Chapter Nineteen: The Ice Fracture of the Nu River

The northern barbarians were thoroughly enraged. Originally, they had only planned to slaughter a group of refugees; the elite army at the rear needed only to conduct a show of force to hold back the Wangjiang defenders, and dispatching two or three thousand tribal warriors would easily resolve the issue.

But in a fury, Lianda directly sent out the elite “Tiger Cavalry” of the Tianheng tribe itself.

The warriors of the Tianheng tribe, led personally by the Tiger Cavalry’s deputy commander Maiya, charged at the forefront. Together with the affiliated tribal forces, a total of six thousand horsemen thundered toward the Nu River.

The Tiger Cavalry was no ordinary steppe cavalry.

The Tianheng tribe had concentrated immense resources to equip their warriors with heavy iron armor!

Thus, they were practically a semi-heavy armored cavalry!

As the iron-clad riders trampled the ice and swept onward, their charge was so powerful that the very ground on the opposite bank of the Nu River seemed to tremble.

...

“The northern barbarians... they’re really coming!”

“Boss... should we run?”

Whether it was Wang Huzi and others under Luo Fang, or the men under Xiang Rui, the overwhelming aura of battle made their faces pale with fear.

Xiang Rui clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with terror.

At that moment, Luo Fang suddenly shouted sharply:

“No one is allowed to retreat even a single step!”

“The enemy cavalry is right in front of us; no one can run now! And the refugees behind us are all watching—if we retreat, everything will descend into chaos! The enemy hasn’t even arrived yet, but we’d be trampled to death by our own people first!”

“Boss Luo’s right!”

Xue Chengqian, who had been standing on the central platform, rushed over and loudly called out to Luo Fang and the brothers behind him.

“You are all chosen warriors, behind you are your wives and children! If you retreat, your families will have no chance of survival!”

“We brothers will stand at the very front, bearing the first charge of the northern barbarian cavalry! Just follow me in charging forward. After this great battle, there will be enough food—we guarantee you and your families will survive the winter safely!”

“Life and death hang by a thread here. Those who retreat will perish under the enemy’s swords; those who advance may still grasp a sliver of hope!”

Today’s battle unfolded exactly as Xue Chengqian had predicted.

Though confident beforehand, he held his own fears during the fight.

He did not fear the northern barbarian cavalry itself, but he worried that the strong refugees behind him might collapse in terror the instant the barbarians charged.

If that happened, the rear would truly break, and he would lose control of the situation.

Thousands of northern barbarian iron cavalry had already reached the middle of the Nu River. He only needed his “brothers” to hold on just a little longer—if they could endure without breaking, there would be nothing to fear behind them.

Upon hearing Xue Chengqian’s rallying cry, the refugees who had already been gripped by panic did not retreat.

They had long since become numb to death; now, Xue Chengqian had stirred the last flicker of their will to survive.

Their families were at stake!

What made this even more tragic was that these desperate refugees only needed the promise of food—to eat their fill with their families—to ignite their desperate fighting spirit.

Just before, outside Wangjiang City, struggling with a glimmer of hope, they had fought fiercely with others just for a morsel.

Now, they merely shifted their target of desperation to the northern barbarians.

After his loud call, Xue Chengqian decisively grabbed a flag and stood atop the platform, leading all his brothers from the very front. Braving the cold wind, he stood firm.

His brothers, seeing his back, felt their blood boil, their fear of the northern barbarians diminished, and even the biting wind seemed less harsh.

Their refusal to flee only further enraged the galloping northern barbarians.

They roared and howled like the windswept steppes, determined to slaughter all the refugees—leaving not a single slave alive.

“Crack!”

Suddenly, several terrifying sounds pierced the air, so dreadful that they drowned out even the comrades’ howls.

“The ice is cracking!”

“How’s that possible? Our scouts tested the ice just yesterday!”

Though reckless, the northern barbarians were not fools.

They had long captured local guides who confirmed that once the Nu River froze, it would not thaw until the spring unless the weather warmed.

They had already sent riders to test galloping across the ice, and it was deemed safe.

Yet reality plunged the thousands of northern barbarian iron cavalry into dire straits.

After the ice began to crack, the pounding hooves of their horses widened the fissures rapidly, and soon many horses plunged into the freezing water.

The Nu River was a great northern river, and now deep in winter; once horse and rider fell into the water, struggle was nearly impossible, and hypothermia would swiftly end any hope of survival.

Even the fierce northern barbarians could not help but feel fear as the ice beneath them fractured, the cracks widening toward their side.

The desperate cries of those falling into the water from the flanks nearly shattered their morale.

They did not fear facing the Liang Dynasty’s imperial army, but against the forces of nature, who could stand?

At that moment, Maiya, charging at the front, suddenly bellowed: “No slowing down! Stopping is a dead end! Everyone, charge forward!”

...

“It’s done! The Nu River ice is breaking!”

Seeing the ice shatter and many northern barbarian riders falling into the water, Luo Fang, Kang Yu, and the others were ecstatic, shouting out loud.

Xiang Rui and the other refugees stood dumbfounded.

Once they recovered from their initial disbelief, a surge of joy for victory and survival welled up inside them, prompting frenzied cheers.

At the same time, Xue Chengqian became an unrivaled hero in their hearts!

At Wangjiang City’s walls, Lu Xiaoyuan and many generals wore faces of shock and confusion.

“The Nu River freezes solid enough to bear cavalry charges—how could this happen?”

Lu Xiaoyuan and his generals, long stationed at Wangjiang City and familiar with the river’s hydrology and seasonal traits, found the scene unbelievable.

They did not know how much the salt-alkaline soil Xue Chengqian had spread in advance had contributed. Bound by simple superstition, they could only attribute it to divine will...

But the lower-ranking soldiers thought little of such matters.

They saw the refugees outside the city daring to stand against the northern cavalry along the Nu River and witnessed heaven’s favor as the ice cracked and the enemy horses plunged into the water, and they cheered wildly.

Lu Xiaoyuan was the quickest to react. Narrowing his eyes, he fixed his gaze on the figure atop the distant platform, pondering deeply.

...

Even Xue Chengqian, who had designed the plan and understood the situation best, could not help but feel overwhelming joy.

He knew he had not only survived a fatal crisis but also gained immense prestige from this battle. If he played his cards right, even Lu Xiaoyuan would have to treat them well, and there would be no need to worry about Yapozi and the others.

At the same time, he was about to receive generous rewards from the system!

Sure enough, system prompts flashed before his eyes once more.

Yet the content of the message swiftly doused the joy that had filled Xue Chengqian’s heart.