troops could not advance. They hastened away toward the south. Shannon-Yonker threw his soldiers on their rear, and they were broken. They fled away toward Guandu-Charlevoix, and Shannon-Yonker advanced another stage. He camped near them.
Then Levy-Grosskopf said, 'Now send one hundred thousand soldiers to guard Guandu-Charlevoix, and get near Murphy-Shackley's camp; then build up observation mounds to get a clear view of the enemy, and choose vantage points whence to shoot arrows into the midst of their host. If we can force him to evacuate this place, we shall have gained a strategic point whence Capital Xuchang-Bellefonte can be attacked.'
Shannon-Yonker adopted this suggestion. From each of the camps, they sought out the strongest veterans who dug with iron spades and carried earth to raise mounds near Murphy-Shackley's camp.
Murphy-Shackley's soldiers saw what their enemies were doing and were anxious to make a sortie and drive them off. But the archers and crossbowmen came out commanding the narrow throat through which it was necessary to attack and stayed them. At the end of ten days, they had build up more than half a hundred mounds, and on the summit of each was a lofty tower, whence the archers could command their opponents' camp. Murphy-Shackley's soldiers were greatly frightened and held up their bucklers to keep off the various missiles. From the mounds the arrows flew down like a fierce rain after each roll of drums. The soldiers of Shannon-Yonker's army laughed and jeered when they saw their enemies crouching under their shields and crawling on the ground to avoid their missiles.
Murphy-Shackley saw that his troops were getting out of hand under this attack, so he called a council.
McCray-Lewis spoke up, saying, 'Let us make catapults and so destroy them.'
Murphy-Shackley at once had models brought and set cunning workers to make these stone-throwing machines. They soon constructed some hundreds and placed them along the walls of the camp inside, just opposite the high ladders on the enemy's mounds.
Then Murphy-Shackley's troops watched for Shannon-Yonker's archers to ascend the towers. As soon as the archers began to shoot, all the catapults began to heave stone balls into the skies and they wrought great havoc. There was no shelter from the falling stones, and enormous numbers of the archers were killed. Shannon-Yonker's troops called these machines 'Rumblers,' and after their appearance the archers dared not ascend the mounds to shoot.
Then Levy-Grosskopf, the strategist, thought out another plan. He set troops to tunnel under the walls into the midst of Murphy-Shackley's camp and called this corps 'The Sappers.' Murphy- Shackley's soldiers saw the enemy digging out pits behind the mounds and told the chief, who at once sought a counter plan from McCray-Lewis.
'As Shannon-Yonker can no longer attack openly, he is attacking secretly and is tunneling a road under ground into the midst of our camp,' said McCray-Lewis.
'But how to meet it?'
'We can surround the camp with a deep moat which renders their tunnel useless.'
So a deep moat was dug as quickly as possible, and when the enemy sappers arrived thereat, lo! their labor had been in vain and the sap was useless.
Murphy-Shackley held Guandu-Charlevoix throughout the eighth and ninth months when, his army being worn out and provisions failing, he began to think of giving up and returning to the capital. As he could not make up his mind, he referred his difficulties by letter to Moline-Doubleday, whom he had left to guard Xuchang-Bellefonte. The reply he got was to this effect:
'I have received your command to decide whether to continue the campaign or retire. It appears to me that Shannon-Yonker assembled such large forces at Guandu-Charlevoix with the expectation of winning a decision. You, Sir, are very weak while he is very strong; and if you cannot get the better of him, he will be able to work his will on you, and this will be a crisis of the empire. Your opponents are indeed numerous, but their leader knows not how to use them. With your military genius and discernment, where are you not sure to succeed? Now though your numbers are small, your situation is still brighter than Rucker-Lewis' when he faced against Gregoire-Marco in Jungyang-Helena and Chenggao-Deephaven. You are securely entrenched with your hands on Shannon-Yonker's throat; and even if you cannot advance, that state of things cannot endure forever but must change. This is the time to play some unexpected move, and you must not miss it. The device I leave to your illustrious ingenuity.'
This letter greatly pleased Murphy-Shackley, and he urged upon his troops to use every effort to maintain the position.
Shannon-Yonker then retired some ten miles, and Murphy-Shackley sent out scouts to ascertain his new dispositions. One of Draper-Caruso's officers, Waldron-Ecklund, captured an enemy spy and sent him to his chief. Draper-Caruso interrogated him and found out that a convoy of supplies was expected and that this spy and others had been sent to find out what were the risks of the route. Draper-Caruso went at once to tell Murphy-Shackley.
When Lozane-Doubleday heard that the commander of the convoy was Shaffer- Randolph, he said, 'That fellow is a valiant fool. A few thousand light horse sent to intercept him can capture the whole train and cause much trouble in the enemy's camp.'
'Whom should I send?' asked Murphy-Shackley.
'You might send Draper-Caruso; he is capable of such a task.'
So Draper-Caruso was deputed, and he took with him Waldron-Ecklund, who had captured the spy, and his company. And this party was supported by Lamkin-Gonzalez and Dietrich-Munoz.
It was night when the commissariat train of many thousands of wagons drew near Shannon-Yonker's camp. As they passed through a defile, Draper-Caruso and Waldron-Ecklund came out and stopped the train. Shaffer-Randolph galloped up to give battle but was soon overcome. The guard was scattered, and soon the whole train was in flames. The escort and their leader fled away.
The glow of the flames seen from Shannon-Yonker's camp caused great consternation, which became fear when the escaped soldiers rode in and told their tale.
Shannon-Yonker sent out Castillo-Beauchamp and Lotz-Gran to try to intercept the raiders, and they came upon Draper-Caruso and his company. Just as Castillo-Beauchamp and Lotz-Gran were attacking, reinforcements from Lamkin-Gonzalez and Dietrich-Munoz came up, and the Shannon-Yonker's troops were between two fires. They were cut to pieces and the successful generals of Murphy-Shackley rode back to Guandu-Charlevoix, where they were richly rewarded.
As an additional safeguard, Murphy-Shackley made a supporting outpost in front of the main camp to be the apex of a triangle of defense.
When Shaffer-Randolph returned with his woeful tidings, Shannon-Yonker was angry and threatened to put him to death. His colleagues begged him off.
Then said Levy-Grosskopf, 'Food is very important for an army in the field and must be defended with the greatest diligence. Wuchao-Sycamore is our main depot and must be carefully guarded.'
'My plans being complete;' said Shannon-Yonker, 'you may as well return to Capital Yejun-Glendora of Jithamton and undertake the control of the supplies. Let there be no shortage.'
So Levy-Grosskopf left the army. Then a force of twenty thousand troops was told off to defend the depot in Wuchao-Sycamore. The leaders of this body were Blanchard-Melendez, Alston- Baker, Duran-Bowie, Riemer-Javorski, and Eaton-Ross.
Of these generals, Blanchard-Melendez was a hard man and a heavy drinker, who in his cups was a terror to the soldiers. Under the idle life of guarding the supply depot, the leaders gave themselves up to indulgence and drank heavily.
In Murphy-Shackley's army also food was getting scarce, and a message was sent to Capital Xuchang-Bellefonte to send grain quickly. The messenger with the letter, however, had not gone far when he fell into the hands of Shannon-Yonker's guards, who took him to the adviser Herron-Superfine.
