135.Victory and defeat in battle are decided in a single instant.
From the outset, it had never been a balanced fight.
Once the formation collapsed, most of them began fleeing toward Anyang Fortress.
They pressed forward, striking the backs of those who ran.
Victory and defeat in battle are decided in a single instant.
Men without horses and with miserable armor fell in droves to arrows, and more fell in droves under the charge.
Yang Johwi asked,
"Scholar, how far are you going?"
"To the end."
"And where is the end?"
"The magistrate's office."
To reach the magistrate's office, they would have to pass the city walls.
Anyang's walls were not especially high, yet they were more than sufficient to halt a cavalry advance.
Cavalry cannot cross walls.
Once the gates close, it is over.
"That's too much."
"Leave it to me. Heh."
What had seemed a pursuit that would end at the bridge stretched along the main road all the way to the city gate.
They did not strike at those fleeing to either side.
They rode straight for the walls.
Seeing Jinui Guards mixed among the charging force, the gate soldiers hurried to close the gates.
Fear moved their hands.
Even as their own men tried to retreat inside, they shut the doors.
With polearms flashing and cavalry bearing down at full gallop, they felt that if they did not close them quickly, their lives would be forfeit.
One gate soldier's trousers were damp.
"Hey, you bastard—don't close it!"
Those fleeing were desperate.
Those closing the gates were just as desperate.
The city soldiers slammed the gates shut, friend and foe alike be damned.
Left stranded before the closed gates, the mixed rabble of Jinui Guards and local troops huddled for a moment, then turned with grim resolve.
With no path of escape, they lowered their spears and faced forward.
When there is nowhere to run, men choose to fight.
Arrows began raining down from the walls.
Even the pursuing White Dragon Cavalry suffered losses in the melee.
The arrows did not distinguish between friend and enemy.
Grasping the situation at once, Ga Gyeongpil ordered the retreat horn sounded.
Soun wished to press further, but Ga Gyeongpil had never intended to push all the way to the walls.
For cavalry, a city wall is a hard barrier.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
They withdrew beyond the range of the arrows from the wall and reformed their ranks.
A little over a hundred riders remained.
A dozen or so had fallen, yet their momentum still burned fierce.
Breaking the enemy's front and cutting down the unprepared with arrows beforehand had made the difference.
The enemy had withdrawn into the city.
From above, arrows shot downward and traveled far enough to harry the White Dragon Cavalry.
So the troops were pulled back farther still.
From the bridge to the gate, no trace of the enemy remained.
Not a single figure could be seen.
As they turned their horses and rode out, the road on both sides lay strewn with enemy corpses.