Watching Du Chongtao and others board a military vessel to cross the river, Yang Yuanpu, Chai Jian, and Li Chong were all quite surprised. Han Qian furrowed his brow and said to Third Prince Yang Yuanpu in a lowered voice:
“Your Highness, having the Dragon Sparrow Army’s main forces all advance west along the Dan River is somewhat unrealistic in the short term. When Du Chongtao crosses the river, Your Highness can request battle on behalf of the Supervisor. Your Highness should still cross the river with Du Chongtao to command from Xiangzhou city.”
“Du Chongtao crossing the river is to put Your Highness on the hot seat. The reinforcement troops from Jiang, Tan and other regions are all proud soldiers and fierce generals whom we cannot control. If we covet command authority over the northern front, the Dragon Sparrow Army may suffer losses it cannot bear,” Li Zhigao said with furrowed brow. “Du Chongtao is a tough old ginger root hard to chew and swallow!”
Without needing Han Qian’s additional reminder, he could still guess Du Chongtao’s intention in personally crossing the river, while also being clear about what matters they could currently control and what matters they absolutely mustn’t attempt to take on entirely.
If they now coveted taking over command of the battlefield, when the Liang army later invaded in force and the reinforcement troops from Jiang, Tan and other regions didn’t heed their deployment orders, would they have the Dragon Sparrow Army with its mere seven thousand troops stubbornly face head-on the tiger and wolf divisions of Liang?
Hearing Han Qian and Li Zhigao’s explanation, Yang Yuanpu nodded, knowing he couldn’t assume Du Chongtao was showing weakness just because he came across the river to meet them. Du Chongtao was actually deliberately taking advantage of his youth and hot-bloodedness.
Yang Yuanpu was young and hot-blooded. Understanding this point also made him somewhat annoyed, but thinking it through carefully, it was indeed so.
If not for Han Qian and Li Zhigao’s timely warning, seeing Du Chongtao voluntarily show weakness, even if he could maintain a clear head and not covet taking over all command authority of the Deng-Xiang battlefield, he would most likely think about establishing his own independent headquarters in Fancheng. No matter what, he wouldn’t willingly go with Du Chongtao to Xiangzhou city on the southern bank.
However, if he truly did that, he would have fallen into Du Chongtao’s trap.
“Du Chongtao pays respects to Your Highness.” Du Chongtao wore a crimson robe over his armor for warmth. After leading the generals ashore, he walked before Third Prince Yang Yuanpu and paid his respects.
Regardless of military rank, civil and military officials of the court had to salute when meeting imperial princes and even princesses, to show reverence for imperial authority.
“Commander Du is too polite. Yuanpu was waiting for the officers and soldiers here to all disembark before crossing the river to pay respects to Commander Du. I didn’t expect Commander Du to cross the river first.” With Han Qian’s reminder, Yang Yuanpu said with a lowered posture.
He had also thought it through in his heart—his father emperor wouldn’t support him overshadowing the host after arriving in Deng-Xiang, much less support him seizing command authority from Du Chongtao. At least not before he proved himself—such things couldn’t happen, otherwise he would forfeit his chance in the succession struggle.
Han Qian stood behind the Third Prince, Li Zhigao, Chai Jian, Li Chong and others. Nominally he was only Vice Commander of the Guard Battalion and a staff member of the marquis’s household. His position was subordinate to Guard Battalion Commander Chai Jian and Administrative Clerk Li Chong. This actually made it convenient for him to better observe Du Chongtao and those around him without appearing discourteous.
Du Chongtao was Emperor Tianyou’s nephew-in-law, but Princess of Jingjiang Yang Qi was not Du Chongtao’s first wife.
Du Chongtao came from humble origins. His wife had left behind two sons before dying of illness in the third year of Tianyou. Afterward, Emperor Tianyou had arranged for his niece Yang Qi to be betrothed to Du Chongtao as his second wife. They subsequently had one son and one daughter.
Princess of Jingjiang resided in Jinling with her young son and daughter. Before coming to Xiangzhou, Han Qian had specially accompanied the Third Prince to pay them a visit to cultivate closer relations. But Du Chongtao’s eldest and second sons were already considered grown adults and were currently serving as officers in the Xiangzhou army.
Han Qian studied Du Chongtao’s slightly elongated and sinister face, secretly pondering whether this figure worthy of being called a founding famous general harbored ambitious aspirations like Xu Mingzhen and Ma Yin did in private.
While Han Qian observed others, he also noticed that among the large group of people who came with Du Chongtao, some were also secretly sizing him up.
Xiangzhou’s defenses had been tightened strictly with alarm everywhere. It was also difficult for Left Bureau scouts to infiltrate into Xiangzhou city to sort out the relationships among Xiangzhou’s officials and generals. Han Qian was still very unfamiliar with Xiangzhou’s military officers and didn’t know the backgrounds of these people who were paying him special attention.
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With Du Chongtao crossing the river, the Fancheng garrison commander naturally opened the city gates quickly to welcome Du Chongtao, the Third Prince and others into the city to talk.
The cold wind blew fiercely along the river bank, making even speaking a few words feel laborious. It truly wasn’t a good place for conversation.
Du Chongtao served as Xiangzhou Prefect and Deng-Xiang Defense Commissioner. Besides the regional provincial troops, the Deng-Xiang garrison also included over twelve thousand elite troops of the Left Martial Guard Army belonging to the Southern Court Forbidden Camp system stationed here. Du Chongtao also concurrently held high military positions such as Left Martial Guard General and Commander of the Left Martial Guard Army.
The coins and grain allocated by Jinling were limited, only enough for the provisions and rewards for the twelve thousand-odd officers and soldiers of the Left Martial Guard Army. Deng and Xiang prefectures had suffered devastation over the past decades. Even though Du Chongtao had vigorously restored agricultural production after arriving, the coins and grain raised in the short term could only repair Xiangzhou city where the administrative seat was located and the cities and towns in the southern counties that had slightly recovered production.
Fancheng remained in ruins. A battalion of troops was currently stationed there, with only the city walls and barracks slightly repaired. Other civilian dwellings destroyed by war were all still rubble.
Besides the over two thousand conscripted laborers, with the alarm of impending war, not many civilians remained on the northern bank of the Han River. The Xiangzhou army would subsequently conduct further scorched earth policies on the northern bank.
Han Qian, Li Zhigao and others clustered around Du Chongtao and Yang Yuanpu as they entered Fancheng’s dilapidated garrison commander’s residence.
In the narrow main hall of the garrison commander’s residence, there weren’t many desks and chairs. Only Du Chongtao, Yang Yuanpu, Tanzhou Military Commissioner heir Ma Xun, Dragon Sparrow Army Supervisor Li Zhigao, and a few other high-ranking officers at the chief of staff and vice commander level could sit down. Han Qian, even Jiangzhou Campaign Commander Zhong Yanhu, Chai Jian, Li Chong and others could only stand there to discuss matters.
Du Chongtao and Yang Yuanpu declined back and forth before finally sitting side by side at adjoining desks.
Regardless of Yang Yuanpu’s identity as Third Prince and Marquis of Linjiang, as Vice Commander-in-Chief of the campaign, he was the vice commander of the Northwestern Campaign forces assembled in Deng-Xiang. Now that he had arrived in Xiangzhou today, as commander-in-chief, Du Chongtao should naturally introduce him to the current enemy situation facing Deng-Xiang and introduce the military officers already assembled in Xiangzhou.
Besides Du Chongtao’s civilian assistant officials, battalion commanders and staff officers from Xiangzhou’s army, and military commissioners from Jiang, Tan and other regions like Ma Xun and Zhong Yanhu who had been ordered to reinforce Deng-Xiang, there were also Supervising Commissioner Xu Zhaolin and Bureau of Military Affairs Geographic Office Deng-Xiang Bureau Director Jin Rui and others.
Han Qian also noticed these two were among those who had been staring at him sizing him up upon landing.
Besides Jin Rui being a direct subordinate of Zhao Mingting, Xu Zhaolin was even the cousin of Shouzhou Military Commissioner Xu Mingzhen and Empress Dowager Xu of Anning Palace. At this time he was also the third most important figure in the Deng-Xiang campaign besides Du Chongtao and Yang Yuanpu.
Previously when Li Zhigao entered Xiangzhou city to meet Du Chongtao, it was Xu Zhaolin who had vehemently opposed the Dragon Sparrow Army garrisoning the western Deng buffer territories. However, Han Qian hadn’t previously known he had a sharp monkey-like face resembling a male monkey, with sparse whiskers below his chin.
After hearing Du Chongtao introduce the current situation of the Deng-Xiang defense line, Yang Yuanpu naturally first expressed that both the Dragon Sparrow Army and he himself would submit to Du Chongtao’s command. He then mentioned the possibility of Liang’s Guanzhong forces exiting through Wuguan and suggested Li Zhigao lead a portion of the Dragon Sparrow Army to garrison Jingzi Pass, to show that his coming to Xiangzhou was not to leech military merit…
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The Third Prince hadn’t made any particularly harsh demands, nor even requested independent command of the left flank forces. Du Chongtao was quite surprised, but as the commanding general stationed in this region, there was no need to overthink others’ intentions. As long as everything showed no signs of escaping his control, it was naturally best to stop while ahead.
In the main tent of Fancheng’s garrison commander residence, after consulting with Xu Zhaolin and others, Du Chongtao decided on the spot to appoint Li Zhigao as Vanguard General of the Left Forward Division.
Besides Li Zhigao leading the Dragon Sparrow Army’s First Regiment of two thousand elite troops to garrison at Jingzi Pass and other locations, Du Chongtao also incorporated two thousand provincial troops that had come as reinforcements from Huangzhou and Yingzhou into the Left Forward Division under Li Zhigao’s command.
This year Liang’s movements on the southern front were far greater than in previous years. Du Chongtao didn’t dare be certain that no large Liang forces would attack Deng-Xiang, nor did he dare be the slightest bit careless.
Currently the Deng-Xiang campaign had assembled over forty thousand troops. The Xiangzhou army only accounted for slightly more than a third. Du Chongtao knew in his heart that if he used his Xiangzhou army loyalists as garrison commanders and defense commanders in every direction, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction and resistance from guest commanders, which truly wouldn’t benefit the war effort.
Li Zhigao was the adopted son of Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu. Although Du Chongtao didn’t think much of Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu, he knew that Prince of Zhedong Li Yu had quite a high opinion of this adoptive nephew of his.
Currently Liang’s Guanzhong forces showed little activity. Arranging for Li Zhigao to advance along the Dan River into the southeastern Qinling foothills—even if there were no hostilities in the Wuguan direction, letting the Dragon Sparrow Army have the defensive military merit in this area—Du Chongtao didn’t feel he truly needed to explain to anyone.
Otherwise, who knew what shocking moves these people like Li Zhigao would incite the young and hot-blooded Third Prince to make.
Besides appointing Li Zhigao as Vanguard General of the Left Forward Division, Du Chongtao also appointed Tanzhou Military Commissioner heir Ma Xun as Vanguard General of the Right Forward Division, commanding five thousand Tanzhou troops to garrison Zaoyang and seal the gap between the Tongbai Mountains and Dahong Mountains on the eastern flank of the Nanyang Basin that could lead to Suizhou.
Seeing Du Chongtao deploy forces this way, Han Qian could also discern his general thinking in organizing the western flank’s defensive battle.
Ultimately, Du Chongtao was unwilling to push the battle line to the northern part of the Nanyang Basin, much less exit the Nanyang Basin through the Fangcheng gap in the north to conduct joint operations with the Shouzhou army.
Currently, the focus of the Deng-Xiang defense line was still placed on the southern front.
If large Liang forces attacked into the Nanyang Basin, the Deng-Xiang troops could rely on Xiangzhou city and the Han River, forming with Li Zhigao’s division on the left flank and Ma Xun’s division on the right flank an iron pot with a concave bottom, resolutely blocking the Liang army and preventing them from having the opportunity to advance south to raid the Jianghan Plain that Great Chu had focused on developing in recent years.
Since Du Chongtao had gone out to command the region two years ago last autumn, small units of Liang cavalry had come in to harass. Before Du Chongtao, the Liang army had also twice made larger-scale raids on Deng-Xiang, but both times encountered such resistance and ultimately returned without success.
Han Qian slightly furrowed his brow, but on this occasion he wouldn’t rashly speak out.
However, he also noticed that Xu Zhaolin and Jin Rui showed no objections to Du Chongtao’s arrangements. Perhaps they had already disputed this before coming?
Han Qian thought to himself that the current situation in Xiangzhou was truly subtle indeed!