Jinting Han people

Of course, no problem can be solved simply by words.

Upon returning from his inspection of the wounded soldiers' camp, Liu Xian immediately summoned Lü Quyang for a meeting. He ordered Lü to recruit hundreds of peasant women from the countryside to care for the wounded soldiers. Medicine might be scarce, but basic necessities had to be guaranteed; these wounded soldiers couldn't be left to rot on their beds.

For those wounded soldiers whose injuries are too severe, we must also think of ways to help them. Even if these people can survive the critical period, it may take them several months to recover, and Liu Xian cannot wait here for that long, so they must be placed elsewhere.

However, resettlement was not abandonment. While the wounded would certainly slow down the march due to their injuries, it was also necessary to consider that their weakened state would be exacerbated by the bumpy roads. Therefore, after careful consideration, Liu Xian instructed Lü Quyang to first find suitable farmhouses in Weibei, pay them a certain fee, and then place the wounded soldiers in those farmhouses for care.

In this way, the wounded soldiers could recuperate in peace, and once they recovered, they would have the freedom to decide whether to stay or leave. Liu Xian gave each of them a wooden token stamped with the seal of the Duke of Anle, which they could use to rejoin their unit in the future. If they did not return, Liu Xian promised that one day when he returned to Guanzhong, as long as these wounded soldiers held the wooden token, Liu Xian would distribute land to them.

Such a meticulous arrangement can be described as the epitome of benevolence and righteousness. After a fierce battle, the army, which already held Liu Xian in awe, was now even more convinced of his worth. Many people commented: "We originally thought that the marshal's relocation of the people of Hedong was a woman's act of kindness out of concern for his reputation, but now it seems that only a true king could do such a thing!"

As a result of this incident, desertion in Liu Xian's army almost disappeared. In a chaotic world where people's hearts were in turmoil, this was almost a miracle.

In contrast, according to reports from scouts in Weinan, the failure of this night raid seemed to have shaken the morale of the troops in Chang'an. Not only did they refrain from launching another attack for several days, but soldiers were also frequently seen deserting during the night outside the city. According to captured prisoners, a widespread belief had been circulating among the lower ranks of the Western Army that with the current strength of the Western Expeditionary Army, it was impossible to achieve victory through a direct confrontation, and that further battles would only result in pointless deaths.

Therefore, even after several days of probing attacks, the Western Army still led its troops out of the city to engage the Weinan camp. However, the soldiers' morale had greatly decreased. It was visibly that most of them simply fired arrows into the air, shouted a few times, and swung their swords a few times in the air before calling it a day.

Sima Yong was naturally dissatisfied with this, and repeatedly sent his son Sima Song out of the city to supervise the army. Those who were lazy in battle were beheaded and their heads hung on the flags. As a result, about a hundred people were beheaded, and the flagpoles were full of heads, but even so, it could not change the general trend of the soldiers being lazy in battle.

Liu Xian was naturally pleased with this situation. In fact, as time went on, Liu Xian was losing one of his most important advantages: the advantage of his Wei River naval forces.

By mid-August, the autumn floods had ended, and the flow of the Wei River was decreasing daily. Although it was still barely navigable, many shallows had appeared on both sides of the river, with some areas only half a meter deep. This depth clearly did not prevent the Western Army from swimming across the river. This allowed the Western Army to finally bypass the Sanhekou (Three Rivers Estuary) and restore unimpeded communication with the north bank of the Wei River.

Fortunately, all of this was within Liu Xian's expectations. As mentioned earlier, he had dismissed almost all the county officials in Weibei beforehand and distributed all the grain in the counties, so that when the Western Army crossed the Wei River again two months later, they were almost powerless. It was already difficult to reorganize the county governments in a short time; did they really have to collect grain from each household again?
It is worth noting that, to this day, all the immigrants from Hedong have left the region. According to current information, 60,000 of them have entered Wudu County, and the majority of the remaining immigrants have gathered in the Haozhi County area, leaving only a final distance of about 600 li. Furthermore, the Northern Expeditionary Army has taken over the defense of Hedong County. This has deprived the Western Army of the option to attack Hedong; otherwise, it would only add unnecessary pressure to themselves.

Liu Xian was certain that Sima Yong would not remain idle. Now that the matter in Hedong was settled, he ordered He Pan to abandon the Sanhekou camp, burn all remaining ships, and rush to Xianyang Plain to regroup. At the same time, he guessed that since Sima Yong had suffered a setback in the front, he was likely to seek trouble downstream. Therefore, he wrote to Li Ju, instructing him to pay attention to this matter in advance, and if the Longxi army showed no immediate intention of advancing down the slope, he should first deploy scouts extensively and return to Chencang.

Now, the importance of Chencang has become more apparent than ever before.

Because south of Chencang lies Sanguan Pass, and all supplies for Sanguan Pass are contained within Chencang. Controlling Chencang is tantamount to controlling Sanguan Pass. It is both the entrance to the Chencang Road and the crucial hub connecting Guanzhong and Hanzhong. There is a saying: "Without Sanguan Pass to the north, there is no way to open up Liangyi; without Sanguan Pass to the south, there is no way to conquer Guanzhong." During Zhuge Liang's second Northern Expedition, he focused his attack on Chencang, but unfortunately, he returned empty-handed.

Although times have changed and the opposing sides have shifted, the importance of Chencang remains unchanged. Especially after the direct clash at Chang'an, it's difficult for either army to make any further moves. Therefore, Chencang, as the gateway to Sichuan, is highly likely to become a new decisive point.

Given the current situation, while the Western Army couldn't defeat Liu Xian's heavily fortified camp, Liu Xian was equally helpless against Chang'an's defenses. Since he couldn't take Chang'an, he would eventually enter Wudu from Chencang. If Chencang could be recaptured before Liu Xian left, it would undoubtedly cut off his escape route. At this point, he couldn't return to Hedong, and even with abundant food, Liu Xian would only be trapped and starve to death in Guanzhong.

Similarly, if the Western Army fails to capture Chencang and keeps both Chencang and Sanguan in Liu Xian's hands, the initiative will remain with him. In about twenty more days, the remaining civilians will all pass through. At that point, Liu Xian will have no worries about his rear and only need to station a small force at Sanguan to leave safely. The Western Army can't possibly send troops deep into the mountains to play games with Liu Xian.

Furthermore, from a longer-term perspective, even if the Western Army couldn't stop Liu Xian and allowed him to enter Bashu, they still had to recapture Chencang. Otherwise, if Liu Xian pacified Liang and Yi provinces and possessed a clear passage for his northern expedition—a condition even Zhuge Liang lacked—the Western Army would undoubtedly find unacceptable. Guanzhong has been known as a land of four strategic passes since ancient times, its most important geographical advantage being the presence of the four passes: Xiaoguan, Sanguan, Wuguan, and Hangu Pass. Even though Hangu Pass has been renamed Tongguan, its significance remains the same.

Therefore, Liu Xian predicted that the Western Army's next offensive would focus on Chencang, with no other option. However, since he was in Chang'an, they couldn't possibly spare their main force for battle; they would most likely send a detachment of about 20,000 to 30,000 men. As long as Li Ju defended well and could withstand this final offensive, it would basically mean that they could break free from the Western Expeditionary Army's entanglement.

In his letter, Liu Xian specifically instructed Li Ju: "Although Chencang is fortified, we cannot simply hold it. Guanzhong is mostly plateau, so we might as well divide our troops into two: one to defend the city, and the other to deploy in the Weinan Plain outside the city. When the enemy comes from afar, seeing that the north and south are supporting each other, they will not be able to conquer it hastily. You might as well delay for a while. After only twenty days, I will join you, and then we will achieve great things!"

The letter was sent in the morning and delivered by express courier, covering 400 li in 400 li. It arrived in Qian County that evening and was delivered to Li Ju.

Li Ju immediately read the letter with the generals in the army. They were greatly encouraged to learn of Liu Xian's numerous victories in Chang'an. However, upon hearing that Liu Xian wanted them to shift their defenses to Chencang, they were immediately troubled. The reason was simple: they were currently locked in a stalemate with the Qin Province army and could not withdraw immediately. Previously, after receiving orders from the Western Expeditionary Army, most of the Qin Province prefects had no intention of relaxing their attack on Shanggui. After all, as prefects of a commandery, their ambition was undoubtedly to first become the governor of Qin Province; even if Chang'an fell, what did it matter to them? They had already besieged Huangfu Chong for nearly a year, and the city's food supplies were running low. If they abandoned the siege now and allowed Huangfu Chong to catch his breath, wouldn't all their previous efforts have been in vain?
However, Yan Xiu, the prefect of Lueyang, was worried about his territory, which was located between Qin and Long. Whether traveling the traditional Fanxu Road, Guanlong Road, or the more aggressive Weishui Road, Lueyang was the only way to reach Long. Knowing that the situation was dire, he heard that troops had appeared in the Qian County area and, fearing instability within his territory, immediately lifted the siege and returned to Longcheng with his own army, forming a stalemate with Li Zheng.

For a month, both sides probed each other's intentions, finding that neither seemed to have any intention of fighting. However, nominally, both sides were locked in a life-or-death struggle. Yan Xiu worried that Li Ju might seize the opportunity to attack Longyou, while Li Ju was equally worried that Yan Xiu might descend upon Longyou and plunder the immigrants. After all, for the sparsely populated Longyou, population was more important than land. Therefore, even without a major battle, neither army dared to suddenly withdraw.

The crowd discussed whether to leave a small number of soldiers to hold the rear in Qian County. Li Ju shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, leaving too few soldiers will not be enough to defend the city, and leaving too many will be a waste of manpower. We still need to think of a way to negotiate peace with Prefect Yan."

Negotiating peace was a difficult problem. The two sides had no kinship or ties, so why should Yan Xiu trust Li Ju? What if he only pretended to agree and then went back on his word? But Li Ju quickly came up with a solution. He said, "Let's go find the local Qiang and Di people and have them act as guarantors!"

In Li Ju's view, if it were merely a matter of the two sides negotiating peace, it would indeed be difficult to establish mutual trust. But what if a third party were introduced to create a three-way balance of power? Currently, Yan Xiu's army includes many allied soldiers conscripted from the Qiang and Di tribes. They have no intention of fighting for Yan Xiu, but they also don't want Li Ju to go to Longxi. If the advantages and disadvantages are explained to these Hu people, they will certainly refuse to participate in the war. Once they withdraw, Yan Xiu will be left to fight alone.

Thinking of this, Li Ju immediately sent his nephew Guo Yuan with hundreds of bolts of silk to secretly contact the Qiang people within the enemy army. Coincidentally, the Di chieftain who came to assist Yan Xiu in the battle was an acquaintance of Li Ju, namely Pu Hong. Pu Hong was overjoyed to hear that Li Ju wanted to negotiate peace and immediately agreed, inviting Li Ju to come and talk with Yan Xiu.

When the generals learned of this, most believed it was a trap to lure and kill Li Ju, and advised against him going. But Li Ju smiled and shook his head, saying, "You all worry too much. Although I am the commander-in-chief of this army, I have my brother as my support. Now that my brother is in Chang'an, these people do not know the outcome of the battle in Chang'an. How dare they kill me at will? This invitation is simply to see if I am sincere in negotiating peace."

Having said this, he immediately went alone to the meeting. Just as he had predicted, Yan Xiu breathed a sigh of relief upon learning of Li Ju's arrival and dared not do anything to him. However, after the banquet, he inquired about the battle situation in Chang'an, but Li Ju evaded the question, only discussing peace negotiations. Yan Xiu was naturally delighted, and the three swore a blood oath, vowing to heaven to establish a peace treaty. If either side violated the treaty and attacked the other, the other two would send troops to their aid.

Thus, Li Ju successfully negotiated peace with Yan Xiu in just two days, and then led his army south at a speed of 100 li per day, crossing Longxi in two days and returning to Chencang.

Then, as Liu Xian had suggested, he divided his 20,000 troops in two, intending to use one part to guard the city and the other part to guard the outside. However, when choosing a campsite in Weinan, Li Ju suddenly had a strange idea. He did not intend to follow Liu Xian's strategy and openly set up camp in the southeastern plains, but instead planned to have his troops lie in ambush in the Faniu Plain in the southwest.

This move once again puzzled everyone. Duan Xiu, the chief clerk, advised Li Ju, "My lord, the marshal has ordered us to set up camp in Weinan to contain the enemy. There is already a plan. Why change the arrangement? Back then, Ma Su changed Zhuge Liang's arrangement on the eve of battle, which led to the loss of Jieting and his death. We must think deeply about this!"

Li Ju replied, “Hey, how can we cling to outdated ideas? My brother ordered me to set up camp outside the city because he doesn’t know the details of Chencang and can only consider the most conservative approach, hoping that our army can hold out until he arrives. But I have been looking at Zhuyuan for a long time and want to garrison it for a long time, but we lack a suitable water source. If we hold out on the plains, wouldn’t we be courting death?”

"We must adapt to local conditions. A prolonged siege is not the best strategy; a swift battle is the better plan. Look at this Faniu Plain. Its terrain is high and steep. Although it is not suitable for setting up a battle formation, it is easy to observe and hide. Moreover, it is located to the southwest of our army, making it extremely difficult for the enemy to spot us. Once the enemy comes to provoke us, we can go out of the city to meet them in battle. This is a surprise attack. With both the conventional and the unconventional tactics employed, how can the enemy defend against us?"

Therefore, Li Ju overruled the objections of others and ordered Guo Fang to lead his troops to lie in ambush in the Fa Niu Plain, awaiting his orders.

Four days later, Zhang Yin, the governor of Liangzhou, led an army of 30,000 to attack Chencang. Zhang Yin was a very cautious man. He had heard that Li Ju had scouted the plains south of Weinan beforehand, and he even sent people to search the area. Only after finding that there were no enemy troops in the plains east of Chencang did he send his troops to form ranks and make a show of attacking Li Ju.

This was exactly what Li Ju wanted. He first went out of the city to meet the enemy head-on, then feigned defeat and deliberately led his troops in a westward retreat. Seeing this, Zhang Yin immediately pressed his advantage, and when both sides' formations were in disarray, Guo Fang suddenly led his army out from Faniu Plain, raining down arrows. The Liangzhou army was immediately thrown into chaos, with men and horses falling and the tide of battle turning instantly. Li Ju seized the opportunity, leading his elite troops straight into the center of the army, and killed Zhang Yin, the governor of Liangzhou, with a single arrow. Yan Zuan was powerless to reverse the situation and could only lead his troops in a hasty retreat.

In the Battle of Chencang, the Western Army suffered another defeat, losing over four thousand men. When this news reached Xianyang, Liu Xian was overjoyed. Holding the victory report, he repeatedly cheered and said to his generals, "Shi Hui's achievements are beyond my reach!"

This was naturally an exaggeration. Liu Xian was facing the elite forces of the Western Expeditionary Army, while Li Ju was facing the Liangzhou army, unfamiliar with the terrain—the two were not comparable. However, this did not diminish Liu Xian's satisfaction, as it was an unexpected boon he had never anticipated. In this way, the King of Hejian encountered obstacles at every turn; he could neither deal with Liu Xian head-on nor deal with Li Ju by dividing his forces. Liu Xian's prior plan to suppress the King of Hejian's popularity had essentially been achieved.

Next, all that's left is to wait a few more days until the last batch of immigrants enters Wudu, and then it will all be over, and Liu Xian can leave. In Liu Xian's mind, Sima Yong, no matter how much anger and resentment he has, has exhausted all his options and is now powerless to do anything.

But this time, Liu Xian was wrong; he had overlooked one option.

On the day of Ji Hai in September, a scout brought news he desperately wanted to hear: Zhang Fang, commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, had led his troops into Tongguan and was heading straight for Chang'an. (End of Chapter)