Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

108: The Tang Dynasty's border troops fought to the death, refusing to retreat.

But Su Wen, standing atop the city wall, saw that the armored soldiers had not moved. He knew then that Zhang Xizhou intended to use these unarmored men to deplete their crossbow bolts.

Zhang Xizhou looked at Su Wen on the city wall, a slight smile playing on his lips, and muttered, "Those who achieve great things must remember: one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand!"

When the crossbow bolts ran out, suddenly, all the enemy soldiers scattered, and a dozen heavily armored cavalrymen on horseback, wielding longswords, charged forward menacingly.

Upon seeing this, the Tang army assembled all their shields, immediately forming a shield wall.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, the first few warhorses slammed into the shields, smashing through the shield wall. Soldiers were scattered and fell to the ground, some even being thrown two or three meters away before crashing to the ground and dying instantly!

Immediately following was a horizontal slash of the Mo Dao (陌刀), and some people, without reacting in time, were cut in two, armor and body alike.

Seeing this, Xu Ge raised his spear, stepped on the legs of the two men, and used the momentum to leap up to the same height as the horse. He pierced one man's abdomen with a spear, then stepped on the shoulders of several men, jumped onto the horse's back, and pulled the reins.

They engaged the enemy with guns, at which point a group of Tang soldiers immediately crouched down, brandished their horse-slaying swords, and cut off the horse's legs, causing it to fall to the ground.

Zhang Xizhou pointed his right hand forward, and all the armored Lotus Sect members went berserk and charged forward like a tidal wave!

Xu Ge said, "The border troops of the Great Tang!"

The soldiers shouted in unison, "Fight to the death, we will not retreat!"

In an instant, the crossbowmen threw down their bows and crossbows, and everyone drew their golden maces and charged forward. In a moment, a bloody and extremely brutal close-quarters battle began on this military road, which was no more than ten meters wide.

Su Wen could tell that although his side consisted of border troops who were very brave, the armored men on the other side were not ordinary people either. They were probably Tibetan soldiers who had been gradually ambushed and hidden in the city.

It was a battle between border troops, with no numerical advantages, no equipment gaps, and no weapon differences; it was purely a contest of individual bravery.

In a battlefield, a long spear is useful, but now that it's a clash of short swords, the power of the Golden Gourd Hammer begins to show. It can penetrate armor and deliver short, ruthless blows.

When Su Wen saw Xu Ge, this eighteen-year-old boy, he became completely bloodthirsty. Wielding a long spear, he was invincible and showed signs of becoming a fierce general!

However, the enemy outnumbers them by more than double. If they get into a fierce battle, Su Wen's side will likely suffer a crushing defeat.

At that moment, Su Wen saw that a large number of people carrying weapons were running towards the outer city gate in the streets and alleys of the city.

"Waaaaah..."

A horn sounded from somewhere, followed by a cacophony of clanging.

Large numbers of people from the inner city rushed out of the streets with weapons and gathered at the inner city gate. Even from the streets of the outer city, many able-bodied men from the outer regions rushed out and engaged in a fierce battle with the Lotus Cult members who were supporting the city gate.

In an instant, the entire city was filled with the sounds of fighting and the traces of battle.

Su Wen never expected that Zhang Xizhou had taken in so many people in this small Dunhuang County.

Zhang Xizhou laughed loudly, "Hahaha... Su Wen, how can your small force compare to my ten years of accumulation?"

Su Wen frowned, completely at a loss. He was only good at solving cases, not martial arts. If he rushed down, he would only be killed by someone else. At this moment, he was anxious and at a loss.

Just then, a soldier on guard duty on the city wall shouted, "Imperial Envoy, there are lights outside! General Zhang Yi's cavalry has returned!"

Su Wen hurriedly ran to the other side of the city wall to look. He saw a ray of sunlight piercing through the darkness and shining on the earth. Not far away, a large cavalry force was rushing towards Dunhuang City!

Zhang Yi's horse was an Akhal-Teke, a prized steed bestowed upon his father, Zhang Da'an, by Empress Wu Zetian. Now in Zhang Yi's hands, it was a perfect match for a hero, and at that moment, he sped past the soldiers like a shooting star, several miles ahead.

At this moment, the sunlight shone on the cavalrymen, like a rising sun, unhindered by darkness, and like a ray of redemption!

Seeing this, Su Wen ran to the other side of the city wall and shouted, "Open the city gate! Reinforcements have arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers roared and hacked even harder. Zhang Xizhou's smile vanished, and he frowned, saying, "Take down the city gate quickly! Don't let reinforcements in!"

After saying that, Zhang Xizhou rode his horse towards the city gate, holding a Guan Dao (a type of halberd). With just one strike, he sent a man flying three or four meters away, causing him to fall heavily to the ground.

However, the street, which was not very wide, was littered with corpses, making it impossible for horses to move. Zhang Xizhou leaped off his horse and charged straight toward the city gate.

Zhang Xizhou was like a fierce tiger, cutting down anyone who tried to block him with a single blow, without even needing to use an extra strike. Xu Ge was currently entangled by three Tibetan elites and couldn't break free at all.

Several soldiers had already opened the city gate, but Zhang Xizhou had already reached the gate. One of them raised his spear and thrust, but Zhang Xizhou cleaved it in two with a single blow, smashing the helmet along with the head.

Two soldiers on the left and right used all their strength to open the city gate. Zhang Xizhou stepped forward and cut one of them down with a single stroke. Before dying, the soldier had his foot stuck under the city gate and was pushing against it with both hands.

Seeing that Zhang Yi was less than a hundred paces away, Zhang Xizhou hurriedly tried to push the city gate, but even though the soldier was dead, he used his foot to block the city gate, making it extremely heavy for a moment. Moreover, the city gate was already extremely heavy and could not be pushed by one person alone.

Zhang Xizhou pushed for a while and found that the soldier's foot was stuck in the city gate. Zhang Xizhou swung his sword and cut off the soldier's leg, and then used force to push the city gate open.

Just then, Zhang Yi reached the city gate and thrust his spear. Zhang Xizhou saw this and quickly blocked with his Guan Dao. The spear struck the blade of Zhang Xizhou's Guan Dao, preventing it from getting any closer. However, this fierce thrust still sent Zhang Xizhou flying several meters away, causing him to fall heavily to the ground!

Zhang Xizhou spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly stood up, while another person stood up holding a Guan Dao (a type of halberd).

Zhang Yi leaped off his horse, his eyes bloodshot and face contorted with rage. Holding a long spear, he entered the city gate and, seeing the fighting still raging on his left and the armored soldiers, glared fiercely at Zhang Xizhou, demanding, "Where is Kang Li?"

Zhang Xizhou smiled slightly and said, "After I cut off your head, you can go and ask him yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi was immediately enraged and charged forward with his gun.

He stepped forward and delivered a powerful blow that split Mount Hua in two. Zhang Xizhou parried with his sword, and then followed up with another blow that swept across the battlefield.

"clang!"

With a crisp sound and sparks flying, the blow, carrying the force of thousands of pounds, sent Zhang Xizhou staggering back several steps. His eyes widened in astonishment; he hadn't expected that Zhang Yi usually spent his time either fighting with Tibetans or drinking and eating meat in the military camp.

Unexpectedly, this guy's arm strength was so amazing, and the blow he delivered in his rage was so vicious!

Zhang Xizhou felt a slight numbness in both arms.

Upon seeing Zhang Yi again, Zhang Xizhou withdrew his spear, used his waist to twirl the spear, and swept across the battlefield with a powerful swing. Zhang Xizhou parried, but Zhang Yi withdrew his spear and thrust forward, aiming a groin-striking thrust!

Zhang Xizhou had no choice but to defend and dodge. Zhang Yi sheathed his spear, turned to the side, thrust his spear back, and then swung his leg to sweep the ground. This rapid change of move was too much for Zhang Xizhou to handle. Zhang Yi struck him in the calf with his spear, knocking him to the ground in one blow.

Zhang Yi swung his spear, delivering another powerful blow that seemed to split Mount Hua in two. Seeing this, Zhang Xizhou quickly rolled away to dodge the attack.

The shot shattered several bricks on the ground. If it had hit Zhang Xizhou, he would have been dead!