My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 319 Troops Delayed at Qiantang
The Southern Expeditionary Army used siege towers to suppress the counterattacks from the city walls, while a large number of moat-filling carts systematically poured sand into the moat.

Most of the trench-filling vehicles were actually operated by Zuo Rong and Xue Li's former subordinates.

However, the food standards of the Southern Expeditionary Army were much better than those of Zuo Rong and Xue Li. At least the soldiers' rations were not subject to deductions. This alone earned the Southern Expeditionary Army a great deal of goodwill from Zuo Rong and Xue Li's former subordinates.

Secondly, the Southern Expeditionary Army did not hastily launch an offensive against Wuxi City. Instead, it prepared a large number of siege and defense equipment in advance, especially trench-filling vehicles. It also focused on teaching the soldiers under Zuo Rong and Xue Li how to operate them and how to defend against them.

This obviously greatly alleviated the feeling of being used as cannon fodder for the two characters.

Furthermore, after Liu Feng announced the end of the Jiangdong Campaign, the former troops of Zuo Rong and Xue Li could continue to serve in the army and be allocated to replenish the main forces. They could also apply for a proposal to have the General of the Cavalry's office arrange for land reclamation and interest-free rental of various supplies, including land, rations, seeds, residential land, and oxen.

This policy greatly boosted the morale of Zuo Rong and Xue Li's former subordinates, making the two units more usable.

Under the command of the officers, twelve siege towers equipped with wooden shields were moved to a distance of 120 to 140 meters from the city wall and began firing continuously at the top of the wall.

The archers on the siege tower were divided into several groups, with archers maintaining a suppressive barrage and crossbowmen providing targeted counterattacks. Bows could be fired both directly and by hurling, while crossbow bolts could be aimed for extended periods without requiring strenuous maintenance.

The Southern Expeditionary Army made full use of the differences between bows and crossbows, achieving a clever coordination that suppressed the counterattack fire from the city walls, resulting in a fire vacuum along a section of the city wall.

Meanwhile, twenty-four moat-filling carts moved continuously between the siege towers, transporting sand and soil one after another along the cleared routes to fill the moat.

Meanwhile, about half an hour later, the counterweight catapult, now fully loaded, unleashed its power once again, this time achieving a 50% hit rate. Two stone projectiles shattered the city tower, causing a small portion of it to collapse.

As a result, the tall city gate tower at the North Gate of Wuxi was completely ruined, and no one dared to climb this dilapidated and dangerous tower anymore.

After losing the North Gate tower, the high ground shifted to the attacking Southern Expeditionary Army.

The trench-filling operation went quite smoothly. Although Xu Kun organized a counterattack, the combined attack of the siege towers, the Three Rivers Knights, and the Ironclad Warriors forced the counterattack force to retreat shortly after leaving the city.

This is why, with the city walls as cover, the cavalry of the Southern Expeditionary Army dared not charge recklessly. They only used mounted archery to disrupt the enemy's formation, and eventually the enemy retreated.

Xu Kun's counterattack completely failed, and he was unable to launch another counterattack outside the city.

In just one afternoon, the Southern Expeditionary Army successfully filled in a small section of the trench. In another two or three days, they should be able to fill in the moat completely.

As darkness fell, Liu Feng decisively sounded the retreat, and the armored soldiers and the Three Rivers Knights covered the entire army's withdrawal back to the main camp, giving Xu Kun no chance whatsoever.

In normal combat, only the northern camp sent out troops; the eastern and western camps did not even make any move to provide support, but simply rested in their camps, which shows the confidence of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

But this very point made Xu Kun feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

It's already so difficult to deal with the main force of the Southern Expeditionary Army from the north. If the eastern and western battalions cooperate in the attack, can Wuxi still hold out?

Left with no other option, Xu Kun could only send a request for help to Wu County. Although he knew that Wu Jing had little power left, he was truly powerless to do anything about it.

At the very least, Wu Jing should be informed of the Southern Expeditionary Army's tactics as soon as possible so that Wu County can begin preparations.

Three days later, Wu Jing received a report from Wuxi.

Upon seeing this, Wu Jing was greatly alarmed.

For the past month, Wuxi had been peaceful. Xu Kun sent back several messages, only saying that the Southern Expeditionary Army was busy with construction and building weapons, but was still very confident that they could hold Wuxi against the enemy's all-out offensive.

Xu Kun was relatively optimistic at the time, believing that even if the Southern Expeditionary Army attacked from three sides, he was still confident that he could hold out for a month. Later, he would decide whether to continue to hold out or retreat to Wu County based on the extent of damage to the city's defenses and the casualties of the soldiers.

As a result, Xu Kun couldn't hold out long enough as soon as the Southern Expeditionary Army launched its attack.

But Wu Jing was no longer in the mood to blame Xu Kun, because if the battle report Xu Kun sent back was true, then Wu County might not be much better than Wuxi.

They can throw boulders weighing over 200 pounds 300 meters with a hit rate of up to 50%. Even if they miss, a boulder of that size could still cause considerable trouble if it flew over the city wall and into the city.

Besides the giant catapults, the Southern Expeditionary Army possessed a variety of unique and diverse weapons. The shielded siege towers alone severely suppressed the firepower on the city walls. As for the mud-filling carts covered with leather and iron and topped with wet mud, they were even more troublesome.

Xu Kun tried several times to destroy the enemy's siege equipment, but to no avail.

These trench-filling wagons also housed armored soldiers, seemingly unafraid of Sun Quan's close-quarters combat. If anyone wanted to set them on fire, the wagons were covered in cowhide, and the top layer was wet mud, ensuring they wouldn't catch fire even after burning for half an hour. The armored soldiers inside would naturally emerge from the wagons to engage Sun Quan's troops in close combat, protecting the equipment.

Seeing that a large amount of equipment was still being built in the enemy camp, Xu Kun's confidence in defending Wuxi City was getting smaller and smaller, and he had to notify Wu Jing in advance to make preparations.

According to the original plan of the Sun family's senior management, Piling was the front line and needed to be held for a month.

As a result, Qu'a fell within half a day, and the garrison of Piling was wiped out, causing the Sun family to dare not send reinforcements to Piling and to abandon the place.

Wuxi, as the last barrier of Wuxian, was itself a fortified city, and its terrain was relatively easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The Sun family has stationed a full 10,000 troops here, placing high hopes on Xu Kun, expecting him to hold out for several months.

But now, just over a month later, Xu Kun is already complaining. What makes Wu Jing even more upset is that the Southern Expeditionary Army has not launched any attacks at all during this month.

The real attack lasted only one day.

"You all take a look."

Wu Jing had his attendant relay Xu Kun's report to the generals in the hall.

Among them were officers and soldiers from Wu Jing's troops, as well as two collateral branches of the Sun family, Sun Fu and Sun Xiu.

"Wuxi may not be able to hold out for another ten days?"

After reading the battle report, Sun Fu almost couldn't help but scream in surprise.

This is far from the planned two or three months of commitment; it hasn't even reached half of the planned time.

In his battle report, Xu Kun emphasized the progress of the Southern Expeditionary Army. According to Xu Kun's judgment, the moat would definitely be filled in in two days, or at most three days.

At that time, the Southern Expeditionary Army will inevitably have to land on the city walls. Even if the casualties are heavy, they will have to fight on the city walls.

Sun Xiu was a year younger than Sun Fu, and he frowned but didn't say anything.

In fact, both Sun Fu and Sun Xiu were in a rather awkward situation, since their fathers had already surrendered to Liu Bei.

Although Sun Fu was Sun Ben's younger brother, Sun Qiang and his wife died of illness not long after Sun Fu was born. In reality, Sun Ben was like a father to his elder brother.

“Uncle, my cousin’s letter says that we should send troops north to join forces with him to first defeat the western part of the Southern Expeditionary Army.”

Sun Fu, however, was cheerful and outspoken, showing no sign of becoming conservative because of his brother's surrender.

Upon hearing this, Wu Jing showed no displeasure whatsoever.

He summoned Sun Fu and Sun Xiu because he wanted to hear their opinions.

"The risk is too great."

Wu Jing shook his head and replied to Sun Fu, "Shi Bao's plan is too risky; even he himself can't make up his mind."

"Besides, there are less than 10,000 people left in Wu County. How many troops can they send out?"

Wu Jing frowned and asked, "If we send troops and the city is overrun, will Wu County still be able to be defended?"

The matter mentioned by Sun Fu was a tactical plan proposed by Xu Kun in his report, which was to send the troops of Wu County north to attack Gao Shun's troops in the west of the city, while Xu Kun also responded in Wuxi.

Xu Kun made this plan because Gao Shun was relatively isolated in the west of the city, and the Han Canal separated them, making mutual support very inconvenient.

If the Southern Expeditionary Army in the west of the city could be decisively defeated, the impact on the overall battle situation would be enormous, and it might even turn the tide for Wuxi.

Because if they could win, even if it was just to repel the Southern Expeditionary Army west of the city, the grain route along the Han Canal would have to be moved at least several dozen miles north to avoid being harassed or attacked by Sun's army.

This alone is enough to temporarily turn Wuxi's crisis into safety.

Of course, if they fail, not only Wuxi, but even Wuxian will be powerless to resist.

If they don't launch an attack, based on Xu Kun's assessment, it would take the Southern Expeditionary Army at least ten days to half a month to reach the walls of Wu County.

In addition, we need to rebuild the siege equipment, so it will probably take at least a month to organize any effective offensive.

In this way, even if Wu Jing does nothing, he can hold on for nearly two more months.

From a risk and return perspective, Wu Jing still thinks that a steady and conservative approach is much better.

In the end, Wu Jing suppressed Sun Fu's desire to send troops and decided to prioritize stability.

At the same time, he also sent a letter to Sun Ce, detailing the situation in northern Wu Commandery and informing him that he might only have less than two months left to hold out. Xu Kun also received a reply from Wu Jing, stating that Wuxi should be defended as long as possible, and that they must hold out until the city's defenses completely failed, after which they could preserve their strength and retreat to Wu County.

At that time, Wu Jing will send Sun Fu and others to meet him.

Xu Kun was also helpless when he received Wu Jing's message.

In truth, he knew that Wu Jingzhen's move north would actually be riskier; if things went wrong, both the reinforcements and the Wuxi garrison could be wiped out.

Therefore, he felt helpless about Wu Jing's decision and did not have much dissatisfaction.

In the past few days, the Southern Expeditionary Army had filled in a large section of the moat, leaving only the city wall as the last line of defense for one-third of the area around the North Gate. However, the Southern Expeditionary Army remained unhurried, steadily accumulating strength for a planned attack.

Six days earlier, after a day of attacks, Liu Feng withdrew his troops and returned to camp.

At this point, Zhou Bin had completely submitted, feeling that the Sun family was not only no match for the Southern Expeditionary Army, but even if they wanted to prolong their lives, it would be beyond their capabilities.

Therefore, Zhou Bin was determined to join the Southern Expeditionary Army and serve Liu Feng.

Upon returning to camp, Zhou Bin offered a suggestion to Liu Feng, asking him to send men to garrison Yangxian.

Yangxian is located east of Zhenze Lake, and there is an official road along the lake to the southeast that leads directly to Wucheng.

At the same time, he presented all the information he had gathered about Wucheng, and finally bowed and offered himself up, saying: "Zou Ta and Qian Tong are old friends of mine. After they occupied Wucheng, they came to me to buy grain. I am unworthy, but I am willing to serve you, General, and persuade Zou Ta and Qian Tong to surrender and come to me!"

Liu Feng was overjoyed and personally helped Zhou Bin up, patting his hand and saying, "Zixu, as the saying goes, great minds think alike. Your plan is exactly the same as mine!"

Zhou Bin was shocked, but then he heard Liu Feng continue, "I have already dispatched another army to Liyang. They are just waiting for you, Zixu, to see the situation clearly and then pledge your allegiance to the Emperor."

Hearing that Liyang had already amassed a large army, Zhou Bin was even more alarmed.

Recalling what he had seen and heard during the day, Zhou Bin realized that the strength of the Southern Expeditionary Army had completely intimidated him.

Even though he always prided himself on the bravery and fighting prowess of his troops, he probably wouldn't last more than a few days against the Southern Expeditionary Army, even with Yangxian as his support.

The thought of the Southern Expeditionary Army's diverse and highly effective siege weapons sent chills down Zhou Bin's spine. For a small city like Yangxian, they wouldn't even need to deploy their entire force; just the trench-filling carts and battering rams would likely be enough to breach its defenses.

"General's strategies are as profound as the sea; I am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"

Zhou Bin immediately knelt down again and said, "I humbly beg the general to be generous and grant me the opportunity to serve Yangxian. The elders and young men of Yangxian are willing to serve the general with all their might."

Liu Feng laughed and pulled Zhou Bin up: "Why is Zixu so self-deprecating?"

Zhou Bin cautiously expressed his true feelings, saying, "These words come from the bottom of my heart and are truly sincere. I earnestly request that the general accept them."

Zhou Bin was quite arrogant when he arrived, but his eagerness to please shows just how shocked he was today.

"Alright, if that's how it is..."

After considering it for a moment, Liu Feng decided, "Then I can give Zixu a military quota of one thousand men, organize him into a separate unit, and let him join my Southern Expeditionary Army, temporarily under the command of General Taishi. What do you think, Zixu?"

Zhou Bin was overjoyed and bowed three times, saying excitedly, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, General, and will do my utmost to live up to your trust."

The next morning, despite Liu Feng's attempts to persuade him to stay, Zhou Bin bid farewell to Liu Feng and immediately returned to Yangxian.

At the same time, Liu Feng's orders also went to Liyang, ordering Zhou Yu to garrison Yangxian and prepare to welcome Taishi Ci's army.

Taishi Ci had already arrived in Wuhu and was heading towards Liyang with Xu Huang as his vanguard. Along the way, he was replenished by three granaries: Niuzhu, Liyang, and Wanling, and had also stockpiled a large amount of grain in Liyang.

After Zhou Yu reached Yangxian, the remaining grain supplies would begin to be transported there for use in subsequent battles.

After arriving in Yangxian, Zhou Bin prepared his troops and tallied the supplies. He also personally went out to greet Zhou Yu, who was coming from Liyang.

After meeting, the two decided to send people separately to persuade Wang Sheng, Zou Ta, and Qian Tong to surrender.

Wang Sheng was handled by the Zhou family, who asked Lü You to take charge, while Zhou Bin personally took charge of Zou Ta and Qian Tong.

Because they had to wait for the southern army to move, Liu Feng's side did not launch a general offensive against Wuxi. Instead, they continued with the original plan, focusing on clearing Wuxi's defenses and using the offensive as a secondary measure.

Xu Kun's side didn't know why the Southern Expeditionary Army hadn't launched a general offensive, nor could they understand the enemy's intentions. Perhaps every extra day of delay was better than none, and they were happy to let the Southern Expeditionary Army slow down its pace.

News of the northern part of Wu Commandery quickly reached Sun Ce.

Sun Ce was also in a dilemma at this time.

Although his guess was completely correct, even though he led a large army south, leaving the entire rear undefended, neither the Yan brothers nor Wang Sheng and other powerful figures in Wucheng dared to send troops. They simply stayed in Wucheng and waited to die.

This result further enhanced Sun Ce's prestige within the army.

However, a major problem has given Sun Ce a headache.

That is because Wang Lang's defenses at Guling were too strong.

Since the failed surprise attack on Guling half a month ago, Sun Ce has launched five offensives, large and small, but most of them were driven back on the Qiantang River. Even the two offensives that successfully landed on the river failed to breach the city of Guling.

Instead, under the enemy's counterattack, the army that had crossed the river was forced to retreat to the north bank to protect itself.

The army is now stuck north of the Qiantang River. Although Zhu Zhi has helped them so that they have enough food, the problem is that time is running out.

Seeing that the Southern Expeditionary Army had not only successfully crossed the river, but also quietly annexed Liu Yao's Niuzhu Army, and even dealt with Zuo Rong and Xue Li in the process.

The entire northeastern part of Jiangxi province underwent a silent and dramatic change.

This allowed the Southern Expeditionary Army to reach Qu'a without any hindrance, and the fact that the city was captured in half a day was enough to demonstrate the army's formidable strength.

Sun Ce was not actually reckless. It was precisely because he felt the overwhelming power of the Southern Expeditionary Army that he strongly advocated marching south to Kuaiji.

If we attack Wucheng from the side, even if we capture Wucheng, it won't make a difference to the overall situation, and we won't even be able to achieve the original goal of eliminating the threat on our flank.

Because once Wucheng is captured, it will be equivalent to bordering the Southern Expeditionary Army, thus exposing the flank to a more powerful opponent.

Only by sending the main force south and defeating Wang Lang can we not only sweep through Kuaiji, but also send troops north to reinforce Wu County.

Only by obtaining the manpower, supplies, and troops of Kuaiji Commandery could we hope to defend Wu Commandery.

This is the real way to break the deadlock.

Unfortunately, the ideal is beautiful, but the reality is harsh.

Sun Ce never expected that he would be stopped by Wang Lang on the north bank of the Qiantang River.

In this instance, the powerful clans and gentry in Kuaiji Commandery who supported Wang Lang practically emptied their coffers.

Zhou Xin even took out two thousand private retainers in one go, and at the same time, he also took out a lot of money and food to recruit another two thousand people.

Zhou Xin's family alone provided Wang Lang with four thousand soldiers.

Yu Fan also sold everything he owned to gather a thousand troops, plus five thousand soldiers from the prefectures and kingdoms, and six thousand troops from other powerful clans. Wang Lang then deployed a total of fourteen thousand men on the small Guling defense line.

Even so, Wang Lang was still not satisfied and continued to write letters to Shang Sheng, the county magistrate of Houguan County in Dongye, and local powerful figures Zhang Ya and Zhan Qiang.

Please ask them to send troops north to reinforce us.

Although Houguan County was also under the jurisdiction of Kuaiji Commandery, the two places were actually too far apart.

Guling is located on the banks of the Qiantang River, which is the location of the later Hangzhou city area, while Houguan County is the location of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province in the later period.

This shows how far apart the two places are.

However, Houguan County was indeed quite powerful; its territory was equivalent to half of Kuaiji Commandery.

During the Eastern Wu period, Houguan County was divided into eight counties and established as Jian'an Commandery.

During the Jin Dynasty, it was further divided into two prefectures and twelve counties.

This shows how vast this area is and how many people it governs.

As the governor of Kuaiji, it was only natural for Wang Lang to want to transfer troops from Houguan.

(End of this chapter)