Chapter 15: Crisis Suddenly Arises
Gan Ning’s greatest crisis was not Huang Zu seeking revenge; Huang Zu would not come so quickly. His greatest crisis was Zhang Ying. Chaisang was too close to Zhang Ying. Zhang Ying was like a wolf staring at Chaisang this prey from not far away. Once he discovered that Chaisang had a chance, he would certainly seize it firmly.
Gan Ning did not dare to stay long in Nanchang County; once he succeeded, he immediately withdrew north.
But Gan Ning was still one step too slow. At this time, Zhang Ying had already led three thousand soldiers around Mount Lu and arrived under Chaisang City.
Chaisang was originally Zhang Ying’s base, seized by Huang Zu. He could not provoke Huang Zu and had to swallow this insult. Now that Huang Zu had been driven away by Gan Ning, how could Zhang Ying possibly hand Chaisang over to Gan Ning?
He could not provoke Huang Zu himself, but could he not provoke a mere river bandit?
Beacon fire was still rising twenty li away in the distance, and Chaisang City’s city gate was already tightly closed.
Lu Su stood on the city wall, watching Zhang Ying’s army one li away. He quickly made a judgment in his mind: the enemy numbered around three thousand, without siege weapons. They would certainly still need to manufacture siege weapons, so he had at least one day.
Lu Su immediately said to Yang Jing, “Zhang Ying is cruel by nature. If he breaches the city, he will certainly let his soldiers loot and plunder. Everyone will face great disaster. You immediately take the constables to rally laborers to participate in defending the city and protect our homes together. General Shen, you take a hundred soldiers and go with Chief Clerk Yang!”
Yang Jing was originally just a grain officer county clerk, but Lu Su had instantly promoted him to chief clerk. Yang Jing was overjoyed. “I’ll go summon manpower right away!”
Yang Jing hurriedly left with Shen Mi.
Lu Su then summoned Lou Fa and said, “You take two hundred soldiers to collect a few supplies: first oil, preferably turpentine; actually straw; next harpoons; then boulders and wood—the more the better.”
“This subordinate will go right away!”
Chaisang City quickly mobilized. Constables beat gongs and shouted loudly, “Zhang Ying is leading his army to kill us! All men, step forward to defend our homes and protect our parents, wives, and children!”
The citizens of Chaisang all knew Zhang Ying was brutal. For even slight tax shortfalls, he would seize others’ wives or daughters to Haihun County. Even if ransomed back, they were ruined beyond recognition. The citizens of Chaisang hated him to the bone.
If Zhang Ying led his army into the city, he would certainly let his soldiers loot and plunder. Chaisang would face utter destruction. Men inside the city eagerly signed up one after another, taking hoes, harpoons, wooden sticks, and so on to the city wall to participate in defending the city.
Hearing that defense supplies were needed, citizens inside the city also donated heavy millstones, stone locks, stone stools, and sturdy wood from their homes—dozens of jin each. They donated several thousand jin of oils. One oil shop even donated five hundred jin of turpentine and over a thousand jin of bean oil in one go.
As for straw, every household had it and all donated. Soon it piled up to tens of thousands of jin.
Wealthy families were no exception. Led by the Yang family, those with money contributed money, those with grain contributed grain. Enthusiasm to resist the enemy army reached an all-time high. By dusk, they had recruited over four thousand able-bodied men, three thousand strings of cash, over a thousand stone of grain, and countless other supplies.
Young women were also mobilized to transport supplies, cook for the defending officers and soldiers, and carry wounded soldiers on stretchers.
With Commander Gan Ning absent, Lu Su unhesitatingly took charge as the overall commander of the city defense.
Zhang Ying stood on high ground, furious as he glared at Chaisang City not far away.
Zhang Ying was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, burly and tall, with a face full of savage flesh. Especially on his left cheek, a scar ran across half his face, making him look exceptionally ferocious.
Zhang Ying and Ze Rong were Liu Yao’s left and right confidant great generals. Initially, when Liu Yao was defeated by Sun Ce and fled to Yuzhang Commandery with several thousand remnant troops, Liu Yao appointed Zhang Ying as Left General, commanding two thousand to guard west of Pengli Lake; Ze Rong as Right General, similarly commanding two thousand to guard east of Pengli Lake.
After Liu Yao’s death, Zhang Ying and Ze Rong had no more restraints and became the two great warlords of Yuzhang Commandery.
This time, Zhang Ying had marched hastily without siege weapons. He had originally planned a sneak attack on Chaisang, but Lu Su had anticipated the enemy and sent people to set up a beacon fire station twenty li south of the city, foiling Zhang Ying’s sneak attack plan.
“Immediately go chop trees! Make ladders and battering rams for me overnight!”
Soldiers searched everywhere for wood. One by one, large trees were felled and dragged back to the barracks. Soldiers worked through the night to manufacture simple siege weapons.
The siege weapons that could be simply made were only two kinds: one was simple siege ladders, the other battering rams to smash open the city gate.
The reason it was called a simple siege ladder was because it lacked a fine iron hook at the front. The hook could latch directly onto the city wall, making it very hard for defending soldiers to flip the ladder over.
In one night, Zhang Ying’s army made over sixty simple siege ladders.
At the fourth watch, Zhang Xi, who had gone to report the news, climbed down from North City on a rope and ran toward the Yangtze dock. Lu Su watched his figure recede into the distance, soon vanishing into the night.
…………
As dawn broke, three thousand troops began assembling outside South City. On South City also gathered five hundred soldiers and two thousand able-bodied citizens, each holding a steel fork, strictly on guard on the city wall.
The remaining able-bodied citizens were dispersed to guard the other three city walls, preventing small enemy forces from sneak attacks.
“Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!”
War drums sounded below the city. Zhang Ying led three thousand troops surging forward like tidal waves.
The defending soldiers had no archery and could only watch wide-eyed as the enemy army rushed up.
“Prepare boulders and large wood! Everyone, don’t be afraid. We can certainly repel the enemy army!”
Lu Su wore leather armor and held a spear, pacing back and forth shouting loudly to boost the defenders’ morale.
“Our reinforcements will arrive soon. Everyone, rally your spirits and defeat the enemy attack!”
Zhang Ying saw no arrows shot from the city wall and excitedly shouted, “No archery on the city wall! Charge up!”
“Kill!”
Three thousand soldiers surged forward like tidal waves, laying wooden planks to cross the moat, propping one ladder after another against the city wall. Countless soldiers leaped up and quickly climbed.
Lu Su shouted, “Smash them with stones and wood!”
Soldiers lifted dozens-of-jin various stone objects and smashed them down. One by one, millstones and stone stools fell from the sky, heavily crashing onto the heads and bodies of the attacking soldiers. Unable to dodge, soldiers were smashed with broken bones and tendons, screaming as they tumbled off the ladders.
In an instant, over a hundred soldiers were struck and fell. Zhang Ying flew into a rage and ordered, “Archery, shoot!”
Below the city, a thousand soldiers drew bows and nocked arrows, dense arrows shooting toward the city wall. Soldiers had leather armor to resist arrows, but the assisting citizens had no armor and were hit by arrows one after another, screaming as they fell.
Lu Su anxiously shouted, “Citizens, don’t approach the city wall! Use harpoons to fork the ladders out!”
The prepared harpoons began to take effect. Soldiers used harpoons to hook the two ends of the ladders and pushed outward together with all their might.
The simple siege ladders had no iron hooks and were immediately pushed outward by the harpoons. The ladders gradually pulled away from the city wall. Soldiers on the city wall shouted in unison and pushed hard. Amid a chorus of screams, the ladders and a string of soldiers were all flipped over, crashing heavily to the ground or into the moat.
Other soldiers also pushed attacking ladders sideways. The ladders lost balance, toppled over, and in the blink of an eye, over thirty siege ladders were flipped by the defending soldiers, with over three hundred attacking soldiers injured.
“Set fire!” Lu Su seized the moment and shouted.
The defending soldiers were prepared. Bundles of straw were immediately thrown down from the city wall, followed by torches. The straw had oil and burned extremely fast. Instantly, a sea of blazing fire erupted below the city.
Countless soldiers below the city were burned and wailed in agony, their bodies aflame as they jumped into the moat.
Zhang Ying stared dumbfounded. Seeing the area below the city swallowed by fierce fire with no chance for attack for the time being, he could only order bitterly, “Withdraw!”
“Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!”
Withdrawal gongs sounded. Over two thousand five hundred attacking soldiers retreated like tidal waves. The city wall erupted in cheers and jubilation.
In the first attack, Zhang Ying’s soldiers suffered nearly five hundred casualties, including over one hundred twenty killed. The remaining over three hundred sixty were injured—either from falls or burns.
The city wall also suffered over eighty casualties, almost all citizens hit by arrows, with twenty-seven unfortunately shot in vital spots and killed.
Seeing the enemy army withdraw to one li away, Lu Su immediately ordered soldiers to climb down rope ladders to collect stones, and used ropes to lower many wicker baskets, hauling up basket after basket of boulders. They had only over a thousand boulders in total, and over four hundred had been used up at once—they must recycle them promptly.
“Chief Clerk Lu, we also got over thirty sets of archery!”
Shen Mi led over a dozen soldiers up to the city wall, each carrying several sets of bows and arrows.
Lu Su was delighted. Over thirty sets of archery could play a role at key moments.
After resting for half a shi, Zhang Ying launched another attack on Chaisang City. This time, he no longer sent siege ladders but dispatched a massive battering ram.
