Jinting Han people

He Pan predicted that there would be heavy fog the next day. The Jin army had come from afar and would need to rest, so they would be unprepared. Therefore, he used the darting ships to launch a quick attack.

Although the number of troops deployed was small, He Pan's orders were quite clear. He instructed the Han soldiers on each ship to attack no more than two vessels, focusing solely on smaller ships and avoiding attacks on larger vessels. After half an hour, upon hearing the bugle call, they were to quickly withdraw. This made the raid extremely swift and decisive. Even in the dense fog, the Han army suffered no losses, while the Jin army lost nearly a hundred ships.

This victory greatly boosted the morale of the Han soldiers. They had no prior experience in winning naval battles, and therefore, despite repeated training, they had always relied on certain routes, intending to use the navy as a distraction and resolve issues through land warfare. Now, He Pan had demonstrated that the Han army could also win through naval warfare, even a surprise attack in dense fog, which was enough to dispel the soldiers' fear of naval battles.

Liu Xian understood this, so he rewarded the returning naval officers and soldiers greatly, held a banquet for them that day, listed all of them in the merit book, and recorded their merits as first-class.

This move indeed ignited the competitive spirit of the other Han troops. After all, no well-known generals had participated in this raid; it was merely a temporary arrangement by He Pan, who was stationed on a warship in the rear, while his son He Zhang supervised the battle from the front. Now that these unknown soldiers had distinguished themselves, the generals immediately volunteered to fight again, requesting to send out their naval forces for another battle.

This was exactly Liu Xian's idea. Having achieved his goal of boosting morale, he now planned to continue accumulating experience in naval warfare through harassment tactics. Having already gained an early advantage, the Jin army's morale had been dampened. If the Han army were to demonstrate a proactive approach to the battle, the Jin army would find it difficult to maintain their confidence in a decisive battle under these circumstances.

This was precisely the effect Liu Xian desired. After all, he was outnumbered and didn't want to engage in a desperate, all-or-nothing battle. Time was now on his side; the longer he could consolidate his power in Jingnan, the stronger his forces would become, while the Jin army would weaken. To achieve this, he couldn't afford to show any weakness.

He then issued an order that the warships remain stationary for the time being, but dozens of small and medium-sized warships could be used daily to provoke the Han army in rotation. The Jin army was indeed intimidated by the Han army's momentum, and its main force dared not act rashly, only sending out smaller warships of similar size to meet the attack. These engagements were often fruitless, consisting of a brief exchange of arrows on the river until the arrows were exhausted, leaving the enemy's ships looking as if they were covered in pine needles, before they withdrew, with very few casualties.

Of course, the Jin army did consider setting traps to escalate the battle. Sometimes they would feign defeat to lure the provoking Han navy downstream, where they could ambush them. However, the Han army was highly disciplined, and once they noticed any signs of straying too far from their main force, they would try to return to the south bank, and the Jin army dared not pursue them too far. As a result, the battle unfolded exactly as Liu Xian had hoped, with the Jin army becoming increasingly conservative and showing no signs of engaging in a decisive battle with the Han army.

Time passed slowly but steadily, day by day, and the weather turned from cool to cold. All things withered, and the sky was high and the clouds were light. After winter arrived, the mountains and rivers of the Jianghan region quickly revealed their unique side. Although half of the leaves had fallen from the trees, there were still many green bamboos and pines. The chrysanthemums had faded, the reeds had withered, and a thin layer of white frost began to form on the ground, which only made the greenery on both banks stand out even more.

The wind gradually shifted from cool and pleasant to biting cold. As the wind blew across the bamboo forest, one could see that along the line from Shatou City to Shishou, in the villages near the war zone, nine out of ten houses were empty. Some had fled north to Xiangyang to escape the war, while many more had been captured and forced into labor.

The southern population, which was originally concentrated along the north and south banks of the Yangtze River, especially in the area from Jiangling to Xiakou, should have been the most prosperous region in Jingzhou. Now, the roads are deserted, with corpses frequently seen by the roadside. This is mostly due to the Zhang Fang Rebellion a year ago. No one expected that such a short time would bring an even larger battle to this area, causing widespread panic in Jiangxia. Now, apart from the army, there are practically no pedestrians here.

This put immense pressure on Wang Kuang. The grain and fodder supplied locally in Jingbei could only sustain 70,000 to 80,000 people at most; any remaining supplies had to be transported upstream, resulting in enormous consumption. For example, when Sun Hao moved the capital from Jianye to Wuchang to facilitate his northern expeditions, it stirred up considerable public resentment. Now, supplying over 100,000 Jin troops from the southeast would only increase the pressure.

Therefore, Wang Kuang sent Zhu Si and others to Jiangling to have Ying Zhan and others fight a preliminary battle. If it went smoothly, the main army would then advance together, allowing for a quick victory. However, the Han army's fierce provocations have left the main Jin army at the mouth of Dongting Lake somewhat uncertain.

Commander-in-Chief Wang Kuang's first reaction upon learning of the naval attack was undoubtedly one of extreme dissatisfaction. He tapped the jade ruyi in his hand and berated Ying Zhan to Wang Dun, saying, "Zhu Siyuan is a newcomer and a deputy general. He is unfamiliar with the enemy situation, so it is not surprising that he was attacked. But what talent does Ying Siyuan actually have? He has been defeated by Liu Xian time and time again. It is bad enough that he cannot accomplish anything, but he also cannot nip problems in the bud or help his subordinates. Such a person is already disheartening to others. How can he be a key general in our army?"

Wang Kuang's accusations against Ying Zhan were not unfounded. Although Ying Zhan had not actually fought Liu Xian in battle so far, since he joined the campaign, whenever Liu Xian was in the enemy's army, whether as a reserve, auxiliary attacker, or even reinforcement, he suffered defeats. Once or twice was one thing, but counting from the Battle of Mangshan to now, Ying Zhan had suffered four consecutive defeats. Wang Kuang couldn't help but suspect that Ying Zhan was unsuitable to be the commander-in-chief, and thus began to consider replacing him on the eve of battle.

Wang Dun still valued talent. He understood Wang Kuang's meaning and tried his best to defend Ying Zhan, saying, "Marshal, your words are too harsh. Liu Xian has been in the army since he joined and has rarely suffered a defeat. How many people can take on the responsibility of replacing officers and generals on such grounds? Ying Siyuan is in charge of Jingnan and is well-known in the prefectures and counties. He has a great reputation in the army. If you have any dissatisfaction with him, you should at least meet him once and have a legitimate reason before taking any action."

Thus, Wang Dun secured an opportunity for Ying Zhan to remain in office, allowing him to hand over the affairs of Jiangling to Wang Xun and then come to Baling to report on his duties.

Wang Kuang had assumed Ying Zhan was a scholar of idle talk, but upon first meeting him, he discovered this was far from the truth. Ying Zhan wasn't particularly burly, and his demeanor was quite refined, but his arms were long, and his fingers bore calloused calluses unlike those of ordinary scholar-generals, giving him an air of uncommon simplicity and strength. Looking into his resolute eyes, Wang Kuang immediately knew this man was a general of unwavering conviction.

Faced with Wang Kuang's previous accusations, Ying Zhan did not shirk his responsibility, but instead slowly replied, "Marshal, the attack was indeed due to my negligence."

He then directly told Wang Kuang about the series of post-attack measures he had recently taken: after the attack, he not only increased the scale of patrols but also spent a large sum of money to purchase the heads of the attacked soldiers from the Han army, giving them a proper burial to appease the people. At the same time, he discussed with Zhu Si the possibility of requisitioning fishing boats and grain transport vessels locally and converting them into warships to make up for the previous losses. Before Ying Zhan arrived, the lost warships had been largely replaced.

Seeing Ying Zhan's composure, meticulous thinking, and highly organized speech, and most importantly, his willingness to take responsibility, Wang Kuang couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for him. His thoughts of replacing Ying Zhan faded, and he asked, "In your opinion, can our army, advancing westward now, engage the enemy in a decisive battle?"

Ying Zhan replied decisively, “Marshal, it is now October, and the weather is mostly northwesterly, which is not suitable for large-scale naval operations. If it were normal weather, our entire army could easily achieve victory. However, if we go against the wind, the enemy can set fires with the wind at their backs, and our army will suffer the same fate as at Red Cliff. Please think it over!”

This topic suddenly jolted everyone awake, and Wang Kuang remembered the possibility of setting fires with the wind at their backs. Zhou Yu's victory over Cao Cao's army stemmed from the stalemate at Chibi, which dragged on until the northwest winds subsided in December, replaced by southeast winds. He then seized the opportunity to suddenly set fires, catching Cao Cao off guard. However, such rare southeast winds are not always present; northwest winds are common in autumn and winter. As they spoke, the branches of the trees on Yangye Isle swayed and rustled, clearly pointing southeast. Just as Ying Zhan had said, having too many warships at this time would be detrimental. The more numerous and densely packed the Jin army's warships, the more the battle would devolve from a complex naval engagement into a single act of fire.

But wouldn't that mean that the Jin army wouldn't be able to engage in a direct naval battle with the Han army until next spring? Although the rear could still afford two months' worth of provisions, this was far from Wang Kuang's initial plan, and he was extremely troubled.

Wang Cheng then said, "Marshal, this is not a problem. We did not originally intend to fight a decisive battle. If the navy cannot attack from the front, our army will take the land route and attack Yiling. As long as we capture Yiling in time and cut off the enemy's supply lines, the royal army will still win."

This was the only solution at the moment, so Wang Kuang summoned Tao Kan again to ask for his opinion. Tao Kan pondered for a moment and said to Wang Kuang, "Yiling is not an invincible city. The difficulty in conquering this city lies not in the city itself, but in the area outside. There are tens of thousands of bandit troops in Jingnan, who can be deployed as reinforcements to Yiling at any time. If we cannot find a way to contain them, our army will be in trouble both inside and outside, and the siege will become unsustainable."

Upon hearing this, Wang Kuang roughly understood Tao Kan's meaning. He said, "Your idea is that we need to send another detachment south to Jingnan to attract the attention of the main enemy force and distract them so that you can find a way to break through the city, right?"

"Yes!" Tao Kan nodded in agreement.

At this point in the conversation, Wang Kuang closed his eyes and tapped his palm repeatedly with his jade ruyi, clearly contemplating whether to adopt the plan, or if so, what kind of person he should appoint to shoulder this heavy responsibility. This was a crucial appointment affecting the overall situation, and he couldn't afford to be careless.

While the commander pondered, everyone on the warship remained silent. No one dared to utter a sound. The north wind whipped the warship's curtains, making a cracking sound, sometimes lifting them to reveal a gap through which the winter sun shone, casting long shadows. Occasionally, the sound of the wind rustling through the reeds outside could be heard, the ship rising and falling, causing the people to sway accordingly.

After a long while, Ying Zhan suddenly said, "Marshal, may I cross the river?"

Wang Kuang opened his eyes, looked at the scholar-general again, and asked, "You want to cross the river? Are you confident?"

Ying Zhan replied with composure: "I have served as the Prefect of Nanping for four years and am familiar with the terrain of Jingnan. I also have a deep friendship with the local people. If all goes well, I might even be able to persuade the Wuxi barbarians to rebel."

This was indeed Ying Zhan's unique advantage. Wang Kuang, Wang Cheng, and Wang Dun exchanged glances and nodded slightly, finding it feasible. He then smiled and said, "Good! Si Yuan wants to prove himself, and as the commander-in-chief, how can I not help him achieve his goal?"

The implication was that he intended to agree to allow Ying Zhan to cross the river and fight.

However, having said that, Wang Kuang felt that sending only Ying Zhan's army wasn't safe enough. This was precisely what he had been pondering, and he felt he had devised a grand battle plan. He then proclaimed aloud:

"Since we're going to cross the river, we need to do it on a grand scale! One force isn't enough. I'll use my superior forces to cross the river in three routes, harassing their rear. I refuse to believe that with my 200,000 troops, capable of both offense and defense, and divided into multiple routes, Liu Xian, with his mere tens of thousands of exhausted soldiers, can possibly stay in Jingnan!"

The first route he mentioned was naturally Ying Zhan's troops, who, under Ying Zhan's former position as the Prefect of Nanping, were sent to persuade the Wuxi barbarians in the Wuling and Tianmen areas to rebel and harass them from the rear.

At the same time, Wang Kuang planned to send troops from both the east and west. The western route would start from Yidao and Jingmen, blocking the area between Yiling and Nanping, while the other route would start from Yiyang and Luoxian, attacking Tang and other counties from the rear. In this way, the three routes would encircle Nanping County, completely trapping Liu Xian within Nanping County.

This plan was truly audacious, and everyone who heard it was shocked. Director Wang advised, "Marshal, isn't this a bit too risky? Liu Xian is known for his skill in battle and is stronger than our army. Isn't this a case of abandoning what is close at hand for what is far away?"

Wang Kuang leaped off the wooden couch, the blanket slipping from his body onto the floor, and then exclaimed, "Does our army lack elite soldiers and capable generals? When Liu Xian raised his army, he was nothing more than a few commoners by his side! The reason he has reached this point is because he dared to take risks! Since our army is the royal army, it is understandable that we cannot use our navy if the times are unfavorable, but how can we show weakness and do nothing? I only know one saying: 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained!'"

At this point, Wang Kuang angrily drew his sword and struck the table beside the wooden couch, breaking it in two. Seeing Wang Kuang's stance, the others dared not object. Wang Dao then changed the subject, asking, "Then, who will be the commanders of the other two armies that the Marshal intends to appoint?"

Wang Kuang laughed heartily, and without keeping them in suspense, quickly gave his answer: "Gan Zhuo and Du Zeng on the eastern route, and Wang Chong and Zhou Fang on the western route." (End of Chapter)