The Han Army's military and political operations proceeded in an orderly fashion under the leadership of Blood Butcher and Xue Qingyao. Just as the two of them were drowning in work, the letter requesting aid that Blood Butcher had previously sent to Luo Chong finally arrived in Hanyang City.
The letter asked Luo Chong to mobilize the garrisons of the Three Commanderies of Hong Lake and help them seal off Dark Bridge, which connected Bamboo Island to the mainland. When Luo Chong saw this, he cried, "Oh!" and slapped himself squarely on the forehead.
How could he have failed to think of something so important? He had only remembered to delay the delivery of their ships and had forgotten that a bridge between Bamboo Island and the mainland still existed—one that could only be crossed once a month.
Now that he knew about it, however, he had to take immediate remedial measures. Hopefully, this blockade operation would not come too late.
After careful consideration, Luo Chong ultimately decided to dispatch troops from Kaiyuan Commandery. Although Zhangwu and Binhai, the other two commanderies of the Three Commanderies of Hong Lake, were closer to Bamboo Island, both had only begun construction at the start of this year. Their defensive capabilities certainly could not compare with those of Kaiyuan Commandery, which had already developed for two or three years.
Of the three commanderies, Kaiyuan Commandery was the largest, with the most troops stationed there. Its city walls were also exceptionally sturdy, and it had the largest population. In terms of defense alone, even if all three thousand troops stationed in Kaiyuan Commandery were sent away, as long as the city walls were guarded carefully, the common people within the city alone would be enough to complete the defensive task of protecting it.
Thus,