Chapter 129: Stop, Rebel General

The Qiang soldiers outside the city were completely stunned by the sudden rain of arrows hitting their flank; they had never expected the Liang forces to launch such a fierce surprise attack at this moment.

Seeing the city walls about to fall, the Qiang commander directing the siege cast a frantic look at the large Liang army approaching them from a distance. With no choice but to swallow his deep resentment and frustration, he ordered the signalmen to blow the retreat.

"General Bodo, you are on your own..." The Qiang commander glanced at the city wall, then, shielded by a line of soldiers with shields, he scrambled onto his horse and fled toward the north with his inner circle.

Once their commander fled, the remaining Qiang soldiers lost all will to fight, and their once-orderly ranks instantly descended into chaos.

"Brothers! Prepare to welcome the reinforcements into the city!" Witnessing this, Qi Jun, standing on the ramparts, shouted with his sword drawn in excitement.

Deng Fang was startled, terrified that Qi Jun might slip and fall in his agitation, and quickly reached out to wrap his arms around his waist from behind.

The men, who had been resigned to death in their desperate situation, let out waves of excited cheers. Faced with this sudden lifeline, everyone instantly erupted with an incredibly intense will to survive.

"Kill the Qiang thieves! Welcome the reinforcements!" Liu Biao roared at the top of his lungs, leading the villagers and townspeople as they surged out to pounce on the panicking, retreating Qiang soldiers.

Caught in a pincer attack between the Liang forces on their flank and the defenders chasing from behind, the crumbling Qiang ranks completely lost their capacity for resistance, caring only about fleeing wildly toward the north.

Having marched urgently through the night to lay siege, they likely never dreamed they would suffer such a defeat at a seemingly insignificant little town, forced to flee for their lives back the way they came in less than half a day.

In just ten short minutes, the hundreds of Qiang soldiers left behind by Bodo had suffered heavy losses. Aside from a few who ran fast enough to avoid the pursuit, almost all were cut down as they fled.

"The defenders of Anqiang respectfully welcome the royal army into the city to quell the bandits!" Liu Biao dropped his bloodied sword, knelt on one knee before an officer of the reinforcements, and said with trembling hands clasped in salute.

The arriving reinforcements were from the Elite Spear Battalion of the Xingwei Army, stationed in Minzhou Prefecture.

The men sent by Feng Qinian had avoided the main roads, taking shortcuts across mountain ridges and through gullies, enduring wind and rain to reach Minzhou in just a day and a half. They had barely stopped to rest, and were nearly exhausted to the point of collapse.

Upon receiving the urgent plea for help from Anqiang, the Minzhou Prefect knew the situation was critical. Not daring to delay, yet fearing to mobilize the local prefecture troops without authorization, he immediately informed the general of the Xingwei Army stationed there.

The Zhenxi Army was structured similarly to a modern army group, consisting of two Grade-A divisions of ten thousand men each and three Grade-B divisions of five thousand, for a total of twenty-five thousand troops. These five units were distributed across the five western prefectures of Great Liang, with Ding'an Prefecture as the center, to counter threats from the Qiang people and the Western Regions.

Due to the sudden outbreak of war and poor communication, the commander of the Xingwei Army only learned from the urgent report that the Qiang intended to ambush and seize Ding'an Prefecture.

Realizing it would be too late to send reinforcements directly from Minzhou, he urgently ordered the Elite Spear Battalion stationed in Tao County to rescue Anqiang first, while he led the main force of the Xingwei Army to Ding'an Prefecture.

Tao County was relatively close to Anqiang. Despite the difficult roads due to rain and fog, the Elite Spear Battalion had managed to arrive in time after a forced march.

When they first arrived outside the east gate, they found it bolted shut and the banners on the walls changed, fearing they had arrived too late and that Anqiang had already fallen.

The colonel of the Elite Spear Battalion was lamenting this when he heard distant explosions from the north, confirming that the city had not yet fallen and the defenders were likely still resisting. He immediately led his troops toward the north.

It was this colonel who sat atop the warhorse.

He looked at the kneeling Liu Biao, nodded, and pointed his whip toward the city walls, shouting, "All troops, listen! Enter the city and kill the thieves, but do not harm the civilians! Disobedience will be dealt with by military law! For every enemy head taken, a reward of one guan of cash! For five heads, one rank of military merit! Charge, damn you!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

Following the order, the troops leveled their long spears and charged through the north gate in unison, shouting as they surged into the city.

"Anqiang... is saved!" Standing on the wall and watching the endless stream of Liang soldiers pouring into the city, Qi Jun suddenly felt his strength drain away, and he wearily supported himself against the wall as he slowly sat down.

As a soldier, he was not afraid of death; years of life on the edge of the blade had left him numb to it. To him, dying in battle was a constant possibility, a shadow that never left his side.

What he feared was watching a city be trampled, its people subjected to brutalization and dying in hopeless agony.

He knew that countless massacres had occurred throughout history, but as he saw this scene about to unfold before his very eyes, he felt only endless despair and sorrow.

Fortunately, their perseverance had finally brought hope, and the reinforcements had arrived in time to put an end to the tragedy before it could fully unfold.

The people of Anqiang were lucky after all.

At this moment, the Qiang soldiers inside the city were unaware that the Liang reinforcements had entered. The cavalry led by Bodo was still racing toward the north gate, while other Qiang soldiers were scattered throughout the east and west gates, looting and committing atrocities.

Bodo could clearly see the north gate and the figures of the defenders on the wall. His heart surged with greedy excitement; he was impatient to take the wall himself and capture the Liang commander who had caused him so much trouble and frustration.

As they turned the corner and charged toward the gate, a row of cold, glinting iron spears appeared before the Qiang cavalry. The dozen or so riders in the lead could not stop in time; they screamed in agony as they were pierced through by the leveled spears.

Seeing the large force of Liang soldiers charging from ahead, Bodo yanked his reins to halt his horse. He stood frozen, asking himself in confusion, "Where... where did these Liang soldiers come from?!"

Just as he hesitated, a long spear thrust viciously toward his face.

"General, watch out!" Seeing this, the Qiang cavalry behind Bodo quickly swung their sabers to deflect the sharp tip, and several guards spurred their horses forward to shield him behind them.

Bodo barely avoided the fatal blow, startled into retreating several steps, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

If they were in the open field, the Qiang cavalry would have held an absolute advantage over the Liang infantry. But here, in the narrow streets, they had lost their mobility, and their curved sabers were ineffective against the Liang soldiers' long spears.

"Kill!" The colonel pointed his blade, and a dozen spears thrust out in unison, sending another ten or so Qiang riders tumbling to the ground along with their horses.

"Advance!" The colonel pointed again, and all the soldiers marched forward in rhythmic, clashing steps, their spears held steady.

"Rear ranks to the front, retreat! Retreat quickly!" Bodo knew well that if they remained here, they would become living targets for the Liang spearmen. Glancing hatefully at the figures on the city walls, he ordered his cavalry to pull back and disperse.

However, the Qiang riders still arriving from the rear had clogged the path behind them. For a time, the street before the gate was in chaos as riders pushed forward and backward, their shouts mingled with screams and wails.

Deng Fang and Liu Biao also led the county soldiers and villagers into the chaotic fray, seizing the opportunity to support the Elite Spear Battalion as they cut down the wounded and fallen Qiang soldiers.

"General, the other three gates are still in our hands! We can disperse and exit the city from the east, west, and south!" his guards urged in panic as they watched their comrades fall one by one.

Even though Bodo was filled with immense reluctance, he knew they no longer had the strength to take Anqiang.

Had they attacked half an hour earlier, or launched a full-scale assault from all sides from the beginning, the situation would not be this dire. If they delayed any longer, they risked being surrounded and wiped out by the Liang army.

Bodo regretted deeply having underestimated this small city; he never imagined that the seemingly weak Anqiang would hold them off for an entire morning.

"The Liang people have an ambush. Order the rear to scatter and exit the city immediately!" Bodo sighed in frustration, turned his horse around under the protection of his guards, and retreated.

"Don't let the enemy commander escape! All troops, do not let the leader get away! Charge!" Seeing Bodo trying to flee under the cover of his guards, the colonel recognized him as a man of high status and immediately ordered the pursuit.

Qi Jun, witnessing this from the city wall, also realized that this Qiang commander was likely their leader. He decisively picked up a crossbow, notched an arrow, and took aim.