Chapter 122: Setback In The City Assault
The next morning, as the war drum sounded, the Yuzhang Army’s first attack on the city with twenty thousand troops began.
Linxiang City’s moat was extremely wide, with the narrowest point being twenty zhang. Normally, a stone bridge was built over the moat, and the drawbridge rested on the stone bridge for convenient access for citizens inside and outside the city. Once the high drawbridge was raised, the stone bridge became meaningless.
The moat was also seven or eight zhang away from the city wall, too far to use ships for attack, so attacking the city could only rely on building pontoon bridges and using siege ladders.
But the Yuzhang Army had a method: they sailed doujian warships into the moat and laid wooden planks between the doujian, quickly forming three pontoon bridges at North City.
How could the defending soldiers allow them to easily build pontoon bridges? Arrows shot like raindrops toward the soldiers on the large ships, and at the same time, five thousand crossbowmen on shore also fired arrows at the city wall, forming a dense arrow rain from the city wall top and below.
Soldiers on the large ships could only struggle to build the pontoon bridges under the cover of giant shields, but soldiers were still constantly hit by arrows, falling headfirst, and immediately dragged back into the cabin by soldiers from inside for treatment.
Amid the defending army’s dense arrow rain, the pontoon bridge ships slowly advanced toward the city wall. Just as the last large ship was being set up, countless burning fire oil bottles were thrown at the doujian.
‘Pa! Pa!’ The fire oil bottles shattered upon hitting the ships, igniting rapidly.
The attacking Yuzhang soldiers were prepared. Soldiers immediately rushed out carrying damp bedding and laid it over the raging flames, extinguishing the fire on the ships at once.
But the enemy army’s arrows still fell like rain, and many fire-extinguishing soldiers were hit by arrows, collapsing on the deck.
At the same time, Yuzhang Army soldiers also threw burning fire oil bottles toward the city wall top, igniting a large fire there.
Yuzhang Army soldiers also pushed forward over a hundred medium catapults, hurling burning fire oil cans toward the city wall top, instantly turning it into a sea of fire.
“Attack the city and charge!”
With Gan Ning’s order, the attack horn sounded, “Woo—woo—”
The low horn echoed outside the city.
Five thousand Yuzhang Army soldiers who were already prepared carried siege ladders, raised shields against the arrow rain, rushed onto the large ship pontoon bridges, ran across the pontoon bridge ships, and charged swiftly toward under the city wall. Soon, they hooked siege ladders onto the city wall top and bravely climbed up.
But from under the city, the situation on the city wall top was invisible, only seeing the flames raging fiercely.
Huang Zhong had long ordered soldiers to build a several-li-long fire wall on the city wall top using mud and sandbags, leaving a one-zhang-wide space at the wall side. Due to the trajectory, the fire oil could only land on the latter half of the city wall top, so although the flames burned fiercely, they were blocked by the fire wall.
Thick smoke rolled, and every defending soldier held a wet towel over mouth and nose, crouching at the base of the city wall.
Huang Zhong stared at the Yuzhang Army soldiers. When siege ladder iron hooks caught the city wall, Huang Zhong shouted, “Charge!”
Soldiers grabbed heavy boulders and large logs and smashed them down at the siege ladders. In an instant, rolling logs and rubble rained down like hail from the city wall top, and attacking soldiers screamed as they fell from the wall one after another.
Jars of fire oil were also poured down the siege ladders, covering dozens of siege ladders with fire oil. The flames ignited instantly, turning dozens of siege ladders into fire ladders. Bundles of straw were thrown from the city wall top, quickly igniting a large fire under the city wall, filling Yuzhang Army soldiers with panic as they jumped from the ladders to escape.
Gan Ning watched from a few hundred paces away, his brows furrowed. The opponent’s city defense was extremely methodical, with arrows and fire oil in perfect coordination, and specialized throwing holes for rolling logs and rubble, making it impossible for their arrows to hit the enemy army on the city wall top.
What annoyed Gan Ning most was that his invented fire oil bottles wielded tremendous power in the defending army’s hands. What Gan Ning did not know was that once such a powerful firearm appeared, if the technical barrier was not high, it would quickly spread rapidly among the vassal lords’ armies.
Now not only had the Jingzhou Army equipped them in large numbers, but the Jiangdong Army was also beginning mass production of fire oil. Even Cao Cao’s army had started equipping several models of fire oil bottles, with large fire oil bottles launched into the city using catapults.
Moreover, the opponent was not afraid of the large fire burning on the city wall top at all. Why was that?
Xu Shu said to Gan Ning, “The opponent did not extinguish the fire but was not burned, only one reason: they likely built a fire wall on the city wall top to block the flames. It seems they were fully prepared.”
At that moment, the city wall top actually threw out thousands of straw stacks. Gan Ning knew full well the consequences: if they did not withdraw now, the five thousand attacking soldiers would be completely annihilated. He could only sigh helplessly and order, “Sound the gong to withdraw!”
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
The withdrawal gong rang, and thousands of Yuzhang Army soldiers retreated like the tide, but countless soldiers were still hit by arrows, falling headfirst onto the ships.
Fire oil cans were shot from the city wall top, smashing heavily onto the ships. The pontoon bridge ships instantly became a sea of fire, forcing the soldiers on board to withdraw as well. The soldiers on the city wall top erupted in cheers.
In the first attack on the city, the Yuzhang Army suffered over fifteen hundred casualties, and twelve doujian large ships were completely burned by the flames—a never-before-seen heavy loss.
Gan Ning was truly furious and unwilling. Under the night curtain, he gazed far at this fortress, which truly gave him a headache. According to his intelligence, the opponent’s troop strength was originally ten thousand, plus armies from Luo County and Xiangnan County, now totaling seventeen thousand troops, and twenty thousand militia.
Troop numbers were not the real issue; what truly gave Gan Ning a headache was the defending commander Huang Zhong, whose city defense was extremely methodical. Even the most powerful fire oil attack had lost its effect. Although he could perhaps reach the city wall top at any cost, that was absolutely not what he wanted.
“Is my lord still worried about attacking the city?” Xu Shu walked up with a smile.
Gan Ning sighed, “For the first time, I feel a sense of powerlessness.”
Xu Shu pondered for a moment and said, “If we must take Linxiang County, it’s not impossible.”
Gan Ning’s eyes lit up, “What brilliant plan does the strategist have?”
“It’s hardly a brilliant plan—it’s down to luck!”
Xu Shu whispered a few words, and Gan Ning gave a helpless bitter smile, “We really can only rely on luck!”
………..
The next morning, the defending soldiers were surprised to find the Yuzhang Army outside the city gone. They hurried to report to Huang Zhong. Soon, Huang Zhong rushed to the city wall top and saw all the tents gone, cleared away completely, as if they had never been there.
Huang Zhong was truly surprised. What did this mean?
At this time, Prefect Liu Xin also arrived, equally surprised, “General Huang, what is going on?”
“I don’t know why the opponent suddenly withdrew. This is not Gan Ning’s style—he never gives up easily, let alone after just one attack on the city. He must be plotting something.”
Liu Xin suddenly thought, “This must be because our reinforcements have arrived, forcing Gan Ning to withdraw to protect his warships and navy.”
When Liling fell, Liu Xin had sent a carrier pigeon letter to Jiangling for aid. By the timing, reinforcements should be arriving.
Huang Zhong nodded, “Possible. He went to engage our reinforcements.”
Liu Xin’s heart stirred with a bold idea, “Why not sally out from the city to link up with our reinforcements and crush the Yuzhang Army in a pincer attack?”
“Absolutely not!”
Huang Zhong rejected it outright, “What Gan Ning wants most now is for us to sortie and fight. We cannot fall into his trap. Defend the city Linxiang County is the correct decision.”
Liu Xin fell silent, and after a while he sighed, “That’s truly regrettable. What if our reinforcements lose?”
“Even if the reinforcements lose, we absolutely cannot step out of the city!” Huang Zhong answered decisively.
