Sweep Yuan

Chapter 240 Luring the Enemy Out of Their Hole

Yuhuatai is a continuous hilly area formed by the sedimentation and erosion of the ancient Yangtze River channel over hundreds of millions of years. Its main peak is about 30 zhang high. Compared with the various "mountains" around Jiangning City, it is somewhat inconspicuous, but under the spring sunshine, it shows a unique landform.

Its top has been eroded by wind, sand and water over a long period of time, forming a flat and open platform-like terrain. The surface is covered with colorful, smooth and rounded pebbles, including many "rain flower agates" with fine texture and unique patterns, which shimmer with a warm luster in the sunlight.

Yuhuatai got its name from this.

In fact, this mountain is a narrow ridge formed by the connection of three ridges: East Ridge (Meigang), Middle Ridge (Fengtai Ridge), and West Ridge (Shizi Ridge), with a total length of about seven miles, like a natural barrier stretching across the south of Jiangning City.

In an ordinary prefecture, such low hills might be unremarkable and have little strategic value.

However, the very top of Yuhuatai East Hill is only two miles away from Jubao Gate, the south gate of Jiangning City. It is so close that one can see the reflection of the weapons of the guards on the city wall from the platform. This makes its significance completely different.

Because Yuhuatai is adjacent to the city wall of Jiangning and has a high and open terrain, it is sufficient to deploy troops and overlook the city's defenses, making it a strategic location that has been contested by military strategists throughout history.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror, once used this platform to launch a fierce attack on Liu Yao and finally broke into the city. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei also used this high ground to deploy his troops and defeated the Jin army's iron cavalry. The winds of history seem to still be gathered on this small hill.

The Yuan army was well aware of the strategic importance of Yuhuatai. Even with limited manpower, they managed to squeeze out two thousand men and deploy them there, attempting to guard this southern gateway to the city.

However, in the eyes of the Red Flag Battalion soldiers who were winning battle after battle and whose morale was soaring, although Yuhuatai had a good terrain, it was precisely because it was higher than the city wall and closer to the city that it was more advantageous for the attacking side.

The mere two thousand Yuan soldiers stationed there were, in their eyes, nothing more than an appetizer before the formal attack on the fortified city of Jiangning, something to be used as a sacrificial offering to their flags and sharpen their blades.

Since the main force entered Jiqing Road, all the credit for the hard-fought battles and breakthroughs has been taken by the vanguard Chang Yuchun's troops. His troops successively captured five enemy strongholds, killing and capturing nearly 8,000 people, achieving remarkable military exploits. Chang Yuchun himself also enjoyed a great deal of killing.

Such remarkable achievements have long made the other generals of the guards envious and eager to try their hand at it.

On the pagoda of Niushou Mountain, the generals could no longer contain themselves and all volunteered to fight against Shi Shan, vying to replace Chang Yuchun and have their own troops take the lead, capture Yuhuatai in one fell swoop, and present it to Marshal Shi.

In warfare, both high morale and balance are crucial.

Moreover, the Qingri Guards, having fought continuously, do need time to rest in order to maintain their strongest offensive capabilities.

He also needed to give other units the opportunity to achieve merit in order to maintain the army's high desire to fight.

Therefore, Shishan readily agreed to the generals' request and reassigned Zuo Junbi's Loyal Guard as the vanguard to attack Yuhuatai.

Unfortunately, Zuo Junbi seemed to have some bad luck.

Since crossing the river, the Red Flag Battalion's offensive has been unstoppable. The Yuan army's scattered fortresses outside the city have become nothing more than "experience packs" for gaining battle merits in the face of the ferocious Red Flag Battalion soldiers.

Even the more treacherous Niushou Mountain could not withstand the thunderous attack of Chang Yuchun's troops. The remaining Yuan army was already terrified and their morale was low.

At this moment, Shi Shan personally led more than 20,000 main force troops, with banners waving and swords and spears like a forest, and pressed towards Yuhuatai in a mighty manner. The two thousand Yuan soldiers left to guard Donggang, seeing such a situation, had no will to fight left.

When Zuo Junbi led his loyal guards to Yuhuatai with high expectations, he was met with the Yuan army's hasty retreat. The defenders decisively abandoned this outer barrier and set fire to the camp and the stored grain and supplies before leaving.

Then, without looking back, they retreated back into the towering city of Jiangning.

The loyal and righteous guards marched all the way here, only to be assigned the task of being a "fire brigade." They had to work hard to extinguish the remaining fires on the hill and clear an area for the marshal to inspect.

When Shi Shan ascended the eastern hill of Yuhuatai, surrounded by a group of generals, the air was still filled with the smell of ashes and burnt wood, and a few embers were still emitting wisps of smoke.

To the north, on the southern city wall of Jiangning, the Yuan army soldiers had already been densely deployed, their tense faces looking in this direction. Bows, crossbows, and defensive weapons were all in place, guarding against the Red Flag Battalion launching an attack.

Standing in the center of the platform, the defensive layout of the southern city wall of Jiangning can be roughly seen. The line of sight can even extend beyond the city wall, and the outlines of some towering landforms and buildings inside the city can be vaguely seen.

Shishan would naturally not risk approaching the northeast corner, even though the view would be clearer there, as it would also expose him to the deadly range of heavy long-range weapons such as the eight-ox crossbows of the city's defenders.

The main body of the Jiangning city wall is based on the old system of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is made of rammed earth and is about three zhang (10 meters) high. It has four land gates and four water gates. At the corners of the city wall, there are arc-shaped "round towers" to enhance the range of firepower.

Outside the city walls was a moat about four zhang wide. This section of the southern city wall even used the Qinhuai River as its moat, with a width of nine zhang (approximately 28 meters), its rippling waters forming an insurmountable natural barrier.

These massive defensive structures were preserved in the early Yuan Dynasty, either because they were large-scale projects and difficult to dismantle, or because they were originally natural water systems.

In addition, all the city walls were originally covered with bricks, making them exceptionally sturdy. Every thirty feet, there was a protruding "horse face" that could form a three-sided attack on the enemy.

Jubao Gate (South Gate, the predecessor of Zhonghua Gate in later times) and Shicheng Gate (West Gate) originally had complex barbicans and hidden troop tunnels. It is said that there were even more secret doors in the west city wall.

However, most of these ingenious defensive facilities were destroyed in the "Demolition Order" at the beginning of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. In order to prevent the southern people from using the fortified city to establish a separatist regime and rebel, the Yuan army systematically dismantled most of the city's defensive facilities, leaving only the rammed earth foundations. As a result, Jiangning had city walls but no complete city defenses.

It wasn't until Xu Song's army wreaked havoc in Jiangnan that the Yuan court, in a panic, hastily issued an order to repair the city walls. The Jiqing Road Military and Civilian General Administration was forced to invest a huge amount of manpower and resources in an attempt to restore the city walls to their former appearance.

However, destroying a city is easy, but rebuilding it is difficult. To this day, Jiangning City has only managed to rebuild the three gate towers: Jubao Gate, Shicheng Gate, and Sanshan Gate (East Gate, also known as Tongji Gate). The outer walls on both sides of the gates, totaling about 100 zhang (approximately 50 meters), have been re-bricked, and a horse-faced gate has been rebuilt on each side.

The difficulty and slow pace of the project are evident.

"Marshal, when I arrived, the scaffolding under the city wall had only just been dismantled."

Zuo Junbi, having personally organized his soldiers to fight the fire, was covered in soot and looked somewhat disheveled. But the thought of the Yuan army's hasty deployment and disorganized retreat excited him again, and he pointed to the northeast bank of the Qinhuai River, saying:

"Those laborers and craftsmen fled in such a panic that they didn't have time to drag the bamboo and timber back to the city, so they could only throw them into the Qinhuai River. Look, Marshal, there's still a piece of timber hanging on the bank that hasn't drifted away."

Speaking of this, Feng Guosheng, who was standing to the side, also got excited and chimed in:
"Hehe, we found a big brick kiln in the south of the city, and it's still in operation! Countless brick blanks are waiting to dry under the shed, and steam is still rising from the kiln opening, as if it's soaking in the kiln (a key step in making blue bricks). The craftsmen are so scared that they're hiding in their sheds and don't dare to come out."

Shishan personally supervised the construction of cities such as Hongxian, Haozhou, and Hefei, and was well aware of the complexity and time-consuming process of making city bricks.

During the drying process, the bricks need to be turned over regularly to prevent one side from drying too quickly and cracking. The kiln soaking process needs to continue for several days, and by controlling the water and fire, the bricks can be fully gelled to make them strong and durable.

At this point, without proper management, all the unfinished bricks and the bricks being kiln-fired would be destroyed. Jiangning City would fall into the hands of the Red Flag Battalion sooner or later, and the city defenses still needed to be repaired; these kiln bricks would naturally come in handy in the future. After receiving Feng Guosheng's report, Shi Shan immediately ordered him to appease the craftsmen and allow the brick kiln to resume production.

In addition, the rammed earth work on the barbican outside Jubao Gate is only half completed and its shape is incomplete, which is enough to show the haste and disarray of the Jiangning garrison's restoration work.

Even so, it would be by no means easy to conquer the city so easily.

Putting aside everything else, the Zhenhuai Bridge, which leads directly to Jubao Gate and is ten zhang long, would inevitably suffer heavy casualties if the attacking side tried to force their way through without specialized protective equipment.

That's right, there are bridges over the Qinhuai River, and more than one.

However, it was clear that the Yuan army could not have left such a vital transportation hub undefended.

In fact, all three main stone bridges spanning the Qinhuai River—Changchun Bridge (formerly Baixia Bridge, located in the east of the city), Zhenhuai Bridge (directly opposite Jubao Gate), and Yuanwu Bridge (formerly Xuanwu Bridge, located in the north of the city)—were within the effective range of the long-range weapons of the city wall defenders.

They were originally part of the moat defense system, serving as both channels for our attack and fulcrums for the enemy's defense.

These sturdy stone bridges served multiple purposes, not only as passageways for the defending troops, but also because their arch height and structure effectively blocked the passage of large enemy warships (allowing only small and medium-sized ships to pass).

Because the moat is wide enough, the land forces' siege tactics will have to revolve around these three bridges until the Red Flag Navy gains absolute control of the river.

This greatly limited the deployment and effectiveness of the attacking forces, allowing the defenders to concentrate their strength and hold key passes.

After carefully observing the defensive system of the south city wall, Shishan couldn't help but exclaim:
"Jiangning City is well-defended and its strategic location, like a tiger crouching and a dragon coiled, truly lives up to its reputation!"

His gaze swept across the area below Yuhuatai, and when he saw the Red Flag Battalion soldiers rapidly assembling as ordered, his eyes filled with renewed fighting spirit. He gave the order:

"The entire army shall set up camp in a strategically advantageous location! Once the artisan battalion has crafted enough siege equipment, we will then properly assess the strength of the Jiangning garrison!"

The deployment of a camp for more than 20,000 troops involves a series of complex issues such as water sources, drainage ditches, wind direction, terrain defense, and the spacing and coordination between different units. Naturally, it cannot be done by simply finding a place "on the spot".

Fortunately, Yuhuatai has a high vantage point for observation and surveillance, and there are also rivers and streams nearby for water. The terrain itself is also advantageous for defense, making it an ideal campsite.

The specific division of the various garrison camps was handled by the staff of the Military Command. Even during the march, the Military Command had already formulated a detailed camping plan based on maps and intelligence; now, after on-site inspection and verification, only minor adjustments were needed before the plan was submitted to Shishan for approval.

Subsequently, each guard, according to the plan, further divided the encampment locations of each camp within the main camp area designated by its own guard.

Thus, despite the large army and numerous tasks, the entire camping process was carried out in a well-organized and orderly manner with clear division of labor, and was not chaotic despite the complexity.

On the south city wall of Jiangning, the garrison soldiers watched nervously as the Red Flag Battalion soldiers outside the city dispersed like efficient worker ants, felling trees to build palisades, digging trenches, and setting up tents, their movements swift and methodical.

Seeing that the enemy was busy setting up camp today and seemed to have no intention of attacking the city immediately, many of the guards felt a little relieved. However, witnessing the enemy's swift and efficient camp setup, which demonstrated a military skill far superior to their own troops, they couldn't help but feel secretly alarmed and uncertain about the future.

While the main force of the Red Flag Battalion marched to the city of Jiangning and set up camp, Wang Bi's main force of the Mighty Guard had already cleared out the remaining resistance on the southeast side of Niushou Mountain and eliminated a Yuan army fortress near Fangshan.

Although this move still couldn't directly attack the main Yuan army force at Fangshan, it greatly intimidated them, causing the defenders on the opposite bank of the river to hesitate to cross the river and attack, even though they knew the main force of the Red Flag Battalion had reached the walls of Jiangning City, for fear of being ambushed.

However, in another direction, a mobile force of the Yuan army moved out as scheduled.

"marshal!"

Feng Guosheng hurried to Shishan, who was inspecting the progress of the camp's defenses, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement, and said:
"There's movement on the river! The Yuan dogs' navy has moved. Judging from the flags, they're from Longwo Water Village. There are more than forty small and medium-sized boats, heading south along the Qinhuai River, heading this way!"

"it is good!"

A glint of light flashed in Shi Shan's eyes. One of the important reasons he had moved the main force of his army to Yuhuatai so early was to put pressure on the city's defenders, in order to alert the enemy and mobilize the Yuan navy.

Seeing that the snake had already moved, he gave the order without hesitation:

"ignition!"

With the army occupying Yuhuatai, another important function became apparent at this moment—it could serve as a beacon tower in an excellent location.

On Yuhuatai, the soldiers immediately lit the specially prepared beacon fire fuel. Unlike ordinary fireworks, the fuel used produced smoke of a specific color, and simple signals could be transmitted by the number of beacons lit.

As the smoke billowed from the top of Yuhuatai, the lookout post on an old Yuan Dynasty beacon tower (which had been occupied and used by the Red Flag Battalion) on the western peak of Niushou Mountain immediately saw the signal and lit the beacon fire as well.

Immediately afterwards, beacon fires also soared into the sky at the stronghold of Banqiao Town, which is closer to the banks of the Yangtze River.

The torch of communication was relayed, carrying messages along the way.

Before long, the observation post on the lookout tower at Zimuzhou Water Village in the middle of the Yangtze River clearly saw the signal coming from the shore.

"Commander! Signal! The enemy navy has been mobilized!" the observation post shouted down.

Inside the water fortress, Xu Da, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly stood up upon hearing the news. His face showed a resolute expression, and he gave a stern order:

"All troops, listen up! Weigh anchor! Launch the attack according to the first contingency plan!"

Meanwhile, on Yuhuatai, south of Jiangning City, a personal guard soon reported to Shishan.

"Marshal, the water fortress at Alphabet Island has responded to the beacon signal, and Commander Xu has received the order to send troops!"

Shi Shan nodded, then turned to Feng Guosheng, who was eager to try, and gave the order:
"You have two quarters of an hour to prepare. When the time comes, lead your cavalry and attack along the south bank of the river. Objective: To cooperate with the navy to capture or burn down the Yuan army's naval fortress!"

"Understood!" Feng Guosheng clasped his hands in a fist and shouted, then turned and strode away, his whole body filled with fighting spirit.

(End of this chapter)