Jinting Han people

As soon as the battle ended, the battle report from Yinping was sent to Dingjun Mountain overnight. By the next day, Liu Xian learned of the battle situation.

The ferocity of the Battle of Yinping was astonishing. Of the more than ten thousand elite soldiers, nearly a third had been lost in the aftermath. In a normal battle, such losses would almost certainly lead to a rout, yet Zhang Guang had managed to hold on. The losses among the mid-level officers were also extremely severe. As Zhang Guang had predicted, Zhang Wen and Zhang Yuan were both killed on the spot, and Wei Jun's troops also lost nearly half of their officers. Even Wei Jun himself was initially missing and was only found alive after being pulled from a pile of corpses.

In his letter, Zhang Guang vividly described the Chengdu army as extremely difficult to deal with. He argued that their style wasn't the usual fierce and swift, but rather a seasoned and cunning hunter's approach. The soldiers were not only fearless, but their generals were also adept at various tactics, leaving virtually no obvious weaknesses in the battlefield. Faced with such an adversary, a direct confrontation was probably not a good choice; alternative strategies were needed.

Upon learning of the battle losses, Liu Xian was deeply saddened, but Zhang Guang's conservatism surprised him even more. He knew Zhang Guang's character well; he would never admit defeat to any enemy. To say that the enemy was difficult to deal with and that a different strategy was necessary was the highest praise one could give.

After reading the letter, he pondered for a moment and immediately wrote a reply, ordering all participating units to rest and reorganize on the spot. Then he summoned Li Ju and said to him, "Shi Hui, I need to go south for a while. I'll leave the miscellaneous affairs here to you."

"Heading south?" Li Ju guessed it was because of the battle at Yinping. He didn't question Liu Xian's decision, but asked calmly, "How long will you be gone, brother? When will you return?"

Liu Xian smiled and said, "It shouldn't take long, just a few days."

Without hesitation, after a brief handover, he summoned Li Sheng for company, and that afternoon they left Dingjun Mountain, heading straight down the mighty Han River towards Wuding Mountain. Wuding Mountain, also known as Jinniu Gorge, is said to have been created over 600 years ago by King Huiwen of Qin, who used a golden ox as bait to persuade the King of Shu to open a road. The King of Shu then dispatched five of the strongest men in Shu to carve out the mountain pass and gorge, creating the Jinniu Ancient Road, hence the name. It is said that Zhuge Yan, Gongsun Gong, and their cavalry were hiding here, awaiting Liu Xian's orders.

Zhuge Yan and the others were very surprised to see him, because they already knew that the Yinping campaign had ended without success; the battle had ended too quickly, rendering their cavalry completely ineffective. Meanwhile, the Chengdu army was already retreating, so what use would leading troops south again be?

Liu Xian explained with a smile, "I want to see the enemy's military appearance and the terrain of Jian Ge with my own eyes."

For a monarch, many things can be delegated to others, but there are always some things that must be done personally. After all, words have their limits, and to make the right decisions, one must have the right understanding. And in the Hanzhong army today, there are not many people who know much about Bashu. Since Liu Xian is going to rule such a strange yet familiar land, he must see it with his own eyes; this is his inescapable responsibility.

Afterwards, they left Wuding Mountain and traveled westward along the river valley for over a hundred miles until they encountered a tributary of the Baishui River that turned southeast, which is the legendary Baishui Road.

Several years ago, a fortified pass stood here, namely Baishui County, also known as Baishui Pass. This was the starting point of the Yinping Road, Qishan Road, and Jinniu Road, and the confluence of the Baishui and Qiang Rivers, making it the first gateway from Hanzhong into Shu. It was here that Liu Bei recruited the Baishui army and launched his attack on Liu Zhang.

Baishui Pass, nestled against the mountains and beside the river, was originally a formidable fortress, but it has since been demolished. The reason is that a few years ago, Sima Yong sent troops into Shu, only to fall into Li Te's ambush and lose Zitong County and Jiange. He then planned to consolidate his forces and defend Hanzhong. Baishui Pass, as the only remaining isolated city, was deemed useless to keep but too valuable to discard, so it was simply demolished. The local people either headed north to Hanzhong or south to Jiange. When Liu Xian arrived, he only saw a desolate ancient road.

Due to the melting snow, the tracks of the Chengdu army's returning chariots could still be seen on the road. The tracks were very fresh, indicating that our side was only a few hours away from the enemy.

Li Sheng was, after all, a native of Shu. When he surrendered to Liu Xian in the north, Baishui Pass was still standing, a vital stop on the trade route between Ba and Shu, and quite prosperous at that. Seeing it now so desolate, with broken walls and ruins covered in withered vines everywhere, he couldn't help but feel sorrowful, and even seemed on the verge of tears. He sighed to Liu Xian, "My lord, Baishui used to have hundreds of acres of fertile land and bustling commerce; it was a famous city. Now it has fallen into such a state. I wonder if my hometown is still alright."

Liu Xian understood his inner pain. He had also felt immense heartache when he saw Luoyang burned down, but now was not the time to grieve. He comforted Li Sheng, saying, "Everything will be alright. If there are any problems, we will rebuild this place after we have pacified Yizhou."

Considering that they were already very close to the enemy, Liu Xian ordered most of his troops to set up camp here and guard this entrance and exit, while he himself, along with Li Sheng, Zhuge Yan, and more than a hundred cavalrymen, continued south.

Further south along Baishui Road, the rolling hills continue. But one can vaguely sense that the path beneath one's feet is gradually descending, and the space between the hills is no longer so cramped, as if five fingers, once clasped together, are gradually opening up, and the sky is gradually widening. This is a sign that we are about to reach the end of the mountains.

Sure enough, after traveling another seventy li and passing through two mountain ridges that looked as if they had been carved by an axe, a wide basin suddenly appeared before us, with villages scattered like stars across the landscape, nestled at varying elevations. This was Jiameng County. After the establishment of the Shu Han dynasty, this place was renamed Hanshou County. After the fall of Shu Han, it was renamed Jinshou County. The more its name changed, the more it reflected the importance of this place.

Li Sheng introduced to Liu Xian: "To the southwest from here is Jiange, which leads directly to Zitong. To the southeast is Jiameng Pass, which leads to Langzhong by waterway. Zhong Hui stationed his troops here back then."

Liu Xian naturally knew this. Looking down at the enemy soldiers' figures on the ground, which resembled ants, he slowly said, "This was once the headquarters of Generals Fei Yi and Jiang Wei."

After marching for two days, he finally encountered the Chengdu army. It must be said that the Chengdu army, appearing before Liu Xian for the first time, looked rather disheveled. After all, they had just endured a fierce battle and still had to march over a hundred miles across mountains. Even from a distance, Liu Xian could see that many of them were exhausted, their feet likely blistered and bleeding, trudging along at a snail's pace.

Even so, Liu Xian dared not underestimate them. Everyone shines brightly when a battle is won, but it's during a disastrous retreat that the true character of an army is revealed. From this perspective, Liu Xian realized that the enemy was indeed not to be underestimated.

From his vantage point on the high ground, he could clearly see that even in their exhaustion, the troops maintained their formation, a fish-scale formation ready to engage at any moment. Both their flags and equipment were remarkably well-organized, with no signs of supplies being discarded to save effort. Upon closer inspection, it seemed a number of wounded soldiers remained in the central army; they hadn't been abandoned. The dead were buried on the spot, not left to decay in the fields. Moreover, it was noteworthy that the villagers in the basin were familiar with the returning army. Normally, the passing of an army would cause trouble for the people, but the locals didn't shy away, remaining calm and composed. Some even greeted each other upon seeing acquaintances, while those who saw the wounded gathered together and wept. Liu Xian guessed that these people were likely the families of the refugee army, settled here to cultivate the land.

But what caught everyone's attention most was the large banner in the army bearing the four characters "True Lord of Peace." Wherever the azure banner went, the people along the way knelt down and bowed their heads, chanting incantations. Their piety was so great that it made onlookers feel ashamed.

Such a situation made Liu Xian dare not settle in the village, for if he were discovered, he might very well perish there. Therefore, after descending the mountain, he always took small paths, traversing through the forests, in order to approach and observe the Chengdu army. But the closer he got, the more vigilant he became, to the point that he said to Li Sheng, "Wei Jun told me before that we should not pursue the defeated Chengdu army, and I didn't take it seriously. Now it seems that it was indeed true."

As they drew closer, the Chengdu army became increasingly conspicuous. A hundred or so riders seemed too large a target, so Liu Xian ordered the rest of his cavalry to remain hidden and wait, while he himself, with only seven or eight men, continued to spy. Following the Chengdu army, they slowly advanced for over forty li, and finally, that very night, Liu Xian spotted Jiange.

Because the mountain path was already very narrow, Liu Xian could not go any further and could only hide on a less frequented hillside to observe. At this time, he was less than a few dozen steps away from the Chengdu army. He should not have made a sound, but looking up at Jiange, which was several miles away, he could not help but marvel. The terrain was truly unimaginable. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, who would have thought that there was such a natural barrier in the world?

While Yangping Pass is also a natural fortress, its perilousness is quite typical, consisting of two towering peaks flanking a river, with a narrow mountain path. The fortress is built on this narrow path, blocking the way. Most mountain passes in the world are like this, such as Tongguan and Dasanguan. However, Jiange Pass is beyond imagination.

Liu Xian saw a mountain range like an iron curtain stretching from the northeast to the southwest. The slopes were almost impossible to climb, rising more than two hundred feet from the ground, like swords jutting out side by side, tightly packed together. Therefore, the locals called it the Seventy-Two Sword Peaks.

Among these swords forged by the heavens, two sword peaks stand facing each other, known to the world as the Great Sword Peak and the Small Sword Peak. Between these two peaks lies another sword peak, but its height is disproportionate, only a hundred feet high, as if it had been broken in half by some deity, becoming a broken sword. At the edge of the broken sword are two small notches, and the two passes, one large and one small, Jian Ge and Dong Guan, are built on these notches, almost vertically, a sight that inspires trepidation.

Liu Xian could see torches lit along the mountain path, and the Chengdu army soldiers were ascending. The path didn't follow the mountain's contours, but rather was a plank road carved into the cliff face, climbing through the rock. While this reduced the difficulty of the ascent, several steep, almost vertical slopes were still visible. Before seeing Jian Ge, Liu Xian had been curious about how Jiang Wei had defended against Zhong Hui's army here. After seeing Jian Ge, however, he wondered how Zhuge Liang had managed to build a fortified pass here—a place beyond human capability.
After he quietly descended from the hillside, he discussed the issue with Li Sheng. Li Sheng smiled with a hint of pride and said, "My lord, although the southern slope of Jiange is also quite dangerous, it is still much gentler and flatter than the mountain road to the north."

"In other words, this pass is easier to attack from the south than from the north."

"That's right. But I heard that Li Xiong conquered Jiange by luring the Western Army into an attack, then ambushing and defeating them, and taking advantage of the situation to seize the pass. It wasn't a direct assault on the city."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian gazed at Jian Ge again. He thought to himself, "Such a terrain truly deserves the title of 'natural stronghold,' even surpassing Tong Pass. If supplies were plentiful, perhaps only a few thousand, or even a few hundred, people here would be enough to hold off an army of 100,000, or even a million."

With that thought in mind, he didn't linger any longer and immediately returned the way he came, gradually rejoining the knights waiting along the way, and headed straight for Baishui Pass.

This puzzled Zhuge Yan, because given Liu Xian's personality, his investigation should have only just begun, so why was he leaving so soon? He wasn't one to harbor doubts, and quickly asked, "Your Highness, aren't we going to take a look at Jiameng Pass in the east? We haven't seen the whole thing yet! If we think Jiange is too difficult to attack, we can start there first."

"No need." Liu Xian replied with lightning speed, clearly having thought about it for a long time: "If we cannot capture Jiange and instead attack Jiameng Pass, Li Xiong can use his elite troops to hold them off from the flank. Our forces are not as abundant as theirs, and we will be attacked from both sides. We may also have our logistics disrupted, making it impossible for us to gain a foothold. If we are surrounded and ambushed, the consequences will be unimaginable. So there is no need to go."

"So Your Highness has given up on the idea of ​​attacking Jian Ge?"

"Yes, since we saw it with our own eyes, there's no need to make things difficult for ourselves."

At this point, Liu Xian couldn't help but chuckle. He truly felt incredibly naive, having actually entertained the idea of ​​a direct assault on Jian Ge. This wasn't just overestimating himself, but also underestimating Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. While Zhuge Liang might not have been the strongest commander in the Three Kingdoms when it came to leading troops to conquer cities, who wouldn't say that Kongming was a once-in-a-millennium genius when it came to building fortifications and defending passes? Even Sima Yi was humbled by his prowess!

Zhuge Yan didn't care about these things; he was just curious about how Liu Xian would enter Shu if he didn't intend to attack Jiange.
After posing the question, Liu Xian did not answer immediately. He smiled and said to Zhuge Yan, "That is a good question, but there is more than one way to enter Shu. We can take other routes."

"Which one is it?" Based on Zhuge Yan's understanding of Bashu, Yinping Road and Micang Road were almost identical.

“I don’t know either,” Liu Xian replied cautiously. “I have an answer in my hands, but before that answer is revealed, no one knows whether it will be disappointing or hopeful.”

"But this is the culmination of decades of hard work passed down to me by the previous generation. I only hope that at this moment when the answer is revealed, I can hold my head high and answer them, saying that I have not tarnished their dreams." (End of Chapter)