Chapter 25: A Great Army at the Gates

Two days later, the atmosphere in Beining City remained grim and suffocating. The continuous state of martial law and the cavalrymen frequently patrolling the streets made it clear to the citizens that war was imminent. The sight of the Shence Army repeatedly reinforcing the city walls and continuously transporting various supplies to the base of the ramparts kept everyone’s nerves on edge.

"Report!"
"Report!"

Suddenly, urgent shouts shattered the silence of the entire Beining City. Inside the command tent, Qin Xuan’s expression was cold and stern, his gaze sharp as a blade as he awaited the scouts' intelligence.

"Twenty miles outside the North Gate, the Great Qi Allied Forces have appeared, numbering approximately one hundred and fifty thousand!"
"About fifteen miles outside the South Gate, the Jurchen Tulan Army has appeared, estimated at one hundred thousand!"

It had finally arrived.

Qin Xuan rose slowly and said in an exceptionally calm tone, "All soldiers, listen to my orders: defend the city according to the plan!"

"Understood!"

Zhao Luoying, Ning Yuanfeng, Du Manjiang, and other commanders rushed toward the South Gate, with Zhao Luoying serving as the commanding general. As for the North Gate, Qin Xuan led by example, taking Guan Xingsheng and the remaining commanders up to the gate tower.

Gazing into the distance, the one hundred and fifty thousand troops of the Great Qi Alliance were lined up in a continuous, endless formation. Like a gargantuan beast on this desolate land, it was slowly baring its fangs, intending to swallow Beining City in one bite.

Sun Wei sat atop his warhorse, his surrounding generals exuding a thick aura of battle. Even Liu Zhizhong felt his blood boiling, eager to storm the gate tower and leave not a single soul of Qin Xuan's forces alive.

On the other side, on the open ground outside the South Gate, the flags of the hundred-thousand-strong Tulan Army fluttered like clouds in the wind.

"Grand Preceptor, you hold the rear; watch how I breach this city."

Tulan, already burning with battle lust, held his saber in one arm and roared, "Attack!"

The hundred-thousand-strong Tulan Army immediately sprang into action like a massive war machine. The infantry battalion, carrying oval wooden shields in their left hands and the signature curved scimitars of the Jurchen army in their right, led the charge, followed closely by twenty thousand archers prepared to provide covering fire.

One thousand meters, eight hundred, six hundred, five hundred, three hundred...

As the Tulan Army pressed forward, the Shence Army on the walls stood ready.

Two hundred meters...

"Loose arrows!"

Zhao Luoying shouted suddenly, and the archers, having prepared long ago, instantly drew their bows and released. Countless arrows fell like a torrential downpour, and large swaths of the Tulan Army collapsed with agonizing screams. However, the Tulan Army was vast in number; like crazed beasts, they trampled over the corpses of their own men and rushed toward the walls. Just as the Shence Army had done when attacking Daman City, grappling hooks and scaling ladders began to find their marks after being bought with countless lives.

Zhao Luoying galloped along the top of the wall, switching continuously between the long spear in her hand and the bow on her back. Whenever she spotted an enemy climbing the wall, she would shoot them down.

*Bang!*

With a dull thud, a Jurchen soldier who had managed to climb the ladder during the chaos barely had time to see what was in front of him before a long spear struck him square in the forehead. He had time only for a single cry before his body plummeted from the wall, smashing into a pulp.

"So that must be Zhao Luoying, the commander of the Chi-Ying Army. Truly formidable."

Tulan did not participate in the frontline assault; that was not the place for a commander. However, upon seeing Zhao Luoying, a flicker of greed appeared in his eyes.

On the other side, the combat power unleashed by the one hundred and fifty thousand Great Qi Allied Forces was equally not to be underestimated. Thirty thousand infantrymen, clad in special rattan armor and carrying iron shields, advanced rapidly. These iron shields were heavy, but they were sufficient to deflect any arrow. Moreover, the shields were long and wide; once a soldier hid behind one, it was nearly impossible to hit them.

"Rattan armor and square shields—this is utterly shameless!" Guan Xingsheng cursed loudly.

These special armors and shields had actually been improved and created by Qin Xuan after he joined the army. They were meant to be used against foreign invaders, yet now they were being used in a fratricidal war.

"Arrow rain has little effect on the Great Qi Allied Forces. Use the tung oil."

Since Qin Xuan had created these items, he naturally had a way to counter them. Fortunately, he had kept an ace up his sleeve and had not provided the more advanced chainmail and Zhuge repeating crossbows to Emperor Qin Tian; otherwise, he would be facing an even more terrifying assault.

"Qin Xuan, I want to see how you defend this gate," Sun Wei said, his gaze cold as he watched the battlefield from afar.

The thirty thousand rattan-armored troops took the vanguard, advancing step by step in a tight formation.

"Loose arrows."

On the city wall, Qin Xuan gave the order. Arrows rained down, but the Great Qi Allied Forces below immediately raised their square shields. The sharp arrows struck the shields, producing only a few sparks before most were deflected.

"Haha! This Qin Xuan is truly a fool. He knows these shields are the bane of arrow formations, yet he still dares to fire," Liu Zhizhong laughed heartily in the Great Qi camp.

Sun Wei glanced at him, feeling that such a man was beneath notice. If Qin Xuan were truly this stupid, how could the hundred and fifty thousand allied troops have been led around like dogs?

"Archers, prepare to suppress them at any moment," Sun Wei ordered calmly. As a commander, he held Qin Xuan in high regard. If he had harbored any contempt before, it had vanished after being deceived and seeing thirty thousand of the Tulan army's captives slaughtered.

Following his order, the archer battalion moved forward a thousand paces, ready to provide counter-fire during the Shence Army's second volley. But what left Sun Wei feeling uneasy was that the second volley never came. Instead, his own rattan-armored troops had advanced another fifty meters, now less than a hundred meters from the city wall.

"Is the city running low on arrows, or does Qin Xuan have another scheme?" Sun Wei frowned. Cao Xueguang, the supervising official from the Ministry of War, noticed Sun Wei's concern and asked, "Commander Sun, what is worrying you?"

"When things are abnormal, there must be a demon at work." Sun Wei nodded. "Logically, as our infantry continues to press forward, the enemy should be offering resistance. Otherwise, once we reach the walls, it becomes a face-to-face boarding battle."

A boarding battle was a desperate affair where the distance between the two sides was so close that even archers' effectiveness was compromised. Once ladders touched the walls, it became a brutal, hand-to-hand struggle. Generally, the defending side would try to deplete the enemy's numbers as much as possible, while the attackers knew that until they reached the walls, lives were merely numbers—or stepping stones.

Cao Xueguang, being a Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, realized the strangeness once prompted. Only Liu Zhizhong couldn't help but sneer, "Commander Sun, that Qin Xuan was just lucky before. If it comes to true warfare, how could he compare to you?"

"Hmph, General Liu, if that is the case, why don't you lead the vanguard and assault the city yourself?" Sun Wei had no patience for Liu Zhizhong now, viewing him as a buffoon who had nearly cost him his head.

"I..." Liu Zhizhong’s face turned ugly instantly. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly shrieked, "What is that flash of fire?"