Chapter 105: Cavalry

The appearance of refugees signaled that their homes had likely already been pillaged and razed by the Qiang soldiers. When he had climbed the gate tower that morning to gaze into the distance, the scene outside the city had been peaceful, despite the gloomy sky. The fact that the refugees were arriving at the city walls now meant they had begun their flight from as early as that morning.

This indicated that the Qiang forces had already passed through Red Mud Valley earlier today, moving from west to east, burning and looting as they went. If this were true, the vanguard of the Qiang army would be at the gates of Anqiang before midday!

Qi Jun dared not dwell on the thought any longer and hurried toward the west gate. Outside the gate, refugees fleeing from the west crowded together, clutching what few belongings they had left.

"Official! Please, let us in! I beg you!"
"The Qiang burned our houses; we have nowhere else to go! Please, have mercy and open the gates!"
"Official! Let me and my child in! Give us a chance to survive!"
"Stop pushing from the back... we can't get through the front..."

Standing on the gate tower, Qi Jun looked down at the desperate, sorrowful faces and listened to the cries of helpless people begging for their lives; his heart felt as if it were being wrung until it bled.

"Open the gates!" Qi Jun commanded in a low, grim voice. As the County Commandant of Anqiang, he now had the authority to open or close the city gates.

"But... with so many people, what if Qiang scouts are mixed in among them?" the county guard beside him hesitated. He dared not defy the order, yet he harbored realistic fears.

"Listen, fellow villagers! We are opening the gates to let you all in. But the elderly, women, and children must go first; the able-bodied men must wait at the back! Anyone caught cutting in line or causing disorder will be beheaded!" Qi Jun shouted down to the crowd, and the previously chaotic mass immediately stabilized.

Under Qi Jun's arrangement, the gate was opened just wide enough for a single person to pass through. The guards stood in two rows, creating a narrow path that allowed only one person at a time.

"Line up and come in one by one! Everyone must speak a phrase in the Anqiang dialect until they have passed through!" Qi Jun stood on the tower, watching the refugees file in, then looked toward the distant horizon, his anxiety deepening.

The Qiang soldiers were in hot pursuit, and the number of refugees would only increase. If they continued to enter at this speed, it would take an entire day just for them to finish passing through. Furthermore, the grain supply within the city was finite. A massive influx of people would lead to soaring prices, a shortage of public space, and a surge in public security incidents, inevitably sparking conflict between the original residents and the newcomers. If the Qiang army then besieged the city without attacking, and reinforcements failed to arrive within a week, many would starve to death.

Qi Jun gazed at the endless stream of refugees, his heart torn. He could choose to seal the gate now; the current population was still within the city’s capacity.

However, once the gates were closed, regardless of whether it was fair to those left outside, the city was not guaranteed to be free of security risks.

"Sir, there is a mute here! He can neither speak the dialect nor produce an identity tag. What should we do?" A guard stopped an old man, unable to verify his status.

"Tie him up and lock him away separately for now! We will verify his identity later."

Just then, the refugees in the distance suddenly erupted in panic, causing those already at the front to scramble frantically through the gate.

"Don't push! One by one... hey... stop pushing..."

As the refugees surged forward in desperation, the pressure on the guards maintaining order increased significantly. They could no longer hold back the tide of people, and the gap in the gate was pushed wider and wider.

Qi Jun strained his eyes toward the distance, where he saw a dozen mounted figures emerging among the refugees.

"Qiang cavalry scouts!"

Qi Jun gasped. The Qiang soldiers had arrived much faster than he had anticipated. The dozen dark silhouettes were weaving through the crowd, slashing and killing indiscriminately, driving the refugees to scramble toward the gate with all their might. If the gate could not be fully closed due to the obstruction of the refugees when the main body of the Qiang cavalry arrived, his plan to lure them into a "Hongmen Banquet" and trap them would be impossible to execute.

The screams and wails of the refugees ignited the beastly nature of the Qiang soldiers. They lowered their long spears and began a murderous game, competing to see whose spear could pierce the most refugees.

Qi Jun stared at the atrocious, bestial behavior of the scouts, his mouth trembling with extreme fury. He knew these Qiang soldiers were provoking the guards, using the slaughter of refugees to trample the dignity of the Great Liang under their hooves and spears.

He realized that his plan had no chance of success in the face of such developments. He had been wrong; he had thought the Qiang people were more civilized. He had believed that through negotiations with He Wenxing, they might take over Anqiang peacefully and would not resort to pillaging villages and slaughtering civilians.

Barbarians were barbarians after all; only swords, bows, and crossbows were languages they understood.

"Bring me my horse! Give me a blade and a crossbow. Once I am out, close the gates!" Qi Jun left the tower in a rage, shouting to the guards at the gate.

The refugees preparing to squeeze through suddenly saw a scholar riding toward them, his face filled with fury. They panicked and scrambled to either side, parting a path for him. The guards seized the opportunity to push hard and reseal the gate.

The Qiang scouts, immersed in the thrill of slaughter, were slightly taken aback to see a lone rider charge out from the city. They abandoned the fleeing refugees and surrounded Qi Jun in a fan formation.

"Look at this Liang man; he's been scared silly and has come out seeking death! Watch me take his head!" one scout said in the Qiang tongue, laughing as he charged ahead.

The scout smirked with absolute confidence and thrust his spear fiercely at Qi Jun. Qi Jun leaned to the side, barely dodging the strike. As he brushed past the soldier, he turned, grabbed his crossbow, and fired an arrow into the man's back. The scout, never expecting such a move, shrieked and fell from his horse, his body dragged along by the mount for a long distance before coming to a halt.

"The Liang man is despicable; he used a sneak attack! Kill him!" The remaining Qiang soldiers realized what had happened and, cursing, raised their spears and closed in on Qi Jun.

Qi Jun knew that if he were trapped by their spear formation, he would be in danger. He did not dare to be careless, swinging his blade to parry the incoming spears before turning his horse to circle behind the cavalry. Seeing that Qi Jun had seen through their formation before they could complete the encirclement, the riders were visibly annoyed.

They split into two groups to pursue him, attempting to strike from both flanks with their spears. Qi Jun’s pack horse was naturally slower than the Qiang warhorses, and he was soon caught. The riders kept pace with him, closing in from both sides with their spears raised.

The gleaming, cold spearheads thrust toward him from both sides simultaneously. Qi Jun gritted his teeth; at the very moment the spears were thrust out, he slammed his hands against the horse's back and vaulted into the air.

The sharp tips of the spears flashed past, almost grazing his crotch. Qi Jun felt a chill run through him, relieved that he had dodged in time, or else he might have been inadvertently castrated by these Qiang riders.