Qiang Siege

The Yunyang Pass walls were adorned with military flags and resonated with war drums as soldiers armed with weapons ascended the walls, creating a scene of death and destruction.

The outer fortresses had been abandoned, and the Qiang soldiers advancing to the city gate was expected, but they arrived faster than anticipated. The three generals all climbed the walls, their expressions tense, but they relaxed slightly upon seeing the Qiang soldiers outside. The Qiang army wasn't overwhelming; only a five-hundred-strong cavalry unit appeared outside the city.

Even with just five hundred men, these Qiang soldiers still let out strange cries, their curses never ceasing. They even dared to ride close to the city walls to provoke, making all the defending soldiers' faces turn red with anger.

With nearly five thousand defenders in the city, the Qiang soldiers were clearly underestimating them.

"Damn, they're too arrogant!"

Kong Xian angrily shouted:

"Just a small vanguard, how dare they be so arrogant? If we don't crush their arrogance, what's left of our Great Qian border army's dignity!

General Jun, General Li, what do you think?"

Asked in public, the two couldn't refute him, both bowing:

"Follow General Kong's orders!"

"Good!"

Kong Xian waved his hand:

"Sound the drums, engage!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With the rumbling drums, the Yunyang Pass gates opened wide. Three military formations were deployed outside the city. Kong Xian, along with the Jun and Li families, each sent five hundred men out of the city, mostly infantry with a small number of cavalry.

The three formations supported each other in a triangular formation, with Kong Xian's troops at the front and the Jun and Li families' troops on either side.

Despite the Qian army's numerical superiority, the Qiang soldiers showed no fear. After circling the perimeter twice, they charged straight at the central formation. The tall horses galloped rapidly, their shouts never ceasing.

Before the horses arrived, arrows rained down first.

Every Qiang soldier bent their bow, and the first wave of arrows poured down. The Qian soldiers raised their shields, blocking the arrows, but some still fell with arrows in their bodies, blood flowing nonstop.

"Counterattack, shoot!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The Qian army wasn't just taking hits. The soldiers hiding behind the shields continuously shot arrows at the Qiang soldiers, but it was almost futile. The Qiang soldiers moved so quickly that it was extremely difficult for the arrows to hit them.

The Qiang soldiers didn't charge directly but circled several times, continuously shooting arrows to kill soldiers. Strangely, they focused solely on Kong Xian's troops, completely ignoring the formations on both sides.

Seeing his army's casualties increasing, Kong Xian frowned:

"Generals, shouldn't your men move closer to the center?"

Li Chengxiao quickly said:

"General, the Qiang soldiers excel at cavalry archery. The cavalry moves so fast, and we don't know the enemy situation. The formations shouldn't move without orders. We should first observe the Qiang soldiers' movements."

Kong Xian silently cursed their treachery. Clearly, both families wanted to watch the tiger fight.

After several rounds of cavalry archery, the Qiang soldiers finally launched a frontal attack. Hundreds of elite cavalry charged fiercely, breaking through the shield formation in just one charge. The front-line soldiers screamed in agony as blood and flesh splattered, and the fierce Qiang cavalry charged into the formation, slaughtering all around.

Watching from the side, Luo Yu frowned. This was his first time seeing a large-scale Qiang cavalry attack on infantry formations. With the same number of five hundred men, cavalry was far superior to infantry.

After just a moment of fighting, Kong Xian's troops had already lost over a hundred men, but the Jun and Li families' troops remained completely stationary. Kong Xian was pacing anxiously; though he was nominally the commander, neither family's troops obeyed his orders.

Xiao Shaoyou said coldly: "You asked me earlier if the three armies could unite to fight. Now you should have your answer."

Luo Yu's gaze was intense. He could see through the Jun and Li families' plans - they clearly wanted Kong Xian to wear down the Qiang soldiers' combat strength first, then rush in to claim credit.

After a long battle, the Qian army finally couldn't hold on. The formation showed signs of collapse. If the formation completely broke, it would definitely lead to a massacre.

Kong Xian glared at Li Chengxiao and Jun Yi, shouting angrily:

"How long will you two keep watching! Do you want to disobey orders in battle?"

"Ah ah, don't be impatient, General Kong. We'll move out now!"

Li Chengxiao put his hands on his hips, shouting righteously:

"Soldiers, kill these Qiang bandits to boost our morale!"

"Kill!"

Only then did they wave their command flags, and the two formations on either side moved toward the center, using their overwhelming numerical advantage to completely surround the Qiang cavalry.

The Qiang cavalry weren't made of clay. Even surrounded, they continued to fight fiercely, quickly turning the three formations into a tangled mess. Nearly two thousand troops engaged in a chaotic battle on the plain outside the city. Though the Qian army had numerical superiority, they couldn't kill many Qiang soldiers.

Luo Yu frowned. Three-to-one odds fighting like this was too embarrassing.

"Something's not right."

Xiao Shaoyou muttered:

"Just five hundred cavalry, how dare they fight us? What would they gain even if they won? With such a small force, how could they break through Yunyang Pass?

According to the Qiang soldiers' nature, they should have charged out in one wave long ago."

"There's only one possibility."

Luo Yu said coldly: "These five hundred men are bait."

"Rumble."

"Boom!"

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the earth began to shake in the distance. Endless Xiqiang cavalry appeared in everyone's sight, the momentum overwhelming.

The three generals' faces changed. With so many cavalry surrounding them, the soldiers outside the city would be completely annihilated.

"Damn, we've been tricked!"

Without waiting for Kong Xian's orders, Li Chengxiao shouted fiercely:

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

"Retreat!"

The Jun and Li families' troops were on the outside and naturally found it easier to retreat, turning and running away in an instant. Kong Xian's five hundred men were in deep trouble, surrounded by Qiang soldiers and unable to retreat, making Kong Xian curse loudly:

"Li Chengxiao, how can you fight like this, disregarding your comrades' lives! With your two families' troops gone, what about my men?"

Li Chengxiao said coldly:

"General Kong, losing five hundred men is better than losing one thousand five hundred, right? This is a battlefield, not a place for sentiment!"

"You!"

Kong Xian was rendered speechless with anger. Luo Yu was speechless too - he finally understood the chaotic situation in Yunyang Pass. These three men weren't united at all.

"General, I'll go save them!"

"Good, be careful!"

Faced with such a dire situation, Xiao Shaoyou actually stepped forward voluntarily, leading a hundred cavalrymen galloping out to meet the battle.

Luo Yu watched with interest, arms crossed, watching Xiao Shaoyou lead his troops into battle for the first time.

Xiao Shaoyou's troops were all cavalry, each with iron armor on their chests, their horses strong. Their equipment was far superior to Luo Yu's, making him drool.

"Whoa!"

Xiao Shaoyou led the charge, stabbing a Qiang rider off his horse with his spear. The spear tip pierced through the chest and came out the other side, the corpse falling heavily to the ground, showing incredible bravery.

"Charge through and let the infantry retreat!"

A hundred elite cavalry followed closely behind, circling the battlefield half a circle before charging fiercely into the Qiang formation from the left. Each man held a long spear, the cavalry formation stretching like a long dragon, charging to protect their comrades' retreat.

Two Qiang soldiers saw the situation and immediately targeted Xiao Shaoyou, coming at him from both sides. Xiao Shaoyou didn't even look, sweeping his spear to knock the Qiang soldiers back, spitting blood. He immediately followed up with two more thrusts to their chests. The entire action was fluid, adding two more corpses to his spear.

Just as he finished on the left, Xiao Shaoyou turned and circled to the right, charging wildly. The Qiang cavalry's formation, which had maintained for so long, gradually collapsed. Already exhausted from prolonged fighting, they now faced a desperate charge and were forced to retreat to their own formation.

"Talent."

Luo Yu nodded frequently at the charge. Xiao Shaoyou's spear technique was already excellent, and he fought with his head. He knew where the Qiang formation was weak, using his troops appropriately. His cavalry was also elite, far superior to other cavalry in the city.

After a moment, the battlefield returned to silence. Under Xiao Shaoyou's protection, the remaining troops finally retreated into the city, but they had lost more than half, suffering heavy casualties. Kong Xian's face was livid with anger, wishing he could slap Li Chengxiao to death.

"Whistle!"

"Whistles!"

Amidst the loud, sharp whistles, thousands of Qiang soldiers had formed their ranks, the black mass creating a suffocating atmosphere.

In the center of the formation stood a military flag fluttering in the wind, bearing the characters "Wanyan."

The three generals were simultaneously shocked:

"Wanyan Chang, it's actually him!"