General Zhao Feng's heavy imperial halberdiers poured through the breached wooden barricades.
The outer courtyards of the coastal fortress, typically a bustling economic hub dedicated to the lucrative export of raw wool and salted fish to the Frankish kingdoms, were instantly transformed into a slaughterhouse.
The surviving elements of the Tang archery vanguard had been absorbed into the center of this advancing mass, driven forward by the unforgiving discipline of the eastern commanders.
"The outer storehouses!" Ealdred shrieked, "Iron Father, the lower vaults are filled with unminted hacksilver and imported Byzantine silk! The regional treasury is exposed! If the easterners capture those warehouses, the entire territory of Wessex will be castrated for three generations!"
Lord Cynewulf, a prominent regional noble, simply could not accept the abandonment of his hoarded wealth.
