Chapter 1298: Bilateral Intelligence

Chapter 1284: Bilateral Intelligence

Other supplies within the city, such as medicine, grain, lamp oil, and cannonballs, were almost completely depleted. What was worse, Governor Liu was well aware of their predicament! That scoundrel was originally this city's governor, and he knew everything about Shizhou like the back of his hand. The most difficult aspect of warfare is knowing yourself and your enemy. If Zhao Guangzhi had known the city was already out of arrows and food, he wouldn't have lifted the siege after just three days.

But for Governor Liu, this was no problem at all! Just a few days prior, he had personally ransacked Shizhou, sweeping away all its money, grain, and supplies. Governor Liu knew full well that Shizhou's reserves couldn't last even seven days!

A soldier rushed up from below the city walls and reported in a low voice: “Master Wang just donated three hundred jin of grain.”

Those nearby exchanged glances: At a time like this, someone still had grain hidden away?

Defender Yang looked down into the city and saw a handcart trundling by, loaded with three sacks. Seven or eight people walked alongside it, as if guarding a precious treasure to the unaware.

Defender Yang immediately ordered, “Take it to the storeroom; don’t let it get wet from the rain.”

“Yes, sir.”

In fact, everyone felt that Defender Yang's instruction was unnecessary. Three hundred jin of grain wouldn't even last long enough to get moldy before being eaten by everyone.

The messenger did not leave after receiving the order, but continued: “The city residents noticed a new face lingering outside the military camp, chatting with people from East Street, and inquiring about the situation in Shizhou.”

At this time, with soldiers and civilians united, the vigilance of the common people was very high.

“Was he arrested?” Defender Yang was pleased rather than worried. Catching a spy would allow him to learn more about the enemy forces outside the city.

“Captain Wu went to apprehend him, but the person vanished after turning past the stables. Captain Wu is currently searching the vicinity.”

Defender Yang nodded, not giving it much thought. It was not surprising that Governor Liu, who used to be the city's governor, had a few trusted informers here.

He looked at the pitch-black woodland outside the city, where the swaying tree shadows seemed to conceal menacing devils. How were they going to get through this predicament?

He thought for a moment, then instructed his subordinate, “Relay the order: when the thunderstorm returns later, we will sally out and conduct a harassment attack.”

Although they were the defenders, they couldn't just hunker down in the city and allow the enemy to comfortably besiege Shizhou. They couldn't surrender the initiative entirely to the enemy, or Shizhou would truly be doomed. Besides, Shizhou was short on supplies. If they could launch a few raids outside the city, perhaps they could snatch some provisions from Governor Liu’s encampment?

“Yes, sir!” a subordinate said bitterly, “That scoundrel Governor Liu doesn’t dare to face you in a direct confrontation; he just wants to trap us here until we starve to death.”

Three days later, ten li southwest of Shizhou.

Here was an abandoned post station. The main building had partially collapsed, but six or seven rooms at the back were still intact, and a small tree had even grown on the roof of one of them. He Lingchuan and Dong Rui had arranged to meet here.

Wan Qifeng quickly greeted Dong Rui, then went to settle his subordinates. The rain had just stopped, but the water in the horse troughs and the well was unusable, so they had to send people to fetch water from the stream.

“Why did it take so long?”

“Peng Country also experienced heavy rainfall and landslides, so Wan Qifeng had to take a detour, causing a two-day delay.” He Lingchuan stepped into the dilapidated house, shaking rain from his cloak. “You went into Shizhou; what new developments did you find out?”

“I infiltrated three days ago. Shizhou has roughly over forty thousand residents, but Defender Yang commands no more than five hundred soldiers.”

“So many civilians, so few soldiers?” He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised. “With such a small force, can Yang Meng defend Shizhou?”

Five hundred soldiers would be enough for him, but his capability didn't mean others could achieve the same. Yang Meng had successively withstood two armies, Zhao Guangzhi’s and Governor Liu’s. It seemed he had some tricks up his sleeve.

“When Zhao Guangzhi attacked, Governor Liu abandoned Shizhou and fled. The entire city knew that not defending meant certain death, so they all strongly supported Yang Meng’s defending soldiers. They either dug out the last bit of grain hidden at the bottom of their cellars or went to assist in defending the city gates. Even the elderly, weak, women, and children helped mend armor and make fletchings, working together with one heart.”

Dong Rui continued, “Yang Meng even challenged Zhao Guangzhi to a duel outside the city walls, but Zhao Guangzhi refused.”

“Zhao Guangzhi knew he was a good fighter?”

“Perhaps he did.” Before attacking a city, one must do some homework, right? “Yang Meng is quite famous in Shizhou; he once single-handedly defeated seven or eight military leaders.”

He Lingchuan then asked, “What about this time?”

“Governor Liu returned to reap the rewards, and Shizhou was naturally enraged, but I asked seven or eight people, and aside from scorn and contempt, they didn’t seem to have the same determination to fight to the last as before. This is probably because Zhao Guangzhi wanted both people and money, whereas Governor Liu, despite the outrageous act of plundering his own people, at least only seized wealth and didn't harm lives. Plus, he was a local official, so the common folk didn't intend to fight him to the death.”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “If Governor Liu could betray them once, he could do it a second or third time.”

“What does ‘Governor’ even mean? Does an official who fails to fulfill his duties still deserve to hold office?”

“I saw Yang Meng trying to mobilize the people with similar propaganda, but as you know, with a great calamity looming, few people can think so far ahead.” Dong Rui took out his waterskin and took a gulp. “The situation in Shizhou is dire. After repelling Zhao Guangzhi, supplies were almost completely depleted. Although Yang Meng organized people to procure supplies from outside, it was just a drop in the bucket. I saw that the trees in Shizhou were bare, without leaves; many had even lost their bark.”

It was spring, the season for trees to sprout new leaves, yet the people of Shizhou had gathered all the leaves to eat, and even ground tree bark into powder to fill their stomachs and stave off hunger.

“This was three days ago,” Dong Rui said slowly. “While you were away, Governor Liu attacked twice more, and one time he almost smashed open the city gates. He also shouted into the city, promising that the first thing he would do upon entering would be to light fires and prepare a grand feast for all the city’s residents to enjoy. I saw the soldiers on the city gate swallowing hard after hearing him. Tsk, this fellow has no integrity, yet he understands the art of psychological warfare.”

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan immediately asked, “Did Yang Meng sally out and attack?”

A good general should never miss such an opportunity.

“Yes, he did. He also ambushed Governor Liu’s main camp twice, both times in the dead of night and at dawn, successfully plundering some supplies to bring back,” Dong Rui said with a smile. “Governor Liu had originally encamped fifty zhang outside the city gate, but because of this, he had to order his camp relocated two hundred zhang further back, tightening his defenses.”

“Good, that’s excellent.” He Lingchuan nodded. “Governor Liu isn’t very skilled at warfare, but he has the advantage in numbers.”

Governor Liu was merely encamped outdoors, while Yang Meng held a strong fortress, making it more suitable for employing small-scale harassment and attrition tactics. If the enemy is constantly harassed at night, they’ll be lethargic during the day and will soon become like startled birds after a few more attacks. The question is, who can hold out until the end, Governor Liu or Yang Meng?