Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The harsh winter cold did not lessen as the Lunar New Year approached; on the contrary, it became increasingly biting and piercing as the year drew near.

At the foot of the city wall of Shenjing, the faint festive atmosphere that should have existed at this time of year has long been washed away by the successive wars, escapes, and the bewilderment of the new ruler.

Only the newly posted, still-freshly inscribed "Proclamation of the Prince of Jingbei to Safeguard the People" and "Proclamation to Punish the False Emperor" on the streets and alleys rustled in the cold wind, silently proclaiming that the capital city had undergone a complete upheaval.

The language used in the "Declaration Against the False Proclamation" was more than ten times more intense than the previous "Proclamation to Reassure the People".

It meticulously details the various crimes of Zhao Chong and his puppet court in Chang'an—holding the emperor hostage, burning the city and abandoning the people, arbitrarily deposing and installing emperors, privately establishing a false emperor, and bringing disaster to the country and the people—denouncing them as outrageous to both gods and men, and intolerable to heaven and earth. It calls upon the loyal and righteous people of the world to jointly punish this villain.

In the final lines of the proclamation, Prince Jingbei, Xiao Chen, proclaimed himself "acting on behalf of Heaven to punish the traitors and mourn the people's wrongdoing," and explicitly declared: "We are now preparing our troops and will soon march westward, strike directly at Chang'an, capture the traitor Zhao Chong, welcome back the deposed emperor, and purge the false dynasty to restore order!"

This was not a declaration of war, but an ultimatum, a harbinger of annihilation. Like an invisible hammer, it shattered the illusion of "legitimacy" that the puppet regime in Chang'an was trying to create, and clearly told the world: the brief and bizarre standoff between the two capitals was over, the Prince of Jingbei's patience had run out, and the blade of war would not hesitate to be swung towards Guanzhong, towards that dying "Western Capital".

Inside the temporary headquarters in Shenjing, the war machine was already in operation.

Grain, weapons, and clothing from various prefectures and counties in the north and Hebei flowed into this huge transit station through the reopened roads.

The newly recruited soldiers were undergoing reorganization and initial training, while craftsmen were working day and night to produce siege equipment.

A somber yet orderly atmosphere of war replaced the initial relief and appeasement efforts upon entering the city, becoming the new dominant theme.

Han Lie was stationed at the central command, coordinating supplies and stabilizing the rear.

The responsibility of leading the western expedition fell unsurprisingly on the shoulders of General Chen Dao.

This veteran general, known for his composure, resilience, and strict military discipline, was highly regarded by Xiao Chen.

"Guanzhong, a place surrounded by mountains and rivers, is indeed a strategically important and dangerous region."

Inside the camp, Xiao Chen gave Chen Dao, who was about to set off on his expedition, his gaze sharp as a knife: "However, Zhao Chong has fled westward in haste, losing the hearts of the people and the army's will to fight."

What they relied on were nothing more than a few strategic passes such as Tongguan and Wuguan, and the high walls of Chang'an.

The various prefectures and counties in Guanzhong are not a monolithic entity.

Our army's mission is first to crush their morale, then to disintegrate them internally, and finally to wipe them out completely in one decisive battle.

There's no need to rush things; take steady steps and proceed cautiously.

When encountering a fortified city, one can surround it without attacking, cutting off its external support and forcing it to collapse on its own. When encountering a dangerous pass, one can send out a surprise attack, taking it by a roundabout route.

Use orthodox methods to engage, and unorthodox methods to win.

Those powerful figures and local officials in Guanzhong who are pragmatic and surrender their entire city will be generously rewarded and given important positions.

Anyone who aids and abets the tyrant or resists stubbornly will be severely punished on the day the city falls!

This journey is not only to destroy the false dynasty, but also to win over the hearts and minds of the people in Guanzhong and stabilize the western frontier.

General Chen, the Guanzhong region is one of the foundations for our future; we must be extremely cautious and attentive to it.

"I will remember Your Majesty's instructions and will certainly not fail in my mission!"

Chen Dao knelt on one knee, solemnly accepting the order, his eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.

In early spring, the chill of winter lingers.

Chen Dao led 50,000 elite troops from Hanyuan (10,000 cavalry, 40,000 infantry, supplemented by a large number of engineers, artisans, and siege weapons) and set off in the name of the commander of the left wing of the "Marshal's Office for the Expedition against Rebels" and the general of the western expedition.

The black, armored torrent surged once more, this time heading west, towards Guanzhong, towards Chang'an, the city trembling under the banner of the false emperor.

When the news reached Chang'an, the pseudo-court, which had just managed to create a semblance of celebration for the enthronement ceremony, was instantly plunged into an icy abyss.

Xiao Yu remained silent at the court assembly. Although he had been placed on the throne, he was weak by nature and knew that he was nothing more than a puppet in Zhao Chong's hands and a pawn in the fight against his seventh brother, Xiao Chen. Faced with the devastating news of the approaching army, he felt nothing but fear, only a deeper sense of bewilderment and powerlessness.

The real manipulator, Zhao Chong, was so angry that he coughed up blood again, and his already sallow face became even more ashen.

"Traitor! Xiao Chen, you traitor! How dare you bully me like this!"

Inside the palace temporarily used as a court assembly, Zhao Chong's hoarse roar was filled with endless resentment and panic. His withered fingers almost pierced the air. "Tongguan! Tongguan must be defended to the death! Order the general guarding Tongguan to hold it for me! If he fails, he'll bring me his head! Also, urge the King of Wu and the King of Chu to send reinforcements! They promised to send troops! And all the prefectures and counties in Guanzhong, tell them to send troops to help immediately, and transport all the money and provisions to Chang'an! Hurry! Hurry!"

However, what he received in response was the prince's sparse and weak "Yes, Your Highness," and the barely concealed fear and trembling in the eyes of many other officials.

The "reinforcements" from the King of Wu and the King of Chu were limited to correspondence and verbal promises; in reality, not a single soldier was dispatched.

The local officials and powerful clans in Guanzhong were even more restless.

When Zhao Chong seized the false emperor and took control of Chang'an, they may have had some opportunistic intentions, but now that the Jingbei Prince's army is pressing in and its forces are aimed directly at Guanzhong, that "opportunism" has quickly turned into "self-preservation".

To be buried with this obviously declining and unpopular pseudo-dynasty? The shrewd local forces are not that foolish.

Thus, the westward expedition of Hanyuan Army proceeded unexpectedly smoothly before entering the Guanzhong Plain.

Chen Dao's military tactics deeply grasped the essence of Xiao Chen's strategy of "using orthodox tactics to engage and unorthodox tactics to win."

Instead of rushing straight to the strategic Tongguan Pass, he sent Murong Xue to lead cavalry, like agile black phantoms, to patrol the flanks of the main force, clear the outer perimeter, cut off the connection between Tongguan Pass and the heart of Guanzhong, and intimidate the prefectures and counties along the way.

Zhou Meng's cavalry came and went like the wind, not attacking the fortified city, but causing chaos in the rear of Tongguan.

The supply lines were attacked, the messengers were intercepted, and a small patrol was wiped out.

Even more frightening is that the Han Yuan Army's "political offensive" followed.

Numerous proclamations against the false emperor and proclamations to reassure the people were shot into cities along the way. The proclamations detailed Zhao Chong's crimes and declared the Jingbei King's policy of "only punishing the ringleaders and not questioning the rest" and "those who surrender their cities will be rewarded, and those who resist to the end will be executed along with their entire clan."

At the same time, Chen Dao dispatched a large number of spies, carrying large sums of money, to secretly infiltrate various parts of Guanzhong, contact powerful figures and officials who were dissatisfied with Zhao Chong, and promised them high-ranking positions and generous salaries to incite them to defect.

Under the dual blows of military pressure and political inducement to surrender, the already wavering morale in Guanzhong quickly crumbled.

The magistrate of Huayin County surrendered after the Han Yuan army approached the city and he was "persuaded" by wealthy families in the city.

The garrison commander of Weinan was originally the brother-in-law of the deputy commander of Tongguan. After receiving a secret letter from his brother-in-law that "the situation is hopeless and we should make plans as soon as possible," he defected on the battlefield and led a detachment of the Hanyuan army into the city.

At Tongjin, located behind Tongguan Pass, local powerful families, in alliance with low-ranking officers of the garrison, launched a mutiny, killed the supervisor sent by Zhao Chong, surrendered the entire city, and opened a passage to the rear of Tongguan Pass.

Bad news arrived like snowflakes at the front lines of Chang'an and Tongguan.

The fall or defection of each city was like a heavy hammer blow to the already fragile nerves of the puppet regime.

The pressure on the Tongguan garrison commander increased sharply. In front, Chen Dao's main force was advancing step by step, building fortifications and setting up a long-term siege. In the rear, Murong Xue's cavalry was harassing them, supply lines were blocked, and morale was wavering.

Even more critically, the rebellion and surrender in the rear meant that Tongguan was becoming an isolated city.

"General, Huayin and Weinan have fallen, Tongjin has surrendered, the rear route to Tongguan has been cut off, the supply lines are blocked, and the morale of the army is wavering. Should we take advantage of the situation and launch a fierce attack to capture Tongguan in one fell swoop?" The deputy general asked in the central command tent.

Chen Dao stood in front of the sand table, gazing at the model of the pass that symbolized a natural fortress, and slowly shook his head: "Tongguan is treacherous, and the general Zhao Ben is a loyalist of the Zhao family, so he will definitely defend it to the death."

Even if we manage to capture it through a strong attack, our casualties will be enormous. The morale in Guanzhong is now in turmoil, and Tongguan is gradually becoming an isolated island. Like a cornered beast, it will fight on, and its ferocity will only grow stronger.

The order was given to continue strengthening the siege, digging deep trenches and building high walls to cut off both the inside and outside.

Catapults bombarded the defenders day and night, exhausting them. Letters from surrendered soldiers and the Tongguan garrison were shot into the pass, undermining their morale.

At the same time, the main force does not need to remain in front of the pass. Instead, it can send troops south to conquer the counties south of Tongguan, thoroughly eliminate the eastern part of Guanzhong, and form a siege around Tongguan.

I will make Zhao Ben watch helplessly as Tongguan becomes a death trap, and as the puppet regime in Chang'an marches step by step towards its demise!

"General, your strategy is brilliant! This is the best strategy to subdue the enemy without fighting!" The generals exclaimed in admiration.

Therefore, the main force of Hanyuan Army did not stop at the fortified city of Tongguan. Apart from a part of the army continuing to besiege and harass Tongguan, Chen Dao personally led a large army, like a tiger descending the mountain, to pounce on the prefectures and counties in eastern Guanzhong that had not yet been subdued.

Under the overwhelming military might of the Hanyuan Army and its clear policy of "those who submit prosper, those who resist perish," cities such as Huazhou, Tongzhou, Yaozhou, and Fuping either surrendered at the mere sight of them or were crushed after offering only slight resistance, with their generals either dying or surrendering.

The black, armored torrent spread rapidly and advanced across the eastern part of the Guanzhong Plain with unstoppable force, planting black wolf flags atop the city walls.

Chen Dao was a prudent military strategist. After conquering a city, he would leave troops to garrison it, eliminate the remaining enemy forces, pacify the people, and restore order. Just as he had done in the north and Hebei, he solidified the foundation of the Jingbei King's rule in the Guanzhong Plain.

Most of the officials who surrendered, provided they had no obvious bad deeds, were retained after screening in order to maintain local stability.

The resisters and their core followers were ruthlessly eliminated, and their property confiscated as a warning to others.

The people of Guanzhong had long suffered from the exploitation of Zhao Chong's false regime, and their lives were filled with misery. Seeing that Han Yuan's army was disciplined, did not commit any offenses, punished the corrupt and tyrannical, and opened granaries to distribute grain, the people's hearts quickly turned to them.

Tongguan, this once formidable pass, now resembles an isolated island in the sea, subtly surrounded by black waves from the east, south, and north.

The garrison inside the pass watched the formidable fortifications of the Hanyuan Army outside the pass every day, saw the smoke of war rising behind them, and heard letters and proclamations of surrender shot into the city from families of surrendered prefectures and counties. The morale of the army sank lower and lower each day.

Although the pass has not yet collapsed thanks to its natural defenses and Zhao Ben's suppression, everyone understands that its fall is only a matter of time.

When the news reached Chang'an, the puppet regime was plunged into a state of utter madness and despair.

No one attended the court assemblies anymore; officials either stayed indoors or secretly packed their valuables in preparation for their escape.

Enraged, Zhao Chong executed several officials who had proposed moving the capital or negotiating peace, but to no avail. Rumors spread throughout the city, morale plummeted, and small-scale desertions and looting occurred.

The era name "Zhongxing," which once symbolized hope for revival, now sounds so ironic.

The false emperor Xiao Yu was further confined to the palace, like a frightened bird. Even his closest eunuchs could not give him any sense of security. Sometimes he would wake up from nightmares, dreaming of his seventh brother Xiao Chen's eyes, which were as cold as an abyss.

Chang'an, the ancient capital that Zhao Chong regarded as the last bulwark, was like a leaky boat violently tossed about in a stormy sea, facing the overwhelming force of Han Yuan's army sweeping across eastern Guanzhong and the increasingly isolated predicament of Tongguan. It seemed that sinking was irreversible.

The focus of the battle for Guanzhong has shifted from vying for strategic passes to gaining actual control of the entire Guanzhong region and winning hearts and minds.

On this invisible battlefield, Zhao Chong's puppet regime has already suffered a crushing defeat.

The real suspense seems to lie in how long Tongguan, this isolated fortress, can hold out under the siege of the Hanyuan Army, and what kind of final, desperate struggle will this ancient capital stage when Tongguan finally falls and the black torrent of the Hanyuan Army approaches Chang'an.

The balance of power between the two capitals had already tipped completely towards Shenjing amidst the thunderous hooves of the Hanyuan army advancing westward.

The puppet regime in Chang'an was on its last gasp.