Over the past days, snow fell intermittently. In the wilderness outside the fort, accumulated snow was over a chi thick.

“Huaiyang has many cold winters, but this snow accumulating over a chi thick these past days is quite rare even in Huainan,” Wang Jun said, ascending the fort wall with Han Qian to gaze at the vast whiteness outside Yongfeng Fort. “When Grandfather was alive, he extensively read through nearly a century of classics and historical records. He discovered that in the Huai-Yellow River region over the past forty years, spring and summer droughts have been fierce and severe, while autumn and winter ice and snow disasters have become far more frequent than in the mid-previous dynasty, and when they occur, they’re doubly fierce. Following this, vagrant armies forming bandit forces and military governors contending for territory have become increasingly intense…”

Han Qian thought of the concept of a Little Ice Age mentioned in the dream world, noting that whenever dynasties experienced frequent warfare, it had great correlation with natural disasters caused by major climate cycle changes, though the deeper underlying factors weren’t limited to this.

Of course, Wang Jun also had feelings about this, saying: “These years between the Yangtze and Huai, river floods have been turbulent. Looking at various classics, they’re indeed far fiercer than the early-to-mid period. But after Great Chu’s founding for twenty years, to say grain, hemp, and silk production is absolutely insufficient simply isn’t true—there’s even great surplus. Rather, the wealthy grow wealthier while the poor grow poorer. Yet worldly affairs deteriorate increasingly. Princes, great ministers, aristocratic families continue their debauchery and dreams, while those who awaken and make concessions are very few…”

At this moment, several mounted scouts returned through the snow from the north—one group sent to reconnoiter the movements of Chaozhou reinforcements stationed at Xujiaji. Han Qian immediately had Tian Cheng summon them up the fort wall to inquire about details.

“The sky has turned overcast again. Perhaps tonight will bring more heavy snow. We needn’t fear the Shouzhou forces daring to hastily surround and attack us.”

Feng Xuan, Tian Cheng, and Feng Yi, noticing the scouts’ return, rushed to the fort wall to hear the report. Feng Xuan, climbing the wall and seeing the sky darkening early, said comfortingly.

Han Qian signaled the scouts to continue reporting. It was confirmed that when the over four thousand enemy reinforcements from Chaozhou entered Xujiaji through the snow, the vast majority of soldiers were exhausted and worn out, their formations dragging and dispersed. Scouts had been monitoring this enemy force along the route and had discovered early on that as these Chaozhou reinforcements rushed through the snow, dozens of soldiers had frozen to death en route.

It could be confirmed that this dealt tremendous blows to the enemy’s morale and combat capability.

In the short term, they needn’t worry about Xu Mingzhen organizing a large-scale offensive against Yongfeng Fort.

After hearing all this, Feng Yi said rather fortunately: “Heaven still favors us! From our departure until we captured Yongfeng Fort, the weather was cold but without heavy winds and snow, making marching and fort assault much easier. If this heavy snow had fallen one day earlier, our attack on Yongfeng Fort might not have resulted in merely thirty to fifty casualties. Perhaps we couldn’t even have blocked the passages around Yongfeng Fort before enemy reinforcements arrived. And if these continuous days of heavy snow hadn’t subsequently fallen, perhaps Xu Mingzhen would now be learning from us to move supply trains across ice surfaces, having already assembled sufficient troops and supplies to surround and attack. Don’t you all think this snowfall is Heaven assisting us?”

Tian Cheng and Feng Xuan smiled but didn’t respond to Feng Yi’s words.

“What, you think I’m wrong?” Feng Yi asked.

“Xuzhou and Tangyi grow cotton and weave cloth—this doesn’t merely provide abundant tax revenue for Tangyi. Actually, for ordinary soldiers, having cotton filling in cold-weather clothing makes marching and fighting in such heavy snow weather incomparably superior to military uniforms filled with grass wadding,” Wang Jun said. “Feng Yi, you’ve worn fine winter clothing since childhood, always particular about whether fur robes are splendid or form-fitting, concerned with whether pearl ornaments and jade pendants are exquisite. Naturally, you can’t distinguish the difference between cotton and grass wadding, nor do you know that in the depths of winter, how much a dog skin is worth. That’s why you attribute everything to heavenly fate. Just this one point alone—if the Shouzhou forces initially didn’t have the resolve to intercept our surprise attack forces regardless of casualties, the current situation forming was inevitable, not the fortunate chance you describe.”

“Strip this fox fur cloak off Feng Yi, find him a set of grass-wadded hemp clothing to change into, and he’ll understand the principle,” Tian Cheng said with a smile, then bowed to Wang Jun. “I didn’t expect Madam’s insight to be so profound.”

“Now she has Han Qian instructing her daily, of course her insight is different,” Feng Yi said, pursing his lips and changing the subject. “What’s most critical now is discussing how to fight next. Although heavy snow delays the Shouzhou forces’ speed, after all, they’re in their interior lines. However slowly, the troops and supplies converging will only increase. Our forces here won’t increase, while supplies will only decrease. If that extremely satisfying ambush battle from days ago could happen two or three more times, destroying over ten thousand Shouzhou elite troops, there’d be no pressure.”

“You’re being insatiably greedy. If Xu Mingzhen were truly this stupid, Emperor Tianyou would have dealt with him long ago—it wouldn’t be our turn to clean him up,” Han Qian said with a smile, looking toward Wang Jun and asking, “In your view, what’s our greatest problem now?”

Han Qian and Wang Jun were newlyweds, inseparable these past days. He also deliberately had Wang Jun express her positions before everyone, cultivating her authority. Tian Cheng, Feng Xuan and others all looked toward Wang Jun.

“In this humble one’s view, our advance into Huaiyang Mountains, obstructed by heavy snow, is far slower than expected. Heavy snow and severe cold are tremendous obstacles, but they’re also another kind of advantage. Our army’s cold-weather resistance far exceeds the Shouzhou forces and also exceeds the clan stronghold forces in Huaiyang Mountains who want to resist our entry. As long as we have determination to overcome the obstacles of heavy snow and severe cold, we’ll discover that under equally harsh conditions, our soldiers have greater advantages than the enemy,” Wang Jun said. “Wanting to wait until heavy snow weather passes before acting—besides greatly reducing the advantage gap we can open with enemy forces, if our main forces on the northern line are entangled by Shouzhou main forces, our advance into Huaiyang Mountains’ interior will be severely slowed.”

Tian Cheng and Feng Xuan exchanged glances, both feeling Wang Jun spoke with reason. Heavy snow blocking the Shouzhou forces at the perimeter was actually a rare opportunity for their main forces to advance directly into Huaiyang Mountains to occupy and subdue numerous strongholds.

Once the Shouzhou forces swarmed up, they would have to place main forces at the northern perimeter. Without sufficient troops, subduing strongholds would slow, and the people and supplies they could requisition from strongholds would be limited—actually a negative cycle unfavorable to them.

“Heavy snow weather has advantages and disadvantages,” Han Qian nodded, saying with hands in sleeves. “The advantageous aspect is delaying the Shouzhou forces’ assembly speed of troops and supplies. In just three to five days, the Shouzhou forces absolutely cannot surround and attack Yongfeng Fort. More optimistically, within half a month Xu Mingzhen might not be able to launch any proper offensive against Yongfeng Fort, much less dispatch troops to climb the treacherous ridges west to circle into Huaiyang Mountains via dangerous paths. However, the disadvantageous aspect—besides slowing our speed of transferring supplies and troops into Huaiyang Mountains—more critically, heavy snow weather also severely slows our efficiency in mobilizing slaves and poor people in Huaiyang Mountains’ interior. This is most unacceptable. So next, none of you should think about comfort. Tomorrow morning, you’ll each personally lead troops into the mountains, and I’ll follow you in. Yongfeng Fort only needs one or two people stationed to command—sufficient. Who stays at Yongfeng Fort to command, what others are responsible for in the mountains, how to choose several routes—you discuss a plan overnight…”

In this battle, nearly half of Tangyi’s core commanders had gathered here. Tian Cheng, Feng Xuan, Zhao Wuji, Kong Xirong, even Tan Xiuqun, Han Donghu, Dou Rong, He Liufeng, Su Lie and others—choosing any one could stay at Yongfeng Fort to independently hold the line.

And Han Qian’s fundamental intent in organizing this surprise assault operation wasn’t at Yongfeng Fort, but in Huaiyang Mountains.

Tangyi forces were limited. To seize the rare opportunity to open a second base in Huaiyang Mountains and open a battlefield behind enemy lines, he didn’t even hesitate to abandon Wujian Mountains, managed for nearly a year, transferring Kong Xirong’s main guerrilla infantry forces here.

To open a second base in Huaiyang and establish a battlefield behind enemy lines, they first had to establish footing on Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes.

And to establish footing on Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes, they first had to solve the problem of people.

After Kong Xirong led the main guerrilla infantry forces to rendezvous, Tangyi forces assembled at Yongfeng Fort and Wujin Ridge reached seven thousand troops. But in extreme circumstances, besides maintaining other defense lines, Xu Mingzhen could organize several or even ten times their numbers to attack and surround them.

They couldn’t expect that with their army’s single movement, the large and small strongholds in Huaiyang Mountains would surrender at the mere sight of them, honestly and obediently献粮 献粮 献粮 献粮 献粮 providing grain and people, loyally assisting them in resisting Shouzhou forces.

The world had no such cheap affairs.

If matters were truly this simple, Xu Mingzhen couldn’t have failed all these years to successfully relocate Huaiyang Mountains’ mountain dwellers and fugitive households on a large scale to supplement the insufficient population of Shou, Huo and other places.

Seriously researching the warfare situation in Huaixi over the past century, one would discover this warfare initially mainly consisted of attacks between different military governors or even within Huainan’s military governors. Recently it was the twenty-year military confrontation after Liang and Chu’s founding.

The Huaixi region hadn’t seen large-scale vagrant army uprisings to dismember and destroy local social structures.

This meant that even among mountain dwellers and fugitive households who retreated into Huaiyang Mountains, in overall social composition, wealthy mountain households occupied the vast majority of farmland and forests, enslaving low-status people whose survival conditions were worrying—bottom-level stronghold residents and slaves.

Because arable land in Huaiyang Mountains was limited and even more isolated, these conditions even surpassed plains regions outside the mountains.

The entire social structure even had a tendency to regress toward the rule of native powerful clans over the countryside like in Chen and Xu prefectures.

Xu Mingzhen in the past wanted to be Great Chu’s “loyal minister,” not easily daring to stand opposite aristocratic families. He was also hesitant and indecisive toward wealthy households in Huaiyang Mountains, never having the resolve to severely suppress them.

In this way, his intent to relocate mountain dwellers and fugitive households out of Huaiyang Mountains naturally couldn’t be realized. Every year he could only obtain small amounts of tax revenue, symbolically maintaining rule over Huaiyang Mountains.

Of course, merely suppressing wealthy households without uniting with bottom-level poor people and slaves was also useless.

What Han Qian and his forces were doing this time was mobilizing at the fastest speed—mobilizing the bottom-level poor people and slaves who comprised the largest population proportion yet held the most humble status and most worrying survival conditions in Huaiyang Mountains, having them rise up to strike down and suppress the wealthy households occupying ruling positions in Huaiyang Mountains.

The entire process would absolutely not lack bloodshed.

To seize Shenjiaji—the pass entering Wujin Ridge via the South Fei River valley—while main forces surrounded Yongfeng Fort, Han Qian had Xi Fa’er lead over a hundred elite troops to infiltrate Wujin Ridge first. Taking advantage of the garrison militia’s unpreparedness, they unexpectedly burst into the stronghold, disarming over two hundred stronghold troops, preventing fierce fort assault and defense battles from erupting.

However, large and small river valley plains on Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes and low ridges between them had mountain paths connecting them. News traveled quickly, and large and small strongholds all became vigilant.

And the resistance of impoverished stronghold residents and slaves against the wealthy households oppressing them couldn’t be easily incited by saying a few passionate words.

They had long struggled under the淫威 威 淫威 intimidating power of wealthy households, already accustomed to submission, accustomed to accepting enslavement and oppression, becoming numb and apathetic.

Moreover, wealthy households’ own clan descendants had multiplied quite prosperously, even controlling local stronghold armed forces ranging from thirty to fifty or even three to five hundred men.

This wasn’t the same as during the Jinling Incident when, due to severe food shortages, large numbers of slaves were in a semi-abandoned, severely famished state.

What Tangyi forces could do was first use force to capture some strongholds, use military means to directly suppress wealthy households, then open granaries to distribute grain and divide land equally, before they could mobilize impoverished stronghold residents and slaves.

Only afterward could they recruit able-bodied men from slaves and bottom-level poor people to supplement insufficient military strength, and from confiscations compensate for insufficient combat supplies.

This surprise attack brought grain, arrows, cloth and other supplies exceeding a million jin—seemingly substantial. But seven thousand soldiers plus over six thousand military and warhorses consumed up to a hundred thousand jin of grain and fodder daily.

If they couldn’t obtain timely local replenishment, their own carried supplies could only last eight or nine days.

Of course, as Yongfeng Fort was western Chao’s most important water and land transportation hub, local powerful clan forces were larger in scale with abundant material reserves. Just confiscating the granaries of over ten local powerful clans yielded over twenty thousand shi of grain.

Large quantities of grain, supplies, and nearly twenty thousand surrendered military and civilians had to be transported through snow thirty li south to Shenjiaji. The advance into Huaiyang Mountains’ interior was much slower. Currently only Kong Xirong led forces advancing deep into Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes.

Now the Shouzhou forces couldn’t surround and attack due to heavy snow, but for Tangyi forces, this was a rare time window. They absolutely had to race against time advancing into Huaiyang Mountains’ interior.

If they didn’t overcome difficulties now, didn’t seize this rare window of opportunity to capture thirty to fifty more strongholds and mobilize bottom-level poor people, once Shouzhou main forces converged, with large numbers of troops tied down at the perimeter for defense, advances into Huaiyang Mountains’ interior would be even slower.

…

…

To seize the rare opportunity created by heavy snow weather and accelerate advance into Huaiyang Mountains’ interior, after a night of discussion, the result was leaving Tian Cheng, Han Donghu, and Su Lie leading two infantry battalions and one cavalry battalion to garrison Yongfeng Fort.

Regardless of the next day’s weather, other forces would all cross Wujin Ridge, enter deep into Huaiyang Mountains, divided into routes separately led by Kong Xirong, Feng Xuan, Zhao Wuji, and Tan Xiuqun—each commanding one to two battalion strengths—to advance along the main tributary valleys of the upper South Fei River into Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slope interior.

Particularly Kong Xirong’s forces, having entered Huaiyang Mountains’ interior first and currently only captured two strongholds, still had to overcome difficulties at the fastest speed, braving snow to cross ridges, infiltrating from inside Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes to the upper Longtan River valley.

As an equally important tributary of Chao Lake’s upper reaches as the South Fei River, the Longtan River originated from the southern flank of Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes, flowing from west to east through northern Lujiang County into Chao Lake.

This could also be said to be the main passage for Chaozhou forces to enter Huaiyang Mountains’ eastern slopes from southwest of Chaozhou City.

Controlling the valley pass at the upper Longtan River would allow commanding heights overlooking Chaozhou forces stationed north of the Huaixi Imperial Guards’ Lujiang defense line, keeping them outside the eastern slopes.

And if Shouzhou forces didn’t want Tangyi naval warships establishing contact with Huaiyang Mountains via these waterways, they would have to pay even greater costs to possibly simultaneously cut off several major waterways like the South Fei River and Longtan River.

Of course, only by controlling the valley pass at the upper Longtan River could Tangyi forces claim to have the vast interior of Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes completely in hand, thus having hope within the short period of half a year to a year to thoroughly reverse the offensive-defensive situation in Huaixi.

Han Qian ultimately didn’t directly enter the mountains but remained stationed at Shenjiaji with Wang Jun.

How fast strongholds were captured and seized in Huaiyang Mountains’ interior wasn’t the decisive factor. More critical was the speed and effectiveness of mobilizing and activating bottom-level poor people and slaves in strongholds already militarily captured and under divided troop control.

Otherwise, with each conquered stronghold costing ten to thirty to fifty casualties and requiring divided garrison forces, accumulated quickly, this could rapidly thin out their currently available seven thousand-plus troops.

And north and west of Yongfeng Fort, with each passing day, the strength assembled by Shouzhou forces grew stronger.

Only by rapidly and effectively mobilizing bottom-level poor people and slaves could they not only supplement insufficient military strength or even rapidly strengthen Tangyi forces, but also more deeply control Huaiyang Mountains’ interior, fearless that suppressed wealthy households would have opportunity for counterattack and reversal.

Shenjiaji in Wujin Ridge counted as a large stronghold, but had only over a thousand people.

The nearly twenty thousand military and civilians captured from Yongfeng Fort almost equaled the population of a prosperous prefectural capital.

This was mainly because Yongfeng Fort was located at a water and land transportation hub. Commerce, shipping, and workshop manufacturing were all quite developed. Nearby terrain was broad and open with developed water conservancy and agriculture, serious land annexation, and a group of local powerful clans who would rather live gathered in Yongfeng than move to Gaocheng twenty to thirty li away.

Yongfeng Fort itself accommodated nearly ten thousand daily residents, comparable to a prosperous county seat. When Tangyi forces suddenly attacked, nearby households all believed the fort defended by elite troops would be safer, all fleeing into it with children in tow. Ultimately Han Qian directly captured so many military and civilians at Yongfeng Fort.

Due to time constraints, initial treatment of Yongfeng Fort’s nearly twenty thousand military and civilians used rather brutal methods.

Regardless of willingness, military force directly compelled them to leave their homes, concentrating them at Shenjiaji in wind and snow weather.

Initially without discrimination, over four thousand able-bodied men were all conscripted, then under supervision of two elite infantry battalions, in frigid weather they constructed defensive works on riverbanks and slopes.

Han Qian’s heart was very clear—if he could mobilize this portion of able-bodied men, it would tremendously supplement their currently overstretched military strength.

However, initially time was too rushed, and they had to force immediate departure from Yongfeng Fort, relocating to the narrower Wujin Ridge valley. Methods were inevitably brutal. Wanting to bring them to their side was somewhat difficult.

Even forcibly incorporating them into battalions, besides increasing consumption and appearing stronger in troops and horses, the effect on overall combat capability improvement wasn’t great.

Now with hands freed, Han Qian first conducted new sorting of these people.

Besides separately dividing bottom-level poor people and slaves, Han Qian simultaneously also according to clan kinship proximity, inheritance rights’ legitimate versus concubine relationships, plus standards of how much farmland and slaves occupied, distinguished and organized teams among Yongfeng Fort’s surrendered middle-upper level wealthy households and local powerful clans possessing slaves and large amounts of farmland.

Even among those of slave status, relationships between slaves and masters divided into close and distant. For that type who personally served masters and were more loyal, plus households forcibly relocated across the river by Anning Palace to settle in Gaocheng County the previous year—Han Qian also separately divided them out, giving different treatment and dispositions, minimizing possible resistance forces breeding within them.

And what currently needed mobilizing was also only limited to the lowest-level poor people plus slaves sold or generation after generation enslaved in heavy physical labor with extremely harsh survival conditions.

Divided down, these people weren’t particularly numerous. Including women, children and families, they comprised approximately one-third of Yongfeng Fort’s surrendered military and civilians. But Han Qian knew these people, after being won over, would most firmly integrate together with Tangyi forces.

Han Qian established a separate camp at Shenjiaji.

Although Shenjiaji suddenly swelled with so many people, strongholds distributed along the valley becoming unbearably crowded, Han Qian still found ways to arrange this portion of people and families into warm tents or rooms, providing abundant food and clothing.

During relatively relaxed labor, Han Qian also organized them to denounce their tragic life experiences. In this process, he excavated blood crimes once committed by those aristocratic local clans from Yongfeng Fort and vicinity, then dragged them out for public trial and execution.

After three to five rounds, the bloody courageous spirit in these people’s hearts—seemingly long numb and apathetic, only knowing submission to tragic fate—was rapidly activated.

Then able-bodied men were incorporated into auxiliary troop battalions with basic-level military officers arranged for training. Activists were selected for literacy classes for focused cultivation. Sturdy women were organized into women’s battalions and youth battalions to assist Shenjiaji’s internal security management.

Middle-upper level wealthy households without criminal records were still treated as prisoners of war, mainly assigned to build rooms, palisade walls inside and outside Shenjiaji and at the valley’s front section, plus open slope terraced fields.

At such a critical moment, still allocating some manpower to open slope terraced fields also showed recruited poor people and slaves as auxiliary troops hope—that is, even blocked inside Huaiyang Mountains, they would soon obtain land and housing.

Comparatively, Shenjiaji’s forty-plus households, three hundred bottom-level poor people and slaves were easiest to mobilize. Besides each household receiving fifteen mu of ration fields and a small courtyard, plus per capita allocations of a hundred jin of rations, one set of cold-weather clothing, two jin of salt—they practically wanted to sell their lives to Tangyi forces.

And besides children plus frail elderly, everyone else, including over four hundred prisoners of war, were all driven deep into mountain forests to fell trees and excavate mines, performing heavy physical labor for reform.

Perhaps every day people couldn’t bear such heavy physical labor and died from exhaustion or froze to death, but this was cruel and bloody warfare.

During the Jinling Incident, Wang Jun wasn’t particularly free at Han Qian’s side, but still witnessed women’s battalions and youth battalions’ formation and operation, also assisting Han Qian in compiling various teaching materials guiding soldiers to deeply penetrate mountain regions at Fuyu Mountains’ northern foothills to carry out work.

Now she was adept at this work, bringing Wang Tang, Huo Li, Xiangyun and other maids whose thinking hadn’t quite turned around yet, following Han Qian everywhere.

Toward the numerous large and small strongholds inside Huaiyang Mountains’ northeastern slopes, Han Qian also had Feng Xuan, Tan Xiuqun, and Kong Xirong treat them differently.

Strongholds in flat easy terrain or located in major tributary valleys of the upper South Fei River and Longtan River—they would resolutely directly control, thoroughly mobilizing bottom-level poor people and slaves.

Those deviating from their core control zones could be traded with using military horses, cloth, and salt to purchase grain and other supplies they urgently lacked. Military officials could be sent to advise them to change slaves to hired labor, lighten rents and interest on bottom-level poor people. Of course, for those strongholds and villages with firm attitudes refusing, they temporarily wouldn’t interfere.

Entering mountain regions, most places required soldiers to walk. Their over six thousand military horses became somewhat excessive, daily consuming tremendous quantities of beans and fodder.

Besides using these military horses with cloth and salt to trade with remote strongholds for grain, for those bottom-level poor people and slaves actively enlisting, military horses were also directly allocated as necessary farming resources…

By the sixth day of the first month of the fourth year of Yanyou—twenty days after Chaozhou enemy reinforcements reached Yongfeng Fort—Kong Xirong led forces entering Jinxi Fort on the upper Longtan River, controlling the pass entering Huaiyang Mountains’ interior along the Longtan River.

Meanwhile, Feng Xuan, Tan Xiuqun, Zhao Wuji and others divided forces into several routes. Along tributary valleys of the upper South Fei River, they occupied and captured a total of forty-seven strongholds along the line.

All routes’ forces, besides accumulating nearly a thousand casualties, also thinned out nearly two thousand elite troops through divided garrison control of these strongholds.

Feng Xuan, Tan Xiuqun, Zhao Wuji, Dou Rong, Han Donghu—they each had only one to two hundred guard troops remaining. Temporarily unable to continue advancing into Huaiyang Mountains’ interior, they could only first lead their few remaining guards back to Shenjiaji.

Returning to Shenjiaji, on the basis of guard troops, supplementing with auxiliary troops, they rapidly formed five new infantry battalions to strengthen northern line defenses, welcoming the Shouzhou forces’ counterattack that could come at any time…