Jinting Han people

Five days after leaving Hulao Pass to the east, on the morning of the Jia Chen day in October, Mao Bao returned to the Imperial Guard camp. With the help of the local militia in Xingyang, he brought back detailed maps of the Northern and Eastern armies' camps as promised.

Upon receiving the map, Liu Xian was overjoyed and immediately took Mao Bao to meet Sima Yi to discuss the specific battle plan.

Unfolding the map, along with a map of Xingyang, reveals that the Northern Army's camp was located on a vast mudflat thirty li east of Chenggao Pass. Because it was surrounded on three sides by a large river and formed by the accumulation of silt and sand over the years, it was called a river plateau.

The river plateau is surrounded by the river bend, where the river is calm and gentle, making it an ideal place to cross the river. There are also many cypress trees growing there, so the people of Xingyang also call it Baidu (Cypress Ferry). The Xingyang River Bridge built by Lu Ji earlier crossed the river from north to south at Baidu to transport goods between the two sides.

The location of the Eastern Army's camp was on the north bank of the Zhanran River, east of Xingyang City, about twenty li south of the river plateau.

This place is a vast, boundless plain. Apart from some woods and lakes, there are no dramatic hills or undulations within forty li (approximately 20 kilometers) to the east or west. The view is extremely open, making it a renowned fertile land for harvests in Henan. Sima Xiao and his men set up camp here, their camp stretching for more than ten li (approximately 5 kilometers), the layout of which was clear at a glance. Moreover, it was early winter, and the farmers had finished harvesting, making it the time of year when the fields were at their most open.

This is a general overview of the two armies' camps. Liu Xian commented on it:

"The arrangements made by the Northern Expeditionary Army Command are quite appropriate. It seems that Lu Ji suffered enough from the cavalry in the Battle of Mangshan. So this time, he learned from the lessons of Mangshan and chose such a good location."

"This place is cramped, with only the south being an attackable side. In addition, the river has soaked the soil, making it soft and wet, and there are also many reeds growing there, making it difficult to scout. All these factors are not conducive to the use of cavalry, and are probably more conducive to infantry fighting."

"But the deployment of the Eastern Expeditionary Army Command was somewhat naive. They imitated Lu Ji and set up camp along the Zhanran River, but the terrain here is open and surrounded by plains with no natural defenses. The only advantage is the speed of water transport, which is perfect for our army to ride horses."

"Furthermore, the Prince of Fanyang made a huge mistake. If he were wise, he should have set up camp on the south bank of the Zhanran River. In that case, when our army needs to cross the river to attack, he would still have time to adapt to the situation. But he actually crossed the river and set up camp, so there is no obstacle between us and our army. Our army can attack at will. At that time, the Eastern Army will be in a hurry and will not know where to retreat."

Sima Yi studied the map and listened carefully. After a moment's thought, he came to a conclusion: "Does the Prefect mean to attack the Eastern Army first?"

Liu Xian nodded slightly and pointed further to the camp layout of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, saying, "Your Highness, look at the Eastern Army's camp. It stretches from west to east like a long snake. If our army launches a surprise attack at night and concentrates its forces to strike at its vital point, we can cut it off in one fell swoop."

"Seven inches, where is seven inches?"

“Of course, it’s the location of the Prince of Fanyang’s main camp.” Liu Xian pointed to the center of the Eastern Army’s camp, where Mao Bao drew a circle: “Now that our army has grasped the location of the Prince of Fanyang’s main camp, as long as our army launches a full-scale attack and captures him alive as soon as possible, we can use him to recruit the Eastern Army. How can the other troops resist? They will inevitably have no choice but to surrender.”

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi fell into deep thought.

Destroying the enemy's leader with a single, fatal blow—that was the very purpose of reconnaissance. However, having experienced many battles, Sima Yi understood that nothing can be predicted to go smoothly, especially on the battlefield where life and death are at stake; anything can happen. Therefore, he needed to eliminate all possible unfavorable factors.

Sima Yi then asked Mao Bao, "Are you absolutely certain that the Prince of Fanyang's main force is here, and there won't be any mistakes?"

Mao Bao clasped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, the Eastern Expeditionary Army has arrived in haste. Their camps were built by conscripting local people, and laborers are still digging trenches. I dare to guarantee with my life that this map is absolutely true and without any errors."

Sima Yi nodded. Then, considering the movements of the Northern Expeditionary Army, he asked, "The Eastern Army and the Northern Army are only twenty li apart. If the Prince of Fanyang reacts in time, or if Lu Ji's scouts are effective, he should receive the news in about 35 minutes if our army attacks the Eastern Army."

"The two armies are separated by a flat plain with no obstacles. The twenty-mile journey can be covered in half an hour by fast horses, and the main army can arrive in one to two hours at the fastest. But what if our army cannot defeat the Eastern Army within two hours?"

Sima Yi's considerations were not without merit. After all, this was an attack on the enemy's camp. Even in the most successful battle, achieving a complete victory within two hours was extremely difficult. Even if victory was achieved, there would be no time to settle the prisoners. Furthermore, even if the Eastern Army were completely captured, maintaining their formation would be difficult.

If the Northern Army were to appear on the flanks or rear of the Imperial Guards at this moment, the consequences would be unimaginable. Without order and formation, if the Northern Expeditionary Army launches an attack, and the Eastern Army, which has not yet been completely pacified, rises in response, the Imperial Guards, no matter how capable, would be unable to withstand it. Back then, in the Battle of Baima, Cao Cao didn't even use many prisoners; he merely used wealth to disrupt Yuan Shao's army's formation, successfully turning defeat into victory. This illustrates the importance of formation.

Mao Bao disagreed, saying, "When I was spying on the Eastern Army's camp, I heard that the Prince of Fanyang was quite dissatisfied because the Northern Army had been holed up and not coming out. He had a quarrel with the Northern Army's envoy the other day, and the two sides parted on bad terms. Your Highness, these two armies are not the same group after all. Perhaps the Northern Army will not come to our aid?"

Liu Xian patted Mao Bao's shoulder and shook his head, saying, "It's better to be lenient when assessing the enemy. If you take such a chance, you'll suffer more than just one or two people if something unexpected happens."

He pondered for a moment and vaguely came up with an idea, then said, "In that case, our army might as well send a small force to harass the Northern Army first. Make a big show of it, so that they will panic and dare not act rashly, then we will have no worries."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Sima Yi turned his gaze to the Northern Army. He surveyed the location of their camps and said:
"If it succeeds, it will certainly be a good idea, but Lu Ji has huddled his camp in such a formation, how will you attack it? And how many troops will you need? Sending too few troops in a rush may not be effective, right?"

Lu Ji utilized the terrain of the river plateau to form a mountain-shaped fortification on the mudflats. As mentioned earlier, the terrain was also unfavorable for cavalry attacks, and frontal harassment was extremely difficult to achieve.

Furthermore, if both armies are to be attacked simultaneously, the allocation of forces must be considered. If the Northern army uses more cavalry, its offensive against the Eastern army will likely be less aggressive and unable to quickly defeat the Eastern army; however, if the deployment is reversed, the attempt to contain the Northern army will not only be ineffective but will also be tantamount to walking into a trap.

Liu Xian's statement was not unfounded; he made this judgment after observing the Northern Army's camp layout. He said, "Your Highness, attacking the Northern Army's camp will indeed be difficult to achieve in a short time, but what if our army attacks their supply lines?"

As he spoke, Liu Xian's gaze swept across the river plateau, focusing on a river mouth called Mangkou in Hanoi County. Lu Ji's original 200,000-strong army could not be supplied by land, thus relying on river transport. According to the map, Lu Ji crossed the river at Baidu, setting up camp on the south bank, but to protect the supply route, the provisions were stockpiled on the north bank of the Great River, directly opposite Baidu at Mangkou. He pointed to Mangkou and slowly said, "The enemy army is mostly concentrated on the south bank of the Great River, with only a small force guarding the granaries on the north bank, connected only by the Xingyang River Bridge. Our army can cross the river at night and attack the Mangkou granaries on the north bank, a surprise attack that will surely break through in one fell swoop!"

"Then I set fire to the north bank, which is a place the Northern Army must defend. When they see the fire on the north bank at night, they will surely lead their troops across the pontoon bridge to relieve the fire. At that time, even if Lu Ji receives news of the Eastern Army's attack and wants to go to the rescue, he will not only have to cross the river bridge again, but also worry about being cut off from his retreat. He will not dare to act rashly."

Sima Yi tapped the table twice, a look of surprise on his face. He found the plan both bold and quite feasible.

It's not hard to see that Liu Xian's plan was actually inspired by the Battle of Guandu between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

At the time, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were locked in battle at Guandu. Cao Cao's army was already on the verge of running out of supplies, yet he refused to retreat. When internal strife broke out within Yuan Shao's army, Xu You brought details of the army's deployment. Upon learning that Yuan Shao's supplies were stored at Wuchao, Cao Cao launched a surprise attack with light cavalry, achieving a decisive victory and plunging Yuan Shao's army at Guandu into a food shortage. Yuan Shao was forced to choose: without supplies, should he fight Cao Cao to the death, or return to Wuchao and then withdraw? Yuan Shao chose to fight to the death, resulting in the collapse of his army and a complete defeat.

Given past experience, if the Imperial Guards were to attack the Northern Army's supply lines and succeed, given Lu Ji's cautious nature, he would certainly not dare to gamble everything on aiding the Eastern Army. Furthermore, judging from the statements of Qian Xiu and others, with Lu Zhi's interference, Lu Ji could no longer afford to lose. Therefore, his only option was to protect the Northern Army. Without the Northern Army's assistance, their night raid on the Eastern Army had at least an 80% chance of success.

After Sima Yi discerned the key point, he paced back and forth for a moment, then turned and asked, "My lord, in your opinion, how many men and troops would be needed to implement this strategy?"

Liu Xian had already made his calculations. He said, "The most important thing about this strategy is speed. After engaging the Northern army for a while, we need to escape on horseback. If we think about it this way, I think giving me 10,000 cavalry is the most appropriate option."

Ten thousand cavalrymen was not a small number, but for Sima Yi, it was an acceptable number. He immediately put aside his hesitation and made the decision: "Alright, let's go all in and do it!"

The next thing the two of them needed to discuss was which specific personnel to allocate.

This strategy of dividing the army into two routes necessitates two commanders. Although the northern route has fewer troops and the southern route has more, ultimately, success or failure lies in the north, while the fruits of victory lie in the south. Therefore, Liu Xian, who proposed the strategy, naturally took charge of the northern route, while Sima Yi was responsible for the southern route.

As for which cavalry to deploy in the northern route, Liu Xian's idea was to use the three battalions of Gou Xi, Zu Ti, and Liu Kun, plus his own battalion in Songzi. These units had been tempered by the Battle of Mangshan and were already quite coordinated with each other, making them easier to command.

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi shook his head and refused, saying, "Leave these people to me. Apart from the Prefect, who else can command the righteous army that Lord Suo brought? If I take these people with me, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause."

This is indeed a problem. It's not that these Westerners are unruly, but rather that they are a distinct group. A general's relationship with his commander is like a sword to a swordsman; if one is unfamiliar with the sword and its weight, it's difficult to wield it effectively. Sima Yi was exactly like this with the Western army. He was neither familiar with their tactics nor had any connections with their officers and generals, making it difficult to command them effectively. Therefore, on the battlefield, the results were inevitably less than satisfactory.

Liu Xian thought about it and realized that the situation was indeed the case, so he stopped insisting on the original choice and agreed, "Alright, let's do it that way. But I still need to bring the Songzi Camp."

Finally, the time for the night raid was decided. Since they needed to cross the river, Liu Xian also needed to send a message to Lu Yun, asking him to transfer a batch of boats from Luoyang, which would probably arrive tomorrow. Therefore, the night raid was scheduled for tomorrow night.

The two discussed for about two hours, and the plan for the decisive battle was finally finalized.

But at the very end, Liu Xian instructed Sima Yi, "Your Highness, do not rush to inform the generals about this matter."

"Why is that?" Sima Yi was somewhat puzzled. According to custom, every decision to go to war had to be communicated to the generals in advance. After all, expecting the generals to adapt to the situation and fight without prior preparation was asking too much.

Liu Xian did not want to do this, but considering the possibility of spies in the army, he had to take this precaution. He said to Sima Yi, "Your Highness, the key to this strategy is to surprise the enemy. Once the enemy finds out, it will be completely ineffective. Recently, the Duke of Xingjin passed away, and people's hearts are in turmoil. It is very likely that someone is secretly colluding with the enemy. As the saying goes, things are accomplished in secrecy and ruined by leaks. I think we should be careful."

Sima Yi stared at Liu Xian for a moment, then slowly said, "Your Excellency is absolutely right, I understand."

Just as Liu Xian was about to leave, Sima Yi suddenly asked, "Lord, how do you think I've done this past year?"

Liu Xian was taken aback by these words. He turned to look at Sima Yi and found that the Prince of Changsha looked extremely tired. It seemed that with a great battle imminent, Sima Yi's spirit had reached its limit. After all, he was just a young man in his twenties.

This was only the first year of Sima Yi's reign, yet the political turmoil he encountered that year was far more intense than that of the previous decade. Perhaps he needed some comfort. Liu Xian truthfully replied, "Perhaps there are aspects that are open to discussion, but Your Highness has done your best."

Sima Yi let out a breath, then asked with a burning gaze, "My lord, do you think the Jin dynasty can be restored?"

Faced with this question, Liu Xian shouldn't have hesitated at all, but he still hesitated instinctively. It wasn't that he couldn't lie, but he still didn't want to deceive those close to him. And to Liu Xian, Sima Yi was almost a brother, so he hesitated subconsciously.

But this momentary hesitation was enough to disappoint Sima Yi. His eyes, which had been full of hope, dimmed quickly because of this brief hesitation. Without waiting for Liu Xian to speak, he turned his back and waved his hand casually, saying, "Lord, you should go and prepare early. There will be a tough battle tomorrow."

Liu Xian remained silent and could only bow and retreat. Back in his tent, Liu Xian felt a pang of self-reproach. He realized his self-control was still lacking, and this mistake had likely created a rift between them. This was a problem that had always troubled him. In this cruel, chaotic world, judging morality was difficult; only time could prove right from wrong. He had no time for regret; continuous progress was his destiny.

The day passed quickly, and on the evening of this day in October, the ships from Luoyang arrived at Hulao Pass, which meant that the decisive battle with the Northern Army was about to officially begin. (End of Chapter)