Jinting Han people

In the first month of the fourth year of the Yongxing era of the Jin Dynasty (309 AD), spring had arrived, and the land in the Central Plains began to thaw. Previously, ravaged by winter winds and snow, this land was as hard as metal or stone. But with the arrival of the warm spring sun, the frost on the surface of the land melted rapidly, silently forming a thin layer of moisture, which then softened the soil, giving it an oily sheen. Only at such times do later generations realize that the fertile land described by their predecessors may not have been a metaphor.

But the more fertile the land, the more likely it is to attract covetousness. As the cradle of Chinese civilization, the Central Plains is indeed a rare and fertile land in the world. However, due to its central geographical location, it has also experienced the most wars in history, hence the ancient saying of vying for control of the Central Plains. And this era is no exception.

Following the War of the Eight Princes, the numerous bloody battles in the Luoyang region failed to bring stability to the Central Plains. Instead, a new round of warfare erupted around the Xuchang area. Shortly after Liu Xian unified Jing and Xiang, this round of warfare was about to reach its final climax.

This round of warfare began when Zu Ti led his troops to relocate the capital to Xuchang, and intensified after Wang Yan forced the emperor to abdicate. The fighting escalated, the Central Plains descended into chaos, the people suffered immensely, and refugees rose up in various prefectures, forming numerous "beggar armies" based in fortified villages. They occupied territories as kings, plundering and attacking for provisions, electing virtuous leaders, and appointing themselves to official positions. However, because these beggar armies lacked the ability to maintain order, the Central Plains became increasingly chaotic, and the imperial court completely lost control of the regions.

The final victors were the Qi-Han army, led by Liu Bogen and Wang Mi.

Using the East Sea Celestial Masters sect as their foundation, they propagated the myth of the Jiazi Calamity and the Taiping Zhenjun, while raising the banner of the Han Dynasty. Diplomatically, they formed alliances and alliances; politically, they absorbed displaced people on a large scale; strategically, they abandoned the defense of territory and focused on defeating the Jin army. After several years of this, Wang Yan, unable to bear the harassment any longer, finally withdrew from Xuchang and moved the capital to Shouchun. Thus, the Qi and Han dynasties entered a period of great prosperity, reaping the fruits of their victory.

By July of the third year of Yongxing (308 AD), they had overtaken the others and completely occupied Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and most of Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Jizhou. Their power was so great that it spanned more than 20 counties from Qingzhou and Xuzhou to the Central Plains and Hebei, with a force of nearly 300,000. Their power had clearly surpassed that of Zhao Han.

By the time the new year arrived, they were very close to conquering Xuchang.

Although Wang Mi led his army to besiege Xuchang for the first time in September, he was repelled by Liu Tun, the Commandant of the Capital Region, Cao Wu, the General of the Vanguard, and Wang Jing, the General of the Left Guard. However, this was mainly due to underestimating the enemy and did not cause any serious damage. He then reorganized his forces and launched another offensive in November.

This time, Qi and Han mobilized 26 divisions, totaling 140,000 men, including Grand Marshal Wang Mi, General of Chariots and Cavalry Wang Zhang, General Who Guards the East Wang Yan, Governor of Yuzhou Xu Miao, Governor of Yanzhou Gao Liang, Commandant of the Capital Cao Yi, General of Valiant Might Zhang Song, and General Who Revitalizes Han Liu Ju. They surrounded Xuchang with overwhelming force and gradually cleared the outer perimeter of the city, successively capturing buildings such as Yuxiu Terrace and Jingfu Palace, completely destroying Xuchang's outer defense system.

In contrast, after Wang Yan redeployed troops, the garrison in Xuchang was reduced to less than 50,000. Tens of thousands more civilians sought refuge within the city, huddled haphazardly in temples, ancestral halls, and empty government offices, weeping and praying, further demoralizing the already low morale. However, as one of the five capitals of the Jin dynasty, Xuchang still possessed sufficient provisions and supplies for the time being, allowing the Jin army to rely on the city walls for defense.

But in this season of renewal, the destruction of Fallen City seems irreversible.

On the night of Renzi in the first month of the lunar calendar, Wang Mi stood before his military tent at Yuxiu Terrace, gazing at the scattered lights atop the city walls of Xuchang, lost in thought. The moon had not yet risen, and the stars twinkled in the sky. The neighing of warhorses occasionally echoed from the darkness, and beside him stood two tall warriors, Chen Wu of Yongqiu and Li Yun of Licheng. Perhaps out of respect for Wang Mi, they remained silent.

Wang Zhang, who had been waiting in the tent, said, "Marshal, why don't you go to the tent and rest first?"

Wang Mi did not answer, but only hummed in response. Standing beside Wang Zhang were his guards Ran Long and Liu Ling, who also remained silent.

"Incomprehensible. Even Zu Ti's reinforcements have been defeated, yet they are still putting up a stubborn resistance," Wang Zhang muttered to himself, but no one answered.

From the perspective of the Qi-Han army, the reason the Jin army was still resisting was because they hoped Zu Ti in Luoyang could send reinforcements to force Wang Mi and his forces to retreat. In fact, the reason Wang Mi hastily retreated the first time was because Zu Ti, after defeating Liu Yao, immediately sent troops eastward to Xingyang, attempting to cut off the Qi-Han army's supply lines. However, this time, to completely eliminate the threat, the Qi-Han army first attacked Xingyang and Aocang with superior forces, and then subjugated Runan and Xiangcheng, thus severing all connections between Xuchang and the outside world.

Zu Ti, however, did not give up. Because he needed to remain in Luoyang, he sent Zu Ji and Gongsun Gong with 10,000 cavalry to reinforce him. This strategy played right into Wang Mi's hands. Wang Mi had already implemented a scorched-earth policy in the Xingyang and Xiangcheng areas, and had built fortifications around the cities, refusing to engage Zu Ji in battle. Faced with this situation, Zu Ji's forces could not break through the camp and were unable to resupply along the way. After only a few days of hesitation, they had no choice but to retreat. Wang Mi seized the opportunity to send light cavalry in pursuit, constantly harassing them until, at Eban Pass, the Qi-Han army preemptively seized the retreat route and engaged Zu Ji's army in a decisive battle, achieving a great victory. Zu Ji was killed in battle, and Gongsun Gong escaped the battlefield with only 2,000 cavalry.

This severely weakened Zu Ti's forces, making it impossible for him to send reinforcements in the short term. Wang Mi then transported the heads of these defeated soldiers back to Xuchang and erected a mound of heads on the city walls, hoping to demoralize the Jin army within the city and force the Xuchang defenders to surrender as soon as possible.

To their surprise, the Jin army in Xuchang still refused to surrender. Empress Yang Xianrong, who remained in Xuchang, replied: "Since ancient times, death has been inevitable, and the virtuous and the wise are the same. Whether one lives long or short, rich or poor, all are ultimately the same. I have been unworthy of your position and virtue, and I have nothing to repay you with but to die for you, so that I may be worthy of my husband."

This answer made Wang Mi grit his teeth in hatred. The fall of Xuchang was now a foregone conclusion, but for Wang Mi, the difference between falling a day earlier and falling a day later made a world of difference.

The reason was simple: the Qi-Han army had already learned that Wang Dun had switched allegiance to Liu Xian, and Jingzhou in the south was now unified. The fate of the Jin dynasty was beyond saving, and the next era would be a three-way struggle for supremacy between Shu Han, Zhao Han, and Qi Han.

Against this backdrop, all three factions needed to race against time, as every moment was extremely precious. Therefore, even though capturing the city was practically a certainty, Wang Mi still wanted to accelerate the process and seize Xuchang City as soon as possible.

"Cao Yi!" After a long silence, Wang Mi looked up at the starry sky and slowly said, "It seems that this Empress Yang has made up her mind."

"Yes, it seems she won't surrender." As one of Wang Mi's most trusted confidants, Cao Yi said with a helpless bitter smile, "It's really strange. Would such a young and beautiful woman really commit suicide for an idiot?"

“Perhaps it wasn’t a suicide for an idiot, but just arrogance.” As the current supervisor of the Eastern Sea Celestial Masters, he looked up at the celestial phenomena and said to everyone, “I heard the previous Celestial Master say that this woman was born to be an empress. She probably took pride in this and therefore failed to see the general trend of the world.”

This was the first time most of them had heard this news, and they were all quite surprised. They could tell that the marshal had originally planned to capture Yang Xianrong alive and present her to the king, but given the current situation, he no longer had time to hesitate.

But the more this was the case, the more Wang Mi needed to remain calm. He stroked his beard and turned to ask his generals, "Do you have any other ideas on how to quickly breach the city?"

Upon hearing this, most people looked at each other in bewilderment. Ran Long cupped his hands and said, "Marshal, my family has been fighting generals in the Yamen for generations. As long as you give the order, I will go into battle to kill the enemy. Let alone ten people in front of me, I will kill even a hundred people without hesitation. But as for me to offer advice and strategies, I am really powerless."

Chen Wu and his men were the same. They led the Beggars' Army to occupy the fortified village. Their usual skills were actually in defending the city and looting. They didn't have much experience in attacking the city.

Only Cao Yi, who had served Wang Mi the longest, said: "Marshal, all strategies require a combination of kindness and severity. We defeated Zu Ji, which is a demonstration of power. Next, we should show kindness to the people of the city; it might have a surprising effect."

"Oh?" Wang Mi narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, "What's the plan?" Cao Yi spoke eloquently, "Although the Empress is resolute, the officials left in the city may not be. Didn't the pseudo-Jin state suffer a defeat in the south? We'll first spread the news widely, then find a few prisoners, promote them to the rank of captain, and go to the city to proclaim that as long as they submit to our king, all soldiers in the city will be employed."

"Furthermore, I recently heard that Lord Yue Guangyanfu of the city passed away. The Marshal could hold a funeral for Lord Yue Guangyanfu to show his closeness to the scholars in the city and win their hearts. Even if the Empress is willing to die for him, are her officials willing to die for her? Are the people of the city willing to die for her? I don't think so."

Upon hearing this, Wang Mi smiled and nodded, saying, "You are indeed resourceful." But he immediately changed the subject and asked, "But even with such overtures, no one in the city has surrendered. This is not impossible. You know these people; they are all arrogant and look down on us poor folks."

Cao Yi was speechless for a moment. He shook his head and said, "If that doesn't work, then we'll have to resort to a direct attack."

"Wrong!" Wang Mi clapped his hands and said, "If this doesn't work, at least it has awakened their will to live. In their minds, being trapped inside the city is a dead end, and the only way to survive is to leave the city. So, we can deliberately launch a fierce attack during the siege, then feign that our troops are tired and our defenses are lax, luring them to break out. Finally, we can send troops to intercept and kill them, achieving victory in one battle. Isn't that more appropriate?"

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that the plan was flawless and immediately praised it in unison: "The Marshal's strategy is brilliant and beyond our reach."

However, this was only a rough plan; to truly achieve its effect, the details needed to be flawless. Therefore, Wang Mi let his subordinates rest first, while he remained in the camp to continue refining the strategy.

It was late at night, the temperature had dropped, and there was still a deep chill in the air. Wang Mi stared at the map on the table, using pebbles to represent the enemy and his own forces, constantly making calculations. The battles in his mind were going back and forth, all in an attempt to achieve final victory.

After calculating for a long time, Wang Mi became drowsy and fell asleep fully clothed. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Wang Mi was a light sleeper, so unless there was an urgent military situation, no one was allowed to approach and disturb the commander-in-chief's sleep. But this time, he suddenly woke up. In his dazed state, he heard chaotic footsteps outside the tent, as if many people had arrived.

What's going on? What happened? Has there been a mutiny somewhere?

Wang Mi had just regained his senses and was about to get up to look when he heard someone outside shout, "It's so dark outside, why don't we light more campfires? What if the enemy launches a night attack?"

"There are fewer guards patrolling at night. Given the marshal's rank, you need to at least double the number, understand? Hello, is this the marshal? Long time no see. You've had a tough time attacking Xuchang!"

By the time Wang Mi recognized his lord, Liu Baigen, standing before him, a considerable amount of time had passed. He was utterly astonished, for according to their last contact, shouldn't Liu Baigen be in Pengcheng? How had he suddenly arrived here?
Wang Mi dared not be negligent in the slightest. He hurriedly bowed to Liu Baigen, but before he could kneel, Liu Baigen helped him up. He calmly stood in front of Wang Mi, looked him over for a moment, and then a look of joy appeared on his face. He slowly said, "The battle of Pengcheng is over, so I immediately brought my troops to join you. I hope I haven't been too forward, Marshal?"

Liu Baigen, dressed in a simple bamboo-patterned indigo Taoist robe and wearing a topknot, sat down naturally in front of Wang Mi. He possessed an infectious confidence that, even on this chilly spring night, instilled a sense of joy in those who beheld him. It would be hard for anyone to imagine that this elegant and refined middle-aged Taoist priest in his early forties was the emperor of Qi and Han.

Wang Mi certainly dared not be negligent in the slightest. He and Liu Yuan were originally good friends, but in the end he recognized Liu Bogen as his master because he valued Liu's extraordinary charisma. No matter where he was, he could release his emotions without any restraint and as a matter of course, which made people fall in love with him.

After someone served some hot tea, Liu Bogen unceremoniously dismissed the others, saying, "I want to have a proper talk with the Marshal. You may all leave!"

Then, by the dim candlelight, he turned to Wang Mi and asked, "Marshal, let's not waste time on unnecessary words. How is the battle in Xuchang going? When will you be able to break through the city?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Mi immediately understood the reason for his lord's visit. It seemed that, influenced by Liu Xian's unification of Jing and Xiang, Liu Baigen was also restless. He also wanted to further accelerate the progress of the Xuchang campaign and completely solidify Qi and Han's hegemonic position in the Central Plains.

Wang Mi immediately revealed his newly devised strategy to his lord, saying, "Your Highness, I am 70% confident in taking down the city. Using my methods, it should only take about a month. One month is enough to take Xuchang."

"Haha, as expected of the Marshal, to come up with such a brilliant plan!" Liu Baigen's face also showed a satisfied expression. Just when Wang Mi thought that his plan had been approved, the King of Qi's expression suddenly changed. He said, "But Marshal, a month is still too long. I don't have that much time. You know, we are competing with Liu Xian for food!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Mi's expression changed instantly. As a commander who had traversed the Central Plains for many years and covered thousands of miles, he had absolute confidence that he was the best general in the world. However, faced with Liu Xian's illustrious military achievements, he had to admit that this was an unprecedentedly powerful enemy for his side, and one that was about to be faced.

Once Liu Xian stabilizes Jiangnan, where will he attack next? It will inevitably be the Central Plains, and who will be his adversary? It will undoubtedly be Qi and Han. From this perspective, the Qi and Han armies have no choice but to race against time.

Despite the dire situation, Liu Baigen still wore a lighthearted smile, like a young man, and personally poured tea for Wang Mi: "Marshal, Liu Yuan is ultimately a barbarian. In terms of the distinction between Chinese and barbarians, he will always be inferior. The only ones truly qualified to unify the world are us and Liu Xian. Liu Xian has just won a victory in Jingxiang, and his next step will inevitably be to attack Shouchun, and then... ascend the throne and become emperor."

"We cannot let him monopolize the glory. We must fight a tough battle of equal scale before him, so that the whole world knows that we are the true orthodox ones!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Mi's eyes widened in shock. He finally understood the reason his lord had come to this place. It turned out that Liu Bogen intended to personally oversee the battle, launch a frontal assault on Xuchang, and then formally ascend the throne there, seizing the legitimate throne!
He took a sip of tea, quickly calmed down, and after putting down the cup, he said to his lord, "Your Highness, with our current military strength, a direct attack on Xuchang would likely result in heavy casualties."

“I am prepared.” Liu Bogen also put down his teacup and said slowly, “I have brought another 70,000 men with me. Liu Ba, Lü Pi, Zhou Jian and others have arrived today. In three days, Su Jun, Ju Peng, Shao Xu and Ding Shao will also arrive.”

Wang Mi was shocked again. These were all local elites from Qingxu, and Liu Bogen had brought them all. It seemed that he was determined to take Xuchang.

But what surprised Wang Mi was not the only thing. Liu Bogen brought another piece of news. He closed his eyes and said with a self-satisfied air, "And I have also brought an elite force, an extraordinary elite force."

"What elite troops?" Wang Mi asked.

Liu Baigen suddenly opened his eyes and said, word by word, "Duan tribe Xianbei!" (End of this chapter)