Tiger Owl

Chapter 208 Sneak Attack on Jiangling (Part 2)

Jiangling was the largest city in Jingzhou. Before Liu Biao, Jiangling was the capital of Jingzhou. After Liu Biao became the governor of Jingzhou, he moved the capital to Xiangyang. Jiangling was not only the most populous city, but also the largest river port in Jingzhou. Over a hundred years of accumulation and Liu Biao's painstaking efforts, more than a hundred large warehouses and a three-mile-long wharf were built along the Yangtze River in Jingzhou.

But today, the Yuzhang Army's target is not the Jiangling docks and warehouses, but the shipyard located ten miles east of Jiangling.
Jiangling Shipyard was once the largest shipyard along the Yangtze River. It only became second after the Nanchang Shipyard emerged. This shipyard built tens of thousands of warships for Huang Zu, earning it the reputation of being the "Warshipyard of Warships".

However, this famous shipyard began to decline after the Battle of Changsha. Liu Biao lost confidence in naval warfare and drastically reduced the shipbuilding budget. Without investment, many shipwrights lost their jobs. To make a living, they took their families to Yuzhang County. By the time Liu Biao died, 70% of the shipwrights at Jiangling Shipyard had been poached by Yuzhang County.

Cao Ren received Cao Cao's order to build a large number of ships. Cao Ren appointed Zhang Yun as the shipbuilding commissioner and concurrently the commandant of Jiangling, to focus on shipbuilding and to be responsible for the security of Jiangling, where 8,000 troops were stationed.

In the past few months, the shipyard has built more than 300 medium-sized cargo ships, which are the ships that Cao Cao's army urgently needs to transport supplies from Nanyang County to Xiangyang. One hundred and fifty giant catapults were transported to Yiling County by these more than 300 medium-sized cargo ships.

With the arrival of large quantities of shipbuilding materials and the gathering of shipwrights from various regions, the Gangneung Shipyard was ready to begin building the warships it was best at.

At this critical moment, Lin Jia wrote a report for Gan Ning, and it was this report that made Gan Ning determined to take action against the Jiangling Shipyard.

"boom!"

A large, surging warship burst through the gates of the shipyard's water fortress, and countless warships swarmed in, speeding towards the shore.

The shipyard covered an enormous area, stretching ten li from east to west and about five li from north to south, plus over 100,000 mu of water, making it larger than a small county town. The warehouse complex was in the southwest, the shipbuilding area was in the middle, and the dormitory and living quarters were in the northeast, housing tens of thousands of shipwrights, as well as about five hundred soldiers.

The Yuzhang Army's warships rushed ashore, and ten thousand soldiers disembarked, heading straight for the living quarters and garrison camps to the northeast.
Thanks to Lin Jia's sketches, which played a crucial role in the operation, the 10,000 soldiers were divided into several groups, each with its own clear objective. Soon, teams of shipwrights were taken to the warehouse by the soldiers to help unload the warehouse supplies onto the ships. Except for 500 soldiers, who were captured in their sleep and placed in several large tents, the Yuzhang Army had promised to release them at dawn. The soldiers no longer resisted and silently prayed for dawn to arrive quickly.

One hundred and fifty giant catapult components were also loaded onto the ships. Once the ships were full, they immediately set sail for the other side, where thousands of Wuling County garrison troops were waiting to help unload the cargo.

Inside the shipyard, a flurry of activity was underway as large quantities of materials and supplies were being loaded onto the ship.

At this time, Ding Fengze led 5,000 soldiers to ambush on the official road between Jiangling City and the shipyard. There were lookout posts on the city walls. Even though it was night, the Yuzhang Army's thousands of warships were coming with great momentum and would still be spotted by the lookout posts.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!" The alarm bell rang on the city wall.

Zhang Yun was also awakened from his sleep. He put on his armor and rushed to the city wall.

"what's going on?"

"General, it seems something has happened at the shipyard. Enemy troops have launched a surprise attack on the shipyard!"

"what!"

Zhang Yun was shocked. If the shipyard was destroyed, how could he explain it to Cao Cao? Moreover, there were 150 giant catapults that Xiahou Yuan valued highly, which were scheduled to be transported to Jingling County after maintenance in a couple of days. How could something go wrong at this time?

"Pass on my order: assemble 5,000 troops of the First Army!" Zhang Yun was flustered and led 5,000 soldiers out of the city, rushing towards the shipyard. He couldn't possibly ignore it no matter what.

Not far to the east of the city lies a vast forest, through which the official road winds its way. It is the fourth watch of the night, and the moon weaves through the clouds, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Zhang Yun, mounted on his horse, looked at the dark woods on both sides. He felt uneasy. This was a good place to ambush. A large number of troops could be hidden in the woods on both sides. However, his own army was moving forward on the narrow official road without any cover or even a single tree. He secretly regretted that he had only focused on rescuing the shipyard and had not thought that the Yuzhang army might be lying in ambush.

But it was too late now. His main force had all entered the official road inside the woods, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and get through as quickly as possible.

"The vanguard, quicken your pace and get out of the woods as soon as possible!"

Just as Cao Cao's vanguard was about to emerge from the woods, suddenly, the sound of clappers rang out all around. In the darkness, five thousand arrows were unleashed simultaneously, a dense rain of arrows like locusts, swarming into Zhang Yun's unsuspecting army. Instantly, screams and wails echoed along the official road.

Zhang Yun realized he had been ambushed and frantically shouted, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

There was no need to shout anymore. Their military discipline was already lax, and when faced with life and death, no one was willing to consider others.

Chaos erupted within Cao Cao's army. Five thousand soldiers struggled amidst a hail of arrows, desperately fleeing back the way they had come. They trampled each other, cried out in despair, and suffered extremely heavy casualties.
Zhang Yun disregarded his soldiers and, under the protection of three hundred personal guards, turned his horse around and fled for his life.

Ding Feng only intended to ambush Cao Cao's army, and had no intention of engaging in a fierce battle with them. When Cao Cao's soldiers desperately fled, he did not order them to pursue.

Leaving behind more than a thousand corpses and wounded soldiers of Cao Cao's army scattered all over the ground, he led his troops to retreat to the shipyard.

By this time, the Yuzhang Army had finished moving the supplies and began to retreat.

Ding Feng ordered a fire to completely destroy the shipyard. He then led 5,000 soldiers onto the last 200 warships and retreated south to Yidao County.

Zhang Yun fled back to the city, closed the city gates, and dared not leave the city again. He ran up to the city wall and stood there watching the direction of the shipyard. He saw flames raging in the distance, and the raging fire completely engulfed the shipyard.

Zhang Yun was terrified; he truly didn't know how to explain this to Cao Cao.

This attack on the Jiangling Shipyard at a critical moment had a significant impact on the entire political situation. It meant that Nanjun had completely lost its shipbuilding capacity and could no longer build any warships, except for the more than 300 medium-sized cargo ships it had previously built.

But its most profound impact was that Cao Cao could no longer cross the Yangtze River from Jingzhou and head south. Cao Cao's army could only choose the eastern route, which was the route through Hefei into the Yangtze River.

As for whether Cao Cao wanted to attack the Yuzhang Army or the Jiangdong Army, no one knows for sure, and it is estimated that Cao Cao himself has not yet decided.

With the situation in Jingzhou becoming clearer, all forces are actively preparing for war, ready to welcome Cao Cao's upcoming southern expedition.

(End of this chapter)