Tiger Owl

Chapter 74 First Battle Against Huang Zu
Huang Zu finally reached his breaking point. Back then, when Hu Xian was killed and Chaisang was taken away, Huang Zu tolerated it out of respect for Cao Cao. He thought that Gan Ning would soon be destroyed by Sun Ben.

But Huang Zu never expected that Gan Ning would become more and more courageous in battle, and in one winter he captured the entire Yuzhang County, completely driving away the Jiangdong army, which really dumbfounded Huang Zu.

However, Huang Zu still believed that this was the reason why Cao Cao was supporting Gan Ning behind the scenes. He had no plans for Yuzhang Commandery at the moment and focused his efforts on Lujiang Commandery.

Just as Huang Zu was winning victory after victory and had just occupied Lujiang County, he never dreamed that his backyard would be on fire. Gan Ning had actually seized the southern part of Jiangxia County, and his six thousand troops deployed in Echeng were completely annihilated.

Huang Zu could no longer tolerate it, and he immediately ordered his son Huang She to lead an army of 10,000 men and command hundreds of warships to retake E County.

At dawn, the urgent alarm bells echoed over Wuchang. The Yuzhang Army rushed to the city walls, and Ding Feng also went up. A soldier pointed into the distance and shouted, "It's a beacon fire!"

Dozens of miles away, thick smoke billowed from a newly built beacon tower. This was an enemy alert coming from Xiakou, meaning that Huang Zu's or Liu Biao's fleet had passed Xiakou and was heading towards Wuchang County.

Of course, this fleet may not necessarily be heading to attack Wuchang County; it may be heading to Lujiang County.

However, this possibility is obviously too small. There is an over 80% chance that Huang Zu's army will take back the southern part of Jiangxia County.

It would take about two days to sail from Xiakou to Wuchang County. Ding Feng immediately began preparing for battle. He had previously sent people to the countryside to buy a large amount of wheat straw and rice stalks, and had the people weave them into thick balls filled with sulfur and pine resin.

Chaisang had already sent thousands of small-mouthed, thin-skinned earthenware jars in advance. These jars would break if they were placed on the ground. Each jar was filled with kerosene and the small opening was sealed with mud.

Whether the enemy builds a pontoon bridge or attacks directly by ships, fire is the best option.

Just then, Wei Zheng rushed over and said to Ding Feng, "General, you must not be misled by the alarm from Xiakou!"

Ding Feng was taken aback. "What do you mean by that, General Wei?"

"Zhu County is just 30 miles away on the other side of the river. As far as I know, Zhu County has always had a large number of ships, but not many troops. But now that we have captured Wuchang County, how could Huang Zu not send troops to Zhu County? I estimate that there should be a large number of troops in Zhu County now."

"General Wei means that if the enemy wants to attack us, they will come directly from Zhu County, and there is no need to go through Xiakou."

Wei Yan nodded. "If the enemy's counterattack army goes to Xiakou, it means that Huang Zu will have to use up all his savings for his funeral."

Ding Feng immediately dispatched a fast boat to Zhu County to investigate. An hour later, the fast boat sped back, bringing back important intelligence: a fleet of about two hundred boats was moored on the riverbank twenty miles away.

Ding Feng immediately realized that the other side was likely planning a night attack.

Ding Feng quickly summoned his generals to discuss countermeasures. Everyone chimed in with their opinions, and before long, a complete defensive counterattack plan emerged.

As night quietly fell, Huang She stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the ship, admiring the bright moon in the sky. At this moment, his general Su Fei stepped forward and said with a smile, "Young Master's move is brilliant! You have made full use of the beacon towers that the enemy built in Xiakou. They must think that we can only arrive the day after tomorrow."

Huang She chuckled smugly, stroked his beard, and said in a pretentious manner, "All's fair in war. Gan Ning has had it too easy. Once things get too smooth, they become complacent. The problem lies with themselves."

At this point, Huang She asked again, "General Su, was the naval attack effective?"

Su Fei nodded. "For E County, siege by ship is the most effective method. The ground under its city walls is too narrow, and the soldiers can't stand properly. There are too few troops available to participate in the siege. But if we attack the city directly from the ships, we can quickly throw a large number of soldiers onto the city walls. However, siege by ship also has its weaknesses."

"What are the weaknesses?" "Ship attacks are vulnerable to fire. If the enemy is prepared and has prepared a large amount of flammable materials, we will be in big trouble."

"Therefore, we must use a stratagem to launch a surprise attack on the enemy."

Su Fei sighed and said, "I hope we can succeed tonight!"

At the second watch of the night, two hundred fighting ships and three hundred small boats set off. The fighting ships were the main warships, while the small boats were logistics and supply vessels that followed behind.

They sailed downstream for twenty miles before entering the E River. Once inside, the river became shallower, and the boatmen used poles to support the warships as they moved forward, while simultaneously raising the sails. Soon, one warship after another entered the moat.

The first six ships were the first to attack, each carrying 500 soldiers. The first batch of 3,000 elite troops had to reach the top of the city before a continuous stream of troops would come to storm the city.

It was already past midnight, and the city wall was completely quiet, with not a single person in sight. The silence on the city wall made Su Fei uneasy; he had a feeling that something was wrong.

It's impossible for there to be no one here. The enemy will come to attack in two days. There should at least be patrolling soldiers, but there isn't a single soldier to be seen on the city wall.

"No! No! There must be something wrong."

Su Fei felt anxious, but there was no turning back now, and he didn't have the courage to call a halt. What if there really was no one left? If he called a halt, wouldn't he be missing a crucial opportunity?
More importantly, the nature of naval assaults means they cannot be stopped. Once a naval assault enters the moat, it immediately enters combat mode and cannot be stopped.

Su Fei had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep fighting, praying that nothing unexpected would happen. One after another, the six large ships charged forward along the moat.

Just then, a rapid tinkling of bells suddenly rang out from the city wall, 'Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!'

The soldiers of the Yuzhang Army who were lying in ambush suddenly stood up, picked up earthenware pots filled with kerosene and threw them at the enemy's large ship. The pots shattered on the deck and the kerosene spilled everywhere. Then, countless torches were thrown over and the fire roared into flames.

Su Fei was in a great hurry. He had to rush to the top of the city wall before the fire spread. He personally carried the plank to the top of the wall, but the soldiers on the wall were prepared. They slammed a thin-skinned earthenware pot filled with oil onto the plank. A stream of burning fire rushed down the plank towards them, which frightened the soldiers so much that they threw the plank away.

All the wooden planks were engulfed in flames, and none of the attacking soldiers dared to go up the city walls. This is a fear of fire etched into human genes. For example, tens of millions of years ago, when human ancestors were still small reptiles in the forest, giant snakes were the natural enemies of these reptiles. It is not that humans devoured many of their ancestors that humans developed the gene for fearing snakes.

The same goes for wildfires. Forest fires were once the most terrible natural disasters for mankind, so when wildfires get out of control, the fear of fire ingrained in our genes will burst forth.

Five or six large ships were engulfed in flames. The soldiers guarding the city threw straw balls at them, which, fueled by the wind, burned even more fiercely. The sails also caught fire, and the soldiers screamed in agony as they were burned. In despair, they jumped into the river, and soon all six ships were swallowed up by the flames.

The raging fire also set fire to many small boats nearby. The soldiers on the boats were terrified and jumped into the moat to escape. At the same time, the three thousand defenders on the city wall began to shoot the soldiers in the river with crossbows.

Huang She was still on a large ship on the E River. He was stunned by what he saw in the distance. Unexpectedly, countless soldiers who had been lying in ambush suddenly appeared from the west and threw burning pottery jars at the fleet of ships anchored on the E River.

The ambush was too sudden. More than 180 warships moored on the banks of the E River were set ablaze in an instant. Only a little over 100 small boats cruising in the E River were spared. Huang She's large ship was also set ablaze. The fire spread rapidly, and dozens of his personal guards hurriedly helped Huang She escape on a small boat.

That night, a fire attack resulted in a crushing defeat for Huang She. Two hundred warships and large ships were all burned to death, and about five thousand soldiers were burned, injured, or killed by arrows. More than three thousand were captured, and several hundred soldiers escaped into the hinterland on the south bank. In the end, Huang She and Su Fei escaped across the Yangtze River with only a thousand or so remaining soldiers in small boats.

(End of this chapter)