Chapter 645: Above the Walls, Below the Walls

The next day, it was not until late afternoon that the main body of the Han army finally arrived at the Ju River. The first to arrive was Liu Guangyi, Commander of the Wujie Army.

After fully recovering Qinfeng, the Han army underwent a major reorganization and rest. During the great battles, the three imperial armies—the Longqi, Xingjie, and Inner Palace Guard—had borne the brunt of the fighting. Though the soldiers fought with dedication and reaped many kills, casualties, desertions, and scattered losses were also considerable.

Although senior generals such as Gao Huaide, Wang Quanbin, and Shi Shouxin still had high fighting spirit, they were restrained by Xiang Xun, who assigned them to separate garrisons for rest. The Inner Palace Guard was stationed at Fengzhou to safeguard the post-road supply lines; the Longqi Army was stationed at Chengzhou as a reserve; the Xingjie Army was stationed at Jiezhou, training in preparation for Minzhou; Wang Jing naturally held and suppressed Qinzhou, while dispatching detachments to guard the captured Shu soldiers from earlier battles.

Therefore, the Han soldiers accompanying Xiang Xun on the winter campaign against Hanzhong numbered only twenty thousand, mostly drawn from the southwestern border forces. Since Wang Jing's force had not seen heavy fighting when attacking Qinzhou and had suffered few losses, the Wujie Army was transferred south to join the campaign.

At the Ju River crossing, Han soldiers and corvée laborers worked together, cutting timber and binding rafts, rebuilding a pontoon bridge atop the foundations of the burned one. Many laborers floated on rafts and small skiffs while working, inevitably suffering from the biting cold of the water. A Han force formed up on the eastern bank in a defensive formation, ready to respond and prevent Shu harassment.

Xiang Xun arrived and ordered the various units to rest in camp, but his first act was to personally go to the crossing to inspect the situation. Murong Chengtai accompanied him, reporting on the conditions.

"This morning, I sent men ahead to cut bamboo and timber in preparation for the bridge. When General Liu Guangyi arrived, he crossed upstream at a shallow narrow point to protect the bridge construction. The Shu army came to attack, but seeing our forces already arrayed and prepared, they dared not advance and withdrew back into the western city." Pointing at the bridge span that had already reached the middle of the river, Murong Chengtai said: "At the current pace, within another hour the bridge will be complete, and the main army can cross the Ju River at leisure!"

"Can it bear the weight of supply carts?" Xiang Xun personally stepped onto the bridge to test it, then asked.

"Already tested—no problem!"

"Well done!" Xiang Xun walked on himself, stomping hard as if to test its sturdiness, then raised his hand and pointed into the distance at the western city: "What is the enemy situation inside the city?"

Murong Chengtai replied: "I sent men across to the opposite bank in secret, captured an enemy sentry, and after interrogation learned that during the days our army was attacking Xingzhou, the Shu army heavily repaired their defenses and stockpiled grain and weapons. Their chief commander Li Tinggui has declared he will stop our army at all costs, vowing to live or die with the western city!

Furthermore, at this time the western city holds roughly twenty thousand troops. Apart from three thousand Shu imperial soldiers from Nanzheng, the rest are either defeated remnants or newly conscripted able-bodied men, and a great many of them are raw recruits!

Strangely, I sent men to inspect Dingjun Mountain, and there is no Shu camp established there!"

"Your reconnaissance has been quite thorough!" Xiang Xun's expression relaxed somewhat as he praised Murong Chengtai.

Delighted by Xiang Xun's praise, Murong Chengtai grinned and said: "Whoever holds Dingjun Mountain holds Hanzhong. Since the Shu army has not established a camp there, after we cross the river, I am willing to lead troops to occupy it!"

Hearing this, Xiang Xun immediately shook his head and said: "Dingjun Mountain is ten li from the western city. If what the enemy sentry said is true, the Shu army's failure to garrison it separately shows their troops are a mixed lot of uneven quality, with questionable fighting strength—they fear we will defeat them piecemeal. Since the enemy does not divide their forces to hold it, why should our army divide ours to occupy a useless piece of ground?"

At this explanation, Murong Chengtai seemed to ponder, then smiled and flattered: "I was too bound by convention. The Commander-in-Chief anticipates the enemy's moves—I am truly in awe!"

Xiang Xun smiled faintly and ordered: "Send more men across the river to set up camp. I want to see just what confidence Li Tinggui has to block our advance!"

"Yes!"

With the commander's order issued, the bridge construction speed indeed increased considerably. As the sun set in the west, the two thousand cavalry accompanying the army crossed the river first, spreading out to gallop across the lowlands and open fields outside the western city, monitoring and providing cover.

Afterward, troops, auxiliary soldiers, laborers, grain, and military equipment crossed the river in succession. Pre-prepared great timbers and tents were quickly erected on the chosen flat ground, camp after camp stretching out, glaring menacingly toward the western city.

"We need more hands here!"

"This needs reinforcing!"

"Stock more arrows on the walls!"

"Scatter more caltrops below the walls!"

"..."

"Move faster, all of you! The Han army has arrived, the assault is imminent—we have little time left to prepare!" The Han army's movements were visible across the entire field of view, making the atmosphere in the city increasingly tense. Li Tinggui personally came up to the walls to inspect and adjust arrangements, speaking rapidly with a stern demeanor.

He looked haggard from sleeplessness, with sunken eye sockets and bloodshot whites. The setting sun hung low, and the scant sunlight falling on him carried no warmth at all.

Li Tinggui looked at the Shu soldiers above and below the walls. Under his personal leadership, morale had recovered somewhat, but it was far from high—more a kind of numbness. Especially the soldiers who had retreated from Chengzhou and Fengzhou; they were long accustomed to defeat. At worst, another defeat, another retreat.

Li Tinggui naturally did not want to use such demoralized soldiers, but the reality of the situation left him no choice. He could not put the newly conscripted able-bodied men at the front—those people were even less reliable.

In fact, when it came to morale, how much Li Tinggui himself had left was also debatable. While the Han army was building the pontoon bridge, some officers had requested permission to send troops to harass and disrupt their progress.

Li Tinggui refused. Even though the force Liu Guangyi had led around the shallows to the eastern bank was not large, he still would not act rashly. Perhaps in Li Tinggui's subconscious, he simply no longer dared to risk open field battle with the Han army. Without city walls to rely on, he did not believe he could defeat that Han force.

News from Chengdu had already arrived—the verdict on his case and the arrangements for the northern front had been decided. A demotion with retention of post actually moved Li Tinggui somewhat, and it suited his wishes well.

In truth, Li Tinggui had no real confidence in holding the western city. He only wanted to delay and obstruct the Han army's advance, buying time for Nanzheng and even Lizhou, Jianmen, and other places. However, in actual execution, his actions always felt inadequate to his intentions, as if his abilities fell short...

Indeed, at this point Li Tinggui no longer held any hope that the Shu army could hold Hanzhong. Based on Chengdu's military dispositions, the plan was to consolidate the defenses from Jiange to Chengdu first, and only then think about recovering Hanzhong.

He was holding the western city to buy time for Nanzheng, while the Shu court intended to use Hanzhong to buy time for the Shu heartland. But if Hanzhong were lost, how long could the Shu heartland hold out? These were things Li Tinggui could only ponder. Right now, he had but one thought: to fight this last battle against the Han army and die repaying his country.

"Governor, you have not rested for a long time. Come down from the wall and take a brief rest!" Seeing that Li Tinggui had been on the western gate tower for nearly half an hour, the personal officer beside him could not help but urge.

The urging brought Li Tinggui back to his senses. The cold of the parapet had nearly numbed his hands and feet.

Seeing Li Tinggui silent for a moment, the personal officer added: "Governor, if you exhaust yourself, when the Han army attacks, who will lead us in resistance?"

Perhaps these words struck a chord in Li Tinggui. Finally, he sighed softly and ordered: "No need to return to the office. Bring my quilt—I'll rest a while in the gate tower chamber!"

"Yes!"

"Han cavalry approaching!" Just as he was about to move, the sentry on the gate tower suddenly shouted, his tense voice startling the garrison soldiers.

Li Tinggui also perked up, taking the stairs three at a time to quickly ascend the gate tower, gripping the railing to look out. To the west, beneath the setting sun, a column of Han cavalry approached from afar at an easy canter. Still too distant to see clearly, but the one guarded in the center was clearly a high-ranking Han general.

"What are you all panicking about? It's just a Han scouting party!" Sensing the tension of the soldiers on the wall, Li Tinggui immediately barked at them, and only then did the atmosphere ease somewhat.

"Commander-in-Chief, bringing only a single cavalry escort to reconnoiter right beneath the city walls—is that not too reckless? If the Shu army sallies out to attack..." The general accompanying Xiang Xun was Wang Renshan.

Xiang Xun replied: "When you attacked Huangniu Stockade, didn't you also personally sneak up to observe it from outside?"

"The Commander-in-Chief commands the entire army; he should not stand in danger beneath an enemy city. I am not worthy of comparison!" Wang Renshan shook his head.

Xiang Xun laughed: "Coming early to look, to settle on a plan to break the city. The Shu army has already become a demoralized force. Setting aside whether they even dare to come out, even if they do, can't we just leave?"

And so, iron hooves carrying confident, unhurried steps approached the city gate, reining in at a distance of two arrow shots away. Somewhat brazenly, under the gaze of the Shu soldiers on the walls, they observed the city's defenses.

Looking at the obvious repair marks across various parts of the city gate, Xiang Xun's expression gradually turned serious, a hint of depth appearing between his brows.

Two newly built horn-shaped barbican walls; a moat widened to about three zhang, filled with water of unknown depth; thickened and heightened city walls with tight sentry coverage; and tall piles of visible arrows, spears, crossbows, and stones...

On the wall, seeing the Han cavalry strolling about as casually and fearlessly as if inspecting their own city, Li Tinggui's brows knitted tightly. A general from Nanzheng could not help but say: "Governor, the Han army is far too arrogant, treating us as if we don't exist. They are but a few dozen riders. I am willing to lead the cavalry out to strike, and capture that Han general to present to you. Inside the western city, we still have a cavalry force of five hundred men."

After hesitating for a long time, Li Tinggui found the humiliation unbearable as well. Clenching his fists and grinding his teeth, he said: "Open the gates and sally forth! Remember—destroy them if you can, driving them off is acceptable too. But do not pursue deeply—beware of Han tricks and ambushes!"

Li Tinggui's arrangement was cautious through and through.

"Yes!"

Below the city, Xiang Xun's party had circled around twice before finally seeing the Shu army's reaction. The drawbridge dropped, the city gates swung open, and Shu cavalry burst forth.

"Let's go!" Xiang Xun was decisive, turning his horse and leading his men back toward the camp, while keeping an eye on whether the Shu cavalry was pursuing. He did not forget to instruct Wang Renshan: "Keep the Shu force dangling—send a rider racing back to notify Ma Renyu. If the Shu cavalry pursues deeply, annihilate this Shu cavalry force!"