Jinting Han people

On the other side, at the same time that Meng Guan was discussing with Liu Xian, the rebel scouts also rushed back to Wugong and informed Qi Wannian of the latest news of the arrival of the Jin army.

This was Qi Wannian's consistent strategy. He always focused on the role of intelligence in battle. Only by accurately knowing the enemy's movements and positions could he divine their intentions and make targeted deployments. This was his secret to constant victory. Therefore, ever since Meng Guan's army passed through Tongguan, the rebel scouts immediately began following and observing, gaining considerable intelligence.

"The Jin army's reinforcements only have 20,000 to 30,000 men?"

After receiving the scout's affirmative answer, Qi Wannian was quite surprised.

Although he suffered a setback in the Battle of Niyang last year, resulting in significant losses, the Jin army in Guanzhong suffered even greater losses throughout the year. Qi Wannian expected the Jin Dynasty to send at least 50,000 troops to support him, as otherwise, he would have no advantage. Therefore, since last year's rest period, he had been preparing for war based on a large-scale confrontation.

The Battle of Niyang gave Qi Wannian considerable inspiration. Since he couldn't conquer such a fortified city, what if he threw the siege back onto the Jin army? If the Jin army suffered heavy losses and was in a dilemma, wouldn't a counterattack by his own side also be a great victory?

With this in mind, Qi Wannian spent the year renovating Wugong City, layer by layer, creating a near-perfect replica of Niyang City based on his own memories. He retained only a 10,000-man contingent within the city, dispersing the rest of the troops throughout their jurisdiction to find food. This way, he could conserve food and lure the Jin army into attacking, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

But the current situation is that the number of reinforcements sent by the Jin army is less than half of what he expected, which makes Qi Wannian suspicious.

The scout emphasized to him, "Your Majesty, although the Jin army is small, their momentum is extraordinary. Whether it's armor, weapons, or horses, their level of sophistication is unprecedented. I'm afraid they are an unprecedentedly powerful enemy. Your Majesty, please do not take them lightly."

Upon hearing this, Qi Wannian's expression immediately turned serious. He nodded slightly to the scout and said affirmatively, "I understand."

"It seems the Jin people have changed their mindset. I originally thought they were still counting on numbers and a quick victory. Now it seems they're trying to stall for time."

At this time, Qi Gui, Duo Lancha, Ju Qu Mo Kang and other subordinates were standing nearby. Some of them did not understand the reason and asked, "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"

Qi Wannian closed his eyes and explained while thinking about countermeasures:

"This can be compared to an old story. Back then, Sima Yi led his elite troops on an expedition to Liaodong and confronted Gongsun Yuan. His generals volunteered to fight, but Sima Yi stopped them."

Someone asked Sima Yi, "Marshal, when you attacked Shangyong before, you divided your troops into eight groups and attacked fiercely day and night. After a hard battle of half a month, you captured the fortified city and pacified Mengda. Why are you so slow this time, despite coming so far? What's the reason?"

"Sima Yi replied, 'Back then, Meng Da had a small army but only a year's worth of food. We have four times as many soldiers as Meng Da, but only enough for a month's supply. With a month's supply to counter a year's supply, how could we not launch a fierce attack? Furthermore, we have more than four times as many soldiers as Meng Da, so even if more than half of them were killed or wounded, we could still withstand it. Conversely, in this attack on Liaodong, the enemy has more soldiers and we have fewer, and they have less food than we do. Furthermore, we are experiencing heavy rain, so a quick victory is impossible. We don't worry about the enemy attacking, but we do worry about them escaping. Therefore, it would be better to wait until the enemy's food and fodder are exhausted, and then defeat them in one fell swoop!'"

"Last year's famine forced our army to mobilize nearly 200,000 men from various tribes, consuming a huge amount of food and fodder. This year, we have to endure the hardship so that our people can save some. If we start another war, the food and fodder consumption will be astronomical again."

"Clearly, this newly arrived Jin marshal intends to emulate Sima Yi's strategy. He intends to use a small number of elite troops to tie down our army, and then, when our army's rations are depleted and they can no longer defend the camp, he will seize the opportunity to pursue us. I have to say, this idea is quite astute."

Qi Wannian's analysis was both factually accurate and based on precedent. Everyone listening was convinced, yet they couldn't help but feel a surge of fear about the Jin people's strategy. They asked, "Indeed, then, what countermeasures does Your Majesty have?"

Qi Wannian slowly opened his eyes, revealing a confident smile. He spoke in an unquestionable tone, "Whatever his intentions, I have a fortified city here. Only a few thousand men are needed to render him helpless. Furthermore, we can retreat back to Qinzhou and set up an ambush along the way. Is it possible he won't pursue us? However, the enemy hasn't arrived yet, so we need to formulate our strategy based on their next move."

Qi Wannian didn't actually mean what he said. But he knew that as a leader, he absolutely couldn't show weakness in front of his people. Even in a pessimistic situation, he had to give his subordinates a false sense of optimism. Otherwise, he couldn't win their support. Therefore, the truth he said was often far from the real truth.

If Meng Guan truly followed this plan, Qi Wannian knew all his previous preparations would be wasted. If the enemy had no intention of attacking the city, what good would a strong fortress do? He couldn't help but recall Liu Xian's assessment of Meng Guan, realizing that he was a formidable opponent and victory would be no easy task.

But what tactics should be used to win? Qi Wannian didn't discuss the matter in the hall because he was unsure. He knew that, as it stood, all the deceptive tactics he had used in the past would be ineffective against Meng Guan, and he couldn't count on any luck.

If they wanted to defeat the enemy, they could no longer follow the old ways of thinking. Instead, they should adopt bolder and more imaginative plans to avoid the dilemma of wasting food and grass. But Qi Wannian had no idea how to do it.

Fortunately, judging from the enemy's current movements, we still have time to make corresponding adjustments.

Qi Wannian was indeed no ordinary man. After five or six days of intense contemplation, he actually came up with a new strategy:

Since the other party wants to see us waste our food and supplies, why don't we send our troops out and take food from the enemy?
Although Guanzhong was practically a wasteland, completely dependent on Guandong for support, Hedong was still wide open. Why not detach tens of thousands of troops, cross the river, march into Hedong, and directly plunder food and fodder in Hedong, Pingyang, and other places? This would not only solve the food and fodder problem, but also create more refugees for the Jin Dynasty, creating tremendous military pressure.

If the Jin army did not return to reinforce, the troops would continue their advance, entering Shangdang from Hedong and then threatening Henei, while also inciting the Hu people in Bingzhou to revolt. By then, the front would be only a hundred miles from Luoyang. Could the court in Luoyang remain passive? This would become a story of Wei siege to save Zhao. Even if Meng Guan had planned well, the emperor's order would leave him with only two options: either be forced to storm his own fortified city or return to Luoyang. However, this action was too risky, almost completely abandoning the advantageous terrain. There was no telling how many unexpected events would arise, and even if the journey was thousands of miles long, countless soldiers would have died along the way.

But Qi Wannian, after careful consideration, resolutely decided to proceed. Since ancient times, achieving anything truly significant has always involved death. Death is a common occurrence, but only when something is ultimately accomplished does death acquire unique value. If nothing is accomplished, then all the blood shed in the past would have been truly shed in vain.

So this time, Qi Wannian was ready to die if he failed, and planned to personally lead the expedition to Hedong.

In the following days, Qi Wannian ordered his troops to assemble at Wugong, announcing his intention to gather 140,000 troops for a decisive battle with the Jin army in mid-July. In reality, however, no one, including the rebels, anticipated Qi Wannian's absurd plan. Once the army had assembled, he would lead a massive force of 70,000, cross Guanzhong, and attack Hedong.

By then, no one could imagine how much effect this desperate strategy would have.

But just as he was waiting for the various troops to gather, no one expected that the Jin army would take action first.

It was the Jiawu day of the seventh month. Wugong had gathered nearly 90,000 troops, and various units were busy setting up camps inside and outside the city of Wugong. However, this still could not accommodate all the soldiers, so the remaining soldiers set up camp along the north bank of the Wei River, stretching for nearly 30 miles.

The weather was good, and the harvest had just begun. Even with the war imminent, the Hu people were in high spirits. Some even flocked to the southern banks of the Wei River to hunt at this crucial juncture. Since Guanzhong was sparsely populated, the mountains and forests of Weinan were home to more tigers. These hunters boasted to one another, saying, "Whoever could hunt a tiger in the mountains was a true warrior."

But tigers were always rare, and no matter how much the Hu people competed in bravery, only a few managed to kill one. Those hunters who failed to capture a tiger would roast skinned foxes and rabbits over open fires in the mountains and forests, discarding the bones on the grass. Then, they would wrap themselves in sheepskins and, taking advantage of the cool autumn breeze and the lingering summer heat, many would drift off to sleep.

In the silent night, moonless, the only sounds should have been the chirping of cicadas and the crackling of burning branches. But suddenly, from nowhere, some people woke up, looking around. They found nothing unusual around them; even the darkness was frozen. This puzzled them. Could it be an illusion? Half-convinced, they lay down again, resting their heads on pillows made of piled clothes. Soon, they understood what was wrong.

The ground trembled faintly. Though the initial sound was imperceptible, like ripples, it soon became waves, then ripples, and finally, a massive surge! The fallen leaves and pebbles on the ground shook against each other, creating a frictional sound that was hard to ignore. All of this indicated that a considerable cavalry force was galloping around them!

When a faint flame lit up the distant forest path, the barbarians hurriedly took refuge in the trees. Soon, the flames transformed into fiery snakes, then into a majestic dragon. A thousand-man cavalry swarmed through the forest like a dragon entering a river. Each of these knights was equipped with three majestic horses: one for the knight himself, a spare, and a third carrying armor. The horses were powerful, and the knights were imposing and towering, like iron towers in the darkness of the fire.

They could see the Hu people fleeing around them, but they paid them no heed. Their silent faces, hidden in the moonlight, they continued their march westward without stopping. Those watching from the forests and mountains heard what seemed to be thunder. They had never seen such a formidable cavalry, not even Qi Wannian's meticulously trained Red Crow Army could match it. Encountering such a force at night was like sleepwalking into the sixth heaven of Buddhist legends, witnessing the celestial demon's march with their own eyes.

After the cavalry had disappeared in the darkness for a long time, the Hu people finally woke up from their dream and realized:
This can't be our army, it must be the Jin cavalry!
Whose team is this, anyway? Where are they going?
Without time to think, they instinctively knew something big was about to happen. Witnessing this cavalry, the Hu people felt a sense of dread, a sense of near-death experience, and hurriedly approached the north bank, hoping their superiors would be informed of the Jin attack as soon as possible.

The Jin cavalry galloping towards Weinan was none other than Meng Guan's Shanggu Camp.

As the de facto commander-in-chief of the Jin army, Meng Guan personally led the 3,000-strong Shanggu Camp and set out from Chang'an in the evening. In just six hours, they had marched over 200 miles. This exaggerated marching speed was beyond everyone's military common sense. In the past two hundred years, only the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry created by Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, could achieve this.

Under these circumstances, they charged recklessly along the south bank, passing directly past the heavily guarded Wugong City and, like an arrow from a bow, swiftly shooting into Fufeng County. At dawn, Meng Guan extinguished his torch and, with his guide, surveyed the surroundings. Based on the Green Eyebrow Lake to the south, he confirmed that they had reached directly south of Mei County. Here, a rare shallow ford lay, the Wei River only four feet deep, barely reaching a horse's belly.

This was exactly where Meng Guan wanted to be. He led the cavalry on foot across the Wei River without breaking a sweat. Directly in front of them lay the defenseless, open-gate city of Mei County.

After the troops assembled, Meng Guan gave an order and three thousand knights put on iron armor. The sound of horses' hooves, which had rested for a while, became as loud as thunder again.

At this time, there were only about 2,000 Hu soldiers in Mei County, and the remaining 4,000 to 5,000 Hu people were no match for the Shanggu camp. Their resistance was like a little frost encountering a blazing flame, which easily turned into a wisp of cold smoke and then disappeared.

It was a hearty massacre. After conquering Mei County, Meng Guan did not defend the city, but instead chased the fleeing civilians like prey. The Hu people subconsciously sought shelter in the fortifications, which turned out to be their best guide. Wherever they fled, the Shanggu camp pursued them. In one day, they conquered three fortifications and set them all on fire.

By the time Qi Wannian's army reacted and rushed to the battlefield, they saw only a ruin shrouded in smoke and piled with corpses and remains. In the very center of the battlefield, there was even a Jingguan made of human heads. The faces on the Jingguan seemed to be mocking them mercilessly.

What was even more ironic was that the army did not leave quickly, but instead openly set up camp at Chenmayuan, north of Mei County. When they set out, they only brought three days' worth of dry food, but the food and fodder they had looted was enough to sustain them for two months.

The rebels were so confused by this that they dared not advance to fight them, and watched them build their camp. Only then did Meng Guan leisurely raise the banners of General Ji Nu and the Shanggu Camp, openly announcing their identities to the Hu people.

It was from this moment that the world truly knew the name of the Shanggu County Duke and the Shanggu Iron Cavalry. (End of this chapter)