Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 269 263. Siege
In Chaisang, He Qi and Sun Shao still looked worried, which made Zhuge Ke, who had just returned in the evening, a little confused.

"General He, according to what you said, didn't we repel the Shu army once every hundred days? Why are you still so worried?"

Zhuge Ke knew that the Wu army had won today, and was puzzled by He Qi's attitude. He had clearly won, so why was it like he had lost?
"Alas, young master, the Han army is not attacking today. They are just here to test the waters. And it is obvious that Feng Xi has also found out what he wants to know."

He Qi shook his head and patiently explained it to Zhuge Ke. Zhuge Ke thought about it and seemed to understand.

"General He, do you mean to say that the Han army came here today just to get information about the supplies and morale of our Chaisang defenders?"

Although Zhuge Ke did not have much battlefield experience, he was born into a scholarly family and immediately understood the ins and outs of the matter.

"That's right. However, today on the city wall, the problems of our Great Wu's new soldiers who have never been in battle and lack practical experience were almost exposed. I'm afraid that the Han army will not attack the city next time. If they attack again, it will be a thunderbolt."

This is also what He Qi and Sun Shao are worried about. Today, Chaisang looks strong in military strength, but there are only 5,000 veterans brought by He Qi, and the other few thousand are ordinary county soldiers. Their combat effectiveness can only be said to be slightly higher than the remaining 20,000 recruits.

As for the 20,000 new recruits… judging by their performance today, they would be thrown into chaos once the Han army climbed up the city wall.

In the end, He Qi and Sun Shao could only discuss that they would take turns to guard the city, letting the veterans guard the area outside the city wall first, letting the new recruits stand inside, and at the same time letting officers at all levels stabilize their emotions.

"How about this, my Lords? Why don't we prepare the fire ships and attack the Han army's ships when they attack the city? If the Han army's attacking troops see that their rear is damaged, they will definitely panic. If we can burn the Han army's transport ships immediately, the attacking Han army will even become an isolated force, and won't it be at our mercy?"

Zhuge Ke thought about it and proposed this plan. However, He Qi and Sun Shao looked at each other, smiled bitterly and shook their heads, seemingly not impressed.

"My dear young master, you may not know that if he were an ordinary Han general, it would be fine. But Feng Xi is a man who followed Liu Bei in the Eastern Expedition. Last year, the former Grand Commander Lu Xun tried to set fire to the Han army in Yiling, but Feng Xi saw through his plan and turned the tables, resulting in the annihilation of our Eastern Wu army.

Now he is leading his navy in a mighty force, and he knows that our Dongwu is good at fire attacks, so how can we not defend against it?"

To be honest, He Qi felt that the fire attack plan was suspenseful. Since the Battle of Chibi, it seemed that Cao Wei and Liu Han had been on high alert against the fire plan of the Eastern Wu.

Of course, Feng Xi didn't know this. If he knew, he would probably be filled with emotion. Old Liu in the original timeline didn't pay any attention to it. If he hadn't asked his subordinates to be more careful, the same tragedy would have happened again.

However, He Qi and his men did not know about this and only thought that the Han army had already taken precautions against it. They thought the success rate of another fire attack would not be high.

"My Lords, I have a plan. Why not divide the fire ships into two groups? The first group will be smaller in number and serve as a feint attack. After the Han army intercepts the first group, they will surely relax their vigilance. At this time, our army will launch a second wave of fire ships and will surely be successful."

Zhuge Ke thought for a moment and came up with a plan that sounded fairly reliable.

"Well, let's do this next time the Han army comes to attack the city."

The situation in Chaisang couldn't get any worse now, and He Qi was not an old-fashioned person. He thought that although Zhuge Ke's method was simple, it might actually succeed if the Han army didn't investigate, so he agreed.

Anyway, He Qi and Sun Shao had no plan to let Zhuge Ke go to the battlefield. If the situation was not right, everyone could just retreat from Pengli Lake. The Han army would not be able to remove the secret stakes so quickly.

The two sides were quiet for two or three days, and Chaisang City fell into a brief peace, but He Qi knew that this was the calm before the storm. Sure enough, in the morning of that day, as soon as the thick fog on the river dissipated, the Han army's powerful ships once again headed towards Chaisang City. A part of the Han navy protected the transport ships, and the transport ships docked at the same place as last time. In addition to the Han army, many siege equipment were transported out of the cabin.

"Two ladders and a battering ram."

The one on the city wall today was Sun Shao. He saw clearly that the Han army brought ladders and battering rams today, and it seemed that they were serious about it.

"Everyone, pay attention. Pay special attention to the Shu army's siege weapons. Don't let them climb up the city wall!"

Sun Shao drew out his sword and shouted loudly. The Wu soldiers on the wall had already focused their attention as if they were facing a great enemy. The veterans in the front row were relatively stable, and the new recruits in the back didn't react because they couldn't see, which made Sun Shao feel a little relieved.

"attack."

Feng Xi calmly issued the order, and after being passed down through layers of communication, the Han army pressed towards Chaisang like a white cloud. Feng Xi still loved the white robes and armor of the former Eastern Expedition Army. It just so happened that the Eastern Expedition to Wu was also a war of revenge, so the Han army continued this clothing style.

"Archer, let go!"

Sun Shao saw the Han army approaching within range and immediately ordered the archers to shoot, but the Han army was still well prepared and maintained its formation without suffering too many losses. The ladders and battering rams had certain protective measures, and some arrows could not threaten these two things.

"click"

The heavy ladder was placed on the city wall at an obtuse angle. It was impossible to push the ladder down at this angle unless Chaisang could produce a steel fork over a hundred meters long and made of solid material on site.

While Wu Jun was paying attention to the ladders, the siege vehicle drove silently to the bottom of the city gate.

"Rocks, pestles, hot water, release!"

Sun Shao saw that the Han army was approaching the city wall, and immediately put all kinds of city defense weapons into full operation. For a while, wood and stones fell on the city wall like rain, but strangely, the damage caused was extremely limited. The Han soldiers seemed to be lazy and dawdled outside the city wall. The actual number of casualties did not even exceed three digits.

The ram was given special attention, but several large rocks hit it and smashed it into several pieces, like a low-quality product.

What was strange was that the battering ram was completely empty. Both the soldiers who were supposed to operate the battering ram inside and the battering ram that was supposed to be very conspicuous were nowhere to be seen, as if it was just an empty shell.

However, no one paid any attention to the situation of this strange battering ram on the huge battlefield. When the soldiers defending the city saw that the battering ram was smashed to pieces, they shifted their eyes away and paid attention to other places.

"Hiss..."

There seemed to be a sound of something burning, but naturally no one noticed it in this noisy battlefield.

(End of this chapter)