“…”

Zhang Shigui knelt before the solitary grave, heart-wrenchingly suppressing the pain within, barely preventing himself from losing control and wailing.

“Let’s go?” Shi Ruhai went up and patted Zhang Shigui’s shoulder, signaling Zhang Shimin to join him in grabbing his older brother’s arms. Hoisting him onto their backs, they took advantage of nightfall, braving wind and snow to pass through the forest east of the garrison fort, heading north.

To prevent the possibility that the Zhang Shigui and Zhang Shimin brothers might still be lying, after Han Bao led the small squad away from North Lateral Gorge, he still specially infiltrated that garrison fort in northern Huozhou where Hengchong Fort villagers had been relocated.

Doing this also served to conceal their northern journey’s motive and route.

Even if enemy scouts discovered their tracks on the northern slope of Huaiyang Mountains, they would mistakenly believe they were merely conducting reconnaissance back and forth in the border zone. Then after they entered northern Huozhou territory and crossed the Huai, they would become much safer and could slightly accelerate their northward speed.

However, infiltrating that garrison fort in northern Huozhou where North Lateral Gorge villagers had relocated, lingering two days before learning the news—Zhang Shigui’s pregnant wife who had grown up in the same village since childhood and shared deep affection with him had long ago died of difficult childbirth during the northern relocation.

Because of these years of Liang-Chu military confrontation, land along the Huai River banks was fertile, yet population sparse.

Like Haozhou, the registered population of all counties added together did not exceed sixty to seventy thousand people.

And the northern slope region of Huaiyang Mountains in southern Huozhou and Shouzhou had long served as the internal heartland of Shou and Huo prefectures. The degree to which it suffered war disturbances was relatively much lighter. Whether for civilian household concentration or military garrison farming, it was far superior to other regions.

Of the over seven hundred thousand registered persons under Shouzhou Army’s control, almost half were concentrated in these several counties.

However, the battle of Wujin Ridge completely changed this pattern.

What was previously viewed as relatively safe internal heartland became a frontline war zone where Shouzhou Army and Tangyi forces confronted each other with frequent battles. And because Shouzhou Army completely turned toward Liang, the previous war zones along both Huai River banks conversely became the internal heartland.

To avoid population loss and organize production recovery in the Huai River bank regions, after the catastrophic defeat at Wujin Ridge, Xu Mingzhen, not even waiting to stabilize his position at Anfeng Fort, immediately at fastest speed forcibly relocated northward all civilian households from southern Huozhou and northern Chaozhou.

After the Jinling Incident, Shouzhou’s grain and fodder supplies became extremely strained. These past two years, Bianjing annually transferred four to five hundred thousand shi of grain and fodder from Song, Ying, and other prefectures to relieve Shouzhou Army, barely making up for the insufficiency of military supplies.

Not to mention the catastrophic defeat at Wujin Ridge—not only were officers and troops casualties massive, they also lost large quantities of combat supplies, making Shouzhou’s grain increasingly inadequate. Yet they still had to painfully and comprehensively adjust defensive lines.

Under these circumstances, Shouzhou’s populace naturally also fell into extreme poverty. Regardless of noble or base status, any stored grain was forcibly requisitioned by Shouzhou Army. Two to three hundred thousand elderly, weak, women, and children, without sufficient relocation and resettlement preparation, were forced to migrate on a massive scale. The misery of famine and epidemic was truly unimaginable.

Zhang Shigui’s wife died of difficult childbirth during northern relocation. And the brothers’ parents, after northern relocation, sheltered under a broken leaking shack built of thatch, daily gathering wild vegetables and tree bark for food. Just days after winter’s arrival, both froze to death. It was villagers taking pity on them who found a broken mat to bury them at the fort entrance.

However, this was merely an extremely inconspicuous tragedy under the Jianghuai war turmoil situation. Because of material scarcity, when Anning Palace crossed the river, they also coerced large numbers of registered persons to flee north. Over these three years, those who starved to death, froze to death, and died from illness without medical treatment were innumerable.

If one tallied troops who died in battle or died from severe wounds, the population loss under Shouzhou’s jurisdiction was at minimum over one hundred thousand.

In comparison, the various prefectures south of the Yangzi could be called a well-governed era.

Looking at the garrison fort under night’s curtain, Han Bao pressed his lips. His gaunt cheeks, as if carved by knife and axe, gave an impression of determination. He thought to himself that only if the new system could extend throughout the realm would the fate of poor people like ants, crushed as if by enormous stones, become slightly lighter?

Compared to that ignorant youth during the Jinling Incident, full of brute strength and rage yet not knowing how to vent—four years had passed. Battlefield tempering through bloody warfare, plus relatively systematic cultivation from elementary literacy classes, intermediate literacy classes to Martial Studies Academy, Han Bao at this time had grown into a qualified mid-level military officer of Tangyi Army.

His older brother Han Donghu was already a high-ranking general at Duty Commander level. He of course could remain in the military as Battalion Commander or go to internal counties as County Captain or Chief of Justice, but he still chose to undertake more arduous, more dangerous duties.

He initially chose to lead small elite forces to the mountain regions east of Huazhu Peak to mobilize and lead bottom-level poor people and slaves in insurrection, expanding Huaiyang County’s effective jurisdiction across towering mountain ridge barriers toward western mountain regions.

Han Qian emphasized that guerrilla warfare’s intent and function absolutely could not be limited merely to dispatching troops to use terrain advantages to pin down and harass enemy forces. More importantly, it mobilized bottom-level impoverished populace.

Only this way could they effectively reduce the population and territory enemy forces controlled, weaken enemy forces’ capacity to exploit resources for sustained warfare, thereby achieving the goal of fundamentally weakening enemy forces.

Subsequently Han Bao could not proceed because the Military Intelligence Staff Department had more important reconnaissance missions to assign him.

***

***

All the way concealing tracks and hiding movements, after crossing the Yellow River and scaling towering mountain ridges, Han Bao’s small squad rushed to enter Zezhou territory in early twelfth month.

News of Jin Emperor Shi Chongsi’s death was only formally proclaimed throughout the realm last year in late spring.

At that time, Jin Crown Prince Shi Chengzu was supervising borders at Shuozhou. Empress Dowager Zhang and Bureau of Military Affairs Commissioner Liu Jun welcomed Jin Prince of Lu Shi Jiyuan into Taiyuan Prefecture to ascend the throne.

Jin Crown Prince Shi Chengzu, with support of Jin’s northern troops, occupied Shuo and Dai prefectures and declared himself independent. Jin fell into internal chaos for a time.

Before news of Jin Emperor Shi Chongsi’s death spread, Liang Emperor Zhu Yu was supervising warfare at Sizhou. Learning one moment earlier of Shi Chongsi’s grave illness, he immediately assembled elite troops to advance north.

Glimpsing great chaos in Liang territory, Zhu Yu dispatched troops from Wei and Bian prefectures to seize Wei, Huai, and Yi prefectures on the Yellow River’s northern bank that Jin forces had opportunistically seized during Liang’s internal chaos, continuing further last winter to scale mountain ridges in the southern foothills of Taihang Mountains, attacking into Jin’s southern stronghold Zezhou, renowned as “Eastern Hedong’s Barrier, Three Jin’s Gateway, Taihang’s First Rush, Heshuo’s Throat.”

Shi Chongsi occupied Hedong Circuit and Hebei Circuit to establish Jin. For a long time he managed Zezhou as the most important garrison stronghold in the south, year-round with elite heavy troops garrisoning Zezhou. Jin forces occupying Hanzhou to exit Taihang Mountains could seize Wei, Huai, and Yi prefectures on the Yellow River’s northern bank, threatening Liang capital Bianjing. Defending, they could keep Liang forces beyond Taihang Mountains.

Although Zezhou and nearby cities had long been focal points of contention between Liang and Jin forces, over the past thirty years, during Liang Emperor Zhu Wen’s time (counting the period when Zhu Wen was enfeoffed as Prince of Liang), Zezhou City had not once fallen into Liang forces’ hands. Several times Liang forces were repulsed beneath Zezhou City walls, or after prolonged siege failing to take it, were compelled to withdraw.

This time Liang Emperor Zhu Yu also took advantage of nearly half of Zezhou’s garrison being taken to Jin capital by Prince of Lu Shi Jiyuan, preemptively dispatching troops to besiege Zezhou before those forces could return as reinforcements. Subsequently using four months, erecting whirlwind catapults, he forcibly bombarded open Zezhou City’s walls and heavily defeated Jin Bureau of Military Affairs Commissioner Liu Jun’s relief forces north of Zezhou City.

Han Jun spent several days around Zezhou searching for traces left by both armies’ battles. Very obviously Jin had not anticipated that Liang forces in the harsh cold season of heavy wind and snow could persist in four-month-long siege of Zezhou City.

After seizing Zezhou, Liang Emperor Zhu Yu tirelessly mobilized Guanzhong forces to advance east, attacking from east and west, seizing Anyi, Xiangling, Ronghe, Linjin, Quhuo, Yicheng, Yuxiang, and over twenty other counties in southwestern Hedong Old Commandery. By this time, Liang forces had almost completely occupied southern prefectures and counties of Hedong Old Commandery.

And this winter, Zhu Yu again assembled nearly one hundred thousand elite troops, advancing beneath Jin’s central stronghold Luzhou City.

Han Bao leading small elite scouts, not shrinking from hardship, braving wind and snow to traverse the Hehuai heartland, scaling Taihang Mountains to enter Zezhou, obeyed Han Qian’s orders to closely reconnoiter the situation of Liang and Jin armies confronting each other at Luzhou.

Taihang Mountains had eight passes, serving as connecting passages between Hedong Old Commandery and Hebei and Henei old commanderies.

Thirteen years ago, Jin lost You, Yun, and other prefectures. The northern Feihu Pass, Puyin Pass, and Jundu Pass all fell under Mengwu people’s control. When Liang forces seized Huai and Ze prefectures, they subsequently controlled three passages—Zhiguan Pass, Taihang Pass, and Bai Pass. Only Jing Pass and Fukou Pass east of Luzhou became vital passages for Jin forces to communicate east and west.

Once Liang forces seized Luzhou, they would completely sever Jin’s eastern and western sections. This not only determined Jin’s survival or destruction, decided victory or defeat in thirty years of Liang-Jin contention, but also determined the overall trend of the Central Plains’ future.

After Shouzhou Army’s catastrophic defeat north of Huaiyang Mountains, Liang Emperor Zhu Yu’s resolve to capture Luzhou in one stroke did not waver.

The great war between Liang and Jin also involved the situation of Mengwu people developing You and Yun prefectures to the north—implications extremely broad. Even though scouts had been dispatched multiple times previously, obtained intelligence remained fragmentary.

Temporarily lacking conditions to establish a more complete military intelligence network, three to five ordinary scouts found it very difficult to make accurate judgments about the northern war situation and complex relationships among various forces, thereby conducting more targeted, more accurate intelligence reconnaissance.

Han Bao and his men were selected and dispatched precisely under this background.

After Han Bao and his men crossed the Yellow River, the north was already extremely cold. Along the route they could still see continuous streams of men and horses, braving wind and snow, escorting grain, fodder, and other supplies through passes like Taihang Pass into southern regions of Hedong Old Commandery.

The vast majority of laborers still wore thin, tattered clothing, shivering in the cold wind. Roadside had many frozen corpses abandoned there. But Liang forces’ troops, even though the cloth outer layer of military uniforms inside and out was still hemp-fiber material, the vast majority of cold-weather clothing inside was already filled with warmer, more cold-resistant cotton wadding.

Weaving involved relatively tedious complex stages. Liang forces in the short term found it difficult to popularize cotton cloth material. But Bianjing and Luoyang’s cotton planting area, with Liang Emperor Zhu Yu’s personal promotion over three-plus years, expanded step by step nearly one hundred thousand mu. Cotton ginning and other processes were relatively simple. Shelling seed cotton to produce fluffy cotton wadding to fill cold-weather clothing was relatively easy to achieve and promote.

This also became the greatest guarantee for Liang forces to continuously besiege Jin cities during harsh winter.

Last winter when Liang forces besieged Zezhou City, Jin forces obviously misjudged Liang forces’ capacity for sustained winter combat. Before winter they failed to timely dispatch relief forces to Zezhou. Throughout the entire winter, unable to brave wind and snow to dispatch relief forces, dragging until spring when they hastily dispatched relief forces, they were defeated, causing Zezhou City—this stronghold Jin forces had not lost in thirty years—to ultimately fall into Liang forces’ hands.

This was equivalent to Jin’s southern gateway being kicked open by Liang forces.

Beyond this, large-scale use of whirlwind catapults and Liang’s substantial improvement in smelting, iron casting, and armor and weapons manufacturing levels in the Bianjing and Luoyang areas were also key to Liang forces’ combat effectiveness being able for the first time to comprehensively suppress Jin forces.

Crouching in deep mountain forests, gazing at distant damaged Zezhou City, Han Bao thought that barring other unexpected developments, Liang forces capturing Luzhou this winter should pose no problem.

In fact, Jin forces were subject to even greater restrictions in wind and snow during cold winter, which further widened the combat effectiveness gap between the two armies.