Chapter 299: A General Must Not Give Battle in Wrath

"The art of war says: a ruler must not raise armies in anger, and a general must not give battle in wrath. Move when it serves your advantage; halt when it does not."

"This time in Chang'an, I truly went a little too far."

Whenever Diwu Lun held a council, he liked to make his generals and ministers who had erred offer self-criticisms — the thing everyone dreaded most — but occasionally he would reflect on himself as well.

Racing back to Yueyang through the starry night, it was already the end of the eighth month. As for his earlier order, before the army withdrew from Chang'an, to throw open the palaces to the common people and let them carry off what they would — thinking it over afterward, Diwu Lun felt it really was a case of harming others without benefiting himself.

After self-reflection, Diwu Lun concluded that when he learned the man entering the Pass was Liu Bosheng, his decision-making had unconsciously absorbed the emotions of Yan You dying at Wancheng without him having a chance to save him, and he had taken pleasure in disgusting Liu Yan to the maximum degree, without considering the other party's capacity to endure it.

What was done was done, and now he naturally had to bear the consequences. After this incident, in Liu Bosheng's eyes, this "King of Wei" would probably become his greatest enemy.

They had to prepare to fight a major battle in Guanzhong. As early as after conquering Hedong, Diwu Lun had ordered the two senior generals Wan Xiu and Geng Yan to immediately pull the main force back, using Wei River boats for transport, and deploy defenses north of the Wei. After the autumn harvest, he also mobilized the people of his homeland, and beyond the twenty-thousand-strong main combat force, raised a militia numbering as many as thirty thousand and began training them.

The King of Wei actually criticized himself for letting wrath cloud his judgment. Wan Xiu and the others looked at each other in surprise. Commandant Peng Chong said, "Your Majesty's stratagem is enough to make Liu Bosheng's orders unenforceable south of the Wei — it is truly a brilliant move. What's more, even without this incident, Gengshi enfeoffed Liu Bosheng as King of Pingyi, clearly intending for him and Your Majesty to fight each other and wear each other down."

"Those hoping to see me and Liu Bosheng go to war are probably not limited to Gengshi alone."

Diwu Lun looked west and smiled. "There is also the Western Han's Wei clan."

Over the past month, Diwu Lun had seized the two commanderies of Hedong and Xihe, but the Wei clan had not been idle either. The "Western Han's" proclamation of war had already spread by post-horse throughout Yong and Liang. Wuwei, Jincheng, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang — these six commanderies lay to the west. They could either pay distant homage to the Wei clan, or accept Lu Fang. Was there even a choice? Thus all had been "subdued by proclamation." The Xin Dynasty's various Grand Governors happily accepted Liu Ying as the Son of Heaven, and the Western Han's territory rapidly expanded on the map — though its total population was still less than half of one commandery in Diwu Lun's hands.

And to the east, aside from the commanderies under Diwu Lun's jurisdiction forming their own bloc, Yuan She of Beidi and Lü Wei of Fufu had both accepted Western Han offices and seals of appointment. However, these two had also secretly sent men to open contact with Diwu Lun, indicating that while they were Western Han subjects, they were also Diwu Lun's friends. After the Greenwood Han entered the Pass, the two of them would also have to begin the days of dancing on three eggs.

What Diwu Lun worried about most was the Wei clan turtling up west of Long Mountain, content to be a watchdog and sit back watching him and Liu Bosheng fight. Fortunately, after two months of subduing territories by proclamation, the Wei clan had tasted the benefits of holding the Son of Heaven hostage and truly believed themselves the legitimate authority. They had actually sent several thousand troops over the Long slopes to garrison Chencang — probably understanding the principle that to defend Long, one must defend Yong.

This made the current situation even more complicated. Diwu Lun summed it up: "The Guanzhong of today is a three-legged tripod!"

What Diwu Lun needed most now was not conquering cities and seizing territory, but precious time to develop. Give him a year or half a year, with his troops fully trained and his officials' governance on track, and these populous, wealthy great commanderies — Weibei, Hedong, Henei, the Wei lands — would erupt with astonishing war potential!

So he was all too happy for the situation to remain deadlocked. A triangle possesses stability — but what if one of its corners is a reckless man?

He only feared that Liu Bosheng, seeing Chang'an utterly empty, would in a rage disregard his troops' exhaustion and insist on crossing the river to fight him to the death. This was also the reason Diwu Lun "regretted" having gone too far in Chang'an.

Therefore Diwu Lun paid extreme attention to intelligence from south of the Wei, asking for updates three times a day.

And the latest news, carried by the smoke pillars visible even from north of the Wei, informed Diwu Lun of what Liu Bosheng had done after his visits to the High Temple and the palaces had failed.

"Liu Bosheng has sent men to set Wang Mang's Nine Temples south of the city ablaze!"

"What?"

Diwu Lun was first stunned, then burst out laughing.

"Good! A fine burning!"

It seemed someone was even more wrathful, more furious, than he was!

Diwu Lun immediately ordered rumors spread: "Spread this matter across Weibei. Say that Liu Bosheng, imitating Xiang Yu's destruction of Xianyang, is plundering on a grand scale, and has even burned half of Chang'an!"

…

As the smoke pillars rose high, Wang Mang's Nine Temples were engulfed in flames. The heat wave churned south of the city, lighting up half the night sky, making the people of Chang'an watch with terrified hearts. Those who had believed the "three-article covenant" and were already preparing to go out and move about frowned at this scene and quietly retreated back inside.

"I wonder what part south of the city is burning?"

"It couldn't be Shangguan Ward!"

"Maybe it's the palaces."

Diwu Lun entered the city to fight fires; Liu Bosheng entered the city to start them. Judging by this posture, better to wait a bit longer.

And south of the city, admiring the buildings plundered from Ganquan and other palaces reduced to charred ruins, Liu Bosheng's wrath — born of frustration at every turn since entering Chang'an — subsided slightly.

"The beams, pillars, bricks, and tiles of these so-called Nine Temples were all stolen from Han palaces. They are filthy things — no pity in destroying them!"

The Nine Temples had also been stripped bare by the Chang'an people and were just an empty shell, but they were still an eyesore. Since Wang Mang had dared defile the High Temple, Liu Bosheng would burn this last vestige of the Xin Dynasty clean away as well — it also made up for his regret at not being able to personally cut down the old traitor.

His brother-in-law Deng Chen followed behind, deeply troubled. Of the two brothers, although Liu Bosheng had made his name earlier and fought with ferocious courage, Deng Chen had always thought more highly of Liu Xiu. Because Wenshu thought thrice before every action, and the Battle of Kunyang had shown him to be both wise and brave. Bosheng, on the other hand, often acted on sheer hot blood. This time, wanting to burn Wang Mang's Nine Temples, Deng Chen only learned of it once the fire was already lit — it was too late to stop him.

"Bosheng often sees himself as the Exalted Emperor, but to me he seems more like the Hegemon-King of Chu. Yet our power is less than even what the Exalted Emperor had when he first entered the Pass…" Deng Chen shook his head, driving away this ominous thought. He waited until Liu Bosheng had calmed down, then reported the army's most vexing problem.

"From yesterday until now, over a hundred incidents of soldiers violating military discipline and harming the common people have occurred."

Liu Bosheng had brought thirty thousand troops on this westward advance. Six thousand were his old subordinates from Nanyang, veterans of many battles and the most elite. The remaining twenty-thousand-plus were either new recruits and surrendered troops from Wancheng, or bandits and mountain brigands picked up along the way — their military discipline was abysmal. Liu Bosheng's boastful "three-article law" was observed only by his own core division, which had relatively good discipline; the rest treated it as empty words and looted as they pleased.

And they had no choice but to loot. Ever since entering the Wu Pass, the soldiers had begun going hungry. Supplies were impossible to maintain, dry rations were exhausted, and they could only forcibly requisition stored grain from the county seats of Shang County, Shangluo, and Lantian along the way to supplement them. The route was desolate, there was not much to seize, and what they took had long since been eaten.

They had thought that upon entering Chang'an they would get a good meal, but the result was that the government granaries and the Great Granary were utterly empty, and they were instantly dumbfounded.

"I heard that Diwu Lun distributed all the grain to the Chang'an people. They have grain!"

Inside the city, constrained by Liu Bosheng's "three-article law," they could not act openly, so in the outer suburbs and village wards they plundered under the pretext of searching for grain. Deng Chen could not fully stop it… no, he could not stop it at all!

Deng Chen therefore said with deep worry, "Bosheng, if the army provisions are not resolved, tens of thousands of men with growling stomachs will likely cause even greater turmoil. Once winter sets in, it will be unimaginable!"

Deng Chen had managed grain supplies at home and knew that all the land south of the Wei combined probably could not feed these several hundred thousand people in Chang'an. Now with the realm in chaos and canal transport cut off, plus the army's men and horses consuming food, once winter arrived the grain would likely run out.

"No wonder Diwu Lun abandoned Chang'an." Deng Chen was beginning to understand. This was a massive trap, and their side had jumped right in.

If they were the Red Eyebrows, when provisions ran short they would kill the powerful families and devour the great households. However, the Chongling troops, as a somewhat unique army within the Greenwood, were not as unsightly in their methods as the others. Along the way they had mainly focused on uniting various factions, still using the same approach they employed when dealing with the powerful families of Nanyang.

Liu Bosheng said, "Wei Qing, quickly summon the prominent clans south of the Wei who have surrendered to the Han. Have them meet at the Chancellor's residence in the city, and ask them to donate a batch of grain. The autumn harvest has just passed; each household should still have surplus grain."

Deng Chen knew the temperament of these people. "They surrender quickly enough, but the moment you mention handing over grain, they will certainly make excuses."

The leftover elders and loyalists professed love for the Great Han with every breath, but they loved the grain in their own storehouses even more!

Liu Bosheng's tone hardened. "If kind words cannot persuade them, then use blades to compel them. Demand they hand over hostages!"

Deng Chen acknowledged the order, then sighed. "But this is not a lasting solution. Even if we force each household to donate, gaining tens of thousands of shi of grain, it is still a drop in the bucket and will not last ten days or a month."

"Lasting half a month will be enough."

Liu Bosheng laid out his plan. "As long as I send the army out to strike Weibei, whether it's grain or wintering, there will be no more worries!"

Deng Chen was greatly alarmed. "Bosheng! You absolutely must not go to war out of anger again!"

"I am not wrathful, nor is this retaliation because Diwu Lun deliberately let the Chang'an people loot the palaces." Liu Bosheng seemed to have been awakened by the fire at the Nine Temples. "A common man is guiltless, but guilt lies in possessing a jade. Diwu Lun occupies Weibei and has grain. Even if he had not emptied Chang'an, as far as I am concerned, he still has only two choices."

"Either he bows his head and comes to surrender, offering up his grain."

"Otherwise, he is an enemy!"

In Deng Chen's eyes, Liu Bosheng might not be the best candidate to become a true Son of Heaven, but when it came to warfare, Liu Bosheng was famously decisive! From whom had Liu Xiu learned the fierce courage he displayed at Kunyang?

Deng Chen still hesitated greatly. "But our army has just arrived and is exhausted, our footing is not yet secure, and those capable of fighting a hard battle number no more than six or seven thousand. Diwu Lun, on the other hand, commands tens of thousands of troops and waits at ease in Weibei. How can we give battle?"

In Deng Chen's view, what they most ought to do was establish a foothold south of the Wei, link up with Wang Chang in Hongnong to the east, and connect with Liu Jia in Hanzhong to the south, to see if those two regions could transport grain in for the winter, then plan slowly from there.

"No — the first drum rouses the spirit, the second saps it, and by the third it is spent."

Liu Bosheng had his own reckoning: "Diwu Lun deliberately emptied Weinan precisely to make it hard for us to hold out long. If I sit tight in Chang'an and stay put, I'll have to carry hundreds of thousands of mouths on my back. To keep a great army going, we'd have to plunder the common people and wealthy households for grain, stirring up popular fury — that is the sure path of losing the Dao and finding few allies. Once winter comes, our own ranks will fall into disorder, morale will be spent, and Diwu Lun will drive us out with the greatest of ease."

He had entered Guanzhong this time to reenact the story of the Exalted Emperor — having come, he had no intention of pulling out again. Even Liu Xuan's edicts would be useless!

Although the original order had been for them to strike at the "Western Han," Longyou was far away. If the army advanced west without grain and fodder, it would leave its back completely exposed to Diwu Lun. Liu Bosheng would not do anything so foolish.

"Our only choice is to strike the Wei troops first, and only then plan for Longyou."

Liu Bosheng swept his hand out: "Better to ride the army's still-high morale and fight one battle across to the north of the Wei. From there, we can sustain the war by war itself."

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This vast Chang'an was like a quagmire. The looks in people's eyes, impossible to tell friend from foe, unsettled Liu Bosheng. This was something he had never experienced in his brief few years as a student at the Imperial Academy. Back then, he had only needed to think about how to overthrow Wang Mang; he never had to worry about how to govern the capital.

Better to keep things simple. There is nothing a single victory cannot settle — and if there is, then win two in a row! This was Liu Bosheng's blunt way of dealing with things.

But this was a gamble. If Diwu Lun lost, he could still withdraw to Hexi or Hedong; if they lost once, they were utterly finished. Deng Chen remained uneasy at heart: "But the Wei River lies across our path, and our army has no boats or oars…"

"How can a northern river compare with those of our south?"

Liu Bosheng was full of contempt: "A mere strip of water like the Wei — the soldiers can dam it by throwing their blades in!"

……

PS: Made it back. Second chapter at 23:00.