My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 323 Two Places of Defense
"I adjusted it..."

Wang Lang was filled with regret, but while Sun Ce had launched a fierce attack on Jiangbei, there had been almost no movement on the Chadu Road side. Moreover, no one had walked on the entire ancient road for many years, and even the locals knew little about it.

In this situation, Wang Lang dispatched troops stationed there to support Guling.

But who could have imagined that Sun Ce would arrive so soon after the troops were transferred away?

If it had been a few days later, would Sun Ce have been able to launch a surprise attack?
Even if they had only blocked Sun Ce at Chadu Village for a few days, the army of Guling could have retreated to Shanyin intact.

But now, the army that originally numbered over 20,000 has dwindled to only 8,000 or 9,000, nearly half of its strength has been lost.

Initially, Wang Lang raised 16,000 troops in Kuaiji. Of these, 2,000 remained in Shanyin, 1,000 in Gaoqiantun, and 3,000 in Chaduzhai. Of the remaining 10,000, 5,000 were stationed in Guling City, while 3,000 were stationed outside Guling City, along the high ground by the river, forming a defensive position that echoed Guling City.

Finally, another two thousand naval troops set up a water fortress along the river, where more than one hundred warships of various sizes were stationed, including ten main warships.

As a result, Sun Ce launched a frenzied attack on Guling, landing on the south bank of the Qiantang River three times and capturing the riverside fortresses.

Although they were ultimately defeated by Yu Fan, they had no choice but to retreat back to the north bank.

However, Sun Ce's fierce offensive still put enormous pressure on Wang Lang's Guling defense line, forcing Zhou Xin and Yu Fan to request reinforcements from the rear.

Wang Lang first transferred 1,500 men from Shanyin to reinforce the area, leaving only 500 county soldiers and 500 county soldiers hastily recruited in Shanyin County.

But 1,500 men couldn't withstand the attrition. Wang Lang then half-coerced and half-begged for help, which led the powerful clans of Shanyin, Shangyu and other counties to gather another 3,500 men and send them to the front lines.

However, the casualties on the front lines were still too great. In just half a month, more than 4,000 people were killed in battle, including more than 700 who died and almost the same number who were seriously wounded. Even after they recovered, they were disabled and unable to go back to the battlefield.

Wang Lang was truly left with no other choice, and the powerful clans and gentry of northern Kuaiji had also done their utmost. If given enough time, such as six months or a year, and if these powerful clans and gentry were willing to spare no expense, they could certainly have helped Wang Lang gather another ten or twenty thousand people.

The problem is that there is no time now, and most of the powerful clans and wealthy families will not give up their fortunes for Wang Lang.

People praise you, Wang Lang, because you bring them benefits and advantages, not because they are blindly praising you.

If it were Sun Ce who hadn't come, he might not have been able to gather enough troops, money, and provisions.

Try exchanging yourself for Liu Bei and Liu Feng, and believe it or not, the powerful clans and gentry will immediately advise Wang Lang to surrender.

"Your Excellency, you're so foolish!"

The one who fired the cannon was naturally Yu Fan, Yu Zhongxiang.

This outspoken and outspoken Chinese man is thirty-four years old this year.

But he never beats around the bush when he speaks, and he never tries to embellish his words.

Zhou Xin and the others seemed completely unsurprised by Yu Fan's direct criticism of Wang Lang's muddle-headedness.

You should know that Yu Fan should have gone even further in the future, directly telling Sun Ce not to court death and Sun Quan not to act recklessly.

Unfortunately, although Yu Fan was straightforward, it seemed that none of the people he criticized listened to him.

Wang Lang was defeated by his own foolishness, Sun Ce died by his own recklessness, and Sun Quan lost because of his recklessness.

"It is my fault."

Even more surprisingly, Wang Lang immediately admitted his mistake, while the others remained completely normal.

You can't blame them; that was the prevailing social norm during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Wang Lang's performance was already quite good; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a strong and capable prefect.

It should be noted that Nanyang, the largest prefecture in the land, even had a ruler who was actually a figurehead.

The stories of Cen Gongxiao, the Prefect of Nanyang, and Cheng Jin, the Scholar of Hongnong, who could only sit and whistle, were widely circulated and praised during the mid-to-late Eastern Han Dynasty.

These words refer to two people: Cheng Jin and Cen Zhi.

At that time, Cheng Jin was serving as the governor of Nanyang, and Cen Zhi was a famous local scholar in Nanyang.

Therefore, in accordance with the rules, Cheng Jin dutifully asked Cen Zhi to send someone to serve as a clerk.

As a result, Cen Zhi's reputation and background were too great, and he completely sidelined the former. A mere clerk became the de facto governor of Nanyang, while the real governor, Cheng Jin, was merely a figurehead.

Ultimately, he was implicated and killed by Cen Zhi, and died in prison during the reign of Emperor Huan.

Therefore, Yu Fan's angry rebuke of Wang Lang for being muddle-headed was truly a case of a small fry compared to a big fish.

Wang Lang's courage to admit his mistakes will only be praised by the literati.

"Brother Daming, Brother Zhongxiang, I am in such a predicament, please do not hesitate to give me your advice."

Wang Lang was pale, looking several years older, with his brows furrowed.

He was completely out of ideas. Although there were a lot of supplies stockpiled in Shanyin City, there were no soldiers left.

That's about eight or nine thousand people, but of them, only about six thousand five hundred are still truly combat-ready.

The remaining defeated soldiers had lost all morale and would be of no use for the time being without some reorganization.

"Your Excellency should be appointed to serve as an official by sea!"

Yu Fan was the first to speak, directly advising Wang Lang to travel by sea to Houguan.

Wang Lang was taken aback at first, then hurriedly asked, "What should we do about Shanyin?"

Yu Fan declared passionately, "I am willing to guard this place for Your Excellency!"

Shanyin was now an isolated city. Although there were many surrounding counties, there were no troops available to be mobilized.

Yu Fan was willing to take Wang Lang's place in defending the isolated city in exchange for Wang Lang's escape to Houguan. This showed his loyalty and courage, and Wang Lang was deeply moved.

In the original timeline, Yu Fan was far from being so bold; he was instead trying to persuade Wang Lang for the second time to simply surrender to Sun Ce.

In the original timeline, Wang Lang, Yu Fan, and others were in a much worse situation than they are now. Zhou Xin led an army of more than 10,000 men and was completely defeated by Sun Ce in one battle. Zhou Xin himself was killed in battle by Sun Ce, and the entire army of 10,000 men was wiped out.

Yu Fan took a detour by sea to get back to Shanyin before Sun Ce.

Most importantly, Liu Feng did not have a large army in the northern part of Wu County in the original timeline.

But now things are completely different. There are still eight or nine thousand people in Shanyin City, and enough food, military supplies, and Liu Feng is launching a fierce attack southward, rushing towards Sun Ce's rear.

There was no way Yu Fan could persuade Wang Lang to surrender anymore; on the contrary, he was filled with patriotic fervor and wanted to defend Shanyin to the death for Wang Lang.

"My lord, I have a blood feud with the Sun family, and we are irreconcilable enemies. I am also willing to defend Shanyin to the death for you. Please do not worry!"

Zhou Xin stepped forward at this moment, his expression resolute as he vowed, "As long as I live, the city lives; if I perish, the city perishes!"

The Zhou and Sun families are mortal enemies. Since the Battle of Yangcheng, they have fought countless bloody battles.
In the Battle of Yinling in Jiujiang, Zhou Xin's second brother, Zhou Ang, was killed in battle, and his third brother was also killed by Xu Gong on his way back to his hometown after the defeat.

Of the three Zhou brothers, only Zhou Xin remains.

In the original timeline, the Zhou family was also wiped out by the Sun family, which is the root cause of the estrangement between Jiangdong and Sun Ce.

Wang Lang was deeply moved and looked at Zhou Xin and Yu Fangang, wanting to say something.

Suddenly a messenger arrived with news that the defeated soldiers outside the city had informed them that Sun's army was less than five li away from Shanyin City.

Wang Lang and his two companions' expressions changed drastically. They hadn't expected that Sun's army had almost caught up with them on the Shanyin Line, while Yu Fan and Zhou Xin's troops had only been in the city for less than two hours.

Wang Lang cried out in alarm, "How swiftly the enemy army has arrived!!"

In Wang Lang's eyes, the Sun family army, which had driven out the governor of Wu Commandery and obeyed Yuan Shu, was a genuine bandit army.

Yu Fan and Zhou Xin were also greatly shocked. Both of them were talented and had actually led troops. Zhou Xin had even commanded several large-scale battles involving tens of thousands of people on his own.

They keenly realized that Sun Ce could only have arrived at the walls of Shanyin City so quickly if he had made an immediate decision to pursue them.

Yu Fan quickly realized what was happening and advised Wang Lang to run away.

"My lord! We must leave Shanyin immediately!"

Zhou Xin remained silent, neither approving of Wang Lang's escape nor stopping him.

On the contrary, Wang Lang, after careful consideration, made a firm decision and said, "I am the governor of Kuaiji appointed by the court. The prefecture is right under my feet. If I leave Shanyin, where can I go? My mind is made up! I will defend Shanyin with you two to the death."

Yu Fan and Zhou Xin were both shocked by Wang Lang's decision, but then their surprise turned into secret delight.

If Wang Lang had truly stayed and not fled, the success rate of defending the city would have been at least 30% higher.

The morale of the officers and soldiers was greatly boosted, not to mention the will of the military and civilians to persevere.

Therefore, Yu Fan and Zhou Xin stopped trying to persuade Wang Lang, took their leave, and headed to the west gate of Shanyin.

Sun's army arrived with great force and began setting up camp and building siege equipment on the same day.

Grain was also being transferred from the rear, but the quantity of this grain was really small.

Even with the spoils from Gaoqiantun, Sun Ce's forces would likely only last less than a month. Sun Ce had already set his sights on capturing Shanyin.
Xu Kun's troops were unable to escape, and the original force of 10,000 men was reduced to only 7,000 when they returned to Wu County.

Because of the timely retreat, Xu Kun's troops did not suffer any losses along the way.

However, Liu Feng's Southern Expeditionary Army launched fierce attacks every day, putting immense pressure on Xu Kun's troops. In just a few days, more than two thousand men were killed or wounded in battle.

This battle utterly shattered Xu Kun's forces.

The casualties of over two thousand men would have caused a weaker army to collapse long ago. The greater damage was the blow to the morale and spirit of the entire army.

Xu Kun's escape under the cover of night was tantamount to a tacit admission of defeat.

With 10,000 men defending a fortified city and ample supplies of food, weapons, and other provisions, they should have held out until the food ran out before considering withdrawal.

Withdrawing prematurely, abandoning the wounded, and not even daring to burn supplies—isn't this a complete and utter surrender?
However, the fact that they were able to escape under the cover of night fully demonstrates the elite status of Sun Jun's troops.

Many people believe that once a war breaks out, scouts are available 24/7.

In fact, this is simply impossible.

In the Wu region, the temperature can drop to minus ten degrees Celsius in winter. At this time, even cotton cloth is a rare commodity, and cotton is more of an ornamental item.

Scouts in the wild, unable to make fires for warmth, were easily killed or injured by the cold.

Scouts who can deploy troops are the elite of the elite. They are not only capable and willing to fight, but also have certain technical skills. They are a type of technical soldier that is hard to replace.

Who would willingly send out scouts in the middle of the night every day for no reason, unless it's an extremely important battle, when one side is determined to eliminate the other at all costs.

In addition, the defending side had a huge advantage in this era.

Sun Jun fled through the south gate. Even if the scouts discovered him, it would take at least half an hour to relay the message back to the camp in the north.

By the time the scouts arrived, the soldiers still had to get up and put on their leather armor. By the time they were all assembled, the enemy had already gone many miles away.

In classical warfare, when armies clashed, the most common way for one side to break away from the battle line was under the cover of night; countless battles have been fought in this manner.

The reason is quite simple: if you try to run during the day, the chances of success are very small, and you might even have to pay a huge price.

Idioms like "hanging a sheep and beating a drum" and "a hungry horse and ringing a bell" originated from this.

Even just a few days ago, Sun Ce used the same trick of lighting lamps in urns to confuse the Kuaiji army in Qiantang and Jiangnan.

Liu Feng was not determined to eliminate Xu Kun in Wuxi; what he wanted was the city of Wuxi itself.

Continuing to drive Xu Kun south might not necessarily be a bad thing.

The more people there are in Wu County, the more complicated their minds become.

What Liu Feng found somewhat regrettable was that Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, the two veteran revolutionaries, had broken out from the north gate but instead of heading north to Wu County, they went in a circle and headed south to join Sun Ce. Otherwise, Wu County would have been even more lively.

"Wu County cannot be defended!"

This was Xu Kun's first sentence upon seeing Wu Jing.

Wu Jing stared at Xu Kun, dumbfounded and bewildered.

Even Xu Kun, a veteran of countless battles, was still reminiscing about his last few days in Wuxi.

A wide variety of powerful siege weapons were deployed in turn, and they could be freely combined and matched.

If the Wuxi garrison hadn't been expanded from their old troops, with enough loyal and reliable middle and lower-ranking officers, Xu Kun really wouldn't have been able to escape.

The thought of the collapsed city gate towers, the battlements leveled to the ground, and even the cracks appearing in the city walls is unbearable.

Xu Kun felt that Wu County might not have a good outcome.

Although Wuxi's city walls are not as tall as those of Wuxian, Wuxi is definitely a fortified city.

To be honest, Wuxi's defenses were not much worse than Wuxian's. Even if Wuxian was slightly stronger, it was only a difference of sixty paces versus fifty paces.

"You want to give up Wu County?"

Wu Jing, a veteran of many battles, immediately realized the hidden meaning in Xu Kun's words.

Xu Kun nodded without hesitation: "Since we can't hold on, what can you do even if you refuse to give up?"

Wu Jing frowned deeply, but did not object to Xu Kun's words.

Xu Kun continued, "But not now."

"Although we cannot hold Wu County, we cannot give up on it now."

Xu Kun's face flushed red, and he said somewhat excitedly, "At the speed at which the Southern Expeditionary Army builds siege equipment, it will take at least ten days to half a month to build the first batch."

Although the road from Wuxi to Wuxian was clear, no one would transport siege equipment over.

Because the cost was too high, even exceeding the cost of rebuilding the city using local materials outside Wuxian.

The wheels of this era were all made of wood and had no shock-absorbing properties.

Along the way, countless wheels must have worn out, requiring numerous carpenters to forge them, not to mention the damage to the internal structure of the siege equipment used by the long-distance transport teams.

As for waterways, the Southern Expeditionary Army currently lacks ships capable of transporting such massive siege equipment.

"Wu County must be held, but we must also prepare for the withdrawal, arrange the route south after the withdrawal, and send someone to notify the Youquan garrison to prepare to receive us."

Xu Kun stared intently at Wu Jing, feeling an unprecedented level of nervousness.

Because what we are discussing now could very well involve their lives.

Upon hearing Xu Kun mention Youquan, Wu Jing gave a wry smile, which surprised Xu Kun.

Xu Kun stammered, guessing, "Could it be... that Youquan... is lost!?"

"It's been almost ten days since then."

Wu Jing honestly replied, "I was the one who ordered the news to be prevented from spreading north."

Xu Kun accepted this, knowing that if the news reached Wuxi, he might never be able to return.

Even if he were to survive by sheer luck, he would be a commander without any troops.

Therefore, Xu Kun did not care that Wu Jing was suppressing military intelligence.

He asked nervously, "Where is my cousin now?"

Sun Ce marched south and had just captured Youquan, but now he had lost it again. Xu Kun was naturally worried about Sun Ce's safety.

Judging from Wu Jing's appearance, Sun Ce should be fine. However, if the main force that Sun Ce led to Wu Nan is lost or even wiped out, then they really won't be able to continue fighting this battle.

Upon hearing this question, Wu Jing laughed and said, "That's good news."

Xu Kun's eyes lit up; what he wanted to hear most right now was good news.

"What good news is it?"

"Bo Fu has already crossed the Qiantang River, won one battle after another, annihilated nearly 10,000 Kuaiji troops, and successfully captured Guling and Gaoqianting."

Wu Jing was initially excited, but his voice lowered as he spoke: "Bo Fu has made up his mind to continue attacking Kuaiji. He has already sent troops eastward and besieged Shanyin County, the seat of Kuaiji Commandery."

Shanyin, which later became Shaoxing, was a victim of the Hangzhou-Ningbo non-aggression treaty.

However, at this time his status was much higher than that of Hang Yong; he was the proper seat of Kuaiji Commandery.

Shanyin is located on the shore of Jingruo Lake, and due to its topography, it is almost surrounded by water on three sides.

Shanyin County is surrounded by Jingruo Lake on the south, southeast, and southwest sides, with only a large open area on the north side. At the same time, the water of Jingruo Lake can be used as a moat, making it a formidable city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At this time, almost all the senior generals in Sun's army came from Wu Commandery, which was separated from Kuaiji Commandery.

Therefore, the two places are not actually separated.

Although the powerful clans of Wu Commandery had begun to discriminate against their counterparts in Kuaiji Commandery, the exchange between the two sides was still quite high, and the powerful clans of both places were quite familiar with each other's terrain.

Sun Ce and his men also had a deep understanding of Kuaiji, so Xu Kun immediately pressed them for details: "How many remnants of the army are still in Shanyin?"

Wu Jing replied directly, "At least six thousand."

Xu Kun's brows furrowed immediately, and he fell into deep thought.

Wu Jing didn't urge him, since there were only the two of them in the hall anyway.

After a long while, Xu Kun finally snapped out of his reverie, raised his head, and looked at Wu Jing, saying, "Uncle, why don't you take your men south first?"

(End of this chapter)