Chapter 100: A Clever Victory over the Western Qiang Army

The Great Xia army rested for half a day. By evening, Chen Mu once again ordered an assault on the city.

At that moment, a detachment of Persian soldiers opened the city gates from within, and the Great Xia army swiftly took Dongping City.

Chen Mu left a thousand reserve troops behind to help the new Persian king restore order in the city. He then led the main army onward.

Beyond this city, Chen Mu encountered the Western Qiang army once again.

The Great Xia army formed up outside the city. Persian soldiers guarded the walls, while the Western Qiang troops sat motionless on their horses in the distance, making no attempt to attack directly.

Chen Mu sent someone forward to call out a challenge, and the commander on the walls shouted back with curses. After the two sides traded insults for a while, Chen Mu laughed.

“The former Persian king is not in the city. It seems the Western Qiang army has already lost its confidence.”

Zhang Zhong asked, “They do not dare attack?”

Chen Mu nodded. “Exactly. They must be planning to wait until we begin the assault, then harass us from the side and wear down our strength.”

“What should we do, then?” Zhang Zhong asked.

“The old way. Ignore them.”

With that, Chen Mu ordered the attack.

The Invincible Flying Army and the Unyielding Flying Army charged forward. They used repeating crossbows to suppress the soldiers on the walls while raising scaling ladders and climbing toward the battlements.

The reserve troops stood ready behind them, while cavalry guarded both flanks.

As soon as the Great Xia army began its assault, the Western Qiang army advanced.

Seeing them approach, Chen Mu ordered a change of formation. The soldiers of the Invincible Flying Army raised their shields and formed a defensive line facing the Western Qiang troops, while the Unyielding Flying Army continued attacking the city.

The Western Qiang army did not alter its formation. It continued advancing toward the Great Xia ranks.

When they drew near, Chen Mu ordered the cavalry to attack. The Western Qiang troops were already too close to turn aside. They could only split into two groups: one fired arrows at the Invincible Flying Army, while the other shot at the Great Xia cavalry.

The arrows struck the shields of the Invincible Flying Army with a metallic clatter. A few slipped through the gaps, but caused very little damage.

The Great Xia cavalry also raised their repeating crossbows and fired at the Western Qiang troops. Thousands of bolts descended, sending countless riders tumbling from their horses.

At last, the Great Xia cavalry reached the Western Qiang army.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the Western Qiang troops launched an assault on the Great Xia reserves instead. They had seen clearly that, like the Persian rear ranks, the Great Xia rear formation consisted of new recruits.

Even so, the Great Xia reserves were well equipped.

At Chen Mu’s command, they raised their shields and formed a defensive line against the Western Qiang cavalry.

The Western Qiang troops charged forward and loosed two volleys of arrows. The results were negligible, and they nearly found themselves overtaken by the Great Xia cavalry.

This time, the Western Qiang army did not draw close. It circled at a distance, firing arrows at the Great Xia cavalry.

Chen Mu issued another order, recalling the cavalry behind the infantry. With their attacks against the shield-bearing infantry proving ineffective, the Western Qiang troops had no choice but to circle around the Great Xia formation.

When they had ridden around to the opposite side, the Invincible Flying Army lowered its shields and resumed the assault on the city, while the Unyielding Flying Army took over the defensive line.

The Western Qiang army rode back and forth without achieving anything, while the Great Xia army had already breached Dongping City.

The Western Qiang troops could only withdraw.

Chen Mu once again left a thousand reserve soldiers behind, then advanced toward the next city. After taking two cities in succession, his army no longer even caught sight of the Western Qiang forces.

Chen Mu knew that the Western Qiang army had abandoned the cities in eastern Persia. They intended to decide the outcome on the plains between the capital and the eastern territories.

But Chen Mu was not worried. He had already devised a countermeasure.

He dispatched large numbers of cavalry and expanded the range of his reconnaissance. Once he had determined the approximate location of the Western Qiang army, he led ten thousand troops forward.

As soon as they entered the plains, the Western Qiang army attacked, just as expected.

Although the Western Qiang knew this was not the full strength of the Great Xia army, they could no longer afford to hesitate. Destroying even a portion of the enemy would be worthwhile.

After all, of the original five thousand Western Qiang troops, only four thousand remained. Completely annihilating the Great Xia army in a single battle was unrealistic.

The moment Chen Mu saw the Western Qiang forces arrive, he ordered his entire army into a defensive formation and commanded them to raise their shields and hold their ground.

The Western Qiang cavalry rode toward them but did not dare approach. They fired from the furthest limits of their range. The Great Xia army could do nothing but endure the attack, yet its casualties remained slight.

After several volleys, the sound of marching troops came from the north.

The Invincible Flying Army had arrived.

The force Chen Mu had brought this time consisted only of the Unyielding Flying Army and the reserves.

Seeing that the newcomers were infantry, the Western Qiang troops did not panic. Instead, they were delighted. They could flee at any moment, while infantry on the move would certainly be unable to maintain such a strong defense.

The Western Qiang cavalry charged toward the Invincible Flying Army. Under Zhang Zhong’s command, however, the Invincible Flying Army stood its ground and formed a defensive line.

The Western Qiang troops loosed several volleys of arrows. More than a hundred soldiers of the Invincible Flying Army fell, but the formation remained unmoved.

Then the sound of approaching hooves came from nearby.

Before setting out, the Great Xia cavalry had wrapped cloth around their horses’ hooves. Thus, by the time the Western Qiang troops discovered them, they were already very close.

The Western Qiang had not anticipated this. They could only retreat in the opposite direction, firing arrows at the Great Xia army as they fled.

Chen Mu and Zhang Zhong directed the infantry forward, steadily compressing the Western Qiang army’s available space. From the other side, another contingent of Great Xia cavalry arrived.

Seeing that they could not break through, the Western Qiang troops turned once more and headed toward a gap in the Great Xia formation.

At that moment, many Western Qiang warhorses suddenly collapsed, flinging their riders to the ground.

Only then did the Western Qiang soldiers realize that the ground was covered with strange objects.

They were Chen Mu’s secret weapon: iron caltrops.

During the previous campaign against Eastern Yue, Chen Mu had lacked iron caltrops and had been forced to use boards covered with nails instead. The results had been less than satisfactory. He had learned his lesson and brought a large supply this time.

While the Western Qiang troops had been away, Chen Mu’s army had scattered vast quantities of caltrops across the ground.

The Great Xia army did not have enough troops to encircle the Western Qiang forces on its own, but with the caltrops added to the trap, that was sufficient.

The Western Qiang troops began to panic. They had believed they could not be surrounded, never imagining that Chen Mu had such a tactic at his disposal.

With no other choice, they charged the Great Xia infantry, attempting to break through the formation.

But the Great Xia troops were superbly equipped, while the Western Qiang soldiers did not possess even a single piece of armor. The moment they entered the infantry square, they were hacked apart. Horse legs and human limbs were scattered across the ground.

An hour later, Chen Mu’s army had completely annihilated more than four thousand Western Qiang soldiers.

Chen Mu walked to a corpse, picked up a mounted bow, and turned it over in his hand.

This kind of bow was different from the longbows used by the Great Xia army. It was much shorter, yet its draw strength was far greater, so its range was by no means inferior.

The mounted bow was ideally suited for use on horseback. It could even be hung directly around the neck, making it extremely convenient.

Once he reached Western Qiang territory, he would have to find the materials for these bows and learn how to manufacture them, Chen Mu thought.

Now that the Persian and Western Qiang armies had both been completely destroyed, with only the fugitive former Persian king remaining, everything would be much easier.

Chen Mu led his troops from city to city, while simultaneously spreading his policies and emphasizing once more the advantages of becoming a vassal state.