Although the Liang army had discovered the secret of the new catapult Whirlwind Cannons and modified two Whirlwind Cannons for deployment at maximum speed, they couldn’t immediately grasp all the essential principles.
Xichuan City gained several precious days of respite. Not only did they again conscript large numbers of stronghold elite troops from the west bank to transport into the city to participate in defense, they also conducted emergency reinforcement of the precarious walls.
Afterward, both sides positioned Whirlwind Cannons inside and outside the walls to bombard each other. In the short term, the defenders still held a clear advantage.
The Liang army’s auxiliary soldiers and laborers at the front positions suffered enormous casualties. Their modified new Whirlwind Cannons, lacking the protection of city walls, were smashed one after another, forcing them to continuously build new Whirlwind Cannons to deploy on the battlefield for mutual bombardment.
Of course, the defenders’ most important work was reinforcing the walls, or when breaches were blasted open in the walls, fighting desperately to seal the Liang army behind the breaches, driving laborers to brave the Liang army’s arrows and stone projectiles to fill the breaches at maximum speed.
Inside the walls, Han Qian also constructed T-shaped low walls to reinforce the fragile sections of the city walls.
Below Xichuan City, both attacking and defending sides reverted to a protracted war of attrition.
The Liang army transferred large numbers of crossbow beds from Fan-Xiang. Han Qian also built more Scorpion Crossbows to position atop the walls.
The city’s timber reserves were extremely abundant. Han Qian and Yang En also built observation towers and mobile towers, crafting three to four zhang long hooked inlaid spears and long spears so that when the Liang army charged onto the walls, more soldiers could assist the wall defenders from inside in striking the Liang army.
While defending against Liang army attacks from the south, east, and north, Han Qian also suggested that Guo Liang’s forces defending the west wall push over a dozen Whirlwind Cannons outside the west wall to build catapult positions near the riverbank dock. These were used to blockade the less than three-hundred-pace-wide Xichuan River channel on the western side, forcing the Liang naval camp’s warships not to dare enter this area, facilitating the stronghold recruits from the west bank to directly swim across the Xichuan River and continuously enter Xichuan City.
The Liang army at this time had to forcibly endure the pincer attack from the defenders positioned at the southwest and northwest corner walls, advancing along the riverbank to kill their way into the open ground outside the west wall, attacking the defenders’ catapult positions outside the city to restore their naval camp’s blockade of the Xichuan River.
Until the end of March, the dozens of remaining Liang vessels that had previously been striving to blockade the Xichuan River suddenly retreated south.
Though scouts had risked death two days prior to break through the Liang army’s blockade, bringing back news that the Tower Ship Navy had valiantly severed the Liang army’s iron chain pontoon bridge between Xiangzhou City and Fancheng several days ago, entering the upper Hanshui—seeing this scene, the nerves Han Qian had kept taut for three months finally truly relaxed.
Soon the Liang army retreated from the forward outpost positions outside Xichuan City toward Neixiang City. Atop the walls stained with flesh and blood, earth-shaking cheers and roars erupted at this moment. But seeing the corpses lying in rows below the walls, Han Qian momentarily felt an unexpected sense of loss.
Shen Yang and others were so excited that aged tears streamed down their faces. They could hardly imagine that if this brutal war of attrition had continued three or four more days, how much chance remained of defending Xichuan City. Stumbling as they ran toward the Town Commandant’s Residence to report to the Third Prince the joyful news that reinforcements were arriving and the Liang army was withdrawing from the siege.
…
Marquis Xinchang Li Pu led over five thousand soldiers from the Dragon Sparrow Army’s Second Division, following the Tower Ship Navy elite forces led by Tower Ship General and Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian. They successively severed the Liang army’s iron chain pontoon bridge blockades at Yingzhou and Fancheng, repeatedly suffering surprise attacks from the Liang naval camp’s fire ship formations. Casualties were also severe.
Of the over sixty large warships at departure, less than half remained upon reaching the Xichuan River mouth.
The Dragon Sparrow Army’s Second Division and the Tower Ship Navy elite forces—along this route, some drowned with sinking ships, some were burned to death by fire attacks. Of the twenty thousand troops at departure, now less than fifteen thousand remained.
If after struggling to reach the upper Dan River, Jingzi Pass and Xichuan had already fallen, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu could hardly imagine that when they fought their way back downstream to rejoin the main Jinling reinforcement forces, how many could ultimately survive.
Seeing from afar the Dragon Sparrow General’s great banner representing Third Prince Yang Yuanpu still flying high above the ruined city’s Town Commandant’s Residence, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu also thoroughly breathed a sigh of relief.
At Ezhou, with blood rushing to their heads, Feng Yi and Kong Xirong had volunteered to follow the Tower Ship Navy north to reinforce Xichuan. Having witnessed the dangers all along the route, their intestines nearly turned green with regret.
As the warships docked at the wharf, seeing Han Qian wearing a blue robe standing behind the Third Prince—whose face looked somewhat pale but spirits soaring—they too were excited to the point of tears streaming down their faces, dancing and gesturing.
“You actually held out! When we departed from Jiangxia, we wore our heads on our belts! We thought that if we didn’t come, we’d be too disloyal. But if we rushed over and you couldn’t defend Xichuan City, we’d be done for here too! Yet you truly managed to defend Xichuan City!”
Shen Yang, Shen He, Yang En, Chen De, Chai Jian, and others accompanied Third Prince Yang Yuanpu to welcome Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian and Marquis Xinchang Li Pu. Han Qian fell behind, not wanting to join this commotion. Feng Yi and Kong Xirong, being junior in seniority, also weren’t qualified to crowd to the very front. Walking to Han Qian’s side, Feng Yi with his loose tongue excitedly chattered on endlessly.
Han Qian only smiled faintly.
The Third Prince, accompanying Marquis Zhenyuan, Marquis Xinchang, and others entering the city, called him over at this moment: “This is Han Qian. That we could defend Xichuan, Han Qian should be credited with top merit!”
Han Qian stepped forward, bowing in salute to Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian and Marquis Xinchang Li Pu, saying calmly, “Han Qian greets Marquis Zhenyuan and Marquis Xinchang. What His Highness said, you two Marquises shouldn’t take seriously. Han Qian just had good fortune, came up with several lousy ideas that by chance all managed to be somewhat useful…”
“How can my words not be taken seriously?” Yang Yuanpu asked with a smile.
Han Qian said, “To discuss merit, His Highness with his priceless person, unafraid of danger before the enemy, defended mountains and rivers, sat in command at Xichuan to inspire morale—this deserves top merit. Next are General Li, General Zheng, General Guo, Adjutant Zhou, and General Chai leading soldiers who gave their utmost. After that, Lord Shen, Marquis Yang, and Supervisor Shen devised strategies for His Highness and stabilized military morale—also indispensable great merit. Counting them all one by one, Han Qian’s merit is truly not worth mentioning, merely adding flowers to brocade…”
Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian was also a member of the imperial clan, his relationship to Emperor Tianyou closer than Yang En’s. He was also Emperor Tianyou’s most trusted imperial general, having long served as Great Chu’s naval commander.
However, like many court ministers, Yang Jian had no intention of becoming involved in succession disputes.
Even for the Third Prince’s wedding, Yang Jian had only sent family members to deliver congratulatory gifts. Neither he himself nor his sons appeared. Han Qian had never before had opportunity to meet Yang Jian.
At this moment, Yang Jian was accompanying the Third Prince through the west gate. The west gate had suffered almost no attacks and was naturally intact. Only the catapult positions outside the west wall had seen intense attack and defense, leaving pools of bloodstains. But in Yang Jian’s eyes, long experienced in warfare, this was truly ordinary.
After Yang Jian and Li Pu passed through the west gate and looked around in all directions, only then did they truly feel shocked and horrified by the brutality of Xichuan’s two-month siege battle.
The broken, collapsed walls were stained large swaths of sauce-purple by fresh blood.
The walls bore traces both new and old interspersed—who knew how many breaches had been blasted open, then filled back in again.
They could even see countless severed limbs embedded in the walls. Clearly during fierce battles when both sides were rushing to repair walls, many corpses hadn’t been cleared from the sand, stone, and timber materials, but were directly buried into the walls.
Before reaching Xichuan City, Yang Jian had felt the letters submitted by the Third Prince, Shen Yang, and others greatly exaggerated. He couldn’t believe the Dragon Sparrow Army could hold out in such fierce offensive and defensive battles, could defend a ruined city like Xichuan before several times their number of Liang army elite troops.
At this moment, standing below the west gate, he stood dazed for quite a while before coming back to his senses. Only then did he seriously look Han Qian over a few times and say:
“When Minister Wang left Jinling, I drank with him. Listening to Minister Wang evaluate court and provincial figures, he said your father had great talent in local governance. But Minister Wang clearly hadn’t met you at that time!”
Han Qian heard Yang Jian’s tone was somewhat bland. He thought Yang Jian might not truly admire him, and seeing his expression was more the relief of having survived by luck.
Han Qian acted as if he couldn’t tell, returning the courtesy: “Marquis Yang praises me too much!”
Yang Jian at this moment breathed out slightly, his expression becoming more spirited, continuing to accompany the Third Prince, Li Pu, and others walking into the ruined city.
Regardless of how much Han Qian and the Third Prince had previously relied on unorthodox methods, or how narrowly they had won, Yang Jian had to acknowledge that the Dragon Sparrow Army had after all defended Xichuan City, becoming the most critical turning point in reversing the Jing-Xiang campaign situation.
And the Tower Ship Navy had also risked breaking through the Liang army’s blockade, successfully joining forces with the Xichuan defenders. At this point, unless the Liang army forcibly captured Xiangzhou City in an extremely short time, otherwise they had only the one path of retreating in disgrace.
In recent years, Great Chu had focused operations on Xiangzhou City in the western wing. With Du Chongtao leading over twenty thousand elite troops garrisoning there, Yang Jian believed that even if Du Chongtao was incompetent, the time he could defend Xiangzhou City should at least be somewhat longer than the Third Prince defending Xichuan City.
If under such circumstances the Liang army still dared linger two or three more months in the Jing-Xiang region, Yang Jian was confident His Majesty had the ability to completely devour this southward Liang army main force!
“Where is Lord Zhang Ping?” When Marquis Xinchang Li Pu walked toward the Town Commandant’s Residence, his emotions having calmed, he suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Marquis Residence Supervisor Zhang Ping and asked doubtfully.
Not seeing others, Li Pu could bear not asking—after all, in such brutal warfare, anyone could suffer mishaps. But as Marquis Residence Supervisor, Zhang Ping ordinarily only needed to remain at the Third Prince’s side and shouldn’t need to charge into the front lines.
Not seeing Zhang Ping at this moment, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu was quite puzzled.
“During battle, His Highness disregarded danger, braving enemy arrows and stones, personally inspecting troops at the walls to inspire morale. Supervisor Zhang Ping, in saving His Highness, had his left shoulder shattered by a falling rock. He still hasn’t regained consciousness,” Chai Jian standing nearby said.
Li Pu, having disembarked with Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian, saw the Third Prince treat him not as coldly as anticipated. He had assumed the Third Prince was deeply grateful that reinforcements arrived in time. He hadn’t expected it was because Zhang Ping risked death to save him atop the walls, resolving some of the Third Prince’s estrangement toward them.
Li Pu’s expression at this moment became even more gentle. He reached out to lightly pat Li Zhigao’s shoulder as they walked, as if his heart bore absolutely no grudge over Li Zhigao’s actions that day.
Han Qian’s expression darkened slightly. He fell back half a step, putting some distance between himself and the jubilant crowd.