Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 242 Bashan Divine Soldiers
Before the deep ravine pass.

The Han and Wu armies fought for two days straight, amidst bloodshed and carnage.

The so-called Deep Ravine Pass, as its name suggests, is a pass built upon a deep ravine.

The two mountains on either side of the deep ravine are like cracks in the sky and earth, cleaved open by a giant axe. A waterfall cascades down from the mountain peak, hundreds of feet high, crashing into a deep pool and ravine. The water is swift, roaring and surging.

The Han army was west of the deep ravine.

Wu Jun is east of the deep ravine.

The narrowest part of the ravine is about twenty paces wide. If it weren't for the shallow water in early spring, it would be even wider and deeper. And right at this narrowest point, Wu Jun built a pier that could only accommodate one horse-drawn carriage, connecting the two mountains.

When the Han army pursued the fleeing Wu soldiers to this point, the Wu army east of the pier, fearing an accident, dared not let the Han army cross the bridge.

So they cut the ropes of the pier, leaving hundreds of Wu soldiers stranded on the west side of the pier. In the end, all of these hundreds of Wu soldiers surrendered to the Han.

When the Han army's vanguard commander, General Fu Qian, arrived at this point, he wanted to take advantage of the momentum to continue defeating the enemy. So he ordered his men to cut bamboo to make a bamboo bridge and charge directly through the Wu army's arrows.

Because the Han army captured a large number of crossbows from Cao Wei during the Northern Expedition, Fu Qian's main force of more than 4,000 men was directly equipped with more than 1,000 of them.

The crossbow is a vital national weapon. Generally speaking, an army of ten thousand men would be considered extremely wealthy if it had a thousand crossbows. The vanguard of the Wu army guarding the pass was clearly not so wealthy, and soon they fell into a disadvantageous position.

Fu Qian's main force then pressed on and charged directly to the east of the deep ravine.

However, the battlefield was too narrow, and the hundreds of vanguards could not stand firm after rushing over.

Although Wu Jun was also unable to deploy his troops, Pan Jun had already sent 10,000 men to guard the pass. Wu Jun then took advantage of his numbers and terrain to engage the Han army in a war of attrition at Shenjian Pass.

One man died in battle, and another took his place.

When one army is exhausted from battle, another takes its place.

The Han army found it difficult to cross the bridge and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position in the battle of attrition. In the end, they had no choice but to retreat to the west of the deep ravine for a short rest.

The commander of the vanguard, Fu Qian, gazed at the Wu army east of the ravine for a long time without saying a word. Finally, he left the command platform by the ravine and returned to the central command tent. He summoned dozens of surrendered Wu soldiers and repeatedly inquired about the terrain of the deep ravine.

That night, he dismissed his attendants and sat alone under the lamp, gazing at the topographical map of Shenjian Pass, which he had drawn himself based on the oral account of a Wu army prisoner.

The map meticulously depicts the course of the stream, the outline of the mountain ridge, and also marks the deployment of Wu's army.

In the latter half of the night, Fu Qian's gaze fell on a place marked as Eagle's Sorrow Stream, more than ten miles upstream.

There, the mountains are steeper, the forests are denser, and the streams form huge whirlpools due to the mountain's curves, making it difficult for eagles to cross and monkeys to climb.

Although Wu Jun also arranged for people to guard the area, the number was less than a thousand.

After much deliberation, Fu Qian concluded that it was unlikely that Wu Jun would send reinforcements to that area, so he invited Gong Shun, E He, and Luo Ping, the leaders of the Sanba Cong people.

"Greetings, Governor." Gong Shun, whose family had intermarried with the powerful Han Chinese clans of Dangqu for generations, was the first to give Fu Qian a proper Han Chinese military salute.

He was the first and only Ba people leader last year to be bestowed with two seals by the Emperor of Han: "Chief of Banshun Yi" and "Marquis of Ba Yi".

In the winter month, he volunteered to lead the Sheba men to defeat Wu for the Han Dynasty.

The other two Ba people leaders, Ehe and Luoping, who also received the "Bantun Yizhang" seal, were inspired by him to come.

In the towering mountains of the Sanba region, there were tens of thousands of barbarian tribes.

During the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, a white tiger wreaked havoc in four commanderies, killing 1,200 people.

The King of Qin offered a large reward to recruit warriors from across the kingdom.

"Whoever can kill a tiger will be granted a fief of ten thousand households and a reward of one hundred yi of gold."

Therefore, the Yi people of Quren, including Liao Zhongyao, He Shehu, and Qin Jing, made crossbows made of white bamboo and shot tigers from high buildings, calling themselves the White Tiger Yi.

By the end of the Qin Dynasty, this Baihu Yi tribe had migrated north from the Yangtze River basin and settled in the Dangqu River basin, which runs through the Sanba region.

When Qin lost its throne, the whole world vied for it. When Emperor Gaozu became the King of Hanzhong and established his base in the land of abundance, the Baihu Yi tribe surrendered and fought for Emperor Gaozu with shields and batons.

They were naturally brave and fierce, often serving as the vanguard of the Han army, charging into battle first.

Emperor Gaozu recruited the Baihu Yi to pacify the Three Qin regions, admiring their bravery.

Furthermore, because the Baihu Yi had participated in King Wu's conquest of Zhou, it was said that "the barbarians sang and danced to intimidate, and the Yin people turned against them."

Emperor Gaozu was delighted upon watching the Ba-Yu dance and said:

This is the song of King Wu's conquest of King Zhou.

Therefore, he ordered the palace musicians to learn the dance of King Wu's conquest of Zhou from the Baihu Yi, in order to appease the Baihu Yi.

Because this White Tiger Barbarian tribe carried wooden shields during battle, they are now called "Wooden Shield Barbarians," and they accept this name.

The term "Cong people" was a general term used by the Han people for all the Yi people in the Sanba region over the past few hundred years. This was because after the Sanba Yi people submitted to the Han Dynasty, they had to pay a tax called "Cong cloth" to the Han Dynasty every year.

The major tribes of the Cong people included surnames such as Du, Pu, Zan, E, Luo, Gong, and Yuan.

When Cao Cao conquered Hanzhong, the Yi people of the Three Ba ​​regions, including King Pu Hu, Du Huo, and Yuan Yue, led their respective tribes and jointly surrendered Ba Commandery to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao then appointed Du Huo as the governor of Baxi, Pu Hu as the governor of Badong, and Yuan Yue as the governor of Ba Commandery, and enfeoffed them all as marquises.

At that time, Zhang Lu's army was defeated and fled south. The late emperor ordered Huang Quan to lead the army to welcome Zhang Lu.

However, Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao, and Huang Quan eventually led a large army to defeat the leaders of the Ba people, including Du Hu, Pu Hu, and Yuan Yue, and recovered the land of Sanba.

Since the Du Hu, Pu Hu, and Yuan Yue clans had all perished and surrendered to Cao Wei, it was inevitable that someone would have to take their place.

Therefore, Gong Shun, Luo Ping, and E He were nominated.

After arriving there, the late emperor made a three-point agreement with the leaders of the Ba people: the Ba people would pay a poll tax of forty coins to the Han government each year, and the Han government would stabilize prices and maintain trade in salt, iron, grain, and silk with the Ba people at reasonable low prices.

The Ba people were delighted.

Thus, the three Ba ​​regions were stabilized.

Last year, when the Emperor of the Han Dynasty stayed at Baidi, he summoned the leaders of the Ba people.

First, he pardoned all the sins of the Ba people and allowed them to leave the mountains and live with the Han people on the plains. Then, he bestowed upon the three Yi kings, Gong Shun, Luo Ping, and E He, the title of Yi king and permanently exempted all those who submitted to the Ba people from the poll tax.

The poll tax was a tax that Liu Shan had always "deeply hated." Many farmers who had difficulty obtaining money had to sell their crops at low prices to wealthy families in order to get money, and the money they received was often just a pittance.

However, abolishing this policy all at once is obviously unrealistic. It would be good to use the Ba people to test it out and to use this opportunity to show favor to the Ba people.

The Sanba region is home to over 100,000 towering mountains and numerous Ba people tribes.

The Banshan barbarians of Dangqu alone numbered over 100,000. Combined, the population of the Ba people in the three Ba ​​regions exceeded 200,000 to 300,000.

One aspect of Liu Shan's actions was increasing the population of the Sanba region.

On the other hand, it is because most of these snake-god-worshipping Ba people are uncivilized, ignorant, and barbaric.

But it is precisely because of this that they dare to fight and struggle, just like the southern barbarians and the Miao people of Wuling, truly facing death without fear.

“I, Fu Qian, thank you on behalf of the soldiers of the Han Dynasty for leading your brave warriors to help our Han Dynasty defeat Wu. We are deeply grateful!” Fu Qian bowed to the three chieftains one by one, his voice not loud, but his expression was as sincere as his words.

"What are you saying, Governor Fu?" Gong Shun asked bluntly, the extraordinarily large silver snake pendant beside his ear jingling loudly.

"You Han Chinese have a saying... 'A drop of water in need is repaid with a spring of water!'"

"His Majesty the Great Han has treated us, the Ba people, with unparalleled kindness. How can we, the Ba people, remain indifferent?!"

Gong Shun spoke from the heart.

Having paid "tribute taxes" for so many years, the Emperor has now waived them all, promising the tribes that as long as he lives, he will never collect them again. What an act of grace!
Previously, there were vast tracts of uncultivated wasteland outside the Ten Thousand Mountains. The Han people did not cultivate it, nor did they allow the Cong people in the mountains to do so. They could only rely on force to carve out their own land for cultivation, or find a place to reproduce in the crevices of the mountains.

What about now?
With a single decree from the Emperor of Han, the Cong people were allowed to descend the mountain. Anyone who dared to obstruct them would be considered an enemy of the Han court.

What an immense kindness this is!

For months, tens of thousands of Ba people have left the mountain crevices to cultivate the plains outside the mountains in preparation for spring planting.

The Han emperor also sent people to deliver grain seeds, dragon-bone waterwheels, iron hoes, and looms, and ordered agricultural and weaving officials to stay in the Cong tribe to teach them farming and weaving techniques.

For hundreds or even thousands of years, the Ba people had been engaged in extensive agriculture, using only slash-and-burn methods and weaving bark into cloth. For the first time, they came into contact with the more advanced Han Chinese technology through official channels.

All the people of the Ba people, from the youngest to the oldest, now only hope that this emperor can live a few more years.

A hint of displeasure appeared on the face of Ehe, the leader of the Badong Cong people:

“Governor Fu, we have brought this group here to repay His Majesty’s kindness!”
"You little bastard, you haven't given us Ba people a single military order yet. Do you look down on us Ba people?!"

Despite being dressed in simple Confucian robes, Fu Qian, who still exuded masculine strength and imposing presence, shook his head repeatedly:

"That's not the case. I do know the intentions of the Ba people, but I was worried that if too many of the warriors of the Banshun were killed or wounded as the vanguard, it would damage the relationship between the Great Han and the Banshun of Sanba. That's why I haven't assigned any tasks to you Yi chiefs, but only let you accompany the army in battle."

"But now, our Great Han has indeed encountered some difficulties and needs warriors skilled in mountain warfare to lend our Great Han a helping hand."

"I have heard that although the Itagaki warriors are not as good as the Nanman warriors in mountain warfare, they are certainly not comparable to the Wu bandits."

"The reason I invited you barbarian leaders here today is..."

"We hope that you barbarian chiefs can lead your brave warriors to lend a helping hand to our great Han Dynasty. I wonder if you barbarian chiefs are willing?"

Upon hearing this, the three leaders of the Ba people, Gong Shun, E He, and Luo Ping, stared wide-eyed at each other in bewilderment.

"Governor Fu, what are you saying?!"

The tribe lived in the mountains northwest of Baidi City. Ehe's face was full of displeasure, and his eyebrows almost flew off.

"Why do you say that we, the Bantun barbarians, are inferior to the southern barbarians?"
"It's not a matter of whether I want to or not!"
"Put whatever means you have to survive on the table!"

"This is Bashan. Today, we'll show Governor Fu what a true divine weapon from the Bashan Gorge looks like!"

Fu Qian immediately filled the wine cups and handed them to the three chieftains one by one: "Drinking is not allowed in the army, but I have heard that the Bantun tribe has a rule that they must drink before the battle. I, Fu Qian, will make an exception today and toast to you chieftains!"

After speaking, he finished his drink.

Upon seeing this, the three Ba ​​people chieftains also poured out their bowls and drank the strong liquor in one gulp.

Marquis Gong Shun of Congyi seemed unsatisfied. He stepped forward, snatched the wine jar from Fu Qian's hand, and filled four bowls with wine again.

After pouring out four bowls of wine, the jar was completely empty.

So Gong Shun threw the urn directly to the ground.

The pottery urn was shattered on the ground. He bent down and rummaged through the shards, finally picking up the sharpest piece and slashing it hard into his palm.

Blood is added to wine.

The other two barbarian leaders looked at each other in bewilderment.

When Gong Shun handed them sharp pottery shards, the two men took them without hesitation and used them to cut their palms, mixing their blood with the wine.

Seeing this, Fu Qian did not hesitate.

A moment later, each of the four men raised the bowl in front of them that was mixed with their blood.

"—Clang."

The four earthenware bowls bumped together.

Marquis Gong Shun of Congyi was the first to speak, saying:

"We've all heard about General Fu Tong's heroic deeds!"
"Commander Fu is the son of General Fu Tong. This time, he came to fight the Wu bandits not only to avenge the national feud between the Han Dynasty and Sun Wu, but also to avenge the personal grudge of General Fu Tong's death at the hands of the Wu people!"
"We Sanba Banshun people, Wuxi Miao people, and Nanzhong Man people are all the same; we believe in repaying kindness and avenging wrongs!"

"After we drink this bowl of blood wine, we'll be brothers from now on!"

"The hatred of Governor Fu is the hatred of us few, and the hatred of the Han Dynasty is the hatred of us Banshun barbarians!"

The Han and the barbarians have always been different, and the Han people have always been superior to the barbarians, and the Han scholars are even more superior. However, Fu Qian did not feel disdain or contempt for these barbarians who called him brother. This change surprised even himself.

After a moment of stunned silence, he realized that the emperor's attitude toward the Qiang, Man, and Miao people during his year-long campaign had subtly influenced many of the ministers around him.

The four men finished drinking the blood wine.

E He raised his head and shouted:

"Governor Fu, stop beating around the bush!"

"Just tell us straight, what do you want us to do?"

"Don't even mention the mere Wu people, we Sheba men are never afraid of mountains of knives or seas of fire!"

Gong Shun and Luo Ping also nodded.

Fu Qian no longer hesitated, took out a map, first pointed to Eagle's Sorrow Gorge, and introduced the terrain and Wu army's defenses there, then said:
"I would like to ask you barbarian chiefs to lead two thousand men to the upper reaches of the deep ravine, find a dangerous path that no one has taken, and sneak in from behind Wu Gou."

"There's no need for a direct confrontation. Just rush into their rear camp and set a few fires, and the Wu people will surely fall into chaos!"
"At that time, I will personally lead two thousand men to build a bridge from the front and charge again. With you and me attacking from both sides, the Eagle Sorrow Gorge Pass can be breached!"
"Once we capture Eagle Sorrow Gorge, our Han army will split into two groups."

"So that we could cross the Eagle's Sorrow Gorge by sneak."

"The other route continues the attack from the front."

"If they attack from both sides, the Wu people will surely be defeated!"

After saying this, Fu Qian leaned forward slightly and clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"However... the terrain of Eagle's Sorrow Gorge is extremely dangerous, and I'm afraid it's not possible to cross it while wearing armor."

"In other words, once they went there, they would be fighting against the Wu soldiers with their own flesh and blood."

"Gentlemen of the barbarian tribes... please go back and think it over tonight."

"If you wish, then..."

Before Fu Qian could finish speaking, the barbarian chieftain named E He suddenly interrupted him:
"Governor Fu, stop talking so much. How could we Sheba men be afraid of death?!"

"As I just told you."

"This is Bashan!"

“We are the descendants of Ba Hui, how could we be afraid of a group of Wu people?!”

"Before dawn tomorrow, we will set off with two thousand soldiers of Banshun. At the latest by midnight, we will make sure that Wu Gou Houzhai is on fire."

As he spoke, he suddenly reached for his waist, pulled out a rather exquisite small shield, and handed it to Fu Qian.

Fu Qian took the small shield, no bigger than the palm of his hand, in astonishment. On the shield was drawn a large snake with a coiled tail, which was clearly the totem of the Ba people, the Ba Hui Divine Snake.

E He bluntly stated:
"If I cannot return, then I will trouble Governor Fu to carve my name on this shield, so that my death will not have been in vain!"

Both Yi chieftains, Gong Shun and Luo Ping, took out small shields from their waists and handed them to Fu Qian.

Fu Qian accepted the gift with a solemn expression and bowed again.

(End of this chapter)