Jinting Han people

Li Xiu arrived in Jiangzhou in late July.

Because of the chaos in the south, the journey north was not easy. She led her troops from Wei County, traveling a hundred li along the Tonglu Mountains to enter Zhuti County, where she encountered three rebellions by the Yi people. Although neither side intended to wage war, it still slowed down their northward advance. Moreover, now that Bidao County had fallen into Li Xiong's hands, they had to take a detour, adding nearly three hundred li to their journey before crossing the river at Jiangyang and then heading east to join Luo Shang.

With this, the reinforcements from Guangzhou, Jiaozhou, and Ningzhou had all arrived. In addition, with the more than 40,000 remnants of the defeated army that Luo Shang had gathered and rebuilt over the past year, Jiangzhou had finally managed to assemble an army of 60,000, enough to fight Liu Xian and Li Xiong head-on.

Luo Shang was brimming with confidence; he had never felt the situation could be so favorable. Since Li Te's uprising, he had first been caught off guard by the Li family, losing a crucial advantage. Then he had been relentlessly pursued, win or lose, confined to the area between Luo County and Chengdu, fighting bloody battles almost daily with no chance to rest. To be able to calmly choose his opponent and decide the location and time himself was something he had never experienced before.

Therefore, as soon as all the troops arrived, he couldn't wait to summon his generals to discuss the next steps of the campaign.

According to existing intelligence, the confrontation between Liu Xian and Li Xiong over Luo County is still ongoing and has even reached a fever pitch.

After several unsuccessful attempts to break through, Li Xiong changed his battle strategy again. He no longer hoped to breach Liu Xian's river camp by land, but instead built and deployed a navy of dozens of warships in Chengdu. He then planned to force his way through the river to transport supplies to Luocheng. With the support of the Celestial Masters' sect's supplies, he was confident that by outlasting Liu Xian, he would eventually win. Liu Xian, at this point, indeed lacked a capable navy. Although he repeatedly attempted to intercept them on the river, his efforts were ineffective, and the battle devolved into a simple stalemate.

However, Liu Xian's overall situation was also improving after the pacification of Zitong County. Gongsun Gong and Zhuge Yan then turned their attention to the Celestial Masters sect in Guanghan County, employing a strategy of both recruitment and suppression. Within a month, they successively captured twenty-three Taoist temples and accepted the surrender of more than 40,000 Celestial Masters sect members. They then used their family members as hostages, separating and placing them under the temporary supervision of various local powerful clans.

The same was true of the Celestial Masters Rebellion in Bazhou County. Under Li Ju's arrangement, there was no need for Liu Xian to send reinforcements. Knowing that Bazhou was a mixed bag, he secretly sent several groups of people disguised as refugees from the north to surrender. They quickly uncovered the secrets of the Celestial Masters sect in the county, and then he led his men to eliminate them one by one. By mid-July, he had basically quelled all the rebellions in the county.

The seemingly massive upheaval within the Celestial Masters sect was essentially over in about two months.

For Luo Shang at this moment, this is neither good nor bad news. Fortunately, Liu Xian and Li Xiong are still in a stalemate, and there seems to be no sign of it ending. However, the bad news is that the rebellion in Bazhou County has ended, and he has missed the opportunity to take advantage of the situation by heading north to attack.

According to reconnaissance, the Hanzhong army originally had about 9,000 troops in Hanzhong. After quelling the rebellion, they were supplemented with some able-bodied men, bringing the total to about 12,000. However, if further fighting breaks out, it is highly likely that troops stationed in Guanghan and Zitong will be drawn from the army, bringing the total to about 20,000.

In this sense, if Luo Shang were to attack Brazil County, he would have 60,000 troops against Li Ju's 20,000, giving him a three-fold advantage in numbers. Moreover, Luo Shang's forces included many local scholars from Brazil who were familiar with the terrain and climate of Brazil County, giving both armies a geographical advantage.

Moreover, the battlefield at Luocheng shows that the Hanzhong army lacked sufficient ships. In contrast, Luo Shang had already gathered more than a hundred warships, which was enough to allow the Jiangzhou army to rampage across the river.

Luo Shang then consulted with generals Wang Ji, Qiao Deng, He Chong, and Li Xiu to devise a strategy, and soon proposed a plan to march north and directly attack Langzhong.

Because Li Xiu arrived late, and the autumn floods were almost over, Luo Shang planned to lead his army north along the Xihan River (Jialing River) to maximize the Jiangzhou army's naval advantage. He intended to start from Dianjiang and clear out obstacles along the river one by one. He anticipated that Li Ju, with insufficient troops, would likely hold Langzhong City, and because of the presence of his navy, Luo Shang could disregard Langzhong and continue north along the Xihan River, creating the appearance of an attack on Hanshou.

This presents Li Ju with a difficult choice: defend Hanshou or Langzhong. Langzhong is surrounded by water on three sides; if Hanshou falls, and the Jiangzhou army reinforces the north, Langzhong will become an isolated city, vulnerable to depletion. However, if he abandons Langzhong to defend Hanshou and attempts to intervene in Bazhou County again, he would have to travel south along the treacherous Micang Road. This would make sustained, normal support impossible, essentially meaning the entire Bazhou County would fall into Luo Shang's hands.

In his view, this was almost a guaranteed profit; he would win no matter what he did. The only difference was the magnitude of the win. Li Ju's most rational course of action was to abandon Bazhou County now and retreat to Hanshou, thus preserving Liu Xian's control over Jiange. If Liu Xian harbored any illusions and attempted to fight him, it would be too late to retreat north to Hanshou if the battle went poorly. How could two legs outrun a navy? He could simply swallow those 20,000 men, leaving the area between Hanzhong and Zitong vulnerable. He could then easily take over Liu Xian's entire territory.

Luo Shang discussed this route of advance with his generals, and most of them agreed. However, unexpectedly, one person raised an objection, and that person was Li Xiu.

As a young woman, she showed no fear among the group of seasoned men. Pointing to the map, she said, "Isn't Lord Luo being a little too complacent? Although our army is strong, it would be very risky to assume that victory is certain and march north without a plan."

She continued, "In my opinion, we should not underestimate a general like Li Ju who already has a reputation. It would be better to divide our forces into three routes, taking the slower route first and then the more urgent one."

The generals were already curious and puzzled to see a woman in the military council. Now, seeing her actually questioning Commander Luo Shang's strategy, they found it even more ridiculous, and a group of them immediately chuckled. Although Luo Shang had heard of Li Xiu's reputation, he only regarded her as a descendant of a friend and did not take her seriously. Faced with Li Xiu's questioning, he also found it somewhat amusing. He turned to Li Xiu and asked, "Shuniang, where do you think my strategy has any flaws?"

Despite the laughter of the crowd, Li Xiu remained unaffected. Wearing a veil, she walked to the map, her slender finger pointing to Dianjiang City. She slowly said, “Dianjiang is where three rivers converge. To the east is the Fu River, flowing directly to Guanghan; in the middle is the Xihan River, connecting to Langzhong in the north; and to the west is the Dangqu River, linking Dangqu and Xuanhan.” “According to Lord Luo’s strategy, our army mobilized a large force to attack Langzhong because the enemy’s forces were weakened. But wouldn’t this also leave our rear vulnerable? Such a large-scale troop movement cannot be concealed from the enemy. What if Li Ju didn’t consolidate his forces in Langzhong and instead ordered a division of troops to Guanghan to launch a flanking attack on Dianjiang?”

"Once Dianjiang is captured, our army's retreat will be cut off. Let alone continuing north to capture Langzhong and Jiameng, it will be difficult to even retreat unscathed."

After she finished speaking, the crowd was momentarily stunned, for Li Xiu's words were extremely logical and coherent, not the ignorant girl they had imagined. The crowd immediately abandoned their disdain and treated her as an equal warrior. Qiao Deng stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, finding something he didn't understand in Li Xiu's words, and asked, "Since Li Ju's forces are insufficient, how dare he divide his troops? Is that even possible?"

Li Xiu said calmly, "If he were to leave the city and engage our army in open battle, he would naturally be short of troops. But if he wanted to defend Langzhong and prevent its fall in the short term, a few thousand men would be enough. Why wouldn't he dare to divide his forces? Although there is a certain risk, if he succeeds, our army will be caught in a dilemma, suffering attacks from both sides, and there is even a possibility of a major defeat. That would be enough for him to fight to the death."

Li Xiu persuaded Qiao Deng, who then asked, "What is Miss Li's opinion on how to attack?"

“I think we should play it safe,” Li Xiu said, pointing to the three rivers. “Since our army currently has a numerical advantage, why should we stick to one place? We should divide our forces into three routes: advance to the east, encircle from the center, and defend to the west.”

"First, send 10,000 men to sweep through the counties along the Dangqu River in the east; concentrate the navy in the middle route, about 40,000 men, and enter the Xihan River to surround Langzhong. Our army will still have a numerical advantage; leave 10,000 men in the west route to guard Dianjiang, and beware of enemy troops attacking our rear from Guanghan."

"Such a formation is foolproof. I believe that no matter what methods Li Ju uses, he will not be able to turn the tide. Our army will definitely be able to take Brazil."

Among the warriors, a woman's voice is always pleasant to the ear, but Luo Shang frowned deeply upon hearing it. His old habit of being jealous of talent had resurfaced, and he found it hard to tolerate even his old friend's daughter trying to outshine him. He immediately said impatiently, "Shuniang, if we do things your way, our army can indeed take all of Brazil, but what about after that?"

"After that?" Li Xiu was somewhat surprised. Shouldn't war be about gaining an inch and then a foot, taking an inch and then an inch?
Luo Shang shook his head and said, "If our army doesn't take any risks and moves so slowly, would Li Ju still be waiting for us in Lang? He would definitely avoid our sharp edge, abandon Bazhou and head north back to Jiameng. Wouldn't it be a waste to only get Bazhou from such a good opportunity?"

"Now that we're on the battlefield, we can't prioritize safety above all else. If we're afraid to take risks, how can we achieve anything? The saying 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained' perfectly illustrates this point. Besides, this isn't really taking risks; it's just going all out. The art of war emphasizes wielding the battle axe with the force of an eagle, riding the wind and raging fire. Shuniang hasn't been on the battlefield enough; she doesn't understand this principle."

As the commander-in-chief of the entire army and the grand governor of two prefectures, Luo Shang's words carried immense weight. Since he had stated his position, no one else dared to object. Moreover, Luo Shang was indeed quick-witted; his words were sufficient to cover up his mistakes, and his wisdom enough to refute advice. After he spoke, Li Xiu found it difficult to refute him. Seeing that Luo Shang was using his seniority to pressure him, Li Xiu had no choice but to abandon his opinion and retreat.

At this point, Wang Ji stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Miss Li's words are not without merit. Military strategy says, 'Double the enemy', which is the orthodox way of war. But Lord Luo is worried about the overall situation of the country and really does not want the people to suffer from the ravages of war again, so he wants to use a surprise attack. Let's all be understanding!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiu couldn't help but inwardly scoff: After entering Jiangzhou, she saw nothing but luxury everywhere, even in this military tent, there was no shortage of pearls and ivory. How could she not see that Luo Shang was a harsh ruler? Here he was talking about caring for the people, didn't he seem hypocritical?

However, this actually aligned with Li Xiu's original intention. Her journey north was primarily aimed at ending the war in Sichuan and Chongqing as soon as possible, so that she could then borrow troops to quell the rebellion. Her strategy was simply a rational choice, and therefore she had no intention of arguing with Luo Shang further. She merely said, "I've only had some thoughts on this and wanted to consult with you, Lord Luo. After all, you are a renowned general with a hundred battles under your command; how could I not know that?"

With this plan settled, everyone began preparations for sending troops.

Three days later, the Jiangzhou army finally set off north. The early morning air was crisp with autumn winds, and the summer heat was beginning to dissipate. Luo Shang, with Wei Ji, the prefect of Jianwei, as his vanguard, led over a hundred warships northward along the Xihan River in a grand procession. The weather was cool, and the oars splashed the water, causing the boats to sway gently. The soldiers, aboard, admired the orange groves on both banks. The oranges were ripe, their fruit, glowing like tiny lanterns in the sunlight, hanging from the branches.

That evening, they arrived in Dianjiang. They could see the wide river splitting into three winding channels, flowing east, west, and north respectively. At the confluence of these three rivers, perhaps due to the immense force of the merging, the river made three sharp turns, forming a triangular peninsula in the river (the site of Diaoyu City during the Southern Song Dynasty), resembling a pointed boot. Dianjiang City was located at the last sharp bend on the eastern side of the peninsula, where the Fu River and the Yangtze River meet.

The river here is extremely wide, reaching two or three hundred zhang in its narrowest point and even exceeding three li in its widest. The vast reed beds that usually stretch along the riverbanks seem insignificant in the face of the mighty current of the Dianjiang River. The towering banyan trees that farmers on the banks have to look up to appear tiny like weeds in the middle of the river. As the fleet of boats travels upstream, the current gradually slows down, and the boats pick up speed.

To meet Luo Shang's requirement for speed, the army rested only one night in Dianjiang before continuing its northward journey upstream, entering the Xihan River before noon. Considering Li Xiu's previous suggestion, Luo Shang hesitated briefly but still added three thousand garrison troops to Dianjiang City.

For the next few days, the Jiangzhou army accelerated its advance, covering a hundred li a day, with unimpeded passage, rarely even encountering the scattered civilians along the way. By the afternoon of the third day, the Jiangzhou army had successfully arrived at the walls of Anhan City. Seeing the city completely silent, Luo Shang sent scouts into the city to investigate. Anhan City was lifeless, practically a ghost town. (End of Chapter)