Book 11 Chapter 3 - No Generals in Shu
The battle drums shook the heavens.
By the time the first rays of morning sun illuminated the top of Jingling's city wall, Jianghuai Army had already launched wave after wave of attack from all sides, amidst the earth-shattering battle cry. Not only they have cut off the source of the water of the moat, they also used sand and stones to flatten a large section of the moat right in front of the main city gate.
By the time Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and the injured Feng Ge climbed onto the city gate tower, they saw the enemy's main force was slowly pouring into the plain between the city wall and the Han River. A large banner with a ‘Du' character was flapping freely in the wind in the middle of the army. A magnificent army with awe-inspiring prestige.
After their first wave of attack was crushed by the slings and arrows raining down on them, the Jianghuai Army retreated and regrouped.
When the swelled-headed Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at the huge array of troops made up of thirty-thousand soldiers outside the city, they were at a loss. Although their intelligence surpassed others, in front of this kind of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, in this kind of situation where they came face to face with the enemy across the battleground, they actually did not know how to deal with it.
Feng Ge simply sat down dejectedly between the two boys.
Were it not for the two boys helping him treating his injury, perhaps he would have had to lie down in bed. But right now his qi was still deficient and his strength lacking. It was with great difficulty that he managed to stand up in order to hand over the command into the hands of the two boys in emergency deliberation with the other high-ranking military officers.
Seven generals defending the city came to the three people's presence; all their faces showed misgivings.
These generals were Duba Village's second-tier leaders. In terms of experience and strength, they were inferior to the generals who died and injured in the battle against Wanwan just now. But now that there were no great general in Shu, Liao Hua would have to be picked to make up the number[1]. Similarly, now it became Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's turn to act as the Guardian Commanders to defend Jingling.
To avoid leaking the secret information, the people gathered around them were Feng Ge's trusted aides and trusted soldiers.
Feng Ge addressed the seven generals in heavy voice, "Listen to what I have to say, but don't be alarm, and do not cry out to avoid disturbing the troops' morale. Understand?”
The generals nodded their understanding.
Feng Ge himself was originally a Sui Dynasty general, a person of good moral standing and reputation, so that he was respected and quite popular. It was due to him that the situation was under control until this time.
Feng Ge forced himself to straighten his back up and spoke in a nonchalant manner, "Zhuangzhu has been killed by Yin Gui Pai female demon Wanwan.”
Immediately the generals' countenance changed.
After giving them a brief account of what had happened, Feng Ge opened his palm to reveal the military seal he took from Fang Zetao's dead body. "Zhuangzhu sacrificed his life in crisis,” he said in earnestness, "He left Laofu in charge of the Village. But since presently the two armies are facing each other, the news of Zhuangzhu's death must not be leaked out, otherwise the morale of the troops will be shaken.”
The generals' heart was overwhelmed with grief and indignation, but there was nothing they could do.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling mused that Fang Zetao's death has already shaken the morale of these seven generals.
Feng Ge forced himself to sound energetic when he said, "Because I also suffer minor injury, it would be difficult for me to personally preside over this battle related to Jingling's survival, so I am obliged to plot it from the side. Everything pertaining to the defense and offense, Kou Xiongdi and Xu Xiongdi will be in charge. Their command will be like Laofu's command, disobedience is punishable by beheading. Understand?”
The generals' thought was in a whirl, they were out of their wits; however, knowing that the two boys possessed outstanding intelligence and strategic thinking ability, also knowing that they had matchless bravery, they all nodded their compliance.
One of the generals asked, "How do we deal with General Qian?”
Qian Yun was actually Feng Ge's immediate superior; however, in terms of talent, ability, morality and insight, he was inferior to Feng Ge.
A murderous intention flashed through Feng Ge's eyes; he said indifferently, "Let me worry about this matter. Go back to your post immediately, wait for further instruction!”
The generals withdrew.
Feng Ge's countenance turned from green to black, he was coughing severely that the two boys hastily transmitted their qi to help. A moment later he recovered somewhat, but he looked even weaker than before.
Morning breeze was blowing, Feng Ge shuddered, scaring the two boys that they hastily took him into the tower.
Feng Ge had a general by the name of Feng Han summoned into the tower. This man was Feng Ge's nephew, someone they could trust.
After dismissing the other men with a wave of his hand, he had Feng Han close the door, and then he sighed and said to Kou and Xu, two boys, "If the news of Zhuangzhu's death is spread, the entire Jingling will be thrown into chaos, everybody will fall over each other in their eagerness to flee, Jingling will collapse. Do Gentlemen have any good idea?”
Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice, "How many soldiers are actually available in Jingling?”
Feng Han replied on his uncle's behalf, "The Village itself is thirty-thousand men strong. If we add the able-bodied men who can be mobilized temporarily, that number will reach fifty-thousand.”
"Won't that mean we have twenty-thousand more men compared to Jianghuai Army outside the city?” Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment.
Feng Ge swallowed hard and said, "What you just saw was only Jianghuai Army's main force. They still have several other units that are attacking other city gates. All their forces combined, the number reaches seventy, eighty-thousand, maybe more. Moreover, in terms of training, weaponry and experience, they are superior to us.”
Feng Han joined in, "Our Village force consist of seven army units. The one under Zhuangzhu's personal command has the highest number of troops, eight thousand in total. The other units have four thousand troops each. Dashu [first uncle] and I lead one unit each, the other generals leading the army were killed by that female demon. Their replacement must be appointed.”
Listening to that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a terrible headache. The adversary they were facing was the Du Fuwei, who was able to move unhindered among the heroes contending for hegemony of the world, while on their side, the people were anxious, their morale was low. In this battle, they were already lost without even need to fight.
Feng Han sighed and said, "If Dashu was not injured, he could still maintain stability, and we could still fight a few hard battle against the enemy. But now? Ay …”
Feng Ge was about to speak, but suddenly he coughed violently that he even spurted a bit of blood, shocking everybody else.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hurriedly transmitted their qi to regulate the blood flow; who would have thought that Feng Ge's eyes turned white as he collapsed into the chair?
The three of them looked at each other in panic.
It was quite a while later that Kou Zhong made up his mind and said, "Feng Xiong, take this seal of authority and immediately appoint new leaders from among the generals, and then come back here to discuss how to deal with this situation. Leave Old Feng to us, we will take care of him.”
Feng Han started to open his mouth to talk, but in the end he swallowed it back. Obeying the order, he left.
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[1] From the novel Sao Mi Zhou (掃迷帚; lit. The broom which sweeps away superstitions), a novel written by a certain Zhuangzhe (壯者; lit. ‘strong man') during the Qing dynasty, contained a saying about Liao Hua: "If there are no great generals left in Shu, Liao Hua will be the vanguard.” (蜀中無大將，廖化作先鋒). It can be interpreted as: Shu was so lacking in talents and new blood in its twilight years that an elderly Liao Hua had to lead the vanguard of the Shu army in battle. The proverb is also used to describe a situation in which a person who is seemingly unfit for a job is forced into doing it, but is willing to face what seems to be insurmountable odds against him/her (Wikipedia). Liao Hua was a real historical character during the Three Kingdom era, and was also a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.