The Wuling Army captured Yuanling, essentially controlling the entire midstream region of the Yuan River.
From Yuanling City in a straight line northward approximately one hundred forty li to Yunpan Ridge was all within Yuanling County’s boundaries. If traveling by the Yuan River’s waterway, the winding route was approximately two hundred twenty-some li.
Yunpan Ridge was also the most important branch of the northern foothills of the Wuling Mountain Range. Further north lay Wuling County territory. Wuling County had mostly shallow hills and low ridges, ranging in height from a dozen zhang to thirty to fifty zhang, with terrain far less treacherous than the banks of the Yuan River south of Yunpan Ridge.
Although Tanzhou had built a strongpoint at Yunpan Ridge and stationed armored soldiers there, even Ma Rong himself had not anticipated that five thousand troops could not hold Yuanling for even a full month, so construction of the fortress at Yunpan Ridge proceeded slowly.
When Ma Rong led his defeated remnants northward in retreat, although the fortress at Yunpan Ridge occupied strategic terrain, it was quite insubstantial.
Yet the valley south of Yunpan Ridge was actually favorable for the Wuling Army to deploy an offensive after entering.
To avoid unnecessary losses, Ma Rong destroyed the fortress when passing through Yunpan Ridge, bringing the two hundred-some garrison troops back to Wuling City with him, making Wuling City the final barrier blocking the Wuling Army from entering the Dongting Lake plains.
Tian Cheng led his troops into Yunpan Ridge in mid-third month to rebuild Yunpan Ridge Fort as a base for the Wuling Army’s northward advance.
At this point, the Wuling Army’s territory was still separated from Jingzhou to the north and Ezhou to the northeast by the Xiang Army governed by the Ma clan. But there was no longer need for the arduously difficult mountain crossing – scouts could disguise themselves and travel back and forth delivering messages far more conveniently than before.
Jiang Huo personally rushed to Yunpan Ridge at the end of the third month to meet with Zheng Hui, Zhang Ping, Han Qian and others who were gathering troops at Yunpan Ridge to attack northward toward Wuling. Accompanying Jiang Huo were two people Han Qian had not expected: one was Han Daoming’s eldest concubine-born son Han Chengmeng, and the other was Han Daoming’s eldest son-in-law Qiao Weiyan.
The Third Prince personally led Ezhou forces and fought several battles with the Tanzhou army at the northern foothills of Mufu Mountain, advancing to Yueyang City in early third month. However, Prince Xiang Ma Yin had personally assembled thirty thousand water and infantry forces to supervise the battle at Yueyang.
Yueyang, as the administrative seat of Yuezhou, bordered the Yangtze River to the north and dominated Dongting Lake to the west.
The Tower Ship Army’s naval forces fought several battles with the Tanzhou water forces in the waters at Dongting Lake’s mouth, with victories and defeats on both sides. But they dared not rashly enter the complex waters of Dongting Lake. Therefore, when Jiang Huo departed to meet Zheng Hui and Han Qian, Yang Yuanpu still had not dared to easily lay siege to Yueyang, with his main forces stationed at Laojun Fort several dozen li east of Yueyang City.
In the direction of Hongzhou attacking Hengzhou through Yuanzhou, the court appointed Yang Zhitang – son of Emperor Tianyou’s eldest brother, Prince of Yuzhang and Governor of Hongzhou – as commander. But the Hongzhou forces were mainly provincial troops, with Yang Zhitang personally leading fewer than three thousand elite Imperial Guards. Since the new year, they had fought several battles with Hengzhou Military Governor Luo Jia, but suffered more defeats than victories.
Yang Zhitang at this time could only hold Yuanzhou, preventing the rebel forces from having the opportunity to raid the western shore of Poyang Lake.
Meanwhile, General Zhang Xiang in Jingzhou was tied down by Shu forces and could not divide his troops to cross the river and attack cities like Jiang’an in northern Langzhou.
Currently speaking, it was still the Wuling Army’s offensive from the southwest direction that proceeded most smoothly, forcing the rebel forces to newly transfer five thousand troops from other directions to defend the cities in the lower reaches of the Yuan River.
“It’s been almost two years since we parted in Jinling, and Elder Jiang has grown so much more white hair at his temples – you’ve worked so hard!” Han Qian accompanied Zheng Hui and Zhang Ping in escorting Jiang Huo to ascend Yunpan Ridge’s main peak. Gazing at the mountains and terrain within Wuling County territory to the north, he exchanged pleasantries with Jiang Huo with considerable emotion.
“We’re all serving His Majesty – what’s there to talk about regarding hardship?” Jiang Huo cupped his hands with a laugh. “Besides, my hardship is far less than Lord Han’s and Lord Zheng’s…”
“We’re all serving His Majesty, so we don’t feel the hardship,” Han Qian laughed heartily.
“Currently His Highness has led his troops to advance before Yueyang City, but Marquis Zhenyuan, Marquis Xinchang, Lord Shen, and Lord Chen all feel there’s no chance of capturing Yueyang City in a short time. Meanwhile, in the north, the Liang Army has driven the Jin Army out of Hedong and is now racing to gather at Caizhou. The court has difficulty supporting the expenses of three battlefields simultaneously. His Highness has specially ordered Jiang Huo to come and seek counsel from Lord Zheng and Lord Han – does the Wuling Army have any possibility of taking another city along the Yuan River banks?” Jiang Huo stated the purpose of his visit.
“…” Zheng Hui and Zhang Ping both looked toward Han Qian, knowing that His Highness had actually sent Jiang Huo to seek counsel from Han Qian. When all was said and done, at this time it was still Han Qian who most had His Highness’s trust.
Han Qian pondered, not rushing to answer Jiang Huo’s question.
From Yunpan Ridge northward lay the low mountain and hill belt at the northern foothills of Wuling Mountain. No matter how foolish Ma Yuanheng and Ma Rong were, they could not possibly again obediently pen several thousand troops inside Wuling City for them to attack with whirlwind catapults and scorpion ballistas.
Once they engaged in field battle among the low mountains and shallow hills of Wuling County, they would be at a numerical disadvantage. Even if they ultimately could win one or two battles, their elite forces would inevitably be exhausted.
Xuzhou’s population was simply too small.
With Xuzhou’s one hundred seventy thousand population, males between eighteen and forty years old numbered less than forty thousand.
Although the vast majority of commoners benefited from the New Field Tax Policy, the tradition of villagers being controlled by major clans for hundreds of years could not be reversed in a short time just because Han Qian bestowed practical benefits.
The tribal people even harbored very deep hatred.
Changing customs and mores required considerable time. Short-term military intimidation could only temporarily conceal the contradictions.
In the short term, for the Wuling Army to continue recruiting new soldiers had already become extremely difficult.
And within the current composition of the Wuling Army, the most reliable were the criminal conscript soldiers from earlier years, the boat gang martial guards, and the officers and sons from the Left Division. Next were the brave men recruited from relocated refugees. However, even counting the soldiers recruited from the Feng clan’s slaves, the total was only two thousand four to five hundred people.
Beyond these two thousand four to five hundred, the recruited included guest-status able-bodied men, tribal people from Xuzhou, tribal warriors from the former Qianzhong Commandery, and the currently semi-independent Chenzhou tribal battalions. Their loyalties were actually unstable, far from reaching the point of wholehearted devotion.
If major casualties occurred at this time, the Wuling Army’s combat effectiveness would sharply decline.
And if those two thousand four to five hundred people Han Qian most trusted suffered severe losses, he would have to worry whether that brute Xi Ying would incite the tribal battalions and tribal warriors in other Wuling Army battalions to bite back.
When it came down to it, they had managed Xuzhou for too short a time, and their foundation was too shallow.
Only by continuously achieving victories could they overawe the various clans into serving the court. But if they suffered a severe setback, the situation would immediately become precarious, and the seemingly favorable opening in the entire southwest direction would completely collapse.
Could he possibly make Xi Ying, Yang Zaili, and Xiang Jianlong – these old foxes – stop being fence-sitters just by radiating an imposing aura? Could he make the native-immigrant contradictions that had persisted for hundreds of years in Chen and Xu provinces simply cease to exist?
There were truly too few reliable troops.
When Han Qian previously agreed to hand over command authority of the Wuling Army to Zheng Hui, there was another layer of consideration – that Zheng Hui could transfer a group of Zheng clan sons to make up for the shortage of low and middle-ranking military officers in the Wuling Army.
No matter what ambitions one had, one still had to first eliminate the Ma father and son.
Otherwise, if the campaign to reduce the domains suffered a setback and the court had to acknowledge the Ma father and son’s de facto control of the Xiang and Hu regions, could Xuzhou – such a tiny place – withstand the counterattack of tens of thousands of Tanzhou elite forces?
Of course, simply using the Wuling Army to emerge from Yunpan Ridge and clash head-on with the rebel forces definitely would not work. But if the battlefield continued to stagnate and the delay dragged on until the Liang Army freed its hands again to attack the Nanyang Basin from the Caizhou direction, Great Chu’s entire western front would become precarious.
“The Dongting Lake’s water conditions are complex. For the Tower Ship Army’s main force to rashly enter Dongting Lake and play hide-and-seek with the Tanzhou naval forces is absolutely unworkable. But has His Highness considered emulating the Battle of Xichuan by using the Tower Ship Army’s naval warships to transport a contingent of elite forces here to us?” Han Qian asked Jiang Huo.
“This strategy is feasible.” Zheng Hui understood the Wuling Army’s situation better than anyone and immediately expressed support for Han Qian’s opinion.
Dongting Lake’s water conditions were complex – it was actually a lake cluster composed of a series of lakes, with streams and rivers connecting them, mudflats interspersed, waterways of varying depths, and shoals of different steepness. No matter how capable the Ministry of Geography’s scouts were, their investigation of Dongting Lake’s water conditions was far inferior to that of the Tanzhou naval forces.
For the Tower Ship Army to rashly enter Dongting Lake seeking to annihilate the Tanzhou naval forces would absolutely result in more defeats than victories.
However, the main navigation channel from the Yangtze River into Dongting Lake and then into the Yuan River was clear.
Even Yang Qin had traveled this main navigation channel back and forth over ten times.
If Tower Ship Army warships carried a contingent of elite forces and entered the Yuan River directly through the main navigation channel, the Tanzhou naval forces could mobilize to intercept. But engaging in decisive battle on the main navigation channel – if the Tanzhou naval forces avoided battle, then they could deliver a contingent of elite forces to Yunpan Ridge to join forces with the Wuling Army. This would completely change the situation on the Dongting Lake battlefield, keeping the rebel forces exhausted from responding!
If the rebel forces dared not engage in field battle north of Wuling Mountain, attacking Wuling City by force would be far easier than the main force attacking Yueyang City by force.
Not only Wuling City – even Langzhou’s provincial capital, because it had long been viewed by the Ma family as interior territory unlikely to face major enemies, had city walls maintained at a level comparable to Yuanling City, and the city was even smaller.
And the change in battlefield situation would deal an immeasurable blow to the rebel forces’ morale.
“General Li does have this intention, but the various lords feel this strategy is extremely risky. At the same time, they don’t know how long the Wuling Army’s provisions and fodder can sustain?” Jiang Huo asked.
Li Zhigao was someone who dared to use troops boldly, but Shen Yang, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu, Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian and others who could truly determine battle strategy might not dare to act this way.
Additionally, provisions and fodder were always the first consideration. After all, it was impossible for troops to be sent in and immediately achieve a breakthrough. One had to consider the consequences of warfare becoming further deadlocked.
“If Zhigao can lead ten thousand elite forces here, supporting them with provisions and military supplies until the end of the sixth month is no problem. By the end of the sixth month, Xuzhou will be able to collect a new batch of summer grain,” Han Qian said.
Jiang Huo asked further, “Besides this, does Lord Han have any other suggestions?”
Jiang Huo had rushed here this time merely representing the Third Prince to seek counsel, with no room for him to express opinions.
Han Qian and Zheng Hui’s attitude was very clear. He would return and report truthfully. The final decision would still have to be made by the Third Prince together with Shen Yang, Li Pu, Yang Jian and others.
“Send an envoy to Shu territory to persuade the Shu ruler to exercise restraint!” Han Qian said after pondering for a while. “After the envoy enters Shu territory, he must make the Shu ruler understand that if Great Chu’s campaign to reduce the domains and quell the rebellion truly drags on until the Liang Army attacks Nanyang again, failure is destined. But the first territory the Liang Army will attack next will be Shu territory, not Chu’s Jing-Xiang region!”
“Lord Han is truly exceptionally intelligent – this point actually coincides with His Majesty’s thinking!” Jiang Huo laughed. “Marquis Liyang is currently in His Highness’s army. He’s just waiting to confirm the situation on the Wuling Army’s side, then will choose an auspicious day to serve as envoy to Shu!”
“Marquis Yang has also come over?” Han Qian knew Emperor Tianyou’s vision would not be lacking. That he had thought of the strategy of sending an envoy to Shu before him was not strange. But he had thought Yang En was naturally lazy and would only retire at the Right School Office. He hadn’t expected Emperor Tianyou to actually persuade him to come out of retirement again.
“With Great Chu’s realm and state at stake, Marquis Yang also has an inescapable duty – besides, Marquis Yang had wide social connections in his youth and has shown kindness to the Shu ruler Wang Jian. No one else in court is more suitable than him to serve as envoy to Shu territory,” Jiang Huo knew court precedents better than anyone. At this moment he also explained clearly the advantages of Yang En serving as envoy to Shu.
Han Qian nodded. If Yang En could truly persuade the Shu forces to withdraw from Yiling, even if the Liang Army completed their assembly at Caizhou before the end of the fifth month, with the fifteen thousand elite forces led by Zhang Xiang on Great Chu’s western front able to maneuver flexibly, even if the situation at Dongting Lake continued to stagnate, there would be no need for too deep concerns.
Jiang Huo also mentioned Shen Yang, Yang Jian, Li Pu and others’ opinions on subsequent battle plans. They all advocated first having Yang En serve as envoy to Shu. As long as they could persuade the Shu forces to agree to withdraw, there would be no need to risk sending troops to force through Dongting Lake to join with the Wuling Army in combined operations in the southwest.
After the Shu forces withdrew, Zhang Xiang’s troops in Jingzhou could disengage and attend to both north and south fronts, preventing the Liang Army from daring to attack south toward the new defensive line Defense Commissioner Du Chongtao had established at Fangcheng. At that point, if warfare stagnated and dragged on, it would only be more disadvantageous for Tanzhou and the rebel forces.
After all, Great Chu’s military potential that could still be extracted far exceeded what the five provinces controlled by the rebel forces could compare to.
Han Qian pondered for a while, then finally steeled himself and said to Zheng Hui, “Lord Zheng, it seems I must make a trip to Yueyang to see His Highness!”
Shen Yang, Yang Jian, Li Pu and others’ strategy for deploying troops was too conservative. But at this time they could not confirm that the Shu ruler Wang Jian would definitely be persuaded to withdraw his troops, much less confirm the Liang Army’s determination. If the Liang Army launched another campaign against the Nanyang Basin on the same scale as two years ago, and they still thought about proceeding steadily and cautiously, they might fall into a predicament of being unable to advance or retreat…
Deploying troops had always combined orthodox and unorthodox methods. Continuously taking risks with surprise troops would eventually result in having one’s eyes pecked out. But always thinking about deploying troops cautiously could miss rare favorable opportunities.
If they merely had Jiang Huo relay messages back and forth, the Third Prince might lean toward their side’s opinion. But if Shen Yang, Yang Jian, Li Pu and others strongly opposed it, expecting the seventeen-year-old Third Prince to persist in his own views and forcefully oppose these three men’s dissenting opinions was unrealistic.
Han Qian felt he needed to make the trip in person.