A bit earlier, in Kucha City.
Qin Huaiqiu led his troops and arrived at Kucha City in advance.
Due to the geographical location of Kucha City, they found a spot halfway up the mountain. The two - thousand - strong troops were divided into twenty small and large groups, which respectively concealed themselves in different positions halfway up the Tianshan Mountains.
"Report, General. The soldiers are in position," Wan Chengyan crept over from the side and walked up to Qin Huaiqiu. They were now hiding behind a rock halfway up the mountain, from where they could directly overlook the inside of Kucha City.
"Good. Wait for my order," Qin Huaiqiu replied, his eyes fixed intently on the movements inside the city.
"Ruby", under his order, would come back immediately to report if the allied forces in the front launched an attack. Just as he had expected, Huyelü was really carried away by successive victories. On the territory that was originally under the jurisdiction of the Protector - General's Office and unfamiliar to him, he actually left the city behind his camp completely unguarded. In order to break through the Protector - General's Office in one go, the allied forces had basically mobilized most of the troops gathered by the two countries. In Kucha City, only a few thousand city - guarding soldiers were left.
Although Qin Huaiqiu knew that if Loulan and Xiongnu joined forces, their total strength must be more than this. So they needed to recapture Kucha City as soon as possible before the enemy's follow - up reinforcements arrived.
Qin Huaiqiu slowly stood up. Under the cover of the rock, he looked down into the city.
Since Kucha City was built against the mountain and the Tianshan Mountains were too steep and difficult to carve, the distance between the mountain and the city was very close. He could clearly see the slack - looking soldiers moving back and forth in the city, as well as the warehouses of food and supplies.
Maybe no one had ever thought that there would be a path that could accommodate people on such a precipitous Tianshan Mountain, which was why the defense forces were so lax.
Now they had completely surrounded Kucha City. They only waited for Qin Huaiqiu's order to trap the enemy like fish in a jar.
Qin Huaiqiu twitched the corner of his mouth, raised his eyebrows at Wan Chengyan and said, "See those warehouses of food?"
Wan Chengyan blinked his eyes and nodded, "There are probably about twenty dan of it!"
Qin Huaiqiu said confidently, "That will be our spoils of war."
Just then, a sharp bird cry suddenly came from the horizon. Qin Huaiqiu got a start, stood up and said, "They've launched an attack!"
As he spoke, he took out an arrow from the quiver on his back, dipped it in the kerosene barrel that Wan Chengyan had already prepared, then lit it. He aimed at a dozing Loulan guard on the city wall of Kucha City, hooked the corner of his mouth and said, "Hit!"
"Whoosh—!" Qin Huaiqiu shot out a flaming arrow. The dozing guard didn't even have time to wake up from his dream before the arrow penetrated his head and he died on the spot.
Immediately afterwards, flaming arrows were successively shot from the surrounding mountainsides. At the very beginning, Qin Huaiqiu had told all the soldiers to try their best to set fire to the enemy's defense systems and camps, not to burn the food, and more importantly, not to burn the civilians' bungalows.
For a moment, thousands of flaming arrows rained down like shooting stars. The city was instantly ablaze with flames everywhere. The enemy soldiers, who hadn't had time to prepare, screamed and fled in all directions, only to be pierced through the throat by an arrow.
Some people in the city discovered the source of the flaming arrows and tried to shoot arrows at the mountainside. But one was shooting from a high place and the other from a low place. The range was simply incomparable. Moreover, the position Qin Huaiqiu had chosen was extremely good. The arrows shot from the city couldn't even touch the corner of their clothes. Almost all of them rose to the mid - air and then fell in a parabolic arc due to gravity.
So this was simply a one - sided crushing by Qin Huaiqiu.
Qin Huaiqiu nodded at Wan Chengyan with a smile and said, "Remember to send some people later to collect those arrows that the enemy shot and dropped. It's a pity to leave them in the mountains."
Wan Chengyan smiled. He thought that the young master of the Qin family was really a good material for leading troops. He clasped his fists at Qin Huaiqiu and said, "Yes, sir. I understand."
The panicked and fleeing guard soldiers in the city, seeing that they couldn't hit the enemy at all, instantly panicked. A group of them held shields over their heads and rushed towards the city gate.
Wan Chengyan said, "Trapped like fish in a jar, there's no way for the enemy in the city to resist. Moreover, their defense was already weak. Without knowing how many troops we have and whether we will launch a large - scale attack, their first reaction was indeed to flee. General, you're really a master of prediction."
"Lord Wan, if this matter were left to you to analyze, you would surely be able to figure it out too," Qin Huaiqiu said with a smile. "Although Lord Wan doesn't have much battlefield experience, you're highly erudite. Don't underestimate yourself." Qin Huaiqiu patted him on the shoulder.
Wan Chengyan looked at Qin Huaiqiu, with a glint in his eyes.
Qin Huaiqiu saw that the enemy had opened the city gate. The first few people on horses rushed out the moment the gate opened.
The rain of arrows behind them chased after them. Some people were hit by arrows and fell off their horses as soon as they got on. But after all, the city gate was quite far from the place where Qin Huaiqiu and his troops were ambushed. The hit rate of the soldiers' arrows was much lower, so nearly half of the soldiers in the city managed to escape.
Wan Chengyan asked, "General, are we really not going to send troops to pursue them?"
Qin Huaiqiu shook his head and said, "Nie Rong will lead troops to pursue if he finds that the enemy is about to retreat. But we shouldn't pursue a cornered enemy. He knows this principle well and he's always good at grasping the degree of pursuit."
After saying that, Qin Huaiqiu turned to Wan Chengyan and said, "Gather everyone. There's no way down the mountain here. Let's go back the same way and return directly to the Protector - General's Office."
"Yes!"
Qin Huaiqiu led his two - thousand - strong troops and walked back intact along the Tianshan mountain path they had come from. The soldiers were all in a good mood. After all, Qin Huaiqiu had managed to drive away all the enemy allied forces in Kucha City without losing a single soldier, relying purely on calculation and geographical advantages. This was enough to excite everyone.
When only half of the sun was left, stuck on the horizon between the Gobi Desert and the sky dyed red like red ink, Qin Huaiqiu and his two - thousand - strong troops had already reached the city wall of the Protector - General's Office.
The soldiers in the Protector - General's Office had long seen Qin Huaiqiu's figure. Qin Lan even waved at him from the city wall early on.
"Clang!" The gate of the Protector - General's Office opened wide. The remaining soldiers of the Qin family army in the city rushed out to welcome the young master of the Qin family, who hadn't been home for half a year and was also the young master of the entire Qin family army.
Qin Huaiqiu dismounted from his horse, put his arms around the shoulders of the soldiers who came to greet him, hugged one of them and said with a smile, "Fu Hui! Long time no see!"
"Young master! Young master! We missed you so much!"
"Hey, isn't this Bai Yuwen? How's your sword - skill practice going?"
"I've practiced well. I'm waiting to have a match with you. By the way, that guy Zhou Dong has taken a fancy to the top courtesan in the Spring - Outing Tower. They're even engaged!"
"What! That bastard! He's been chasing girls behind my back?"
"Young master! The bun shop in the north of the city has new fillings. When shall we go and have a taste..."
Wan Chengyan was stunned.
He watched as Qin Huaiqiu chatted and laughed with the Qin family army. There was no trace of arrogance as a general or a young master. Instead, the relationship between Qin Huaiqiu and the soldiers of the Qin family army was more like that of brothers. They were extremely familiar with each other.
Qin Lan walked up to Wan Chengyan. Seeing his stunned look, she suddenly nudged him with her elbow and said rather proudly, "What, are you stunned?"
Wan Chengyan blinked his eyes and said honestly, "Indeed. The general and the Qin family army are as close as brothers. This kind of friend - like relationship is something I've never imagined."
Qin Lan crossed her arms and said, "So you people in the capital city simply don't understand. Do you know why the Qin family has been able to guard the border for more than thirty years?"
Wan Chengyan suddenly smiled and said, "Because the Qin family has never regarded the Qin family army as a tool for war and defense."
Qin Lan gave him an appreciative look and said, "Right. The Qin family thrives on the border, so it must take root on the border. The Qin family army is not just our army. To some extent, the Qin family army is the family and blood of the Qin family. They complement each other and are inseparable. Our young master intends to train you as his military advisor, so you must understand this."
Wan Chengyan's eyes moved. He sighed and said, "I'm enlightened."
When the sun had completely set and most of the sky had fallen into darkness, with only a faint ray of sunlight still stubbornly remaining in the western sky, stubbornly dyeing the thick clouds with the last bit of color, Qin Huaiqiu, who had been anxiously waiting on the city wall, finally saw the army of the Qin family army in light - golden armor riding back from the west.
The city gate opened again. Nie Rong led his troops into the city on horseback. After seeing Qin Huaiqiu, he dismounted and saluted Qin Huaiqiu with a clasped - fist and said, "Report, Young General Qin. Your subordinate Nie Rong has led the troops to drive the allied forces dozens of miles away. We've sent troops to re - occupy Kucha City, seized the food in the city, and uprooted all the enemy strongholds west of Kucha City. All the areas east of the Tianshan Mountains have been recaptured!"
All the soldiers burst into enthusiastic applause and cheers. People danced for joy and hugged each other. The low morale caused by the sudden attack of the allied forces had completely disappeared. The soldiers were overjoyed. Someone took the lead and shouted, "Conquer Xiongnu! Trample on Loulan! Long live Dacheng!"
"Conquer Xiongnu! Trample on Loulan! Long live Dacheng!"
The soldiers cheered in unison. Their excited voices resounded through the sky.
Qin Huaiqiu led his troops to victory in the first battle. At the cost of losing five thousand soldiers, they killed more than twenty thousand enemy soldiers, recaptured Kucha City, and ensured the recapture of a large - area of territory east of the Tianshan Mountains.
This battle was also Qin Huaiqiu's battle to establish his military reputation. It was recorded in history as the Battle of the Tianshan Mountains.