Chapter 480: Heading South at Will to Seek Sustenance

As the Han army's objective shifted and the focus of operations changed, the soldiers in the various camps who had been rubbing their hands in readiness, preparing to fight hard to storm the city, felt somewhat subdued. In particular, men like Sun Li and Wang Yansheng could hardly contain themselves, repeatedly requesting battle from Liu Chengyou, only to be dressed down by him. When Liu Chengyou turned stern, no one dared to defy him, and they promptly settled down.

Scout riders came in an unbroken stream, probing northward and reporting on the movements of Chen Jue's army. Accounting for the winding terrain, Hefei was barely two hundred li from Shouchun, yet Chen Jue spent a full five days before finally drawing near Shouchun, advancing step by step, slowly, guarding against Han army ambushes along the way—cautious to the extreme. Unfortunately, it was all wasted effort, for the Han army had no intention of harassing them.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the Son of Heaven issued an edict, distributing meat in abundance to reward the entire army, celebrating the festival together to repay the soldiers for their hardships in campaign. The one regret was that, with a great battle imminent, alcohol was forbidden, which dampened the atmosphere somewhat.

Inside the imperial tent, the generals offered their congratulations, and the Son of Heaven Liu Chengyou delivered a Lantern Festival address, encouraging the commanders. After sharing the feast together, amid the mess of the meal, they directly turned to military matters.

It was Murong Yanzhao again who first explained the enemy situation: "The Tang army at Hefei is divided into two columns, front and rear. The main commander Chen Jue leads over thirty thousand combat troops and twenty thousand laborers in the front, while Army Supervisor Xu Wenzhen leads twenty thousand soldiers and civilians in the rear, escorting grain, weapons, and supplies, advancing north along the Fei River."

"The Tang army at Hefei is primarily infantry. Apart from the troops transferred north by the Tang court after the Battle of Xiacai, there are also Tang troops recalled from the Chu territories—these have some fighting capability."

"This time, the Tang army is advancing with exceptional caution, covering no more than thirty li a day, and has sent out all its cavalry as widespread scouts. They also carry large quantities of supply carts, cheval de frise, great shields, and long spears. According to what the Military Intelligence Office and the Wude Office have observed, they carry some five thousand crossbows of various sizes, with five hundred thousand arrows. Taken all together, they are prepared against our army's raids and fear our northern iron cavalry!"

"At the Tang army's slow pace, they should arrive east of Shouchun within the next day or two!"

"If one were to say the Tang army hasn't learned its lesson, then looking at this cautious advance and thorough logistical preparation, it has fully embraced the principle of 'steadiness'; if one were to say it has learned its lesson, does it really think that with its army advancing so steadily, it can lift the siege of Shouchun?" Liu Chengyou commented.

Wang Quanbin showed a hint of contempt and said: "The Tang army is so cautious because it is deeply awed by Your Majesty's might and our army's fighting power. Though they have many carts and shields to resist our iron cavalry, it's no different from tying their own hands and feet!"

There was no helping it—on this Huai-Fei plain, when it came to land warfare, the Tang army, lacking in cavalry, was naturally at a disadvantage. To advance while fending off the threat of Han cavalry, they could only adopt such a rigid and passive method of fighting.

"Gentlemen, I have decided to temporarily set aside this hard bone of Shouchun and not gnaw at it for now. I will first lead the army south, devour this fat piece of meat that is Chen Jue's army, then return to break the city!" After a moment of deliberation, Liu Chengyou slapped the table, his expression solemn: "I have always favored building strong camps and fighting stubborn battles, overwhelming the few with the many, the strong over the weak! But this time, I intend to try facing the many with the few!"

"As for the troops going south..." Liu Chengyou swept his gaze around the room; the assembled generals instinctively straightened their chests. Then, ignoring the expectant looks of Sun Li, Li Chongjin, and Wang Yansheng, he said directly: "I will personally lead the Fengchen, Tieqi, Longjie, Longqi, and Fengguo five armies south. The Husheng, Xiaodi, along with the Jingjiang River Navy, the Huaibei prefectural troops, and the laborers, will strictly guard the main camp!"

Liu Chengyou directly addressed Sun Li and the others: "To meet Chen Jue in battle, I am drawing off the greater part of the field headquarters' infantry and cavalry, which will inevitably leave the main camp weakened. However, the greater part of our campaign supplies for the Huai expedition is stockpiled here. This place absolutely cannot afford any loss. Guarding the field headquarters is also a heavy responsibility, one that concerns the lifeline of the entire army. You must not be careless, lest the defenders in the city take advantage!"

Seeing how seriously Liu Chengyou put it, the men dared not be negligent and could only accept the order. Liu Chengyou's gaze swept across, pausing briefly on Wang Jun before quickly passing over, and he said to Xiang Xun: "The defense of the main camp—you shall take charge of it. All generals, obey your orders!"

He then looked at Wang Jun: "Wang, you will accompany me on the campaign, to be consulted as needed!"

Xiang Xun was somewhat surprised, then solemnly gave his assurance. Many times, for critical matters and critical tasks, Liu Chengyou could always think of this Xiang Xingmin. Wang Jun, by contrast, remained indifferent, his expression cold, and accepted the order.

"Han Tong!"

"Here!" Hearing the Son of Heaven call his name, Han Tong's eyes immediately went wide as saucers, gazing at Liu Chengyou with expectation, his voice ringing high.

"You will lead the Tieqi Army south ahead of the main force. First, wipe out all of the Tang army's scout cavalry for me, and blind their eyes and ears!" Liu Chengyou ordered.

"As you command!"

On the Northern Han side, while the ministers and generals were fixated on the Tang army coming to relieve Shouchun, eager to bare their fangs, the great Southern Tang army had already steadily advanced to forty li southeast of Shouchun, east of the Fei River.

With over fifty thousand troops and numerous carts and animals, they made an imposing sight. But as the Tang army's main commander, Chen Jue grew increasingly tense—the closer to Shouchun, the more he had to be careful.

The sky was still not late, just past noon, yet within the marching formation, Chen Jue had no further desire to advance. Pointing to the army's left, at a vast shallow stretch of the Fei River, he directly ordered a halt to the advance and made camp by the shore.

After nearly two hours of effort, a jagged, interlocking camp was erected. After days of marching, the Tang army had grown accustomed to this—basically, at every stopping point, they would immediately build a camp and rest. Though the work was hard and exhausting, and consumed food and resources, having a camp to rely on always brought some peace of mind.

Inside the central command tent, Chen Jue sat at the head, projecting the bearing of a scholarly general, with the assembled officers seated below. He opened his mouth and said: "Gentlemen, our great army of nearly a hundred thousand has been ordered north, and now we are finally near Shouchun, with the Han army's camp just forty li away. Next, how shall we proceed? Does anyone have suggestions?"

Below Chen Jue, the highest-ranking officer was the old general Xian Vice Minister. As a northern general who had crossed south, Xian Vice Minister had done well for himself in the Southern Tang court, receiving Li Jing's favor. He had accompanied Bian Hao in pacifying Chu and was promoted to Military Governor for his merits, though he had fled back in disgrace after barely a few months in the post. Most of the blame for the lost territory fell on Bian Hao, while Xian Vice Minister continued in his role as a senior commander, and because of his familiarity with northern troops, he served as the march formation director in the relief army.

Hearing Chen Jue's question, Xian Vice Minister's expression turned solemn, and he said: "Lord Chen, our army set out from Hefei and has advanced north all the way, its momentum like a tide. We originally expected the Han army to send forces to intercept and harass us, yet now that we are near the Han camp, we still see no movement from them. In my view, there is likely some trickery here—we must remain cautious!"

"I have given this matter some thought as well. Consider this—perhaps it is because our army is numerous, our equipment sufficient, and our defenses proper, while the Han army is small in number, barely managing to maintain the siege, and seeing that we are already on our guard, they dare not act rashly!" Chen Jue said.

A bookish view, Xian Vice Minister thought to himself. After a moment's consideration, he said: "In my opinion, for this advance, our army has already prepared thoroughly, with ample grain and equipment. Now that we have reached the outer outskirts of Shouchun, the Han army will certainly respond somehow. But no matter how they respond, we only need to advance steadily and give them no opening to exploit—the Han army is nothing to fear excessively!

Our army of several tens of thousands can push forward to the Han army's flank. Even without fighting, drilling our troops to threaten their side, with the defenders inside Shouchun responding in coordination, the Han army will inevitably be at a disadvantage. The longer this drags on, the more the situation favors our army and disadvantages the Han army."

"Governor Xian's words align perfectly with my own thinking!" Chen Jue appeared to greatly approve of Xian Vice Minister's remarks: "If the Han army does not move, we will not move either. Pass the order to the three armies: reinforce the camp, hold the walls firmly, and wait until we have thoroughly scouted the enemy situation before making further arrangements. The Han army has long been camped beneath a strong city, and now with our army of several tens of thousands maneuvering outside, the Han army will surely not dare attack the city again—we have already achieved the effect of relief. I am not anxious; it is the Han army that should be anxious!

Send word to Xu Wenzhen in the rear army: tell him not to rush, but to advance steadily according to my arrangements and come north to join me!"

"Yes!"

When all was said and done, Chen Jue had a large army in hand, which gave him some confidence at heart, but truly facing the Han army in battle still made him feel hollow inside. Add to that the admonitions of Emperor Li Jing, and he chose to play it steady and play it timid. If one ignored the finer details and only looked at the surface, given the current situation at Shouchun, the Tang army did indeed seem to hold the advantage.

The Tang army had superior numbers; once they opened the supply line and connected with Shouchun, they could achieve coordination from within and without, plus the advantage of fighting on home ground... The Han army, by contrast, had marched a thousand li from home, its troops weary and its army aged, now caught in a pincer between two fronts.

A bit later, Chen Jue received word that upon hearing of the Tang army's advance north, the Han army had stopped attacking the city and was holding fast in its camp, and that there was much merrymaking within the camp as they celebrated the Lantern Festival.

Hearing this, Chen Jue's army was surprised, yet subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of the Lantern Festival and the soldiers' hardships on the march, he also ordered a reward of rice and meat for the troops.

As for Liu Chengyou, learning of the Tang army's decision to camp east of the Fei, he was all the more relaxed. He laughed with those around him and said: "If Chen Jue had been a bit bolder and made camp twenty li closer, I would still have to worry about the Shouchun defenders striking at my back when I attacked. But now, heh heh..."

On the morning of the seventeenth day of the first month in the fifth year of Qianyou, the Han army at Shouchun, having passed the festival in peace and quiet, adjusted its defenses. Then Liu Chengyou personally led over twenty thousand infantry and cavalry across the floating bridge over the Fei River, turned south, and went to meet Chen Jue in battle.