Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 131 Military Gathering
Clang
The crisp sound of gongs broke the silence and resounded over the fort.

On the corner tower of the fort, the patrolling soldiers immediately discovered the presence of Si Qing's troops.

It would be a miracle if we hadn't discovered it. The light from the torches alone could be clearly seen from a mile or two away, like a winding fire dragon with no end in sight.

The soldiers in the fort were stunned. Didn’t Captain Zhu just lead his troops to the north? How could the enemy come from the north?

The military officer ordered to guard the fort was a general named Miao Kan, who was now shivering on the gate tower.

If the enemy hadn't been so numerous, he would have still had the courage to lead his troops out of the fort and guard the bridge, buying time for the wooden bridge to be demolished. But now, even his courage to stay in the fort was gradually fading, and an urge to flee back to Qiantang surged in his heart.

Under his horrified gaze, an enemy vanguard of more than a hundred men had approached the north end of the wooden bridge and rushed towards the defenders of the wooden bridge without stopping.

The general leading the troops was Fan Yi.

Fan Yi originally served under Chen Gan, but after he submitted a letter of surrender in Yuncheng, due to the shortage of generals in the army, Chen Gan was sent to command the Huben Camp. Yan Yi then recruited him under his command, appointed him as a military marquis, and served as a vanguard.

When he first surrendered, Fan Yi felt a little resistant, but as Yan Yi's rise became increasingly apparent, his mentality also quietly changed.

Looking back at the time when he followed Qian Tong, he was powerless against the surrounding forces and could only rely on looting to survive. Now, following Yan Yi, he was able to capture cities and strongholds, winning battles time and time again, even defeating famous generals like Zhu Zhi. The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.

Although Fan Yi is a reckless man, he is not stupid. He knows under whose command he has a better future. After several battles, he has witnessed Yan Yi's strategy and strength with his own eyes, and has already regarded him as his master.

Like Chen Gan in the past, he was extremely eager to make military achievements in order to restore his former status.

This time, the attack on the wooden bridge was carried out under the order of Fan Yi, who asked Si Qing for permission and personally led a hundred strong and energetic soldiers, without armor or candles, and marched lightly to reach the Meiqing River Bridge in advance.

Two local officials who collected customs taxes and a group of soldiers lived in the houses at both ends of the river bridge. When they heard the gong sound, they hurriedly lit candles, put on their clothes and came out. At this moment, they were chopping the bridge deck with axes.

Fan Yi roared and ran through the reeds, taking two steps at a time and rushing towards the wooden bridge with his sword.

The defenders saw that his face was ugly and looked like an evil ghost in the firelight. They were so frightened that their morale was weakened by three points. They hurriedly raised their weapons to fight. Before they had fought for three rounds, the reeds swayed and dozens of black shadows pounced on them, scaring more than 20 defenders at the north end of the wooden bridge into fleeing in panic.

Fan Yi swung his sword and knocked down several people. The soldiers behind him rushed forward and killed more than 20 enemy soldiers who had no time to escape.

He raised a candle and walked forward a few steps. He saw that a half-meter-long gap had been split in the wooden bridge, and under the gap, the rushing river water was flowing continuously.

"Go inside and find some planks to pad the floor!"

Fan Yi gave an order, jumped over the broken section, stood at the north end of the wooden bridge with his sword drawn across his body, and did not chase the deserters. He waited until Si Qing arrived with the central army before joining forces and heading straight for the fort.

Si Qing led his troops to the wall of the fort and immediately ordered the entire army to be divided into four parts to surround the fort on all sides.

The fortress in front of us is square in shape, with walls as high as six or seven meters. It is made of rammed earth and bricks and stones. It has all the defensive facilities such as gatehouses, corner towers, and arrow towers. It is not inferior to Yuncheng and Rencheng in any way, but its area is much smaller.

The gatehouse's roof was a five-ridged hip roof, with moss already growing between the tiles. This distinguished it from the unfinished gatehouses of Yuncheng and Rencheng, indicating that this fortress had existed for many years. Si Qing rode around the fort and saw few defenders on all four sides. He lacked even the urge to test the defenses and immediately ordered the drums to be beaten and his troops to charge.

Thousands of soldiers, illuminated by the bonfires, shouted and rushed towards the city wall, climbing up on ladders.

Miao Kan was terrified and his whole body went limp. He only had two hundred soldiers under his command, and most of them were newly recruited soldiers. How could he resist an enemy that was ten times his size?

There were originally 600 soldiers stationed in the fort, but most of the elite soldiers had been transferred by Zhu Zhi and incorporated into the army heading north.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the fort, which had strong walls and should have caused heavy casualties to the enemy, was easily conquered, with only more than a hundred casualties on the attackers' side.

Si Qing rode his horse into the fort and took a look around. He saw that the layout of the fort was well-organized and clearly divided into four areas.

To the north is the residential area, where houses are lined up one after another and wells are dotted around, enough to accommodate thousands of people.

To the west is the storage area, where five tall granaries stand tall, filled with unhulled rice and various military weapons.

To the south is the production area, which has mills, wineries, ironworks, and woodworks.

On the east side is the livestock and farming area, with stables, chicken coops, pig pens, cow sheds, etc. arranged in an orderly manner, raising two to three hundred livestock. The fields next to them are planted with some fruits and vegetables, and are lush and green.

Si Qing nodded with satisfaction. This fortress could be called a miniature city. Although small, it had all the necessary facilities.

"Pass the order down. All troops, enter the fort to rest for the night. Dinner will be prepared at 1:05 AM tomorrow morning. We will set out at 1:45 AM!"

He called a chief secretary, issued the military order, and then found a room, ordered people to light candles, take out pens, ink and bamboo slips, and began to write a military report, which was then delivered to Yan Yi overnight.

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, the residents living near the Shishan official road were awakened by a burst of dense footsteps.

The footsteps were neat and rapid, and when they stepped on the ground, they made a low thud, as if a huge war drum was beating.

The villagers were experienced and knew it was the army marching as soon as they heard it.

The timid residents hurriedly closed their doors, propped heavy objects against them, and hid in the houses, not daring to go out. The brave ones lay on the inner wall, sticking out half of their heads, and looked out cautiously.

A few hundred steps away, dust billowed from the official road. On the left, war horses galloped back and forth. On the right, a dozen or so flag officers and banner bearers marched in front, holding banners aloft. Three lines of soldiers in leather armor followed closely behind, advancing silently. The long procession stretched as far as the eye could see, creating a powerful visual impact.

It was a full quarter of an hour before this hurried army gradually disappeared from the official road.

The villagers had just breathed a sigh of relief, and their beating hearts had not yet calmed down, when they heard footsteps and the sound of wheels rolling over the ground in the distance. Military slaves and civilian laborers pushed food carts, ladders, etc. slowly past, and the queue still stretched as far as the eye could see.

The villagers lying on the wall looked at each other in horror. A large army had just passed by yesterday, and another one came today. Such frequent mobilizations meant that a war was about to break out.

In fact, not only in Shishan, the troops in Wucheng, Yuncheng and Rencheng are being frequently mobilized, and the marching direction of these troops is the same without exception, that is Qiantang!
(End of this chapter)