Chapter 159: The Siege of Yecheng

Meanwhile, outside the city of Ye, within Zhang He's grand encampment, a force of fifty thousand soldiers was arrayed. The siege engines had all been largely completed—scaling ladders, makeshift siege towers, catapults, and battering rams.

Zhang He had summoned the strategist Tian Feng to discuss how best to take the city of Ye. Once Ye was captured, they would finally have a secure foothold, providing a proper base of operations when the eldest young master, Yuan Tan, arrived to take charge of the overall situation.

"Strategist, as you can see, our siege engines are nearly finished," Zhang He said, turning to Tian Feng. "I plan to launch the assault tomorrow morning. However, I am still undecided whether we should attack a single side or surround and assault all four sides."

At present, Ye had been completely sealed off. Zhang He’s troops were deployed on all four fronts—east, west, south, and north—encircling the city impenetrably.

Tian Feng pondered for a moment before replying, "Junyi, the number of siege engines we currently have is still insufficient. If we focus them on a single side, it will barely suffice. But if we divide our forces to surround all four sides, these engines will be spread too thin, making it difficult to exert sufficient pressure anywhere."

"Cao Mengde's reinforcements could arrive at any moment. If we delay for a few more days just to build more siege engines, and Cao Mengde manages to arrive, all our previous efforts will be wasted."

"My advice is to concentrate our superior forces and launch a fierce assault on the front."

"Since the enemy lacks sufficient manpower, launching a continuous, relentless frontal assault will exert the maximum pressure upon them."

"Our forces are abundant. We can divide them into three waves, rotating the attacks so that each wave takes turns resting. The enemy, lacking numbers, cannot rotate their defense in the same way."

"It won't be long before they are utterly exhausted, and once that happens, the city of Ye will be easily taken."

Tian Feng's advice was entirely sound. Though their numbers were large, their siege engines were lacking. Without siege engines, no matter how many soldiers they had, they could not even touch the enemy upon the ramparts.

Therefore, the wisest course of action was to employ a war of attrition, focusing a brutal assault on the front wall.

Following Tian Feng's counsel, Zhang He divided his fifty thousand troops into three combat waves, each numbering fifteen thousand, to take turns attacking the city.

With five thousand men per wave, the three attacking waves totaled forty-five thousand. As for the remaining five thousand, where were they?

Those remaining five thousand men were deployed by Zhang He as scouts to establish outposts all around Ye, remaining constantly vigilant against any approaching reinforcements from Cao's army.

Early the next morning, Zhang He’s army and their siege engines lined up in formation beneath the city walls.

The Yuan soldiers were all clad in earth-yellow armor, with blades-and-shields infantry stationed at the very front.

Holding round shields in one hand to protect themselves, they pushed the siege vehicles forward toward the city walls.

Behind the siege vehicles were large numbers of Yuan infantrymen carrying scaling ladders.

At the very rear were the archers and the catapults.

"Prepare the catapults!"

"Load the stones!"

"Smash them into the city walls!"

At the command of the herald, the Yuan catapults took the initiative, launching an attack against the ramparts.

In this era, catapults were arguably the most formidable long-range weapons.

Within moments, countless massive boulders rained down upon the walls of Ye.

Su Ming was currently atop the ramparts directing the defense. He knew that the enemy catapults were striking first to provide cover for the siege vehicles advancing below.

By using the catapults to establish fire superiority, they could allow the siege engines underneath to close in on the walls.

"My lord, it is time for us to counterattack!" Taishi Ci shouted to Su Ming. "We hold the high ground up here on the wall; our catapults outrange theirs."

However, Su Ming pressed his hand downward in a silencing gesture and said in a deep voice, "No counterattacks allowed. Without my order, the catapults are not to return fire."

"Everyone take cover beneath the ramparts and avoid the boulders."

Zhang He's use of catapults to hurl stones at the city walls was essentially all thunder and no rain. Though it looked imposing and grand, the actual casualties inflicted were minimal.

First of all, catapult accuracy in this era was exceptionally poor. They relied primarily on sheer volume, using massed barrages to crush or injure the enemy.

The vast majority of the stones either failed to reach the wall, overshot it entirely, or landed harmlessly inside the city.

Only a tiny fraction of the stones actually struck the top of the ramparts, and since the defenders were sheltered behind battlements, it was very difficult for the projectiles to hit them.

Conversely, if Su Ming and his men used their catapults to fire downward from their elevated position, they could inflict devastating casualties upon the Yuan troops.

Yet, Su Ming had explicitly forbidden any counterattack.

Why did Su Ming prohibit a return of fire?

It was because Su Ming’s target was not the flesh and blood of the Yuan soldiers, but the destruction of their siege engines as swiftly as possible.

Zhang He had ample manpower; killing a thousand or so of his soldiers with catapult stones was of little consequence to him.

Su Ming deeply understood one crucial principle: the decisive factor in whether Zhang He could breach the walls lay entirely in his siege engines.

Men could not sprout wings and fly. Once the siege engines were destroyed, even if Zhang He had an abundance of troops in his hands, he would not be able to touch a single defender upon the ramparts.

As long as Su Ming could destroy Zhang He's siege engines, even if the enemy wished to build more, it would cost them another day or two of precious time.

The reason Su Ming withheld his catapults from counterattacking from the high ground was simply because he was waiting.

What was Su Ming waiting for? He was waiting for those siege engines to draw closer. Once the engines approached the walls, he would concentrate all his firepower to smash and obliterate them in large numbers.

However, they were in the middle of a battle, and there was simply no time for Su Ming to explain his reasoning in depth.

Consequently, the soldiers on the walls could not understand why the general forbade them from fighting back.

Yet, on the battlefield, military orders were as unyielding as mountains.

Since Su Ming decreed that there would be no counterattack, the officers and men could only huddle in hiding behind the battlements.

At that moment, a low, rumbling sound echoed through the air—*rumble, rumble*.

It was the sound of the siege engines below relentlessly drawing closer.

"General, shall we strike now?" an officer asked Su Ming, his face taut with tension.

Su Ming instructed the officer, "Call out the distances!"

"General, the enemy is three hundred paces away!"

"General, the enemy is two hundred paces away!"

"General, the enemy is one hundred paces away!" The officer leaned his head past the battlements, observing the enemy's position in real time and reporting instantly.

Hearing the distance reach one hundred paces, Su Ming knew the time had come to act.

One hundred paces was equivalent to three hundred steps.

The enemy's siege engines were massive objects; no matter how poor a catapult's accuracy might be, at a distance of three hundred steps, it was close enough to strike home.

"Prepare the catapults!"

"Three engines to one target, take careful aim!"

"Prioritize the enemy's large siege engines, smash the battering rams and towers first!" Su Ming issued his command.