Taiheiki

Chapter 348 Trap
Four or five men from the town crawled into the pit and dug with pickaxes. They were now in a blind spot from the city wall's fire and were no longer vulnerable to arrows. The soldiers inside the battering ram stopped pushing the ram and instead swept away the bits of torch grease that had fallen under the ram's roof to avoid hindering their comrades below.

"Good! Quickly send men to rotate and make them hurry. We must open a breach before nightfall!" Upon receiving the report, Qielan was overjoyed. He turned to Ying Feng and smiled, "Envoy Ying, once we've captured the capital, I'll trouble you to go to the Han army and negotiate peace with that Chief Clerk Duan. We're all acting on the Emperor's orders; there's no need to shed blood for the Funan people. How about we stop here? The area around the Great Lake will belong to us, and the area below the Great River will belong to Jiaozhou. What do you say?"

Ying Feng sensed a hint of arrogance in Qielan's words. Having experienced much, he couldn't help but sneer inwardly, saying, "If the general has such an order, I will certainly obey. However, the royal city still exists; it's a bit premature to speak of such things now!"

"Hehehe!" Qielan laughed, "The Funan people can only rely on two things right now: the first is the reinforcements from the Han envoys, and the second is this city wall. Now that our long siege is complete, isolating us from the inside and outside, we can no longer rely on the reinforcements from the Han envoys; and the city wall is about to collapse, so defeat is inevitable!"

"Since a long siege can be built, it can naturally be breached as well. What is built by man can also be destroyed by man. As for the city walls, let's deal with them after they collapse!"

"Alright, alright!" Qielan laughed, "Then let's wait a little longer. Pass down the order: the breach in the city wall must be made before nightfall!"

Time seemed to slow down, almost frozen in time. As dusk approached, the sky was torn into tattered strips by fire and smoke, and the rammed earth bricks at the base of the city walls were smeared with grease, flames, and blood into a dark red. The oncoming lake breeze carried the acrid smell of burning wood, as if death were imminent.

The battering rams at the base of the city wall had been mostly destroyed. When the defenders on the wall realized that flames couldn't destroy them, they dismantled the structures on the wall and hurled down the heavy stone blocks and logs they had obtained, which immediately crushed half of the battering rams. But the attackers quickly provided more planks and pillars, building a makeshift but sturdy roof at the entrance to the wall. The soldiers inside dug deeper and wider, using pillars to support the roof to avoid being crushed by the collapsing earth and rocks. Only when the hole was large enough did they light the dry firewood beside the pillars and retreat.

Upon receiving the news, Qielan immediately ordered the vanguard, who were already prepared, to line up and prepare for the charge. About half a meal's time later, the men heard a strange sound beneath their feet, as if something was slowly breaking or snapping. The soldiers laid down their weapons, ceased fighting, and listened intently. After a while, the sound grew louder and louder; what ruled this land was no longer the shouts of warriors and the clashing of weapons—those were long gone.

The towering city walls, bearing the weight of their weight, slowly crumbled, raising clouds of dust that blotted out the sun—like a long-awaited, sordid funeral, mingled with the intermittent, desperate cries of women and children, and the roars of the attackers outside the city, eager for plunder and slaughter. They drew their weapons, rhythmically striking their shields, beating the funeral drums for the city.

"Victory is within reach!" Qielan stood before the soldiers and shouted in his booming voice, "The Funan people have ruled this city for over two hundred years, and it contains countless riches, which now belong to you—" He paused slightly, glancing triumphantly at Ying Feng, "Go and enjoy your victory! Don't forget who brought you this victory!"

"Baa baa! It's you, General Qielan!" The soldiers roared, mimicking the cries of war elephants, and called out Qielan's name. Qielan drew his longsword and swung it down forcefully. The soldiers formed a dense formation and surged toward the gap where the smoke and dust were gradually settling. It was like a giant centipede crawling toward its prey.

"It seems the soldiers didn't keep me waiting long!" Qielan laughed. "Envoy Ying, you can consider your words now. Don't worry, I'll prepare a gift, a generous present that will absolutely satisfy you and that Chief Secretary Duan!"

Ying Feng didn't speak, only nodded slightly. Even in his view, the victory of the Gou-chō people was already undeniable—such a large breach had been opened in the city wall, which couldn't be repaired by manpower alone. Moreover, the besieging side had an overwhelming numerical advantage and had cut off the connection between the inside and outside with a long siege. Even without considering the factor of morale, the collapse of the defending troops was only a matter of time.

Seeing Ying Feng nod, Qielan finally revealed a smug smile. Although he didn't quite understand why the Han Empire had taken such a contradictory action, it might not be a bad thing for him. After all, if he could really reach an agreement with that Chief Secretary Duan, he would have gained a powerful backer, which would be a rare opportunity if he wanted to establish himself as king.

"Envoy Ying, there's no need to worry. In my opinion, the previous conflict with the Han army in Jiaozhou was nothing more than a misunderstanding. What's past is past, and everyone should look forward. Don't you agree?"

"General, your insight is brilliant!" Ying Feng's tone was icy. It would be a mistake to make any definitive statement before obtaining all the accurate information! Ying Feng thought to himself, after all, he was still under the other party's control, and there was no need to rashly start any conflict with them.

"Bring wine!" With victory in sight and the Han envoy yielding, Qie Lan felt even more delighted. He took two wine cups from his subordinates and handed one to Ying Feng: "Mr. Ying, although there have been some differences between us since you came south with me, I still greatly admire your talent. If I am able to govern this place after this, I would appreciate it if you could put in a good word for me with the court. I will repay you handsomely!"

"Oh?" Ying Feng laughed. "To guard this place? General, you have this plan?"

"Hehehe!" Qielan laughed: "Mr. Ying, do you still remember the story you told me back then? The one about 'the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away'?"

"You mean Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin?"

"That's right, it's him!" Qielan laughed. "Mr. Ying, you said that Han Xin was tricked into the palace, then killed by a palace maid with a bamboo sword, and then his entire clan was exterminated, right?"

"That's right. Legend has it that because Han Xin had made great contributions, Emperor Gao promised not to kill him with his army. So, after Empress Lü lured him into the palace, she had a woman kill him with a bamboo sword to avoid the disaster of breaking the oath! What happened?"

"I thought to myself at the time, if Han Xin had stayed in his fiefdom instead of the capital, he wouldn't have been killed!"

"This—" Ying Feng smiled bitterly, "How should I put it! If someone intends to harm you and you are unprepared, it doesn't really matter whether you're in Chang'an or not. After all, Han Xin wasn't in Chang'an from the beginning!" "That's true, but it's better not to be in the capital. With Han Xin's abilities, as long as he's in his own fiefdom, even if someone wants to harm him, they'll have some reservations, fearing it will provoke him to lead an army in rebellion. But in Chang'an, even if Han Xin is on guard, he can't gather many soldiers and will be hard-pressed to escape the enemy's clutches!"

"That's quite right!" Ying Feng nodded. "According to historical records, Han Xin was executed because he attempted to attack a prison and release prisoners to rebel, but was betrayed by a servant. If he hadn't been in Chang'an, but in his own fiefdom, even just an ordinary county, he wouldn't have been so easily killed by the prefect or magistrate! So, General, you don't want to be a hunting dog without rabbits, or a good bow without birds?"

"That's right! I do have this intention, and I ask that you grant my request!" Qie Lan did not hide anything. There was no point in hiding such a thing. If Ying Feng wanted to speak up for her, she had to be frank.

“That’s easy to say!” Ying Feng agreed readily. From the perspective of the Han Dynasty, Qielan’s idea was not a bad thing. In the end, if the King of Juting were to take over such a large territory, the Juting Kingdom would become too powerful. It would be better to divide it in two and stop there.

Just as Qielan was overjoyed, he suddenly noticed a strange situation—the walls of Funan's capital had been breached, and his soldiers had been pouring in for a while, so the city should be filled with thick smoke and fires everywhere, right? But why were the shouts of battle getting louder and louder, yet only a few fires had risen in the city? Were the Funan defenders too strong?
"Someone, go check on the situation! How come the fighting has gone on for so long, and the city hasn't caught fire yet?"

About half a cup of tea later, Qielan received a shocking message—it was true that a breach had been made in the city wall, but the soldiers who rushed into the city found that there was still a short wall blocking their way. In other words, the Ju-ting people who rushed into the city had entered a narrow space of less than 200 square meters. The Funan people stood on the city wall, looking down at the enemy crowded in that small space and shooting arrows and throwing javelins.

"How could this be?" Qielan exclaimed angrily. "How could there be a city wall inside the capital of the Funan people? Is there any way to build a city wall like this in the world?"

"Wait a minute!" Ying Feng asked a few more questions, then said to Qie Lan, "This should be a wall, which the guards rushed to build overnight!"

"What do you mean?"

"That means the garrison anticipated you might breach this point, so they hastily built a wall inside the city. This way, once your men rush through the breach, they'll be caught in a pincer movement. Get your men back quickly! This kind of wall was definitely prepared for by the garrison commander. No matter how brave and skilled your soldiers are, they won't be able to break through!"

"They anticipated my attack here? They built a wall inside the main city wall beforehand? How is that possible?" Qielan asked in surprise. "They're not gods, how could they know I would choose that place?"

"I don't know about that! But it's not impossible!" Ying Feng said with a wry smile, "It's not unheard of in our country's history for a general to anticipate the enemy's moves. You should order a retreat immediately, don't let your soldiers shed their blood in vain in this place!"

"Alright!" Qielan nodded helplessly. With the mournful sound of horns, the bewildered Ju-ting people retreated. However, the breach in the city wall was very narrow, allowing only three or four people to walk side by side at most. The Ju-ting people who had attacked earlier were crowded in the breach and unable to move. The Funan people on both sides of the city wall looked down from their high ground, shooting arrows and throwing javelins. People kept falling. When the last Ju-ting escaped from the breach, the small area surrounded by the city wall was already piled with corpses, at least three or four hundred people.

"You damned bastards!" Qielan counted the retreating Jucheng people. Although he didn't count them precisely, there were at least a thousand dead. These were not the mountain people and prisoners of war who had followed and coerced him along the way. They were all people of the same country and ethnicity as him. The loss of so many people at once truly pained him, and he couldn't help but curse loudly.

"General, the Funan people have begun repairing the damaged city wall!" someone exclaimed, pointing towards the capital city in the twilight. Qielan looked up and, just as his subordinates had said, groups of Funan people were carrying earth and stones to repair the breach in the distant wall. Although furious, Qielan didn't lose his temper and order his soldiers to attack that very night. After all, his soldiers had suffered heavy casualties and were exhausted; they shouldn't fight continuously. Besides, even if they stopped the enemy from repairing the breach, he couldn't choose to continue his assault there (there was another new section of the wall behind). The bloodshed was completely unnecessary.

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Night fell. Accompanied by his guards, Samba patrolled the city walls. After a day of fierce fighting, the soldiers on the walls were exhausted, some sitting, some lying down, taking a break as they could. Normally, these men would have been herded to their feet and taught how to face their esteemed superiors. But Samba wasn't foolish enough to show off at such a time; he simply lowered his voice and stepped over or around these weary men.

"Master, that section of the collapsed city wall is just ahead!" the servant whispered. "I heard that thanks to the section of wall that was repaired overnight, the city would have already fallen!"

“Hmm!” Samba nodded. “Where is that Han Chinese military envoy? Where is he?”

"It's right there!" After asking around, the servant quickly pointed ahead and said, "Master, do you see it? It's when the lights are at their brightest. The Han master is directing people to repair the city wall!"

"Okay, let's go take a look!" Samba nodded. As they got closer, Samba noticed a strange phenomenon. Although it was supposed to be repairing the city wall, there weren't groups of slaves struggling to carry bricks, stones, and earth. Instead, there were only two lines of people, each passing a bag of bricks and earth to the next person, who in turn passed it on to the person after that. In this way, although no one moved their feet, the bags of bricks and earth seemed to have grown legs and flew to the gap, piling up. Meanwhile, more than a dozen stonemasons were quickly embedding cut stones into the gap. The gap was already about a quarter full, and according to the timeline, it would definitely be completed before dawn tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)