Chapter 47: Canglang (6)

With a thunderous crash, Suiyang City fell!
Just as all the generals and soldiers in the city focused their defenses on the north side, the rebels launched a fierce attack on the south gate, using battering rams to break through the city walls.
The stones and sandbags piled up behind the south gate were utterly useless against the massive battering rams, instantly pushed aside as thousands of rebel soldiers leaped over these obstacles and poured into the city.
After ten months of besieging Suiyang, they finally succeeded in breaking through the defenses of this strong city. The rebels were extremely excited; they shouted and waved their simple knives, eager to climb onto the city walls and slaughter those damned Tang people right away.
Too many of their comrades had been killed by the Tang people in the Battle of Suiyang—now it was time for them to repay that debt!
A sea of rebel soldiers surged up the horse paths toward the south gate, seemingly about to tear apart all the Tang people inside in moments.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
When war is waged in the name of righteousness, soldiers often forget their own sins. To these rebels, they were acting in accordance with heaven’s will, and their actions were entirely justified.
On the city walls, Xu Yuan felt a violent tremor.
Boom!
The entire city of Suiyang shook violently!
Frowning, Xu Yuan glanced back at the horse paths and saw thousands of rebels armed with simple knives and wooden shields rushing toward the walls.
“Someone, come with me to stop them!”
Gritting his teeth, Xu Yuan drew his long sword and led a hundred armored soldiers toward the horse paths.
“Cut them down! Cut them down!”
At this moment, Xu Yuan swung his sword relentlessly, killing anyone in his path. Blood splattered on his cheeks, and pieces of flesh flew onto his clothes, but he did not pause at all, continuing to swing his sword again and again…
He was no longer just a scholar who could recite ancient texts. Now, he had fully unleashed the fighting spirit of a Tang man, fighting with his sword.
With the rebels already breaking through the south gate, they would surely try their best to take control of the city. He had to do everything in his power to drive them back, buying time for Lord Zhang and the others. Though death was inevitable in the end, he could not give up.
They would fight to the last moment. As long as there was one man left in Suiyang, the Great Tang flag flying on the city walls would not be lowered.
“Kill! Kill all these barbarians! Brothers, it’s time to serve the Great Tang!”
With a powerful swing, Xu Yuan severed the right arm of a Xixia warrior. Blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain, streaming across the ground in bright red streams.

“Fight against the enemies together with Lord Xu! Brothers, let’s fight these Hu dogs to the death! Kill one and gain one; kill two and gain a pair! Even if we die, we’ll drag one of those Hu dogs down with us!”
The deputy generals shouted desperately to boost the soldiers’ morale.
At present, the number of rebels before them was ten times, even a hundred times greater than their own. Not to mention these new recruits, even these battle-hardened veterans were easily thrown into panic. Yet they couldn’t stop. Stopping meant surrendering—everything would end then. Suoyang City, we’ll advance and retreat with you!
Captain Sun Yuan swung his sword, killing three Turkic soldiers in quick succession. Then he drew his sword to strike a Tongluo Hu soldier nearby, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
The intense pain turned Sun Yuan’s face pale as paper, and large beads of sweat trickled down from his forehead, dripping onto the brick floor and forming a lotus pattern.
Looking down, Sun Yuan realized that a spear with a red tassel was now stuck in his lower abdomen, and the Hu soldier holding it was twisting it with a cruel grin.
“Ah!”
A heart-wrenching pain surged into Sun Yuan’s mind. Everything around him seemed to blur, and the Hu soldier before him appeared with multiple shadows.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
“Haha! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Sun Yuan felt his life force draining away as death drew closer. His muscles spasmed and trembled violently.
“Ah!”
Another agonizing pain struck, and his vision went dark as he collapsed.
Without hesitation, the Hu soldier drew his dagger, stepped forward, and beheaded the still-breathing Sun Yuan, throwing his head into a reward bag before continuing to fight forward.
Brigadier General Qin Ping was cornered by five Khitans. Fighting one against five, he already had over a dozen wounds on his body. The Khitans seemed unashamed by their numerical disadvantage, staring at Qin Ping with cruel grins, ready to chop off his head at any moment.
“Ah, come on! All of you, come at me!”
Dragging his injured leg, Qin Ping fought desperately with a broken sword, trying to stop the Khitans from advancing, but all his efforts were in vain. The narrow blade couldn’t effectively block their attacks, and his injured leg severely reduced his agility, leaving him unable to react in time to their assaults.
“Thud!”
Perhaps unwilling to play around any longer, the Khitans rushed forward together, swinging their knives at Qin Ping.

The chest, neck, abdomen, thighs, forearms… Numerous deep cuts that revealed the bone beneath appeared on Qin Ping’s body. The commander of Suiyang City collapsed heavily, never closing his eyes until death.

“Charge! Charge! Kill all the Tang people, kill all these dogs with two legs!”

Lu Jun, the fire commander, fell; Xu Yu, the platoon leader, fell; Jiang Yong, the captain, also fell.

One after another, Tang generals fell before rebels outnumbering them by many times, beneath the sharp blades of the barbarian soldiers, amidst a mournful song that penetrated to the very bone.

They were unwilling, filled with grief and anger, and helpless…

“Ahh, ahh, ahh!”

Xu Yuan cried out in pain. He saw fewer and fewer comrades around him, while more and more rebels surrounded them. His old brothers who had shared life and death with him for a year after another fell unwillingly, ending their lives. The rebels then stepped over their corpses with cruel smiles, continuing to slaughter the people in Suiyang City.

“The waters of Canglang are clear—perfect for washing my tassel; the waters of Canglang are turbid—perfect for washing my feet. Even if I must die in battle today, I will never surrender to the enemy and let my body be defiled. Brothers, fight for the Great Tang!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

The soldiers around Xu Yuan glared fiercely, eager to skin and devour the rebels alive.

Glancing at the seven remaining soldiers beside him, Xu Yuan sighed sadly, “Night is approaching. The country is on the verge of collapse. What face do we have to face our fellow citizens in the Central Plains if we merely cling to life? Today, let’s fight to the death against these barbarians!”…

The air was filled with a strong smell of charcoal, along with the overwhelming stench of blood, making people cover their noses and mouths.

Yin Ziqi pinched her nose, looking disdainfully at the ruins in the city.

Everywhere were burned and broken beams and columns, and corpses with missing heads and limbs. The rebels had just captured Suiyang City and hadn’t had time to clean it up before bringing in their commander. Yin Ziqi regretted entering the city so early. The city was in a nearly barbaric state, and such an unfiltered battlefield scene was clearly hard to accept, especially for someone like her, a “Confucian official.”

Surrounded by a group of bodyguards, Yin Ziqi strode northward, where the captured generals of Suiyang City were held.

Among them was Zhang Xun.

Kicking aside the mutilated corpses, Yin Ziqi stepped carefully along the path.

After finally climbing to the top of the city wall, she was almost terrified into dropping her eyes out of their sockets by what she saw there.

Hundreds of Tang people had their heads cut off and piled to form a Buddha tower, while their headless corpses were piled by the soldiers to create a city wall, standing right at the northern battlements.
“Ugh…”
Yin Ziqi forced himself to hold back from vomiting. Under the escort of his bodyguards, he continued walking forward, turning his head away to avoid looking at those disgusting sights.
After walking about a hundred steps, Yin Ziqi finally saw the general he both loved and hated.
“I heard that you grit your teeth fiercely during battles. I wonder why?”
Yin Ziqi was surprised even by his own words. What was wrong with him? How could he ask such a question?
Zhang Xun was now covered in blood, his once elegant armor torn in several places, his hair messy like a chicken’s nest—looking utterly disheveled. Though his hands were tied behind his back, he managed to push himself up and said coldly to Yin Ziqi, “That’s because I want to swallow you traitors, but I hate that I’m not strong enough to do so!”
“You!”
Yin Ziqi was stunned for a moment before sneering, “Well then, I really want to see what kind of ‘iron teeth’ you have, Zhang, that could swallow me! Someone, pry open his mouth!”
Immediately, two rebel soldiers stepped forward to pry open Zhang Xun’s mouth.
Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, who were nearby, were furious and shouted, “You wretched scoundrels! Don’t be rude! Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
“Retribution?”
Yin Ziqi laughed coldly, “If there really was retribution in this world, how could we still be standing in Suiyang City now?”
“Pry it open!”
“Yes!”
The two rebels roughly used iron plates to pry open Zhang Xun’s mouth, and they were shocked at what they saw. Due to prolonged battles and hunger, Zhang Xun only had three or four teeth left.
“General Zhang truly has iron teeth!”
For some reason, Yin Ziqi felt genuine respect for Zhang Xun. “If General is willing to join our Great Yan court, I will vouch for him. I’m sure His Majesty will use his talents to their fullest potential!”