Chapter 490: The Struggle of a Cornered Beast

"Governor Guo is truly a hero of this age—sharp-witted, keen-eyed, decisive and resolute. I am no match for him!" Inside the Shanyang county hall, Zhao Kuangyin put away the military dispatch sent by Guo Rong, handed it to Chen Sirang, and could not help but sigh with admiration in his words.

"Oh?" Chen Sirang was slightly surprised, took it, and quickly scanned through it.

"That Huangfu Hui is known as a famed general, yet Governor Guo repelled him with four thousand infantry and cavalry—not only routing the enemy's thirty thousand troops, but capturing Huangfu Hui alive on the battlefield, and then taking advantage to press south and seize Qingliu Pass. Once Qingliu Pass falls, Chuzhou is sure to be lost; and once Chuzhou falls, facing our army's spearhead, the puppet Tang will have no troops to send as reinforcement for a good while. If not for the matter at Sizhou, we could drive straight in, water our horses in the Yangtze, and gaze at Jinling from across the shore—the puppet Tang's ruler and ministers would surely tremble in fear!" Zhao Kuangyin's tone was full of regret, clicking his tongue with a sigh.

Of course, amid his lament, there was inevitably some excitement. What Guo Rong had sent, besides the battle report from the Chuzhou front and the notice of the defeat at Sizhou, was that one military order—"Take Yangzhou." That was the true reason for Zhao Kuangyin's greatest delight.

Having received Zhao Kuangyin's report of joining with Chen Sirang in a pincer attack from inside and out, breaking the Tang army besieging the city and forcing Yao Feng to retreat, and weighing the overall situation east of the Huai, Guo Rong also saw the Southern Tang's emptiness along the river line. He therefore decisively ordered Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Sirang to advance bearing the momentum of their fresh victory, giving Yao Feng's army no chance to catch its breath.

As for Shanyang, Guo Rong sent other men to garrison it, while he personally kept watch on Guo Tingwei, who was entrenched at Xuyi, ensuring he could not stir up trouble in the rear again—letting them boldly press the attack: advance and take Yangzhou, retreat and still hold Shanyang. From Guo Rong's military orders, one could see his confidence and decisiveness, his sharp edge hard to withstand. At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin vaguely sensed a trace of anger in it.

"Governor Guo is indeed a man of outstanding talent—how formidable the younger generation is! The Son of Heaven appointed him to manage the Huainan east region; how could he fail to achieve merit!" Chen Sirang also let out some sighs of admiration, and looking at Zhao Kuangyin, who had quickly calmed his emotions after briefly losing himself, asked: "Since the military order is here, this old man has no reason to hesitate. Regarding the advance south, when does Governor Zhao decide to move the troops?"

"Speed is of the essence in war! Duke Chen and I will each pick the finest fighting elites. We rest one more night tonight, and requisition transport boats from among the people. Setting out at dawn tomorrow, we sail south by boat, driving straight to strike Gaoyou!" Zhao Kuangyin said decisively.

According to scout reports, after his defeat, Yao Feng had directly led his troops and retreated to Gaoyou, over a hundred li away... From his movements alone, one could see his cowardice in battle. Zhao Kuangyin also planned to catch him off guard and strike where he was unprepared!

"Good!" Chen Sirang did not waste words, replying directly.

"Duke Chen's bold spirit!" Zhao Kuangyin praised. "This watering our horses in the Yangtze—let us be the first to try it!"

While Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Sirang were planning their southward advance, Guo Rong, the Huainan East Military Commissioner, had already turned his troops back north to Sizhou. At Qingliu Pass, An Shouzhong was left with five hundred men to defend it. Among the surrendered Tang troops, he incorporated three thousand into the army, while the rest were sent in batches under several junior officers to Haozhou, to be placed at the disposal of Wang Qiwu, the Prefectural Administrator of Haozhou.

At the Duling Mountain Han camp, facing the Huai across the water, the air before the camp was thick with the breath of battle. Over a thousand Tang corpses had been left behind and were being cleared away by Han army soldiers. Clearly, while Guo Rong was away to the south, the Duling Mountain camp had also been attacked by Tang forces.

The various officers left to guard the camp welcomed Guo Rong's return, congratulating him on his victory. However, Guo Rong's expression was not exactly pleasant—his face remained dark and somewhat intimidating.

Only after entering the tent and taking his seat did he ease somewhat. Guo Rong looked at Shi Shouxin, who had held the camp, and praised him: "This time, facing the Tang camp at Xuyi, you remained calm and composed, commanded well, kept our camp from falling, and struck the Tang army hard—well done! When the Son of Heaven assigned you to my command, he instructed that you were to be given heavy responsibility. Truly, you have not disappointed that high expectation—you can bear great tasks!"

Shi Shouxin, still young at the time, was somewhat delighted and naturally offered words of gratitude and admiration. Previously, when Liu Chengyou had transferred a unit of the Longqi Army to Guo Rong, he had specially allocated Shi Shouxin's battalion as well—because there were too many officers up and down the Shouchun field headquarters, and he had wanted Shi Shouxin to follow Guo Rong and build merit in the Huai-Si region. Sure enough, gold will always shine.

"It's just a pity that when the Tang army attacked the northern camp outside the city, we were at Huainan and could not come to the rescue in time, causing the Xu troops to suffer a great defeat!" Shi Shouxin was the first to criticize himself.

Seeing this, Guo Rong waved his hand: "This is not your fault. Holding the mountain camp was already fulfilling your duty!"

"Also, the Sizhou Huai bandit navy split into two routes—the force that went east with the current has returned, but the one that went west against the current has not yet come back!" Shi Shouxin further reported.

Hearing this, Guo Rong's brows immediately furrowed, and he looked at Shi Shouxin: "The Tang army going upstream—what is their target?"

"Your subordinate suspects it is most likely the Guokou pontoon bridge!" Shi Shouxin said gravely.

"Send cavalry scouts west to investigate!"

Having just settled the troops, he then received a report from Huaiyin County that when Guo Tingwei's army had passed through, they had breached the city, killed the county magistrate appointed by the Northern Han, and looted all the grain and money in the city. Guo Rong immediately slammed his command table—his anger erupting for the first time.

Gazing at Xuyi city from Duling, looking at the water fortress on the north bank, he quietly resolved that he must first break that water fortress and destroy their navy—otherwise it would always be difficult to strictly guard against Guo Tingwei's fleet galloping across the Huai. Previously, due to the various circumstances, weather, and Guo Tingwei's skill in commanding troops, this had not been achievable. This time, Guo Rong intended to settle his mind and properly test his strength against Guo Tingwei.

Before long, soldiers came to report that Wu Xingde, the Military Governor of Wuning, had swum across the river from the south and wished to see Guo Rong.

"Bring him in!" Guo Rong replied casually. But soon, calming his emotions, he said: "Never mind—I'll go greet him myself!"

Before the Han camp, Wu Xingde, the Military Governor of Wuning, stood in complete disarray, his expression dejected, the hem of his robe soaked through. It looked like he had truly come across on a small raft, swimming part of the way. Beside him was Cheng Deqin, the Deputy Military Governor.

Seeing Guo Rong personally come out of the camp to receive them, Wu and Cheng immediately knelt and prostrated themselves: "Defeated generals, come specially to confess our crimes—please, Commissioner, mete out punishment!"

Seeing this, Guo Rong hurried forward to help Wu Xingde up. After all, he was the governor of a major prefecture; even if he had lost troops and delayed the army, Guo Rong considered himself unworthy of such a great show of deference. Even if punishment were warranted, it was not his place to mete it out—it would need to be reported to the Han Son of Heaven.

Ushering the two into the camp, Wu Xingde's tone was still full of shame and regret, lamenting: "It was all due to my lack of preparation—in my carelessness, the Huai bandits seized the opportunity, and more than half of my soldiers were killed or wounded. If not for Your Excellency's skillful use of troops in driving back the enemy's reinforcements, the harm would have affected the greater situation, and even a hundred deaths could not atone for my crime!"

It was clear that Wu Xingde did have some recognition of his own defeat, and one could even sense a hint of fear from his tone and manner.

Seeing this, Guo Rong sighed softly. In the spring of last year, when he had taken up his post as Patrol Inspector of Xuzhou, he had had dealings with this Governor. In Guo Rong's view, although this man had also risen from the ranks of soldiers and been suddenly elevated to high position, he had not become arrogant with success. Among the many wolf-like military governors across the realm, being able to maintain a measure of "benevolence and virtue" was rare indeed.

"Victory and defeat are common affairs in war—Governor need not blame yourself too much!" Guo Rong spoke up, consoling him: "This matter was also due to my incomplete planning and oversights in deployment. You had just arrived and did not know the enemy's situation, hence this defeat. From now on, let us work together with one heart, jointly resist Guo Tingwei, and pull out this thorn in our back at Xuyi, to atone for past mistakes!"

Hearing Guo Rong's words, Wu Xingde immediately clasped his hands and said: "There are still nearly four thousand Xuzhou troops at Linhuai, all at the Commissioner's disposal!"

While Guo Rong was returning to camp, inside Xuyi city, Guo Tingwei—who had launched successive sorties and achieved results each time—returned to the prefectural office. Sitting in the hall, his face likewise bore anger as he stared hard at a Tang deputy general kneeling in the hall, rebuking him sternly: "Before I set out, I instructed you repeatedly—just hold the city steadily, do not give battle, and wait for my return. Who allowed you to act on your own and cross south to attack Duling Mountain?"

Facing Guo Tingwei's interrogation, the deputy general was somewhat nervous and answered in a low voice: "The Han army north of the city was routed, and we also scouted that Duling Mountain had only two thousand fighting men, the rest being laborers. We thought, if we could seize it while it was undefended..."

"And the result?" Guo Tingwei cut him off directly, coldly reprimanding: "Over a thousand troops lost, and our morale wounded!"

As for the situation of the two reinforcement routes, Guo Tingwei no longer held any hope, especially with Guo Rong leading his troops back. It could be guessed that in the time to come, Sizhou and Xuyi would once again be in a position of isolation. In such straits, every single soldier was precious to Guo Tingwei—they had to be used sparingly. Yet this fool had thrown away over a thousand troops in a single battle.

"Acting on your own, defying my military orders—there is no ground for pardon. Drag him out and behead him!" Showing not the slightest leniency, Guo Tingwei directly gave the order.

Guo Tingwei's personal troops did not hesitate in the least. Ignoring his struggles and pleas for mercy, they dragged him out, and with a single stroke of the blade, executed him to establish authority. All the Tang officers present were awed into silence.

"All of you, go down and properly reorganize the troops!" Taking a deep breath, Guo Tingwei instructed: "Move all the grain, weapons, and armor seized this time into the city and distribute them!"

A bit later, Guo Tingwei received word that the detachment sent west to attack Guokou had returned, with considerable spoils...

Not long after, Guo Rong also received a military report—an urgent dispatch forwarded by Wang Qiwu from Haozhou: a Tang force had gone west and launched a surprise attack on Guokou. The defenders were caught unprepared, and the attackers succeeded. The Guokou pontoon bridge was destroyed, and of the seventy thousand dan of grain and various supplies stored there, nearly half was lost.

At this, Guo Rong's worries immediately welled up. It was a spring night, and he sighed at the cold. After thinking for a long time, he bent over his desk, took up his brush, and personally wrote out the battle situation east of the Huai in every detail, dispatching a rider to gallop west through the night to report to the Shouchun field headquarters.

Some matters had to be reported to the Emperor. However, for Guo Rong, there was nothing much to worry about. The Han army he led east of the Huai had already achieved glorious merit. No matter how much Guo Tingwei stirred up trouble, it was but the struggle of a cornered beast—a dying gasp.