Tiger Guards

Chapter 392 Marquis Zhao Uses Arrows
It is located in the eastern suburbs of Ruyang, at the border of Runan and Chen State.

After a short period of recovery and a rise in water levels, the Ying River's water volume dropped back to levels typically seen during the dry season in midsummer.

When the flow is abundant, it is not conducive to the closure of the weir.

Therefore, after the brief downpour, the Ying River, which Ji Ling's army saw, became increasingly dry, to the point that officers and soldiers in the camps on both banks could cross the river on foot.

Ji Ling had no choice but to order his soldiers to hurry up and dig ditches to strengthen the defensive fortifications on both sides of the river.

Meanwhile, wooden platforms were built in the camp to store grain, bows and arrows, and other materials that needed to be protected from moisture.

June 23rd marks the solar term Great Heat.

The sky was clear and cloudless, and the scorching sun baked the earth.

Zhao Ji led over a hundred lightly armed cavalrymen to the scene, and they dispersed into several groups to survey the eastern camp around Yingshui.

After the teams assembled, Zhao Ji opened his robe, wore a felt hat askance, and asked those around him, "How is the enemy camp?"

Li Ying said, "The enemy's fortifications are winding and irregular due to the changing terrain, but if our army launches a strong attack, we will be attacked from three sides."

The other captains nodded in agreement; Ji Ling's camp was not particularly well-organized.

In areas suitable for attack, the walls of the fortified positions are often recessed, forming a defensive effect similar to a bastion; the protrusions on both sides, like watchtowers of a city wall, can effectively flank the attacking side.

The area surrounding the protrusion is either a puddle of water or a man-made pit.

In these kinds of pits, there's no need to set up many spike traps; just throwing in some random objects will be enough to hinder the attackers' passage.

Zhao Ji nodded as well. At this moment, he didn't have any strategic game-like deductions in his mind. What he was thinking about was an alternative game called Billions of Zombies.

The most terrifying thing about a defensive line for the attacking side is the piecemeal attack tactic.

It's not that the piecemeal tactic is ineffective; it's often used to achieve other objectives rather than a direct breakthrough.

If zombies want to break through the defenses, they should try to break through in one go; otherwise, no matter how many zombies there are, they will be wiped out by the defenses.

Yuan Shu's establishment of a title system can also be understood as a desperate gamble, aiming for a decisive, all-out attack.

The only mistake was that Yuan Shu underestimated the resilience of Liu Bei and Guan Yu; even more seriously, he underestimated Liu Bei's personal charisma. Even though the generals in Xuzhou were perfunctory in their dealings with the battle, none of them actively betrayed him.

If so, a breach would appear in the Xuzhou defense line, which would be instantly widened and destroyed.

What are the advantages of a decisive, all-out attack?
It means to gather all forces, establish an advantage in the early stages of the collision, advance step by step and crush the opponent, and any gap that breaks through can become an opportunity to tear apart and disintegrate the opponent.

Therefore, Yuan Shu should not have divided his troops to attack Chen, in order to seize Chen's grain reserves and population; but if he hadn't divided his troops, Chen's soldiers would not have been able to serve with peace of mind on the battlefield in Xuzhou.

Yuan Shu's mobile forces numbered at most 150,000. He deployed 50,000 troops in Chen State, while the remaining 100,000 were divided into three routes and failed to break through the psychological defenses of Liu Bei and the generals of Xu Province. Therefore, the longer the situation dragged on, the more passive Yuan Shu's side became.

However, if the allied forces here cannot quickly break through Yuan Shu's main army and Ji Ling's vanguard, then after Liu Xun and Zhang Xun carry out the water attack, they will take the troops of Xuzhou and march towards Chen.

At that time, it will be the turn of the anti-Yuan coalition to suffer.

Therefore, Yuan Shu still fought a decisive battle in one wave, but the difference was that there were two battlefields, and whoever reached the objective first would win in the end.

Right now, Zhao Ji also wants to execute a tactical-level one-shot attack.

After all, the defensive fortifications built and managed by Ji Ling were not impregnable, nor were they city walls built over many years; they were merely slightly higher walls, and the walls themselves were still thin.

From a distance, it looked more sturdy than field fortifications, fences, and earthen walls, but in reality, it could not withstand being submerged in water or being hit by catapults.

Even a powerful ballista fired randomly in one spot could potentially collapse a wall.

Sometimes you can't overestimate the enemy's defenses... They're human too; craftsmen and laborers can slack off, and the walls can collapse on their own.

For a wall of the same width, the higher you build it, the higher the probability of it collapsing.

After a moment, Zhao Ji said to Li Ying, "First, we will launch a water attack. If the enemy's walls cannot withstand the water and large sections collapse, then our army will advance on rafts and straw mats, breaking through one of their camps. It will not be difficult to break through the other camp as well. If the water attack is ineffective, we will bring in catapults and launch stone attacks day and night to break through their walls, and then launch a strong attack."

Li Ying could only nod and say, "Yes."

Zhao Ji looked at the others and said, "During this time, we must wait for the dam to collect water. All troops should not stop. Harvest the reeds upstream and tie them into straw mats. After the water attack, the road will be muddy, and our troops will advance by laying straw mats."

Zhang He and the others also cupped their hands in greeting: "Yes, sir."

As they spoke, the gates of Ji Lingdong's camp opened, and over a hundred riders charged in, kicking up dust and brandishing spears and halberds. Dust billowed behind them, and it was unknown how many more knights and infantrymen were behind them.

"Let's retreat, the archer and I will cover the rear."

Zhao Ji gestured for several young clerks who accompanied him to go first. These were poor scholars, barely from a respectable family, not well-read, and even if they practiced martial arts, it was only self-defense skills like swords and staffs; they were not skilled in horsemanship or archery. He then assigned several veteran soldiers to escort the clerks away. Zhao Ji led the vast majority of his men, who mounted their horses and rode slowly. More than half of them could turn and throw arrows at their rear while on horseback.

They were mostly mid- to high-ranking military officers, or trusted and brave warriors of their respective generals. These warriors were often more skilled in horsemanship and archery than their commanders.

Zhao Ji had no intention of getting entangled with the cavalry sent by Ji Ling. The knights around him were all backbone members of the army, generally possessing command skills and talents. It would be too much of a loss to use them as expendable resources in battle.

A direct withdrawal would damage morale, and more importantly, Zhao Ji himself was itching to fight.

With these hundred or so riders keeping pace with the pursuing cavalry, Zhao Ji would speed up when the pursuers caught up and slow down when they stopped.

If the distance between the two sides is appropriate, the other side will also shoot arrows and crossbows from horseback; those skilled in archery here can turn around and shoot arrows on horseback, while those with less horsemanship skills can also use their feet to cock their crossbows while riding, and then shoot at the rear.

No matter how magnificent Zhao Ji's mount was, it was still made of flesh and blood and had no special explosive power or long endurance.

Therefore, he dared not engage in reckless fighting, but instead stayed behind the column, specifically shooting down enemy cavalry who dared to pursue.

The two sides chased each other for seven or eight miles. Yuan's cavalry, worried about their horses' exhaustion, dared not pursue any further and retreated with the wounded, collecting the fallen officers and soldiers and the scattered horses along the way.

If an ordinary infantryman dies outside, given the prevailing custom in Yuan Shu's army, death is simply considered death.

Knights generally came from good backgrounds, and there was a relatively strong bond of camaraderie among them, with some even being related by blood or marriage. It was simply impossible for them to abandon a corpse and leave it unattended.

After collecting the dead along the way and returning to the military camp, the morale of the more than three hundred knights who had participated in the pursuit was even lower.

Ji Ling came specifically to inquire about the battle results. General Zhang Kai, who had been eager to pursue, had now lost all his enthusiasm and simply handed Ji Ling a handful of arrows: "General, our army almost captured Zhao Ji!"

"Oh!"

Ji Ling's eyes lit up, but noticing Zhang Kai's unusual mood, he explained, "The army has only a little over a thousand horses, and very few elite cavalry, which is a real pity."

Thinking that Zhang Kai was blaming him for not sending other knights out of the camp to join the pursuit, Ji Ling picked up the arrows and saw that the shafts were all marked with "Arrows of Zhao Hou".

Thinking of the rumors about Zhao Ji's archery skills, Ji Ling asked, "How many casualties were there?"

"More than 30 were wounded, and 43 were shot dead. Zhao Ji alone killed 17 of my soldiers."

Zhang Kai handed some arrows, their tips stained with blood and flesh, to Ji Ling: "General, these are good arrows used by Zhao Ji; perhaps they can be used for other wonderful purposes."

Ji Ling picked up an arrow and weighed it in her hand, her eyes narrowing slightly. Zhao Ji's arrow was longer and heavier, and the fletching was also noticeably longer.

He naturally understood Zhang Kai's meaning: to mobilize the intelligence network and organize an elite cavalry squad to assassinate key figures in other armies.

Given Yuan Shu's exceptional influence, Zhao Ji's military actions were essentially impossible to conceal from Yuan Shu or Ji Ling.

The fact that Sun Ce and Cao Cao had advanced their troops to participate in the war was no secret to them.

Ji Ling pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhang Kai's honest and loyal face: "General Xiaoji, what do you want?"

“If Sun Ce or Cao Cao were to send a general to serve Zhao Ji, and if he were to kill one of them with this arrow, it would be just like the death of Gongsun Yue back then.”

Zhang Kai gave an example in his answer, and Ji Ling found it feasible and began to ponder it.

Arranging an assassination squad of a dozen or so people is not too difficult; in this kind of weather, scouts on both sides mostly stay at night and hide during the day.

The assassination squad carefully infiltrated and was able to reach the eastern outskirts of Xuchang.

At the same time, as long as intelligence confirms that an envoy or general sent by Cao Cao or Sun Ce has arrived, the assassination plan can be launched.

In the early days of the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Gongsun Zan ordered his younger cousin Gongsun Yue to lead more than a thousand cavalry to serve under Yuan Shu.

Later, when the two Yuans were fighting, Yuan Shu sent Gongsun Yue to cooperate with Sun Jian to attack Zhou Yu, the governor of Yu Province appointed by Yuan Shao. Gongsun Yue was killed by a stray arrow, which triggered a full-scale war between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao.

To plan a similar assassination... there's no need to send an assassination squad; just find a way to get these arrows over there, and someone else can carry it out.

Ji Ling held the seven arrows, pondering which person would dare to take action.

It's not necessary to select people from Zhao Ji's command; you can also borrow people from Sun Ce's command to assassinate Cao Cao's confidants.

As long as the benefits are arranged properly, and even the arrows are delivered to Sun Ce, Sun Ce will arrange for someone to carry out the assassination.

There's no need to complicate things too much; Sun Ce certainly doesn't want Cao Cao's army to come here and participate in the battle.

Eating alone is an old habit of the Sun family.

Once Ji Ling had calmed down, she smiled at Zhang Kai.

(End of this chapter)