Chapter 16: Besiege Wei To Rescue Zhao
Gan Ning gazed solemnly toward the direction of Chaisang and said after a long pause, “We are not going to Chaisang!”
Wang Ping and Ding Feng were greatly shocked. “General, Chaisang is urgently awaiting our rescue!”
Gan Ning turned back to the messenger Zhang Xi and asked, “When you left, had they begun to attack the city?”
“This subordinate came down from the city wall at midnight. Chief Clerk Lu said that the enemy was building simple siege ladders and would attack the city the next day!”
“Did it take you three days to find us?”
“Exactly!”
Gan Ning said slowly, “Three days have already passed. If Zhang Ying could capture Chaisang City, he would have already done so. We will not go to Chaisang for now; instead, we will attack Haihun County and raid Zhang Ying’s lair. This is called besiege Wei to rescue Zhao, and it is also our chance to eliminate Zhang Ying!”
“But what about Chief Clerk Lu…” Wang Ping and Ding Feng both looked worried.
Gan Ning smiled. “Chief Clerk Lu is a brilliant talent from Jiangbiao. I firmly believe he can hold Chaisang!”
The fleet turned around and sailed toward Haihun County.
……..
Haihun County is the third largest county in Yuzhang Commandery, next only to Nanchang County and Poyang County. It is currently also Zhang Ying’s lair. The Xiushui River, originating from Mufu Mountain, flows through Haihun County and finally empties into the Gan River.
At dusk, Wang Ping brought several subordinates who had captured a Haihun County official, Household Officer Li Dai.
Li Dai was trembling with fear. Upon seeing Gan Ning, he immediately knelt and begged for mercy. “My family has young children who need me to support them. Please spare my life, General!”
“I will only ask you some things. As long as you answer truthfully, I will naturally let you go. But if you dare to deceive me intentionally, not only will you die, but your children will not survive either!”
“This humble one will certainly report truthfully!”
Gan Ning asked, “Where has Zhang Ying gone?”
“It is said he led the army to recapture Chaisang County.”
“How many troops did he take with him?”
“This humble one infers around three thousand men.”
“How many troops are left inside Haihun County now?” Gan Ning pressed further.
“There are still one thousand men, so I infer that Zhang Ying took three thousand to Chaisang, meaning he has four thousand troops.”
“Are all his troops in Haihun County? What about other counties? For example, are there troops in Jianling County?”
Li Dai shook his head. “Zhang Ying originally had six thousand troops, but later he fought a fierce battle with Taishi Ci and was badly defeated. If Liu Xin had not led troops to rescue him, he would have been completely annihilated. He has four thousand troops left, all in Haihun County.”
Gan Ning frowned. “Where did Liu Xin come from to rescue him?”
“From Changsha Commandery!”
“Is there still any of Liu Xin’s army here in Haihun County?”
Li Dai quickly shook his head. “Liu Xin’s army has already withdrawn, but he has stationed one thousand troops in Ai County, the westernmost part of Yuzhang Commandery. This was Zhang Ying’s way of repaying Liu Xin for sending troops to help, by giving him Ai County.”
Gan Ning pondered for a moment and then asked, “Where are the one thousand troops inside the city stationed?”
“There are barracks inside the city, but Zhang Ying’s troops are very lax. They gamble and sleep during the day and visit brothels at night. They are only responsible for guarding two city gates, but there are not many soldiers actually guarding the gates.”
“Not many means how many?”
“At most fifty or sixty men!”
“When do they gather in the barracks?”
“Only at mealtimes and bedtime.”
Gan Ning nodded. “After this is accomplished, do one more thing for me, and I will promote you to County Assistant of Haihun!”
……..
At dusk, the defending soldiers of Haihun County had all returned to the barracks for dinner. There were only thirty soldiers guarding the North City Gate, with five soldiers standing outside the gate to check passersby.
At this moment, three ox carts fully loaded with river sand arrived. Li Dai was sitting on the first ox cart.
The defending soldiers recognized Li Dai and laughed, “Household Officer Li, what are you transporting so much sand for?”
Li Dai explained awkwardly, “Building a house at home requires river sand!”
The defending soldiers waved them through. The three ox carts entered the city, but unexpectedly, as the first ox cart reached the city gate, there was a ‘crack!’ and the axle broke, crushing two wheels as well.
“Wait a moment, I will go find a cart repair shop to fix it!”
Li Dai ran off. The soldiers were helpless too. The ox cart was blocking the city gate exactly, and the two carts behind were stuck on the drawbridge, which could not be raised.
At this moment, three hundred soldiers suddenly appeared not far away. Two hundred of them were actually clad in iron armor, charging rapidly toward the city gate.
The soldiers on the city wall spotted them at once and shouted loudly, “Something’s happening! Quickly close the city gate!”
But the city gate was blocked by the cart and could not be closed. The drawbridge could not be raised either.
The gate-guarding Battalion Commander shouted, “Push the cart into the moat!”
The five soldiers outside the gate desperately tried to push the cart into the moat, but it was already too late. Wang Ping, disguised as the cart driver, and two subordinates drew their battle sabers from the river sand and charged at the enemy soldiers on the drawbridge.
A chorus of screams followed as three soldiers were instantly killed. The remaining two soldiers fled in terror.
In moments, Gan Ning led two hundred ironclad soldiers onto the drawbridge and charged into the county town, heading straight for the nearby barracks.
Ding Feng and Wang Ping then led the remaining one hundred soldiers close behind.
At this point, the gate-guarding soldiers were no longer important. The urgent task was to eliminate the more than nine hundred soldiers in the barracks.
Gan Ning had chosen exactly dinnertime. More than nine hundred soldiers in the barracks were squatting on the ground eating together.
Suddenly, the camp gate was smashed open with a ‘boom!’ Two hundred ironclad soldiers wielding spears rushed in. Everyone stood up in shock, staring at the ironclad soldiers before them.
Gan Ning shouted sternly, “All of you, kneel down and raise your hands!”
At this time, Commander Wang Miao and several generals reacted. Wang Miao shouted, “Brothers, fight them!”
He turned and rushed toward the weapon room. Gan Ning was prepared and launched almost simultaneously, his figure swift as a whirlwind, intercepting the enemy commander just in time. Gan Ning swept his halberd horizontally with a ‘pfft!’, and Commander Wang Miao’s head flew off.
A dozen soldiers turned to run but were speared to death by Ding Feng and his soldiers.
The commander’s death stunned the other soldiers, and none dared to run anymore.
Gan Ning shouted, “Kneel now, or we will annihilate you completely!”
The soldiers’ faces turned pale, and they all knelt, raising their hands high.
Ding Feng led one hundred soldiers to rush into the weapon room and confiscated all the weapons. Without weapons, the soldiers were like cats with their claws and teeth pulled, posing no threat.
By now, the gate-guarding soldiers had all fled clean.
Haihun County fell into Gan Ning’s hands.
Half a shichen later, Grain Officer Li Dai mounted a horse and galloped urgently toward Chaisang to report to Zhang Ying that Haihun County had been sneak attacked by an army of unknown origin.
……..
Zhang Ying’s attacks on Chaisang had suffered continuous major setbacks. The battering ram he had prepared to smash the city wall was met with a fire attack of three thousand dan of straw, burning three hundred soldiers to death and reducing the battering ram to half-charcoal.
For the moment, Zhang Ying was at a loss. If his troop strength was powerful and grain plentiful, he could besiege them for months until Chaisang collapsed from lack of food.
But Zhang Ying could not do that. His lair was empty, and once Lv Fan discovered it, Lv Fan would surely strike while it was weak, leaving him with nothing.
Yet to give up on Chaisang was something he could not accept. More than five hundred men had died in battle at Chaisang, plus a large number of wounded. He had only two thousand elite troops left usable, with nearly one thousand casualties!
Just let Chaisang go like this? That would be too easy on them.
At this time, subordinate general Yu Yong advised, “Lord, why not return first and forge dozens of iron hooks? Next time, bring carpenters to fit iron hooks on the siege ladders, and the defenders on the wall will not be able to flip them over.”
Another great general said, “General Yu is right. The direct reason we cannot attack the city is the major flaw in the siege ladders. The enemy can easily flip them. Once iron hooks latch onto the city wall, we will surely be able to climb to the city wall.”
Zhang Ying sneered, “Next time I will not need siege ladders. I will directly send a hundred men to mix into the city and open the city gate from inside and out!”
“A brilliant insight from the Lord!”
Zhang Ying felt slightly better and ordered, “Pass the order to the entire army: withdraw back to Haihun County!”
