"Eldest brother, second brother, Marshal Yueji's journey is sure to be fraught with peril!"
"If Marshal Yueji is defeated, we must advise Father to prepare a response as soon as possible!"
Yueji led his 15,000 Qiang cavalrymen and pressed aggressively towards Zhangye city.
Meanwhile, an eight-year-old boy with a handsome face standing next to Ma Teng whispered to two other young men dressed in military uniforms.
"Chao-di, keep your voice down. How old are you? What do you know?"
"It's already against the rules for your father to bring you to the army, so you should observe more and speak less."
The elder brother, Ma Xiu, quickly covered Ma Chao's mouth.
"Chao Di, do not speak recklessly about military matters. If Father hears you, he will surely blame your elder brothers for not disciplining you properly."
Second Brother Ma Tie also scolded.
"But I'm telling the truth!"
Ma Chao glared at him, looking quite unconvinced.
"What are you three brothers making such a racket about? No loud noises in the army, or you will be court-martialed."
Ma Teng watched the surging Qiang cavalry disappear into the distance, lost in thought.
He overheard his three sons arguing, and Ma Teng immediately reprimanded them.
"Please forgive me, Father!" Ma Tie and Ma Xiu apologized repeatedly. Seeing that Ma Chao was unmoved, they pulled him along with them.
“Why should I apologize? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Ma Chao stubbornly replied.
Ma Chao was exceptionally intelligent and handsome from a young age, resembling a porcelain doll.
What's even more astonishing is that Ma Chao possessed superhuman strength and could learn all eighteen martial arts techniques in a flash.
Ma Teng treated Ma Chao even more harshly than Ma Tie and Ma Xiu because Ma Chao was born out of wedlock.
He intended to train Ma Chao to be a valiant general of the Ma family, rather than someone who would inherit the family business.
"Chao'er, what did you say? Can you tell me?"
Ma Teng quickly ascertained the reason for the commotion and was astonished to learn that Ma Chao had predicted Yue Ji's defeat.
"Father, yesterday, the two thousand heavy cavalry under the command of that King of Yunzhong not only moved freely among our seventy thousand troops, but also killed twenty thousand of our soldiers!"
When Ma Chao saw that Ma Teng had asked him to speak, he immediately began to speak eloquently, “However, this morning, the heavily armored cavalry was not in the city; they left early in the morning.”
"I deduce that he did this on purpose, using heavily armed cavalry to lure us into attacking."
"This heavily armored cavalry must have set up an ambush somewhere, waiting for Yueji to get caught up in the fierce battle before launching a sudden attack."
Ma Teng frowned.
Ma Chao was only eight years old, yet he made such a deduction based solely on the details he heard and saw, which was already beyond the reach of ordinary people.
However, Ma Teng had already considered these possibilities, and immediately sneered:
"Chao'er, if this heavily armored cavalry dares to appear outside the city, we also have the latter, and we will make them regret it!"
Ma Chao shook his little head:
“Father, I have considered this issue, but I am worried about another problem.”
"If this heavily armored cavalry did indeed leave the city, they will not return."
"He could naturally have predicted that we would send the Qiang cavalry to attack the city."
"If we don't recall that cavalry, he'll definitely have even more formidable preparations in the city."
"Given Marshal Yue Ji's intelligence, he'll probably fall for it soon."
"If this happens, it will be a devastating blow; the Qiang cavalry might be wiped out."
"Therefore, the father needs to make plans early."
Ma Teng thought about it carefully and found it made more and more sense, but he was still unwilling to give up.
There are only three or four thousand people in the city, what powerful tricks could they possibly have up their sleeves?
"Chao'er, I understand! Xiu'er, take your third brother to rest! Tie'er, take our Ma family's personal guard cavalry and come with me to watch the battle."
After saying this, Ma Teng abandoned Ma Chao and Ma Xiu, and led Ma Tie and a thousand cavalrymen to follow Yue Ji at a distance.
"Alas, although Father believed it to some extent, there was no way to deal with or prevent it!"
"These 15,000 Qiang cavalrymen might all end up buried in Hexi!"
......
Boom boom boom!
Fifteen thousand Qiang cavalrymen were divided into more than ten thousand-man squads and surged toward Zhangye City like a tide.
The vanguard cavalry were only a hundred paces away from the moat.
Meanwhile, the middle section of the Qiang cavalry army had already entered within a thousand paces, and naturally also entered the range markings of the three crossbows on the city wall.
Geng Chun, standing atop the city wall, estimated that at least seven thousand Qiang cavalrymen had entered firing range.
One hundred strongmen operating twenty triple-bow crossbows had sweaty palms.
Three thousand infantrymen, also wielding crossbows, had already drawn their bows to their fullest extent, nocked arrows, and stood motionless at a forty-five-degree angle.
They held their breath and awaited their commander's orders!
Their faces were filled with excitement and anticipation at the prospect of massacring other races.
Liu Wei and Shen Lian, standing on the city gate tower, stared intently at the Qiang cavalry surging in like the Qiantang River tide, their breathing becoming more cautious.
The visual impact of tens of thousands of cavalry charging together is something that most people cannot directly witness.
When the nomadic cavalry attacked a city, they would typically approach the city walls in waves and launch mounted archery attacks on the walls.
Use concentrated firepower to suppress the city walls, providing cover for infantry to scale the walls and breach the city gates.
Once the city gates were breached, the cavalry surged in like a flood.
The defending forces in the city suffered a crushing defeat.
When Liu Wei saw the Qiang cavalry approach within a hundred paces, he took out his willow bow and prepared to shoot at the city wall from horseback.
He immediately ordered: "Send word to Li Siye to open the city gates!"
Hehehe!
The city gate of Zhangye was wide open, revealing the dark and gloomy gate opening.
However, Liu Wei opened the city gates on his own initiative, leaving the Qiang cavalrymen who were preparing to ride and shoot completely bewildered.
What!
"The other side actually opened the city gates, what's going on here?"
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