jdhmnovel Chapter 269 The Generals of Eastern Wu Are All Drama Queens
Chapter 269 The Generals of Eastern Wu Are All Drama Queens
Lu Ju's eyes lit up with surprise, and he asked, "General, do you mean..."
Xu Sheng laughed and said, "That's right. I didn't expect tonight's surprise attack to defeat the Han army. I just wanted to use it to exhaust the Han army's strength and make them lower their guard. After the attack, I will immediately detour to Yushan County to cut off the Han army's retreat."
"The Han army is currently 80 or 90 li away from Yushan. They will have to set up traps along the way, and it will take at least three days to retreat to Yushan. In addition, I have sent someone to inform Grand Commander Lu that while we take Yushan, we should ask Grand Commander Lu to hurry to the corridor to clear the traps and attack us from both sides to completely annihilate the Han army that is digging the traps in the corridor."
"Doesn't Guan Xing like to infiltrate behind enemy lines and cut off the enemy's retreat? Well, I'll give him a taste of his own medicine and see how he counters it."
Lu Ju asked with a mixture of excitement and worry, "If that's the case, that would be wonderful. But I have a few questions. First, Grand Commander Lu only ordered us to clear the traps, but we went to infiltrate them. Does that count as disobeying orders?"
"Secondly, there are still Han troops in Da Mo. What if the Han troops in front of us and the Han troops in Da Mo come to Yushan at the same time to attack us from both sides? Can we hold them off?"
"In the end, we only brought three days' worth of food. If we use it sparingly, we can only last five days at most. We'll probably run out of food before we even reach Yushan. What will we eat when we get there?"
He now finally understood why Xu Sheng had brought three days' worth of food for a surprise attack; it turned out he had this in mind.
Xu Sheng sneered, "How can this be considered disobeying military orders? Grand Commander Lu's order to us was to clear the traps. If I block the Han army from setting up traps, wouldn't that also count as clearing the traps? Wouldn't it be better to directly address the source of the Han army's trap-setting?"
"Otherwise, if we really chase after the Han army, how long will it take us to clear the pits they've dug? You know, it's still over 400 li from here to Damo. Would you be willing to fill all those pits over 400 li one by one?"
Thinking about the amount of work involved in laying the pit, Lü Ju couldn't help but shudder, and a trace of resentment towards Lu Xun rose in his heart.
Xu Sheng continued, "As for the latter two issues, I think they are one issue. Even if we are attacked from both sides by two Han armies, I am confident that I can hold out for six or seven days. If Grand Commander Lu cannot reach him in such a long time, he might as well die."
"As for the issue of food supplies, Yushan is still a county town. I don't believe there are no food supplies in the town. Even if there are no official grain supplies, we can rob the people of their grain. If all else fails, we can go into the mountains to hunt. If all else fails, we can even eat tree bark for six or seven days."
Upon hearing this, Lü Ju replied, "This humble general has no problem. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."
The army continued their journey, following the guide for several hours, and finally arrived at the designated location at 4:45 AM.
The experienced Xu Sheng, who had anticipated the ambush, did not charge directly. Instead, he ordered his soldiers to fire arrows in all directions to scout ahead and avoid the ambush.
On the Han army's side.
After making the arrangements, Shen Yi lay down on the ground and fell asleep. Before going to sleep, he specifically instructed his personal guards to wake him up at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).
After meeting Xu Sheng, Shen Yi was on edge. He didn't sleep the night before last, nor did he sleep during the day yesterday. He was so tired at night that he had to take a nap.
Shen Yiyin was woken up by his personal guards at the hour of Yin. He opened his water bag, washed his face, and continued to wait. After about 15 minutes, Li Gousheng came again and whispered a reminder: "General, the brothers I am lying in ambush ahead replied with bird calls that the Wu army has arrived and will be here in at most half an hour."
Being a scout is also a skill. Li Gousheng's method was that the first scout, after spotting the Wu army, would not use shouts but run to deliver the message. After all, Xu Sheng was also a shrewd person. How could he not be alert if he suddenly heard birds chirping in the middle of the night?
When a scout runs to the second scout, the second scout then relays the message by shout to the third scout, and so on, ensuring that the message is transmitted back as quickly as possible.
Shen Yi nodded and said, "Tell the brothers that Wu's army is very likely to shoot arrows or even set fires to scout ahead. Tell everyone to take precautions to avoid being shot. If you are shot, try not to make a sound. We must give Wu's army a hard time today and make Xu Sheng give up the idea of a surprise attack."
Upon receiving the order, all the Han soldiers within range of Wu's arrows shuffled in place, covering their upper bodies with their shields as if they were blankets.
Xu Sheng quickly arrived and fired arrows into the air, but all he heard was the sound of arrows piercing the air. After waiting for a long time, he still didn't hear the screams of the Han soldiers. Xu Sheng began to doubt himself and muttered to himself, "Could it really be as you said, that the Han army's commander is an idiot and is still fast asleep?"
Lu Ju tentatively suggested, "Then what should we do? Should we try shooting a few more arrows?"
Xu Sheng shook his head and refused, saying, "Forget it, we don't have many arrows to carry, so we can't waste them like this. Let the shield bearers go ahead to protect the others and advance slowly. We must be extremely careful on the last stretch of the road. We'll decide what to do once we reach the Han army camp. If the Han army is really asleep, then we don't need to run to Yushan. Tonight, we'll go all out and wipe out this Han army."
Lu Ju turned around and gave the order, and soon the Wu army formed a tortoise shell formation and began to slowly advance.
With Wu Jun right in front of him, Shen Yi couldn't possibly miss him. He gripped his bow and arrow and waited quietly. Only after Xu Sheng had completely entered the ambush area did he nudge Li Gousheng with his elbow. Li Gousheng quickly blew on a tinderbox and lit the modified arrowhead on Shen Yi's bow. Shen Yi immediately released his grip, and the burning arrow shot towards Wu Jun.
The firelight was the signal. The moment the rockets were seen, the Han army, which was lying in ambush on the nearby mountain, attacked simultaneously. Some fired arrows, while others pushed stones, and various attacks were launched against the Wu army without mercy.
However, the Wu army came prepared. Arrows could not cause them much damage. The stones were lethal, but there were too few of them, and they rolled down the hillside. At most, they would knock down the Wu soldiers, but very few of them were actually killed.
Xu Sheng, however, roared with superb acting skills: "Damn Han army, they actually set up an ambush! It's outrageous! Charge with me!"
After shouting, he raised a shield and charged towards the north hillside. He was putting on a show; retreating so soon after being attacked seemed too fake.
Xu Sheng led the charge, while Lü Ju led the shield bearers to cover the rear, using their shields to block arrows from the southern and eastern hillsides. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the narrow valley.
Xu Sheng charged forward with his shield raised, and soon reached a cliff nearly two meters high. Unlike the mountains in the north, the mountains in the south were not regular, and there were faults everywhere. It was impossible to run up the mountainside in one go.
Xu Sheng had anticipated this, ordering archers to provide cover while two soldiers formed a human ladder, allowing him to quickly climb up using the soldiers as stepping stones.
Before he could even get his footing, several spears came hurtling towards him. Xu Sheng hurriedly raised his shield to defend himself, but was then mercilessly pushed down by the Han army's spearmen. He rolled down the hillside for a long time before being stopped by the Wu army's shields.
Other Wu soldiers followed Xu Sheng's example and quickly climbed the cliff, attempting to rush up and engage the Han army in close combat, but were repeatedly repelled by the Han army, which held the advantage of terrain.
After struggling for more than a quarter of an hour, Lü Ju, equally dramatic, shouted urgently, "General, this won't do! The terrain is too unfavorable for us. We can't attack it at all. We should retreat quickly!"
Xu Sheng cursed, "Listen up, Han soldiers on the mountain! Go back and tell Guan Xing to tell Guan Anguo to protect his head. I, Xu Sheng, will personally retrieve it another day. Withdraw."
After hurling his insults, he ordered his army to retreat swiftly and return via the same route.
Shen Yi was furious upon hearing this, and stood up and roared, "Go to hell, chase after them!"
The Han army quickly charged down the hillside and attacked the Wu army. The Wu army fought and retreated, and the two sides fought for almost half an hour before retreating to their respective positions.
When Shen Yi returned to the valley and took stock, he found that he had only killed or wounded seventy or eighty Wu soldiers. He couldn't help but sigh, "Xu Sheng is not simple, being able to retreat in an orderly manner and minimize his own casualties even when he was at a disadvantage."
Deceived by Xu Sheng's reputation, Shen Yi was completely unaware of how abnormal Xu Sheng's reaction was tonight. Logically speaking, even the most powerful generals would experience a moment of panic when faced with a sudden attack; generals wouldn't, but soldiers would too.
But Wu Jun showed no panic at the sudden attack tonight, remaining calm as if he had known he would be ambushed. He reacted immediately after the attack, which was highly unusual.
If Guan Xing were here, he would surely realize the problem, but Shen Yi didn't see it. He just thought that with Xu Sheng's reputation and ability, it was reasonable for him to have done this much.
If you didn't see it, you're doomed. On the battlefield, even the slightest mistake will come at a price.