"Withdraw!"
General Xia Yijun, the young Fengxian, Min Wuyan, reined in his horse, holding his halberd. With immense pain, regret, annoyance, and reluctance, he cast a final glance at the smoke-filled city of Guangling Commandery before giving the order.
In the fifth year of Yanyongping and the third year of Xiayuanjia, Xia general Min Wuyan led over two thousand local militia and defeated the Yan's five thousand elite cavalry, or rather, scared away Murong Kang's five thousand White Wave soldiers, killing over two hundred Yan soldiers.
However, for every two hundred Yan soldiers killed, Min Wuyan and his men paid a price of five to six hundred, a case of killing one thousand enemies at the cost of three thousand of one's own. This was achieved even with an ambush. The Xia army's White Wave elites indeed lived up to their reputation.
Thus, although Min Wuyan wished to save Guangling Commandery, he was powerless. His troops were no longer fit for battle, forcing him to retreat temporarily and seek another opportunity.
Despite this, Min Wuyan's engagement with the Yan army's elite cavalry with his weak forces, fighting against a larger enemy, resulted in such an outcome that greatly boosted his army's morale and spread his name far and wide across the Central Plains and along the great rivers.
The brave and resourceful Min Wuyan was gradually recognized by the Xia people, and his prestige grew among the Yan forces.
As a poem attests: "A lone horse, a single spear, Min Wuyan, like Lü Fengxian of the Three Kingdoms, with a heart full of courage, charging into the enemy's formation, scattering the White Wave spirits and souls!"
...
"You're back? How was it?" Yan general Zhou Fugui of the White Tiger Camp asked Feng Cheng and others in a low voice as they returned.
Min Wuyan scaring away Murong Kang was but a minor incident in the larger war between Yan and Xia, not affecting the overall strategic situation. Of the three Xia Yi army reinforcements, Min Wuyan's unit had fled, another unit was annihilated by the Yan army, and only one managed to fight its way to the walls of Guangling Commandery, suffering heavy losses. Only a dozen or so were hoisted onto the city walls by the Guangling garrison and escaped alive, but only temporarily.
The Yan army continued its relentless assault on Guangling Commandery, and the city was on the brink of collapse.
Zhou Fugui was ordered to attack. He led his three thousand "ragtag soldiers," also known as the "Death Squad," and quietly infiltrated near the water gate of Guangling Commandery, intending to use it as a breach point to enter the city.
This was also a stratagem planned by Murong Bole and Zhou Fugui. Murong Bole personally led the main army to attack Guangling Commandery head-on, drawing the attention of the Xia forces within the city, while Zhou Fugui led three thousand death warriors to surprise attack the water gate and capture Guangling Commandery in one fell swoop.
When Zhou Fugui proposed this plan or request at the time, he nearly made Murong Bole faint from anger...
The esteemed Prince of Guan Ning Zuo Xian of the Great Yan Kingdom, commander of the Yan army's right flank, was to act as a cover for him? However, Murong Bole later thought it over and found it to be a clever stratagem, a brilliant plan. He grudgingly agreed, but at the cost of Zhou Fugui and his entire White Tiger Camp. If this plan failed, everyone in the White Tiger Camp, from Zhou Fugui downwards, would be executed.
To save their lives and beg for mercy, Zhou Fugui and his men had no choice but to go all out.
"The river is shallow enough to wade through, but wading will inevitably slow our advance and make us targets for the defenders on the walls," Feng Cheng reported after his reconnaissance.
"Mm..." Zhou Fugui nodded and asked, "What about the defenders on the walls? How many men do they have?"
"Your subordinate observed for three hours..." Feng Cheng replied, "The Xia army's defenses are relatively tight, with constant patrols. However, I noticed their numbers are not large, about five to six hundred men."
"Five to six hundred is not a lot?" Zhou Fugui glared at Feng Cheng and said, "One man at the pass can hold off ten thousand. Even five or six hundred are more than enough for us."
In siege warfare, defending with five to six hundred men would require at least five to six thousand attackers, or even more, while Zhou Fugui had less than three thousand "ragtag soldiers" or the "Death Squad" under his command.
"It seems we must wait a while longer," Zhou Fugui sighed.
They would wait for the opportune moment, waiting until Murong Bole's assault on the city made the Xia forces unbearable, and they would surely transfer troops from other sectors to reinforce the north gate.
The White Tiger Camp generals hiding in the forest all nodded in agreement.
But while Zhou Fugui and his men wished to wait, some would not allow them to. Shortly after, over two thousand Yan cavalry arrived. Their commander, Halaba, found Zhou Fugui and said with a smile, "Commander Zhou, I am Halaba of the Fiery Dragon Camp, ordered to reinforce you."
"Whose orders? The Commander or the Princess?" Zhou Fugui asked.
If it were Murong Huiying's order, then these troops might genuinely be here to assist. If it were Murong Bole's command, then they were here to supervise Zhou Fugui.
However, the latter possibility was more likely. Zhou Fugui thought to himself, these Xianbei people valued their lives, how could they be thrown into such a brutal, meat-grinder-like siege?
"The Commander's orders!" Halaba replied after a moment's hesitation.
"Why the Commander's orders?" Zhou Fugui asked again.
"Attack the city immediately, or else..." Halaba smiled, but his tone was exceptionally stern.
"Or else what?" Zhou Fugui asked.
"Delay means immediate execution!" Halaba replied. "But..."
"But what?" Zhou Fugui truly wanted to slap this fellow. He was so long-winded, like squeezing toothpaste, couldn't he just say it all at once?
Zhou Fugui appeared somewhat agitated at this moment.
A general should always remain calm, unperturbed by the collapse of Mount Tai, unmoved by a startled deer to the left.
But Zhou Fugui was still young and could not compare to those seasoned veterans. Since he came into this world and was forced to join the army, this was the first time he faced such a brutal and grand war, far surpassing the battle at Yue Ma River.
Nearly three thousand lives were in Zhou Fugui's hands. How could he not be hesitant, how could he not be anxious and indecisive?
"But as long as Commander Zhou does not go too far, I will turn a blind eye," Halaba replied.
It was difficult, Halaba sighed inwardly.
If he defied the Commander's orders, Murong Bole would surely kill him. But if Halaba was ordered to behead Zhou Fugui as a warning, how could Murong Huiying, who was in a close relationship with Zhou Fugui, let him off?
"Oh? Heh heh..." Zhou Fugui couldn't help but laugh. "A general outside the capital..."
Halaba interrupted Zhou Fugui's words and said with a bitter smile, "Commander Zhou, please don't make things difficult for me, alright?"
"Alas, so be it." Zhou Fugui sighed and said to Halaba, "When we attack the city, can you lend us a hand and shoot a few arrows to support us?"
"Heh heh..." Halaba smiled and said, "Commander Zhou, rest assured, we will provide full assistance in the assault!"
"Mm..." Zhou Fugui nodded and thought to himself, it seemed he could no longer wait. He had to attack the city immediately.
"Dian Meng, Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, Pan Jian Gui, Feng Cheng, Gu Gounu, Liu Qingmiao, Liu Changshun, Sun Siming, Bu Gude, you few come here to discuss," Zhou Fugui then called his ten flag officers to his side.
...
"Who goes there?"
"Don't take another step forward, or you'll be killed at the city walls!"
As the sun set, at dusk, a group of people approached the city of Guangling Commandery. They numbered about five to six hundred and swaggered towards the moat. The Xia garrison on the walls shouted loudly.
Bows, crossbows, boiling oil, rolling logs, and stones were all prepared. As soon as they took another step forward, they would launch an attack.
"Hold your arrows!" someone below the city shouted back, "We are righteous soldiers from Donghai Commandery, here to reinforce Guangling Commandery. Quickly lower the drawbridge, open the city gates, and let us in!"
"Righteous soldiers from Donghai Commandery?" A Xia general on the wall asked a few questions and then said, "The city gate is blocked. To enter, you'll have to climb the wall. Lay down your weapons and come up one by one."
"Come up one by one?" Someone below the city anxiously pointed to the distance behind them and said, "The barbarian pursuers are not far away. We came here with righteousness in our hearts. Do you want us all to die at the city walls?"
Dust was flying in the distance, and it seemed like Yan troops were indeed in pursuit.
"Mm..." The Xia general thought for a moment and then said, "The city gate is blocked, and I can do nothing about it. How about this: cross the moat first."
The city gate was blocked, but the drawbridge could still be lowered. After letting them cross the moat, they would throw down ropes and baskets to pull them onto the city walls. If the Yan army pursued, they could fight from the walls, and their fate would depend on luck.
If they came up the wall after laying down their weapons, even if it was a trap, they could be taken down one by one.
A moment later, the drawbridge was lowered, hitting the ground with a loud "bang," sending up clouds of dust.
A group of people quickly crossed the drawbridge.
"Bad!"
"It's a trap! It's a trap!"
"The barbarians are trying to trick us, quickly raise the drawbridge!"
As these people approached the base of the city walls, the Xia garrison on the walls realized something was amiss.
If they were being pursued by the Yan army and had broken through the encirclement to reach the city walls, why were they still carrying siege ladders? The situation was obvious: this group was the Yan army in disguise.
The soldiers of the White Tiger Camp, disguised as righteous soldiers, had crossed the drawbridge. Although they had tried their best to conceal the siege ladders, they were still discovered by the Xia army on the walls.
At the command of the Xia general, arrows, rolling logs, and stones rained down from the walls like a torrent.
"Cut the drawbridge, quick, cut the drawbridge!" Flag officer Gu Gounu shouted anxiously as the drawbridge was slowly being raised.
Two strong men from the White Tiger Camp leaped onto the drawbridge. Braving the Yan army's arrow volleys, they clung to the thick chains of the drawbridge with one hand and swung their axes with the other, hacking at the connection between the chains and the drawbridge.
With a loud "boom," the chains were cut by the two White Tiger Camp strongmen. The drawbridge, which had been slowly raised, crashed back down and could no longer be raised.
One of the two White Tiger Camp strongmen was shot dead by arrows, and the other was crushed into a pulp by the falling drawbridge.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
"The barbarian thieves are attacking the city, hurry to the walls!"
The Xia army on the walls beat gongs to warn of the attack and shot flaming arrows at the drawbridge, attempting to burn it.
"Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!"
At this moment, the sound of hooves echoed from afar, the dense thudding of hooves on the ground like thunder.
A large contingent of Yan cavalry was rapidly charging towards Guangling Commandery.