Chapter 25: The Raid on Qiao County

  A dark night with strong winds is perfect weather for murder and arson.

  Outside the city of Jiao County, loud shouts shook the sky, and the sound of horseshoes was thunderous. The Western Liang cavalry came in waves, one after another, galloping their horses.

  The soldiers on the city wall of Qiao County had been harassed for two days and one night, and they didn't know how many times they had cursed their mothers. At first, both the military school and the soldiers were very tense, with wide eyes and vigilant attention.

  It wasn't until they discovered that the Western Liang army was not going to launch a fierce attack on the city that they were able to put their minds at ease.

  Although it is unknown what the Western Liang rebels are up to, the defending troops on the city wall have already become accustomed to it.

  At night, the Western Liang soldiers came to harass them every quarter of an hour as usual.

  The soldiers listlessly gazed at the dark figures swaying in the city below, their eyelids fighting each other.

  The wind grew stronger after one o'clock in the morning.

  The Western Liang soldiers arrived on schedule, shouting and galloping their horses around the city.

  Lu Zhengquan put on his cartridge belt, his eyes gleaming in the dark night. He waved his hand and said, "Get ready."

  Two hundred cavalrymen immediately mounted their horses, tied the hemp ropes in their hands to their waists, and grasped the reins.

  Not far behind, two hundred selected soldiers also raised their large kites, waiting for the opportunity.

  Xu Chu also wore a suit of armor, holding a large kite standing in the front, next to his hand on the horizontal bar, that eye-catching long knife was tied to the handle with a rope and fixed to the horizontal bar with two wooden boards.

  Other Western Liang elite troops who were also preparing to fly into the city to fight were dressed in the same attire, each and every one of them full of energy and spirit.

  After finishing the exercise in the afternoon, I had a big meat meal and rested. I slept for three hours, and my spirit and physical strength were fully restored.

  "Begin."

  Luo Zheng looked at everything being ready, and with a wave of his hand, he led the way, urging his horse to gallop forward.

  The rest of the soldiers responsible for pulling the kite also shouted loudly, urging their war horses to start running. Due to the wind direction and running direction, each soldier fell behind the front soldier by about five or six steps, and the standing position was slightly staggered, so as not to lose control, the two kites' strings would get tangled together, what a mess!

  Two hundred meters of hemp rope were quickly pulled taut, and the soldiers holding the kite began to run.

  Xu Chu rode his horse at the forefront, effortlessly running in the lead, with piercing eyes shining brightly in the dark of night.

  The wind blew stronger and the kite quickly took off. Let's talk about our feelings.

  Luo Zheng urged the war horse to run while constantly changing direction to prevent the kite from flying too high.

  Starting from the northeast corner of Qiao County, I ran against the strong wind for a while and soon arrived at the east gate of Qiao County.

  Lu Zheng turned his head, judging the height of the kite through a troublesome angle, about five zhangs, this height is still relatively safe, immediately tense up, paying attention to the hemp rope tied around his waist at all times.

  Soon, the pulling force of the hemp rope disappeared, and what was originally pulled up at an angle fell down.

  Luo Zhen's heart was tightened again, and the city head immediately became chaotic. He then heard Xu Zhu's thunderous roar echoing from the city head of Qiao County, and only then did he let out a long sigh of relief, and his tense mind also relaxed.

  At this time, two hundred Xiliang cavalrymen behind him were constantly losing their grip and falling to the ground.

  Riding on the kite flying into the night sky, the soldiers saw the top of Qiao County Castle and immediately drew out the horse knives fixed on the right side of the kite, cutting off the troublesome kite rope and jumping down to fight.

  "Pass on the order to the great army, prepare to take the pass and seize the city."

  In the dark of night, Luo Zheng let out a thunderous roar that echoed far and wide.

  In a flash, the long and stirring sound of the ox horn was like gold and stone splitting the sky, rushing up to the heavens.

  The sound of horseshoes came out like thunder and quickly echoed in the night sky, and it was rapidly transmitted along with the strong wind.

  The city head of Caoxian County was in a mess, the firelight flickering uncertainly, amidst the sounds of screams, shouts to kill and mournful cries. The soldiers guarding the city couldn't understand how the Xiliang rebel army could fly over from the sky, it was as if they were ghosts or gods.

  Faced with such an incredible thing, the morale of the defending soldiers was immediately taken away.

  It's already quite good that they didn't throw down their weapons and run away.

  Xu Chu was like a lion rushing into a flock of sheep, his large knife flying about, chopping down the soldiers on the city wall who were still in a state of panic and unprepared, killing them until they cried out to their fathers and mothers. Soon he gathered together the Western Liang soldiers who had climbed up onto the city wall.

  Less than 170 of the Western Liang soldiers managed to climb onto the city wall, with some falling off in the dark and getting killed, while others flew over the wall and landed inside the city.

  But this is enough.

  Xu Chu rounded up the Western Liang soldiers who had climbed onto the city wall and immediately divided his troops into two routes. He led 100 men to the gate tower to cut off the suspension bridge, while he personally led the remaining men down the city wall to kill their way to the gate tunnel.

  A whole minute later, with a loud crash, the Dongmen suspension bridge in Qiao County collapsed and fell heavily on the bridge pier.

  Luo Zheng immediately tightened his grip on the horse knife in his hand, his wolf-like gaze fixed intently on the tightly closed city gate.

  Inside the city gate, the sound of killing shook the sky and was about to assault one's ears.

  Soon, amidst a creaking sound of "creaks", the tightly closed city gate was pushed open by more than ten Western Liang soldiers working together.

  "Kill."

  Luo Zheng no longer hesitated and immediately urged his horse to rush in.

  Behind him, two hundred cavalrymen followed closely, each holding a knife with angry eyes, revealing a murderous aura, and rushing forward wildly. The seven thousand Western Liang iron cavalry who had just arrived also did not stop at all, following behind, and killing into the east gate of Qiao County with a thunderous momentum.

  In the dimly lit city gate tunnel, Xu Chu led dozens of Western Liang soldiers, and the defending troops were killed and fled in disarray.

  The Western Liang army was originally elite, and the soldiers defending the city were only some provincial troops who had not fought in a long time and were unprepared for battle. The large cavalry could not arrive in time to provide support, so how could several hundred soldiers be a match for the Western Liang army?

  When Luo Zheng led his army into the city, hundreds of soldiers guarding the east gate were immediately killed without a single one left.

  Xiao County, Xuzhou Prefecture.

  Xu Jing was startled awake from her sleep and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

  "Come quickly, someone come."

  Xu Jing hastily pulled down the avalanche while loudly shouting for help.

  The servants had already heard the noise and came in, "Is there anything you'd like to order, sir?"

  Xu Jing hastily asked in a loud voice: "Where is the shout of killing?"

  "It seems to have come from the East Gate."

  Xu Jing hastily said: "But the Xiliang rebel army attacked the city at night?"

  The servant hesitated and said: "This, I also don't know, why not send someone to ask around?"

  Xu Jing angrily shouted: "Still don't hurry up and go."

  The servant had just rushed out in a flurry, when the military men burst in with faces ashen.

  "Something terrible has happened."

  The military school rushed into the outer hall, shouting loudly: "The Xiliang rebel army flew over the city wall from the sky, our army was caught off guard and was killed in a row, now the east gate has been lost, the Xiliang rebel army has entered the city, please hurry up and leave, sir."

  "What?"

  Xu Jing let out a loud cry and sternly rebuked, "The Western Liang rebels are not birds in flight, how can they fly up onto the city walls from the sky? This is clearly a delaying tactic, how dare you deceive me, infuriate me! It's really infuriating!"

  The general struck his chest with a fist and loudly vowed: "Sir, I am not speaking empty words. The soldiers on the city wall saw it too. The Western Liang rebels are flying down from the sky. If there is half a word of falsehood, let me die."

  "Huh?"

  Xu Jing saw that the military school was not just talking nonsense and was also a bit stunned.

  The Western Liang army flew over from the sky and landed directly on the city wall, which was also unbelievable.

  It's not that I don't believe, it's just that I dare not believe.

  The military officer saw that Xu Jing was still in a daze and repeatedly urged him on, "Sir, the Xiliang rebel army has entered the city, please leave quickly."

  Xu Jing finally came to his senses, let out a long sigh and said in a desolate tone: "Lord Kong entrusted me with the heavy responsibility of guarding the safety of Yu Province at the time of his death. Now that Qiao County has been lost, the foundation of Governor刺史 is not solid, how can I dare to escape alone?"

  "Sir, as long as we have green hills, we won't worry about running out of firewood!"

  Xu Jing's face was wooden and motionless.

  The military school repeatedly persuaded him, and Xu Jing finally sighed, said a word "forget it", and hastily left under the cover of the military school.

  East Gate

  After killing the scattered soldiers guarding the city, he immediately gave a stern order: "Leave 500 soldiers to guard the east gate, and the rest of the army will be divided into three routes to attack the other three gates. Clear out the remaining resistance troops in the city, and strictly order the civilians not to go on the streets, those who violate this rule will be killed without pardon."

  "Roger."

  The troops responded in unison and immediately led the army to quickly leave.

  Xu Chu rode up with his personal troops and took a defensive position on the ground, holding a sword and following closely behind Luo Zhen, being extremely vigilant.

  Luo Zheng burst out laughing: "Zhong Kang, there's no need to be overly cautious. This general has been through dozens of battles big and small, bathed in blood yet still alive, and having made it this far is a testament to some skill with arms. Though not as skilled as you, dealing with a few minor soldiers shouldn't be a problem."

  Xu Zhu's tiger eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and he grunted in response, but did not answer.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and immediately clamped his legs on the horse's belly, shouting: "Go, to the governor's mansion."

  The sound of hooves was loud and clear, Xu Chu and five hundred cavalrymen galloped after him, rushing straight to the residence of the governor.