Chapter 246: The Rebels' Momentum Falters

On Liu Chengyou's side, the western campaign was progressing smoothly — at least as far as marching went. The thirty thousand troops, by water and land, traveled light, carrying only essential weapons and rations, with no heavy siege equipment or baggage trains.

They sailed north along the Bian Canal, entered the Yellow River and headed west, then turned onto the Luo River, reaching the Western Capital after four days. The journey was exhausting. The waterways were poorly maintained and somewhat obstructed, and with the lingering autumn rains, the waters churned and tossed unbearably. The "dragon boat" was merely a converted ordinary vessel, not built for pleasure cruising, so it was naturally uncomfortable.

As for the imperial army soldiers being transported like "cargo," they had it even worse. Most of the troops were northerners, landlubbers unaccustomed to water, and countless numbers suffered from seasickness and vomiting. Fast as the journey was, by the time they disembarked, seven-tenths of their fighting strength had been lost.

By comparison, marching overland, though slower and equally tiring, preserved combat effectiveness far better.

Following the established plan, they abandoned the boats for land routes, regrouped at Luoyang, replenished supplies, and then continued west. They rested one day longer than anticipated, however. In the meantime, Liu Chengyou took the opportunity to inspect conditions in the Western Capital.

Luoyang, as the third most prosperous city of the Great Han, received considerable attention from Liu Chengyou. Under Shi Hongzhao's vengeful administration, the city had not been particularly peaceful lately — the meritorious nobles and former officials residing in the Western Capital had essentially broken all pretense of civility with him.

On Liu Chengyou's desk, memorials impeaching Shi Hongzhao had never been in short supply. They were basically the same old refrain — arrogant and overbearing, corrupt and lawless, harsh punishments and oppressive taxation. After Shi Hongzhao was stripped of his post as Commander of the Imperial Guard, those people's fear of him had noticeably diminished.

As for those impeachment memorials, Liu Chengyou mostly left them unanswered. However excessive Shi Hongzhao's actions in Luoyang might have been, at least this year's summer harvest saw tax revenues in the Western Capital region quite substantial, and the nobles' tax evasion had been greatly curbed — those caught concealing their income were dealt with harshly by Shi Hongzhao.

Thus, upon his imperial visit to the Western Capital, Liu Chengyou gave Shi Hongzhao special commendation — a rare honor indeed. It was a very practical matter: when Shi Hongzhao had been Commander of the Imperial Guard, Liu Chengyou had detested him, even harboring murderous intent. But once he was moved to a different position and his threat diminished, Liu Chengyou's attitude toward him underwent a dramatic shift, his tolerance rising sharply.

Upon reaching Luoyang, reports from Huazhou and the fighting at Tongzhou arrived at the imperial presence in rapid succession.

"Yao Yuanfu is old but vigorous, Bai Wenke has the bearing of a famed commander, Song Yanwo combines wisdom and courage, and Yang Ye is fierce and skilled in battle — all four have not disappointed me!" Setting down the battle report, Liu Chengyou's brow relaxed, and he gave the order: "Distribute these battle reports to the entire army!"

"Yes!"

With the army on campaign, such morale-boosting news naturally needed to be widely proclaimed.

"According to our intelligence, Li Shouzhen's plan was to exploit the chaos at the start of his rebellion, while the court was still reacting, to seize Tong Pass in the south and hold the passes against the east, cross the Pujin ford in the west, join with the Hua and Tong armies, combine the forces of three prefectures, sweep through the lands west of the pass, and occupy the Three Auxiliaries with his rebel forces, waiting until the Great Han was beset on all sides and stretched thin, then turn his army eastward..." Feng Dao, attending at the imperial side, recounted to Liu Chengyou.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou showed no contempt, but rather sighed with some feeling: "Li Shouzhen may be base, but this strategy poses a grave threat to the court. Were he to achieve his aims, the lands west of the pass would surely fall into chaos beyond pacification!"

"Indeed, but Li Shouzhen could never have imagined the court would react so swiftly, and Your Majesty, resolute and decisive, would personally lead the army to punish him. Moreover, before the imperial army even arrived, generals Bai, Yao, Song, and Yang had already blunted his edge!" Feng Dao's expression carried some ease, his old face nearly crumpling into a smile, his words of flattery toward Liu Chengyou quite evident.

Liu Chengyou stared at the map of the lands west of the pass spread across the imperial desk, pondering seriously for a while, even gesturing a few times: "Zhao Hui has already led troops west to reinforce Tong Pass, and the other three routes have also moved. What about Wang Yan in Jinzhou?"

"He has reported dispatching troops southward, but as of now, there is still no word!" reported Fan Zhi, the military advisor accompanying the campaign.

Liu Chengyou's brow furrowed immediately, but soon relaxed: "I understand!"

"The forward armies have already blunted the rebels' edge and checked their momentum, giving this pacification campaign a good start and relieving my great worry!" After a moment's thought, Liu Chengyou directly gave his orders: "Transmit the command: the army will rest one more day at Luoyang, and when the overland forces arrive, we advance west together. In the meantime, make preparations for the march. Additionally, order the two Fiscal Commissioners of the Eastern Capital and the water routes that military equipment and supplies must be delivered to the front lines without delay!"

"Yes!"

The favorable news from the front allowed Liu Chengyou to proceed with greater composure. This campaign was perhaps the smoothest undertaking Liu Chengyou had handled recently — at least so far.

"Your Majesty, the Yongxing, Tong'an, and Baoyi armies have concentrated at Fengling Ford, facing the rebels across the river. Chief Commander Zhou Hui has led the Xiaodi Army past Mianchi and reports asking whether they should cross the river directly from Shanzhou?" Fan Zhi reported.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou lowered his head to study the map again for a while, then quickly pointed at Shan County and said directly: "Reply to Zhou Hui: after the Xiaodi Army reaches Shan County, they may cross the river directly at Pinglu, pass through Ruicheng, and head straight for Fengling Ford to strike the rebels from behind!"

In that failed battle at Tongzhou, the rebels' losses were actually not especially severe — not to the point of crippling damage — but the impact was enormous. In less than ten days, Li Shouzhen had gone from strategic offense to strategic defense...

The initiative in the war was handed directly to the government forces.

Zhou Guangxun led more than four thousand defeated troops back to Puguan Ford, where he was immediately berated and demoted by Li Shouzhen, who sent another of his confidants, Zhang Yansi, across the river to take command, holding Puguan and strengthening the fortifications, with Zhou Guangxun as his deputy.

Zhou Guangxun had previously been the deputy commander of Hezhong and held some prestige among the rebels. Whether Li Shouzhen's action was punishment for his defeat or an opportunity to suppress him was impossible to say.

As for Fengling Ford, Yang Ye, with fewer than two thousand troops, had Li Chongxun and Wang Jixun locked down tight. And with the three forces converging, ten thousand soldiers gathered, the two no longer considered how to cross the river, but instead followed Li Shouzhen's orders to hold the ford and prevent the government forces from advancing north.

Hezhong — with the great river to its west and south, and the Zhongtiao Mountains to its southeast — could claim natural defenses. But this tiny patch of land was far too weak against the court's encirclement; those meager natural defenses were hardly enough to hold.

At Fengyi, after Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo integrated the Tongzhou army, they combined forces of over six thousand and marched east directly toward Puguan Ford, advancing to set up camp in a threatening posture. To the south, Yang Ye personally led troops to attempt a river crossing, and though he achieved minor gains, he ultimately failed to cross. That was only natural — the rebels had plenty of men and held the river.

When Liu Chengyou led the army out of Luoyang, the fighting in Hezhong had fallen into a temporary equilibrium — but that equilibrium was very short-lived.

First, trouble arose at Hezhong Prefecture city itself — a knife in the back, and the one wielding it was none other than Wang Yan, Military Governor of Jianxiong Army.

Of the several government army routes Liu Chengyou had arranged for this pacification, only Jinzhou had made no sound; Wang Yan kept a very low profile. But all that low profile was merely to deliver one devastating blow. While Li Shouzhen's attention was drawn to the government forces to the west and south, Wang Yan personally led two thousand Jinzhou troops south along the river, striking directly at Hedong.

However, when they suddenly arrived at Linjin, they were discovered. Hezhong was, after all, Li Shouzhen's long-established territory; approaching the city walls undetected was unrealistic. Hearing that Hedong city was undermanned, Wang Yan naturally wanted to gamble on a great merit — but seeing that a swift victory was impossible, though regretful, he decisively changed his approach, breached Linjin city, and held it, threatening Hedong city from afar.

Wang Yan was regretful; Li Shouzhen was scared out of his wits, loudly cursing the northern prefectures and counties for their inaction. He probably conveniently forgot that the militia and volunteer forces of Hezhong's various counties had all been conscripted by him into the prefecture capital.

In fact, though the Pu army's twenty thousand-plus troops had sent their elite abroad, Hedong city still had over four thousand soldiers. Wang Yan's small force posed little real threat — but Li Shouzhen didn't see it that way. Because of the false banners Wang Yan had erected, Li Shouzhen felt a threat like needles in his back.

Immediately, he transferred a thousand soldiers from the Hexi military camp eastward to the prefecture capital. Still not satisfied, he also pulled troops back from the southern line to defend — holding a single ford hardly required so many men.

Then news from the south quickly changed his mind. The Xiaodi Army, led by Chief Commander Zhou Hui, crossing at Pinglu and advancing west along the Zhongtiao Mountains, was hardly a covert maneuver.

Seeing this formation, Li Shouzhen no longer dared to entertain any notion of "repelling the enemy beyond the gates" — he directly ordered Li Chongxun and Wang Jixun to abandon Fengling Ford and withdraw to the prefecture capital at once.

Setting other matters aside, Hedong city, fortified by Li Shouzhen's construction, was sturdy enough. With his troops defending it stubbornly, even a large pacification army would find it no easy task to take.

In this era, city sieges lasting a year or more were not unheard of. And within Hedong city, food supplies were still relatively ample.

But after all this turmoil, the Pu army's already low morale collapsed entirely — the retreating rebels fled in droves, deserters clustering like swarms.