Jinting Han people

Upon learning of the resumption of hostilities, everyone understood that this would likely be the last major battle between Zhao Han and the Western Army. Regardless of the course of events or the extent of casualties, given the locust plague, neither side could afford to give up halfway; the fight would inevitably continue until one side was annihilated.

In other words, this was a life-or-death battle concerning the ownership of Guanzhong, but the two commanders had completely different mindsets.

At this time, Yan Ding was forty-one years old, and Liu Cong was only forty-two. On the surface, their positions were extremely close. Yan Ding was the de facto ruler of the Guanzhong region and the Duke of Shiping in the Southern Han Dynasty, holding a position of immense power and influence. Liu Cong, on the other hand, was the newly enthroned Emperor of Zhao Han. Although the country's strength had declined considerably after the internal strife, he still controlled the entire Shuofang region and commanded nearly two hundred thousand troops, making him one of the most powerful forces in the land.

However, upon closer examination, it is not difficult to find that there is a qualitative difference in the prestige of the two men.

Yan Ding often boasted of his talent as a prime minister, aspired to make contributions to his hometown, and deeply resented the Jin court's oppression of Guanzhong. At the same time, he also possessed the determination and drive to defy public opinion. This enabled him to overthrow Sima Yong, the Prince of Hejian, and allow Guanzhong to become the first region to achieve autonomy, thus making him the nominal leader of the powerful clans in Guanzhong.

The problem is that he had neither outstanding achievements nor a prestigious family background. Although he was indeed exceptionally intelligent, ultimately, he seized power through two coups. In this sense, he was not the recognized leader of the Kansai warlords, nor did he have sufficient power base in the army. He only temporarily obtained the position of leader through his own strategies, and his position was not stable.

In contrast, Liu Cong was the undisputed leader of the Zhao-Han group. Although Zhao-Han was based on the Xiongnu people, under Liu Yuan's strategy, it absorbed a large number of Han Chinese, various non-Han ethnic groups, Qiang and Xianbei, making Zhao-Han a complex military group that only a true military strongman could control. Throughout this process, Liu Cong was consistently the commander who led Zhao-Han's expansion strategy and achieved remarkable success.

Although Liu Cong has only recently ascended the throne, he is already the leader of Zhao Han, widely respected by the people. The Hu people, with their simple and honest customs, have become even more united after the crisis, eager to break the current deadlock.

"A man who aspires to great achievements should rise to the challenge. If we wait for the opportune moment to launch an attack, people will become complacent, and even if the opportunity comes, we will miss it," Liu Cong encouraged his subordinates. Although Liu Cong himself was a rather lazy person who liked to delegate authority to his subordinates, he was always extremely aggressive in his strategy. He would never allow himself to be on the defensive, and even if there was a disparity in troop strength, he would strike with the weak and defeat the strong. This is why, despite Zhao Han's frequent defeats in battle, its territory continued to expand.

This time, Zhao Jun mobilized almost his entire army. Previously, Liu Cong's attacking force consisted mainly of the Shuofang Army and his own Right Wise King's troops, totaling about 80,000 men. But this time, aside from a small number of elderly and weak soldiers remaining in Pingyang, Liu Cong mobilized Liu Yuan's imperial guards—an army Liu Yuan had never used before—as well as the Hebei army that Shi Le had sent back, and even most of the small court in Pingyang, totaling 130,000 men. His power had not weakened due to internal strife; on the contrary, it had grown stronger.

Judging from this attitude, he was prepared for either a successful move into Chang'an or a humiliating defeat. The Zhao soldiers were also encouraged by this, discussing among themselves: "Ye City has fallen. If we cannot take Chang'an, where will we go next? The late emperor endured countless hardships to build this empire; how can we let it be destroyed in an instant!"

Thus, the 130,000-strong army crossed the Yellow River and marched grandly towards Fengyi County. Jia Pi, who was stationed there, did not want to engage in a premature conflict with the Zhao army, so he retreated from Linjin to Huangbai City. At the same time, Zhao Ran's troops, who were still recovering Beidi County, and Chen An's troops, who were recovering Anding County, also withdrew their troops to the walls of Huangbai City. Not long after, Yan Ding mobilized another 30,000 soldiers from Weinan and 20,000 from the various Hu tribes in Longyou, bringing the total army to 100,000, to confront the Zhao army.

Both sides had camps stretching for dozens of miles, facing each other from north to south. It was truly unbelievable that such a scene could occur in this year of famine.

However, compared to the united will of the Zhao army, the internal conflicts within the Western Army were becoming increasingly difficult to suppress. The cause was simple: military rations.

At this point, the Western Army's remaining rations were only enough for one month. Yan Ding had to be meticulous in his calculations, ensuring that each unit had enough food. Furthermore, he had to consider that Yang Nandi's reinforcements would arrive in the winter, making a direct confrontation with the Zhao army unnecessary; it was better to stall for time. Therefore, he fed his soldiers vegetable porridge to prolong the period of food sustenance.

This practice quickly drew complaints from the soldiers. The reason was simple: some felt that the treatment of different units was not the same. For example, soldiers under Zhao Ran, Chen An, and Jia Pi believed that they had been fighting on the front lines against Zhao's army for a long time, enduring hardship for months, and were the mainstay in keeping Guanzhong from falling. How could they be treated the same as those who had not fought? So they began to grumble.

This grumbling quickly aroused the dissatisfaction of the others. The soldiers from Weinan who came from Chang'an also knew that food was scarce. If others ate more, they would eat less. Everyone came to the battlefield to risk their lives, and they might lose their lives any day. Why should they be divided into different classes? Naturally, they were unwilling to give in to each other.

The ones who complained the most were the Hu people who came to support Peng Dangzhong. They thought they had nothing to do with the war and came to support him out of friendship, but they could only drink some vegetable porridge. How could they be willing to accept that?
The army was in turmoil, nearly erupting into internal strife. Faced with this situation, Yan Ding had no choice but to try diplomacy first, then force. He first met with the generals of each unit, informing them of the difficulties the army was facing and urging them to work together to overcome the crisis. This, of course, was not enough to convince the troops. He then arrested one or two troublemakers and, on the grounds of violating military discipline, publicly beheaded them, finally managing to quell the unrest.

But then a new problem arises: how to deal with the enemy?

Yan Ding's cautious strategy was opposed by the generals, especially Liang Zong, the prefect of Fufeng, who publicly objected, saying, "Since we are short of food and fodder, if we continue to hold out like this, won't we just be wasting our resources? Given the situation, we should seize the opportunity and quickly defeat the Zhao bandits."

Liang Zong hailed from the Liang clan of Anding, whose ancestors included powerful ministers of the Later Han dynasty such as Liang Shang and Liang Ji. While their influence had diminished somewhat, they remained prominent. For example, Liang Wei, the governor of Fengyi, and Liang Su, the governor of Beidi, were both Liang Zong's brothers. His cousin was Liang Lanbi, the former queen of Yuzhang and now the queen of Jin'an. It could be said that the Liang clan of Anding was second only to the Fu clan of Beidi in the Guanzhong region, and was also the most powerful local force in the Western Army. Precisely because of this, Liang Zong often looked down on Yan Ding, relying on his superior lineage. His statement quickly garnered widespread support from the generals. Chen An, for instance, said, "Lord Liang speaks well! Our army has fought the enemy dozens of times and has rarely suffered a defeat. Why waste time hesitating here? If we win this battle, we can march all the way to Pingyang, seize their provisions, and then we won't have to worry about food shortages."

Prefect Zhu Hui of Xinping agreed, saying, "The Zhao bandits dared not engage in a decisive battle with our army before, only harassing us. Now, only two months have passed, and they have experienced a major internal strife. How strong can they be? Now, with the locust plague, they are fighting with their backs to the wall, courting their own death. Our army should fight a quick battle and achieve a swift victory."

In this way, Liang Zong's proposal received the support of most people. Ironically, he did not object to this matter, which went against Yan Ding's plan. The reason was simple: he really did not want to tell everyone about the reinforcements. There had been discussions within the Western Army about the differing opinions among the powerful clans in Guanzhong regarding the decision to send reinforcements to Yi'an in Nantou. If they learned that Yan Ding had privately agreed, it could very likely escalate the conflict and further damage the unity of the army.

Furthermore, from another perspective, even if making this public doesn't escalate tensions within the army, and even if Liang Zong and others change their minds and agree to it, it wouldn't be good for Yan Ding. Because once Nantou is secured, given the immense power of Liang Zong and his associates, there would be no need for them to obey Yan Ding's orders. Instead, they might preemptively sideline Yan Ding, re-establish contact with the Yi'an court, and gain a higher position, ultimately causing the situation to slip out of Yan Ding's control.

Therefore, both for public and private reasons, Yan Ding should continue to keep the matter of Nantou a secret. Only when Yang Nandi came to take over Guanzhong would Yan Ding undoubtedly be credited as the first meritorious official in enabling the Southern Han to take control of Guanzhong.

Based on these considerations, Yan Ding addressed the crowd, saying, “Gentlemen, it is not that I fear the enemy, but rather that I am being cautious. In any case, Zhao has been our old adversary for many years. Although it is true that we are stronger than him, it is also a fact that he has become stronger year by year. Now, it is also the time of the king's death, and everyone is wearing mourning clothes for Liu Yuan, their faces showing signs of certain death, which is what is called a mournful army. Facing such an opponent, why should we gamble everything? I would rather fight with wits than with strength.”

He then proposed a new strategy: "Since Zhao has come empty-handed, Pingyang's defenses must be weak. I have already sent someone to contact Zu Yongzhou in Luoyang. At the same time, we will assemble a cavalry force and, while Zhao's attention is focused here, advance from the east and west to destroy his stronghold in one fell swoop. At that time, Liu Cong's army will surely be thrown into chaos! Then our army will fight him to the death, and wouldn't our chances of victory be much greater?"

From a strategic perspective, this plan was indeed more ingenious and demonstrated a broader vision, aligning with the military principle of "seizing the initiative and achieving a direct victory through a roundabout approach." Many soldiers were tempted and intended to follow Yan Ding's lead. However, Yan Ding's true intention lay elsewhere. He secretly calculated that victory would be ideal, but even if the plan failed, the losses would be minimal. Most importantly, it would allow him to legitimately buy enough time for Yang Nandi to arrive as reinforcements, giving him a clear advantage in both advance and retreat.

But to everyone's surprise, the fifth officer objected, saying, "Lord Yan's plan is brilliant, but the problem is, how can we afford to drag this out for so long? It's a journey of over a thousand miles from here to launch a surprise attack on Pingyang, and it will take at least half a month. If we encounter setbacks or some unexpected event, we're afraid that before news from Pingyang even arrives, our army will have already run out of food!"

This wasn't really a flaw; what strategy is perfect on the battlefield? It was simply that the differences among the participants were too great, making mutual trust difficult. Fifth Yi bluntly stated, "Given the current state of affairs, we are all in this together, sharing both glory and loss. Why hesitate further? Hesitation is the greatest harm in warfare; suspicion is the greatest calamity for an army. Lord Yan, instead of using some brilliant plan, the best strategy is to find a way to unite everyone."

Having said that, Yan Ding calmly glanced around and noticed that many people looked at him with resentment. He knew that his prestige was insufficient and his plan would probably be difficult to implement. However, he was not discouraged. Instead, he sneered in his heart: Ha, a bunch of fools. They really think they are invincible. They are nothing but frogs in a well.

So he agreed, saying, "Very well, since you all want to fight, then let's fight. However, this matter is of great importance, so it's best to test the waters first. If it's truly as you all say, that we can win easily, then why should I stop you?"

After saying this, he made arrangements, ordering Zhang Chun, the general in charge of the vanguard, to lead a thousand troops to challenge Zhao Han's army early the next morning. At the same time, he ordered Chen An to lead three thousand cavalry to support Zhang Chun.

Everyone agreed that while there might be uncertainties in large-scale battles, the Western Army undoubtedly held the advantage in a contest of elite troops.

But what happened next was unexpected. In the first battle the following day, facing the provocation of the Western Army, Liu Cong sent General Zhao Han, Ping Xian, to fight. The two fought on horseback, looking very imposing. However, in the first round, after only one exchange, Ping Xian knocked Zhang Chun's long spear away. In the second round, Ping Xian seized Zhang Chun's short sword with his bare hands. Then, he turned his horse around and in the third round, Ping Xian captured Zhang Chun with one hand and used the seized short sword to kill him, dismembering his body in front of everyone.

The Western Army was terrified at the sight. Zhang Chun was a renowned warrior in Longxi, second only to Chen An. They had heard of Ping Xian before, but he hadn't fought in nearly ten years, leading them to believe he was just an ordinary person, unworthy of his reputation. Unexpectedly, they witnessed the extraordinary skill of the Xiongnu's greatest warrior, leaving them speechless with astonishment, unsure how to react.

Seeing this, Chen An immediately challenged Ping Xian again, hoping to revive the morale of the Western Army. These two, one the greatest warrior of the Xiongnu and the other the greatest warrior of Longyou, fought fiercely for over ten rounds before Chen An was defeated, sustaining two wounds. Taking advantage of the situation, the Zhao army launched an attack, utterly defeating the four thousand men who had come out to challenge them. They then beheaded the slain Western soldiers, displaying their heads on spears as a show of force, shouting, "Without bandits, the Han dynasty prospers! With no bandits, the Han dynasty prospers!"

After the Western Army brought these defeated soldiers back to their camp, they were stunned by the cries and remained speechless. Only then did they truly agree with Yan Ding's point of view: after years of training and hard work, the Zhao army was no longer the army that could hardly fight the Western Army in open battle six years ago, but a formidable enemy capable of facing them head-on.

Without Yan Ding needing to say anything more, the generals of the Western Army stopped mentioning the decisive battle with the Zhao army and decided to follow Yan Ding's strategy, instead changing their route to attack Pingyang from the rear. (End of Chapter)