Jinting Han people

Within a month of the outbreak of the Celestial Masters Rebellion, the war situation in Sichuan and Chongqing began to become more complicated.

After news spread that Liu Xian had led troops to quell the rebellion, the Celestial Masters followers in the Zitong and Guanghan areas were thrown into disarray. Although these followers were numerous, armed, and claimed to be devout and fearless, they were ultimately an untrained rabble. They knew neither how to form ranks nor wore armor. On the battlefield, they would be considered quite capable if they could overcome their fear and fire two volleys of arrows.

In contrast, Gongsun Gong's Iron Cavalry was the renowned Shanggu Iron Cavalry, famous since the time of Meng Guan. For years, they had swept across the land unchallenged, and once they surged forth, they were like an iron torrent—how could these hot-blooded followers possibly stop them? Within a mere twenty days, three battles erupted in Fuxian, Zitong, and Hanshou, each unfolding almost identically. No sophisticated tactics were needed; as long as the Han banners appeared on the battlefield, Gongsun Gong led his iron cavalry in a relentless charge, piercing through the rebels in a single round and utterly crushing them in two.

No matter how steadfast one's faith, physical suffering cannot be eliminated, and fear remains contagious. The followers of the Celestial Masters sect, relying on their numerical superiority, initially thought they could achieve something, but ultimately proved utterly ineffective against the iron cavalry of the Iron Cavalry. Gongsun Gong didn't even need to raid the Taoist temples in the mountains; the rebellion in Zitong County was easily quelled, and the grain route from Hanzhong to Luoxian was successfully restored.

When news of the pacification of Zitong reached Guanghan Commandery, the followers of the Celestial Masters sect were greatly alarmed. Especially after hearing that Liu Xian, the Duke of Anle, was personally leading the army, they began to doubt their faith. However, having already started the uprising, they were unwilling to let it end so abruptly, and could only scatter. Some gathered at their respective administrative offices, intending to resist stubbornly; others fled south to Jianwei Commandery to join Li Axiang; and a small number pretended nothing had happened and returned to their hometowns to farm. In general, they no longer had the courage to confront the Hanzhong army head-on.

However, although the uprising of the Celestial Masters sect did not achieve the desired results, it at least gave Li Xiong a much-needed respite. Jianwei Commandery returned to Li Xiong's control, alleviating his worries about the Hanzhong army attacking Chengdu from the south. Furthermore, the Hanzhong army's strength was clearly stretched thin due to the need to quell the rebellion, allowing him to calmly begin organizing the relief of Luo County.

The Chengdu army's first counterattack began in mid-June, with Chengdu King Li Xiong personally leading 30,000 troops to the south of the Luo River. Upon arrival, he first launched a probing attack on the Hanzhong army's camp at the river mouth, but quickly returned empty-handed. The Hanzhong army had been encamped there for over a month, and their fortifications were very strong; without heavy casualties, they would be difficult to breach.

Therefore, Li Xiong changed his strategy and said to his generals, "To deal with the enemy, it is better to cut off their supply lines than to launch a head-on attack. Luoxian is relatively close to Chengdu, so our army's resupply is relatively simple. In contrast, the distance from Hanzhong to Luoxian is ten times that of our army. Therefore, the longer the time drags on, the more difficult it will be for the enemy to resupply. Our army should intensify this situation and wait until the enemy is exhausted before launching a decisive battle."

He divided his troops and set up camps in the Bamaoshan area, attempting to use the terrain to move north and cut off the Hanzhong army's supply lines. However, Liu Xian saw through his intentions first and sent troops ahead of time to seize Baimashan. The two sides fought a battle at Baimashan, and the Chengdu army, seeing no good results, retreated once again.

But Li Xiong did not give up. Since he could not occupy advantageous terrain in the east, he turned to attack the west. He ordered Grand Tutor Li Xiang to lead 10,000 troops from Chengdu to bypass Wenshan County in the west. Led by local Celestial Masters Taoist followers, they crossed mountains and valleys and suddenly entered Xindu County from Jiulong Mountain, launching a surprise attack on Mianzhu.

At this time, the garrison in Mianzhu City numbered only three thousand, and was under the command of Wei Bo. If it were to fall, it would mean that the Hanzhong army below Luocheng would directly cut off the supply lines and would have no choice but to retreat. Upon learning the news, Liu Xian immediately ordered Guo Song to lead four thousand troops north. Guo Song led the main force behind and advanced slowly, while he himself led five hundred elite soldiers in a night attack on Li Xiang. At the same time, he raised beacon fires outside to call on the garrison in the city to fight together. As a result, he defeated the Chengdu army. Li Xiang, unaware of the enemy's strength, quickly lifted the siege and returned to Jiulong Mountain, where the two sides formed a new stalemate.

Within a month, the two armies moved back and forth on the battlefield, constantly clashing. The Chengdu army attacked fiercely, while the Hanzhong army defended resolutely, suffering heavy casualties in a short period of time, yet the battle showed no signs of a decisive victory.

At this time, the nominal commander of the Luocheng Hanzhong army was He Pan. He encouraged the soldiers and said, "I know you are all suffering from acclimatization problems, but June is almost over. When autumn comes, the weather will be clear and crisp. The plains here are wide open, which is the perfect time for my cavalry to gallop invincible. How can the Di bandits possibly defeat us?"

On the other side, Li Xiong also encouraged the soldiers to be patient, saying, "I have already confirmed with Chief Instructor Chen that Liu Xian is just putting on a brave face right now. Once his illness flares up, he will surely die, and in the end, we will still be victorious."

However, the Chengdu Army and the Hanzhong Army were not the only forces on the battlefield in Sichuan and Chongqing.

Meanwhile, in Ba County, Jiangzhou.

It was morning, and the early autumn sun peeked out from behind the eastern mountains, illuminating the gently sloping, bluish-yellow hills that stretched out from the rolling peaks. The slopes descended, connecting to a winding grove of bamboo and orange trees. Flat rice paddies stretched out along the edge of the grove, all the way to the banks of the mighty river flowing eastward. More than half a year of hard work was finally about to yield a bountiful harvest. The clear autumn breeze, blowing across the undulating waves of rice, brushed against the dark faces of the farmers, but brought no sense of contentment.

The reason was clear: along the forest paths, small groups of officials could be seen riding by from time to time. Between the villages and counties, village owners were already negotiating with the government; tax collection sheds had been erected, and tax collectors were already tallying the tax lists. County soldiers, swords at their waists, stood idly behind the clerks, chatting casually. Behind the sheds, cargo boats could be seen moored on the various tributaries, currently empty but soon to be filled—it was time to collect taxes.

Looking inside Jiangzhou City, many unusual things were also observed. At the south gate of Jiangzhou City, hundreds of warships covered in cowhide had covered half of the river surface, tied to the dock's mooring posts with ropes. The dock was crowded with people, and judging from their diverse clothing, they did not seem to be locals from Sichuan and Chongqing. On the walls of Jiangzhou, all kinds of banners stood tall, forming a magnificent cloud.

Inside the governor's mansion, Luo Shang, the current Grand General of Liang and Yi provinces of the Great Jin Dynasty, was hosting a banquet and negotiating with someone. Anyone who knew Luo Shang would be surprised to find that this fierce general, known for his impatience, was now all smiles and courteous, and the person he was talking to was a handsome young man.

The banquet was, of course, extremely lavish. Even though only two people were dining, there were as many as thirty maids attending them. Dressed in fine silks, some held cups to one side, some warmed wine over small stoves, some lit incense, some played the zither, and some danced in the hall. Each one was beautiful; while not necessarily a national beauty, they were still captivating. The delicacies on the table were dazzling, such as roasted mandarin duck, roasted rabbit with wine, pufferfish sashimi, and honey-preserved pork ribs…

Luo Shang pointed to the pork patties on the plate and smiled at the young man opposite him, "Lingming, try some of this. There's only one piece of this delicacy on the neck of each pig. We don't raise pigs in Jiangzhou. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have been so extravagant!"

The young man was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a very fair complexion, but he showed no stage fright in front of Luo Shang. He raised his glass and laughed, "Master Luo, you flatter me. I have long heard that Sichuan is a land of abundance, with fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles, producing not only rice but also beautiful women. Seeing it today, I can see that it truly lives up to its reputation. How can it compare to our poor, remote Guangzhou?"

Unexpectedly, these words stirred up Luo Shang's painful memories. He sighed deeply upon hearing this, then rose, raised his cup, paced back and forth, and shook his head, lamenting, "Alas, Lingming is right. It's a pity that such fertile land is mostly not owned by the state, but occupied by traitors. How can this be tolerated?"

“I am old, and I’ve heard that Wang Guangzhou is old too.” He downed his wine in one gulp, turned to the young man, and sighed, “It seems that the hope for the future rests on you young people!” This man was none other than Wang Ji, the second son of Wang Yi, the current governor of Guangzhou. His visit to Jiangzhou was the result of Luo Shang’s desperate pleas for help.

After Liu Xian entered Shu and began his offensive against Li Xiong, Luo Shang realized that this was a golden opportunity for him to profit from the situation. He had been recuperating in Jiangzhou for nearly a year and a half, but his forces were still insufficient to confront either Li Xiong or Liu Xian. Therefore, Luo Shang began to seek reinforcements from all directions. He simultaneously sent letters to Jingzhou, Ningzhou, Guangzhou, and Jiaozhou, emphasizing Liu Xian's terrifying power and stating that if Liu Xian gained control of Ba and Shu, the world would never know peace.

In the end, Liu Hong of Jingzhou remained unmoved, sending only some provisions and taking no further action. However, the three prefectures of Guangzhou, Jiaozhou, and Ningzhou were quite interested and ultimately replied to Luo Shang, each promising to send 5,000 troops to aid him. The leader of the Guangzhou reinforcements was none other than Wang Ji, the Prefectural Administrator of Guangzhou.

The Wang family were former officials of the Eastern Wu dynasty, and had been stationed in Guangzhou for generations. When Emperor Wu of Jin conquered Wu, he had no intention of going to great lengths to deal with remote areas like Guangzhou and Jiaozhou, where mountain tribes roamed freely. He simply recognized the power of the local powerful clans, nominally placing them under the jurisdiction of the court, but in reality allowing these clans to rule hereditarily. The current governor of Guangzhou, Wang Yi, has been stationed there for nearly ten years, and his sons, Wang Ju and Wang Ji, are widely considered the next governors.

Hearing Luo Shang praise him, Wang Ji couldn't help but feel very proud. Although he was only seventeen years old, under his father's leadership, he had repeatedly quelled the mountain tribes and was quite renowned in the area for his military expertise. Wang Yi was actually quite hesitant about whether to support Luo Shang, but Wang Ji, young and impetuous, volunteered and strongly advocated sending troops when he heard there was an opportunity to confront Liu Xian.

He said to Luo Shang, "Please rest assured, Lord Luo, the five thousand Yue warriors I brought this time are all fearless and will surely achieve great feats on the battlefield! If you trust me, you can use me as the vanguard!"

Luo Shang laughed, thinking to himself that young people always overestimate themselves. He wasn't even familiar with the terrain of Sichuan, yet he wanted to be the vanguard? But then he thought that the enemy didn't know their strengths either, so perhaps they would be of great use in other ways. So he nodded and said, "Good! Young heroes! Once we're on the battlefield, I'll use you as a surprise force!"

Wang Ji then asked, "When does Lord Luo plan to send out his troops?"

Luo Shang said, "But after we finish collecting this year's taxes and wait for reinforcements from Jiaozhou and Ningzhou, we can probably start the war next month."

"Oh! I wonder where Lord Luo intends to attack first?"

"Right now, Liu and Li are locked in a fierce battle in Xindu. If I were to go there, it would be quite an eyesore." Luo Shang had already given this matter considerable thought and said with a leisurely smile, "I plan to first lead my troops north to reclaim Bazhou. Once we have taken Bazhou, Liu Xian's rear will be vulnerable, and I will then take Zitong and Hanzhong. Liangzhou will then belong entirely to the imperial court."

Listening to Luo Shang's strategy, Wang Ji seemed to be deep in thought. He asked, "Liu and Li are now fighting each other to the death. You, Lord Luo, should be the fisherman. Logically speaking, maintaining the balance between the two of them is the best course of action. But isn't your approach just ruthlessly eliminating Liu?"

Luo Shang sighed, "I don't want it to be this way either, but Liu Xian is a notorious villain. This year, he entered Shu and was once unstoppable. My forces are weak now, and it's extremely difficult to strike a balance between these two. In comparison, although Li Xiong is troublesome, he hasn't reached that level yet. I'll choose the easier path and abandon the more difficult one!"

Liu Xian's rapid progress this year left a deep impression on Luo Shang. He was always arrogant, but now he had to admit that in a direct confrontation, he probably wouldn't be a match for Liu Xian. However, this was something he couldn't readily admit to anyone.

The two drank heavily again. As they were talking, Protector He Chong hurriedly entered and whispered something to Luo Shang. Luo Shang frowned and scolded, "What kind of days are we living in? How can these unruly people not understand the difficulties of the country? This year's taxes are a bit heavy, but if we don't quell the rebellion and eliminate the bandits, where will we find peace in the future?"

It turns out that this year, Luo Shang's taxes were excessively heavy. The usual 30% land rent was increased to 60%, an unprecedented burden. This sparked local discontent, leading to a tax uprising in the Jiangyang Fu County area.

Luo Shang said impatiently to He Chong, "I'm giving you six hundred armored soldiers. You have ten days to kill all the ringleaders of this rebellion. There must be someone behind this, most likely the traitors Li or Liu, secretly instigating it. Otherwise, where would these unruly people get the guts? Dig them up and confiscate their property. A bunch of unruly people! They think a 60% tax is too heavy, and they want to collude with bandits? Then just hand it all over to the state!"

He Chong nodded, bowed his head, and left. Luo Shang turned back to Wang Ji and said, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Wang Ji laughed it off, dismissing it as mere idle gossip. But then he suddenly remembered something and turned to Luo Shang, asking, "Lord Luo, our army has just entered Sichuan, and many soldiers are suffering from acclimatization problems. How should we address this?"

Luo Shang patted his knee and laughed, "You don't need to worry about that. Next month, when the soldiers from Ningzhou arrive, I'll tell them to send some military medical personnel over. These men under Governor Li may not be good at fighting, but they've seen a lot of miasma in the south and have abundant medicinal herbs. They're experts at recuperating and can cure any disease. Back when Zhuge Liang launched his Northern Expeditions against Guanzhong, much of the military medical supplies and medicines came from Ningzhou."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but think of the people sent by Ningzhou this time, and said to Wang Ji with a smile, "Speaking of which, Lingming is so young, I wonder if he is married?"

"No, why is Lord Luo asking about this?" Wang Ji asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Haha, of course it's for a good marriage!" Luo Shang's smile widened, and he clapped his hands, saying, "Li Yungang has already written to me; the one he sent to Jiangzhou this time is the young lady from his household!" (End of Chapter)