Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 48 Suspension Bridge
Changshui River lies quietly on the vast land east of Qiangonglei, with a total length of more than 60 miles. It originates from the majestic Fuyu Mountain, which is Tianmu Mountain in later generations. It is like a silver ribbon, flowing through the river bank two miles east of Qiangonglei, winding all the way, and finally merging into Youquan.

During the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shi Huang established Changshui County in the lower reaches of Changshui River. Although the county name was changed to Youquan two years later, the name of Changshui River was retained and has been used to this day.

The crossing point chosen by Yan Yi was located in the middle reaches of the Changshui River, which was located behind the side of Qian Gonglei and was the most neglected area by the Qian Gonglei defenders. Moreover, the river was narrow, only more than 30 meters wide.

Following Fan Yan's order, the soldiers gathered on the river bank quickly began to make rafts for crossing the river using tools such as wooden rafts, ropes, floats, and bamboo strips.

The method of making rafts was not complicated, and the soldiers had practiced many times beforehand, so the rafts were made very quickly. In about two quarters of an hour, the materials piled on the ground were turned into more than fifty rafts of different sizes.

A small raft can carry four people at a time, and a large raft can carry ten people at a time, or one person and one horse.

After the raft was made, the soldiers carried it to the river and began to cross the river.

The first batch of soldiers crossed the river very smoothly. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw more than one hundred soldiers and twenty horses arriving safely on the other side.

Soon, the second group of soldiers and horses also crossed safely, proving that the rafts were indeed usable.

The soldiers who crossed the river quickly formed a battle formation on the other side of the river and kept watch on all sides.

Fan Yan specially selected an extremely sturdy raft for use only by Yan Yi and two assassins who were familiar with water.

However, an accident occurred during this river crossing.

A warhorse standing on the raft was suddenly frightened, its mane stood up, it let out a deafening neigh, and its four hooves stamped on the raft. Suddenly, it broke free from the reins in the soldier's hand and fell into the river.

The war horses were floating up and down in the river, and their terrified neighings were heard everywhere.

Everyone's faces turned pale with anger, and Yan Yi shouted urgently, "Shoot the horse!"

Xu Sheng, who was standing on the river bank, was the first to react. He immediately took off the hard bow on his back, drew the bow and shot an arrow into the horse's body.

The soldiers standing beside him also drew their bowstrings and shot at the horses that were looming in the river.

In an instant, dozens of arrows flew out from the bowstrings, turning the warhorse that fell into the river into a hornet's nest.

The hissing sound suddenly disappeared, and everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at the horse carcass being washed downstream by the current, Yan Yi suddenly said, "Find the carcass!"

In order to avoid any accidents, he was extremely careful.

On a large raft near the horse's corpse, several soldiers took advantage of the horse's passing by and attacked at the same time. Some grabbed the horse's legs, and some grabbed the horse's tail. They drifted for dozens of meters before they used the buoyancy of the raft to slowly drag the horse's corpse to the shore.

After everyone calmed down from the shock, they became more cautious when crossing the river.

A quarter of an hour later, the entire army successfully crossed the river.

It was already past the hour of Yin, and there was still about an hour and a half before dawn. The rain had begun to slow down.

Yan Yi did not dare to delay and personally ordered 1,100 infantrymen to form the vanguard and advance quickly towards Qian Gong Fort. The 400 cavalrymen, who had been ordered not to ride again, were assigned to the rear. The crossing point was still four or five miles away from Qian Gong Fort.

Another half an hour passed before the front team of 1,100 soldiers finally arrived a few miles outside the south gate of Qian Gong Lei.

With the help of two personal guards, Yan Yi put on his armor and looked ahead.

In front of me is a half-brick and stone fortress with a closed gate and a simple gatehouse above the gate.

The gate tower is a typical front and back building structure. The front building is used to hide soldiers, and the back building is higher, which is an excellent position for observing the situation outside the city and for archers to shoot.

There are two arrow towers on both sides of the gate tower, which are connected to the city wall covered with battlements to form a complete defense system.

There is also a suspension bridge in front of the city gate. The bridge deck is erected high, and the outlines of the bridge towers, piers, hangers and anchors can be vaguely seen.

There are two rows of low houses on both sides of the suspension bridge. Under the suspension bridge, an artificially dug moat connects the Changshui River on the east side and the Jiuqu River on the west side, forming a natural barrier.

Fan Yan had already memorized Qian Gonglei's city defense map. He stood in the rain and observed for a moment before speaking to Yan Yi, who had already donned his armor. "The city gate is closed, and the hanging gate is down. This doubles the defenses, making it impossible to breach. To the right of the gate is a newly renovated wall, which is solidly fortified. Our army can only attack from the old wall on the left. But first, we need to lower the drawbridge."

The moat of Qian Gonglei is five meters wide, and the drawbridge is the only passage. If the drawbridge is not lowered first, the entire army will not be able to cross even the outermost moat.

Yan Yi looked around at the generals around him and asked with a smile, "Who is willing to take the drawbridge and clear the way for the entire army?"

Chen Gan was eager to make a contribution, so he said without hesitation: "I am willing to go. Young Master, just give me fifty elite soldiers and an incense stick of time, and I will definitely capture this bridge for you!"

Xu Sheng, Zhao Cuo and two other team leaders also volunteered to fight.

Yan Yi is well aware of the importance of the suspension bridge.

The city wall can be attacked from different directions, but there is only one suspension bridge. Without this bridge, you can only sigh and look at the city. All previous plans and efforts will be in vain.

He considered for a moment, then mused, "Let Chen Gan and Xu Sheng lead a hundred elite troops! The rest of the generals must gather their troops. Once the drawbridge drops, cross it and attack the city!"

Chen Gan and Xu Sheng were cheered up, clasped their fists and saluted, then hurried back to the queue.

Soon, the two men decided on the one hundred soldiers to carry out the operation.

These one hundred soldiers are all veterans from Yan Baihu's personal guard camp, and are considered the most elite troops under Yan Yi.

Chen Gan and Xu Sheng briefly discussed the plan to seize the bridge, and then took a hundred soldiers and hurried towards the moat under the cover of night.

The heavy rain tonight really played a decisive role. It not only blocked the noise of the march, but also blocked the sight of the defenders of Qian Gonglei. As a result, even though all 102 people had run to the edge of the moat, the defenders on the gate tower still did not respond.

At that moment, inside the gatehouse, the tallest building in the city, more than half of the one hundred soldiers on duty were sprawled on mats, sound asleep. Occasionally, a patrol officer would be woken, only to make a token walk around the city walls before returning, cursing the damned weather.

It wasn't until Xu Sheng and Chen Gan, leading a hundred soldiers, set up wooden ladders on the moat and began to cross the river that a guard on the gate tower poked his head out of the arrow window and rubbed his eyes, "Captain, come and take a look, there seems to be someone under the city!"

(End of this chapter)