Tiger Owl

Chapter 24 Fire Attack on Zongyang
Although Zheng Bao surrendered to Liu Xun, his power remained. He had 7,000 loyal soldiers and his own base in Juchao County, where he was a powerful local figure.

Zheng Bao was well aware that Liu Xun wanted to use him as a shield to block Sun Ce's attack.

With Zheng Bao's shrewdness, Liu Xun couldn't possibly use him, and no one could possibly use him either.

But an unexpected situation occurred: Liu Xun found the murderer of his son, Chaisang Ganning.

Zheng Bao also knew that Liu Xun had not deceived him; Lu Su was right next to Gan Ning, which was the most direct evidence.

Zheng Bao had two sons. Zheng Huai, who died in Dongcheng County, was the eldest son. In order to avenge his eldest son, Zheng Bao unprecedentedly agreed to Liu Xun's request and sent troops to capture Chaisang for him.

Liu Xun also agreed to some conditions, allocating five hundred warships with a value of two thousand shi each to him, providing all military supplies and food, and afterwards transferring Wan County and Xunyang County to Zheng Bao.

Zheng Bao happily set out with his troops, personally leading 7,000 soldiers along the Zongyang River towards the Yangtze River.

Around noon, Gan Ning's fleet was still twenty li away from Zongyang County.

Gan Ning brought four thousand men from Chaisang this time. Gan Ning naturally wanted to strike first and wipe out Zheng Bao's army before he set off.

Just then, a small boat approached the fleet; Wang Xiaoman had returned.

"Reporting to my lord, Zheng Bao and his seven thousand troops have left Juchao County and are heading towards Zongyang County. They are all on foot."

"They don't have warships?" Gan Ning asked, somewhat puzzled.

"There are no warships, and they are all lightly armed and simple. There are no ships in Zongyang County either."

Gan Ning originally planned to ambush Zheng Bao's army on the way, but now that he suddenly heard that Zheng Bao had not taken any warships or supplies, Gan Ning immediately realized that Zhang Bao must be waiting in Zongyang County for the ships and supplies provided by Liu Xun.

Gan Ning had 1,800 years more historical experience than people of this era, and many historical strategies came to mind directly.

His eyes lit up, and he thought of Zhuge Liang's Battle of Bowangpo. A brilliant plan immediately popped into his head.

How big is Zongyang County?

Wang Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, "It's very small, a small county town, probably only half the size of Chaisang."

"Is the house structure and materials the same as those in Chaisang?" Gan Ning asked again.

Wang Xiaoman nodded. "It's pretty much the same along the Yangtze River. Ordinary families use bamboo and wood structures, while only county government offices and wealthy families use brick houses."

Gan Ning recalled what Liu Ye had said in his letter: Zheng Bao had no experience in leading troops into battle, and had never even been on the battlefield.

Gan Ning believed that Zheng Bao would never demolish the houses near the city wall.

There is a large lake in the south of Juchao County called Juchao Lake. The Zongyang River flows through the lake and enters the Yangtze River in Zongyang County at the southern entrance of the lake.

Zheng Bao certainly didn't go straight into the Yangtze River and march on Chaisang. He needed warships and food supplies provided by Liu Xun, which was one of the conditions for his deployment.

Before the ships and supplies arrived, Zheng Bao led his army to garrison Zongyang County.

Zongyang County was a small county with low city walls and a city perimeter of only ten miles. There were less than a thousand households in the city. As seven thousand troops squeezed in, the people in the city were forced to vacate their houses and leave the county with their wives and daughters to go elsewhere.

If they live together, their wives and daughters will suffer.

As night deepened, Zongyang County quieted down. The seven thousand soldiers, exhausted from their long march, ate their rations and went to sleep early.

Even the patrolling soldiers on the city walls couldn't resist their drowsiness and went to find places to sleep.

At midnight, countless dark figures suddenly appeared around Zongyang, surrounding the county town from all directions.

The sentries on the city wall spotted many dark figures outside the city and rushed to report to Zheng Bao. Zheng Bao, still half asleep, said impatiently, "These must be people from inside the city. They haven't gone far and are just sleeping outside. Don't bother with them."

The sentry saluted and left, paying no further attention to the shadowy figures outside the city.

In the darkness, Gan Ning's men lit rockets, and the soldiers drew their bows and fired them into the city gate.

Gan Ning's idea of ​​using fire attack was related to the architectural style along the Yangtze River. Summers here are very humid and hot, while winters are not cold. All the houses along the Yangtze River are mainly made of bamboo and wood, with thatched roofs to facilitate ventilation in summer. The river breeze blows through the entire bamboo and wood house, making it exceptionally cool.

In the north, people are afraid of the sun in summer and need to keep warm in winter, so they usually build brick and mud houses. However, brick and mud houses are too stuffy in the south.

The biggest weakness of bamboo and wood buildings is their vulnerability to fire. People in southern regions are very careful with fire and try to avoid using fire at home, instead placing the stove outdoors for cooking.

At this moment, thousands of rockets were launched into the county town from four directions. Soon, the houses near the city wall were quickly set ablaze. The fire was fueled by the wind and burned very rapidly. Rockets continued to be launched from all sides.

Soldiers inside the city were awakened by the smoke and fire, and panicked. They ran outside shouting and yelling, forgetting their armor and weapons. Many even ran barefoot into the streets without putting on their shoes.

Thick smoke filled the city, flames raged, and the streets were filled with people running in panic.

Zheng Bao rode out on his horse and shouted, "You bunch of idiots, hurry back and get your weapons and armor! Do you all want to die bare-handed?"

No one listened to his shouts. He had barely escaped, so who would want to go back to the burning house now?
The city was ablaze, but what harmed the soldiers the most was not the flames, but the thick smoke. The city was filled with thick smoke, and countless people were choked and unable to breathe. Many soldiers collapsed.

Many more soldiers covered their mouths and noses and desperately fled towards the city gate or the city wall, where the river breeze on the city wall allowed them to breathe a breath of fresh air.

But what awaited them on the city wall was Gan Ning's two thousand soldiers, and another two thousand soldiers were deployed at the north and south city gates. Gan Ning's army laid a net and captured all the escaped soldiers.

...........
The county town was small, and by dawn it had burned to the ground, leaving only wisps of smoke. The entire town was burned to the ground, and the corpses scattered all over the ground reflected the tragedy of that time.

The fire raged and thick smoke filled the air. Soldiers screamed in terror amidst the smoke, and many collapsed and never woke up again. A total of two thousand bodies were recovered, most of whom had died from suffocation due to the thick smoke.

The soldiers were clearing the ruins and finding some useful items, mostly burnt swords and spearheads with their wooden handles burned off. These were useful, of course, and could be melted down and reforged into weapons.

At this moment, Wang Ping strode forward and said, "My lord, we have found Zheng Bao!"

Gan Ning followed Wang Ping to a rolled-up mat. Wang Ping untied the mat and saw a pale-faced, rather fat, middle-aged man who was soaking wet.

Wang Ping took out a jade pendant with dragon and phoenix motifs and handed it to Gan Ning, saying, "This is his personal possession!"

Gan Ning took the jade pendant and examined it carefully. The front was engraved with the two characters "Zheng Huai" and the back with four characters, "Remember my son".

Gan Ning nodded. This was Zheng Bao.

Why was he soaking wet?

"He drowned. We found him lying in a small pool with a horse on top of him, which suffocated him in the water."

Gan Ning sneered, "To actually drown in the flames, it seems to be fate!"

At this moment, Shen Mi hurriedly came over, bowed, and said, "Reporting to my lord, a total of 4,800 people have surrendered, of whom 3,500 are willing to serve my lord!"

Gan Ning thought for a moment and said, "Next, we'll disguise ourselves as Zheng Bao's army and prepare to receive the warships and supplies sent by Liu Xun!"

Gan Ning then said to Ding Feng and Chen Mu beside him, "You two lead a thousand brothers by boat to Juchao County and take all of Zheng Bao's remaining assets with you."

"Yes, sir!" Ding Feng and Chen Mu clasped their hands in a salute and hurried away.

(End of this chapter)