Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 165 Tongguan
June 1st.

Liu Shan left Huayin and headed east.

Huang Chong, the Tiger Cavalry Supervisor, led a hundred cavalrymen to lead Huang Yong, the Grand Herald of Cao Wei, to Chang'an.

Sima Zhao and his entourage were detained by Zong Yu at the Huayin Post Station.

They were not allowed to leave the post station, nor were outsiders allowed to approach it, which was as if Sima Zhao was being imprisoned there.

After all, this was the front line, and they already knew that the Emperor of Han was here, so Zong Yu did not want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Huayin is too close to Tongguan.

The border between the Han and Wei states shrank dramatically from the original 500 li of Guanzhong Plain and 300 li of Qinling Mountains to a plain of just over 30 li.

Huayin, lacking natural defenses, is undoubtedly at a disadvantage in the current stalemate.

Whenever Sima Yi sent a few thousand elite cavalry to invade and wreak havoc, destroying fields and disturbing the people, the Han Dynasty had no other way but to use cavalry to control cavalry.

However, as a defensive force with no natural defenses, using cavalry to counter cavalry has limited effectiveness.

Because as the defending side, it is impossible to maintain a state of preparedness for a long time; there will always be times when things become lax.

Not to mention, the cavalry that the Han Dynasty currently uses to guard against Tongguan Pass is still the unsystematic and unorganized Qiang cavalry.

However, due to Cao Wei's recent defeat, the Han Dynasty's foothold in Guanzhong was not yet secure. The powerful clans who had lived in the two important border towns of Linjin and Huayin for generations did not yet have their interests deeply tied to the Han Dynasty, and were still objects that Wei could win over.

Therefore, Sima Yi currently has no intention of entering the country and wreaking havoc.

But... this is the normal state.

If Sima Yi were to learn that the Han emperor was actually in Huayin City, it wouldn't be impossible for him to quickly arm himself and march his troops overnight to besiege the city...

Okay, the chances are slim.

Sima Yi had just suffered a defeat and his morale was low. Even if he dared to come, he might not be a match for the 6,000 fully-equipped and in high spirits Han army in the city.

However, Zong Yu still did not want the emperor to fall into such a predicament. More importantly, it would be of little significance to resume the war with Cao Wei at this time.

After seeing Tongguan with his own eyes, he knew that it was almost impossible to take that formidable pass at this time, and that the manpower of the Han Dynasty could not support the Han Dynasty to fight a pointless war of attrition with Cao Wei.

The most urgent task is to build fortresses and strongholds between Huayin and Tongguan, set up roadblocks and beacon towers, and build a complete and reliable defense system from scratch, making long-term plans.

...

After leaving Huayin, Liu Shan traveled eastward.

From Huayin to Tongguan, a distance of over thirty li, the more than one thousand Qiang cavalry under the command of Commandant Yang Su were divided into ten groups and scattered at various sentry posts east of Huayin, patrolling and monitoring day and night, and relaying messages.

At the sentry post closest to Huayin, the sentry officer saw hundreds of riders coming from the east of Huayin in the distance. He first cast a curious glance at them, and then, as a matter of routine, rode forward to question them.

Upon seeing the familiar face of Zhao Tong, the Protector of the Qiang, he excitedly exchanged pleasantries with him.

Knowing the emperor's intention to appease the Qiang and Di peoples, Zhao Tong was again entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the Qiang. During the more than one month that he guarded Gaoling City with Yang Tiao, Yang Su and other Anding Qiang, he performed his duties diligently, treated the Qiang with respect, and established a good relationship with the Anding Qiang. As the saying goes, the pacification was appropriate and the Qiang and Han people gradually got along well.

The Qiang officer and Zhao Tong exchanged pleasantries for a while, and after Zhao Tong explained his purpose, the officer quickly let him pass without asking any further questions.

Seeing this situation, Liu Shan was pleased with Zhao Tong's tactical pacification, but also somewhat helplessly gestured for Zhao Tong to produce the official document signed by Zong Yu.

Zhao Tong was taken aback, realizing that neither he nor the Qiang warrior called Black Bear had followed the rules completely.

After presenting the official document, the emperor departed first.

Zhao Tong stayed behind to give a lecture to the Qiang man called Black Bear.

Seeing that the black bear repeatedly agreed and realized its mistake, Zhao Tong left the outpost and caught up with the emperor, whereupon he apologized to the emperor from horseback.

Liu Shan did not dwell on this minor issue; he believed that any mistakes should be corrected.

Ultimately, it's because the Qiang people are used to being lazy and it's difficult for them to develop the habit of following rules and regulations in a short time.

But at least he didn't neglect his duties, and he even took the initiative to question people. Not to mention, he could even read the Chinese characters on the official documents.

This is quite remarkable for the Qiang people, and it also shows that the upper and middle-class Qiang elites do have the desire to integrate into the Han cultural sphere.

This is a good thing.

Give them some time.

Running eastward along the road beside the canal for seven or eight miles, the canal, which runs parallel to the Wei River, finally merges into the Wei River.

At this point, the Huayin Plain, which was originally more than ten or twenty miles wide from north to south, suddenly narrowed.

The Wei River to the north and the loess plateau rising abruptly to the south enclose a narrow corridor that is one or two miles wide at the entrance, gradually narrowing to only three or four steps at the end.

This is the entrance to Tongguan.

Tongguan is not a simple fortified pass standing at a strategic pass, but a complete three-dimensional defense system, extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Walking in from the entrance where Liu Shan was, you will encounter a sheer cliff of loess after about three or four miles.

Turning south again, you'll find a winding, deep ditch that is only wide enough for one vehicle to pass through at its narrowest point, yet stretches for six or seven miles.

The deep ditch is called the forbidden ditch, and above it is a loess plateau tens of meters high.

The core of Tongguan Pass is built on this plateau called Linzhiyuan.

The plateau is connected to the Yellow River in the north and the Qinling Mountains in the south. Supplies and grain could only enter one side of the deep gully, climb up the Linzhi Plateau, and then cross down the plateau to come out from the other side of the deep gully.

The plateau was surrounded by earthen walls, two or three zhang high, like a city, with more than a dozen earthen forts built at various strategic locations.

This was a defensive system built by Cao Cao during the Jian'an era to resist the alliance between Ma and Han in Guanzhong.

Its defensive capabilities were comparable to those of the ancient Qin Hangu Pass.

Barring unforeseen internal events, it is indeed beyond human capability to conquer.

However, ten days prior, the Han army led by Zhao Yun and Wei Yan had pursued them relentlessly, reaching the pass located in the middle of the Jin Canal. As a result, the passage west of the Jin Canal was basically under the control of the Han army.

Zong Yu left two thousand soldiers to guard this place and block the way.

As long as a few walls can be built, it will be possible to effectively prevent the Wei army from sending cavalry into Guanzhong to harass them, just like the Great Wall prevented nomadic tribes from entering Guanzhong.

But just like the Great Wall, the fortifications beneath the platforms could only defend against cavalry.

If the Wei army were bold enough, its infantry could march directly from the platform, bypassing the ditches and ridges on the platform and the Han army's city gates below, and reach the city of Huayin directly.

They simply lacked supplies.

However, since Lai Xi was able to clear a path through the Longshan Mountains with two thousand men to enter Lueyang, the Wei army might not be unable to adopt such tactics.

Therefore, to prevent this from happening, Zong Yu had already sent several thousand laborers to build fortifications on another plateau west of Linzhiyuan, which is separated from Linzhiyuan by a ditch, so that the garrison soldiers could look out from there in the future.

As soon as the Wei army makes any move on Linzhi Plain, this side can detect it immediately.

With such a close-knit border, there's no doubt that both sides will remain on edge for a long time.

With the emperor's sudden arrival at the border, General Feng Hu, who had just visited the Tai region the day before, and Yang Su, the Commandant of Anding who was inspecting the border, became even more tense.

"Gongpu, thank you for your hard work." Liu Shan personally handed over Yang Su's decree of reward.

Yang Su learned from a messenger sent by his sister that his father had been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guiyi, but he had not heard of any such honor for himself. Feng Hu was also tight-lipped and did not tell Yang Su about the emperor's presence in Huayin.

When Yang Su saw the emperor suddenly arrive and produce the imperial edict, he was at a loss for words. After all, he had never seen anyone receive an imperial edict and express gratitude before. His mind went blank, and he could only remain at a loss.

Seeing that the emperor didn't seem to care, he casually unfolded the imperial edict, looked at it for a moment, and then asked:
"Your Majesty, what are the duties of the Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant?"

The imperial edict stated that he was promoted to Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant and granted the title of Marquis within the Pass.

He couldn't understand the official titles of the Han dynasty, but he knew that his father had been appointed as the Prefect of Anding, and that he was the Commandant of Anding, in charge of the troops of Anding Commandery.

He knew to some extent that the Marquis of Guannei was the nineteenth of the twenty ranks of nobility.

The lowest rank of Marquis is a Pavilion Marquis, which is one rank higher than the previous one, but it is still a Marquis.

With two officials and two marquises from one family, the An Ding Yang clan's response to the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition was truly a feat of defying fate.

Zhao Tong, the Protector-General of the Qiang, who was familiar and on good terms with him, laughed and said:

"The Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant is in charge of the Emperor's secondary carriage."

"In other words, when His Majesty travels in his carriage, you will drive another carriage to accompany him. Only close ministers of the emperor are allowed to do this."

"The first Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant of the Han Dynasty was established by Emperor Xiaowu, and the person appointed was Jin Ri, the crown prince of the Xiongnu Xiutu King."

"Jin Ri?" Yang Su was somewhat surprised.

Although he was a Qiang, his family was the most powerful Qiang clan in Anding and had studied Han culture. How could they not know Jin Ri, one of the four regents appointed by Emperor Wu of Han?

Especially since this Kim Il was not a Han Chinese, but a Xiongnu who had submitted to the Han, he was practically a role model for these Han-assimilated foreigners.

Just as he was in astonishment, Zhao Tong said again:

"Before you, the Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant was Zhuge Bosong, the son of the Chancellor of our Great Han Dynasty."

"The Prime Minister's son?" Yang Su was even more astonished.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, what virtue or ability do I possess to hold this position?"
"Your Majesty...please allow me to continue serving as the Commandant of Anding, or even as the Commandant of Huayin. I truly dare not accept such an important post!"

Zhao Tong frowned and feigned displeasure: "His Majesty's words are law, and his decree is absolute. Once issued, how can there be any reason to retract it?"

"This..." Yang Su's mind went blank again, and she didn't know what to do.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and accept the imperial decree to express your gratitude!" Zhao Tong gestured.

Since His Majesty intends to marry Yang Su's sister as a concubine, Yang Su will become the emperor's brother-in-law in the future. At that time, there will probably be no more opportunities to bully him for being uneducated.

"Your subject... Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses gratitude!" Yang Su bowed his head and performed a Han-style salute.

When he straightened up again, his eyes met the Emperor's. He was momentarily at a loss for where to look, and his gaze wandered around.

Unlike his father's rugged appearance, Yang Su inherited his Qiang father's height of eight feet five inches and his bravery, as well as his Han mother's beautiful appearance. As a result, he was nicknamed "Little Ma Chao of An Ding" and captivated countless Han and Qiang girls.

This is one of the reasons why Liu Shan dared to betroth Yang Tiao's daughter to his concubine even before sending an envoy to meet her.

Brothers born of the same mother are usually good-looking; even if they're not, they can't be that bad, right?

Discarding these distracting thoughts, Liu Shan turned and looked towards Linzhi Plain opposite.

What appeared on the plain were indeed fortresses and fortified walls, and one could vaguely see figures moving about on the watchtowers. One couldn't help but sigh.
"As expected of the key to the Three Qin regions and the gateway to Guanzhong, if we can capture this formidable pass, we can truly buy time for the Han Dynasty to recuperate."

If that's the case, given another ten years, Liu Shan would probably be able to accumulate enough economic and military advantages to unify the country.
Liu Shan did indeed want to recuperate and rebuild his life.

However, without Tongguan in their hands, the initiative no longer lay with Han, but with Wei.

Unless a country is utterly corrupt internally, no one has ever been known to be able to breach Tongguan Pass.

An Lushan defeated Geshu Han at Tongguan Pass. This was because Emperor Xuanzong of Tang forced Geshu Han to leave the pass for a decisive battle, and Geshu Han himself was already mentally impaired due to a stroke and was basically unable to command.

When Huang Chao broke through Tongguan, it was a battle of 600,000 troops against 2,000 defenders. After several days of bloody fighting, the Tang army forgot to set up defenses at the southern end of the "Forbidden Valley," which allowed Huang Chao's army to find an opening and directly climb the plateau through the gap on the south side of Linzhi Plateau.

When Li Zicheng attacked Tongguan, Chongzhen forced Sun Chuanting to leave the pass and fight the rebel army. In the end, the rebel army, disguised as deserters, tricked him into opening the gate with the commander's banner, and Tongguan was captured by a pincer attack from both inside and outside.

Sima Yi is currently guarding Tongguan Pass. Cao Wei is not completely rotten inside and still has the will to resist Han. The court officials are also capable of preventing Cao Rui from making a foolish move.

Under these circumstances, the best way for Liu Shan to break through Tongguan Pass was to not attack it.

During the confrontation between the Jin, Mongol, and Song dynasties, the Jin dynasty's elite troops occupied Tongguan Pass, preventing the Mongols from crossing it.

Before his death, Genghis Khan left a final message to his ministers:

"The Jin army is stationed at Tongguan, with the Lianshan Mountains to the south and the Yellow River to the north, making it difficult to break through."

"If we request passage through the Song Dynasty, given the long-standing enmity between the Song and Jin, they will surely grant our request."

"In that case, we should send troops to Tang and Deng, and directly attack Daliang. Jin will be in dire straits and will surely conscript troops to Tongguan. However, with tens of thousands of troops traveling a thousand miles to reinforce them, their strength will be exhausted, and even if they arrive, they will be unable to fight. We will surely defeat them."

Finally, the Mongol Yuan dynasty indeed used the Song dynasty as a route to enter Hanzhong from Guanzhong, then went east along the Han River, entering Nanyang from the three eastern prefectures, forcing the Jin army at Tongguan to retreat eastward, and finally annihilating the main force of the Jin army in the Battle of Sanfeng Mountain, laying the foundation for the Mongol Yuan dynasty to destroy the Jin.

If Liu Shan wants to break through Tongguan now, he can either wait until the Yellow River freezes in winter and cross it to Hedong.

Alternatively, they could follow the example of the Mongol Yuan dynasty and enter Nanyang from Shangyong.

But Shangyong still belongs to Cao Wei.

Moreover, if they wanted to follow the example of the Mongol Yuan dynasty and enter Nanyang, they would have to hope that Sun Quan would not take the opportunity to betray them, just as he did when the Song dynasty was defeated and the Mongol Yuan dynasty destroyed the Jin dynasty.

This is... a bit too much to ask of Sun Quan.

Generals Feng Hu and Yang Su led the way, guiding the emperor and generals Guan Xing, Jiang Wei, and Zhao Tong to inspect the site.

Perhaps because they had just confronted Cao Wei, the soldiers on the plateau were in high spirits.

The defense work has been done very well, and there has been no slackness or negligence.

After several months of intensive and high-density practical training, Liu Shan had gained a fairly good understanding of the details and importance of defense, such as where it was suitable to defend, where sentry posts and covert sentries could be set up, and where defense needed to be emphasized.

When a commander of a single department has a thousand men under his command, there shouldn't be any problems.

Led by Feng Hu and Yang Su, the group walked south along the edge of the forbidden ditch for three or four miles, until they came to a narrow, gentle slope that had been eroded by years of rain.

Liu Shan thought to himself that he could set up several layers of deer fortifications here, and set up hidden sentries on a small hill opposite, but he still did not interfere. After all, as the supreme commander of the Han Dynasty, how could he command even a few hidden sentries?

However, after walking about half a mile, Liu Shan saw that there was another gentle slope that controlled the entrance to the entire platform. More than two hundred people were already guarding this place. After looking around, he immediately discovered several hidden sentries.

Liu Shan felt relieved. Sure enough, even he, a half-baked expert, could see it. How could Feng Hu, as the son of Grand Commander Feng Xi, overlook it? Fortunately, he didn't try to show off his limited skills and cause some amusing incident about "moving the machine gun 5 meters to the left".

Before noon, Liu Shan returned to the edge of the plateau.

The river meets the plateau, and the waves crash against the shore.

"Your Majesty, look." Guan Xing suddenly spoke up, pointing northeast.

Liu Shan looked in the direction Guan Xing was pointing.

But then a small dinghy sailed out of Tongguan and headed towards Fenglingdu.

(End of this chapter)