Chapter 79: The Battle for the City Walls

"General! Yuan's army has surrounded the city."

In Shouchun, within the council hall, Bu Zhi rushed in to deliver the news.

"Oh? Let’s go and see!"

Cao Xin led his men up to the city wall.

Outside Shouchun, banners fluttered, long spears bristled like a forest, and a vast sea of soldiers stretched into the distance. There were more than two hundred infantry and cavalry archer formations, numbering twenty or thirty thousand men—no less grand than the army once seen under the walls of Xinye.

The Yuan army, upon arrival, dispensed with any pretense of negotiation or intimidation, instead dividing into three columns. They set up camps before the east, west, and south gates, leaving only the north gate facing the Huai River unguarded, hoping to force Cao Xin and his Langya troops out of the city.

"General, give me five hundred Langya infantry, and I am confident I can take out one of their camps," Yu Du said, pointing at the enemy formations outside the city.

"General, let me go as well. My archers haven’t seen battle in a long time," Li Dayan added eagerly.

"No need to rush. We hold the high ground atop the city walls and have the advantage of terrain. Let them attack; we will fight when they come up, saving much of our strength."

"Yes, General!"

The two men clasped their fists and withdrew.

"Governor Yang, what is the situation inside the city?"

"General, the people are restless. If the enemy besieges us for too long, I fear there may be an uprising," Yang Hong replied hesitantly.

"Hmph! I told them to evacuate, but they refused to cooperate. Now they have only themselves to blame. Governor Yang, take some men and brick up the north gate; don’t allow any spies to coordinate with the enemy from within."

"Yes, General!"

"Old Dian, Zishan, the situation inside the city is yours to manage. Patrol each ward with the Wu Wei battalion and five hundred garrison troops. During the siege, should anyone gather to cause trouble, execute them without mercy."

"Yes, General!"

Dian Wei and Bu Zhi accepted their orders and departed.

"Old Yu, take six hundred Langya infantry and five hundred garrison troops to guard the south gate. Hold the enemy at all costs."

"Yes, General!"

Yu Du acknowledged and left.

"Dayan, take the archer battalion and a thousand garrison troops to guard the east gate. Do not let the enemy through."

"Yes, General!"

Li Dayan led his men to the city wall to make preparations.

Cao Xin himself took six hundred Langya infantry to defend the west gate.

"Sir Wenhe, do you find these arrangements satisfactory?" Cao Xin asked.

Jia Xu shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face. "I have never seen troops as elite as the Langya infantry, nor encountered a commander who defends a city quite as you do, General. So I cannot say."

"Hahaha! Then watch closely. Each Langya soldier is worth a hundred men. With just a thousand of them, destroying thirty thousand Yuan troops is no hard feat," Cao Xin said, waving his massive sword with a laugh.

The sound of horns and drums resounded.

—

As soon as the defensive arrangements were made, the Yuan army launched a fierce assault on Shouchun. Zhang Xun led his troops against the southern wall, Kuai Yue directed the attack on the eastern wall, while Zhou Yu commanded the assault on the west.

"Cao the Traitor! Today I will avenge my past humiliation. Attack!" Zhou Yu drew his sword and shouted.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Over ten thousand elite Danyang soldiers hefted scaling ladders and pushed siege towers, surging toward the city gates and walls with a roar.

"Hold steady! Hold steady!" When the enemy reached the base of the walls, Li Dayan shouted,

"Loose!"

A storm of arrows rained down from the city walls, pelting the Yuan troops below.

Under Li Dayan were more than thirty master archers and six hundred elite bowmen. In a single volley, they slew over half of the Yuan soldiers attacking the eastern wall.

The survivors hesitated to advance until Kuai Yue ordered several men executed to spur them on, forcing the remainder to press the attack.

Meanwhile, on the western and southern fronts, the garrison troops hurled stones down, crushing those Yuan soldiers who had made it to the base of the walls.

Cao Xin and Yu Du, each with their Langya infantry, formed squads of twenty to guard each section of the wall. They waited calmly until the enemy climbed up, then raised their sharp spears and ruthlessly stabbed at the Yuan attackers, sending them screaming back down.

One attacker was stabbed for each who climbed up; ten for ten. The Langya soldiers, conserving their energy, held the walls with iron discipline.

The siege raged from noon until dusk, when the Yuan army finally sounded the retreat.

More than two thousand bodies and over five thousand wounded were left beneath Shouchun’s walls.

Cao Xin’s garrison suffered several hundred casualties, and the Langya troops lost over a hundred.

The casualty ratio was nearly ten to one.

"Gongjin, our losses are too heavy. We have fewer than eighteen thousand men left, and morale is low. We cannot hold out for long," Zhang Xun said, his face clouded as he gazed at the wounded and dead strewn about the camp.

"Shouchun’s walls are high and its moat deep. The Langya infantry and archers are too savage. It would take at least fifty thousand men to breach these defenses by force," Kuai Yue said, frowning deeply.

Zhou Yu, armored and gripping his sword hilt, looked equally grim.

According to their spies, only a thousand or so Langya and two thousand garrison troops were inside, many of the latter being green recruits with little fighting power.

Zhou Yu, Zhang Xun, and Kuai Yue had believed that with twenty-five thousand soldiers—ten times the number of defenders—they could easily take Shouchun, wipe out Cao Xin and his Langya troops.

Yet the ferocity of the Langya soldiers far exceeded their expectations.

"General Zhang, can we request another ten thousand men from Lord Yuan?" Zhou Yu asked with a frown.

"Gongjin, there are fewer than ten thousand men left in Danyang, most of them new recruits. There are simply no reinforcements to send," Zhang Xun replied hesitantly.

He hesitated because Yuan Shu insisted on keeping ten thousand men to guard against Sun Ce in the south. Sun Ce had already taken several counties in Jiangdong and eyed Danyang hungrily. Though allies for now, both sides remained wary of one another.

"General Zhang, is there any chance General Qiao might send support?" Kuai Yue stroked his beard as he spoke.

"I’m afraid not. Cao’s forces under Chen Lan and Liao Hua, numbering four thousand, are aiding Liu’an. Yu Jin commands over ten thousand men. Both sides are locked in a standoff. If General Qiao withdrew, Yu Jin would immediately move to reinforce Shouchun, making our victory even more difficult," Zhang Xun responded.

Zhou Yu’s face darkened further.

He had led thirty thousand men to attack Shouchun—three times Cao Xin’s number—bringing with him a secret weapon meant to counter the Langya cavalry.

He had expected to destroy the Langya riders and kill Cao Xin, avenging his past defeat. Instead, he found himself beaten once outside the city, then bloodied again at the walls, suffering heavy losses in quick succession. Shame and anger welled up within him.

"Gongjin, Mister Yidu, Cao is fierce. Perhaps it’s best to withdraw and reconsider our plans another day?" Zhang Xun suggested.

"We cannot withdraw!" Zhou Yu and Kuai Yue said almost in unison.

"Cao has only two thousand troops inside. This is our best chance to eliminate him. If we let this opportunity slip, we may never defeat Cao Xin again," Kuai Yue lamented.

Zhou Yu nodded slightly. "Mister Yidu is right. Cao’s army has only recently entered Huainan; their foothold is unsteady and their numbers few. Yet even under these conditions, they have fought us to a standstill. If we allow them to entrench themselves here, the lands between the Yangtze and the Huai will fall under Cao’s dominion."

"But we cannot defeat him, and it is a shame to retreat. What can we do?" Zhang Xun asked, spreading his hands.

Zhou Yu and Kuai Yue looked up at the towering city walls, feeling only helplessness.

They represented Jiangdong and Jingzhou respectively, sent to assist Yuan Shu, to help defeat Cao Xin and his forces, and to prevent Cao’s control of Huainan, which would threaten both their domains.

But Cao Xin’s troops were simply too formidable. How could they possibly win?

"Gongjin, our spy inside the city has sent a message."

A scholar hurried in and quietly whispered a few words to the three.

"Oh? Is it true?"

Their eyes lit up, and their faces brightened with excitement.

"Zijing, could this be a ruse? Cao Ziyu is cunning and deceitful. We must be cautious," Zhou Yu asked, restraining his excitement.

"Gongjin, the Chen, Zhang, and Qin families were all once from Pengcheng in Xuzhou. Their kin were killed by Cao’s army; their hatred runs deep. If they collude with Cao, their reputations will be ruined, and they will have no standing among the gentry," the scholar replied calmly.

"Excellent! Heaven has granted us this opportunity. Victory will be ours!" Kuai Yue laughed heartily.

"Mister Yidu, keep your voice down. Let’s not celebrate before our plan succeeds."

"Gongjin is absolutely right!"

The three exchanged glances and burst into laughter together.

—