Jinting Han people

From north to south, all nations share the same climate and weather. And Shi Le was certainly not the only one troubled by the current situation.

In the spring of the third year of Yongxing (308 AD), this demon king, who had once been famous throughout the world and terrified the northern lands, also felt that his future was becoming increasingly bleak.

When he first captured Nanyang and entered Wancheng, he thought the situation was very favorable. After all, Liu Hong was dead, and Jingzhou would fall into a state of fragmentation. Wouldn't it be a piece of cake for him to defeat this group of remnants and weak troops in Jingzhou with his own abilities?

Zhang Fang had never heard of half of the likes of Tao Kan, Pi Chu, Pi Su, Wang Xun, Miao Guang, Liu Fan, and Xiahou Zhi. As for the rest, their military achievements were limited to fighting refugees and dealing with Chen Min—nothing compared to his rampage across Henan and Hebei. They were hardly worth mentioning.

Therefore, two years ago, Zhang Fang set himself a goal: to sweep across Jiangbei in one year and conquer Jingnan in two years. Then, he would return with renewed force, retake Luoyang, and eventually besiege Tongguan. The thought of those heartless and treacherous powerful clans of Guanzhong filled Zhang Fang with rage and hatred. Being driven out of Guanzhong was the greatest humiliation of his life, and he was determined to tear Yan Ding and his ilk to pieces.

Now, almost two years have passed since Zhang Fang stormed into Jingzhou. Forget about returning to Guanzhong to avenge his defeat; he hasn't even captured Jiangbei yet. The battle in Jingzhou is far from going as smoothly as Zhang Fang imagined, and even the survival of his entire regime has become precarious.

Zhang Fang's initial plan was to besiege Xiangyang from Nanyang. Given Xiangyang's formidable defenses, it might not be easily captured in a short time, but he could utilize the terrain of Xian Mountain outside Xiangyang to set up an ambush. When reinforcements from Jiangling arrived from the south, he would lead his ambush troops from Xian Mountain to attack, defeat the reinforcements, and then behead them, building a mound of heads to intimidate the Xiangyang defenders and force them to surrender.

It must be said that this was a very shrewd strategy. Back then, Zhang Fang used the same tactics to overwhelm Sima Yi. But times have changed, and even the smallest variable can lead to drastically different results. Moreover, his army had become a group of refugees, no longer the formidable and disciplined Western Army of yesteryear.

In the Battle of Xiangyang, Zhang Fang personally besieged Xiangyang and placed Wang Dun under his command, ordering Wang Ru, Hou Tuo, and others to ambush Miao Guang's reinforcements at Xian Mountain. However, Wang Ru and Hou Tuo lacked military discipline; they spent their days on Xian Mountain and their nights raiding and plundering the surrounding villages. The local villagers then reported this to the surrounding county governments, quickly revealing the ambush's location.

Fortunately, without Liu Hong's leadership, the Jingzhou army lacked a central figure, leading to disorganization and infighting. Knowing full well the ambush at Xian Mountain, Miao Guang believed he could turn the tables and, ignoring advice, led his troops to attack. He was truly foolish; what good could come of attacking uphill? In the end, he suffered a defeat and fled back to Yicheng in disgrace.

However, because of prior preparations, the defeat was less impressive and did not cause any serious damage, falling far short of Zhang Fang's intended effect of intimidating Xiangyang. Subsequently, at the suggestion of Ying Zhan, the prefect of Nanping, the plan was changed to lead the navy directly to relieve Xiangyang by boat on the Han River. Seeing the warships sailing unimpeded into Xiangyang, Zhang Fang knew that attacking Xiangyang was impossible, and he had no choice but to sheepishly withdraw and return to Nanyang.

After this incident, Zhang Fangfang realized that under the current circumstances, without a navy, it would be impossible to break through the river defenses, let alone break through the Han River defense line head-on.

He had no choice but to temporarily revise his plans, shifting his target from the Jianghan Plain to Handong, specifically the Jiangxia area. This region was situated on a plain, with a less dense network of waterways than the Jianghan Plain, allowing for greater cavalry mobility. He intended to reorganize his army and build a navy there, then capture numerous cities along the banks of the Han River before advancing on Xiangyang.

The strategic setup wasn't too problematic, and Zhang Fang's campaign in Jiangxia progressed very smoothly. Although Wang Ru and his men were undisciplined, they were originally from the Guanzhong region, skilled in archery and horsemanship, and in direct combat, these Jing people were no match for them. Around the winter of the first year of Yongxing, Zhang Fang successively defeated Wang Chong, the governor of Jiangxia, and Du Rui, the general of the Southern Central Army, essentially occupying Jiangxia and Yiyang commanderies. Tens of thousands of troops swaggered across the north bank of the Yangtze River, displaying their formidable power.

This move greatly shocked the Xuchang court. Wang Yan regarded Jiangnan as his foundation and would not allow Zhang Fang to have any influence there. So he mobilized troops and ordered Wang Kuang, the governor of Jiangzhou, Wang Dao, the governor of Huainan, and Zhou Fu, the governor of Yangzhou, to send troops at the same time, gathering 100,000 men to besiege Zhang Fang.

In an instant, Wuchang Prefecture amassed a massive army, with over a thousand warships lined up along the south bank of the Yangtze River, their prows linked together, displaying their might on the river. Among them were over two hundred large warships, all built from high-quality fir wood from the south, touted as invincible on the river. Each of these massive warships had hundreds of oarsmen, and several decks were built on the decks, each with crenellations and crenellations, staffed with countless crossbowmen and spearmen, suitable for both close and long-range combat. These large ships sailing on the wide river resembled a mobile city. And now, the enemy had over two hundred ships; the scene was truly magnificent and unprecedented.

Seeing this vast sight of masts and sails like a forest, Zhang Fang was truly speechless with bitterness. Only now did he realize the consequences of his notorious reputation. Because of his past deeds, no one dared to underestimate him, which led to an unprecedented unity among the various factions of the Jin court, all determined to exterminate Zhang Fang's forces.

By this time, hearing of the widespread refugee movement in the Central Plains, Zhang Fang briefly considered retreating. He felt that rather than fighting these river monsters on the riverbank, it would be better to return to the Central Plains. He could simply lead a group of refugees to seek refuge with Liu Yuan or Liu Baigen. But before this idea could be put into action, he soon received more devastating news:
Just as he led his army deep into Zhucheng, Wei Xing Prefect Wang Xun suddenly led his troops out of Shangyong. He led his troops on a 300-li raid and, after a day and a night, suddenly attacked Zhi Fu's troops in Wancheng. Zhang Fang's rule was unpopular, and the people in the city, seeing this, immediately rose up as internal allies. Under attack from both inside and outside, Zhi Fu was powerless to resist and had no choice but to abandon Wancheng and retreat to Yixing.

Meanwhile, Wang Yan dispatched General Wang Zan to Runan with 20,000 troops to seize the strategic Dabie Mountains north of Yiyang. This effectively cut off Zhang Fang's northward advance, leaving him in a predicament, unable to advance or retreat.

Faced with this predicament, Zhang Fang had no choice but to grit his teeth and stay in Yiyang, leading his 50,000 refugee troops in an attempt to win the battle.

To everyone's surprise, the battle at Yiyang lasted for almost a year.

As the weaker side, Zhang Fang naturally couldn't launch a preemptive attack. Instead, he held his ground in Zhu City, building ships and training his troops. The commander of the Jin army was Wang Kuang, the governor of Jiangzhou. He believed that with superior numbers and Zhang Fang's desperate situation, his morale would be low. Rather than lingering there and wasting supplies, he thought it better to disembark and fight a decisive battle to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

This plan was met with opposition from most people, as Zhang Fang's reputation preceded him, and they dared not take the risk. After some discussion, on Wang Dao's advice, Wang Kuang dispatched 10,000 Danyang soldiers across the river, with General Zhenwei Hua Yi as the commander-in-chief and Du Zeng, Wang Chong, and Hu Kang as the vanguard, to conduct a preliminary probing battle. If Zhang Fang's morale was indeed low, a decisive battle could be fought then.

As Wang Dao had predicted, the battle was a crushing defeat. The two armies faced each other on the plain, with Hua Yi deploying his troops in a single line. Facing Zhang Fang, he dared not use any overly aggressive formations; he only needed to fight a conventional battle, hoping not to fall behind. Zhang Fang, on the other hand, sent Gou Xi as commander-in-chief, leading three thousand men to meet the attack, concentrating his elite troops on the left flank.

After the battle began, the elite vanguard forces of both sides were actually of similar strength, evenly matched. However, the left flank of the Jin army was relatively weak and was quickly breached. Hua Yi had not left enough reserves, and as a result, when the Jin soldiers saw a group of fierce-looking Zhang Fang cavalry appearing from behind, they thought it was an ambush and immediately lost their fighting spirit, scrambling to flee to the riverbank, completely vulnerable.

The Jin generals on the ship could see this clearly, and they couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh. It was obvious that the gap between the two armies in terms of soldier quality and commander experience was too vast to be bridged in a short time.

After this battle, the Jin army changed its strategy, abandoning direct confrontation and instead sending elite troops to harass Zhang Fang's rear from the upper reaches of the Han River. By continuously compressing Zhang Fang's operational space, they aimed to deplete Zhang Fang's supplies and gradually starve his disorganized army.

This was a strategy proposed by Tao Kan, a military advisor in Jiangzhou. As a meritorious general who quelled the rebellion of Li Chen and Liu Ni, Tao Kan also suffered the loss of his mother after Liu Hong's death. According to custom, he should have resigned to observe mourning for his mother. However, as Zhang Fang's rebellion intensified in Handong, he was dragged from his grave and summoned back to Wang Kuang's service to advise on the military.

Tao Kan was indeed a capable man. Under his strategy, although the Jin army did not achieve many victories on the front lines, the navy operated along the river, harassing supply lines and incidentally gathering and rescuing many refugees from the Handong region. Tao Kan settled these refugees in Jingling, and within a few months, the number had reached sixty to seventy thousand.

Without the support of these people, Zhang Fang's situation became increasingly difficult. He trained his navy in the Ju River, but the results were far from ideal. The northerners were not good swimmers; they were lucky to stand still on boats for long periods, let alone shoot arrows and kill enemies. The army was also facing severe food shortages. The grain reserves in several prefectures were originally quite substantial, enough to last for more than a year if they were careful with their food. However, these refugees were not people who planned ahead; they rebelled because they wanted to eat and drink to their hearts' content. As a result, after only six months, the army's food supplies were already exhausted.

In this situation, Zhang Fang led his men to plunder the surrounding households, collecting tens of thousands of ducks, essentially depleting the local duck population. After the ducks were gone, the soldiers went to catch pheasants and fish in the water. However, without the cooperation of the local people—who were skilled at these tasks—they achieved very little.

By this spring, Zhang Fang had been reduced to leading his soldiers to cultivate land around Jiangxia. Then he encountered a new problem: the people of Guanzhong grew wheat and millet, while those of Handong grew rice. The saying "a trade is like a mountain" applies to farming as well. The westerners had absolutely no idea how to grow rice. Tens of thousands of people toiled in the fields for almost two months, covered in sores from mosquitoes and leeches, while the weeds grew taller than the rice seedlings.

Almost everyone realized that if things continued like this, Zhang Fang would probably have to choose his own death anniversary.

Zhang Fang was not one to fight to the death, but with no other choice, he repeatedly sent men to challenge the Jin army to battle, hoping for a swift and decisive victory. But the Jin army paid him no heed. One hundred thousand men were stationed on the south bank of the Yangtze River, with ships coming and going, and the daily grain and fodder piling up like mountains, stubbornly refusing to fight, intending to starve Zhang Fang to death.

As spring deepened, the morale of Zhang Fang's army plummeted. Starvation was already occurring, and a plague was spreading. Several men secretly stole Zhang Fang's horses and surrendered to the Jin army at the riverbank. Zhang Fang was furious upon learning this and ordered that anyone captured be executed by being cut in half at the waist and beheaded. Even so, the problem persisted.

To boost morale, Zhang Fang summoned his soldiers to practice archery, rewarding the winners with dried meat. He personally drew a three-stone bow and shot at the target, his arrows never missing their mark. He then ordered his knights to ride outside the city and compete using the shafts of their spears, now without their tips. Drummers beat their drums to cheer them on, the sound echoing for miles around.

Zhang Fang knew that the remaining villagers were mostly scouts for the Jin army, so he let them come and watch the battle. It was the first time the villagers had seen Westerners practicing martial arts; they either marveled at it or remained silent. Later that night, he ordered many mounds of earth to be piled up in the camp, covered only with a layer of rice on top. The villagers assumed it was plundered military rations. Little did they know that the dried meat he used to reward his soldiers was actually made of human flesh.

He hoped these actions would confuse the Jin army's commander, causing them to back down and withdraw their troops. This tactic seemed to work remarkably well. In the three or four days following the military exercises, the Jin army appeared greatly discouraged. A number of ships, approximately half the enemy force, sailed directly away from Wuchang County. Zhang Fang was overjoyed, feeling that his luck was about to change.

But his joy was short-lived. On the fifth day, the Jin army ships that had retreated returned and were repositioned at the Wuchang ferry. This greatly puzzled Zhang Fang, but soon he learned the reason: Gou Xi, who was guarding Jiangxia, had surrendered!
After Gou Xi surrendered to Zhang Fang, he quickly became the second most important figure in Zhang Fang's army due to his outstanding military talent. He not only knew the strengths and weaknesses of Zhang Fang's army, but even the Tiger Division was under his command. However, Gou Xi showed no mercy. Seeing that the Jin army intended to withdraw, he took this opportunity to surrender to Wang Yan, taking not only the Tiger Division that Zhang Fang had carefully nurtured, but also betraying Zhang Fang completely.

Zhang Fang used to be the one betraying others, but now he'd been betrayed by Gou Xi. Zhang Fang was so angry he was practically fuming. He lost his temper and started cursing inside the house: "That bastard Gou Xi! He's got guts! He's an ungrateful wretch! I'll catch him sooner or later and chop him into pieces to feed the fish!"

What good is cursing? By this time, Zhang Fang only had about 10,000 men left under his command. He could only calm down and rethink how to survive.

That day, seeing his hundreds of ships piled up in the Ju River, and noticing the north wind blowing, he suddenly had a plan. Although few of his men were skilled in the water and couldn't fight the enemy in a naval battle, could he take advantage of the situation to set fire to the ships and throw the Jin army into chaos?
Zhang Fang had no other choice but to act immediately. He steered the small boats into the river and rowed them toward the enemy. Compared to the large ships, these small boats were like cats and dogs compared to elephants. The Jin soldiers on the warships laughed at the enemy's overestimation of their strength. But when the boats drew closer, they were shocked to discover that there were very few people on board. Apart from a few sailors, the boats were piled high with small mountains of firewood!

Zhang Fang and his trusted followers, including Zhi Fu, sat at the back of a small boat. Amidst the turbulent waves, they fired fire arrows at the ships ahead. The arrows struck the oil-soaked cowhide on the dry firewood, quickly igniting flames over ten feet high. The fire raged fiercely, soon engulfing the entire small boat in flames. Soon, aided by the wind, more and more small boats were set ablaze, flames soaring into the sky, heading straight for the Jin army's warships.

Seeing this, the Jin army was thrown into chaos, hastily scrambling to start their warships and desperately trying to avoid the fire ships. The army itself descended into disarray. They collided with each other, and about ten warships were already blackened by the smoke. The remaining ships scattered frantically, fearing they would be ignited by the flames.

Amidst this chaotic situation, Zhang Fang and his men quietly found a way to land. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, they quickly fled towards Jiangnan. At this moment, the Demon King of Guanzhong was left with only about six hundred men. (End of Chapter)