SFS Chapter 107 Another mouth to feed
Chapter 107 Another mouth to feed
At daybreak, Wu's army continued its attack, but they had to clear the traps before attacking.
After they retreated yesterday, those damned Han soldiers set up another trap.
Fortunately, one night was too short, and not many traps were set. They were cleared away just after noon. Zhang Cheng did not delay any longer and immediately ordered an attack.
On the city wall of Zhuji.
Xie Chong and Gan Xun stood side by side, looking at the endless Wu army below the city. Gan Xun said jealously, "Damn Wu army, they have a lot of resources. They just suffered a defeat and they have brought in tens of thousands of troops again."
Xie Chong teased, "You have to believe in General Guan Xing's abilities. With General Guan around, this Wu army will eventually become ours; it's just temporarily being held by Zhang Cheng."
Upon learning of Wu Jun's multi-pronged attack, Guan Xing urgently recalled Xie Chong, who was in charge of allocating land, to assist Gan Xun in temporarily blocking Zhang Cheng and buying time for Guan Xing to eliminate Quan Cong.
It was Xie Chong's idea to release the prisoners yesterday.
Upon hearing this, Gan Xun laughed loudly and said, "That makes sense, but the prisoners have been released for a whole night, why is there still no movement?"
Xie Chong laughed and said, "What kind of commotion could there be in just one night? You should know that the role of prisoners is not in the open, but in the shadows where we can't see them."
"Having learned from the last lesson, Zhang Cheng would absolutely not dare to use this batch of prisoners. Not only would he not dare to use them, but he would also have to treat them to good food and drink. But do you think that's the end of it? Not at all."
“The prisoners felt that they had been wronged by the Han army and that they deserved to be treated like heroes after finally returning home. No matter how good Zhang Cheng was to them, they felt that it was only right and that it should be even better.”
“Other Wu soldiers would think that prisoners of war are defeated soldiers and should be punished, but instead they are treated the same as or even better than the prisoners. Why should they be punished?”
"Over time, a rift will develop between the two sides. Even if neither of the above two conditions occurs, the thousands of mouths will still accelerate the depletion of Zhang Cheng's provisions."
“Zhang Cheng may not rescue the disaster-stricken people, but he will not and dare not abandon his soldiers. So let’s wait. The longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for us.”
Gan Xun gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "Now I understand why General Guan appointed you as the instructor. You're just as cunning as him!"
"So what do we do now? Judging from Wu Jun's posture, they're preparing to attack the city. Should we release another batch of prisoners?"
Yesterday, prisoners were released from the iron mine. There are also prisoners from the coal mine. Prisoners from the Wushang coal mine have also been transferred to Zhuji and can be released at any time.
More importantly, they haven't been feeding the prisoners lately, only giving them half a bowl of thin porridge each day to keep them alive. Just thinking about so many starving ghosts attacking Zhang Cheng's camp is thrilling.
Xie Chong laughed and said, "Of course we will. We will release them in batches according to the original plan, with only three hundred people released each time."
As the Wu army outside the city took up their positions, the city gates opened again, and three hundred disheveled, hungry, and weak prisoners helped each other out of the city gates.
Outside the city, in the Wu army's ranks, Zhang Cheng had already raised his arm, ready to unleash a volley of arrows. But before he could even raise it, hundreds of beggars appeared at the city gate.
Seeing the beggar reappear, Zhang Cheng's face turned red, and his raised hand froze in mid-air.
He dared not wave his sword again, fearing that if he did, he would kill the beggars first instead of the Han soldiers.
If it were just a few hundred fleeing civilians, Zhang Cheng would not hesitate to order his troops to fire arrows, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let them break through his lines and affect his morale. The problem was that these people were not ordinary civilians, but captured elite soldiers of the Wu army.
More importantly, after yesterday's events, everyone knows the beggars' identities. If I kill them, what will the soldiers think? What will the prisoners who returned yesterday think?
"Damn it, Guan Xing, can't you do anything right?"
Although Zhang Cheng cursed Guan Xing in his heart, he kept his hand tightly raised in the air, not daring to wave it or even shake it, for fear that the soldiers would misunderstand and loosen the taut bowstring.
The beggars finally rejoined the group. Zhang Cheng could no longer contain himself and slammed his arm down, roaring with all his might, "Hit..."
The order was given, and a hail of arrows rained down on the city walls, more dense than a torrential downpour.
At the same time, Zhang Cheng ordered You Yong to take the prisoners and retreat to the side, while he commanded the army to launch an attack on the city wall.
On the city wall, Gan Xun held up a newly made thick wooden shield, protecting himself and Xie Chong beneath it. He cursed angrily, braving the arrows, "Damn Zhang Cheng! We were captured by him, and he gives us this in return. It's so unreasonable!"
Xie Chong, hiding behind Gan Xun, said, "You've provoked Zhang Cheng so much, do you expect him to be grateful to you? Stop talking nonsense and think about how to deal with the enemy. We must hold out until General Guan sends back a message, or at the very least until Ji Jie moves the steel plant away."
Things are different now than last time. The Han army's resources have grown significantly, and they can't just leave whenever they want.
Gan Xun snorted coldly, "Don't worry, even if I die here, I won't let Zhang Cheng cross Zhuji by a single step."
Xie Chong said, "There's no need for that. If we really can't win, we'll retreat. We can set up traps on the way to Wushang to delay the Wu army. Don't forget that our goal is to stall, not to fight."
While the two were talking, the rain of arrows stopped, and Wu Jun, carrying a siege ladder, launched a charge. Gan Xun, with a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left, led his army to fight their way up.
Enraged, Zhang Cheng saw that the Han army dared to resist, so he went to beat the drum and ordered the army to attack with all its might. The morale of the Wu army was greatly damaged by the returning prisoners. In order to prevent the morale from falling further, he had to capture Zhuji City and win the first victory.
Seeing Wu Jun's bravery, Gan Xun also became determined and led his troops to fight desperately until nightfall.
Around 9 PM, the Wu army retreated. Xie Chong helped the wounded Gan Xun sit on the steps and looked at the wounded soldiers all over the ground, saying, "It seems that the Wu army will not give up until they take Zhuji. Now that the Wu army's morale is high, there is no need to fight them head-on. Let's prepare to retreat."
Morale is a fluctuating thing. It can be a matter of going all out, then losing momentum, and finally being exhausted. When the Wu army's morale was high, they could fight to the death with the Han army. But if they couldn't find the Han army or other opponents, their morale would quickly disappear like a deflated balloon.
Gan Xun nodded and said, "I'll listen to you. Let the brothers eat and rest, and we'll leave at dawn."
The Han army did not intend to hold out to the death, so they had long ago transported usable supplies such as food and provisions to the rear. Currently, there are only three or four days' worth of food and provisions left in the city.
With fewer supplies, there was less trouble. The Han army quickly packed up and, under the cover of night, replaced all the guards on the city walls with scarecrows before sneaking out of the city.
In the morning, Wu's army launched another attack on the city. As soon as the arrows were fired, the defenders on the city walls were hit and fell to the ground without any screams.
Zhang Cheng realized something was wrong and immediately ordered a charge, then walked into Zhuji City in a daze.
After searching the city for a long time, they found no Han soldiers, but instead found prisoners still fast asleep.
The prisoners were awakened and brought before Zhang Cheng. They all wept and cried, "General, we've finally waited for you! Is there anything to eat?"
Zhang Cheng's face turned black with anger. These guys have nothing to do but eat, right?
Tragically, he couldn't find a single grain of food in the city, so the prisoners had to feed themselves from their own stored grain.
The receipt of four to five thousand prisoners in just two days greatly increased his food and fodder consumption.
That's not even the worst part. The worst part is that these guys do absolutely nothing but consume food supplies!