Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Inside the Luoyang Prefectural Governor's Mansion, Helian Qianjun, who had just finished a busy day and was about to go to sleep, was suddenly awakened.

"General, this is terrible! An army of unknown origin has taken control of the port of Luoyang!"

"What did you say!"

Helian Qianjun pushed open the door and, without saying a word, pulled up the guard who had come to report.

"Tell me again!"

"General, the port of Luoyang has been taken over by an army of unknown origin. According to reports, General Li Sigong and the brave warriors defending the port have all been killed in battle!"

"Bastard thing!"

Helian Qianjun shoved the guard aside and roared.

"Men, don your armor and order all forces within the city to march towards Luoyang Port. We must retake the port!"

"Also, summon the strategist to me!"

Soon, Xia soldiers throughout Luoyang received orders and began to head towards Luoyang Port.

At this time, inside Luoyang Port, Lü Meng and Zhang Dingbian commanded their soldiers to build a ring-shaped defensive line in the shortest possible time using sandbags, carts, and all available resources, completely blocking the entrances and exits.

At the same time, all mortars were assembled and divided into two fire support battalions, which were then placed in the temporarily set-up artillery positions.

Ye Hui led a force of 600 officers and soldiers, totaling 30 armored units, and under the command of the adjutant general, into their designated infantry defensive positions.

Ye Hui, the main gunner, greedily stroked the Gatling gun barrel, wishing he could pick it up and bite it.

"Old brother, whether I can get rid of the reputation of throwing money around and showing off my wealth depends entirely on you. You have to make me proud."

Just then, a clear sound of hooves came from afar, accompanied by the neighing of horses, echoing in the dark night sky.

"All levels, prepare!"

click-

At Zhang Dingbian's command, the sound of bolts being pulled back echoed from within the defensive fortifications.

Many new recruits swallowed hard and couldn't help but look around.

After all, today is my real battlefield, and it would be a pipe dream to say I'm not nervous.

"Don't be nervous. Once the order comes down, just pull the trigger. We don't need you to be very accurate, just be ruthless and fast."

This is when the importance of veterans becomes apparent.

Their nonchalant tone quickly calmed the recruits' anxiety.

But not all new recruits are nervous; some are born for the battlefield and feel only uncontrollable excitement in this situation.

For example, Ye Hui, who killed someone with his own hands for the first time, not only did not feel any fear, but instead grew to like the exhilarating feeling more and more.

"Come on, I want to take on a hundred, no, two hundred!"

He kept rubbing his hands together, and said to Wu Jie, who was acting as the ammunition handler beside him, "You better watch out, kid, don't mess up at the crucial moment."

Wu Jie rolled his eyes at him and calmly replied, "You talk too much nonsense. Mind your own business. You don't need to remind me of this kind of trivial matter."

The heavy sound of horses' hooves grew ever closer.

Everyone was on high alert.

Suddenly, a group of five armored riders, each wielding a long spear, appeared at the alleyway ahead and charged toward him.

"Ha~"

Upon seeing the defensive line set up at the port, the leader of the Hu cavalry, instead of slowing down, raised his whip and shouted, showing no intention of slowing down at all.

In his mind, such low defensive fortifications posed no threat whatsoever;

Once you've ridden your horse a certain distance, leap over it to create an opening and pave a bloody path for the rest of the army.

Even more likely, he might break through the enemy's defenses single-handedly.

"Charge forward and crush them in one fell swoop!"

"Ha~"

The fifty leading Western Xia cavalrymen, inspired by the call to action, charged straight towards the Imperial Guard's defensive line without slowing down.

Behind the cavalry were thousands of infantrymen following closely behind.

Snapped--

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out in the night sky.

"Hit me!"

At Zhang Dingbian's command, Ye Hui was the first to crank the machine gun handle.

Click, click.

The seven Bodhisattva tubes began to rotate slowly, and the machine gun bullets held flat in Wu Jie's hand gradually began to shrink into the magazine.

next second...

Da da da da——

Fire and smoke filled the air as a hail of bullets rained down, relentlessly hurtling towards the cavalrymen.

bang bang bang-

Da da da da——

Immediately following was a barrage of fire from the remaining rifles and machine guns.

Puff puff puff——

In a mere instant, fifty charging cavalrymen, less than fifty meters from the Imperial Guard's lines, were riddled with bullets, men and horses alike.

The once most arrogant cavalryman, riddled with countless bloody holes, and his mount, after being hit, danced on the spot before finally collapsing into a pool of blood with a long, mournful cry.

As soon as the cavalrymen in front fell, the infantrymen who followed immediately became the next targets of the rampage.

"Come on, you bastard! Let me show you what grandpa's got to do, ah—"

Ye Hui's expression was ferocious as he cranked the handle faster and faster.

Amidst the hail of bullets, the advancing Western Xia infantry were instantly harvested like waves of wheat in autumn.

In just a moment of distraction, three hundred people were injured or killed.

Although most of the Guardsmen were new recruits and their live-fire training was insufficient.

However, even without aiming, they could hit the target nine times out of ten when facing the dense formation of the Western Xia soldiers.

This round of attacks completely stunned the Western Xia troops.

Seeing human lives being lost like weeds on their way forward, the Western Xia soldiers panicked.

Just as they were preparing to retreat after suffering 500 casualties, a reinforcement of 5,000 Western Xia soldiers arrived.

"What happened!"

"Reporting to the general, there are enemies ahead, they seem to be all martial arts cultivators. They have occupied the port, and we can't break through at all!"

"Useless! How could martial arts cultivators possibly oppose my brave and fearless Great Xia army? Don't panic, keep charging with me! We will annihilate them all here!"

The Western Xia general, having not witnessed it firsthand, did not believe the fleeing soldiers' words and immediately led two hundred archer cavalrymen to rush swiftly towards the Imperial Guard's defensive line.

Boom boom boom——

Suddenly, the Imperial Guard's mortars opened fire.

The moment it landed on their feet, countless figures were blown to pieces.

"put!"

Boom boom boom——

Zhang Dingbian revealed a cruel smile and kept ordering his men to attack the invading Western Xia cavalry.

Amidst the deafening roar of cannons, many infantrymen were killed on the spot, while the horse archers had not even gotten within 300 meters of the port defenses before losing more than half of their men. Dozens of warhorses were also startled and ran amok, instantly rendering the cavalry incapable of maneuvering.

"Beautiful! That's how it should be!"

Zhang Dingbian rubbed his hands excitedly; in just a short while, at least two thousand enemy soldiers had been killed or wounded.

The combination of artillery, infantry, and close-quarters fortifications formed a dense fan-shaped network of fire, making it impossible for the Western Xia army to approach the restricted area.

"Damn it, what kind of sorcery are these people using? How can it be so terrifying?"

Standing at a distance, Helian Qianjun frowned upon witnessing the battle at the port.

The Confucian scholar standing to the side remained silent.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Soon, three more Western Xia armies converged outside the port and launched a desperate charge against the Imperial Guard's defensive line.

Without exception, the relentless firepower of the Imperial Guard did nothing to advance the battle except leave behind a trail of corpses.

"I will fight with you!"

Bang~

Unable to bear the horrific casualty ratio, and seeing his comrades dying inexplicably from those strange weapons, a veteran of the Western Xia Dynasty went berserk and charged forward.

But soon, a 7.62mm rifle bullet pierced his head.

click-

The guardsman who shot the Western Xia soldier coldly pulled back the bolt, ejected the empty cartridge, and then continued to aim at another crazed man in front of him, pulling the trigger again.

A gunshot rang out, and the bullet pierced the man's forehead once again.

To date, more than seventeen Western Xia soldiers have died by his gun, making him a master of accuracy, hitting his target every time.

At this moment, the area in front of the port was already piled high with the corpses of the Western Xia people.

Yet there were still those who, oblivious to their own mortality, stubbornly charged into battle.

However, their courage and bravery seemed so insignificant in the face of the roaring steel.

Aside from leaving a bloody trail on the charge to prove its existence, it served no other practical purpose.