Taiheiki

Chapter 131: Seizing the Pass
"This should be a barrier built by the people of Nanyue in the past. Now the north and south of the Five Ridges are all the territory of the Han Dynasty, so there is no need for a barrier, and naturally this place has become deserted!" Li Qun said with a smile.

"Hmm!" Diwu Deng nodded. He stood up and walked to the stone wall, brushing away the moss and lichen. Sure enough, he found numerous signs of collision. He even found a copper-green arrowhead nestled in a crevice. Clearly, this stone fortress had been the site of at least one fierce attack and defense. He sighed deeply and put the copper arrow into his pocket.

They rested for half a cup of tea at the old fort and then continued their journey. Since the second half was downhill, the pace was much lighter. From a distance, they saw vast tracts of forest, occasionally with small plots of cultivated farmland and winding rivers. The mountain breeze blowing in their faces also became much warmer and more humid, and the soldiers' mood became happier.

"Everyone says life in Lingnan is hard, but I think it's not so bad. Look at this wind, it feels so comfortable when it blows on me!"

"Yeah! It's much warmer after we cross the mountain. It's almost November now, and it's already snowing in Jiangling. Here, we can just wear a light layer of clothing!"

"See over there? Fields, fields all over. Lots of rivers too. The weather is warm, and there's water. I'm sure the harvest will be good!"

"It's a really nice place, but why do people say Lingnan is a hard place?"

"You don't know!" the guide sighed. "It's winter now. Winter in Lingnan is very comfortable. It's not hot, there's not much rain, and naturally there's no miasma. You'll know how serious it is in summer. It's scorching hot, and there's a lot of rain. Even a strong man can't survive the miasma!"

"Miasma? What is that?"

"You'll find out when you encounter it!" The guide sneered, "Of course, it's best if you never find out!"

Diwu Deng noticed the sound coming from behind him and raised his voice to scold, "Shut up! Have you forgotten the military law?"

The procession immediately fell silent, with only the sound of coughs and horseshoes hitting the stone pavement. Diwu Deng let out a long breath. He could just hear the guide's discussion about the miasma. Deep down, he was as nervous as the soldiers, but Wei Cong's words kept echoing in his mind: "Summer? By then, we'll already be on our way back!"

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Zhebei led the way as a scout. As a sharpshooter, he had a sharp eye. He brought news of the defenses of the pass ahead: "Right at the confluence of the two rivers, there's a trench and a wall three men high. There should be two or three hundred soldiers guarding it, but they're very lax!"

"Relax? What does that mean?" asked the Fifth Deng.

“I didn’t see anyone wearing armor, and the soldiers were all sitting in the awnings by the roadside, with only a few standing by the road checking passersby!
"Idiot, there is no war in Lingnan, of course no one is wearing armor!" Diwu Deng smiled, but Zhebie was right, these Lingnan soldiers were used to being lax, maybe he had a simpler way to control this place.

"Give me a hundred men! I can definitely take that place!" Zhebie asked for a fight.

"No!" Diwu Deng waved his hand. He had already made sufficient preparations for the capture of Hengpu Pass. He said to Li Qun, "Later, I will lead half of the troops to the front, and you will lead the other half to the rear. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Li Qun bowed.

Diwu Deng arranged his troops into three columns and marched down the mountain along the road. In the distance, a guard on a watchtower was looking around. Diwu Deng could see the lookout leaning out and shouting loudly, which must have seen his group. The road ahead turned between the rock walls on both sides. He saw that the road ahead was blocked by chevaux de frise and there were more than a dozen crossbowmen on the wall behind. Diwu Deng ordered his men to slow down and rode forward, shouting loudly: "Is this Hengpu Pass?"

The small leader behind the barricades looked curiously at the Fifth Deng, who was wearing a crimson robe. "Yes, this is it. Who are you?"

"These are the replacement soldiers from Yuzhang, heading to Panyu!" Diwu Deng jumped off his horse and said, "Move the barricades aside so my men can pass!"

"Garden soldiers?" The small leader cast a sympathetic look. "Please wait a moment. I need to inform my superiors first! Honestly, you've arrived at a really bad time!"

"What do you mean?" asked the Fifth Deng.

"The barbarians in Jiuzhen County have rebelled again. It's said there are tens of thousands of rebels, and even the prefect of Jiuzhen County was killed in the battle. The governor has mobilized a large number of troops to suppress them. If you were here, you would probably go too!" The little leader said this and sighed. "I heard that the barbarians over there are dark-skinned and very fierce. Some can even drive elephants, and there's miasma. They're not easy to deal with!"

"What? There's a barbarian rebellion in Jiuzhen County?" Diwu Deng pretended to be shocked. "Why haven't I heard of it?"

"Not surprising!" the little leader said with a wry smile, "Jiaozhou is a vast land. Jiuzhen County is almost two thousand miles away. It's normal that you didn't know about it when you were in Yuzhang!"

"Then doesn't the Nanhai County have a shortage of troops?"

"Yes!" the little leader laughed. "Several troops were dispatched to Jiuzhen this summer. I heard there are less than a thousand soldiers guarding Panyu. That's why I say you have a hard time. You'll most likely be dispatched to Jiuzhen!"

As they were talking, an officer approached from the pass and asked, "From Yuzhang? Good, good, good! The court has finally accepted Jiaozhou's decision. Hurry and bring the imperial seals. Once they've been inspected, board the ship and don't delay your journey!"

"Yeah, my legs are sore from climbing up and down, but I can finally take a boat!" Diwu Deng gestured for his personal guard to take the imperial seal and casually asked, "Are there many boats at Hengpu Pass? I'm just the vanguard, and the central army is still behind?"

"Central Army?" The officer was stunned. "Who is in charge of you? Why is there no news at all?"

Diwu Deng knew he had spoken out of turn. He made a gesture of attack, drew his sword, stepped forward, and placed it on the officer's neck. He said with a smile, "We are here to take Hengpu Pass on the orders of the rebellious Captain Wei Cong. Don't move, and we'll be fine!"

Seeing the fifth legion's command, the soldiers immediately rushed forward, shouting "Those who surrender will not be killed." The guards at the pass had never expected to encounter the enemy. Except for a few who were slow to react and tried to resist, they were immediately pierced by spears and turned into blood gourds. The rest dropped their weapons, knelt on the ground and shouted: "Don't kill me, don't kill me!"

In just half a cup of tea, the entire Hengpu Pass fell into the hands of Diwu Deng. Diwu Deng gave a signal to Li Qun of the rear guard to come closer. At the same time, he smiled and said to the escorted pass commander: "Don't worry, we are also soldiers of the Han Dynasty. As long as you don't move, we will never harm you!"

"Why are the Han soldiers doing this?" The short, stocky guard was furious. "You are committing treason! When the imperial army arrives, your entire clan will be exterminated!"

"The imperial army?" Diwu Deng sneered. "I'm afraid they don't have the time right now. Don't you know? There's a thief outbreak in Jing and Yang provinces, numbering hundreds of thousands. The imperial court is already too busy dealing with them! How can they care about a mere Jiaozhou?" Without waiting for the guard to reply, he shouted, "Take him away and keep him under guard!"

————————————————————————————Peach Water, on the boat.

"Liu Zeicao! Have you noticed we're heading south?" a companion asked in a low voice, "Aren't we going to hunt the moth thieves?"

Liu An did not say anything, but just shook his head slightly, signaling his companions not to speak. He pushed the long pole hard to make the bow of the boat avoid a protruding reef. The river was getting narrower and narrower. Only the more than ten meters wide area in the middle of the river was enough for the boat to sail without running aground. The people on the boat had to be very careful to ensure that the boat did not run aground.

"Everyone get off the boat, leave your armor and supplies on board, and follow the boat!" an officer shouted to the people on the boat. Liu An obediently jumped off the boat, paddled a little to the edge, waded ashore, reorganized the formation, and walked forward along the river. The companion looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he quickly approached and asked, "Jucheng, where do you think they are going?"

"Shut up! If you have anything to say, let's talk at camp tonight!" Liu An lowered his voice and said, "Someone is watching us!"

At dusk, Liu An and his group arrived at their campsite. They found dozens of boats pushed ashore, but the people on board had vanished. The mountains before them rose like a high wall, as if the earth had reached its end. The weary people sat around the campfire, waiting for their dinner.

"Jucheng (Liu An's pen name), how come the road gets more desolate the further we go? It doesn't look like we're going to hunt moth thieves!"

"Yeah, aren't the Moth Thieves in the north? Why are they going south?"

"What on earth does that rebel-suppressing captain want to do? Is he planning to lure us into a trap and kill us?"

Liu An threw the stick in his hand into the bonfire and suddenly said, "Don't worry, Wei Cong won't kill us!"

"What's that for?"

"He's going to Lingnan! This mountain is Dayuling, and over the mountain is Jiaozhou's Nanhai Commandery!" Liu An said coldly, "He wants to emulate Zhao Tuo and take advantage of the chaos in the world to establish himself as king in Lingnan!"

"Zhao Tuo? Who is he?"

"He lived during the late Qin Dynasty. After the Qin conquered the six states, they sent troops to conquer Nanyue. He was a deputy general of the Qin army and, after conquering Nanyue, he stationed his troops in Lingnan. Later, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebelled, and the country was in chaos. A Qin general died of illness. Before his death, he told Zhao Tuo not to return to the Central Plains, but to seal the passes of the Five Ridges and establish himself as king in Nanyue. Zhao Tuo did just that, and later became the King of Nanyue!"

After hearing what Liu An said, the guests around the campfire suddenly panicked. If they followed Wei Cong to fight the moth bandits, they didn't care, because they were serving the court anyway, and they would get various rewards if they won. But if Liu An was right, then Wei Cong's behavior was rebellion, and they would be following the bandits. If they failed, not only would they lose their lives, but their families might also be implicated.

"Then, why don't we run?"

"Yes, Jucheng, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Yes, this is treason! You killed him!"

Facing the rebukes coming from all sides, Liu An sneered, "Do you think Wei Cong wouldn't be on guard against us? If I had told you earlier, you would have definitely revealed your presence, and then it would have only endangered everyone's lives!"

"Then run now!"

"Run now? This is a military camp. Where are we going? It's been four days since we've traveled from here to Ganxian by water. Do you know the way? Where's the rations? How are we going to resist if we're attacked along the way?"

"Can we take a boat and go back by water?" someone answered.

"Boat? We're all from Youzhou. Which of you knows how to sail and paddle? Can you or can I?" Liu An sneered, "You've all seen how narrow the waterway has become on the last day. We'd definitely run aground if we rowed the boat ourselves!"

As the saying goes, southerners ride boats and northerners ride horses. These Youzhou people were the northernest of the northerners. They could ride horses and draw bows, but if they were asked to paddle and sail, they would surely sink the boat. Traveling overland was even more difficult, with mountains, forests, and wild grass along the way, and even the villages were hostile to outsiders. For these hundred or so men, without even a ration of food, to return on foot was simply a fantasy.

"What should we do then? Should we just follow Wei Cong and rebel?"

"We can only take it one step at a time!" Liu An whispered.

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"Captain, this is the messenger sent by the Fifth Deng!" Huang Ping whispered.

"Well, come here!" Wei Cong stretched out his right hand and took the silk book handed to him by the messenger, but did not open it immediately. "How is the situation? Is everything going well?"

"Everything went smoothly!" the messenger laughed. "We followed your instructions and pretended to be garrison troops heading to Lingnan. The villagers and post houses along the way all mistook us for garrison troops. They seemed quite sympathetic, and some even gave us food. When we were almost at the top of the mountain, we saw an abandoned stone fort. I heard it dates back to the time of the Nanyue Kingdom, but most of it has collapsed. There was even a well inside with sweet water. We rested and ate there before descending the mountain. The guards at Hengpu Pass were completely unprepared and foolish. We captured them without any resistance. There were over fifty boats at the pass, but none of them were large. The Fifth Commander has ordered all available boats to be seized and rafts to be built."

"Well done!" Wei Cong smiled with satisfaction. Well begun is half won. With the Fifth Ascent having taken Hengpu Pass so smoothly, he at least didn't have to worry about his army being stuck on the narrow mountain roads. He opened the letter and read it, then suddenly exclaimed, "Is there a rebellion in Jiuzhen County?"

"What's wrong?" Huang Ping asked from the side: "Is there any accident?"

"It was an accident, but it's good news!" Wei Cong casually handed the letter to Huang Ping: "Take a look too!"

Huang Ping read the letter and said with a smile, "This is indeed good news. There's a barbarian rebellion in Jiuzhen County, and most of the troops in Jiaozhou County have been sent to support them. Naturally, Panyu is left empty. God is really helping me!"

(End of this chapter)