Late Han Zhao Tang

"The Tang people are treacherous; they took advantage of our kinship to seize our strategic pass!"

Inside the hall, Sun Quan, with a solemn expression, said, "The pass is the gateway to fortune and misfortune for Ba and Shu. If the pass falls, Jianjia and Jiange will bear the brunt. Judging from the enemy's actions, they have long harbored ambitions to conquer Ba and Shu, and their army may have already set out to attack us. With a large army pressing in, the situation is perilous. I wonder what insightful opinions you gentlemen may have?"

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, filled with shock and disbelief at the sudden outbreak of war.

"Yuan Shu was captured, the Qi and Yuan dynasties were destroyed, and the Tang people occupied the Central Plains. With the strength of my Bashu region, how can we possibly be their enemy?"

"Yes!"

"When Your Excellency first ascended the throne, you incurred the enmity of the Cao and Liu families. Now, without strong allies to support you, and with the situation in dire straits, you are likely no match for the Tang forces!"

"quiet!"

Xu Kun coughed and said seriously, "The enemy has not yet arrived, yet you gentlemen are in a panic. Isn't that a loss of composure?"

Xu Kun's reprimand quieted everyone down slightly.

"My lord!"

The state official Jian Yin rose from his seat, cupped his hands, and said, “The fall of Han and the rise of Tang were ordained by Heaven. Now that the states of China have been pacified, the army is marching south to conquer Sichuan and Chongqing, with the intention of unifying the world. In the past, when the Later Han Dynasty rose, Chengdu and Chongqing refused to surrender. When Emperor Guangwu led the expedition, Chengdu fell. When the nest is overturned, how can there be any eggs?”

"My late father's establishment of the state was not easy. He spent many years waging war in the west, only to acquire a tiny piece of land in Sichuan. At that time, he allied with Zhang Tang in the north and attacked Chen and Yuan in the east, his power shaking the Jiangnan region. My late brother worked hard to strengthen the state, aiming to take the gateway to Hanzhong, but only managed to relocate a small number of people to the south. When the south rebelled, he went out in the spring and returned in the autumn to Anxi and other prefectures. Therefore, even when my two fathers were alive, they were no match for Zhang Tang, let alone the one who succeeded them?"

"In my humble opinion, with the Tang army marching south, why doesn't Your Excellency follow the example of Dou Rong's return east and secure a fiefdom for the Sun family?"

Jian Yin's words were extremely blunt, using Sun Jian and Sun Ce as examples of the consequences of opposing Zhang Yu. He even openly stated that Sun Jian and Sun Ce were no match for Zhang Yu, let alone the newly enthroned Sun Quan. If Sun Quan attempted to resist, his fate would likely be the same as Gongsun Shu's—his death and the extermination of his clan.

Sun Quan looked displeased, wanting to get angry but unable to do so. After all, what Jian Yin said was not unreasonable.

"Do any of you gentlemen have other opinions?"

"My lord, Jian Jun's words are not reasonable!"

Zhao Min, a native of Dianjiang, said: "Emperor Tang has been waging war for twelve years, and has been invincible in conquering all under heaven. In the past, he defeated Li Jue, defeated Yuan Shao, and captured Yuan Shu, all of which were stories of defeating the many with the few. Now Emperor Tang has the whole of China under his rule, with millions of people and hundreds of good generals. I am afraid that no one in Bashu can match him. Heaven has the mandate of heaven. If we insist on being enemies, we will lose our blessings. Wouldn't you, my lord, be letting down your father and brothers who have worked so hard for you?"

Seeing that the Shu people were urging him to surrender, Sun Quan suppressed his dissatisfaction and looked at Xu Jing, asking, "You are the head of all officials, like my uncle. Do you have any words of advice to offer?"

Xu Jing hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, "The Tang Emperor is a dragon and a tiger. At the tender age of twenty, he raised an army in Daishuo, fought against Dong Zhuo in the west, exhausted Ma and Han, chased Youzhou in the north, defeated Yuan Shao in the east, and captured Yuan Shu in the south."

"Yuan Shao, a man whose family had held high office for four generations, was a powerful warlord who controlled Hebei. He lost Hebei in one battle and died in the army in another. Yuan Shu, a treacherous usurper who coveted power, controlled the provinces along the Yangtze River. Yet he was captured alive by the enemy in one battle, and the entire country's soldiers and officials surrendered. The heroes from all directions were outstanding figures of their time, but none of them were a match for the Tang people. It can be seen that the Zhang family's power was comparable to that of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu."

"The reason why Your Excellency refuses the Tang is simply because of the perilous nature of the Bashan and Shu roads. Now the Tang people are using Hanzhong as their base and are eyeing our Bashu from the south. At that time, the pass is a vital strategic point, and the enemy's army often numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Our army has lost the natural defenses of the Bashan Mountains, and if we continue to fight, we will be outnumbered and unable to defeat them. Therefore, for the sake of the greater good, Your Excellency may wish to open the city gates and welcome them. You may even be able to obtain the title of Duke or Marquis with ten thousand households."

When Xu Jing, whom he had entrusted with an important mission, advised him to surrender, Sun Quan almost fainted.

Xu Jing, as the head of all officials, even supported surrender, which made Sun Quan doubt whether it was necessary for him to hold out. Perhaps surrendering in time would bring better treatment. But surrendering without resistance like this made him very unwilling.

In fact, Xu Jing's proposal to surrender was exactly the same as Zhang Zhao's thinking in history. Neither of them genuinely wanted to betray the Sun family. Rather, from the current perspective, Zhang Yu was powerful and influential, and had occupied China. As a traditional scholar-official, Xu Jing saw no hope of winning through resistance. Therefore, for the sake of the Sun family, he decided to surrender to Zhang Yu in time, receiving generous rewards in return, thus fulfilling Sun Ce's entrustment.

Sun Quan's face darkened, and he turned and left.

Seeing Sun Quan leave his seat, the officials of the prefecture rose and called out to him, but Sun Quan did not turn back. Fa Zheng, who was in the crowd, was invited by his attendants to go through a side door to the back hall, where he met with Sun Quan alone.

Inside the inner hall, Sun Quan sat cross-legged on the couch, looking troubled.

Fa Zheng stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Zheng greets Your Excellency!"

"Sit!" Sun Quan composed himself and said, "Now the Tang people have broken their alliance and seized the city, intending to attack Ba and Shu. The officials are terrified and want to surrender. I wonder what your opinion is?"

Fa Zheng composed himself and deliberately said, "The Tang emperor is invincible. He has just annexed Yuan Shu, and his army is elite. Meanwhile, we have lost two rulers, and the people are in turmoil. Therefore, taking advantage of our victory, we should attack a country in chaos and surely recover Ba and Shu. Therefore, Your Excellency should first send your family to the capital. Otherwise, the situation will be perilous!"

Upon seeing Fa Zheng's advice to surrender, Sun Quan flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table and exclaiming, "My brother said on his deathbed that in matters of great importance, one should consult Xiaozhi. Now Xiaozhi is actually advising me to surrender. Why doesn't he say this in public?"

With that, Sun Quan turned to leave again.

Fa Zheng hurriedly reached out to pull Sun Quan away, and said with a smile, "It was just a joke, why is Your Excellency so angry!"

Seeing that Fa Zheng had said something else, Sun Quan finally calmed down, grasped Fa Zheng's hand tightly, and said, "I wonder what you have to teach me, sir?"

Fa Zheng sat on the couch with Sun Quan and asked, "May I ask why you, my lord, have not surrendered?"

Sun Quan pondered for a moment and said, "Judging from the opinions of the masses, I am not someone they can discuss important matters with. They open the gates to welcome Tang, and they will not lose their wealth and status. They will ride in oxcarts, serve in the Central Plains, and rise through the ranks to become prefects or even enter Chang'an. What difference is there between serving the Sun family and serving the Zhang family?"

“If I were to welcome the Tang, all I would gain would be a marquisate with several thousand or ten thousand households. Although I could leave the title to my sons, my life and death would be in the hands of the Tang people. The carriages and horses I would ride would not be as good as those of today, and the old officials would address me as a colleague. If I were to stay in Sichuan, although I dare not dream of becoming an emperor, I would still be able to command Sichuan. The difference between the two is like heaven and earth.”

"good!"

Fa Zheng said with satisfaction, "Your Excellency has great vision and has made a grand plan early on. Why should you listen to the opinions of others?"

Sun Quan hesitated and said, "That is true, but I am afraid I do not have a good plan to defeat the enemy. I would like to ask you for advice."

Fa Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Although Zhang Yu occupies China, he is an enemy of the whole world. With your heroic talents and the support of your father and brother, you have the power to rule over Bashu, a region spanning thousands of miles, with more than ten prefectures under your jurisdiction. You have well-trained soldiers and ample provisions, and your generals and soldiers are willing to fight to the death. With an army of 100,000, you can roam the world without fear."

"During the reign of Emperor Guangwu, the whole country was pacified. Cheng Shu resisted stubbornly, but now General, things are different. Although China is at peace, Wu and Chu are not. Cao Cao and Liu Bei are still in Jiangnan, posing a threat to the Tang people. The Tang people attacked Ba and Shu from the north. Although China has captured Baishui, the Shu roads are treacherous, Jiameng is difficult to defend, and there is still the dangerous Jianmen Pass."

"Jiange Pass is a place where one man can hold off ten thousand. The Tang emperor led the people of China on a long journey through the mountains, where cavalry could not roam freely and provisions had to be carried by laborers. At that time, Sun Tzu said: 'A state that is impoverished by war is one that has to transport supplies from afar, and this will impoverish the people; a state that is close to the army will sell at high prices, and this will deplete the people's wealth, and when their wealth is depleted, they will be forced to perform corvée labor. When the people are exhausted and their resources are depleted, the Central Plains will be hollowed out, and the people's expenses will be reduced by seven-tenths; the public's expenses will be reduced by broken carts and worn-out horses, armor, arrows, crossbows, halberds, shields, and carts, and six-tenths of the oxen and carts will be used for corvée labor.'"

"Therefore, if Your Excellency can raise troops to defend the strategic passes and use the Jianmen Pass to hold off the enemy, the Tang army will surely withdraw due to the exhaustion of their long campaign within six months to a year. Furthermore, the Tang is the enemy of the Han. The Han court is currently in Jiangzuo, with Cao Cao and Liu Bei in power. The three are interdependent, like lips and teeth. If the Tang destroys Shu and controls the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the other two will be downstream. How can they sustain this for long?"

"Therefore, in my opinion, Your Majesty should gather the troops of Ba and Shu and station them at the dangerous passes of Micang and Jinniu to secure the strong military of China. You should also send envoys to Wu and Chu to persuade Liu and Cao to launch a northern expedition to divide the Chinese army. This would be a protracted and costly campaign, and the Tang army would be unable to achieve victory and would eventually have to withdraw and return home."

"With the Tang people returning north, Your Excellency's prestige has greatly increased. Why worry about the people of Shu rebelling? At this time, we should form an alliance with Wu and Chu, and rely on the natural defenses of Bashan and the Yangtze River to establish a separatist regime in Bashu!"

"color!"

Sun Quan was overjoyed and slammed his fist on the table, saying, "Since Zhang Yu dominated the Central Plains, his only worries have been the two Yuan brothers, Cao Cao, and myself. Now that the two Yuan brothers have been defeated, China has been taken over, and he has usurped the Han throne, making him an enemy of the world. Cao Cao and I are still alive, and with the combined forces of the Yangtze River provinces to fight against him, we may well be able to contend with him!"

"And that's not all!"

Fa Zheng added, “If the Tang army were to enter Sichuan, the situation would be irreversible. However, you, my lord, command tens of thousands of troops and govern a million people. The southern regions are at your beck and call. You may surrender to the Tang again at any time. Even without the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, you will still be treated well because Cao and Liu in the southeast have not yet been appeased. Therefore, you can advance to repel the enemy, establish your own territory, and rule as a sovereign; or you can retreat to surrender, gain territory, and ensure the prosperity of your descendants.”

In summary, Fa Zheng's strategy for defending against the enemy was nothing more than a war of attrition. This involved utilizing the advantage of local warfare to lengthen the Tang army's supply lines, using time to cripple their supply lines, and ultimately forcing the Tang army to withdraw due to shortages of supplies. During this period, Cao Cao and Liu Bei would harass the Tang army, preventing them from focusing on their southern campaign.

Sun Quan reached out and grasped Fa Zheng's hand tightly, saying gratefully, "Your words are truly sincere, and I will never forget your kindness in making that decision."

Fa Zheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty should quickly summon all the generals and have the chief general lead the troops north to defend against the enemy. If the Tang army takes the strategic positions first, it will be disadvantageous for our army to defend against the enemy."

Sun Quan sat up straight from the couch and said excitedly, "It would be great if you could advise me on military matters, sir!"

"I dare not refuse!" (End of Chapter)