Gunpowder and smoke filled the battlefield.
Besieged by an enemy six times their number, Bodo gradually began to falter, and his cavalry began to retreat steadily.
This time, he was completely outmatched by the Great Yu Empire’s army in terms of both numbers and weaponry. Looking at his continuously falling soldiers, he grew increasingly desperate.
As the main gate was breached, the other three city gates of Yazhou City were also successively breached. Cavalry and musketeers poured in through the city gates, continuously compressing the barbarian cavalry’s front line.
From fighting in the morning until noon, Bodo’s forces dwindled. Eventually, only a few hundred cavalry remained, surrounded in the center of the city.
At this point, they were being targeted by musketeers. With a single command, they would immediately perish.
Sixty thousand men against ten thousand men—this was a war without surprises. Luo Quan, Lu Fei, and Qi Guangyi now appeared outside the encirclement.
Luo Quan recognized Bodo at a glance.
“Long time no see, Bodo. I didn’t expect us to meet here today,” Luo Quan said, a hint of sarcasm playing on his lips.
He had fought Bodo many times on the grasslands.
Bodo looked at Luo Quan upon hearing his voice. His pupils briefly dilated before returning to normal. He said to Luo Quan, “So it’s you.”
Luo Quan snorted coldly, “It is I! I was certain you wouldn’t leave Bashu so quickly this time. You are indeed the same greedy Bodo as before. You haven’t changed at all in this regard.”
Bodo’s eyes narrowed. He said angrily, “I never thought I would be defeated at your hands one day.”
“You were not defeated at my hands, but at the hands of the Great Yu Empire’s soldiers. The era when barbarians could run rampant is over,” Luo Quan said calmly.
Bodo suddenly burst into laughter. “Luo Quan, you speak too soon! Do you really think the Great Yu Empire can defeat the Golden Tent Khanate with just firearms? Don’t forget, the Golden Tent Khanate spans the entire Silk Road. We are far wealthier than you imagine.”
“Gold can’t be eaten as food,” Luo Quan said satirically.
“But it can be used for trade,” Bodo grinned malevolently.
Lu Fei, seeing this, said angrily, “You will soon learn that what you owe the Great Yu Empire will be repaid immediately.”
Bodo looked at Lu Fei and said meaningfully, “At that time, with both sides severely weakened, your Great Yu Empire will surely be unable to defend itself.”
With that, he said no more.
Lu Fei snorted coldly, “I’m afraid you won’t live to see that day.”
With that, he waved his hand. The soldiers, receiving the order, opened fire on Bodo and the remaining cavalry. After a volley of gunfire, all the remaining barbarian cavalry fell under the bullets.
The hatred in the soldiers’ hearts had not yet dissipated. They rushed forward and continuously stabbed their bayonets into Bodo’s body.
Luo Quan and the other two watched quietly. On their way here, they had passed through dozens of villages, and without exception, these villages had been plundered by the barbarians.
The villages were burned, and the villagers who couldn’t escape were cruelly massacred. From Songzhou to Yazhou, the soldiers witnessed too many tragedies.
Now, a fire burned in their hearts. It was this butcher who ordered the massacre of the Great Yu Empire’s common people. How could they not hate him?
After completely annihilating Bodo and the cavalry he led, Luo Quan, Lu Fei, and the others did not relax. This was because 50,000 barbarian cavalry and nearly 60,000 barbarian slave soldiers were still heading towards Yazhou.
They immediately began to repair the city walls. Based on intelligence from scouts, they ambushed outside the city overnight.
At the same time, to demoralize the barbarian cavalry, Luo Quan ordered Bodo’s head to be cut off and hung on the city wall. While the barbarian cavalry might still resist upon seeing Bodo dead, the barbarian slave soldiers would certainly quickly collapse at the sight.
…
Yizhou.
Less than an hour after the barbarian slave soldiers withdrew, a hunter cavalryman entered the city.
“What! Generals Lu Fei and Luo Quan have taken Songzhou City!” Di Ying was overjoyed.
A smile also appeared on the Third Prince’s face. These past few days, they had been on edge daily. Now that the main army was coming to their aid, this crisis would surely be resolved quickly.
“It’s just that the people of Bashu have suffered. This time, the barbarians must have ravaged them terribly,” Xiao Zhen lamented.
He was in charge of the political affairs of Yizhou Province. Now, he had developed deep feelings for this place. First Prince Zhao, and now the barbarians—why was this Land of Abundance so afflicted?
Di Ying had no time for the Third Prince’s compassion now. As long as the barbarians in Bashu were not eliminated, the common people here would continue to suffer.
He said to his deputy general, “Immediately gather the troops. Leave five thousand men to defend the city. The rest will follow me to Yazhou to completely wipe out the barbarians with General Luo Quan.”
“Yes!” the deputy general shouted. They had been feeling stifled these past few days, tightly besieged in Yizhou City by the barbarian slave soldiers. Now, they finally had a chance to retaliate.
After assembling his army, Di Ying immediately set off. Luo Quan’s order was for them to launch a pincer attack on this group of slave soldiers.
After two days of marching, with Yazhou City only half a day away, Di Ying suddenly discovered a large number of barbarian slave soldiers fleeing towards them.
He looked closer and saw Qi Guangyi leading cuirassiers, driving these slave soldiers like ducks.
Seeing this, he grinned widely and immediately ordered his soldiers to cooperate with the cuirassiers to capture the slave soldiers.
With Di Ying’s arrival, Qi Guangyi no longer focused his energy on the slave soldiers. Just as Luo Quan had thought, the slave soldiers’ morale was already weak. Now that Bodo was dead, they immediately collapsed.
However, to prevent these routed soldiers from causing trouble, they had to capture all of them.
Having disengaged from the task of capturing slave soldiers, Qi Guangyi led his cavalry towards Songzhou City.
Before Di Ying arrived, two ten-thousand-man units had already reached Songzhou City. Seeing Bodo’s head hanging on the city gate, these barbarian cavalry experienced a brief moment of confusion.
But at the same time, they also walked into the trap set by Luo Quan. Qi Guangyi, who was lying in ambush outside, led his cavalry to attack the barbarian cavalry. The musketeers inside the city cooperated with them, completely surrounding twenty thousand men.
The battle went very smoothly, because the barbarian cavalry’s horses were now laden with plundered goods, which became their burden.
The cattle and sheep they drove now became obstacles in their way.
Bodo’s death, coupled with being attacked from front and rear, caused the demoralized barbarian cavalry to lose all will to fight and fall into complete disarray.
After half a day of fierce fighting, the barbarian cavalry suffered eight thousand dead and twelve thousand captured. At this time, they also learned that another three ten-thousand-man units had directly reached Songzhou City.
Now, Qi Guangyi was preparing to rush to Songzhou City to encircle and annihilate this batch of barbarian cavalry.