The Broken City

The Tuuhun people had an extremely weak sense of vigilance. They had never been attacked by the Tang army in this region before. Therefore, when night fell, there were only a little over a hundred sentries left on the city walls. Some of these men stood near a few torches, chatting casually, while others found a wind-sheltered corner and dozed off listlessly. The commanding officer responsible for supervision couldn't be bothered to care about this. In his view, as long as these men made their rounds around the perimeter at the prescribed times, that was enough.

After observing from a distance for a while, the Dragon Cavalry finally initiated their operation. Breaking into smaller groups, they quietly crept to the base of the city wall. A dozen or so of them took out iron grappling hooks from their backpacks. This time, without using any auxiliary tools, they simply gave the hooks a casual underhand swing, catching them securely on the edge of the parapet. A height of less than six meters was a mere trifle for the Dragon Cavalry soldiers. It took them a mere ten seconds or so to scale the wall. The remaining soldiers quickly followed upwards along the ropes left behind by the first ten.

During this process, some men had already moved along the top of the wall to eliminate the remaining sentries. Once everyone had ascended the city wall, Su Lie immediately dispatched a large number of men to capture the other three gates. Meanwhile, leading two hundred and odd men, he quietly opened the eastern gate of the city.

Although their actions were cautious enough, the loud noise of the heavy gates opening soon attracted the attention of a few people. Lights quickly began to appear in the houses closest to the city gate. The Dragon Cavalry sentries stationed nearby decisively and swiftly neutralized these people to prevent them from sounding the alarm to the enemy. Everything proceeded smoothly.

Once the gates were opened, Su Lie sent men outside to wave torches as a signal to alert their comrades in the distance. Not long after, the faint sound of hooves echoed from afar. Several thousand cavalrymen first swept along the outer perimeter of the city wall toward the other gates. After a while, the tramping of infantrymen's footsteps also drifted in from the distance. Soon, figures began to emerge within Su Lie's field of vision.

The noise made by the advancing main army was still too loud. In the end, it woke up more people within the city. Before long, panicked shouts resounded throughout the entire city.

Occasional sounds of gongs clanging could be heard. Thus, within an extremely short span of time, torches flared up all over the city. Masses of enemies, clutching weapons, rushed toward Su Lie and his men. However, by now, everything was somewhat too late.

Just as Su Lie began organizing his soldiers to use bows and arrows to snipe at the enemy, the main army of his own side had already charged in. By this time, the cavalry outside had completely sealed off the other three gates. Consequently, the Dragon Cavalry soldiers guarding the city gates hastily threw open those three portals and joined the battle inside the city.

At the eastern gate, Yuchi Jingde, wielding a steel mace, was the first to charge in, closely followed by Cheng Yaojin. Immediately afterward, Li Daliang and the two Xue Wantche brothers also rushed inside. They pounced upon the opposing enemy like starving tigers spotting their prey. Although it was infantry combat at the moment, it seemed to have no adverse effect whatsoever on the prowess of these military generals. Every strike they made effortlessly dispatched at least one enemy. Not a single person could easily get close to them.

Although the Dragon Cavalry soldiers had all undergone martial arts training, because their training duration was still relatively short, they fell far short when compared to these veteran generals. Even so, it was enough to make the Dragon Cavalry soldiers a razor-sharp blade piercing the battlefield. Their individual martial prowess might be slightly inferior, but their mutual coordination was exceptionally tacit. Operating in trios with distinct offensive and defensive roles, no enemy could manage to harm them.

How could the panicked enemy possibly withstand such a fierce onslaught? They quickly collapsed into a rout, all turning and fleeing in tears toward the center of the city. There stood a tall, imposing building specially reserved for the highest-ranking general in the army. Residing inside at this moment was none other than Fuyun's son, whose name was Murong Rong.

By this time, Murong Rong had already dispatched the majority of his troops toward the eastern gate. As for himself, he prepared to take a small contingent of personal guards and escape from the northern gate to Niuxindui, a hundred miles away, to seek reinforcements. He had already gathered a general understanding of the situation from the lips of a messenger. Knowing that the numbers of the Tang army far exceeded his own, he fled with his men without a moment's hesitation.

However, no sooner had he approached the northern gate than he discovered that the surrounding area was already swarmed with Great Tang cavalry. Seated on their warhorses, they tightly blockaded the vast open space near the city gate. At that moment, over two hundred Dragon Cavalry soldiers were engaged in battle with a group of resisting residents. Bolstered by their sturdy armor and sabers, they had already formed a crushing superiority over these townsfolk.

Seeing a squad of enemy cavalry galloping in his direction, Qibi Heli immediately led his men to meet them head-on. The warhorses of both sides soon choked the narrow street completely, bringing movement to a standstill.

Hiding in the rear, Murong Rong saw this situation and hurriedly led his men to turn toward the western gate. Yet they had not run far before they encountered the retreating Tuohun army fleeing from the eastern gate. Murong Rong and his squad of cavalry were instantly blocked in their tracks by these routing soldiers. Seated on his horse, he shouted curses at the top of his lungs, trying to force these people to clear a path for him. However, everyone was in a state of chaos at the moment, and no one paid any heed to his words. Thus, he could only whip his mount to drive away the crowd blocking his path while desperately urging his horse forward.

Just at that moment, Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin came roaring in pursuit with their men. The two of them plowed through the enemy before them like tanks crushing everything in their path. Under their leadership, the Great Tang soldiers around them brandished their battle sabers frantically like men possessed. The Tuohun men fighting them were entirely unable to display their true combat strength.

The enemy had now completely devolved into headless flies. They knew only how to scamper back and forth through the various streets, utterly devoid of the courage to mount a counterattack.

The Xue Wantche brothers had already ordered their men to completely seal off the remaining two gates. The two of them then led a detachment around to the flank of the western gate. By this time, the hundred-thousand-strong army had completely surrounded these enemies. They advanced relentlessly toward the center of the city. Soon, some soldiers, unable to endure the immense pressure, cast aside their weapons and dropped to their knees in surrender.

This scene acted like a row of dominoes, instantly triggering a chain reaction. Masses upon masses of Tuohun people laid down their arms. They had completely abandoned all futile resistance.

When Murong Rong finally managed to flee to the western gate with about two hundred men, several thousand Great Tang soldiers had long been waiting there for them. Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin quickly pursued them to the spot. The Xue Wantche brothers, who had just been about to make a move, immediately exchanged bitter, wry smiles. If they dared to strike in this situation, Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin might well give even the two brothers a sound beating.