Chapter 644: Vanguard Murong Chengtai

As for Li Tinggui's resolution, Zhao Chongtao and Han Baozhen, after consideration, agreed without prior consultation. Their minds made up, they did not oppose it. Though they had suffered successive defeats in jointly resisting the Han army, Li Tinggui's utmost loyalty still made him worthy of trust. After the discussion dispersed, Zhao and Han each led their personal guards and withdrew to Nanzheng to reorganize their troops and repair the city walls and watchtowers.

Li Tinggui, for his part, immediately issued orders to seal the passes, place the entire city under martial law, and personally arrange the defenses. He organized a supervision camp and a reserve camp, concentrated all available able-bodied men, deepened the trenches and ramparts, transported military equipment, and polished the logs and boulders for defending the city.

Having learned lessons from the Han army's superior weapons—especially the thunderbolt carts and fire-oil bombs—he also prepared large quantities of sand and water above and below the city walls as countermeasures. He further drove all the elderly and weak within the city eastward, presenting a complete appearance of resistance to the bitter end.

But the Han army arrived even faster than Li Tinggui had imagined.

On the mountain road from Xingzhou to Xixian, a Han army unit was advancing eastward along the mountain path. The men and horses were not numerous—a single command of five hundred infantry and cavalry, with a hundred riders in front and a hundred behind, infantry in the middle, accompanied by over thirty pack carts, moving at no slow pace. This was the Han army's vanguard force, led by Murong Chengtai.

The route for this campaign against Hanzhong had long been decided; there was no other path available, and Xixian was the greatest obstacle to advancing on Nanzheng, one that had to be broken through. Having scouted Xixian's movements early on, after taking Xingzhou, Xiang Xun led the main army to rest at Shunzheng city while dispatching one force ahead as the vanguard to open the road and probe the enemy's situation.

Murong Chengtai had volunteered to lead the force. Having trained at Xiang Xun's side for so long, and having experienced successive major battles this time around, he had gained some experience in commanding troops. Therefore, after brief consideration, Xiang Xun agreed, giving him this opportunity to lead troops independently.

Even so, Xiang Xun still gave him instructions: advance without haste, beware of ambushes, probe as the priority, and do not rashly attack cities. Despite all the admonitions and constraints hanging over his head, Murong Chengtai was still extremely excited.

After winter set in, the Han army's troops all changed into winter uniforms, with the southwestern forces being the first to receive them. Lined jackets within, padded overcoats without, black turbans wrapped around their heads, hempen shoes on their feet—all the military clothing ensured protection against the cold.

Riding at the front, leading his men along the Sichuan-Long post road, he advanced at an easy pace while maintaining vigilance, ready to enter battle at any moment. The soldiers dispatched as the vanguard were naturally the elite of the southwestern army; having marched dozens of li, they showed little sign of fatigue.

Murong Chengtai's march deployment was also methodical—his scout riders were spread far out, fully ten li ahead. Fortunately, the Shu army's attention was all on Xixian's city defenses; they had set no obstacles or ambushes, and had not even damaged the roads or plank paths.

The journey was smooth throughout, with no obstruction except for scattered refugees heading east. This made Murong Chengtai, who had been cautious the whole way, feel rather bored. He muttered under his breath: "I thought the advance would be somewhat difficult, but who'd have expected it to be this smooth? If I were the Shu army, I'd at least have destroyed the post road..."

"The Shu army fled in defeat like stray dogs—they haven't even the time to save their own lives, how could they bother with such things?" The battalion officer beside him said to Murong Chengtai in a relaxed tone: "This is fine too. Being the vanguard is normally a hard task; if we can reach Xixian with ease, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The post road twisted and wound eastward. On all sides were high ridges and perilous cliffs, with the mountain wind biting cold. Murong Chengtai couldn't help rubbing his hands together and laughed: "The weather's getting colder. I rather hope the Shu army will come out and try to stop us—that way we can stretch our muscles and warm ourselves up!"

"The Shu army probably doesn't have the guts!"

By now, the Han army's officers and men had, to varying degrees, developed an air of arrogance. Most officers and soldiers looked down on the Shu army—this was the inevitable influence of consecutive victories. Everyone knew not to underestimate the enemy, but when emotions ran high, who could care about such things, especially among the mid- and low-ranking officers.

It wasn't until they emerged from the mountains and neared the Ju River that they received word of something unusual ahead.

At the Ju River ferry crossing, the floating bridge had already been burned. The air was thick with the smell of burning oil, and the bright flames made the sky seem all the dimmer.

At dusk, the Han army's banners fluttered on the western bank of the Ju River. At the ferry landing, several hundred refugees still lingered, each weeping bitterly as they gazed at the burning bridge.

The light cavalry arrived, and seeing this scene, Murong Chengtai was rather taken aback. He asked the scout riders: "What's the situation here?"

"Reporting to the General, these are refugees who fled south from Xingzhou. The Shu army set up a checkpoint here, and when they saw our forward scouts, they poured oil, set fire, burned the floating bridge, and left—abandoning these Shu commoners on the western bank!" The scout rider recounted to Murong Chengtai what he had learned from his inquiries.

"The Shu army is clearly already like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring—what they call 'collapsing at the sight of the wind.' Seeing our army's banners, they retreated without even fighting!"

Surveying the Ju River's terrain—its flow was naturally low in winter, emerging from shallow hills and rolling mounds, with mountains not high but ravines deep, ground uneven but slopes gentle—Murong Chengtai said: "It seems the Shu army also knew this river couldn't stop us, so they abandoned the defense and pulled back to the western city."

"Gather all these refugees together and have them cut wood and set up a stockade. Tonight we camp on the western bank!" Sweeping his gaze over the refugees who cowered in fear under the herding of the Han cavalry, Murong Chengtai ordered coldly: "Send word to the rear camp to speed up the march!"

"General, these refugees are mostly the elderly and weak—I doubt they can contribute much labor!" His subordinate shook his head, wearing a look of disdain.

"Every bit they can give counts!" Murong Chengtai said coldly: "These base people—why do they bother? Was it such a grievance to be obedient subjects of our Great Han? Blind to the times, fleeing their homes as refugees, meeting this misfortune—and in the end, abandoned by the Shu army. They brought it on themselves!"

The Han army's organizational execution was already very high in this era, and setting up camp followed its own military regulations. Under the officers' leadership, all ranks moved together, and soon a simple camp rose from the ground. The defenses were not particularly sturdy, but the layout was highly orderly, more than enough to shelter from wind and cold.

After arranging the watchwords, camp defenses, and patrols, and inspecting the weapons, provisions, and war horses, darkness had fully fallen. Even Murong Chengtai, who was usually full of energy, could not help but feel weary after all this exertion. Though he commanded only a few hundred men in a single command, he bore a weight as heavy as a thousand jun. He had gained a deeper understanding of marching and camping.

After night fell, the winter wind grew even colder, carrying moisture that seeped into bone and flesh. Within the camp, many campfires had already been lit for warmth. The meal was cooked a bit late, making the aroma of food wafting through the air all the more enticing.

Murong Chengtai tried his best to eat the same food as his soldiers, but after gnawing on two flatbreads, he used patrolling the camp as an excuse, took out a water skin, and drank a few mouthfuls—it was filled with wine...

"General, those refugees have no rations and are crying out in hunger. The Commander-in-Chief ordered that the advance must not harm the people. Should we..." A subordinate officer found Murong Chengtai and made his request.

To ensure the safety of the camp, those several hundred refugees were all kept under watch three li outside the camp. They could only light a few fires, gather some grass and wood, and huddle together, enduring hunger and cold—a truly pitiful sight.

"The Commander-in-Chief said we must not disturb the people—he didn't say we should feed them! We're at war now. You all know how hard it is to transport military grain from the rear to the front lines. How can we give the soldiers' rations to them!" Murong Chengtai said, his face stern. Yet after a moment's hesitation and deliberation, he finally waved his hand: "Forget it—there aren't many of them anyway. Make some thin porridge and send it over to fill their bellies. Tell them to go back where they came from!"

"Yes!"

Leading a small squad of soldiers out of camp to inspect the ferry landing, Murong Chengtai's dark face nearly merged into the night. The original floating bridge was completely gone, leaving only scattered remnants of wood, and the faint smell of smoke still lingered in the air.

Gazing at the opposite bank, in the twilight he could vaguely make out figures moving—likely Shu soldiers sent to scout and keep watch. The outline of Xixian city was also dimly visible, far in the distance, carrying a somewhat bleak and desolate feeling.

"I wonder if the defenders in the western city are trembling with fear right now?" Murong Chengtai muttered to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Murong Chengtai gave orders to the scout officer he had summoned: "Tomorrow at first light, send men around by the Fu River crossing to reconnoiter the enemy situation in the western city and the surrounding terrain. Also, search up and down the riverbanks to see if we can find any boats!"

"Yes!"