Everything was going according to plan. At noon the next day, the well - rested large army set off again.
Qin Huaiqiu selected two thousand elite soldiers from the ten - thousand - strong force and separated from Qin Lan here. Following a small path that Nie Rong had once led them through in his memory, he headed towards the heart of the Tianshan Mountains.
As instructed by Qin Huaiqiu, Qin Lan still led the remaining troops and advanced along the original route. They pressed on without a break and would reach the Protectorate General's Office at dusk that day.
Meanwhile, "Ruby" promptly conveyed the latest news about Qin Huaiqiu's army to Nie Rong. Everything was about to unfold as planned.
The Tianshan Mountains, the largest mountain range in the inland area of Central China, stretch east - west for 1,700 li. It is the largest water source in the entire northwest region. The Syr Darya, Chu River, and Ili River all originate from here. In addition, the Tianshan Mountains are famous for their snow - covered and perilous peaks. Due to its vastness, its interior has not been fully explored. The path that Qin Huaiqiu and his men were taking was actually a small trail that Nie Rong had accidentally discovered, which could lead one into the heart of the Tianshan Mountains along canyons and caves.
The narrow path wound forward with numerous dangerous spots. In some places, only one person could pass at a time. Qin Huaiqiu led the way in the front, following his memory. Since they were traveling light, they reached the heart of the Tianshan Mountains in just one hour.
"At our current pace, we should arrive at Kucha City ahead of schedule," said Wan Chengyan, looking at the sun in the sky to determine the direction. "We can make preparations there first."
Qin Huaiqiu nodded. "Kucha City is built in a small basin within the Tianshan Mountains. It is surrounded by the Tianshan mountain range on all sides, and the city walls are built along the mountains. If we arrive early, we can hide in the surrounding mountains first."
"Hide in the mountains again?" Wan Chengyan asked.
Qin Huaiqiu replied, "The Tianshan Mountains are extremely steep. When Kucha City was first built, the surrounding mountains were dug away, and there are no direct paths down the mountains in many places. So the only way to enter Kucha City is through the city gate."
"Then how are we going to get into the city to harass them?" Wan Chengyan asked.
"Who said we're going into the city?" Qin Huaiqiu smiled. "If we enter the city, won't they find out that we only have a little over two thousand men? Since this is a surprise attack, we must make them feel a sense of crisis. It would be best if they can't even guess how many men I've brought."
As the sun slanted westward, at the Protectorate General's Office, Nie Rong, clad in armor, stood on the city wall of the Protectorate General's Office, which had been thickened many times, looking at the camp of the combined Xiongnu and Loulan forces not far away.
It was almost dusk. If the allied forces wanted to attack the city, they had to do it before nightfall. Otherwise, once the sun set, it would only increase casualties in the darkness.
Nie Rong had thought that the enemy would attack as soon as the sun rose that day, but unexpectedly, they were so patient.
Nie Rong let out a cold snort.
He didn't know if they were really patient or if they were confident of success.
A scout reported that the main leader of the attacking army this time was the ever - victorious Huyelü of the Xiongnu. It was said that Huyelü was good at archery on horseback and had amazing strength. He had never suffered a defeat in his many years of military campaigns, but this was his first time fighting against the people of Central China.
Nie Rong looked at the several huge catapults in the distance on the horizon. His eyes darkened, and his lips tightened.
The catapult worked by having people pull the ropes attached to the crossbar from a distance. The catapult was mounted on a wooden frame. One end of the crossbar was tied with a leather pouch to hold the stone projectile, and the other end was attached with many ropes for people to pull, thus throwing the stone. The principle and manufacturing process of the catapult actually originated in Central China, but somehow, the Xiongnu and Loulan had learned it.
Could there be someone in the allied forces directing them?
Actually, Nie Rong had suspected this for a long time. From the moment the allied forces had advanced so rapidly and occupied Kucha City and Yutian in two separate routes, he had vaguely felt that their opponent this time was much smarter than before. Their method of attacking the city was very ingenious. They almost always used a combination of external force and internal infiltration. The allied forces would first send in spies disguised as a merchant caravan. When the attack began, the spies would act as an inside force and directly attack the stronghold of the defending army. Nie Rong had to admit that he had never seen such sophisticated methods of lurking and sneak attacks during his battles with Loulan.
Was it because Huyelü was too smart, or...
Nie Rong stood with his hands behind his back, looking into the distance.
In any case, Yutian and Kucha had been completely captured before the Protectorate General's Office could react. Now that the Protectorate General's Office was directly facing the allied forces, it had greatly boosted the morale of the enemy. General Qin Feng had already retaken Yutian. To boost the morale of the soldiers again, they needed to drive the allied forces out of the territory of the Protectorate General's Office as soon as possible and retake Kucha City.
Qin Huaiqiu had also taken this into consideration, so he had come up with this battle plan in cooperation with Nie Rong.
So this battle had to be won.
At three quarters past 1 p.m., the sound of the attack horn came from the enemy's camp.
The long horn let out a tremulous roar. Two hundred thousand troops began to attack the city. Not far away, people were surging, horses' hooves thundered through the sky, the north wind swept up the flying dust, and the sound of battle came from the horizon.
As the acting general, Nie Rong walked onto the city wall.
Looking at the approaching allied forces in the distance, he drew his saber from his waist, raised it into the air, and shouted, "Archers, get ready!"
The archers were already prepared. They each poked their sharp arrows on the strings out from the gaps in the city wall, waiting for the enemy to enter their range.
Nie Rong's eyes were blood - shot. When the enemy stepped over the pre - marked red line, he opened his mouth and roared, "Fire!"
In an instant, the arrows flew into the sky like shooting stars and then fell like a rain of death under the force of gravity. The allied forces were also prepared. They raised their shields to block the rain of arrows, but still, many people were hit by the arrows and fell off their horses, being trampled into pulp by the hooves of the horses behind.
For a moment, the battle raged everywhere. The cruel battlefield of blood and flesh had already dyed a large area of the fertile land of the Protectorate General's Office at the very beginning.
In the distance, roars came one after another. The catapults were being pulled by hundreds of people. With the roars, huge stones were thrown towards the city wall of the Protectorate General's Office.
"Take cover!" Nie Rong roared at the top of his lungs, directing the soldiers to find shelters.
The stones came too fast. As soon as he finished speaking, the first huge stone hit the solid city wall, making a muffled and terrifying sound.
Then more stones fell. Some directly hit the inside of the city wall. The soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were directly crushed into meat paste. Amid the continuous muffled sounds, a hole was smashed in the city wall. Nie Rong leaned out from the city wall and shouted, "Shi Congwen!!!"
"Got it! Stop yelling! Damn it! Hurry, hurry! Patch it up!" Although Shi Congwen was the Minister of the Ministry of Works, he had been stationed on the border for a long time and had experienced many battles, large and small. He was very experienced. He directed several engineering soldiers to quickly set up wooden and stone materials at the breach of the city wall and blocked the hole as quickly as possible.
Although the catapults were very powerful, their rate of fire was too slow. After the first wave of stone - throwing, they had to wait for a while before they could prepare for the next wave.
But every moment on the battlefield was changing rapidly.
The enemy was coming on fiercely. After all, they were nomadic people from the grasslands, and their fine horses were far better than those in Central China. The allied forces only took half a moment to rush to the bottom of the city wall. At this time, the hole smashed in the solid city wall by the catapults became the key point for their attack.
"Pour the kerosene!" Nie Rong kept moving on the city wall, directing the soldiers. The soldiers quickly poured the prepared kerosene down along the city wall and then shot the lit arrows at it.
Suddenly, thick smoke billowed. The fire spread along the kerosene at a very fast speed. The whole city wall almost became a sea of fire. The crackling sound of the fire and the screams were endless. The enemy set up ladders to attack the city. Many people were doused with kerosene all over their bodies just when they climbed halfway up the ladder. They fell down screaming in pain and were trampled into powder by the soldiers who followed.
But perhaps because the allied forces knew that the defenses and troops of the Protectorate General's Office were not comparable to those of Kucha and Yutian, and moreover, their previous victories were mostly based on surprise attacks, they were well - prepared this time. The enemy soldiers climbed desperately along the ladders. For every one who fell, another would quickly follow.
Before long, the first group of enemy soldiers attacking the city had rushed onto the city wall.
Nie Rong didn't care about anything else. He drew his long saber from his waist and cut off the head of an enemy soldier who had just climbed up.
In an instant, blood splashed on the city wall. The invaders and the defenders fought in a melee. They were all red - eyed and wished they could eat the flesh and drink the blood of their enemies. Broken bodies soon piled up layer upon layer.
Just as Nie Rong had killed an enemy soldier, a guard of the Qin family army quickly ran over and reported in a hurry, "Report! The enemy's second wave of stone - throwing is ready, General Nie—"
"Don't panic! Find a place to hide!" Nie Rong roared at the top of his lungs. His whole body was covered in blood. The light - gold armor of the Qin family army had been completely dyed red by blood. All he could see were broken limbs and flesh. He let out a loud roar!
But the expected stone - throwing did not come for a long time.
A slight pang shot through Nie Rong's heart. He raised his blood - stained eyes and looked into the distance. At the junction of the sky and the earth, a troop of soldiers rushed into the enemy's rear like a sharp blade!
The towering catapults were pushed down one by one. Then, the sound of battle came from the horizon.
The enemy soldiers attacking the city clearly panicked. Then, the sound of a thick horn came from the horizon again.
Different from the previous one, this sound was urgent and brief. It was the sound of the retreat horn.
Nie Rong was overjoyed. He happily roared at the soldiers, "Qin Lan has come to support us! The young master is back! Soldiers! Charge—"
In the midst of the battle, such inspiring news came, accompanied by the enemy's retreat horn. The morale of the Qin family army soared. The soldiers let out a victorious roar and waved their swords and guns, killing all the defeated enemy soldiers.
The smoke of war curled up. The gates of the Protectorate General's Office were wide open. Nie Rong rode his horse and led the Qin family army out of the city.
The allied forces fled in all directions, throwing away their helmets and armor and running back to their camp.
Just then, the sound of an urgent horn came from not far away.
This was another kind of horn completely different from the previous two.
Hearing this, Nie Rong's mouth curved up, and he burst out laughing.
He knew that Qin Huaiqiu had achieved his first victory.
He raised his long saber and shouted, "Soldiers, follow me and charge!"