From This Moment, We Copy the Defenders and Their Weapons
The first day passed without total collapse. We held the line, just barely.
“Colonel, the southern gate’s walls have been reinforced and the watch has been doubled,” one of my officers reported.
“Well done.”
Yang Xiu had faced his first battle as a siege defender and performed brilliantly. The northern gate, defended by the local gentry’s private troops under Qiao Gong’s command, had also held firm. A small mercy.
“You were magnificent in every respect,” I told them. “Especially those soldiers who came down from the capital. Their numbers were few, yet their impact was enormous.”
They were elite troops, men capable of displaying real command authority even when leading the gentry’s private soldiers. Their presence had been a tremendous help.
“We managed to hold for one day, but they will keep coming. What do you plan to do next?”
“We only need to endure one more day. Twenty thousand reinforcements are already marching toward us.”
It was Cao Hong’s army descending on Lujiang. If the timing worked out, I intended to sally from the walls and link up with them immediately, facing Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in person.
“Still, today’s casualties were no small matter. Our own troops may be fine, but the gentry’s men…”
When several of the local clan leaders began complaining about the losses, I cut in.
“Then why don’t we open the granaries right now and make up the shortfall with the men of Lujiang?”
“W-what?”
“Are you out of your mind?!”
As the gentry began to murmur in protest, Qiao Gong raised a hand to silence them. He turned back to me with a serious expression.
“Son-in-law, are you speaking in earnest?”
I explained it more clearly.
“From the moment I first arrived here, Lujiang has suffered from an excessive population and too many competing powers. The city itself could barely sustain them. Even after forty thousand troops marched away, I understand there are still a great many able-bodied men left. Moreover, before we even arrived, quite a few had already been sent to other regions under the guise of military farming.”
“That may be true, but how do you expect to arm a bunch of ignorant peasants?!”
“The two thousand we’ve already gathered were originally soldiers. The rest are mostly vagrants whose origins aren’t even clear.”
He wasn’t wrong. Simply rounding up every idle body wouldn’t magically turn them into brave fighters. My earlier speech to the local gentry troops—“Let us all fight to protect Lujiang!”—would ring hollow if delivered to a mob of wandering refugees.
So I added one more incentive.
“Gather those among them who know how to handle weapons. Open your storehouses, gentlemen, and recruit them with silk and silver ingots. In return, record every single expenditure in your ledgers and deliver them to me once this battle ends. I will reimburse you at double the value.”
“D-double?”
“You can’t possibly be serious…!”
“Ah, one more thing. Tell them that anyone who brings back an enemy helmet will be rewarded with one gold tael each.”
At that moment, even Yang Xiu rushed over and grabbed my arm.
“Colonel! You’re being far too generous!”
“It’s fine.”
I told him to step back for a moment, then held up two fingers toward the gentry.
“I guarantee it. You will receive double whatever you spend. However, keep this in mind: if anyone deliberately inflates their accounts at this critical moment, it won’t be me they’ll be answering to. They will have a personal audience with Chancellor Cao himself.”
“H-haha! Colonel Cao, what are you saying…”
“Because every tael you claim will eventually reach my uncle, Chancellor Cao.”
Let them discover for themselves what happens when you submit a fraudulent receipt to Cao Cao.
“Then I’ll go secure the weapons needed to arm the men you gather. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning.”
I strode confidently through the crowd of gentry and headed toward the government office.
“Colonel, is it really wise to be so heavy-handed? Not only are you guaranteeing their funds, but promising one tael of gold per enemy head to those militia troops… If they bring back a thousand, that’s a thousand taels of gold.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“Why not?”
“Dezuo, we are currently fighting a defensive siege. How many enemies climbed the southern wall today?”
“Since it was a siege assault, not that many… Ah!”
You idiot. You’re realizing it way too late. And lower your voice.
Yang Xiu whispered after I silenced him.
“I understand now. We are in a siege battle. Even on the first day, not many Jiangdong soldiers managed to reach the top. The second day won’t be any different. And even if they do land, our elite troops will push them back with spears and shoot them down with arrows before our militia even gets a chance to swing a blade.”
“If there’s a madman who actually waits for the enemy to reach the wall before launching a real offensive, he’ll be met with spears and swords flying at him from every direction.”
“If the enemy numbered around twenty thousand, there might have been some desperate climbers. In that case, two thousand taels of gold might have been spent on heads alone… but this is different.”
This was simply a way to buy time by creating disposable troops during the short remaining siege period. After all, on top of the walls, even men who could only throw spears and rocks would be useful.
“The biggest problem is weapons. Even if we ransack every forge in Lujiang right now, we’ll still need at least three thousand spears and swords and ten thousand arrows.”
“That’s exactly why I’m going to get them.”
While walking with Yang Xiu, we arrived at the government office. A thousand soldiers under Liu Ye, who were serving as the final line of defense, blocked our path. When Liu Ye appeared, he let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
“Why has the Gate Colonel come here? I clearly instructed the soldiers here not to request reinforcements.”
“Leave the soldiers here. I wish to negotiate with you, Liu Ziyang.”
“If you think you can use me to make the Jiangdong army retreat, you should abandon that idea. I have many friends among the Jiangdong forces as well.”
“One hour.”
“I don’t see why I should give you even that much time.”
“Then just listen to ten sentences.”
“Hmm.”
Liu Ye stared at me intently before quietly dismissing his soldiers.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes, my lord!”
I followed him into a side room of the office and got straight to the point.
“I need a lot of weapons. Spears, swords, bows, and arrows.”
“Forty thousand troops took everything with them. There can’t possibly be anything left here.”
“There is. I’m certain of it.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
I looked Liu Ye dead in the eye and spoke firmly.
“I also began my career as a local official’s clerk. I’ve served in smaller cities than this. Everyone knows about ‘reserve supplies.’”
“!”
“Even if they aren’t recorded in the official ledgers, they’re probably buried under dust in the deepest parts of the warehouses. But they can be taken out and used at any time, and they’re perfect for shady scrap-metal deals with merchants.”
“…You’re even asking for scrap metal now?”
“I’m not just asking for them. I’ll pay the price of brand-new equipment. One arrow, one spear, everything.”
At that moment, Liu Ye’s eyes changed. I folded my arms leisurely and continued.
“I asked you to listen to ten sentences. That was six.”
“…There may be such things if we search the warehouses, but they would be difficult to use properly.”
“Then we’ll just have to harass the blacksmiths until dawn, sharpening and reforging them.”
“To pay new prices for such junk weapons… you really are something else.”
Liu Ye shook his head and turned away.
“Follow me.”
I called out to Yang Xiu.
“Bring about a hundred of my men who are still awake.”
“Yes, Colonel!”
Once Yang Xiu left, Liu Ye opened a door deep inside the office, pulled a torch from the wall, and led the way.
“Ah, my lord?”
“Open it.”
“Understood!”
The deepest door within the government complex was unlocked. Liu Ye headed even further inside to a heavily guarded warehouse. The security here was far stricter than anywhere else.
“My lord, why are we here…?”
“Open the warehouse and bring out what’s inside.”
“R-right now?”
“Yes. I hold the Governor’s seal, so you can report it later.”
“Understood.”
Late into the night, the warehouse doors creaked open and wooden crates were carried out one by one.
“Ziyang, just as you said, there are indeed reserve weapons stored here. However, these are genuine junk on the verge of being scrapped—items that were never entered into the books. There’s no harm in selling them at full price, I suppose.”
“It’s only for a day or two anyway. And this will be enough.”
I was spending a fortune on thousands of spears, swords, bows, and arrows just to buy two days of time. I had no idea what Cao Cao would say when he saw the bill, but one thing was certain: having gone this far, we had to win.
A short while later, Yang Xiu returned with a hundred of my subordinates. They opened the crates.
“Ohhh, these are…”
“Wonderful! In addition to the existing two thousand gentry troops, we can arm at least another three thousand!”
Spears, swords, and bundles of arrows tied together like brooms kept pouring out of the warehouse. While illuminating them with a torch, I discovered something interesting.
“Liu Ziyang.”
“What is it?”
“You said even the unrecorded scrap-metal reserves would be enough, yet…”
I pulled a bow from one of the crates, nocked an arrow, and fired it high into the sky. Even when drawn with full strength, it flew smoothly toward the moonlight.
“This is far better made than the ones we’re using. It’s practically brand new.”
These were far too new to be retired reserve equipment. I was about to ask when Liu Ye simply smiled faintly without meeting my gaze.
Hah. So that’s how it is.
“There is one condition for handing these over.”
“A condition?”
“I dislike the concept of payment after delivery. If you’re going to pay full price for this much material, you should leave something valuable as a deposit.”
“Hmm.”
At Liu Ye’s words, I called Yang Xiu over.
“Go fetch my horse from Qiao Gong’s residence.”
“Ah~ You mean that thousand-li horse? The famous steed from Dayuan, the Western Region’s prized Ferghana horse whose bloodline Chancellor Cao has personally preserved—worth its weight in gold!”
Yang Xiu, this guy. His flattery game has improved a lot.
He deliberately spoke loud enough for Liu Ye to hear. Liu Ye burst into wild laughter.
“Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
He laughed so hard he had to wipe away tears, then waved his hand dismissively.
“What kind of general uses his own horse as collateral to obtain weapons and supplies?”
“Because I can defeat the Jiangdong army from right where I sit.”
“…Fine. I’ll sell on credit. However, these are officially ‘purchased as scrap.’ The quality shall remain a secret.”
“Of course!”
Liu Ye, once this battle is over, you’ll have to go to the capital as well. Introducing you to my uncle while paying the bill will be quite the bonus.