Chapter 24: The Wall of Separation (IV)

With a loud crash, the city gates of Suiye East City swung wide open!
Hearing the cries of his guards, Bierjin rushed out staggeringly, grabbed a panicked soldier by the collar, and demanded, “What happened? Why the panic?”
“Bierjin, Lord Bierjin! The city gates have been opened! They’ve been opened!”
“What do you mean? Which gates?”
Bierjin felt a sharp headache and shook the soldier violently.
The soldier, still shaken, could hardly speak coherently—how could he expect any useful information from him?
“It’s the Tang people! The Tang people in Suiye City! They opened the gates and let the Tang invaders in. Lord, run! They outnumber us—if we don’t flee now, it will be too late!”
“Damn you!”
Bierjin kicked him away and roared, “Everyone, follow me to the city walls! We must hold on until reinforcements arrive. Just a few Tang invaders? Warriors, take up your scimitars and fight for Eternal Heaven!”
Bierjin’s personal authority still held strong. In just the time it took to drink tea, nearly a thousand men gathered around him.
“Charge down and retake the city gates! The rest, keep throwing stones, logs, and boiling water!”
His decision was spot-on. At that moment, the East City gates were under the control of the Tang army, which was pouring into the city through them. Fortunately, the Tang forces inside were not yet numerous, as the gates had only recently changed hands. If he could lead his warriors to recapture the gates, he could regain control of the battlefield!
With this thought, Bierjin calmed down slightly, drew his scimitar from his waist, and led the charge down from the city wall.
At that time, there were about six or seven hundred Tang soldiers in Suiye City. Not many, but certainly not few. After briefly assessing the strength of both sides, Bierjin concluded that the Tangs had no chance of winning. With confidence, he raised his scimitar and said, “Warriors! For centuries, the Tang invaders have trampled our homeland. Now they want to bring ugliness and filth to the sacred city of Suiye. What shall we do?”
“Fight!” “Fight!”
“Fight!”
Nearly a thousand Uyghur warriors shouted in unison, their voices thunderous. Bierjin nodded in satisfaction. “It is time to sacrifice ourselves for Eternal Heaven and serve Mokshi Tak. Take up your scimitars and defend your homeland!”
“Kill!” “Kill!” “Kill!”
Once the flame of hatred was kindled, it could burn across the vast plains!

The conflict between the Turkic tribes and the peoples of the Central Plains erupted intensely at this moment. Both sides wielded swords and knives, just as their ancestors had done for centuries, fighting for their own interests!
As the Turkic warriors charged into the Tang army’s formation, chaos ensued. With no horses to rely on and no crossbows to depend on, they resorted to the most primitive and brutal hand-to-hand combat with their simple knives.
Thanks to their numerical advantage, the Turkic warriors quickly gained the upper hand. Under the leadership of Biljik, they struck like a sharp spear at the heart of the Tang army, using their powerful momentum to disrupt the ranks of the soldiers who had just entered the city.
They slashed with their knives, showing no concern for the pain of their opponents. Their curved blades either severed the heads of Tang soldiers or cut off their arms. Some unlucky Turkic soldiers even found their blades stuck in their enemies’ shoulder blades. While these unfortunate warriors struggled to pull out their knives, they were quickly torn to pieces by their Tang counterparts.
The brutality of the Turkic warriors seemed to ignite the fighting spirit of the Tang soldiers. Under the leadership of officers like Qiao Feng and Zhou Fanghu, they launched another assault.
The Turkic warriors clearly intended to take advantage of the chaos to trap the main force of the Tang army outside the city gates, even driving all their soldiers—themselves included—out of Suiye City like sheep!
Zhou Fanghu saw through their plans and was determined not to let them succeed. What they needed now was time!
Even if they couldn’t gain an advantage for the time being, as long as they held their ground and defended this entrance, more and more of their comrades would be able to enter the city. As one side gained strength, the pressure on the Turkic warriors would increase!
“Push forward! Don’t retreat!”
Zhou Fanghu drew his sword and slashed at the neck of a Turkic soldier. The poor wretch tried to attack Zhou’s lower body from behind, but Zhou had already seen through his move. With a swift swing, he carved a long gash across the soldier’s neck.
Blood gushed out of the wound. The poor man tried to cover it with his hands, but how could a broken dam be stopped by a few clumps of mud? He convulsed for a few moments before collapsing to the ground like a chicken drained of blood.
But Zhou Fanghu wasn’t done yet. With slashes, cuts, blocks, and thrusts, he used almost all his skills. These Turkic warriors really weren’t well-trained; they fell even before he put in much effort.
“Hehe, hehe, you’ve got nothing on me. Go back and train for another two years!”

Zhou Fanghu wielded his sword with fierce momentum; almost with every strike, a victim lost its life. The distance between the two sides was so short that Zhou Fanghu didn’t need to guess his opponent’s moves or hidden dangers. He simply needed to muster all his strength to lift his sword and swing it down, injuring several people in an instant.
This swordsmanship wasn’t like the elaborate moves performed by itinerant performers, nor was it as grand and dignified as court sword dances. It was a set of techniques perfectly suited for battle—each strike was deadly, cold, and merciless!
“Charge forward! Don’t shame the men of Tang!”
Zhou Fanghu pulled his sword out from the back of a Turgesh soldier and shouted loudly, “The people of Suoye City are waiting for us. After tonight, Suoye will once again fly the Tang flag. And you will all witness this—for Tang!”
Zhou Fanghu’s intervention greatly boosted the morale of the Tang army. The previously demoralized and on the verge of collapse Tang forces rebounded, forming an iron wall with their bodies and slowly advancing forward.
One step, two steps…
With each step forward, more of their comrades entered Suoye City, increasing the chances of the Tang army capturing it!
“Stop him! Stop that Tang bandit leader! Kill him—those who kill him will be rewarded with a thousand sheep!”
Seeing Zhou Fanghu’s bravery as he killed several of their own men, Birjikin flew into a rage and made a generous promise, pointing in Zhou Fanghu’s direction.
“Kill him! Whoever kills him will become a hero of Turgesh and be blessed by the Eternal Heaven for life!”