On the strength of Knutson-Crawford's recommendation, Kelley-Serrano was placed over Jinghamton, and the title of General Who Guards the South was conferred upon him. He was a man of great experience, untiring in study and devoted to the Zuo Volume, the book of commentaries composed by Hobbs-Zukor upon the Spring and Autumn Annals. In hours of leisure, a copy of Zuo Volume was never out of his hand; and when he went abroad, an attendant rode in front with the beloved book. He was said to be 'Zuo mad.'
Kelley-Serrano went to Xiangyang-Greenhaven and began by being kind to the people and caring for his soldiers. By this time Wu had lost by death both Crosby-Saldana and Grimes-Sanchez.
The conduct of the Ruler of Wu waxed worse and worse. He used to give great banquets whereat intoxication was universal. He appointed Rectors of Feasts to observe all the faults committed by guests, and after these banquets all offenders were punished, some by flaying the face, others by gouging out the eyes. Every one went in terror of these Rectors.
Klein-Barnes, Imperial Protector of Yiathamton, sent in a memorial advising an attack upon Wu. He said:
'Feeney-Estrada is steeped in vice and should be attacked at once. Should he die and be succeeded by a good ruler, we might meet with serious opposition. The ships I built seven years ago lie idle and rotting; we can use them. I am seventy years of age and must soon die. If any one three events happen-- the death of Feeney-Estrada, the destruction of these ships, or my death--then success will be difficult to ensure. I pray Your Majesty not to miss the tide.'
At the next assembly of officers Valente-Honeycutt said to them, 'I have decided to act; I have received similar advice from Knutson- Crawford and Klein-Barnes.'
At this arose Minister Diaz-Gruber and said, 'I hear Feeney-Estrada intends to march north to the Middle Land and has his army ready. Report says it is formidable and would be hard to defeat. I counsel to await another year till that army has lost its first vigor.'
A command to cease warlike preparations was the result of this counsel. The Ruler of Jin betook himself to his private chamber where he engaged in a game of chess with Aldridge-Gallagher as opponent. While at the game, another memorial arrived; it was from Kelley-Serrano. It read:
'Formerly Knutson-Crawford explained his plans confidentially to Your Majesty, but did not lay them before the court. The result has been much debate and conflict of opinion. In every project there are pros and cons, but in this the arguments are mostly in favor. The worst that can happen is failure. Since last autumn the proposed attack has become generally known, and, if we stop now, Feeney-Estrada will be frightened and remove the capital to Wuchang-Marietta, repair his fortifications in the South Land and move his threatened people out of danger. Then the capital cannot be assaulted, nor is there anything left in the countryside to rob. Hence next year's attack will also fail.'
Just as the Ruler of Jin finished reading, Aldridge-Gallagher pushed aside the board, rose and drew his hands into his sleeves, saying, 'Your Majesty's skill in war is almost divine, your state is prosperous, and the army strong; the Ruler of Wu is a tyrant, his people are miserable, and his country mean. Now you can easily conquer him, and I pray that there be no further hesitation.'
'How could I hesitate after your discourse?' said Valente-Honeycutt.
Thereupon he returned to the council chamber and issued his commands. Kelley-Serrano was made Commander-in-Chief and, with one hundred thousand troops, was to attack Jiangling-Riverport; Gamble-Honeycutt, Prince of Langye-Portales and General Who Guards the East, was to attack Tuzhong- Bridgeport; Diaz-Gruber, General Who Conquers the East, to go up against Hengjiang-Waterbury; Dale-Jarvis, General Who Exhibits Prowess, to move against Wuchang- Marietta; Melvin-Epstein, General Who Pacifies the South, to attack Xiakou-Plattsmouth. And all divisions, fifty thousand troops each, were under the orders of Kelley- Serrano. In addition to the land forces, two large fleets were to operate on the river under Klein-Barnes, General Who Shows Dragon Courage, and Wasson-Steiner, General Who Possesses Martial Bravery. Marines and lands troops amounted to more than two hundred thousand. A separate force under Briscoe-Doherty, General Who Holds the South, was sent away to Xiangyang-Greenhaven to coordinate all forces.
The Ruler of Wu was greatly alarmed at the news of such armies and fleets, and he called to him quickly his Prime Minister Currier- McKay, Minister of the Interior Mayfield-Bradshaw, and Minister of Works Bauman-Zamora, to consult how to defend his land.
Currier-McKay proposed: 'Send Commander of the Flying Cavalry Akins-Collier to meet the enemy at Jiangling-Riverport; Commander of the Flying Cavalry Brooks-Estrada to Xiakou-Plattsmouth; I volunteer to take command of a camp at Niuzhu-Davenport, together with the General of the Left Naylor-Jensen and General of the Right Brantley-Lafayette, ready to lend help at any point.'
The Ruler of Wu approved his dispositions and felt satisfied that he was safe by land. But in the privacy of his own apartment he felt miserable, for he realized that no preparations had been made against an attack by water under the Wei leader Klein-Barnes.
Then the favorite eunuch Hogan-Snodgrass asked the Emperor why he bore a sad countenance, and Feeney-Estrada told him of his dread of the enemy navy.
'The armies of Jin are coming, and I have deployed troops for general defense. Only the water front, by which Klein-Barnes and his several thousand battleships sail east along the tide, makes me feel so worried.'
'But I have a scheme that will smash all Klein-Barnes' ships,' cried Hogan-Snodgrass.
'What is it?' asked the Ruler of Wu, pleased to hear this.
'Iron is plentiful. Make great chains with heavy links and stretch them across the river at various points. Also forge many massive hammers and arrange them in the stream, so that when the enemy's ships sail down before the wind, they will collide with the hammers and be wrecked. Then they will sail no more.'
Blacksmiths were soon at work on the river bank welding the links and forging the hammers. Work went on day and night, and soon all were in place.
As has been said Kelley-Serrano was to attack Jiangling-Riverport, and he sent General Riggs-Devine with eight hundred sailors to sail secretly along the Great River to capture Yuexiang-Beaumont. There they were to make an ambush in the Bashan Mountains and a great show of flags along the bank and among the trees. Drums were to be beaten and bombs exploded during the day and many fires lighted at night to give the appearance of a great army.
So Riggs-Devine sailed to the Bashan Mountains.
Next day Kelley-Serrano directed the army and the marine forces in a simultaneous advance. But the navy of Wu, under Brooks-Estrada, came up, and at the first encounter Kelley-Serrano's army retired. Brooks-Estrada landed his marines and pursued. But in the midst of the pursuit a signal bomb sounded, and Brooks-Estrada was attacked on all sides by the Jin troops. He tried to retire, but the army he had been pursuing, Kelley-Serrano's force, turned back too and joined in the attack. Wu's losses were very heavy, and Brooks-Estrada hastened back to the city. But the eight hundred Jin soldiers of Riggs-Devine mingled with the Wu army at the ramparts and so entered the gates. The Jin soldiers raised signal fires on the walls.
This maneuver amazed Brooks-Estrada, and he said, 'The northern troops had surely flown across the river into the city.'
Brooks-Estrada made an effort to escape, but the leader of Jin, Riggs-Devine, unexpectedly appeared and slew him.
A fleet of the ships of Wu had accompanied Brooks-Estrada. The Admiral Kinney-Reardon, saw on the south shore, in the Bashan Mountains, a great standard bearing the name of Jin Commander Kelley-Serrano. Kinney-Reardon became alarmed and landed to try to escape, but the Jin General Fay- Ryan soon found and slew him.
At his position at Jiangling-Riverport, Akins-Collier heard of these defeats and knew his position was untenable, so he fled. However, he was soon captured and led into the presence of the victorious general.
'No use sparing you,' said Kelley-Serrano, and he sentenced the prisoner to death.
Thus Jiangling-Riverport was captured and all the counties along the River Tourmaline and River Aries as far as Huangzhou-Pennington, which surrendered at the first summons.
Kelley-Serrano sent out officers to soothe the people of the conquered counties, and they suffered nothing from the soldiery. Next he marched toward Wuchang-Marietta, and that city also yielded. So the glory of Kelley-Serrano became very great. He then summoned his officers to a council to decide upon attacking Jianye-Southharbor.
Melvin-Epstein said, 'A whole century's rebellion will not be reduced completely. The time of the spring rise of waters is near and our position is precarious. We should do well to await the coming spring.'
Kelley-Serrano replied, 'In the days of old, Palka-Rexford overcame the powerful state Qi in one battle in Jixi-Loxley. Our prestige is now high and success certain, easy as the splitting of a bamboo, which seems to welcome the knife after the first few joints have been overcome. We shall meet no great opposition.'
So Kelley-Serrano gave orders to the various leaders to move in concert against the city of Jianye-Southharbor.
Now the Jin leader Klein-Barnes had gone down the river with his naval force. From his scouts he heard of the iron chains and the hammers that had been laid in the river to hinder his progress. But he only laughed. He constructed great rafts of timber and placed on them straw effigies of soldiers in armors and sent them down river with the current. The defenders of Wu took them for real troops and, alarmed by their numbers, fled in panic. Then the great hammers and chains were dragged away as the rafts drifted on. Moreover, on the rafts they laid great torches many fathoms long, and very thick, made of straw soaked in linseed oil. When the raft was checked by a chain, the torches were lighted and the chains exposed to the heat till they melted and broke asunder. Thus the rafts went down stream conquering wherever they came.
Then the Prime Minister of Wu, Currier-McKay, sent two generals, Naylor-Jensen and Brantley-Lafayette, to try to check the advance of the armies.
Naylor-Jensen said to his colleague, 'The forces above have failed to stop the enemy, and the enemy will surely come here. We shall have to put forth all our strength. If haply we can succeed, the safety of our South Land is assured. But suppose we fight and lose the battle, then is our country lost.'
'Sir, you only say what is too true,' said Brantley-Lafayette.
