mtl008 Chapter 461 Yu Jin is completely enraged
Chapter 461 Yu Jin is completely enraged
If Liu Bei or Zhuge Liang were standing in front of him, Fei Yi would definitely bare his shirt, revealing all his wounds, and tearfully accuse the assassin of being so cruel, of being so critical in the situation, of being so fearless and brave in the face of danger, and of finally managing to fight his way out of the encirclement. He would use this opportunity to show off his achievements to his boss, gain his sympathy, and secure the greatest benefit for himself.
But Guan Xing...
Fei Yi didn't want to lose face in front of Guan Xing, so he acted exceptionally relaxed, downplaying the assassination attempt as if it were a trivial matter, completely forgetting that he was still wrapped in bandages.
Guan Xing saw through his bravado, but pretended not to know and laughed against his conscience, saying, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. Let's get down to business. What do you think we should do next?"
Fei Yi spread his hands and said, "Don't ask me about fighting. My mission is complete. Now I'll just listen to you. I'll do whatever you tell me to do."
He does have some military insights, and anyone else would certainly offer advice, but in front of Guan Xing, it's best to forget about it.
Guan Xing is now a living champion, with top-notch military command skills. My skills, which I learned from military books, are no match for Guan Xing. I shouldn't try to show off my limited abilities and make a fool of myself.
Guan Xing was surprised that the four ministers of Shu Han were also the type to slack off, and said helplessly, "Then tell me what you know first."
Fei Yi and Deng Hong gave a detailed report on the situation in the city. Guan Xing then informed them of the situation on Guan Yu's side and said, "My 20,000 men are a mixed bag and have not yet formed a fighting force. Even if we select 10,000 and add Wu Hou's troops, we are still at a disadvantage in terms of manpower. It is impossible to defeat the Wei army head-on. Therefore, we can only think of another way."
"But the Wei army is not without its weaknesses. The Wei army's weakness is its food supply. Jiang Ji and Yu Jin were in a hurry to seize Jiangling City, so they did not bring any food supplies with them when they came. They are still using the food supplies that Zhu Yi, Huang Zhe and others had prepared earlier."
"According to Zhu Yi's confession, the gentry of Jingzhou have gathered a total of 20,000 troops and more than 100,000 shi of grain. Adding the 30,000 Wei troops and subtracting the 10,000 that I recruited, Jiang Ji and Yu Jin currently have a total of 40,000 troops. With so little grain, 40,000 mouths cannot last more than a few days. Therefore, attacking the supply lines is the only way to defeat the enemy."
Guan Xing's forte was mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare. These tactics require ample time and sufficient space to maneuver. Simply put, you have to get moving to lure the enemy into action.
But they are defending the city now. You can't carry a city around, so how can you move around or conduct guerrilla warfare?
Therefore, the only way Guan Xing could think of to defeat the enemy was to delay and wear them down, attack the Wei army's supply lines, and then launch an attack when the Wei army's supplies were exhausted.
Fei Yi frowned and said, "This is indeed the only way. It would be even better if we could hold out until His Majesty breaks out of the three eastern prefectures."
Guan Xing sighed, "Yes, it would be the best outcome if His Majesty could break out of the three eastern counties and join forces with us to attack Jiang Ji and Yu Jin. After dealing with Jiang Ji and Yu Jin, we might even be able to join forces with my father to deal with Cao Ren. But the best outcome is often the hardest to achieve. You can only aim high and get somewhere in between. So we can't put all our hopes on external aid. At crucial moments, we still have to rely on ourselves."
"Judging from the current situation, to defeat the Wei army, we must strike their supply lines quickly. Every moment of delay could mean another batch of supplies being transported into Jiangling, and each additional batch would make it more difficult for us to defeat the Wei army. So we cannot delay any longer."
"Deng Hong, it will take some time for me to consolidate my position. You should immediately lead the scouts to explore the direction of Dangyang and try to find out the Wei army's grain transport route and time. Remember to mobilize the masses along the way."
Deng Hong had followed him since they went south to Wushang, and he had learned the skills of developing a mass base. He was fully capable of doing this job. Upon hearing this, he bowed and said, "This humble general will set off immediately."
Guan Xing stopped him and said, "Wait, let's give Fei Yi the contact information of the intelligence agents in the city first. We might need it."
After a brief handover with Fei Yi, Deng Hong led his troops away.
Fei Yi said worriedly, "It's good to attack the Wei army's supply lines, but it takes time. I'm afraid the Wei army won't give us that time."
"Young General, your reputation is at its peak right now. Jiang Ji and Yu Jin will definitely be on high alert when they receive your message. They won't be able to dawdle like before. If I'm not mistaken, the Wei army will definitely make a move tomorrow."
Guan Xing sighed and said, "I know that, but we have no way to prevent it in advance, so we can only adapt to the situation and deal with whatever comes our way."
After the discussion, Guan Xing got up and threw himself back into his work, leading the army to build defensive fortifications. The Wei army was large and might send a force to attack or ambush him while he was still establishing his position. Therefore, it was necessary to strengthen the camp's defenses and not give the Wei army any opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
During the great battle, neither side could sleep. While Guan Xing was busy building defensive fortifications, Yu Jin was not idle either. Instead, he personally led people to dismantle beams and destroy houses in the general's mansion.
Upon receiving news of Guan Xing's arrival, Yu Jin astutely realized that the possibility of capturing Jiangling was extremely slim.
Yu Jin made a rough estimate and tragically discovered that he only had seven to ten days. If he could not defeat Sun Quan and capture Jiangling within ten days, the reinforcements from the Han and Wu armies would arrive and completely surround him.
So Yu Jin panicked and ordered his army to build siege equipment overnight in preparation for a desperate fight. However, building the equipment required a lot of wood, and it was obviously too late to cut down trees outside the city. So Yu Jin could only find a way from inside the city and dismantle beams and doors to make do.
Yu Jin didn't just demolish the roof beams of the general's mansion; he also demolished the beams of other mansions and ordinary people's homes. He didn't care whose house it was; as long as it was useful, he would demolish it. It wasn't like he was demolishing his own house, so he didn't care if he demolished everything.
Therefore, that night the city was filled with the sounds of collapsing houses and the clanging of forging tools, and the battle began immediately after dawn.
As dawn broke in the east, Yu Jin ordered his soldiers to carry the protective structures built the night before—structures shaped like houses with only a few pillars supporting the roof and no walls—down to the city walls. He then ordered the soldiers to use the roofs as cover and begin frantically chiseling at the walls with hammers and chisels, intending to use this method to break down the walls.
There are at least twenty or thirty such sloping roofs, starting from the connection between the city wall and the barbican and extending to both sides. Construction is underway at twenty or thirty locations at the same time, and it is believed that a hole can be punched in the city wall in just a few days.
Despite this, Yu Jin was still not satisfied and sent more than a dozen teams to dig tunnels under the city walls, intending to break through the city walls and divert the water from the moat to the area below, causing the city walls to collapse.
These were two long-term projects, and the results would not be seen in a short time. Yu Jin did not expect immediate results either. After making arrangements, he rushed to the city wall where the East Gate was located and commanded the army to push the battering rams, which had been built the night before and were surrounded by wooden planks, and smash them hard against the Wu army in front of them, trying to break through the enemy lines and kill their way to Sun Quan.
Sun Quan was merely a figurehead; the real commander of the battle at Dongcheng was Hu Zong. Upon seeing the battering ram charging in, Hu Zong, after a brief moment of hesitation, quickly launched a counterattack. He used catapults to launch rolling logs, stones, and the corpses of Wei soldiers to fiercely attack the Wei troops behind the battering ram, preventing them from coordinating with the battering ram in front. Then, he deliberately made way for the battering ram to come and annihilate it.
The battering ram is similar to a tank. To unleash its power, it requires coordinated infantry-tank operations. If the infantry and tanks cannot coordinate and are separated, its power will be greatly reduced.
Using a hit-and-cut tactic, Hu Zong quickly disabled the Wei army's battering ram. When the last Wei soldier who pushed the battering ram fell, the nearby Wu soldiers burst into excited cheers. Hu Zong, however, did not cheer. Instead, he looked solemnly at the houses below the city.
It was obvious what the Wei soldiers under the houses were doing. After a moment's thought, Hu Zong decisively ordered, "Set fire to those roofs. I want to see if the Wei soldiers can chip away at them faster or if the fire can burn them down faster."
Sun Quan planned to hold the city wall and stall for time with the Wei army, so he made thorough preparations before the battle. In addition to enough rolling logs and stones, he also prepared a lot of oil. After pouring it on and setting it on fire, the roofs of the Wei army quickly caught fire.