Chapter 385: Protracted War

At the end of the fifth month, Xuan Biao's funeral was held in the capital. Because his body was still in Lu Fang's hands, they could only bury his clothes and cap, interring him with the rites of a Marquis in his hometown of Yunyang County.

But due to the rule that one could not be enfeoffed as a marquis without military merit or the cession of territory, the final rank Diwu Lun bestowed on Xuan Biao was still Earl, raised only to the upper limit of that rank, with an income from 950 households. The King of Wei personally set the tone, and the posthumous name was "Earl Jie of Fuchou."

Fuchou Township was Xuan Biao's fief, and also the place where he and Xuan Bing had once lived in seclusion. The posthumous name signified "upright in the Dao, unbending; facing righteousness, unyielding."

Because Xuan Biao's child with the daughter of the Zhang family was only a few months old and had not yet been born, Diwu Lun had Xuan Biao's father, the Imperial Secretary Xuan Bing, succeed him as the Earl of Fuchou.

Diwu Lun also made a promise to Xuan Bing, who bore the pain of losing his son: "One day, I shall personally lead a hundred thousand mighty warriors, riding long war-chariots, to trample the passes of the Helan Mountains, restore New Qinzhong, behead Lu Fang, and avenge Bohu."

Diwu Biao thought this "one day" meant tomorrow, and thus requested orders to lead troops to New Qinzhong, proclaiming he would "rampage among the Xiongnu." He was promptly rebuked by Feng Yan: "Do you also wish to be a Han Wei, the General Who Swallows the Hu?"

Wang Mang's war with the Xiongnu was a classic failure. In the early phase, he vacillated; twelve large armies were stationed at the border fortresses but never attacked, hoping to use military force to coerce the Chanyu into submission. As a result, after several years, few Xiongnu were killed, yet the border commanderies were so devastated by the Imperial Army that the people had no means to live, and their own war foundation collapsed first.

In the later phase, he fell prey to misplaced faith in auspicious omens and the rash pursuit of victory. The Boar-Rush Braves rushed to the border, and Han Wei advanced deep into enemy territory alone, only to have his army destroyed and his generals killed. That single battle perfectly cured the Xiongnu of their fear of the Central Plains armies!

It was not that Diwu Lun disliked swift victory; everyone wished they could drive the Xiongnu out by tomorrow morning. But without certain conditions, swift victory exists only in the mind; objectively, it does not exist — it is merely fantasy and false reasoning.

At a grand assembly for his ministers in court, Diwu Lun set the tone: the war for unification and the war against the invaders must be fought simultaneously. Whether it was unification without resisting the invaders, or resisting the invaders without unification, neither was acceptable.

And the war against the invaders was destined to be a protracted war. The great man's thoughts were truly a boundless source of benefit. Diwu Lun followed the same blueprint, making a plan and dividing it into three phases.

"The first phase is the enemy's strategic offensive and our strategic defensive."

Diwu Lun had already issued an edict for the women and children of New Qinzhong to relocate inland. The border fortresses no longer sought development or peace, for the enemy was already at the gates. Using the old strategy from Chao Cuo's "Memorial on Guarding the Borders and Fortifying the Passes," all able-bodied men were turned into soldiers, farming and defending simultaneously.

"Reading Chao Cuo's memorial today, I gained much insight. There is only one point I do not quite agree with."

"During the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, when the Xiongnu invaded, Longxi was besieged by the Hu three times, and only the last time were they repelled — a rare great victory. Yet Chao Cuo believed this was not because the people of Longxi differed in courage or cowardice, but because the generals' methods of command differed in skill and clumsiness. Thus the Art of War says: 'There are generals who are certain to win, but no people who are certain to win.'"

"But my view differs from Chao Cuo's. While the strategies of good generals are indeed important, the one certain to win is only he who excels at mobilizing the people!"

The displaced refugees of Bing Province harbored a bone-deep hatred for Lu Fang and the Xiongnu. The local folk were fierce to begin with; organize them, train them in the five weapons, and they could become a Great Wall, keeping the Xiongnu and Hu-Han forces at the periphery and buying time for Guanzhong to recover.

Then, with Guanzhong continuously supporting Bing Province, the goal was to block the autumn raids of the Xiongnu and Hu-Han, stabilizing the defensive line.

"The second phase is the enemy's strategic consolidation and our preparation for the counteroffensive."

Diwu Lun analyzed the enemy's weaknesses: "Lu Fang calls himself Emperor of Han, yet he was enfeoffed by the Xiongnu Chanyu, making him a laughingstock to the world. Even a fool who truly longs for the Former Han would not take Lu Fang seriously. The various local chieftains in Bing Province act on their own authority, and the common soldiers are merely driven by hunger, following Lu Fang and the Xiongnu south to plunder. In the lands they occupy, the people are all reduced to subjects and slaves; they can hardly win hearts."

"With Xiongnu aid, Lu Fang can still, by luck, occupy a few commanderies. But once his territory expands, he has neither officials to govern nor loyal generals to command. When the Wei army arrives, the locals will surely welcome it with baskets of food and jugs of drink."

"Beginning after next spring, while the Xiongnu horses are still weak, we can seize the opportunity to counterattack, uproot the enemy's southern strongholds, occupy the various fortresses and barrier forts, and slowly push northward."

Once the war shifted from interior to exterior lines, the Wei army's supply pressure would increase, and Xiongnu cavalry could more easily ride south to reinforce Lu Fang, helping him hold the Hetao. At that point, the war would enter the third phase, and infantry alone would no longer suffice.

"Only after a year or so, when the cavalry of Bing Province are trained, or we gain the aid of the shock cavalry from Shanggu and You Province, will it be time for the counteroffensive to reclaim lost territory!"

The Privy Treasurer Song Hong had long served in Bing Province, and he strongly agreed with the King of Wei's assessment: "From the sixth year of Han to the eleventh year of Han, King Xin of Han defected to the Xiongnu and wreaked havoc in Bing Province. Emperor Gao of Han, Liu Bang, attacked with the entire nation's strength. With the finest generals and elite troops of the early Han, it still took a full five years to finally destroy Han Xin."

"Lu Fang's power surpasses that of King Xin of Han, and he has the Xiongnu backing him from behind. Moreover, the Central Plains are now divided. For Your Majesty to fully reclaim the lost territory of Bing Province, I believe the time it will take is unlikely to be less than five years..."

"Three years, five years — so be it." Diwu Lun set the fundamental tone for this war: "The Chanyu and Lu Fang may fight for as long as they wish. We shall fight until the Hu-Han are destroyed, until the Hu invaders are driven from our borders, until complete victory is achieved!"

The assembled ministers bowed in admiration. Song Hong and others, who had worried that Diwu Lun might, in a moment of fury, commit a massive army to a death match with the Xiongnu and repeat the previous dynasty's catastrophic mistake, breathed a sigh of relief.

And the hawkish Diwu Biao and his ilk, having heard Diwu Lun's complete plan and understood the King of Wei's ultimate goal, were also somewhat reassured.

Having settled the "protracted war" strategy for the north and healed the rifts in the court, Diwu Lun had far less patience for the other theater of war, demanding only a swift and decisive resolution.

"Issue an edict. Tell the Front General, Sunqing Jing, to swiftly conclude the Shangdang campaign and march his forces north."

"By the time autumn arrives, I want to taste Taiyuan's millet at the earliest possible moment!"

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……

The Wei army's siege of Zhangzi City had lasted two months, yet there was still little progress.

The city's terrain was far too precipitous, built on a mesa rising above the surrounding land. With high walls and thick fortifications, it was easy to defend and hard to attack. Moreover, the Governor of Shangdang inside the city, Bao Yong, was a die-hard Han restorationist who resolutely refused to surrender.

"Now I understand the bitterness the Greenwood men felt when they attacked Tongyuan from below."

Siege warfare is also a test of patience. After several fierce assaults yielded no success, Jing Dan lost his temper entirely. He did not just fixate on gnawing at this one spot; leaving over ten thousand men to slowly besiege the city, he commanded the main army to sweep the surrounding area, capturing all the other counties of Shangdang one by one. This secured his supply lines while also turning Zhangzi into an isolated city.

But Bao Yong still clung to a sliver of hope for reinforcements. What Jing Dan had to do was strangle those hopes one by one!

Xing were mountain passes. The Taihang Mountains, carved by flowing water, had many such passages. Among them, the Taihang Xing and Bai Xing led to Henei Commandery, while the Fukou Xing led to Wei Commandery and Handan.

Recalling the Battle of Changping, when Qin and Zhao contested Shangdang and the Zhao army used these very passes to send reinforcements, Jing Dan considered that Bao Yong had now received an edict from Liu Ziyu in the east. It was said this man had already gained the support of the Tongma, boasting a force of several hundred thousand that was currently rampaging through Hebei. Jing Dan believed the Tongma bandits posed a greater threat than the stubbornly resisting Bao Yong.

Jing Dan thus led his forces east, sealing off all three passes leading from Shangdang into Hebei.

Attacking the pass fortifications from the Shangdang side was not difficult, especially since the other side of the mountains was also friendly forces. Geng Chun personally led men from Wei territory to open the Fukou Xing, and the two armies met at She County by the banks of the Fu River.

"At last, I see you again, Sunqing."

Years ago, the two had served together as Gentlemen in Chang'an alongside Diwu Lun and were good friends. Now meeting again, they were respectively the "Left Chancellor" and the "Imperial Counselor." In rank, Geng Chun was slightly higher, but Jing Dan held the additional title of Front General, which Geng Chun lacked. Now commanding thirty thousand troops with the goal of taking all of Shanxi, as long as the campaign progressed smoothly, his position in the military would become even more secure.

After exchanging pleasantries, Jing Dan asked Geng Chun about the recent situation in Hebei. Being too far from Chang'an, their decisions required acting first and reporting later, so they had to coordinate closely with each other.

Geng Chun said, "The King of Zhending, Liu Yang, and the King of Zhao, Liu Lin, have ceased hostilities."

They hadn't really fought in the first place. As the Tongma army took Hecheng and began entering Zhending, the King of Zhending, hearing his home base was on fire, grew anxious.

Meanwhile, Liu Lin had finally accepted the reality that Liu Ziyu had broken free of his control, colluded with the Tongma, and intended to become a true emperor. Under the pressure of Wei troops attacking Handan, he too sent envoys to make peace with the King of Zhending. The two had reached a temporary accord, but how exactly to script the drama of subjects resisting their sovereign? While methodically sweeping away the various Liu clan forces within Wei territory, Geng Chun had also opened the Fukou Xing to establish contact with Jing Dan.

At this point, Geng Chun revealed the purpose of his personal visit to meet Jing Dan.

"Sunqing, would you be willing to detach five thousand troops and follow me to strike Handan?"

Jing Dan hesitated. The edict Diwu Lun had sent a few days prior ordered him to quickly take Taiyuan, to secure Shanxi first. It said nothing about coordinating with Geng Chun to move on Handan. Handan was a great city; back then, even the Qin army, riding the momentum of their great victory at Changping, had failed to take it after years of siege. Even with Geng Chun's conscripted troops from Wei territory, they probably couldn't even encircle one corner of it.

Jing Dan then thought of someone. Logically, the Hebei campaign should be commanded by the King of Wei's father-in-law. Where had he run off to?

"Left Chancellor, where is General Wenyuan?"

Geng Chun grew angry at the mention of this. "Wenyuan has already taken the Henei troops and seized Guangping Commandery, east of Handan. But..."

But a disagreement had arisen between Ma Yuan and Geng Chun. Geng Chun believed they should strike Handan, then advance north to Xiangguo City, wiping out the King of Zhao's forces in one fell swoop.

Ma Yuan, however, believed that the King of Zhao still had tens of thousands of troops under his command, his core strength intact. With forces comparable to their own, defending the two cities of Handan and Xiangguo would pose no problem for him, though, being attacked from all sides, he also lacked the capacity to counterattack.

It was rather Liu Ziyu and the Tongma, those disruptors, who introduced far too many uncertainties. Their threat was greater than the three Liu powers of Hebei combined!

"'There are no generals certain to win, but there are people certain to win!' I do not fear the masses of the three Liu powers of Hebei; I fear only the wrath of a million common men!"

Thus, Ma Yuan believed they should first advance north into Qinghe and Xindu, exploiting the local powerful families' fear of the Tongma bandits to compel them to defect to the King of Wei, complete the change of banners, and preemptively construct an encirclement net against the Tongma army in Hebei.

Otherwise, once Liu Ziyu fully controls the Tongma Army and then changes course to reach an accommodation with the powerful families of Hebei, the matter will become difficult to handle.

Geng Chun truly wished Ma Yuan could be as cautious as Jing Dan in his military operations — what harm is there in advancing step by step? It is only a pity that Ma Wenyuan's style is much like that of his clansman's nephew Geng Bozhao: his use of troops is as unconstrained as a heavenly steed soaring across the skies.

Ma Yuan is the State Commandant and Grand General of the Agile Cavalry, the supreme military commander of the State of Wei. In matters of war, even Geng Chun must obey him. He could only hurriedly write a memorial to Diwu Lun explaining the situation, but he could not stop Ma Wenyuan's actions.

"Now Wenyuan has already led over ten thousand troops to take Julu City, and has also detached a force eastward to Qinghe. Next, he plans to advance north to Xindu!" Instead, it was Geng Chun who remained in Wei territory, having to divide his forces to garrison the newly captured cities and towns, while also wanting to attack Handan — he could only "borrow troops" from Jing Dan.

Xindu is currently the main base of the Tongma. Jing Dan was stunned: "Is General Ma... planning to strike the Tongma bandits' lair?"

When this matter reaches Chang'an, Diwu Lun will probably have to say once again, "Only you, Ma, are this outrageous!"

PS: Chapter 2 at 23:00.