Tiger Owl

Chapter 118 Night Raid on Liling (Part 1)

In the darkness of night, an army of 15,000 men marched through the towering mountains. This was the Fifth Army of the Yuzhang Army, commanded by Taishi Ci.

The army consisted of 13,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalrymen, with a logistics team of 10,000 mules. In addition to the soldiers' rations, the main food was refined hay and black beans for the warhorses.

The army arrived at Niuchuan Town at night, rested and resupplyed briefly, and then set off again. Around 4 a.m., they bypassed Yichun County without disturbing the town and headed west directly along the official road.

This time, the 10,000 mules that arrived in Niuchuan Town earlier also carried logistical supplies and followed behind the army, also bypassing Yichun County at night.

That's how war works. Once war breaks out, the demand for logistical supplies is enormous. So, war is all about national strength.

The supplies carried by these 20,000 mules were only what was needed to attack Liling County. Once Liling County was captured, the Yuzhang Army would have a base in Changsha County, and various logistical supplies would be continuously transported from Yichun County to Liling County.

However, the transportation of grain and supplies will be slightly easier in the future, as most of it will be transported by water. The supplies will be transported via the Gan River to the Yuan River to reach Yichun County. From Yichun County, they will be transported by mules for a hundred miles to the upper reaches of the Lu River, and then loaded onto boats for transport, which will then be transported directly to Liling County.

This time, water transport was not used to avoid alerting the enemy. There were enemy spies hiding in Yichun County who could relay the news to Changsha Prefecture, making it difficult for them to launch a surprise attack on Liling.

Attacking Liling County is very difficult. The city walls of Liling County are high and sturdy, the moat is 20 zhang wide, and the drawbridge is erected high. It is a strategic military city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, the Yuzhang Army cannot carry siege weapons.

Several months ago, Gan Ning, Lu Su, Xu Shu, and Taishi Ci finalized a plan for a sneak attack.

The only regret was that they did not find the enemy spies lurking in Yichun County.

To ensure the success of the raid, they did not alert Yichun County at all, so all their operations in Yichun County were carried out at night.

Thirty li away from Liling County, Taishi Ci led his army to halt their advance and sent Wang Xiaoman to Liling County to make contact.

Wang Xiaoman arrived at Chunlai Inn and found the innkeeper, Du Jin. Du Jin immediately understood that the time for action was approaching, and he quickly led Wang Xiaoman to the backyard.

How are the brothers?

A month ago, Wang Xiaoman sent two hundred of her men to Liling County. They entered the county town under various identities and went directly to the Chunlai Inn in the east of the city. Du Jin then arranged for them to stay in various courtyards that had been rented in advance.

“They are all nearby; I can bring them all here immediately.”

Wang Xiaoman wasn't in a hurry. She asked about other things before letting Du Jin gather his men.

Soon, two hundred men arrived at the neighboring mansion one after another from the alley. In the backyard, the two hundred soldiers sat on the ground, filling the courtyard.

"Our operation will take place around midnight tonight. Everyone, have a good meal and get a good night's sleep so you can be energetic and ready to go to war tonight!"

The two hundred people stayed in the inn and the mansion next door. The soldiers had a big meal and then went to find a place to sleep.

As the commander-in-chief, Wang Xiaoman was still listening to Du Jin tell him about the situation at night. "Are you sure there won't be any patrolling soldiers at night?" "This subordinate can certainly be sure. I have been observing for several months. I checked last night as well. There were no patrolling soldiers on the city walls. There were only guards at the four city gates. It is not wartime now. There is not even any guard duty. It is completely normal."

"Is there martial law?" Wang Xiaoman pressed on, "Is there martial law or patrols?"

"Martial law is in place, but there are no patrols. This is just a small county town. At night, all the shops are closed, and you can't even see a soul on the streets. There's no need for patrols."

There wasn't even a patrol, which made Wang Xiaoman sigh inwardly. Liu Xin had a problem with personnel selection. She had built such a tall and sturdy city defense, but she had sent a mediocre general to guard it.

The commander of Liling County is named Yang Ling. He has followed Liu Xin for many years and is deeply trusted by Liu Xin. Since last summer, he has been ordered to take charge of Liling County.

At first, Yang Ling was very dedicated and conscientious, patrolling and on duty every day without any worries. But as time went on, Yang Ling gradually became lax. He was especially relieved when he learned that Liu Xin had deployed intelligence spies in Yichun County, Yuzhang Prefecture.

Anyway, the spies will send a message in advance if there is any situation, so they can be prepared. There is no need to be so nervous at other times.

Around noon, his subordinate general Zhao Kai advised him, "Our lord previously instructed all areas of Changsha County to strengthen their defenses. As a major town in western Changsha County, we are the first to be affected. Now that our city defenses are a little lax, shouldn't we raise our defense level?"

Yang Ling waved his hand dismissively, "If the higher-ups really valued us here, they should have reinforced my troops to five thousand. But they neither reinforced my troops nor ordered me to raise the defense level, which means that the intelligence the lord received was that the enemy was attacking by water, and it has nothing to do with us."

"But the intelligence might not be accurate."

Zhao Kai wanted to persuade him further, but Yang Ling, somewhat displeased, interrupted him, saying, "You make it sound so simple, always talking about raising the level. Don't you know that once the defense level is raised, expenses for money, food, meat, and vegetables will increase? If the higher-ups ask me to raise the defense level, they will naturally allocate money and food to me. Now that there are no such requirements, you're asking me to raise the defense level myself. Where will the increased money and food expenses come from?"

After walking a few steps with his hands behind his back, Yang Ling continued, "The reason General Liu arranged intelligence scouts in Yichun County was to provide early warning. If Gan Ning were to attack by land, he would inevitably prepare for war in Yichun County in advance, allocating provisions and gathering troops. The intelligence scouts in Yichun County would then notify us in time, and we could raise our defense level then. Now, nothing has happened, and I'm being asked to raise our defense for no reason. What is this called? This is called making a fuss over nothing."

Yang Ling's words effectively rejected his subordinate's suggestion, and Zhao Kai dared not offer any further advice. He could only bow silently and retreat.

At the first watch of the night, the soldiers in the inn opened a secret cellar in the neighboring mansion and brought out two hundred sets of iron armor, spears, swords, and crossbows.

Having learned from their previous experience in capturing Nanchang County, the Yuzhang Army transported two hundred soldiers and their armor into the city by boat in three separate trips, hiding them in the cellars of mansions.

The soldiers donned their armor, took their weapons, and sat on the ground, waiting for the appointed time.

Time passed slowly, and less than half an hour remained until midnight. The group went out of the front gate of the mansion. It was a long alley that led to an ordinary north-south street, but it was not a main road and had no shops, only houses.

There is an inner river running parallel to the street, and the bridge across the river is on the main street in front of the inn.

But two small boats were moored side by side on the river. Du Jin had rented them specifically for the soldiers to cross. Two hundred soldiers jumped onto the boats and crossed the river. Once across, there was a large open space. This was the kind of large, blank buffer zone that only a major military town would have. No matter if arrows were shot into the city or stones were thrown into the city from outside, they would only land in the blank space.

Two hundred soldiers headed straight for the northeast corner. Although they were wearing heavy iron armor, they were still very agile in running despite their heavy armor due to long-term training. Soon they arrived at the water city gate in the northeast corner.

(End of this chapter)