Song Xiu

Chapter 70 Liu Jiye's Strategy

Northwest of Luzhou lies Shiti Mountain, located within the territory of the Northern Han Dynasty.

The 20,000 elite troops of the Northern Han were stationed at the foot of Shiti Mountain.

Due to a previous unpleasant encounter with Li Jun, Liu Jiye had no choice but to send his troops back into the territory of Northern Han on the advice of the supervising officer Lu Zan.

However, deep down, Liu Jiye still believed that Li Jun's uprising was an excellent opportunity for the Northern Han to expand its territory.

With this in mind, Liu Jiye led 20,000 Northern Han troops, making frequent stops along the way, hoping for a new development in the situation.

The reason Liu Jiye chose to camp and rest at the foot of Shiti Mountain was that he planned to lead his troops back into Luzhou if the situation changed.

Fortunately, perseverance pays off. Just when Liu Jiye was about to succumb to the pressure from the supervising officer Lu Zan, Li Jun's messenger finally arrived outside the Northern Han army camp.

Upon hearing that Li Jun's envoy had arrived, Liu Jiye was overjoyed.

Liu Jiye invited Lu Zan to his command tent. Only after Lu Zan arrived did Liu Jiye order someone to bring in Li Jun's envoy.

The messenger, mindful of Li Yun's instructions, immediately informed Liu Jiye of the perilous changes in the recent situation in Luzhou.

"I hope the general will remember our alliance and quickly send reinforcements to protect my Shangdang!"

The envoy spoke with great emotion and sincerity.

However, Liu Jiye was not moved by the envoy's few words.

Is the bond between our two armies merely one of alliance?

Although the envoy's words were somewhat cryptic, Liu Jiye, a renowned general of his time, immediately grasped the accurate assessment from the envoy's words—the situation in Luzhou was extremely critical.

Otherwise, given Li Jun's previous arrogant demeanor, why would he send an envoy to humbly beg for help after the two had almost fallen out?
During the chaotic Five Dynasties period, taking advantage of someone's misfortune was considered a virtuous act.

Now that Li Jun is in trouble, if Liu Jiye does not do his best to fight for the country, how can he live up to the trust of the late emperor?

Upon hearing Liu Jiye's words, the envoy's face fell.

He understood the meaning behind Liu Jiye's words.

But considering the perilous situation in Luzhou, the envoy disregarded everything else:

"My lord has said that if you, General, can help our army defeat the Song army, then on the day the Song army retreats, my lord will surely bring our land and submit to us!"

The envoy's words, "bringing land and submitting to the emperor," made Liu Jiye burst into laughter.

That's all he wanted to say.

The reason Lu Zan and Li Yun had an argument that day was that Li Yun only wanted to bring the Northern Han army into the alliance, not to become a subject of the Northern Han.

Upon learning of Li Jun's stance, Lu Zan immediately expressed his opposition.

Liu Jun sent him with most of the nation's elite troops because he wanted the strategic location in Li Jun's hands, not because he wanted a reputation for being "helpful".

After seeing that Li Jun was willing to submit, Liu Jiye looked at Lu Zan as if asking a question.

Meeting Liu Jiye's questioning gaze, Lu Zan pondered for a moment and then nodded.

Upon seeing Lu Zan's approval, Liu Jiye was overjoyed and ordered the envoy to be taken away first.

After the envoy left, Luzan revealed a lingering worry in his heart:
"If Li Jun breaks the agreement in the future, how should our army conduct itself?"

Luzan's concerns are quite valid.

During the chaotic Five Dynasties period, breaking contracts was commonplace.

Seeing Lu Zan's concern about this, Liu Jiye couldn't help but feel that Lu Zan, a scholar, was worrying too much.

"Li Jun's main force is currently in Zezhou."

If Li Jun wants our army to secure its rear, he will definitely order all counties in Luzhou to cooperate with our army.

Under these circumstances, after our army defeats the Song army, we can then seize the other counties in one fell swoop, riding the wave of our great victory.

Liu Jiye's idea drew a look of approval from Lu Zan.

With no more doubts in his mind, Lu Zan asked Liu Jiye, "General, how do you plan to win?"

As a scholar, Lu Zan was not interested in military campaigns.

Lu Zan's indifference didn't mean Liu Jun, who was behind him, didn't care. Liu Jiye also knew that Lu Zan was asking on behalf of Liu Jun, and without hesitation, he expressed his opinion.

"I just heard from the messenger that the Song army has been scouting the supply lines."

The Song army's move was aimed at attacking Shangdang, which was a must-defend city, so as to lure the Shangdang defenders out of the city and annihilate them.

However, if the Song army can do something that involves deception, our army can certainly do it too.

If I must come to their aid, they will surely attack. I plan to send someone to contact Li Shoujie and have him pretend to send out a grain transport team.

Upon hearing that a grain convoy was leaving Shangdang City, the Song army would surely lead its troops to attack it.

This is our army's chance to win.

I will personally lead an elite force, traveling day and night to reach the outskirts of Shangdang City, and hide outside the Funiu Mountains.

The Funiu Mountains are rugged and ideal for an ambush. Once the supply convoy has lured the Song army outside the mountain path, we will launch a surprise attack, throwing them into disarray and allowing us to defeat them!

Earlier, when he was at Taipingyi, Liu Jiye had driven his horse to explore the nearby Funiu Mountain and was quite familiar with the terrain there.

After listening to Liu Jiye's strategy, Lu Zan kept it in mind.

After a moment, Lu Zan asked again:
"Zhao Dexiu is no man ignorant of military affairs. Will our surprise attack strategy be effective?"

Lu Zan's understanding of Zhao Dexiu came from the account given by Li Yun's envoy earlier.

When Lu Zan asked about this, Liu Jiye confidently replied:
"Our army's high-profile return north was known to everyone in Luzhou."

Later, I led my troops to garrison at the foot of the mountain. With the cover of the mountains and forests, the enemy would not send scouts into the country to investigate in detail, and would not know that my troops were still at the border.

Both of these points were intentional on my part, so that if the situation in Luzhou were to change drastically one day, our army could achieve the effect of "attacking them by surprise."

After explaining, Liu Jiye, knowing that Lu Zan was not skilled in military strategy, gave an example:

"Back then, Zhu Wen took advantage of Li Keyong's serious illness and sent elite troops to attack Luzhou."

At that time, the Liang army was at the height of its power, and had been besieging Luzhou for a long time. It seemed that Luzhou would fall at any moment.

Although Liang's army had no shortage of capable generals, they were all focused on their own local interests and the present.

Many Liang generals believed that Li Cunxu, the new emperor, would not come to the rescue, and therefore did not send scouts to explore the territory.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Cunxu led his army on a surprise attack and inflicted a major defeat on the Liang army.

"Shangdang is now an isolated city. The Song army is just like the Liang army of yesteryear, while our army is like the Jin army of the past. What is there to worry about!"

After hearing this example, Lu Zan said earnestly:

"General, rest assured, I will report what you said to His Majesty as fact."

His Majesty will support the general.

Only after receiving Lu Zan's assurance did Liu Jiye breathe a sigh of relief.

He explained everything clearly in order to put Liu Jun, who was far away in Taiyuan, at ease.

Liu Jiye believed that as long as Liu Jun did not hinder him, he would definitely be able to conquer five states for the Han Dynasty.

As Lu Zan got up to draft the memorial, Liu Jiye narrowed his eyes.

For the sake of the Northern Han, he deliberately omitted a single point in his earlier account.

Those who scheme to control a region are easily deceived by him.

But if you encounter someone who plans for the whole picture, then things might be different.

The reason this point is not explicitly stated is that those who plan for the overall situation rely on talent, and such talent is extremely rare.

We cannot let a small possibility delay important national affairs!
Under Zhao Dexiu's orders, Tian Chongjin dispatched scouts to investigate the border between Luzhou and Northern Han.

When the skilled scouts ventured dozens of miles into the territory of the Northern Han Kingdom, they finally discovered some clues.

The Song scouts stood on a distant mountain, gazing at the Han army camp hidden in the dense forest below Stone Pillar Mountain, their eyes revealing a solemn expression.

(End of this chapter)