“Perhaps have Young Marquis Li accompany Feng Yi on the trip?”
Seeing Han Qian inquiring about suitable candidates, Feng Liao suggested.
He believed Li Xiu’s vision was no less than other generals in the army. Having Li Xiu accompany Feng Yi, who could fully represent Tangyi, on the mission to Shu should enable them to complete the task satisfactorily.
“Li Xiu has another appointment.”
Han Qian shook his head. After pondering briefly, he turned to speak with Tian Cheng.
“Whether the Shu army can hold Lizhou and the southern Yinping Road line in the future is far too critically important to the overall situation under heaven. Although Wang Yong has controlled the Shu Kingdom for two years now, just how much combat power the Shu army under Wang Yong’s command possesses, and to what degree Wang Yong controls the prefectures and counties of southern and western Sichuan—based solely on a few letter reports, it’s truly difficult to make an accurate judgment. I want you to select some personnel and make the trip personally.”
“Alright.” Tian Cheng nodded, taking on this matter.
Li Xiu didn’t know what appointment he might have at this time that Han Qian would personally remember. He stood there without making a sound, thinking that if the Wang Yong currently controlling Sichuan-Shu were a figure on the level of Zhu Yu or Li Zhigao, Han Qian could rest assured the Shu army’s military deployments wouldn’t have major flaws. But the combination of Wang Yong, Cao Gan, and Jing Qiongwen—hastily launching a palace coup was already quite forced. Whether they could withstand even greater pressure this time was truly hard to say and indeed worrying enough.
However, Tian Cheng as the Bianjing relief army’s commander, First Army Corps Commander, and Shouzhou Prefectural Governor—Han Qian saying he would reassign him meant reassigning him, and even Tian Cheng himself had no objection. Seeing Han Qian’s degree of direct control over the Tangyi army also secretly shocked Li Xiu.
Thinking carefully, the Tangyi army’s most stable military structure was actually set at the brigade level. The First through Fourth Army Corps had no fixed headquarters or garrison locations. This Bianjing relief operation and the organization of defensive forces at Xiacai had both broken up and mixed units at the brigade level, temporarily appointing commanders and temporarily establishing campaign army command offices.
Besides Tian Cheng selecting a batch of people to serve as a military officer delegation to Shu, Han Qian also decided to formally organize the Huai River Campaign Army, commanding Haozhou, Shouzhou, Xiacai, and the enclave of Danxian. Lin Haizheng would concurrently serve as Campaign Commander-in-Chief, Yang Qin would concurrently serve as Shouzhou Prefectural Governor, and with Wen Bo and Feng Xuan concurrently serving as Campaign Vice Commanders-in-Chief, Xi Nu’er appointed as Chief of Staff, Haozhou Prefectural Governor Xi Xunqiao concurrently serving as Military Supervisor, placing the five main cavalry and infantry brigades of Xiao Dahu, Dou Rong, Feng Xuan, Xue Chuan, and Tan Xiuqun, one naval brigade, one pontoon bridge brigade, plus another twenty thousand garrison troops—totaling over fifty-four thousand troops—under Huai River Campaign Army command, responsible for military defense and combat missions east of the Ying River and in the middle reaches of the Huai River (northern Haozhou).
After deciding these matters, Lin Haizheng, Yang Qin, Feng Xuan, Xi Nu’er, Xi Xunqiao, Xiao Dahu, Dou Rong, Xue Chuan, Tan Xiuqun and others departed to find another place to discuss subsequent defensive combat details for the Ying River and middle Huai River.
At this time the sky darkened. Not many officers remained in the main tent. Han Qian instructed the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Li Xiu didn’t know what appointment Han Qian had just mentioned for him. He and Cao Ba at this time also couldn’t conveniently take their leave, so they stood to one side listening to Han Qian discuss with Tian Cheng specific details to note when serving as envoy to the Shu Kingdom.
Guo Duanduo and Shen Peng also hadn’t left.
Just as everyone was about to move with Han Qian to the rear tent for the meal, Huo Li entered to report that Kong Xirong had rushed back.
“Since Xirong is back, we can finalize subsequent matters before dining—no rush,” Han Qian said.
Hearing this, Li Xiu’s heart jumped. Definitely needing to wait for Kong Xirong’s return before discussing what came next meant the next matter would use Kong Xirong as commander.
Another military operation of considerable scale?
Although Kong Xirong’s advance army wasn’t temporarily included in the Army Corps sequence, it was the most elite combat force mixed and compiled from various main battle forces. Lin Sheng, Wang Tang, Han Bao and other generals could all be said to be the Tangyi army’s direct line troops, ready to expand into main brigades at any time.
This winter, Li Xiu didn’t feel Han Qian would continue military operations along both banks of the Guo River. So where did Han Qian want to use Kong Xirong to attack?
Li Xiu thought of one answer but at this moment somewhat dared not believe it. He glanced at Guo Duanduo and Shen Peng, not knowing whether the upcoming military action centered on Kong Xirong had any direct connection with their arrival.
The advance army’s main forces were currently resting and reorganizing in Shangshui County territory in southwestern Chenzhou. Kong Xirong left Lin Sheng and Wang Tang at Shangshui supervising the troops while he rushed back with Han Bao for the council.
Everything had already been decided. Han Qian was just waiting for Kong Xirong to return to receive new military orders.
“I’ve decided to organize the Northwest Flank Campaign Army, appointing you as Campaign Commander-in-Chief and Li Xiu as Chief of Staff. Besides Su Lie’s forces, the original advance army will be split into two main battle brigades, with Han Bao and Lin Sheng as brigade commanders respectively, Cao Ba and Wang Tang as deputies. For insufficient troop numbers, the New Fortress village militia will be broken up and incorporated. You, Li Xiu, Su Lie, and Han Bao should immediately discuss the deployment plan—the faster you deploy the better. You must borrow passage through southern Caizhou to tear through the Fangcheng defense line—Minister Guo and Shen Peng will coordinate your passage through Caizhou—and attack into Dengzhou. However, after attacking into Dengzhou, you need not deploy further south. Your mission is to take control of Xichuan, Jingzi Pass, and Wuguan at the first opportunity…” Han Qian said.
“You have no objection to my decision?” Han Qian looked at Li Xiu and asked.
“Resisting the barbarian invaders, Li Xiu shirks no responsibility,” Li Xiu said with lowered head.
Han Qian’s intent in deploying troops to Dengzhou at this time was very clear. Besides joining forces with the Suppression Army to tear through the rebel forces’ defenses in northern Xiangyang and seize Deng and Jun prefectures, more importantly he wanted to control the Wuguan Road, then via Shangluo threaten from the southern flank the Mengwu forces who had already occupied most of Guanzhong’s elite regions.
His stratagem献to weaken Mengwu trust in Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian ultimately treated symptoms rather than root causes. The Mengwu could completely avoid falling for the trick. As long as Wang Yuankui and Tian Weiye’s two forces received reinforcements and completed rest and reorganization, they could completely transfer large quantities of provisions to strengthen Zhao and Wang’s forces, making them the vanguard for attacking Shu.
At this time Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang’s directly controlled West Liang army had too many wounded and sick. Agricultural cultivation and mining production in the Heluo region had suffered devastating damage—recovery required time. To fundamentally prevent the western front situation from deteriorating, and unable to place all hope on the Shu army, the most fundamental solution was for Tangyi army elites to directly participate in the Guanzhong battle situation…
“East Liang forces withdrew from Xiacai, and the Mengwu cavalry barely fought one battle before contracting back from between the Guo and Ying?”
While Chai Jian, Zhong Yanhu and others resisted the Suppression Army’s attacks at Yingzhou and Jingmen, the Xiangcheng side was mainly defended by Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, Xu An and others. Due to strict blockades by Tangyi and Liang forces on communications north of Huaiyang Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, they only learned in early November of the Xuzhou-Sizhou army, Shouzhou army, and Mengwu cavalry’s withdrawal from Xiacai.
Not only them—even Li Zhigao initially predicted the Huai River battle would drag on until after next spring before producing results.
If the Huai River battle produced results before year’s end, they believed only two possibilities existed: either East Liang forces won a great victory on the Guo River’s west bank, the Tangyi army suffered heavy setbacks and was forced to abandon reinforcing Bianjing’s military and civilians, dejectedly retreating south of the Huai River to lick their wounds; or the Tangyi army won a complete victory, driving the Shouzhou army and others completely from the Guo River’s west bank.
Li Zhigao’s firm insistence on going to garrison Liangzhou, accelerating arrangements over these two to three months to relocate household members of military households from Deng and Jun prefectures to settle in Liangzhou—Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, Chai Jian and others not strongly urging him to remain at Xiangcheng to manage the situation was also based on this, believing that whichever of their predicted outcomes the Huai River battle ultimately produced, they should still be able to control Xiangcheng’s situation without it deteriorating to an unmanageable degree.
If the Huai River battle dragged on until after next spring, both participating sides should be evenly matched, neither exposing major flaws nor seizing the other’s flaws to fight annihilation battles. If the battle ended before year’s end with Tangyi suffering heavy damage, then Tangyi in the north holding Yingxi and Heluo’s remnant territories along with the West Liang army would even more need the Jingxiang army’s existence to pin down Chu’s main forces, preventing Jinling from reducing Tangyi’s fief. If East Liang forces suffered heavy damage and Tangyi won a great victory before year’s end, then it should be Jinling’s turn to worry whether unfavorable suppression of northern Xiangyang would stimulate Han Qian’s ambitions to expand further.
Who could have imagined that in the Huai River battle, both sides in less than two short months assembled over two hundred forty to fifty thousand elite troops on the Guo River’s west bank, yet it would ultimately just end like this?
The thunder was so loud, yet ultimately the raindrops so small?
Han Qian by laying floating trestles on the Chen-Bian corridor’s western flank received Bianjing’s military and civilians—a battle countless people predicted before the war would be extremely brutal just ended anticlimactically like this?
Yet thinking carefully, East Liang forces united with Mengwu cavalry held absolute superiority in troops. The Tangyi army having received Bianjing’s military and civilians and withdrawn their main forces could not possibly hastily advance north again to fight a decisive battle with East Liang forces and Mengwu cavalry in the frozen wastes between the Ying and Guo.
And East Liang forces and Mengwu cavalry at this time, unable to draw out the Tangyi army’s main forces, would also not forcefully attack Tangyi army elites defending fortified positions.
Even though Wen Bo and Tan Xiuqun were once besieged at Dancheng and Wuting, for East Liang forces and Mengwu cavalry they became an extremely difficult bone to crack.
Rather than cleanly ending the battle between the Ying and Guo, why drag it out until after the new year?
The logic was correct. Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan could figure it out afterward. But this wasn’t the result they wanted!
“…”
Galloping hooves rushed into the city. A messenger holding an authorization token directly burst into the Executive Secretariat, crying out in alarm: “Large numbers of cavalry and infantry are moving south within Caizhou territory. They’re estimated to reach the north side of Fangcheng’s fortresses by dusk tomorrow!”
Lu Qingxia’s face turned ashen. Her withered hand gripped the armrest, veins bulging. She hadn’t expected Tangyi to move so fast. Their main forces had withdrawn from the Ying-Guo battlefield and without even resting a few days were borrowing passage through West Liang’s Caizhou to strike into Dengzhou?
Although Caizhou belonged to Liang territory, they wouldn’t think forces moving south from Caizhou were Zhu Yu’s Liang army. At such a moment, only the Tangyi army who had lightly concluded the Huai River battle had spare capacity to attack them.
“Are there any unusual movements north of Pingjing, Wusheng, and Huangyan passes?” Zhou Yuan asked Xu An with cold hands and feet.
“No news yet, but if the troops approaching Fangcheng are truly the Tangyi army, Zhou Dan at Luoshan and Yiyang will certainly raise troops to press toward the three Pingjing passes,” Xu An said, seated below.
“Exactly how many troops are approaching Fangcheng?” Zhou Yuan inquired of the messenger who had rushed back from Dengzhou to report enemy intelligence.
“The specifics aren’t clear, but it won’t be less than twenty thousand men,” the messenger said.
Zhou Yuan’s heart turned cold as tiles.
Although Zhou Shu led the Suiyang Campaign Army garrisoning Suiyang with not many troops, and even fewer forces divided to garrison Pingjing, Wusheng, and Huangyan passes, the three passes were located between Huaiyang Mountain and Tongbai Mountain with precipitous terrain—easy to defend, difficult to attack.
However, to cope with the Suppression Army’s attacks on Jingmen and Yingzhou, Chai Jian had transferred the Xiangzhou Campaign Army’s main forces to the southern front. They had completely failed to anticipate that the Huai River battle would end so cleanly before November with such a result, so that not to mention the Fangcheng defense line—even adding together the defensive forces of Deng and Jun prefectures, they only had six thousand men.
Before the wolf-like and tiger-like Tangyi army, what could this few troops accomplish?