Tiger Owl

Chapter 68 Attack on E County by Ship
Although Gan Ning's siege tactics can be considered a unique siege strategy, it also has a fatal weakness: it is vulnerable to fire. If a large amount of oil and flammable materials are thrown from the city walls, the ships can easily be engulfed in flames.

During the Three Kingdoms period, tung oil, castor oil, and pine resin were mainly used as ignition sources. Combined with large amounts of wheat straw, rice straw, and fine wood, along with flammable materials such as sulfur and pine resin, a very effective fire attack could be created.

Gan Ning knew that naval attacks were vulnerable to fire, but he was willing to take the gamble. He had studied Huang Zu's past wars in detail, and almost all of them were naval battles. He had never used fire attacks, nor had any city ever been attacked by naval forces.

Therefore, Gan Ning also believed that Deng Long would not have thought of a fire attack. Moreover, a fire attack requires prior preparation. His attack came quite suddenly, catching the defending army off guard. Deng Long would not have had time to prepare oil.

As dusk fell, the fleet continued westward. Gan Ning had completed his deployment, with thirteen five-thousand-stone warships sailing at the forefront. The height of these thirteen warships was about the same as, or even slightly higher than, the city wall.

The planks of the pontoon bridge they prepared were quickly modified, mainly by installing two pairs of iron hooks at the front end, which could hook onto the city wall and prevent the defending soldiers from pushing them off the city.

Ten miles from the city, the army began to line up on the ships. Ding Feng, Xu Sheng, and Wang Ping each led three hundred men and stood on the first three large ships.

This time, Gan Ning did not lead the charge into the city. He learned from Sun Ce's mistake. Sun Ce always led the charge in every battle and never cared about his own safety. He died at the young age of twenty-six. If he had valued himself even a little, he would not have entered Ganlu Temple without any precautions.

Gan Ning used his bow and arrows to assist in the attack and to protect the lives of his soldiers.

Moreover, Gan Ning is the commander-in-chief. If he goes to the city, who will command the battle? Although Xu Shu is intelligent, he lacks experience in actual combat.

Around midnight, the outline of the city came into view. Gan Ning shouted, "Send the lights on, prepare for battle!"

The flag bearers on the masts flashed their lights in succession, signaling that the soldiers on all the ships were ready.

The thirteen ships, each with a capacity of five thousand shi, turned their rudders and sailed into the E River. After sailing for two li, the entrance to the moat appeared ahead.

At this moment, the alarm bells on the city wall rang loudly. The soldiers guarding the city had already seen the massive fleet of ships approaching. These were not their ships, but enemy ships.

Countless soldiers rushed up the north wall, and Deng Long, fully armored, also charged up. The soldiers quickly made way for him, and Deng Long stood there for a moment, but he couldn't figure out their intentions.

One of the generals advised, "General, this must be Gan Ning's army. If they attack by ship, we will be in great danger. I suggest we prepare more oil and straw to burn their warships."

Deng Long raised his eyebrows and cursed, "You're just a lowly subordinate officer, what right do you have to speak? Get out of here!"

The general had no choice but to bow and silently retreat.

Time passed slowly, and after about 15 minutes, the fleet suddenly rushed into the moat. In that instant, Deng Long suddenly realized what was happening and shouted, "They're going to attack the city with their warships! Prepare for battle!"

Thousands of soldiers raised their spears and bows and arrows, shouting in alarm.

As the first ship approached the city wall, arrows rained down from the wall, aimed at the large ship.

"Lower the sails!" the lead boatman shouted, and the sails were all lowered. The large boat lost its power and continued to sail forward along the shore entirely by inertia.

By this time, three large ships had already reached the side. Arrows rained down from both the ships and the city walls, and soldiers kept screaming as they fell to the ground, wounded by arrows.

The first large ship gently bumped into the bridge pier in the moat. The ship shuddered and came to a stop. Immediately, five long planks extended from the third deck, hooking their ends onto the city wall. Ding Feng brandished his spear, leaped onto the planks, and charged towards the city wall, deflecting arrows. The fifty armored soldiers behind him followed suit and jumped onto the planks.

Ding Feng and his fifty vanguard men were all dressed in iron armor, wearing iron helmets and iron masks. They were not afraid of arrows or enemy swords, but their greatest danger was the ground beneath their feet.

The plank was about four feet wide; if you slipped or lost your balance, you would fall off.

Enemy soldiers stood in front of each plank, desperately thrusting their spears at the charging Yuzhang Army soldiers.

Gan Ning crouched atop the large ship and fired arrows. His arrows were sharp, instantly killing four soldiers who tried to stop him, creating an opportunity for Ding Feng. Ding Feng leaped onto the city wall and began fighting the enemy. Immediately afterward, his men also jumped onto the city wall and fought their way through.

Gan Ning's arrows never missed; each shot killed a key defender, creating opportunities for his men to scale the city walls. As Ding Feng led fifty armored soldiers to the top, the remaining two hundred and fifty men on the large ship also jumped onto the deck and charged towards the city walls. Although soldiers were constantly being hit by arrows or spears and falling with long screams, more and more soldiers continued to climb the walls.

Xu Sheng, on the second ship, and Wang Ping, on the third ship, each led three hundred soldiers to rush up the city wall, creating nine points of entry.

Gan Ning immediately ordered, "Send the entire army to the city walls!"

The lights were flashing, signaling the commander's order. Small boats rushed up behind, using siege ladders to board the large ships. Soldiers climbed onto the ships in droves, jumped onto the ramparts, and charged towards the city walls.

The two sides fought fiercely on the city walls. Initially, the defenders had the advantage in numbers, with several of them ganging up on one person in an attempt to drive the first nine hundred Yuzhang soldiers down the city walls. However, as more and more soldiers climbed the walls, the battle began to turn around. Many of the defenders realized that things were not going well and quietly fled down the city walls.

More and more soldiers fled the city, and eventually even the commander-in-chief Deng Long disappeared. Without his commander, the defenders on the city walls were slaughtered and forced to retreat, while the number of soldiers rushing up the walls continued to increase. When 10,000 soldiers reached the top of the city walls, the defenders completely collapsed.

Thousands of defenders turned and fled in a frenzy. The Yuzhang army took advantage of the situation to pursue and kill them, rushing into the city and killing enemy soldiers who cried out for their fathers and mothers. Countless soldiers knelt down and surrendered.

The 20,000-strong army eventually entered Exian County from the city walls.

..........
The fierce fighting inside the city had ceased. Apart from the fallen soldiers, all the remaining defenders, numbering around four thousand, had surrendered. Deng Long disguised himself as an old farmer and attempted to escape, but was exposed by his subordinates, and Ding Feng captured him alive.

Xu Shu then led his men to take over the official granary and government office in E County, and was busy counting money, grain and supplies.

Gan Ning entered the city, where order was maintained and the soldiers did not commit any offenses.

Ding Feng stepped forward and reported: "Reporting to my lord, we have killed 1,500 enemy soldiers, more than 400 fled, and 3,900 surrendered. I have also captured the enemy commander Deng Long alive!"

"Well done! How many of our brothers were killed or wounded?"

"We suffered nearly 600 casualties, but not a single armored soldier was injured or killed."

This is why generals are not easily killed in battle. Generals wear iron armor and helmets, which are impenetrable by arrows and ordinary swords. Only when generals fight one-on-one and use special weapons that can penetrate armor can they kill each other.

At this moment, Xu Shu walked over and said with a smile, "Would my lord like to hear about the harvest of money and grain from the official granary?"

Gan Ning readily agreed, "I would like to hear the details!"

"A total of 200,000 shi of grain, 70,000 guan of cash, 20,000 sets of armor and weapons were seized, along with countless other supplies. A large amount of kerosene was also discovered. I wonder why they don't use it?"

Gan Ning chuckled, "This is fate, allowing us to seize E County. But how come there are so many money, grain, and supplies in the county town?"

"This contains taxes collected from the southern part of Jiangxia County, as well as money and grain transported by Liu Xin from Changsha County, which are temporarily stored here."

"Then we will accept it without hesitation. The strategist can give 50,000 strings of cash as a reward to the soldiers."

Soldiers do not receive a salary; they rely on various rewards to support their families. It is the rule that there must be rewards for winning battles, and this is how military discipline is maintained.

"Understood, sir. I will arrange it immediately!"

Gan Ning then asked with a smile, "Are there any famous scholars in the city?"

Xu Shu nodded. "Reporting to my lord, I have inquired and found that the county magistrate of E County is none other than the renowned physician Zhang Zhongjing."

(End of this chapter)