Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 259 General Guan is truly a celestial being!
On the city wall of Macheng, Xianyu Fu stood with his hand on his sword, watching the Xianbei people who had bypassed the Great Wall through some unknown gap and invaded the city. He showed no concern whatsoever.

This situation is not common in Macheng.

The Xianbei raids were frequent, but a force of over 20,000 Xianbei soldiers was rare.

At first glance, it does seem a bit intimidating, but for Xianyu Fu, a 25-year-old who grew up in Yuyang County facing raids by the Xianbei, and who caught Guan Yu's eye through his military achievements and was appointed as a captain of the Danhan Camp, it was nothing.

After so many years of wind and rain, the Great Wall inevitably has gaps that have collapsed. In addition, the Han Dynasty's national strength has been insufficient in recent years, so there is naturally no way to talk about repairing it.

Moreover, the Great Wall was not a completely impenetrable wall, so it is not surprising that it was breached by the Xianbei people.

As for Macheng, as a fortress on the front line, it was naturally a major target for the Xianbei people to plunder.

Although the Xianbei people were not good at siege warfare and did not have any siege equipment, they knew that as a front-line fortress, they naturally stockpiled a lot of supplies.

Especially during the winter, heavy snow causes road blockages, and fortresses such as Macheng and Gaoliu would stockpile enough food to last for nearly half a year.

Winters on the grasslands are extremely difficult, and at this time they would choose to plunder southwards.

The purpose of plundering is not necessarily to plunder resources. As long as there is plundering, people will die. Whether they are Han or Xianbei, the corpses can be made into food. In fact, the death of Xianbei people can reduce the consumption of food, allowing the living to get more food to survive the winter.

Moreover, even if they cannot break through these frontline fortresses, besieging these fortresses that have stockpiled thousands of county and state soldiers will make it easier for them to plunder the surrounding villages or bypass these fortresses to directly plunder the Dai County.

Dai Commandery had 5,000 troops from the commandery and the state. In the eleven counties of Dai Commandery, 1,000 troops were stationed at the fortresses around the Great Wall at Gaoliu and Macheng. 1,000 troops were stationed at Dong'anyang, the capital of Dai Commandery. The remaining eight counties were located in the central and southern parts of Dai Commandery and were rarely plundered, so 250 troops from the commandery and the state were stationed there.

Each county also had a certain number of conscripts, meaning that adult men had to serve as conscripts for one month of the year. Each county in Dai Commandery had about two hundred conscripts, including those not assigned to security duties. In addition, the commandery and state troops could form a semi-regular army of five hundred men.

The border troops were known for their fierce and valiant nature. By conscripting servants, private soldiers, and able-bodied men from the homes of local strongmen in various counties to defend their hometowns, they were well-prepared to guard against the Xianbei.

The only problem is that the villages outside the city are unable to defend themselves, and the county is even less able to spare manpower to protect them; otherwise, even the county seat would fall.

However, this situation was changed with the establishment of the Tanhan Camp!

Looking at the densely packed Xianbei army below the city, a military commander from a prefecture-state felt a pang of fear. He swallowed hard and asked, "Captain,... can we survive?"

Xianyu Fu glanced at him, but did not blame him for the military commander's cowardice.

The people of the border regions are known for their fierce and courageous nature, but they are also born with a fear of death.

Fear does not mean being afraid to fight to the death.

However, Xianyu Fu did not answer the military commander's question directly. Instead, he laughed loudly and patted the commander's shoulder, laughing so hard that he was almost out of breath and even had snot coming out of his nose. The soldiers from various counties and kingdoms on the city wall stared at him blankly, wondering why Xianyu Fu was laughing like that.

After casually wiping his snot on his sleeve, Xianyu Fu untied the water pouch from his waist, took a few gulps of water, and then laughed, "I don't understand!"

"Why are you so worried about whether we can survive, instead of worrying about how many families will be vying to marry their daughters to you after you've earned your military merits and received your rewards!"

Although Xianyu Fu's laughter was intentionally meant to reassure the troops, at least one-third of his laughter was also genuinely driven by his desire to laugh.

Since the establishment of the Tanhan Camp, 1,000 soldiers from each of the 5,000 Tanhan Camp were stationed at the two front-line fortresses of Macheng and Gaoliu, respectively, under the command of him and Zhao Fu, the two captains.

General Guan Yu, leading three thousand cavalry, was ready to rush to the aid of any location at any time.

The Tanhan Camp was located north of Zhishui, past the hills and small mountains of the Hengshan and Yinshan mountain ranges, about 180 li from Macheng and about 120 li from Gaoliu. At normal speed, the cavalry could reach Macheng in three days and Gaoliu in two days.

Moreover, judging by the time, Guan Yu will be able to complete a round trip to Ma City by tomorrow at the latest.

Even if the Danhan Camp cannot come to the rescue, the 5,000-strong Protector of Wuhuan troops stationed in Ning County of Shanggu County are only about 80 li away from Macheng and can come to the rescue in two days at the latest.

"Reinforcements will arrive in two days at most. Are you afraid that these incompetent archers will breach the city walls?"

Xianyu Fu's laughter was bold and hearty. His attitude of regarding the Xianbei people as worthless was indeed infectious to many of the county and state soldiers who also had some fear in their hearts. Looking at the Tanhan Camp soldiers scattered on the city walls, instructing the county and state soldiers to change their defensive positions and deployments, their fear was reduced by a lot.

If it's just about defending the city, they have absolutely no fear.

Seeing the military commander gripping his spear tightly, Xianyu Fu patted him on the shoulder again and went to inspect the other three city gates, preparing to use the same method to stabilize morale.

Although Macheng was a fortress near the Great Wall with a sparse population and a small city size, it was built with stone walls, despite the mountainous terrain of Dai County.

There are no villages near Macheng!
No one dared to live near the Great Wall, and even if they did, they would be forcibly relocated. The policy of scorched earth was implemented to prevent the Xianbei people from having any chance to plunder!
The city is well-fortified, with ample boulders, and also has sufficient reserves of drinking water, food, medicine, and military equipment!
Xianyu Fu's only task was to defend this city!

As long as morale remains high, he is confident in holding his ground!

The only thing that puzzled Xianyu Fu was that, if he wasn't mistaken, the large banner below the city seemed to be the wolf banner of the Xianbei leader.
Tan Shihuai has been dead for four years, and now the Xianbei have split into four parts: east, south, west, and north.

Strictly speaking, it should be the East, West, and Central regions. However, since Tan Shihuai's son and Lian Shang in the Central region still relied on Tan Shihuai's remaining power to contend with the other regions, it can be counted as four regions.

Could it be that He Lian personally led troops south to plunder?

It's a pity. If we had known this information in advance, we would have definitely sent a large army to besiege and wipe out this official.

If Helian dies here, the situation that the Xianbei have finally managed to stabilize will descend into chaos.

If that's the case, the northern border of the Han Dynasty can probably be peaceful for quite some time.

Just as Xianyu Fu was thinking this, the Xianbei people began their attack on the city.

Xianyu Fu did not join the battle, but instead observed the Xianbei army formation from a watchtower specially built on the north gate of the city.

From this watchtower, he could roughly see the layout of the four city gates, which also made it easier for him to dispatch able-bodied men and reserves for support.

The Xianbei people's siege tactics were still very old-fashioned. They only knew how to launch swarm attacks and didn't even know how to fill in the dry moats before they tried to attack the city.

The walls of Macheng Fortress are 2 zhang high (5 meters). How could these Xianbei people think they could break through the city with just some ladders and some crudely made battering rams?
Moreover, without filling in the trenches filled with wooden spikes, the more than 20,000 Xianbei people would not be able to deploy smoothly under the city walls.

For example, outside the North Gate, the distance from the moat to the city wall was such that at most a thousand people could stand there, while the rest were separated by the moat.

There were three or four hundred people standing on the city wall, while there were only a little over a thousand people below the city. The ratio of troops was about one to three. If the defending side could still fight a complete rout, then they truly deserved to die here.

Even when the Xianbei people braved a hail of arrows to place ladders on the city walls, very few of them were able to climb to the top.

Dai County has nothing lacking except for its many mountains, hills, and rocks!
Boulder rained down relentlessly, as if it were free, while three men worked together to push a siege ladder off the city wall using a grappling hook.

The Xianbei people on the siege ladder fell to the ground. Those who broke their legs were considered to have suffered minor injuries. Many suffered internal organ rupture and vomited blood, and some even broke their spines and lost consciousness and the ability to move.

Xianyu Fu nodded slightly. Although the soldiers of the prefectures and kingdoms were somewhat inexperienced, the soldiers of the Danhan Camp were able to fill in the gaps in their skills.

The Xianbei people had no shortage of brave and strong barbarians, but even the bravest of them would find it difficult to dodge when faced with several spears thrusting at them simultaneously, especially when they were holding onto a ladder with one hand.

Attacking a city is not something that can be accomplished simply by having some courage and daring to charge ahead.

"Splash with molten gold!" (Note 1)

Xianyu Fu shouted to the guards below the watchtower, who would relay the order to the soldiers on the other four city walls.

Speaking of this "golden juice," although Xianyu Fu felt that thinking about it was somewhat disrespectful, the emperor's methods... were truly immoral.

Golden juice is made by boiling feces and urine with a little poison, and it smells terrible!
He originally thought that this kind of thing called "golden juice" was similar to the idea created by Mozi in military strategy, which used scalding hot sand to defend a city. It was just that it had the added effect of being disgusting and provocative compared to using hot sand to defeat the enemy.

However, since someone put it into actual combat, this disgusting stuff that can even affect one's own side when boiled has produced astonishing results.

After being scalded by the boiling molten gold, the toxins and bacteria in the molten gold enter the human body, making life worse than death.

Of course, the soldiers did not understand this principle. They only knew that the Xianbei people looked like they were in unbearable pain, and even actively sought to commit suicide. In addition, without exception, all their wounds became infected, and after a long time, they were almost certain to die. There were even outbreaks of disease in the wounded soldiers' camp.

After an hour and a half of siege, the Xianbei people had also lost a lot of courage, and nearly four hundred corpses were left under each city gate.

Therefore, the Xianbei army chose to temporarily retreat to eat and rest, and then fight again in the afternoon.

However, the emperor lacked great virtue... no, the emperor's wisdom did not stop there.

With the combined efforts of the Emperor, the Imperial Medical Bureau, and the Imperial Workshop, the poisonous smoke balls, which had been tested on the Qiang, Hu, and Xiongnu people, were also put into use on the battlefield. Aconitum and wolfsbane, which were common in Youzhou, were dried, ground into powder, mixed with a little tung oil, and then wrapped in tung oil-soaked linen to form balls.

The emperor called this weapon a "poison smoke ball," which was attached to a crossbow bolt and fired.

Although some of the poison smoke balls may extinguish during the flight of the crossbow bolts, most of the poison smoke balls soaked in tung oil will continue to burn.

If all else fails, quantitative change can lead to qualitative change.

Look, during the afternoon's siege, several military officers on the city walls have already spontaneously used poison smoke balls.

Smoke billowed down below the city walls, while the soldiers on the walls instinctively covered their mouths and noses with a piece of linen soaked in vinegar.

People who see poisonous smoke balls for the first time don't take them seriously, thinking they're just smelly fumes. But if they inhale them for too long, they may faint or even bleed from their mouth and nose.

Its destructive power is actually insufficient, but for this era, it is a terrifying weapon.

However, the emperor also said that such a powerful weapon would be against the natural order, so it could only be used against foreign races.

As Xianyu Fu had predicted, the Xianbei people, who had been fighting a bloody battle for an hour and a half in the siege, collapsed instantly without a fight after being attacked by these poisonous smoke balls.

There were soldiers on the city wall who understood Xianbei language, but the Xianbei people below were shouting things like "The Han army knows witchcraft," "The Han people's gods have come to punish them," and "Why haven't our gods come to help us?"

Fear permeated the Xianbei army. He Lian, with a grim face, killed several officers who led the retreat, but seeing the billowing poisonous smoke, he gritted his teeth and chose to retreat again to regroup.

As Xianyu Fu watched the smoke rising from the chimneys in the distance, an idea flashed through his mind. He took out enough meat and wine from the city's reserves for eight hundred people and distributed it to eight hundred soldiers of the Danhan Camp, so that they could feast with him.

The inexperienced new recruits didn't understand the reason for doing this, and some even felt that Xianyu Fu was being somewhat biased, but the experienced veterans scolded the new recruits to shut up.

During a battle, if officers suddenly distribute wine and meat to the soldiers, allowing them to eat and drink well, then it's either time they're about to do something desperate or it's a victory celebration.

Clearly, it's the former!
Xianyu Fu believed that, after all, there were more than 20,000 Xianbei under the city, and the nominal leader of the Xianbei, He Lian, had come here in person. No one could be sure whether he had any reinforcements coming.

If that's the case, unless the Danhan Camp and the Protectorate of Wuhuan arrive together, they may not be able to easily break the siege.

A purely defensive approach will inevitably lead to a gradual decline in morale.

We must break their momentum to reassure the people, and then we can defend our position!
If it were the composed Zhao Fu, he certainly wouldn't have made such a choice, but Xianyu Fu thought it was worth a try.

Xianyu Fu picked up a bowl of wine, bowed to the group of Tanhan Camp soldiers, and then drank the wine in one gulp. He shouted, "My lads, we've raised an army for a thousand days to use it for one! Today I'm going to launch a surprise attack. Do you dare to come with me?"

"dare!"

Eight hundred people responded with shouts. Although the shouts were not in unison, it was enough. Xianyu Fu got the answer he wanted most and expected.

As dusk fell and the Xianbei people were still eating, the north gate suddenly opened, and eight hundred knights from the Danhan Camp galloped out of the city.

The Xianbei were shocked, never expecting that the Han army inside the city would dare to launch a surprise attack against an army that outnumbered them by more than ten times.

Moreover, open field battles were clearly the strength of the Xianbei people. Based on past confrontations between the Han army and the Xianbei, the Han army mostly defended the city to the death, and there were almost no instances of them launching surprise attacks outside the city.

Xianyu Fu wanted to tell these people that they were the Han army of the previous dynasty!
Now it is the Han army of the new dynasty!

However, Xianyu Fu was not good with words, so he chose to be armored and wielding a halberd, leading the charge into battle, shouting his name, and killing more than ten people with his halberd, and even beheading a tribal chief of a small tribe.

However, Xianyu Fu did not become too complacent.

Gazing at Helian, protected by the Xianbei elite under the Xianbei wolf banner, he didn't think he had the strength to charge up to Helian, this Xianbei lord. These eight hundred men weren't enough either... Huh?

Why did the Xianbei rear guard suddenly fall into disarray?
Xianyu Fu, who was preparing to charge again before turning back to the city, suddenly became acutely aware of the movements on the battlefield.

Have reinforcements arrived?

This was Xianyu Fu's first reaction. Based on the approximate distance of several possible reinforcements from Macheng, Xianyu Fu deduced that it should be General Guan Yu, who was on patrol here.

The Xianbei army at the north gate numbered about eight thousand. Guan Yu would not have brought more than fifteen hundred soldiers from the Danhan Camp on his inspection tour. Including his own force, which should be less than eight hundred, two thousand three hundred men were still not enough for a battle.

If the entire city were to launch a full-scale attack, it might be possible to defeat them in one battle.

But there are no "what ifs" on the battlefield.

Xianyu Fu sighed and decided to charge forward a little further to meet Guan Yu and retreat into Ma City together.

But as he continued to lead his troops deeper into the Xianbei army's ranks, he felt that he was perhaps witnessing the most unforgettable scene of his life.

With a red face and long beard, Guan Yu, wielding a horse spear, rode a chestnut-red Ferghana horse, thrusting left and right. His already red face was stained with eerie bloodstains, making him look particularly strange. Coupled with the murderous intent and bloody aura emanating from Guan Yu, it only made people more afraid.

Behind Guan Yu, there were only about three or four hundred riders, who actually charged toward the earthen slope where He Lian was hiding.

The earthen mound was about ten feet high (a little over 2 meters), but the chestnut-colored Akhal-Teke horse seemed to be covered in crimson sweat. As Guan Yu pulled on the reins, it understood the man's intention. Its four hooves sank slightly, and then every muscle in its hooves exerted its strength. It then leaped into the air and jumped onto the earthen mound.

Stunned and speechless, He Lian was grabbed by Guan Yu and tucked under his arm. Under the astonished gazes of He Lian's elite guards, Guan Yu spurred his horse and jumped down the earthen slope.

This dramatic scene shocked the Xianbei people, and even more so Xianyu Fu.

But Xianyu Fu could not remain in shock any longer. The Xianbei people pursued them almost like madmen. Guan Yu and Xianyu Fu did not exchange many words, but simply retreated together to Ma City.

However, the Xianbei outnumbered them by several times. Xianyu Fu and several of his personal guards were unfortunately tripped by a tripwire and fell off their horses. Guan Yu's cousin and more than a hundred riders were surrounded by the Xianbei and failed to keep up with the retreating group. So they turned their horses around and charged forward.

"Guan Yu of Hedong is here!"

Guan Yu first led his troops back, broke through the enemy's encirclement, and rescued his cousin and more than a hundred riders. He then spurred his horse to rescue Xianyu Fu and his personal guards, killed several Xianbei cavalrymen, and allowed Xianyu Fu and the others to ride on Xianbei warhorses.

Seeing this valiant figure, who seemed like a god, many Xianbei soldiers dared not pursue him any further.

By day they were defeated by the Han people's god of wisdom, and by evening they were defeated by the Han people's god of war. Great Tengri, have you abandoned your people and believers?

However, many loyal Xianbei soldiers continued to pursue and kill, wanting to take back their Xianbei leader!

The arrows fired from the city walls slowed down the pursuers. At the same time, two hundred Danhan Camp knights and two hundred fresh troops from the prefectures and kingdoms who had not participated in the city defense today rushed out of the city to help Guan Yu and Xianyu Fu lead their troops back to the city.

Unfortunately, Guan Yu still failed to capture He Lian alive.

Guan Yu threw He Lian's body on the ground, his face full of regret. He sighed and said, "Just now, this fellow was swaying left and right and struggling. I used some force to hold him down. I thought he would be subdued because of the pain, but I never expected... that I would actually crush him to death."

Xianyu Fu did not share Guan Yu's regret. If He Lian could be delivered to Luoyang, that would be ideal. However, the martial arts skills that allowed him to capture He Lian alive amidst the chaos of battle and the strength that allowed him to easily crush He Lian filled Xianyu Fu with admiration.

The people of the border regions are known for their fierce and valiant nature, but they admire brave and courageous individuals even more.

Guan Yu's bravery completely won him over!
No wonder the emperor appointed Guan Yu, who had no experience in leading troops on his own, as General Tanhan and had such high expectations for him!
Xianyu Fu prostrated himself on the ground, his head hitting the ground heavily, and kowtowed three times to Guan Yu.

In the chaos of battle just now, when he fell off his horse and was surrounded, Guan Yu had no reason to risk being surrounded himself and break through the encirclement to rescue him.

He was just a captain under Guan Yu, not Guan Yu's cousin, but Guan Yu still resolutely turned back to save him!

While expressing his gratitude to Guan Yu for saving his life, Xianyu Fu exclaimed with great reverence, "General Guan is truly a celestial being!"

(5738 words)

Note 1: The earliest documented instance of Jinju (a type of liquid used in ancient China) being officially deployed on the battlefield is found in the Tang Dynasty's "Tongdian·Shoujufa" (Comprehensive Statutes on Defense and Resistance), which became an essential item for the Tang army in defending cities.

Previously, only the "Mozi: Defense of City Gates" mentioned boiling water, hot sand, and ashes, and Zheng Xuan mentioned in his commentary on the "Rites of Zhou" that the method of "poisoning porridge" could be used to defend a city, but he did not explain in detail what the "porridge" was. Historians speculate that it was water mixed with poison, which may have been quite viscous, hence the name "porridge".

The Song Dynasty's "Wujing Zongyao" modified the recipe for Jinzhi (a type of medicinal liquid), enhancing its toxicity and lethality.

P.S.: Hehe, I ate Crazy Thursday tonight, so I'm in a particularly good mood. I'll add another 1700 words as a short update.

Dear readers, please give me some extra monthly votes in recognition of the extra 1700 words I've added!
(End of this chapter)