The Hanzhong region lay enclosed within the Qinling and Daba mountain ranges. During the previous dynasty, Liang and Jin provinces were established here. Through a hundred years of warfare and upheaval, the dozen-plus counties of both provinces suffered repeated devastation.

When Wang Jian first rose to power in Sichuan, Liang Province’s situation was somewhat better. But Jin Province, east of Liang Province and west of Jun Province, had registered households of less than three thousand people—even more desolate than Jun Province before the Jing-Xiang campaign.

Wang Jian’s development of northern Sichuan mainly focused on relocating populations to the Hanzhong Basin centered on Liang Province City. Over twenty-plus years, Liang Province’s civilian households barely increased to one hundred twenty to thirty thousand people. But Jin Province was never re-established. Only at the eastern edge of the Hanzhong Basin were military strongholds set up at the four ruined cities of Shiting, Hanyin, Xicheng, and Xunyang, garrisoned by troops dispatched from the Liang Province Regional Defense Command to guard the Chu-Shu northern border.

Shu’s defensive focus had always been the northern front, with Liang and Li provinces forming two defensive lines protecting Shu’s heartland. Especially after Liang forces seized Guanzhong, Shu stationed its most elite Left and Right Yellow Turban Armies and Left and Right Militant Faith Armies on these two defensive lines.

For this joint northern campaign with Chu, besides the Black Cloud Army led by Marquis Wei Wang Xiaoxian and troops conscripted from various provinces, the main force consisted of Yellow Turban and Militant Faith forces from these two defensive lines. Together they assembled seventy thousand troops, advancing through four passages including Baoxu and Chencang to attack Qi Province, Feng Province, southwestern Yong Province, and western Shang Province in Guanzhong.

Currently Li Province and Liang Province each garrisoned only over ten thousand troops. After troops were drawn from the four military strongholds of Shiting, Hanyin, Xicheng, and Xunyang east of Liang Province, they maintained only three to five hundred men each as alert forces.

The Hanzhong Basin where Liang Province was located stretched over two hundred li east to west and ten to thirty-plus li north to south—a complete alluvial plain.

The Han River flowed through the basin from west to east, its channel wide and current gentle. But after exiting the basin’s eastern mouth at Yuan City County and entering old Jin Province territory, the waterway became squeezed between flanking mountain ridges, suddenly contracting to two or three-tenths its previous width. Even during autumn and winter low water seasons, the current ran extremely swift.

Both banks had sheer cliff walls. The swift current and numerous hidden reefs in the channel meant that even without Shu forces setting iron chain barriers at strategic Han River points, these limitations made it difficult for hundreds of small sailboats traveling upstream to quickly pass through the blockade of riverside strongholds like Xunyang and Hanyin to directly enter the Hanzhong Basin heartland.

To attack into the Hanzhong Basin, the four strongholds of Xunyang, Xicheng, Hanyin, and Shiting were unavoidable obstacles. Only by capturing these four military strongholds distributed along the Han River would they need merely a thousand-plus trackers on the riverside plank roads for the fleet to quickly pass through this turbulent river section.

On the afternoon of January eighth, atop Xunyang’s eastern wall, over ten soldiers huddled with their spears, backs against the battlements, sitting on the ground soaking up the sun.

Though it was the depths of winter, Jin Province lay between the Qinling and Great Daba Mountains. Northern cold currents were blocked by towering peaks. Jin Province’s winter climate was temperate and moist. The upper Han River west of Jun Province rarely froze even once in a hundred years, its waters flowing gently.

Sitting atop the walls soaking up the afternoon sun was undoubtedly the most comfortable time for many soldiers.

“Eh!” Someone cried out in surprise. More people looked up, seeing in the distance a straight column of smoke rising from deep within Matou Ridge.

Across from Matou Ridge was the Chu border. Xunyang military stronghold had built a beacon tower on Matou Ridge, garrisoned by a small squad monitoring movements on the Han River and opposite mountain ridges from their high position.

Now the Matou Ridge beacon tower burned wolf smoke—straight black smoke stabbing the clear sky like a pillar. Xunyang stronghold’s walls suddenly erupted like a boiling kettle.

“What’s all this fuss about being startled? Maybe Gu Ergou and the others accidentally lit the beacon,” an old veteran still found it hard to believe there could be enemy activity from the east, assuming the Matou Ridge beacon guards had bungled something.

But before he finished speaking, the Heishe Ridge beacon tower on the south bank also lit wolf smoke.

At this moment, alarm bells rang violently on the walls. Above and below the walls became chaotic yet busy.

Xunyang stronghold’s garrison commander was a Shu Army Battalion Commandant who at this time had summoned a courtesan to his residence to hear music and dally. Hearing the gongs and alarm bells ringing together, he hastily donned his armor and with two soldiers supporting him climbed the wall, craning his neck eastward.

Though a small path connected Matou Ridge beacon tower to Xunyang stronghold, gazing at mountains could kill horses—three mountain ridges, thirty li of rugged uneven narrow mountain roads. Even at best speed, waiting for the small squad of guards from Matou Ridge to rush over and report detailed enemy intelligence would take until late night.

But half an hour later, Xunyang stronghold garrison troops saw hundreds of black-canopied sailboats like dense dark clouds breaking waves upstream, their bows and sterns packed with armored soldiers gripping blades and bows, radiating killing intent.

Xunyang stronghold was built along the Han River. The riverside wall had quite complete defensive installations including mounted crossbows and whirlwind catapults. Naturally the fleet could not charge directly below Xunyang City before having soldiers abandon ships and land.

The hundreds of black-canopied sailboats chose to land about three li east of Xunyang City.

Xunyang City was located in a small basin stretching twelve to thirteen li east to west and over seven li north to south. The Right Divine Martial Army’s landing point was at this small basin’s eastern edge.

Seeing the attacking enemy had at least three to four thousand armored troops, while Xunyang stronghold garrison had only four hundred soldiers, the commander in his hasty panic naturally dared not leave the city to play at striking enemies mid-crossing.

The garrison at this time could only frantically light all three beacon towers in the city to signal to rear strongholds that military conditions here were urgent. They simultaneously dispatched several messengers west along the plank roads to report the enemy attack situation in more detail, while in hand-wringing confusion collected several hundred farming households living and cultivating outside the city into the walls, activating the long-neglected defensive system.

For Shu forces, they were filled with panicked confusion, not knowing what had actually happened to make Chu forces tear up the alliance of peaceful coexistence along the Han River maintained so many years. Hadn’t both sides just facilitated the joint northern campaign?

Of course, regardless of anything, Chu forces suddenly raiding Xunyang stronghold was certain.

Waves of wolf smoke rose at extreme speed from beacon towers and city strongholds distributed along both Han River banks—the Shu-Chu national war suddenly erupted at this moment.

Though old Jin Province had few people—Shu had not restored Jin Province counties’ organization over these years—old Jin Province was Liang Province’s gateway, which could not be lost.

Currently Shu’s northern front main forces had all entered the Guanzhong heartland. Even at fastest speed, the first batch of reinforcements receiving the intelligence report and rushing back to reinforce would arrive in ten days to half a month at earliest.

Currently Liang Province City garrisoned only seven thousand troops. Another three thousand troops separately guarded outer city strongholds. Though they temporarily could not confirm how many Chu troops suddenly tearing up the alliance were attacking, for Liang garrison mid to high-level commanders, everything before them looked like a conspiracy Chu forces had already determined when both countries initially discussed the joint northern campaign. They predicted incoming Chu forces would inevitably surge like tides.

Under these circumstances, reinforcing Shiting, Hanyin and other places with more troops, utilizing Jin Province’s easily defended, difficult to attack precipitous terrain to delay attacking enemies as much as possible in Jin Province, preventing them from quickly entering the Hanzhong Basin—this was the most normal choice, regardless of anything.

If they contracted limited elite troops back to Liang Province City, watching Chu forces occupy strongholds west of Liang Province, even when main force troops returned for relief, early stage warfare would become bogged down, unable to expel Chu forces from eastern Liang Province in a short time.

Though Shu forces’ main combat strength for this northern campaign consisted of Yellow Turban and Militant Faith armies garrisoning the Li-Liang defensive lines, auxiliary troops, civilian laborers, and grain provisions were still conscripted from Shu heartland and southern Shu provinces and counties.

From the initial preparations for the northern campaign, many mountain passes south of Liang Province, primarily Micang Road, Jinniu Road, and Litchi Road, saw endless convoys transporting hundreds of thousands in grain provisions through Liang Province territory to transport to southern Shaanxi areas Shu forces had already occupied and controlled, or directly storing them in Liang Province City.

With Chu forces suddenly attacking along the Han River, besides dispatching four thousand troops to reinforce gateway strategic points like Yuan City, Shiting, and Hanyin, garrison commanders also sent scout messengers ordering civilian laborers and local troops from various provinces transporting baggage and grain through Liang Province to immediately assemble at Liang Province City to make up for garrison troop shortages.

This was of course another perfectly normal decision, but garrison commanders never imagined that thousands of eastern and southern Sichuan civilian auxiliary troops traveling north from Xia, Kui, Yu and other regions who happened to be passing through Liang Province territory were actually Tangyi forces elite troops led by Tan Yuliang and Han Donghu in disguise. They never imagined that behind this Chu military movement, the fundamental reason was Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s conspiracy to launch a military coup and usurp the throne. Thus they directly invited wolves into the house without any precautions.

At dusk on the eleventh, Tan Yuliang led his forces into Liang Province City, launching a surprise attack at night. At that time the city garrisoned only three thousand troops plus two thousand civilian able-bodied men from various provinces who had entered the city to reinforce by order.

Under extremely chaotic conditions where enemy and ally were indistinguishable, garrison forces could not organize effective defensive counterattacks. By dawn, only a thousand-plus remnant troops fled hastily from the city gates. The remaining four thousand were either killed or surrendered. Tan Yuliang seized Liang Province City more easily than imagined.

After confirming the garrison was completely unprepared, even actively inviting them into the city, Han Donghu did not join Tan Yuliang in raiding Liang Province City. Instead, he led over a thousand guard cavalry disguised as reinforcements into Yuan City County east of Liang Province City, launching a surprise attack when Yuan City County garrison troops opened the city gates without precautions.

Also around dawn, Han Donghu either killed or captured and annihilated nearly a thousand Yuan City County garrison troops, seizing Yuan City County and blocking the retreat of over four thousand Shu troops who had entered Jin Province territory.

On the fourteenth, Wen Bo led the Right Divine Martial Army main force upstream along the Han River into Xunyang and other areas. After Li Xiu received Li Changfeng’s confidential letter, he led three thousand troops by boat to advance first. The speed of their direct northern withdrawal from Wuguan along the Dan River was also extremely fast—almost simultaneously pressing on Hanyin City by water.

Jin Province’s Shu forces, seeing Liang Province City and Yuan City both lost while thousands upon thousands of Chu troops from the east came killing with fierce momentum, beyond panic and low morale, defended city strongholds for merely two days before either surrendering or fleeing. All four Jin Province strongholds fell by the seventeenth. The Right Divine Martial Army completely opened the passage along the Han River into Liang Province.

On the nineteenth, Wen Bo led the Right Divine Martial Army main force into Liang Province. By this time five thousand Shu troops each arrived from Li Province to the north and Feng Province deep in the northern Qinling to reinforce Liang Province.

Wen Bo could not rest a moment. After joining with Tan Yuliang, taking advantage of Shu forces not yet thoroughly grasping the situation, they first combined forces to rout Shu forces arriving from Li Province to reinforce via the Han River’s southern bank whose foothold was not yet stable.

Witnessing this scene, five thousand Shu troops returning from southern Feng Province hastily retreated north to Jitou Pass in the Liancheng Mountains on the Bao River’s western bank, joining with Jitou Pass remnant troops to defend while awaiting reinforcements.

The Bao River valley was the southern section of Baoxie Road, the main passage from Liang Province north into Guanzhong. The Qin Dynasty had built plank roads along the Bao River banks. Subsequent dynasties all maintained them to allow cart and horse passage—this was a main route connecting Guanzhong and Sichuan.

Peaks stood on both banks of the Bao River—the terrain extremely precipitous. Ten-plus li north of Jitou Pass, in the early Han Dynasty a dam had been built there to intercept upstream waters for irrigating fields between the flanking mountain ridges. But this also made winter river water below the dam extremely shallow. Using warships to transport troops around Jitou Pass’s northern side was unrealistic.

On the twenty-first, Cao Gan led a force from the south into Jianmen Pass (Jiange Pass) in southern Li Province. Li Province Governor Zheng Yuantong led five thousand remnant troops from Lichuan, Guangyuan and other areas in surrender.

Only then did Shu remnant forces retreating to remote mountain strongholds and passes within Liang Province territory, intending to resist to the end while awaiting Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian leading troops to return for relief, learn that on the night of the eleventh, Vice Chief Military Commissioner, General of Martial Awe, and Vice Regional Commander of Various Forbidden Army Cavalry and Infantry Battalions Qi Lun, together with Grand Palace Censor Jing Qiongwen and others, had opened the southern gate of the Shu capital to secretly welcome Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong and Cao Gan and others—who had led eight thousand elite vanguard troops in secret forced march—into the Shu capital. Under the pretext of clearing treacherous ministers from the ruler’s side, they launched a military coup, executed Crown Prince Wang Hongyi and Vice Chief Military Commissioner Zhao Weisheng and others, then besieged the Shu Palace.

Shu Lord Wang Jian was forced on the fourteenth to issue a national edict from Jinyang Hall in the Shu Palace, proclaiming that Wang Hongyi, Zhao Weisheng and other party members had plotted treasonous usurpation. He conferred Crown Prince status on Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong for his merit in “protecting the sovereign,” concurrently appointing him Chief Military Commissioner and Grand Minister of State to command state governance.

With the Shu capital initially stabilized, fearing problems on the northern front, Cao Gan rushed north leading eight thousand elite troops without stopping. He had not expected Wen Bo and Tan Yuliang to have already successfully captured Liang Province.

Also on this day, Guo Rong accompanied Li Changfeng into Liang Province to supervise the campaign.

Of course, being able to seize Liang Province so smoothly also involved some luck.

Yu and Huo regions were separated by two to three thousand li of layered mountains and rivers with no way to report movements in time.

Tan Yuliang and Han Donghu disguised as Yu Province forces escorting grain traveling north from Yu Province along Litchi Road, and the Right Divine Martial Army’s surrender and westward advance, had no way to coordinate perfectly beforehand.

Especially since the Right Divine Martial Army’s surrender and westward advance—the entire process was not completely under Han Qian’s control. Tan Yuliang and Han Donghu had prepared beforehand to enter Baoxie Road, planning to use civilian laborers mutinying and causing disorder as pretext to control the southern section of Baoxie Road and await the Right Divine Martial Army’s westward advance.

If it had truly gone that way, several vicious battles would certainly have been unavoidable. The current situation was better than predicted, but even seizing Liang Province extremely smoothly did not mean the entire matter was successful.

With Qi Lun, Jing Qiongwen and others’ assistance, Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong currently controlled the Shu capital. Cao Gan led troops to garrison Li Province. Han Yuantong’s surrender also brought the most important northern Shu gateway of Jianmen Pass under their control. But the Right Qingjiang Army garrisoning southern Sichuan maintained an ambiguous unclear attitude. Meanwhile, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian led seventy thousand elite Shu troops who had already occupied Feng and Qi provinces on Guanzhong’s western flank. They could not only counterattack Liang Province from Baoxie Road and Chencang Road, but could even directly assault Shu heartland from Yinping Road west of Feng Province.

Yinping Ancient Road was very difficult to traverse from south to north, with several mountain ridges blocking across the pass road—all with steep southern slopes and gentle northern slopes. During the Wei-Jin period, when Deng Ai led troops to attack Shu, traveling Yinping Road from north to south, they first climbed the northern slopes, then wrapped soldiers in thick felt and directly slid down the precipitous southern slopes to make this route passable from north to south.

Now they could not rule out the possibility of Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian leading troops back to Shu heartland via this route.

And even though Wang Yong currently controlled the Shu capital, the loyal forces directly under his command remained quite limited. Even if affiliated forces were not half-hearted, with current low morale, it was hard to say they had any combat capability. If they truly counted on these affiliated forces to block Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s main army, they might surrender immediately upon contact.

Of course, for Guo Rong, Li Changfeng, Wen Bo, Tan Yuliang and others, the urgent priority was strengthening defense of Liang Province cities. They not only bore the main task of intercepting Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian’s counterattack—whether the Liang Province defensive campaign could be fought well also determined whether they could better occupy and control Liang Province in the war.

However, since previously agreed that Liang Province would be controlled by Xiangbei forces, Bao City and Mianyang—two cities west of Liang Province City that better shouldered defensive tasks—would be defended by Li Xiu and Chai Jian’s son, Left Divine Martial Army First Battalion Commander Chai Xun leading troops.

…

…

Though Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong had not directly usurped the throne, the military coup could be considered initially successful. After Cao Gan led troops to Jianmen, he also brought a formal vassalage letter drafted in Shu Lord Wang Jian’s own hand and sealed with the imperial seal. On the twenty-fourth it was sent to Canglang City to replace the earlier “state letter.”

Afterward, Cao Yong and Wang Ang—enfeoffed as Crown Grandson—under Huo Li’s guard protection, together with Chongwen Palace Internal Attendant Chen Ruyi, Weaving Bureau Envoy Yao Xishui, and Xu Jing’s party, boarded Chishan Association merchant ships and traveled down the Han River and Yangtze River, arriving in Jinling in early February to present the vassalage memorial.

At this time, only twenty days had passed since the confidential memorial jointly signed by Li Changfeng, Guo Rong and others arrived in Jinling. The court was still endlessly debating how to handle Li Changfeng’s “unauthorized presumptuous actions.”

Shouzhou’s Yang Zhitang and others even strongly advocated strict orders commanding the Right Divine Martial Army to withdraw from Liang Province and strictly forbidding the Left Divine Martial Army from acting rashly. They had not expected matters to become settled fact so quickly.

Shu Lord Wang Jian’s state letter claimed Crown Prince Wang Hongyi, Zhao Mengji, Marquis Wei Wang Xiaoxian and others conspired in rebellion. Besides presenting the vassalage memorial, directly ceding Xia Province, and annual tribute of two hundred thousand strings of cash and grain, he also requested Chu forces send troops to Liang Province to eliminate the rebel army.

With matters reaching this point, reconciliation with Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian was impossible. The enormous strategic significance of Xia and Liang provinces was self-evident to court officials’ eyes. At this time there was naturally no reason to order Li Changfeng, Wen Bo and others to withdraw troops from Liang Province.

In court, no one was truly naive enough to believe assisting Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s usurpation violated righteousness. The key was still examining Great Chu’s gains and losses from involvement.

The initial plan was jointly attacking Guanzhong with Shu, dismembering Guanzhong Liang forces so Xiangbei, Tangyi and Huaidong forces could take advantage to cross the Huai River and attack Yellow River-Huai lands. But news of Jin’s destruction transmitted back to Jinling through Li Changfeng’s confidential memorial—Shen Yang, Yang En and others harbored great wariness of the Mongols’ strength far exceeding previous estimates.

Even though previously they tended toward advocating Li Changfeng and others withdraw from Liang Province and not intervene in Shu’s internal disorder, regarding whether to subsequently cross the Huai River and conquer Yellow River-Huai lands, some different voices emerged in court.

Considering from a more cautious angle, Shen Yang, Yang En and others all inclined toward temporarily postponing conquest of Yellow River-Huai matters.

Now with Cao Yong and Wang Ang arriving at court, Wang Yong’s usurpation had become settled fact. Besides pledging vassalage, which could greatly enhance Great Chu’s prestige and enormously satisfy vanity within court and beyond, gaining Xia Province could thoroughly complete the Jinghu situation, unlike previously suffering like having a knife stuck in the waist by Shu forces. In the future, conquering Guanzhong from Liang Province would be far more convenient than traveling Wuguan Road.

Under current circumstances, however calculated, this was not a losing proposition.

Even more grimly calculated, if Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian truly bypassed Liang Province and directly counterattacked Shu heartland via Yinping Road, the aftermath would be an excellent opportunity for Chu forces to massively advance into Shu and scheme for Shu territory.

Thus, even fewer people would deeply investigate what collusion existed between Han Qian and Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong long ago.

After various princes and senior ministers secretly deliberated all night in the Administrative Hall, the day after Cao Yong and Wang Ang arrived in Jinling, directive orders were rapidly drafted and dispatched from Chongwen Hall with imperial seals.

Since Shu Crown Prince Wang Hongyi conspired to usurp the throne, Shu envoy Wei Qun as an accomplice would naturally be detained here first, then sent back to Shu at an appropriate opportunity.

Since Shu ceded Xia Province, there was absolutely no reason to let Zhang Xiang—who had established no merit and not participated in the secret agreement—dispatch troops to take over and occupy it. Instead, an edict directly incorporated Xia Province into Hunan Executive Secretariat’s jurisdiction, ordering Hunan Pacification Commissioner Huang Hua to dispatch officials to Xia Province to take over military and civil administration.

Under advocacy from Cishou Palace, Han Daoming and others, Liang Province was assigned to Xiangbei Regional Defense Command jurisdiction. Ministry of War Vice Minister and Participant in Determining Governmental Matters Li Changfeng was appointed Supervising Military Commissioner and concurrently Liang Province Governor, temporarily comprehensively taking charge of Liang Province warfare.

Besides the Right Divine Martial Army, orders transferred the Left Militant Cavalry Army and Left Divine Martial Army into Liang Province for combat.

Zhou Dan’s unauthorized abandonment of duty—his upper province Jiangzhou Governor position was revoked, demoted to lower province Guang Province Governor. Simultaneously, Guang Province’s military and civil administration was assigned to Tangyi Campaign Command Bureau jurisdiction.

This fulfilled both parties’ secret agreement to exchange the two provinces. Others could not interfere and could only sit and watch its completion. But for the court, incorporating Xia Province into Hunan Executive Secretariat was tangible benefit.

This time, after Emperor Yanyou and court officials learned of Zhou Dan’s role at Canglang City, they decisively and rapidly transferred Chen Jingzhou from Guangde Prefecture back to Jinling, promoting him to Ministry of War Vice Minister.

After Chen Jingzhou returned to Jinling, before formally assuming office in the Ministry of War, he had one important task to complete first—carrying the edict as envoy to Shu to renegotiate the peace agreement between the two countries.

Li Changfeng had already been Participant in Determining Governmental Matters. With him now concurrently serving as Xiangbei Supervising Military Commissioner, those with actual authority above him were Li Zhigao and Han Qian. Both had great merit in recovering Guang, Huo, Shou, Hao and other Huaixi provinces. Their promotion to Participant in Determining Governmental Matters was perfectly natural.