I toured the city walls with Zheng Baobao and Zheng Bingbing—a rather rhyming pair of names—and found the city of Wusan quite peculiar. The heights of the city walls on the sides were greater than those facing the front. The front, which faced the opposite bank of the river, had walls that were not only about ten meters shorter than the side walls but also different in thickness.
I asked Zheng Baobao why this was so. Zheng Baobao explained that the original position of Wusan city relative to the great river was different. Wusan was built on a sandbar in the middle of the river. The sandbar was long and narrow, with swift currents on both sides, so the northern and southern walls of Wusan were waterside walls and were thus lower. The eastern and western walls faced the land and were consequently more solid and reliable.
"And they weren't reinforced later, were they?" I pointed to the enemy camp below the front wall. It was clear they had also spotted Wusan's weakness. Out of ten thousand men, about six thousand were camped at the front, directly facing the weakest side of Wusan. The remaining two thousand on each of the other two sides were not the main attacking force but were primarily there to encircle the city.
"They weren't reinforced because the waters of the great river change annually. This year, there was a severe drought, so the southern side of the city was exposed," Zheng Baobao replied.
"Does Your Excellency have a plan to defeat the enemy?" a deputy of Zheng Baobao asked quietly.
I had actually been pondering for a long time and couldn't come up with a good solution. Eight hundred men defending against ten thousand was too difficult, especially with enemies on three sides. Unlike the previous city of Wusi, where we could concentrate on defending one side, even if I deployed the spearmen, a few hundred bullets would likely not deter the enemy forces so close at hand.
Now, the moment the enemy general gave the order, Wusan city would be breached instantly.
"In which tent is their main general?" I asked Zheng Baobao.
Zheng Baobao pointed to a large, yurt-like encampment at the rear of the enemy camp. "That one, with the blue flag, is the encampment of General Har, the enemy commander."
"Har?" Bingbing chuckled, likely thinking of Howl's Moving Castle.
Zheng Baobao nodded. "This general was formerly my superior in the navy. His combat style is extremely fierce. After his betrayal, he led his 'Har's Banner' unit to conquer cities everywhere, taking over ten cities consecutively. His rebel force has grown with each battle, becoming increasingly difficult to deal with."
I estimated the distance. It was a bit far, about five hundred meters. Even if Har stood still, with our marksmanship, we couldn't guarantee a hit. I feared that if we agitated him, he might abandon the "lure the reinforcements" tactic and order a direct assault, which would put us in a dire situation.
Alternatively, even if we were lucky enough to kill Har, his subordinates might become enraged and launch a direct assault, again leaving us in trouble.
Therefore, the relatively safer option now was to remain still; running was not an option either.
To stall the enemy, I had Zheng Baobao send a few loud-voiced individuals to the city gate tower to taunt them. I wanted them to announce that our reinforcements were rapidly approaching from Wusi and Wuer cities, and if they didn't leave, they might find themselves surrounded.
"Is this appropriate?" Zheng Baobao frowned.
"Just do as I say," I replied.
Zheng Baobao hesitated for a moment, then complied. Not long after, I heard a deep, booming voice from the city wall cursing Har and leaking this information. After cursing three times, an arrow was shot, hitting the loud speaker in the shoulder and forcing him back.
I observed the enemy camp again. They hadn't launched an assault, nor did they show any intention of retreating. They were cautiously adjusting their deployments, sending about five hundred men from the central six thousand towards the mountain we had come from. They were likely setting up an ambush or at least establishing a guard post.
On the other side, they hadn't dispatched any troops towards the direction of Wuer city. I asked Zheng Baobao's subordinate where the enemy had come from. The subordinate said they had come from downstream. This led me to believe that Wuer city had likely suffered heavily, but their information system was outdated, and they didn't know it yet.
If this was the case, then Zheng Baobao's original plan to escape downstream to Wuer city if they couldn't fight back would be impractical. Going there would be walking into a trap. The enemy also seemed to realize this, hence their deliberate inaction, aiming to force Zheng Baobao into a suicidal attack.
He had planned for everything. This Har was indeed a skilled general...