Chapter 158: Three-pronged Advance
The Han River had five pontoon bridges built overnight. Thirty thousand Jingzhou Army soldiers began crossing the river before dawn. In the hazy morning light, dense black dots raced across the pontoon bridges on the river surface.
The commander of the Jingzhou Army for this sneak attack on Jiangxia Commandery was Li Shu. He led the central army across the river, while the other two armies were commanded by Great Generals Fu Tong and Jiao Jin.
Cai Mao naturally had intelligence as well. He knew that the Yuzhang Army had deployed a total of twenty-five thousand men in Jiangxia Commandery, with twenty thousand deployed in Xiling County and five thousand in Anlu County.
After learning the intelligence, Liu Biao approved Cai Mao’s plan to send out troops.
Just as dawn was breaking, the thirty thousand army successively crossed the Han River. Their first target was Yundu County a hundred li away. The thirty thousand army would converge in Yundu County, and the logistics supplies would also arrive there.
Yundu County was the top priority in the Jingzhou Army’s sneak attack plan this time. Various logistics supplies would also be transported there, and Yundu County would become the key logistics base for the Jingzhou Army’s sneak attack.
Great General Jiao Jin, who took the southern route, was Cai Mao’s trusted subordinate and served as colonel. He led ten thousand army from Lankou Town across the Han River and raced along a small road toward Yundu County, one hundred thirty li away.
The soldiers only carried three days’ dry rations and marched quickly along a stretch of land in the marshes.
The officers and soldiers had no worries. The intelligence they received beforehand indicated that the nearest enemy army was in Anlu County three hundred li away, and their numbers were not large.
The western part of Jiangxia Commandery was also covered in vast marshes, with land and shallow water mixed together. There were few residents in the marshes because in summer, heavy rains increased, and the land in the marshes could easily be flooded. As a result, there were not many residences in the area, with large expanses of wasteland everywhere, overgrown with weeds.
The ten thousand army marching across this land resembled a jujube pit—thin at both ends and thick in the middle—covering thousands of mu. Both sides were vast marshes, with only the two ends connected to land.
When the ten thousand army passed through a forest, a sudden rapid clapper sound rang out from the forest: “Bang! Bang! Bang—” Immediately after, a volley of arrows was unleashed. The Jingzhou soldiers marching were caught off guard, struck by arrows one after another, screams filling the air as over a thousand soldiers were hit and fell to the ground.
The Jingzhou Army immediately fell into great chaos. Then, horn sounds came from the forest: “Woo—”. Countless soldiers charged out from the forest, straight at the Jingzhou Army a hundred paces away. Leading them was a great general on a white horse with a silver spear, majestic like a heavenly god—it was Great General Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun said nothing, urging his horse straight toward the enemy commander Jiao Jin. Seeing the fierce momentum of the opponent, Jiao Jin felt some panic in his heart, but he still braced himself and charged forward, swinging his saber to chop. Zhao Yun lightly dodged, the saber missing, and with a sweep of his spear like a silver dragon whipping its tail, “Pfft!” the spear pierced Jiao Jin’s throat. Jiao Jin fell from his horse with a “thud!”. Zhao Yun thrust another spear through Jiao Jin’s chest, and Jiao Jin died on the spot.
With the commander dead, this army was essentially finished. The Jingzhou Army soldiers scattered in the wilderness like headless flies, but they were surrounded by vast marshes with nowhere to flee. The entrances at both ends connecting to land were blocked by the Yuzhang Army. Apart from the over fifteen hundred who were shot dead or wounded, the remaining over eight thousand four hundred Jingzhou officers and soldiers had no way out and could only kneel and surrender one after another.
Li Shu led the central army of ten thousand relatively smoothly and arrived at Yundu County in just one day.
At dusk, Li Shu led the army to the county town, only to see the city gate open and no sign of anyone inside or on the walls. Li Shu hesitated, a feeling of unease quietly rising in his heart.
“Commander, something seems off?” Deputy General Zhang Li said softly.
Li Shu pondered briefly and ordered: “Send a scout team into the city to check.”
Zhang Li immediately sent a scout squad into the city. Soon, the scouts came out and reported: “Report to the commander, everything inside the city is intact, just no sign of people—no one was found.”
“Commander, could it be that because of our arrival, all the citizens in the city have fled?”
This situation was unlikely—how could they all have fled completely? Li Shu thought for a moment and said: “Send more people to search and see if there are any hidden combustibles like sulfur or fire oil in the city.”
“Yes, sir!”
Zhang Li arranged for several hundred soldiers to enter the city to search again. A quarter of an hour later, the soldiers came out and reported: “Report to the commander, no hidden combustibles were found in the city.”
Li Shu looked up at the sky. Although the unease in his heart had not dissipated, it was already dark, and he had no choice.
Li Shu could only order: “The entire army enters the city. Do not relax vigilance—maintain combat readiness at all times.”
The ten thousand army entered the city, the city gate closed, two thousand soldiers went up to the walls for defense, and the rest began searching for food to cook.
But no matter how they rummaged through trunks and cabinets, not a single grain could be found in the entire county town. No grain in the residences, and the grain stores and restaurants were empty—not a bit of grain to be found.
Zhang Li also panicked a bit and urgently reported to Li Shu. Li Shu was speechless for a long time—this was clearly the enemy’s scorched earth policy!
“Commander, how about we retreat first?”
“Retreat in the middle of the night? Are you crazy? What if the other armies arrive? What about our grain and fodder team?”
“Then what do we do?”
Li Shu pondered for a moment and said: “Send out five teams of soldiers, one hundred per team. Three teams to link up with the other two armies and the grain and fodder team, the remaining two teams to set up defenses outside the city. If any enemy army approaches, immediately shoot signal arrows to warn!”
This was a helpless measure. The enemy was hidden while they were exposed—Li Shu was now very passive and could only try to find ways to resolve the danger within limited options.
Xu Shu’s plan was very clear: no need to burn the city, but use the scorched earth policy to temporarily relocate all citizens east of the Wei River, leaving not a single grain for the enemy, forcing the enemy army to surrender without fighting through starvation.
Fu Tong’s ten thousand army encountered an interception by Huang Zhong’s fifteen thousand army.
In the wilderness, the two armies faced off from afar. At this time, a cavalryman galloped up to Fu Tong and handed him a letter.
Huang Zhong and Fu Tong had a very good personal friendship. Huang Zhong hoped Fu Tong would surrender voluntarily and avoid armed conflict, so he wrote a letter to Fu Tong for him to consider.
Fu Tong opened the letter and read it carefully, his expression stiffening. In the letter, Huang Zhong told him that their retreat route had been cut off, their grain and fodder logistics seized, and if they advanced east, they would not get a single grain. Apart from surrender, they had no way out.
If Fu Tong surrendered voluntarily, he would not be captured but would defect and could still be highly valued in the Yuzhang Army. Please think it over, Fu Tong.
The letter especially mentioned that Fu Tong was not part of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun’s faction, had long been marginalized and unable to gain promotion. In this great battle, the Jingzhou Army was doomed to defeat, and even if Fu Tong escaped back, he would bear the responsibility for the defeat.
Huang Zhong’s words struck Fu Tong right in the heart. He was truly tempted. After much contemplation, Fu Tong said to the messenger soldier: “Please tell Old General Huang to give me some time to consider. I will give him a reply before dawn tomorrow.”
The cavalryman went back to report. Huang Zhong ordered a withdrawal of twenty li, and Fu Tong’s army also slowly withdrew westward.
