Chapter 222: Striking North At The Wuhuan
Xu Wei was truly puzzled. “Husband, why do you want me to do this? Any artisan could do it better than me! Why doesn’t Husband let an artisan do it?”
Gan Ning said slowly, “Look, I didn’t even mention this in front of Xiao Qiao. This is a top military secret. It can’t leak out even a little. Think about it—with this Thousand-Mile Eye, won’t we easily spot the enemy warships first and gain the upper hand?”
Xu Wei thought for a moment. “That’s true, but Husband, how did you know about it? If Husband knows, then others will know too!”
Gan Ning smiled faintly. “You’re very smart, but I discovered this by accident. Besides me, you’re the second person who knows.”
Xu Wei glanced happily at her husband. She loved hearing words like that the most.
Xu Wei thought for a moment. “Does Husband want to make a gold casing?”
Gan Ning shook his head. “A gold casing is too extravagant. Good wood will do.”
“Then I have a way. In a couple of days, I’m going to hear the trading company chief steward’s report. I’ll ask them to make a wooden casing for me, then I’ll embed the convex lens myself.”
“Smart. That’s exactly what I mean. First, draw up blueprints based on the dimensions of this bamboo tube—the length, the size of the hole. It has to be very precise. You also need to figure out how to embed it. Once the blueprints are done, have the chief steward get artisans to make the wooden casing for you.”
“Husband, don’t worry. I make clothes, so I’m precise with measurements. I’ll have them make several casings.”
Hesitating a moment, Xu Wei added, “But A Yu will definitely see it. Isn’t it bad to hide it from her?”
“You can tell her, but you must warn her repeatedly not to let it leak out.”
Xu Wei nodded. “A Yu is different from before. She’ll keep the secret.”
Gan Ning laughed. “It’s late. Let’s go back to the room and continue studying the art of lovemaking!”
Xu Wei’s pretty face blushed. She took the convex lens bronze box and bamboo tube, overjoyed, and went back to her small courtyard with her husband.
In early February, Cao Cao led an army of 130,000 to campaign in Liaodong. This was a great battle in the late Eastern Han Dynasty between Central Plains forces and the eastern Hu people of Liaodong.
At this time, the Wuhuan’s strongest chanyu Tadun had unified the Wuhuan tribes of Liaoxi, Liaodong, and Youbeiping Commandery, forming the most powerful eastern Hu force with 200,000 troops. They began to covet Youzhou covetously, with ambitions even reaching toward Hebei in the Central Plains. The arrival of Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang gave the Wuhuan people an excuse to send out troops.
This battle, the Cao Army had to fight no matter what. If the Wuhuan were not eliminated, Youzhou would never have peace, and Hebei would never be stable. Once the Cao Army launched a southern campaign, the Wuhuan would occupy Youzhou and sweep through Hebei. Without removing the Wuhuan threat from the rear, Cao Cao’s army could not launch a southern campaign at all.
This time, for the northern expedition to Liaoxi, Cao Cao did not take the western route from history but the Liaoxi Corridor. After conquering Youzhou, Cao Cao stationed 100,000 troops in Youbeiping Commandery and stockpiled large amounts of grain and supplies.
After spring began, Cao Cao led 30,000 troops to Youbeiping Commandery, rested for a few days, then marched north.
Ten li east of White Wolf Mountain, there was a large area of low, gentle hillsides covered with patches of forest, though much smaller in area—tens or hundreds of mu. Inside the forest, 30,000 Cao Army soldiers were already in formation, awaiting the order to attack.
Zhang Liao stood on horseback at the edge of the forest, watching the situation at the foot of distant White Wolf Mountain with full concentration. Under the clear moonlight, the dark forest in the distance was clearly visible.
West of the forest were vast farmlands. The spring wheat planted at the start of the season was now a lush green, but most had been trampled and destroyed by the Wuhuan army. Only some fields on the edges still had a bit of wheat seedlings.
At this moment, a low shout came from the sentry in the big tree: “General, they’re coming.”
Zhang Liao saw them too. A huge group of Wuhuan cavalry was charging down the distant official road, vast and endless—fully 20,000 men. This was one branch of the Wuhuan Allied Forces.
The Wuhuan Allied Forces consisted of more than twenty tribes’ armies, large and small—some with a few thousand, others with tens of thousands.
Zhang Liao, as the vanguard, led 30,000 troops to clear the way, but unexpectedly ran into a Wuhuan force assembling—a large tribal army of 20,000.
Zhang Liao bit his lip hard. Though his troop strength was 30,000, only 5,000 were cavalry; the rest were infantry. The enemy was all cavalry.
With far fewer cavalry, Zhang Liao’s only advantages were that the enemy hadn’t spotted them, allowing an ambush, and the Cao Army held the geographical advantage of high ground.
The Wuhuan cavalry, however, had to pass through a very dangerous stretch of about two li—one side a hillside, the other a deep gully. If anything happened, the cavalry would have nowhere to escape.
Zhang Liao sighed inwardly. The enemy army was still too large. If it were only half, he would have certain victory. But he had one more chance: they carried 10,000 incendiary bottles and over a thousand barrels of fire oil. Success or failure hung on this strike.
The Wuhuan army drew nearer. At this point, the Wuhuan forces from the official road to the south appeared fully—20,000 troops streaming in continuously, their formation relatively orderly, horses and men moving in good order.
The Wuhuan army began entering the dangerous stretch. This two-li dangerous section would be the key to whether Zhang Liao’s ambush battle succeeded. He had to wait until the Wuhuan army’s central forces fully entered before launching the ambush to wipe out the center. Then the vanguard and rear would be easier to deal with.
Groups of Wuhuan cavalry thundered past right before their eyes, less than a hundred paces from the Cao Army. Zhang Liao slowly drew his battle saber, pointed it at the Wuhuan commander surrounded by soldiers dozens of paces away, and said to his deputy general—who was also the cavalry commander—Gao Shun beside him: “That’s the Wuhuan army commander. If you can kill him, you’ll get first credit for this battle.”
Gao Shun had suffered a major loss in Jiangxia Commandery, nearly losing all 3,000 cavalry. But Cao Cao knew men and used them well; he didn’t blame Gao Shun. Instead, he gave him 5,000 Bingzhou elite cavalry from the surrendered Lu Bu.
Gao Shun was fully 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, immensely strong. He wielded a 70-jin saber with exquisite skill. Like Zhang Liao, he could draw a two-stone bow, shooting left and right with perfect accuracy.
Though Gao Shun hadn’t been selected for Cao Cao’s Five Elite Generals like Zhang Liao, he was absolutely a fierce general whose bravery topped three armies.
Gao Shun’s leopard-like eyes locked on the Wuhuan army commander. With a wave of his hand, he led the cavalry eastward.
Seeing that 10,000 of the enemy army’s central cavalry had fully entered the dangerous stretch, Zhang Liao judged the moment for fire attack ripe.
He shouted loudly, “Throw the incendiary bottles!”
10,000 soldiers lit the incendiary bottles, ran to the forest edge, and hurled them out fiercely. 10,000 incendiary bottles rained densely into the Wuhuan central cavalry, simultaneously igniting the fire oil buried on the ground.
Along the two-li official road, fierce flames from sky and earth erupted with a ‘boom!’ The 10,000 Wuhuan central troops instantly fell into chaos. Countless soldiers and warhorses were engulfed in fire, screaming as they fled in all directions. But trapped in the dangerous section—one side a deep gully, the other the enemy ambush on the hillside—the 10,000 cavalry had nowhere to go. Many fell in the inferno.
Zhang Liao swung his battle saber. “Cavalry, charge!”
“Woo—” The horn blew.
Gao Shun led 5,000 cavalry like a breached seawall tide, charging down the hillside and surging toward the panicked Wuhuan vanguard fleeing east.
