Iron Dynasty

Dusk descended, and the sounds of battle in Songzhou City began to quieten.

Luo Quan, Lu Fei, and Qi Guangyi led the remaining troops from outside the city into Songzhou City. Along the way, the bodies of barbarian soldiers strewn on the ground met their eyes.

Some of these bodies had bullet holes, others bore stab wounds from bayonets. Blood stained the streets of Songzhou City, and a heavy, bloody smell permeated the air.

Luo Quan and the other two felt no pity for these barbarian soldiers. Upon entering the city, besides the barbarian soldiers’ corpses, they also saw piles of heads forming small mountains.

These heads belonged to the common people of Songzhou City and the soldiers who defended Songzhou. Their eyes were open, staring at Lu Fei and the others, as if narrating the suffering they had endured.

Walking past one such mound of heads, they saw another. The faces of the three also grew increasingly grim.

“It seems none of the fifty thousand common people and thirty thousand soldiers of Songzhou City escaped.”

Qi Guangyi’s throat was somewhat choked, and he spoke this sentence almost word by word.

Luo Quan’s expression was firm. He had experienced barbarian massacres more than once. For the barbarians, this was an effective strategy to intimidate their opponents. It was precisely by this method that they continuously encroached upon the Great Yu Empire’s cities.

Surrender meant avoiding massacre; otherwise, Songzhou was the fate. This time, Bodo was doing it for all of the Great Yu Empire to see.

Lu Fei’s hand, gripping the reins, turned white from the excessive force. He said, “I will personally cut off Bodo’s head and hang it above the gate of Songzhou City!”

Then he said to his personal guard, “Issue the order: no surrender from barbarian soldiers within Songzhou City shall be accepted! Kill without mercy! The entire army is ordered: Kill!”

Luo Quan did not stop Lu Fei’s order. In a Songzhou City that resembled hell, he had no reason to do so.

More importantly, after seeing this scene, the soldiers’ emotions also seemed to be out of control.

From the moment they entered the city, the soldiers behind him were as silent as the night, making no sound. But their eyes were gradually covered with hatred. Their hands clutching their weapons turned white, and their breathing became heavy.

“Kill!” Upon receiving Lu Fei’s order, the soldiers roared, releasing the anger accumulated in their hearts. They rushed wildly through the city with their firearms, searching for traces of the enemy.

At this moment, they forgot that they carried firearms. It was as if only a bayonet thrust into the enemy’s chest could relieve the hatred in their hearts.

The remaining barbarian soldiers were too late to escape and were swallowed by the vengeful army.

The sky grew darker. Torches began to light up the city, and the figures of barbarian soldiers vanished within Songzhou City.

“Bury the bodies of the common people and the soldiers.”

Having encamped in the Songzhou Grand Camp, Luo Quan ordered the city gate repaired while also beginning to bury the corpses. Plagues were common after wars. As an old general, he knew what he should do now.

Qi Guangyi went to carry out the order. In the tent, only Lu Fei and Luo Quan remained.

Glancing at the grim-faced Lu Fei, Luo Quan patted his shoulder and said, “This is war. Were there few people killed by the barbarians in Youzhou back then? Three million people in the entire Yan-Yun Sixteen Prefectures! They just killed them as they pleased. That was truly rivers of blood and corpses everywhere.”

Lu Fei silently nodded. Today’s scene evoked memories he wished not to recall. At that time, he was only eighteen, and witnessing that hellish scene kept him awake for three days and three nights.

From that moment, he vowed that in this life, he would avenge the blood debt of the fallen common people of the Great Yu Empire.

“General Luo Quan is absolutely right. However, what I’m worried about now are the thirteen prefectures of Bashu. With Bodo’s temperament, the six million Shu common people are in danger!” Lu Fei said sternly.

“Therefore, we cannot stay long in Songzhou City. Early tomorrow morning, I will lead the troops with Qi Guangyi to find Bodo’s army. We have trained soldiers for a thousand days to use them for a short while. Now is the time for us to risk our lives and fight the barbarians.” Luo Quan’s gaze was firm.

Lu Fei stood up and said, “Old General, you stay in Songzhou City. Tomorrow, Qi Guangyi and I will leave the city!”

Luo Quan smiled, “You are more adept at commanding firearm troops, and I am better with cavalry. You should go relieve the siege of Yizhou and join forces with Di Ying, then rendezvous with me.”

Lu Fei thought for a moment and nodded deeply.

After a day of rest, Lu Fei left 10,000 Conqueror Musketeers in the city to prevent barbarian cavalry from escaping back to the grasslands by utilizing the trenches.

The two were about to set off when the scout cavalry, dispatched by Luo Quan three days ago to find news of Bodo, returned to Songzhou City.

Upon reaching Luo Quan, the scout cavalryman loudly said, “General, we have found the location of the barbarians’ six cavalry routes! Prince Bodo, the commander of the barbarian cavalry, has already reached Yazhou, and he is now waiting for the other five cavalry routes to rendezvous with him!”

“So, we have been discovered by them,” Luo Quan said.

Bodo not heading towards Songzhou City but waiting for his cavalry to gather clearly indicated his intention to consolidate his forces.

The scout cavalryman said, “Probably so. Now, the barbarian slave soldiers in Yizhou are also moving towards Yazhou.”

Lu Fei and Luo Quan exchanged glances. The intelligence brought by the scout cavalryman had disrupted their plans.

Luo Quan said, “Since Bodo’s location has been found, it’s much easier. You immediately send someone to Yizhou, ordering Di Ying to advance towards Yazhou.”

Then he said to Lu Fei, “Since Bodo is preparing to consolidate his forces, we will not give him this opportunity. We will take Yazhou before his reinforcements arrive and set a trap there, waiting for the other barbarian armies to arrive.”

Lu Fei showed a slight smile upon hearing this. This aligned perfectly with his thoughts. So he said, “Speed is of the essence in warfare. Let us set off now.”

…

Yazhou.

This was a city located less than a hundred li directly south of Songzhou City. At this time, Bodo was stationed in Yazhou City with over ten thousand men.

He received news the day after the Great Yu Empire cavalry appeared outside Songzhou City. Greatly alarmed, he immediately dispatched cavalry to recall the other five cavalry routes and even ordered the slave soldiers besieging Yizhou to return to Yazhou.

“Is there no other way back to the grasslands besides Songzhou?” Bodo asked.

Beside him were the myriarchs of the tribe. They exchanged glances and slowly shook their heads. “Songzhou is the only passage back to the grasslands.”

Bodo paced back and forth. Now, he felt a hint of regret in his heart. It was for the sake of plundering more wealth and causing greater damage to the Great Yu Empire.

During this period, he had rampaged through Bashu without restraint. Wherever he passed, only the corpses of the Great Yu Empire’s common people remained. He deeply knew that if he were caught by the Great Yu Empire’s army, he would die terribly.

But now, he had no retreat. He was now clearly trapped in a cage by the Great Yu Empire’s army.

“I hope the Great Yu Empire’s army doesn’t come too fast.” Bodo’s brows furrowed. He only had ten thousand men in Yazhou. Even if he was foolish, he understood that these few men could not stop the Great Yu Empire’s army.