The Battle of Wei River 2

The width of the Wei River we were trying to cross ranged from about 200m at its narrowest to as wide as 600m. The 200m width was only found further upstream, and in this area, the narrowest point seemed to be between 250m and 300m.

But even that much made it impossible for both sides to attack each other. Even if they shot arrows, they would barely reach halfway across the river. It wasn’t for nothing that both sides just stared blankly at each other.

Among long-range weapons with long range at this time was the crossbow (nu), and the type used in actual combat was called the four-stone crossbow (sishi nu). It meant it had a draw strength of 4 shi (105.6 kg), and its range was at most just under 230m.

However, Zhuge Liang, Shu Han’s all-around inventor, developed a powerful crossbow (qiang nu) that dramatically increased that range. Though there were some ideas provided by me, the requester, it was fine to say it was Zhuge Liang’s sole achievement. It was an item that showcased Zhuge Liang’s genius.

‘Planner Zhang Ran, designer Zhuge Liang, manufacturer Pang Yuan. This can’t be stopped.’

The Wei army’s archers gathered on the riverbank to block our crossing.

It was laughable. Even four-stone crossbows would be insufficient, yet what did they think they could do with horse bows with even shorter range?

I gave a smirk and gestured to Liu Yan, who was waiting only for the order to fire.

“Fire away.”

A volley.

The sound of air being ripped strikes the waves of the Wei River.

The Wei army, who never imagined we would fire from this distance, just stared at the rain of arrows flying in before falling down spraying blood.

Rather than screams filled with pain, gasps tinged with shock burst out. Arrows flying in from this distance were truly terrifying.

The fear given by one-sided attack power would be hard to endure even for well-trained elite soldiers. Guo Huai hurriedly pulled back the archers he had deployed forward.

The enemy archers who should have attacked those building the pontoon bridges couldn’t do anything due to the difference in range. It would be difficult to ambush the moment they cross the pontoon bridges on the riverbank as well.

“Amazing! To think there was such a weapon… As expected, Military Advisor Zhuge is truly a heaven-sent talent.”

Fei Yi exclaimed in admiration, but the powerful crossbow had its limitations. Reloading was slow, and the quantity was small, so it didn’t inflict proper damage to many.

They merely retreated, sick of the fear of the unknown given by the abnormal range, and the fact that they had to helplessly endure the attacks. However, since the purpose was to cover the river crossing, it did its job more than adequately.

‘Originally it was brought in preparation for siege warfare, but to think it would be used to cover a river crossing.’

Since the result was good, it didn’t matter.

Of course, our side couldn’t be completely without casualties either.

Even afterwards, Guo Huai didn’t give up and tried to interfere with our army’s crossing. Each time, though the Wei army suffered more casualties than our army, that difference narrowed as the number of times increased.

The weaknesses of the powerful crossbow. Guo Huai gradually attacked more efficiently as he grasped its slow rate of fire, small numbers, and slow turning due to requiring two people to operate.

The limitations of the powerful crossbow were clear in dealing with swarm tactics where highly mobile horse archers would ride in, shoot arrows, and withdraw.

Knowing that already, we had placed foot archers to assist the crossbowmen. But the difference in range between horse archers and foot archers could be compensated for by the horse’s mobility, so we had to be satisfied with inflicting more damage on their side.

However, it was impossible to stop the pontoon bridge construction with just this. Seeing the successful construction of the pontoon bridge, I proceeded to the next stage.

“The crossing order goes as stated earlier. Xiuyuan, Shaoxian. Get ready.”

The crossing order was suitable for cover. First send the crossbowmen and archers capable of long-range attacks, then the highly mobile cavalry, and finally the infantry cross.

I crossed in the middle with the cavalry. I left the infantry follow-up to Wu Yi.

Judging that charging in would result in greater losses now that our cavalry had crossed, the Wei cavalry were watching us from far outside the range of the powerful crossbows.

‘The first button has been successfully buttoned.’

The key to this battle depended on two military branches. The first was the crossbowmen to cover the crossing. And the second was the cavalry to act as bait.

The next part was Jiang Wei’s role.

§

While Zhang Ran was thinking of Jiang Wei’s next move, Jiang Wei too was inwardly repeating the role assigned to him.

‘Lead the heavy cavalry and attack the enemies outside the range of the powerful crossbows.’

It was a mission tantamount to suicide, charging into the middle of enemy lines without any cover.

Jiang Wei volunteered for that. Even though he felt Zhang Ran’s gaze of dissuasion.

‘I must show. That I am worthy of this position.’

But the pressure of the first real battle. Even Jiang Wei couldn’t help but be nervous facing rushing into mortal danger with no guarantee of survival. He simply mustered his courage.

A situation where one might think only someone like Zhao Yun, said to be made entirely of gall, could maintain composure. His mouth was dry and a slight trembling arose in the hand holding the reins.

Then suddenly, Jiang Wei realized that the Military Officer beside him guarding him seemed rather more composed than himself.

Seeing that, Jiang Wei asked him half-unconsciously, trying to relieve his tension:

“Are you not afraid?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re going to our deaths.”

At Jiang Wei’s words, the Military Officer laughed lightly. It was closer to a laugh unconsciously let out by a senior receiving a question from a junior he cherished, rather than mockery.

“Deputy Commander, you haven’t been enlisted long, so you don’t seem to know the Nanling Army well yet.”

The Military Officer recalled his past. Unknown to others, there probably aren’t any people who have been with Zhang Ran longer than him except for her family members.

He had followed Zhang Ran from far away in Jingzhou. He was one of the 10 soldiers Zhang Ran took to stop Sun Ren who had kidnapped Liu Shan.

“I don’t know about the new guys who just joined, but among those who have been following her from the beginning, there’s not a single one who would refuse her orders. Even if she told them to carry firewood and jump into fire, there are more than a few who would jump in smiling.”

It was an assertion full of certainty, not doubtful words like ‘there wouldn’t be’ or ‘it would be so’.

“That much…”

“Deputy Commander, do you know my name?”

“I remember, of course. Isn’t it Xing Yun? Your courtesy name was Fengchao, right?”

The first thing Jiang Wei did after becoming Assistant to the Rear General was to learn about those belonging to the Nanling Army.

While receiving the handover, he met with Instructors, Military Officers, Governors, etc. in his spare time and memorized their names, faces, and characteristics. Though he couldn’t memorize all the Governors due to lack of time, everyone up to Military Officer rank remained in his head.

Military Officer Xing Yun nodded in affirmation and continued:

“Yes, that’s right. But originally I had a different name. I was called Jing Er. That’s right. The second son of the Xing family. That was my name. Not just me, most of the soldiers were like that. Zhang San, Li Si, Wen Yi… But have you ever heard such names now, Deputy Commander?”

“Hmm… It doesn’t seem so.”

“Of course. We all changed our names.”

Xing Yun closed his eyes and recalled. That day when asked what he liked, he answered that he liked looking at the sky.

“All of them, she personally gave us names. She also gave courtesy names to those who wanted them.”

It was the day he received a name of the cloud closest to the sky.

Finishing his recollection of a memory he would never forget until the day he died, Xing Yun returned to Jiang Wei’s question.

“You asked if I’m not afraid of death? Of course I’m afraid. How many people are there who truly aren’t afraid of death? But because I believe someone will remember me even if I die, I face death.”

Xing Yun asked:

“Have you seen the lining of her golden thread robe?”

“You mean the black patterned lining?”

“It’s not a pattern. It just looks that way because the writing is so small. All those characters are the names of the fallen. Among them is a name Xing Yao.”

“Xing Yao…? If it’s Xing…”

“That’s right. He’s my younger brother. Born with the name Xing San, he received the name Xing Yao from her. He served her for a very long time. We crossed over to Yizhou together, and that guy entered under Governor Wei’s command.”

At that time, Zhang Ran became an Army Advisor under Pang Tong, so the 10 soldiers who came to Yizhou with her had to leave Zhang Ran’s command for a while.

“He boasted that he had a talent for riding horses and quickly became a cavalry. Then he went to Hanzhong following her. It was voluntary.”

And he didn’t return.

“It was the first day I resented her. But when I saw that kid’s name engraved inside the golden thread robe, I went to her wanting to become cavalry.”

Time passed, and Xing Er, who was merely a common soldier, became Military Officer Xing Yun leading dozens of cavalry.

After hearing all of Xing Yun’s story, Jiang Wei judged that his assessment had been wrong.

‘I thought she was like Huo Qubing, but was she Wu Qi?’

During the Warring States period, Wu Qi raised an elite unit called the Wu Zu (martial soldiers). When one of his cherished soldiers developed a boil on his back, Wu Qi personally sucked out the pus with his mouth to treat it.

However, when the soldier’s mother heard about this, she wailed. Because she knew that her husband had given his life being captivated by Wu Qi’s such aspect, and now even her son would disregard death and fight for Wu Qi.

Zhang Ran’s image of eating together, giving names, and remembering the dead resembled such a Wu Qi.

“I received a name to fill a lifetime. I follow with my life.”

“…Thank you for answering my rude question.”

Somehow his heart felt refreshed now. The confusion disappeared, leaving only a clear resolve. Jiang Wei’s hands no longer trembled.

“Well then, shall we go!”

Drawing his sword, Jiang Wei burst with high spirits.

“Advance!!”

At that command, the horses began to gallop, kicking up the ground.

Towards mortal danger.