Chapter 92 Escape
The next day, Qi Rong hung Hadar outside the city gate. Hadar was suspended by ropes with his hands tightly bound and dangled from the city wall. His hands were bruised and purple from being bound for a long time. In the cold winter wind, he died within half a day.
The people in the city loathed these Tartars who often came down to gather hay. The two sides were sworn enemies for generations. When they saw Hadar hanging under the city wall, the old, the young and the children gathered under the city gate and threw stones at the Tartar nobleman.
After just one night, Hadar's body, especially his head, was covered in blood from being smashed. Dark red blood congealed in patches on Hadar's hair, and by the next morning, Hadar's fate was unknown.
Only upon close inspection can one discover that there is actually a slight rise and fall in the person's chest.
On the third day, the hidden heavy cavalrymen regrouped and then planned to abduct the man. Hadar was a nobleman and was still alive. If they were to easily abandon a nobleman's life, their group would not get away with it if they went back on their own, especially the few guards. Without anyone pleading for their lives, they would surely die.
As night fell, Qi Rong sat leisurely in his room atop the city wall, sipping tea and reading military strategy books. The traps below the city wall had already been set up, and most of the remaining Tartars who dared to come up would be trapped here. As for Hadar, he would not be able to return alive either.
The three commanders sat down next to Qi Rong. Commander Shi was already yawning: "Commander, will they come tonight? I'm getting sleepy waiting."
Commander Ma stretched and said, "Let's wait. When has the commander ever made a mistake?"
Qi Rong turned a page of his military strategy book without looking up: "Wait a little longer, they'll come today."
Commander Ma took a sip of tea: "I wonder if that kid Changping succeeded. Whether we go hungry this year depends on him."
Qi Rong slightly raised his eyes: "You've arrived."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tea on the table trembled slightly. Commander Ma and several other colleagues stood up happily: "Let's go, let's go, we're going to have some merit tonight, hahaha."
After saying that, the group quickly went out the door, ready to launch a trap.
Qi Rong shook his head and sighed, remaining calmly seated, waiting for the cavalry to fall into his trap before heading to the city wall.
Not only were there traps set up beneath the city walls, but also men who had been lying in ambush long ago. If the cavalry were determined to break through to rescue the people, they would lose at least half of their men.
Moments later, shouts of battle and screams of the Tartars rang out from below. Qi Rong smiled and was in a very good mood.
As the noise gradually subsided, Qi Rong climbed the city wall. He saw that Hadar had been rescued at some point, and more than two hundred heavily armored soldiers surrounded him. Their battle formation tightly surrounded a group of cavalry in the center. It was obvious without even looking that many cavalrymen had died below the city wall.
Qi Rong's brow twitched. Where were the men lying in ambush on the right?
Under the cover of night, Qi Rong could only stare at a few places with firelight. With half of the ambushers gone, it seemed that these hundreds of cavalrymen would not survive. Before Qi Rong could ask the guards beside him, Shi Qianhu, his face covered in dust, climbed up and shouted, "Commander, Commander, it's too dark at night. Old Ma's group overtook them and fell into the pit we set up along with the enemy cavalry!"
"......"
Qi Rong covered his face, unsure whether to be angry or speechless. After taking a deep breath, he ordered, "One less squad won't be enough to stop the enemy's heavy armor. Have the infantry retreat first, and I'll lead the remaining cavalry to attack."
After saying that, he descended the city wall with a dark face. Commander Shi followed behind him timidly, not daring to breathe, and was secretly worried for Commander Ma.
Good heavens, Old Ma is too eager for credit this time, he's probably going to get into trouble. The commander's face turned pale, and he even has to get involved himself. Oh no, he's doomed.
Qi Rong assembled his troops and charged out of the city gate. The sound of the heavy hooves startled the heavy cavalry on the other side. In an instant, the heavy cavalry quickly turned around and broke through to the grassland. The infantry who had received the order did not really block them, and the heavy cavalry quickly tore a gap in the wall and rushed out.
The cool moonlight broke through the dark clouds and shone on the battlefield. The shadows of heavily armored cavalrymen ran swiftly across the grassland. The lead cavalryman's black iron armor gleamed gray in the moonlight. He was covered in grime and carrying Hadar on his back. He kept turning his head to look at the cavalrymen who were getting closer and closer to them.
Qi Rong's silver armor gleamed in the moonlight as he led several hundred men in a tidal wave of charge towards the heavily armored cavalry in front. His long sword flashed coldly as he stared intently at the leading cavalryman: "Pursue with all your might! Kill!"
The sound of pursuing hooves grew closer and closer. Several cavalrymen who had fallen behind disappeared into the grassland in an instant. Qi Rong's hundreds of cavalrymen were like a vicious wolf, biting off the tails of the heavy armored soldiers as soon as they caught up.
The cavalrymen behind them, once they caught up with someone lagging behind, had no time to fight back before being pulled off their horses. A flash of cold light, and a long blade pierced through the gap into the throat, instantly taking their lives.
The general at the forefront gritted his teeth, sending a group to hold off the enemy while he led the rest of his men to run forward with all their might. The wind howled in their ears, and under the moonlight, the group had no courage to fight back; they only wanted to escape with their leader as quickly as possible.
The shouts of battle behind them were like maggots clinging to their bones, and the shadow of death followed them everywhere. Suddenly, shouts of battle came from the front, heading straight for reinforcements. The leading cavalryman was overjoyed. These were the thousand cavalrymen they had left outside. They must have seen them rescue their leader and come to their aid.
Qi Rong led his men to meet them, and the two groups clashed instantly. However, it only lasted a short while before the cavalry withdrew and fled with the heavy armor in front. Seeing that the distance between them was getting farther and farther, Qi Rong was unwilling to give up and rode Yunzhui to catch up.
Seeing the distance slowly widening, Qi Rong snatched a bow and arrow from his guard and quickly gave chase. In the moonlight, the figure of the cavalryman leading the charge, carrying Hadar on his back, was particularly clear. Qi Rong abandoned his cavalry and pursued relentlessly. When the distance was sufficient, he drew his bow, aimed at the cavalryman who was rescuing the man, and fired an arrow.
"Whoosh~"
An arrow flew out swiftly and struck Hadar. The impact of the arrow caused the unconscious Hadar to stagger and fall off his horse, but he was caught by the cavalry behind him.
Watching the man flee further and further away, Qi Rong felt a pang of regret. He was certain that Hadar had been hit by an arrow, but it was a pity that it hadn't struck a vital spot.
It's unclear whether this arrow will kill him.
Seeing that the men had run far away, Qi Rong sighed and led his men back to the city wall. In the large pit below the city, Commander Ma had already dealt with most of the cavalrymen in the pit. He saw the commander riding up on horseback by the firelight, looking up with a fawning smile.
In the firelight, Ma Qianhu's dirty face in the pit was full of guilt and unease.
"Hey, command! We've captured quite a few warhorses from the pit, hehe."
As he spoke, he limped and stood on tiptoe to look outside. Qi Rong sighed and waved for someone to pull him up: "Go back and receive twenty lashes."
The commander, Ma, who had been pulled up with great effort, stood by the pit, head bowed, clutching his helmet like a schoolboy waiting to be scolded. Hearing Qi Rong speak, he hurriedly responded.
"Hey, Commander, I'll go back and accept the punishment."
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