Chapter 125: Reinforcements Have Arrived

Chibugou ordered his men to fell a great number of trees, working through the night to construct over forty large wooden carts. These carts featured a unique design: their front shields were exceptionally tall, reaching over ten feet in height. Arranged in a single row, the forty carts stood like a massive, impenetrable wall. He was confident that with these vehicles, he could shield his troops from the crossbow bolts raining down from the ramparts of Xinquan City tomorrow.

The night passed without incident. Chibugou instructed Shu Tianxiu to remain in the camp to recover from his wounds, while he set out alone to direct the siege.

When Chibugou ordered the forty-plus wooden carts pushed to the front lines, Magistrate Kou on the city wall was startled. At a single glance, he grasped Chibugou’s intent. With these carts serving as shields, their own archers would be rendered useless. Although the new-style crossbow bolts were powerful, there was no guarantee they could pierce these heavy wooden structures.

Magistrate Kou, still defending the North Gate, hurriedly sent for Commander Wei and Xiao Ding to discuss how to counter this threat.

When Xiao Ding first saw the carts, he was also taken aback, but a plan quickly formed in his mind. "Magistrate Kou, there is no need for alarm. We can fire incendiary arrows at the carts and burn them down."

Magistrate Kou nodded repeatedly in approval and immediately ordered the soldiers to fire fire-arrows at the wooden carts.

The incendiary arrows of this era typically involved tying a small bamboo tube filled with gunpowder to the shaft. Once ignited, they were fired, usually to burn enemy grain stores or camps. However, using mere gunpowder to ignite these thick wooden carts was not an easy task.

Consequently, Xiao Ding had the soldiers dip the arrow shafts in tung oil before lighting them and firing. Since the shafts were made of wood, they soaked up the oil and caught fire easily. When the arrowhead embedded itself into a cart, the explosion of the gunpowder on the shaft would naturally ignite the wood, eventually setting the entire cart ablaze.

Following Xiao Ding’s instructions, the soldiers unleashed a barrage of fire-arrows at the carts. As more arrows struck, the wooden vehicles gradually began to burn.

Chibugou was frantic at the sight, shouting repeatedly, "Put out the fire! Put out the fire!"

But on the battlefield, where was there water to be found? The barbarian soldiers fell into a chaotic panic; some even accidentally caught their own armor on fire, deepening the disorder. The barbarians’ armor was mostly made of leather, which was highly flammable.

Watching his hard work from the previous night vanish into flames, Chibugou was consumed with rage. He waved his twin whips and roared, "Charge! Take Xinquan City! A reward of a thousand taels of gold to whoever enters the city first!"

The barbarians launched another wave of assault. Xiao Ding watched the incoming enemy with cold composure. Once they entered range, he commanded, "Release the crossbows!"

And so, a new slaughter began.

While the battle at Xinquan City raged with intensity, the defense of Dingbian City was equally harrowing.

Huang Wenlong and several other generals were stationed at the four gate towers, directing the defense of Dingbian. There were only eight thousand soldiers left in the city, distributed across the four walls to hold back the barbarian onslaught.

The forces of Balatian and his cohorts had been reduced to around thirty thousand men. He, along with Han Qianhu, the Yeli brothers, and Kang Leguo, were positioned at the four gates to direct the attacks. With every wave of assault, the ground beneath the walls was left carpeted in corpses. Those who had never been on a battlefield would have been paralyzed with terror at such a bloody scene.

For the past few days, Huang Wenlong had been desperate for reinforcements. Never in his life had he longed for something as he did now. Despite his long military career, he had never faced such a perilous campaign. He had exhausted every effort to hold the city.

Just as Huang Wenlong felt that Dingbian City was on the brink of collapse, the barbarians suddenly withdrew. Huang stood on the ramparts, bewildered. A soldier approached to report, "Lord Huang, there is a cloud of dust rising to the southeast. It appears a column of troops is approaching."

"The southeast?" Huang Wenlong was overjoyed. Was that not the direction of Yongzhou City? Could it be reinforcements?

At that moment, Huang noticed that the retreating barbarian force had split off a detachment of about seven or eight thousand men, led by a commander, heading toward the southeast.

"No, they are going to intercept the reinforcements!" Huang immediately grasped the barbarians’ intent. Regrettably, with Dingbian City besieged, he could not send anyone to warn the incoming force. He could only stomp his feet in anxious helplessness.

Were the troops coming from the southeast reinforcements? In a sense, yes; in another, no.

This column was actually the militia unit led by Zhao Laixi and Zhao Hu, tasked with transporting grain and supplies. The leader of the transport mission, an officer named Lu Yang, was escorting ten thousand militia men with provisions and military supplies to the Dingbian front. To his surprise, as they neared the city, scouts reported that Dingbian had already been surrounded by barbarians.

Lu Yang immediately ordered a halt. A veteran of many years, he knew that if his scouts had spotted the barbarians, the barbarian scouts had surely spotted them as well. Since Dingbian was surrounded and the barbarians knew his unit was merely a supply train, they would certainly move to plunder them. He had to prepare at once.

Lu Yang was no fool. He knew the barbarians excelled at open-field combat, where their superior horsemanship and archery could be fully unleashed. His own ranks consisted mainly of newly recruited farmers who had never seen battle. A direct confrontation would mean nothing but a massacre for his men.

Therefore, Lu Yang immediately ordered the soldiers to arrange the supply carts in a circle to block the barbarian cavalry and serve as a barricade against their arrows.

Just as the preparations were completed, Kang Leguo led eight thousand cavalrymen in a charge.

"Fire!" Lu Yang commanded. The soldiers let fly their arrows. Although many of them had abysmal aim, simply firing into the air posed a threat to the enemy; no one knew whose luck might run out. Zhao Laixi and Zhao Hu hid behind the supply carts, pulling back their longbows and firing blindly upward without daring to peek out. These were arrows left to fate; whether they hit the enemy depended entirely on chance. If someone was unlucky, a stray arrow from the sky might claim their life.

The barbarians were no pushovers; they dodged the arrows while returning fire. Casualties quickly mounted on both sides.

Zhao Laixi watched in horror as a man standing not far from him—someone who had been chatting and laughing with him on the road just moments before—was struck by a stray arrow through the throat. Blood gushed out, staining his robes red. Zhao Laixi’s heart felt as if it were about to leap from his chest. He had never witnessed such a scene in his life.

Yet, worse was to come. The barbarians soon reached the supply carts. Unable to jump their horses over the barricade, they began moving the vehicles aside.

Lu Yang shouted, "Charge!" He brandished his great iron spear and led the way into the fray. The barbarians, not to be outdone, shifted the carts aside and spurred their horses into the militia’s camp.

Suddenly, the two armies were locked in a chaotic melee of clashing blades and flying gore. Zhao Laixi was paralyzed; he had never even killed a chicken, let alone a man. Terrified out of his wits, he huddled beneath a cart, shivering. Suddenly, a severed head rolled to his side, and Zhao Laixi nearly fainted from fright.

Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, and Ma Han were far braver than Zhao Laixi. At the very least, they brandished their sabers to resist the barbarian attack. Fan Sanpang, meanwhile, was relatively at ease. With his martial arts background, protecting himself against these common soldiers was no trouble at all. He wielded an iron pot and its sharp-edged lid, dispatching a barbarian soldier from time to time.

Just then, a barbarian soldier spotted Zhao Laixi shivering under the supply cart and began walking toward him with a drawn saber...