Chapter 308: Only the Xin Army Takes the Beating

It wasn't just Jing Dan and Diwu Biao who were badly startled by this probing attack — across the lines, the opposing commander Wang Chang and his subordinate officers were equally shaken.

Wang Chang commanded a larger force, as many as twenty thousand men, and a major reason was that he had fought at the Battle of Kunyang. In the parlance of later ages, he had… gotten fat in one go!

Not only had he absorbed a great number of surrendered Xin troops, but Wang Chang had also seized so much Xin army armor that he could equip his entire force. Greenwood minor canal commanders flocked to his banner at the mere rumor of his strength, causing his power to swell explosively.

This time, Wang Chang left five thousand men to guard the Yellow River bank, to guard against Dou Rong in Hedong exploiting his boats to strike their rear, and personally led a main army of ten thousand westward. His vanguard clashed several times with the Wei army's defending troops.

The men Wang Chang sent were his elite, hardened by the Battle of Kunyang, their morale high and their armor and weapons keen. By all logic, at this stage of a fight, if they had been Xin troops, they should have collapsed long ago. Yet the enemy, though defeated, showed no discouragement, stubbornly tangling with the vanguard across the tablelands. It seemed the Wei commander knew the terrain well and understood that the crux of this battle lay in who could seize the high tablelands!

When reports came back that the fourth assault had been repelled, Wang Chang stood on the narrow road between the Yellow River and the loess tablelands and smacked the air in frustration.

"I was careless. I never imagined that beyond the old and new Hangu Passes, there would still be terrain this treacherous blocking the way to Huayin and the Weikou Capital Granary!"

The Qin Hangu Pass lay west of Hongnong City. In the time of Emperor Wu of Han, in order to expand the scope of "Guanzhong," the old pass was abandoned and demolished, and moved east to Xin'an — the very place where Xiang Yu buried the Qin soldiers alive — essentially straddling the two ends of the Xiao-Han defile.

Thus, after Wang Chang took control of Hongnong, the new pass fell into his hands, while the old pass no longer had walls or barriers. Moreover, as the Yellow River's water level dropped, parts of the southern riverbed were exposed, allowing a large army to advance west directly along the sandbanks. The once-formidable barrier could only look on helplessly.

By all logic, once the natural barrier was crossed, the way ahead should have been open and unimpeded. Yet Jing Dan, possessing sharp foresight and also relying on the "terrain maps" that Diwu Lun had promoted throughout the army, had, when choosing a place to meet the enemy — a "minor matter" like that — deliberately picked a spot east of Huayin, at a place called the Tong River, to pitch camp and deploy troops, constructing simple fieldworks and earthen ramparts to block the Greenwood men.

Wang Chang was a man of Yingchuan and unfamiliar with the local topography. Only upon arriving did he sense something was amiss: the Yellow River flowed south and then bent east, meandering away, while the Wei River came from the west and joined the Yellow River precisely at that bend, dividing the region into three sections. To the north and south, Mount Hua and the Zhongtiao Mountains rose up, hemming the river between them and constricting the Yellow River into an extremely narrow area.

And within this area, even the places without mountains were no level road, but were filled with hills and high tablelands of every size, ranging from ten to a hundred zhang in height. The tops of these platform-like highlands were relatively gentle and vast in area, but their sides, often scoured by river currents, formed sheer cliffs and steep faces. Roads and streams ran between the tablelands.

Jing Dan had earlier wanted to set ambushes on the tablelands along the route, to strike when the Greenwood army entered the narrow road in a long single file, but Wang Chang's scouts discovered and cleared them. Jing Dan, however, was in no hurry. He did not take the initiative to attack, but pulled his troops back slightly, and Wang Chang was at a loss.

Wang Chang's subordinates brought in some locals. These peasants and part-time hunters, natives who made their living year-round among the mountain tablelands, tremblingly told him the names of the local ravines.

Only then did Wang Chang get a clear picture of the enemy's position. Lacking anyone with mapmaking skills, the canal commanders squatted in a circle on the ground, watching Wang Chang use clods of earth to illustrate the situation for both sides.

He slapped a large clod down heavily beside a small stream: "The woodcutters say this tableland is called Tong Tableland. Its north side hugs the Yellow River; the river flows directly against the tableland's flank. On the eastern side of the great tableland is a deep ravine called Distant View Gully, with a flowing stream in it. That is where our vanguard has been halted."

"On the western side of the great tableland is another deep ravine, called Forbidden Gully, which also contains the Tong River. The scouring of these deep ravines on the east and west has left the eastern and western cliffs of South Tableland sheer and precipitous, extremely difficult to scale."

"And the Wei army is encamped atop this very tableland!"

"What about the south side of this tableland?" A canal commander regretted the question the moment it left his mouth. He stood up and saw for himself: the south side was bordered by the exceptionally steep foothills of Mount Hua, densely forested and impassable for a large army — a sight that made one sigh in despair.

It was this towering great tableland, sixty to seventy zhang high, that had become the knot stuck in the Greenwood army's throat, blocking the road and forming a natural moat.

The canal commanders grew anxious: "This is the only road into Guanzhong — surely there must be a way through!"

Wang Chang looked north and said, "There is one, actually. East of the great tableland, right by the Yellow River, a small path opens up, leading straight to the tabletop. It is called Huangxiang Slope…"

The character "xiang" — lane — in its name tells you all you need to know about the terrain. Hugging the southern bank of the Yellow River, a high cliff abruptly juts up, with the wall of South Tableland right beside it. This path is only a few zhang wide, yet fully fifteen li long! The locals call it the Hidden Way, meaning that walking inside it, one cannot see the light of day — a testament to its sky-shrouding steepness.

Although Wang Chang had superior numbers, his supply lines were stretched to the breaking point once he reached this spot, giving him quite a headache. No matter how great his abilities, he could not transcend the limits imposed by this heaven-wrought terrain. In the past, when fighting the Xin army, he had never cared who was on the other side — the process and the outcome were always the same: they simply scattered at the first sign of him. But now, he was stifled and blocked here in frustration…

"Barely past Hangu, and we meet another 'Hangu'! Who is the enemy commander? His eye for terrain is truly venomous! Gentlemen, we must no longer treat these men as the Xin army. We have met a formidable foe!"

…

Meanwhile, atop Tong Tableland, unlike the ravine-scarred riverbank below, the land upon ascending was quite flat, stretching broad for over ten li. It could hold not just a few thousand men — one could even build a pass fortress here!

"Indeed, in the future, a pass could be built here to replace the now-useless old Hangu Pass."

Jing Dan had a good eye; he had chosen this place as the battlefield. Over the past few days, through a series of "minor matters" — marching, pitching camp, selecting and dismissing colonels, sharing food and clothing with the common soldiers — he had now become the de facto commander of these five thousand troops.

"If the enemy comes to attack, unless they scale the tableland's several-dozen-zhang cliffs directly, they can only take Huangxiang Slope. This is why I asked you, General, to hold the narrow path by the river firmly."

Jing Dan explained to Diwu Biao why they could not take the initiative and attack: "The shores are remote, the banks high, the ravine path a narrow defile where chariots cannot run abreast. Moreover, with the Hedong army encamped on the opposite bank at Fengling Ford, if Wang Chang dares to risk an assault, he will be blocked in front by you, General, raked from the south by crossbow volleys from our tableland, and threatened from the north by the Hedong army's boats disgorging death-defying troops onto the shore. He will have no way forward. Even if the Greenwood men wish to 'let the brave win when foes meet in a narrow path,' it will not be easy."

"And if this drags on without resolution, Wang Chang's army numbers over ten thousand, and shipping grain from Hongnong City is no easy task, with the added risk of raids by the Hedong army. I reckon he cannot hold out beyond ten days! He will have to make up his mind and decide whether to advance or retreat."

Moreover, when Diwu Lun sent Jing Dan here, he had made it clear: their mission was not to annihilate any specific number of the enemy. As long as they blocked Wang Chang for ten days to half a month, rendering his flanking force useless, the strategic objective would be achieved.

Jing Dan spoke with eloquence: "Terrain is the soldier's aid. Assessing the enemy to achieve victory, calculating the perils, obstacles, distances, and proximities — this is the Way of the supreme commander. He who knows this and applies it in battle will surely win; he who does not know this and applies it in battle will surely lose."

"Terrain may be accessible, entangling, temporizing, narrow, precipitous, or distant… For narrow terrain, if I occupy it first, I must fully block it to await the enemy. For precipitous terrain, if I occupy it first, I must hold the high, sunny ground to await the enemy."

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"This Tong Tableland is precisely the form of precipitous narrows!"

Had Diwu Lun been here, he would have said this is no mere "precipitous narrows" — it is "entangling"!

Without a second word, seizing the future site of Tong Pass — if that's not entangling, what is?

Having laid it all out, Jing Dan made the whole campaign sound utterly effortless. He looked at the thoroughly bewildered Diwu Biao and smiled. "General, with such terrain on our side, dealing with the enemy is as easy as sitting at leisure. Surely this still counts as a 'minor matter'?"

Diwu Biao nodded, half-comprehending. He had been baffled at first by Jing Dan's insistence on preparing for battle among these mountain tablelands, but now he understood. No matter how Wang Chang sent men to provoke them, they must not fly into a rage and sally forth.

"I get it now. It's just like a brawl between two men: if you can bottle him up in an alley and rain bricks and tiles down on his head, why would you ever let him out onto the main street for a face-to-face showdown!"

Diwu Biao was no righteous gallant, but a vicious street tough. This particular tactic was one he was quite practiced in, and he accepted this method of fighting with pleasure.

But Brother Biao studied the terrain map left and right, and this fellow, who had often gone hunting in the mountains in the past, also pointed out one fatal flaw in Tong Tableland.

"Master Jing, although the south side of Tong is blocked by mountain ridges, the area between the eastern and western ravines is not entirely unclimbable."

True enough. In terms of strategic advantage, Tong Tableland could not match the old Qin Hangu Pass. Once Hangu was sealed, east-west passage was instantly cut off; not even a hundred thousand cavalry could advance a single step, unless they took a long detour.

Tong Tableland, however, was different. The deep ravines on the east and west sides did block passage, but they also formed natural north-south corridors. If Wang Chang, by seizing locals, figured out the road conditions and terrain, and instead of assaulting Huangxiang Slope head-on, moved south along the eastern ravine, then crossed the mountain ridges into Forbidden Gully on the west side, and followed Forbidden Gully north, he would have neatly bypassed Tong Tableland, rendering their defensive position useless.

"To guard the tableland but not Forbidden Gully is as good as not guarding at all."

Jing Dan had Diwu Biao take three thousand men to hold Huangxiang Slope, and also detailed a thousand men to encamp in Forbidden Gully.

Sure enough, that very night, a small Greenwood force did indeed take the long way around along the eastern ravine, scrambling through the mountain forests to raid the western ravine. Many of these men came from the wilds and had fought guerrilla actions against the Xin army in the Greenwood Mountains for years; they were most adept at threading through deep woods. Had Jing Dan not taken precautions, they would truly have fallen into the enemy's trap.

"Thus, the strategic points of this place are: first, Huangxiang Slope; second, the tabletop; third, the Yellow River; fourth, Forbidden Gully. The defenses are now complete!"

On the surface, they seemed invincible, but Jing Dan knew there was still one enormous hidden danger — and the initiative for triggering this danger lay with the enemy, not with them!

"If Guanzhong were entirely in my hands, I am confident I could hold off a hundred thousand here with five thousand!" Jing Dan had already recovered, from the initial fluster of commanding a large army for the first time, the confidence he had once possessed leading small units against the Wuhuan and Xiongnu in Shanggu.

But the problem was that the one occupying Weinan was Liu Bosheng. If he dispatched a flanking force to link up with Wang Chang…

Jing Dan had no time to mock Liu Bosheng's lack of strategy or Wang Chang's lack of wit. Barely a day later, an army of three to five thousand men indeed came from the west!

The narrow strip of land north of Mount Hua and south of the Wei River was dotted with county towns like Shenyang, Zheng County, and Huayin. Liu Bosheng had earlier refrained from sending men to occupy them in order to concentrate his forces. Now he dispatched his subordinate Deng Chen with troops to attack. The Deng family army was also made up of veterans who had contended with the Xin army for years. The militia Jing Dan had stationed there as a precaution had initially been full of swagger, boasting they could fight ten to one, but after engaging, they found the Greenwood men were nothing like the Xin army's straw men. Unable to hold, they hastily retreated west of the river.

Deng Chen advanced unhindered, took Huayin County town, and charged all the way to the Weikou Capital Granary. However, the grain in the storehouses of these several counties had long since been moved to Linjin.

Still, this was enough to greatly diminish the value of Jing Dan's "precipitous narrows." It was only a matter of time before Deng Chen's army entered the western ravine of Tong Tableland. Wang Chang was also launching frequent harassing attacks. The ones now caught between two fronts were the Wei army!

Jing Dan had stored half a month's grain in the camp atop the tableland ahead of time, so food was not an issue. As for water… he had his methods for that too. He looked again toward the northern bank of the Yellow River. The enemy had reinforcements, but the Wei army had them as well. The banners of the Hedong army were arrayed on the opposite bank at Fengling Ford, their boats crisscrossing the river to observe the enemy's movements. It all depended on how Duke Dou of Zhou maneuvered — whether he could act according to their prior discussions and coordinate with them seamlessly.

"The precipitous narrows have become contested ground." Jing Dan gave a wry chuckle. The Greenwood men were indeed no Xin army. It seemed this was fated not to be an easy victory.

Diba Biao asked, "Master Jing, what do you mean by 'contested ground'?"

Jing Dan replied, "Ground that benefits me if I take it, and benefits him if he takes it. This means we are destined to fight a great battle here!"

Sighing thus, he deliberately cupped his hands toward Diba Biao: "The enemy outnumbers us three to one and will soon attack from east and west — this is indeed a grave matter. Will the General take command?"

Diba Biao looked at the smiling Jing Dan and knew that this battle could no longer be resolved by his simple "charge for me." Those complex calculations, the use and arrangement of terrain, had already far exceeded the capacity of his small brain.

Diba Biao then bowed to Jing Dan and said with wholehearted conviction, "Command in the army must be unified! Whether great matters or small, Biao will follow every order the General gives!"

……

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.

The map is in the bonus chapter that follows.