Jinting Han people

While the uprising was taking place in Hebei, General Zhang Fang, leading the Guanzhong army, had already arrived in Mianchi.

It was late autumn, the surrounding trees were bare, and the mountain views were expansive. The sky was overcast, and the Xiaoyue Mountains were faintly visible. As the 70,000 troops camped and rested in the valley, a sudden gust of wind swept in from the west, causing banners to flutter, cloaks to billow, and warhorses to neigh. Zhang Fang and his trusted advisor Zhi Fu went out to scout the enemy's situation, climbing the mountain on foot to gather intelligence. They shielded themselves from the wind with their hands as they surveyed the situation in Xin'an County to the east.

As can be seen, after the scorched earth policy, Xin'an County looked very different from before. Not only was the city empty, but the suburbs were also desolate and deserted. The only living creatures that Zhang Fang and his men could see were foxes and wild dogs; there was not a trace of human life at all.

Zhang Fang put down his hand, then rubbed his thick beard and laughed at Zhi Fu beside him, "Liu Xian thinks highly of me. Did what I said last time frighten him? He actually emptied Xin'an County!"

"I'm not some kind of devil; those words were just meant to scare people!"

Zhi Fu tucked his sleeves in and thought for a moment before replying, "This is indeed a troublesome matter. It seems that the general's threat to him last time was too much, which made him wary and led to the scorched earth policy. Our supply problem is probably quite serious."

"Moreover, it is said that Liu Xian rebuilt Hangu Pass this time, and the city walls were built according to the standards of Luoyang, so they will not be easy to attack!"

Zhang Fang snorted twice, then took two steps forward and looked further east. He turned back and pointed at Zhi Fu, asking, "Do you mean I shouldn't advance this way, but should head south to Yiyang and attack Luoyang from there?"

Zhi Fu nodded and said, "Yes, the one guarding Yiyang should be Huangfu Shang. Huangfu Shang is just an mediocre talent, not as good as Liu Xian. Yiyang City is not in a strategically important location either, so it is more likely to be breached."

This is common sense in military strategy, but Zhang Fang feigned displeasure upon hearing it, saying, "What are you saying? Do you think I'm inferior to Liu Xian?"

Before Zhi Fu could answer, he changed the subject and chuckled, "Haha, you're absolutely right. When it comes to direct troop deployment, I really can't beat him!"

Zhang Fang then encouraged himself: "But what does it matter? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Just because you can't win a head-on fight doesn't mean you can't win. Back then, Liu Bang couldn't defeat Xiang Yu by force, but he still won in the end, didn't he?"

Zhi Fu nodded and said, "The general is right. This is a war between an eagle and a snake. If the snake wants to win, it cannot fight the eagle head-on. It should lie in wait until the eagle relaxes its guard and reveals an opening, then strike a fatal blow!"

After talking for a while, the wild wind gradually subsided, and a light autumn rain began to fall from the sky, cold and gloomy. The attendants quickly took out straw hats and raincoats and put them on the group.

Zhang Fang looked up at the sky and immediately ordered his men, "Return to camp! muster the troops tonight, and tomorrow we'll go to Hangu Pass and knock on the gates!"

"Aren't we going to attack Yiyang?" Zhi Fu asked while tying the straps of his raincoat.

"Hmph," Zhang Fang said to Zhi Fu after putting on his straw hat, "This time, our king has mobilized the entire nation, determined to win. If we show weakness before even fighting a single battle, we certainly won't be able to explain ourselves. Moreover, Liu Xian's reputation is too great. If we don't fight him, who knows what rumors will spread in the army? We still need to give our soldiers a heads-up. Even a small loss is better than not fighting at all. Don't think he's a monster."

Zhi Fu, still on horseback, cupped his hands and said, "General, what you say is absolutely right! Our king has you as his commander, just as Emperor Wu of Han had Wei Qing and Huo Qubing!"

Zhang Fang laughed and said, "There's another point. Raise the banner of avenging Chief Secretary Li and tell them that Chief Secretary Li and Liu Xian had a life-or-death friendship back then, but Liu Xian actually tried to assassinate him. If we fail, we'll probably end up the same way."

After saying this, he waved to his followers, descended the mountain forest, and headed straight for the camp they had come from.

Meanwhile, amidst the autumn rain, upon learning of the Western Army's arrival, He Pan immediately went to inform Luoyang. Upon receiving the news, Sima Yi promptly appointed him General of the Guards, ordering him to oversee the battle in Guanzhong. Liu Xian, without pausing, arrived at Hangu Pass the following morning, just in time to find the Western Army's vanguard challenging them at the pass. He decided to go with his generals to inspect the area.

For this challenge, Zhang Fang sent a small force, only about eight hundred men, led by the general Ma Zhan. His troops were extremely strong, clearly elite soldiers from the Western Army. They hurled insults at Liu Xian and the government troops outside the city, accusing him of ingratitude and forgetting the kindness Li Han had shown him during the Battle of Niyang.

Upon hearing this, the generals were enraged and urged Liu Xian to lead the troops out of the city to meet them in battle and cut them down. However, He Pan quickly saw through their scheme and smiled at the other generals, saying:
"No need to rush! Zhang Fang sent these people over only to test the strength of our army. If our army goes out of the city to meet the enemy, even if we win, we will not gain anything, and if we lose, we will lose face. This is a battle that is completely unnecessary."

Zu Ti nodded upon hearing this, and then analyzed, "But since the other side is making such a challenge, we probably have no choice but to respond, otherwise the morale of the army will be unstable and low, which will become a new problem."

“It’s simple,” Liu Xian said, squinting at the knight opposite him for a moment before decisively telling Li Sheng, who was accompanying him, “Bin Shuo, write me a letter of challenge and send it to Zhang Fang.”

"A challenge letter?" Upon hearing this, everyone was puzzled.

Liu Xian said, "Just reply that there's no need for further words. If you want to fight, you can send out your entire army and we'll see who wins!"

He immediately said, "I didn't come here with any intention of defense! I want a quick victory!"

These words immediately invigorated everyone, demonstrating Liu Xian's strong confidence in victory. If the opposing side continued this pointless war of words, they would appear weak and ineffective, and in that case, it would be the other side that would lose morale.

Sure enough, after Li Sheng finished writing the letter and sent it to the Western Army, the Western Army's challenge immediately stopped. Zhang Fang dared not accept the challenge, so he played word games and replied: "Since you want to fight, you may retreat ten miles. After we leave the pass, we will each set up our formations and fight each other openly and fairly."

Liu Xian replied again: "The fortress belongs to the imperial court and cannot be easily given to others. I can lead my troops forward ten miles and challenge you to a battle. What do you say?"

The two sides then engaged in a war of words, but after Liu Xian made his stance clear, Zhang Fang's attitude completely changed. He preferred this childish way of writing letters to a head-on confrontation with Liu Xian.

Considering the overall situation, although Zhang Fang couldn't break through the pass in the short term, he had received news that a large army from Hebei would eventually march south. Hebei and Luoyang were separated only by a large river, hardly a natural barrier. If the situation dragged on, the Northern Expeditionary Army would attack Luoyang, forcing Liu Xian to shift his focus north, thus weakening the defenses of Guanzhong. Therefore, time was on Zhang Fang's side.

Liu Xian was fully aware of this. His original plan was for the Northern Expeditionary Army to remain neutral, while he only needed to defend against the Western Expeditionary Army. The safest approach would be to use the passes to keep the Western Army outside Hangu Pass. In that case, the government army could utilize the Grand Canal for logistical support, while the Western Army would have to rely on packhorses. In the long run, the government army would definitely have the upper hand. And if they waited until the rebellion in Jingzhou ended and Liu Hong returned to reinforce the capital, the Western Army would inevitably have no choice but to admit defeat.

However, if the Northern Army joins the battle, the situation will be completely different. Liu Xian will be caught in the predicament of fighting on two fronts. If he defends the west, the north will be vulnerable, and if he defends the north, the west will be vulnerable. This is the kind of situation where one cannot attend to both.

Therefore, Liu Xian only has two strategies to win:
First, before the Northern Expeditionary Army Command arrives, we should take the initiative to send troops to fight Zhang Fang decisively, defeat the Western Expeditionary Army Command first, and then deal with the Northern Expeditionary Army Command after eliminating our worries about the rear.

Secondly, taking advantage of the terrain of Xiaohan, a small force should be used to keep an eye on the Western Expeditionary Army Command, while the main force should engage the Northern Expeditionary Army Command. It is imperative to defeat the Northern Expeditionary Army Command before the Western Expeditionary Army breaks through Xiaohan.

Regardless of which strategy is chosen, the government troops must fight a swift and decisive battle; it is impossible to expect Liu Hong to send reinforcements from Jingzhou.

Liu Xian preferred to fight the Western Army first. The narrow terrain of Hongnong was not conducive to the Western Army's cavalry launching an attack, but rather more conducive to the Imperial Guards advancing step by step.

The problem now is that Zhang Fang has no intention of engaging in a decisive battle. While the two sides were exchanging messages, Zhang Fang also sent people to Henan via unofficial routes to spread rumors and post notices that the King of Chengdu had arrived with the Hebei army and that the King of Changsha would soon be destroyed. He claimed that all the aristocratic officers who supported the King of Changsha would eventually be held accountable and beheaded, in an attempt to divide and disintegrate the political forces in the capital region.

"If you pledge allegiance to my king now, you can be pardoned. If you can even kill someone and have your head cut off, you will be promoted afterward for your merits."

He posted dozens of such proclamations in various villages and towns throughout Henan within two days. This was essentially just empty talk; if victory were possible, why wasn't Zhang Fang attacking now? But Liu Xian understood that Zhang Fang's political offensive was a prelude to a protracted war. As long as the government troops couldn't quickly resolve the conflict, the powerful clans and gentry, entangled in the long-term conflict, would inevitably become suspicious. If the situation turned slightly unfavorable, they would become the final straw that broke the camel's back.

After learning this information, Liu Xian gave Zhang Fang a very high evaluation, saying, "Zhang Fang looks like a big, burly man, but when he does things, he is as cautious as a virgin about to get married. It's really unbelievable."

However, Liu Xian could not stand by and watch him continue to stall for time. Therefore, after much deliberation, Liu Xian decided to take the initiative and risk luring Zhang Fang into battle.

He ordered Huangfu Shang in Yiyang to lead 8,000 cavalrymen out of the city, bypassing Mianchi County where the main force of the Western Army was located, and to launch a fierce attack on Shanxian County where Sima Yong was located.

This was an extremely clever design. First, Sima Yong was stationed in Shanxian County, which was poorly defended. To ensure his own safety, he would inevitably order Zhang Fang to return to reinforce the county, and Zhang Fang would not dare to refuse. Second, Huangfu Shang's abandonment of the city and battle in the open field would result in him being surrounded from both sides, essentially trapping himself in a desperate situation. Considering these two points, Zhang Fang had no reason not to take this bait.

Once Zhang Fang leads his troops back to reinforce, it will be a great opportunity for Liu Xian to join forces with him.

The most important factor in this design is the marching speed of the two armies. For the government army to win, it must march faster than the Western army. Huangfu Shang must arrive at the city of Shanxian at a surprise speed, and Liu Xian must also catch up with Zhang Fang's army at the same speed, so that it cannot launch a pincer attack on Huangfu Shang, but instead forms an encirclement.

Generally speaking, it's difficult for government troops to maintain such a marching speed. However, Liu Xian had previously absorbed Li Han's 20,000 cavalry, sending the soldiers to Jingzhou but leaving the horses behind. Combined with local horses in Luoyang, this gave Liu Xian nearly 60,000 horses at his disposal. Liu Xian allocated 20,000 of these horses to Huangfu Shang, and equipped his vanguard with another 40,000. While he didn't expect them to be as capable of mounted archery charges as the Western Army cavalry, equipping them with horses to quickly increase marching speed was quite feasible.

After the plan was finalized, everyone applauded its success and immediately began to implement it, intending to settle the score in one battle.

On the night of the year Yi Hai in September, Huangfu Shang acted according to plan. He ordered his men to take three days' worth of supplies and, under cover of darkness, head north along the Yi River valley, with each soldier carrying two horses for each leg. Yiyang was about eighty li from Mianchi, and after bypassing Mianchi, it was another ninety li to Shanxian. The nearly two hundred li journey took them only two and a half hours to successfully reach the walls of Shanxian. At this time, dawn was breaking, and the western army in Shanxian, seeing the enemy in the morning light, looked as if they had seen ghosts.

Upon seeing this, Sima Yong was indeed greatly alarmed and immediately dispatched Zhang Fang to Mianchi to provide immediate reinforcements.

Around noon, when the sun was shining brightly, a scout reported to Liu Xian: "Reporting to the Prefect, the enemy army has already left the camp!"

Liu Xian was overjoyed upon hearing this. He instructed He Pan, "Lord He, I will lead 20,000 cavalry ahead, and you will lead 30,000 infantry behind. In today's battle, have no doubts. We must defeat Zhang Fang completely!"

The 50,000-strong army was already fully prepared. Upon receiving the order, they immediately opened the gates and set off westward without looking back. However, after traveling no more than forty li, the vanguard of the Imperial Guards encountered the rearguard of the Western Army. Caught off guard and without forming ranks, the Western Army was instantly slaughtered, with over a thousand men and horses falling in disarray. In an instant, the soldiers scattered and collapsed, no longer able to form an army.

But Liu Xian soon realized something was wrong. He discovered that there weren't many Westerners here, only four or five thousand scattered soldiers. Where had Zhang Fang's main force gone?

The answer was quickly revealed: Although Zhang Fang was ordered to reinforce Shanxian, he maintained remarkable restraint, citing the lack of information about the enemy. After setting out, he divided his army into five parts: two in the front, two in the rear, and the main force in the middle, retreating towards Shanxian at an extremely slow pace. The part that Liu Xian had breached was merely his rearguard, utterly insignificant. Meanwhile, the main force, upon receiving the news, immediately went up the mountain and formed a defensive formation, relying on the terrain.

When Liu Xian led his troops to the scene, he saw Zhang Fang positioned on high ground, with a white tiger banner hanging high. His formation spread out like crane wings, with heavily armored soldiers and archers standing like a forest, ready to engage the enemy at any moment. Seeing this, Liu Xian immediately knew that the opportunity to fight had been lost. The Imperial Guards had already been on a long march and were exhausted. If they were to force their way through the enemy lines without the advantage of terrain, the outcome would be disastrous.

"Does Zhang Fang's military strategy completely disregard the life and death of his lord?" Liu Xian wondered, unable to find any flaws in Zhang Fang's strategy.

Unable to achieve victory, Liu Xian had no choice but to abandon his original plan for a decisive battle and ordered Huangfu Shang to retreat. The two sides remained locked in a stalemate for a day and a night. After Huangfu Shang withdrew, Liu Xian slowly retreated as well. Zhang Fang attempted to send cavalry to pursue them, but Liu Xian personally covered the rear, so the attempt failed.

(Map of the Battle of Mianchi)

From a tactical and results-oriented perspective, Liu Xian achieved a minor victory in the Battle of Mianchi. However, from a strategic perspective, he failed to achieve his objectives, and the situation continued to tilt in favor of the Western Army.

On the day of Dingchou in the ninth month, the vanguard of the Northern Expeditionary Army crossed the Huangqiao Bridge and re-entered Hanoi County. (End of this chapter)