The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 47 A Minor Victory, A Glimpse of the Future
Boom, boom, boom...

Amidst the powerful and rhythmic drumbeats.

The infantry of the five garrisons were divided into five square formations and advanced in sequence.

On both sides of the five formations, two relatively loosely arranged auxiliary troops escorted the supply wagons, also serving as flank cover.

The last garrison of auxiliary troops served as a reserve force to cover the rear.

They also served to pick up soldiers who had fallen behind for various reasons.

Miwei has become familiar with this routine over the past four days.

At this moment, he suddenly gained control of the drums and banners, and commanded the army to advance, which was quite impressive.

But that's all.

He knew he had no chance of winning against a minor general like Sun Huan from Jiangdong.

They could only pin their hopes on Guan Ping, a minor general from their own side.

By midday, around 4 p.m., the army had successfully arrived at the outskirts of Huarong County.

Looking around now...

On the open fields west of Huarong, a siege mound, four or five zhang high and shaped like a terrace, was suddenly erected.

A flag bearing the character "Sun" stands atop the rampart.

Mi Wei could not yet see the faces of his generals.

However, it was quite clear that more than 30% of the thousand or so soldiers gathered below the earthen rampart were armored.

Even without employing the traditional tactic of surrounding Huarong City with three sides encircling and one side blocking, it would have been enough to keep the defending troops trapped inside the city.

This situation, rather than being a siege, was more about forcing the defending troops to surrender by feigning an attack.

If Jiangling had fallen earlier, the garrison at Huarong would probably have surrendered as well.

Fortunately, this worst-case scenario did not occur.

When Mi Wei arrived, Guan Ping's three hundred cavalry were patrolling the enemy's flank, occasionally getting close enough to fire shots to harass them.

The enemy general clearly lacked a well-organized cavalry force to counter this.

Instead, he simply ordered his soldiers to split into two groups to hold the line.

One unit relied on rear camps, while the other relied on siege fortifications, forming a mutually supportive alliance.

Guan Ping couldn't find any weaknesses in the enemy's formation, so he could only keep harassing them.

However, as Mi Wei led over a thousand soldiers to join the battle, the thousand-plus enemy troops under the earthen ramparts finally began to waver.

Guan Ping made a decisive move and led his cavalry to charge towards the loosened corner.

With just one charge, hundreds of enemy soldiers in that corner collapsed on the spot.

Meanwhile, the defenders inside Huarong City seized the opportunity to hurl arrows at the fleeing troops outside the city.

While inflicting minor casualties, they also joined forces with Guan Ping's cavalry on the left and right, forcing the fleeing troops to retreat towards their own camp.

Miwei even saw “flying stones” being thrown out of the city, tracing an arc.

Although it did not cause much damage, it made a great impact due to its impressive scale.

Thus, the routed army, in a panic, fled in disarray and turned against their own ranks.

Taking advantage of the situation, Guan Ping's cavalry turned around and launched another attack, successfully breaking through another corner of the enemy forces.

Seeing Guan Ping's extraordinary bravery, Mi Wei felt relieved and ordered the five infantry units to form a tight line and advance simultaneously.

In action, be sparse; in battle, be dense.

Dense formations are for offensive purposes.

However, Miwei was not planning to launch an attack.

He hasn't become that overconfident yet.

It was merely a deliberate display of offensive posture to reinforce the momentum of Guan Ping's cavalry and the defenders of Huarong, and to further destabilize the enemy's formation.

Fortunately, the enemy general was unaware of his true abilities.

Or rather, it was because Guan Ping was so incredibly brave that he dared not be overconfident.

Seeing that the fleeing army was out of control, he decisively ordered the platform to fire arrows to slow down the retreating army.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the enemy troops below the stage, whose formation was not yet disrupted, retreated to their main camp in an orderly manner, providing cover for each other.

The camp was fortified quite well and had a larger force.

Guan Ping did not recklessly advance deep into enemy territory, but instead tried to engage the enemy's flanks and rear to inflict more casualties.

Finally, as darkness fell and enemy troops came to their aid, both sides sounded the retreat.

In this battle, the enemy suffered approximately three to five hundred casualties.

At the same time, they lost siege ramparts and a lot of siege equipment.

On the other hand, our side.

The losses suffered by Guanping were negligible.

The Miwei tribe was completely unharmed.

Huarong City has been successfully relieved of its siege!
A narrow victory.

"Sun Huan is not someone to be underestimated."

At the gates of Huarong City, the two armies met, and Guan Ping gave this assessment.

"I see that he is not only well-versed in battle tactics, but also has the courage to make tough decisions. Given time, he will surely become a remarkable person."

Mi Wei nodded in agreement and asked, "What are your plans, General?"

Guan Ping reined in his horse and looked back at the enemy camp dotted with lights in the distance. After a long while, he turned back and said:

"Although the siege of Huarong has been lifted, the enemy has not retreated." "Enemy troops from Jiangdong are continuously advancing from downstream; who can guarantee that reinforcements will not arrive?"

"Just in case, you shall immediately lead the infantry into the city and garrison there."

"I led my cavalry to set up camp around the earthen ramparts left by the enemy, forming a pincer movement."

"We two will remain on high alert inside and outside the city at all times, making sure the enemy has no opening to exploit!"

So you've put me in command of these thousand regular and auxiliary infantrymen?
Miwei instinctively felt that perhaps the other party, seeing the excellent cooperation between the two sides in the afternoon, was starting to overestimate themselves again.

But it must be said that Guan Ping's arrangement was the most appropriate.

Besides, Miwei lacked confidence in field operations.

But they are quite experienced in defending cities.

So he did not refuse.

……

The following day, Mi Wei, led by a county magistrate surnamed Fan, climbed a towering earthen platform inside the city.

This County Magistrate Fan claimed to be a descendant of Fan Li, a high-ranking official of the Yue State during the Spring and Autumn Period.

It is said that the ancestral graves are located nearby.

I don’t know if it’s true or not.

Judging from his performance in cooperating with Guan Ping yesterday, he should have some discernment.

"This is the famous Zhanghua Terrace of the Chu Kingdom!"

County Chief Fan took the initiative to introduce himself.

"Does Zhonglang know the history of this place?"

Mi Wei had no idea about such an obscure allusion.

Before he came up, he thought it was just a tacky little platform.

So he turned to look at Pan Mi behind him.

The latter claimed to have "some talent in memorization".

Without hesitation, Pan Mi replied:
"This platform was built by King Ling of Chu in ancient times."

"It is said that King Ling once ascended a platform with his famous minister Wu Ju to enjoy the scenery. Wu Ju then used the saying 'The platform is no higher than the auspicious atmosphere of the country, and no larger than the sacrificial vessels for a banquet' to satirize the King of Chu's extravagant lifestyle."

Mi Wei immediately recognized the name King Ling of Chu:

"Is it that King Ling of Chu, the one who said, 'King Chu loved slender waists, so many starved to death in the palace'?"

Pan Mi: "Exactly."

Mi Wei understood.

I couldn't help but take a few more glances at this earthen platform, which can be considered a "precious cultural relic" even in this day and age.

I have to say, this one is really high-end.

Even after seven or eight hundred years of wind and sun exposure, it is still estimated to be over twenty meters tall.

It's about seven stories high.

Standing on the platform, one can see the city streets and alleys, as well as the surrounding fields.

Therefore, although Huarong is a small town.

Unlike Jiangling, it cannot construct towering watchtowers at all four corners.

However, this platform can be used to observe the surrounding terrain.

This is precisely the main purpose of my appearance on stage today.

The King of Chu loved high platforms, and many craftsmen died from exhaustion.

But it certainly made things easier for Miwei more than 700 years later.

Look around.

Southeast of the county town is the Xia River channel, which originates from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. At this time, the water is very shallow, and horses can wade across the river directly.

To the due west lies a wide-open plain.

Sun Huan's military camp, as well as the siege ramparts he abandoned, were all built in this direction.

However, what Miwei cared about most was the vast lake to the north, stretching as far as the eye could see.

It appears to be larger than the three lakes in the desolate valley on the eastern outskirts of Gangneung combined.

Thanks to this abundant water source, the lake shore is covered with dense reeds.

It can extend all the way to the foot of Huarong City.

If it were late summer, when the reeds were in full bloom, it would be an absolutely beautiful sight.

But now that winter is here, all the flowers have fallen, leaving only withered branches and fallen leaves.

Mi Wei vaguely remembered that this place was later a national wetland park.

However, there certainly wasn't such a wide lake in later generations.

After observing the enemy camp for half a day, Mi Wei did not find any flaws.

This confirms that Sun Huan's camp was indeed well-established, living up to his historical reputation.

But the more this was the case, the more suspicious Miwei became.

The enemy has mobilized a large force to attack the city, not to defend it.

Now that Huarong has been successfully relieved, why haven't they withdrawn their troops?
Are you perhaps planning to wait until the outcome is decided in Jiangling?
Just as he was hesitating.

Suddenly, an unusual firelight appeared on the distant lakeshore.

(End of this chapter)