Loulan's prime minister, Anran Weiji, led a group of his men from the north gate toward the city, intending to find King Weiliao, who was directing the remaining Loulan soldiers and civilians in street fighting.
The army of Cheshi Kingdom had arrived at the city gates, and while Anran Weiji was away, another group of his men launched a surprise attack on the guards at the north gate.
Caught off guard, the exhausted Loulan defenders, after several days of fighting, were no match for the murderous rebels.
Soon the north gate fell into the hands of the rebels, and the city gate was flung open as they prepared to let the Cheshi people from outside the city in.
To their surprise, the first to rush in was a squad of black-armored cavalrymen with murderous intent.
"What happened?"
The hundreds of rebel soldiers looked at each other in disbelief. So, they had opened the city gates to let the Han cavalry in!
Before they could react, a series of gleaming swords were already aimed at them.
Blood splattered, and screams filled the air.
There's no way to stop it!
More than a hundred rebels were killed in no time, their bodies severed from their heads.
The soldiers and civilians of Loulan at the North Gate were also stunned by this sudden change.
The city gates had just been seized by the rebels, but when they opened them, a menacing cavalry unit greeted them.
They actually wiped out the rebels.
"People of Loulan, I am your Princess Sharde!"
"I have invited the mighty and mighty Han cavalry for everyone!"
Just as the soldiers and civilians at the north gate of Loulan were stunned, a man from the Han cavalry appeared.
She took off her helmet, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
Under Liu Wei's guidance, Shard raised his arms and shouted to the Loulan soldiers and civilians who were still standing there in a daze.
"It's Princess Sharde! It's Princess Sharde!"
The soldiers and civilians immediately recognized him and excitedly waved their arms and shouted.
"Everyone, close the city gates immediately and guard the north gate. Don't let the enemy in."
Shard shouted another command.
The remaining defenders at the north gate suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly closed the city gate before rushing back to the city walls to defend it.
Fortunately, the Anjiu and Cheshi cavalry outside the city, out of fear after Liu Wei led his guard battalion through the city, dared not pursue.
They could only watch helplessly as Liu Wei's hundred cavalrymen entered the city.
By the time they realized what was happening and were preparing to follow them into the city, Liu Wei had already led his guard battalion to scatter the rebel army and take control of the north gate.
Anjiu stamped his foot and roared, furious.
What shocked him even more was that the 6,000 cavalrymen who stayed behind to hold off the 6,000 auxiliary soldiers of the Xuanjia Cavalry suffered heavy casualties under the fierce rain of arrows from the auxiliary soldiers.
Each volley of arrows fell claimed the lives of five or six hundred soldiers.
While Liu Wei led a hundred guards cavalrymen to break through Anjiu's three thousand cavalrymen and killed the Xiongnu's minor king, the six thousand Cheshi cavalrymen had already suffered more than half casualties, and the ground was littered with corpses.
However, the range and power of the enemy's arrows did not diminish at all, and they pressed forward relentlessly.
The remaining three thousand cavalrymen were terrified and could only retreat step by step.
When they retreated to Anju's side, only a little over three thousand people remained.
However, none of the other side suffered any casualties.
Anjiu was utterly shocked as he looked at his three thousand terrified subordinates.
He came from the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains in high spirits, but on the way, not only was his son killed, but he also failed to even enter the city of Loulan.
They didn't get a single thing, and lost nearly five thousand people!
It should be noted that although the Cheshi Kingdom had a small population, it only occupied a few cities such as Yiwulu north of the Tianshan Mountains.
However, with the help of the Northern Xiongnu, Anjiu integrated the former Cheshi Kingdom, the latter Cheshi Kingdom, the Pulei Kingdom, and the Wutanzili Kingdom into one.
They expanded their power several times over in an instant, and their army numbered as many as 30,000. In the context of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, they were definitely a top-tier military power.
Apart from the Yuezhi and Dayuan west of the Pamir Mountains, the Cheshi Kingdom of Anju was probably the most powerful.
The 10,000 cavalrymen that Anjiu brought this time were the elite of his Cheshi Kingdom.
However, they suffered heavy losses as soon as they engaged Liu Wei's Han army, even though they had a numerical advantage and were being overwhelmed.
Anjiu then realized that his self-perceived strength was utterly insignificant in front of the Han.
They still have less than five thousand cavalrymen around them, but their morale is extremely low.
The six thousand Han soldiers were still pressing forward step by step.
Anjiu's forces were trapped in an area three miles in circumference below the North Gate.
"Your Majesty, what should we do now?"
The generals around him asked with long faces.
"Retreat! Let's go to the south gate and follow the Xianbei into the city."
Anjiu saw that the north gate of Loulan was closed, and a large number of Loulan soldiers and civilians had appeared on the city wall.
The six thousand Han soldiers behind them had already charged forward.
If we linger here any longer, we might all be wiped out.
"We are cavalry, they can't catch us!"
"The south gate has fallen. We must rush into the city and take some spoils before we leave, otherwise we will be letting down our fallen comrades!"
Anju immediately made a decision he would regret forever.
Unbeknownst to him, at the South Gate, the Han army had an even more formidable and terrifying force waiting for him!
Upon hearing An Jiu's words, the five thousand cavalrymen of Cheshi immediately rushed out from the gap between the north gate and the six thousand auxiliary soldiers of the Xuanjia Army, heading towards the south gate.
Seeing the Cheshi cavalry leave, the Loulan garrison at the north gate breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the six thousand Han auxiliary soldiers outside the city slowly approached.
The neat military bearing, the excellent equipment, and the palpable sense of danger instantly gave the Loulan people a strong sense of security.
"Open the city gates and let them in!" Liu Wei ordered.
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