Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 5: The Two Divisions of Han, Battling to Secure Hexi Chapter 151: The Capture of Gaoping

In the face of this first battle heading straight for Gaoping, Qiao Yan had no extra energy to consider winning over the Qiang tribes to use them for her own purposes.

Gaoping City is bordered by the Qingshui River to the south and the Yinma River to the north, with the rivers forming a moat around the city. Not far to the east and west are mountains, which, while not high enough to allow an attacking force to gain a commanding position, do limit the deployment of troops for a siege.

Thus, the only option is to follow the river valley and launch an attack on the city.

And this is an absolutely fortified city.

In the past, Emperor Guangwu, in his campaign to pacify the separatist forces of Wei Xiao in Longyou, had to remove the thorn that was Gaoping. However, Wei Xiao’s general, Gao Jun, stubbornly held Gaoping City for over a year. If it weren’t for his strategist, Huangfu Wen, being killed while on a diplomatic mission, Gao Jun might not have surrendered due to the lack of a strategist.

Even though Gaoping City had not yet built a second outer city wall during the Northern Zhou period, the inner city alone was enough to give the attackers a hard time.

So—

Only a swift attack will do!

The entire force she led was like an arrow piercing the heart of Liangzhou, striking with thunderous momentum for the glory of this battle!

She could not be stalled by Gaoping City, like the Liangzhou rebels who besieged Chencang, becoming a negative example of wasting military strength and being routed during retreat!

Qiao Yan coldly watched the river valley ahead.

To minimize losses in the siege and to intimidate Beidi Commandery and Anding Commandery, these Qiang people had to become sacrifices under her blade.

As for the Han people, they were forcibly conscripted into the logistics transport team.

Although Gai Xun, the Prefect of Wudu Commandery, had his position stripped by Dong Zhuo, it did not affect the reputation he had accumulated during his tenure as Chief Clerk and Prefect in Liangzhou.

Under his coordination, these people, upon hearing that they would not be sent to the front lines of the siege but only needed to assist in logistics, did not resist or cause trouble for Qiao Yan.

After all, if they could recapture Anding Commandery, it would not be a bad thing for them.

With this manpower swap, Qiao Yan had the opportunity to free up extra logistics personnel to rush to the front with the cavalry, building a camp in the middle of the river valley while also constructing siege equipment.

At first glance, following the Jing River Valley and Qingshui River Valley straight to Gaoping seemed like a high-speed express route, but it was actually a journey of four hundred li!

According to the speed of ancient infantry, she would need at least a week to cover this distance.

Therefore, only when approaching Gaoping would she choose to sprint in a forced march. Similarly, siege equipment like scaling ladders and battering rams could not be completed within Bingzhou.

Fortunately, Ma Jun’s clever mind combined the chassis of siege ladders and battering rams with supply carts, saving her a lot of trouble. Additionally, the ram heads had already been forged in Bingzhou, reducing the need for local material sourcing.

With Xun You as the strategist coordinating and Jia Xu providing Liangzhou experience as an advisor, the entire army’s march was streamlined like an assembly line.

The only person who seemed idle was Cheng Yu.

While riding on horseback, he sighed, “It’s rare not to have to deal with provincial affairs but to gallop through mountains and rivers without expending effort. It feels a bit uncomfortable.”

Hearing this, Jia Xu couldn’t help but shoot him a look of disbelief.

Qiao Yan smiled, “Once we take Gaoping City, you won’t have it so easy.”

Indeed.

After reaching Gaoping, with this fortress as a foothold to expand the frontlines, Cheng Yu would inevitably become busy.

Having someone guard this place would prevent her forces from becoming mere consumables as the campaign in Liangzhou dragged on. It would also provide a stable anchor point for replenishing troops from the surrounding areas, ensuring they wouldn’t be easily pushed back.

But before all that, the premise of every plan was to capture Gaoping City!

Win this battle!

The Zhong Qiang in Gaoping City never expected Qiao Yan to march into Liangzhou in April after the Southern Xiongnu seized Ziwuling, heading straight for Gaoping.

But as the faint silhouette of Gaoping City appeared before Qiao Yan in the misty night, the city, higher in the north and lower in the south, still resembled a beast drinking from the Qingshui River.

And its drinking mouth was the barbican outside the southern city gate.

Yes, the barbican.

Even though Gaoping was just a city in the northwestern frontier, and barbicans as a defensive system weren’t widely used until the late Tang dynasty, Gaoping had one.

The crude-looking double gates outside the city gate couldn’t change the fact that they effectively blocked battering rams.

Fortunately, Qiao Yan was not entirely unprepared.

She glanced at Ma Jun, who signaled that everything was ready.

She then looked at Xun You, who also gave the signal that all personnel were accounted for.

Taking a deep breath, she issued the order: “Full speed ahead, attack the city!”

This was a city harder to breach than any she had encountered before.

The martial culture of Xiliang gave this city a tougher shell than anywhere else.

But all the preparations she had made for this attack were not in vain!

If even she couldn’t breach Gaoping, the first city, then no other force in the world could do it.

The final stretch of the march in the night was like the last friction before a spark ignites. When the first arrow shot towards the city wall pierced the throat of a defender, amidst the rain of arrows, the siege engines were quickly pushed to the base of Gaoping’s barbican, delivering the first strike against the outer gate, igniting the spark that would blaze into a fire.

The collision of Gaoping’s red pine and iron-plated city gate with the iron tip of the battering ram echoed through the early morning.

Following this were urgent reports sounding from the city walls.

Even though Qiao Yan couldn’t understand their language, the urgency in their tone made it clear: it was an “enemy attack” alert.

But with the southern wall’s lax defenses and her advantage of marching under the cover of night to the city’s base, she could lay down “bridges” across the moat before the enemy could muster enough troops to the walls.

The scaling ladders, following the battering rams, were also pushed to the city’s base.

Meanwhile, the cavalry swiftly dispersed along both sides of the southern wall, shooting at the soldiers rushing towards the southern gate.

To be precise, not all the cavalry.

These were the archers Qiao Yan had specially selected from the cavalry, capable of drawing two-stone bows!

The hastily responding defenders on the walls thought the enemy was still out of range. Due to the lack of defenders, they chose to wait a bit longer, only to find the enemy’s arrows already flying towards them mercilessly.

The dim light of dawn, seemingly giving them a slight advantage in assessing range, instead became their death sentence.

And what they least expected was that the battering rams operating under the cover of the siege engines were more ferocious than usual!

The development of battering rams to this level…








Now, it’s no longer just relying on human strength, but moving with the suspension ropes, using experienced pushing methods to achieve the best impact effect.

With Ma Jun’s addition, the battering ram’s acceleration now includes the use of pulleys, making it even more labor-saving.

When the Qiang leader in the city was awakened to defend against the enemy, Qiao Yan’s side had already blasted open the outer gate of Gaoping’s Weng City.

Almost simultaneously, several soldiers with scaling ladders climbed the city tower, attacking the archers who intended to intercept the battering ram’s second strike.

“Who is coming?” the Qiang leader asked his subordinate while organizing his troops in the city, ordering the assembled forces to head south for the defensive battle.

It couldn’t be Huangfu Song.

He was particularly wary of Huangfu Song and always had people watching the city’s movements. If Huangfu Song were to raise an army, it would be impossible for no one to report it!

The situation was roughly as Qiao Yan had guessed.

The subordinate hurriedly replied, “The general who broke into Weng City claims to be Lü Fengxian from Wuyuan, following the orders of the Governor of Bingzhou to suppress the rebels.”

Wuyuan? Governor of Bingzhou? Why would she be here!

The Qiang leader’s face changed, immediately realizing that the situation was not favorable for him.

Even if it were Huangfu Song attacking, having fought him multiple times and being on guard recently, he had a rough idea of Huangfu Song’s forces and capabilities.

But if it were the Governor of Bingzhou attacking, it would be entirely different.

As an outsider from Liangzhou, she had pushed all the way to Gaoping City, which meant her forces couldn’t be small.

Her rapid breach of the outer city clearly indicated she was well-prepared!

Thinking of the judgment he had received from Han Sui after reporting the situation, the Qiang leader cursed inwardly, “Han Sui has misled me!”

But blaming Han Sui’s misjudgment now was useless.

Before he could lead his troops to the city gate, the second gate, struck by the battering ram, was inevitably blasted open, as Weng City failed to block the attack.

Meanwhile, the defenders on the walls connected to Weng City inflicted minimal damage on the Bingzhou army!

They were harassed by soldiers climbing the curved walls of Weng City and had their arrows blocked by the well-equipped shields of the Bingzhou army.

Especially that loudest guy.

Last year’s attack on Luoyang seemed not to have fully stretched his limbs, and half a year of sharpening his skills only allowed him to accumulate strength. Now, facing this fortified city in Liangzhou, he finally had a chance to show his prowess!

He indeed didn’t cause trouble due to personal bravery.

He just charged ahead, relying on his chain mail’s defensive capabilities, and fought his way into the city gate.

At this moment, the soldiers controlling the battering ram quickly moved it aside, making way for the rapidly advancing Bingzhou army.

The success in attacking the two southern gates made the soldiers flooding into Gaoping City let out a collective cheer.

It seemed like a celebration of their阶段性 success, or perhaps a morale boost needed after the early morning fatigue.

Regardless of the reason, when the Qiang tried to give these invaders a hard time, the aura emanating from the opposing队伍 was like seeing tigers and leopards, causing tremors.

This aura became even more terrifying as the勇士 in the队伍率先搏杀.

To the Qiang who didn’t understand Han language well, these shouts turned into one word—

Kill!

Kill all their opponents!

Because of this momentum, even though the守军 in Gaoping City regained some advantage in the gate洞, and some of the Bingzhou army’s vanguard fell in the gate洞, the following接应队伍 quickly filled their positions.

With Lü Bu’s charge and Qu Yi leading troops to the inner walls with archer support, the regained advantage turned into a complete breakthrough.

As the防线 was breached, the following骑兵 seemed to need no special orders to quickly fill the gaps.

骑兵 had limited use in攻城.

But now, they didn’t need to breach the city walls; they needed to quickly occupy the streets and瓦解 the Qiang’s attempts to counterattack.

Thus, these骑兵, dragging their fine long swords, became杀戮 machines.

Seeing this, the Qiang leader broke into a cold sweat.

He led the Qiang tribe,号称十万, and was no coward.

But how many骑兵 and步兵 in the city belonged to the Han army?

From his slightly elevated position on the street, he could only see a sea of heads.

In the close combat where many on both sides fell, those swallowed by the black-armored浪潮 were his people.

This made it impossible for him to make an accurate judgment.

How many were outside the city?

He could only hear the echoes between the city walls and mountains, filling his eardrums, seemingly not just from the south. It must be at least tens of thousands.

But he couldn’t retreat now. In such a狭路相逢 battle, fleeing would mean certain death. So he immediately gestured to his传令官.

The传令官, known for his loud voice, shouted, “Fight for the Qiang!”

But before he could finish, a white-feathered arrow pierced his throat.

The Qiang leader looked towards the source and saw the most imposing figure in the opposing队伍, protected by刀盾兵, had already climbed onto Gaoping’s城头.

She looked down from above, and even though her expression was unclear, her shift from攻城不易 to城内掠夺状态 was truly imposing!

In her hand was a heavy bow capable of long-range kills!

The传令官’s death was the work of the Marquis of Leping.

In the凌厉 of this arrow, the Qiang leader suddenly realized she had another title—

骠骑将军!

But it was too late to realize now!

That morning, Huangfu Song’s army stationed in Chaona City received a special visitor.

Though it had been years, he remembered this messenger as Cheng Yu from Dong Commandery, who had once worked with Qiao Yan on the Inside-Outside Coordination strategy.

As his adult appearance had settled, Huangfu Song naturally recognized him. However, after years of历练 in Leping and Bingzhou, Cheng Yu now exuded a从容气场.

Huangfu Song felt relieved.

If Cheng Yu was here, Qiao Yan must be too.

But to Huangfu Song’s surprise, Cheng Yu said—

“General Huangfu, the Marquis invites you to Gaoping for dinner to discuss the attack west of Liupan Mountain.”

Wait… where to?