Chapter 702: Tang Generals Speak in Vain

Southwest of Ezhou, north of Puqi, where the Jun River flows into the Yangtze, stands Chibi Mountain — the very place where Cao Gong met his defeat. Because of its strategic terrain, it remains a military stronghold to this day, a vital point, and especially since the Han army marched south and launched major operations in Jinghu, the tension here has only grown.

In the fifth year of Qianyou, the Military Governor of Wuping, acting on imperial orders, attacked the Tang and suffered a great defeat at the hands of Liu Renshan, the Military Governor of Wuchang. After the battle, Liu Renshan established a fortified camp at Chibi to guard against enemies coming downriver from the upper reaches. At first, some questioned why he made such a serious show of preparation against Jinghu, but now, in hindsight, they understood — what Liu Renshan was really guarding against was the mighty Han to the north.

A covered warship came up the river, escorted by several swift boats, until it reached the naval camp on the southern bank of Chibi, where it dropped anchor and the men came ashore. An old general and a younger one, both wearing Tang army uniforms, appeared under guard. Judging by their armor and attire, their rank was not low — clearly senior officers of the Southern Tang.

The old general was naturally Liu Renshan, Military Governor of Wuchang, while the younger one was Lin Renzhao, a rising pillar among the Tang army's new generation of commanders. The Tang officers responsible for the garrison hurried forward to salute and receive them, intending to lead the two into camp to rest, but Liu Renshan refused and directly ordered them to be shown the defenses instead.

Of course, Liu Renshan knew the defenses of Chibi Camp like the back of his hand — after all, he had personally arranged them and regularly inspected them. This tour was mainly for Lin Renzhao's benefit.

After spending the better part of half an hour walking the circuit, the two stood atop the high ramparts, facing the great river, gazing at the flowing current, and giving voice to their feelings. Pointing at the fortifications of Chibi Camp, Lin Renzhao wore an expression of admiration: "These camp defenses are rigorously laid out, meticulously arranged, without the slightest oversight. Lord Liu is truly a pillar general of the Great Tang!"

"I'm old! Now I've been reduced to a man who merely sits and guards! The court still needs outstanding young talents like you!" Liu Renshan waved his hand and said to Lin Renzhao: "I have long heard of General Lin's reputation. Back in the great Huainan campaign, the Han army was unstoppable, and our forces lost battle after battle, with every route suffering heavy losses — only you, General, were able to hold against the Han army, blunt their edge, and return with your entire force intact. Among a thousand officers, you alone managed it!"

Lin Renzhao possessed both courage and strategy, had a resolute character, and held high standards — but he also deeply admired Liu Renshan. Hearing this praise, he immediately showed humility, even revealing a hint of a bitter smile: "I truly dare not accept such high praise. To lose fourteen prefectures in a single campaign, thinking of my own insignificant performance, I feel nothing but shame. The loss of Huainan should stand as a disgrace that we southern soldiers can never wash away!"

"Knowing shame is the seed of courage! Few indeed are those like you, General, who possess such a sense of shame!" Liu Renshan sighed.

The two exchanged a round of mutual flattery, then fell into silence. Under the summer sun, facing the river breeze, it was quite refreshing. Lin Renzhao couldn't help pointing toward the southwest: "How goes the battle at Sanjiangkou? Has the Han army made any progress?"

During this period, Liu Renshan had been constantly monitoring the fighting in the south — intelligence reports shuttled back and forth along the river without a single day's pause. And Lin Renzhao's initiative in coming to Chibi to inspect was clearly a sign that he too was concerned about the war between Han and Chu.

At the question, Liu Renshan also turned his gaze southwest, his deep, focused eyes seeming to pierce through the clouds to see the fighting at Sanjiangkou, and said: "The Han and Chu sides have a combined force of sixty thousand men, land and water, locked in battle at Sanjiangkou for over half a month now. But the current situation is that Zhou Xingfeng is on the attack while the Han army is on the defensive — from the rivers and lakes to the cities and forts, the two sides are slaughtering each other, and it's extremely bloody.

However, judging from the movements of the Chu army, Zhou Xingfeng can't hold out much longer. Without outside help, his defeat and destruction are imminent!"

"The Gao clan was mediocre and cowardly, surrendering all their territory without offering any resistance to the Han forces, letting them march south with ease. Zhou Xingfeng counts as a regional power in his own right, daring to openly array his forces against the Han army — it's just a pity that he can't sustain his momentum!

I hear the Han army's commander-in-chief has personally led troops south, with his spearhead aimed directly at Wuling. Barring any surprises, Zhou Xingfeng's defeat will come within these few days!"

Listening to Liu Renshan's account, Lin Renzhao's expression grew heavy, and he said: "Watching his defeat and destruction from the sidelines — Lord Liu, you must be unwilling to accept this!"

Hearing this, a trace of pent-up frustration showed on Liu Renshan's aged face: "From Chibi to Baling is barely a hundred and twenty li — you could say it's right at our doorstep! A great enemy fights at our very gates, yet all we can do is shrink back like a turtle..."

As he spoke, Liu Renshan's face showed bitterness, and he turned to look at Lin Renzhao: "You are a man of exceptional insight, General. Jinghu and Hunan are like lips and teeth — with Jingnan lost, Hunan cannot be preserved. But for our dynasty, we too are interdependent with Jinghu like lips and teeth. Once the Han army takes all of Jinghu and seizes the belly of the realm, the day they sail east down the river will not be far off! This is plain to see. I submitted memorials to the court requesting to send troops to help, but Jinling is weighed down by too many concerns and would not adopt my proposal. What can I do about it?"

Having been stationed in Ezhou for many years, Liu Renshan was far more sensitive to the surrounding situation. When the Han army first marched south, he had submitted several memorials to Jinling, analyzing the situation and detailing the pros and cons, hoping the court would send additional troops to join with the Gao clan and Zhou Xingfeng in resisting the Northern Han together. However, he never received clear instructions — the court only agreed to let Liu Renshan send a portion of Ezhou's grain supplies to sell to Zhou Xingfeng as support.

Later, after Han envoys arrived in Jinling, a sternly worded edict was issued, telling Liu Renshan to simply hold Ezhou steadily and not to move a single soldier under his command without orders. This left Liu Renshan, burning with the desire to fight, suffocating with frustration.

This time, Lin Renzhao had come west bearing the title of Patrol Inspector of Ezhou, and the orders he carried were also to serve as Army Supervisor of the Wuchang forces — the court feared that Liu Renshan, in a moment of impulse, might involve himself in the Han-Chu war and drag the Southern Tang into the conflict, bringing disaster upon themselves.

Liu Renshan was well aware of Lin Renzhao's purpose in coming, and he did not shy away from his feelings on the matter — indeed, he had every intention of speaking his mind to him.

Sure enough, Lin Renzhao also revealed a bitter smile and said: "I have heard something of your memorials, Lord Liu, and I fully agree with your analysis and your predictions for the future situation. That the Northern Han intends to unify the realm is something known to all men of insight. However much we try to cling to survival, the day the Han army marches east and south is ultimately unavoidable.

But from His Majesty on down, Jinling has no desire for war, fearing only that provoking the Northern Han will bring the Han army's spearhead against our dynasty. Even if our generals and commanders dare to fight, what can they do? Can they disregard the court's orders and move troops on their own?

Even if they acted first and reported later, with Wuchang's military strength and without the court's support, rashly plunging into the Jinghu conflict would only bring disaster upon themselves!"

It was clear that in his heart, Lin Renzhao also supported sending troops. It was just that the choice of national strategy was not something that a single garrison commander or a single commissioner could influence.

As Lin Renzhao had said, Liu Renshan had entertained the idea of acting first and reporting later, of the subordinate overriding the superior. But he too was weighed down by too many concerns and ultimately gave up. It wasn't as if his leading troops into battle would drag the entire Southern Tang into the war.

Doing so would not only defy the court's will — given how the Jinling court operated, they might well take Liu Renshan's head to offer to the Eastern Capital as a gesture of appeasement to quell their anger.

"When the Northern Han set out to pacify Jinghu, our court should have joined forces with them to resist — this was not without a chance of victory. The Northern Han only just went through the great Qinfeng campaign last year, and has suffered successive years of natural disasters, with enormous losses and a weary army and people. Even this year they refuse to halt, turning to fight in Jinghu — even with their national strength, they cannot sustain a protracted war!"

Liu Renshan continued: "If only the three sides could combine their forces and cooperate fully, relying on the Yangtze, we could defeat the Northern Han's designs to swallow Jinghu. A temporary peace now might buy two or three years of tranquility, but it cannot avert disaster in the days to come.

The Northern Han has already taken all the land north of the river. If they also gain Jinghu, their power will only grow greater, and our dynasty will be in peril. Once they advance on two fronts, the vast Yangtze will hardly qualify as a natural barrier — how could we possibly stop them then?

Rather than wait for that desperate, isolated end, better to rouse ourselves and fight. If we can block the Northern Han's offensive against Jinghu, we can still preserve the safety of the upper reaches..."

Liu Renshan spoke freely, in a ceaseless torrent, and Lin Renzhao listened intently, even growing somewhat dazed, until finally he heard a sigh laden with complex emotion: "It's just a pity that Jinghu lacks a talent like Zhuge Liang to go east to Jinling and secure an alliance. And our dynasty has no one who can play the role of Lu Su!"

Coming back to himself, Lin Renzhao followed with his own lament: "Our dynasty is not the Eastern Wu. The Gao clan is like Liu Cong, but Zhou Xingfeng is no Liu Bei. Setting everything else aside, the contradictions between Tang and Chu alone would be enough to obstruct any alliance."

Hearing this, Liu Renshan's spirits also sank, and he sighed: "Over seven hundred years ago, Zhou Yu defeated Cao's forces at this very place. Later generations think of it with admiration and longing. And now, I station my troops here, yet can only sit and watch others win or lose!"

"After the great Huainan campaign, the national strength was severely damaged. Chancellor Han and the others pushed through reforms, and only after three years did things begin to recover. However, for our dynasty, it is still not enough to wage war. The army still has mixed quality, with uneven combat effectiveness, and in the court—" Lin Renzhao said, then instinctively stopped himself, cutting off his words, which dissolved into a deep, heavy sigh.

The court in Jinling these days was unsettled once more, seemingly returned to the chaos of the mid-Baoda era. Li Jing still indulged in pleasure within the palace, partisan strife showed signs of revival, the reformist faction led by Han Xizai had begun to meet backlash from the southern aristocrats, officials, and landed gentry, and on top of that, a group headed by Zhong Mo was stirring up storms. And Li Hongji, having been made Crown Prince, had begun to reveal the jealousy and harshness of his temperament after taking power, which did not please Li Jing...

Under such circumstances, capable and ambitious men like Liu Renshan and Lin Renzhao found it difficult to accomplish anything.

"Lord Liu, could you spare me one or two swift boats?" After a period of mutual silence, with spirits somewhat low, Lin Renzhao suddenly spoke.

"What do you intend to do?" Liu Renshan asked curiously.

Raising his hand, pointing southwest, Lin Renzhao's demeanor regained some of its vigor as he said solemnly: "I want to sail upriver and observe the fighting at Yuezhou at close range, and probe the true strength of the Han army!"