Chapter 450: Stretched to the Breaking Point

Reality proved that Wan Xiu, single-mindedly heading north to Jieting, had indeed overestimated his own mobility and underestimated the "martial virtue" of the Longyou people.

First, Yang Guang, the Western Han "Imperial Counselor" defending Shanggui, reacted swiftly. The very day he received the urgent report from Mianzhu Circuit, he mobilized all the troops of the Longxi Yang clan onto the city walls to prepare its defense.

But what he did not expect was that this Wei army deliberately bypassed Shanggui, which was right under their noses, forsaking the near for the far and driving northward!

Yet the post riders had already spread word of the Wei army's raid into Longyou to every county. Whether city or village, all barred their gates tightly, and the Wei army's foraging along the way met fierce retaliation from the Longyou people. This land had always pressed close to the Rong and Di barbarians; the people practiced military readiness, esteemed physical strength, and took archery and hunting as foremost pursuits. Though the able-bodied men had all been conscripted by Wei Ao, even white-haired elders, children shorter than a spear shaft, and even rough, fierce women could, in the mountain valleys and village lanes they knew so well, use their bows to inflict sudden losses on this isolated, deep-striking Wei army.

Foraging squads frequently went missing, and on top of the soldiers' exhaustion, at least the factor of "popular support" was not on the Wei army's side. They advanced only twenty li in a day, the road ahead was bleak, and new intelligence extracted from a captured Longyou junior officer forced Wan Xiu to abandon his earlier plan.

The Long army had not staked all its troops on the Long Slope either; its main force was likewise concentrated at the mountain's foot. It was just that the western slope of Mount Long, due to its altitude, was gentler than the eastern slope, making troop rotations and grain transport somewhat easier for them than for the Wei army.

"Wei Ao himself, with the reserve force, is encamped at Lüeyang?"

Had young Geng or Wu Han heard such words, they would surely have fought with even greater ferocity, charging straight in recklessly to capture the leader and thus the bandits.

But though Wan Xiu possessed a knight-errant's courage, he always hesitated before great undertakings, calculating whether they could be done. Otherwise, back in the day when ordered to assassinate, his arrows would have flown straight at Diwu Lun's head, and he would not have needed to circle the carriage playing cat and mouse.

He turned to look at his weary soldiers; the stragglers grew ever more numerous. After entering Longyou, advancing had become even harder than in the Wei River defile.

If he were defeated and destroyed, the seed that had, with such difficulty, introduced a variable into this war would also perish.

Wan Xiu fell into a bitter internal struggle. Such was the life of a general: a single thought's deviation meant the lives of thousands of troops and horses, the rise or fall of a sovereign state.

Wan Junyou wanted to achieve merit in this war, but he would always consider the overall situation first. Wan Xiu had not forgotten the purpose for which he had volunteered: to help His Majesty the Emperor win the war, not to steal all the glory himself.

Gritting his teeth, Wan Xiu made his decision: "Turn around. Take the plundered grain and immediately withdraw to Mianzhu Circuit."

It was fortunate that Wan Xiu had left several hundred wounded soldiers there, and that Yang Guang of Longxi, out of caution and unclear on the Wei army's numbers, suspected a ruse and dared not retake the town. This hesitation saved Wan Xiu from being caught between advance and retreat, his entire army annihilated.

"That being the case, we can only rely on Mianzhu Circuit, pretending our rear's main army is endless, to draw Wei Ao into sending reinforcements."

But having already returned in frustration and revealed weakness, how was Wan Xiu to make Longyou believe this?

Wan Xiu was quite troubled, but could not help recalling the Emperor's instructions when bestowing the battle-axe before departure.

At that time, Diwu Lun had spoken thus: "Junyou, though you hack through thorns and brambles for me, Longyou has many hard stones; you must not rashly strike at them, lest you damage the axe's blade. I would rather this campaign drag on than see the General suffer any loss."

"Therefore, after the main army exits the defile, if the northern advance goes poorly, it is better to fall back to Mianzhu Circuit, and there to act in such and such a manner…"

Wan Xiu then ordered his subordinates: "Send out soldiers in different directions to forage for grain on a grand scale, and spread word that His Majesty the Emperor, leading tens of thousands of troops, will arrive in person within days and requires ten thousand dan of grain requisitioned."

This was indeed very much in keeping with Diwu Lun's style as a "strategist of military power": when strength was sufficient, roll over the enemy; when insufficient, supplement it mostly with cunning and stratagems.

Though limited strength made a true "blossoming from the center" impossible, they would use deception and smoke and mirrors to create the posture of blossoming from the center! With Longyou's rear suddenly raided, its ruler and ministers were like startled birds; this was the perfect moment to fish in troubled waters.

Yes, he must package this desperate, all-or-nothing gamble as the vanguard of Diwu Lun's advance, steady as an old dog, and make Wei Ao believe they were not a solitary wild goose.

But the first wave of a surging tide!

…

"Diwu Lun sent a surprise force via the Wei River to raid my rear?"

At the same time, when Wei Ao, who was in Lüeyang to conveniently oversee the defense of every pass, learned of this, he was indeed greatly alarmed and lost his color!

"The Wei River is all gorges and deep ravines, nearly impassable for bird or beast. Could the Wei army have flown over!?"

What urgently needed judging now was: was this an isolated force, or the vanguard of a large host?

If the former, relying on Yang Guang, who guarded Longxi, and the local magnates would be enough to resist.

But if the latter, then Wei Ao would have to tear down the east wall to mend the west, dispatching the reserve troops originally meant for the Long Slope and Xiao Pass.

By all reason, even if a Wei army had come through, it could only be a paltry two or three thousand. The Wei River defile was truly too difficult; tens of thousands was absolutely impossible!

Yet there was always a one-in-a-million chance. Wei Ao remembered that Diwu Lun was cunning and full of wiles, his brilliant stratagems emerging in endless succession.

Moreover, the officers fighting on the Long Slope front had found individual rations on the bodies of slain Wei soldiers and sent them for Wei Ao to inspect.

Wei Ao tasted a mouthful of the fried flour and frowned. To the Grand General, accustomed to comfort and luxury, this stuff was truly far too unpalatable.

"But it fills the belly."

A colonel from the front told Wei Ao with vivid conviction: "It is said that a few mouthfuls can sustain one for a meal. Word throughout the army is that relying on this substance, the Wei soldiers carry no grain yet the three armies do not go hungry."

In their eyes, this could never be ordinary wheat flour; it must be mixed with something unspeakable. The Longyou troops were all spreading rumors that Diwu Lun had taken the "Court of Rationality" from Wang Mang's era and packed them wholesale into his own Privy Treasury, which was how he had acquired such strange and wondrous equipment.

Wei Ao, who had held no small office under Wang Mang, certainly remembered these eccentrics: some claimed that without carrying grain, by ingesting medicines, the three armies would not hunger; some claimed they could cross water without boats, linking horses and riders to ferry a million troops; some claimed they could fly, a thousand li in a day, to spy on the Xiongnu.

At least that last one was true. The "bird-men" of Wang Mang's time, having proved useless in both the Xiongnu campaigns and the Battle of Kunyang, had drifted among the common folk and eventually returned to Chang'an, hoping to beg a meal from Diwu Lun. Who would have thought that Diwu Lun, usually not superstitious, actually believed their nonsense! He funded this early human flight experiment with gold ingots from the treasury, a matter quite famous and even known in Longyou.

What if the other types existed too? This might just be the reason the Wei army could cross the Wei River defile!

Diwu Lun had once said that Longyou was a thorn in his back, and now, Wan Xiu had become a sharp needle pressed against Wei Ao's kidney, and who knew if it would extend further and further, finally turning into a deadly sharp sword!

After a day's delay, the incoming reports multiplied. The Longxi side swore with certainty that this was the vanguard of the Wei army's main host! Their manner was quite arrogant, foraging everywhere in preparation for the main force's arrival, and it was even said that Diwu Lun was leading the campaign in person!

After much hesitation, Wei Ao, on the map, picked up a troop tally representing a full five thousand men, one-eighth of Longyou's total strength! It had originally been meant to send north to support Niu Han and block the Wei northern army; now he had no choice but to move it in the opposite direction.

"Dispatch five thousand troops south to join Yang Guang in intercepting and blocking this Wei army."

Wei Ao was now like a shepherd standing in a sheepfold, staring in terror at every hole, from which poked drooling wolf snouts, baring sharp fangs! It made him tremble, and he even somewhat regretted insisting on provoking the Wei.

But now that things had come to this, even to sue for peace, he must first drive those wolf snouts back before he had the standing to negotiate terms!

Wei Ao sighed deeply to himself: "I only hope that mending the fold after the sheep are lost is not yet too late!"

…

"The Wei army came upstream and raided our rear, and the five thousand troops promised for Xiao Pass have gone south?"

Niu Han, defending Gaoping's First Fortress, was equally horrified upon hearing this news.

Such is the lot of the weak: even if the rear has not yet rotted into feasting, the front line is strained at every moment, and deploying troops leaves one stretched to the breaking point — after receiving Wei Ao's support, Longxi's lower hem was barely covered, but Niu Han's northern defense line had become a bare, exposed elbow!

And beyond Xiao Pass, the two mad dogs, Geng and Wu, one on the left and one on the right, kept savaging this tantalizing arm, biting relentlessly until it bled freely and was covered with scars. Within a single month, Niu Han had lost over a thousand of his men.

But Niu Han, having learned his lesson from the defeat by Wu Han at Qianshuiyuan, clung solely to defense and avoided battle, keeping his cavalry sealed within Xiao Pass and refusing to let them out.

If he fell for the Wei army's ploy and fought a decisive battle, once defeated, the entire Xiao Pass would be thrown wide open, and this war would end ahead of schedule.

Was there truly no chance at all to turn the situation around?

Not entirely. On this day, the haggard and harried General Niu Han received a request for an audience from a "Great Han envoy" who had come by a long detour from the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Which Han?

The visitor's half-Han, half-Hu attire made it clear at a glance: it was naturally Lu Fang's Hu Han!

It turned out that last year, Lu Fang had led the Xiongnu south, intending to seize New Qinzhong, but they were defeated by the Fuping army and people together with the Bing Province cavalry. The Left Guli King fled back in disarray; over ten thousand Hu and Han perished, a severe blow that cut to the bone.

But although Lu Fang's strength was lacking, his ambition remained undiminished. Lately, hearing that Wei and Long had taken up arms against each other, he could not help but be overjoyed.

Over the past two years, the Hu-Han and the self-styled orthodox Former Han, the "Western Han," had likewise been in a state of hostility. Lu Fang had even "gifted" Hexi, which Wei Ao also cared about deeply, to the Xiongnu Chanyu.

But now the situation had changed. Lu Fang believed the two sides should first join forces to deal with Diwu Lun.

"When the time comes, Longyou will repel the Wei invaders and then seize Beidi, while my lord takes New Qinzhong. The two Han will divide Bing Province between them. Would that not be—"

The words "splendid" had not yet left his mouth when Niu Han's face darkened and he waved a hand: "Drag him away and kill him!"

As the envoy cried out at the injustice, Niu Han laughed: "With Rong, Di, and Hu brigands, there is no need to observe the Huaxia code that envoys are not to be executed!"

Niu Han possessed valor, strength, and talent, and dominated the frontier. He was a great magnate of Longyou, and it was true that he served Wei Ao, but he also had the pride of a son of a good family! He remembered the heroic fervor of his ancestors, who had countless times followed generals like Huo the Cavalry General and Zhao Chongguo beyond the frontier to strike the Hu, and he bore a blood-deep hatred for the Xiongnu — recruiting the dependent-state Qiang and Hu cavalry within the borders to use as dogs was entirely different from colluding with Lu Fang to pincer the State of Wei.

"I have heard that before Liu Bosheng died, he spoke a line: 'Better to give to the family thief than to the state enemy.'"

"Then Old Niu will also say a line."

Niu Han's words fell with the weight of stone: "Longyou and Wei are enemy states, but after all, this is a civil war among Huaxia, like the affairs of the Seven Warring States."

"Even if we are defeated, for these thousand li of mountains and rivers, we would rather give them to an enemy state than to the Hu curs!"

……

Niu Han indeed possessed something of a good family son's integrity, but his lord could not remain so composed. Wei Ao listened anxiously to the reports coming from every direction.

"Wu Han has already taken Jingyang, and Geng Boye has also seized Chaona. Only Gaoping First Fortress and Xiao Pass are barely holding on! General Niu requests reinforcements!"

"The Wei army at Chencang has again launched fierce attacks on the Long Slopes. The front lines are suffering considerable attrition and urgently need support."

"Lord Yang led the magnates of Longxi and five thousand reinforcements to strike Mianzhu Circuit, but was repelled by Wan Xiu. The situation is unfavorable. He also reports that troops are continuously arriving at his rear, and he hopes the General can send more soldiers."

Wei Ao flew into a towering rage: "This one asks for reinforcements, that one asks for reinforcements. I, Longyou, have only prepared a single table of food, yet three batches of uninvited guests have arrived. How can this banquet be served?"

In his agitation, Wei Ao finally became certain: this war could absolutely not be fought to the end relying on Longyou alone.

"Send a man at once to Longxi to inform Yang Guang."

Wei Ao, who had always wished to be an independent feudal lord, content with carving out a corner of the realm, finally bowed his head to reality.

"Open the Qishan Road, invite Emperor Gongsun's Shu troops into Long, and first strike to annihilate Wan Xiu's division!"

……

PS: The second chapter will be in the middle of the night.