Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Late August, Zhi Prefecture.

As the sound of the gongs rang out from the rear once again, Xiao Yan and his troops leading the vanguard quickly retreated. Tong Sui and the archers continued to rain arrows on the city walls, preventing the defenders from killing more of their own men. Once the vanguard had fully withdrawn, the archers, under the protection of the shield bearers, withdrew in an orderly manner.

This was the fourth assault by the right-wing army since they arrived at Zhi Prefecture, resulting in nearly four thousand casualties, yet still no success.

The closer they got to the capital, the more loyal the defenders were to Imperial Uncle Dou. Having learned from the battles at Tai Yuan and Shizhou, the commanders here strictly followed the imperial order to hold their positions and not engage, no matter how the right-wing army provoked them.

Tong Sui had just returned to camp when she heard Xiao Yan cursing, mostly about the defenders being like turtles and snakes.

Xiao She: "Fen City had twenty thousand defenders, and the Grand General took it and continued south. Zhi Prefecture only has fifteen thousand, and we can't take it. It's really frustrating!"

Sun Dian: "Frustrating as it is, we can't compare ourselves to the Grand General. They have nearly ninety thousand troops, while we only have fifty thousand left, and now we've lost another four thousand."

Xiao Yan: "Still, defending is easier. Remember when we held Wei County with only two thousand soldiers and kept Li Gang's fifty thousand troops at bay?"

Xiao Ye: "But that was temporary. With fewer defenders, everyone has to fight, and after one day, they're almost exhausted. If the enemy attacks then, the defenders will surely struggle to hold on."

Xiao Yan: "But if we keep fighting like this, even if we exhaust the defenders, how many troops will we have left? How can we continue south?"

Zhang Wengong: "Then we should just defend and not attack. We have the left-wing army supplying us with grain. Although Zhi Prefecture has some stored grain, it can only last three to five months at most."

Xiao She shouted: "Three to five months? I can't stand it!"

Xiao Ye laughed and threw a small stone at Zhang Wengong's feet: "You really know how to comfort people!"

Tong Sui walked over and saw that all of them had some blood on them, but none seemed seriously injured, so she felt relieved.

The others were also looking at her. Xiao She pointed to the blood on the left side of Tong Sui's neck and asked anxiously: "Second Sister-in-law, are you hurt?"

Tong Sui calmly replied: "It's someone else's."

She was part of the archer unit, so "someone else" naturally referred to one of their own, either an archer or a shield bearer.

With Tong Sui's arrival, the group stopped shouting, fearing she wouldn't like it. In the entire right-wing army, if the old general placed the highest importance on military discipline, then Tong Sui came second. Wherever this old and young pair went, even the mules and horses stood more spiritedly than usual.

Once Tong Sui left, they resumed their noise.

Tong Sui could actually intervene, but the old general allowed everyone to vent and discuss, which must have had its deeper meaning.

After one failed assault, the right-wing army would rest for two to three days. The soldiers in the camp stayed put, but the scouts in the city were busy.

On the first day of September, a scout brought news from the east: "General, Lu Gong from An Prefecture is sending grain supplies here!"

Commander Deng Gao asked: "How much?"

Scout: "About thirty thousand stones, enough to feed fifty thousand troops for a month."

Deng Gao: "How many troops are guarding the supplies?"

Scout: "Including the drivers, about twenty thousand."

Deng Gao's face changed slightly: "Lu Gong is not only sending grain but also troops. No wonder Han Zongping didn't send reinforcements after taking Fen City; he must have been getting troops from Lu Gong."

Deputy Commander Wang Chuan looked at the map hanging behind him and sneered: "Xiao Mu's troops are stationed south of the city, cutting off our grain supply. Why don't we use the night to send troops from the north, set up an ambush, and raid their reinforcements and seize their grain? With this batch of grain, we can hold out until the New Year!"

Deng Gao: "I'm afraid it might be Lu Gong's trap. Take more scouts and investigate again. Confirm there are no ambushes within fifty miles, and be careful not to be discovered."

Scout: "Yes, sir!"

On the evening of the second day, the scout returned to the city: "General, we investigated the mountainous areas fifty miles ahead and behind them, and found no ambushes. They are currently seventy miles away from Chuan Yun Gorge and will enter it at the latest by the day after tomorrow."

Chuan Yun Gorge is one hundred and twenty miles from Zhi Prefecture and is an excellent place for an ambush.

That night, at the second watch, Deng Gao held a torch at the northern city gate and said to Wang Chuan: "This battle is crucial for our defense. If the ambush succeeds, remember to change into the enemy's armor and return disguised. If the enemy is prepared, do not linger; use your familiarity with the mountain paths to retreat in batches."

Wang Chuan accepted the order and led three thousand archers and seven thousand infantry out of the city that night.

Deng Gao sent more scouts to closely monitor Xiao Mu's camp. If Xiao Mu showed any signs of sending troops out, it would mean the grain supply was a trap, and he would immediately call Wang Chuan back.

On the morning of the third day, Deng Gao, upon learning that there was no unusual activity at Xiao Mu's camp, climbed to the city gate and ordered the soldiers to shout at the enemy camp: "Is the old man from the Xiao family planning to attack today? Come early, our archers can't wait anymore!"

They shouted for two hours, and then saw two groups of enemy soldiers rush out of the camp. However, before they reached the city, Xiao Mu stopped them and sent them back.

Deng Gao breathed a sigh of relief. If it seems real, it might be false. Today, Xiao Mu probably won't dare to attack.

---

Chuan Yun Gorge.

Wang Chuan led the archers to ambush on both sides of the mountain, while the infantry guarded the ends of the path, waiting for the enemy to suffer losses before cutting off their escape route.

Holding their breath, the enemy appeared.

In front were about three thousand vanguard troops, followed by a long line of grain carts, and over ten thousand main forces behind.

The line was too long, so Wang Chuan let the vanguard and grain carts pass. Just as the main forces were about to enter the archers' ambush, Wang Chuan was about to raise his hand when he saw the middle-aged commander pull on the reins, scan the slopes warily, and suddenly shout: "There are ambushers, retreat quickly!"

Wang Chuan panicked and shouted: "Fire!"

A small portion of the arrows rained down on the cart drivers below, while most were aimed at the main forces.

On the mountain path, some cart drivers were hit by arrows and died, while others quickly hid under the cart boards, moving with the carts. On the main forces' side, after losing a few soldiers, the cavalry had already fled, and the shield bearers promptly raised their large shields to protect the infantry, quickly retreating.

Wang Chuan had fought several ambush battles before, but this was the first time he had seen such rapid defense.

"General, should we continue the interception?"

Wang Chuan calmly said, "Block them in front and let the main enemy force retreat. Archers, continue to form your ranks. Once the main enemy force turns back to rescue, immediately release your arrows!"

He had three thousand archers guarding the mountain; the main enemy force would not dare to rashly charge in. The three thousand vanguard troops in front were blocked by his three thousand five hundred infantry on the narrow mountain path. Unable to advance, they could only retreat, and upon retreating, they would have to endure the rain of arrows from the middle.

As long as these three thousand enemy soldiers were dealt with, his men could transport the grain below. Once it was confirmed that the main enemy force had moved far away, the archers could also withdraw.

Although he failed to eliminate the main enemy force, seizing the grain was still worth it.

Wang Chuan's plan was indeed thorough, but he did not expect that the three thousand charging troops were all elite, and among them was another deputy commander of the right flank army.

The one truly capable of holding the pass against ten thousand was Xiao Zhen, who charged forward with his spear.

If it were ordinary three thousand soldiers, they might have panicked when ambushed and cut off their escape route, and once panicked, they would not be a match for the three thousand five hundred blocking troops. However, Xiao Zhen alone carved out a bloody path. When he led fifty cavalry to the rear of the blocking troops and then turned back to attack, it became a pincer movement of the vanguard against the blocking troops.

The sentries guarding this side ran to report to Wang Chuan in a hurry: "General, it's bad! Their vanguard is too fierce, our men are about to be wiped out!"

Wang Chuan was greatly alarmed: "How is that possible?"

He had just observed those three thousand vanguard troops, who were all in a relaxed state of protecting the grain, and none of them were officers.

Sentry: "There is a formidable general among the enemy, no one can stop him!"

At this moment, another sentry ran up from behind: "General, it's bad! The enemy has discovered our ambush and is charging up the mountain!"

Even with the advantage of terrain, it was impossible to resist four or five times the number of enemy troops!

And although Wang Chuan had three thousand archers, they were rendered useless because there was no one below to target.

He angrily struck the tree trunk: "We've been tricked! Quickly, follow me and withdraw!"

The escape route had already been determined. Wang Chuan waved a flag to signal the archers on the opposite mountain, and both sides quickly retreated along the mountain path.

Half an hour later, Xiao Zhen's vanguard reunited with the main force.

In this battle, the ambush troops of Zhizhou left over six thousand corpses, only a few hundred infantry and those archers managed to escape. Xiao Zhen's grain protection force suffered nearly four thousand casualties, mostly on the main force side, ultimately being at a disadvantage due to the high ground held by the ambush troops.

Gao Cunzhi said resentfully, "It's a pity those archers got away!"

Xiao Zhen looked in the direction of Zhizhou City: "With no home to return to, running is futile."

---

On Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Zhen wrote two letters to the right flank army. In the letter to the old man, Xiao Zhen used a secret code known only to the two of them to inform him of the plan to lure the enemy with the grain.

Though the plan was ingenious, the old man's side still needed to continuously attack the city to keep the defending general Deng Gao on guard.

When Deng Gao allowed Wang Chuan and ten thousand ambush troops to leave the city, the old man's spies naturally saw it but pretended not to know. It wasn't until the morning of the fourth day, when Wang Chuan should have already set up the ambush in Chuan Yun Gorge and Deng Gao could no longer recall him, that the old man personally led the main force to attack the city.

At this point, Deng Gao had only five thousand defenders, including two thousand substitute civilians from within the city, as the original two thousand had died in previous defense battles.

People like Li Gang could almost breach the city with two thousand guards in a single morning. Now, with Xiao Shouyi, Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, and other young and valiant generals present, along with Tong Sui, the archer, and Qi Yun and Jiang Tiankuo leading the Qi family's "Lion Troops" in skilled coordination, after an hour of intense fighting, Qi Yun once again claimed the "First to Ascend" military merit. Two hours later, Deng Gao was beheaded by Xiao Ye, and the gates of Zhizhou City were opened, completely falling.

Wang Chuan and his nearly four thousand remaining troops were unaware of this.

They wandered through the mountains, successfully evading the pursuit of Xiao Zhen's main force, and returned to the outskirts of Zhizhou City on the afternoon of September 5th.

Returning during the day would be noticed by Xiao Mu's scouts, so they waited until nightfall, and at the third watch, they quietly approached the north gate, signaling with fire.

There was movement on the city wall.

Wang Chuan was feeling ashamed about how to report to the general when the flames above revealed the faces of enemy generals.

Xiao Ye: "Finally, you're back. You have archers, we do too. Release your arrows!"

A few days ago, Wang Chuan led the archers to shoot down Xiao family soldiers from the city walls. Tonight, the roles were reversed.

Wang Chuan died from multiple arrows, never understanding how things had come to this.