Chapter 122: The Eve

Seeing the sincere and solemn faces of Xu Sheng and his two companions, Qi Jun found it hard to refuse their gesture any longer. He nodded and took the bowl of wine from Deng Fang.

Deng Fang smiled delightedly, quickly filled his own bowl to the brim, and tossed the empty wine jar aside. "In ancient times, Zhang Ziyuan and Hulan Zhuo'er pledged their brotherhood with blood before the battle lines. Today, we drink together with Brother Jun on the city wall—how fortunate we are!"

The story of Zhang Ziyuan and Hulan Zhuo'er swearing a blood oath before the battle is a legendary tale passed down among the common folk of the Great Liang.

Zhang Ziyuan was a famed general under the founding Emperor Taizu of the Great Liang, while Hulan Zhuo'er was the chieftain of the Hulan tribe among the Rouran people.

During the early years of the Great Liang dynasty, the northern Rouran people, gathered under the call of the Hulan tribe, rose up in arms, attempting to loot and pillage while the foundation of the newly established Liang regime was still unstable.

Emperor Taizu urgently dispatched the renowned General Zhang Ziyuan north to repel the enemy. Facing a dire situation where the enemy was strong and numerous while his own forces were weak and outnumbered, Zhang Ziyuan skillfully avoided direct confrontation. He utilized flexible tactics—harassing the enemy, blocking their advance, baiting them to split their forces, and finally concentrating his own strength to strike at their vital points. After a month of fierce fighting, he successfully repelled the Rouran offensive.

As the Rouran retreated in a panic, the Hulan chieftain, Hulan Zhuo'er, was surrounded by the Liang army lying in ambush.

However, Zhang Ziyuan did not make things difficult for him. In order to quell the war between the two nations, he not only treated him as a guest of honor but also took the initiative to propose a blood oath to become sworn brothers across their ethnic divide.

At that time, both the Great Liang, which held the Central Plains, and its predecessor regimes considered themselves the pinnacle of civilization, looking down upon surrounding minority groups as mere barbarians.

For a marshal of the Central Plains, while holding a clear advantage on the battlefield, to voluntarily propose brotherhood to the chieftain of a northern nomadic tribe not only shocked Hulan Zhuo'er but also stunned the elite and commoners of both the Rouran and Liang sides.

It is said that upon hearing this, Hulan Zhuo'er was moved to tears. He discarded his armor and bared his chest to welcome the Liang army, clutching General Zhang Ziyuan’s hand for a long time, unable to calm his emotions.

Before their respective armies, the two men slaughtered a white horse, swore their blood oath, and became brothers.

Hulan Zhuo'er vowed never to violate the borders of Liang as long as he lived. He not only returned thousands of Liang citizens who had been abducted into Rouran territory but also gifted ten thousand head of cattle and sheep.

For over thirty years thereafter, until Hulan Zhuo'er passed away, the Great Liang and the Rouran never engaged in war, and the people living along the border lived as one family.

This beautiful tale, after being artistically embellished by Liang storytellers and Rouran wandering minstrels, spread widely among the people. Anyone who loves peace and values brotherhood is well-acquainted with this legend.

But that is drifting too far from the present. Returning to Qi Jun, Deng Fang, and the others raising their glasses on the walls of Anqiang City, the atmosphere among them indeed carried a sentiment similar to the legendary blood oath.

"Brother Deng is right! Brother Qi, we are fated to drink this wine together today. From now on, you are the eldest brother for all of us!" Xu Sheng and his two companions stood up, lifting their wine bowls alongside Deng Fang, their eyes fixed on Qi Jun.

"Deng Fang and I are already sworn brothers, and since he is your eldest brother, it follows naturally that I am your eldest brother as well. Why the need to formalize it?" Qi Jun smiled and clinked his bowl against those of Deng Fang, Xu Sheng, and the others. "Good brothers! Let us drink this wine heartily and kill the Qiang thieves together!"

"Drink heartily and kill the Qiang thieves!" Deng Fang, Xu Sheng, Zhang Wei, and Lei Fu shouted in unison, tilting their heads back to drink with Qi Jun.

Just then, the sound of hoofbeats approached from the distance outside the city. Qi Jun paused, set down his empty bowl, and turned to look. A figure was galloping toward them on horseback.

"Urgent military report!" Liu Biao’s hurried cry came from beneath the wall. Qi Jun could not help but be startled.

Having previously learned that Bodo would be sending reinforcements, Liu Biao realized the gravity of the situation and, without stopping to rest, had ridden north to scout for enemy activity toward the direction of Ding'an.

He climbed the city wall, gasping for breath, and reached Qi Jun. Ignoring formalities, he blurted out, "Twenty miles toward the commandery city... I’ve spotted Qiang cavalry scouts!"

"Qiang cavalry scouts?" Qi Jun’s heart sank.

It was not because the scouts themselves were difficult to deal with, but because as reconnaissance cavalry for the Qiang, their appearance usually signaled the approach of the main Qiang army.

Qi Jun had not expected Bodo to move so quickly—several hours earlier than he had anticipated.

"Where is Magistrate Feng? Go notify him at once!" Qi Jun said to Deng Fang, who was equally shocked by the news.

"My uncle said he was going home to settle his family... I’ll go find him right away!" Deng Fang said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

As the highest administrative official of Anqiang City, the fact that his uncle was not on the front lines during such a tense moment before battle made even Deng Fang feel ashamed of his relative’s behavior.

"He went home? That Feng Qinian... does he really think that just because of these stone mines and catapults, everything is settled?! He was a soldier once, how could he lack such basic crisis awareness? I suppose Xiao Ming and Zhao Gui are with him, too? With a great battle looming and no commanders at their posts, they are truly reckless!" Frustrated and anxious, Qi Jun clenched his fists in protest. Deng Fang, his face grim, found no words to defend his uncle and, after giving a few quick acknowledgments, ran down the wall toward the County Magistrate’s residence.

"Eldest Brother, what should we do now?" Zhang Wei looked at Xu Sheng and Lei Fu, asking nervously.

"The Qiang will likely launch their main attack on the North Gate. I will take the main force to the north wall to meet them. You three split up to the west, east, and south walls. I will assign villagers to each with a catapult to assist in the defense. If you spot the enemy, signal with smoke."

"Understood, Brother!" The three men accepted the order without delay and immediately headed to their respective defensive posts.

Qi Jun wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, forcing himself to remain calm.

He knew that this time, the Qiang forces would be stronger in both men and equipment than those led by Ke Bie, and they would have learned from Ke Bie’s defeat and changed their tactics.

The enemy they faced this time would be much harder to handle.

Thinking of this, Qi Jun silently braced himself for the possibility of close-quarters street fighting should the city walls fall.

"Go tell Liu Fuyuan to hurry and move the cannons and ammunition to the north wall!" Qi Jun pointed toward the blacksmith shop and ordered the local militia.

Watching the militiaman rush off, Qi Jun returned to the watchtower to gather his remaining explosive satchels and gunpowder, preparing to head to the north wall to coordinate the defense.

The horizon was turning a pale, fish-belly white, and the roosters in the city announced the dawn. Although the rain had eased and stopped, the thick, gathering clouds showed no signs of dispersing.

The commoners outside the city, who had been digging for stones, sensed the crisis from the hurried movements of the militia on the walls. They no longer cared about their work and immediately stopped, crowding toward the city in a panic, fearing they would be locked out if they were too slow.

"Everyone, don't crowd! Watch your footing! The Qiang troops aren't here yet, there's no need to panic!" Qi Jun saw this and, fearing a stampede that would cause unnecessary casualties, had to double back to the city gate to shout his reassurances.

However, the panicked crowd, desperate to save their lives, ignored his shouts and those of the militia. They continued to squeeze through the gate toward the inner city like madmen, pinning the guards responsible for the gate against the walls on either side.

"My lord... we can't stop them at all..." one of the guards shouted, struggling with his sword held horizontally across his chest.

Though Qi Jun was worried about the approaching enemy in the north, he had to find a way to quell the chaos under the wall first. If the city fell into disorder before the Qiang soldiers even arrived, the battle would already be lost.

In desperation, he signaled the guards to clear the area, gritted his teeth, lit the fuse of a stone mine on the wall, and quickly ducked behind the corner, covering his ears.

"BOOM!"

The violent explosion on the city wall instantly stunned the chaotic crowd. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking up in shock toward the source of the sound.

Qi Jun’s figure emerged from the lingering smoke. He brushed the dust and debris from his clothes and, taking advantage of the sudden silence of the crowd, shouted to them at the top of his lungs: "Everyone, do not panic! We have divine thunder; there is no need to fear the Qiang!"

He knew full well that the power of the stone mines was limited, but to the common people, they were divine objects capable of striking terror into the enemy.

"That's right! Don't forget that our lord is a divine man! With divine thunder, what do we have to fear?" one commoner exclaimed, snapping out of his daze.

"Everyone, calm down! If the Qiang come, we'll let them have a taste of the divine thunder!" a guard, seeing the effect, also shouted, emboldened.

The crowd finally stopped their frantic scrambling, and a chaotic but hopeful discussion rippled through them.

Qi Jun let out a long breath, though he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for the stone mine he had just used.

Every stone mine was a crucial trump card for his defense, and having used two before the battle even began—even for testing and intimidation—made his heart ache.

However, this explosion had helped Qi Jun regain his composure.

Seeing that order had been restored at the city gate, he turned and ordered the remaining guards to evacuate and settle the people as quickly and orderly as possible, then led the others at a brisk pace toward the North Gate.