Volume 3: Southern Expedition and Territorial Expansion Chapter 140: Capturing Bozhou

Yang Duan only wanted to occupy the territory south of the Great River, and then rely on its natural barrier to defend against the counterattack of the Southern Sichuan army from the north of the river.

Assuming it would be difficult to defend Luzhou after capturing it, Yang Duan would decisively plunder the population and spoils, abandon Luzhou, and return to Bozhou.

The primary motivation for Yang Duan's military expedition was to disrupt the growing strength of the Southern Sichuan army.

Similarly, Wei Fufeng knew that Bozhou was not easily held. Bozhou was governed by the customs and traditions of the Liao people; once occupied, forcibly imposing Southern Sichuan official administration would inevitably provoke fierce resistance from the Liao tribes.

Wei Fufeng was unwilling to exhaust his military strength and could not station heavy troops in Bozhou. To bring Bozhou under his administration, he needed to emulate the strategy of the Yang family and use barbarians to control barbarians.

Wei Fufeng thought of the Wei clan, one of the seven great clans of Bozhou, and intended to claim kinship to forge an alliance with the Bozhou Wei clan.

On the mountain pass, after paying the price of over a thousand casualties, the vanguard of the Southern Sichuan army finally managed to scale the pass.

Under an onslaught resembling a rainstorm, the defenders suffered hundreds of casualties. Lou Dianbang wielded his long saber with a ferocious expression, engaging in a bloody battle with the Southern Sichuan soldiers who had breached the ramparts.

However, many of the Bozhou soldiers guarding the pass began to flee.

The Southern Sichuan army was simply too numerous, a staggering sight that shattered the defenders' confidence. Moreover, more than half of the garrison consisted of local Liao tribesmen, who were unwilling to sacrifice their lives for Lou Dianbang.

In the end, Lou Dianbang died fighting fiercely. The pass was soaked in blood with countless corpses piled in heaps. Half of the garrison had fled, and over two hundred were captured. This battle could truly be described as tragic and fierce.

Wei Fufeng had no intention of ascending the pass to flaunt the majestic posture of a victor; he simply led his main army straight through the fortifications to continue his advance. In his mind, the Bozhou Lou clan was completely stricken from the list of pacified and appeased entities.

The Southern Sichuan main army passed through Heishen Pass, leaving behind a force of ten thousand to garrison the location.

As Wei Fufeng emerged from the region of Heishen Pass, his three-and-a-half-thousand-strong army stationed themselves successively. After resting for two hours, they set off on the march toward Zunyi County City.

Along the way, Wei Fufeng saw numerous paddy fields with crops growing invitingly. Having previously studied Bozhou, he knew that ever since Yang Duan entered and took control of the region, he had vigorously promoted rice cultivation, governing the land so that it flourished with prosperity.

"A master talent adept at governing a region—what a pity. From now on, the master of this prized land shall bear the surname Wei," Wei Fufeng sighed with emotion.

Wei Fufeng did not know that Yang Duan had been steadfastly determined to expand his territory southward, conquering the Yachi River basin. He had once harbored the intention of befriending the Southern Sichuan army, planning to give his daughter in marriage to Wei Fufeng to form a marital alliance of mutual support.

However, because the Bozhou Luo clan had a blood feud with Wei Fufeng, Yang Duan worried about internal conflict breaking out and never put the plan into action, ultimately leading to their clash of arms.

Driven by forced marches, the army arrived at Zunyi County City by dusk, reaching the foot of the city walls as a fatigued force.

Wei Fufeng gave the order to besiege the city and set up camp. His hurried lightning advance stemmed from the fear that the Yang family clan might escape.

The Yang family garrison had failed to seize the opportune moment to abandon the city and flee, perhaps believing that Yang Duan would soon fight his way back. With only four thousand troops left behind to defend Zunyi County City, the consequences of being reluctant to let go of the stronghold could well be imagined.

Wei Fufeng originally intended to assault the city the next day, but his subordinate officers were brimming with fighting spirit and successively advised that breaking the city overnight was the superior strategy.

Adopting the consensus of the multitude, Wei Fufeng rested his troops for an hour before launching the siege under the cover of night.

Zunyi County City was a square city seven miles on each side, with city walls eight meters high, majestic gate towers with upturned eaves, and a surrounding moat.

Wei Fufeng knew that the county city before his eyes had been expanded after Yang Duan took control; constructing a city in the territory of the Liao tribes was no easy feat.

Wei Fufeng chose to attack from three sides simultaneously, with ten thousand troops assaulting each side at the same time. The west city gate served as the primary point of assault, and all crossbows and bows were concentrated there to provide supporting fire.

A rain of arrows poured down as the soldiers charged forward carrying scaling ladders.

The assaults on the other two sides were feints; though they gathered menacingly outside the city walls, their actual purpose was to force the enemy forces within the city to disperse.

Only a thousand troops defended the west city gate, with another thousand kept inside the city as a mobile reserve force.

With a thousand troops defending against the assault of ten thousand, while also enduring a fierce barrage of arrow fire, the defenders suffered twenty percent casualties on the ramparts within the span of a single incense stick.

During the Southern Sichuan army's first wave of assault, soldiers scaled the city walls, sparking a fierce and bloody battle atop the ramparts.

Everything proceeded smoothly. With their overwhelming numbers, the morale of the Southern Sichuan army surged ever higher like a rainbow. Subsequent waves of soldiers vied with one another to press forward, scaling the walls, shouting battle cries whose roars ultimately drowned out the screams of the dying.

As the city gates were seized and forced open, a greater torrent of Southern Sichuan soldiers surged into the city.

Surrounded by his guards, Wei Fufeng walked through the gateway. The sickening stench of blood hung heavy in the air. He calmly stepped over the crisscrossing corpses, his eyes fixed on the dark, shadowy figures filling the avenue ahead.

"Issue the order: execute all males and females of the Yang and Luo bloodlines. Spare the lives of women who married into the clans; do no harm to them," Wei Fufeng instructed. Two messengers immediately galloped off.

Wei Fufeng's ruthless extermination of the clans, while sparing only the women who married in, was intended to leave room for future reconciliation regarding his takeover of Bozhou.

...

While Yang Duan led forty thousand Bozhou soldiers on a forced march toward Luzhou, a transport vessel suddenly arrived at the water gate of Ba City in Luzhou, carrying twenty thousand Southern Sichuan reinforcements into the city.

At the south gate of Ba City, Military Commissioner Du Shenlong received word and fabricated an excuse to send away the majority of the garrison. Together with four trusted confidants, he guarded the mechanism used to lower the drawbridge, waiting to drop it the moment the Bozhou army arrived.

After half an hour of anxious waiting, the rapid thud of footsteps suddenly echoed along the rampart horse-track.

Startled, Du Shenlong recognized the sound of many people approaching. He hurriedly walked to the foot of the horse-track entrance and looked up, only to see a sturdy figure clad in heavy armor, followed by a throng of armored guards.

"Wang Dahu?" Deeply alarmed, Du Shenlong hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Commander Wang."

Wang Dahu walked up carrying a large iron rod, eyeing Du Shenlong with an unkind expression as he demanded, "Why did you order a large number of defending soldiers to leave the city walls?"

"There was a temporary matter for them to attend to. Is milord here to inspect the city?" Du Shenlong answered nervously.

"I have received military orders from the Military Governor to take over the defense of the south gate and arrest you, a treacherous dog," Wang Dahu rebuked angrily.

"Milord, what do you mean? What have I done?" Du Shenlong asked in a panic. Wang Dahu had actually come under the Military Governor's orders to arrest him—had the Military Governor returned?

"You unauthorizedly transferred the garrison away from the city gate, harboring sinister intentions like a dog eating inside and turning on its master outside. Arrest them and escort them to the Military Governor's Mansion!" Wang Dahu shouted furiously.

Armored soldiers swarmed forward, seized Du Shenlong and his four confidants, and dragged them away.

"Milord, I am innocent! We are fellow townsmen, you cannot treat me this way," Du Shenlong cried out in terror, offering desperate justifications.

"Guilty or not, the Military Governor's Mansion will give you a fair judgment. Take him away," Wang Dahu said coldly. The guards escorted Du Shenlong down the gate tower.

After Du Shenlong was dragged away, Wang Dahu walked to the battlement and looked out. Earlier, twenty thousand troops had suddenly arrived in Ba City, and at the same time, the Military Governor's orders had been delivered to Wang Dahu.

The military order explicitly stated that someone harbored treacherous intentions, plotting to collude with the Bozhou army in a surprise attack on Luzhou, and commanded Wang Dahu to lead troops to take over the south gate and observe whether any military officers made suspicious movements.

As it happened, on his way to take over command, Wang Dahu had run into the gate guards who had abandoned their posts.

Though fierce and simple-minded, Wang Dahu was far from stupid. Upon learning of the abnormal commands issued by his townsman Du Shenlong, he instantly flew into a rage, hurried to the south gate, and arrested him and sent him to the Military Governor's Mansion without hesitation.

At this moment, Wang Dahu was still unaware that Li Chenggang was the mastermind behind the collusion with foreign enemies; even if he had known, he would never have supported Li Chenggang's rebellion.

In his heart, Wang Dahu had long since submitted wholeheartedly to Wei Fufeng, deeply grateful for his trust and the elevated status and wealth he had bestowed.

Furthermore, as a commander who had led elite troops for many years, Wang Dahu now possessed the mentality of a superior.

Whereas he had once followed Li Chenggang's lead, times had changed, and he instead felt a sense of superiority looking down on Li Shunjie, simply because he was a commander of the Military Governor's Mansion.

An hour later, the Bozhou army marched imposingly upon Luzhou.

Due to Li Chenggang's treason, the patrol scouts had been neutralized, preventing Luzhou from receiving intelligence about the enemy's attack.

Deeply shocked, Wang Dahu ordered beacon fires to be lit to sound the alarm, notifying the Military Governor's Mansion and all military forces in Luzhou of the enemy attack.

Ba City was too vast, and relying solely on messengers risked delays. Once the beacon fires were lit, the military forces within the city rapidly responded and rushed to reinforce.

As the Bozhou army advanced, Yang Duan wore a gloomy expression. On his way into Luzhou territory, he received an urgent dispatch from his rear scouts reporting that tens of thousands of Southern Sichuan troops had arrived at Tongzi County.

Filled with alarm and anger, Yang Duan wondered if he had fallen into a lure-the-enemy strategy devised by the Southern Sichuan army. Was Li Chenggang's collusion fake?

However, now that his army had penetrated deep into Luzhou territory, he was riding a tiger and found it hard to dismount. Gritting his teeth, Yang Duan continued his dash toward Luzhou, only to see the beacon fires ignite and an increasing number of Southern Sichuan soldiers appear along the endless city walls.

"Retreat," Yang Duan ordered bitterly. He had to rush back as quickly as possible.

The subordinates of the Bozhou army were utterly baffled. Upon realizing they had been deceived, they woke as from a dream, hurling curses as they wheeled their horses around and returned the way they had come. They had charged forward with murderous intent, only to race back in burning anxiety—coming in a flurry and leaving in a rush.

Following the issuance of orders from the Luzhou Military Governor's Mansion, twenty thousand Southern Sichuan troops sortied from the city in pursuit, with Wang Dahu leading ten thousand men and Zhang Tianyu leading another ten thousand.

Orders for troop mobilization from the Governor's Mansion were also dispatched to various military garrisons, and five thousand troops were transferred out of Qianzhou.

With Zunyi County City having changed hands, Wei Fufeng ordered his army to rest within the city while selecting several subordinates to act as envoys, dispatching them to meet with various major lords of Bozhou to persuade them to surrender through appeasement.

Wei Fufeng's terms were clear: he was simply replacing the Yang family to take control of Bozhou, but everything else in Bozhou would remain unchanged. It would still be ruled by the local lords, and Southern Sichuan official administration would never be implemented in Bozhou.

The next day, leaving a garrison of ten thousand troops in Zunyi County City, Wei Fufeng led a force of twenty thousand back.

Marching into Heishen Pass, Wei Fufeng gave instructions to the officers guarding the pass, led his twenty thousand troops through the gorge, and stationed them twenty miles west of Tongzi County.

Two days later, Yang Duan led forty thousand Bozhou soldiers back to Tongzi County. After resting and reorganizing their forces for two hours, they set off to enter Heishen Pass.

The Bozhou army launched an assault on the pass. Rivers of blood flowed instantly and corpses piled into mountains as Yang Duan, his eyes reddened with desperation, hurled human lives into the attack.

Half a day later, the two thousand troops led by Wei Fufeng returned to Tongzi County, rendezvousing with the pursuing troops, followed shortly by nearly ten thousand more reinforcements arriving successively.

A force of fifty thousand troops advanced into Heishen Pass, arraying themselves in battle formation without launching an immediate attack.

Morale within the nearly forty thousand-strong Bozhou army plunged into turmoil. Having suffered over two thousand casualties in their attempts to take the pass, they still failed to capture it.

The Southern Sichuan garrison defending the pass actively shouted across the lines, declaring that fifteen thousand troops were holding the fortifications and inviting them to come and throw their lives away whenever they pleased.

With their retreat cut off and their advance blocked by an even larger Southern Sichuan force, the Bozhou army was trapped in Heishen Pass, unable to advance or retreat.

Wei Fufeng had men shout across the lines that Bozhou had already fallen into the hands of the Southern Sichuan army, and that the Yang and Luo clans had been exterminated. If the Bozhou army wished to surrender, they must kill Yang Duan to prove their sincerity; otherwise, they would all be trapped here until they died.