Chapter 205: Tracking The Whereabouts
Xu Shu asked, “May I ask the general, how large exactly is the enemy’s giant trebuchet?”
Gan Ning nodded. “According to the intelligence we obtained, the enemy’s giant trebuchet is fifty feet tall, with a throwing pole ten zhang long. Currently, we also cannot build such a massive catapult.”
Xu Shu pondered for a moment and said, “This subordinate is considering how the enemy transports such a massive catapult.”
“It is said they were transported from Xuchang to Xiangyang, then overland from Xiangyang to Jiangling, and then from Jiangling along the Yangtze River to Yiling.”
At this point, Gan Ning suddenly understood Xu Shu’s meaning. “Does Strategist Xu mean that transportation is the weak point of this kind of catapult?”
Xu Shu nodded. “This kind of giant trebuchet has appeared before, but none have had a good end, precisely because of transportation issues. It requires a long time to plan, requisition a large number of mule carts or ships, and is very vulnerable to raids by the enemy army, and easily damaged, requiring a large group of artisans to maintain it.”
Pang Tong also said, “This subordinate believes these giant trebuchets are not intended to deal with Yiling County. They were transported from Xuchang, and the target should be us—more precisely, the warships on the Han River. The narrowest point on the Han River is at Zhangshan Mountain, where the water surface is only one li wide, right within the range of this kind of catapult. If they use incendiary bombs to attack our warships, I’m afraid our warships will be unable to go north to blockade the Han River. We must try every means to destroy these one hundred fifty catapults.”
Gan Ning said slowly, “One hundred fifty catapults are not a big problem. I didn’t invite you all here to discuss how to destroy these one hundred fifty catapults. I want to discuss with you all how to respond to the changing form of warfare. Fire warfare will only become more prevalent in the future. How should we cope? Everyone, speak up! Does the strategist have any ideas?”
Gan Ning’s gaze turned to Lu Su. Lu Su pondered for a moment and said, “This subordinate has been considering a problem during this time. If the Cao Army launches a major offensive southward, will they take the Xiangyang route or the Hefei route? If they take the Xiangyang route, the Cao Army will inevitably first capture Jiangxia Commandery, then Lujiang Commandery, then directly face Chaisang, or connect with Jiujiang Commandery and Guangling Commandery, giving them many points of attack.”
“But if they take Hefei County, I estimate the Cao Army will similarly take Lujiang Commandery and Jiangxia Commandery. These are all land warfare, where they have massive armies, plus fierce fire attacks. We definitely cannot hold out. But no matter how fierce the Cao Army is north of the river, they still have to cross the Yangtze. No matter how concealed their land armies are, their warships must assemble. So I believe our next strategy is naval battle. Naval battle has two aspects: first, strengthen ourselves; second, weaken the enemy. We must walk on two legs—strengthen ourselves while also finding ways to weaken the enemy, destroying their ships as much as possible.”
Jiang Wan said, “Strategist Lu is absolutely right. No matter how we blockade the Han River, the enemy will still come from the east, catching us off guard. We must prepare mentally to lose the two commanderies north of the river. I suggest we prepare for the rainy day now, starting immediately to transfer resources and population southward, especially salt. We should mine the salt mine in a way that expands production tenfold, quickly building up a ten-year safety stock. Additionally, we should expand purchases of sea salt from Jiangdong, using the sea salt purchased from Jiangdong to meet our daily needs.”
Gan Ning nodded to Jiang Wan and Bu Zhi. “You two negotiate the specifics, formulate a plan, and quickly start transporting the population and resources back to the south bank of the Yangtze, then consider how to resettle them.”
Jiang Wan and Bu Zhi nodded silently together. Gan Ning then said to Lu Su, “Strengthening ourselves and weakening the enemy—these two lines will be handled by the Strategist’s Mansion. You draft a detailed plan, and execute it after approval.”
Although the Military and Political Affairs Hall did not specifically discuss the one hundred fifty giant trebuchets, that does not mean Gan Ning does not attach importance to them. On the contrary, it was precisely because Gan Ning saw the destructive power of the giant trebuchets that he convened this Military and Political Affairs Meeting.
After the meeting, Gan Ning kept the three strategists behind.
In his own official residence, Gan Ning smiled at the three of Lu Su. “Now I need to discuss with the three of you how to deal with these one hundred fifty giant trebuchets. Who will speak first!”
Xu Shu perked up and quickly said, “This subordinate will speak first!”
“Please, Strategist Xu!”
Xu Shu already had ideas. He immediately said, “First, confirm the current location of these one hundred fifty catapults. This subordinate estimates they will not be used against us too early; they must wait until the Cao Army advances southward in force before deployment. So the first step is to find their hiding place, then we can think of ways to destroy them.”
Pang Tong also smiled faintly. “Actually, finding them is not difficult. Just follow the rules they used to come to Yiling County, and trace back their tracks. If they were shipped back to Jiangling County, someone must have seen them unloading. If they were transported back to Xiangyang by ox carts, people along the official roads would have seen them. As long as we investigate their tracks, we will almost certainly find their hiding place.”
The Jiang’an Inn east of Jiangling County remained very calm and low-key. After Zhuge Liang went to Bashu, no more eagles circled over Jiangling County, and the Jiang’an Inn resumed intelligence transmission.
Shopkeeper Wang Jiang’an received a carrier pigeon letter mission requiring him to investigate the transshipment situation of the one hundred fifty giant trebuchets in Jiangling.
When these one hundred fifty giant trebuchets arrived in Jiangling, they caused a sensation throughout the city. Many people watched the excitement on the main street as they were carried through the city on thousands of ox carts. Wang Jiang’an had witnessed it with his own eyes, so when the mission mentioned the one hundred fifty giant trebuchets, he immediately knew what it was about.
It was that mule cart team fully loaded with catapults in early August.
Wang Jiang’an quickly gathered three waiters and assigned tasks. First, confirm whether that batch of catapults had returned to Jiangling County. It wouldn’t be hard to confirm—just ask at the dock and city gates.
Wang Jiang’an had long discovered that as long as he was willing to spend a little money, many people were eager to share various ‘commercial secrets.’ Often, commercial secrets and military secrets are hard to distinguish.
In the afternoon, the three waiters returned.
The waiter who went to the dock brought accurate intelligence. “Several laborers told me that batch of large catapults was transported back five days ago. They participated in unloading, but they don’t know which warehouse it went to. It should still be by the Yangtze.”
The two waiters who went to the South City Gate and North City Gate also learned the situation. “The shops near the city gates did not see that batch of large catapults return. They definitely haven’t come back.”
The other waiter responsible for inquiring about the mule team said, “That team of several thousand mule carts transporting the catapults went north long ago, on the third day after arrival. There have been no new mule cart teams since.”
Wang Anjiang summarized the intelligence from the three waiters. This batch of catapults is in Jiangling, stored in some warehouse along the river, and has not been transported back to Xiangyang.
The next day, Wang Anjiang sent a carrier pigeon letter to Chaisang.
