"Hiss!" On the battlements of Yongxing Fortress, a Yan general seemed to hear a sound, but couldn't identify its origin. As he leaned out to peer down, a projectile suddenly flew from the darkness, lodging itself in the throat of a Yan general with a "thud."
The Yan general clutched his throat, blood seeping through his fingers, unable to stem the flow. He let out a gurgling sound and fell backward, his eyes wide open in death, never knowing what had struck him.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Barbarian cavalry attacking the camp! Barbarian cavalry attacking the camp!"
"Take cover! Take cover!"
At this point, how could the Yan army not know what was happening? Many drowsy Yan soldiers were jolted from their sleep, grabbing various weapons and rushing to the ramparts. Some soldiers still didn't know the situation, peering out from the fortress walls.
"Take cover! Take cover! Everyone down, down!" a Yan general shouted, brandishing his saber.
"Swish... swish... swish..." Before the Yan general's words had finished, the sound of whistling arrows filled the air. Countless arrows, carrying a terrifying whizzing sound, flew from the darkness, hurtling towards the ramparts and the Yan soldiers defending the fortress.
The arrows struck the ramparts with a series of "thudding" sounds. Those that hit the defending Yan soldiers made "splatting" noises. The hit soldiers either fell onto the ramparts or cried out as they tumbled beyond the walls, their screams piercing the deep night.
Interspersed with the rain of arrows were stones. Though not large, they were sufficient to smash gaping holes into the ramparts or to strike the defending Yan soldiers, causing them to bleed from the nose and mouth and suffer broken bones.
These stones were likely hurled by the slave soldiers of Lin Yue.
Arrows and stones alike battered Yongxing Fortress, leaving it riddled with holes.
"Archers, return fire!"
The defending Yan soldiers, who had just grabbed their bows and arrows, now shot wildly towards the enemy. Without clear targets, they merely fired in the direction from which the arrows were coming. Even so, the Yan soldiers could clearly hear screams from the distance – the cries of the slave soldiers being hit.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Our master said whoever is the first to charge into the fortress will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a hundred taels of gold!"
"May the Moon God protect us! Kill!"
At this moment, a chaotic and dense sound of hooves echoed. Four sturdy horses, carrying four slave soldier desperadoes, galloped towards the fortress gate. The four desperadoes held the reins in one hand and a thick rope in the other, one end of which was tied to a massive battering ram.
"Stop them! Don't let them get near the gate!"
The defending Yan soldiers, drawing their bows, fired at the four slave soldier desperadoes.
Arrows rained down upon the desperadoes. They grunted as they were hit, but as long as they weren't killed, they gritted their teeth and pressed on, reaching the fortress gate before they were all shot down, men and horses alike, impaled with arrows, blood staining the ground.
The massive battering ram, now uncontrolled, rolled to the ground and slammed into the gate with a deafening "boom."
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Countless slave soldiers, brandishing various weapons and carrying torches, surged from the darkness, intent on picking up the battering ram at the gate and smashing it open.
The Yan archers desperately fired at the approaching slave soldiers. A barrage of arrows and stones flew back and forth, forming shimmering webs in the air amidst the countless torchlights, a truly terrifying sight.
The slave soldiers furiously attacked Yongxing Fortress, some hoisting crude scaling ladders to climb the walls, others using the battering ram to violently strike the gate, or hurling stones, arrows, and javelins at the Yan soldiers on the ramparts.
The Yan army was outnumbered. The slave army was vast. Thus, they could only desperately defend Yongxing Fortress, fighting back with arrows, rolling logs, and stones. Slave soldiers fell to the ground constantly, and Yan soldiers were knocked off the ramparts.
The groans of the dying, the screams of the injured, the shouts of combat, and the roars of anger filled the air. The area around Heqiao within the fortress was instantly littered with haphazardly strewn corpses.
Rivers of blood flowed, and the ground was littered with bodies – a scene of exceptional brutality and carnage.
The slave army, though numerous, possessed extremely rudimentary weaponry and equipment. Most wore leather or beast hide armor, or even simple cloth garments. Large shields, whether wooden or iron, were rare. Yet, every slave soldier fought fearlessly. When one fell, another would step over their corpse and continue the assault on Yongxing Fortress. They were determined to take Yongxing Fortress or die on the battlefield, never to turn back.
The most intense fighting occurred near the gate of Yongxing Fortress. Countless slave soldiers gathered there, wielding the battering ram and repeatedly striking the gate. The crude gate groaned with each blow, shaking precariously, on the verge of being breached. Once the gate fell, the slave army would pour in, and the Yan army's fate would be sealed, Yongxing Fortress lost.
The Yan general in charge of the defense became greatly alarmed. He ordered oil to be poured at the gate and set ablaze, creating a raging inferno that incinerated the slave soldiers gathered nearby, their screams filling the air, along with a sickening smell of burning flesh.
Even so, it did not halt the slave army's assault.
With a thunderous "boom," the gate finally succumbed. It was shattered and broken by the battering ram, collapsing inwards with flames, crushing several Yan soldiers who were defending it from behind.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Seeing the gate breached, the slave army erupted in cheers and swarmed through the opening. Leading the charge were dozens of burly men wielding thick wooden clubs.
These were the "Bangjie Nu" (Club-Wielding Slaves) of the slave army, their name signifying their reliance on clubs.
Dozens of these powerful slave soldiers, each holding a thick wooden club, their eyes bloodshot and wide, swung their clubs like windmills, smashing through the Yan army's wooden palisades and the damaged gate, charging into the camp towards the Yan soldiers.
Countless Yan soldiers were struck down by the thick clubs, their bones broken.
The battle had raged for less than an hour before Yongxing Fortress was breached by the slave army. The Yan army's fate was sealed. Some Yan soldiers fought to the death within the camp, while most of the remaining soldiers abandoned the fortress and fled.
As the saying goes, "When besieging a city, leave a gap." Lin Yue had left an opening on the west gate of Yongxing Fortress. The fleeing Yan soldiers poured out through the west gate and retreated westward.
As the slave army poured into Yongxing Fortress after its capture, Zhou Fugui led two hundred iron cavalry at the forefront.
......
"Erlang, Erlang..." Xu Mancang, wielding a long-handled ring-pommel saber, rushed up to Zhou Fugui, panting, and asked, "How is it?"
"How is what? Run!" Zhou Fugui glared at Xu Mancang and then said to his two hundred subordinates.
The slave army of Lin Yue had just captured Yongxing Fortress. A throng of slave soldiers had poured in, and the defending Yan army was fleeing westward. In the dead of night, with fires raging to the sky, Yongxing Fortress was in utter chaos. What a perfect opportunity to escape!
If not now, then when?
"Run? Where to run?" Li Qing asked blankly, not having fully grasped the situation.
"Run westward. Just say you were pursuing the enemy," Zhou Fugui replied.
Princess Lin Yue, I have wronged you. If fate allows us to meet again, I will repay your mercy for not killing me. Zhou Fugui glanced in the direction of Lin Yue, then turned his horse and led the charge towards the west gate of Yongxing Fortress.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Hey, the dog thief is running fast! Chase them, don't let them get away!"
"..."
Zhou Fugui and his two hundred subordinates, brandishing their sabers, galloped their horses, chasing after the Yan soldiers. They sped out of the west gate, then turned north outside the gate and vanished into the night.
The south was filled with Xiongnu. It was better to head north first, then find an opportunity to descend south and return to Xue Lin City.
Zhou Fugui and his two hundred riders fled like stray dogs and fish that had escaped a net, desperately galloping their horses. The further they got from the main Xiongnu forces, the safer they would be.
......
"Where is Commander Zhou?" After a group of slave soldiers escorted Lin Yue into Yongxing Fortress, Lin Yue searched for a long time but couldn't find Zhou Fugui. She asked the slave soldiers within the fortress.
When the slave army attacked Yongxing Fortress, Zhou Fugui had volunteered to be the vanguard, requesting his two hundred cavalry to attack with him. Lin Yue had initially wanted to refuse, but thinking it would allow him to earn some merit and be promoted in the future, she had let him go.
However, Lin Yue now felt a gnawing sense of unease.
Could he have taken the opportunity to escape? Lin Yue thought to herself.
"Commander Zhou led his troops out the west gate to pursue the Yan army!" a slave general who had seen Zhou Fugui and his men answered loudly.
"Pursue? Quickly send someone to call him back," Lin Yue said, frowning.
"Alas, Princess Consort, it's unlikely we can call him back. He has surely escaped," Zhun Jin sighed.
"Why do you know he has escaped?" Lin Yue asked.
"When besieging a city, leave a gap. He wasn't leaving an escape route for the Yan army, but for himself," Zhun Jin replied.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Lin Yue glared at Zhun Jin and asked.
"Hearts are hidden beneath faces," Zhun Jin said calmly.
"Zhun Jin, dispatch a swift rider to capture him," Lin Yue then ordered Zhun Jin.
In fact, when Lin Yue agreed to Zhou Fugui being the vanguard, she had kept a contingency. She had only provided Zhou Fugui and his men with one horse each. For a long-distance pursuit, one horse was far from enough; they would need two or even three horses, ridden in rotation and allowed to rest, to cover long distances.
Given the short time, Zhou Fugui and his men couldn't have gotten too far. Lin Yue dispatched some hunters skilled in tracking, equipped with two or three horses each. It was possible to capture Zhou Fugui and his men, and the odds were not insignificant.
Zhou Fugui, you little thief, you have gone too far in deceiving me! Lin Yue thought in shame and anger. When I catch you, I will pour that entire bucket of bathwater down your throat.
The war was urgent, so why worry about a mere Zhou Fugui and his small band of soldiers?
Zhun Jin opened his mouth to advise, but only gestured with it, not uttering a single word.