The rotting and unrotted corpses beneath the city wall were soft. Chen Shu felt no pain at all, though he did burst open the stomachs of two corpses. A section of intestine was smeared across his face guard, utterly revolting.

No one was willing to look down even once. Staring at the Turkic coalition forces swarming above their heads, Chen Shu wanted to cry. He struggled to stand up, but Guo Ping pressed him down firmly, rendering him immobile.

After a final loud explosion echoed out, the sounds of clashing swords and blades finally ceased atop the city walls. Only the Turkic people’s wolf-like howling cheers of “Aowu ah, aowu ah” could be heard.

Chen Shu felt Guo Ping’s tears flowing into his face guard, warm to the touch. The two grown men embraced each other like this, lying motionless in the pile of corpses, weeping.

The sun finally emerged. The Turkic people lay scattered all over the city walls, snoring heavily in deep sleep. After all, last night had been utterly exhausting. Guo Ping watched the pebbles on the ground trembling slightly and said softly to Chen Shu: “They’ve come. The reinforcements have arrived.”

The Turkic horn blew urgently. A large cavalry unit fled back in panic from the distance, their faces filled with terror. Their warhorses continued galloping wildly through the encampment. If not for the horse barriers blocking them, they could have fled to the ends of the earth.

Tu Shi stood atop the city wall, staring into the distance in a daze. Before him, at some point, another fortress had appeared. Moreover, this fortress was slowly advancing toward Qiuci City, flanked by two cavalry units.

This was a divine miracle. The rising morning sun shone upon this metal fortress, reflecting a dazzling radiance. Only the scattered cold glints atop the fortress reminded Tu Shi that this was a killing bastion.

Cavalry continuously circled the fortress, clearing all obstacles along the path. Turkic corpses were dragged and thrown into ditches. Large stones were also hooked away by the cavalrymen using strange tools. By the time Tu Shi dispatched cavalry to obstruct them, the Tang cavalry had already retreated within range of the eight-ox crossbows. As this mobile fortress advanced one step, Tu Shi’s cavalry could only slowly retreat. When the camel fortress connected with Qiuci City, the fortress finally halted its advance.

“No battle today. Collect the fallen soldiers! Have the Turkic people return the remains of the Great Tang soldiers, or we shall exterminate every single Turkic person.” Yun Ye’s cold voice carried far into the distance. A cavalry unit bearing flags immediately charged to the front of Tu Shi’s military formation, loudly repeating Yun Ye’s words: “The commander orders: no battle today, collect the fallen soldiers! We command you to return the remains of our soldiers. Dare to say even half a word of refusal, and we shall annihilate the entire Turkic race.”

The Turkic response was quite straightforward. Row after row of severed heads were thrown out from their ranks. Sharp-eyed scouts recognized at a glance that these were the heads of their own people. Without a word, they spurred their horses back to their own encampment.

“Then let battle commence!” Yun Ye ordered Liu Zhengwu. As the flags in Liu Zhengwu’s hands waved continuously, the entire camel fortress immediately began expanding outward. A large open space cleared in the middle of the camel fortress, and countless hot air balloons painted with terrifying images slowly rose up, like demons crawling out from the gates of hell.

The Turkic warhorses continuously whinnied and retreated backward. Yun Ye’s camel fortress slowly pressed forward. Not until a thick cylinder trailing fire skimmed along the ground and bored into Tu Shi’s cavalry group did Tu Shi realize he was far too close to this fortress. He turned his horse to flee. Behind him came continuous explosive shockwaves slapping against his back, as if demons were tapping his shoulders.

Yun Ye did not continue the pursuit. Instead, he thoroughly secured the camel fortress beside Qiuci City. Large numbers of auxiliary soldiers wearing pig-snout masks began entering the battlefield to search for the remains of fallen soldiers. Because the main army had arrived too quickly, the Turkic people hadn’t had time to clean the battlefield. They had merely severed the heads of captured soldiers.

Guo Ping and Chen Shu were both pulled out from the corpse pile by auxiliary soldiers. The stench of corpses covering their bodies led the auxiliaries to assume both men were dead. When they were thrown onto a plank cart as corpses, they heard Guo Ping’s agonized scream and only then discovered these two were still alive.

When Yun Ye saw the two of them, both men were completely immersed in lime water. Their heads had been washed countless times with strong liquor. Yun Ye held a handkerchief over his nose, looked up and down at these two men soaking in lime water, and asked:

“Where is Commander Guo’s body? Where is Commander Zhang’s body? Where is the body of Five Li Commandant Han Huang?”

Chen Shu was rendered speechless by Yun Ye’s gaze. Instead, Guo Ping endured the pain and said: “My father’s body was burned by Commander Zhang. We then burned Commander Zhang’s body. It may not have burned completely and should still be on the city wall. Commandant Han fought on the southern wall. We don’t know.”

“I won’t ask how you survived. As the son of Guo Xiaoke, you wouldn’t stoop to betraying your country. Only you two remain of the Anxi Army. Because you fought to the end and the entire army perished, His Majesty won’t abolish the Anxi Army. He will only rebuild this heroic force. Since you’ve survived, then live well and pass down Commander Guo’s spirit and vitality.”

“We didn’t betray our country! When the battle reached its end, I ignited the fire oil intending to perish together with the Turkic people on the city wall. As a result, Little Guo grabbed me and we fell from the city wall. We lay in that corpse pile for over an entire hour before barely surviving. And you still suspect us?”

Chen Shu could still speak coherently at first, but by the end he choked up and couldn’t say another word.

“Precisely because I believe you, I’m the one asking questions. If I didn’t believe you, it would be the Five Li Commandant asking. You know the military regulations. Soak a while longer in the lime water to get rid of the corpse stench. Soak your entire body thoroughly. For the next month, you can only stay in the isolation room to avoid contracting plague.” After Yun Ye finished speaking, he went directly from the camel fortress onto the city wall.

Standing here, he could finally comprehend how fierce the great battle of Qiuci had been. The Turkic corpses beneath the city wall were almost as high as the wall itself. Especially at several breach points, corpses were piled into mounds. This was truly mountains of accumulated corpses.

Finding the location Chen Shu had mentioned atop the wall, a stout, burly man had been completely charred. The Mo sword in his hand was still gripped tight. Though he was already dead, with neither whiskers nor hair remaining, his fierce aura still inspired fear.

Yun Ye bent down and pulled out a thin copper chain from the corner of the corpse’s mouth, slowly drawing it out. He actually extracted half a tiger tally from the mouth, along with a small seal. Holding it up to the sunlight for careful examination, it turned out to be a great general’s seal. This should have been Guo Xiaoke’s seal. Since Guo Xiaoke had already died in battle, then this person must be Zhang Tingyue.

“Bury him with a thick coffin and honors. Process the body; it needs to be brought back to Guanzhong.” After Yun Ye gave instructions to Tian Yuanyi behind him, he paid no more attention and returned to the camel fortress. Guo Xiaoke’s ashes and Han Huang’s remains had already been found. Yun Ye began writing a memorial. Without using any flowery language, he merely explained the entire great battle of Qiuci truthfully and completely. He requested that Du Ruhui and Fan Hongyi affix their seals, then ordered someone to send the battle report to Chang’an by eight-hundred-li express.

Cheng Chumo had returned, his entire body almost completely wrapped in gauze. Yun Ye couldn’t believe that under the protection of armor from his own household, he could still be injured to this extent.

“Stop looking. These aren’t blade wounds—they’re burns. A burning Turkic person grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. As a result, the fire oil on his body got onto mine, and that’s how I got burned. It was very dangerous. I chopped off both that fellow’s arms, yet he still used his teeth to bite my armor and wouldn’t let go. Damn it, for that instant I thought I wouldn’t make it. Of ten thousand cavalry, only four thousand remain. You figure it out. I was somewhat reckless earlier. At the final moment, I shouldn’t have tangled with the Turkic people. It was Guo Xiaoke who blew the horn commanding me to leave, and only then did we disengage from battle.”

“Such matters are hard to judge as right or wrong. I’ve already reviewed the soldiers’ casualty situation. The documents I’ve written have already gone with the eight-hundred-li express. The soldiers’ losses were severe. It looks like your merit will be erased.”

While in the midst of the great army, even if Yun Ye wanted to favor Cheng Chumo, he still had to observe basic principles. It was impossible to forgive Cheng Chumo without principle.

Cheng Chumo grinned widely and said: “This battle was also the most satisfying one of my entire life. Having this experience, it doesn’t matter whether I get promoted or not. At least the martial skills I’ve diligently practiced all my life haven’t gone to waste.”

Du Ruhui slapped the back of Cheng Chumo’s head heavily and scolded with a laugh: “This time, Marquis Yun and I took the trouble for you. If there’s another incident like this in the future, even if national law spares you, I’ll still have to ask whether the Old Cheng family’s household rules can tolerate your reckless behavior.”

After collecting the remains of his own soldiers, Yun Ye ordered the camel fortress to move again, gradually retreating. Only after retreating over forty li did he order the army to make camp at Wild Horse Beach. This location was the essential route for the Turkic people to advance eastward. If they didn’t capture the camel fortress, they would have to lead their great army across five hundred li of vast desert before they could advance to Yutian.

Yun Ye’s great army had defeated Tu Shi’s defenses here, which enabled them to reach directly beneath Qiuci City. Although only three days had passed, the large expanse of corpses here had already disappeared without a trace. Everywhere were ash-white wolf droppings. These wilderness cleanup workers had already cleared out a relatively clean battlefield for Yun Ye.

When Yun Ye retreated, Tu Shi led his great army in slow approach. Seeing Yun Ye’s camel fortress firmly defending the valley entrance, he too had no choice but to encamp thirty li away at a location with a water source.

Perhaps attacking Guo Xiaoke had already left the Turkic forces exhausted and weary. For three consecutive days, they did not actively launch attacks against Yun Ye. Instead, Yun Ye’s roving cavalry were constantly seeking opportunities to attack the herdsmen under Tu Shi’s command.

When too many herdsmen were killed, Tu Shi could no longer sit still. He also dispatched small cavalry units. Cavalry against cavalry—the small Wild Horse Beach became a killing ground between scouts. The prize was the life or death of the herdsmen grazing at Wild Horse Beach.

What Yun Ye feared least was a war of attrition. In terms of time, the situation favored him. Li Jing’s great army had already defeated the Tubo chieftain Jin Zan Danzhu on the dry plateau outside Yangguan. Not only had they resolved the crisis at Shazhou and Yumen Pass, they were actively preparing to advance toward Loulan. He heard that Xu Jingzong’s defense of Luanshi Fortress was experiencing a severe trial. The retreating Tubo forces had combined with later arriving Tubo forces and were attacking Luanshi Fortress day and night, wanting to capture this strategic point to resist Li Jing’s merciless strikes. Here, even if they retreated back into Tubo territory, they would have no plague to exploit. The great army could advance all the way to Yangtong. This was Jin Zan Danzhu’s vital territory.