“Why let them take the lead in attacking Lishui city when we’re using our own troops?” Watching Marquis Xinchang Li Pu leave with Gao Shao and Zhang Ping to discuss specific plans for attacking Lishui city, Feng Yi asked with considerable confusion.

With large numbers of able-bodied servants enlisting, when Gao Shao led two battalions of Chishan Army troops over there—at full strength over two thousand men—and with their side having just won a great victory with momentum at its peak, attacking Lishui city was pursuing victory and expanding gains. There was absolutely no need to hand over the initiative.

Moreover, the supplies in Lishui city, especially armor and weapons, would be no less than Shang Family Fort—all things the Chishan Army urgently needed. Whoever took the lead would gain distribution rights over the spoils of war. There was really no need to be polite with Li Pu and his men on this matter.

Besides, Marquis Xinchang Li Pu hadn’t given them good looks these past days.

Han Qian stood with hands in sleeves before the fort wall, watching the elderly, weak, women, and children transferring south from Maoshan’s southern foothills, saying faintly: “The problem isn’t whether capturing Lishui city is difficult or not, nor which side contributes more or fewer troops. Actually, the Chishan Army is fierce in appearance but weak inside. This battle was already extremely risky, and we have no way to keep shouldering the burden of fighting hard battles at the front. Li Xiu and Li Qi are representative figures of the younger generation in the Zhedong Prince’sMansion, eager to establish merit. After they capture Lishui city, Li Yu’s reputation alone can help us share considerable pressure. Why not be happy about it?”

In terms of troop scale, the Chishan Army would grow increasingly massive like a snowball, but the problems and hidden dangers it brought would also grow more numerous and greater.

At bottom, there were too few veterans and systematically trained base-level officers within the Chishan Army.

After the Jinling incident, when Marquis Xinchang Li Pu assembled all combat-capable men of appropriate age from the Taowu Market military households and Yongchun Palace estate official servants, there were only seven thousand troops. In the battle at Jingshan Nunnery, used as bait by the Chuzhou Army, casualties were too severe. Later, due to lack of medicine and supplies, when Han Qian took over, only three thousand combat troops remained.

Han Qian brought three hundred officers from Xuzhou, plus elite soldiers returning from the Dragon Sparrow Army. The combat-capable veterans and officers Han Qian had totaled only about thirty-five hundred men.

However, to attack Shang Family Fort and in earlier fortification captures, casualties before and after exceeded twenty-six to twenty-seven hundred, of which over half were borne by veterans.

The Chishan Army’s combat-capable elite veterans and officers totaled just over two thousand; additionally, there were only five hundred-plus wounded and sick veterans.

This was fortunate that the Chuzhou Army hadn’t dared commit all their elite to attack their flanks. Otherwise, even if they ultimately won, it would be an extremely bleak, desolate victory, wounded all over.

Currently they had smoothly captured Shang Family Fort, catching another breath. Encouraged by this momentum, the Chishan Army’s scale might expand in extremely short time to twenty thousand, thirty thousand, or even forty to fifty thousand. But the growth of elite veterans required time.

When they distributed out their limited veterans and officers, the result could only be that every Chishan Army unit’s combat capability would seriously decline. But they still had to dispatch officers and veterans—otherwise, the tens of thousands of enlisted servants couldn’t even form basic military units, let alone discuss other aspects of control.

Previously the Chuzhou Army and Anning Palace glared at each other, neither wanting to free up hands to deal with the Chishan Army and give the other side opportunities. But after Shang Family Fort fell?

The Chishan Army simply had no way to stop. They had neither time to eliminate the weak and retain the strong, nor time to drill recruits and train new officers.

With so many servants bringing their families to surrender, if the Chishan Army expanded by forty to fifty thousand troops in a short time, the dependent elderly, weak, women, and children would exceed three hundred thousand. Next they would have to arrange dispersed provisioning.

The grain they had previously stored could only barely maintain one month’s supply margin.

Capturing Shang Family Fort and confiscating nearly twenty thousand shi of grain seemed like a lot, but after incorporating Shang Family Fort’s servants, the Chishan Army forces plus women and children expanded further to one hundred twenty thousand people. The grain confiscated this time, divided per person, amounted to less than fifteen or sixteen jin of grain—half a month’s rations.

If they concentrated in one place and ate that place’s stored grain clean and empty, then moved to the next place, they would only completely destroy one place after another’s production system, producing more displaced people and refugees. At that time, though the forces would seemingly expand like a snowball to over a million, it would also be a snowball ready to explode at any time, ready to fall apart at any moment.

Once they dispersed for provisioning, the area the Chishan Army needed to cover would become scattered and mixed, with more and more exposed vulnerabilities.

At this time, concentrating their strength, they could capture Shang Family Fort.

Once dispersed, while the opposing aristocratic families’ contradictions with the Chishan Army became increasingly antagonistic and acute, internally they would inevitably become more cohesive. At that time, could they keep winning battles without exposing any vulnerabilities?

Exposing even one vulnerability—even if the Chuzhou Army and Anning Palace made no moves—how many aristocratic families who hated them to the bone would pounce to bite?

Throughout history, bottom-level uprisings in dynasty’s final years were always mighty in momentum, sweeping across the Central Plains like destroying withered wood and breaking rotten logs. But the turn from prosperity to decline was so rapid, so swift it couldn’t cover one’s ears!

The destructive power produced by bottom-level uprisings was extreme, but even harder was solving their own survival problems, even harder was solving their own troop-building problems.

Those soldiers rising from the bottom could rely on martial courage to serve as officers or even commanders, but their desires for this world were also very simple and direct. When desires expanded to an uncontrollable degree, it would drive the entire snowball to accelerate its disintegration.

Honestly speaking, Han Qian now wasn’t afraid of Li Pu competing for merit—he feared him not competing for merit.

Even when Li Pu and his men incorporated able-bodied soldiers and kicked over the elderly, weak, women, and children, Han Qian endured receiving them, hoping they could excavate the Prince’sMansion’s potential, contribute strength to hold one flank, and while sharing various pressures for him, also win him more buffer time.

Of course, what he now more expected was for Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan and the Chuzhou Army to stand out and share even greater pressure for him, attracting the hatred of aristocratic families…

……

……

Zhao Zhen gathered remnant troops and abandoned the temporary camp at White Fox Ridge. Wang Wenqian also withdrew with the army into Liyang city.

Though this battle was still far from injuring the Chuzhou Army to the bone, their hearts were exceptionally bitter. Not to mention losing troops and generals, they also watched helplessly as Shang Family Fort, the key node for extending south from Maoshan, was pocketed by Han Qian.

What gave Wang Wenqian an even greater headache was that the Jinling situation became doubly complex. Prince Xin and the Chuzhou Army officers would become even more restless, even less patient.

Casualties were now formally tallied. In this battle they suffered over a thousand casualties, including over four hundred wounded. Nearly six hundred elite soldiers either died in battle or were captured by the Chishan Army, plus they lost over six hundred precious warhorses.

The Chishan Army had no sentiment toward Chuzhou Army warhorses. Wounded warhorses were also slaughtered on the spot. Together with horses killed in battle, the meat was cut and cooked to reward the entire army, the hides stripped and tanned into leather armor to supplement insufficient military equipment.

Deep in the night, several fast horses galloped into Liyang city, producing an edict: “His Highness orders that after Director Wang and General Manager Zhao receive this edict, they must speedily proceed to the main camp to attend military council!”

Wang Wenqian didn’t care about his old weak bones. After Zhao Zhen arranged defenses, taking advantage of the faint dawn light, surrounded by over a hundred elite escort cavalry, he galloped toward Jingshan Nunnery.

Wang Wenqian’s horsemanship was decent, but only decent. His body and bones couldn’t compare with military commanders who trained their bodies daily.

Rushing one hundred fifty li in one day, arriving at the Jingshan Nunnery main camp before dusk, Wang Wenqian felt his bones were nearly jolted apart. Not one place didn’t hurt. His inner thighs especially were rubbed raw and bloody. Only after applying medicine, supported by Yin Peng, did he limp with Zhao Zhen into the main tent to attend council.

Rao Geng, Su Xingzhou, Ruan Yan, and others had already taken their seats. Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan’s eyes were malevolent and deep.

From the raid destroying Danyang city to today—only one month had passed. Who could have thought the southern front situation would be stirred into such a state by Han Qian?

The Jingshan Nunnery main camp had planned to recently send troops to insert west of Qiuhu Mountain, cutting off Qiuhu Mountain garrison’s contact with Jinling city, forcing the Southern Court Imperial Guards and Shouzhou Army into field battle with them. But now this plan obviously couldn’t be rashly executed.

Seeing this scene, Wang Wenqian disregarded his leg injury, performed ritual greetings with Prince Xin, walked behind the table. After listening to Ruan Yan and others discuss for a while, he guessed that before he and Zhao Zhen returned, Prince Xin, Ruan Yan, Rao Geng, and others had discussed the current southern front situation for a long time.

Wang Wenqian braced his hands on the long table, sitting upright, saying to Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan:

“The Chishan Army is fierce in appearance but weak inside, coercing a rabble. Their expansion is swift, but their destruction will also be swift! In the previous dynasty, great bandits coerced displaced people and servants, creating military chaos in Jianghuai and the Central Plains. How mighty their military momentum at its peak! But how sudden their demise! With Shang Family Fort’s fall, the Chishan Army’s military front points directly at northern Xuanzhou. The aristocratic families of Xuanzhou will inevitably be extremely alarmed. When Anning Palace’s reach falls short, we should divide forces to respond. Besides being able to collect aristocratic forces for Your Highness’s use, if Your Highness divides forces to help defend Langxi, blocking the Chishan Army’s passage between Fuyu Mountain and Boundary Ridge Mountain toward Huzhou, forcing the Chishan Army to only maneuver in the narrow space south and west of Jinling—when their military momentum grows again, they will inevitably attempt to forcefully attack Dangtu, Caishi, and other southern bank cities west of Jinling. At that time, Anning Palace and Shouzhou will certainly not tolerate them. We can then reap the benefits of two tigers fighting…”

“Going west, though near Yueyang, the terrain is cramped. Why does Director Wang conclude they will attack Dangtu and Caishi rather than forcefully attack Langxi, opening the eastward passage into Liang and Zhe?”

Central Gate Envoy Ruan Yan was also a close follower of Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan for many years, participating in military planning at Chuzhou, extremely valued by Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan, with status no less than Wang Wenqian. He was forty-six this year, his chin beard reaching his chest. His bright piercing eyes stared at Wang Wenqian, asking.

“After the Chishan Army captures Shang Family Fort and incorporates the fort’s servants, their troops can expand to about fifteen thousand. I believe they can soon expand to twenty thousand, thirty thousand, or even higher. Previously, generals looked down on them, thinking a rabble couldn’t achieve much. But at this time, which general dares say they can seal the Chishan Army’s eastward passage with ten thousand troops?”

Wang Wenqian wanted to say that although Zhao Zhen on the southern front didn’t successfully restrain the Chishan Army from attacking Shang Family Fort, he also greatly consumed many of the Chishan Army’s precious veterans, making the Chishan Army more fragile. But thinking of how previously elite cavalry hadn’t dared to tear through those bamboo pole formations formed by Chishan Army recruits on the flank, the persuasiveness was obviously insufficient.

Wang Wenqian pondered for a moment, saying: “Reduce the garrison here, strengthen the southern front—Your Highness should have greater patience…”

“Then the military plans for Qiuhu Mountain and Jiangcheng must be completely abandoned?” Vanguard General Rao Geng asked.

“Just saying to temporarily set them aside, first withdraw main forces into Dantu and Danyang cities.” Facing opposition from Ruan Yan and others, even though this operation failed, Wang Wenqian still insisted on his opinion, also explaining to everyone the ideas he pondered along the way.

The Chishan Army’s military front pointed directly at Xuanzhou. The aristocratic families of Xuanzhou at this time couldn’t count on Anning Palace. If they divided forces to go there, they could certainly win them over. Afterward, together with aristocratic families of northern Xuanzhou and southern Runzhou, they should be able to better seal the eastern passage, blockading the Chishan Army west of Boundary Ridge Mountain and Fuyu Mountain.

Not to mention counties like Dangtu, Wuhu, and Yongan—even going west along the river to Chizhou and Jiangzhou, or crossing the river north into Chaozhou and Chuzhou, were all core areas controlled by Anning Palace and Shouzhou.

At this time, besides being able to withdraw troops south from Jingshan Nunnery, they could even go further—withdraw all Jingshan Nunnery camp forces back to the Dantu, Beigu Mountain, and Danyang line. Besides strengthening control over southern counties, they could also free up Anning Palace’s hands to deal with the Chishan Army.

Having the opportunity to watch tigers fight from the mountain—why not be happy?

Of course, Han Qian would absolutely not easily be forced by them to advance west. After all, breaking through the mountain and water barriers with Yueyang westward was no easy matter. He would certainly try every means to go east, provisioning in the grain-rich southern shore of Lake Tai and both banks of the Qian River. But with offensive and defensive positions reversed, the Chishan Army—fragile and weak, with most lacking armor and weapons, with veterans possibly numbering less than two thousand—would they still have capability or dare to continuously forcefully attack several times fortifications as solid as Shang Family Fort?

Moreover, if they withdrew main forces from the southern foothills of Baohua Mountain, not maintaining sword-drawn confrontation with Anning Palace, troop movements would be much more flexible than now. At that time, would Han Qian dare to break through from the eastern front? That remained to be seen.

“Han Qian may not fall into the trap. Gaining Xuanzhou, he can catch a great breath. Director Wang must not forget the Han and Feng families’ connections and foundations in Xuanzhou are not weak.” Ruan Yan said.

Wang Wenqian said: “Xuanzhou apart from two northern counties with slightly abundant grain, counties like Ningguo located within Fuyu Mountain and Yishan have many mountains and little farmland, also lacking grain. Unless the Chishan Army stops expanding, but if two to three hundred thousand women and children become dependent and need the Chishan Army to support them, how much grain do Xuanzhou’s aristocratic families have for them to exploit? Not to mention Han Qian conscripting servants into the army shakes the very foundation of all aristocratic families. Xuanzhou’s aristocratic families also have no way to remain unaffected.”

Seeing Ruan Yan and Wang Wenqian’s differing opinions, arguing endlessly, Yang Yuanyan asked Zhao Zhen with a gloomy face:

“Zhao Zhen, what do you think?”

“Director Wang’s considerations are very thorough, but as Director Ruan says, Han Qian may not act according to Director Wang’s thinking in every respect.” Zhao Zhen glanced at Wang Wenqian, saying.

Compared to Wang Wenqian who was better at planning the overall situation, Zhao Zhen as commanding general preferred to grasp the initiative in his own hands.

Especially this time—if he could have recruited three to five thousand soldiers from the locality beforehand to defend Danyang, Jintan, and Liyang cities, he could have withdrawn all three thousand Chuzhou Army elite infantry from these three cities’ defenses.

Then this battle’s result would be completely different. At this time he wouldn’t need to shamefully meet His Highness’s cold eyes.

Zhao Zhen wouldn’t choose to stand on the same side as Wang Wenqian just because Wang Wenqian had been with him these past days.

At this time, Wang Wenqian’s prediction of the situation had a premise—it inclined toward Han Qian honoring the oath he made upon arriving in Jinling, not abandoning the elderly, weak, women, and children. But Zhao Zhen dismissed this. His view aligned with Ruan Yan and others—he didn’t believe Han Qian would truly be obstinately inflexible for a so-called oath.

Even if Han Qian couldn’t reconcile with Xuanzhou’s aristocratic families, as long as he relocated the hundred-thousand-plus elderly, weak, women, and children into Xuanzhou territory, not caring how tragic the struggle for grain between the hundred-thousand-plus elderly, weak, women, and children and Xuanzhou’s local aristocratic families would be, if he himself led ten to twenty thousand able-bodied soldiers defending the Maoshan and Donglu Mountain line, grain would be enough to support them for a year. Could the Chuzhou Army keep grinding with them on the eastern front for a year?

Of course, Zhao Zhen thought this way for another key reason.

That was that Chuzhou, located on the eastern battlefield buffer zone between Liang and Chu, similar to Shouzhou and Xiangzhou, had long had its old aristocratic family forces on the locality completely destroyed by decades of repeated tug-of-war warfare. He and generals like Rao Geng who grew up in the military also lacked direct and deep understanding of the stubbornness and strength of local aristocratic families.

There was one more point—after crossing the river, despite Wang Wenqian’s dissuasion, they didn’t thoroughly take over the military and political administration of Runzhou counties or counties to the east and south, nor did they conduct large-scale conscription and grain requisition. But they had waited so long, yet these counties’ local forces still sat on the fence and watched. How could Zhao Zhen, Rao Geng, and other generals continue to have patience to keep waiting?

Wang Wenqian saw that not only Central Gate Envoy Ruan Yan but most military generals also no longer had patience. Looking at Yang Yuanyan, he bitterly urged: “I hope Your Highness will think thrice before acting.”

At this time, a guard outside the main tent passed in an intelligence report that had just arrived, placing it before Yang Yuanyan’s table.

Yang Yuanyan opened and read it. Without intending to circulate it, he gripped the report in his hand, pressed the long table, and said coldly and mercilessly: “Order Central Gate Envoy Ruan Yan to concurrently lead the Beigu Mountain MilitaryMansion Commandant, conscripting able-bodied servants from Runzhou’s Dantu, Jingkou, and Danyang three counties into militaryMansion troops. Those who resist will be viewed as plotting rebellion—kill without mercy!”

Dantu, Jingkou, and Danyang three counties suffered severe land annexation. Of three hundred thousand population in the three counties, about one hundred thousand were servants. Establishing Beigu Mountain MilitaryMansion to conscript able-bodied servants from the three counties could yield nearly thirty thousand recruits, greatly relieving the Chuzhou Army’s troop shortage on the southern bank.

However, after the Chuzhou Army crossed the river, the area they currently directly and closely controlled was precisely these three counties. At this time they could naturally conscript these three counties’ servants, not fearing these three counties’ local forces would dare struggle and resist. But in the eyes of aristocratic families outside the three counties, how were they different from the Chishan Army?

Of course, strictly speaking, Prince Xin’s decision still had some difference from the Chishan Army. They only conscripted able-bodied men among servants. The three counties’ aristocratic families could still retain those elderly, weak, women, and children to engage in farming and other labor. They also didn’t say aristocratic families had to surrender all their land.

“What matter made Your Highness reach this decision?” Wang Wenqian asked.

“See for yourself.” Yang Yuanyan passed the report to Wang Wenqian, saying coldly.

Wang Wenqian scanned it—scouts planted on Maoshan’s western flank confirmed in the afternoon that the Chishan Army had over three thousand troops escorting a batch of war equipment toward Lishui city.

The Chishan Army clearly intended to pursue victory by dividing forces to forcefully attack Lishui city.

This seemed to confirm Ruan Yan and Zhao Zhen’s judgment:

Han Qian had no intention of leading the elderly, weak, women, and children east to provision along Lake Tai’s southern shore, but rather intended to lead able-bodied soldiers to defend the Maoshan line, watching them and Anning Palace fight as two tigers. Otherwise why would they bother forcefully attacking Lishui city?

Wang Wenqian at this time didn’t know Marquis Xinchang Li Pu had a competitive spirit, nor did he know that Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s judgment of Han Qian was actually no different from Ruan Yan and Zhao Zhen’s…

Wang Wenqian at this moment was also speechless. After all, his previous judgment that the Chishan Army was fierce in appearance but weak inside seemed unable to stand either?

“Can we observe two more days?” Wang Wenqian said with difficulty.

“Opportunities are fleeting, hardly allowing us to look forward and backward here.” Yang Yuanyan no longer heeded Wang Wenqian’s counsel, indicating Central Gate Envoy Ruan Yan to act according to orders, speedily going to Beigu Mountain to conscript able-bodied servants from the three counties, then input them into various battalions to supplement insufficient forces…

……

……

Lishui garrison commander Xu Bin was a commander of the Southern Court Armies Camp. As a mid to high-level officer promoted after the Jinling incident, his subordinate forces amounted to only one battalion of Southern Court Imperial Guards. After the Chuzhou Army crossed the river, he led them to garrison Lishui.

One battalion of Imperial Guards had only five hundred soldiers. Local officials and gentry weren’t very cooperative. Seeing the Chuzhou Army fight so sharply with great victory at Jingshan Nunnery, Xu Bin’s heart was once full of dejection.

When the Chishan Army occupied Maoshan, stirring up chaos in surrounding villages, aristocratic families in the county fled in panic with their households into the county city.

Xu Bin was thus able to gather aristocratic clan soldiers, and the county bowmen and swordsmen who were themselves mainly composed of aristocratic clan soldiers no longer paid lip service while acting contrary. At one point he had over two thousand troops available, especially since aristocratic clan soldiers’ combat capability was quite good. He felt quite pleased, secretly thinking that even if Chuzhou Army elite came, Lishui city might not be unable to defend.

Only this feeling couldn’t be maintained long before it shattered with Shang Family Fort’s fall.

Seeing Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and Supervising Army Envoy Zhang Ping lead three thousand cavalry and infantry gradually approaching, establishing their main camp east of Lishui city, Xu Bin sent people out the north gate to gallop to Jinling requesting reinforcements. Besides retaining his five hundred elite troops mobile in the barracks near the county office, he also withdrew two patrol units from each of the other three gates to supplement the east gate and strengthen defense.

At nightfall he also gathered county magistrate, deputy magistrate, and other officials and gentry, summoning all the family heads of aristocratic families in the city, requiring them to contribute troops and grain to jointly defend the city.

The night was dim. Besides torches lit above and below the city walls, there were no stars or moon. Gloomy clouds shrouded the night sky. The city’s streets and alleys were also pitch black. Very few households still showed off wealth by hanging lanterns under eaves.

Even if Wanhong Tower’s painted pleasure boat didn’t pull up the gangplank to declare closure, tonight there wouldn’t be any heartless aristocratic young master running over to seek pleasure.

In the darkness black as ink, the painted boat left its previous mooring, slowly moving toward the lower reaches of Mingshi River. No one noticed anything unusual.

The painted boat moored at the end of East Willow Lane. The gangplank extended out, connecting to a waterside dock at the rear residence of a courtyard. The bottom cabin where boatmen and servant girls lived suddenly opened. Dozens of figures filed out, entering that silent courtyard.

In this sweltering summer night, everyone wore robes. Even sweating profusely, they tied their waist belts tight to prevent the armor plates inside from clustering and making too much noise, alarming neighboring households.

Yao Xishui’s eyes, deep as a quiet spring, hidden in the night, stared like a venomous snake at the north gate tower shrouded in lamplight to the north. That was precisely their target for launching a sudden assault from inside.