Chapter 143: Urgent Call For Aid
Huang Zu was at the Yangtze River at this time, silently watching the opposite bank of the Yangtze River. He received news that Gan Ning had moved his capital back to Chaisang, which filled his heart with worry. His intuition told him this was a precursor to Gan Ning attacking him.
“Father, Gan Ning’s next step should be to attack the Jingnan Three Commanderies, not us!”
Huang She saw his father’s worry and softly comforted him.
“Jingnan is all bones with no meat; Gan Ning looks down on it. He didn’t dare attack me before because he feared Liu Biao. Now that he has defeated Liu Biao and captured Changsha Commandery, he no longer fears Liu Biao. His next step will definitely be to move against me.”
After speaking, Huang Zu looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh. Huang She didn’t know how to comfort his father and after a long pause said, “If Father is really worried, why not ask Liu Biao for aid! After all, we are also his subordinates, and he certainly won’t tolerate Jiangxia Commandery being taken by Gan Ning again.”
Huang Zu nodded. “You’re right. When it’s time to bow one’s head, one must still bow it. You go to Xiangyang for me and ask Liu Biao for aid.”
“Father, should we wait until the Yuzhang Army actually marches out before asking for aid?”
Huang Zu hurriedly shook his head. “By then it will be too late. I know Liu Biao too well. He is indecisive, drags his feet in doing things, and is easily restrained by noble families. Even if he agrees to send troops, it will take at least ten days or half a month, and that’s the fastest. So we must request it in advance.”
“I understand. Tomorrow morning, your son will set out for Xiangyang.”
On the opposite bank of the Yangtze River, Gan Ning was also actively preparing for war.
Apart from Ding Feng’s army garrisoning Baqiu County, Shen Mi’s army garrisoning Wan County, and Wei Yan’s army garrisoning Xiakou, all other armies had arrived at Chaisang. Xu Sheng, General Taishi, Zhao Yun, and Huang Zhong, four great generals, with a total of sixty thousand troops and over a thousand warships.
Early in the morning, Huang Zhong came to the General Who Builds Martial Might’s Mansion and found Gan Ning.
Huang Zhong clasped his fists and said, “This subordinate does not understand why my lord has me guard Chaisang.”
Gan Ning smiled and said, “Someone has to guard Chaisang! What if we all go out to fight and someone comes to steal our home?”
“If it’s merely for this consideration, this subordinate has nothing to say and will absolutely obey military orders. But if there are other reasons? This subordinate dares not defy you, but I beg my lord to tell this subordinate the truth.”
Gan Ning looked at him for a moment and said, “I won’t hide it from you. It’s because you and Huang Zu are from the same clan. I’m not worried that you won’t give your all, but rather that it’s hard to explain within your family.”
Huang Zhong laughed. “My lord is wrong to say that. Aren’t there few cases of those surnamed Liu killing those surnamed Liu? Huang Zu is from the Anlu Huang Family, I am from the Nanyang Huang Family. Though we both bear the Huang surname, we are not from the same family, only sharing a distant ancestor. Moreover, within the Huang Family, we each have different political views. I and Huang Zu are completely at odds. For these past ten-plus years, I have almost ignored him. Though we both served Liu Biao, we had no dealings, so my lord need not worry at all. Everyone serves their own lord.”
Gan Ning paced a few steps with his hands behind his back. He had personally won Huang Zhong over, yet now he wasn’t giving him a chance in the war. Huang Zhong would obey orders, but there would always be some resentment in his heart.
Thinking of this, Gan Ning finally nodded and said, “Alright! You are responsible for attacking westward from Lujiang Commandery.”
Huang Zhong was overjoyed. “This subordinate obeys!”
Gan Ning handed the heavy responsibility of guarding Chaisang to Lu Su and left him ten thousand troops. With Chaisang City’s tall and sturdy walls, easy to defend and hard to attack, ten thousand for defense was more than enough.
On the fifth day of the second month, Gan Ning led the army to E County, formally launching the Jiangxia campaign. He ordered Wei Yan’s division to lead five hundred warships from Xiakou into the Han River, responsible for cutting off Liu Biao’s crossing passage to aid Huang Zu.
He also ordered Huang Zhong to lead ten thousand troops from Xunyang County to attack westward to Qi Chun County, then attack Xiling County from the western route.
He also ordered Xu Sheng to lead over a thousand mengchong warships patrolling the upper Yangtze River, while commanding over a thousand ships of grain and fodder as support.
Gan Ning himself personally led General Taishi and Zhao Yun with a total of thirty thousand troops, sailing five hundred tower ships toward Zhu County on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
This time, it was mainly land warfare; warships would basically not be used.
Zhu County was the first target of the Yuzhang Army’s offensive. Taking it would give the Yuzhang Army a foothold north of the river.
Zhu County currently had ten thousand troops garrisoning it, with Su Fei as the commander.
Huang Zu had also built an alarm system along the river, with a beacon tower every thirty li. When Gan Ning’s warships appeared on the Yangtze River, the beacon towers on the north bank were lit, sending three columns of thick smoke straight into the sky.
Su Fei stood on the city wall, tensely watching the thick smoke in the distance.
Deputy General Wang Kui suggested, “Our Yangtze dock here is narrow, making landing slow. Why not proactively attack and strike the enemy army while they are half-crossed?”
Another general also suggested, “Zhu County is not a strategic stronghold. The city walls are low and the gates dilapidated; it’s very easy to breach with a ship assault. General Wang is right; better to proactively attack and give the Yuzhang Army a head-on blow.”
Su Fei hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. “Then we attack!”
…….
Tower ships blotted out the sky and covered the earth as they arrived at the north bank of the Yangtze River, overshadowing the river surface. The first batch of twenty warships gradually approached Zhu County’s dock.
Gan Ning stood on a large ship in the middle of the river, watching the warships docking.
He said to Xu Shu beside him, “Does the strategist think the enemy will really ambush us on the shore?”
Xu Shu smiled faintly. “Zhu County is just a market town. The city walls are not high, the gates are dilapidated, and the moat hugs the walls tightly. We can capture the city with a ship assault as easily as reaching for something. Su Fei knows this. On the contrary, Zhu County’s dock is small, making our landing inconvenient. This subordinate thinks they will either retreat or ambush us. Comparing the two, an ambush is more likely—bite off a chunk of flesh and then withdraw calmly. Isn’t that better?”
Gan Ning nodded slowly. “The strategist makes sense. Now it depends on General Taishi and General Zhao’s methods.”
Su Fei led ten thousand troops ambushing near the dock, with five thousand archers ambushing in the front, followed by five thousand spearman army behind.
From Su Fei’s position, he could see the situation on the river surface. Watching the twenty large ships approach the dock, Su Fei grew tense.
“Archers, prepare!”
At Su Fei’s command, the five thousand archers tensed their bodies.
At that moment, drum sounds suddenly erupted from both sides. Two armies charged from left and right: on the left, General Taishi led three thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry; on the right, General Zhao led five thousand infantry.
The two thousand cavalry first charged into the enemy archers, throwing the archer ranks into chaos. Before Su Fei could react, Zhao Yun’s five thousand troops also reached the spearman army in the rear. Deputy General Wang Kui swung his blade to meet them, but in a single clash, Wang Kui was picked off his horse by Zhao Yun’s spear.
Several company commanders rushed to surround Zhao Yun, but he speared one after another, killing them all. Zhao Yun roared and charged into the enemy army.
Seeing the enemy’s commander charging toward them like a heavenly god, the five thousand spear soldiers’ legs went soft with fear. No one knew who fled first, but in an instant, military morale collapsed. The spear soldiers discarded helmets and armor, fleeing desperately. The archers behind also turned and ran for their lives, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.
Su Fei had reacted by now—he had been tricked. The enemy had known he would try to strike while they were half-crossed and had two armies ambushing here! Panicked and distraught, he ignored the other soldiers and spurred his horse to flee, followed by a dozen personal guards.
General Taishi saw it clearly, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, shooting Su Fei’s warhorse in the hind leg. The horse collapsed, throwing Su Fei over a zhang away. Before he could get up, dozens of Yuzhang Army soldiers rushed up. Several soldiers pinned Su Fei down and bound him with ropes.
