Chapter 225

Chapter 225

The northern campaign led by Feng Ji and Xiao Zhen was nominally focused on attacking the Wu country, but an equally important goal was to reclaim the military power held by Chen Wang and his sons.

Liaozhou was located in the northeastern corner of the Great Yu Dynasty, bordering the Wu country to the north, Qingzhou to the south, and the coastal nation to the east. If the Chen family colluded with the Wu country, the Jizhou troops would face a two-front attack from both the Wu cavalry and the Chen family's forces. Should the Chen family join forces with Huang Qilin in rebellion, their combined armies could launch an assault from Qingzhou directly towards Luoyang. The route was a vast expanse of flat plains, leaving no natural barriers to defend against an advancing army.

By bringing Liaozhou under the rule of the Great Yu Dynasty, it could form a continuous defensive line against the Wu country together with Jizhou and Da Tong. Huang Qilin in Qingzhou would then be encircled by Liaozhou, Jizhou, and the southern capital, making it difficult for him to stir up major trouble again.

It could be said that for the sake of stability in the northern region, the Wu country might not need to be attacked, but the military power in Liaozhou had to be reclaimed by the imperial court.

However, only by using the pretext of attacking the Wu country could Chen Wang be lured into taking his seventy thousand cavalry out of Liaozhou and falling into the trap set by Feng Ji and Xiao Zhen.

The Battle of Bald Mountain ended with the surrender of Chen Wang and his son, allowing the seventy thousand Liaozhou cavalry to fall smoothly into the hands of Feng Ji and Xiao Zhen without any casualties on either side.

After descending the mountain, Feng Ji said to Xiao Zhen, "The main force of the Wu country is likely to the northwest. I plan to continue pursuing them, and if I don't find them by October, I will withdraw the troops."

Xiao Zhen replied, "There are still thirty thousand troops in Liaozhou under the command of Chen Wei and Chen Yan. I will lead the fifty thousand troops from the Southern Camp to persuade them to surrender. As for the seventy thousand Liaozhou troops, they are originally border troops more suited to fighting the Wu country. With your prestige, General Feng, they will be more likely to forget the Chen family and fully devote themselves to serving the Emperor."

Until Chen Wang's sons surrendered, the seventy thousand Liaozhou troops in the grasslands could not be released, for fear they might defect to the enemy. Therefore, Liaozhou had to be wrapped up by Xiao Zhen, while Feng Ji, as a renowned general at the border, could use his influence to make the seventy thousand Liaozhou troops submit.

Of course, if Xiao Zhen had been covetous of military power, he could have easily taken three to five thousand troops from the seventy thousand Liaozhou soldiers, citing a lack of forces to deal with the Chen brothers.

But from start to finish, Xiao Zhen had not harbored any desire for the Liaozhou troops.

Feng Ji rested a hand on Xiao Zhen's shoulder and said, "You have fewer troops, so be cautious when you reach Liaozhou. I'll be here to ensure your rear is secure."

Xiao Zhen agreed and, after looking out over the vast grasslands, turned his gaze back to Feng Ji's face and said with a smile, "It has been my honor these past six months to gain experience at the border under your guidance, General. After the Liaozhou matter is resolved, I'll be waiting in Jizhou to celebrate your triumphant return."

Feng Ji replied, "Good, when that time comes, we'll drink to our hearts' content, and we won't stop until we're drunk!"

---

On the seventh day of the ninth month, the war report from the northern campaign finally reached the Xingping Emperor after several days of urgent six-hundred-mile dispatches.

The Xingping Emperor had not been idle these past few months. He left fifty thousand troops stationed in Luoyang to guard against a potential surprise attack by Lv Sheng and personally led one hundred fifty thousand troops to reinforce Hanzhong, where they engaged in repeated siege and defense battles against the two hundred thousand troops from the Liang Kingdom.

In June, upon learning that Xiao Mu was leading one hundred thousand troops into the Shu region via water routes from Jingzhou, the Liang Kingdom hastily dispatched one hundred thousand troops to counter Xiao Mu. The battles in Hanzhong shifted from offensive sieges to defensive ones. Seizing the opportunity, the Xingping Emperor began advancing into Liang territory from Hanzhong, with the Liang army retreating. When the northern war report arrived, the Xingping Emperor was besieging Guangyuan.

Guangyuan was the northern gateway of the Liang Kingdom. Once it was captured, and the treacherous Jiange Pass was taken, they could advance directly into the heart of the Liang capital, Yizhou.

Only six hundred miles remained between them and Yizhou.

Because of this, the Liang Kingdom had heavily fortified the defenses of Guangyuan, and after a month of stalemate, the Xingping Emperor had lost twenty thousand troops without capturing Guangyuan.

The victory in the north arrived like a much-needed downpour, reinvigorating the spirits of the Xingping Emperor's troops.

At the same time, Xiao Mu also sent a war report. The eastern army had successfully captured Dazhou, leaving only the key town of Bazhong between them and Guangyuan.

Delighted, the Xingping Emperor stayed up all night drafting three imperial edicts.

One was for Feng Ji, instructing him to continue leading the troops to attack the Wu country and deal a decisive blow. He also appointed Feng Ji as the general of Jizhou and Liaozhou, with authority over the troops of both regions.

Another was for Xiao Zhen, ordering him to secure Liaozhou as soon as possible and appointing him as the Liaozhou garrison commander.

The third was for Xiao Mu, commanding him to advance on Bazhong.

As for himself, the Xingping Emperor would continue his relentless assault on Guangyuan.

——

There are about 300 miles between Guangyuan and Dazhou. The messenger rode hard, avoiding Liang army patrols, and arrived in Dazhou on the tenth day.

Xiao Mu's army was still resting. Although they had captured another city, their losses were also heavy.

As the commanding general, General Xiao Mu issued orders from the rear during the siege, while Tong Sui fought on the front lines alongside the archers. During the previous dynasty, Tong Sui and Qi Yun had worked seamlessly together. She cleared the enemy soldiers from the walls for Qi Yun, who then led the vanguard troops to climb the walls. Now that Qi Yun was gone, his older brother Qi Ling had taken his place.

Qi Ling, though his temper was as stubborn and unyielding as his father Qi Heng's and far less likable than Qi Yun, was even more fierce in battle and courageous in assaulting walls than Qi Yun. After their first joint operation, the two quickly developed a strong sense of cooperation. One shot arrows with unwavering accuracy, while the other charged like a fierce lion, always managing to open a breach in the enemy's walls first.

However, the more valiant they were, the more enemy attacks they had to endure. For instance, during the assault on Dazhou, Qi Ling narrowly avoided being disfigured by hot oil, and Tong Sui was hit by an arrow in her left shoulder.

After lunch, Zhou Gui came to change Tong Sui's bandages. It was the fourth day since the arrowhead was removed, and with the cooler autumn weather, Tong Sui was recovering well.

Even so, Zhou Gui's eyes welled up with tears as she applied the medicine. Though Tong Sui didn’t cry out in pain, she was sweating from her forehead. Seeing her cousin's red eyes, Tong Sui teased, "When you decided to come along as my personal medic, I figured you'd have a job to do. If I never got injured, wouldn't your skills be wasted on me?"

Zhou Gui replied, "It's not wasted. Aren't the other wounded soldiers still needing care? I'd rather have my skills be wasted than see you injured."

Tong Sui said, "It's fine. The wound isn't deep."

Zhou Gui warned, "You should be more careful in the future. If you end up with scars all over your body, even if you don't care, your husband might start to look down on you."

Tong Sui responded, "He's already covered in so many scars that he can barely count them. If anyone should be looking down on someone, it would be me disdaining him."

Back when they fought against the two false emperors of the previous dynasty, Xiao Zhen had been away fighting for six years. His chest, back, arms, and legs were all scarred.

Zhou Gui said, "That's different. Does your husband touch you? Do you touch him?"

Tong Sui: "..."

Her married cousin had become increasingly outspoken.

After the medicine was applied, Tong Sui went outside for a walk and learned that an imperial edict had arrived from the emperor. She then went to find General Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu, Qi Ling, and Zhao Jin were all there, examining the map hanging on the wall.

Tong Sui approached.

This map had been drawn and updated as the eastern army advanced. Every place the eastern army had passed through was meticulously detailed, while places they hadn’t reached only had simple markings of cities, rivers, and mountains.

Tong Sui first saw the counties along the Yangtze River from Jingzhou to Shu. From east to west, they were Zigui City, Wushan City, Feng County, and Yun County.

Capturing these four counties alone took the eastern army three months. As soon as they captured a city, the Liang navy would sail downriver and retake it from behind. After suffering this loss, the old man immediately ordered Xie Jian to bring two thousand naval forces from Jingzhou. Finally, they managed to hold the captured cities successfully.

The original plan of the eastern army was to follow the river all the way to the heart of Sichuan, to Yuzhou, and then to Yizhou from there. They would then advance simultaneously with the Xingping Emperor's eastern and northern fronts.

However, after entering Shu, they fully realized the combat effectiveness of the Liang navy. Xie Jian's main naval force had to be kept to guard against the Ling Kingdom. The eastern army, advancing alone, would only fall into danger. There was no choice. Xiao Mu had to station his two thousand naval forces in Yun County while he led the main army overland to the north, preparing to capture Dazhou and then Bazhong successively, before joining the Xingping Emperor's forces to encircle the interior of the Liang Kingdom from the north.

After capturing Dazhou, the eastern army was left with only eighty thousand troops.

Xiao Mu pointed at Bazhong and said, "Both Bazhong and Guangyuan are important towns in the north of the Liang Kingdom. Bazhong is defended by thirty thousand troops, led by the famous Liang general Zong Quan. Taking Bazhong will likely be dozens of times more difficult than capturing Dazhou."

Qi Ling said, "The emperor said that as long as we can besiege Bazhong, he can focus on attacking the Jiange Road without worry. Once Jiange is taken, there will be no more natural defenses left to Yizhou. When the emperor takes the Liang capital, Zong Quan will have no choice but to surrender the city."

Xiao Mu said, "The Jiange Road is a narrow pass where a single man can hold off an army. For the emperor to take Jiange will be a thousand times harder than us capturing Bazhong."

——

Qi Ling: "Why are you always talking about how hard it is, sir? Can't you say something to lift our spirits?"

Xiao Mu only let out another sigh.

Tong Sui understood the old man's mood. From the very beginning, the old man had opposed the campaign against Liang. The reason for his opposition was precisely due to the word "difficulty."

The best outcome that the old man had anticipated for this battle was that the two armies would be deadlocked with the Liang army in Guangyuan and eventually retreat to Hanzhong.

After another three days of rest, leaving 5,000 soldiers to guard Dazhou, the main force of the Eastern Army set out again.

Nearly 150 miles away, they broke through two small counties along the way. Including the march, the attack on the cities, and the rest periods, on the 2nd of October, the 70,000-strong army finally arrived outside Bazhong.

Setting up camp, as per tradition, the old man first sent a war report to the Xingping Emperor in Guangyuan.

Another 150 miles from Bazhong to Guangyuan.

The next day, a letter from the Xingping Emperor arrived, stating that they had taken Guangyuan days ago and were waiting for Xiao Mu's army. Now that Bazhong was besieged, Guangyuan was completely secure. The Xingping Emperor had left 10,000 troops to defend the city and had taken 100,000 troops to attack Jiange Road. The Xingping Emperor also said that as long as Xiao Mu could contain Zong Quan's 30,000 elite soldiers, it would be considered a great achievement and there was no need to rush to capture other cities to the south.

After reading this letter, Xiao Mu not only didn't feel relieved but became even more worried. That treacherous Jiange Road—how could the Xingping Emperor, as a monarch, put himself in such danger?

The old man immediately wrote a remonstrance letter, advising the Xingping Emperor to stay in Guangyuan and let him lead the army to attack Jiange Road!

The Xingping Emperor's reply contained only twelve words: "Do not worry, hold Bazhong, and await my triumphant return!"

Xiao Mu could only sigh.

Qi Ling hesitantly asked, "Should we attack the city?"

Xiao Mu gave him a sharp glance.

Zhao Jin quickly pulled him aside.

Mid-October, a commander left behind in Guangyuan by the Xingping Emperor urgently reported to the old man, stating that 50,000 Liang soldiers had suddenly appeared outside the city, putting Guangyuan in danger, and requesting immediate reinforcements.

Zhao Jin: "Impossible! The main Liang army was forced back to Jiange Road by the Emperor, and Zong Quan's 30,000 troops are besieged by us. Where could they find 50,000 soldiers in just a few days?"

Qi Ling looked equally puzzled.

Xiao Mu stared at the map, then he and Tong Sui said in unison, "The naval forces!"

Liang had stationed 80,000 elite naval forces in Yuzhou. Since the naval forces could sail down the Yangtze River to attack Yun County and Zigui County, they could also dispatch 50,000 troops to head north against the Jialing River to reach Guangyuan!

If Guangyuan fell, the Xingping Emperor would be trapped between the Liang army and the naval forces on the treacherous Jiange Road, unable to advance or retreat. With supply lines cut, the Liang forces could hold the pass, starving the Emperor's army into submission.

Xiao Mu staggered, catching himself on the table before he could fall.

Zhao Jin quickly helped the old man sit down with Tong Sui.

After a moment, Xiao Mu said, "Chang'an is a thousand miles from here. Reinforcements from there will likely be too late. Zhao Jin, I will leave you 40,000 troops. Do you think you can hold off Zong Quan's army?"

Zhao Jin: "I don't need 40,000, 30,000 will be enough!"

Xiao Mu: "Do not underestimate the enemy. Qi Ling, quickly gather 30,000 troops and follow me to reinforce Guangyuan."

Qi Ling: "Understood!"