Chapter 127: What Use Are Bats?

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On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Happy New Year to all readers and friends. The ostrich sends its greetings—no need for red envelopes, but here are two flowers as a gift, hehe.

Du Ximing successfully engaged the main forces of the Hu tribes near the Jian River. Now, seeing the Hu troops heading straight toward Chengdu, Du Ximing, with limited forces, found it impossible to stop them. He decided to first regroup with the others at Pingwu before making further plans. On the way, they encountered General Zhang Chi’s army returning to relieve Chengdu, and their forces combined once more.

Chengdu was on the brink of disaster. Zhang Chi’s army marched swiftly, hoping to return as quickly as possible to defend the city. At the very least, they needed to prevent the Hu army from capturing Chengdu—once the city fell, reclaiming it would be nearly impossible.

The Hu’s strategy of attacking the enemy’s lifeline was indeed clever. If a battle were to be fought, it would have to take place on the plains.

Although Ding Yizhi had devised formations to counter the Hu cavalry on open ground, when the clash actually came, how could the Hu cavalry patiently wait for the enemy to complete their formations before charging?

The saying goes, “He who does not plan for the distant future will have immediate worries.” How to engage the enemy was a question that troubled Zhang Chi deeply.

“Infantry moves slowly. If caught unprepared on the battlefield, they will suffer great losses,” Zhang Chi pondered aloud.

Du Ximing agreed, saying, “Only if we form our battle lines first and then lure the Hu into breaking through can we have some chance of victory.”

But how to lure the Hu to break through the lines?

Qin Bo suggested, “Why not first deploy our troops on advantageous terrain and then use cavalry to raid their camp, provoking them to engage in battle?”

Zhang Chi shook his head. “The Hu cavalry number three hundred thousand, while we have just over three thousand horsemen. That’s a ratio of one to a hundred. How can we raid their camp? How can we bait them?”

Qin Bo had no better solution and was at a loss. After a moment of thought, Ding Yizhi suddenly looked up and said, “It’s summer now. The weather in Shu is hot and dry. If we add fire to our attack, perhaps amidst the chaos, a raid on their camp might be possible.”

As soon as Ding Yizhi finished, everyone around felt a spark of hope. It was indeed a good idea. Zhang Chi nodded but then voiced his concern, “When Zhou Yu burned Chibi, he relied on the east wind. Now, with the Hu’s overwhelming numbers and our scarcity, how can we dare to set fire?”

That was indeed a problem, and everyone racked their brains in vain.

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If we cannot arrange our formations properly on the plains to stand against the Hu cavalry, our infantry will be nothing but dead men walking. The current plan was to first establish infantry formations and then use cavalry to swiftly raid the camp, luring the Hu forces to engage, perhaps gaining some advantage.

But with the Hu’s three hundred thousand troops, for our three thousand cavalry to raid successfully, there must be some chaos within the Hu ranks. Fire, of course, was the best way to create disorder.

But how to set the fire? Could it be that everything was ready except the east wind?

As the army marched through the mountains, Zhang Chi suddenly noticed numerous caves in the steep cliffs. Curious, he asked, “Why are there so many caves in these mountains?”

Qin Bo, familiar with Shu’s geography, replied, “The land here is naturally formed with many rock caves, some hundreds of meters deep. Thousands upon thousands of bats live on the cave walls.”

“Bats?” Zhang Chi asked casually but then suddenly had a clever idea upon hearing this. “General Qin, is there any oil that ignites easily?”

“Of course, tung oil,” Qin Bo answered after a moment’s thought. “You should know about rattan armor? During the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang’s expedition to the southern barbarians encountered Meng Huo’s troops wearing rattan armor. This armor was woven from rattan and then coated with tung oil, which hardened into a tough shell impervious to swords and spears. But unfortunately, tung oil ignites easily. Zhuge Liang used fire attacks to decisively defeat the rattan-armored soldiers.”

Hearing that tung oil was flammable, Zhang Chi slapped his thigh excitedly. Ding Yizhi smiled lightly, “Brother, have you thought of a brilliant way to defeat the enemy?”

Zhang Chi nodded enthusiastically. “These bats are the key to breaking the enemy! Dispatch soldiers immediately to catch as many bats as possible.”

Everyone was puzzled. Chengdu was in dire straits; why not hasten the march instead of suddenly catching bats?

But Zhang Chi gave the order, and some soldiers were sent to capture bats.

Zhang Chi had thought catching bats one by one would be difficult. Watching the soldiers, he realized how foolish that was—catching bats individually would take forever.

The soldiers first cut some bamboo stalks in the mountains, then set them alight inside the caves. The bamboo crackled like firecrackers. With others driving the bats around inside, the bats scattered chaotically, only to be caught in large nets laid at the cave entrances. In no time, thousands of bats were captured.

Zhang Chi was overjoyed and ordered even more to be caught.

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Though Qin Bo and Du Ximing found this strange, the local commanders under Zhang Chi from various Shu prefectures eagerly dispatched their men to catch bats. They believed that catching bats was far better than risking their lives fighting the Hu. They even wished they could keep catching bats until the war’s end.

With the entire army involved, tens of thousands of bats were caught in one go. Zhang Chi ordered all containers emptied to hold the bats, and instructed Qin Bo to procure as much tung oil as possible.

“How much tung oil do we need?”

“As much as possible—more is better,” Zhang Chi replied.

Qin Bo remained somewhat bewildered but dared not delay the order. He immediately dispatched riders to nearby counties to buy tung oil.

A large group of riders swiftly purchased all the tung oil available in the markets of nearby counties before returning with hundreds of pounds of it.

Zhang Chi was ecstatic and ordered the bats to be coated in tung oil, except for their wings. Only after coating every one of the tens of thousands of bats were the soldiers ordered to pack them carefully and continue the march.

The northern region of Shu was mountainous, but the central plain was fertile and expansive. As Zhang Chi’s army emerged from the mountains, evening fell. Scouts reported that the Hu army was visible less than ten miles away.

With the Hu forces so close, if they launched a sudden attack, their three hundred thousand cavalry would be nearly impossible to withstand. Zhang Chi quickly ordered the vanguard to halt.

They had just reached the junction between mountains and plains, with some low hills in the distance. Zhang Chi commanded the army to form battle lines ten miles from the enemy, using the terrain to their advantage. He then instructed the vanguard to prepare three fires. At midnight, cavalry would raid the Hu camp, drawing them into battle here.

All preparations underway.

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