The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 584 Cang Ci
Qin Shou took the lead, drawing his twin swords, Han Guang and Gu Ding, with a roar like a dragon.

"Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, follow me to fight the enemy!"

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry charged into the enemy ranks like a torrent. The Qiang cavalry were horrified to discover that these heavy cavalrymen and their horses were all clad in iron armor, impervious to arrows. Even more terrifying, each cavalryman was equipped with a crossbow capable of firing three arrows in quick succession, making them incredibly lethal at close range.

Qin Shou's twin blades flashed, leaving a trail of blood and gore in their wake. His gaze was like lightning, fixed on the leader in the center of the enemy formation, who was clad in Ma Chao's old armor.

"Ma Dai! I consider you a good man; surrender and you will not be executed!"

"Qin Shou! Give me back my brother's life!"

The general turned around abruptly, revealing a hideous scarred face, and let out a furious roar of resentment.

It was none other than Ma Dai, the younger brother of Ma Chao who had narrowly escaped years ago. He thrust his spear straight at Qin Shou, but was caught by Qin Shou's twin blades, sparks flying everywhere.

"Stubborn fool." Qin Shou coldly shouted, his sword strikes suddenly shifting like a raging storm. Within three exchanges, Ma Dai's spear snapped and he fell to the ground, captured alive by the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

With their commander captured, the rebel army was thrown into chaos. Wei Yan seized the opportunity to charge down from the high ground, launching a pincer attack. In less than half an hour, the banks of the Shule River were littered with corpses, and the remaining troops surrendered.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Dunhuang!" A messenger on horseback arrived, covered in blood, and shouted: "General Xu Huang has been ambushed, and the Xuanjia Army has suffered heavy losses! The gates of Dunhuang are wide open, and the Zhang family is leading their troops to attack the main camp!"

The generals' expressions changed. Qin Shou, however, laughed loudly, "Good! Zhang Kai! He fell for the trap!"

He spurred his horse and chuckled, "The whole army shall return! Let this old fox see who the real hunter is!"

After a 300-mile raid, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were exhausted. But when the black dragon banner appeared on the horizon over Dunhuang, the soldiers still stood tall.

In the distance, thick smoke billowed from the Tang army camp, as tens of thousands of private soldiers from Dunhuang launched a frenzied attack. Pang Tong stood atop the gate, directing the assault, arrows raining down, yet unable to stem the tide of the onslaught.

"Has Gongming arrived yet?" Qin Shou asked.

"According to Your Majesty's plan, General Xu feigned defeat and retreated to Yumen Pass. At this moment, he should be..." Before Xu Chu could finish speaking, dust rose in the east, and black-armored flags fluttered in the wind!
The Dunhuang army was thrown into chaos. Zhang Kai's face turned deathly pale, and he exclaimed in horror, "Impossible! The Xuanjia Army was clearly..."

"You old fool!" Xu Huang charged ahead, his giant axe cleaving through the blood, and roared, "His Majesty anticipated that you would come out with all your forces, and specifically ordered me to feign defeat to lure the enemy!"

Caught in a pincer attack, the Dunhuang army crumbled instantly. Zhang Kai, escorted by his personal guards, fled in panic toward the city gate, only to find a Tang flag suddenly raised atop the city wall—Zhao Yun had captured the empty city without anyone noticing!

"Your Majesty's strategy is brilliant." Zhao Yun bowed from the city wall and said, "In the Northwest, all five clans have surrendered, except for the Zhang clan, which stubbornly resists."

Zhang Kai's face turned ashen. He drew his sword to commit suicide, but an arrow pierced his wrist.

Qin Shou sheathed his bow and said coldly, "Want to die? Not so easy. I want the world to see what happens to traitors!"

Three days later, the gates of Dunhuang opened wide. Qin Shou sat upright on the watchtower, with powerful figures from Xiliang kneeling at his feet.

"Re-surveying the land and clearing out the hidden population is not because I want to compete with you for profit," he said in an icy voice, "but because this vast land cannot continue to harbor parasites!"

One by one, heads rolled, blood staining the yellow sand. When it was Zhang Kai's turn, the old man suddenly raised his head and laughed wildly: "Qin Shou! Today you have slaughtered all the powerful and influential, but do you know that tomorrow the poor and humble will rise and become new powerful and influential? History cycles, and no one can break it!"

A flash of light, and a head rolled to the ground.

Qin Shou stood up, looked at the setting sun in the west, and gently wiped the bloodstains off the Ding Qin sword.

"Next up are the alien tribes of the Northwest!"

The setting sun, like blood, reflected the black dragon flag fluttering atop the city walls of Dunhuang. Qin Shou's fingertips traced the blade of the Ding Qin sword, and the last drop of thick blood slid down the groove, splashing a dark red flower on the yellow sand.

"The poor rise up, and new powerful figures will emerge..." Zhang Kai's dying roar still swirled in the wind, like the ominous cry of a vulture. Qin Shou's lips curled into a cold smile.

“A cycle?” he murmured to himself, his voice swallowed by the sudden gust of sand.

"Your Majesty," Pang Tong said, dragging his unsteady legs as he stepped onto the blood-stained stone steps atop the city wall, his brow furrowed. "The heads of the five powerful clans have been displayed in the various prefectures, but those foreign tribes may not obey Your Majesty's decree."

Has Cang Ci arrived yet?

Qin Shou suddenly asked.

"We have arrived at the army camp and are awaiting His Majesty's summons," Xun You hurriedly replied.

"Send him to see me!"

Cang Ci, dressed in a faded Confucian robe, was travel-worn but his eyes were sharp. When he ascended the city wall, the blood mist had not yet dissipated, and the yellow sand carrying the smell of rust rushed towards him.

"Your subject, Cang Ci, has come here by imperial decree."

Qin Shou didn't turn around, his fingertips still tracing the patterns on the Ding Qin Sword: "Zhang Kai said history is cyclical, and those from humble backgrounds will eventually become powerful figures. What do you think?"

“Cycles are not fixed, like the Yellow River that bends nine times but eventually flows eastward.” Cang Ci bent down, grabbed a handful of sand, and let it slip through his fingers. “The key is—who owns the land, and who holds the sword.”

He suddenly gripped the remaining sand tightly: "If the land returns to those who cultivate it, and swords protect the people, the cycle will break itself."

Qin Shou finally turned around. The afterglow of the setting sun cast a long shadow of Cang Ci, as if overlapping with the headless corpses beneath the city wall.

"I will give you three thousand Xuanjia soldiers, three months." The Dingqin Sword suddenly pointed westward, and blood droplets fell from its tip. "Qiang lands, Western Regions, all tribes—you will either live on your knees or die standing."

Cang Ci shook his head: "I only need three hundred literate old soldiers, thirty carts of millet seeds and iron plows."

He pointed to the barren farmland outside the city: "Swords can break the cycle, but they can't fill an empty stomach. We must make the Qiang people understand that the plowshare of the Tang Dynasty is more reliable than a curved sword."

Pang Tong suddenly looked up: "Your Majesty, you mustn't! The Qiang region is dangerous!"

"Approved." Qin Shou interrupted, picking up half of the tiger tally with the tip of his sword and tossing it to Cang Ci. "But if we fail, your head will be hung on the flagpole in place of Zhang Kai's."

Cang Ci bowed and picked up the tiger tally. He then used blood to draw a map of the marching route on the sand: "I do not want the tiger tally. I only want Your Majesty's decree: those who cultivate wasteland will not have to pay taxes for three years."

The wind whipped up the tattered flags, making them flutter loudly.

Xun You suddenly chuckled and said, "Well done, Cang Ci, what you're trying to do isn't just tear down the Qiang people's tents, it's tearing down the entire sky of Xiliang."

Qin Shou sneered, "These Qiang people are all cowards. If we don't teach them a lesson, they won't know how powerful the Tang Dynasty is. Anyway, our troops are here. If Cang Ci is no good, I will personally take to the field. We'll kill them until the blood flows like a river. We still need them to repair the roads in Sichuan!"

Xun You and Pang Tong were both horrified upon hearing this; the emperor before them was not someone to be trifled with.

Qin Shou's cold laugh sounded particularly chilling in the twilight. He gently stroked the Ding Qin Sword and said, "Cang Ci, I grant your request. Three hundred old soldiers, thirty carts of millet seeds and iron plows, plus an imperial decree exempting land reclamation from taxes for three years."

He abruptly changed the subject, a sharp glint in his eyes, and said, "But Xun You is right, the Qiang people fear power but do not cherish virtue. Pang Tong, muster 30,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and tomorrow they will accompany me westward out of Yangguan!"

"Your Majesty!" Cang Ci hurriedly bowed and said, "If the army presses on our borders, the Qiang people will surely defend their strongholds to the death, or flee to the desert. I beg Your Majesty to postpone your military campaign and give me three months. If that fails, it will not be too late to resort to force again."

(End of this chapter)