My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 343 Entering the City with Ease
Three days later at midnight, figures moved about on the banks of the Han Canal, among whom were Dong Xi and Gan Ning.

In Liu Feng's plan, Dong Xi and Gan Ning would enter the city as the vanguard.

Once inside the water gate, the two men had a clear division of labor: Dong Xi would take command, and Gan Ning would seize control of the gate. Their primary task was to ensure that the water gate was under the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

For this mission, not only were all ships mobilized, but Liu Feng also specially allocated five hundred armored soldiers to Gan Ning, who were deployed among the first batch of warships to enter the city.

Gan Ning and his men's most important task was to control the entry and exit of the water gate. The second wave of the Southern Expeditionary Army, following behind, would target the north of the city, and their mission was to open the north gate to welcome the main force of the Southern Expeditionary Army into the city.

When the time was almost up, Dong Xi and Gan Ning boarded two separate boats and began to quietly approach the Wuxian Water Gate.

At this moment, Dong Xi boarded a large warship, positioned in the middle of the fleet, which gave him an advantage in commanding the vanguard. Gan Ning, on the other hand, sat in a small boat, leading the charge and serving as the spearhead for the entire army.

Timed perfectly, Gan Ning arrived outside the water gate at midnight.

Gan Ning appeared relaxed on the outside but was actually quite tense on the inside. This was evident in his shifty gaze.

Just as Gan Ning was anxiously waiting, a torch suddenly appeared on the city wall of Wu County.

Then someone held a torch and stretched it out from the city wall, waving it three times towards the water below.

Gan Ning was overjoyed and quickly lit a torch, drawing three circles in the air towards the city wall.

Immediately, the torches on the city wall went out, and Gan Ning quickly extinguished the torch in his hand as well.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the water gate emitted a slight, somewhat jarring sound, and the iron gate inside began to slowly rise.

Upon seeing this, Gan Ning immediately waved his hand, and two warships responded and docked on either side of the water gate, dropping huge stones to mark their positions.

If the iron gates were lowered again at this point, they would be blocked by the two warships, allowing the small boats and soldiers to retreat outside the city.

Once this step was completed, Gan Ning immediately took the lead and headed into the city.

After entering the city, there were more than a dozen people standing on the dock. The one in the lead was slightly thin, and that was Lu Yi himself.

Another tall, thin man with long, slender arms and a weathered face stood behind Lu Yi; he was Lu's hidden agent among the Zhenze pirates.

Soon, the first batch of boats quietly docked, and Gan Ning led a group of armored soldiers ashore.

This group of over two hundred people, all clad in full leather armor and armed with short weapons, were tasked with securing the water gate.

After dropping off Gan Ning and the others, the boat immediately left the shore and headed out of the city. A group of twelve warships, all armed with armored soldiers, were waiting to enter the city.

"May I ask your honorable name, General?"

As soon as Gan Ning landed, Lu Yi came to greet him.

The prominent families of Wu County had already gathered a great deal of intelligence about Liu Fengjun's generals, including one from Gan Ning.

The Wu region has numerous rivers and lakes, making it naturally very important to have naval commanders.

Gan Ning treated Lu Yi very well because the other party had given him the opportunity to be the first to achieve the great merit.

He immediately cupped his hands and replied, "This humble general, Gan Ning, greets Young Master Lu."

Lu Yi didn't say much and quickly introduced to Gan Ning: "There is a lock in the water gate, inside the right gate tower, which I have already taken. The left gate tower connects to the city tower above the water gate, where there is also a group of two hundred people who are responsible for patrolling the city tower and city gate every half hour."

Gan Ning nodded and laughed, "No more than two hundred men. I can slaughter them with a flick of my wrist."

Immediately, Gan Ning dispatched one hundred men to guard the turnstile room, led by Gan Mao, a fierce general under Gan Ning's command. Gan Ning himself, however, went through the left gate tower, intending to first eliminate the two hundred guards.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi's heart sank, and he still wanted to persuade Gan Ning.

Gan Ning, however, wouldn't listen to Lu Yi's advice. He laughed it off and led his team away, leaving fifty men to guard the dock.

On the surface, neither Gan Ning nor Lu Yi was wrong about their disagreement. Gan Ning believed that the two hundred men could be wiped out in no time, thus eliminating the gate room from any threat.

Lu Yi hoped that Gan Ning would be more cautious. Since they hadn't been discovered yet, they could wait until the second batch of troops entered the city before taking action.

If Gan Ning cannot quickly quell Sun Ce's army, then it is naturally Gan Ning's mistake.

Conversely, Lu Yi is wrong.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yi immediately said to the bandit Gao Han, "Today's plan may lead to wealth and honor or the extermination of our clan. Advance and we will live; retreat and we will die. General Gan is fierce and brave; we should eliminate any worries he may have."

Lu Yi's meaning was simple: Gan Ning had taken the initiative to attack, so we had to help him guard the dock.

Gao Han naturally had no objections and immediately accepted the order.

Just as Lu Yi was feeling tense, a fleet of warships sailed in from outside the water gate and slowly approached the dock.

The warship docked at the pier, lowered the gangplank, and squads of heavily armored soldiers carefully disembarked. After regrouping, they began to take over the defense of the pier.

Lu Yi quickly counted and came to the conclusion that this wave of landings consisted of as many as three hundred armored soldiers.

Just as Speaker Lu breathed a sigh of relief, Gan Ning reappeared at the dock.

At this moment, Gan Ning was covered in blood, and the brocade robe covering his leather armor was almost stained red. Coupled with the bright smile on his face, he looked like a murderous maniac.

Upon seeing Lu Yi, Gan Ning smiled and said, "The city walls have been cleared, so there's no need to worry about our retreat."

Although Lu Yi is small in stature, he has a big heart.

Seeing Gan Ning covered in blood in the middle of the night, yet still smiling, and still able to remain composed, was truly extraordinary. The tall man beside him was trembling so badly he could barely stand.

Gan Ning glanced at Gao Han, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, then looked at Lu Yi and couldn't help but praise, "Young master, you are quite bold."

Lu Yi humbly replied, "General, you flatter me."

Gan Ning chuckled and turned back to look at the dock.

Sun Jun remained undisturbed until this point.

It sounds unbelievable, but it's actually quite logical.

When Xu Kun's troops were in Wuxi, their morale had already been broken by the Southern Expeditionary Army. In addition, after Liu Feng marched south and besieged Wuxian, Xu Kun had the illusion that the enemy would repeat the Battle of Wuxi, which made Xu Kun's troops complacent and careless.

The failed surprise attack a while ago, and the fact that the Southern Expeditionary Army had no intention of taking advantage of the situation to attack the city, further fueled the thoughts of Xu Kun's army.

For a time, Xu Kun's army was actually waiting a month for Liu Feng's army to use catapults to clear the way and attack the city.

As ships continued to set sail, batches of the Southern Expeditionary Army landed on the dock. In addition, there were 500 retainers from the four major clans of Wu County personally led by Lu Yi on the shore, as well as more than 200 river bandits from Gao Han. The total strength of the Southern Expeditionary Army at Shuimen had exceeded 3,000.

When Gao Shun and Xu Chu landed with another batch of armored soldiers, the number of armored soldiers in the Southern Expeditionary Army in the city had reached nine hundred.

Gao Shun immediately took over the front-line command in the city. Following Liu Feng's orders, he appointed Dong Xi to lead 500 men to guard the water gate and receive the subsequent troops landing.

Lu Yi served as Dong Xi's deputy, leading his troops under Dong Xi's command. Gao Shun, with Xu Chu and Gan Ning as vanguards, led 900 armored soldiers and 1,600 retainers, totaling 2,500 men, to attack the north of the city and open the north gate.

At this time, the Southern Expeditionary Army was already a large force, and it was discovered by Sun Ce's army in the north of the city before it even approached the north of the city.

When questioned, Gao Shun ordered his men to ignore the question and charge straight for the city gate.

In this way, even if Sun Ce's army was complacent and careless, they would realize that something was wrong.

While organizing defenses, they also sounded the alarm and requested reinforcements from within the city.

In an instant, the silence of the night was broken by shouts of battle.

Xu Kun was also awakened by the shock. When he heard his subordinates report that the Southern Expeditionary Army had entered the city, he was so startled that he forgot to put on his shoes and rushed into the courtyard to listen to the sounds from afar.

Although Xu Kun had become somewhat lax, the arrangements were still largely in order.

In addition to the water gate, each city gate was manned by a thousand people in three shifts to protect the city towers and gates.

Meanwhile, the city also has many patrol teams that patrol once an hour, and the arrangement shouldn't be too problematic.

Even the best arrangements still need people to carry them out.

Xu Kun's troops were almost all withdrawn from Wuxi, and they had developed a habitual way of thinking. In addition, there was a mole in Wu County, and they started from the least valued Shuimen.

In Xu Kun's view, it was almost impossible for the Southern Expeditionary Army to select this water gate.

Not only did the Han Canal divide the geographical environment into a mess, but it also resulted in almost no open space in the west of the city. This meant that the west of the city could not even deploy a slightly larger force, let alone attack it. Therefore, Xu Kun only symbolically deployed 500 men, plus the remnants of the Zhenze river bandits, and felt that he could rest easy.

"From where did the Southern Expeditionary Army enter the city?"

As Xu Kun changed his clothes and put on his armor, he asked Xu Pang, the commander of his personal guards, questions.

Xu Pang hurriedly replied, "I don't know yet, but I've already sent people to investigate."

Xu Kun listened for a while longer, and after confirming, asked, "Then the sounds of killing came from the north. What's the situation in the north of the city?"

Xu Pang hesitated and said, "The exact information is still unclear, but the Southern Expeditionary Army should not have been able to open the North Gate yet."

Who's on night duty tonight?

Xu Kun patiently continued to ask, "Why haven't you come to see me yet?"

Xu Pang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "It was General Zhu on night duty. After the uproar in the north of the city, he led his troops to the north gate to provide support. Before he left, he instructed me to find out the situation and send someone to report back to you."

Xu Kun's expression remained grim, but he nodded, acknowledging Zhu Chao's response.

"Go, quickly bring Yongle and Bohai to me."

Xu Yi, courtesy name Yongle; Sun He, courtesy name Bohai.

Both men were important generals under Xu Kun at this critical juncture, and Xu Kun naturally wanted to see them to assign tasks.

Xu Pang hurriedly ordered his personal guards to go out and find someone, while he himself knelt down to help Xu Kun put on his greaves.

Xu Kun's heart sank when he heard a sudden burst of cheers erupt from the north gate.

He had already led his personal guards to find a ladder and climbed onto the roof to look out over the situation in the north of the city.

Even so, Xu Kun still couldn't see what happened in the north of the city.

Just as Xu Kun was extremely anxious, another cheer erupted from the north of the city, making Xu Kun's heart grow increasingly tense and uneasy.

Xu Kun's premonition was correct; both cheers were made by the Southern Expeditionary Army entering the city.

The first cheers came when Gan Ning led his armored soldiers in a successful charge, killing the North Gate Commandant and cutting down his military flag.

The second cheer came from Xu Chu, who had successfully scattered the city gate guards, opened the north gate of the city, and welcomed the Southern Expeditionary Army into the city.

Sun Ce's army inside the city was actually constantly counterattacking, trying to reinforce the north gate.

However, the gap in strength between the two sides was simply too great.

At this time, the Southern Expeditionary Army that had entered the city numbered as many as 5,000, including 1,200 armored soldiers. In street fighting, the armored soldiers were even more effective and powerful than cavalry.

Xu Kun's troops were not idle; they all fought valiantly.

But it was precisely because they fought so tenaciously that their morale plummeted even faster; nothing is more devastating than trying hard but seeing no hope.

Seeing his comrades either dead or wounded, he gritted his teeth and fought desperately, but the battle line was constantly being pushed back by the enemy, and even broken through.

Forcing them to retreat is manageable, but breaking through is truly dangerous.

Each breakthrough required Sun Ce's army to pay a heavy price to retreat and regroup. Even though more than half of Xu Kun's troops were veterans, they were already starting to tire after being broken through two or three times.

Fortunately, reinforcements continued to arrive, and several nearby patrol teams rushed over as quickly as possible to join the ranks of the city gate guards as fresh troops.

But they never expected the enemy to suddenly unleash their power, with two fierce generals, Gan Ning and Xu Chu, each leading their own teams to attack.

Or rather, even if they had thought of it, they simply didn't have the resources to deal with it.

Gan Ning headed straight for the North Gate Commandant and the battle flag, while Xu Chu charged towards the city gate.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, both sides were celebrating their victory.

Gan Ning killed the general and covered the flag, Xu Chu cleared the city gate.

When Zhu Chao was still more than a hundred meters away from the city gate, what he saw was the routed and defeated North Gate garrison.

Zhu Chao hurriedly ordered a halt, deployed his troops, and cleared a path to gather the routed soldiers.

Gan Ning, however, was not one to back down. He led three hundred armored soldiers as the vanguard and charged straight at them.

The Southern Expeditionary Army split into two parts: one part followed the Ironclad Warriors to provide close support, while the other part took out bows and arrows to provide long-range firepower for Gan Ning and the Ironclad Warriors.

After opening the city gate, Xu Chu left 500 men to guard the gate opening, and led 100 armored soldiers and 200 warriors in two teams to attack up the left and right gate towers, intending to wipe out all the enemies inside the city towers so as not to pose a threat to the Southern Expeditionary Army that would enter the city later.

In reality, at this stage of the battle, Xu Kun's troops had no chance left.

After Xu Chu cleared out Sun Ce's army from the north gate tower, Zhao Fan, Yu Zi, and their troops began to enter the city through the north gate and join the battle.

Under Gao Shun's orders, Zhao Fan and Yu Zi's troops were sent to attack the east of the city, intending to seize the east gate and let Xu Sheng into the city.

Xu Kun also received the latest news at this time. Hearing that the West Gate and North Gate had been breached, his face turned extremely grim.

(End of this chapter)