Jinting Han people

Liu Yao never dreamed that such a sudden turn of events would occur just when he was in high spirits and everything was developing in a way that was favorable to Zhao Han.

His first reaction was disbelief, because considering all the previous signs, it seemed almost impossible.

At this time, Liu Yao had only been stationed in Longyou for half a month. The key roads to Longyou were occupied by the Zhao army, and Chen An, the most prestigious among them, was already besieged in Linwei City. The remaining forces in Longyou were disorganized and unable to command respect from one another. Where did an army come from that could have reached Lueyang so stealthily? How many troops did they have? And who was in charge? It should be noted that Lueyang is only 150 li from Linwei, a journey that could be completed in a day by fast horse. Could this army have so easily breached the city in just one day?
This was simply too difficult to comprehend, leaving Liu Yao utterly bewildered. Therefore, his first reaction was astonishment, followed by bewilderment. He ordered the messenger to recount the details and inquired:
"How many enemy troops are there? What do they look like? What banners are they flying?"

The messenger replied, “The rebel army did not fly any flags. They number around ten thousand men and are dressed in black armor of excellent quality. They appear to be Di people, but there are also many Qin soldiers among them. They are far from ordinary soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yao considered it briefly and concluded that Han Zhi had sent troops to attack. As the governor of Longxi, Han Zhi controlled the most prosperous region in Longyou, commanded many fierce Qiang and Di warriors, and had long coveted Qinzhou. If he were to send out a force of this size and be familiar with the terrain of Longyou, he would probably be the only one who fit the bill.

Thinking of this, Liu Yao's lips curled into a cold smile. His interest in listening to the music vanished. He drew his sword from his waist and said angrily to You Ziyuan, "Fine! I thought Han Zhi was a coward, but I didn't expect him to be such a fool! I was just planning to kill Chen An to establish my authority, but I didn't expect someone else to be so eager to die. In that case, I'll grant his wish!"

Having said that, he immediately went back to camp to muster his troops and ordered them to go to the rescue of Lueyang.

Upon hearing this, You Ziyuan rose and led a horse for Liu Yao, while simultaneously analyzing, "Han Zhi has always been mean and ungrateful, and his relationship with the surrounding prefects is extremely poor. If he sends troops to attack, isn't he afraid that someone will raid his stronghold? Moreover, the route passes through Nan'an and Tianshui. Even if he is familiar with the terrain, can Feng Shang and the others let him pass smoothly? Your Highness, I think the enemy that attacked Lueyang this time is probably not Han Zhi."

"What do you mean?" Liu Yao asked, mounting a horse and turning back.

“In my opinion, it is more likely that it is Zhang Shi.” You Ziyuan mounted his horse and sighed, “Zhang Gui is now bedridden with illness, and Zhang Shi is in charge of all matters, big and small. Zhang Shi is quite ambitious and has long coveted Longyou. He may have already made plans in secret. If so, the number of people coming will probably not be just ten or twenty thousand.”

“That shouldn’t be the case.” Liu Yao frowned. “I sent Liu Feng and Xing Yan westward mainly to defend against an attack from Hexi. Moreover, the situation in Longyou is currently in complete chaos. Even if they were to send troops, they should first annex Jincheng and Longxi counties before attacking Lueyang. If they fail, will their supplies be able to keep up? And doesn’t it take time for them to mobilize their troops?”

"Perhaps they had already planned to launch a military campaign after hearing the news of Yan Ding's death, and it just so happened that they ran into His Highness's arrival in Longxi. Moreover, it must be said that although this move is risky, if it succeeds, they can take Qinzhou entirely, which is a very lucrative prospect, so it is hard for them not to be tempted."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yao felt that You Ziyuan's words made a lot of sense, so he asked, "Then, in Ziyuan's opinion, what should I do?"

You Ziyuan solemnly said, "If that is the case, with the power of the Liangzhou horses, Your Highness will likely find it difficult to stop them. You should first consolidate your forces, return to Lueyang with all your might, and strengthen the defenses of key routes to Longxi such as Fanxukou and Jitoushan. If you can hold out until the Liang people run out of supplies and retreat on their own, Your Highness can start over next year. As long as there is no natural barrier in Longxi, conquering Longxi will not be difficult."

This was still the conservative strategy that You Ziyuan had mentioned earlier, but Liu Yao frowned and said, "Ziyuan, why do you have to do this? I just marched into Longyou and didn't even take down Chen An. This is the time to establish our authority. If we shrink back like this, I'm afraid we'll only embolden the rebels! It will probably take several more years of hard work to pacify Longyou next year."

You Ziyuan tried to persuade him again, but Liu Yao's mind was made up. He ordered You Ziyuan to continue the siege of Linwei with Huyan Qingren, while he himself selected 8,000 cavalrymen from the camp to head north to Lueyang to relieve the siege. In Liu Yao's mind, he already had a considerable number of troops defending the city, and with the addition of these 8,000 cavalrymen, they could work together from within and without, taking advantage of the terrain, and should be able to repel the besieging army.

About an hour later, the eight thousand cavalrymen awoke from their sleep and set off with Liu Yao. It was still dark, and Liu Yao's effects of the alcohol were gradually taking hold. He tied his legs to the saddle and went to sleep, leaving his attendants to watch the horses as they continued their journey. This was not difficult for the Xiongnu of the past; many had grown up on horseback. But for the Xiongnu of today, it was a skill possessed only by a select few nobles, and Liu Yao was proud of it.

He drifted off to sleep in a daze, probably because of the effects of the alcohol in his chest. After falling asleep, he didn't think about anything, only a boundless sense of immersion, leaving him with no thoughts, only darkness and tranquility.

Just as Liu Yao was completely absorbed in the moment, a sudden hissing sound broke the silence, jolting him awake. He opened his eyes, stood up, and instinctively looked up. He saw that the trees around him were bare, and the surrounding mountains were vast and desolate. Because all the leaves had fallen, even though he was in a forest, he could clearly see the night sky and the stars above him.

Then came a splitting headache from a hangover. He tried to stretch his limbs, only to remember that his legs were strapped to the horse. Liu Yao braced himself against the horse's neck, leaned down for a moment, and then asked those around him, "What happened? Are we almost at Lueyang?"

As soon as he said it, Liu Yao knew he was talking nonsense. He came from Lueyang and still remembered the basic terrain. This place should be called Xinglin Township, which is more than 30 li away from Lueyang.

Sure enough, the guard Yin Che said, "Your Highness, we have not yet arrived in Lueyang."

Liu Yao, suppressing the discomfort in his head, said, "Then why stop here? Let's keep going! We can regroup when we get to Nanshan."

"There's news from Lueyang, Your Highness." Yin Che hesitated for a moment, then waved for another person to step forward and said, "Since you're the one who brought the news, then you can speak."

Liu Yao looked closely and recognized him as Yin Kai, the cavalry commandant he had left in the city. Yin Kai was covered in dust and dirt, his armor tattered and stained with blood. Seeing this, Liu Yao already knew what had happened, but still clung to a sliver of hope and asked, "What are you doing here? What's the situation in Lueyang now?"

Yin Kai replied with a sob in his voice, "Your Highness, Lueyang has fallen!" Upon hearing this, Liu Yao felt dizzy and disoriented. It took him a long time to regain his balance before he whispered angrily, "What exactly happened? Explain yourself quickly!"

Yin Kai dared not look Liu Yao in the eye and said, "The enemy troops that came at Chenshi yesterday were just the vanguard! By Wushi and Shenshi yesterday, two more waves of reinforcements arrived. They joined forces and covered the mountains and fields, countless in number! When they attacked the city again, some people inside the city caused chaos and set fires. As a result, we didn't even know what was happening and had to break out on our own."

At this point, he couldn't help but sob, "I originally had over a thousand armored soldiers under my command, but after breaking through the encirclement, only a few dozen riders remained. The whereabouts of the rest are unknown. Your Highness, please punish me!"

A deathly silence fell over the scene. All eyes were on Liu Yao, awaiting his decision. Liu Yao was now completely sober. He gripped the reins, his teeth grinding. He couldn't comprehend what had happened. Could it really be the army from Hexi? But why was there no news of Xing Yan, Liu Feng, and the others in the west? What should he do now?
Liu Yao had suffered many defeats at the hands of the Xianbei, and he knew what to do after a defeat. He could only suppress his frustration and feign composure, saying:
"It's too late to say anything now. What's the use of punishing me? You must atone for your crimes by performing meritorious service! Yin Kai, you immediately go to Fanxukou, Jilongshan, Watingkou and other places to send messages and tell them to strengthen their defenses. I will return to Linwei to gather the various armies, and then we will reunite and take revenge next year!"

Having said that, Liu Yao didn't even look at the crowd, immediately turned his horse around, and hurriedly rode back to Linwei.

Upon returning to Linwei City, he explained the current situation in detail to You Ziyuan and admitted his mistake, saying, "I was rash and did not heed your advice, Ziyuan. The situation has come to this. I will immediately call on all the troops to gather here and withdraw to Longban."

"Your Highness is wrong again!" To everyone's surprise, You Ziyuan stamped his foot in frustration upon hearing this, "How could you come back?"

"What should I do if I don't come back?" Liu Yao asked in astonishment. "Nearly 30,000 men are left in Tianshui County. If I don't come back to gather the troops, am I just going to watch them all die here?"

You Ziyuan patiently explained, "What a critical moment this is! Longban is the only way to survive! As long as we keep our mouths shut in Longban, we can receive His Highness's message and head there to meet up. We might suffer some losses, but nothing serious. But once you arrive here, if Longban is lost, we will have no way down to Longban, and we will only be able to wait here to die!"

At this point, Liu Yao realized his mistake and was filled with regret. But the decision had already been made, and he was unwilling to abandon Longyou. If he were to reconsider now, the army would likely collapse before the enemy even arrived. Therefore, he chose to remain inactive and wait for news from all sides at Linwei.

As You Ziyuan had predicted, after several days of waiting, Tianshui County remained eerily silent, signifying an absolute blockade. Liu Yao had no choice but to send out a small number of envoys to investigate, but they too vanished without a trace. Unconvinced, he dispatched three more waves of envoys to Shanggui to contact Liu Feng and Liu Jian's forces. Finally, on the fourth day, he received news that Liu Jian was completely surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy troops in Shanggui and unable to move.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yao was furious. He couldn't understand it and thought the scouts were making a false alarm: "There are tens of thousands of troops in Lueyang and tens of thousands more in Shanggui. Are the troops in Longyou some kind of divine creation? Can they conjure soldiers from beans?! Drag them out and beat them severely!"

But the scouts refused to change their story, and the next day, Liu Feng and his troops, who had disappeared without a trace, also sent back news, claiming that Liangzhou had sent troops and that the Hexi army, with tens of thousands of men, had blocked them in the Pingxiang area. Liu Feng and Xing Yan's four thousand men were unable to move an inch, so they asked Liu Yao for help.

Only then did Liu Yao realize that if the main force of the Hexi army was still in the Nan'an area, then who was attacking Lueyang? There was only one answer: Yang Nandi had led the main force of the Han army to Longyou, and had acted far before him. He had no idea how the enemy had secretly planned their attack. Under the call of the Han army, the entire Longyou and even Hexi forces were actively converging, launching an offensive akin to a raging torrent. And this torrent was something he could not possibly stop at his current level.

How many troops did Yang Nandi actually mobilize? Liu Yao had no idea at the moment, and Yang Nandi only learned afterward that, excluding the more than 30,000 troops of the Han army headquarters, they had mobilized approximately 110,000 troops in total, almost three times the size of the Zhao army in Longyou. Under such circumstances, the unprepared Zhao army was like a sandcastle; without any elaborate tactics or strategies, a single raging wave was enough to engulf them all.

Soon after, news of the successive falls of key passes along the Longban Pass reached Linwei. Liu Yao was almost numb; he had realized that the disparity in strength between the two sides was like heaven and earth, and that he simply could not afford to clash with them. The immediate problem was no longer how to gather the remaining troops, but how to evacuate the remaining 20,000-plus men. Correspondingly, after forming an encirclement, the Han army did not rush to attack Linwei, but instead steadily tightened the encirclement, attempting to completely trap the remaining Zhao troops there.

"Your Highness, there is only one way to go now." Faced with this predicament, You Ziyuan said to Liu Yao with a solemn expression.

"What road?" Liu Yao asked, still reeling from the bizarre developments in the Longyou battle.

“Let’s abandon all our baggage and travel light down the Wei River to Longxi,” You Ziyuan said slowly.

The Wei River Pass was practically a narrow passage. During the Qi Wannian Rebellion, Liu Xian used this route to ascend Longxi, barely escaping with his life, and still speaks of its perilous nature to this day. At that time, Liu Xian had no pursuing troops and ample time to transport supplies. In contrast, if the Zhao army had hastily descended Longxi via this route, countless men would have perished on the mountain path; could even half have survived?

But past setbacks had finally brought Liu Yao to his senses, and he understood You Ziyuan's meaning. Waiting here any longer would be no different from total annihilation. It was better to take the initiative and cross the Wei River; there was still a glimmer of hope. But this would be tantamount to completely abandoning Longyou. Who knew when they would be able to advance on Longyou and defeat the enemy again, and it certainly wouldn't be so easy.

But he had no other choice.

Before riding his horse into the Wei River, Liu Yao looked at the white plum blossoms among the rocks, which were as bright as the moon. He recalled the beautiful scenery he had seen in Niuquchuan when he first arrived in Longxi and couldn't help but sigh: "I wanted to emulate Han Xin and assist the Han Dynasty to become the King of Qi, but I didn't expect to meet the Hegemon-King of Gaixia instead."

Although Liu Yao had experienced many setbacks in the past, he also had brilliant victories, such as the Battle of Shangdang and the Battle of Yecheng. Unexpectedly, this seemingly smooth campaign in Longyou resulted in the loss of nearly 30,000 troops—a truly unprecedented defeat. (End of Chapter)