webnovelfull Chapter 707 Surprise Attack on Tambe, Seizing Supplies
Chapter 707 Surprise Attack on Tambe, Seizing Supplies
Who was Pan Jun? He was an official in Jiangxia County promoted by Liu Biao. He was a ruthless man who dared to kill the magistrate of Shaxian County as soon as he took office. He was also the chief administrator of Jingzhou, appointed by Liu Bei himself, and was the second-in-command of Jingzhou after Guan Yu.
Historically, after surrendering to Eastern Wu, he followed the Wu army on many expeditions and made numerous military achievements.
In other words, Pan Jun was a civil official with extensive experience in governance who had worked at the grassroots level, and a military general who was also knowledgeable in military affairs. He was a well-rounded individual, skilled in both civil and military matters.
In short, although Poon Chun's character is questionable, his abilities are top-notch.
This shows that there is no causal relationship between character and ability.
Pan Jun stared at the map and said, "With your abilities, General, as long as you don't take the wrong route and successfully reach the walls of Tanbei, the probability of a successful attack is very high."
"But the successful attack is not the end, but the beginning. The Sassanid army stationed near Tambe will not stand by and watch you take the city. Once they receive news of the city's fall, they will definitely send troops to counterattack. At that time, it will be difficult for you, General, to even hold Tambe. How will you transport the grain away under the Sassanid army's counterattack?"
A surprise attack on Tambe was simple: lead cavalry in a rapid advance, appear suddenly beneath the walls of Tambe with lightning speed, and easily seize the city. But what would happen afterward?
Tambe was both the heartland of the Sassanid dynasty and the front line for the Sassanids against the Parthian Empire, so there must have been a considerable number of troops stationed there.
In other words, Ma Chao's surprise attack on Tanbei was tantamount to an isolated and deep-sea attack, a major taboo in military strategy. Success would bring many times the benefits, but failure would result in the annihilation of the entire army.
Ma Chao knew the danger of this move, but he was unwilling to let go of the grain supplies in Tanbei City. That was exactly what he needed most right now, and he couldn't let the cooked duck fly away right under his nose.
Thinking of the supplies that Tanbei City was beckoning him, Ma Chao gritted his teeth and said, "Judging from the defense of Mulu City, the Parthian Empire is terrible at city defense. Therefore, I estimate that the defense of Tanbei City is not much stronger. It is impossible to withstand the Sassanid family's counterattack with a city. Since we can't defend it, we might as well not defend it. I choose to attack. Attack is the best defense."
"As for how to attack, we can emulate the actions of Guan Yu and his son in Jiangdong, constantly sending troops to harass and destroy the Sassanid army near the city, inflicting heavy losses on the Sassanids so that they dare not counterattack or pursue. Only in this way can we calmly escort our supplies back to Leger City."
Pan Jun pondered, "It seems this is the only way. Let's discuss the battle plan."
Any military operation, especially one as risky as this, must anticipate all possible variables and develop at least three backup plans to ensure a calm response to any unexpected events. This is precisely what Poon Chun excels at.
After all, Pan Jun was a strategist-type official. A strategist is not just someone who comes up with a brilliant idea. After coming up with an idea, he also needs to formulate a detailed action plan to ensure that the plan is successfully implemented until it succeeds. What kind of strategist is he if he can't do that?
Pan Jun began to ponder and deduce while looking at the map. He first recalled all the cases of Guan Yu and his son's actions in Jiangdong, then put himself in the position of the Sassanid patriarch and devised several counterattack plans after the fall of Tambe. He then used these plans to deduce Ma Chao's response. Finally, he had everyone take turns asking questions to fill in any gaps and take into account all possible variables before finally devising one action plan and two backup plans.
After listening to Pan Jun's action plan, Ma Chao grabbed Pan Jun's hand and said excitedly, "Pan Zhizhong, you are truly my lucky star! With you here, our chances of success are much greater."
Tu Lin said with a mixture of admiration and helplessness, "What are the brains of you Han people made of? How come they are so easy to use?"
The rest was simple. The army rested for the night, and at dawn, Ma Chao summoned all the generals, including Ma Su and Ma Dai, for a meeting.
After discussion, it was decided that Ma Su and Ma Cheng, along with their wives Ya Lun, would stay and defend Mulu City. During their stay, they would water the entire city wall, turning the fragile wall into an ice wall to prevent the enemy from launching a counterattack.
The walls of Mulu were too fragile and needed to be reinforced, but construction was not advisable in winter, so they had to make do with ice walls for now.
While pouring ice walls, the people of the Northern Xiongnu were moved to Mulu City to rest, recuperate, and spend the winter in peace.
Ma Chao himself, along with Tu Linpan Jun and a carefully selected elite Han, Qiang, and Xiongnu troops, launched a surprise attack on Tanbei City.
This surprise attack was too important, so Ma Chao didn't dare use the undisciplined Western Region coalition army, but instead prepared to bring his own base of forces.
Ma Dai led 200,000 troops from the Western Regions behind him, marching at a normal pace to Tambe City to join him, preparing to confront the Sassanid family head-on.
There was also Pan Jun's deputy, Kuai Qi, who accompanied Ma Chao and Pan Jun on their journey. After arriving in Tambe, Kuai Qi took the Han imperial insignia and went to Ctesiphon to meet the Parthian king, requesting that Parthia join forces to fight against the Sassanid dynasty.
The Parthian Empire was almost destroyed by the Sassanid family, and the hatred for the Sassanid family was even deeper than that for Ma Chao. If Ma Chao received news of the surprise attack on Tambe, he would definitely send troops to attack the Sassanid family to relieve some of the pressure on Ma Chao.
After the meeting, Ma Chao immediately led his army to set off. As for the rest, Ma Su, the chief steward, would take care of everything.
It is worth mentioning that the Western Regions and Parthia had no shortage of horses. The Akhal-Teke horses, which were extremely rare in the Han Dynasty, could be easily found here. Moreover, the Northern Xiongnu had accumulated a lot of horses by grazing their livestock here for many years. Therefore, Ma Chao equipped each of his 30,000 soldiers with three fine horses and used the grain captured from Mulu City as horse feed. With one horse carrying the rider, one horse carrying the feed, and one horse empty, they marched towards Tanbei City at top speed.
As for the problem of getting lost, Pan Jun had stayed in Muklu City for a period of time and got to know many merchants, so he asked the local merchants to help him find his way.
With all preparations complete, Ma Chao led his 30,000-strong army at full speed, and after a seven-day trek, finally reached a point 20 miles outside the city of Tanbei.
He then ordered the army to camp and rest in the valley, while he personally went to the city to investigate the enemy's situation. Looking from afar, he was surprised to find that the defense of Tambe was far superior to that of Mulu. The city walls were over two zhang high, with guards every three steps and sentries every five steps, making the defense extremely tight.
However, it is understandable. After all, it is the front line between the Sassanid family and the Parthian Empire. How could the defense line be as fragile as that of Mulu City?
Pan Jun looked at the city wall and said, "It seems we're fast enough. The Sassanid family hasn't received news of our arrival yet, which makes things much easier."
In the days before radio, messages could only be transmitted by manpower, which had a huge time lag. The exact amount of the time lag depended on the speed at which the messenger ran.
Their 30,000 cavalry have been avoiding cities and running at full speed these days, probably faster than a messenger. So it's understandable that Tambey City hasn't received the news.
Ma Chao asked, "What good idea do you have?"
Pan Jun laughed and said, "It's very simple. We can just launch a night attack. Although we can't see if there's a moat at this distance, it's frozen over now, even if there is. We can wait until the garrison is asleep at dawn, then carry the ladders up and climb up. Let's go back and make the ladders first."
Ma Chao nodded in agreement, led the group back to their camp to build a siege ladder, and then waited quietly for the night's operation.
There is a time difference between here and the Han Dynasty, so we cannot follow the Han Dynasty's custom of waiting until the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) to act; we must estimate the time differently.
After dark, Pan Jun did not rest but waited patiently. When it was almost time, he woke Ma Chao up.
Ma Chao immediately got up and, with the two hundred warriors he had already selected, carried the siege ladder and stealthily made his way towards Tanbei City under the cover of night.
Pan Jun led the remaining soldiers, their horses shrouded in smothered hooves, to follow Ma Chao at a distance, ready to rush to his aid once Ma Chao reached the city walls.