White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Chapter 87 A Bloodstained Road on the Line of Life and Death

Gao Huaide received military orders to bring back all the Dingnan Army spies he had captured along the way. When he arrived at the front lines, he found that more than two hundred Dangxiang people had already gathered there.

Gao Xingzhou brandished his whip, pointing it at the two horse-faced peaks south of the city.

"I'll give you two choices: if you can get there, I'll spare your lives."

His tone was calm: "Otherwise, execute them on the spot."

The prisoners looked at each other, wondering what the enemy general was up to.

Without much hesitation, more than ten people stepped forward, including several who had previously cried out that they were innocent and claimed that they were just ordinary people.

Arrested as spies, they thought they were doomed, but seeing a glimmer of hope, they were all willing to take the risk.

Just as he was about to step forward, the soldiers stretched out their swords and spears to block him.

"One at a time."

Walking together can encourage each other, but when walking alone, some people slow down.

A Tangut man stepped forward. He had shaved his head, removing the hair from the top and front of his forehead, and tied his hair into a braid at the back of his head, with gold rings in his ears and a hooked nose. He spoke loudly in a foreign language that Gao Huaide could not understand.

He said, "With the blessing of the heavens above and the protection of the heavens, I will go ahead. If I am fortunate enough to survive, you will follow."

Lu Qian, who was fluent in the Tangut language, explained in a low voice.

The man raised his bound hands and strode forward under the watchful eyes of two soldiers carrying swords and shields.

From seven hundred paces, then six hundred paces, and then five hundred paces, the guards stopped and signaled that the man should walk the rest of the way by himself.

From the high ground of the city wall, crossbows that can shoot two hundred paces can reach a range of over four hundred paces. Beyond that, they would be within range and no longer safe.

The man took a step forward.

Another step.

One more step.

After walking more than ten steps and breaking free from the guards behind him, he quickened his pace and started running.

At first, the soldiers guarding the city wall were puzzled by the man's actions and did not react, until a junior officer shouted, "We've been ordered not to let anyone near! Don't listen to what they're saying, fire the arrows now!"

The Tangut man quickly ran within three hundred paces.

The guards on both sides of the horse fired dozens of arrows at the man. Hitting a fast-moving person is not easy, but the density of the arrows can make up for it. Soon, an arrow hit the man in the face, and he immediately fell to the ground and died.

"Next."

Seeing the first person to step forward die, those who followed hesitated. Under the threat of knives and guns, one man shouted incoherently and charged forward recklessly.

"What is he shouting now?"

"We're all family, don't lay a hand on each other."

Gao Huaide looked up at the towering city wall, which was eight ren high: "It's so far away, can you hear us?"

Lu Qian shook his head and said, "It's no use even if you can hear it."

Sure enough, the man ran within a few steps of the shooting range when an arrow pierced through and struck his neck, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"Next."

This man was luckier; the first volley of arrows left him unharmed, allowing him to advance more than ten paces. Then, his luck ran out, and he was struck in the chest and abdomen. He didn't die immediately, but lay on the ground struggling for his life.

Unfortunately, his cries of agony could not reach the city walls, nor could they be heard by Gao Xingzhou on the front lines. Even if they had heard them, the outcome would not have changed.

Next one, and then the next one.

The first few who stepped forward quickly died out, and then it was the turn of the remaining people.

Someone suddenly knelt down and begged for mercy: "Gentlemen, I am truly an ordinary citizen, not a spy!"

Gao Xingzhou had already given the order, and now was the time to establish his authority and set an example. Without the commander needing to speak again, a soldier swung his sword and slashed down.

The headless corpse fell forward, its head hitting the ground. It rolled a few times before stopping, still with its mouth agape, crying out for justice. Hot blood gushed from its neck, staining the ground a deep red, and slowly seeped into the yellow earth.

Gao Huaide had seen such bloody scenes of beheading many times, and gradually his initial discomfort disappeared. He was just wondering what his father wanted to do.

"The commander must have a deeper meaning, but we simply don't know it."

Upon seeing this group of ruthless wolves, they did not hesitate and killed them without hesitation. Those who survived no longer harbored any illusions and one by one walked the path that would determine their life or death.

"What are these Han bastards trying to do? Are they all coming here one by one to their deaths?"

Looking down from the towering city walls, there was no difference between the Han Chinese and the Tanguts; they were all human beings, and all were as insignificant as ants.

The garrison sergeant reported the enemy's unusual behavior to Li Yiyin, who pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure it out: if they were messengers, they should be carrying flags.

"Could it be that they're trying to deplete the city's arrows? If they haven't run out of arrows, the enemy will have been wiped out long ago."

Having no clue what to do, Li Yiyin ordered a group of archers to be mobilized for rotation: "Let's see how many men Gao Xingzhou is going to send. Kill them!"

His orders and what was happening outside the city reached Li Yimin's ears.

"Inform Tuoba Chongbin that the time is approaching."

Tuoba Chongbin, Commander of the Xia Prefecture Government Office. (Note 1)

……

In less than an hour, more than two hundred people fell down under the walls of Xiazhou City, and the area within three hundred paces was littered with corpses.

The last few people were so weak in the knees that they could barely move. Under the threat of being attacked with blades, they moved forward with trepidation.

Even though they carefully avoided the places where their predecessors had perished, they still couldn't escape the dense rain of arrows shot from the city walls. Those who turned around and fled elsewhere, or feigned injury or death, fell to the combined forces' attacks.

A few dared to resist, but all met the same end. Caught between the city walls and the city walls, they had no chance of survival.

Gao Xingzhou glanced at him and frowned slightly.

There didn't seem to be enough people, the road wasn't clearly visible, and he hadn't seen what he was looking for.

"Bring the garrison from Luziguan over as well."

The hundred or so Dingnan soldiers, who thought it had nothing to do with them and were secretly glad that they had surrendered early, were unexpectedly also sacrificed. Their resentful eyes were all turned to the leaders who had ordered them to surrender.

The constable gave a bitter laugh. If only he had known this would happen, he would have fought back bravely. Now it's too late to say anything.

He seemed to have given up on himself and rushed out first—since he was going to die anyway, he might as well get rid of it sooner.

As arrows rained down, the blood-stained path gradually stretched forward.

The closer they got to the city walls, the denser the arrows became; over a hundred lives were lost in just a few dozen paces. Fortunately, Zhang Xichong had captured many prisoners in Youzhou and sent over another batch of Dangxiang captives.

With hundreds of lives lost, the road finally took shape.

To the uninformed, the corpses and wounded lying on the ground appeared haphazard and without any pattern. However, to a select few, the red line on the city defense map was clearly visible in the world.

Gao Xingzhou seemed to be waiting for something. He pondered for a moment and then ordered, "Bring out all the prisoners from my army as well."

Most of the prisoners in the army were deserters, but one man was tall and strong, with a distinct temperament from the others, and resembled the guards under Gao Huaide's command.

Seeing this man being pushed out bound, Gao Huaide vaguely remembered seeing him when he set off. After not seeing him for a few days, he had become a death row inmate.

Gao Xingzhou's guards reiterated the military order: "As long as you reach the city gate, your previous offenses will be forgiven."

In fact, he didn't need to explain further; the hundreds of corpses lying in front of him had already silently revealed the result.

The onlookers were terrified, but the soldier was fearless, straightening his chest and saying, "If you want to kill me, Zhang Yi, there's no need for any tricks. Just give the commander a word, and I'll cut off my head and offer it to you."

He raised his voice indignantly: "I've followed the commander for many years, killed a Tangut dog, and slept with his woman. What's so wrong with that? Why can a foreigner do it, but we Han people can't?"

Seeing the soldiers' reluctance, Gao Xingzhou turned his gaze to him: "Since you have followed me for many years, you should know my methods of military operations. After the city is breached, you are free to do as you please. However, the outcome is uncertain, so you must not act recklessly. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."

"What the general says is true; it's my own fault for not being able to restrain myself."

The man waved his bound hands as a gesture of respect, and said loudly, "Brothers, Zhang Yi is leaving first today. We shall meet again in the next life."

Gao Huaide noticed that several of his subordinates looked reluctant and thought that this person must be a brave warrior. Should he beg his father for mercy and do him a favor?

He was eager to step forward when he suddenly felt someone tugging at his clothes. Turning his head, he saw Lu Qian slowly shaking his head.

"Young master, you mustn't."

Lu Qian whispered, "The commander is strict about military law; don't make a fool of yourself."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Zhang Yi laughed heartily and strode forward.

"Let him be last in line, untie the ropes, give him a suit of armor and a shield."

Gao Xingzhou declared, "If you survive, your crimes will be wiped clean, and you will return to my command."

Zhang Yi, having been untied, knelt down and kowtowed deeply: "This humble one thanks you, General!"

Gao Huaide felt sorry for this man, who was clearly meant to die, so why was he grateful for such a small favor?

"Young master, soldiers are quite strange. Being too lenient will only make them look down upon. A great general is one who is decisive in killing in ordinary times and occasionally shows kindness and favor."

Gao Huaide was still not convinced by Lu Qian's explanation. What kind of things were these soldiers thinking?

More than ten lives were lost in the blink of an eye, and it was Zhang Yi's turn.

He was clad in armor, with a shield carved with the head of a ferocious beast and two fangs baring from its jaws draped over his right arm. He looked no different from the other guards, and he bent over, his body low, ready to strike.

The next moment, it shot off like an arrow released from a bow.

Zhang Yi crouched down, almost entirely hidden by his shield, yet his feet moved with incredible speed. After taking a few steps straight ahead, he suddenly leaped sideways, his movements unpredictable, clearly the footwork of a seasoned veteran.

He also noticed something amiss, and simply walked among the corpses lying askew, causing all the arrows shot from the city wall to miss their mark, not a single one hitting him.

In the blink of an eye, they closed in to within a hundred paces.

The guards cheered him on loudly, hoping their comrade would survive this perilous journey. The commander always kept his word; if that happened, Zhang Yi's life would be saved.

Infected by the emotion, Gao Huaide clenched his fist and cheered for the soldier.

Ninety steps, eighty steps, seventy steps... Zhang Yi ran faster and faster, leaping forward more than ten feet in a single bound, and was about to reach the city walls.

call out!call out!

Two sharp arrows flew through the air, their speed and force far exceeding human capabilities, fired from a powerful crossbow with a six-stone capacity.

It turned out that the defending troops, seeing that their bows and arrows were ineffective against Zhang Yi, resorted to using crossbows mounted on the horses' faces.

One arrow missed its mark, embedding itself halfway into the ground, while another, swift as a meteor, struck the target squarely!

Made of thick wood, covered with cowhide, and inlaid with iron plates, the shield reinforced with iron hoops on the edges made a muffled sound like tearing cloth, and instantly shattered into pieces, revealing the iron fletching at the end and a short section of the arrow shaft.

The arrowhead, made of three-edged steel, severed the tendons in Zhang Yi's arm, pierced through his iron armor, and stabbed diagonally into his right chest. Several of Zhang Yi's ribs were broken, and half of the arrow shaft penetrated deep into his body, tearing apart his soft internal organs.

Black blood gushed from his mouth, his body hunched over like a shrimp, he lay on the ground, straightened up, twitched and bent several times, and finally stiffened and remained motionless.

A hero of the army lost his life, the cheers stopped abruptly, and the battlefield fell silent.

Gao Xingzhou's sharp eyes looked at the arrow that had gone astray, with a white silk ribbon tied to its tail, fluttering in the autumn wind of the northwest.

He saw what he wanted.

"Men! Contact the Lingwu Army, Qingzhou Army, and the Zheyang families, and attack the city according to plan!"