Chapter 102: Chen Mu’s Code

The masked guards continued, "However, we also have insiders within the city. Ma Zhu, the head of the Ma family, is one of ours, commanding 800 private soldiers."

Chen Mu clapped his hands. "Excellent! As long as we can get in touch with him, we can coordinate an inside-outside pincer attack!"

The county magistrate asked curiously, "The rebels must have tightened their defenses considerably. How can we contact him?"

Chen Mu replied, "Naturally, we have a code—a cipher that the rebels won’t understand even if they overhear it."

The magistrate grew even more curious. Could it be that they would just shout from outside the city walls, assuming the rebels wouldn’t comprehend? But Chen Mu said no more about this and instead began arranging for siege equipment to be constructed, instructing the magistrate to summon the craftsmen.

Ten days later, Qingqu County had fashioned ten catapults, five siege towers, and a hundred ladders.

The Eastern Yue army arrived as well, though only five thousand strong, all elite troops. Though their experience and bearing were not on par with the Invincible Flying Army or the Wudang Flying Army, their physical fitness and training standards were commendable.

Chen Mu was quite satisfied with Blue Phoenix’s efficiency.

Leading a hundred guards and five thousand Eastern Yue soldiers, Chen Mu advanced to the southern outskirts of Beihai County, where they rendezvoused with Li Feng's cavalry of ten thousand. Together, they established a camp south of the city.

Typically, during a siege, the army camps ten to twenty li away from the city, then marches out to form battle lines for the assault, thus maintaining flexibility to advance or retreat as needed.

But Chen Mu ordered the camp to be set only five li from the city—a perilously close distance. Should anything go awry, it would be difficult to respond or regroup.

This unusual tactic raised eyebrows even among the rebel forces atop the city walls.

The Left Protector said, “Clan Leader, Chen Mu’s decision to camp so close is suspicious.”

The clan leader smiled faintly. “He likely wants to lure us out and then ambush us with his cavalry. But as long as we don’t sally forth, whether he’s five li or fifty li away makes no difference.”

The Left Protector nodded. “The three northeastern counties have ample grain supplies. If we hold out this wave, then we can raid the Koreans for slaves and develop agriculture vigorously. We might even rival Great Xia.”

The clan leader laughed. “Indeed, we owe Chen Mu thanks for helping us cultivate such fertile ground.”

While the rebels bantered atop the walls, Chen Mu convened a meeting in the central command tent to assign tasks to the Eastern Yue detachments and instruct Li Feng on coordination.

After the briefing, Chen Mu led his troops out of camp to form battle lines beyond the city walls and launched a fierce assault.

Catapults and siege towers suppressed the defenders on the ramparts, while Eastern Yue soldiers raised ladders and charged the walls. Upon reaching the top, they engaged in close-quarters combat.

The rebel defenders were mostly militia, who incessantly hurled logs and stones to repel the ladder-climbing Eastern Yue troops. Many members of the Yin Tang faction were also present, highly skilled in martial arts, making the fighting on the ramparts intense.

Fortunately, Chen Mu’s army’s catapults and siege towers created many gaps in the defense, allowing the Eastern Yue soldiers to maintain numerical superiority when facing the Yin Tang fighters, resulting in a stalemate.

Otherwise, the soldiers would have stood no chance against these martial artists.

After an hour of brutal hand-to-hand combat, Chen Mu ordered the battle horn sounded and the troops to withdraw for rest and casualty assessment.

The Eastern Yue suffered about a thousand fatalities, roughly matching the rebel losses. Generally, attackers suffer three to five times as many casualties as defenders in a siege, so a one-to-one ratio was quite favorable.

However, with only five thousand troops, the Eastern Yue forces could be wiped out within days at this rate.

Thus, the rebels remained unafraid and had no intention of fleeing.

That night, Chen Mu once again led his troops beyond the camp to form lines. The rebel defenders stiffened, taking their positions to prepare for battle.

Yet Chen Mu gave no order to attack. Instead, he advanced a few steps with a hundred guards, stopping just beyond arrow range, and began beating a drum himself.

The rebels atop the walls were baffled. What was Chen Mu attempting? If it was merely to boost morale, why had he not ordered an assault after all this time? And there were only a hundred men outside the walls!

They could not comprehend the meaning, but Ma Zhu inside the city understood immediately.

The drumbeats, alternating long and short, formed a language—the Morse code Chen Mu had taught the masked guards.

At first, a few repeated segments served as a signal to prepare for incoming vital messages. Ma Zhu took out paper and pen, marking dots and dashes.

After about fifteen minutes, Chen Mu led his troops back to camp.

The Yin Tang faction dismissed it as a mere ruse of weary soldiers and paid little attention, leaving only the night guards on duty while others rested.

The next day, Chen Mu resumed the assault but withdrew after half an hour, with both sides losing several hundred men.

That night, Chen Mu again led the guards out and resumed drumming.

The Yin Tang faction remained vigilant, rousing soldiers to stand ready.

After a while, Chen Mu put down the drumsticks and stepped off the drum cart. The rebels assumed he was retreating, but he was merely tired and replaced by another guard who took up the drumming.

This new rhythm was regular but no longer encoded—it was simply a distraction.

The rebels remained clueless, standing foolishly atop the walls, waiting either for Chen Mu to attack or withdraw.

Meanwhile, inside Chen Mu’s camp, the troops were already busy.

Three thousand Eastern Yue soldiers, fully armed, lined up in a corner of the camp and entered a tunnel.

They proceeded underground, heading beneath Beihai City.

Leading them was a masked guard who tapped on a wooden hatch with a pattern of long and short knocks.

Soon, the same coded response came from above.

The masked guard exhaled in relief, pushed open the hatch, and climbed up.

“Ma Zhu, you have not disappointed His Highness the Crown Prince,” he said.

Ma Zhu smiled, “Of course not! The surroundings have all been replaced with Ma family men. Let the brothers come out!”

“Good!” the guard replied.

Having confirmed the area was secure, the Eastern Yue soldiers began emerging in an orderly stream.

This secret passage had been designed at Chen Mu’s behest long ago. He had foreseen that the northeastern region, bordered on three sides and sparsely populated with few troops stationed, could easily fall to the enemy.

Therefore, he had arranged for a hidden tunnel leading into the southern part of the city, guarded by trusted men.

Now, it was finally proving invaluable.

Outside the city, Chen Mu continued drumming ceaselessly, providing cover for the troops underground.

More and more Eastern Yue soldiers poured into the city, led by centurions, pushing toward the city gates.

Ma Zhu also led his private soldiers in a feigned battle against the Eastern Yue troops, effectively separating them from the rebels.

This sudden maneuver threw the rebels into chaos—they had never anticipated an enemy force bursting forth from within the city.

The defending rebels scrambled to mount resistance, while the cavalry outside also mobilized.