Chapter 383 King Qin (V)

The 150-li Tangluo Road is less than a quarter of the distance from Luoyang to Chang’an, and is the shortest road among the Qinchuan and Shu roads.

However, because this road requires constant crossing of mountains and ridges, although it became an official road after the middle Tang Dynasty, officials from Sichuan and Shu would take this road for appointments and dismissals, and for reporting on their work in Beijing. The road was also once dotted with pavilions and halls for military use. But after the Huang Chao Rebellion, several generations of warlords in Shu deliberately destroyed the post road in order to split Sichuan and Shu, in order to use the naturally rugged terrain to block the troops from Guanzhong from moving south.

According to past experience, this road can be blocked with only a small number of defenders, and no matter how powerful the soldiers and generals are, they will find it difficult to break through.

Zhou Xiang, the Secretary of the State of Shu, who was taking a lunch break in Nanzheng City, was hastily awakened by a servant, who said that the Emperor Wang Jian had summoned him.

Zhou Xiang is nearly sixty years old now, with gray hair on his temples, but he is in good spirits and does not look like a traditional Confucian scholar. He was very famous when he was young, and Wang Jian recruited him as his staff when he was the governor of Lizhou in his early years, and he was well paid.

Afterwards, Zhou Xuang did not disappoint Wang Jian. He made the most suggestions on major events such as Wang Jian’s monopolization of Chengdu, unification of Sichuan and establishment of Shu Kingdom. Now he and Wei Zhuang, the prime minister of Shu Kingdom, are the two prime ministers of Shu Kingdom.

However, Wei Zhuang was old, and he had repeatedly advised Wang Jian not to use the whole country’s strength to attack Qi. Therefore, Wang Jian did not bring him to Hanzhong. He only brought Zhou Xuang, who served as his brain, and left Wei Zhuang in Chengdu to take charge of the rear affairs.

As Wang Jian’s chief counselor, Zhou Xuang was no less important than Jing Xiang to Zhu Wen. At this moment, as he was hurriedly summoned by the eunuchs of the imperial palace, he learned on the way a piece of bad news that made Emperor Wang Jian throw away his afternoon tea.

After Ding Badu appeared on the battlefield of Fengxiang, the commander of the northern camp, Wang Zongkan, immediately sent a report to Hanzhong, expressing his request to withdraw his troops. However, just as the messenger arrived in Nanzheng, another group of horses with military intelligence rushed to the palace in the city.

He was Yang Shihou, Prince of Hongnong and Acting Grand Marshal of the Liang Dynasty. There was solid news that he had been captured alive by the young King of Song of the Liang Dynasty, Xiao Yan. The Youguo Army, Kuangguo Army and Ganhua Army in Guanzhong were also all captured by Xiao Yan.

Afterwards, the Liang Dynasty raised a hundred thousand guards and troops from Guanzhong to attack Shu. Tang Daoxi, who was invited by Yang Shihou to recruit the Western Army, was defeated and captured when he encountered the enemy in Guanzhong. According to the defeated soldiers who fled back to Fengxiang, the Liang Dynasty troops were advancing westward from Guanzhong and would soon join forces with the Song Wang’s troops under Fengxiang.

The situation became critical in an instant.

Zhou Xuang, who had only taken a nap, felt that the situation in Fengxiang had changed suddenly. His face was solemn. When he was taken to the palace by several eunuchs, he happened to meet Yu Chuansu, the Zuo Pushe, who was brought to Hanzhong by Wang Jian, in front of the palace.

Yu Chuansu’s expression was also not relaxed. The Liang Dynasty’s plan to use military force against Shu was something that the Shu court had long anticipated. It was not a surprise. After all, when the Xiao Yan mutiny forced Zhu Wen to abdicate, Emperor Wang Jian had proposed that Wang Zongkan destroy Qi and take advantage of the situation to get a glimpse of Guanzhong’s strength.

But what is unexpected is that these two unrelated bad neighbors in Qiliang can actually get involved!
What is even more unexpected is that Yang Shihou, who was well-known in the Liang Dynasty and even in the whole world, was defeated by Xiao Yan so quickly, and did not even last half a year!
In this case, the Liang Dynasty’s so-called 100,000-man army to attack Shu was not something that could be resolved with a single away battle in Fengxiang. If the King of Song, Xiao Yan, was really so crazy and thought he was invincible, he might even charge straight into Hanzhong.

At this moment, he naturally had no mood to care about Tang Daoxi’s defeat and capture. This was certainly a big deal, but compared with the current critical situation, it seemed insignificant.

Wang Jian urgently summoned the two counselors to meet, apparently to discuss whether to continue the war and how to fight it. Now that the Liang army was approaching aggressively, it was no longer a question of whether Fengxiang could be captured, but whether the hundreds of thousands of Shu troops, including civilians, could safely retreat to Hanzhong.

“Can Li Maozhen of Qi bow to the Liang Dynasty?”

Before entering the palace, Yu Chuansu lowered his voice and said in confusion: “Could it be that the King of Song promised him some benefits… to divide Hanzhong equally? Or…”

“We underestimated Xiao Yan…” Zhou Xuang sighed and said, “Go in first. The emperor must be waiting anxiously.”

Because it was an urgent report and the matter was of great importance, King Wang Jian of Shu only had these two trusted and strategic advisers summoned. At this time, they were just kneeling in the main seat in the hall, flipping through two volumes of military newspapers in their hands, with a very unhappy look on their faces.

Wang Jian is over sixty years old this year, but he is in good health. He has a pair of sisters in his harem who are called the Big and Small Xu Concubines by people of the time. They are quite favored by him, but both Xu Concubines are only in their twenties. From this, it can be seen that Wang Jian is obviously young at heart despite his age.

As a rogue who made a living by slaughtering cattle, stealing donkeys and selling contraband salt, and was called “Thief Wangba” by the villagers because he was the eighth child in his family, Wang Jian was able to rise from a low-level soldier to the emperor. His career is as legendary as that of Zhu Wen and Li Maozhen.

But even Wang Jian, who was already an emperor, could not help but sigh as he looked at the military newspaper in his hand and read it over and over again.

In this world, young people are gradually gaining control of the right to speak.

Is that Xiao Yan really a human being?
Two months ago, Wang Jian was still telling his ministers with great complacency that if Yan Wen came to power, the Central Plains would inevitably undergo great changes, and the Liang Dynasty founded by Zhu Wen would fall apart in a very short time. The Great Shu, which dominated Sichuan and Shu, would definitely seize this opportunity, take advantage of the situation to control Guanzhong and plan for the world’s great cause.

But his solemn promises at that time were slapped in the face by Xiao Yan. The general of the imperial guards was executed, all the political enemies in the court were purged, and Yang Shihou was captured alive. All these things happened in just a few days.

The most important thing is that Xiao Yan had a lot of reasons and reasons for taking action against those people, and it was full of righteousness, and there was nothing wrong with it!

Wang Jian let out a long sigh. Such a great opportunity was shattered right before his eyes. He was really unwilling to accept this, but at this critical juncture, he could only sit back and watch as Xiao Yan swallowed up such a large territory of the Liang Dynasty. Meanwhile, he had to worry about how to continue the battle of Fengxiang.

In fact, Wang Jian was still very angry when he saw Wang Zongkan’s request to withdraw troops. It was not until he heard the news that Tang Daoxi was defeated and captured and the Liang army launched a large-scale war that he secretly praised Wang Zongkan for his talent as a famous general. At this time, Zhou Xuang and Yu Chuansu came in one after another, bowed their heads and congratulated the emperor on his longevity. Wang Jian responded and then kept silent, only letting the eunuchs on the left and right to divide the military report between the two of them, waiting for his left and right brains to speak and give advice.

Yu Chuansu seemed to have an idea when he came. He thought that the Liang army might just be pretending to raise troops and just wanted to force the Shu army in Fengxiang to retreat. The reason was that Qi and Liang had always been at odds and were mortal enemies. It was impossible for them to shake hands and make peace just because the Liang Dynasty changed its leader. Even if they reached cooperation for unknown reasons, it could only be temporary expediency. In the end, they would be on guard against each other and could not work together to launch any major offensive against Shu.

It is said that when Da Shu marched into Fengxiang this time, it had already taken control of the important places in Qinling Mountains such as Qingniling, which it had always fought for with Qi. As long as these dangerous places were held, even thousands of troops would find it difficult to attack Hanzhong. If Qi and Liang could not work together, the officers and soldiers of Da Shu would surely block their coalition forces to the north of Qinling Mountains.

Moreover, Xiao Yan led his personal army to station outside Fengxiang City this time. He had an army of 8,000 cavalrymen under his command, but he had not made any moves for many days. Perhaps he was also preparing for the sudden defection of the State of Qi. If we make a bolder assumption, Xiao Yan might have planned to attack Guo under the pretext of attacking Shu in order to take over Qi!
Wang Jian nodded slightly. This view made sense. No matter what, Qi and Liang were two different regimes and had been bad neighbors for many years. Xiao Yan seemed to be a smart man. It should be impossible for him to send a large army to attack Shu with Qi in between.

Zhou Xuang did not refute Yu Chuansu, but only requested to mobilize troops from Chengdu and Jiange to reinforce Chencang and Baoxiang, in order to support Wang Zongkan’s retreat and to keep the enemy out of the country. At the same time, he asked Wang Xiancheng, the governor of Kuizhou, to prepare a navy to force Liang to retreat to Jiangling if necessary.

Wang Jian sighed, spread his hands and smiled bitterly, “If the news gets back, I’m afraid the prime minister will scold me again.”

Zhou Xiang and Yu Chuansu looked at each other and sighed. The prime minister Wang Jian mentioned could only be Wei Zhuang. Although Wei Zhuang passed the imperial examination at the age of 60 and lived in poverty for many years due to his family’s decline, he was a very capable person and even more famous for his poetry. His poems influenced countless literati of the time.

Wei Zhuang’s poem “Song of a Qin Woman” made him famous and earned him the elegant title of “Scholar of Qin Woman’s Song”. After Wang Jian took Chengdu and dominated the two Sichuan provinces, Wei Zhuang was also hired as the chief secretary, with the same status as Jing Xiang in Xuanwu Town. It was Wei Zhuang who suggested Wang Jian to become emperor.

Unfortunately, Wei Zhuang was too old and in poor health. Although Wang Jian still respected him, he inevitably began to train other prime ministers. He did not listen to Wei Zhuang’s advice when he went to the State of Qi. Now, I wonder what Wei Zhuang would think after learning the news.

“That’s it.” Wang Jian said with a straight face, “I will immediately send an imperial edict to Chengdu and ask the prime minister to appoint Jin Hui as the general and lead the troops to support Wang Zongkan.”

Yu Chuansu nodded, and Zhou Xiang thought for a moment and said, “What Zuo Pushe just said does make sense. What the Liang Dynasty intends to do depends on what the King of Song Xiao Yan thinks. And since Qi is unstable, this person is unlikely to come to Hanzhong. But in my opinion, we must be on guard against everything.”

Zhou Xuang said, “I have been collecting information and watching Xiao Yan use his troops. He is always good at fighting quickly and using the advantage of one battle to determine the situation. This was the case when Zhu Wen was removed from office. I am afraid that Yang Shihou was quickly defeated this time. This man is so courageous that it is not an exaggeration to say that he dares to shake a tree with an ant. Back then, he dared to take orders to attack Liu Rengong and his son with only 800 cavalrymen. Now he has hundreds of thousands of troops. How can we regard him as an ordinary person? This man controls the Liang Dynasty as a powerful official. At this time, he will not just lead tens of thousands of troops to Fengxiang. I am afraid that he will plot for great achievements.”

While Wang Jian was thinking, Yu Chuansu asked, “According to the Secretary of State, how should our country respond appropriately?”

Zhou Xiang said: “It will not be wrong to send reinforcements to Qingniling and several other routes. With the dangers of Qinling in hand, we can deal with the situation calmly. However, there is only one Huayang Pass to defend the Tangluo Road. Although there were troops stationed in Yangzhou in the past, they have been withdrawn to the north this time. Yangzhou and Chenggu are both empty. If the enemy army goes out of the Tangluo Road, it will be a smooth journey for their troops to Nanzheng. I think we must be prepared… Or, the emperor should return to Chengdu as soon as possible.”

Yu Chuansu frowned in thought, while Wang Jian also pondered for a while. After a while, the latter smiled and said, “Boya (Zhou Xiang’s pen name), the Luo Road has not been used for thirty years, and the post road has long been destroyed. How dangerous are the mountains and ridges? Even if the Liang army dares to sneak across, given the difficult road, they can only march in small groups. The Huayang Pass can block it. Why worry? I am supervising the battle in Hanzhong this time, so that the soldiers in the front don’t have to worry about military supplies and baggage. What’s more, at this time when the Liang army is attacking in a big way, if I leave, what will the soldiers in the front think?”

“Your Majesty.” Yu Chuansu came back to his thoughts at this time, but he also said: “We must be prepared, and it is better to be cautious… Let alone returning to Chengdu, we should also increase the number of troops stationed in Yangzhou.”

Wang Jian felt a little embarrassed and stood up and paced for a while.

Hanzhong’s military was extremely scarce at this time. Even the available civilians had all been conscripted to Fengxiang. Only the basic garrison troops were left in each county. Even the troops to support Wang Zongkan had to be transferred from Chengdu and Jiange. How could they care about Tangluo Road?

He hesitated and said, “The Tangluo Road is really difficult and dangerous. Throughout history, whether it is to leave Sichuan or enter Shu, troops have always relied on these two roads to advance. With only the Tangluo Road, even if a large army sneaks across, how can they keep up with the baggage? From Luogu Pass to Nanzheng, it is more than 400 miles away. Even if they sneak across, they will be exhausted. Without baggage and equipment, what threat can they pose to Hanzhong?”

As he spoke, Wang Jian’s confidence obviously soared, and he said confidently: “I am not the last emperor of the Han Dynasty, and the current Shu is not the Shu Han of the past. When Deng Ai sneaked across Yinping to attack Chengdu, it was because Shu Han had no soldiers or generals left, so they had no choice but to surrender. Now my Shu has hundreds of thousands of soldiers in front and a large army in the back. Even if the Liang army sneaks across Tangluo, it will only be trapped. What is there to be afraid of? If there really is an army sneaking across, I would like to see which idiot is seeking death.”

Zhou Xiang and Yu Chuansu looked at each other and stopped trying to persuade them. The Great Shu Kingdom could not afford to mobilize a large army. However, to be on the safe side, Zhou Xiang said, “It is better to be safe. We should first summon the Jiange troops to Yangzhou. If there is no war, they can follow the Chengdu reinforcements to the north to Qingni Ridge.”

Wang Jian thought about it and did not reject the proposal. After all, the Jiange troops were going to march north anyway.

“Then let’s issue an edict and let Wang Zongbi lead his troops to station in Yangzhou. I trust him. If the Liang army wants to come, Wang Zongbi can kill them all!” Wang Jian said confidently.

——

Xiao Yan stood with his sword in hand, looking into the distance from the hillside. He slowly turned his gaze and carefully observed the terrain. He saw that the undulating mountains in the southwest were gradually becoming flat.

As far as the eye can see, there is not even a single Shu soldier. Judging from the terrain, Yangzhou should be ahead.

Hanzhong was no longer defensible and was now open to Xiao Yan.

(End of this chapter)