Chapter 45 : Reclaiming Cangbei
Chapter 45: Reclaiming Cangbei
With Wusun Tuo’s corpse crashing heavily to the ground—
Even with the Blue Wolf Army’s strict military discipline, chaos still erupted.
Of the two generals in their ranks, Wusun Tuo had been slain, and the other was gravely wounded.
Even though that heavily injured Blue Wolf Valiant General tried to rally his troops, faced with utterly shattered morale, he could do nothing.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the Queshe Army no longer needed to clash head-on with the Blue Wolf Army.
Against the rebel cavalry, they were like wolves among sheep.
Those elite Queshe warriors, skilled in mounted archery, easily took advantage of the rebels’ slow speed and weak defense.
They didn’t even need to close the distance—merely by keeping their distance and “kiting” with arrows, they sent the rebel cavalry tumbling one after another.
Watching their comrades fall in droves without even touching a single Queshe warrior, panic spread among the rebel riders.
After another charge from the Black-Armored Army, the Blue Wolf Valiant General finally made his decision—he ordered a retreat.
The Blue Wolf Army withdrew, but the Black-Armored Army didn’t pursue.
Instead, they turned their blades toward the rebel cavalry.
At Qin Qiong’s command, the Black-Armored Cavalry wheeled about and charged toward the rebels still trying to fend off the Queshe riders.
The two Divine Power Realm generals among the rebels cursed the Blue Wolf Army’s cowardice in fury.
They, too, began ordering their troops to retreat.
But when they saw that dark mass of Black-Armored riders thundering toward them, the poorly disciplined rebel cavalry broke completely—unable even to retreat in formation.
Under the terrified gazes of those two Divine Power Realm rebel generals, the Black-Armored Cavalry displayed their devastating might.
They thundered into the rebel ranks like a stroke of heavy ink drawn across parchment.
After just one charge, over five thousand rebel riders were slain.
Amid the chaos, only a few managed to flee in all directions without order.
Most, trapped by their comrades’ disorder, failed to withdraw in time and suffered yet another devastating charge from the Black-Armored Cavalry.
After four successive assaults, only about ten thousand rebel riders had managed to escape the cavalry’s iron hooves for the moment.
But when they finally thought themselves free, what awaited them was not survival—but ascension.
Tens of thousands of Queshe warriors had already split into multiple squads.
Like hawks hunting fleeing hares, they mercilessly loosed arrows into the routed stragglers.
Meanwhile, Aruba led five thousand Queshe riders, hanging far behind the retreating Blue Wolf Army.
The Queshe had suffered grievous losses in this battle—Aruba alone had lost nearly five thousand brothers.
Such blood debt could not go unpaid.
The Queshe warriors following him, eyes filled with killing intent, wished they could drag every last Blue Wolf rider down from their horses.
Unfortunately, after half an hour of pursuit—nearly thirty li—the Queshe Army had no choice but to withdraw.
Though they had prepared ample quivers of arrows, after several fierce battles, every shaft had been loosed.
If they continued, it wouldn’t be them chasing the Blue Wolf Army, but the Blue Wolf Army chasing them.
Still, the pursuit had been worth it—Aruba and his men had slain six thousand Blue Wolf Iron Cavalry.
Combined with the casualties caused by the Black-Armored Army’s earlier charges, of the Blue Wolf’s twenty thousand riders, fewer than two thousand escaped the battlefield.
As for the Cangbei rebel cavalry, fewer than one in ten survived the encirclement and slaughter.
Even the two Divine Power Realm rebel generals fell beneath Qin Qiong’s blade after only a few exchanges.
Their defeat was not only due to being one realm below Qin Qiong but also to the lack of a battle formation’s support.
For Divine Power Realm experts, their cultivation realm was their “blade.” The higher their realm, the sharper that blade became.
But for them, a military formation served as their “stamina” and “defense.”
With a formation’s blessing, a Divine Power general could draw upon the soldiers’ life force, greatly enhancing endurance and defense.
Only by complementing both could one maximize the strength of both army and general alike.
As one battlefield began its cleanup, the other neared its end.
The Black-Armored Army, coordinating with the three infantry legions, gradually annihilated the remaining Cangbei rebels before executing the four rebel commanders stripped of their troops.
Even at the moment of death, those four rebels could not comprehend why the mighty Blue Wolf Army had never come to their aid.
If their spirits could see from the underworld, knowing the Blue Wolf Army had also lost nine-tenths of its force might have given them some solace.
The blood-red sunset sank below the horizon, and the battlefield along the Cangbei River finally fell silent.
The cleanup lasted a full day and night.
The Blue Wolf’s dark armor and the Black-Armored Army’s black cuirasses were mingled together, and the blood-soaked soil still oozed dark red liquid underfoot.
Soldiers silently carried the bodies of their comrades, piling enemy corpses into small mountains.
Broken weapons, bloodstained banners, and riderless horses—all told of the battle’s savagery.
When the last corpse was buried, Jiang Zhaoming stood atop a rise, gazing down at his reorganizing troops.
The banners of the Black-Armored Army and the Queshe Army still fluttered in the wind—but beneath them, nearly one-third of their men were gone.
“Send my orders.”
His voice was low.
“The Black-Armored and Queshe Armies are to divide and sweep through every county of Cangbei.
Any who resist—kill without mercy.”
The tide of iron hooves surged once more—but this time, not toward death, but toward ending the rebellion.
This battle had completely cemented the renown of the Black-Armored and Queshe Armies.
In the teahouses and taverns near Anxi within the passes, storytellers spat with passion as they retold that earth-shaking war.
“They say that Queshe Army was divine! Twenty thousand riders against seventy thousand, and they made the Blue Wolf Army flee in panic!”
An old man slapped the table in excitement.
“Especially that General Aruba—he shot through the throats of three hundred Blue Wolf riders with a single arrow!”
A young man protested, “The Black-Armored Cavalry was even more incredible! General Qin Qiong beheaded Wusun Tuo in the midst of battle—one swing, and that fiend was cleaved in two!”
Indeed, after this war, the names “Black Armor Shatters Formations” and “Red Plume Chases Souls” spread from Anxi all the way inland.
On the morning of April 22nd—
The defenders of Cangbei City were already terrified out of their wits.
When they saw the two great banners appear on the horizon, their last will to resist crumbled.
“Open the gates! Quickly—open the gates! It’s the Royal Army! The Royal Army has come!” the commander hoarsely shouted.
The heavy city gates slowly opened, and the drawbridge creaked down.
Jiang Zhaoming rode his Jade Dragon Steed forward through the morning light.
The horse’s snow-white body gleamed, a jade horn grew from its brow, and faint clouds curled around its hooves—it was the imperial steed personally bestowed by the Emperor of Great Zhou.
Behind him, Generals Qin Qiong, Aruba, and Cheng Yaojin followed, hands resting on their sword hilts.
Behind them marched the perfectly ordered ranks of the Black-Armored and Queshe elites.
“His Majesty enters the city—!”
The herald’s shout echoed across the city walls.
Commoners knelt along the streets, some weeping openly in joy.
“It’s the Jade Dragon Steed! It’s truly the Prince of Anxi!”
Jiang Zhaoming slowly rode forward, his gaze sweeping over the streets.
An old man sang aloud with trembling voice, a woman clutched her child and sobbed softly, while countless others—faces weathered by war—now glowed once more with hope.
Before the City Lord’s Mansion, Jiang Zhaoming pulled his reins and turned to face his troops.
“After this battle, Cangbei shall forever belong to our Great Zhou.” His voice was not loud, yet each word struck like iron.
“Your deeds shall be remembered for all eternity.”
A thunderous cheer surged through the city.
In that moment, the bloodstained battle flag once again rose atop Cangbei’s walls, fluttering proudly beneath the rising sun.