Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 244 The Soldiers of the Upper Reaches
As the water level of the Yuejiang River dropped, the combat strength of the Caojun naval force also rapidly took shape.

When Li Yi attempted to launch another naval attack on the riverside camps, the camps hurled a hail of stones, shattering the ship's hull and breaking its masts.

Li Tiao's navy had 20,000 soldiers, all of whom were skilled sailors adept at braving the wind and waves. In addition to warships, fighting ships, small boats, yachts, and sea hawks, there were also nearly a hundred multi-story ships, all built with ironwood produced in Jiaozhi. Several battle towers were built on the decks, each with crenellations and crenellations, and soldiers with long spears and powerful crossbows were stationed there.

The long-range weapons used on warships were generally giant crossbows. The winch crossbow could fire seven arrows, and any city walls it hit would be destroyed, and towers would also collapse. It was extremely powerful.

It could also carry small catapults, called "large catapults," which were located on both sides of the superstructure and arranged along the left and right sides of the hull. In times of war, the catapults would be launched from both sides, like the wings of a large ship, with huge stones flying in a spectacular display.

However, due to the turbulence of the water, the accuracy and power of the stones thrown are not as good as when they are launched from the shore.

Huang Chao's camp layout consisted of interconnected land and water fortifications linked by iron chains. Many arrow towers were set up along the docks, equipped with heavy crossbows and stone-throwing devices. Even the formidable Guangzhou navy could not escape defeat.

After suffering several setbacks, Li Yicai realized that under the leadership of strategists like Huang Chao and Zhu Wen, the rebel army was making rapid progress.

Using the docks as cover, the newly formed navy of the rebel army even launched several proactive attacks to harass grain ships supplying Guangzhou, and captured quite a few.

The atmosphere in Guangzhou was increasingly disheartening.

As autumn draws to a close and winter approaches, even in the scorching and miasma-ridden Lingnan region, a chill is creeping in.

The city's defenders resembled withered grass after an autumn frost; many of them appeared dejected and had given up hope of holding the city.

The siege equipment of the rebel army is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it will be a natural progression to capture Guangzhou.

At this critical juncture, however, a surprising change occurred.

First, several days of cold rain caused the water level to rise again. Li Yi led a large number of warships and took advantage of the rising water to break through Huang Chao's iron chain blockade and head upstream on the Yue River.

Xin Dang, the military governor of Lingnan West Circuit, was a close friend of Li Tiao, and many of Li Tiao's former students and officials were also in Lingnan West Circuit. Although the local government troops had just suffered a disastrous defeat at Guilin and were being harassed by the Nanzhao barbarian troops, Li Tiao and his son would not let go of their last straw and still wanted to borrow as many troops as possible.

Subsequently, a large number of rats were active near the grass army camp, carrying straws and leaves in their mouths, showing no fear of people during the day, and were extremely bold.

The next day, you could see many dead rats, their mouths often stained with dried blood.

Many soldiers witnessed their deaths firsthand—they would be running at full speed, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood, then stopping and turning belly up.

Subsequently, an unprecedented and fierce epidemic spread throughout the camp.

Huang Chao always valued the cleanliness of his camp. He always followed Li Weigong's military strategy when setting up camp. After each camp was cleared, the soldiers would dig a latrine together in two teams. The latrine was built downwind, away from the army's granaries and water sources.

The source of the uncleanliness did not come from the barbarian army camp.

With a population of up to 200,000 in Guangzhou, the city generates a massive amount of excrement and urine every day.

Before the city was besieged, there were special manure carts and boats to transport these recycled grains to the countryside for fertilization.

During the siege, excrement and urine could only be dumped into the Yue River through the city walls facing the river.

When the water level rises again, filth inevitably floats with the river waves, and may even float upstream.

Large numbers of rats came attracted by the news, feeding on the filth and spreading disease.

There is a saying that plagues "begin in winter, flourish in spring, and decline at the time of the Awakening of Insects."

This statement may not be entirely accurate, and the hot summer weather would cause filth and corpses to decompose more quickly. However, most plagues are indeed more severe in winter and spring.

Now, as we transition from autumn to winter, it is precisely the time when a major epidemic is breaking out.

Huang Chao immediately ordered his men to kill the rats and burn their bodies.

The outbreak was difficult to control, and many strong soldiers fell ill and died shortly afterward, vomiting blood.

There were a considerable number of medical practitioners in the army, but faced with such a major epidemic, there was a severe shortage of both manpower and medicine. Many medical workers contracted the disease and died while caring for patients.

During the raging pandemic, some teams of fifty people died together. The bodies could not be buried separately and had to be burned to ashes.

Within just ten days, the plague claimed more than three thousand lives. Many of the soldiers who were lucky enough to survive the disease became weak. The peasant army was not immune to heavy casualties. Not to mention the bloody battle of Qizhou in which Wang Xianzhi's troops lost more than 30,000 men, Huang Chao's army had previously suffered several thousand casualties at the defeat of Lei Shuai Gao Pian in Nanling, Xuanzhou.

The open array of vehicles, weapons, and halberds is different from the unknown fear.

Even warriors who are not afraid to die on the battlefield can become mentally weakened by the fear of the unpredictable and unpredictable nature of an epidemic.

There was no outbreak of the epidemic in the city. Seeing this scene, they believed that the bandits had been punished by heaven. The whole city was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, and there were plays and songs performed everywhere to celebrate.

With this shift in momentum, the morale of the Guangzhou defenders was boosted once again.

Among the rebels, some were filled with grief and indignation, believing that the epidemic originated from the Guangzhou residents dumping excrement and urine into the river. They suggested that Huang Chao use catapults to throw dead rats and even human corpses into the city to spread the plague.

Huang Chao rejected this suggestion.

He believed that although the epidemic had caused some losses, his army still had the strength to conquer Guangzhou.

Huang Chao wanted to capture Guangzhou as his long-term base, so he needed to win over the hearts and minds of the city's residents. After the city fell, he only planned to kill some foreign merchants who had incurred the resentment of the Han people, and did not intend to commit much bloodshed.

A compassionate leader cannot command an army; Huang Chao was not a woman of mercy.

However, he believed that if one commits a certain amount of evil, one must gain a corresponding benefit. If the benefit is small while the evil is great, or even if it harms others without benefiting oneself, then such a thing should not be done.

Huang Chao also took precautions against Li Yi, who was about to return from the upper reaches of the Yue River.

Even though the Lingnan West Circuit government forces have weakened, it is still necessary to remain vigilant.

Li Yi's fleet sailed downstream with the wind at its back, its masts and flags standing tall, resembling giant birds perched on the water.

Scouts reported that the number of enemy ships had increased since they left Guangzhou.

Li Yi eventually managed to secure some reinforcements.

Huang Chao ordered his generals Chai Cun and Wang Chongyin to set up separate camps, forming a pincer movement, in preparation for intercepting the reinforcements brought by Li Yi.

Shang Rang led troops to succeed him.

A group of barbarian soldiers with their faces painted in bright colors disembarked from the ship, some of them even wearing tiger and leopard pelts.

According to the general experience of the barbarian army, the more elaborate the barbarian patterns on their faces, the less effective they are in combat. The barbarian soldiers of Lingnan West Circuit, who have long been on government rations, rarely paint anything on their faces.

After disembarking, these barbarians moved with incredible speed.

The faster the infantry moves, the lighter their armor must be.

Then Chai Cun and Wang Chongyin discovered that the barbarians had broken through their village gate like a hot knife through cheese, and charged in like a white rainbow piercing the sun.

They roared as they threw their animal hides on the ground, revealing fiery red helmets, rhinoceros hide body armor, and brass leg armor.

Behind the barbarians, giant beasts with long noses and crescent-shaped white teeth charged forward, launching a fierce attack on the grass army camp.

Chai Cun and Wang Chong were hiding in their own trenches when the giant beasts trampled them to death, and only then did they realize who these barbarian soldiers were.

Wearing a red helmet and adorned with rhinoceros-hide and copper bridle, he faced dangers with lightning speed.

This is the insignia of the "Luo Juzi," an elite unit of the Nanzhao Kingdom in Yunnan.

The giant beast was the Nanzhao war elephant, which was deeply feared by the Tang Dynasty.

Nanzhao, the Tang Dynasty's arch-enemy that was once severely damaged by General Gao Pian.

This time, they joined forces with the imperial court.

(End of this chapter)