Chapter 401: A King's Enterprise Cannot Rest in a Corner

The freshly minted Emperor of Liang-Han, Liu Yong, had no chance to tip the scales between the Wu King, Liu Xiu, and the Prince of Huainan, Li Xian. In the seventh and eighth months, the two southeastern powers inevitably went to war.

After seizing Danyang, Liu Xiu used Li Xian's refusal to obey the Wancheng court as a pretext, dispatching Deng Yu with a scratch force of four thousand Danyang troops to advance west from Danyang and strike Pengli Marsh, making a show of reclaiming Yuzhang and restoring contact with the Greenwood Army.

Deng Yu soon found himself facing the Prince of Huainan's main army. Outnumbered, he was routed all the way, pursued until he could only flee by boat across the length of Pengli Marsh.

Meanwhile, Feng Yi was spreading boat-forts all along the Jiangdong coast. Leading local magnate forces unwilling to fight hard battles, he feigned an intent to strike Li Xian's capital, Lujiang, once again diverting Huainan's troops.

As for Liu Xiu himself, he made a feint to the west and struck east. Leading eight thousand men and over a hundred vessels of all sizes he had gathered, he left the reed marshes that had served as cover and crossed the Great River from Wuhu against the northwest wind.

Waging war in the Jianghuai region differs from the north. Because rivers and streams crisscross the land, and countless lakes and marshes remain from the flood season, cavalry is highly inconvenient. For any movement north or south, boats are absolutely indispensable.

"This is also why, to aim for Huainan, one must first secure Danyang and win over the bandit gangs," Zhu You now understood why Liu Xiu had insisted on venturing into the river pirates' camp, baring his heart to win their allegiance. Without these skilled boatmen, how could visitors from Nanyang like them possibly fight Huainan's fleet?

But although the Danyang troops and river pirates had been won over by Liu Xiu and no longer stirred up trouble every day, there was still a great distance to go before they could be driven into battle. It was Ma Cheng, the Anji Official under the Wu King, who proposed an idea.

"Better to recruit them as Desperado Troops. Lay out the benefits clearly: on this campaign into Huainan, when we attack commanderies and counties, any who refuse to surrender shall be left to them to plunder. Men covet wealth and goods; thus soldiers can be summoned and brought here!"

This Ma Cheng was also a Nanyang man, a county clerk by origin who had joined the Greenwood Army. Liu Xuan had sent him to serve as an official in Yuzhang, but when Huainan attacked Yuzhang, he fled to Danyang and defected. This man acted with considerable ruthlessness, and as soon as he arrived, he offered up such a stratagem.

At the time, however, it was vehemently opposed by Zhu You and others of Imperial Academy background under Liu Xiu's command, who believed it would ruin military discipline.

It was Fu Jun, a former Precinct Chief who had once specialized in catching criminals, who spoke an honest truth: "You talk as if our military discipline is any good right now, borrowing troops from local magnates to fight. The only difference is that they plunder in secret, and the looted wealth and captives still end up with the clans of Kuaiji. Setting clear rules now is actually better. Though it's hard to starve in Jiangdong, the land is vast and the population scattered, making soldiers difficult to conscript. Only this way can we get men to fight for their lives."

Liu Xiu ultimately approved this proposal. Now the boats were filled with "Desperado Troops," rubbing their fists and eager to go on a grand looting spree in the wealthy Huainan.

As the oar blades rose and fell in neat unison, Liu Xiu gripped the railing and gazed toward the distant land.

They had already drawn near the north bank of the Great River and were slowly rounding a wooded headland, carefully avoiding cliffs thick with pines. Not far ahead lay the mouth of a broad tributary.

According to the river pirates, this place was called Ruxu Mouth. Here the river current became quite broad and full of gorges, according to the old boatmen's experience. Broad waters meant calm waves, and many gorges meant no threat of great winds; it was a natural anchorage. In the past, when river pirates crossed to plunder Huainan, they all crossed the river from here, thus avoiding the perils of the Seven Rocks and Three Mountains on either bank.

Feng Yi had drawn the Huainan fleet elsewhere, but Ruxu Mouth was still defended by Huainan troops, though no more than a thousand, who were easily routed by the Danyang soldiers. Once they entered Ruxu Mouth, they were in enemy territory. To display his confidence, Liu Xiu stood nonchalantly at the prow, discussing with Zhu You why this commandery was called "Jiujiang."

"The 'Yu Gong' says: 'The Jiujiang is broad and ample; eastward it forms Pengli.' The so-called Jiujiang refers to when the Great River flows into Pengli Marsh. Because the terrain is low and marshy, the current disperses, forming several branching waterways, given the figurative number nine."

"In Qin times, Jiujiang was originally a vast commandery straddling both banks of the Great River. After the Han was founded, its southern part was split off as Yuzhang, and the name Jiujiang was inherited by the former commandery seat, Shouchun, and thus continued in use…"

Hence this name that did not match reality. Come to think of it, when Wang Mang was in power, that name-changing maniac renamed Jiujiang to Yanping and Yuzhang to Jiujiang — a rare solitary instance where the name actually matched reality.

"The essence of this commandery lies in Shouchun City on the Huai River, a true metropolis between the Jiang and Huai. Yet Your Majesty has no interest in it, and instead follows Ruxu Mouth to raid Hefei, this little backwater."

This was what Zhu You could not quite understand, but Liu Xiu had his own calculations.

"Shouchun is a great city, heavily garrisoned and fortified, with dense city walls. A direct assault would be disadvantageous."

"But this Hefei City, though only a small county with weak defenses, is absolutely critical!"

After leaving the Ruxu River, they entered another area where the river pirates operated: Lake Chao. From Lake Chao, continuing north entirely by water, passing Xiaoyao Crossing, they could reach the walls of Hefei City!

The Huainan troops at Hefei never imagined their wretched post would draw an attack from the Wu King's main army. After a hasty half-day battle, the County Magistrate surrendered. According to the rule that "those who surrender shall not be plundered," the Desperado Troops grudgingly spared this county and went off to loot the neighboring towns.

There were few noteworthy wars in the south, and the main battlefields of the Wu-Chu contention in the Spring and Autumn period were not here either. Military texts rarely mentioned the strategic terrain of this region; they had to figure it out entirely on their own. While in Jiangdong, by repeatedly consulting maps and routes and conversing with many people, Liu Xiu and Deng Yu had keenly recognized Hefei's importance.

"The center of the three Huainan commanderies is not Shouchun, not Lujiang, and certainly not the Six Counties — it is this place! Hefei is the hub where the water and land routes of Huainan converge, lying at the strategic throat between the Jiang and Huai. It absolutely cannot be dealt with slowly!"

Now that the Wu army had seized Hefei, it was like a sharp spear thrust into the Prince of Huainan's heart!

Liu Xiu laughed: "The autumn harvest is here, the rice paddies are golden. Now that I hold Hefei, the granary of Huainan, Shouchun's grain cannot be transported south. And if Li Xian gathers his main army to counterattack at Hefei, that suits my purpose perfectly!"

Liu Xiu was never afraid of fighting a major battle. He had the confidence that victory could resolve many problems in one stroke.

"And if Li Xian comes north, Feng Yi can strike his rear. Though the Prince of Huainan has many troops, this time he will be caught in a pincer!"

Yet just as Liu Xiu was ordering his men to plunder grain and fodder from the surrounding counties, preparing to wait at ease for the exhausted enemy, Ma Cheng dragged in the local County Magistrate and came to report a major piece of news.

"We hear that over a month ago, Nanyang fell to the Red Eyebrows, and the Gengshi Emperor abandoned the city and fled!"

Their homeland was lost? The men were greatly alarmed. Many of them were Nanyang natives, with their families still in their home region, and for a moment their hearts were thrown into turmoil.

It was fortunate that Liu Xiu comforted them: "Gentlemen, even if Nanyang is in chaos, my brother-in-law Deng Chen and my wife's brother Ma Wu will surely keep your families safe!"

To make care easier, after settling in Jiangdong, Liu Xiu had written back, instructing that the families of his subordinate generals be gathered to live in Huyang County in Nanyang, under the care of Ma Wu and his maternal grandfather's family, the Fan clan. The Fan clan was a large, established house; even if Liu Xuan fell, the Fan family fortress would not necessarily be lost.

Only then did the men feel slightly reassured. Thinking it over carefully, the fall of Gengshi was not bad news; it meant the Wu King could become fully independent. But the good news came at an awkward time. They were campaigning against Li Xian under the Gengshi banner, and on the eve of a decisive battle, if this matter spread, it would surely throw the army's morale into chaos!

The news could not be concealed. After pondering, Liu Xiu decided to use a lie to cover the truth.

"Say this: the Gengshi Emperor may have already passed away. He left a posthumous edict, appointing me, the Wu King, to take full charge of state affairs, in order to plan the restoration!"

Liu Xiu's resolve to win this war, take all of Yang Province, and then find a way to march north into the Central Plains grew even firmer. Liu Xiu had the ambition of a true king and had never wanted to settle for a corner of the realm!

He raised his head, gazing at the heavens with a sigh.

"Liu Xuan has failed the Han."

"The Great Han can only rely on me now!"

……

The Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan, who had been "made to pass away," was heading in the exact opposite direction from Liu Xiu, who crossed the Yangtze northward, determined to fight his way back to the Central Plains. He fled south at full speed.

After being coldly received in Anlu County, Liu Xuan found no welcome anywhere he went. Fortunately, upon reaching the seat of Jiangxia Commandery, the local Governor was still hesitating between the King of Chuli to the west and the Prince of Huainan to the east, and reluctantly provided Liu Xuan with a batch of boats, allowing the few thousand men he had left to cross the river in succession and reach the E region.

"E" means crocodile. On the river islets, many crocodiles lay basking in the sun with their great mouths agape. Those who capsized and fell into the water often became fine meals in their bellies.

But upon stepping onto the south bank and looking back at the broad Great River, the down-and-out emperor fleeing south, Liu Xuan, felt an illusory sense of safety.

"Burn all the boats! Not a single plank is to remain!"

Liu Xuan issued this order, cutting off any thoughts of home and return north among his soldiers and officials, feeling that all was now well.

"With this as a boundary, even if the Red Eyebrows want to cross, they cannot."

He, Liu Xuan, had never wanted to be emperor in the first place. He had been forced onto the throne by the Greenwood men. Over the past year and a half, cruel circumstances had taught Liu Xuan one reality: his courtesy name was Shenggong, but he was destined to be a mediocre ruler, incapable of becoming a sage king.

Let the north bank of the Yangtze be left to the ambitious men from all sides to slaughter each other. He, Liu Xuan, only wanted to return to Changsha, the old home of the Chongling Marquess line, and enjoy his remaining years in peace!

Liu Xuan was very good at consoling himself. On the journey south, he compared himself to Wang Mang's southern flight and found relief in his heart.

Now, having reached the south, he thought of another ill-fated "emperor": the Righteous Emperor, King Huai of Chu.

"The Righteous Emperor was once the common sovereign of all under heaven, but after Qin was destroyed, he was sidelined by Xiang Yu, relocated to Jiangnan, and assassinated in the river by Xiang Yu's trusted men. How tragic."

Liu Xuan comforted himself: "Fortunately, in my early years, I used Diwu Lun's hand to eliminate Liu Bosheng. Otherwise, that man might have become a hegemon like Xiang Yu one day, to my detriment."

Borrowing a sword to kill a man — this was truly the one deed most worthy of praise since Liu Xuan had taken the imperial title.

Thus, he was just like the "Righteous Emperor" who voluntarily went south, seeking only to settle his imperial enterprise in a corner of Jingnan.

His ancestors had managed perfectly well with just a tiny Changsha kingdom, so Liu Xuan's demands were modest: the four commanderies of southern Jing, plus the copper mines of E, would be enough to support one man's extravagance. In the south he could also eat all sorts of rare birds and beasts unheard of in the north — like those crocodiles basking on the riverbanks. He had heard that alligator stew was delicious, and if he could later bring Jiaozhou to heel, he might even get to eat fresh lychees.

Liu Xuan licked his lips, settled on the next day's menu, and then swiftly reassigned new royal titles to the last two Greenwood chieftains who had followed him south: Chen Mu was enfeoffed as the King of E, stationed in E to guard against any other forces pushing south.

Zhu Wei was enfeoffed as the King of Guiling, and led several thousand men south to Changsha, with orders that the various commandery governors of southern Jing — who were de facto independent warlords — hand over their authority in exchange for a royal title.

The Greenwood soldiers, who had been fleeing in disarray from the Red Eyebrows, now recovered their spirit. As if recalling the glory of Kunyang and the invincibility with which Greenwood had swept the Central Plains, they marched south with heads held high.

This confidence sprang from the deep-rooted north-south prejudice of the age. In those days, the four commanderies of southern Jing combined could not match the great commandery of Nanyang. They were sparsely populated, short on troops, and even their inhabitants were a head shorter — a result, Liu Xuan believed, of eating too much rice. That was why the Chongling clan, when they had been marquises in the south, had never touched rice, eating only fine millet shipped down from the north.

Regional prejudice was of course a bad thing, but this was exactly how the Greenwood remnant felt, fresh from their defeat and flight in the Central Plains' cauldron of carnage: here they could slaughter in all directions, and a few thousand men would be enough to rampage unchecked.

"Can't beat the Red Eyebrows."

"But we can't beat you southern Chu folk?"