Chapter 23: The Wall of Death (III)

Hundreds of feathered arrows shot swiftly toward the walls of Suiye City!
From this angle, though the arrows couldn’t exert their full power, they could still have a significant suppressive effect.
The Tang army’s archers were highly organized—after one group finished shooting, they stepped back, while another group stepped forward to draw their bows and load arrows…
The soldiers of the Tianwei Army shot effortlessly, as if performing a training exercise, regardless of whether they could kill enemies or not, aiming only to buy more time for their comrades attacking the city gates.
The Turkiš soldiers on the walls of Suiye City began to suffer casualties. Many were carrying logs to the battlements when they were pierced in the head by a barrage of arrows flying up from above, falling back below the walls with cries of pain.
Of course, even more casualties were among the civilians who had no armor at all. They had been captured by the Turkiš and forced to help transport military equipment, thinking they could return home safely after repelling the Tang army’s attack. Instead, they were used as human shields by the insane Turkiš and driven to the battlements.
With arrows falling like locusts, blocking out the sky, how could these civilians escape? Some were blinded, some had their left hearts pierced, and others had their shoulder blades shot through, pinned to the ground.
Life is so fragile in the face of war—what does it matter if you’re innocent or weak? No one will pity you, simply because you’re weak, and the weak have no voice.
Bierjin was furious. He grabbed one of his guards and said, “Go get my powerful bow! I want to teach these Tang invaders a lesson!”
The guard staggered through the arrow rain to fetch it and soon returned with a silver-edged horn bow—Bierjin’s favorite weapon, requiring three stones of force to draw.
Bierjin took a deep breath, drew the bow fully, aimed at one of the Tianwei Army’s standard bearers for a long time, then suddenly released the string.
With a thunderous sound, the silver arrow flew past thousands of heads and struck the standard bearer in the face.
The poor man fell to the ground without even a cry. The force of the arrow was so great that half of his face was blown off, leaving a terrifying sight.
“Damn, he’s quite skilled!”
Qiao Feng sincerely praised the opponent’s archery skills. He also snatched a horn bow from a guard and, using his last remaining strength, shot an arrow at the Turkiš general surrounded by many guards.

Whether by chance or because Qiao Feng was truly an expert archer, the arrow seemed to have eyes of its own, slipping through the gaps between several shields and striking Birjin’s thigh.
“Ah! Ah, damn it! You bunch of fools!”
Still basking in his pride, Birjin suddenly felt a searing pain in his thigh. His legs gave way, and he collapsed.
His bodyguards rushed to help him up. But instead of being praised, they were harshly scolded by their commander and fell silent, looking disheveled.
“Pour boiling water! Pour all the boiling water on him! You thief Tang bandit, how dare you hurt me! Ahh…”
Birjin was a favorite of Moqizitak, with many people eager to flatter him. The feeling of being above everyone else was incredibly satisfying. He thought he was invincible, yet today he had been defeated by a mere bandit chieftain!
He had never suffered such physical injuries before. Even minor wounds felt like excruciating pain to him, and he wailed incessantly.
Seeing his condition, his adjutant, fearing he might disrupt morale, said, “Lord Birjin, since you’re injured, why not rest in the watchtower first? Once our men deal with these Tang bandits, we’ll report back to you.”
“Hmm. Ahh, be gentle.”
Birjin slapped away his clumsy bodyguards who tried to help him and limped toward the nearby watchtower. …
Moqizitak gathered three hundred armored soldiers and marched boldly toward the Suiye Palace. He didn’t even need to think to figure out where Tufuhan was eager to take control of.
Whether they were the Huang clan or the Black clan of the Turkic people, the Suiye Palace had always been the most sacred place. Once, Khan Sulugu unified his entire tribe, commanding two hundred thousand warriors and dominating the Western Regions! Even the invading Arabs were severely defeated by him, calling him “the Unrivaled.” From then on, the Turkic people settled in the Suiye River area, almost inheriting all the lands of the Old Turks. The Suiye Palace thus became the natural “camp” of the Turkic khan, its symbolic significance akin to the Daming Palace or Taiji Palace of the Central Plains dynasties.
Yet now, Tufuhan completely ignored the foundations laid by his ancestors and tried to ally with the Tang bandits!
Hmph! Did he really think the Tang people would hand over all the Turkic lands to him for rule? Even the most incompetent emperor of the Tang Dynasty wouldn’t sit idly by while another Old Turkic khanate rose!
Was he willing to sell his soul just for a title, bowing in submission?
Absurd! Utterly absurd!
“Charge in! Anyone who sees Tufuhan must be killed without mercy!”

Stopping in front of the palace, Mo Qizi raised his head to look at the plaque inscribed in Turkic and shook his head bitterly. In his view, the reason why Turkic peoples could never oppose the Central Plains dynasties was their endless internal strife. The Rouran Empire was the same, as was the Turkic Khanate, and so too the Turkic Khaganate. The Han people of the Central Plains were skilled at devising strategies to stir up conflicts among the Turkic peoples, forcing them to fight each other. Once the Turks were exhausted, they would step in to reap the benefits and bestow the title of khan on the winner, calling it kindness and virtue. Hehe, hehe! If only the Turkic peoples could unite, perhaps even Chang’an would already be their pasture by now. Impossible—the Turks could never unite, not even if everyone in the world tried; it was merely that the people of the Central Plains were good at temporary compromises. Ha, compromises! “Charge in! Leave none alive!” Since no consensus could be reached, one side had to completely eliminate the other. Only then could the survivors better carry on their lineage and restore the Turkic Khaganate! There could only be one winner here, and that would surely be him, Mo Qizi! … “Uncle Yuan, will this really work? This is a life-threatening task. I’m afraid—what if we fail…” Shopkeeper Bai pulled his hands back into his sleeves and kept staring at Yuan Zhuo. He never expected that just by saying a few extra words, he would end up on Yuan Zhuo’s ship. Now, it was absolutely impossible to get off. “What are you afraid of? Didn’t I already tell you to move your family westward? Tuohun Tak has an agreement with the governor of Shule. Do you think he’ll go back on it at this critical moment?” Seeing him so timid, Yuan Zhuo felt annoyed and glared at him fiercely. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that with such a big fire in the granary, Mo Qizi must have noticed. If we go to the eastern city now, won’t we encounter the patrol guards?” Shopkeeper Bai was speaking the truth—since Tuohun Tak had an agreement with the governor of Shule, he wouldn’t harm his family. What worried him wasn’t his wife and children but himself. Risking the city’s guards to open the city gates was simply seeking death! “I thought you were afraid of something else. So it’s because you care about your own life!”

Yuan Zhuo snorted coldly and said, “Don’t worry. As long as you do as I say, nothing will go wrong. The Turgeshians are surely busy with a fire in their backyard. They’ll need to deploy a large number of troops on the city walls. Even if they call in the city’s able-bodied men to help defend, most of their main forces will still be on the walls. Do you really think the Turgeshians will spare troops to wander around the city at a time like this?”
Shopkeeper Bai shrank his neck and glanced around the street, confirming that Yuan Zhuo was right. There wasn’t a single Turgeshian in sight, not even the usually bustling Khotan merchants. With chaos approaching, every household kept its doors and windows tightly shut to minimize losses during the war. Only fools like them would wander around at such a time. “Besides, even if Mo Qizi has to divert his attention to deal with Tuohuonu Tak, the place he’d go to is definitely not here!”
Seeing that Shopkeeper Bai still seemed skeptical, Yuan Zhuo sighed and said, “If your shop were robbed, where would you run first?”
Shopkeeper Bai repeated Yuan Zhuo’s words in his mind several times before slapping his head and saying, “I see, I see. Mo Qizi must have rushed to the palace now. Tuohuonu Tak is truly clever—he’s managed to avoid Mo Qizi’s attacks!”
“Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll never be defeated in battle!”
Stroking his beard, Yuan Zhuo smiled and said, “But we don’t have much time to waste. If Mo Qizi realizes the trick, he’ll surely lead his men back to the East City gate right away.”
“Then Uncle Yuan, let’s hurry and open the city gates. What are we waiting for?”
At the thought that Mo Qizi, that demon, might return, Shopkeeper Bai’s relieved heart rose again. That guy was a demon who devoured hearts raw—if caught by him, one wouldn’t even get a quick death!
“Why the rush? Go put this on first!”
Yuan Zhuo took out several sets of Turgeshian soldier’s leather armor from the rough burlap sack on his shoulder and handed them to Shopkeeper Bai.
“This…”
“Hurry up and put it on. Stop talking!”
Yuan Zhuo glared at Shopkeeper Bai before handing the remaining armor to the shopkeepers he trusted.
“Tuohuonu Tak lacks troops and can only focus on controlling the West City and South City. The North City will surely be neglected for now. Whether we can create a breach in the East City depends on us!”
Yuan Zhuo stared at the faintly visible characters “Suiye” on the dark plaque, clenching his fists. “Everyone says we merchants are greedy and unprincipled. Today, we’ll show them whether we can stand upright as human beings!”
As dusk approached, the blood-red sunset scattered delicate golden light on the bronze breastplates of Yuan Zhuo and his companions, casting a brilliant glow!