the innocent.”

“Good. After you go back, emphasize this again so the brothers don't get hot-headed when the time comes.”

After saying this, Gao Yuan gave further instructions:

“Tomorrow, Xian Chong, you and Zhao Meng will command the Beiwei Army and the Cavalry to charge the enemy formation, while the Xuanjia Army will be responsible for clearing the perimeter.”

“Qingqing, you take five hundred men and circle around the enemy formation to go to Qushui City first and check the situation.”

Everyone rose to accept the orders and left, leaving only Gao Yuan and Mu Qing in the commanders tent.

Soon, pink bubbles began to drift out of the commanders tent, and the soldiers standing guard at the entrance consciously stood a little further away.