Jinting Han people

Chapter 233: The Battle of Liumo (Part )

After learning that Zhou Chu was sent to Liumo to fight, Liu Xian was tossing and turning.

Liu Xian and Zhou Chu had no personal connection, having only met each other a few times. He repeatedly attempted to befriend Zhou Chu, only to be met with cold rebuffs. If Liu Xian were an ordinary man, he would have done his utmost and wouldn't have cared about this matter. In fact, several men in the army, far more respected than Liu Xian, remained silent on the matter.

But when Liu Xian thought of his experience at the Jingu Garden Poetry Festival, he couldn't help but feel sympathy.

A minister of a fallen nation, he was despised by the new dynasty, yet he adhered to his own righteous principles and practiced his ideal of benefiting the world. He did not compromise in the slightest with the ugliness around him, and even when he suffered more and more setbacks, he remained unmoved.

This is exactly what Liu Xian had imagined himself to be in the past. Before he was imprisoned, he wanted to be this kind of person.

Even now, Liu Xian didn't see anything wrong with this. It was simply because he had a grander goal: to create a home for everyone in the world. To achieve this, he was willing to sacrifice some of his principles, but he still admired and loved those who could uphold their ideals and original aspirations.

Zhou Chu was undoubtedly such a person. If Liu Xian just sat back and watched Zhou Chu being murdered by King Liang, he thought to himself, it would be like killing his past self. Even if they had never met before, this was something Liu Xian could not tolerate.

Liu Xian quickly made a decision. He discussed the matter privately with his staff and said, "The King of Liang wants to kill Jianwei, but I want to keep him alive. What should I do?"

Everyone felt very embarrassed. No matter how absurd Sima Rong's order was, as the King of Liang, he was the commander-in-chief of the entire army after all.

Liu Xian was only one of the seventeen armies under his command. How could he resist them?

Li Sheng pondered for a long time before suggesting to Liu Xian, "My Lord, while we cannot directly disobey military orders, we can always adapt to changing circumstances. You might as well ask His Royal Highness Prince Liang for permission. He should explain that the terrain here is complex and that he suspects rebel activity to the north. He should lead his troops to Fengyang Plain to the north and set up camp. That way, if anything were to happen to Jianwei, you would be able to offer assistance."

"But the problem is, if you do that, I'm afraid your relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Liang will become strained. What will you do next? Have you thought of a plan?"

Liu Xian replied, "You can do it once or twice, but not three times. If the King of Liang fails twice and still continues to frame someone, how can he be called a commander? Even if he refuses to give up, his methods will certainly not be so dishonorable."

"Besides, I'm not Jianwei." Liu Xian smiled and whispered to Li Sheng, "I have many friends in Luoyang. King Liang saved my life because of this. How could he not consider this now?"

Li Sheng's words dawned on him. While Zhou Chu was Liu Xian's idealized version of himself, Liu Xian had long since surpassed his former self. He understood that personal nobility could not outweigh the voice of the masses. He wasn't trying to eliminate the evil in people's hearts, but rather to ignite the fire that the world longed for.

Only the flame that naturally rises from the human heart can dispel darkness.

Just as the starting point of Liu Xian's attempt to rescue this time was not to confront King Liang, but to save the military morale that was about to collapse in the near future.

Following Li Sheng's advice, Liu Xian submitted a petition to Sima Rong, volunteering to garrison at Fengyangyuan, northwest of Haozhi, to guard against possible rebel raids. Sima Rong naturally accepted the offer of a helping hand and even allocated additional food and fodder to Liu Xian.

So on the day before the Battle of Liumo, Liu Xian led his troops to Fengyangyuan.

Fengyang was originally a plain plateau near the Jing River, but Liu Xian was attracted by its location, about forty miles from Haozhi and twenty miles from Liumo.

Once something happens in Liumo, Liu Xian can use the excuse of urgency and no need to report in a hurry to make some temporary decisions on his own.

In order to ensure that the procedure was impeccable, he did not disclose his next plan to the soldiers, but sent scouts to the surrounding areas as he had promised King Liang in advance.

That was enough. When the Battle of Liumo officially began, Liu Xian received the news within just two quarters of an hour:
"General Jianwei led his army to attack Liumo, and the battle was fierce."

It wasn't the right time to send troops. Amidst the thick fog, the rebels' dispositions in Liumo were unclear, and Zhou Chu's army hadn't yet shown any signs of weakness. Liu Xianran ordered his soldiers to prepare a meal, and after they had eaten, they would see how the situation developed.

An hour later, Liu Xian received news again, but it was not just from Zhou Chujun:
"General Jianwei had originally gained the upper hand. But for some unknown reason, Lu Changshi's troops, who had been following behind General Jianwei as support, suddenly broke away and retreated ten miles. The sound of horse hooves was heard again from the west, suggesting that reinforcements from the rebels were approaching."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian knew that the situation was somewhat critical, but this was still within his expectations. The important thing was what the rebels planned to do next.

This time, he ordered Sun Xi to investigate personally, and specifically instructed him, "Make sure to find out if there are any rebel reinforcements, how many people there are, who their generals are, and where they are located."

Another hour passed, and Sun Xi brought back a prisoner. After torture, he finally got the accurate information:
"The main force of the rebels, with approximately 40,000 reinforcements, surrounded the Jianwei army from all sides. Although General Jianwei fought hard, he was ultimately defeated. To the east, it seems, was the Qiang general Yao Yizhong; to the west, the Di general Pu Guang; to the north, the Tiele Chi Nukou; and to the south, the false emperor Qi Wannian."

This sentence delighted Liu Xian, and he asked, "How can we tell where the false emperor Qi Wannian is?"

The captive replied, "Lord Wannian uses a red crow as his flag. This is the only flag in the entire army. Lord Wannian must be under that flag."

At this point, Liu Xian finally felt that the time was ripe. He smiled at Xue Xing and the others and said:

"Qi Wannian is so arrogant! He's sitting in the south, just trying to show off his courage and treating our army like nothing! If I don't go and fight him, he'll really become more arrogant!"

After saying this, he immediately summoned the entire army and mobilized them in public:

"Gentlemen, we've learned that just as General Jianwei was attacking Liumo, the bandit army was facing a setback, and the bandit leader Qi Wannian personally led his troops to offer assistance. This is truly a serious matter! According to our scouts, the Jianwei army is on the brink of collapse. Without help, it will be destroyed immediately!"

"Logically, the main force should have been sent forward to reinforce us, but the enemy army has cut off our retreat, severing contact between the two armies. King Liang hasn't made any moves yet, and only our army has learned the news. I've sent messengers to deliver the message, but it's probably too late to wait for the main force to arrive."

"The situation is critical now, so we must act swiftly! I intend to lead you all to break the siege first. As long as we can hold them back for a while, once King Liang's main force arrives, the enemy army will be defeated!"

This mobilization was perfectly reasonable. When a friendly army is in trouble, comrades should aid each other. Liu Xian, however, claimed that the rebels had caught the Jianwei army off guard, not that Sima Rong had abandoned them. Therefore, upon receiving the news, Sima Rong would undoubtedly have sent reinforcements. It was simply that time was of the essence, forcing Liu Xian to rush to the rescue.

The soldiers heard this and, without suspecting anything, thought their commander was being magnanimous. They all shouted, "Follow the Lord's order! Kill the bandits!"

So the whole army started to advance towards Liumo with great fanfare.

Although time was short, Liu Xian remained calm. He believed Zhou Chu could hold out until at least dusk, so he didn't take the quickest route east via Douhuichuan. Instead, he took a detour, heading south from Ganhuichuan, then westwards to Bailianchuan, reaching Rutai Slope. This point was right between the Jin armies of Liumo and Haozhi. Liu Xian could almost hear the distant cries of fighting at Liumo, but he didn't stop there. He continued westward until he reached Liushuyuan, where he could see the three peaks of Rutai in the distance, and finally made a brief stop.

This was a forced march. After another hour, the Northern Army circled the Liumo battlefield for a full thirty-five miles and finally arrived behind the rebels.

The Northern Army was exhausted. Liu Xian had them drink some water and then leisurely eat their rations. He then unfurled his Anle Eight-Character Banner, pointed eastward, and shouted, "My lords, follow me and attack!"

The Jin army actually appeared to the west of the Hu people, which was something that all the besieged rebel soldiers had never expected.

When the military report reached Qi Wannian, he was in complete disbelief. He frowned and said, "Zhou Chu will have reinforcements? That's impossible! I have spies planted in the Jin army and have already received the news. Sima Rong sent people to assassinate him, and this time he is clearly sending him to die!"

"Besides, I have spies stationed in Haozhi today, ready to report any signs of trouble. Since there's been no news, it means the Jin army hasn't made any moves. How could this be false?"

But facts speak louder than words. Shortly after he received the military report, Liu Xian's army appeared on the western skyline.

This was actually a coincidence. Although Qi Wannian had spies in Haozhi County, he did not take into account Liu Xian's troops in the northwest and did not deploy spies along the central road.

This was perfectly normal. After all, Liu Xian had told Sima Rong that they were wary of a surprise attack from the northwest, but Qi Wannian had no such intentions and, naturally, hadn't taken him into account. Unexpectedly, Liu Xian had deceived Sima Rong, and consequently, Qi Wannian, who was gathering intelligence. A fluke of mishaps created a gap in the rebels' position at Rutai Slope, allowing Liu Xian to slip through unnoticed.

Now that the Jin army had unexpectedly appeared to the west of the rebels, almost all the rebels felt somewhat bewildered. They could not understand the situation and could only speculate without any reason:

"Could it be that the Jin people sent a surprise attack on Rufeng?"

"Could it be that the Jin people have sent reinforcements and Meiyang has fallen?"

"How did the Jin people appear? Is there a traitor in our army?"

These thoughts were irrepressible, because when something didn't make sense, people had to speculate without common sense, which led to a breakdown in morale. They didn't even know how many troops were in the army emerging from behind. In times like these, people always subconsciously overestimated the enemy.

In the northern army, the vanguard at this time was Liu Yi's troops under Zhang Guang.

The Jianwei army was fighting hard. After Liu Yi saw this situation, he followed Zhang Guang's instructions and did not join the battle. Instead, he shouted loudly and galloped behind the Hu people.

Though there were only five hundred of them, they were all fine horses. The knights were masters of the army. When they raised their halberds and roared to the heavens, they were sure to kill many.

"Turn around! The Jin people are coming!"

When some of the Hu people turned around and took up defense, Liu Yi and other knights were no longer there.

They raced back and forth across the battlefield like a whirlwind. To the rebels, the Jin cavalry didn't seem to be just one unit, but rather a continuous stream of troops. Since the Jin reinforcements were attacking from behind, it was difficult for the rebels to continue their offensive tactics.

At this time, Qi Wannian climbed up the west plateau to observe the situation.

Although Liu Yi's troops were only a small advance force, it could be seen that there were still many Jin troops in the rear who were continuously being deployed to the battlefield, while his own army had already shown signs of instability.

"Just give me another hour!"

Qi Wannian sighed inwardly, unwillingly. If the current situation continued, he could completely wipe out Zhou Chu's Jianwei Army in just an hour. But by then, the Northern Army was already approaching.

But he was not one to drag his feet. Since he did not know the enemy's situation, he should have withdrawn immediately for the sake of caution. If he encountered an internal and external attack from Zhou Chu and the reinforcements from the Jin army, he might have suffered an unprecedented defeat.

"Our troops will gather further north of Liumo and retreat towards Baicaopao. Juquzha and Yao Yizhong in the east will withdraw first, while Puguang and Li Dang's troops in the west will retreat later. I will personally cover the rear. The order must not be disrupted!"

Qi Wannian's order reached Yao Yizhong in the east. Yao Yizhong had already initially broken through the Jianwei Army's second line of defense. He said with great difficulty:

"We were about to attack Dao Zhouchu's main camp, why are you retreating?"

When the besieged Jianwei Army saw the reinforcements from the west, they immediately began to shout:

"Our main force has arrived! We are about to turn defeat into victory!"

They all raised their arms and shouted. They had been fighting with gritted teeth before, but now that they had hope, they immediately became energetic again and even thought about turning from defense to offense.

Zhou Chu also received the report. Like Qi Wannian, he was incredulous and could not help but mutter to himself:
"What exactly is going on?"

The ecstasy of survival still swept through his body and mind, and he began to make the next arrangements:
"Send a message to Chen Kang and Han Jian, launch an offensive to the west and crush the bandits! Turn their retreat into a rout!"

Unfortunately, after nearly four hours of bloody fighting, they were too weakened. Although they still assembled a small offensive, it ultimately failed to cause enough panic as hoped. Overall, the rebels were still evacuating in an orderly manner.

As the sun set, a massive, warm sun hung over the mountains and forests. The clouds, the dust, the weapons, the corpses, the blood, the withered grass—all took on the same fiery red hue. After chasing the retreating rebels for a while, the Northern Army returned to the heavily wounded Jianwei Army. Many Northern soldiers belatedly realized that there were no reinforcements from King Liang on the vast battlefield; they were the only ones charging into the fray.

Zhou Chu sat on a cold, hard grey stone, panting. The pain in his body threatened to make him faint at any moment, and death seemed to be breathing in his ear. But he still insisted on not falling down, just wanting to see who would come to rescue him.

When Liu Xian came galloping over on horseback, he was very surprised, then laughed and said, "The disciple surpasses the master, it really is the latecomer who surpasses the master!"

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(End of this chapter)