Jinting Han people

If we were to turn back the clock to the beginning of the third year of Yongxing, no one would have imagined that the word "Xianbei" would be associated with the Han army. For the three years since Zhang Fang crossed the Yellow River northward, the Duan and Tuoba Xianbei had been the mainstay of the Jin army in Hebei and the Central Plains.

Faced with the chaos in China, the two Xianbei tribes first joined forces to recapture Ye City and defeated Zhang Fang. When the refugees rose up everywhere, they wholeheartedly supported General Wang Jun and repeatedly sent Xianbei cavalry south to quell the rebellion, defeating the Qi-Han and Zhao-Han armies dozens of times, truly earning a great reputation.

For Liu Yuan and Liu Bogen, these days were utterly unbearable. Countless refugees perished under the hooves of the Xianbei horses—the number was impossible to count—yet they couldn't even secure a single victory. By the end, the Zhao Han and Qi Han armies were completely unable to confront the Xianbei head-on. When they met on the battlefield, most soldiers lacked any will to fight, and fleeing at the mere sight of them became the norm. They were forced to resort to guerrilla tactics to absorb refugees and expand their power.

However, by the third year of Yongxing, Shi Le, employing Zhang Bin's strategy, successfully sowed discord, dismantling the alliance between Wang Jun and the Tuoba Xianbei from within. He then occupied Jinyang, becoming a new ally of the Tuoba Xianbei, and the situation in Hebei began to deteriorate at an astonishing speed. In just ten months, Shi Le rapidly expanded from several fortified villages in Zhao to nine commanderies and kingdoms: Taiyuan, Xinxing, Leping, Changshan, Zhao, Anping, Julu, Boling, and Zhongshan.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, this was not only due to the contributions of the Tuoba Xianbei, but also to the cooperation of the Qi and Han.

After Zhang Bin became his chief strategist, Shi Le's style underwent a significant transformation. Before this, he was likely a popular and adaptable local leader, a kind of displaced man who was somewhat easygoing and resigned to his fate, lacking the initiative to change the situation. But with Zhang Bin's guidance, his vision broadened considerably, and he gradually transformed into a leader who could see the big picture and create opportunities.

Take the alliance between Qi and Han as an example. Liu Bogen and Wang Mi were incredibly clever men. Under the banner of the Celestial Masters, they recruited tens of thousands of followers. Yet Shi Le managed to switch sides without raising suspicion, quietly moving from Zhao-Han to Qi-Han. The reason was simple: it was where the profit and power lay.

Shi Le knew that it was not yet time for him to truly become independent, while Qi and Han urgently needed to expand their territories. Therefore, he took the initiative to bestow an honorific title upon Liu Bogen, calling himself "Little Hu," claiming that he had returned to the East by divine mandate, and urging him to declare himself emperor. Afterward, he took the initiative to conquer Anping Kingdom and gifted it, along with the spoils, to Qi and Han. All these actions were exactly what Liu Bogen was eager for and what he needed.

Since Shi Le was so sensible, Liu Baigen was naturally overjoyed and sent 40,000 troops north, led by his brother Liu Zhongdao and Wang Sang, to jointly conquer Hebei with Shi Le. After each victory, Shi Le dutifully divided the spoils, taking four parts for himself and letting Liu Zhongdao take six, thus their cooperation became increasingly seamless. By August, under the combined attack of Qi Han, Shi Le, and the Tuoba Xianbei, Wang Jun was overwhelmed and finally forced to withdraw from Ji Province and defend You Province.

At this time, as Qi and Han had already begun their attack on Xuchang, their activities in Hebei began to shift to a defensive posture. However, Shi Le's advance did not stop. In late September, Shi Le led an army of 40,000 and suddenly attacked Fanyang County, choosing to confront his old adversary, the Duan tribe of Xianbei, head-on.

The Duan Xianbei were a formidable opponent for Shi Le; in fact, it could be said that most of Shi Le's defeats in his life were at the hands of the Duan Xianbei, which at one point left him disheartened and ready to flee Hebei. Under normal circumstances, without an overwhelming numerical advantage, Shi Le would never dare to initiate a battle with them. However, his rash advance stemmed from a golden opportunity that had presented itself to him. If used properly, it could lead to the complete disintegration of Wang Jun.

This golden opportunity was none other than the fact that the leader of the Duan tribe of the Xianbei, Duan Wuwuchen, the Duke of Liaoxi of Jin, had fallen seriously ill.

As one of the four great Xianbei leaders, Duan Wuchen married Wang Jun and was the first among the Xianbei tribes to centralize power and assimilate into Han culture. Although he started from the smallest position, his rise to power was the fastest among all the Xianbei tribes. However, with Wang Jun's repeated defeats and Duan Wuchen's impending death, the Duan tribe of Xianbei inevitably faced a question: what should they do in the future?

Upon learning of this news, Shi Le quickly realized that this was an excellent opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of the Duan Xianbei. As long as he could become deeply involved in this matter and turn the Duan Xianbei from enemies to friends, his foundation in Hebei would be as solid as Mount Tai, allowing him to focus on recuperation and begin governing the country.

But to accomplish this task, he must win a battle to intimidate the Duan tribe of Xianbei and make them realize that they are no ordinary people, before he can support a new agent.

Therefore, under the pretext of a decisive battle with Wang Jun, he charged straight into Youzhou. Wang Jun did not dare to underestimate Shi Le, and immediately summoned Duan Jilu Juan, Duan Pidi, Duan Mobo, Duan Wenyang and other fierce Xianbei generals of the Duan tribe, along with Qi Hong, Sun Wei and other generals of his own tribe, Shen Deng, Bo Sheng and other Wuhuan leaders, totaling more than 70,000 men, to confront Shi Le west of Gu'an.

In contrast, Shi Le, though commanding over 40,000 troops, was not as well-equipped as the Jin army and lacked fierce generals like Duan Wenyan and Duan Mobo. The only force capable of matching the enemy was the Tuoba cavalry that had accompanied him.

However, Tuoba Yilu remained focused on stabilizing domestic politics and centralizing Sinicization, and did not provide large-scale support to Shi Le. In this battle, he only sent more than 4,000 Xianbei cavalry, led by Shi Le's sworn brother Tuoba Liuxiu. Compared to Duan's army of 20,000, this was not a large number.

Faced with such overwhelming odds and superior strength, Shi Le took a risky gamble. He consulted with Zhang Bin, Kong Chang, and others, concluding that although Wang Jun's army was numerous, most of it was actually at the mercy of the Duan Xianbei. If the Duan Xianbei won, the other tribes would follow suit; if the Duan Xianbei were defeated, the other tribes would scatter. Therefore, they should try to bypass the Duan Xianbei's main force and attack Qi Hong's tribe. Once Qi Hong's forces were routed, the Duan Xianbei would be caught in the crossfire, and everything would fall into place.

So he first sent his trusted confidant Tao Bao with 3,000 men to probe the Jin army. Tao Bao was indeed defeated by Duan Wenyang's charge. Then, the following night, Shi Le sent his adopted son Shi Sheng to the Jin army camp to feign surrender, claiming that Shi Le knew he was no match for them and was withdrawing his troops that very night. To avoid detection by the Jin army, they planned to retreat via a detour through Xiangshan. The Jin army could then take a direct route west and intercept them.

Shi Sheng's timely betrayal naturally aroused the suspicion of the Jin army generals. Duan Pidi immediately broke his thigh to interrogate him repeatedly. Under intense pain, Shi Sheng immediately changed his story, admitting that Shi Le had led his army to ambush the Jin army in Xiangshan.

Duan Pi was overjoyed upon hearing this. He sneered, "So, even a little barbarian knows how to use tricks? Haven't you learned your lesson from Feilong Mountain?" He immediately led his army westward to pry into the ambush. Little did he know, this was actually a trap within a trap. The ambush Shi Le had placed at Xiangshan was merely bait; the real ambush was at Jiulian Mountain, southeast of Xiangshan. However, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care. Facing this defeated opponent, the Duan Xianbei had already lowered their guard, confident that they would never lose to Shi Le under any circumstances.

The Jin army marched in a grand procession towards Xiangshan, where they indeed discovered the ambush set up by Shi Le. This ambush was led by Kui An, who, seeing the Jin army circle around the mountain and discover his trap, panicked and immediately retreated towards Jiulian Mountain. By this time, night had fallen, and the Jin army could not see the number of ambush troops clearly, only assuming their formation was scattered—a perfect opportunity to pursue. Duan Pidi and his Xianbei cavalry, acting as the vanguard, immediately swarmed forward. Seeing this, the Jin army behind split into two groups: one followed Duan's group in pursuit, while the other remained at Xiangshan to provide support.

As a result, when the Duan tribe of Xianbei crossed the Jiulian Mountains and entered the valley basin, Shi Le led his true ambush troops in a sudden attack, flanking Qi Hong and his forces from the rear. Qi Hong and his men were completely unprepared for battle, and their formation was in utter chaos. Shi Le's nephew, Shi Hu, was only fourteen years old at the time, but he was extremely brave and strong. He took the initiative to serve as the vanguard, and with a single stab, he cut the Jin army in two. The infantry followed closely behind, attacking the Jin army from both sides. Kong Chang, Zhi Xiong, Wang Yang, Guo Heilue, Huyan Mo, and others fought bravely forward, and soon completely shattered the order of the Jin army's rear.

By the time Duan Jilu, Duan Pidi, and others reacted, the rear of the Jin army was in chaos, and the rout had already spread to the troops left behind at Xiangshan, who had also lowered their guard. It was late at night, and many of them, having traveled all night, were exhausted and, now believing victory was assured, simply lay down to rest in the mountainside. As a result, Shi Le's army emerged like ghosts from the chaos, terrifying these men. They thought, "Even the Duan Xianbei have been defeated, so what's the point of fighting?" and thus they all fled eastward.

At this time, Duan Pidi and others wanted to replicate the tactic of seizing the high ground at Feilong Mountain and fighting again, but the situation was completely different: first, the terrain of Jiulian Mountain was much more treacherous than Feilong Mountain; second, the one guarding the mountain pass was Tuoba Liuxiu, whose combat strength was on par with Duan's Xianbei tribe; and third, the routed soldiers of the Jin army had disrupted their order, making it extremely difficult to resist Shi Le's army.

In this situation, even though Duan Mobo and Duan Wenyang possessed unparalleled bravery, they could only sigh helplessly. They managed to hold out for a while, but Duan Wuwuchen's younger brother, Duan Shefuchen, was old and his strength was the first to give out. He said to his men, "We only came to relieve Wang Jun's siege. These Jin people have already fled. Why should we Xianbei people fight for nothing?" So he instructed his men to remove their armor, lower their banners, and surrender to Shi Le's army on the opposite side.

With him leading the way, the others, including Duan Pidi, Duan Mobo, and Duan Wenyang, were terrified and abandoned their resistance, leading their troops to flee over the mountains. Shi Le's army pursued them, causing them to collapse for more than thirty miles, capturing over four thousand armored cavalry, and killing or capturing nearly twenty thousand people in total.

From then on, Shi Le finally crossed the seemingly insurmountable barrier of the Duan tribe Xianbei. The Battle of Jiulian Mountain became the representative work of his military career. With this successful command, he officially shed the title of a perpetually defeated general and joined the ranks of first-class generals.

After the war, Shi Le released Duan Shefuchen and nearly ten thousand Duan Xianbei prisoners, and renewed goodwill by sending envoys to propose marriage to the Duan Xianbei. Among the Duan tribe, Duan Jilujuan, Duan Shefuchen, Duan Mobo, and others were completely convinced of Shi Le's loyalty, with only a handful of people like Duan Pidi and Duan Wenyang expressing opposition. In the end, the majority prevailed over the minority, and the opposition was ineffective. Duan Shefuchen married his daughter Duan Xiurong to Shi Le, and the two sides reconciled.

In mid-October, taking advantage of his wedding, Shi Le, under the banner of Qi-Han, formally invited the Duan Xianbei tribe to submit to Qi-Han. He said to Duan Jilu Juan and others, "The Jin dynasty has moved its capital repeatedly and has not even left half of its territory. It is clear that the country is about to perish. Why do you still cling to the titles of the Jin dynasty? Liu Gong of Donghai is a man of destiny, a descendant of the Han dynasty, supported by the people, and the hope of the masses. If you surrender, why would he begrudge you a title or two?"

Duan Jilu agreed, and together with Shi Le, sent envoys to Xuzhou to request submission from Liu Baigen. Liu Baigen had previously harbored some resentment towards Shi Le's arbitrary actions in Youzhou, but due to setbacks at Pengcheng, he had refrained from pursuing the matter further. However, upon learning of the Duan tribe's submission, he was overjoyed and repeatedly praised Xu Guang, Shi Le's envoy, saying, "Lord Shi is truly a pillar of the state! With him guarding the northern frontier, I have no worries!"

Having said this, he immediately dispatched envoys to Youzhou, bestowing upon the ailing Duan Wuwuchen the title of Duke of Liaoxi, and upon Shi Le the title of Duke of Zhongshan, General Who Guards the East, Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Bing and Youzhou, Governor of Bingzhou, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Army, Protector of the Wuhuan, Grand Master of the Palace, and Governor of Youzhou. At the same time, he also demanded reinforcements from Shi Le and the Xianbei tribe of Duan.

In early December, Duan Jilu and Shi Kan, the adopted son of Shi Le, each led 5,000 cavalry south to Pengcheng to join the battle. As a fresh force with extraordinary combat power, they produced remarkable results as soon as they arrived on the battlefield. In just three days, Duan Mobo scaled the city walls and captured Pengcheng. The defending general, Wang Cui, led his troops in a breakout attempt but failed and died in the streets. His wife, children, and former subordinates were all captured.

After this battle, Huaibei was almost entirely under the control of Qi and Han. Upon learning of Liu Xian's unification of Jing and Xiang, Liu Bogen immediately set off. After only ten days of rest, he led the various forces of Qing and Xu to Xuchang to capture this famous capital city as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Shi Le launched a reckless expansion in Youzhou. After losing the support of the Duan clan of Xianbei, Wang Jun's forces were no match for them and could only hold their ground. In order to further consolidate his gains, Shi Le made an agreement with Duan Wuchen, with the Shengshui River and Jundu Mountain as the boundary. The three commanderies of Yan, Beiping, and Liaoxi in the east of Youzhou would belong to the Duan clan of Xianbei, while the commanderies of Fanyang, Shanggu, Guangning, and Dai in the west of Youzhou would belong to Shi Le.

Having suffered a crushing defeat, the two armies launched a coordinated attack, sweeping away all resistance like autumn leaves in the wind. By January of the fourth year of Yongxing, Wang Jun, who had once dominated Hebei, could no longer hold his ground in Youzhou. He had no choice but to abandon his stronghold in Ji County, lead his troops north to Yanshan, and then detour to seek refuge with Cui Bi, the governor of Pingzhou and the Commandant of the Eastern Barbarians. From then on, the last foothold of the Jin army in Hebei disappeared.

Shi Le then entered Ji City with Duan Shefuchen, where they held a grand banquet for three days. It was at this time that military news arrived from the south, finally revealing that Wang Dun had surrendered to Liu Xian and that the south was about to be unified. Duan Shefuchen was quite surprised upon hearing the news. Although he had long heard of Liu Xian, after personally experiencing and defeating Zhang Fang's rebellion, he had never taken Liu Xian seriously. However, the speed of Liu Xian's advance was unexpected, causing him to reassess Liu Xian's abilities.

Those with discernment can now see that the unification of the South is imminent, and once that happens, a great war between the North and South will begin. He couldn't help but discuss with Shi Le, "Lord Shi, in your opinion, which is superior, the royal army or the Shu army?"

Shi Le laughed heartily, raised his wine cup, took a sip, and replied, "Alas! Since ancient times, the South has never been able to defeat the North. With our assistance, how could our royal army be defeated by the Southerners?"

On the surface, he said this, but back in his tent, he smiled at Zhang Bin and said, "Interesting, very interesting! Although I knew Liu Xian would win, I didn't expect his progress to be so fast! But Old Liu and Wang Feibao are no ordinary people either! We've been helping him so much for this day. This fierce battle, who will emerge victorious? It's truly something to look forward to!" (End of Chapter)