Yuan Sikong held his
breath and looked at the dense army under the city. He felt dizzy and his chest
was tight. He grasped the dagger at his waist and thought of that young but
stubborn face of the person who gave it to him. An eight-year-old child had the
courage to drive away the barbarians and bring peace to the world. He would
never be afraid of the Jin!
Under the flag, a senior general with thick hair sitting steadily
on the horse must be Jurchen's eldest prince, Zhuo Letai. He suddenly clipped
the horse’s belly and rushed out from the main army. The army immediately
opened to both sides, giving way to a straight passage.
Zhuo Letai reined in his horse under the city, raised his head,
and yelled, "Who is in the city? State your name!"
Yuan Mao said sternly, "I am Guangning’s military officer,
Yuan Mao. Zhuo Letai, how dare you kill my emperor’s official of Dasheng! This
crime should be punished!”
Zhuo Letai laughed wildly and said: "This old man dared to
play tricks on me. He deserved to be killed! You stubborn Han people deserved
to be killed!"
"If I can hinder you the first time and second time, I will
hinder you the third time and fourth time." Yuan Mao’s vigor was growing,
"With me around, you won't step into Guangning all your life! Soldiers,
avenge for Lord Li!”
The city defenders roared: "AVENGE FOR LORD LI!!!" The
voice was like thunder, soaring straight into the sky.
Zhuo Letai's horse took a few steps back in that roar that shook
heaven. He steadied his saddle horse, and drew out his sword. He held it
horizontally across his chest, and then struck down with force.
The war drums of the attack sounded for the third time under
Guangning City, and the Jin soldiers swept in like a black wave, raging with
all the killing intent as far as the eye could see.
Yuan Mao roared: "Archers, prepare. RELEASE!!!"
Yuan Sikong hid under cover. The rain of arrows covered the sky
like locusts fluttering all over it. He looked at those Jin soldiers who had
bloodshot eyes and sinister expressions, as if he saw a group of fierce ghosts,
but when they were hit by arrows and cannonballs with blood and flesh bursting
apart, it told him again that these were living people in front of him.
He had read countless military campaigns in a book on the art of
war. Those famous generals seemed to be casting beans on grounds which were transformed into soldiers by magic*, had divine strategies and wonderful planning*, and turned warships into ashes during chats and laughter*. However, the bloody scene in front of him was a real
war. For the first time, he was so close to the war that he could not help but
shiver.
Yuan Nanyu was beside him, holding his hand tightly: "Second
brother, don't be scared, don't be scared." His own voice was also
trembling.
Yuan Sikong stared at Yuan Nanyu. He suddenly bit his own
lips hard, and the stinging pain made his brain clear up. He took a deep
breath: "Yu'er, I’m not scared.”
Yuan Nanyu nodded, only to feel his mouth and tongue go dry. Just
the voices shouting to kill rushing into his ears were enough to make his heart
beat wildly. He asked, "Second brother, will Lord Hu succeed?"
Yuan Sikong shook his head, "I don't know."
Four days ago, the one who led 300 sacrificial men to leave
Guangning during the night of the snowstorm and hurry off to the rear of the
Jin army's camp was none other than Vice-Qianhu, Hu Baicheng.
When Yuan Mao proposed this plan, Hu Baicheng, who had been
friends with Yuan Mao for many years and had a rash but very loyal temperament,
was the first to ask for orders.
Since Hu Baicheng left, they had lost contact with each other. So
far, it seemed that they had not been caught by the Jin at least, which was
considered a halfway success. However, whether it was a success or not,
everyone knew it by heart ---- they could never come back.
Today was a battle which decided the life and death of Guangning,
and Hu Baicheng was their only hope.
As there were few cannonballs left in the Fengshen cannon and the
firepower was hard to sustain, the Jin soldiers only took half the time
compared to the previous time to attack the bottom of the city and began to
climb the walls and break the gate.
Yuan Sikong rushed out of the bunker and blew the horn in his
hand, and the militia he organized started to rush up to the top of the city
one by one, carrying barrel after barrel of kerosene in their hands, running to
the edge of the city wall, and pouring the whole barrel down. The archers
ignited the arrows and shot out nimbly.
A sea of fire immediately flared up beneath the city walls, and
the harsh howls of misery were endless, but the Jin soldiers continued to go up
the ladders.
"My Lord, the west city gate is in trouble!"
"My Lord, the south city gate is in trouble!"
Yuan Mao yelled, "Shaoxu, Kong'er, go and help!"
"Yes!"
The first two times Zhuo Letai attacked, he mainly attacked the
east city gate, trying to concentrate his military strength and conquer in an
overpowering attack. Naturally, the Sheng army’s defence and concentration of
firepower was at the east city gate, so the east city gate was the most
difficult to attack and the sacrifice was the biggest. This time he changed his
strategy. The east city gate was still the main point of attack, but a lot of
additional troops were dispatched to the west and south gates. Although the
division of troops was the division of forces, he knew that Guangning had few
soldiers. Now he couldn’t afford to divide more than him.
Zhuo Letai's judgment was very correct. Now there were only seven
or eight hundred soldiers guarding the city. One person had to be used as ten
people. Although there were several thousands of militias, how could they
compare with Jurchen's fierce soldiers? However, he also overlooked one point.
As long as it was used properly, even weak women could also exert their
strength.
Yuan Shaoxu went to the west gate while Yuan Sikong and Yuan Nanyu
went to the south gate.
The two of them ran to the south gate, and when they looked down,
the Jin soldiers had shield armor like a lid across their heads one by one,
protecting the battering rams and charging upwards, with archers covering
behind.
Yuan Sikong ran to Chen Yulong's side: "Lord Chen, quickly
make them wear the 'fire suits'!"
This fire suit was the name given by Yuan Sikong. He had read from
history books that when the defenders ran out of ammunition and food, they set
the quilts on fire and threw them off the walls, and the power was
satisfactory. The kerosene consumption was too large and there was already not
enough to use. Now it depended on how much this fire suit could bring into play.
Under the leadership of Yuan Weiling, a group of "daughter
troops'' were holding the quilts. They rushed up the city wall, sprinkle oil on them, and lit the fire. Together, they threw down the burning quilts.
The quilts were quite heavy, and they fell firmly on top of the Jin
soldiers’ shield armor.
The barbarians' cast iron technology was entirely based on the
Central Plains and had not been improved all the year round, so the shields
used to this day were still wooden. Wooden shields naturally had some benefits,
such as low cost, lightweight, anti-rust, and anti-freezing, but in order to be
waterproof and crack resistant, they usually needed to be painted several
times. Therefore, it had one of its biggest disadvantages ---- flammable.
Like rockets, those sparks extinguished in an instant. Usually, it
won’t burn, however, when there was a big fire, a great area would be ignited
with blazing power. The whole siege team immediately fell into a sea of fire.
Those who abandoned their armor and fled were immediately killed by random
arrows.
Yuan Sikong roared: "Continue throwing down ......"
Before the words left his mouth, he was suddenly knocked down to
the ground by Yuan Nanyu. An arrow flew past where he was standing just now,
and Yuan Sikong broke out in a cold sweat with shock.
"Second brother, are you alright?" Yuan Nanyu nervously
touched Yuan Sikong's face.
"I’m-I'm fine ......" Yuan Sikong set his helmet straight.
The armor on his body was found at the last minute. It was too big for him to
wear, and it was very inconvenient to move around, but Yuan Mao ordered him to
wear it.
Chen Yulong commanded the soldiers and militia to fight in
coordination. The "fire suits" flew down the wall like pieces of
paper. If they landed under the shield armor, they would immediately catch
fire. If they landed on the ladder, they could scrape all the people down. With
dozens of fire suits going down, the crisis at the south city gate was solved
immediately. The Jin soldiers' attack was obviously slowed down by a lot,
allowing them to have a chance to breathe.
Yuan Sikong said: "Yu'er, you keep an eye over here. Make
sure to protect big sister. I'll go find father."
Yuan Nanyu said with worry, "Then you must be careful on your
own. Arrows do not grow eyes, so you have to keep a lookout."
"Don't worry. You have to be careful too." Yuan Sikong
climbed up and ran towards the east city gate.
Yuan Mao was still raising his hoarse voice to command. The
situation at the east city gate was indeed much worse than the other two gates.
The battering rams had already hit the gates. The soldiers climbing up the city
were as dense as ants on top of the ladders, with one group coming up again after
beating down a group. The dead bodies piled up under the base of the city were
simply horrible to see.
Yuan Sikong ran to Yuan Mao's side and said in a trembling voice,
"Father, I'm afraid the east city gate can't be defended anymore. Why
don't we send the hand cannoneers to the city gate to meet the Jins?"
They had done their best, but they still couldn't do it?
Yuan Mao dragged Yuan Sikong behind him and said loudly, "I
trust Hu Baicheng, he will not let me down!"
Suddenly, a strange horn sound came from among the Jin army, which
was a signal they had never heard before.
Zhuo Letai turned his horse's head and spun around in place.
Yuan Sikong was overjoyed: "Father, it must be the news that
Lord Hu's attack on the camp has arrived!"
Yuan Mao's lips trembled slightly. His crimson eyes were staring
deadly at Zhuo Letai.
How would Zhuo Letai choose?
Yuan Sikong thought, if he was Zhuo Letai, he would ignore the
camp. As long as the firepower was concentrated on attacking Guangning, why
still worry about food and drinks? But Zhuo Letai as the commander-in-chief of
the upper, central and lower army, any decision made by him had nothing to do
with his courage. If he thought too much, it would certainly be difficult to
make a move. He knew that Guangning was in a desperate situation, but did not
know that the desperate situation of Guangning had reached the point of no
return, especially since there were troops divided in Guangning to attack his
camp, making it harder for him to judge. He had been defeated twice under this
city. If he gave up the camp, and Guangning still couldn’t be attacked down, he
would lose all his rations, and be attacked by the enemy from the front and
back. That would be a real defeat.
Yuan Sikong gambled that he would return to save the camp.
Very quickly, Zhuo Letai made a sound decision ---- sounding the
Jins to retreat.
Yuan Sikong grabbed Yuan Mao's arm, so excited that his heart and
lungs were about to explode.
Zhuo Letai had withdrawn his troops! He had already fallen into
the chess game he had set up!
Zhuo Letai deserved to be called the famous Jin’s general with
strict discipline and obedience. It was a hasty move to withdraw the troops,
but he did it in an orderly manner. As Yuan Sikong expected, he dispatched the
cavalry on the left and right wings first, hurrying off to the camp to rescue
it, while he himself led a team of cavalry to cover the retreat.
Yuan Mao was ravished with joy: "Zhuo Letai has retreated!"
"Zhuo Letai has retreated!" The defenders on top of the
city shouted loudly. The sound spread like wildfire, and soon it spread
throughout the entire Guangning City, and the city was filled with cheers.
Yuan Mao turned around and swept his gaze over the soldiers behind
him, "To act according to plan, I need a brave general to lead 500
cavalries and bring hand cannons to attack Zhuo Letai's central army. Who dares
to go?"
To prevent the secret from leaking out, their plan would not be
shown until the last minute.
"I am willing to go!" A clear voice rang out. A young
man in his early twenties stood out without any fear on his face.
This man was Liang Huiyong, the young general of Guangning. He was
also one of the few soldiers who took a clear-cut stand to defend to the last
that day.
"Okay. My Liaodong has no shortage of courageous and upright
men!" Yuan Mao looked at him with admiration, "I order you to be the
vanguard and rush to disturb Zhuo Letai's army. No need to fight to the death.
The purpose of this campaign is to break the morale of the army."
"Yes sir!"
Yuan Sikong stepped forward and went to Liang Huiyong's side:
"Lord Zongqi*, while you are fighting, you must order the
soldiers to shout a sentence in unison."
"What sentence?"
Yuan Sikong's eyes flashed with a sinister trace:
"'Reinforcements have arrived. The camp has been attacked. Zhuo Letai has
been defeated!"
---
The 500 cavalries that Liang Huiyong took away were the last
troops in Guangning. At this time, Guangning was as brittle as an eggshell that
could be smashed with one stroke. This was their last and only hope. If they
didn’t succeed, they would die for a good cause.
Although Liang Huiyong was young, he was extremely brave, and not
as reckless as Hu Baicheng. He was a general of talent. If he could escape this
calamity, he would be an outstanding talent in the future. However, just like
the sacrificial men Hu Baicheng took away, they were also inauspicious.
The crowd watched as the Guangning cavalry rushed to attack. They
moved around in a semicircle, avoided Zhuo Letai's elite soldiers at the rear,
and directly aimed at the central army. Although the army went far away, they
could also see the 500 cavalries merge into several thousands of troops.
Compared to the army, they looked very insignificant.
However, the imaginary scene of the clay ox entering the sea* and disappearing without a shadow did not appear. The five
hundred warriors were like wolves entering the flock of sheep, killing in all
directions. Soon, Zhuo Letai’s central army was in disarray, and soon was about
to be cut off at the waist*.
Yuan Sikong's breathing became more and more rapid because of the
excitement.
As he expected, although it was only 500 cavalries, they exerted
the power of five thousand.
There were three reasons why Liang Huiyong was able to bring down
Zhuo Letai’s central army. It was not because that 500 people were divine
troops that came to earth, nor was it because the hand cannons were so
powerful. First, the central army consisted of infantry and mechanical
soldiers. The cavalry had the advantage over the infantry. The horses roared
past and reaped their heads like reaping wheat; Second, Liang Huiyong came
suddenly. The central army was totally unprepared. The barbarians had never
seen an individual hand cannon, and they were scared; Thirdly, and most
importantly, the vigor of the Jin soldiers had declined, and their fighting
spirit had died.
Halfway through the siege, the commander-in-chief suddenly ordered
the Jins to retreat without any reason. The soldiers were already suspicious.
The siege did not succeed 3 times, and so many people died, which also made
them lose confidence. At this time, 500 cavalries suddenly entered and killed
the central army, shouting "reinforcements have arrived. The camp has been
attacked. Zhuo Letai has been defeated”, they could not help but believe it. In
an instant, morale fell by a thousand miles.
Therefore, the central army did not resist and fled in all
directions instead. As soon as the central army ran, the whole army began to
disperse from the center. "Reinforcements have arrived. The camp has been
attacked. Zhuo Letai has been defeated". This news spread like poisonous
gas. Even Zhuo Letai, who was at the rear of the army, found that the central
army had changed unexpectedly. He could not stop it in time. He watched his
several thousand troops turn into scattered sand in an instant. They were like
lambs to be slaughtered in front of the 500 calvaries.
The soldiers of Guangning stood on the city wall and watched the
collapse of Zhuo Letai's army with their own eyes. They were so excited that
they were brimming with tears.
Yuan Mao hugged Yuan Sikong tightly and choked up, "Kong'er,
you saved Guangning."
Yuan Sikong's eyes became hot, and his tears also fell. He wiped
away his tears with force: "Father, this is the result of the army and the
people of Guangning having a common hatred towards the enemy. Kong'er doesn't
dare to take this merit. Moreover, it's too early to announce victory. We have
to see whether Zhuo Letai will withdraw completely."
"He will not come back anymore." Yuan Mao shook his
head, "Father is sure he won't dare to come back anymore."
Yuan Sikong thought the same thing in his heart. This battle definitely ruined Zhuo Letai's constitution. Perhaps not as many people died as in the previous two sieges, but the blow to him and his morale was unprecedented. Even if he dared to come back, he would have to reorganize for quite some time. By then, their reinforcements would really have arrived.
Guangning was really defended.
PS: thank god I’m not born in this era. The next chapter onwards will be building on to the first climax until chapter 26. After chapter 26 will be the start of the second volume, and we'll see Feng Ye again in his youth EEHEHEHE.
PPS: I've actually translated the audio drama trailer for ZW: https://youtu.be/UwxuMeYTCp0
***女真 (Nǚzhēn) has been changed to Jurchen
casting beans on grounds which were
transformed into soldiers by magic*[撒豆成兵]--- work
miracles
divine strategies and wonderful planning*[神机妙算]---
clever scheme / supremely clever in his
schemes
and turned warships into ashes during chats
and laughter*[谈笑间樯橹灰飞烟灭]---came
from a poetry 《念奴娇·赤壁怀古》written by Su
Shi (苏轼). Meaning: Zhou Yu burned up Cao Cao's
million soldiers in the middle of a chat. Describes the most glorious moment of
Zhou Yu's life.
Zongqi*[总旗]---an official post, just like Qianhu and
Baihu
clay ox entering the sea*[泥牛入海]--- never
to be heard of again; gone forever
cut off at the waist*[拦腰截断]---means that things were disrupted halfway
Edited on 25 June 21 (Emzie)
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