Chapter 455: Going It Alone, Walking into a Death Trap

The situation at Shouchun was exactly as Zhao Kuangyin, over a hundred li away, had guessed after the battle — the Northern Han commander-in-chief Wang Jun's ruse to lure the enemy had also entered its critical phase.

At the same time as the Battle of Wokou was taking place, Liu Yanzhen, Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Tang's northern front, had already led thirty thousand troops and over ten thousand Huainan conscripted laborers to reinforce Shouchun. Together with the Luzhou army that had marched north, they claimed a hundred thousand men, advancing with overwhelming arrogance.

Meanwhile, in the Han army's main camp, under Wang Jun's orders, preparations had long since been quietly set in motion for withdrawal. Li Chongjin advancing east and Wang Quanbin moving south had been dispatched as two separate forces to intercept the enemy.

Li Chongjin led the Husheng Army and encountered the Tang army west of Anyuan County in Haozhou. Following Wang Jun's orders, he fought a small skirmish. In the end, the feigned defeat became a real one — after all, his troops were outnumbered by the Tang army. Had Li Chongjin not cut his losses like a resolute warrior, leaving a rearguard behind and retreating decisively, he would have been entangled by the Tang army and utterly annihilated.

Returning covered in dust and shame, feeling his reputation had been ruined, Li Chongjin was humiliated and indignant. Unexpectedly, however, Wang Jun was this time all smiles and gentle words, comforting Li Chongjin kindly. By then the main army had already withdrawn down the Fei River toward Xiacai, and Wang Jun instead entrusted Li Chongjin with an important task — commanding the rearguard of the main force.

Sometimes, a defeat must be a defeat without collapse — one must grasp the right measure of it — and that is harder than winning a victory. Li Chongjin proved this with the lives of over a thousand soldiers.

Wang Quanbin, on the other hand, was far more seasoned. Without any intention of engaging Zhang Quanyue's Luzhou army, he simply kept them pinned along the banks of the Fei River. When he received Wang Jun's order to withdraw, he pulled back with great speed, serving as rearguard together with Li Chongjin, primarily guarding against pursuit by the Shouchun garrison.

On the Tang army's side, when the main force arrived and looked across the Fei River, all they saw was a vast, empty Han camp. Learning that the Han army had already retreated toward the Xiacai ferry crossing, Tang commander-in-chief Liu Yanzhen burst into laughter: "The Han bandits fear our great army and have fled far to Xiacai — they are afraid of losing their line of retreat and have gone to hold their ground. If we pursue, we will surely win a great victory. Pass the order: advance on Xiacai!"

At the same time, he sent orders to He Jingzhu in Shouchun city and Zhang Quanyue, who had come from the south, telling them to combine their forces with his and march northwest. He also dispatched envoys in two directions, north and south, to notify the Haozhou naval forces and the replenished Shouzhou naval forces to attack the Han army's pontoon bridges at Xiacai and Zhengyang simultaneously, coordinating with his main force's offensive.

Upon hearing Liu Yanzhen's orders, He Jingzhu immediately sent men to advise him: "Commander, you have come from afar, your troops are weary and your army exhausted. You should first let the soldiers rest and recover, then plan your next move. Moreover, the Han army is fierce and formidable — they retreated without even fighting. To pursue them rashly may invite unforeseen disaster. You are a great general, bearing the king's commission and the responsibility of defending Huainan — you must act with prudence!"

He Jingzhu's counsel was truly loyal advice, but Liu Yanzhen, already lost in his own world, would not listen. He harshly rebuked He Jingzhu's envoy: "I have already witnessed the fighting power of the Han army. The Husheng Army, vaunted as the elite of the Northern Han, was defeated by me in a single battle — utterly worthless. I think Governor He has grown old. As a defending general, to be so fearful of the enemy at the moment of battle — it is shameful."

"Go back and ask He Jingzhu on my behalf: when the Han army was retreating, why did he not lead his troops out of the city to pursue and delay them, buying time for my main force to encircle them? Tell him that my not charging him with the crime of missing a strategic opportunity is already out of respect for his status as a veteran general, showing him leniency. Let him leave the city at once and combine forces with me to pursue the enemy to Xiacai. Otherwise, if the Han army escapes to the north of the Huai, do not blame me for being merciless with military law!"

When Liu Yanzhen's words reached He Jingzhu's ears, the old general flew into a rage, unable to contain his fury, cursing the young whelp directly. He then sent word back to Liu Yanzhen that he had been ordered to defend Shouchun and dared not abandon his post. If the commander wished to pursue the Han army, he could go himself — Shouchun had not a single soldier to spare.

Upon receiving this reply, Liu Yanzhen grew even angrier, cursing the old scoundrel and nearly beheading the envoy.

Offering the same advice as He Jingzhu was Zhang Quanyue, Chief Commander of the Baoxin Army from Luzhou. Upon hearing Liu Yanzhen's orders, he sent men to tell him: "Commander, you were ordered north to lift the siege of Shouchun. Now that the Han army has withdrawn, your objective has been achieved. You should concentrate your forces, observe the enemy's movements, and with the advantage of your naval forces, defeat them at your leisure. As the saying goes, do not pursue a cornered foe — why rush to chase and kill, giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit?"

Loyal advice grates on the ears — this is a simple truth, but many times, for someone in the midst of the situation, it is very hard to understand.

Faced with the counsel of He and Zhang, Liu Yanzhen only felt that the two were cowards making excuses, fobbing off his military orders. In anger, he sent men to interrogate Zhang Quanyue: "You are in Luzhou, neighboring Shouchun, yet for nearly half a month you have delayed your advance, fought not a single battle, and lost not a single soldier — how cowardly! You should follow me to strike the enemy and achieve immortal merit!"

He then issued a stern order for Zhang Quanyue to say no more and lead his troops in following. Zhang Quanyue's temperament was not as fiery as He Jingzhu's — he complied helplessly, and further requested to serve as the rear formation, acting as the army's rearguard. Liu Yanzhen laughed at his timidity but allowed it.

As for He Jingzhu, who had defied orders and refused to comply, Liu Yanzhen had no means to deal with him for the moment. He was busy with the pursuit and had no time to wrangle with him. He only planned to take Xiacai, break the Han army, and then turn back to properly deal with the old general...

Because of He Jingzhu and Zhang Quanyue, and to prevent other generals from making noise, Liu Yanzhen summoned all his commanders and said forcefully: "The enemy's situation is entirely in my mind — what would you know? Anyone who obstructs my plans will be beheaded!"

He then arranged the march, and with Zhang Quanyue's troops and the laborers included, a force of over fifty thousand men headed straight for Xiacai.

Of course, as a man well-versed in the art of war, Liu Yanzhen was not unaware of the principle of not pursuing a cornered foe.

First, he had long since declared that he would crush the Han army and present Wang Jun's head to Jinling — he did not wish to end with a whimper after starting with a bang.

Second, his easy victory over Li Chongjin's army had given him a somewhat erroneous estimate of the comparative fighting strength of the Tang and Han armies.

Third, he had made a circuit of the camp the Han army had left behind, and discovered in it a great quantity of abandoned public and private goods, carts and tents, and even traces of large amounts of grain and heavy siege weapons such as catapults being burned. The pontoon bridge spanning the Fei River, connecting the two banks, had also not been destroyed in time. All these signs indicated that the Han army had departed in haste.

It was precisely on the basis of this that Liu Yanzhen had the confidence to pursue boldly and be certain of victory in battle.

Of course, Liu Yanzhen did not know that before the retreat, because the soldiers and laborers had cleaned up too thoroughly, Wang Jun had severely scolded them, calling them dull-witted. Under the careful arrangements of Wang Jun and Murong Yanzhao, Liu Yanzhen, marching north all the way, had seen and experienced everything — it would have been difficult for him not to take the bait.

Xiacai was not far from Shouchun — a mere forty li. Even with the burden of baggage trains, half a day's time was more than enough for Liu Yanzhen's army to arrive at Xiacai.

Along the way, Liu Yanzhen saw even more things that set his mind at ease. For instance, some Tang soldiers captured a few laborers, and Liu Yanzhen personally interrogated them. They answered that they were corvée laborers conscripted from north of the Huai, and that the Han army had retreated north so hastily that they had been left behind in the wilderness.

Hearing this, Liu Yanzhen was greatly pleased and rewarded those laborers with money and grain, displaying the benevolence and virtue of his Tang army.

Along the route, the Han army also harassed them relentlessly. In Liu Yanzhen's view, this was merely a clumsy delaying tactic by the Han army. Without expending much effort, he repelled three waves of Han harassment in succession, then passed the order urging the army to hasten its march...

From beginning to end, Liu Yanzhen seemed to overlook one thing: if the Han army truly wished to delay his advance, why did they not use their cavalry?

When the Tang army, urged on by Liu Yanzhen, arrived before the pontoon bridge at Xiacai, the scene on the banks of the Huai River was far beyond Liu Yanzhen's expectations.

According to his prediction, when he led his troops there, he should have seen the Han army in chaos, a confused jumble, thousands upon thousands of men rushing desperately across the pontoon bridge...

But the reality was that the Han army had set up camp and formed battle lines along the riverbank — a vast formation, solemn and silent, sharpening their blades, murderous aura billowing as they awaited the Tang army. The winter sun's dim light fell upon the Han soldiers' armor, reflecting a chilling gleam.

Seeing this sight, the Tang army was instantly cowed — Liu Yanzhen included. Surveying the Han army's great camp and formation with their backs to the river, he could not help but feel a pang of dread. The arrogance born of bullying Li Chongjin into a great victory suddenly cleared away. It was precisely because he had studied the art of war thoroughly that Liu Yanzhen understood the terror of the Han army.

Seeing this, Liu Yanzhen, in his fluster, almost gave the order with a trembling voice for the army to form ranks and face the enemy. Before the formation, they set up chevaux de frise, placed sharp blades, erected wooden shields, and scattered caltrops in front of the line to guard against a sudden cavalry charge. Fortunately, the distance was great, giving Liu Yanzhen some time to react.

In the Han army's formation, a tall command platform had already been erected, and Wang Jun sat atop it, surveying the Tang army's situation. Although the distance was great, the Tang army's panic was visible. Not intending to give the Tang army any time to catch their breath, he immediately ordered the battle to begin.

Signal flags waved, and the Han army's formation slowly began to move, maintaining its tight battle array, like a great beast of war, pressing slowly toward the Tang army.

When they entered bow and crossbow range, arrows flew in unison. Under the command of their generals, the five-thousand-man archer formation, sparing no expense, loosed over a hundred thousand arrows in continuous volleys at the Tang army's formation. Facing this almost strategic-level assault, even with their great shields, wooden boards, and carts to resist, the Tang army was severely battered in an instant, with heavy casualties. Most importantly, their morale plummeted sharply, and their unstable footing was shot to pieces — they could not even mount a counterattack.

After the rain of arrows, the infantry immediately launched their assault. When battle assignments had been given before the march, Li Chongjin had firmly requested to lead the Husheng Army in the main attack, seeking to wash away his earlier shame — Wang Jun granted it. With the Xiaodi Army on the right flank, the Fengguo Army on the left flank, and the Hujie Army's light cavalry holding the rear, a combined force of over twenty-three thousand infantry and cavalry launched a full-scale attack on the Tang army.

The Tang army, facing the Han army's onslaught, had no means of resistance whatsoever. Counting the march to Shouchun, they had been on the move for nearly an entire day, covering over seventy li without rest. Upon arriving at Xiacai, they had not even eaten — how could they be a match for the Han army, fresh and waiting at their ease?

On the Han side, there were no shortage of clever generals, and even more brave ones. Take the Husheng Army for example — Li Chongjin and Wang Yansheng, both having bottled up their fury for a long time, erupted directly, leading their troops in a charge that smashed straight through the Tang army's front line. Then there were talents like Han Lingkun, calmly directing the follow-up.

As for the other armies — Wang Quanbin, Sun Li, Gao Huaide, Guo Chongwei, Shi Yanchao, and the rest — all were generals who fought with vigor and valor. Wang Jun supervised from the rear, Murong Yanzhao commanded at the front, and the soldiers fought with all their might. The Tang army, whose morale and fighting spirit had already scattered, could not hold out for even half an hour — before sunset, they had collapsed in rout.

With the infantry having achieved their merit and the Tang army in retreat, Murong Yanzhao issued another order, sending the Hujie Army's six thousand-plus cavalry out in pursuit, chasing down the fleeing enemy.