Jinting Han people

It was early morning, and a strong wind was blowing from west to east, gradually increasing in force. The withered grass was lush, and the wind whipped up bits of grass and sand from the ground, giving the sky a strange grayish-yellow hue.

Liu Xian's reason for forming ranks on the spot was simply to take advantage of his current advantageous position and the wolf cavalry's disadvantageous position to inflict heavy losses on the pursuing troops. Although he was extremely exhausted, Liu Xian knew that Zhang Fang's main force could not have advanced so quickly, and the several thousand wolf cavalry that had appeared were likely light troops advancing first, without any large-scale reinforcements.

Regardless of the wolf riders' motives, Liu Xian was determined to inflict heavy damage on them to demonstrate his resolve to fight.

Upon seeing the enemy's arrayed troops, the arriving wolf riders instantly regrouped, their formation gathering like dark clouds. Both sides adopted a posture of readiness for battle, silently observing each other under the sunlit Xianyang Plain. Behind them followed approximately two thousand wolf riders, fully armed, each with two steeds—one carrying armor and the other provisions. From Liu Xian's vantage point, these mounted riders stood motionless like a wall, but Liu Xian knew that once they moved, they would be a vast, surging torrent.

Liu Xian had ordered the recall of over five thousand Fenwu soldiers, and all of his light cavalry were currently stationed there. Although somewhat tired, Liu Xian estimated that the enemy, having arrived so quickly, must have had little rest along the way and was not mentally exhausted. While the enemy was better equipped, considering the timing and their superior numbers, the two sides were evenly matched, with Liu Xian perhaps even holding a slight advantage.

"Zhang Fang's style is so domineering! He dares to follow us with so few people?"

Yang Nandi arrived at Liu Xian's side with great interest and commented as follows.

Although he had been a hostage in Chang'an for a time and knew some generals of the Western Expeditionary Army, Zhang Fang was not well-known at the time, and Yang Nandi was not a big shot either, so they were not familiar with Zhang Fang. This was the first time he had seen Zhang Fang's army, and after observing them for a while, he asked Liu Xian:
"Huai Chong, is Zhang Fang among these people?"

Liu Xian shook his head slightly and smiled, "Probably not. I've fought Zhang Fang a few times. He's an extremely cautious person. Although he likes to take risks, he never puts himself in danger."

Liu Xian's statement was not without basis. In previous encounters, Zhang Fang had indeed employed many risky tactics. For example, using hostages as bait to burn the river bridge, then seizing Hulao Pass, and then, during a stalemate, suddenly mobilizing the Hulao Pass garrison to reinforce it. These decisive moves were all extremely risky, yet Zhang Fang did not personally lead the operations; instead, he remained in the center of the battlefield. This demonstrates that Zhang Fang's fighting style can be summarized in sixteen characters: open defense with covert attacks, bluffing, using the opponent's strength against them, and prioritizing psychological warfare.

In his early years, during the Hao San Rebellion, Zhang Fang might have fought on the battlefield to make a name for himself. But now that he has achieved fame and success, he probably wouldn't even take the lead in a battle, let alone personally engage in combat.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a series of cheers erupted from the wolf riders. Liu Xian and the others clearly saw a knight emerge from the crowd. This man was robust, riding a Qingyue steed, clad in full, gleaming armor, with a gold-studded belt around his waist, and an iron mask covering his face—clearly no ordinary person. After he removed his armor and mask, revealing a face that was neither fully human nor fully visible, a rider suddenly charged out from the wolf riders, stopping about two hundred paces away from Liu Xian, and shouted loudly:

"Hey! The Marshal sent me to ask you, is Lord Songzi here?"

"Is it really Zhang Fang who has come in person?" A murmur rippled through the crowd, but Liu Xian gestured for silence. He gazed at the wolf cavalry two miles away, pondered for a moment, and then instructed his attendant to reply:
"There is no Duke of Songzi here, only Duke of Anle. May I ask if the one who has come is the Duke of Hongnong?"

"Yes, so it is Duke Anle. Then I, the Marshal, ask you: since you have negotiated peace with me, why did you recklessly start a border conflict and disrupt Guanzhong? Where is your integrity?"

"The King of Hejian invaded Hedong first, and the Duke of Anle led his people westward. He was a benevolent and righteous army. Why would he say that he would provoke border conflicts?"

"Nonsense! The Grand Commandant is a pillar of the state, who loves the people like his own children. How could he utter such words of aggression! I, the Marshal, am a loyal subject of the Grand Commandant. How dare you spout such nonsense!"

"If you want war, then let's fight. Stop with the nonsense!"

After a few words, the attendant made a move to return to the army, and the golden-armored knight also retreated, and his cavalry began to make final preparations.

Liu Xian also directed his troops to adjust their formations and prepare for defense. Seeing this, Yang Nandi couldn't help but marvel. After Liu Xian finally finished giving his orders, he asked, "What's going on? This doesn't seem to match the rumors. Zhang Fang sounds like a loyal and righteous man!"

While watching the movement of the opposing formation, Liu Xian laughed and said, "That's all just talk for others to hear. If Zhang Fang were a loyal and righteous man, Emperor Wu of Jin would be able to come back to life from the Junyang Mausoleum."

"What is his intention?"

"Who knows? Maybe they just wanted to scare me to death."

Joking aside, Liu Xian was actually carefully calculating Zhang Fang's intentions. If war is a massacre, then generals are artists skilled in deception. Sun Tzu had long ago pointed out the essence of military strategy: "Warfare is based on deception." When commanding armies of equal skill, the deciding factor is simply who can conceal their true intentions and who can guess the true intentions of their opponent.

From this perspective, Zhang Fang is undoubtedly a master of deception, and Liu Xian cannot believe a single word he utters. Why would he choose to fight him at this particular moment? Why would he defy common sense and appear among the vanguard? Was the person who just appeared truly Zhang Fang? Liu Xian has no idea. But what Liu Xian is certain of is that Zhang Fang is definitely not fighting for the King of Hejian; otherwise, why would he be acting so pretentiously?
While they were pondering, Zhang Fang's wolf riders launched their attack.

Surprisingly, the wolf riders didn't don heavy armor and launch a massive charge. Instead, they wore light armor and charged against the autumn wind. The cold wind howled, dust swirled, and the wolf riders had to squint as they advanced. Therefore, their speed was slow, and their formation quickly crumbled. To Liu Xian and his companions, who stood with their backs to the wind, they looked like a flock of geese with broken wings.

Seeing the group approach within range, Liu Xian ordered his men to fire. Fueled by the strong wind, the arrows flew with divine assistance; almost every archer produced a master shot, the arrows swift and powerful, traveling great distances in an instant. The wolf riders had no time to dodge; a single volley of arrows, dense and powerful, felled a large number of the frontline wolf riders.

The wolf riders then filled in, attempting to close the distance with the Fenwu Army. In response, Liu Xian ordered his troops to disperse, firing and retreating. The wind was now stronger, and the impact of the second volley of arrows was even greater; the arrows no longer traced parabolic arcs in the air, but were nearly straight. Like a summer downpour striking open lotus leaves, the arrows made a constant pattering sound, repelling the approaching enemy cavalry. The wolf riders seemed to want to counterattack, but in the headwind, not only was it difficult for them to aim, but even without aiming, their arrow range was almost halved due to the wind. The contrast was stark, resulting in one side suffering almost no casualties while the other was completely powerless to retaliate.

Of course, the horses suffered the most. Horses are inherently timid and easily frightened, requiring gentle reassurance from their riders, but this sudden barrage of arrows pushed them beyond their limits, causing them to leap, neigh, and become chaotic. This, in turn, disrupted the order of the wolf riders; the chaos at the front affected the rear, making even continuing forward a distant dream.

At this moment, Liu Xian seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack. The wolf riders completely lost the will to resist. When the blades came flying at them, they turned and ran, and were quickly routed.

This battle was even easier than the ambush Liu Xian had planned half a day earlier. With almost no effort, this renowned wolf cavalry fell, leaving over five hundred corpses. The remaining men fled in haste, not even seeing the golden-armored knight from before. Helpless horses, arrows stuck in their backs, ran wildly through the ranks, the ground littered with corpses, many dying with their eyes wide open.

As the wind gradually subsided, the knights of the Fenwu Army cheered, exclaiming "Heaven's blessing!" and "Divine wind!" believing that it was the protection of the heavens that made the battle so successful. However, they did not celebrate for long. Firstly, because they were not far from Chang'an and new enemy troops could attack at any time, and secondly, because they were exhausted, they quickly turned their horses around and tried to catch up with the main force ahead.

On the way, Liu Xian felt uneasy because the other party's behavior was too strange. He had fought against the Tiger Division before; although they didn't have invincible fighting power, their excellent discipline and strong desire to attack had left a deep impression on Liu Xian. This was definitely not the behavior of the people he was encountering today, to the point that he didn't even have a real sense of combat.

At the same time, Liu Xian was certain of one thing: the golden-armored knight from before was definitely not Zhang Fang. In the battle just now, the opponent actually attacked with light cavalry against the wind; this tactic was too foolish, and Zhang Fang would never make such a mistake.

Based on previous speculations about Zhang Fang, only one possibility remains: Zhang Fang deliberately wanted to suffer a defeat. He wanted to exploit this defeat for his own gain. What exactly was Zhang Fang trying to do? It couldn't possibly be some kind of arrogance tactic, could it?

Thinking of this, Liu Xian suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Since he knew the other party was going to make trouble here, why not send someone to lie in wait and see what happened?
He called Meng Tao over and instructed him, "Arrange for a few quick-witted men to go to the battlefield at noon today. Their only task is to have them lie in wait for two days without being discovered. I suspect Zhang Fang will make a move. Make sure they see what's going on and come back to tell me everything."

With this arrangement, Liu Xian felt less worried. When they caught up with the main force, they were already in Huaili County. The army stayed in a local house in Huaili, and dinner was already prepared. To celebrate the successful withdrawal, Li Sheng bought almost all the chickens and ducks in the Huaili market, and then the soldiers plucked chicken feathers all over the ground and stewed tempting chicken soup in their lodgings.

During this time, Liu Xian was extremely exhausted. After having dinner and confirming that the sentry posts were still in place, he went to bed and fell asleep immediately. Then he had a dream in which he was still in Luoyang, a city teeming with people, everyone laughing, as if the crabapple blossoms were in bloom and the sun had risen, everyone seemingly carefree. He himself was laughing too, and then he returned home to find his parents alive and well, his wife and son living in harmony, surrounded by children.

Liu Xian rarely had such a beautiful dream, so he woke up later than usual. At this time, the army was already preparing to set off, and the accompanying guards had prepared steamed buns and honey water for him, and reported to him: "Marshal, the scouts you sent out have returned and said they have important matters to report to you."

"Back so quickly?" Liu Xian knew that the scout's return meant he had made a great discovery, so he quickly tidied himself up, changed into his military uniform, and summoned the scout into his tent. During the meal, he listened quietly to the scout's report.

It turned out that after the scouts returned to the battlefield, they discovered that the Western Army had also returned and was indiscriminately slaughtering people in several surrounding villages. They had massacred nearly two thousand people, then selected the corpses of several hundred able-bodied men, dressed them in the uniforms of Tiger Knights, and threw them onto the battlefield. The remaining corpses were burned along with the village corpses, creating thick smoke, and to outsiders, nothing could be seen what had happened.

"Marshal, after they made the arrangements, another group of people came that night. They were dressed in very distinguished clothes, and we dared not get too close. But we could see that those people had mournful faces, as if they were complaining to the newcomers. Then they left, leaving the body untouched. Seeing no other signs, we rode back."

"Complain?" Liu Xian nodded and comforted them, saying, "Yes, you did a good job. Go down and have breakfast first. After you rest, you can catch up with the main group."

After the scout left, Liu Xian began to ponder the key points of this information. He keenly realized that the most noteworthy point lay in the scout's "complaints."

The discord between Zhang Fang and the Prince of Hejian was already an open secret. Was Zhang Fang deliberately feigning defeat and exaggerating his loss to complain to the Western Expeditionary Army? Or was he doing this to bide his time and repair his relationship with his lord?
No, Liu Xian quickly dismissed this assessment. Zhang Fang might have the patience to bide his time, but the King of Hejian was no incompetent ruler and would never so easily lower his guard. Zhang Fang certainly knew this as well; for him, the relationship between the two was beyond repair.

With this shift in thinking, appeasement is impossible, but what if Zhang Fang considers Sima Yong an opponent? Then, losing a battle would be a way to show weakness and lull the enemy into a false sense of security.

Yes, that's it! Liu Xian suddenly realized that he had grasped the truth. Only this possibility made everything make sense! Zhang Fang's target was not him, but the Prince of Hejian! He wanted to use his influence to first lull Sima Yong into a false sense of security, buying time and space to make his plans. Once everything was ready, he would seize the opportunity to launch an attack and take control of the Western Expeditionary Army.

Upon thinking of this, Liu Xian couldn't help but put on his robe and grasp his sword, secretly marveling at Zhang Fang's strategy and ruthlessness. To achieve this, he had actually sacrificed his own soldiers!
He then wondered, could Sima Yong perceive this? Could he defeat Zhang Fang? When would Zhang Fang make his move? How should he respond? Should he continue with the plan to enter Shu, or wait on the sidelines for the two to fight and become the beneficiary?
After a series of questions flooded his mind, Liu Xian weighed them over repeatedly and finally suppressed his excitement.

It's wise to be cautious. Zhang Fang is a patient man, and the Prince of Hejian has deep roots. If I stay in Guanzhong, the three will check and balance each other. No one is a fool, and Zhang Fang probably won't make a move. It's clearly too early for me to think I can reap the benefits now.

This is similar to the relationship between Cao Cao and the Yuan brothers after Yuan Shao's death. When Cao Cao attempted to attack Hebei, the Yuan brothers would unite to defend against the external threat, at least maintaining a facade of harmony. Only when they themselves left first, like Cao Cao did to alleviate the pressure, would Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi begin to clash, ultimately escalating into a power struggle.

Unfortunately, Liu Xian regretfully gave up the idea of ​​staying in Guanzhong, consoling himself that this was for the best, as it meant that his journey into Shu was now completely safe and he no longer needed to worry about the future.

Although it's unknown who will ultimately prevail between Zhang Fang and the King of Hejian, before the next wave of turmoil begins in Guanzhong, I should first enter Hanzhong and establish a firm foothold. (End of Chapter)