Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 219 Duan Hongyan devises a plan to defeat the enemy.

Zhu Wen suffered an initial defeat but ultimately triumphed in the Battle of Hanjiang in Chaozhou, eliminating the threat posed by the numerous barbarian tribes allied with Gao Yan in the vast mountains north of Chaozhou and Xunzhou.

Without the interference of these barbarian officials, Zhu Wen could calmly deploy troops and set up defenses in key locations such as Zhao'an Fort between Fujian and Guangdong.

Gao Yan's follow-up troops were blocked by dangerous passes and could not enter Guangdong. They could only go to Jiangxi and Hunan and enter Lingnan West Road to join up with Gao Yan who had retreated.

Not long after, Yang Fuguang, the eunuch, also arrived with some Shence Army and Zhongwu Army troops, forming a response to Li Tiao, who was besieged by Huang Chao in Guangzhou City in the lower reaches of the Yue River.

The so-called siege was actually less effective than a sieve. Although Huang Chao's army sealed off all the city gates on land, they could not control the waterways. The government troops could take advantage of the rising river to send food and clothing into the city, and the port within the city was bustling with merchants and travelers.

After autumn arrived, the ponds and paddy fields outside the city began to dry up, and the siege equipment that Huang Chao had ordered to be made gradually arrived.

Guangzhou is a large and difficult city to defend, and its long city walls require defenses at every turn. Since siege cannot cut off its supply lines, a direct assault to breach the city is the right approach.

However, the biggest fear when attacking a city is that enemy reinforcements will suddenly arrive during the attack, resulting in a pincer movement and being attacked from both sides.

Yang Fuguang and Gao Yan's reinforcements also sailed down the river, threatening Huang Chao's besieging army and forcing Huang Chao to divide his forces to meet them. Whether the battle was advantageous or disadvantageous, if the government troops were in a bad situation, they would quickly board their ships and retreat, escaping the pursuit of the rebel army.

Although the river was not as flooded as in summer, strong reinforcements had arrived, and Li Yi, the son of Li Tiao, became even more aggressive in his battle.

Li Tiao's navy equipped each large ship with several sampans. When the water was shallow, the navy would board the nimble sampans, row quickly, and move swiftly, often gliding across even the surface of a swamp.

They used bows and arrows to shoot from a distance, and sharp steel swords for close combat on land. The ships also carried long spears, which could be used to thrust and stab at enemy ships or enemies on land during naval battles.

One of Shang Rang's subordinates, a general named Han Ping, was ambushed by Li Yi with over a hundred sampans. Before landing, they were suppressed by a volley of arrows, and after landing, they used swords and axes to destroy the camp, wielding their blades wildly as they stormed into the camp.

Han Ping was also one of Wang Xianzhi's outer disciples. His troops were stronger than Shang Rang's, but they were ambushed by Li Yi in the dead of night, causing the entire camp to collapse and disrupting friendly forces that came to their aid after receiving the alarm. A final assessment of the losses revealed that over eighty men had died in battle, and nearly two hundred were wounded.

Li Yi's troops only suffered three casualties, and their bodies were even recovered.

"The tactics of Li Tiao and his son are just like those of thieves! They're exactly the same as those of the Silla pirates who ravaged Qingqi and Huaidong!" Huo Cun angrily remarked.

In those days, the Silla pirates were far more arrogant than the infamous Japanese pirates of later generations. Since being terrified of the Tang Dynasty after the Battle of Baekgang, Japan was still in a relatively submissive and obedient stage, and would try its best to restrain and crack down on its own people who wanted to go out to sea to pirate.

Zhu Zhen casually remarked, "Who says government soldiers don't steal? Does Li Jiedushi (Li the military governor) pay for all the military expenses and rewards out of his own pocket to maintain such a large navy?"

Huo Cun clapped his hands, a look of sudden realization on his face: "That's right, everyone in the world knows that Li Jiedu is invincible in naval warfare. The pirates who harass the coastal areas of the Tang Dynasty should have been wiped out by him. But Li Jiedu has been guarding Lingnan for twenty years, and the number of pirates has not only not decreased, but has actually increased!"

Over the years, Li Tiao has been reporting victories, handing over batches of pirate heads and spoils of war.

But for this ambitious "sea god," raising pirates and killing pirates were nothing more than business.

But Li Tiao is not the only one in the world blinded by greed.

The reason why Silla pirates were able to run rampant was that many wealthy families and merchants of the Tang Dynasty provided them with weapons and provisions, scouted locations, and tipped them off in order to seize more profits.

Pirates, after plundering valuables, would either share a portion directly with their wealthy backers or have the patrons sell the stolen goods, thus reaping huge profits.

But these wealthy patrons were already prominent figures along the coast. Not to mention the pirates supported by other rich people, it was not uncommon for their own pirates to get restless and rush into the homes of wealthy patrons, kill their men, plunder their wives and daughters, steal all their wealth, and burn the manor to the ground.

If it weren't for a group of fools who are always so self-righteous and cling to wishful thinking, believing that things can't get out of control, to the point of betraying the guillotine that beheads them, how would Li Tiao have accumulated such illustrious military achievements and climbed to his current position as the uncrowned king who controls Lingnan?
Han Ping's crushing defeat emboldened Li Yi, who eventually suffered a loss.

Duan Hongyan's Qingyu characters are primarily archers, and are somewhat weak in melee combat.

After an autumn rain, the water level rose again. Duan Hongyan reported to Huang Chao that the Qingyudu camp was damp and the soldiers were not used to it, and requested to move the camp to higher ground.

Huang Chao agreed.

Duan Hongyan's camp was located on a high ground, behind which lay a swamp.

The hardship of moving camp meant that the soldiers hurriedly built the new camp and then lay down to sleep, snoring loudly.

Li Yi quickly learned of this intelligence through the scouts' report.

He once again led over a hundred sampans, drifting downstream from the marshland.

Upon reaching the shore, Li Yi noticed the enemy camp's crude and weak construction and exclaimed with a smile, "Heaven is on my side!"

The water ghosts were ordered to shoot arrows at the rear guards on the ship, cut down the wooden fences, and throw torches to set them on fire while shouting for battle.

Li Yi was already imagining what to do with Duan Hongyan, the famous beauty in the bandit army, if he could capture her.

He immediately recalled You Di's charming face, capable of both joy and anger, and suddenly shivered. You Di didn't care that Li Yi occasionally played around with a few maids. But someone as beautiful as Duan Hongyan would definitely arouse jealousy in You Di.

At least that's what Li Yi thinks.

Thinking of this, Li Yi suddenly realized, "If I capture that female general surnamed Duan, I should hand her over to my father and let him present her as a prisoner to Chang'an..."

Just as Li Yi was having all sorts of random thoughts, he suddenly heard a loud whooshing sound of arrows.

"No, there's an ambush!"

Several water ghosts exclaimed in surprise.

"What's there to be afraid of! We've already scouted the layout of this camp. Let's draw our bows and fire at each other!"

Li Yi wasn't too afraid of ambushes, because his subordinates' archery skills were quite impressive, and they were agile and easy to move around, so even if they were at a disadvantage in battle, they could retreat calmly.

But in front of Duan Hongyan's subordinates, it was like showing off one's axe in front of Lu Ban (a legendary carpenter).

Duan Hongyan, dressed in a crimson battle robe, stood in the middle of the team, waving a command flag. Under the light of the lanterns, she appeared even more heroic and beautiful.

The two young generals, Ding Hui and Deng Xuan, each led two archers, drew their bows, and arrows rained down like rain.

For the sake of lightness and agility, sailors generally do not wear armor. The advantage is that if they fall into the water, they can swim back up and will not drown because of the weight of the armor.

The downside is that facing a hail of arrows would result in significant casualties.

Of course, mastering archery is not easy. A skilled archer often needs to practice diligently for more than three years.

Even in the early Tang Dynasty, the requirements for the "shooting skills" that emphasized accuracy were not extremely high. In many cases, the only requirement was to be able to quickly shoot a large number of arrows into one area to pass the test.

Even someone like Tian Jun, who consistently missed the target but had a good grasp of rapid-fire techniques, was considered a decent archer in the army.

Unless it's a crossbow bolt or a heavy arrow, ordinary arrows don't easily cause serious injury when they penetrate the flesh; there are many examples of people who continued fighting even after being hit by dozens of arrows.

Teams with such superb archery skills as Duan Hongyan's are actually quite rare.

Illuminated by the torchlight, the Qingyu soldiers launched direct bursts of fire at the unarmored enemy, targeting vital organs such as the heart and abdomen.

Under a single volley of arrows, more than seventy enemies were fatally wounded.

Li Yi was shocked and realized he had underestimated his enemy. He hurriedly led his troops onto the ship and fled.

However, Duan Hongyan's camp was located on high ground, and the swamp behind him was also on high ground, so the water level inside might not be reliable.

When Li Yi boarded the boat, he found that the water level in the swamp had dropped sharply, and the boat was completely stuck in the swamp.

He didn't know that this was because Duan Hongyan had secretly sent people to dig up a muddy river, and they had just pushed down the pile of stones blocking the water and released the water from the swamp.

Li Yi could only lament his bad luck, put on his wooden clogs, and flee through the mud.

But there weren't enough wooden clogs on the sampan for everyone, so a fight inevitably broke out. The losers were pushed directly into the mud, struggling desperately as they sank into the black, rotten soil.

This battle can be considered the most triumphant victory so far in the siege of Guangzhou by the rebel army.

Duan Hongyan killed and captured more than a hundred people in the camp alone, and about two hundred enemies sank into the swamp.

The nearly one thousand water ghosts that Li Yi led were all skilled men in Li Tiao's navy. They were not only first-rate in boat handling and rowing, but also had superb swordsmanship.

If Duan Hongyan cannot inflict heavy damage on them with a single volley, they will be difficult to deal with in close combat.

Li Yi has lost over three hundred elite naval troops; he will surely be reprimanded by Governor Li Tiao upon his return.

Huang Chao therefore highly praised Duan Hongyan.

But Huang Chao, Zhu Wen (who served as the chief strategist of the peasant army), and even Duan Hongyan herself were all very clear—

This battle was far from enough to seriously injure Li Tiao; at best, it was a small-scale skirmish.

The key to conquering Guangzhou lies in cutting off Li Tiao's foreign aid, which cannot be achieved through a few small-scale ambushes.

We must annihilate Yang Fuguang and Gao Yan's large forces in Lingnan West Road in one fell swoop through a decisive battle!
(End of this chapter)