Han Daoming’s group did not reach Luoyang until late August.
Han Qian was not in Luoyang at this time—he was at Hulaoguan inspecting military affairs and defensive construction.
Han Daoming had reached his years after all. These years remaining in Jinling engaged in political intrigue had greatly drained his vitality and spirit. Now first arriving in Luoyang, his energy might not even match the old master’s. He thought to first catch his breath and rest for a period, reuniting with the old master who had arrived in Luoyang a month earlier, as well as Han Daochang who had reached Luoyang in mid-May, and younger generation members like Han Duan and Han Jianji. Han Jun, bringing wife and children along with some Han clan members who had remained in Xuanzhou, also arrived in Luoyang in mid-August after enduring a long journey following the lifting of house arrest in Xuanzhou.
Feng Yi, Yin Peng, Lu Ze and others received Han Qian’s orders to proceed directly to Hulaoguan to meet him.
Yin Peng had no time to settle his family before rushing with Feng Yi and Lu Ze without rest toward Hulaoguan.
After passing through White Horse Gorge, they could still see traces left by the fierce Heluo battles before late May, including irrigation channels destroyed beforehand that had not been restored.
At this time in the northern lands during mid-autumn, frost and mist rose at dawn and dusk. The eastern bank of the Yi-Luo River was still muddy and littered everywhere. They could constantly see broken arrow shafts, halberds, even armor plate fragments that no one had picked up—in just four to five months they had grown full of rust.
Currently on the northern bank at Mengzhou and east of Hulaoguan at Yingyang, Zhao Mengji and Liang Shixiong’s forces totaling over sixty to seventy thousand troops were still stationed. Besides enemy scouts, small enemy forces would even occasionally cross the Yu River or pass through the dense mountain forests north of Mount Song to enter the plains east of the Yi-Luo River to conduct raids.
The regions along both banks of the lower Yi-Luo River and extending to the flanks along the northern foothills of Mount Song and along Mang Mountain were currently all war defense and buffer zones. Civilians had all been evacuated to areas west and south of White Horse Gorge. Even if agricultural restoration in this region was to be conducted, it would first begin with organizing soldiers for small-scale military farms around fortifications. But currently this clearly had not yet been addressed.
Aside from the post road emerging from White Horse Gorge toward Gong County seat, then from Gong County seat hugging the northwestern slope of Mount Song toward Hulaoguan, which was relatively well-maintained due to constant traffic, the fields on both sides had grown waist-high with artemisia grass. Strongholds were dilapidated, with burned or flood-collapsed broken walls and ruins everywhere. In just two to three years, it was hard to imagine that what was once Great Liang’s most prosperous place besides Bianjing had become completely desolate.
The stark contrast on both sides of White Horse Gorge also made people more profoundly appreciate the vital significance of the Battle of Yi-Luo River Mouth.
In nearly four months, besides Xixuan Temple Stronghold on the western bank of the Yi-Luo River at the foot of Mang Mountain, the key fortifications and cities along the river defense line that received priority repairs was Hulaoguan.
Besides the old pass city being renovated anew, rammed earth outer walls had been constructed on both east and west sides. Though the terrain could not be called absolutely treacherous, extending the pass city over two thousand paces east and west formed a larger defensive space.
The Songnan plank road did not complete its final iron-beam bridge for passage of heavily loaded horse carriages until early August. The advantages of transport capacity had not yet been realized—meaning Heluo had actually been in an extremely scarce state of supplies and grain all along, which even now had not been thoroughly alleviated.
Limited supplies naturally all had to be used on the cutting edge. As Yin Peng and his cavalry entered from the western outer wall, they saw that at Hulaoguan, besides walls and garrison barracks inside and outside along with command offices receiving repairs and expansions, the civilian residences along streets and lanes inside and outside the pass city—Hulaoguan occupied the overland chokepoint from Bianjing to Guanzhong on the southern bank of the Yu River; in earlier years even outside the pass city, both sides of the post road near the pass were filled with street shops and civilian residences—currently remained completely dilapidated.
Everywhere were traces of burning, everywhere were collapsed houses. Rammed earth broken walls still bore dark-colored bloodstains. Stone projectiles hurled by trebuchets or bricks, stones and earth chunks fallen from city walls were scattered about. Several troop advance passages had been cleared out.
Even now there had been no time for repairs—they were just hastily wrapped within the outer wall perimeter. After all, there were currently few civilian households left in Hulaoguan.
Only in a temple-like building complex that had also become dilapidated in the war did Yin Peng see a brand new stone pagoda erected. Standing outside the ruined temple, separated by a broken wall, they could see the pagoda body over ten paces away was over three zhang tall, entirely carved and built from a white stone with jade-like luster found in Mount Song.
Yin Peng found this very strange. Han Qian and those around him were not particularly devoted to Buddhism or Daoism. With Hulaoguan still entirely dilapidated, why would such effort be spent to first build this Buddhist pagoda?
In fact, since the mid-to-late period of the previous dynasty, various powers contending in the Central Plains had maintained suppressive attitudes toward Buddhism and Daoism out of self-interest.
Seeing Yin Peng, Feng Yi and Lu Ze all grasping their reins, hesitating as they looked toward the stone pagoda, Huo Xiao, who had come to the western pass gate to escort them into the pass city, introduced: “In the Heluo battles, generals and soldiers who died in battle or from severe wounds at Hulaoguan numbered ten thousand eighty-nine. Throughout both flanks of the Yi-Luo River mouth during the two battles, generals and soldiers who died in battle or from severe wounds totaled thirty-one thousand forty-seven. When reconstructing Hulaoguan city, our lord ordered building a Heroic Martyrs Stone Pagoda at the ruined Bailin Temple. Besides inscribing the battles’ heroism, the names of these thirty-one thousand forty-seven generals and soldiers must be engraved upon it for posterity to commemorate…”
The fubing militia system of the previous dynasty collapsed by its middle period. In the mid-to-late period, the recruitment system dominated. By the time of the founding of Chu, Liang, Jin and Shu, due to massive population decline within their territories, this led not only to fewer conscriptable soldiers but also drastically reduced tax revenue. To ensure sufficient troops while minimizing military maintenance costs, both the Imperial Guards and Imperial Guard systems unanimously adopted military systems combining militia and tribal forces.
Under this military system, soldiers who fought bravely and repeatedly achieved merit were rewarded with honors to encourage their fighting spirit. But the economic exploitation and suppression of social and political status of ordinary soldier households could be said to have reached an extreme.
However, on the cruel and merciless battlefield, soldiers who died in battle, even if they had merit, were destined to have it fall into comrades’ pockets due to the traditional military system’s merit-by-decapitation system. Losing life and property without compensation, their sons and younger brothers had no choice but to fill the ranks due to the rule of “younger brother succeeding elder brother, son succeeding father.” Therefore, in actual practice, once any soldier household had a son or brother die in battle, their circumstances were most miserable.
Looking at the newly built Heroic Martyrs Stone Pagoda in the ruined temple, Yin Peng silently contemplated the many details where the military system Han Qian had implemented these years differed markedly from the recruitment system of the mid-to-late previous dynasty and the military system implemented in the late period and the twenty-plus years since Liang and Chu’s founding. He secretly felt that no wonder they could endure such high casualty proportions while maintaining fighting spirit—truly without comparison, one cannot perceive the difference.
Entering the inner city, which was Hulaoguan’s old pass city.
The buildings on both sides of the main street were much more intact than outside. But entering from the pass gate, one could still see that besides buildings damaged by stone projectile bombardment and collapse, there were also traces left by fierce street fighting. One could see how intensely Feng Xuan and Chen Kun had fought defending Hulaoguan in the previous two battles. Currently craftsman teams had entered to first systematically repair inner city buildings.
Currently Hulaoguan’s commanding general was Chen Kun. Simultaneously, the defense zone north of White Horse Gorge, east of the Yi-Luo River, along the northern foothills of Mount Song all fell under Chen Kun’s command.
However, entering the offices where the command tent was located, besides Chen Kun, Shen Peng and other generals defending Hulaoguan and other fortresses, besides Han Yuanqi, Guo Que, Feng Xuan, Han Donghu and other generals who had accompanied Han Qian from Luoyang to inspect the army, those responsible for defense along the Mang Mountain line—Wen Bo, Li Qi, Xue Chuan and others—were also all gathered in the office hall.
With Han Qian at the center, everyone was gathered around a long table-style sand table in the hall discussing something.
Seeing this scene, and recalling that Zhao Wuji and Li Xiu were leading two infantry brigades and three cavalry brigades advancing north along the west bank of the Ying River toward Xuzhou, Yin Peng could not help but think with shock—could Han Qian be planning to launch an attack this winter on Yingyang and other cities east of Hulaoguan, north of Xuzhou and Xinzheng, currently occupied by Liang Shixiong’s forces?
Wouldn’t this be far too hasty?
Yin Peng followed Feng Yi and Lu Ze in paying respects to everyone. Seeing Han Donghu and Huo Li voluntarily make space, they walked to stand before the long table sand table measuring over a zhang in length and over five chi in width.
“You’ve had a hard journey. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive earlier to share the heavy military burdens, so I didn’t have you stay in Luoyang to rest a few more days,” Han Qian nodded toward Yin Peng in acknowledgment, asking: “You’re not too fatigued, I hope?”
“Thank you for your lord’s concern. This humble minister and family traveled by horse carriage the entire way, which was quite comfortable. There is no fatigue,” Yin Peng said.
“I don’t have so many formalities here. Don’t be overly cautious. Wang Jun has run off to the medical camp right now—when she sees you’ve arrived, she’ll surely be very happy,” Han Qian smiled, pointing at the sand table: “Liang and Chu have concluded peace negotiations. The Mengwu and Eastern Liang Army currently show no signs of launching a winter offensive. But we cannot remain idle. I’m thinking of recently drawing elite forces from Mang Mountain to directly insert into Xiang Mountain on the northern bank and establish roots there. Help us strategize together…”