readytorunbook Chapter 199 Wei Yan's Night Raid on Dazhen Pass
Chapter 199 Wei Yan's Night Raid on Dazhen Pass
A generous reward will surely attract brave men; if the money is right, they'll give their lives for you.
In order to marry Wei Yan's daughter, the soldiers all volunteered to be the first to go down.
Seeing that there were many competitors, Zhuo Han immediately picked up the rope coil and slid down without asking for permission, preparing to be the first to enter the pass and become Wei Yan's son-in-law.
As for why they carried the rope coil instead of throwing it down, it was because their position was in a blind spot. They couldn't see what was happening directly below the cliff. What if there were patrolling soldiers below? What if the rope fell and, by some twist of fate, hit one of the patrolling soldiers on the head?
They've climbed this far with great difficulty, and they can't afford to lose everything because of a mistake in the details, so they must be careful.
Zhuo Han climbed down the rope to the edge of the cliff and looked down. After observing for a while, he quickly climbed back up and whispered, "General, the night watchmen are all sleeping in the corners. Should we lower a few more ropes down at the same time?"
Dazhen Pass is currently located in the rear of the Wei army, so the guards are not elite troops, but at most local troops maintaining order, and their combat strength is not high.
Such a garrison wouldn't care much even if they received a warning that the Shu army might attack the city, since the Shu army hadn't arrived yet, and even if they did, what could they do to these lowly soldiers?
Just eat and drink as you please, why should a lowly soldier worry about the affairs of a general?
Furthermore, it's currently the end of the Yin hour and the beginning of the Mao hour, and when sleepiness comes, it's beyond one's control.
In conclusion, it is not surprising at all that the garrison troops inside the pass would secretly find a place to sleep.
Wei Yan pondered for a moment and shook his head, rejecting Zhuo Han's suggestion. He said in a low voice, "No, too many people will make too much noise. If we go down at the same time, we'll be easily discovered. If we accidentally slip halfway down the mountain and wake up the guards, it will be troublesome. The guards can send you all away with just one arrow. We can't do that."
"Besides, we're not in a rush right now. We can all get down before dawn. There's no need to risk leaving any openings just to speed things up. So be careful and try to get down into the pass without anyone noticing."
"Understood." Zhuo Han didn't insist any further, gripping the rope and slowly descending the cliff face.
Wei Yan then called over another garrison commander, pointed to the west, and said, "You lead your men down from there to the back of Dazhen Pass, then find a place to ambush and intercept the fleeing soldiers escaping from Guanzhong."
"If the fleeing soldiers run into the Longshan Road, they are very likely to run along the road to Jieting to report the news. If the Jieting garrison is on guard, it will be difficult for us to take Jieting again. Therefore, we must stop all the fleeing soldiers who are escaping from inside the pass. Do you understand?"
"Understood." The garrison commander nodded emphatically and beckoned more than ten of his subordinates to crouch low and sneak forward, preparing to reach the rear of Dazhen Pass to find a landing point.
Not long after the garrison commander left, Wei Yan felt a jolt as he gripped the rope. Knowing this was a signal that Zhuo Han had landed safely, he whispered, "I'll go down first. You all prepare to follow."
After saying that, he grabbed the rope and slowly climbed down, while the other person quickly grabbed the rope and waited for the signal.
The mountaintop was only about 20 meters above the bottom of the cliff, and the descent didn't require much effort. Wei Yan easily reached the bottom of the cliff and met up with Zhuo Han. After shaking the rope to send a signal, he looked up to observe the surroundings.
Upon observation, they discovered that they were currently on the city wall of Dazhen Pass, and the right side of the city wall of Dazhen Pass was built against the cliff face.
Meanwhile, a dozen or so guards were sleeping soundly, huddled together against the cliff. Wei Yan thought for a moment, then beckoned Zhuo Han to sit down next to the guards. They leaned on each other's shoulders and closed their eyes to doze off.
Standing there would be too conspicuous and easily spotted by the garrison inside the pass when they get up at night, so it's best to do as the locals do.
Soon, a third person came down, saw the two people pretending to be asleep against the wall, and sat down next to them. Then came the fourth, the fifth...
Soon, fifty or sixty people were lying down along the city wall, lined up so long they almost reached the corner of the wall.
Just then, a soldier rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up. He walked blankly to Wei Yan and loosened his belt while dozing off. Wei Yan was so angry that his face turned green. "Why did you choose me out of so many people?"
Wei Yan was pondering whether to continue enduring the rain as if it were just rain, or suddenly burst out and give this brat a good beating, when unexpectedly, before he could decide, the unfortunate kid suddenly sobered up and stared at Wei Yan with a confused look, saying, "Huh, you look a little unfamiliar, and why are your clothes a little different from ours?"
During this raid on Dazhen Pass, Wei Yan was in a hurry and didn't wear armor; he was dressed in plain clothes like the ordinary soldiers, so...
Seeing that the boy had noticed something amiss, Wei Yan stopped hiding and punched the Wei soldier in the abdomen. Then, he pressed down on Zhuo Han's shoulder, quickly got up, drew his sword, and swept it across, easily slicing open the throat of the soldier in front of him. The soldier let out a hoarse roar and fell down helplessly.
The roar startled the sleeping guards, who screamed and tried to get up. Wei Yan rushed forward, killing them one by one with his sword, and shouted, "The Han army has arrived! Those who surrender will not be killed..."
Zhuo Han and his men hurriedly followed and launched the fiercest attack on the garrison inside the pass.
At the same time, the soldiers on the mountaintop, hearing the shouts, stopped trying to hide their presence and immediately threw down more than a dozen ropes, grabbing them and quickly climbing down.
After dealing with the garrison, Wei Yan ordered Zhuo Han to stay behind to support his personal guards on the mountaintop, preventing them from being attacked by arrows during their descent. He himself led thirty men straight to the city wall, preparing to open the city gates and allow the main force to enter the city.
The fierce shouts of battle awakened the garrison inside the pass. The garrison soldiers got up and went out, but due to a lack of command and a lack of understanding of the situation, a great deal of chaos broke out in the camp.
A brief period of chaos is inevitable, and it will take time to move from chaos to order. But will Wei Yan give the defenders such precious time?
Of course not.
Wei Yan picked up the guards' spears and led thirty personal guards to the city tower at top speed, then rushed up the steps to the city gate.
At the same time, Wei Chang, who was lying in ambush outside the city, also heard the shouts of battle. The shouts of battle were an order not to be hesitated. Wei Chang led his army, carrying ladders, to the city wall as quickly as possible. Then he split into two teams. One team set up the ladders and quickly climbed the wall, while the other team went straight to the city gate to wait for Wei Yan to open it.
Their siege ladders were a simplified version, the kind that would collapse with a push in later TV dramas. There was no other way; they arrived in a hurry and had limited time, so this was the only way they could make them. Fortunately, Wei Yan had cleared the area where the siege ladders were to be placed, and there were no guards on the city wall, allowing them to successfully climb the wall.
Wei Yan was a fierce general second only to the Five Tiger Generals. With his spear in hand, he was unstoppable. He quickly reached the city gates, opened them, and welcomed Wei Chang in.
Then he loudly commanded, "Follow me to the west gate to prevent the garrison from leaving the city."
Dazhen Pass only has two gates, east and west. The west gate leads directly to Jieting via the Longshan Road. Now that the pass has been captured, it is natural to intercept more garrison troops to prevent the news from reaching Jieting.
The distance from the East Gate to the West Gate was only two li. Wei Yan personally led the charge and arrived at and occupied the West Gate in just a quarter of an hour. He then left Wei Chang to guard the gate while he led his troops to attack the garrison camp, ready to greet the general guarding the pass.
The defenders were stunned by Wei Yan's sudden attack. When they saw Wei Yan attacking them again after taking the west gate, some of them finally broke down and knelt down to surrender.
This move instantly triggered a chain of anxieties, reminding the defenders that there was still a way to surrender, and they all knelt down and raised their hands.
Seeing this, Wei Yan didn't make things difficult for him. He shouted loudly, "Who is the garrison commander inside the pass? Step forward!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man wearing a thin shirt and a coat carefully stood up and said weakly, "This humble servant, Feng Shan, greets the general. This humble servant is the current garrison commander of Dazhen Pass."