Chapter 236: Night Battle At Wild Elephant Pass
Zhou Guang nodded, “I know, is there any enemy situation?”
“Scouts from the enemy army were spotted during the day, but no enemy situation has appeared yet!”
Zhou Guang said slowly: “The enemy should have already set up an ambush. It’s not yet the first watch, they’re waiting for the middle of the night to sneak attack us after we fall asleep.”
“So we have five hundred men in total now, can we hold them off?”
“It should be possible!”
Zhou Guang said with great confidence: “They’re just a sneak attack force, not too many in number, at most two or three thousand. As long as we hold out until dawn tomorrow, my cavalry can join the battle.”
In a dense forest about two li from Wild Elephant Pass, Shi Zhi led more than two thousand three hundred soldiers waiting for the midnight opportunity. They had spotted this transport team during the day, and Shi Zhi immediately gathered his subordinates from all directions.
Shi Zhi had originally planned to take two thousand men to strike, but Shi Xie temporarily gave him an additional thousand.
Shi Zhi had been eager to go, determined to make a meritorious achievement, but after a big fire killed more than six hundred of his subordinates, he calmed down.
If it were his former temperament, he would have charged in right after dark, but precisely because he calmed down, he decided to strike at the third watch.
Sometimes being calm isn’t necessarily a good thing. Precisely because of his calmness, he missed the opportunity. When he heard that several hundred cavalry had entered Wild Elephant Pass, he was filled with regret.
At the second watch, Shi Zhi could wait no longer and issued the order to attack.
“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
The low war drum sounds rang out densely, more than two thousand Jiaozhi soldiers rushed to a point one li below the pass. The mountain path was narrow, unable to accommodate a large force. The Jiaozhi army could only proceed in single file.
The troops drew closer and closer to the pass, but stopped advancing at a hundred paces.
Commander Shi Zhi stared viciously at the pass a hundred paces away. He had no experience in attacking cities; he was just gauging how many troops could fit in front of the pass.
“Send five hundred men first!”
At his command, the war drums ‘Dong! Dong!’ sounded, and five hundred Jiaozhi soldiers holding wooden shields swarmed toward the city wall.
On the city wall, Zhou Guang bit his lip tightly, gazing coldly at hundreds of enemy soldiers charging in the darkness. Five hundred Jiaozhi soldiers crowded together on the mountain path that could only fit three to five men, surging toward the city gate. After advancing just over twenty paces, their speed suddenly slowed, and they began to advance cautiously, forming a shield wall with their shields.
The pass could hold at most three hundred soldiers in formation. Three hundred Western Chu soldiers aimed their military crossbows at the steadily approaching Jiaozhi soldiers, waiting for the optimal range. The optimal range was around eighty paces, at which distance the Western Chu army’s crossbow bolts could penetrate the oak shields of the Jiaozhi soldiers.
The enemy drew closer, entering within a hundred paces. The drum sounds stopped, and silence fell before the pass, save for the rustling of the Jiaozhi soldiers advancing.
Zhou Guang watched the enemy advance into eighty paces and gave the order, “Fire!”
Three hundred soldiers fired simultaneously, three hundred powerful crossbow bolts shot out, striking the enemy crowd from front and side. The Western Chu army’s crossbow bolts were extremely powerful; the armor-piercing bolts penetrated the shields. Screams rang out as over twenty Jiaozhi soldiers were shot down, tumbling to the ground. Several soldiers even fell off the nearby cliff, rolling down the hillside, their screams echoing long on the slope.
But once war had begun, there was no reason to retreat. The Jiaozhi soldiers suddenly accelerated, charging madly toward the mountaintop. As long as they reached the open ground within thirty paces, their troop strength could expand to both sides.
Western Chu arrows flew like locusts; three hundred men fired in three rotating teams. Groups of Jiaozhi soldiers screamed and fell, but the rear enemy charged forward fiercely. Amid the stirring war drums, they pressed on relentlessly, while the rear Jiaozhi army provided cover with archery, dense arrow rain shooting toward the pass wall. Western Chu soldiers continually fell wounded by arrows, but as one fell, the next immediately filled in.
The battle was exceptionally fierce. On the short mountain path between eighty and thirty paces, corpses began piling up rapidly. In just a quarter of an hour, more than two hundred Jiaozhi soldiers were killed or wounded. The first batch of five hundred finally couldn’t hold, withdrawing like the tide.
Commander Shi Zhi snorted coldly. He had already spotted the enemy army’s weakness: they weren’t numerous. After the probing attack, Shi Zhi issued the order for the full assault, “All troops attack!”
The attacking Jiaozhi army suddenly increased fivefold. More than two thousand Jiaozhi soldiers roared, brandishing battle sabers, surging madly toward the mountaintop pass. Arrows fell like rain; batches of soldiers fell, and batches more charged up.
Seeing the enemy army’s fierce offensive, Zhou Guang immediately ordered: “Bring three hundred incendiary bombs!”
Zheng Rong led soldiers to quickly fetch three hundred wooden boxes, taking advantage of the Jiaozhi army’s temporary withdrawal.
The Western Chu army hurled three hundred incendiary bombs onto the mountain path. The clay pots were thin; after rolling a few times, they shattered, and fire oil immediately covered the path.
At that moment, the war drums sounded again, “Dong! Dong! Dong!”
Commander Shi Zhi personally led two thousand soldiers in the attack, swarming along the mountain path once more.
Zhou Guang ordered coldly: “Everyone prepare fire oil bottles, on my command!”
Each scout was equipped with five fire oil bottles. Seeing the moment arrive, Zhou Guang shouted, “Throw!”
Three hundred fire oil bottles were lit and hurled together at the Jiaozhi soldiers on the hillside. Over a thousand Jiaozhi soldiers had already felt the slickness underfoot and smelled the pungent odor, but they didn’t know what it was.
At that instant, countless fire points rained down from the sky. Shi Zhi suddenly realized these were the fire points thrown at them from the hillside. Terrified, he shouted: “Withdraw the army! Withdraw quickly!”
But it was too late. With a “Boom!”, fierce flames instantly engulfed the Jiaozhi soldiers.
Over a thousand soldiers screamed in agony. Countless were set ablaze, turning to stumble and flee. Many had fire burning on their heads and bodies, collapsing screaming into the flames, slowly curling up.
Shi Zhi led over a thousand soldiers who hadn’t yet attacked in time, fleeing madly for two li before diving back into the forest and stopping, still shaken as they gazed at the fire still burning on the distant hillside.
They had never seen such a terrifying fire weapon. Even the valley fire a few days ago hadn’t been as shocking or frightening as this moment.
“General, what do we do?” Several generals asked in fear.
Shi Zhi took a deep breath, “We leave! As far as possible.”
…..
Wangmei County had no citizens; all citizens had been evacuated, leaving it a pure military city with all civilian houses demolished. Western Chu soldiers rested for three days, leaving more than three thousand to guard Wangmei County and watch the prisoners of war.
Bu Zhi continued leading twenty-five thousand troops toward Longbian County.
The column included several hundred carts pulled by horses, all captured spoils of war, loaded with catapults and grain and supplies.
Though the carts moved slowly, the Western Chu army still arrived at Longbian County by noon the next day.
