Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 96 Situation

There was no big river near Rencheng, making it difficult to divert water to irrigate the ditches. Therefore, no moat was dug around the city, only a trench about ten feet wide was dug.

The bottom of the trench was filled with sharpened wooden stakes. If a soldier or horse fell into the trench, even if they did not die, they would be seriously injured.

Faced with a fortified city inside and powerful enemies outside, Yan Yi naturally would not attack the city by force. Instead, he planned to gradually disintegrate the defenders' defenses or besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.

In half a quarter of an hour, hundreds of bags of soil were thrown into the trench and piled two or three feet high in the trench.

The second group of soldiers came forward and threw mud bags into the trench continuously.

An hour later, the trench in front of the north gate of Rencheng was filled.

The attacking soldiers stood in front of the filled trench, cheered and laughed loudly at the defenders for not daring to go out of the city to fight.

"The little boy on the city wall, huddled like a turtle, knows only to bark, and acts like a rat!"

Faced with the laughter and ridicule, the defenders on the city wall felt aggrieved and more nervous.

The trench has been filled, and the enemy will probably start attacking the city soon.

But to the defenders' surprise, the soldiers under the city shouted and cursed for a while, then returned to the formation, and the formation then moved westward, slowly filling up the moat on the east side of the city.

After half a day, except for the south gate next to Daochang Mountain, the moats outside the east, west and north walls of Rencheng were all filled.

It was already past noon, and the attacking soldiers had actually set up a large cauldron and started cooking right under the noses of the defenders.

Faced with such humiliation, the defenders in the city still did not dare to go out of the city to fight.

Zou seemed to have made up his mind to resolutely implement his so-called strategy of driving away wolves and devouring tigers. He ignored all the provocations and insults from the enemy army, as well as the various flaws exposed, and stayed indoors without leaving.

Faced with such a defender, Yan Yi was helpless for a moment. If there was no external threat from Zhu Zhi, he might have tried to attack the city, but now he did not dare to act rashly.

After summoning all the generals to discuss the matter, he began to order the transportation of soil to build a mountain outside the city.

There was a lot of soft soil around Rencheng, and Yan Yijun used local materials. In just two days, he built a six-meter-high earthen hill to the north of the city. The hill continued to approach the city wall and spread to a place only three hundred steps away from the city wall.

Soldiers from both sides began to shoot at each other from the mounds and walls, but due to the long distance and obstacles, neither side posed any threat to the other.

Yan Yi built a hill of earth not just to create some shooting points, but also to use the hill as a cover to secretly dig a tunnel leading to the city.

Digging tunnels was a common siege method in the pre-Qin period. In his chapter on preparing for tunnels, Mozi summarized two types of tunnel tactics: trenches and urns.

There are countless specific successful examples. For example, in the Battle of Anyi between Qin and Wei more than 300 years ago, the Qin State dug tunnels to cause the collapse of the city wall before it could enter Anyi.

After deciding on the tactic of using tunnels to break into the city, Yan Yi quickly transferred Shi Ke, the right assistant official in charge of building and applying mud, from Yuncheng. He selected a secret spot behind the earthen hill and began to dig the tunnel intensively.

But after only one day, the project was forced to stop because Yan Yi received news that Wu Jing's army had captured Yongping and was rapidly advancing towards Guangde.

After Guangde is Zhu Zhi's hometown Guzhang, and after Guzhang are Wucheng, Yong'an and Qiantang. Once Wu Jing's army and Zhu Zhi's army are united, the entire Wujun and Kuaiji will be covered by Sun's army.

This was earth-shattering news that instantly changed the situation on the battlefield. Not only did Yan Yi's army begin to adjust its deployment, but the entire Wucheng also became panic-stricken.

Even Xu Gong, Xu Zhao and Wang Lang began to pay close attention to the movements of Wu Jingjun.

Wu Jing's army was unstoppable as they captured cities and strongholds along the way. Their influence was far beyond the reach of a small city like Rencheng, and was a matter of great importance to the safety of Wujun and Kuaiji.

Considering Zhu Zhi's recent series of unusual actions, Sun's strategic intentions become obvious.

Even Yuan Shu, who was far away in Shouchun, began to frequently write to Wu Jing and Zhu Zhi, asking about their intentions.

Yuan Shu's mood was complicated. He hoped that Wu Jing and others would expand his territory, but he was also worried that these people would get out of his control.

However, Yuan Shu's focus at this time was on attacking Lujiang and managing Xuzhou. Even if he wanted to intervene in the war in Jiangdong, he was unable to do so.

Because Wu Jing needed Yuan Shu to provide him with food, fodder and supplies, and he could also pretend to be humble in expanding Yuan Shu's territory, Zhu Zhi, who already controlled Qiantang, began to not take Yuan Shu seriously. He would often reply perfunctorily after receiving two or three letters, which almost made Yuan Shu angry to death.

At this time, Zhu Zhi had already taken full control of the Qiantang Army and urgently recruited soldiers for service, and the number of his troops had increased to 10,000.

Under his command were a group of brave and warlike former generals who had followed him in his campaigns. They quickly integrated the 10,000-strong army into a whole and kept it firmly under their control.

With military power in his hands, Zhu Zhi changed his usual gentle attitude and began to use tough measures to concentrate the resources of the entire Qiantang to serve the upcoming war.

Three days ago, Zhu Zhi, who had just received Zou Ta's letter for help, convened a military meeting to discuss sending troops, during which he encountered opposition from some local forces in Qiantang.

However, as the news of Wu Jing's advance on Guangde spread, no one raised any objections. Both Zhu Zhi's former subordinates and the various ethnic groups in Qiantang realized the changes in the situation that could be brought about by the joining of Zhu Zhi and Wu Jing's forces, as well as the huge benefits that would come from such changes.

The only thing Zhu Zhi is still considering now is the marching route after the uprising.

Should we capture Yong'an first and join up with Wu Jing's troops as soon as possible, or march directly to Rencheng and defeat Yan Yi's army first?
He needed to seek the opinions of Sun Ce and Wu Jing, and test Zou Ta's attitude.

Yes, the situation is changing every day, and the deployments of various families are constantly adjusting. The objects of Zou, Tan, Cong, and Yan Zhu's annexation suddenly become the objects of competition.

For Zou, happiness came too suddenly and was unbelievable for him.

A few days ago, he was still in a state of panic over his own survival, hoping to find a glimmer of hope in the cracks. However, in just a few days, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Not only did Yan Yi send an envoy to discuss a withdrawal of troops with him, but Zhu Zhi even directly promised him many benefits and proposed that they work together to defeat Yan Yi's army.

The high-spirited Zou had regained his former majesty. His hands no longer shook, and his heart was no longer panicked. He sat calmly on the upper couch, looking down at his subordinates who had become submissive again.

"Yan Yi and Zhu Zhi have both sent envoys to discuss an alliance with me. What are your thoughts?" He observed the crowd's reactions with a smile and waved his hand, "Please speak freely, everyone!"

(End of this chapter)