Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 35: Chuzhou's Backflow

  The siege of Chu State City has entered its third night.

  Wanyan Liang's daytime attack was repelled by the Song army again. However, Wanyan Liang discovered that the morale of the Song army had decreased significantly, and Geng Zhong, a fierce general, no longer appeared on the city wall. It seemed that the strategy to sow discord had achieved some effect. He firmly believed that if he made another effort tomorrow, he would definitely capture Chuzhou.

  At this moment in Chuzhou City, Yu Yunwen was arguing fiercely with Han Shizhong and Hu Fen.

  "General Han, I think General Geng is unlikely to be secretly in contact with the Jin army. Although our military situation is unfavorable in this battle, it's not completely hopeless either. I've also heard about General Geng's past, you promoted him from a personal soldier to Defense Envoy, that's a great kindness, how could he not be loyal? Moreover, previously General Geng had no intention of rebelling at all, just based on a letter from the Jin army, it's too hasty to determine that General Geng is suspected of collaborating with the enemy!" Yu Xun said excitedly.

  Han Shizhong said somewhat impatiently, "Mr. Yu, I understand what you mean. This commander has not made a final judgment on Geng Zhongming, and it's not certain that he is secretly in contact with the Jin army just because of his past dealings with General Kong Yanxun. However, at this critical moment, it's hard to predict people's hearts. To ensure the safety of the city, as a precautionary measure, this commander has temporarily detained him. Once the siege is lifted, this commander will thoroughly investigate this matter and give Geng Zhongming a fair judgment."

  Hu Zhen also chimed in, "Mr. Yu, the main attack direction of the enemy is the east and west gates, our attention and most of our troops are attracted to this place. The south gate guarded by Geng Zhao is very critical, if we can't hold out, we can still retreat from the south gate, but if the south gate falls, our army will be like a turtle in a jar. Therefore, it is best to dispatch a loyal and reliable person as the guardian of the south gate. This matter is an internal affair of the Han family army, we will handle it ourselves. Please focus your mind on how to defend the city."

  Yu Yunwen saw that both of them were saying this, and it can be seen that the matter has gradually become irreversible. He couldn't help but feel a great sense of urgency in his heart. His eyebrows furrowed, and with a worried face, he advised again: "General Han, think about it. Why did the Jin army shoot that letter to the east wall of General Hu's city, instead of General Geng's south wall? Isn't this very suspicious? The Jin army has been attacking the city for several days, can't they even figure out which side of the wall General Geng is defending?"

  Hu Zhen listened, but was furious: "Yu Yunwen, what do you mean by this? Are you also hinting that I falsely accused Geng Zhong of not being able to do it? That letter fell at the intersection of the east and south city walls, just a bit biased towards the east, so it happened to be picked up by my subordinate soldiers. It's very likely that in the middle of the night, the Jin army archers couldn't see the terrain clearly and shot off target."

  Yu Yunwen was about to say more, but Han Shizhong stopped him with a wave of his hand: "Alright! Mr. Yu, I know you also have good intentions, but this matter is not trivial. If it were ordinary times, I could investigate slowly. But now that the great enemy is in front of us, we must be swift and decisive. We can only temporarily inconvenience Geng Zhong for now. If it's proven later that he was wrongly accused, I will personally apologize to him! What do you think?"

  Looking at Han Shizhong's sincere and impatient expression, what else could Yu Yunwen say? After all, he was just a scholar in common attire, without any official position. Moreover, no matter how you looked at it, this matter could only be considered an internal affair of the Han family army. As an outsider, it wasn't suitable for him to intervene.

  Yu Yunwen could only bow his head and say, "Since it's like this, then so be it. However, Yu has a few suggestions, and he hopes the General will consider them."

  Han Shizhong did not want to offend Yu Yunwen, who he thought had the talent of a staff officer. He composed himself and hastily returned the courtesy, saying: "Mr. Yu, please speak freely!"

  Yu Yunwen let out a long sigh, then slowly said: "Firstly, since General Geng has been placed under house arrest, the defense of the south gate cannot be relaxed. We must guard against the Jin army changing its main attack direction to the south gate now that General Geng is not present. I suggest making General Geng's deputy, his younger brother Geng Lian, the commander-in-chief of the south gate, and announcing that General Geng will not be punished in order to calm the minds of his troops."

  "Secondly, the enemy has divided their troops into three shifts, taking turns to launch attacks. Even if our army is made of iron, we can't withstand it. Fortunately, many soldiers have gradually recovered and can barely join the battle. Yu suggested that our army could also be divided into two shifts, taking turns to rest, as long as the situation on the city wall is not extremely critical, there is no need to mobilize the resting soldiers to preserve their physical strength."

  "Thirdly, our army can spread the news within the city that reinforcements have been dispatched and will arrive in Chuzhou soon. At that time, with internal and external coordination, we can easily defeat the Jin army, thus boosting morale! This way, the soldiers and civilians inside the city will not lose hope due to being heavily besieged."

  Everyone who heard it was deeply moved.

  If previously Han Shizhong thought that Yu Yunwen had the talent of a staff officer, now he no longer doubted that Yu Yunwen had the talent of a military strategist. These three suggestions precisely pointed out the weaknesses of the current Chu State Song army.

  Han Shizhong raised his thumb in praise: "Mr. Yu's words are absolutely right! Hu Xian, you follow Mr. Yu's proposal and arrange it! Execute it according to the rules!"

  Hu Zhen was dissatisfied with Yu Yunwen's attempt to "reverse the case" for Geng Zhuo, but as a general who had led troops for many years, he naturally saw that Yu Yunwen's proposal hit the key point of the current defense of Chu State. Therefore, he could only respond with a nod and then turned around and walked out of the hall, starting to make arrangements according to Yu Yunwen's proposal.

  "Mr. Yu, the position of protector of the vanguard in our army is currently vacant, I wonder if you would be interested in taking up the post in Chu State?" Han Shizhong asked with great expectation. The staff officers around him had been making adjustments and seeing that Yu Yunwen was exceptionally talented, they had the intention to recruit him.

  Yu Yunwen, however, let out a sigh without hesitation, shook his head and said: "General Han attaches so much importance to me, I am truly moved. Unfortunately, my father is seriously ill and has not recovered yet, so I really have no heart for officialdom!"

  Han Shizhong initially thought that Yu Yunwen was pretending to be reserved, and once again advised him. However, seeing Yu Yunwen still shaking his head, it was clear that he had made up his mind, so Han also had no choice but to give up.

  He was worried in his heart, his son Han Yan had gone to Huai State to ask Zhang Jun for reinforcements, no matter whether Zhang Jun sent troops or not, he should have returned by now. But how could it be that three days had passed and there was no news at all? Hadn't something unexpected happened?

  However, he did not know that Han Yanzi was no longer in Haozhou at this time, but in Huaiyang.

  Huai Prefecture was located between Huo Prefecture and Chu Prefecture, eighty li from Huo Prefecture and ninety li from Chu Prefecture. Since it was not on the Huai River border between Song and Jin, the garrison troops stationed here were relatively weaker than those in Huo and Chu prefectures. The commander of this place was Wang De, a general under Zhang Jun.

  Wang De had participated in the war against the Jin Dynasty since the Jianyan era, fought bravely, used troops wisely and decisively, and repeatedly won battles against the Jin army. It can be said that more than half of Zhang Jun's military achievements were actually achieved by Wang De. However, Zhang Jun was too selfish and petty, attributing most of Wang De's merits to himself. As a result, Wang De is still only the defender of Huai State.

  At this moment, Wang De was in his own mansion's study, intently looking at the city defense map with several attendants, studying and arranging the defense of Huai Prefecture.

  Just a day ago, the scouts of Huai Prefecture had reported to him that the Jin army was attacking Chu State. He was shocked by the sudden attack of the Jin army again, and did not expect that the Jin army would launch another attack just over a month after its defeat.

  This attack on Chu State was somewhat sudden, but the current temporary ceasefire is just a tacit understanding between the two sides. Only envoys have been in secret contact, and not even a peace treaty has been signed. Therefore, when hostilities resume, it will not be unexpected.

  However, Wang De did not think that the Jin army could take down Chuzhou. After all, Chuzhou's city walls were high and thick, with sufficient grain, arrows, and other supplies. Moreover, Han Shizhong's troops had relatively strong combat power among the Song army.

  In comparison, Wang De was worried that the Jin army would attack Huai after being blocked in Chu. Therefore, he began to prepare for the rain, mobilizing civilians within the city to strengthen the defense of Huai, repairing some defensive facilities, and storing stone blocks, arrows, and other materials.

  He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, more than a month ago, the Song army was in a good situation, but due to an order from the Privy Council, claiming that they were negotiating with the Jin country, requiring the Song army to withdraw from all fronts. Several routes of the Song army had no choice but to hand over the territory and cities that they had just recovered to the Jin army. Unfortunately, the kindness of the Song Dynasty did not move the Jin Dynasty. Now the Jin army is invading south again after a brief rest, and its target is directly at the most solid city of Chuzhou along the Huai River, it can be seen that there must be reliance.

  Therefore, Wang De was not at all complacent and feared that his defense of Huai State would be breached.

  Just as he had just finished listening to the staff's introduction to the city defense situation, a guard rushed in and reported: "General Wang, the son of General Han Yuan of Chu State, Han Yan, is seeking an audience!"

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