Free Web NovelChapter 2337: Chapter 2312: Captured
There wasn’t much else, so Manbao could only simply bandage their wounds to stop the bleeding.
The vanguard took the city gate, and General Ashina led the army inside. Seeing them, he stopped and, after sizing up Bai Shan and Zhou Man, couldn’t help but praise, "Good lads!"
Manbao: !
General Ashina also noticed and said with a smile, "Lord Zhou is also excellent."
Once the city gate was opened, the siege speed increased significantly, but there were still Turkish soldiers inside the city.
General Ashina laughed, "This matter is not of concern."
He invited the two to accompany him, after all, staying by the city gate was still somewhat dangerous.
Bai Shan thought for a while, then whistled, and Daoli and Chiji trotted out, nudging them with their heads as they approached.
Bai Shan patted their heads, smiling, "You guys are clever."
The group followed General Ashina.
Unlike General Guo, unless absolutely necessary for General Ashina to charge at the front, he usually stayed at the rear, handling situations based on reports from the messengers. For instance, after entering the city, he left a team of central troops behind while the others headed for the other three city gates and Wang City.
General Ashina said, "Have the guards at the South City Gate open a path, let those wanting to leave, leave, don’t block them completely."
General Ashina directly occupied a tavern in the city as a military tent, while Bai Shan and Manbao sat on one side watching him receive one piece of information after another and then issue one command after another.
"General, the North City Gate has been taken, Junior General Meng has led the troops in."
"Have them go support the palace, and make sure to capture the Kucha King."
Then someone reported where the remaining Kucha troops and Turkish soldiers had retreated to...
General Ashina said the same thing, "Capture if possible, if not, let them go."
"General, the palace has been taken."
General Ashina nodded, asking, "Was the Kucha King captured?"
"Yes, he was captured."
General Ashina then stood up and said to Bai Shan and Zhou Man, "Gentlemen, shall we move to the palace?"
When Manbao and the others arrived at the palace, a messenger came riding fast to report, "Report to the general, the Turkish army, along with the remaining Kucha forces, have exited through the South City Gate."
"Pursue them," General Ashina said, "Follow them slowly, just stay on their tail, don’t scatter them."
If scattered, the ambushes left along the way would be of little use. He intended to capture everyone.
General Ashina turned to Bai Shan, smiled and asked, "Does Young Master Bai have something to ask?"
"Did the general leave ambushes along the way?"
"Indeed," General Ashina said, "Originally, I thought we might not use them today, but I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly. I had given them several days’ worth of provisions."
He looked at Bai Shan approvingly, "General Li said Young Master Bai was willing to risk entering the city to delay time and could coordinate with us from inside. I thought it was already impressive for Young Master Bai to keep himself safe inside the city, but I didn’t expect he could open the city gate. In this siege, Young Master Bai and Lord Zhou take the primary credit."
Bai Shan said with a smile, "It’s the accompanying soldiers who were brave. Otherwise, with my meager skills and strategies, I couldn’t have opened the gate.
The city gate isn’t easy to open; never mind the heavy bar, but a door leaf requires three people on each side to pull it open under normal circumstances.
General Ashina said, "They are all warriors."
It was an acknowledgment of the contributions of others besides them.
However, contributions also have sizes; Jin Kui’an, who charged into the palace with the vanguard, evidently had considerable credit, though he was a bit unlucky, as it wasn’t him who captured the Kucha King but the soldier he pulled down from his horse.
At that time, the Kucha King and his concubines were hiding beneath a dry well, and a cursing soldier passing by the well tossed a rock inside, which hit someone and elicited a yell from below, thus revealing the presence of people inside.
Then he gathered his comrades to pull them out. By the time General Ashina arrived at the grand hall, the Kucha King and his concubines were already bound and thrown into the middle of the hall.
General Ashina waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately untied the women and chased them out, leaving only the Kucha King in the hall.
The Kucha King, seeing Bai Shan and Zhou Man enter, furiously said, "The Han people truly lack integrity, you deceived me!"
Bai Shan was speechless.
How should he respond to that?
He hesitated and said, "I’m sorry?"
General Ashina couldn’t help but glance over, "On the battlefield, deceit is common; he’s the enemy, why apologize?"
He continued, "Clearly, he was outsmarted."
The Kucha King was furious.
However, General Ashina sat on the throne and sneered, "Not only stupid but also without virtue, otherwise why would your city fall so easily, so repeatedly?"
Kucha King: ... Furious!
General Ashina said, "You pledged allegiance to our Great Jin, but come summer, you treated it like a fresh bride, and when rumors of adversity in our Great Jin arose as winter approached, you discarded it like an old shoe. If you are heartless, don’t blame Great Jin for being unfeeling. Kucha King, you showed disrespect to our dynasty and belittled the Emperor, harboring ulterior motives; do you admit to this?"
Whether he admitted it or not, with the kingdom fallen, what was the point of saying anything?
There was still a point, for when General Ashina had the Kucha ministers brought in, he announced the deposition of the Kucha King.
Unlike General Guo, who was still eyeing the treasures in Wang City, General Ashina was quick and decisive, having the army take over all the government offices in Wang City.
Those willing to surrender were kept under observation and simply tasked with specific assignments.
Those unwilling to surrender were temporarily thrown into the dungeon to accompany the Kucha King, to be dealt with after the war concluded.
Seeing General Ashina busy, Bai Shan simply pulled Manbao up and left. Bai Erlang and Liu Huan rushed into the palace with Zhou Liru. Seeing the two standing hand in hand on the high steps, they immediately shouted, "Bai Shan! Zhou Man!"
The pair turned, startled by the three below, and immediately ran down the steps. The three from below also ran up, meeting in the middle. Zhou Liru shouted, "Little Aunt, are you hurt?"
"No, this is someone else’s blood. Why are you here?"
"I’m a military doctor; I said I’d come in to treat the wounded more easily, so Junior General Meng allowed us to follow."
Bai Erlang looked them over and exclaimed, "Were you drenched in blood? How come there’s so much blood on you?"
Bai Shan said helplessly, "Jin Kui’an chopped someone beside me, and the blood splattered all over me."
He said, "It’s dangerous, why did you come?"
"There’s no danger; we fell at the very back. When they stormed the city, we watched from a distance until the gate was taken, and everything was controlled by our side before we followed in. The military doctors are treating people at the gate," Bai Erlang said, still shocked, "People said someone opened the city gate at the West City Gate and they feared the responders inside were lost in the mayhem. I was super worried, went to the North City Gate, heard you went with General Ashina, then tracked you down here."
Liu Huan added, "Aside from the fleeing Turkish soldiers, everyone else was pretty docile; when the troops passed by, they all crouched down and surrendered."
The people of Kucha Wang City had done it once, and not long after, they were doing it again, and they had learned from the experience. By sunset, General Ashina had essentially taken control of Wang City.
