My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 554 Recruiting Yu Yuan
Dianchi Lake is only about 30 li away from Yuyuan. Once Yong Kai of Dianchi Lake is alerted, reinforcements can arrive at the city of Yuyuan within a day.

Although Yu Yuan only had five hundred garrison troops, Dianchi Lake was home to six thousand elite soldiers, who formed Yong Kai's base of operations. These soldiers were of high quality and their equipment was far superior to that of other local forces. Even if they didn't send their entire force, just three thousand men would still put considerable pressure on Wei Yan's troops.

Especially during sieges, the greatest fear is being ambushed. If such a situation were to occur, even if Han Xin were alive or Xiang Yu were resurrected, they probably wouldn't be able to turn the tide.

Even though Liu Fengjun is extremely confident now, he still has the necessary military skills, so he is naturally somewhat worried.

"General."

One of the military commanders was a veteran of the Jingzhou army, belonging to the same faction as Wei Yan, and had followed Kuai Yue for many years. Therefore, he frowned and advised, "In my humble opinion, taking two cities at the same time is too dangerous. It would be better to concentrate our forces to take Yu Yuan. In this way, we will not be left isolated outside, and it will be easy to take it."

To be fair, what this military commander said is correct.

To reach Wudan from Dianchi, one must pass through Yuyuan. Once Liu Feng's army captures Yuyuan, the connection between Dianchi and Wudan will be severed. When Lu Xun's main force arrives, there will only be 500 defenders. Even if the few hundred able-bodied men in Wudan do not surrender, it will not be difficult for Liu Feng's army to capture Wudan.

Seeing that the military commander disagreed with him, Wei Yan's face darkened, and he waved his hand, saying, "Yu Yuan is easy to take, you don't need to worry about it. I only ask you, can you take Wu Dan in one day with a thousand soldiers?"

The officers exchanged glances, understanding Wei Yan's meaning: he still intended to divide his forces and attack both cities simultaneously.

However, he kept the difficult Yu Yuan for himself, while leaving the relatively easy and safe Wu Dan to the others.

The military commander who had spoken earlier spoke again, advising, "General, General Lu has given us the mission to capture Yu Yuan. If the mission fails because you are greedy for merit..."

As the commander-in-chief, Lu Xun's task for the vanguard was naturally to play it safe. Therefore, his order to Wei Yan was simply to capture Yu Yuan before the reinforcements from Dianchi arrived. If that was not possible, then occupy the southwest position of Yu Yuan to provide cover for the main army that followed.

After all, Liu Feng's army was now no less powerful than Yong Kai's, and its quality far surpassed that of the enemy.

"No need for further words,"

Wei Yan waved his hand: "Taking Yu Yuanru is as easy as taking something out of a bag. You don't need to worry. Just follow my orders."

Wei Yan has already put it this way; if anyone else objects, it would be considered disobeying orders.

Therefore, all the officers responded in unison and awaited Wei Yan's orders.

Wei Yan dispatched a thousand troops to attack Wudan at dawn the next day, agreeing to capture the city together the day after tomorrow.

He left a thousand men under his personal command, and after moving the camp forward only fifteen li, he set up camp again.

The following day at noon, Yong Mang, the garrison commander of Yu Yuan, received news that the fishing port outside the city had been attacked. A group of over a hundred bandits were robbing the fishermen and attacking the port.

Yuyuan County is a fishing town with its own natural fishing port.

Due to the terrain, the fishing port of Yuyuan County is not located within the county seat, but on the shore of Fuxian Lake, three or four miles away from the county seat.

Upon receiving the news, Yong Mang immediately climbed the city wall to look out. Sure enough, the fishing port three or four miles away was in chaos, with faint cries and fighting sounds carried on the wind, and even several plumes of black smoke rising from them, clearly indicating that someone had set fires.

Yong Mang is Yong Kai's cousin. Now in his thirties, he is in his prime. His bravery ranks among the top three in the Yong family and he is well-known throughout Yizhou Prefecture.

"Order troops! Order troops!"

Upon confirming that the fishing port had been attacked, Yong Mang was immediately enraged.

This fishing port is the main source of income for Yu Yuan, and nearly 40% of Yu Yuan's population lives in the port. No matter how you look at it, it is impossible to give up the fishing port.

Therefore, Yong Mang immediately issued the order to muster his troops, and none of the officers around him objected; they all turned around to summon their subordinates.

Yuyuan City was quite small. After about a meal, the Yong family retainers were gathered together, and then, led by Yong Kai, they opened the city gates and headed towards the fishing port.

Yong Mang took three hundred followers with him when he left the city, leaving two hundred men to guard the city.

The distance from Yuyuan City to the fishing port is only a little over three miles, and a normal march would only take a little over half an hour. Yong Mang was extremely anxious and kept urging them on. Finally, they arrived at the fishing port a little over a quarter of an hour later.

At this moment, several small boats rushed into the fishing port. More than a hundred bandits had landed in the port and were forcing the fishermen to retreat step by step. They had been pushed back into the houses deep in the fishing port and were putting up a difficult resistance.

These ruthless bandits, operating in groups of three to five, coordinated seamlessly and seized the initiative on the battlefield. Without reinforcements, the fishermen in the fishing port could only hold out for another half an hour at most.

Seeing this, Yong Mang's face turned red with anger. He roared and led his three hundred followers into the battle.

Yongmang himself was clad in fine leather armor and held a long sword in both hands. The sword had a long handle, somewhat similar to the Mo Dao or Pu Dao of later times. The longer handle allowed the user to hold the sword with both hands, making it easier to exert force.

Yong Mang took the lead, followed by dozens of well-equipped personal guards. Like a heavy hammer blow, he directly shattered the bandits' offensive and pushed them back.

Caught off guard, the bandits were caught off guard by Yong Mang's attack and retreated in disarray all the way to the dock.

The morale of Yong's army was immediately boosted. Not only did they fight bravely alongside the three hundred men who had come with Yong Mang, but the fishermen who had been routed earlier also seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, following behind Yong's troops all the way to the dock.

Seeing that the bandits were starting to falter and some of the clever ones were jumping back onto the boat, clearly trying to escape, Yong Mang immediately shouted, "Charge them all! These bastards are trying to escape! I'll chop them all up and feed them to the fish!"

"Here!"

Yongjun's troops and the fishermen responded in unison and launched a fierce attack on the dock.

But the previously easily defeated bandits seemed to have become resilient and actually set up a defensive line on the dock.

Seeing that he could not drive the bandits off the lake, Yong Mang became increasingly angry and led his personal guards to reinforce the defenses. Unbeknownst to them, Yong's men and fishermen had all pressed against the bandits' line of defense, crowding together in a dense mass.

Just then, over a hundred elite soldiers suddenly emerged from the boats behind the bandits, each armed with a bow and crossbow. These men, who had been hiding under the sails, now lifted the covers one by one.

The next moment, a torrential downpour of arrows rained down on the heads of Yong Mang's soldiers and Yu Yuan's fishermen. In an instant, the Yong Mang soldiers and fishermen fell to the ground like stalks of wheat blown down by a gale, their bodies riddled with arrows of varying sizes.

Although the Yongmang soldiers wore an extra layer of skin compared to the fishermen, they were not much better off.

Against powerful crossbows, the limited defense provided by the leather torso is simply insufficient to stop the bolts; at best, they either pierce through or get stuck in the flesh.

After firing their arrows, the bandits immediately threw down their bows and crossbows, drew their swords, and leaped onto the dock with agile movements, joining the other bandits in front of them to charge towards Yong Mang's army.

The battle lines shifted rapidly once again. The previously unstoppable Yongmang army was forced into a series of defeats and soon retreated back to the place where the fishermen had previously held their ground.

Fortunately, there were existing fortifications here, which temporarily stopped the retreat, but the situation was still very unfavorable, like a thatched hut in a strong wind, which could be blown away at any time.

Just as Yong Mang was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out behind him.

He instinctively looked back and saw more than twenty riders charging towards him.

The general in the lead had a face as red as a jujube and eyes that shone like stars. He was like a god of war descending from the sky, and in just a moment he had rushed up to him.

Yong Mang was shocked. Guangmang raised his long sword to block, but the opponent was faster. A white light flashed, and Yong Mang's head flew into the air, gushing out a stream of blood like a red fountain.

The general who arrived was Wei Yan. He caught Yong Mang's flying head with his left hand and shouted loudly, "The traitorous general has been beheaded. Why don't you surrender now!"

The cavalry behind Wei Yan arrived just in time, and followed closely behind him, shouting, "Why aren't you surrendering yet!"

Although Yong Mang's troops did not suffer heavy casualties, with fierce bandits in front, cavalry behind, and dust rising in the distance, it was highly likely that they were still enemy troops.

Yong Mang's troops were considered elite in these mountains, but compared to Liu Feng's army, they were far inferior, not to mention that the fishermen had already knelt down and surrendered first.

In dire straits, Yongmang's troops knelt down completely, throwing their weapons and armor to the ground and prostrating themselves on the ground.

Wei Yan shouted to one of the bandits' leaders, "Your unit will take over the fishing port and escort the prisoners to Yu Yuan to rendezvous. I will go ahead first."

It turned out that this group of bandits were also Wei Yan's subordinates in disguise. The soldiers of Jingzhou were skilled in naval warfare. Most of the accompanying ships returned to Jiaozhou, but more than two hundred early boats were left behind and were commanded by Lu Xun.

As the vanguard, Wei Yan was naturally assigned dozens of boats, which came in handy at this time. He disguised himself as a pirate and attacked Yuyuan Fishing Port to lure the defenders of Yuyuan City to come to its rescue.

After giving his orders, Wei Yan turned his horse around and led the twenty-odd riders toward Yu Yuan City.

When he arrived at the city walls, seven hundred infantrymen were already lined up and waiting.

Wei Yan immediately ordered an attack on the city.

The seven hundred soldiers were divided into three ranks. The first rank of soldiers were all dressed in leather armor and carried shields to protect the second rank of soldiers.

The second column of soldiers carried makeshift ladders and grappling hooks toward the city wall, while a group of particularly strong men in eight carried a thick wooden stake to serve as a battering ram.

The last column of soldiers numbered only 150, but they were all armed with longbows and crossbows, aiming at the city walls to cover their comrades in the two columns in front of them.

Before long, ladders were erected on the city wall, and grappling hooks gripped the battlements, and Liu Feng's soldiers began to scale the wall.

The Yongmang troops on the city wall tried to resist, but it was all in vain.

Although the simple ladder is not like the cloud ladder which cannot be pushed aside, the hook rope can reach out of the battlements and cut the rope.

The problem is that if someone ventures out of the city wall, whether by pushing aside the ladder or using a short grappling hook, the defenders need to leave the battlements for protection. At that moment, over a hundred powerful bows and crossbows are watching the city walls from below; anyone who peeks out will immediately be met with concentrated fire.

At this time, there were only two hundred defenders in the city. Seventy or eighty men were sent to the city gate, and there were only about one hundred and twenty men on the city wall. They were not as many as the firepower below the city.

The city wall of Yuyuan County was not high, only one zhang high. With the advantage of suppressive long-range firepower, Liu Feng's soldiers easily climbed the city wall. The defenders managed to launch two waves of attacks to drive the Han soldiers down from the city wall, but they failed.

The successive defeats severely dampened the morale of the defending troops. When Liu Feng's army on the city wall numbered more than fifty, the defenders actually shouted and jumped over the wall to escape.

Yuyuan County was thus captured.

After entering the city, Wei Yan first sent men to arrest all the fleeing garrison troops. Then he posted notices to reassure the people, comfort the young and strong, and strictly prohibited acts of violence such as rape, looting, and murder. At the same time, he sealed the treasury and took stock of the spoils.

Within half an hour, the city was restored to normal.

Half an hour later, the fishermen from the fishing port and the troops that Yong Mang had led were transferred to Yuyuan City under the guard of the Han soldiers.

Subsequently, Wei Yan organized the able-bodied men and prisoners of war in the city, and managed to gather more than 900 able-bodied laborers to go out of the city to cut down trees and build camps.

Yuyuan City is small in size and has only two city gates, making it easy for people to be blocked inside the city.

Moreover, Wei Yan's troops numbered a thousand, and including the fishermen in the fishing port, there were at least a thousand able-bodied men in Yuyuan City at this time. If the elderly, weak, women, and children were added, the number would be as high as four thousand.

Such a small city simply cannot hold so many people.

Wei Yan was bound to build camps outside the city to form a pincer movement, greatly enhancing the overall defense of Yu Yuan.

With a relatively abundant labor force, the camp was quickly built.

This camp was not large, only able to accommodate about five or six hundred soldiers. It was set up by Wei Yan outside the north gate of Yuyuan City, forming a defensive position with the north gate.

After completion, Wei Yan placed three hundred elite soldiers and three hundred surrendered elite soldiers in the camp. These surrendered elite soldiers were specially selected by Wei Yan, requiring them to be the most brave and daring to fight, and also to have parents, wives and children.

Unless they don't care about their families in the city, they have no choice but to fight well for Liu Feng's army.

The remaining 600-plus people, along with the wounded, were placed in Yuyuan City, while the remaining laborers were all organized into a logistics team to transport logs, stones, food, and water to the city walls.

Wei Yan's hard work soon paid off.

Not long after the camp was completed and the troops were deployed, a large cloud of dust rose to the north of Yu Yuan. The newcomers were the Dianchi garrison.

Dianchi Lake is not far from Yu Yuan. Although there are hills separating the two places, once Yu Yuan lights the beacon fire, it can be seen very clearly from the other side of Dianchi Lake.

However, the two places are still more than 30 miles apart. Even if the Dianchi garrison immediately set out after seeing the smoke signal, it would still take them most of the day to march quickly to arrive.

It can only be said that Wei Yan's actions were too swift; in just two hours, he broke through Yu Yuan's defenses, leaving Yong Kai of Dianchi no time to come to the rescue.

(End of this chapter)