Jinting Han people

Chapter 331 A little test
In the intercalary month of the second year of Yongkang, after learning of the usurpation and ascension to the throne by Zhao King Sima Lun, Qi King Sima Jiong hastily mustered his troops and issued a proclamation in Xuchang to punish Zhao, which was then circulated throughout the land and sent east and west. The proclamation reads:
"Heavenly calamity befell the Jin dynasty, and chaos followed one after another. Sima Lun, the King of Zhao, was of the nature of a jackal and the heart of a beast, utterly wicked and rebellious, and usurped the throne. The people suffered the cruelty of being reduced to ashes, and the royal family grieved the loss of millet. Without the prosperity of Shao Kang, who could have offered sacrifices to the Xia dynasty? Without the rise of King Xuan, who could have restored the old order?"

“Sun Xiu, a follower of the sedition, wielded power and sold official titles and rare stones, causing weeds to grow in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and silence public opinion; the bronze camel wept blood, and the scholar's cap was left to gather dust. I often think of the loyal and obedient men, who cherished benevolence and righteousness, who bravely endured death to escape their cruelty. They harbored thoughts of betrayal, yet did not know which path to take.”

"Your humble servant, General Qi Jiong, the grandson of Emperor Jing and the son of King Xian of Qi, has, without regard to his virtue or ability, proclaimed to the people of the world that, with my incompetence, I have raised the banner of righteousness to punish these two traitors!"

"Today, Xuchang boasts an army of 300,000, their banners reaching the clouds and their formations gleaming in the sun. They dare to employ the strategies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, and follow the tactics of Shang Fu. Every soldier is bold and fearless, their thoughts brimming with energy. With such a force, their battle will be like a raging fire burning autumn reeds, or a swift gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves!"

"May all righteous men of the nine provinces gather their remaining courage, like rivers flowing into the sea, to rise together and sweep away evil. Do not become accomplices of tyrants, aiding and abetting cruelty! Our oath is as clear as the bright sun!"

Once the proclamation was issued, people from all over the country responded. People gathered in Henan and Hebei, and news spread quickly from place to place. Like a sudden storm, within a month, the force to attack Zhao had reached more than 400,000 and was still growing.

At this time, Sima Lun had barely warmed his seat on the throne when he had to worry about how to deal with the massive army that was attacking Zhao.

However, among the Zhao King's followers, the most desperate person was not Sima Lun and Sun Xiu in Luoyang, but Cui Yuan, the Zhao State Chancellor who remained in Zhao.

Since the death of the King of Huainan, he had not found it difficult to discover that Ye City to the south, Changshan to the north, and Taiyuan to the west were all openly and extensively training troops. Without much investigation, he already knew the purpose of these people—they must be rebelling.

But what could he do? By birth, he belonged to the Cui clan of Qinghe, a family with a marriage alliance with the King of Zhao—their ties were inextricable. If he fled, abandoning a large state with 80,000 households to the rebels, Sun Xiu would never forgive him. His only chance was to conscript militia to defend the country and wait for the situation to change. If he could hold out until Sun Xiu quelled the rebellion, perhaps he could even be rewarded with a county marquisate or even a dukedom for his service!

But is that even possible? Even Cui Yuan himself didn't quite believe it.

Upon learning that the Changshan army was marching south, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how things unfolded, he had no choice but to leave his fate to fate.

Cui Yuan's first action was to gather all the country's military forces in the capital city of Fangzi. In terms of national strength, Zhao's population was almost twice that of Changshan, but in terms of military strength, Cui Yuan had no experience in training troops. After a hasty reorganization over half a year, he had only managed to produce 22,000 new soldiers. Fortunately, the city's treasury was well-stocked, with enough provisions to sustain these soldiers for two years, and there were also enough arrows for defense.

Then, he sent messengers to report the emergency to the court. He did not expect the court to send reinforcements; he simply hoped that the new emperor would know of his loyalty.

Then he began to repair the city day and night, waiting for the Changshan army to arrive.

When Sima Yi and Liu Xian led their army to the city, Liu Xian was making arrangements on the outskirts of the city. Seeing the clusters of houses and shady trees on the outskirts, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "This Cui Yuan really doesn't know anything about military affairs! To defend a city, the first thing is to fortify the walls and clear the fields, but he hasn't even done the most basic thing of demolishing houses. Has he lost his mind?"

Relocating civilians to defend a city is common military practice. After all, houses are readily available building materials. The defenders can dismantle civilian houses and quickly build fortifications. If the defenders don't dismantle them and leave the houses for the attackers, it will also greatly shorten the time needed to build siege equipment. For the civilians, these measures are undoubtedly cruel, but for the commanders of the war, they are necessary means to achieve victory.

Seeing this, Liu Hong deeply agreed, commenting, "Defending Fangzi County was a disastrous move. If he had moved his troops to Yuanshi County, with the Taihang Mountains to the west, he could have defended it from the mountains; if he had stationed his troops in Bairen County, surrounded by the Zhi River to the north, he could have defended it from the water. But he chose Fangzi County, which is surrounded by plains on all sides, with almost no natural defenses. How could it withstand a fierce attack?"

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi couldn't help but laugh and said, "So, you two are already absolutely certain that you've captured the city?"

Liu Xian nodded and said, "Your Highness, there is actually a very simple way to break through the city."

Sima Yi asked curiously, "Oh? Tell me, Your Excellency."

Liu Xian pointed to the fields to his left and right and said, "Before heading south, I sent scouts to investigate. Most of the new soldiers in Zhao were conscripted locally from Fangzi County. Although there are many guards in the city, their families mostly remain in the countryside."

"As the saying goes, 'You can take away the commander of an army, but you can't take away the will of a common man.' The essence of war is to win hearts and minds. We might as well search for family members in the surrounding villages and have them come to the city to persuade the soldiers to surrender. When the soldiers see that their families are separated from the city, their morale will surely collapse. Then you can explain the consequences to them, appeal to their sense of righteousness, pardon the soldiers, and have them open the city gates. In this way, we can take the city without losing a single soldier."

After saying that, Sima Yi immediately clapped his hands and said, "What a brilliant psychological tactic! Shall we do it now?"

Unexpectedly, Liu Xian shook his head and said, "Your Highness, I suggest you do not do this."

This puzzled Sima Yi. Why would someone advise against using a strategy that was guaranteed to win?
Liu Hong, stroking his beard, chuckled, "It seems Huai Chong intends to seize this opportunity to continue training his troops!"

This was exactly what Liu Xian was thinking. He said to Sima Yi, "Your Highness, although we have been training the troops for a long time, training is just training, and it is not the real battlefield. No matter how incompetent Cui Yuan is, he is still a human being. It is good to let the new recruits see blood and know that war is not child's play. In the future, when they encounter strong enemies, they will not be completely inexperienced."

Sima Yi, after listening, also found it reasonable and said, "Then let us do as the Prefect says!"

Under Liu Xian's arrangement, the 25th Army of Changshan, excluding its own personal guards, was divided into three parts, which began to encircle Fangzicheng from the east, north, and south. Shangguan Si was in charge of the south, Liu You of the north, and Liu Xian himself of the east. Each part was further divided into three shifts: one to set up camp, one to defend, and one to rest. This rotation ensured the smooth progress of the encirclement.

Just as Liu Xian had said before, because Cui Yuan hadn't demolished the houses outside the city, the camp could be built using local materials, making the construction incredibly fast. When night fell and the starlight disappeared again, a continuous stretch of camps appeared beneath the city, surrounding it on three sides.

Liu Xian did not launch a full-scale attack from all sides for two main reasons: first, he adhered to the principle of surrounding three sides while leaving one open, allowing the soldiers inside the city a chance to escape and thus preventing them from engaging in a desperate battle; second, he considered that his forces did not possess an overwhelming advantage, and prolonging the battle line would be disadvantageous. Therefore, Liu Xian did not consider a decisive battle.

However, the garrison inside the city clearly hadn't considered all that; they were even somewhat at a loss. These new recruits practically watched as the soldiers demolished civilian houses below the city walls, yet dared not send troops out to harass them. They only fired a few arrows, barely enough to kill anyone, when the soldiers reached the edge of the city.

The next day, Liu Xian allowed his soldiers to rest briefly, and in the afternoon they began filling in the trenches and building earthen mounds. It was only then that Cui Yuan sensed something was amiss. After much deliberation, he finally opened the city gates at dusk and sent out a battalion of infantry armed with broadswords to attempt a fierce attack.

However, it was unclear what orders were given within the city, as the leading officer's fighting spirit was not resolute. Liu Xian had deployed cavalry defenses near the earthen mound, and upon seeing anyone venturing forward, they immediately retaliated with a hail of arrows. After only a quarter of an hour, the enemy, unable to withstand the prolonged fighting, hastily abandoned dozens of corpses and retreated back into the city.

This situation repeated itself several times, and each time the Changshan army dealt with it head-on. The defenders' only truly effective means of resistance was firing from the top of the wall at the earthen mounds below. However, the lethality of such firing was ultimately limited. As long as the attacking side maintained proper defenses, even if the earth mounds were piled up more slowly, they would still grow upwards at a visible rate.

By the third sunrise, the Changshan army had successfully erected thirty earthen mounds at the foot of the city wall. The mounds were no more than three feet away from the houses and city walls, making them almost leapfroggable.

Liu Xian then said to Sima Yi, "Your Highness, it is time to launch a general offensive."

Sima Yi was somewhat surprised and asked, "So fast? Today is only the third day of the siege!"

Liu Xian laughed and said, "Three days is already too long to deal with this kind of thing. Now that morale is high, it's the perfect time to press on. If we drag it out any longer, it will just increase casualties for nothing."

At noon that day, Liu Xian ordered the entire army to eat their fill. At the banquet, he first gathered all the officers together and instructed them:
"Half an hour after lunch, we will launch the final assault. As soon as the drums and bugles sound, I will see your men standing on the hilltop."

"The enemy is now surrounded on three sides and is like a frightened bird. Do not be afraid of those who are guarding the city. The first person to climb the city wall will be rewarded handsomely by His Highness!"

"But do not be bloodthirsty, do not covet heads, do not think of beheading for credit, and delay the time. There will be people in the rear to count the cases. If the enemy surrenders and lays down their weapons, spare their lives and inform the people in the city that they will not be killed if they disarm."

"If anyone takes advantage of this opportunity to rob or commit other illegal acts, I will deal with them according to military law! Remember, we are here as a righteous army, not some bandits!"

After giving them a thorough reorganization, he specifically selected the Victorious Crossbow Battalion, took out two portraits from his pocket, and pointed them out to Linghu Sheng and the others who were in charge:

“I see that the defenses are weakest in the southeast corner of the city. After you attack the earthen mound here, try to create a breach. Once the situation stabilizes, you can muster your remaining strength and charge into the city. Use these two portraits to find Fang Ziling and Zhao Guoxiang. Capture these two men, and you will have the greatest credit for this battle.”

This was Liu Xian's entire arrangement. Duke Liu Hong of Xuancheng watched the whole process from the sidelines. After it was all over, he remarked, "Your arrangements are not quite what I expected."

Liu Xian couldn't help but feel a little puzzled and asked, "Lord Xuancheng, could it be that my arrangements were not proper?"

“There are some points that can be discussed,” Liu Hongfeng said with a light smile. “For example, to cover up the fierce attack on the southeast corner, you could launch a feint attack on the northeast corner. Or, you could take advantage of the situation when you are scaling the city walls to set fire to the city and cause a riot. But in general, these are all minor details and not important.”

"What I mean by 'different' is that you are not the same person I think of."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian chuckled slightly and joked, "Could it be that in the eyes of the Duke of Xuancheng, I don't have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth?"

"Haha, of course that's not what I meant." Liu Hong was amused as well. He quickly calmed down and said, "I have studied your battle records. You have always been a leader who takes the lead and treats your soldiers like your own children. In every battle, you have repeatedly gone to the front line. In order to reduce casualties, you even took the initiative to duel with the enemy general, which left a deep impression on me."

“There are many generals like you on the battlefield, but you are only suitable to be a vanguard, not a commander-in-chief. That was my original thought.”

"Oh? Is there any difference between the two?"

Liu Hong patted his chest and said, "The missions of the vanguard are mostly a contest of fighting spirit. Therefore, in order to complete the mission, we must do everything we can to inspire the morale in our hearts and turn it into an impulse to destroy everything. Whoever has that spirit in their heart can crush the enemy and complete the mission."

"But as the commander-in-chief, one cannot act on emotion. The commander-in-chief is the courage of the army; as long as he is there, the army will be courageous. Therefore, the commander-in-chief cannot easily go to the battlefield and must calmly face casualties. He must only use cold rationality to think about problems and use the cruel and utilitarian approach to achieve victory."

"These two natures are in conflict, therefore, some people may be excellent generals, but they will never become outstanding commanders."

He turned his gaze back to Liu Xian and said in surprise, "You are an exception. Your arrangements these past few days have been so calm, which is quite different from what I expected."

Faced with this question, Liu Xian did not answer. He just thought to himself: Perhaps, once you have a goal, you can calmly go crazy.

In the afternoon, after the drums sounded outside the city, the battle cries from the three earthen mounds shook the heavens, and soldiers surged towards the city walls like waves. Liu Xian observed the battle from the watchtower, seeing only deafening shouts and a surging sea of ​​heads. The setbacks of the past few days had already weakened the resolve of the city's defenders. Now, facing the enemy head-on, their fear intensified. When the victorious crossbow battalion launched their planned assault, the defenders on the city walls were routed, like a cascading waterfall.

With the city walls breached, the western gates opened, and large numbers of soldiers fled into the mountains, but even more were captured. When the sun illuminated the distant western mountains, the fighting ended. Large numbers of prisoners threw down their weapons and surrendered. The officials within the city were also beheaded and their heads displayed publicly.

The Battle of Fangzi ended in just three days. After two days of tallying, it was found that over 17,000 men had been captured, and a million bushels of grain from the city's treasury had been seized. The Changshan army suffered fewer than a thousand casualties, with just over a hundred dead, making it almost a bloodless victory.

After this initial test, the Changshan army regrouped at Fangzi, released all the prisoners, and marched south to Zhongqiu, where they temporarily halted. Sima Yi, along with Liu Xian, Liu Hong, and others, broke away from the main army, leading only a small escort to Yecheng, a place where the powerful armies of Hebei were concentrated. They would determine their strategy for attacking Zhao there before launching a fierce assault on Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)