Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 396 Sending me to the most difficult place

Chengdu.

The night was dark and the wind was high, with lights flickering in the distance.

Only two people remained in the room.

Li Shenggui rested his chin on his hand, leaned against the table, and dozed off.

Holding a candle, Han Ling sometimes flipped through ancient books, and sometimes ran to the map to check the corresponding places in the information.

As the night passed the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Li Shenggui suddenly felt a jolt, his hand slipped, and he slammed it onto the table.

The fall woke Li Shengui. Still groggy, he looked at the white-haired Han Ling in the night, waved his hand, and said:
"Sir, I can't go on anymore, I need to go back to sleep."

Han Ling grabbed Li Shengui and said:
"The Prince of Chenliu must stay here tonight to await military intelligence from the front so that he can respond in a timely manner."

Han Ling controlled the large army under Li Shengui, and after Li Shengui entered Chengdu, he took control of the operation of Chengdu and Shu County.

But all of this is predicated on the existence of Li Shengui's brand.

Li Shenggui couldn't hold on any longer and wanted to go back to his bed for a nap.

"Sir, you're in your sixties or seventies, and you can't sleep at night. That's the time for you to work hard. I can't do that. At this time of day, I would have already fallen asleep with my beauty in my arms."

"King of Chenliu, once you return, will I still be able to find you?"

After Han Ling finished speaking, Li Shenggui was dazed and could barely keep his eyelids open.

"But I can't hold on any longer!"

Han Ling stroked his beard and said:

"I have a method that can make the Prince of Chenliu full of energy!"

"Let's give it a try!"

Seeing Li Shenggui say this, Han Ling took out a needle and stuck it into Li Shenggui's thigh.

A loud "Ah!"
Li Shengui's painful screams alerted the guards outside. When they rushed into the room, they found Li Shengui writhing in pain.

"It's alright, get out!"

Han Ling waved his hand, and the guards outside, seeing that Li Shenggui was alright, also withdrew.

Li Shenggui was in so much pain that tears were almost streaming down his face. He lay on the ground and said:
"Sir, did you have to be so ruthless?"

Han Ling smiled and asked:

"Tell me, are you sober now?"

The pain in Li Shenggui's leg had eased somewhat. He rubbed his leg, sat back down next to Han Ling, and asked:

"Sir, how is it?"

Han Ling's lips curled up slightly, and he said:
"The situation is excellent!"

Li Shengui, puzzled, asked:

"What's a good idea?"

"When King Huiwen of Qin conquered Ba and Shu, Qin built four cities: Chengdu, Jiangzhou, Picheng, and Linqiong. Linqiong is more than a hundred li away from Chengdu, but now the city is empty and deserted. If Shu Prefecture is like this, one can imagine the situation in other places."

Li Shengui touched his leg and said:
"Isn't that pretty tragic?"

Han Ling shook his head and said:

"No, the people are impoverished and the county town is like a ghost town. This is because the King of Liang has failed to implement his benevolent policies. If the kingly way is followed and the people are at peace, Sichuan and Chongqing can become the most prosperous place in the world."

With some doubt, Li Shenggui asked:

"Really?"

The scenery he saw along the way was not as beautiful as Han Ling had described.

Han Ling smiled and said:
"Since Li Bing and his son built the Great Dam during the Qin Dynasty, this land of Shu has become the Land of Abundance. Over the centuries, many constructions have been built on the basis of the Great Dam built by Li Bing and his son. Now we have occupied Shu County. If we also occupy Ba County, we can block the Liang army from outside. Then Ba and Shu will be pacified, and the king's rule can be implemented."

The most fertile area in the entire Sichuan region is the Chengdu Plain. Irrigated by the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, the people of Sichuan living on the Chengdu Plain are protected from drought and flood. This land of abundance has no worries about famine.

However, centuries of conflict and war have led to the decline of the people's livelihood in this land of abundance.

Seeing Han Ling say this, Li Shengui scratched his head and said:
"What about that?"

"We will wait until the Liang army's elite troops have not yet assembled in Shu, then we will recruit the Liang army in Bashu, seize Jiangzhou, and push the defense line to Baidi City."

"Baidi City?"

Han Ling nodded and said:

"This is the gate of fortune and misfortune for Yizhou. If we obtain it, then Bashu will be safe. If we fail, we should retreat to Jiangzhou and return to Chengdu."

Han Ling's core principle can be summed up in one word: speed!

Southern Liang was not without its elite army.

However, the main force of Liang's army was in the Jianghuai area, while the second-best forces were stationed in important towns such as Xiangyang and Jiangling.

They needed to create a time gap, occupying strategic locations before the main force of the Liang army entered Shu. Only then, relying on the natural defenses of Ba and Shu, could they resist the Liang army.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside; the military report that Han Ling had been waiting for finally arrived.

"Reporting to the King of Chenliu, General Heba led his troops to defeat the vanguard of the Liang army, and the Liang army has halted its advance on Chengdu."

Upon hearing this news, Han Ling's spirits lifted, and he said:
“King of Chenliu, send an envoy to the Liang army camp and tell the Liang generals that their families are in our hands and we have not harmed them in any way. If they are willing to surrender, everything will remain the same.”

After hearing Han Ling's words, Li Shengui sent an envoy to the Liang army camp to offer amnesty.

After receiving assurances from Li Shengui's envoy and realizing that they could not conquer Chengdu on their own, the Liang army's generals chose to surrender.

Three days later, outside Chengdu, 10,000 Liang soldiers laid down their armor and surrendered.

Li Shengui opened the Chengdu treasury to reward the surrendered generals, incorporating them into his army.

Afterwards, Li Shengui sent a proclamation from Chengdu to various parts of Sichuan and Chongqing, and at the same time, dispatched a large army to seize Jiangzhou.

Jiangzhou was an important town in Ba Commandery, but because it was not on the front line, it was not garrisoned with many combat-ready troops. The Southern Liang's garrison in Jiangzhou was responsible for maintaining waterways and defending against surrounding barbarian tribes.

Li Shengui's army did not launch a strong attack. Under the persuasion of the surrendered generals in Chengdu, the garrison in Jiangzhou also chose to surrender.

However, after capturing Jiangzhou, Chengdu learned that Southern Liang had also reacted.

Xiao Yi, the seventh son of Emperor Xiao Yan, was appointed General Who Pacifies the West, holding the titles of Imperial Envoy, Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of six prefectures including Jing, Xiang, Ying, Yi, Ning, and Southern Liang. Upon learning of the situation in Bashu, he did not wait for orders from Jiankang and dispatched his general Wang Sengbian to lead an army into Yufu County and seize Baidi City.

Xiao Yi was the first to receive news of Li Shengui's entry into Shu and also judged that the situation was critical.

Therefore, he appointed Wang Sengbian as the vanguard and assembled a large army as backup. After awaiting orders from Jiankang, he led his army into Bashu.

Xiao Yi's actions must have been excessive. Under normal circumstances, if someone were to impeach him, Xiao Yi would likely have to return to Jiankang to atone for his sins.

However, Xiao Yi was quite confident that Jiankang would not pursue the matter.

Xiao Yi, who is stationed in Jiangling, is the most suitable candidate at this moment. He commands the Jiangling army and is closest to Bashu.

Xiao Yi's prediction was correct; Jiankang did indeed deliver the imperial edict ordering him to enter Shu to quell the enemy. However, what Xiao Yi did not expect was that when he had assembled his army and was preparing to sail up the river into Bashu, he learned that Jiangzhou had already fallen.

Upon learning this news, Xiao Yi completely halted his campaign against the enemy and reported the new situation to Jiankang. Jiankang's intention was the same as Xiao Yi's original plan: to take advantage of Li Shengui's unstable foothold, enter Bashu, gather Liang troops from various prefectures and counties in Bashu, attack Chengdu, capture Li Shengui, and reclaim Shu County.

But Xiao Yi was a step too slow. Jiangzhou fell into enemy hands, and not only was Shu County lost, but Ba County was also lost. His first step could not be completed.

If they were to continue their advance into Shu, Xiao Yi's troops alone would not be enough; he would need to mobilize more resources and manpower for logistical preparations.

As expected, after Xiao Yi reported the new situation to Jiankang, an imperial edict was issued ordering him to suspend the campaign against the enemy and instead guard Baidi City while awaiting further orders.

Clearly, Jiankang was also undecided for the time being.

Bashu is extremely important and must be reclaimed. However, reclaiming Bashu requires a massive investment of resources and manpower.

Where do these come from?

While things were in a state of chaos in Jiankang, things were quite lively in Chengdu.

General Wang Sizheng and General Wang Pi led 5,000 troops to Chengdu, bringing with them the document conferring the title of Pillar of State upon Li Shengui.

For his merit in conquering Bashu, Li Shengui became the first Pillar of State under the Tian Ce Mansion.

Li Shengui had only been in Sichuan for a little over a month when the region was largely pacified, and his army had grown from several thousand to over thirty thousand.

However, the reason Li Shengui was able to pacify Bashu so easily was because the people of Bashu were impoverished at the time, and many counties were empty. After occupying Shu Commandery, the main force of the Southern Liang army in Chengdu surrendered, and the other prefectures and counties naturally had no intention of continuing to resist.

Li Shenggui was very enthusiastic about Wang Sizheng's arrival and expressed his desire to keep him in Chengdu.

However, Wang Sizheng repeatedly declined, saying that he wanted to go to a more difficult place.

Li Shenggui didn't understand this at all.

“Jiangzhou is nowhere near as prosperous as Chengdu. I’ve heard that the Liang army has already reinforced Baidi City, and there might be a major battle in Jiangzhou. We’re all on the same side, why should we suffer that hardship?”

Wang Sizheng smiled and said:
“The Yizhou army is weak. Although the King of Chenliu has 30,000 troops under his command, most of them have recently surrendered. If the Liang Kingdom launches a large-scale attack with a large force, these Yizhou soldiers will see that the situation is not good and may lose Bashu again.”

To stabilize public sentiment, it is essential to safeguard strategic locations.

If we fail to capture Baidi City, then the next step is to defend Jiangzhou.

Han Ling expressed his understanding regarding this.

"If the General requires anything, please feel free to speak up!"

Wang Sizheng looked at the old man beside Li Shenggui. This man had followed Li Shuang for a long time, but now he had no official position or title. However, Wang Sizheng never doubted the old man's influence.

Wang Sizheng treated Han Ling with even more respect than he treated Li Shenggui.

"Thank you sir!"

After Wang Sizheng left, Li Shenggui watched his retreating figure and asked, puzzled:

"Sir, no one wants to go to Jiangzhou, so why is he in such a hurry?"

Han Ling stroked his beard and smiled:

"The Prince of Chenliu saw hardship, but he saw military merit!"
-
Jiangzhou.

When Qin conquered Ba and Shu, Zhang Yi built Jiangzhou City.

This Jiangzhou city is located in the north of the Yuzhong Peninsula, and is now the Beifu City of Jiangzhou.

Later, after Liu Bei entered Shu and was defeated at the Battle of Yiling, he entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang and Li Yan as regents in Baidi City.

Li Yan was stationed in Jiangzhou and built an even larger city on the Yuzhong Peninsula, which is now the Nanfu City of Jiangzhou.

When Li Yan was building Nanfu City, he even wanted to tunnel through the mountains behind the city and divert water from the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers to turn the Yuzhong Peninsula into an island.

However, this project was ultimately rejected by Zhuge Liang, who was also a regent, mainly because the project was too large.

After arriving in Jiangzhou, Wang Sizheng handed over the reins to Heba Yun, allowing Wang Bi to occupy the northern city, while he himself led his troops into the southern city.

Compared to Beifu City, which can be traced back to the pre-Qin period, Nanfu City, located on the Yuzhong Peninsula, gradually became the main city of Jiangzhou during the centuries of chaos due to its military value.

However, in Wang Sizheng's view, the military value of this main city has not been fully realized.

When Jiangzhou belonged to the Southern Liang Dynasty, it was not on the front line, so the Liang army did not make great efforts to exploit its military value.

If we expand the fortifications and train the navy, we can definitely transform Jiangzhou into a strategic stronghold.

At that time, whether it is to defend against the Liang army or to serve as a forward base to attack Jingxiang downstream, Jiangzhou will be an indispensable stronghold.

These are all military achievements!
After calming his excited emotions, Wang Sizheng began to consider what to do.

Before Wang Sizheng arrived, he had already brought with him most of the military talents in Guanzhong who were proficient in naval warfare.

When Hebayun left, he only took his own troops with him, leaving behind the original Jiangzhou garrison and the soldiers he brought from various prefectures and counties.

Also left behind were dozens of warships and a large number of transport ships.

Wang Sizheng quickly summoned the generals of these Bashu armies, and after some assessment, selected the capable ones to serve under him. At the same time, he placed the naval generals he had brought with him into the Jiangzhou navy.

After a period of reorganization, Wang Sizheng took control of the Jiangzhou army.

But he knew that these alone were not enough.

Infrastructure construction cannot be accomplished overnight; it requires a large amount of manpower and materials.

For the Sichuan Basin today, both resources and manpower are in short supply.

Fortunately, in Chengdu, they were generally responsive to Wang Sizheng's requests.

After receiving support from Chengdu, Wang Sizheng did not undertake large-scale infrastructure projects. Instead, he pooled existing resources to repair the military vulnerabilities of the two cities in Jiangzhou and reinforce existing military facilities.

Wang Sizheng knew that it wouldn't be easy to build Jiangzhou into a major town.

He needed hundreds of thousands of people from Sichuan and Chongqing, a large amount of building materials, tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land available for cultivation, countless amounts of money and grain, and full support from Chang'an.

In short, what is needed is a prosperous and peaceful land of Bashu where people are willing to submit, and the magnificent Qin King's Mansion.

……

Jiankang.

The fall of Bashu meant that the Southern Liang dynasty not only lost a strategic location on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and faced the risk of being overtaken by the Western Jin dynasty, but also lost its communication channels with Tuyuhun, the Western Regions, and other places.

As a result, trade routes were cut off, and the Liang army lost one of its few sources of warhorses.

If we do not retake Bashu as soon as possible, the Southern Liang Dynasty will be in grave danger!
In response, the old monk, who had cultivated himself in asceticism for many years, finally revealed his anger and ordered the conscription of heroes from all directions to join the army, vowing to reclaim Bashu.

In a short time, heroes from all over the country responded to the call.

Standing in front of the conscription office, the conscription officer was not surprised to see the men who came to answer the call.

Who is this brave warrior?

The newcomer was seven feet five inches tall, with a prominent forehead and arms that reached past his knees. Although he was dressed in plain clothes, his imposing and martial appearance was still evident.

"My name is Chen Baxian. The country is in great trouble, and the emperor has issued an edict. Although I am just a minor official in the oil depot, I dare not refuse and have come here to answer the call."

……

(End of this chapter)