Chapter 408
Chapter 408
On the eastern beach of Raging Tide City.
An army of thirty thousand from the State of Wu had occupied the area and was making its landing. Of course, Raging Tide City had a pier, but Wu Mu had no intention of landing there. That would be far too dangerous. With Qiu Hu's fleet roaming these waters, Wu Mu had expected to face battle the moment he landed. After all, this was the perfect opportunity to intercept and attack the Wu army.
However, the Wu army encountered no resistance. Two thousand of Qiu Hu's pirates had already landed and established a camp on the beach. After more than two hours, the entire thirty-thousand-strong army had made it ashore, but by then, the sun was setting in the west.
Wu Mu issued his command.
“All forces, assemble. We will advance to the White Fortress on the eastern side of Raging Tide City, rest for the night, and reorganize. The battle will commence early tomorrow morning!”
The Wu army marched majestically into Raging Tide City. They were headed for the White Fortress, where Qiu Yao'er had once lived and where Zhang Jin had leaped to his death. The fortress was not large enough to accommodate such a massive force. The army encircled it, forming a defensive line and setting up camp. Throughout this entire process, the Jin Clan made no move. Their army remained hidden inside the Great Fortress like a turtle in its shell, its heavy gates bolted shut. The Jin Clan had made the same choice as Qiu Yao'er before them: abandon the rest of the city and defend only the Great Fortress.
* * *
Early the next morning, at the command of General Wu Mu, the thirty-thousand-strong army set off with great pomp toward the heart of Raging Tide City.
“Surround the fortress!”
The thirty thousand soldiers formed a watertight siege around the entire structure. The sight of the fortress sent a shiver down Wu Mu’s spine. He had known it was large and formidable, but seeing it in person was truly awe-inspiring. But what did its size and strength matter? The Jin Clan was leaderless, and with Jin Shiying ready to act from within, he had no doubt he would win this war.
Grand General Wu Mu lifted the visor of his helmet and slowly ascended a high platform. At that moment, hundreds of warriors surrounded him, providing flawless protection from all sides.
“Is Lady Jin Mulan present?”
Wu Mu shouted, and a female general appeared on the ramparts. It was Jin Mulan, a peerless beauty without equal in the world.
‘Truly beautiful!’
Wu Mu searched his memory, but he could not recall a woman more beautiful than the one before him. As the King of Wu’s cousin, he had seen countless renowned beauties of the realm. But most of them benefited from their fame; in terms of appearance alone, none surpassed Jin Mulan. It was no wonder the Crown Prince of Yue had coveted her, burning with the desire to possess her. The massive Jin Shiying stood beside Jin Mulan. Wu Mu thought to himself that if Jin Shiying would just cut her throat, this battle would be over in an instant.
Wu Mu spoke.
“Lady Jin Mulan, this battle is hopeless. Why not surrender? I will give you a ship and let you leave. Return to the Count of Xuanwu's Estate and reunite with your mother and husband.”
Jin Mulan replied.
“As long as the fortress stands, I stand. If the fortress falls, so do I!”
Wu Mu nodded and swept his hand down forcefully.
“Very well. All forces, attack the fortress!”
As soon as the order was given, dozens of large trebuchets were swiftly assembled.
*Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh.*
Dozens of massive stones flew toward the Great Fortress, smashing violently against its walls. A great roar echoed as the air, the ground, and the entire fortress trembled.
The battle for Raging Tide City had officially begun.
* * *
Eight days, nine days, ten days passed in the defense of White Night Commandery's main city, and at last, it was the thirteenth day. Fourteen days of continuous battle had turned the entire city into a veritable slaughterhouse. White Night Commandery City was not large, and its walls were neither high nor thick. Over the past dozen days, it felt as though the city had been struck by massive stones ten thousand times. Every day, dozens of large trebuchets relentlessly bombarded the walls, leaving them scarred and breached. Blackened bloodstains coated the ramparts, and the houses near the walls had all been reduced to rubble.
A third of the houses in the city had been torn down and used as weapons for the defense. The defenders had run out of logs to roll down from the walls, and they had run out of stones. Some of Zhang Chong's stronger men had even taken to smashing the large stones launched by the enemy trebuchets and using the pieces to defend the city.
All the oil in the city was gone. Fish oil, lard, oil from tung tree seeds—Zhang Chong had used it all for the war. In recent days, they had poured over a hundred thousand pounds of oil and hundreds of thousands of pounds of "golden juice." They had also thrown tens of millions of pounds of logs. To mobilize these resources, Zhang Chong had spent every last one of the hundreds of thousands of gold taels Shen Lang had left behind after his plundering.
In just over ten days, the defending army had suffered more than four thousand casualties. At first, they could conscript new soldiers to replace the dead. But soon, the number of fallen surpassed the number of recruits. Of the ten Martial Scholars who had followed Zhang Chong from the capital, only four remained; the rest were dead. Of the three thousand elite soldiers who had accompanied him from the capital, fewer than a thousand were left alive. The brutality of this battle surpassed everyone's imagination. Bodies were piled like mountains at the foot of the city walls, and the stench of excrement and blood hung heavy in the air, piercing the heavens.
If the city's defenders had lost over four thousand, how many had the Su Clan's allied forces lost?
With over ten thousand dead and a battle that had dragged on far longer than expected, Su Jian’s mind was going numb. He had originally thought he could take White Night Commandery City with ease. Unlike the cities of the east, its defenses were not formidable, nor were its walls high. He had given himself three days to capture it, but three days turned into another three, and then another, until fourteen long days had passed, and he was still staring at a city he could not conquer.
During this period, Su Nan had sent reinforcements twice. At its peak, the force besieging White Night City had swelled to thirty-three thousand. The Su Clan’s power was truly astonishing. Even at their most frenzied, the Jin Clan had never managed to muster more than six or seven thousand soldiers. Yet the Su Clan had committed forty thousand troops to this battle alone—though ten thousand of them were mercenaries and monks from the Great Tribulation Temple. This alone proved that the Su Clan had not been preparing to rebel and establish their own rule for just a year or two, but for at least a decade, perhaps even several.
The most critical moment in the battle for White Night Commandery City came on the tenth day. At that time, Su Nan’s second wave of reinforcements arrived, and the massive army launched an assault with the force of a tidal wave. Under their ferocious attack, the city seemed on the verge of collapse, but in the end, it held. So-called reinforcements had arrived. A group of Count Zhengta's scouts broke through the Su Clan's multi-layered siege lines, reached the base of the city walls, and shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Count Zhengta is marching south! Count Zhengta is marching south!”
Tragically, the scouts were swiftly cut down by the Su Clan’s soldiers. But their shouts acted like a shot of adrenaline for the defenders inside the city. Mustering their last ounces of strength, they drove the Su Clan’s allied forces from the walls.
But was Count Zhengta’s army really marching south? It was, indeed. He had received the King’s decree and was personally leading eight thousand troops south toward White Night Pass to join the fray. However, just as Zhang Chong had predicted, his army was soon halted before Xueliang City.
Su Nan’s younger brother, Su Zhan, was defending Xueliang City with eight thousand troops, and Zhengta also had an army of eight thousand. They clashed fiercely for three days and nights, but Zhengta’s army could not advance a single step, pinned down before Xueliang City.
So, had Count Zhengta given it his all? Not exactly. He commanded a total of twenty thousand troops, but he had only brought eight thousand with him on this southern campaign. Yet one couldn’t say he wasn’t trying his best. He couldn’t very well abandon White Night Pass and bring his entire army. With the tiger, Su Nan, yet to make his move, losing White Night Pass would allow the Su and Chu armies to pincer the Zhong Clan from the north and south, risking the annihilation of his house. Besides, how hard did Count Zhengta's army fight? Every time they took the field, they charged across the battlefield, fighting until they were covered in wounds.
* * *
Su Nan sneered as he read the war report. Count Zhengta of Pingxi was putting on a show, and his brother Su Zhan was cleverly playing along with him. Every day, the sounds of battle shook the heavens, but the actual casualties were few. The King had shown Zhengta great favor, allowing him to command the army in Tianxi Province by himself, to keep an eye on the Zhong Clan to the north and check the Su Clan to the south. King Ning Yuanxian was certainly a shrewd calculator. Zhengta had put down firm roots in Tianxi Province, like a nail driven deep. But the military culture of western Yue was thick with warlordism. Even a man without ambition would develop it in such an environment, and Zhengta was by no means a man without ambition.
Over time, Zhengta had become a minor warlord, treating the state’s army as his own. How large was his force? If he were truly burning with loyalty, he would have led over ten thousand troops south to support Zhang Chong. And what would the outcome have been then?
But even with their forces combined, Zhengta and Zhang Chong would have had fewer than twenty thousand troops, while the Su Clan’s allied forces numbered close to forty thousand. And that was before the main army from the State of Jiang had even arrived. Once the Su and Jiang armies joined forces, they would be a massive host of eighty thousand. Zhengta’s army would have been slaughtered. With the State of Yue on the brink of collapse, loyalty to the king was set aside; preserving one’s own strength—one’s army—was what mattered most.
Su Nan chuckled.
“Smart people are wonderful. That’s why I like them. I thought Zhang Chong was a smart man, but it turns out he’s just a fool who thinks he’s clever. Anyone loyal to the king is a fool. Is that miserly monarch, Ning Yuanxian, even worthy of such loyalty?”
Though called a fool by Su Nan, Zhang Chong was truly remarkable. He had started with only three thousand men, yet the Su Clan had reinforced their army twice, outnumbering him ten to one. Despite this, he had held the city for fourteen days. By now, most of his original troops were dead, and his remaining force of two or three thousand consisted mostly of fresh recruits. The people of the city supported Zhang Chong, first, because he had been incredibly generous with his gold, and second, more importantly, because of something Su Jian had shouted.
“After the city falls, you may enjoy yourselves as you please!”
That threat was terrifying. It meant that if the Su Clan took White Night City, there would be unrestrained slaughter and pillaging.