Chapter 32 The Khan of the Northern Rong
"Reporting to the General, the count is complete. 2,321 dead, 4,865 wounded, 536 catapults destroyed, 1,253 ballistae destroyed, 5 siege engines destroyed, and 4,200 horses killed or wounded..."
Dunluhe's face turned ashen. He slammed his hand on the table, startling the guard who swallowed the words he was about to say and watched him, barely daring to breathe. A moment later, Meda waved his hand, and he ran out as if greatly relieved.
"General, there's no need to be angry. It was just a moment of carelessness..."
"A moment of carelessness?" Dunluhe raised his head angrily. "Tell me, where did we go wrong? Who knew the cunning Han people would bury thunderbolts underground? Didn't you say we had spies in the city? Why haven't any messages come back?"
"The spy hasn't sent any news for a while, so he's probably been discovered."
Atsushi He snorted coldly.
Meda had no choice but to say, "It was my fault."
"Since it was your dereliction of duty, then you'll be responsible for writing the battle report for Ji Nuli." Dunluhe finished coldly, grabbed his sword, and walked out of the central command tent, heading straight to the hillside beside the camp. The sun had just risen, casting its light across the fields like a thin layer of golden sand. If it weren't for what had just happened, it would have been a peaceful and serene early winter morning. Dunluhe closed his eyes, the rumbling sound still echoing in his ears, the smell of sulfur seemingly returning to his nostrils. More than seven thousand dead and wounded, siege engines like catapults, ballistae, and siege engines damaged, without even touching the city walls—if word got out, people would probably laugh their heads off.
What a disgrace!
He opened his eyes and said, "Someone come here."
The head guard announced loudly, "Present!"
"Pass down the order: assemble the troops and prepare for the attack."
The head guard watched him intently.
Atsushi glared at him and said, "Are you stupid?"
The head guard quickly turned around and ran away.
After a while, Meda rushed over and said, "General, the soldiers are still in shock and their morale is completely gone. Nearly half of the catapults, crossbows, and trebuchets are destroyed. How should we attack?"
“Look.” The ground outside Dunluhe Haozhou City was cratered from the explosions. “All the detonators have been detonated. If we attack now, there will be no more explosive threats. If we wait a few days, the Han people might bury us again. Besides, to restore morale, we must win a victory as soon as possible. Staying in the camp will only make morale decline further.”
This wasn't without reason. After a moment's thought, Meda pointed to the moat and said, "General, that area is still perfectly level. If the Haozhou army also planted detonators there, can we withstand another one?"
Dunluhe was speechless for a moment, and after a while, he said irritably, "Then let's just be scared out of our wits and do nothing?"
Meda shook his head, his eyes filled with malice, and said, "No, we must take this city, and we must kill everyone in it." Seeing Dunluhe's puzzled expression, he continued, "As we marched south, all the other cities used catapults to drop thunderbolts, but Haozhou City buried its thunderbolts in the ground. Once the news leaks out, other cities in Zhou will follow suit, and the consequences will be unimaginable."
Atsushi nodded and said, "That's right, but the thunderbolts are buried in the ground, making them impossible to defend against. What should we do?"
“General, don’t worry, I have come up with a solution that satisfies both sides. The thunderbolt needs a fuse to ignite before it can explode. Let’s wait a few days. If it doesn’t rain, we can irrigate the ground to wet the fuse, and the mine buried underground will naturally become useless. At the same time, we…” Meda leaned close to his ear and explained his plan in detail.
Atsushi's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly.
Over the next few days, Dunluhe directed his soldiers to cut timber in the mountains to build catapults and ballistae, and to move stones to make projectiles. They worked tirelessly, hammering and banging away. After seven days of this work, they had built over five hundred catapults and over six hundred ballistae. However, the weather was uncooperative; it didn't rain. Left with no other option, they drove knee-high wooden stakes every three meters towards the moat, then laid bamboo pipes on top. The defenders of Haozhou City naturally unleashed a barrage of crossbow bolts to hinder the construction, but under the cover of shield carts, the Northern Rong army slowly advanced towards the moat with their bamboo pipes.
Night fell, the temperature plummeted, there was no moon, only a few stars shivering as if they were frozen.
At the hour of Chou Zheng, a scout from the Northern Rong, who had been lying in ambush near the city moat, reported that a side gate of Haozhou City had been opened, and several hundred soldiers were digging something beside the moat. Mei Da's spirits lifted, and he said, "Just as I predicted, the Han people have indeed fallen for it." Ostensibly, they were setting up water pipes to irrigate the land. Secretly, they were digging a long tunnel that was almost at the edge of the moat.
So when the Haozhou soldiers unearthed the detonating bombs, several thousand Northern Rong soldiers, who had been lying in ambush in the tunnels, filed out and drew their swords to fight. But just as their formation was set in motion, a barrage of explosive bombs was thrown from the Haozhou city walls. The sounds were like firecrackers, and a pungent odor filled the air. The Northern Rong soldiers were choked, their eyes and noses watering. The Haozhou soldiers, their nostrils covered with damp cloths, seized the opportunity to wreak havoc…
In less than a quarter of an hour, the three thousand Northern Rong soldiers were either killed or captured, with less than half of them running back to their camp.
After hearing the report, Dunluhe flew into a rage and questioned Meda: "Is this what you call the 'burying the sky and crossing the sea' plan? You say others have been fooled, but I think you're the one who's been fooled."
Meda's face was ashen, her lips tightly pressed together, and she remained silent.
"We haven't even touched the city walls, and we've already lost nearly five thousand men. It's a disgrace! Forget your brilliant plans; in my opinion, we should just launch a fierce attack and smash Haozhou City to pieces with stones!" Dunluhe finished speaking and shouted, "They're here! Jihe..."
"General, wait a minute," Meda interrupted him anxiously. "There is a master in Haozhou City. This man is skilled in using fire bombs. He has buried thunderbolts in the ground and filled explosive bombs with pepper powder. He is cunning and unfathomable. We must not be rash."
Atsushi He glanced at him contemptuously, cursed, "Coward." He then lifted the curtain and stepped out of the central command tent.
At this moment, in Haozhou City, Liu Shizhi was discussing the handling of the prisoners with Ruan Bi.
"More than a hundred prisoners need to eat a peck of grain every day. The early rice harvest was poor, and the city's grain reserves are insufficient. Keeping the prisoners is too much of a burden. It would be better to kill them. Firstly, it would lighten the burden, and secondly, it would dampen the morale of the enemy."
One hundred lives. Ruan Bi's heart pounded. After all, she wasn't a real general, and the thought of killing prisoners made her uneasy. "Let's keep them for now. There's no need to feed them every day. Just give them food every few days, and make sure they don't starve to death."
Liu Shizhi nodded, thinking to himself, "Fifth Miss is, after all, a woman. Although she has great military talent and is meticulous in her calculations, she is a bit soft-hearted." Seeing a trace of weariness between her brows, he quickly said, "Miss, please go and rest. The Rong bandits have suffered another crushing defeat this time, and I think they won't make any further moves tonight."
Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "Not necessarily. If I were the chief commander of the Northern Rong, I would take advantage of their arrogance and launch a surprise attack."
After waiting another half hour, with dawn approaching and the Northern Rong army still making no move, Ruan Bi was exhausted and went back to Xinghua Lane to sleep. Just as she drifted off to sleep, she heard the sound of war drums and quickly got up, rushing to the north gate. But as soon as she reached the gate, she heard the clear sound of gongs.
The drums sounded to advance the attack, and the gongs sounded to signal retreat.
Ruan Bi was puzzled, so she climbed up the city wall and took a look. She saw the Northern Rong army retreating to their camp in an orderly fashion.
Liu Shizhi was also very puzzled and said, "What trick are they playing this time?"
By noon, seeing no further movement from the Northern Rong army, Ruan Bi returned to Xinghua Lane. After eating, she lay on the couch and closed her eyes to rest. She heard the sound of war drums again, but this time she did not move. After a quarter of an hour, the Northern Rong indeed retreated again.
Hanxing asked, puzzled, "Miss, what are they trying to do?"
"They're playing the boy who cried wolf trick."
Han Xing was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What, 'The wolf is coming'?"
"It's like crying wolf over and over again until everyone gets numb and loses their vigilance. Even if a wolf really comes, they won't believe it."
Han Xing didn't understand and blinked. Ruan Bi closed her eyes to continue resting. An hour later, she heard the sound of war drums again, this time lasting for an hour before the troops withdrew. She couldn't lie still any longer and said, "Let's go, Han Xing, let's go to the north gate."
Upon reaching the north gate, instead of going up to the command post on the city tower, they stood on the city wall and looked down. The land that had been cratered by bombs had long since been filled in by the Northern Rong army, who had re-erected catapults and ballistae. The Northern Rong camp was hidden by high walls, so their activities could not be seen, but it exuded an air of being ready for battle.
"Why don't you rest for a while, young lady?" Liu Shizhi walked over and said, "The Northern Rong are using a harassment tactic, and I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle tonight."
Ruan Bi asked thoughtfully, "Have they changed their commander?"
Liu Shizhi paused for a moment, then exclaimed in admiration, "The young lady is truly clever." Pointing to the Northern Rong camp ahead, he added, "See that? There's an extra eagle flag."
Ruan Bi stared intently and saw that there was indeed a new flag woven with gold thread, fluttering in the wind in the vast twilight.
“That is the Khan’s banner of the Northern Rong.”
"You mean..." Ruan Bi's eyes widened in surprise, "Ji Nuli is here?"
"That's right."
"How did he end up here from the front lines in Weinan?"
"have no idea."
After the initial shock, Ruan Bixin began to sink. With Ji Nuli's arrival, the Northern Rong changed their tactics, and these tactics were naturally much more sophisticated than those of Dunluhe. Seeing the deep worry on her face, Liu Shizhi comforted her, saying, "Miss, don't worry. Today is the fourteenth, and in another half month, the Prince will be back. We just need to hold out for half a month."
How many mines do we have left?
"Three thousand thunderbolts, two thousand explosive bombs, and one thousand caltrops."
"It looks like it's going to be a tough two weeks."
Ji Nuli's military tactics were indeed quite different from Dunluhe's. He harassed the defending troops all day, expecting them to attack the city that night. The soldiers of Haozhou City were all on high alert, but to their surprise, nothing happened all night. The next day, he harassed them several more times, and when everyone was on high alert that night, there was still no movement. After several days of this, the defending soldiers, due to excessive tension, began to break down to varying degrees.
On the fourth day, from dawn until noon, the Northern Rong army launched six feint attacks, averaging one every half hour. The defenders of Haozhou City became increasingly sluggish with each attack. At noon, the people of Haozhou City were having their lunch when they heard the war drums sound again. Many ignored them, assuming it was just another feint, and continued eating at their leisurely pace...
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