Chapter 1010: Truly, the Enemy Was Useless

While the situation was changing rapidly downstream, the fighting in the middle reaches of the Yangtze also erupted, and the scale of it was far greater than the fighting downstream. Beginning on the sixteenth day of the ninth month, the combined land and naval forces commanded by Cao Bin launched their attack on Ezhou according to the previously formulated plan.

The core of Ezhou's defense lay in the two cities of Hanyang and Jiangxia. Ever since the great Huainan campaign years ago, in order to relieve pressure from the Han army in the middle reaches, the Jinling court had poured enormous resources into Ezhou, strengthening its defenses to secure the safety of the downstream prefectures and counties as well as Jinling itself.

Moreover, the commander who had long garrisoned Ezhou was Liu Renshan, a man naturally skilled in defense. Around Hanyang and Jiangxia, he had built an entire system of defensive installations, and the city walls had been repaired to be extremely sturdy. Along the river there were more than twenty fortresses, each solid and easy to defend but difficult to attack, mutually supporting one another like horns, jointly shielding the main cities.

After Liu Renshan passed away, the old general Lu Jiang who succeeded him continued to reinforce the city walls on the foundation of Liu Renshan's defenses, repairing weapons and equipment, drilling the troops, and practicing methods of city defense.

By the fourteenth year of Qianyou, Ezhou's garrison strength had reached fifty thousand men. Although most of these were prefectural and county troops as well as militia, there were still over ten thousand Xiongwu Army soldiers who were elite troops trained year-round — no weak force by any measure.

Therefore, Ezhou's defensive strength was actually quite ample. If properly utilized, even if it could not hold the city, it could certainly cause the Han army no small amount of trouble. This was precisely why the court had prepared forty thousand troops to take Ezhou.

However, the problem lay precisely in the fact that Ezhou's garrison could not fully bring its strength to bear, and the reason was its new commander, the newly appointed Military Governor of Ezhou and Commander of the Xiongwu Army, Huangfu Jixun.

Under pressure from the court, Li Yu replaced the old general Lu Jiang, whom he considered too aged and infirm, hoping to rely on Huangfu Jixun, the son of a loyal and renowned general, to shoulder the great responsibility. Yet it was precisely this Huangfu Jixun who turned the carefully constructed defenses of the two old generals Liu and Lu into mere decoration.

Huangfu Jixun's arrival was, in truth, a disaster for Ezhou's defense, and the greatest blow was the erosion of military morale. As mentioned earlier, Huangfu Jixun had become a general solely through his father's patronage, possessing no real military talent himself.

That alone might have been tolerable — if he could unite the officers and men, humbly accept counsel, and achieve unity of purpose in stubborn resistance, he could still have caused the Han army trouble. However, Huangfu Jixun's approach was precisely the opposite.

After taking up his post in Ezhou, he devoted no attention whatsoever to military defense. He loved to show off and put on airs, wallowed in wine and women, and completely ignored matters such as scouting enemy intelligence, city defense, and troop morale.

His attitude toward resisting the Han army was also quite clear: he felt that with the northern army's strength, there was no stopping them, and since they couldn't be stopped, why bother expending useless effort? He even went so far as to advise the various generals at military meetings that if they stubbornly resisted and offended the court too deeply, disaster might well befall them in the future.

Why did Huangfu Jixun dare to accept the task of defending Ezhou? Because from the very beginning, he had never possessed the resolve to be loyal to the state or to die for his sovereign. All he thought about was preserving his own position and wealth.

With the commander-in-chief Huangfu Jixun holding such a passive attitude, how could the morale of Ezhou's garrison possibly remain sound under his influence? Within less than two months, he had caused the officers and men of Ezhou's garrison to become divided and disaffected, with morale declining day by day.

Meanwhile, Cao Bin, sharpening his sword in Yuezhou, saw the situation of Ezhou's garrison as clearly as if observing a fire from across the river, fully achieving the principle of knowing both oneself and the enemy. Originally, he had some concerns about the defenses, but after news of Huangfu Jixun's behavior since taking office reached him, even Cao Bin was astonished, completely unable to understand it.

In fact, the torrent of history rolls ever forward, propelled not only by the sovereign and ministers of the Great Han who grasped the grand trend, but also by the cooperation of hostile forces — as the development of events demonstrated.

Regardless, Cao Bin was delighted by the situation of Ezhou's garrison. The worse the enemy's condition and the more problems they had, the more advantageous it was for him. As a consistently mature and steady general, how to achieve the greatest results at the smallest cost had always been Cao Bin's consideration, and when the opponent voluntarily handed him an opportunity, nothing could be better.

When the imperial edict arrived, Cao Bin and Liu Guangyi immediately led their troops in a fierce assault on Ezhou. Liu Guangyi was also a relatively young battle commander, renowned for strict military discipline. During the pacification of Shu, he had followed Zhao Kuangyin's eastern route into Sichuan, earning military merit, and had also participated in the northern expedition. He had been dispatched for the southern pacification this time because he had experience fighting in the south.

Cao and Liu split their forces into two routes. One route of twenty-five thousand men, led by Cao Bin, departed from Baling, advancing by both land and water along the river, passing Chibi. Jiayu surrendered without a fight, and then using his naval forces to strike north, he decisively defeated Ezhou's several thousand sailors, thereby severing the connection between Hanyang and Jiangxia. Afterward, Cao Bin progressively eliminated the fortresses around Jiangxia.

Liu Guangyi, meanwhile, led fifteen thousand troops south from Xiaogan to attack Hanyang. Following the operational plan formulated by Cao Bin, he also first eliminated the fortified towns around Hanyang. In only three days' time, the two routes of the Han army progressively eliminated all the surrounding garrison forts and towns, then arrived at the city walls, cut off land and water communications, and reduced Hanyang and Jiangxia to isolated cities.

Throughout this process, the response of Ezhou's army was sluggish and chaotic. The garrison troops trained by Liu Renshan still possessed a certain degree of combat capability and will, especially in the initial engagements, where they did put up some stubborn resistance.

However, this was after all lacking in organization and coordination. Relying solely on some low-ranking officers and a burst of hot-blooded courage, with no cooperation whatsoever, and with the entire defensive system torn apart, the resistance of a few garrison forts served no purpose other than to add a touch of desolation and tragic heroism to the funeral of the Jiangnan court.

During the Han army's elimination of the various forts, the performance of the commander-in-chief Huangfu Jixun was not particularly surprising — he simply did nothing, sitting idle in the city, issuing no orders and sending no relief. He even stopped some officers who were willing to fight the Han army to the death.

The Han army, under the command of Cao and Liu, calmly took the forts and strongholds, thoroughly clearing away the obstacles to taking the cities. Apart from suffering some losses at the very beginning against the stubborn resistance of the Ezhou troops, the subsequent forts, gripped by despair, surrendered one after another. In short, the Han army fought very easily.

After arriving at the city walls, Cao Bin ordered the army to set up camp, rest on the spot, and make preparations for the siege. With the same operational deployment, Cao Bin attacked Jiangxia south of the river while Liu Guangyi attacked Hanyang north of the river. In truth, this was somewhat overconfident — the remaining garrison forces of the two cities combined still numbered no fewer than forty thousand — yet the dire state of the defenders gave Cao and Liu the confidence for such a bold deployment.

"General Cao, this progress has been almost too smooth!" Liu Guangyi crossed the river by boat to discuss military matters with Cao Bin, his handsome and valiant face still showing some disbelief. He said: "I originally thought that clearing the various forts would take at least seven days, and that breaking the cities might not happen until after winter began. Who would have thought the defenders' will to resist would be so feeble — it was almost like smashing dried weeds and snapping rotten wood!"

"General Liu, we have Huangfu Jixun to thank!" The two men walked along the riverbank, observing the surrounding terrain, and Cao Bin also wore a slight smile as he said: "Judging by the current situation, we won't need to wait for winter — Ezhou can be taken!"

"The letter urging surrender has already been shot into the city, which can further crush their morale. However, although the enemy is weak, the sturdiness of these city walls is no falsehood!" Liu Guangyi said: "A direct assault might break them quickly, but it would inevitably increase casualties!"

"What General Liu says is quite right!" Cao Bin nodded, and after a moment's deliberation, said: "Let us first make siege preparations, continue to disrupt their morale, reduce their will to resist, and then act according to the situation. If we can persuade them to surrender and subdue the enemy without fighting, that would be best!"

"Sigh..." Liu Guangyi could not help but let out a sigh, saying: "In the past I experienced bitter battles and fierce engagements, and now that the advance is going smoothly, I find myself somewhat unaccustomed. This war is becoming rather dull!"

Hearing Liu Guangyi's words, Cao Bin could not help but smile: "We have received the imperial decree of the Son of Heaven, leading the royal army in a righteous cause. Naturally, we are invincible in battle, and those who try to stop us like mantises raising their arms against a chariot will naturally be ground to dust! However, we still cannot relax, for the enemy still has tens of thousands of troops!"

Cao Bin remained as always — steady and prudent, not daring to slacken, and even less daring to grow arrogant or obstinate.

Liu Guangyi nodded and immediately clasped his fists: "I shall return to the north bank to take command!"

While Cao and Liu were surprised by the smooth progress of the campaign, inside Jiangxia city, panic had already spread through every heart, with morale continuously declining, nearly hitting rock bottom.

Beneath a water gate on the north side of the city, a group of people gathered together, all of them military officers. The highest-ranking among them was a Chief Inspector. The atmosphere was oppressive, and this group had clearly gathered to plot something momentous.

The one who spoke was also this Chief Inspector, and he made no attempt at concealment, saying directly: "The sovereign is benighted — instead of employing seasoned generals, he employs petty men. Huangfu Jixun has neither talent nor virtue, rising above us solely through family connections, treating military affairs as a game and driving officers and men like oxen and horses. The Han army has come in force to attack, yet he neither prepares defenses nor sends troops to relieve the forts, sitting idly by as they fall one by one. With a commander like this, if we do not make plans early, we will sooner or later be buried alongside him!"

"Chief Inspector Zhu speaks truly. Huangfu Jixun is an incompetent fool — following him will surely bring harm upon us. We must find another way to survive!" A commander immediately picked up the thread, gnashing his teeth.

"The Han army is already at the city walls, all communications are cut off, and no reinforcements can arrive. This is already an isolated city. Though the walls are high, with hearts divided and an incompetent commander, it cannot possibly hold. Better that we rise up, kill Huangfu Jixun, and surrender to the Han army — that would count as a meritorious service!" Another officer spoke up, cutting straight to the point.

In truth, everyone gathered here knew perfectly well in their own hearts what was going on and what needed to be done. Thus, as soon as these words were spoken, they were all eager to act. Soon, all eyes turned to that Chief Inspector surnamed Zhu, for he held the highest military rank.

At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside, and an officer burst in. The group swiftly drew their blades, and only after Chief Inspector Zhu said "One of our own" did the tension ease.

The newcomer said: "Huangfu Jixun has already ordered people to pack his belongings — he seems to intend to abandon the army and flee!"

"This worthless trash!" Someone immediately cursed.

Chief Inspector Zhu looked around the circle, lowered his voice, and said with murderous intent: "Gentlemen, we rise up, kill Huangfu, and return to the court's allegiance — any objections?"

"Kill Huangfu!"

"Kill Huangfu!"

"..."

The officers all voiced their fierce agreement. For a commander-in-chief to have reached such a state was truly something remarkable.

"Good! Let us swear a blood oath. Tonight we rise, each leading his own men, storming the commander's residence to take Huangfu Jixun's head and return to the court's allegiance!" Chief Inspector Zhu made the final decision.

"Yes!"

That night, inside Jiangxia city, several thousand Xiongwu Army soldiers, led by Chief Inspector Zhu Jun, suddenly mutinied, storming the Military Governor's headquarters and beheading the commander-in-chief Huangfu Jixun. Because the uprising was sudden and it was a cold night, Cao Bin did not act rashly. Only the next morning did the gates of Jiangxia swing open, and over twenty thousand defenders chose to surrender.

Once Jiangxia surrendered and the news spread, Hanyang followed suit in surrendering. Thus, Cao and Liu, having arrived at the city walls, took Ezhou without a single sword being bloodied. At the cost of four hundred thirty-one casualties, they took both Jiangxia and Hanyang in full, gaining over forty-seven thousand surrendered troops...