pappabearbooks Chapter 130 Capturing the City
Chapter 130 Capturing the City
When the military report from Langya arrived in Linzi, it was still dark.
Yuan Tan put on his robe, got up, and read it under the lamp.
Zhao Yun's night raid was successful, burning Wei Xu's grain supplies, and he is now leading his troops out of the city in pursuit.
Gansu and Ningxia's naval forces cooperated in the operation and achieved considerable success.
Zhao Yun is indeed amazing!
No wonder he is the Three Kingdoms general with the most fans in modern times.
They actually managed to beat Sun Ce so badly he passed out.
They not only completed the task, but exceeded it.
"Zilong did a good job."
Yuan Tan put down the military report and said to Guo Jia, who was waiting beside him,
"It's faster than expected. We thought we'd have to hold out for a full month, but now it's only been a little over ten days, and we're ready to launch a counterattack."
Guo Jia nodded:
"Wei Xu's supplies have been burned, and his army's morale has collapsed. Sun Ce has remained inactive, watching his defeat unfold, and internal rifts have appeared in Lü Bu's army. Right now, we should order Gan Ning's navy to intercept him along the river, while Zhao Yun presses him down by land. This might isolate Wei Xu's remaining forces from Sun Ce's army and allow us to defeat them in batches."
"Can."
Yuan Tan walked to the map, pondered for a moment,
"Order Gan Ning to do everything in his power to prevent the enemy from crossing the river and escaping south. Order Zhao Yun to pursue cautiously, focusing on driving them away and dividing them into smaller groups, rather than attempting to annihilate them completely, in order to reduce our casualties."
"Now, it all depends on Lou Ban. If he can capture Xiaoguan, half of Lü Bu's 100,000-strong army's retreat route and supply lines to the north will be cut off."
……
Early in the morning, a long queue had already formed outside the north gate of Xiaoguan.
People pushed carts and carried loads, waiting to enter the city.
"The tax has gone up again, are they trying to make a living...?"
"Can we not raise taxes? I heard there's a war in the north, and Marquis Wen's army just passed by not long ago; the grain carts have been on their way for several days. All this money will have to come from us poor people..."
"Shh! Keep your voice down! General Wang, who is guarding the pass, is the brother of Marquis Wen's concubine. He's very powerful, and there are 10,000 soldiers inside the pass."
"So many? But I passed through the mountains to the east the other day and thought I saw some traces of soldiers. I wonder if they are the troops from this city..."
As they were discussing this, the door was slowly opened.
A troop of soldiers lined up on either side of the city gate, shouting to the people outside the city:
"Come one by one, and remember to pay your taxes when you enter the city."
The people outside the city fell silent and slowly moved toward the city gate.
You have to pay taxes when entering or leaving the city.
This is truly outrageous and cannot be tolerated.
But there was no other way; to survive, they had to leave the city and find work.
However, this inflow and outflow reduced the already meager wages by 80%.
The remaining money wasn't even enough to fill a tooth gap.
Everyone complained, but there was nothing they could do.
We can only hope that this battle will end soon.
Among these people, one group stood out particularly.
Several horses, clearly warhorses but harnessed to dilapidated carriages, were pulling a rickety cart with a thin-skinned coffin on it.
More than ten people were dressed in mismatched clothes, wearing mourning headscarves, and looking grief-stricken.
The man at the head of the group was none other than Lou Ban in disguise.
The team leader sized up the "funeral procession," his gaze lingering on the brand-new horseshoes before taking in the upright backs of the men, despite their tattered clothes.
"What are you doing? Who's in the coffin?"
The leader stepped forward and placed his hand on the hilt of the knife.
"Reporting to the general, the old man in the family has passed away. He has been sent back to his hometown for burial."
Lou Ban said in a hoarse voice.
"Hmph! Burials are usually done by dragging the bodies out of the city, but you guys are doing it by bringing them into the city."
The team leader, with a bitter face, stretched out one hand and gestured twice.
Having spent many years immersed in the Central Plains, Lou Ban naturally understood immediately.
"Sir, this is just a small token of my appreciation."
The team leader finally smiled: "Hmm! You're quite good... Where are you from?"
Lou Ban was secretly pleased, but still answered cautiously:
"Reporting to the general, we are from Li Family Village."
"Li Family Village?"
The team leader's smile froze on his face. All the strong men from Lijiazhuang had been conscripted away a few days ago.
Where did these people come from?
He immediately shouted, and several guards surrounded him.
"Open the coffin and inspect!"
Just as the guard reached out to lift the coffin lid, the pallbearer moved.
He lunged forward, his left hand gripping the captain's wrist and twisting it downwards, while his right hand held a short knife to the captain's throat.
At the same time, seven or eight other men in the group suddenly sprang up and pounced on the nearest guard, covering his mouth, twisting his neck, and stabbing him in the heart with swift and ruthless actions.
Other disguised soldiers mixed in with the civilians also launched an attack at the same time, taking control of the remaining gatekeepers.
The change happened so fast that before the people in line could react, more than ten guards near the city gate had all fallen to the ground.
"Seize the door!"
Lou Ban shouted in a low voice, threw the limp squad leader to his men, and rushed towards the winch himself.
With a few people working hard, the heavy gate slowly rose.
From the distant woods outside the city, the sound of rapid hoofbeats rang out, raising clouds of dust.
"Enemy attack! Close the city gates!"
The guards on the distant barbican and city walls finally noticed the anomaly, alarm gongs blared, and arrows rained down sparsely.
The men in the building had already opened the coffin lid, taken out powerful crossbows, and used the doorway to retaliate.
Lou Ban snatched a shield, stood with his sword drawn in the center of the doorway, and roared at his personal guards:
"Fire the signal arrow! Tell the brothers to hurry!"
A whistling arrow shot into the sky.
The sound of horses' hooves approached like thunder.
More than a hundred elite cavalrymen, clad in light armor, swept into the city gate like a whirlwind through the gap in the half-raised gate!
"Block the gate! Get on the city wall!"
The defending officers roared, and more soldiers poured out of the barracks and streets.
Lou Ban led dozens of elite soldiers to fiercely defend the city gate passage. Amidst the flashing swords and flying blood, they bought time for the subsequent cavalry to pour in.
People kept falling, but the breach was firmly held.
More cavalry charged into the city, not engaging the defenders in prolonged battles. They split into several groups, galloped along the main streets, dispersed the defenders, and headed straight for the armory, granary, and military camp.
Seeing that the main force had entered, Lou Ban, covered in blood, roared at his few remaining men:
"Come with me to the castle governor's mansion!"
They stole horses and fought their way through the enemy lines to the city garrison.
The mansion gates were tightly shut, and archers stood atop the walls.
Lou Ban reined in his horse and roared into the mansion:
"Listen up, enemy commander! Lü Bu's army has been defeated, and my Qingzhou cavalry has entered Xiaoguan! Open the gates and surrender, and your entire household will be spared! If you resist stubbornly, after we break down the gates, we will leave no one alive, and set the entire mansion on fire!"
A commotion broke out on the wall.
A moment later, the gate of the mansion opened a crack, and a middle-aged man in an official robe walked out trembling.
"Don't set the fire! I surrender! I surrender!" The middle-aged man knelt down with a thud, "Please spare my life, General!"
Lou Ban, seeing the garrison commander's spinelessness, breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, saying:
"What's your name? Have any grain transport teams passed through Xiaoguan these past few days?"
"My name is Wang Shi. Yesterday, a convoy did pass by, carrying over two hundred military doctors to Dancheng in the north."
To save his own life, Wang spoke without reservation.
"Most of the supplies for the northern army are transported through this route. However, it seems there has been some shortage recently..."
"Healers?" Lou Ban's one eye flashed. "Why send so many healers?"
"According to the officers escorting the troops, it seems there's been an epidemic in the camp, with many people vomiting and having diarrhea, and they urgently need doctors... It seems to be related to the water source."
Lou Ban exchanged a glance with the captain beside him.
The lord's plan to throw the dead animal into the well has worked.
Lu Bu's army likely suffered significant non-combat casualties.
"Keep an eye on him, clean out the treasury, inventory the grain and weapons, and repair the city gates. Send a fast horse to report to the lord: Xiaoguan has fallen, Lü Bu's army is suffering from a plague, and morale is low."