Jinting Han people

The dramatic changes in the battle situation within a few days were simply an unbelievable dream.

Before the campaign, almost everyone believed that the Jiangzhou army's attack on Bazhou County, even if not as smooth as an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, would at least be relatively easy. Even Li Xiu, who was pessimistic before the battle, only thought that Luo Shang had underestimated his opponent and might not gain any advantage. But the result was as it turned out: the Hanzhong army not only launched a proactive attack with inferior forces, but also used the terrain to its advantage, turning the tables and encircling the Jiangzhou army.

When the generals of the Jin army realized this, they did not even feel fear or terror. Instead, they felt a sense of absurdity: what had happened to make things turn out this way?
Luo Shang finally realized the truth: Yao Xi's troops had been ambushed and annihilated. Upon realizing this, he was filled with rage and shouted, "Yao Xi is incompetent! Is he some kind of Ma Su? One hundred and twenty warships, and he lost them all!"

Faced with this situation, he instead encouraged his soldiers, saying, "That brat Li Ju, how many battles has he fought? How dare he be so arrogant! With so few men, he dares to block my path, Luo Shang! Does he really think I've gotten this far by chance? He's just here to die!"

Having said that, he surprisingly ordered the entire army to form ranks again. Then, he rode ahead and pointed out several veteran generals, including He Chong, Zhang Luo, and Huang Yin, saying to the crowd, "We have all crawled out of piles of corpses in Chengdu. We have nothing to fear anymore. If it weren't for our desire to serve the court, we wouldn't have survived until now. Today, Li Ju looks down on us so much. Let them see our courage!"

He said sternly, "Go back to Anhan, I will personally lead the charge, and you will follow. I don't believe they can really stop us!"

The commander-in-chief's order to lead the vanguard boosted the morale of the troops. Li Xiu was also surprised and quietly said to Mao Meng, the military officer accompanying her, "Lord Luo may lack strategic acumen, but he remains calm and courageous even when at a disadvantage, which is quite rare!"

Mao Meng, a deputy general who had served Li Yi for many years, said to Li Xiu with a wry smile, "Three years ago, when you sent troops to aid Luo Gong in his great battle against Li Te, the situation was quite similar. At that time, Luo Gong had the upper hand, but because he pressured the refugees too much, he ended up losing. When everyone thought he was doomed to lose, Luo Gong persevered and finally beheaded Li Te. After Li Te's death, everyone thought he was sure to win, but then came the great joy and sorrow. Li Xiong turned defeat into victory. Who could have predicted that? It's really hard to accept."

"The master told me back then that Luo Gong is like a jackal. He usually causes trouble and gets into unnecessary problems, but when it comes to life and death, he has the ability to hold on and dares to kill. He is unpredictable. Sister, you see, the battle has only just begun."

Luo Shang was indeed such a remarkable figure; when the situation was going exceptionally well, he made a series of disastrous decisions, but when the situation suddenly turned unfavorable, he became an outstanding commander. He then issued a series of orders to counter any possible interception measures that Li Ju might take.

First, he ordered his army to cross the river. Although he no longer had the warships, he still had more than forty supply ships. He used these ships to get his army across the river to the east bank. After all, Anhan City was on the west bank, and if they returned via the east bank, the difficulty of intercepting them by the Hanzhong army would increase significantly.
Secondly, he divided his troops into three parts, with his veteran soldiers leading the vanguard, the majority in the middle, and reinforcements from Ning, Jiao, and Guang prefectures at the rear, in order to maintain order in the army and ensure that the soldiers would not desert without cause.

Then he took out the gold and silver jewelry he carried with him and selected Brazilians from the army to distribute to them, sending them to the front to recruit local villagers, while also trying to find out detailed information about Li Ju and win over Li Ju's soldiers.

He even prepared a backup plan, sending another small team to scout the road to Xiangshuitan in advance. If he could not break through Anhan from the front, he planned to force his way east through the mountains and forests, passing through the Xiangshuitan and Yupinghu areas, and then diagonally to Dangqushui, where he would cross the river again and force his way south.

With this arrangement in place, morale was greatly boosted, and everyone slowed their pace. Scouts sent out at both ends kept a close watch on the surrounding area, gathering information on the enemy's next moves. After only one day of travel, they received new intelligence from an envoy in Dianjiang, saying that just yesterday, several thousand cavalry from Guanghan had rushed to the city and begun besieging Dianjiang.

Many of the generals were nervous, but Luo Shang remained remarkably calm. He said, "Fast horses may be troublesome on the battlefield, but what use are they in attacking a city? There's no need to panic. With the defenses of Dianjiang, I've left three thousand soldiers, enough to hold the city for several months. As long as things don't fall apart here, the overall situation won't be chaotic."

Having said that, they continued their march at a pace of sixty li per day. Along the way, the mountains and forests turned red, and the autumn leaves covered the hillsides. The sunlight slanted down, creating a truly magnificent scene. But the soldiers had no time to appreciate it. They simply headed south, marching for four days straight, and finally arrived at Anhan again. Immediately afterward, they saw the Hanzhong army's camp on the east bank.

The scene on the west bank was exactly the same as when we arrived: ships lined the city walls, a vast array of warships, red flags fluttering atop the city walls; only the owners of the city walls and the fleet had changed. On the east bank, a fence had been erected on a hill, curving inwards around the summit. Outside the fence were caltrops, barbed wire, and other barriers to increase the difficulty of climbing and defending the hill from the opposite side.

The scouts of the Jiangzhou army had indeed gathered intelligence that there were only about a thousand soldiers guarding the hill called Zhufeng Mountain in front of them, but this was not the only obstacle Li Ju had set up. He had also set up three more obstacles behind it: Maohuo Mountain, Tiantai Mountain, and Wuma Mountain, intending to use a stepped defense to wear down Luo Shang until he ran out of food and surrendered.

Upon learning of the situation, Luo Shang did not rush to attack. Instead, he pondered a strategy while ordering his men to set up camp. He quickly came up with an idea and sneered, "This kind of thing can't stop my 50,000-strong army? Ridiculous! We'll rest for the night, and tomorrow we'll show this brat our might!"

That night, he convened a military council to discuss how to deploy his troops. Luo Shang said to his generals, "Once our army crosses Anhan, ten days will be enough for us to return to Dianjiang. In other words, we must break through the enemy's obstacles within five days. Gentlemen, although the enemy occupies the terrain, they are still no more than ten thousand men. We have a force advantage of more than five times. With superior numbers, we should be able to defeat them."

After the generals nodded in agreement, he said, "In that case, the entire army must prepare for a fierce battle and cannot afford to take any chances. I said before that I would personally lead the vanguard, and that was no exaggeration. Tomorrow, I will lead the vanguard and take ten thousand men to fight the first battle."

Seeing Luo Shang speak with gritted teeth, displaying an indomitable spirit, the crowd couldn't help but admire him. He then said, "However, if we continue like this, the army will inevitably become exhausted after each pass, requiring rotations. I plan to divide the army into five units, each taking turns to break through passes. What do you think?"

Since Luo Shang was willing to lead the charge to break through the pass, everyone had no objections and naturally nodded in agreement. Luo Shang then made the allocations, dividing the army into five divisions. As he stated, the first division would be led by himself, the second by Wei Ji, the Prefect of Jianwei, the third by Zhang Yan, the Prefect of Bazhou, the fourth by Zhang Luo, the Prefect of Ba Commandery, and the fifth by Wang Ji, the Military Advisor of Jiaozhou. Li Xiu's troops were also assigned to Wang Ji's command. Luo Shang earnestly said to Li Xiu, "I really don't want Shuniang to go to the battlefield. If something happens to her on the battlefield, how can I explain it to Brother Yungang? But that's how war is; I can't guarantee success. If we ultimately fail to break through the enemy pass and the army has nowhere to go, we will have no choice but to fight to the death. At that time, I hope Shuniang will disregard past grievances and join us in killing the enemy!"

Having said all that, Li Xiu naturally couldn't refuse. Moreover, the general's bearing that Luo Shang displayed stirred her heart and stirred her blood. She immediately bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Lord Luo. Words do not speak louder than words. Since you, Lord Luo, have shown such responsibility, how could I, Li Xiu, dare to dishonor your name!"

Thus, at dawn the following morning, the Battle of Anhan officially began.

Luo Shang truly meant what he said, and this battle was first launched by Luo Shang's own forces. He and his eldest son, Luo Yu, led the vanguard, taking advantage of the darkness to circle around to the east side of Zhu Feng Mountain, where they split into two groups with his second son, Luo Yanshou, to attack the passes on Zhu Feng Mountain.

The commander of the Hanzhong army garrison on Zhufeng Mountain was Guo Fang, Li Ju's brother-in-law. Seeing the enemy army sweeping in like a tidal wave, he raised smoke signals on the mountain to indicate their approach, and ordered his soldiers to engage them. Amidst the thunderous sound of war drums, the smoke dyed the dawn sky blood red.

The Hanzhong army, positioned on higher ground and aided by fortifications, and well-equipped with bows, crossbows, and arrows, held a significant advantage, even though the mountain defense force numbered only a thousand. Their hands moved relentlessly, and dense volleys of arrows swarmed into the ranks like locusts, pressing down on the Jiangzhou soldiers climbing the mountain, making it almost impossible for them to raise their heads.

But there's a way to fight when you can't lift your head. Luo Shang led his elite veterans, their heads covered in wooden shields, advancing almost crawling up the hillside. They didn't stop because of the strange noises overhead, nor even when their comrades were pinned to the ground by stray arrows. They knew that breaking through the enemy lines as quickly as possible was the best way to minimize casualties. Therefore, even with their shields riddled with arrows, they continued their methodical advance.

Once they were within charging distance of the palisade, under Luo Shang's personal command, they suddenly stood up. One group of men took their positions and engaged the Hanzhong army soldiers in a firefight at this distance. The other group seized the opportunity to clear away the caltrops and barbed wire in front of them as quickly as possible. However, they soon discovered that clearing them was more difficult than they had imagined. In fact, the Hanzhong army had dug many pitfalls in front of the palisade, with sharpened and dried wooden stakes inserted into the pits. If one accidentally stepped into one, their skin would be pierced and their flesh torn apart instantly.

These small traps greatly slowed the Jiangzhou army's advance, and in the exchange of fire, the Jiangzhou army was clearly at a disadvantage. Against the wind, they couldn't hit a single arrow after four or five, and instead, many fell to the ground. Seeing this, Luo Shang was furious. Braving the rain of arrows, he stood up from the crowd and shouted to those around him, "What's the panic! Push the corpses down! Step over the bodies!"

The soldiers, as if waking from a dream, used the still-warm bodies of their comrades to fill the deep pit and moved closer to the wooden palisade. Finally, they were able to begin seizing control of the palisade and engage in close-quarters combat with the Hanzhong army.

However, close combat was also at their disadvantage. Based on past experience, Li Ju had distributed long spears to each army early on, ordering the soldiers to heat the spear tips before thrusting. The Jiangzhou soldiers, upon engaging in battle, initially tried to forcibly grab the spears from the blades, but were immediately burned and cried out in pain. They only managed to break through the wooden fence by enduring the thrusts and stabs, creating a few gaps, but this was futile.

Fortunately, the Jiangzhou army was not without its advantages; their numbers were indeed far greater than Zhu Fengshan's garrison, more than seven times their size. Luo Shang had already ordered He Chong to bypass Zhu Fengshan and lead three thousand men to form an ambush halfway. The Hanzhong soldiers who wanted to aid Zhu Fengshan from the south were blocked by them and could not advance an inch. As a result, although the Jiangzhou army suffered heavy losses, Zhu Fengshan's garrison could not be replenished, and with each breach, the pressure on them increased.

Overall, the two sides remained deadlocked. The battle raged for three hours, from morning to afternoon. The Hanzhong army seemed to be on the verge of collapse, but they held firm within their wooden palisades. As for the attacking side, Luo Shang's troops had already lost nearly a thousand corpses, with even more seriously wounded. They seemed to be exhausted.

In this situation, Luo Shang knew it was his turn to step forward. He drew a lacquered gold sword from his waist and said to the crowd, "Look closely, everyone! This is the sword that the Duke of Xiangyang (Wang Jun) bestowed upon me!" Then he drew the sword and hurled it forcefully into the Hanzhong army formation. The sword landed perfectly on a mound covered with fallen maple leaves. He then promised, "Whoever can retrieve this sword for me will be the new Prefect of Jiangyang!"

Having said that, without waiting for anyone's reaction, he made a move to charge forward. But before he had taken more than a few steps, he suddenly fell backward, struck by an enemy arrow!

It turned out that Guo Fang's son, Guo Yang, had repeatedly seen Luo Shang boosting morale during the battle, and guessed that he was a general in the enemy army. So he secretly led his men to sneak over, aimed at the spot, and waited for him to show himself. This time, he hit the target.

The arrowhead entered through his cheek and exited from the other side, shattering Roshang's teeth and filling his mouth with blood—a truly gruesome sight. His attendants were terrified, thinking he was seriously wounded. But Roshang remained unfazed. He reached out and broke off the arrow shaft, then pulled the bloodied middle section from his cheek, spitting out blood and several broken teeth along with it.

Luo Shang continued to shout indistinctly, "Follow me and kill!" With that, he tore off a piece of rag to wrap around the wound on his cheek, then mounted his horse and charged into the fray.

Because of the draft, Luo Shang's voice was unclear. However, this scene greatly inspired the Jiangzhou soldiers. They were captivated by Luo Shang's bravery and understood the meaning of his words. Everyone who witnessed this felt a surge of energy and charged into the enemy lines without hesitation. This immediately broke the stalemate, making it difficult for Zhu Fengshan's defenders to stop them.

After such a long and fierce battle, Guo Fang's troops had suffered nearly half their casualties. Seeing that the enemy's morale was rising while his own was declining, he knew that the situation was hopeless. Fortunately, Li Ju had left boats on the riverbank to provide support. Unable to fight them head-on, the defending troops abandoned their positions and fled to the riverbank, boarding the boats. The Jiangzhou army, having no navy at the time, could only watch helplessly as they left.

In conclusion, Luo Shang successfully passed the first hurdle. (End of Chapter)