Wanzicheng was merely the entrance to Taihang Pass. From Wanzicheng inward, four or five more passes needed to be torn through to reach the interior of Taihang Pass—also Tianjing Pass, the most critical point in southern Jincheng. But seeing such a solid, treacherous Wanzicheng assaulted and captured by affiliated Shu troops right before his eyes, the shock Cao Gan felt was absolutely considerable.

Yet what surprised Cao Gan even more—Shu troops, whose fighting spirit had never been firm, after taking Wanzicheng seemed as if they’d taken medicine, howling and charging. Without waiting for follow-up troops to enter Wanzicheng, several squads of troops immediately pursued fleeing enemy forces, charging directly toward Heidu Gorge inside Taihang Pass’s southern entrance passage.

The leading commander—Cao Gan vaguely felt his face was familiar, as if he’d once served as assistant clerk beside Zhao Mengji, yet somehow had become a commanding officer.

From Wanzicheng northward, the passage suddenly narrowed. Peak cliffs lined both walls. Steep mountain cliffs grew thick with shrubs and dense forest.

Cao Gan saw squad after squad entering Wanzicheng, using it as a transfer point, continuously transporting troops and war machines into the passage. But the passage was too narrow to possibly arrange for him to observe closely. At dusk, he returned to Qinyang city.

Qinyang city was also making preparations to advance the vanguard command tent forward after capturing Wanzicheng.

During the night banquet, reconnaissance cavalry from the front rushed to report. They said that Zhuang Peigong, a commander under He Xu’s command, was first to lead his unit reaching Heidu Gorge at dusk. According to the original combat plan, Zhuang Peigong originally only needed to lead his unit to form a protective barrier before Heidu Gorge using obstacles like chevaux de frise, caltrops, iron tribulus, and war carts to isolate garrison forces inside the camp, then wait until the next day to build palisade walls and dig ditches. But seeing insufficient preparation by garrison forces inside Heidu Gorge’s enemy camp in the hasty moment, Zhuang Peigong decisively made the judgment to personally don heavy armor and lead elite escort troops to assault and seize the enemy camp. In less than half a double-hour, he routed over a thousand defenders and had now captured Heidu Gorge.

“What medicine did Zhuang Peigong take to be so brave as a tiger?” He Xu, responsible for remaining to garrison the just-captured Wanzicheng, and Zhao Shuo, who accompanied Cao Gan and Shu envoy attendants back to Qinyang with Li Zhi and Feng Yi, was also startled hearing this news.

Although Great Liang from top to bottom, even if they didn’t encourage it, wouldn’t suppress vanguard commanders proactively seizing battle opportunities, when combat plans were already set and enemy intelligence showed no major changes, whether this constituted decisive judgment or reckless behavior was difficult to define.

Behavior like Zhuang Peigong’s—at least within the military—wasn’t something worth encouraging.

“Congratulations, Your Lordship! Great Liang has gained another tiger general!” Feng Yi stood up laughing vigorously, saying, “Worth making an exception to drink a large cup of wine!”

“Li Zhi, immediately lead men carrying three hundred jars of wine to Wanzicheng and Heidu Gorge. Ensure vigilant duties remain secure. Reward troops who merit today’s pass-breaking with wine!” Han Qian had Li Zhi go on his behalf to the front camp to reward with wine, then said to Cao Gan, “This Zhuang Peigong, I have some impression of him. He should be from Jiangyou. He still has a younger brother, Zhuang Peiyin, serving as clerk in Jiangyou County in Shu. Zhuang Peigong in early years served as assistant clerk beside Duke Zhao Mengji, well-versed in military texts and skilled with sword and bow. Duke Zhao subsequently used him to command troops. Some years ago at Gong County, this Zhuang Peigong made us suffer considerably. I remembered him then—truly worth drinking a bowl of wine!”

Among Shu military commanders and officers who submitted with Zhao Mengji or were captured or persuaded to surrender during Liang forces’ capture of Fengxiang, Cao Gan also possessed a not-quite-complete roster containing Zhuang Peigong’s name. He also had some impression of Zhuang Peigong, but nothing particularly outstanding.

Liang army commander-level middle-ranking officers numbered at least eight hundred if not a thousand. Never imagining that Han Qian, as ruler of a state, could know commanders at the commander level inside and out—Cao Gan’s feelings were also quite complex.

Han Qian had escorts place wine bowls beside various officers and commanders, picked up a ceramic bowl filled with wine, and first drank a bowl together with everyone.

Few in the military didn’t enjoy wine. Li Zhigao, Han Donghu, and others were no exception. Previously restricted only by military discipline—now that Han Qian exceptionally lifted the prohibition, setting out wine jars, besides those with vigilant duties, others all drank cheerfully.

Drinking to high spirits, Wang Zhe, borrowing some drunkenness, toasting Cao Gan, asked:

“Today Shu troops’ sons fought bravely against enemies. Lord Cao witnessed with his own eyes. Dare I ask Lord Cao—if one day Great Liang forces campaign against Shu, using these sons as vanguard, how many days could Shu forces withstand?”

“Impudent! What nonsense are you speaking? Quickly apologize to Lord Cao!” Han Qian rebuked.

Yet Wang Zhe seemed awakened by Han Qian’s scolding, hastily apologizing to Cao Gan for his reckless discourtesy.

“You’ve drunk too much. Go rest below!” Han Qian dismissed Wang Zhe, apologizing to Cao Gan: “Disregarding that spoilsport fellow, I toast Lord Cao a cup.”

Cao Gan didn’t know whether Wang Zhe truly drank too much wine or was deliberately instigated by Han Qian to provoke them with words. But his heart felt bitter.

Initially, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian, deceived by Mongols, led troops north from Liangzhou to campaign in Guanzhong, taking away Shu forces’ most elite seventy thousand troops plus thirty thousand able-bodied civilians. After the military rebellion, these forces were sealed north of Liangzhou.

Being far from homeland with difficult supply, these forces had low morale without much combat capability. Precisely because of low morale, timid and fearful of battle, over these years casualties hadn’t been large either.

Over these years, mainly due to illness, injury, and long-term hunger causing some attrition, ultimately over seventy thousand remained to be incorporated by Great Liang.

Cao Gan had originally assumed these Shu troops submitting to Liang forces would have no combat capability, at most used by Han Qian as auxiliary troops, absolutely not qualifying as elite. Never imagining they would today consecutively break through two Mongol passes.

Precisely as Wang Zhe provocatively asked with drunkenness—if Han Qian used these Shu troops as vanguard campaigning against Shu, how long could they withstand?

Cao Gan, carrying such worries, melancholically drank through the banquet, returning with envoy officials to barracks to rest. Subsequently, Han Qian had him linger in Qinyang two more days before proceeding to Luoyang.

Compared to Guanzhong’s devastation with everything awaiting revival, Luoyang brimmed with thriving vitality.

In early years, Cao Gan had repeatedly represented Wang Yong liaising with Xuzhou and Jinling, becoming acquainted with many Great Liang officers and commanders. After arriving in Luoyang, he and two deputy envoys plus envoy personnel received enthusiastically warm hospitality until mid-August before embarking on the return journey to Chengdu.

By that time, Kong Xirong had already joined forces with Li Xiu at Qinshui, taking over command of the southern Jin campaign, deploying troops toward Yangcheng in western Zezhou.

Besides Feng Yi representing Great Liang on a return visit to Shu, Han Qian also specially prepared a batch of exquisite state gifts for Cao Gan to bring back to Chengdu to present to Shu Lord Wang Yong, demonstrating eternal friendly relations between the two states.

Contemporary traditional horse carriages, even utilizing courier roads allowing horse changes, lacked effective shock absorption mechanisms in the carriage body. Long-distance riding in rapidly traveling carriages was absolutely not comfortable.

Slow carriage travel posed no major problems. But utilizing the courier station system, changing horses at each station, theoretically traveling level courier roads, carriages could cover four hundred li daily without problem. But people sitting in such carriages for a day would have bones jarred apart.

Moreover, traveling overland from Luoyang to Yongzhou, then from Yongzhou taking the Tangluo Road through Liangzhou and Lizhou returning to Chengdu—over two thousand li of overland journey.

Cao Gan’s embassy to Luoyang, from Chengdu to Yongzhou, chose to ride horses, then after Yongzhou switched to boats. This time returning to Chengdu with Feng Yi, the entire journey went overland. Luoyang prepared over ten new-style carriages.

Luoyang’s carriages were truly far more comfortable. In late August with refreshing autumn weather, six days sufficed to return from Luoyang to Chengdu—half the time Cao Gan had estimated. Too many details made Cao Gan feel the enormous gap between Liang and Shu.

Not to mention Shu’s newly organized Forbidden Army—from soldiers to commanders, the vast majority hadn’t experienced warfare’s trials. Even though Shu over these years incorporated barbarian mountain tribesmen, civilian households barely recovered to five million, compared to Chu and Liang it remained a weak state.

After returning to Chengdu, Cao Gan and envoy personnel reported in detail everything seen and heard during nearly two months’ embassy to Liang. Regardless of how great divisions existed within Shu’s court over allying with Chu to resist Liang or watching Liang-Chu struggle, one thing was certain: at this time, Shu absolutely shouldn’t proactively provoke Liang forces, avoiding Shu lands becoming the next target of Liang forces’ blade after recovering southern Jin and Taiyuan.

Regarding families of affiliated Shu military officers and commanders, Shu’s court also quickly reached consensus.

Ordinary soldiers always only had the share of going with the flow. Shu couldn’t possibly send as many as three to four hundred thousand ordinary soldiers’ families all to Luoyang or Mengzhou. Han Qian proposed that among affiliated Shu troops, squad soldiers and above—military officers and commanders’ families numbering over nine thousand—Great Liang would pay two hundred thousand strings ransom to relocate them to Mengzhou for settlement as soon as possible.

In Shu’s rulers and ministers’ view, sending these families to Luoyang could effectively dissolve and weaken affiliated Shu troops’ hostility. Not only could it prevent them from becoming shock troops when Liang forces campaigned against Shu, it might even utilize their nostalgia for their homeland, making them become a force within Great Liang resisting Liang forces campaigning against Shu.

Shu also rarely efficiently supervised this matter. When Feng Yi completed his embassy mission leaving Chengdu in mid-September, the first batch of commanders’ families—twelve hundred people—directly accompanied him relocating to Luoyang.

At that time, Cao Gan and Jing Qiongwen, representing Shu Lord Wang Yong, rushed to Meishan Station outside Chengdu to see them off.

Watching the winding northbound procession gradually disappear in the distant view, Cao Gan tugged the reins, planning to return to the palace with Jing Qiongwen to report. Over a hundred brocade-armored escort cavalry surrounded them as they traveled.

Jing Qiongwen, nearly seventy with graying temples, skilled in health preservation methods, remained vigorous in spirit and energy. At this time, still serving as Left Vice Minister assisting Wang Yong in governing state affairs, he turned his head to glance at the northbound procession now only dust traces, waved his hand, signaling left and right attendant personnel to disperse, and asked Cao Gan: “Lord Cao’s journey to Luoyang—in Lord Cao’s view, when can Liang forces defeat Mongol forces and recover Taiyuan? And if the Sima clan and Xu Mingzhen return to Southern Chu, do Chu forces have any possibility of contending with them?”

Half a month after returning to Chengdu, many had inquired about embassy to Liang details publicly or privately, yet no one had asked so directly as Jing Qiongwen. Jing Qiongwen hadn’t previously asked so directly either.

Cao Gan reined in his horse, sighing forlornly: “When Han Qian was in Mengzhou, the northern bank had merely over thirty thousand troops, even with half piled on Taihang Pass’s southern side fiercely attacking Mongol forces. Yet Zhu Rang on the southern bank at Bianliang possessed seventy to eighty thousand troops, too timid to fight, even perfunctorily showing restraint intentions. As I see it, if Mongol forces cannot hold southern Jin by year’s end, it’s not impossible they’d proactively abandon Taiyuan and Heshuo regions, retreating south and north of Yanshan Mountains to defend. As for Chu forces, as long as they cannot build warships superior to Liang forces for even one day, their capital Jinling remains under direct threat of Liang forces’ blade. Does Lord Jing truly believe Chu forces can contend with Liang forces?”

“What if the Chu court relocates the capital to Hongzhou?” Jing Qiongwen asked.

Hongzhou, located on Poyang Lake’s western shore, not only had water routes connecting rivers and seas but also land routes linking Hunan and Jiangdong. Already during Emperor Tianyou’s reign it was a heavily managed core strategic town. Yang Zhitang, as an imperial clan general, had also garrisoned Hongzhou for many years in early times.

Cao Gan contemplated briefly, saying: “If the Chu court could decisively relocate the capital to Hongzhou, they might struggle a few more years.”

“Only struggle a few more years?” Jing Qiongwen asked.

Cao Gan had already spoken thoroughly, unwilling to give Jing Qiongwen a more definite answer. Raising his head to gaze at blue sky and white clouds above mountain ridges, as if for millennia the scenery remained unchanged—what changed was merely pile after pile of white bones turning to dust…