gnovel Chapter 127 The Khitan Army Heads to Jinyang
Chapter 127 The Khitan Army Heads to Jinyang
"Shangdang is the protective barrier of Hedong. Without Shangdang, there is no Hedong. Moreover, the only one Zhu Wen fears is the late King. When the people of Bian hear of my death, they will surely say that I cannot raise an army. People will think that I am just a child who is not familiar with military affairs and will be arrogant and complacent."
Li Cunxu said to his generals and officers, "If we train our troops well, march at double speed, and launch a surprise attack, with our roused army, we can easily crush their arrogant and lazy forces. It will not be easy to lift the siege and secure our dominance in this battle!"
The 24th day of the fourth month of the fifth year of Tianyou (1294), a Jiazi year.
Troops were dispatched from Taiyuan.
April 29th, the day of Ji Si.
They traveled 500 li at a brisk pace and arrived at Huangnianxia Camp north of Luzhou, 45 li from Jiazhai.
April 30th, Gengwu day.
That night, fog rolled in.
Li Cunxu did not waste this golden opportunity, advancing his troops overnight and ambushing them at the foot of Sanchuigang.
He vaguely remembered that when he was a child, his father held a banquet here. Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and father and son are now separated by death. The young Prince of Jin couldn't help but feel emotional.
Life is but a grand dream, and the world changes through countless seasons.
He quickly composed himself, and all the generals under his command were waiting for him to give orders.
"Li Siyuan, your personal guards are to attack the northeast corner."
"Li Cunzhang and Wang Ba, you two lead the laborers to burn down the stockade and cut the city in two."
"Zhou Dewei, Li Cunshen, you shall lead your troops and advance alongside me on three separate routes!"
Those whose names were called were all generals of the Jin army, all between forty and fifty years old. Looking at the dashing new Jin king, they all bowed and clasped their hands.
"Your humble servant obeys!"
At dawn, the sky was shrouded in mist again, and the Jin army marched straight to Jiacheng.
Liang Jun stopped his scouts; it was impossible to see anything more than ten paces away, until one of the guards spotted a large number of figures moving about and let out a cry of surprise.
"Enemy attack!"
The Jin army surged in like a tidal wave and instantly engulfed him.
The soldiers roared, and the entire army charged forward. Li Siyuan filled in the trenches, burned the stockade, destroyed the northeast corner of the fortified city, and launched a surprise attack.
Zhou Dewei broke in from the northwest corner, while Li Cunshen advanced straight ahead from the center. The Liang army was suddenly attacked, their morale plummeted, and they fled south.
Li Cunxu, with his weak military force, sent envoys with generous gifts to bribe the Khitan king Abaoji, requesting cavalry assistance, which included three thousand Khitan light cavalry.
The enemy spoke in a strange, incoherent language, shouting and yelling. The Liang army mistook it for ghosts and monsters, throwing down their weapons and armor, and blocking their path.
Liang Jun's deputy commander-in-chief, Fu Daozhao, was killed by the Jin army after his horse collapsed. Li Si'an, Kang Huaizhen, and others, each with more than a hundred cavalry, rushed out of Tianjing Pass and escaped from Hedong.
In this battle, the Jin army beheaded over 10,000 enemy soldiers, captured 300 officers and generals, seized a million bushels of fodder and grain, and piled up mountains of weapons and equipment.
Incidentally, Fu Daozhao's wife, Lady Hou, was taken in by Li Cunxu after the war and was known as Lady Jiazhai, enjoying the utmost favor among all the palace women. Thereafter, when he led troops in various campaigns, Lady Hou was often taken along.
When Zhou Dewei and his men arrived at the walls of Luzhou, they called out to Li Sizhao, "The late king has passed away, and now the king himself has come to break through the enemy's encampment. The enemy has already left; you may open the gates!"
Li Sizhao did not believe it: "This must have been captured by the thieves and sent to deceive me."
Just as he was about to draw his bow and shoot, his attendants stopped him abruptly. Li Sizhao shouted loudly, "Wang Guo is here! Can you see him?"
Li Cunxu removed his armor, revealing mourning clothes underneath. Li Sizhao, standing on the city wall, saw the figure in white and was overcome with grief, nearly collapsing. The entire city wept, and the city gates were opened.
Initially, Zhou Dewei had a grudge against Li Sizhao. He spent a year rescuing Luzhou and frequently harassed the Liang army, but ultimately failed to break the siege.
On his deathbed, Li Keyong said to Li Cunxu, "Jintong is loyal and filial, and I love him deeply. Now that we have escaped the encirclement, is it because he has not forgotten our old grudges? You must convey this message to him. If the siege of Lu is not lifted, I will not die in peace."
Jin Tong was the nickname of Li Sizhao.
When Li Cunxu told him, Zhou Dewei was moved to tears. He then lifted the siege of the fortified village and fought desperately. After reuniting with Li Sizhao, the two were as happy as ever.
"Back then, the ruler and his ministers in Hedong were bound together by mutual support and assistance, which enabled them to rival Zhu Liang and rise against the odds, eventually conquering the world. This kind of true character—unwavering loyalty and willingness to risk one's life to save comrades in times of trouble—is becoming increasingly rare in the military today."
After telling his story, Li Renrang concluded with a sigh: "Li Sizhao was also a hero, but alas..."
Gao Huaide didn't know what the old man regretted, so Li Chuyun asked for him: "Grandpa, don't keep me in suspense, just tell me."
"Hehe, that's another story."
Li Renrang patted his grandson's head: "I'll tell you about it another day."
……
On the 12th day of the 9th month of the 11th year of the Tianxian era of the Khitan, the day of Dingyou.
Yelü Deguang led 50,000 elite cavalry on a personal expedition, claiming a force of 300,000, and entered Yanmen Pass.
The Khitan king's Guwen Ordo, known in Han Chinese as Yongxing Palace, had 3,000 regular households, 7,000 households converted from Han to non-Han populations, and 5,000 cavalry.
One cavalryman, two auxiliary soldiers, and five horses—calculated this way, doubling the number to 300,000 wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration.
The Khitan army's banners stretched for over fifty li, heading south from Yangwu Valley, straight towards Taiyuan.
September 13th, the day of Wuxu.
When Yelü Deguang arrived in Xinzhou, he offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth.
Zhang Lang, the governor of Daizhou, and Ding Shenqi, the governor of Xinzhou, closed the city and defended themselves. The enemy cavalry passed by the city in a great procession, but did not provoke or harass them—as if a grand feast was about to begin and they looked down on the two small dishes in front of them.
When the urgent report reached the capital, it was confirmed that the Khitan had launched a large-scale reinforcement. Logically, the entire court should have been filled with fear and unease.
In fact, after the initial panic, the court actually stabilized: since it was too late to do anything now, they might as well wait for the outcome, adopting a "laissez-faire" mentality.
"If the Khitans are drawn in, we should let them in, and then defeat them in one battle."
Perhaps it was because of Yang Guangyuan's bold words to Lü Qi that the emperor and his minister still held a positive and optimistic expectation in the face of harsh reality.
Since the strategy of luring the enemy deep into our territory and waiting for them to tire themselves out has been adopted, and the 60,000-strong expeditionary force is composed of elite troops, they might be able to defeat the Khitan army.
Amidst the chaos, rumors and gossip were rampant: some said the royal army suffered a crushing defeat and was completely wiped out; others said Shi Jingtang was bestowed a title by the Khitan and ascended the throne as emperor; still others said the commander of the expeditionary force was killed, and the remaining troops defected and surrendered, willingly becoming the vanguard of the rebel army, and were marching towards the capital.
The situation in Luzhou was similar, except that the Khitan army changed its target in the last half of the sentence.
When Gao Huaide heard these shocking news, he was initially taken aback: Luzhou only had a little over a thousand soldiers and no generals to garrison it. If the rebels launched a large-scale attack, how could it possibly hold out?
He then comforted himself, thinking that since the rumors were still unverified, why worry about them?
However, seeing his mother and sister looking worried, Gao Huaide couldn't help but feel troubled as well, so he wanted to send soldiers to the front lines in Taiyuan to find out what was going on.
"Young Master, Luzhou is nearly 500 li from Taiyuan. If we send someone to the front-line army now, it will normally take at least seven or eight days for them to make a round trip."
Lu Qian calculated the time for Gao Huaide: "In a few days, the commander's messenger should arrive soon. Let's just wait patiently."
Sending a letter home every ten days or so to let his family know he was safe was a small privilege Gao Xingzhou had as a high-ranking general.
"If the lady and young master are worried, the young master can have someone keep an eye on the post stations along the Jinluo Ancient Road."
Lu Qian came up with another idea, which Gao Huaide immediately understood: if there was an emergency, the messenger would change horses at the post station, and in this way, they could find out if there had been any sudden changes at the front.
Regardless of whether it was unlucky or not, Gao Huaide pressed on, "What if the messenger is surrounded by enemy troops and can't get out?"
If Gao Huaixuan had heard this, she would have gently slapped his mouth again.
Even if they suffer a defeat, tens of thousands of troops cannot be completely surrounded in one fell swoop. There will always be one or two who manage to escape and deliver the message.
Lu Qian replied with a bitter face, "Even if it turns out to be the worst-case scenario the young master described, sometimes no news is still news."
Gao Huaide thought it made sense, and Lu Qian was indeed experienced in handling matters, so he gladly did as he was told.
He ordered several servants to be divided into three shifts, keeping watch on the two post stations north and south of Luzhou for twelve hours a day. For such a trivial matter, he at least knew that it was unnecessary to use the elite soldiers assigned to him by Gao Xingzhou.
For several days, there was no unusual activity at the post station.
Gao Huaide felt relieved, but still concerned about the unfinished story Li Renrang had told, so he went to his farm to hear the rest of the tale.
"The story goes that Sanchuigang was built by Lu Ban in a bet with the Queen Mother of the West, where he was to build a bridge before the rooster crowed."
"Lu Ban wielded his mountain-driving whip, bringing three piles of stones. Just as he was about to begin building the bridge, the Queen Mother of the West used her magic to make the rooster crow early. Lu Ban thought he had lost the bet, sighed, and left. The three piles of stones remained and became the Three Hanging Hills."
Li Chuyun protested, "Uncle, my brother is almost twenty, and I'm seventeen. You've been telling this story since I was three. My ears are practically calloused from hearing it so many times."
"Okay, okay, let's change it."
Li Renrang then told another story: "It is said that during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was a hero named Shan Xiongxin in Tiantang County, Luzhou. His residence was called Erxianzhuang. That's the place right here we are standing."
"This Shan Xiongxin wielded a golden-nailed jujube spear. He was a generous and charitable man who loved to befriend heroes from all walks of life. A Shandong hero named Qin Qiong fell ill while staying at an inn in Luzhou and had no choice but to pawn his family's heirloom, a golden-plated mace, as well as his father's yellow horse..."
"Wait a minute, Grandpa."
Li Chuyun interjected, "It is said that Qin Qiong was from Licheng County, Jinan Prefecture. Why would a Shandong native travel all the way to Shanxi? Besides, where is the Heavenly County in Luzhou? It's just a misconception that Shangdang has been mistakenly called Heavenly."
Li Renrang was repeatedly interrupted by his grandson, but he didn't get angry. He chuckled and patted Li Chuyun's head, saying, "It's just a story, don't take it too seriously. People from a thousand years in the future would believe it if they came back to this dynasty. The stories your grandfather tells are quite plausible. Just enjoy them and learn some lessons."
"Grandpa, the Gao brothers are here too. Stop trying to pad the word count and tell us something real."
"Alright, then let me tell you about a recent event that happened more than ten years ago."
Li Renrang squinted and began to recall the past: "That year your brother was six years old and you were only three. General Li Sizhao died on the battlefield, and Emperor Zhuangzong ordered his seven sons to escort the coffin back to Taiyuan to handle the funeral arrangements..." (Note 1)
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Place Name Comparison
Tianjingguan: present-day Tianjingguan Village, Jinmiaopu Town, Zezhou County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province
Yangwu Valley: Thirty-five li northwest of Yuanping City, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, a strategic pass west of Yanmen Pass.