Tiger Owl

Chapter 222 Northern Attack on the Wuhuan
Xu Wei was truly puzzled. "Why does my husband want me to do this? Any craftsman could do it better than me! Why don't you let a craftsman do it?"

Gan Ning slowly said, "You see, I didn't even mention this to Xiao Qiao. It's a highly classified military secret and can't be leaked in the slightest. Think about it, with this all-seeing eye, wouldn't it be easy for us to spot enemy warships first and gain the upper hand?"

Xu Wei thought for a moment, "That makes sense, but how did my husband know? If he knows, then others must know too!"

Gan Ning smiled slightly, "You are very smart, but I discovered this by accident. Besides me, you are the second person to know."

Xu Wei glanced at her husband with delight; she loved hearing such words.

Xu Wei thought for a moment, "Would you like a golden shell made for my husband?"

Gan Ning shook his head. "A gold shell is too extravagant. Good wood will suffice."

“I have an idea. I’m going to hear a report from the head manager of the business in a couple of days. I’ll ask them to make a wooden casing for me, and then I can embed the convex lens into it myself.”

“Smart, that’s exactly what I mean. First, draw up a blueprint based on the dimensions of this bamboo tube, including the length and the size of the holes. It needs to be very precise. You also need to consider how to inlay it. After you’ve finished drawing up the blueprint, you should arrange for the head steward to find a craftsman to make a wooden outer shell for you.”

"Don't worry, husband. I can make clothes. The measurements will be accurate. I'll have them make a few extra shells."

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Wei added, "But Ayu will definitely see it. It's not good to keep it from her!"

"You can tell her, but you must make sure she doesn't tell anyone."

Xu Wei nodded. "Ayu is different from before. She will keep it a secret."

Gan Ning laughed and said, "It's getting late, let's go back to our room and continue our study of bedroom arts!"

Xu Wei blushed, and with the convex lens, copper box, and bamboo tube in hand, she happily went back to her courtyard with her husband.

In early February, Cao Cao led an army of 130,000 to Liaodong, which was a major battle between the Central Plains army and the Donghu people of Liaodong at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

At this time, the strongest Wuhuan leader, Tadun Chanyu, had unified the Wuhuan tribes of Liaoxi, Liaodong, and Youbeiping, forming the most powerful Donghu force with an army of 200,000. They began to covet Youzhou and even plotted to seize Hebei and the Central Plains. The arrival of Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang gave the Wuhuan people an excuse to launch an attack.

This battle was one that Cao Cao's army had to fight no matter what. If the Wuhuan were not eliminated, Youzhou would never have peace, and Hebei would never be at peace. Once Cao Cao's army marched south, the Wuhuan would occupy Youzhou and then sweep across Hebei. Without eliminating the Wuhuan threat, Cao Cao's army would be unable to march south.

This time, Cao Cao did not take the historical western route when he launched his northern expedition to Liaoxi. Instead, he took the Liaoxi Corridor. After conquering Youzhou, Cao Cao stationed 100,000 troops in Youbeiping County and stockpiled a large amount of grain and supplies.

After the spring, Cao Cao led an army of 30,000 to Youbeiping County. After resting for a few days, he marched north.

Ten miles east of White Wolf Mountain, there is a large area of ​​low, gentle hills covered with groves of trees, though the area is much smaller, ranging from tens to hundreds of acres. Within these groves, 30,000 Cao army soldiers are already lined up, awaiting the order to attack.

Zhang Liao stood on his horse at the edge of the woods, intently watching the movements at the foot of White Wolf Mountain in the distance. Under the clear moonlight, the dark forest in the distance could be clearly seen.

To the west of the forest lay vast farmlands, where spring wheat, planted in early spring, was now a lush green. Unfortunately, most of it had been trampled and destroyed by the Wuhuan army, with only a few wheat seedlings remaining in some of the peripheral fields.

Just then, a low shout came from the sentry in the tree, "General, they're here." Zhang Liao also saw them. A large group of Wuhuan cavalry was galloping along the official road in the distance. They were vast and boundless, numbering as many as 20,000. This was one of the Wuhuan allied forces.

The Wuhuan coalition was composed of more than twenty tribes of varying sizes, ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of people.

Zhang Liao, as the vanguard, led 30,000 troops to clear the way, but unexpectedly encountered a Wuhuan army that had come to assemble, and it was a large tribal army of 20,000 men.

Zhang Liao bit his lip tightly. Although he had 30,000 troops, only 5,000 were cavalry, and the rest were infantry, while the enemy was all cavalry.

With far fewer cavalry than the enemy, Zhang Liao's only advantage was that the enemy had not discovered him, allowing him to ambush them. Secondly, Cao Cao's army had the advantage of a superior position.

However, the Wuhuan cavalry had to travel a very dangerous section of road, about two miles long, with a hillside on one side and a deep ditch on the other. If something happened, the cavalry would have nowhere to escape.

Zhang Liao sighed inwardly. The enemy's numbers were still too many. If they were only half as many, he would have a sure victory in this battle. But he still had one chance: he had brought 10,000 Molotov cocktails and thousands of barrels of oil. Whether he could succeed depended on this one strike.

As the Wuhuan army drew closer, the entire Wuhuan army on the southern official road also appeared. The 20,000-strong army continued to arrive, yet the ranks were relatively orderly, with men and horses moving in a disciplined manner.

The Wuhuan army began to enter the dangerous section of the road. This two-mile stretch of road would be the key to the success of Zhang Liao's ambush. He had to wait until the Wuhuan army's central force had fully entered the dangerous section before he could use the ambush to kill the central force. Then the vanguard and rearguard would be easier to deal with.

Squads of Wuhuan cavalry galloped past them, less than a hundred paces from Cao Cao's army. Zhang Liao slowly drew his sword and pointed with it to the Wuhuan commander surrounded by soldiers a dozen paces away. He said to his deputy, who was also the cavalry commander, Gao Shun, "That is the Wuhuan commander. If you can kill him, I will give you the greatest credit in this battle."

Gao Shun suffered a great loss in Jiangxia County, with almost all of his three thousand cavalrymen wiped out. However, Cao Cao was good at recognizing and utilizing talent and did not blame Gao Shun. Instead, he handed over five thousand Bingzhou Flying Cavalrymen, who had surrendered to him, to Gao Shun.

Gao Shun was a full 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, possessing immense strength. He wielded a 70-pound broadsword with superb swordsmanship. Like Zhang Liao, he could also draw a two-stone bow, shooting with both hands and hitting the target every time.

Although Gao Shun was not selected as one of Cao Cao's Five Elite Generals like Zhang Liao, he was definitely a fierce general who was the bravest in the army.

Gao Shun's leopard-like eyes fixed on the Wuhuan army's commander. With a wave of his hand, he led his cavalry eastward.

Seeing that the enemy's 10,000 cavalry in the central army had all entered the dangerous section of the road, Zhang Liao realized that the time was ripe for a fire attack.

He shouted, "Throw the Molotov cocktails!"

Ten thousand soldiers lit Molotov cocktails, rushed into the woods, and hurled them. Ten thousand Molotov cocktails fell densely into the Wuhuan central army's cavalry, simultaneously igniting the oil buried in the ground.

Along the two-mile-long official road, flames from the sky and the ground burst into flames with a 'boom!' The ten thousand Wuhuan central army was thrown into chaos. Countless soldiers and warhorses, engulfed in flames, screamed and fled in all directions. However, they were in a dangerous location, with a deep ditch on one side and an enemy ambush on the other. The ten thousand cavalrymen had nowhere to escape, and many fell in the flames.

Zhang Liao brandished his sword, "Cavalry, charge!"

"Woo—" The horn sounded.

Gao Shun led five thousand cavalrymen like a tidal wave bursting its banks, rushing down the hillside and surging towards the Wuhuan vanguard that was fleeing eastward in panic.

(End of this chapter)