amaotonovel Chapter 452 Wei Army Enters Jiangling
Chapter 452 Wei Army Enters Jiangling
On the official road from Dangyang to Jiangling, Jiang Ji was leading his army at full speed. He was riding a horse and was at the very front of the army. He could already see the outline of Jiangling City in the distance from his horse.
Looking at the familiar city wall in the distance, Jiang Ji was filled with emotion. He said excitedly, "I never thought that I, Jiang Zitong, would have a day to return to Jiangling. Last time in Jiangling, I had to act like a grandson, entertaining guests, giving gifts, saying nice things, and smiling obsequiously. Just thinking about it makes me feel so humiliated. This time when I enter the city, I will definitely take back all the dignity I lost last time."
That's a bit of a scoundrel. Last time, he went to Jiangling with an imperial edict, acted like a big shot the whole time, and even beat up Liu Bei's envoy Fei Yi, and yet he still complained about it.
Yu Jin knew that this was an attempt to curry favor with him, and said with a sheepish look on his face, "I'm sorry to have troubled you with the matter last time, General Jiang. If you hadn't personally intervened, I'm afraid I would still be under house arrest by Sun Quan, and I wouldn't have had the chance to redeem myself again. Don't worry, General, this time I will definitely obey your orders."
These words filled Yu Jin with bitterness. His official rank was much higher than Jiang Ji's. In the past, he would not have paid any attention to Jiang Ji when he bowed to him. Now, however, he had to let Jiang Ji do as he pleased and dared not say a word against him. It was truly frustrating.
But there was nothing he could do; after all, he was a traitor. Jiang Ji was already being generous by allowing him to atone for his crimes through meritorious service, so how could he dare to be picky?
The most important thing in life is making choices. If you make the right choice at a crucial moment, even an ordinary person can rise to the top in an instant. But if you make the wrong choice, even kings and generals will be kicked down from the clouds.
Yu Jin is a typical example of making the wrong choice. If he had died in battle or committed suicide like Pang De, he would not have suffered the humiliation he has today.
Thinking of this, Yu Jin was filled with resentment towards Guan Yu. Damn Guan Yunchang, weren't you supposed to be a great fighter? How come you suffered a crushing defeat as soon as I surrendered and left me to Sun Quan?
And look what happened! I fell into Sun Quan's hands and was sold around like a commodity by Wei and Wu, while you were conquering land and marrying a beautiful wife in Jiangdong, living a very successful life. Are you kidding me?
Jiang Ji smiled with satisfaction and said, "General, you're too kind. We'll need your help to defend Jiangling this time."
Cao Cao ordered him to redeem the surrendered soldiers and send them to the rear, while Yu Jin was to be immediately taken to the capital for trial. However, when Jiang Ji arrived in Xiangyang, Cao Cao had already gone to Guanzhong, and Xu Huang was attacking Xicheng, resulting in insufficient troops. So he discussed with Xiahou Shang, who was stationed in Xiangyang, about temporarily detaining the surrendered soldiers for future needs, but Yu Jin was not included.
Jiang Ji originally intended to send Yu Jin to the capital, but Yu Jin knew Cao Cao's temperament and knew that he would not survive if he returned to the capital. Therefore, he begged Jiang Ji and Xiahou Shang to let him stay in Xiangyang for the time being, even if he was just a common soldier.
In fact, not only Cao Cao, but any other ruler would not have been able to save Yu Jin, because although the Han Dynasty tolerated military generals, it also had its limits.
As a general of the Han Dynasty, you can be greedy, lustful, and do evil; you can be arrogant and domineering, disrupting the court; but you must never surrender.
The reason why Li Ling's surrender angered Emperor Wu of Han, who then exterminated Li's entire family despite opposition, was that Li Ling violated the fundamental principle that surrender is unacceptable.
Mi Fang and Fu Shiren preferred to surrender to Cao Cao rather than face Liu Bei and Guan Yu, also because of this bottom line.
The imperial court has given you so many privileges and supported you, but when it comes to the crucial moment of risking your life, you surrender. Do you think that's appropriate?
Yu Jin knew this bottom line, which is why he earnestly begged Jiang Ji and Xiahou Shang to let him stay and atone for his crimes by performing meritorious service, and swore in the name of his ancestors that he would rather die in battle than surrender this time.
Nevertheless, Jiang Ji and Xiahou Shang still did not want to agree, because this was a blatant violation of Cao Cao's orders, and they would be held responsible. But the problem was that these tens of thousands of Wei soldiers who had surrendered were all Yu Jin's former subordinates, and their morale was already low after they had just been redeemed. Would they still have any fighting power after seeing Yu Jin being escorted to the capital?
While struggling with this dilemma, Jiang Ji received a letter from Pan Jun, informing him that Lu Xun had been defeated and captured, and that the gentry of Jingzhou were willing to collectively surrender to Wei. Jiang Ji immediately decided to use his own future as collateral to vouch for Yu Jin, allowing Yu Jin to serve as his advisor and accompany the army. This led to the current situation.
Although Yu Jin felt aggrieved, he knew that he had brought this situation upon himself and had no one else to blame but himself. Moreover, Jiang Ji had indeed taken a huge risk for him, so it would be unreasonable to make any further demands. Therefore, he settled down to be a staff member who only provided advice and did not participate in decision-making.
Yu Jin honestly replied, "This is all I should do. Please give me your orders, General."
As they were talking, Jiang Ji led his army to the city of Jiangling. When he saw the Wei banner flying over the city from afar, he was overjoyed and said excitedly, "Jiangling has been captured! That's great! Send someone over to negotiate and prepare to enter the city."
Before they could decide who to send to negotiate, the city gates slowly opened and a fast horse rode across the drawbridge straight toward the army.
The view from the city walls was much farther than from the ground, and the city wall defenders spotted the Wei army from afar. Once they were close enough to confirm their presence, they immediately went out of the city to greet them.
The knight who had left the city spurred his horse and charged toward the Wei army, shouting from afar, "This humble general, a clerk from the Office of Military Affairs, greets the general. May I ask which general is leading the troops ahead?"
Jiang Ji and Yu Jin exchanged a glance and rode forward simultaneously. Upon seeing Zhang Jing, an old acquaintance of Yu Jin, they were taken aback and quickly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Chief Clerk Jiang, greetings, General Yu."
Jiang Ji had no liking for this lackey of the School Affairs Office. He nodded slightly in greeting and then gestured towards the city wall with his chin, saying, "What's going on? Why are you acting like you're facing a formidable enemy?"
Zhang Jing quickly recounted the recent events before saying, "Currently, Sun Quan occupies the southeast gates and commands tens of thousands of troops. We are no match for him and can only occupy the city gates and wait for reinforcements. Fortunately, Sun Quan is also waiting for reinforcements and has not launched an attack yet."
Jiang Ji was overjoyed and said, "Having the city gate is enough. Let Zhu Yi, Liu Chan and others come out to greet us, and then follow me into the city to attack Sun Quan and try to drive him out of Jiangling as soon as possible."
He wouldn't enter the city unless Zhu Yi, Liu Chan, and the others came out. This wasn't to put on airs, but because he was worried that these people were putting on an act for him, and he might fall into their ambush if he rashly entered the city.
“Look…” Zhang Jing understood Jiang Ji’s concerns and immediately turned around and rushed back into the city.
Soon Zhang Jing led Zhu Yi, Liu Chan, Pan Zhu, Huang Zhe, and other aristocratic leaders out of the city.
The alliance is currently led by Zhu Yi. Zhu Yi came to Jiang Ji and bowed, saying, "This sinful general Zhu Yi greets Chief Clerk Jiang and General Yu."
Jiang Ji quickly dismounted and helped him up, gently comforting him, "General, you are too kind. Your father is fighting under General Cao Ren. You are a descendant of a loyal and virtuous man, how can you call yourself a criminal general?"
After calming Zhu Yi down, he went on to calm Liu Chan, Pan Zhu, and the others down, making sure no one felt slighted. Only after calming them down did he say, "Let's go into the city."
After speaking, he mounted his horse and, led by Zhu Yi, Liu Chan, and others, led his army into the city. They passed through the barbican and stationed the army in the camp that Zhu Yi had prepared in advance.
Then Zhu Yi took out a piece of silk and unfolded it, saying, "General, this is the defense map of Jiangling City. What do you think we should do to attack?"
As Jiang Ji looked at the map, he asked, "What's the situation on Sun Quan's side?"
Zhu Yi replied, "Sun Quan has built a large number of deer antlers on the southeastern two city walls where they meet our army. He has even knocked down the steps leading from the barbican to the city wall. It is clear that he intends to hold his ground and wait for reinforcements. Sun Quan's reliance is Zhou Tai, but two hours ago, a remnant army of three or four thousand men came from the direction of Chaisang. I guess something happened in Chaisang, which caused only three or four thousand of Zhou Tai's tens of thousands of troops to return. Moreover, they are all exhausted and unable to immediately engage in battle. They will need to rest for at least two or three days."
Jiang Ji said excitedly, "So Sun Quan's reliance is gone, then what is there to worry about? Let's attack! General Yu, you can formulate the attack plan."
As a civil official, he had no experience leading troops independently, so he was somewhat at a loss in this situation. Fortunately, he had Yu Jin by his side, who was a professional in this kind of matter. This was the fundamental reason why he was willing to risk his future to vouch for Yu Jin.
Yu Jin first learned about the situation of the allied forces and the Wu army from Zhu Yi, Liu Chan, and others. Then, based on his own situation, he quickly formulated a battle plan, saying, "Sun Quan has destroyed the reinforcements in Chaisang, but the reinforcements in Yidao and Gong'an are still there. Since that's the case, we will do this: General Jiang will personally lead the army to attack Sun Quan, with Pan Zhu and Huang Zhe assisting from the side. Zhu Yi and Liu Chan will each lead 5,000 men to ambush the Wu army's reinforcements at the southwest gate. After defeating the reinforcements, we will immediately build weapons and attack the city from the outside to put pressure on the Wu army and force them to surrender."
Jiang Ji frowned and said, "Isn't attacking from the outside a bad idea? Doesn't the military text say that when besieging an army, you must leave an opening? If you block the city gates and cut off the Wu army's retreat, won't the Wu army fight us to the death?"
Yu Jin shook his head and said, "Who said there is no way out? Isn't there still the way to surrender? While attacking, let Zhu Yi and Liu Chan's men shout to the Wu army to surrender. They will naturally surrender if they can't hold on. Besides, we have only blocked the southwest gate. The east gate is still in Sun Quan's hands. If the Wu army really wants to escape, they can just withdraw from the east gate."
Jiang Ji said, "That makes sense. We'll do as you say and get to work."
At Jiang Ji's command, deafening drumbeats resounded throughout the city.
Urged on by the drumbeats, the Wei army split into three routes and launched an attack on the Wu army from the left and right city walls and the center of the street at the same time. Zhu Yi and Liu Chan led their troops out of the city to block the Wu army and its reinforcements.
Upon hearing the drumbeats, Sun Quan, sword in hand, rushed to the front lines to organize the defense, and the battle for Jiangling began.