Chapter 48: Annihilating the Source Fiend!

A surviving soldier of the Huarong cried out in panic, "Quickly, seize the city gates!"

Zhao Zheng took the lead, shooting down a Huarong soldier with a single bolt from his crossbow, and charged straight into the city.

The city gates of this era lacked the portcullises seen in later dynasties, allowing the cavalry to charge through unhindered as if entering an empty realm.

"Those who have fired your crossbows, cover the ones reloading ahead! Do not engage in close combat! Maintain distance!" Zhao Zheng shouted to his own cavalry after felling another Huarong soldier.

How could the Huarong soldiers have ever witnessed such a tactic? The arrows poured down like a torrential rain, forcibly weaving a deadly net of firepower that pinned the Huarong soldiers down, leaving them unable to lift their heads.

However, the Huarong soldiers quickly mounted a counterattack.

From atop the city walls, rolling logs, heavy stones, and a hail of arrows rained down, inflicting considerable casualties on the advancing forces.

"Qin troops! A sea of black Qin troops!" someone yelled from the ramparts.

At this moment, Ying Qian had already led twenty thousand infantrymen right up to the city walls.

The twenty thousand foot soldiers had completely surrounded all four gates of the City of the Huarong King in an ironclad siege.

"Charge! Kill them all!"

Ying Qian pointed his sword directly at the City of the Huarong King, and the soldiers behind him surged inward like a tidal wave.

On the other side, Jian Ping had annihilated the Huarong messengers, left fifty men behind to guard the captured horses, and then led his troops charging toward the City of the Huarong King.

Only two hundred riders remained around Zhao Zheng. These two hundred cavalrymen rampaged back and forth inside the city, leaving the Huarong people utterly helpless against them.

Did they attempt to encircle them? Zhao Zheng's two hundred riders formed a flawless network of firepower, wave after wave suppressing the Huarong troops and preventing them from even raising their heads.

Yet soon enough, their crossbow bolts began to dwindle.

"Conserve the bolts. Fall back toward the city gate."

Knowing that persisting in such a manner would spell disaster as the Huarong forces closed in from all sides, Zhao Zheng abruptly pulled tight on his reins. "Follow me!" he commanded, wheeling his horse around and charging back toward the gate.

The cavalry closely followed Zhao Zheng as he broke through the encirclement, successfully uniting with Ying Qian's forces that had breached the city.

The East Gate was now firmly in the hands of the Qin army. The remaining three gates were surrounded but not attacked.

"Lad, are you alright?" Ying Qian hurried over, checking on Zhao Zheng, who was covered in blood and had three arrows protruding from his body.

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Zheng yanked the arrows out, hurled them fiercely to the ground, and shook his head. "It's nothing serious."

What Zhao Zheng said was actually true; the injuries he had sustained along the way were far more numerous than this. Had he not possessed a terrifying regenerative ability, he would have perished inside the city long ago.

It was precisely because Zhao Zheng had discovered this heaven-defying constitution during the Battle of Black Dragon Gorge—coupled with the state of Qin's dire shortage of capable generals—that he dared to charge fearlessly into battle. Otherwise, given his cautious nature, he would have stayed safely outside the city to issue commands.

Furthermore, Zhao Zheng found that his strength seemed boundless, and he felt not a hint of fatigue throughout his body.

Leaving the task of securing the city to Ying Qian, Zhao Zheng tallied his men; of the four hundred cavalrymen he had led into the charge, only a hundred and fifty or so remained.

A pang of heartache struck Zhao Zheng. While the lost crossbows could be recovered after the battle, training elite cavalry was a remarkably difficult endeavor!

Realizing the Qin army was flooding in like the tide and seeing no way out, the defenders of the Huarong King's city surrendered en masse.

From that moment on, the City of the Huarong King was incorporated into the territory of Great Qin.

The battle yielded countless captured warhorses, bows, and weapons.

"Brilliant, absolutely exhilarating!"

Jian Ping strode excitedly into the command mansion of the Huarong King's city, which had originally served as the council hall for the Huarong tribe.

"Hmph, you certainly had your fill of killing, but I didn't get to fight my fill at all," Ying Qian said, casting a dissatisfied glare at Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng offered a wry smile. "Eldest Brother, the infantry could only be placed under your command, couldn't they?"

"Next time, you'd better let me have my fun... otherwise, humph." Ying Qian warned him with a sharp look.

Left speechless and amused, Zhao Zheng realized that Ying Qian, much like Ying Quliang, possessed a rather proud and stubborn streak.

Relenting at last, Ying Qian turned a serious gaze toward Zhao Zheng. "Lad Zhao, now that we've captured the City of the Huarong King, what should our next move be?"

After a brief moment of reflection, Zhao Zheng replied, "Our primary mission remains the recovery of Chencang and Xiqi. Of course, we must also firmly establish our footing here at the Huarong King's city."

With that, Zhao Zheng looked at Ying Qian and added, "Eldest Brother, I must lead troops back to Shanggui; I leave this place in your hands."

"Enforce the laws of Qin, reclaim wasteland, and build the Great Wall."

The rear must be entrusted solely to someone he trusted implicitly.

Understanding the immense weight of the responsibility resting on his shoulders, Ying Qian nodded solemnly without a hint of hesitation.

The implementation of the Qin legal code proceeded with unexpected smoothness. The lower-class commoners, who had long suffered under the ruthless exploitation of the Huarong nobility, joyfully and enthusiastically accepted the new laws.

Those aristocratic lords who dared to obstruct the process were dealt with swiftly and mercilessly by Ying Qian's thunderous methods.

The common people of Huarong, having long endured the oppression and extortion of the Huarong aristocrats, cheered and applauded these measures.

As for the surrendered Huarong people, Zhao Zheng incorporated a portion of them into the cavalry ranks, though he did not issue them Qin crossbows. Naturally, Huarong tribesmen skilled in mounted archery had no need for Qin crossbows anyway.

Following three days of recuperation, Zhao Zheng led a thousand Huarong cavalrymen and five hundred Qin cavalrymen at a gallop toward Shanggui.

Meanwhile, news of the great victory at the Huarong King's city reached Yueyang, sending shockwaves through the imperial court and the entire state.

In Shanggui, the city magistrate Li Hua had been waiting outside the gates since early morning for Zhao Zheng's return.

After about two hours, a billowing cloud of yellow dust rose in the distance, announcing the rapid approach of a cavalry detachment.

However, when the troop galloped right up to the city walls, the color drained entirely from Li Hua's face, leaving him utterly horrified.

Curse it all—these were damned Xirong cavalry!

"This is bad!"

Fleeing in sheer terror, Li Hua scrambled back into the city. Right behind him, the Xirong cavalry arrived with murderous intent, threatening to seize the city gates at any moment.

Swish, swish, swish—

The sound of arrows tearing through the air rang out, and a vast swath of the trailing Xirong cavalry crashed to the ground.

"Oh no, there are Qin troops behind us!" shouted a rear guard of the Xirong soldiers.

"What?"

The leading Xirong general froze in disbelief, refusing to accept that Qin forces could have flanked them from behind.

Looking back, he saw a sea of dark cavalry charging directly toward their position, bearing the fluttering battle banners marked with the character for Qin, confirming their identity beyond doubt.

"We're finished! Where did Qin get so many cavalrymen? Run!"

His heart hammering wildly against his ribs, the general whipped his horse mercilessly, taking the lead as he fled desperately along the path they had come.

Following a single round of mounted archery by the Qin cavalry, the Huarong horsemen pressed the attack relentlessly, quickly overtaking the fleeing Xirong forces.

At a distance, the Huarong cavalry harassed the enemy with showers of arrows; at close quarters, they hacked and slashed with their blades—a tactical approach diametrically opposed to the rigorous hit-and-run volley tactics of the Qin army.

In an instant, the Xirong forces left hundreds of corpses behind as they scattered in screaming, chaotic rout.

Atop the city ramparts, a weak-kneed Li Hua was hauled to his feet by his subordinates. Catching sight of the fluttering Qin banners outside and the upright figure of Zhao Zheng, he finally regained his peace of mind and hastily ordered the gates opened.

"Magistrate of Shanggui, do not open the city gates so casually unless necessary; it is far too dangerous," Zhao Zheng warned Li Hua. Had he not arrived in the nick of time, the situation would have turned catastrophic.

Never having anticipated such a turn of events, Li Hua repeatedly offered his apologies. "Grand General, this subordinate will never do such a thing again. These Xirong scoundrels truly know how to exploit every weakness."

Pausing for a moment, Li Hua continued, "Supreme General, those men belonged to the Dirong tribe."

The Dirong?

Zhao Zheng pondered the thought. With the Huarong integrated, only three of the four major Xirong tribes remained.

Naturally, these three remaining tribes were tough bones to crack, and doing so by brute force would demand a heavy toll. Thus, they had no choice but to gradually divide and conquer them according to the previously devised strategy.

Yet, he had never expected the Dirong to be the first to jump out and court death.

Hmph, then you shall be the first one I carve up!