dognovel Chapter 280 Wanyan Ping's Siege Strategy
Chapter 280 Wanyan Ping's Siege Strategy
Wanyan Cong, the commander-in-chief of the Jin army, personally donned his armor and led an elite force, sweeping away the scattered resistance forces around Qihe, who called themselves righteous armies, like autumn leaves being swept away by the wind. Wherever they went, not only were lives lost, but the land itself seemed to be stripped of its vitality, leaving behind a desolate wasteland.
Witnessing the unstoppable and cruel tide of the Jin army, countless innocent people were deeply shocked. With tears in their eyes, they bid farewell to their ancestral homes and embarked on a long journey of westward escape, their only hope being to join the renowned Li family army in the west.
This was precisely the result that Wanyan Cong had meticulously planned and was happy to see. In this massive migration of people, he keenly realized that the chaos and escape provided the perfect opportunity to conceal spies and infiltrate behind enemy lines. Thus, among this tide of refugees, many secret agents of the Jin Dynasty quietly mingled, like undercurrents, waiting to stir up new waves on the unknown shore.
The Shahe Gang, numbering four or five hundred, was now hiding atop a precipitous mountain. For two days, they had neither eaten nor drunk anything, their stomachs growling with hunger and thirst. At the foot of the mountain, the Jin army's iron hooves stretched out like an invisible net, inspiring fear. At this critical juncture, no one dared to risk provoking the Jin army, fearing annihilation.
Xie Wentian, the leader of the Shahe Gang, had a heavy worry on his brow as he asked Li Laosan, who had been promoted to a hall master, "Have any brothers who were sent to seek help from the Li family army returned?"
Li Laosan, once a minor figure but now a capable leader in the gang, replied with a somber expression, "Chief, they returned early this morning. Those Li family soldiers, alas, are nothing but cowardly bastards, avoiding any confrontation with the Jin army like the plague. However, our scouts report that many righteous men from surrounding towns have come to join them and have been properly received and settled."
Upon hearing this, Xie Wentian's gaze involuntarily swept over his exhausted subordinates below, a wave of indescribable sorrow washing over him. He sighed softly, his voice low and helpless: "I had hoped to seize this opportune moment to revive the former glory of my Shahe Gang, to make a name for myself, but fate has played a cruel trick on us, leaving us in this state..."
A moment of contemplation hung heavy like a dark cloud over his heart. Then, he slowly turned to Li Laosan, his voice carrying an unwavering resolve: "Distribute all the remaining grain we have to our brothers. And my warhorse... slaughter it too, so everyone can have a good meal tonight. When night falls, we'll head south to seek our way out. Since the Li family army won't help us, why don't we join Li Gang's righteous army and work together for a great cause?"
Xie Wentian, the leader of the Shahe Gang, was completely unaware that Li Gang was trapped deep within the Jin army's encirclement, desperately holding out in Dongping Prefecture. For days, the two armies had been fighting, leaving corpses strewn across the city walls and rivers of blood flowing. Seeing that Li Gang's rebel army was proving too formidable and their offensive was faltering, Wanyan Ping changed his strategy. Instead of a direct assault on the city, he surrounded Dongping Prefecture, hoping to wear down the rebels' morale with hunger and despair.
Li Gang turned to look at his subordinate clerk beside him, a hint of worry in his eyes: "How long can our current supplies last?"
The clerk quickly flipped through the ledger in his hands, his eyes darting between the lines, and after a moment replied, "Based on the current manpower, the provisions can last for a month. However, the number of brothers wounded on the battlefield has been increasing recently, and the medicines in the city are already running out."
Upon hearing this, Li Gang's gaze involuntarily drifted to the northern horizon, the battlefield he longed for. He murmured softly, as if to himself, yet also to his comrades far away: "Li Zhen, you must hold on and win that crucial battle. If anything happens to you, the situation on my side will be in grave danger as well."
Within the ancient city walls of Dongping Prefecture, life was shrouded in gloom, dull and difficult. Wanyan Ping, too, struggled within this circumstance, each day teetering on the edge of a knife. In recent days, the Li family army's navy, like an impenetrable fortress, had sealed off the Yellow River, shattering the Jin dynasty's dream of using this natural barrier to transport supplies.
The Yellow River waters surrounding Dong'e County were now entirely Li's territory, its shimmering surface concealing an inviolable authority. The Jin army not only failed to transport supplies smoothly, but also repeatedly dispatched warships in an attempt to break through this seemingly impenetrable defense. However, those ships carrying hope and despair ultimately met only one fate—sinking to the deep, indifferent riverbed, becoming yet another tragic element in this silent struggle.
In desperation, Wanyan Ping had no choice but to turn his attention to Jinan Prefecture, regarding it as the only lifeline for maintaining food supplies. However, the winding mountain roads from Jinan to Dongping Prefecture were like an insurmountable barrier, and the frequent harassment from rebel armies and bandits along the way made even the mighty Jin army gradually feel the pressure of food shortages. Although they had reluctantly adopted the expedient measure of rationing their soldiers, this was ultimately not a long-term solution.
Wanyan Ping's gaze was fixed on the towering city walls of Dongping Prefecture, his heart burning with anxiety: "Such delays are not a good strategy. We must act quickly and decisively to take Dongping Prefecture in one fell swoop to resolve this urgent crisis."
The Jin army began to adjust its siege strategy. They captured a large number of laborers from the surrounding areas and made them use tools to transport earth bags and stones to the city walls of Dongping Prefecture under the threat of arrows from the defending militia, in an attempt to raise the walls and attack the city.
The rebel army's counterattack was fierce and relentless. They skillfully used simple yet powerful weapons such as stones and rolling logs to launch precise attacks on the Jin soldiers and the laborers who were struggling to carry heavy bags of earth. The battle raged fiercely beneath the western city wall of Dongping Prefecture, with arrows and stones weaving a deathly shadow.
On the other side of this smoke-filled battlefield, beneath the eastern city wall of Dongping Prefecture, a different, tranquil yet dangerous scene unfolded. Beads of sweat rolled down the foreheads of bare-chested Jin soldiers as they vigorously wielded shovels and pickaxes, carving a hidden passage through the hard earth. Wanyan Ping's meticulously planned tactics were quietly unfolding—the frontal clash on the western city wall was merely a grand prelude to divert the rebel army's attention; the real killing move lay hidden beneath the seemingly calm eastern city wall.
The Jin soldiers toiled day and night, tirelessly digging to silently place explosives at the foundation of the city wall. They awaited the deafening roar that would send the majestic walls of Dongping Prefecture crashing down amidst dust and rubble, a crucial step in their conquest of the city. This cunning and ruthless plan, like a venomous snake in the night, silently waited for the moment to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.