Chapter 393: Ascending to Luo

Zhang Zong's plan was not conjured from thin air; as far as he knew, history offered two successful precedents.

"In the time of King Wu of Qin, when Qin sought to march east out of Hangu Pass to strike at Han and peer covetously at Zhou, he dispatched Chancellor Gan Mao to lead the army across perilous terrain and assault the city of Yiyang."

Yiyang was the largest walled city on the Southern Xiao Road, its walls eight li in circumference and its terrain strategically vital. Yet once Yiyang was taken, one could break through to the Three Rivers and peer covetously at Luoyang.

"By the time of King Zhao of Qin, the Qin general Bai Qi sortied from Yiyang and fought a decisive battle against Han and Wei at Yique Pass, where the Southern Xiao Road ends. With fewer troops he defeated a larger force, beheading countless foes, and the gateway to the Central Plain was flung wide open."

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And now, Zhang Zong intended to combine the three campaigns — those of Gan Mao, Bai Qi, and the later destruction of Zhou under Lü Buwei — and fight them all in a single stroke!

Luoyang, the center of the realm. In Emperor Gao of Han's time it even served as the imperial capital for several months, and Liu Bang himself once declared: "I have traveled the realm for long years, and only Luoyang have I truly seen!" Though no longer the capital now, it remained a great metropolis of the Central Plain, a gathering place of eminent figures, its population second only to Chang'an and Linzi. The standard refined speech also took the Luoyang accent as its basis. Chang'an was the political center; Luoyang, then, was the cultural center.

Zhang Zong proposed that Dou Rong continue to have Zheng Tong hammer away at the new Hangu Pass, while he himself would take a detour via Yiyang to seize Luoyang — the two of them splitting this extraordinary feat between them.

If he could capture this renowned city under heaven, Zhang Zong's fame would surely soar. And with the King of Wei already holding Chang'an, adding Luoyang to his grasp would bring both the Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou heartlands together, and the imperial enterprise would be all but fully shaped.

"My good sir, you are rather fond of perilous gambles."

Dou Rong, however, fell into thoughtful silence, then asked in return: "Since you know the battle of Yiyang, do you also know why Gan Mao was able to win that campaign?"

On this point Zhang Zong was less clear. Dou Rong simply said: "In the Warring States era, Yiyang was nominally a county but in reality a commandery, heavily garrisoned by Han troops. It could not be taken in mere months. And Gan Mao, as a guest minister of the King of Qin, was constantly slandered at court. Therefore, before setting out on campaign, he cited the stories of Zengzi the Murderer and Yue Yang's Slanderous Letters, and made with King Wu of Qin the Covenant of Xirang, swearing that the king would trust Gan Mao to the very end!"

"Just as expected, Yiyang proved hard to take. The Qin army had marched far on an extended campaign, and after long months of fruitless assault, the troops were exhausted. At court, those slandering Gan Mao were beyond number, and King Wu of Qin himself was considerably shaken. He sent a man to summon Gan Mao back with the army, but Gan Mao sent back only the single word 'Xirang.' Only thus could they fight on for several more months and seize Yiyang."

"In contrast, though Bai Qi was victorious at Yique, in the end he could not escape falling on his own sword at Duyou. That was precisely because his strategy clashed with King Zhao of Qin's, and he was ultimately suspected and resented!"

"I believe that with your ability, sir, you can certainly capture Yiyang and take Yique. But the stakes are immense. Before we act, we must first make a 'Covenant of Xirang' with the King of Wei!"

Though it is said that a general in the field may disregard certain sovereign commands, that applies to tactics — a general may decide those on his own — but strategy must still be reported back. Dou Rong reflected that since the strategic objective Diwu Lun had set was to seize the whole of Hongnong Commandery, not to capture the city of Luoyang, they had best not act on their own authority. The King of Wei was at Anyi, just over a hundred li away. Even with mountains and rivers between them, a round trip took no more than three or four days, and the overall situation would not change drastically in that time.

Zhang Zong felt Dou Rong was being excessively cautious, but Dou Rong was, after all, his old superior and the commanding general of this campaign, so he agreed and obeyed.

Two days later, when the joint memorial the two men had drafted reached the city of Anyi, Diwu Lun merely laughed and said:

"I did not misjudge the man."

"Dou Rong — this brake pad of mine — is doing his job admirably!"

…

"Yiyang has iron and grain. If it remains in Greenwood hands, it will keep sending arrows and blades in an unending stream to the new Hangu Pass, the two positions propping each other up like horns. Therefore, if our army wants to take Hangu Pass, it must first seize Yiyang."

"The Greenwood Army's heavy troops are defending the line of the new Hangu Pass. They have forcibly conscripted laborers, and their strength still numbers thirty thousand. Their provisions and fodder are transported west from Luoyang. If a flanking force of our army can strike from Yiyang at Yique, then turn north to sever the great road west of Luo, the Greenwood forces will be trapped at Hangu Pass."

From a purely military standpoint, Zhang Zong's proposal up to this point was extremely sound and highly feasible.

But what he proposed next — "a surprise assault to seize Luoyang" — showed a failure to grasp the political dimension.

Though Luoyang was the center of the realm and scholars always harbored a sentimental attachment to the Eastern Zhou's old capital at Luoyi, Diwu Lun already held Chang'an, the imperial capital, and had raised the great banner of repelling the barbarians. His political legitimacy was not lacking; taking Luoyang would merely be adding flowers to brocade.

But Luoyang was a great metropolis. Ever since his first entry into Chang'an had forced him to turn in his exam paper ahead of schedule, Diwu Lun had grown quite wary of these large cities. To draw an analogy:

"Chang'an is Beijing, and Luoyang is Shanghai. Can you just waltz into Greater Shanghai on a whim?"

Without preparing a large corps of officials in advance and strictly enforcing military discipline, he dared not rush headlong into that examination.

A greater reason was that even ravaged by war and desolate, Luoyang's population was no smaller than Chang'an's. Once they fought their way in, they would need a large body of troops to garrison it. Those several hundred thousand mouths — you could neither manage them nor ignore them. A hasty capture would instead become a huge millstone around their necks.

Better to wait until the autumn harvest was complete in the eighth month, when Hedong and Henei would both have surplus grain for relief, and then continue the advance at leisure.

It was a blessing that Diwu Lun had appointed Dou Rong to coordinate from the center, someone who could rein in the pace at the front on Diwu Lun's behalf. Otherwise, brave as Zhang Zong and Zheng Tong were, once stirred up and charging too fiercely, they would end up drawing legs on a snake. It was still Dou Rong — Duke of Zhou Dou — who understood his mind and grasped the larger picture.

Diwu Lun therefore approved Zhang Zong's request to strike at the Southern Xiao Road and envelop the Greenwood Army at Hangu Pass, but he vetoed his proposal to attack Luoyang.

"First annihilate the Greenwood forces at Hangu Pass. Then, when the autumn air turns cool in the eighth month, I shall personally proceed to Henan to 'ascend to Luo'!"

…

In accordance with the King of Wei's edict, Zhang Zong marched south from Shan County and took the Southern Xiao Road. The first difficult barrier awaiting him was the "precipitously steep and sheer" Yanling Pass. In this cramped stretch of the Xiao and Hangu region, passes and defiles were truly beyond counting.

Meanwhile, General Zheng Tong — General Who Sweeps the Field — advanced eastward. His route also had to pass a place called Xia Shi Pass, where "the mountain banks are as if pared by a blade."

The winding path was exceedingly steep, twisting and turning as it slowly climbed eastward, requiring the crossing of many ridges and peaks. Where they encountered rushing torrents and towering gorges, with rainwater pouring down in torrents, they had to build bridges just to cross. In some places, looking up, one saw only a sliver of sky, and it truly made a man want to mutter: If the Greenwood forces had set an ambush here beforehand, and so on and so forth.

Along the road there were many mountain folk who, to escape the chaos of war, had abandoned their hamlets and moved up into the mountains, living in caves. Looking up, one saw their dens arrayed in tiers like a honeycomb. The occasional ones who came down to fetch water or forage for food were unkempt and soot-faced, like wild men, and fled at the mere sight of soldiers. It seemed the Xin dynasty troops and Greenwood forces who had passed this way before had all done their share of evil.

And when they passed through Xia Shi Pass, the Wei army stretched out for over ten li along the narrow track, exactly like a long serpent — in some places, it was hard for even five men to walk abreast.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Amid shouts of alarm from the vanguard, many boulders and great logs were hurled down from the mountain, mixed with arrows shot plunging down onto the heads of the Wei soldiers. The men had no choice but to raise their shields and bear it, while death-defying warriors, gripping short blades in their teeth, clambered up the cliff faces to assault the ambushers from below.

The Greenwood forces had finally remembered that they, too, were adept at mountain and forest warfare. They abandoned positions where the Wei army could strike them from both land and water, set up defenses at Xia Shi Pass, and rounded up a batch of locals as conscript laborers, doing everything they could to block the Wei army's advance along the long, narrow mountain road.

"From here to Mianchi is still several dozen li, and from Mianchi to the new Hangu Pass is another hundred li."

Zheng Tong studied the map. After a year or so in the literacy class, he could now recognize a few characters. Listening to the clang and clatter of stones striking the shields above their heads, he understood this was going to be a tough fight and could not help cursing: "If these Greenwood bastards are going to retreat, they should retreat cleanly and obediently wait at Hangu Pass. Instead they only retreat halfway. We have to inch forward step by step. Can we even reach the new Hangu Pass by the end of the month?"

"We must fight our way through! Don't let that Hedong fellow Zhang Zong steal the first prize by taking the southern road. We can't afford to lose the prestige of His Majesty's own elite troops!"

…

"Your Majesty, the Wei troops are fierce and valiant. Xia Shi Pass cannot be held."

"Mianchi County is also lost. West of Hangu Pass, only Xin'an City remains!"

"Order the King of Yingyin to defend Xin'an to the death."

The feudal lord charged by Liu Xuan with guarding Henan Commandery and Luoyang was Zheng Wang Liu Ci, courtesy name Ziqin, a scion of the Chongling imperial clan. When Liu Bosheng and his brothers rose in arms, Liu Ci had also taken part. After the Gengshi Emperor took the throne, he served as Superintendent of the Imperial Household, threw his lot in completely with Liu Xuan, and enjoyed great trust. He was also appointed Chancellor. In the spring of this year, he had hastened to Luoyang to repair the ancestral temples and palace buildings and oversee the preparations for moving the capital.

But now, it seemed, moving the capital was out of the question.

While the main strength of the Greenwood Army had been shifted south to rescue the sovereign, the Wei army advanced east, surging with ferocious momentum through the Xiao and Hangu region. The incompetent King of Yingyin could not hold them off and fled east to beg for help. It was fortunate that Liu Ci still had some judgment; he knew that to defend Henan one must first defend Hongnong, and so he drove the king back to set up defenses at Xin'an and Mianchi. Otherwise, the Wei army would have long since arrived before Hangu Pass.

But misfortunes never come singly. Just as Liu Ci was utterly harried, scraping together grain and fodder to ship to Hangu Pass, a scout came rushing in with a report.

"The Wei army has sent a flanking force down the Southern Xiao Road. Yanling Pass was abandoned, and the city of Yiyang has fallen!"

Liu Ci nearly fainted. The arrowheads for the new Hangu Pass all depended on the Yiyang iron office — but that was the least of it. From Yiyang, the Wei army could advance directly east along the Luo River, and Luoyang would face an immediate threat!

Liu Ci did have the will to prop up the collapsing heavens, but his forces were already stretched to the breaking point. Lately, on the Yellow River north of Luoyang, Wei warships had also been appearing in frequent sorties. Luoyang was effectively surrounded on three sides!

"Reinforcements. We can only count on reinforcements from the south."

Liu Ci had no other recourse. He could only draft yet another memorial and send it to Nanyang, in the hope that once the Gengshi Emperor had resolved the Red Eyebrows threat, he would swiftly send Wang Kuang and the others back with their troops. Otherwise…

"Your servant will surely be unable to hold out for long, and Luoyang, I fear, will be lost!"

……

In mid-July, when Liu Ci's plea for reinforcements reached the petty court at Wancheng, Liu Xuan's heart was filled with despair.

"We were counting on moving the capital to Luoyang to escape disaster — who would have thought Luoyang itself would soon be lost?"

For the past month, every piece of news had been dire: the Red Eyebrow Army had finished regrouping in Runan, changed their era name, and were now surging west in ferocious force. Their northern army, a hundred thousand strong, was attacking Yingchuan and had begun besieging Kunyang. Their southern army, also over a hundred thousand, was personally led by Fan Chong, crossing the low, barely defensible foothills of the Funiu Mountains and entering the Nanyang basin!

To the west, Wang Feng, the King of Yicheng, had also sent word that Wei's general Cen Peng was attacking Shangyu and had already taken Shangluo County. Wang Feng's forces were evenly matched with his, and he intended to fight a decisive battle at Shang County — he feared he could not return to rescue the sovereign.

As for Liu Jia, the King of Hanzhong, there was even less to be said. His subordinate Yan Cen had betrayed Han and defected to Shu, letting Gongsun Shu, the King of Shu, lead his great army into Hanzhong. Liu Jia and Jia Fu were trapped in Nanzheng and were still hoping Liu Xuan would come to their rescue!

Only now did Liu Xuan realize that the Greenwood Han, which had seemed the greatest power under heaven just a few months ago, was now beset on all sides — a dead camel that everyone was rushing to carve up.

This mediocre ruler could manage petty tricks like borrowing a sword to kill, but faced with such a complex and desperate crisis, he could only stare blankly and ask his ministers a single question: "What is to be done?"

The court officials were all silent. They too had not expected the Greenwood Han to collapse so quickly. In an age of great contention, it was like rowing a boat against the current — those who did not advance fell back!

In the end, it was Li Tong, the King of Xiping, who stepped forward. He represented the views of the great Nanyang clans. They could never coexist with the Red Eyebrows, and since Liu Xiu refused to return, they could only save themselves.

"Your Majesty, as things stand, since there is nowhere left to retreat, we can only fight the Red Eyebrows to the death!"

The officials from the powerful Nanyang families all shared this stance. Liu Xuan's expression flickered between dark and bright, and in the end, he actually drew his sword and rose, crying out hoarsely: "As long as Wan stands, We stand! When Wan falls, We fall!"

Though his voice trembled slightly, this time, Liu Xuan at last seemed to carry himself like a true sovereign.

But once the ministers had dispersed, Liu Xuan immediately summoned his most trusted Grand Marshal, Zhu Wei — and his attitude changed completely.

Since moving the capital to Luoyang was no longer an option, Liu Xuan now leaned toward another path that the Greenwood chieftains had been secretly discussing among themselves. Yet his version had a bit more promise than their simple, foolish idea of "going back to the mountains and carrying on as bandits."

Liu Xuan murmured to himself: "The Chongling Liu clan originated from Prince Ding of Changsha and was first enfeoffed in Lingling Commandery. It has been nearly two years since We took the throne, yet We have never once gone in person to offer sacrifice to Our ancestors. How unfilial!"

The Greenwood Han still held considerable influence in the south. Qin Feng and Tian Rong controlled Nan Commandery and Jiangxia, while Changsha, Lingling, and the other commanderies in southern Jingzhou each had their own governors and commandants. Though they were de facto independent warlords, in name they still honored Liu Xuan as Emperor — but they certainly would not come to rescue the sovereign.

As things stood, with powerful enemies pressing in from north, west, and east, and the King of Wu, Liu Xiu, in Jiangdong being equally untrustworthy, southern Jingzhou had become the place Liu Xuan hoped to flee to for refuge.

"Last night We had a dream. We dreamt of Prince Ding of Changsha and Marquis Jie of Chongling, telling Us to go to the wilds of Changsha and Cangwu to present offerings and perform sacrifices at the Nine Peaks Mountain."

The House of Han ruled all under heaven by filial piety. Returning to the ancestral home to honor the ancestors — that "filial piety" — might just cover up the reality of being utterly "useless."

"Grand Marshal, make preparations at once. Should Nanyang prove impossible to hold,"

"the House of Han will have to cross south!"

……

PS: Chapter 2 at 23:00.