Being within the military, with thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers who follow orders, can bring immense satisfaction and spiritual enjoyment to someone who is new to the battlefield.
So was the Prince Sun Deng of Wu.
The commander of Wu troops outside the city of Xiangyang was Zhu Geliang, and according to his long-standing friendship with Sun Quan, he showed great importance to Sun Deng's arrival. Zhu Geliang not only spent an entire day personally accompanying Sun Deng on a tour of the camp and consoling the soldiers, but also took Sun Deng to observe how to set up the camp and build deer antlers, among other things.
The old oil-slicking man was flatteringly entertaining a young prince, and Sun Deng's impression of Zhuge Jin had already been quite favorable, which grew even better. However, Zhuge Ke, who had been following Sun Deng all the time, had no idea that his father was so patient in the military.
The Wu King is now, and the Prince is the future.
If one can accumulate a bit more affection around the prince today, the Zhuge family will have more confidence in their future in Wu. And his eldest son, whose personality is somewhat arrogant, may have an easier path ahead in the future.
With such a flattering attitude, Zhuge Jin arranged Sun Deng's accommodation by the northernmost wharf of the camp, which was also the closest to the Han River. His thoughts were self-evident:
In such a flattering attitude, Zhuge Jin arranged Sun Deng's residence on the dock at the most northern end of the camp, also the nearest to the Han River. His intention was clear: he wanted to put Sun Deng in a safe location, in case anything happened. Although the Wei troops inside the city have been lying still like a dead dog for a few days, Zhuge Jin was not willing to take any risks. If anything went wrong, Sun Deng could immediately board the ship and retreat to Yuliuzhou without worrying about what was happening outside of Xiangyang.
And Sun Deng also took this arrangement for granted, for in his twenty years of life, being the son of Sun Quan in Jiangdong and being treated with preferential treatment had become the norm.
And Sun Deng also agreed with this arrangement, as for the first twenty years of his life, being treated well as the son of Sun Quan in Jiangdong was the norm. Yesterday evening, Lieutenant General Niu Jin had already picked out eight hundred elite soldiers from the various camps in the city. After promising material rewards and boosting morale, Niu Jin ordered them to go to bed early.
At the third hour of the early morning, each department's officer brought the brave and agile soldiers to life, leading them to assemble and stand in formation inside the eastern gate of Xiangyang.
"Let them sit down first, have some food first, and then pour a cup of warm wine for each of them as well."
Niu Jin, wearing a helmet and body armor, ordered his personal staff and then walked back and forth in front of the soldiers, using the light of the roadside torches to create a shadow.
For over twenty years in Jingzhou, Niu Jin knew most of these faces.
"Zhou Li, are you afraid?" Niu Jin pressed down hard on the ground with his feet, walked to a general who had followed him for over ten years, and threatened to hammer on his chest.
"General, please be gentle." Zhou Li shrugged his shoulders, forcing a smile at his general and slurredly said, "The food has just been digested and not yet digested, General. If you hammer on me like this, I'm going to throw up."
"You?" Niu Jin laughed twice. "I'm not just getting to know you today. Your appetite is better than that of livestock; you can eat as much as three people. How can you throw up?"
"Ha ha, the general knows me well," Zhou Li said, pulling his armor's collar open and showing it to Niu Jin. "As you can see, double-layered armor. The outer layer is iron and the inner layer is leather. There are also two layers of hemp padding in between, so it's quite thick and enough to protect us from enemy attacks."
Niu Jin nodded approvingly, "If someone else wore something so thick, I wouldn't allow it; they'd be too slow to run. What's the point of charging into camp? But with your build, not to mention the double-layered armor, you could carry two sandbags on your back and still be fine. This time, when we charge the camp, you'll lead my own battalion, and I'll have Xi Liu and Zhang Tong each lead a hundred men to follow you; three hundred of us in all."
Zhou Li asked with slight surprise, "Won't that be eight hundred people? How come the general is only going to take three hundred?"
Niu Jin said, "It's hard to see at night, and too many people can actually hinder the operation. It's hard to advance and even harder to retreat. The other five hundred men, I'll have them make a commotion in front of the small camp south of the dock, but not for a real breakthrough. You'll go with me to storm the dock along the Han River that the Wugou (Jin people) are occupying."
Zhou Li didn't show any timidity and nodded heavily, saying, "General, wherever you lead, we will charge without hesitation!"
Although it was night, there were still Wu troops' ships on the Han River with lanterns on board, continuously patrolling in the dark night like ink. The Han River not only separated the military forces but also the communication between them.
The distance across the Han River between Xiangyang and Fan City is no more than a half a mile. The Wu troops' caution is not only to prevent communication between the southern and northern Wei forces. Both Zhao Yan within Xiangyang City and Lu Shi in the northern Fan City have tried several times, but each attempt ended in failure.
It can only be said that the Wu navy is taking this very seriously this time.
"Aunt Mei, have you arranged everything in place?" The carriage slowed down in front of the soldiers, Zhao Yan got out and walked to Niu Jin's side, quietly asking.
"Zhao Gong, just wait and see," Niu Jin said, pointing to the east. "I've given it some thought, instead of attacking the Wu camp, we should attack the small camp by the dock. The Wugou aren't being so brazenly aggressive just because they have naval power? I'm determined to break their illusions! If we can storm the dock, then where else is safe for them? We must scare them into submission!"
"You are the commander in charge of troops, and I have no business interfering with these trivial matters." Zhao Yan looked seriously at Niu Jin: "Regardless of what happens, do not get into a prolonged battle. I cannot personally save you as Cao Zixiang did."
"Master Zhao, please do not worry," Niu Jin raised his hand in a gesture of salutation, "I will proceed."
"Okay." Zhao Yan nodded and said, "I will watch your success from the city gate!"
The drawbridge across the city wall slowly lowered. The wood had been soaked in camphor oil, so there was little noise. The eight hundred soldiers all had copper coins in their mouths, led by eight generals, they walked out of the dark East Gate in order and lined up from north to south outside the city walls.
"General, we're going to storm the dock. When should those five hundred men move?" Zhou Li placed the copper coin in his mouth on one side and asked cautiously with a hint of confusion.
"General, when should we charge the dockside? When will those five hundred men move?" Zhou Li moved the copper coins in his mouth to one side and asked carefully, trying to speak clearly. Niu Jin, although he knew the Wu troops couldn't hear from this distance, still spoke in a low voice: "We are only half a mile away from the Wu camp. When we walk halfway there, let those five hundred men start moving. Also, keep the copper coins in your mouth. If you say another word, I'll chop off your ears!"
Zhou Li gave a nod and fell silent.
"Let's go!"
As Niu Jin's low roar sounded, the three hundred elite Wei troops followed him, moving quietly in the direction of the Wu troops' dock to the northeast.
The darkness before dawn was like an indissoluble thick ink color, making it hard to see even with five fingers. By this time, the soldiers on night duty with the Wu army were extremely tired. Standing on the watchtowers to guard was one of the most difficult tasks in camp, all for a meal of army rations.
Who wouldn't want to take a break?
Two hundred steps, one hundred eighty steps, one hundred fifty steps...
As they got closer to the Wu camp by the dock, when they were about a hundred steps away, Niu Jin suddenly bellowed out loud, as if a massive stone in his chest had exploded:
"Break through the camp!"
The troops were inspired by their general's presence and the element of surprise at night, so they spat out the copper coins in their mouths and charged at the reinforcements outside the camp. They shouted and roared loudly as they advanced.
The five hundred Wei troops near the city gate, upon receiving Niu Jin's signal, launched an attack on the second camp from the north along the southern side of the dock.
This was Niu Jin's strategy: 300 men charged the dock, while 500 men attacked the camp on the south side. The Wu troops were mostly in the south, so if they organized troops for a night counterattack, reinforcements would also gather to the south, ignoring the more northern dock area slightly.
That's enough time for Niu Jin: leave a little over a minute.
Although it's a bit simplified, it can indeed be called a strategy.
Niu Jin has been in the military for over thirty years, and such a strategy is enough for the battlefield. If it were more complicated and detailed, the soldiers might not be able to execute it well themselves, let alone see any results.
The dock is only six li away from Yuliuzhou. If it were during the day, Wu troops could come to the aid at any time, but this is at night!
"Enemy attack!"
"The enemy is attacking!" shouted the Wu soldiers on the watchtowers, their voices long and shrill as they sounded the piercing and eerie horn. Niu Jin looked to the east from among the troops, and in the distance, he saw fires flaring in the Wu camp. The camp was soon filled with a chaotic buzz of confusion.
The well-trained Wei soldiers, about half of them, were carrying various tools such as axes and long hooks.
The trained Wei soldiers, about half of whom held various axes and long hooks, broke through the tangle of deer antlers by cutting through the ropes binding them. Zhou Li stood in front of Niu Jin, using his short ax to cut through a rope between two antlers. With the help of over a dozen soldiers beside him, he shouted and raised his arms, pulling out a path by moving the antlers outward. The Wei troops behind Niu Jin charged into the camp.
The trained Wei troops, half of whom held various tools such as axes and long hooks, charged forward. Zhou Li stood in front of Niu Jin, slashing through a rope between the antlers with his short axe. With the ten soldiers beside him, they raised their arms and shouted slogans to move the antlers outward, clearing a path through the front of the camp. Behind them, the Wei troops followed Niu Jin's lead and charged inside. The soldiers holding long hooks advanced and spread out to left and right, tightening their iron hooks onto the wooden fence around the camp. Multiple long ropes were thrown backward simultaneously. The soldiers behind them grabbed hold of the ropes and pulled with all their might like tug-of-war.
"Break through the camp! Break through the camp! Break through the camp!"
The Wei troops shouted battle cries as they charged outside the encampment, completely ignoring the scattered and sporadic archery shots from within the temporary formation of defending arrows.
The camp beside the dock was even more chaotic, with shadows moving within, and it was unclear how many people were running about inside. (End of this chapter)
