You Shall Not Take It: Lujiang, the Supplies, or the Qiao Sisters!
You think you'll take them from me? Not Lujiang. Not the supplies. And certainly not the Qiao sisters of Jiangdong!
The news that the Jiangdong army was invading threw the entire Lujiang region into chaos. Only the leadership knew the full truth. The common people, still in the dark, were desperately grabbing their belongings and scrambling for places to hide.
In Qiao Gong's residence, I strapped on my armor and buckled my sword at my waist.
“H-husband!”
“Husbaaand!”
With the battle looming, the Qiao sisters came running, their faces already crumpling with worry.
“We heard the Jiangdong army is attacking! What are we going to do?”
“A-are we going to be all right?”
Daqiao’s words tumbled out in a frantic jumble whenever she panicked, while Xiaoqiao looked utterly terrified, her eyes wide with fear.
Dressed in full armor, I pulled each of them into my arms.
“The ones outside are Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Both of them are nowhere near my level.”
“S-Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin?”
“Husband, I heard those two are the strongest generals in all of Jiangdong!”
“They’re also the same bastards who once tried to claim you two for themselves. But being a big name in Jiangdong doesn’t put them on my level.”
If it were Zhou Yu from the Battle of Chibi or Sun Ce after he had completely pacified Jiangdong, the story might be different. But right now they still hadn’t reached their full potential. Besides, weren’t they both a year younger than me? Might as well settle the hierarchy among us second-generation talents while we were at it.
“Husband, you’ll come back safely, won’t you?”
“Please… may fortune smile on you…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll win.”
Just then Qiao Gong stepped out, armored and armed. As a local magnate, he naturally kept weapons beyond what the local officials provided.
“Now, now, what is all this? Why are you behaving like this toward your husband who is heading to the battlefield!”
“Father…”
“I will return without the slightest incident, so set your minds at ease.”
“We wish you good fortune as well, Father!”
At least Daqiao managed to offer her blessing with resolute eyes. Father-in-law and son-in-law left the house side by side, swords at our sides.
Yang Xiu had already prepared the armor he had brought and stood waiting with the five hundred elite troops I had led here.
“Colonel, preparations are complete.”
“Not yet.”
“Y-yes?!”
I left Yang Xiu behind and asked Qiao Gong directly.
“Father-in-law, what of the ‘request I made the other day’?”
“They are all gathered.”
Lu Su had already taken several thousand powerful local clans, including the Yuan family. But who was Qiao Gong? He was the “greatest power in Lujiang after Liu Xun,” a fact even Lu Su and Liu Ye had acknowledged. Naturally, there were clans who trusted Qiao Gong’s house more than they trusted the Jiangdong army.
“The Huang clan of Shaxian has arrived!”
“Zhang Da is here on behalf of the Zhang clan of Ping’a County!”
“The Xu clan of Jiujiang Commandery is present! I am Xu Jian of Yangzhou!”
The clans loyal to Qiao Gong had gathered their private troops one by one. In this era, private soldiers were little more than retainers and guards recruited for their literary or martial talent to help the household survive. They might look like a ragtag bunch, but I would reshape them from this moment onward.
“Colonel, this brings us two thousand troops.”
“Combined, two thousand five hundred.”
“But the weapons and supplies…”
“Shh!”
I took a deep breath, ignoring Yang Xiu, then shouted so everyone could hear.
“Thank you all for gathering here! I am Cao Xiu of the Cao clan from Qiao County in Pei State, courtesy name Ziyue! Grandson of Grand Tutor Cao Jugo and son of Excellency of Works Cao Mengde!”
After revealing my identity, I continued.
“Right now, bandits who sailed up the Yangtze have lured the Administrator into a trap. All that remains is us. Will we let those Jiangdong ruffians steal our wealth and violate our daughters? I have already become a son-in-law of Lujiang!”
At that moment the five hundred soldiers following me struck the ground with their spears in unison and roared. It was more than enough to raise morale. I shouted one last time.
“Here and now, I swear in the name of the Cao clan! Those who survive will be invited to the imperial capital, given the chance to formally enlist in the army, and I will personally bestow their rewards!”
Shouts erupted from every direction.
“I’ll do it!”
“I’ll protect this land from those Jiangdong bastards too. I have three sons!”
“We cannot let ourselves be violated by those bandits! We will fight!”
That was plenty of morale. I turned to my five hundred elites.
“Soldiers from the capital, unload your packs at once!”
“Yes, Colonel!”
The five hundred men immediately began shedding the heavy packs they had carried the entire way. Yang Xiu’s eyes widened.
“C-Colonel… this is…?”
“A skilled soldier always carries more than one set of equipment.”
“Don’t tell me the heavy packs the soldiers carried all this way were…”
When the packs were opened, neatly wrapped swords, short bows, and arrows emerged. And that wasn’t all. Although they weren’t metal scale armor, several sets of the Han army’s signature red silk uniforms, carefully folded, came tumbling out.
If they climbed the walls wearing these and stood armed, the Jiangdong army would be stunned to realize that elite troops still remained.
“Hurry! Put on the uniforms, take up your weapons, and show our strength from the walls!”
When my five hundred elites and the two thousand strong men provided by the various clans armed themselves together, the difference was immediate.
“Son-in-law, these men have seen everything from the Yellow Turban Rebellion long ago to the recent suppression of bandits throughout Lujiang. They may not be active duty, but they are veterans.”
In other words, reservists who had been through fire and water. In this way we assembled two thousand five hundred soldiers. We also had the remaining civilians prepare stones, ropes, and boiling water for the siege. Naturally we scattered large quantities of farming tools—sickles, hoes, and the like—so they could be used as weapons when needed.
Watching all this from a distance was Liu Ye.
True to his word, Liu Ye had his remaining one thousand Lujiang troops guard only the government offices without intervening anywhere else. Yet when he saw me rapidly gathering even the clans’ private soldiers, arming them, and preparing banners, he gave a small nod. It seemed he was measuring the direction of the greater trend.
I climbed onto the wall and waited for the enemy.
“Father-in-law, please take command of the north gate. Yang Dezuo, you will handle the south gate.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“The north gate? Isn’t that the direction of Shuchun?”
“There are many others, but the defenders of Lujiang should fight from the north gate. You will understand soon enough.”
“You mean the imperial grand army slowly descending from Shuchun?”
“Also, given the direction, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu will approach from the east gate. If they spot you, Father-in-law, it would only create awkwardness. I will block the east gate myself. After all, that is where the fiercest fighting will be.”
When I nodded, Qiao Gong laughed heartily and led seven hundred private troops toward the north gate.
And from afar, the great army of Jiangdong was indeed approaching.
Sun Ce, Bofu. Zhou Yu, Gongjin.
Four years had passed since the two had sworn brotherhood under the late Sun Jian and broken away from Yuan Shu’s forces with two thousand troops.
I had confidently told my wives they were no match for me, but seeing them in person, they truly were formidable opponents.
When they drew near, I raised our banners high so they could see that every man wore the same uniform and proper armament, proving that Lujiang City remained strong. They looked considerably shaken.
The two men at the front had faces worth a second glance.
Both rode horses. One was tall with a splendid mustache—the very image of a clean-cut, ruggedly handsome man. Even from a distance his seated height was impressive; up close he likely possessed broad shoulders and a frame similar to my own.
So that was Sun Ce.
The man beside him was shorter, but his features were sharp and his skin as smooth as a woman’s beneath his helmet. That had to be Zhou Gongjin. Carrying a halberd despite his smaller build? A warrior through and through, it seemed.
I smiled as I greeted them.
“Aren’t you men from Jiangdong? The ones who, together with Administrator Liu, attacked Poyang Commandery and Shangliao City south of the Yangtze—why have you come here?”
“You bastard! You’re the one who claims to come from the court, yet how dare you illegally occupy Lujiang City, which has no master!”
The shorter one spoke while the taller one stayed silent, scanning our defenses. Clearly Zhou Yu handled the verbal duel while Sun Ce assessed the walls.
“Lujiang has already chosen to follow the greater cause. And I will defend Lujiang City. Together with my two beloved wives.”
“T-two wives?”
“One is Qiao Xuehua, called Daqiao. The other is Qiao Xuelan, called Xiaoqiao—peerless beauties both. If you come as wedding guests, I will gladly open the gates. Just the two of you.”
“What the—?! This damnable bastard!”
At that moment both the tall man and the short man drew their bows at once and loosed arrows at me.
Thwack— Clang—
The instant I dodged, two arrows buried themselves in the pillar of the tower behind me.
“Oh dear~ How frightening!”
They really were young; their tempers were quick to flare.
I immediately raised a flag and waved it. The five hundred elites around me all nocked arrows and fired a volley at them.
This was the true pleasure of siege defense—shooting wildly from atop thick walls so the enemy could never approach.
Thus the battle began. I watched Sun Ce and Zhou Yu’s movements closely.
Sun Ce led his cavalry charging straight at the walls, dodging arrows while his horsemen hurled sandbags into the moat.
He must have copied the cavalry siege tactics Guan Yu had used at Shuchun.
After they tried to fill the moat with sandbags, Zhou Yu stepped forward with ladders and grappling hooks, attempting to scale the walls.
It was textbook siegecraft.
We answered with arrow fire and poured stones and boiling water from above to keep them from reaching the walls.
Then it happened.
Thump-thump-thump— Thump-thump-thump— Thump-thump-thump—
The drumbeats were rhythmic, and the troops moved in perfect time.
“Hmm?”
The soldiers who had been shambling forward like zombies suddenly retreated at the sound of the drums. From behind them, the waiting archer units set up wooden barriers for cover and began nocking arrows aimed at our walls.
I shouted immediately.
“Everyone duck! The enemy arrows are coming—get down!”
Before I finished speaking, a storm of arrows flew overhead. A few men screamed and fell. Those who had ducked in time saw countless arrows slam into the tower pillars and signboard above them.
Arrows raining from the sky were truly annoying.
“Switching troop types and attacking the moment we flinch? Not bad at all.”
It was precisely because it was impressive that it frustrated me. It seemed Zhou Yu could display real skill despite his youth.
If things continued this way, while we were pinned down by the arrow barrage, one of two things would happen. Either Sun Ce’s troops would scale this wall in the gap, or they would pivot and target another section.
“Colonel! The enemy is splitting their forces!”
The latter, then.
“One hundred fifty archers to the north gate! One hundred Qingzhou soldiers to the south gate!”
“Colonel, that would leave only the clan soldiers here.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m staying right here!”
I sent some of my five hundred elites to support Qiao Gong and Yang Xiu. From now on I would have to fight with a handful of my own officers and the clans’ private troops.
But if it came to that, after the arrow shower I would meet the climbers in close-quarters combat on the walls myself.
“Sun Ce and Zhou Yu probably won’t climb up themselves. I just need to stop the battering ram from breaching the gate and knock away any ladders that hook on.”
Besides, the city would not fall in the first battle, and dawn was already approaching. They were rotating troops in textbook fashion, but that also meant they could not overwhelm us in a single push. Instead they were slowly grinding down their own forces.
Yet as long as we refused to fall, time would keep flowing in our favor.
And so we held the first day.