To attack a city, one must first besiege it.
The Wujun camp south of the Han River extended for ten miles around Fan City, encircling it from the west, north, and east directions.
For several days, two thousand Wu troops, under the command of Wu's Right General Bulao and his deputy Fengwei General Pan Jun, have been attacking the city calmly.
Although the troops were constantly driven, the overall situation was relatively peaceful, with the attacking side enjoying a much greater psychological advantage than the defending side. Moreover, Nan City was located near the Han River, with jiang boats and songheng shuttling back and forth in the river. The troops could see them with their own eyes, bringing a sense of security.
But when the sound of the cavalry horses' hooves from the Wei army came, the calm demeanor of the Wu troops was immediately shattered.
The order to return to camp was given, and the bugle horns sounded throughout the Wu army's camp below Fan City. The captain in charge of the troops and the battalion commanders in the front line shouted out orders for alertness. Even Right General Bulao himself, wearing armor and helm, emerged from his tent and led a hundred of his personal guards to stand in formation in the middle of the camp.
"Halt!"
Cavalry officer Zishihang, riding a chestnut horse and holding up his right hand, pulled the reins with his left hand. His horse raised both front hooves and stopped stably. The hundred-plus cavalry following behind him also stopped simultaneously as if guided by one command.
"Captain, what should we do next?" A personal attendant named Jiang Wu asked Zishihang in a low voice, glancing at him.
Left Stone pointed to the front of the Wu army's wall, a hundred and more steps away, coldly snorted, "Xu Gong ordered me to lead a hundred riders here. It's not to kill enemies, but to damage the morale of the Wu army and let them know that the Imperial troops have arrived! I'll be the sharp arrow, and you two will be my wings, following me around this Wu army camp outside Fan City to show off our military power!"
"Yes," the lieutenant commander Jiang Wu bowed and asked, "Can you command me and my subordinates to curse the Wu troops?"
"No need, just ride with me," Left Stone said calmly.
Left Stone was a personal attendant of Xu Youzhi's camp in Qunqiu, serving as the cavalry captain. When the emperor sent him to guard Xu Youzhi from south to north along the Yellow River, he led a hundred riders as an escort. Today, all of them were sent by Xu Youzhi to the front line.
A hundred cavalrymen formed a spearhead formation and started from the west side of Wu's camp. They gradually increased their speed, passing through the camp at a gallop, separated by about 100 steps. One of Left Stone's healthy riders, mounted on his horse and holding Xu Youzhi's flag, rode ahead.
As the sound of hoofbeats grew closer, the Wu soldiers behind the wooden fence of the camp would occasionally let out cries of alarm. Soon, the cavalry's noise began to fade and drifted eastward, and Bu Ziao's expression grew increasingly ugly.
"Pass on my order! Command General Cai Sheng to lead 2,000 troops to stop and set up their camp for a distance of one mile. Do not allow the Wei army's cavalry to act so brazenly any longer!"
"Yes!" The courier received the order and left.
Since the Wu army was the besieging force, their troops were almost evenly distributed around the outside of Fan City. Bu Ziao and Pan Jun's army were spread out over a distance of ten miles, and individually, each section had insufficient strength. The 2,000 infantrymen that Bu Ziao had just summoned were Bu Ziao's entire reserve force.
That's why he had to quickly notify Sun Quan of the military situation.
At this moment, the General of Ningyuan, Xu Yuchang, had already set up his camp seven li to the northwest of Fan City. He was waiting calmly for the Wu army to arrive. He had 16,000 infantrymen: the 6,000 troops from Shin Pan in the west, the 4,000 troops from Wen Dai in the east, and Xu Yuchang himself leading 6,000 troops from foreign regions as the middle army. The three parts were arranged in a goose wing shape on the plain.
Although it was called a plain, in fact, it was all barren farmland.
In the fourth year of Taiping, even the farmland in the interior states and districts was not enough to be cultivated. The people near Xiangnan either moved to Nanyang or Yuzhou, and the good land had become a wasteland with weeds.
Xu Yuchang wasn't idle either; instead, he had summoned all three of his military officers to chat with him in front of him.
"Zhao Gù, Wei Sheng, Wei Xian, did I call your names correctly?"
Xu Yuchang looked at the three officers standing solemnly in front of him, asking them one by one from left to right.
"Report to General Xu, I am Zhao Gù."
"I am Wei Sheng."
"My name is Wei Xian."
The three men answered in turn. Xu Yuchang asked, "Wei Sheng, Wei Xian, your names are very similar and you don't look too different either. Could it be that you are brothers?"
Wei Sheng nodded respectfully and said, "General Xu, I am Wei Sheng. I am a cousin of Wei Xian, a native of Chen County in Yu Province. I am 46 years old this year, which is two years older than Wei Xian."
Wei Xian supplemented, "General Xu, my brother and I were both officers in the Military Academy. In Yellow Initiate 1st year, we were appointed by the imperial court to Jiangxia."
Yellow Initial Year... That was when Emperor Cao Pi just ascended the throne. Back then, he had already begun to place his men around Wen Pin? The Military Academy, led by Xu Chu, was actually a loyalist force of Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen. There have been countless officers appointed from outside the Military Academy.
It was clear that the two were expressing their backgrounds and trying to show that they could be trusted.
"And you, where are you from?" Xu Yuchang turned his gaze to Zhao Gù.
"I am from Anlu County in Jiangxia Commandery. I joined the late General Wen's army in the 19th year of the Jian'an era," Zhao Gù replied.
Xu Yuchang chuckled softly and nodded slightly.
In fact, Xu Yuchang didn't care much about the origins of the three men. In the face of the enemy, although military law could be used to discipline subordinates, Xu Yuchang had no personal bodyguards at hand. Good communication with these three military officers was also very necessary.
"It's now a little past noon," Xu Yuchang pointed at the sun hanging in the sky, "In about an hour and a half, by the third mark of the afternoon, whether the Wu army comes or not, I will order a withdrawal."
Wei Sheng opened his mouth to ask, "General Xu, is today's battle not going to happen?"
Xu Yuchang said, "Whether to fight or not is not up to me, it depends on how the Wu army responds. In summary, the 10,000 troops led by Wuzheng in the Military Academy will arrive in Deng County in two days. Today I will take you to test the courage of the Wu army."
"Yes, General Xu, you may give the order," Wei Sheng replied.
Zhi Shi was galloping around the city walls at Fan City, and the guards there couldn't miss him. Upon receiving the officer's message, the commander Luo Xing didn't stop for a moment and rushed to the north wall. Looking at the figure of the horsemen outside Wu's camp in the north, he laughed liberally.
"General, what is this?" the military advisor Sun Kè asked in confusion.
Lü Shì rolled up his sleeves, crossed his arms at his waist, and laughed, "You haven't understood yet? Shin Pan doesn't have cavalry in Xinye. This cavalry unit must have come from Xuanchang! Calculating the dates, the relief troops should have arrived by now."
"Tell the four generals, that the relief troops from Xuchang have arrived and Fan City is saved! In the next two days, even if I have to wear my head on my waist, I must keep my eyes wide open and defend well. Don't let me fall on my face at the crucial moment!"
"Yes, I will go and inform them one by one," Sun Kè obeyed the order, and the joy on his face couldn't be hidden.
On the city wall of Fan City, from where Lu Shi stood, there was a cheer. The sound echoed along the city wall, and the morale in the city was immediately boosted.
The 2,000 soldiers sent out by Bu Zhao to form a formation did not encounter the Wei army's cavalry.
Zhi Shi's hundred cavalry soldiers were all experienced riders. They had calculated the range of Wu's arrows, pretended to be about 100 steps away to lure the arrows from Wu's army, but none of them hit. They then calmly rode northward.
Zhao Gù and Wei Xian returned to their camps, and Xu Yuchang remained with Wei Sheng's troops at the forefront. After a long wait without any response from the Wu soldiers, Xu Yuchang waited for more than half an hour before he turned to Wei Sheng and said:
"Pass on my order, the army will advance one li!"
"Yes, following the order!"
The 16,000 Wei troops moved forward immediately, stopping six li to the northwest of Fan City.
(Chapter complete)
