Chapter 135: Five Passageways

On the sixth day of the siege, His Majesty the Emperor got his wish to go to the battlefield. With the dignity of the Son of Heaven, he personally donned heavy armor, took up bow and sword, and stood waiting in formation.

Although Liu Yan personally led over a hundred Liaodong loyal guards as attendants, and generals like Wang De and Fu Qing also stood by in armor, densely packed soldiers nearly filling that section of the wall, and because the watchtower had been dismantled, many young civil officials also accompanied him, making the wall look rather motley... still, this act greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers on the wall.

But His Majesty did not encounter the "battle opportunity" he had seen in previous days, nor did his vaunted archery skills come into play. Because on this day, the Jin army adopted an unexpected method of siege from the start.

"What are the Jin doing?"

Beside His Majesty, a crowd of civil and military officials stared together at the front of the Jin army position, far beyond striking range, watching the bustling activity there with bewilderment. After a full quarter-hour of watching, it was the Imperial Censor-in-Chief Hu Yin who first asked the question.

Hearing Hu Yin's inquiry, those around exchanged glances, but none knew how to answer.

As for His Majesty, perhaps because he was indeed widely experienced and also had the mindset of an engineering dog, he realized almost immediately what the Jin army was doing, but he simply didn't know what professional term to use to describe it.

"Are they digging tunnels?" Hu Yin pressed on.

"No." Zhao Jiu, clad in iron armor, snapped back to attention and finally spoke. "Nanyang has abundant water systems, and with the winter cold, tunnels can't be dug at all. If I had to put it in words, they are building tunnels above ground and pushing them toward the wall."

Hu Yin and the others were still confused, but generals like Wang De showed signs of understanding... Clearly, these later generals with rich military experience, like His Majesty, had at least grasped the Jin intention in their minds.

"It's a covered passageway," Lin Jing suddenly spoke up at this moment. "A thing that has existed since the Qin dynasty. It means building a road, with walls on both sides and a roof on top, to avoid arrows. When encountering a ditch, fill it; when encountering a wall, push it down... At the end of the Qin, when Zhang Han and Wang Li fought the Hegemon-King of Chu north of the river, they built a wide covered passageway connecting the main camp to protect the supply route and facilitate troop movement."

"I remember now," Hu Yin also realized instantly. "It is indeed a covered passageway. During the Three Kingdoms, Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Mengde, also built covered passageways, but he used large carts linked together with palisades... That's exactly it! But how should this covered passageway be broken?"

The last question was still directed at Lin Jing, but it was clear that Lin Jing did not understand these matters; he remained silent for a long time.

As for His Majesty, who stood by watching coldly, he had already thought of no fewer than three methods in an instant, but he did not voice them, instead sending someone to summon Chen Gui to let the latter make the decision.

And while the men on the wall were agonizing, the Jin army camp had long since taken on a different atmosphere... To be honest, Jin Wushu had never expected Zhang Yu to bring him such a big surprise!

It wasn't just Jin Wushu; even the other chiliarchs and commanders were extraordinarily excited. After all, with this thing, the moats and the sheep-and-horse walls seemed to be no problem!

So, after summoning and rewarding Li Dayin, who had come up with such a brilliant plan, Jin Wushu formally ordered that, in addition to the three covered passageways originally started by Zhang Yu on the north face, the rest of the main Jin army should also build covered passageways: two on the north face, one each on the west and south faces.

In other words, after realizing the excellence of this siege strategy, the Jin command did not hesitate to increase the stakes, starting seven covered passageways simultaneously, either heading straight for the city gates or aiming directly at the base of Nanyang's wall to dig it out!

On the city wall, Chen Gui arrived hastily. After observing from a distance, his expression also turned serious: "Your Majesty, under the circumstances, there are only three strategies..."

"Two strategies!" Zhao Jiu interrupted without turning his head. "I just saw that they have already started preparing felt cloth. They will surely soak it in water and lay it as an outer layer to prevent fire and smoke."

"Then..." Chen Gui paused slightly, then grew even more serious. "Which of the remaining two strategies does Your Majesty think we should use?"

"Sortie!" Zhao Jiu did not hesitate at all, turning back directly to give the order, clearly having already made up his mind. "With over ten thousand Imperial Guard Central Army and loyal guards in the city, we must go out and fight."

Chen Gui paused slightly, then slowly nodded.

And those around, from Lin Jing, who said nothing but understood clearly, to Hu Yin and the others who had been confused earlier, to the generals, whether rough or meticulous but all with some calculation, were almost all clear in their minds.

To be sure, of the so-called three strategies for dealing with this kind of wooden artificial covered passageway... one was inevitably to set fire and smoke them out, as if dealing with a tunnel; another was the military order His Majesty had just given, to go out of the city after they reached the wall and engage in hand-to-hand combat behind the sheep-and-horse wall, using the terrain; and the third, which neither His Majesty nor Minister Chen had stated directly, but which everyone understood perfectly, was almost certainly to bombard them with catapult stones!

In fact, if anyone still had doubts at this moment, it was why His Majesty still insisted on not using the catapults?! It must be known that the catapult stones in the city had long been prepared.

"The other two sides are manageable, but who is willing to lead troops down to deal with the five passageways on this side?" Without time to think too much, His Majesty fixed his gaze on the generals behind him.

These men had already fought hand-to-hand with the Jin before, and besides, with His Majesty's orders and the protection of the city wall, what was there to fear? So from Wang De on down, the generals all cupped their hands together and volunteered!

"Once you go down, it's not just about fighting; the key is to dismantle the passageways." Zhao Jiu asked seriously. "How do you plan to do it?"

"The walls of the passageways are surely hastily nailed together from planks. They can block arrows but may not be sturdy. They can be pulled open with iron hooks!" Fu Qing answered first. "I request to lead a thousand armored soldiers from my own unit, divided into teams. Five hundred armored soldiers in five teams, armed with swords and shields, will face the enemy head-on. The other five hundred, also in five teams, will use hooks and ropes to pull and dismantle the passageways from the sides. This will surely succeed! Even the passageways on the other two walls heading toward the city gates can be handled this way, without exposing the gate mechanisms."

This plan was extremely sound, and Zhao Jiu immediately nodded.

"Your Majesty!" Wang De saw this and quickly spoke up.

To be sure, at this time Hu Yantong was at Fangcheng, Qiao Zhongfu at Xiangyang, Zhang Jing at Guanghuajun, and Xin Xingzong (Big Xin) at Wuguan. The remaining five generals in the city were Wang De, Fu Qing, Xin Yongzong (Little Xin), Yang Yizhong, and Liu Yan, with a total force of seventeen or eighteen thousand, including twelve or thirteen thousand armored soldiers and over ten thousand laborers. In principle, it should have been Wang De, the highest in military rank, who took charge. But in reality, because Chen Gui, the Minister of War, personally oversaw the city defenses, and with Privy Councilor Lu Xiang as the chief overseer, and Liu Yan of the Bureau of Operations making plans, the "Yaksha" Wang De was reduced to the common crowd, essentially no different from the other generals, merely following orders.

Therefore, the Yaksha Wang, who had always been thinking about the post of Nanyang Four-Walls Defense Commissioner, truly did not want to give up this good opportunity to shine before His Majesty.

However, when Zhao Jiu turned to look at Wang De, this Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard Central Army was momentarily at a loss for words, then turned red-faced with anxiety, clearly unable to come up with his own plan on the spot, yet unwilling to simply repeat what someone else had said.

"Commander Wang's eagerness to fight is understandable," Zhao Jiu said with a slight smile. "But since Commander Fu has offered a plan, let him handle it this time! If it fails, Commander Wang can go down to provide support."

Wang De wanted to say something, but this His Majesty had shown his capabilities from the Huai River to the present, and at the very least had some authority... So the Yaksha Wang ultimately dared not say anything more.

And so, with Fu Qing set as the main attacker, His Majesty then designated Xin Yongzong and Yang Yizhong, who should have been stationed at the military barracks in the city, to sortie from the south and west faces respectively to cut off the passageways. He then sent Chen Gui to oversee the other sections of the wall, and finally waited quietly on the wall for the Jin covered passageways.

Time passed neither quickly nor slowly. By the afternoon, the covered passageways had reached the outer moat and entered the range of the Song army's standard projectile weapons on the wall... And with three-sided cover, the passageways, a little over three yards wide and man-high, tightly protected the Jin soldiers inside. Although they hadn't held out much hope, when crossbow bolts and fire arrows indeed failed against the soaked felt cloth, the Song civil and military officials under the dragon banner on the wall were indeed somewhat disappointed.

Correspondingly, on the command platform just over three hundred paces opposite the wall, Jin Wushu and the other Jin generals were mostly in high spirits.

Not only that, but as the seven passageways advanced together, their effectiveness became even more apparent when they reached the outer moat. Because the Jin soldiers inside the passageways only faced a narrow tactical front of a little over three yards, within half an hour, the ever-extending passageways, like the tentacles of the Jin army, easily reached the sheep-and-horse wall! And this wall, which had worked wonders just yesterday, now had no power at all. It was quickly breached by the Jin soldiers inside the passageways carrying iron spades, opening seven gaps.

Next came the inner moat. By this time, Jin Wushu, the three chiliarchs, and dozens of commanders could no longer sit still, almost all rising together to watch from afar.

As expected, the narrow inner moat also failed to stop the extension of the passageways... But it was precisely when the Jin army crossed the inner moat and reached the last dozen or so paces before the city wall that a thunderous roar of battle cries suddenly erupted from behind the sheep-and-horse wall.

This scene formed a stark contrast with yesterday... Yesterday, the Jin army shouted incessantly while the Song army remained silent and stern. Today, the Jin army silently built the passageways without stop, while the Song army was the first to raise battle cries.

"Why weren't the soldiers in the passageways on guard?" Jin Wushu turned to ask.

"Soldiers who escaped from behind the sheep-and-horse wall yesterday said that there was no drawbridge in front of Nanyang's city gate, but instead a thin wall was set up," Han Chang blurted out. "I thought it was strange at the time. Now it seems it was precisely to conceal the opening and closing of the city gate, making it easier for troops to sneak out and sortie... Like the low ground behind the sheep-and-horse wall, it should all be a tactic of the defenders. Quite interesting."

"I see." Jin Wushu watched as hand-to-hand combat began at the base of the wall ahead, then suddenly grinned fiercely. "But such petty tricks are at most cunning. Since it has come to close combat, it will be decided by real swords and real spears!"

"The Fourth Prince speaks truly," Han Chang blurted out, but the next moment, like the others around him, including Balisu and Chizhan Hui, his expression changed.

It turned out that this trusted general of Jin Wushu had just witnessed with his own eyes that the Fourth Prince's personal guard commander had silently detached five companies and directly poured them into the five passageways on this side... And every man in these five companies was clad in full lamellar armor!

It must be known that these lamellar-armored warriors had a special name. Since they usually fought on horseback, once mounted on armored warhorses, from their gourd-shaped helmets to their horses' knees, they were all covered in iron armor, looking like iron pagodas, hence they were called Iron Pagodas!

And even Jin Wushu, as noble as he was, had only a thousand Iron Pagodas at his disposal, half of which were borrowed from his elder brother, the Third Prince Eriduo.

But regardless, five hundred Iron Pagodas fighting on foot were still Iron Pagodas! With the Iron Pagodas deployed, the Song army's attempt to break the passageways through hand-to-hand combat was nothing but a fool's dream!