Tiger Owl

Chapter 46 Capturing the Thief and Capturing the King
The citywide search continued until the afternoon before gradually coming to an end. No conclusive evidence of a spy was found. Martial law was lifted, and the interrogation of the more than one thousand outsiders who had been arrested began. The spy was likely hiding among them.

Sun Fu was inexperienced and didn't take the matter seriously, but his subordinates didn't make any mistakes.

Sun Fu's deputy general is named Cheng Zi, the son of the general Cheng Pu. He is skilled in both civil and military affairs and currently serves as the Commandant of Nanchang and is also known as the Commandant of a Separate Division.

Although Cheng Zi did not realize that this was a sign that Gan Ning's army was about to attack the city, he also thought that Tong Zhi of Luling had sent spies to buy soldiers and armor during the New Year.

However, he fully inherited his father's caution and prudence. Cheng Pu had always warned his son from childhood that he needed to be careful as a general, and that once something unusual happened in the city, the defense level must be raised and he must not be careless.

So when Sun Fu did not raise the defense level to wartime level, but continued to maintain the alert level, Cheng Zi found Sun Fu.

Although there is only one level difference between wartime level and alert level, the measures implemented in the two are completely different.

During wartime, half of the soldiers were required to defend the city. No one was allowed to sleep on the city walls. All soldiers in the camp had to sleep in armor and with their weapons in their arms. They could not even take off their shoes. If the alarm bell rang, they had to rush to the city walls to fight immediately.

The alert level is much lower; people can take off their clothes and shoes to sleep at night, but weapons must be kept with them. In addition, only one thousand people are needed for night patrols, including street patrols and patrols on the city walls.

"It's just a spy coming to buy weapons, General Cheng, aren't you making a big fuss over nothing?"

Sun Fu was somewhat displeased. He was playing chess with his concubine when Cheng Zi interrupted his train of thought.

Cheng Zi, standing below the hall, clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to the General, I am not concerned about spies buying weapons. Rather, a battle has broken out in Haihun County, and it is imperative for us to strengthen our defenses. History has shown many painful lessons because of the carelessness of the defending generals."

"Alright! Alright! Stop lecturing me."

Sun Fu waved his hand impatiently, "If you want to improve, then improve! Don't bother me anymore."

Cheng Zi was overjoyed, "Thank you for your approval, General!"

Cheng Zi rushed back to the military camp and immediately announced that the entire army was in a state of war, with martial law in place at night and no one allowed to leave their home.

At the same time, the defense level was raised, and the number of soldiers on night duty was increased to 2,500. The north and south gates were always of paramount importance, with 600 men deployed at each of the north and south gates, 400 men at each of the east and west gates, and another 500 men divided into 20 teams to patrol the streets.

Around the first watch of the night, Wang Ping led three hundred soldiers to sneak into a large house next to the east gate.

The master and servants were all locked in a small room, and the entire mansion became a temporary garrison for the Chaisang army. It was only about thirty steps away from the east gate, making it the best observation point.

Wang Ping stood on the ladder, peering over the courtyard wall to carefully examine the situation at the city gate.
Wang Ping's heart sank immediately; there were over a hundred soldiers near the city gate.

Generally, the garrison troops are mostly stationed on the city walls, with the ratio of soldiers deployed on the city walls to those below being about three to one. So, there would be about three hundred people on the city walls.

This is not right! Wang Ping immediately realized the crisis.

In the freezing cold, the normal situation would be that the soldiers would light a fire, most of them would be sleeping, and only a few would be chatting and warming themselves by the fire. That's how it should be.

But there was no campfire in sight. More than a hundred soldiers stood in formation on both sides of the city gate, holding spears. They were all freezing, shivering and stamping their feet, but they were extremely vigilant and showed no signs of drowsiness.

Wang Ping pointed to the city gate and whispered to his brother Wang Xiaoman, "The enemy has entered a state of war, and at least four hundred men have been deployed at the east gate."

Wang Xiaoman's face turned pale instantly; the consequences of his mistake were beginning to show.

"Big brother, what should we do now?" Wang Xiaoman was on the verge of tears.

Wang Ping pondered for a moment and then asked, "Do you know where Sun Fu lives?"

Wang Xiaoman nodded, "They live in the back residence of the prefectural government office, not far from here!"

"Don't worry about the city gate. Take a hundred brothers and go capture Sun Fu. You must capture him."

"I'm going right now!"

Wang Xiaoman led a hundred men along the alley towards the prefectural government office.

With wartime underway, Sun Fu would likely be in the military camp, and Wang Ping had no choice but to gamble.

Time passed slowly, and then the sound of the night watchman's drum came from afar, signaling the arrival of the second watch.

Wang Ping nodded to the other two village chiefs, and immediately waved his hand. He led two hundred men out from the back and ran along the alley toward the city wall.

Before long, they reached the city wall and, hugging it tightly, slowly approached the city gate.

But no matter how careful he was, it was no use. The other side had a hundred people, and Wang Ping was eventually discovered.

"Who are you?"

Wang Ping gritted his teeth and shouted, "Kill!"

Two hundred soldiers charged forward, swords drawn, as the enemy shouted, "Enemy situation! Enemy situation!"

The defending soldiers also raised their spears to meet the attack.

Why did Wang Xiaoman go to such lengths to obtain spears? Without spears, their two hundred men couldn't even withstand the enemy's one hundred men, not to mention they didn't have armor.

Unfortunately, Wang Xiaoman was betrayed, which worsened the situation.

The troops defending Nanchang were elite forces, completely different from Liu Xun's army. They were well-coordinated and ruthless. In just a short time, nearly fifty of Wang Ping's two hundred soldiers were killed, and they were forced to retreat in defeat.

Just then, three hundred soldiers on the city wall rushed down from the passageways on both sides, which was undoubtedly adding insult to injury, and Wang Ping's defeat was inevitable.

Not only did Wang Ping fail, but the entire operation to capture Nanchang was doomed to failure.

At the same time, the alarm bells on the four city gates rang urgently, and the soldiers in the camp got up and rushed out of the tents to assemble.

Wang Ping was surrounded, and his men suffered heavy casualties, leaving him with less than a hundred men. Wang Ping grabbed a spear and fought desperately against the enemy.

As the enemy forces grew larger, an enemy general shouted, "Capture them alive!"

Wang Ping was in despair. He looked up to the sky and sighed deeply, "My lord, I have failed!"

Just then, a loud shout came from not far away: "Stop! Put down your weapons!"

Everyone looked over and was stunned. Sun Fu appeared a few dozen steps away, followed by a large group of soldiers.

Upon hearing the alarm bell, Sun Fu hurriedly led a dozen men to flee towards the military camp, only to be spotted by Wang Xiaoman, who was lying in ambush outside the gate. Wang Xiaoman led a hundred men to swarm forward, killing Sun Fu's men, pulling Sun Fu off his horse, and binding him to the ground.

The fierce battle at the East Gate stopped, and everyone was puzzled. At this moment, Sun Fu's hands were grabbed and a sharp dagger was pressed against his back.

Wang Xiaoman whispered from behind, "Tell them to put down their weapons!"

Helpless, Sun Fu could only shout, "Are you not even obeying my orders? Everyone, put down your weapons!"

The soldiers, bewildered, retreated behind Qu Chang, who was called Zhao Ren. He too realized that their commander, Sun Fu, had been controlled by the enemy.

At this point, we certainly cannot lay down our weapons; instead, we must find a way to save our lord.

He led his soldiers forward step by step, when Wang Xiaoman suddenly placed her sword against Sun Fu's neck and shouted sternly, "Step back, or I'll kill him!"

Zhao Ren was so frightened that he immediately shouted to the soldiers, "Don't go forward!"

Wang Ping noticed that his brother Wang Xiaoman only had fifty soldiers behind him. Wait a minute! Where were the other fifty brothers?
Suddenly, he remembered something and turned around to look. He saw a group of soldiers silently walking up the passageway to the city wall. They were Wang Xiaoman's men.

Wang Ping was overjoyed. He gently waved his hand, pointed to the city gate, and made an upward gesture to indicate that the city gate should be opened. The garrison commander Zheng Hu understood and quietly led several soldiers into the city gate.

(End of this chapter)