Jinting Han people

Mid-autumn arrived in the blink of an eye, the weather grew colder, and the leaves turned yellow. The sun had lost its summer heat, and only wispy clouds lingered in the azure sky. The clusters of osmanthus blossoms in the back garden, still in bloom, added a touch of fragrance to the crisp autumn breeze.

This should have been a very pleasant scene, but Liu Xian could hardly feel it. Having been idle at home for a long time, he even felt a bit depressed. He lowered his head and picked up a warm yellow osmanthus flower from the fallen leaves. Even though it was small and cute, he immediately crushed it into mud, threw it on the ground, and then sighed.

Hearing this, A'Luo, who was sitting in the corridor, looked up and asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Biji? Can't you sit still?"

Liu Xian turned to look at his wife. She was sitting upright, weaving and embroidering. He watched as A Luo focused intently, her slender white fingers still piercing the fabric frame with needles. Her demeanor was serene and composed, possessing an indescribable beauty. What had appeared yesterday as a jumble of colorful threads had transformed today into a gleaming golden lion or a vibrant and captivating peony.

Meanwhile, her daughter Lingyou sat obediently to the side, staring at her mother's actions with her bright black eyes.

Looking at his wife and daughter, Liu Xian's mood calmed down a bit. He sat back down next to his wife, rolled up his sleeves, and said in a self-deprecating tone, "I'm not young anymore. You only realize how fleeting youth is after you turn thirty!"

When Liu Xian was in his twenties, he always felt that he had a long future ahead of him. Although he made all sorts of grand vows, he always had a sense of confidence: his ambitions were certainly lofty, but he still had plenty of time, and he could withstand waiting and setbacks. As long as he could take one step at a time, he would eventually achieve his goals.

But now he's almost thirty-two. Years of military service have taken a toll on Liu Xian's body. He can clearly sense that his body is no longer as invincible as it was in his twenties, and his memory and energy have declined. Although with increasing experience he's becoming more adept at handling things, the thought of so many unfulfilled goals inevitably makes him worry about the passage of time.

Sun Ce had already occupied Jiangdong by the age of twenty-six, but now, he himself still lacks a real foothold and is forced to remain unemployed at home, wasting his time. Considering that during his time in retirement, the "Restoration Army" in Jingzhou, which appeared out of nowhere and claimed to be restoring the Han Dynasty, had conquered nearly thirty counties in less than six months, its influence now spanning five provinces: Jingzhou, Jiangzhou, Yangzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou.

If he continued to wait like this, what would become of the world? Thinking of this, Liu Xian was plagued by regret and self-doubt, which made it difficult for him to let go.

He couldn't help but sigh to his wife again, "Ah Luo, now I finally understand why my great-grandfather cried so bitterly when his thigh muscles started to grow back."

"why?"

"The less a person does, the less likely they are to achieve anything. If every day is spent achieving nothing, then a person is the greatest murderer of themselves."

As he said this, Liu Xian thought of Lu Ji again. Now, he felt that he could understand Lu Ji's actions to some extent.

A'Luo smiled, knowing her husband's heartache, and deliberately turned her head away, feigning anger, and said, "How could that be? For so many years, you've been so busy that you're never home. You finally get to spend a few months with us, mother and daughter, and you're this unhappy?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian chuckled. His mood finally calmed down, and he took his wife's hand and gently squeezed it, saying, "Hey, it's not a big deal. With you all here, I'm always happy."

"It's just that the thought of such a good year, with favorable weather and abundant harvests, and that I've done nothing, is unbearable."

With that, Liu Xian couldn't help but return to his study. All the other clutter had been moved out, and in the center of the room stood a huge table piled high with grains. This was how Liu Xian passed the time in his leisure. He used the table to represent the nine provinces, the grain piles to represent mountains and rivers, sketching out the geography of the world, and then used different colored logs to represent various forces. Whenever he felt anxious, he would go to his study to deduce and plan.

A person's contemplation can be lonely. Just as he was about to summon Li Sheng, Meng Tao came to report to him, saying, "Brother, General Wang Cui has arrived."

"Hongyuan is here?" Liu Xian was overjoyed and quickly said, "Quickly invite him over."

The recent developments in the war have been extremely intense. After the daily meetings, Wang Cui would stop by to see Liu Xian and inform him of the latest developments. This was actually Sima Yi's intention; although he couldn't rely on Liu Xian for the time being, he still wanted to know his latest opinions on the war situation.

Upon hearing Wang Cui's footsteps approaching, Liu Xian didn't even look up. He picked up the black wooden tablet in the center of the table and asked him, "How is the battle situation in Xiangyang now?"

Wang Cui took off his robe and threw it into a chest of clothes. He walked quickly to Liu Xian's side and said, "The battle report that arrived today says that the Jiangying bandits' siege of the city has been repelled again."

"They've been repelled again?" Liu Xian calculated for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Tao Kan is truly a great general! This is Li Chen's sixth attack on the city, and he's at his wit's end."

Since Li Chen's miraculous three consecutive victories in mid-July, the Restoration Army had been riding high. Benefiting from this, his naval forces under Shi Bing and Ma Wu traversed the Yangtze River unimpeded, and the prefects of Yangzhou and Jiangzhou surrendered to him. Everyone said that Li Chen's capture of the Jianghan region was a piece of cake, but no one expected that the main force of the Restoration Army, after its great victory, would fail to expand its gains.

All of this is thanks to Liu Hong, the governor of Jingzhou, and his general Tao Kan.

Before being ordered to march south, Liu Hong had a special discussion with Sima Yi about why such a large-scale turmoil had occurred in Jingzhou. Liu Hong analyzed the reasons and summarized them into three points. The first was that Sima Xin's tyrannical rule had aroused public resentment; the second was that the Han dynasty was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the banner of the Restoration Army was quite attractive; but the most important reason was the third: most of the gentry in the turbulent areas had previously bet on the King of Qi, and with the King of Qi's death, they suspected they would be purged, so they simply bet on the Restoration Army.

Therefore, Liu Hong proposed to Sima Yi that he be allowed to recruit a large number of former Qi King's troops in Jingzhou, which would be enough to shake the foundation of the restoration army. After arriving in Wancheng, the first thing Liu Hong did was to make good use of talents, promoting Tao Kan, Kuai Heng, Pi Chu and other former Qi King's troops and recruiting them into his ranks.

Although Liu Hong suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Wancheng due to his association with Zhao Xiang, the vanguard he appointed, including Tao Kan and Pi Chu, successfully entered Xiangyang City and did not accompany Sima Xin into battle.

After Sima Xin was defeated and killed, the Restoration Army did not pursue their victory but chose to rest in place for three days, which gave the Jin army an opportunity to organize a defense.

Tao Kan seized the opportunity, taking over the defense of Xiangyang City while simultaneously sending a message to Liu Hong. At the same time, he ordered the burning of all the boats in Xiangyang County to delay the Restoration Army's crossing of the river and attack on the city.

Seeing the ships on the Han River burned, Li Chen realized his mistake and hastily occupied Fancheng to requisition ships upstream and downstream. However, this added three more days to his campaign, causing him to miss the optimal opportunity to capture Xiangyang. Thus, from late July onwards, Xiangyang was plunged into a fierce and brutal siege. Xiangyang became the focus of the entire nation's attention. If Li Chen captured Xiangyang, he could use the Han and Mian rivers as natural defenses to seize control of the Jianghan region. At that point, he could advance to contend for Luoyang or retreat to control the south of the Yangtze River, achieving unparalleled power and becoming difficult for the court to control. Conversely, if the court held Xiangyang, Li Chen would be attacked from both sides, facing a dilemma. Over time, this would inevitably lead to the disintegration of his army and the collapse of his forces.

Liu Xian was naturally very concerned about this battle. After hearing the news that Li Chen's sixth attack on the city had failed, Liu Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought: "The saying goes, 'One should strike while the iron is hot,' but the momentum will weaken on the second attempt and be exhausted on the third.' For an army that rebels like this, the most important thing is to have the will to fight. When that will is strong, they can be invincible, but when that will is gone, they will have nothing left."

Now that Li Chen has suffered six consecutive defeats in his sieges, the balance of power has tipped in favor of the Jin army.

After discussing the details of the front lines with him for a while, Wang Cui asked directly, "Huai Chong, in your opinion, what will the Jiangying bandits do next?"

He was asking on behalf of Sima Yi, and Liu Xian understood. After thinking for a moment, he moved the black wood in his hand on the table and said, "Li Chen's wise move right now is to abandon the attack on Xiangyang and Nanyang, lead his army back to Anlu, block the royal army's attack here, and then wait for the troops of Shi Bing and others downstream to return to reinforce. In this way, he can rely on the river as a geographical advantage and may be able to win another battle."

Wang Cui then asked, "In your opinion, how should our army be mobilized?"

Liu Xian put down the black wood, picked up a piece of white wood, placed it between Jiangxia and Xiangyang, and said, "Since Li Chen's best course of action is to return to Jiangxia, the court should send a naval force to roam the Han River and prevent Li Chen from crossing eastward."

"Since Li Chen cannot return to Jiangxia, he only has two choices: either stay in Nanyang and face a pincer attack from the Duke of Xuancheng and Tao Kan, or head south to Jingling County and wait for reinforcements from downstream at the ferry crossing on the north bank of the Yangtze River. But no matter what he chooses, he will be short of supplies and will not have the advantage of terrain. Whether it is war or peace, the advantage is on our side."

"Excellent idea!" Wang Cui exclaimed in praise, "As expected of Huai Chong! I will report this plan to General Huo tomorrow!"

He then expressed his regret to Liu Xian, lamenting, "What a pity! If the court had sent you, Huai Chong, to quell the rebellion, the rebel army would probably have been suppressed in less than a month. There wouldn't be this great chaos now."

This struck a nerve with Liu Xian. He shook his head slightly and denied it, saying, "It's not as simple as you think. I can fight, but I'm not a god. How can I win in just one month?"

He then mocked himself, "Not to mention, given my status, if I were to quell those who are loyal to the Han Dynasty for the sake of the Jin Dynasty, how would future generations judge me? They would probably say I was disloyal and unfilial."

Wang Cui noticed his bad mood and changed the subject, saying, "Hey, let's not talk about that. The carp in the Luo River are plump right now. I'm planning to go to Yaoyuefang in the south of the city for a carp feast and a pot of 'Jianfengdao' tea. Huai Chong, are you coming?"

"Jianfengdao" is a famous yellow wine from Nanyang, known for its strong aftereffects. It is said that after drinking it, one will collapse upon being exposed to the wind, and after a night's sleep, all worries will be gone.

Liu Xian had never been a heavy drinker, but now he thought that since he was a powerless man with nothing important to do, what harm was there in getting drunk? So he agreed.

Before long, they arrived at Yaoyuefang. After the wine and dishes were served, the two drank together and chatted about everyday life.

Wang Cui recalled those days, shaking his head and saying, "Alas, if Emperor Wu had made up his mind back then and made Prince Chu the crown prince, there wouldn't be so much chaos now."

This sentiment wasn't just Wang Cui's; it reflected the feelings of most people in Luoyang. Since the fall of the Empress Dowager's faction, Sima Wei's ancestral hall had regained its popularity. Many worshippers at the Chu King's Temple said that among all the kings, the Chu King possessed both courage and virtue, making him the most suitable to be emperor. Even Heaven pitied him; otherwise, how could the wicked empress have fallen?

But Liu Xian didn't think so. After drinking three cups and getting drunk, he said some things he wouldn't normally say: "Your Highness is indeed a good person, but he may not be suitable to be emperor."

"Why?" Wang Cui asked, his tongue thick with slur.

"The emperor is truly a solitary figure. He can trust and appoint others, but he cannot rely on them; he can only rely on himself. This is because the emperor is the sovereign and father of all people under heaven. He must bear and resolve the discontent and malice of all people under heaven, which is unavoidable and cannot be undertaken by anyone but a magnanimous person."

"His Highness the King of Chu... is too naive, and not... open-minded enough."

When Liu Xian said this, he was thinking of Sima Jiong's composure in the face of defeat. In this world of broken trust, the discontent and malice of the people far surpassed that of previous eras. As things stood, no one could withstand such devastation. Could Sima Yi face it? Could he himself face it?
After saying this, Liu Xian and Wang Cui drank a few more cups of wine. They got into a good mood and decided to imitate the old custom of the Prince of Shiping's mansion by drinking wine and composing poems. But just then, they heard some noise on the street. They opened the window and looked out. Liu Xian saw armored soldiers hurrying through the street, looking anxious.

Just as he was wondering, an armored soldier rushed into Yaoyuefang, stomped up the stairs, and walked straight toward Wang Cui. He then clasped his hands in a salute and said, "General, the General of the Cavalry has ordered you to go to the Cavalry Mansion immediately!"

Wang Cui straightened up and asked, "What happened?"

The armored soldier bowed and replied, "General, the General was assassinated in the street! Fortunately, the assassin failed and was killed on the spot. The General has therefore summoned the princes and nobles to deal with this matter together."

These words struck Wang Cui and Liu Xian like a bolt from the blue. Upon hearing them, their drunkenness vanished instantly, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Xian immediately stood up and asked, "Is Your Highness truly alright?"

The armored soldier remained silent and did not answer. At this moment, another group of armored soldiers rushed to the foot of the Yaoyue Pavilion. Linghu Sheng, the leader, came upstairs again and bowed to Liu Xian, saying, "My lord, the General of the Cavalry has been assassinated. I have specifically ordered you to be reinstated as the Commandant of the Capital Region. Come to my residence immediately to discuss this matter." (End of this chapter)