On the twelfth day of the second month, Li Zhigao held the ceremony of receiving the edict and investiture in Liangzhou City, proclaiming to the military and civilian population of Liangzhou that he was leading Liangzhou to join the Daliang state. From this point forward, Li Zhigao would serve as Military Commissioner of Liangzhou, concurrently holding the position of Prefect of Liangzhou and Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs for Liang, Jin, and other prefectures. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Mianyang with a fief of five hundred households. Chai Jian would serve as Vice Military Commissioner of Liangzhou, concurrently holding the position of Prefect of Jinzhou, enfeoffed as Marquis of Xunyang with a fief of three hundred households. Both would act according to the edicts of Daliang’s state ruler Han Qian.
Cao Gan sent his eldest son Cao Zhe to Liangzhou to observe the ceremony, representing the Shu state’s formal recognition of Jin and Liang prefectures joining the Liang state, and negotiated the new national borders between the two countries as well as matters concerning the loan of grain and fodder to Liangzhou.
After these matters were completed, the next day Feng Yi escorted Empress Dowager Wang Chan’er, Prince of Xiang Yang Lin, Chen De, and Chen Ruyi along with other palace eunuchs and maids who had been swept up in the westward flight, as well as Chen De’s family members and Chun Shisanniang—over one hundred prisoners in total—taking boats directly to Xiangcheng to meet with Dachu’s Minister of War and Pacification Commissioner Zhou Bingwu as well as Zhang Xiang and others.
No matter what, not to mention Zhou Bingwu who had been transferred from his post as Defense Commissioner of Yongjia to serve in the court as Minister of War, Zhang Xiang as a veteran general of three reigns who had followed Li Yu’s command pursuing Emperor Tianyou to expand Dachu’s territory would not be led by the nose by Prince of Xin Yang Yuanyan. In their political stance, they would also not obviously favor either Prince Fu or Prince Shou Yang Zhitang’s side.
For Feng Yi to take the group of prisoners by boat first to Xiangcheng to meet Zhou Bingwu and Zhang Xiang, then—whether escorted or guarded by people dispatched by Zhou Bingwu—directly travel by waterway to Jinling to join with personnel dispatched from East Lake to Jinling and negotiate together with the Chu court officials was the fastest approach.
With so many people, if they had to circle through the towering mountains west of the Dan River to Xichuan, then cross through the Tongbai Mountains to Yiyang to board boats, the journey would waste far too much time.
Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, Zhong Yanhu, and Yao Xishui, leading the last two hundred-plus people who followed them, including Zhou Yuan and Zhong Yanhu’s families, departed before Li Zhigao received the edict, traveling westward along the Han River, crossing over the Ziber Mountains west of Hanzhong, migrating westward with great difficulty.
Between the mountain ridges and river valleys of the upper Han River, the roads were treacherous and obstructed. Not only could horses not pass through, but to conserve physical strength, they even had to abandon over two hundred sets of heavy armor in Mianyang County territory.
It was not until half a month later that they finally crossed over Ziber Mountain, whose main peak rose nearly a thousand zhang high. A faintly visible small path appeared between the serpentine mountain ridges running from north to south.
“Is this the Yinping Road?”
Zhou Yuan vaguely recalled that the general direction of the Yinping Road was somewhere within two to three hundred li radius of these mountains. But for thousands of years it had been merely a small path trodden by herdsmen and mountain people, not any officially constructed post road. Zhou Yuan could not confirm whether this desolate path before his eyes was the legendary Yinping Road.
If it was the Yinping Road, then they faced three choices:
Continue westward over mountains and ridges, and they would enter the Songfan region controlled by the Western Qiang people.
Heading south would be the Bazhong and Mianzhou regions, which were heavily fortified defense posts where the Shu army guarded against Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian attacking southward via the Yinping Road.
Heading north would be Qinzhou, which Zhao Mengji’s forces had temporarily “borrowed” from the Pingxia people.
As Zhou Yuan hesitated and was about to turn back to consult with Lü Qingxia and Zhong Yanhu, several riders on swift horses galloped over from a dense forest several li to the southwest.
“May I ask if the arrivals include Palace Envoy Lü?” Although the newcomers were all dressed as hunters, their mounts were Songfan warhorses. As they approached, they reined in their horses and called out loudly.
Zhou Yuan did not know which faction these scouts belonged to. Seeing that the other party directly exposed their identities upon approach, he was secretly alarmed and thought to see how Zhong Yanhu would dispatch someone forward to make contact.
“The Marquis of Hejian predicted that Palace Envoy Lü and Lord Zhou would take this route and specially sent us to wait in the vicinity to invite Palace Envoy Lü and Lord Zhou to gather in Qinzhou…”
Lü Qingxia wore a veil covering her face against wind and sand, but the newcomers seemed to recognize the bedraggled Zhou Yuan and directly revealed their own identity.
The Marquis of Hejian was the Mongol royal clan member Wusu Lü, who had been the mastermind who revealed Li Zhigao’s background to Li Pu in Jinling City and forced them to hastily launch the palace coup.
Zhou Yuan had not expected that while the Mongols and the New Liang army were fighting so fiercely in Heluo that brains were being spilled, Wusu Lü, who actually managed Guanjianglou, would have the leisure to remain in Qinzhou and even dispatch people to wait here for them to pass by.
Didn’t this mean the Mongols had long predicted that Li Zhigao would be won over by Han Qian and that they would be expelled by Li Zhigao and pass through here?
Zhou Yuan turned to look back at Lü Qingxia and Zhong Yanhu.
The current situation was quite simple. The Shu state would certainly not shelter them. If they continued westward into the Songfan region controlled by the various Qiang peoples, with just their meager forces, trying to establish roots would be extremely difficult.
“We are exiled people, dwelling between heaven and earth yet utterly useless…” Lü Qingxia sighed faintly.
“Palace Envoy Lü must not lose heart,” the leader, a man with a full beard covering his jaw, dismounted and walked closer, clasping his fists. “Wang Chou has long heard my adoptive father and Lord Xiao frequently mention Palace Envoy Lü’s name. The failure of the Cishou Palace coup was also because the Marquis of Hejian fell into Han Qian’s trap and hastily forced Palace Envoy Lü to act. If there was failure, it was our miscalculation first. And this time, when Han Qian received Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang’s entrustment of the state, the Crown Prince and Lord Xiao both deeply felt it was a strategic error. That Palace Envoy Lü’s schemes could not overcome this man—this truly amounts to nothing.”
Wang Jingrong had secretly aligned with Xiao Yiqing and established Guanjianglou in the Jin state, adopting over a dozen sons to manage its affairs. Zhou Yuan and his group had previously only met two or three of them and had never heard much of Wang Chou’s name before. Now hearing him comment without reservation on the Marquis of Hejian Wusu Lü, even directly mentioning Wusu Dashi and Xiao Yiqing’s strategic error this time, Zhou Yuan secretly felt that Wang Chou must also be considered a significant figure among the Mongols.
If this were not so, if he were not extremely familiar with the terrain of the mountain ridges west of Hanzhong, even if he could predict in advance that they would be expelled by Li Zhigao, it would still be very difficult to encounter them at just the right place in this vicinity!
“How is the battle situation in Heluo progressing?” Zhou Yuan could not help but ask. He was now desperately hoping to see Han Qian being slaughtered to pieces in Heluo and wanted to see what expression Li Zhigao would have when he learned this news.
“North of Hejin in Yan, Lin, and other areas, the Yu River has already thawed and ice floods have erupted between the Xiao and Xiang mountains. The main army was forced to withdraw to Mengzhou. Perhaps it will take another half month before they can attack the left and right of Hulao Pass again,” Wang Chou stated frankly. “Palace Envoy Lü and Lord Zhou have contended with Han Qian for over ten years and are extremely familiar with the Tangyi army. The Crown Prince and Lord Xiao predicted that Han Qian would recruit Li Zhigao but would not tolerate you. That is why they specially ordered the Marquis of Hejian and me to rush here to welcome you. Upon reaching Mengzhou, you will certainly be treated as honored guests…”
The alluvial plain at the lower reaches of the Yi-Luo River was suitable for large-scale troop operations and utilizing cavalry for flanking maneuvers. However, this area was obstructed by Luoyang City, bordered by Mount Mang to the north and Mount Song to the south—a standard pocket terrain. Unfamiliar with the Tangyi army’s combat scale, and with the Yi-Luo river junction constantly under threat of ice floods, the forces assembled in Mengzhou in early second month dared not rashly advance deeper into Yanshi territory without capturing Hulao Pass on the eastern flank and the eastern ridges of Mount Mang on the west side of the Yi-Luo river junction.
The fierce battles between both sides over half a month were concentrated on the dozen-li-deep alluvial plain between the Yi-Luo river junction and Hulao Pass, mainly contesting the defensive fortresses located west of Hulao Pass among the hills at the northwestern foot of Mount Song.
Although they achieved certain results, the ice floods arrived as scheduled. Considering that during the ice flood period the north and south banks of the Yu River would be cut off, and even the East Liang army could not attack Hulao Pass from the east, they were even forced to abandon several defensive fortresses they had captured west of Hulao Pass and completely withdraw to the northern shore to rest and reorganize.
Although Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, Zhong Yanhu, and others were like homeless dogs expelled from Liangzhou, and although over these years they had openly and covertly contested with Han Qian without ever gaining the upper hand, it could not be denied that when it came to depth of understanding of Tangyi and Han Qian, there were probably not many people in the world who could match them.
By the end of last year, Li Zhigao had already more or less broken with Lü Qingxia and her group. He only allowed them to withdraw into Liangzhou to rest after stripping Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, Zhong Yanhu, and others of their military authority—and of course the situation had directly determined that Li Zhigao would only choose to reconcile with Han Qian, while Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, Zhong Yanhu, and others were obstacles to Li Zhigao’s reconciliation with Han Qian.
Therefore, Xiao Yiqing abandoned sending envoys into Liangzhou and instead sent people to wait on the exile route of Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and others. He naturally predicted that Li Zhigao was unwilling to bear the infamy of ingratitude, and also unwilling to have Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and others continue to remain at his side affecting the officers and officials of the former Wanhonglou faction among Liangzhou’s forces. Exiling Lü Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and others was the choice Li Zhigao was most likely to make.
Zhou Yuan felt vaguely excited. He had not mentioned submitting to the Mongols before, mainly because he worried that with their appearance as homeless dogs, rushing to Qinzhou would smack of pressing a warm face against a cold backside and they would not receive much attention. It would be better to first go to Songfan and observe the situation for a while.
But now that Xiao Yiqing and Wusu Dashi had both dispatched the Marquis of Hejian Wusu Lü and Wang Chou to invite them, he felt there was truly no need to put on false airs…