Chapter 460: Ox Head

Niu Han was indeed "feigning surrender."

He was not truly convinced of his own defeat — he had taken the offensive, routed a detached Wei force, and recovered lost territory.

It was only because his allies were useless that he found himself pinned from north and south, his grain nearly exhausted. General Niu could not bear to see the soldiers under his command throw their lives away for nothing, and with Diwu Lun already through the Long Mountains, holding Xiao Pass any longer would change nothing. Old Niu could thus say with a clear conscience: "It was no fault of the fighting man."

But to expect him to become instantly and utterly loyal to Diwu Lun — that was nonsense. Niu Han believed that as long as the Wei army had not taken Longxi, this war was not over. Longyou could not sustain the supply lines of a large army; Diwu Lun's formidable national strength was hard to convert into real power in this cramped corner. Once things dragged on into winter, the guest army would struggle to hold on and might even be pushed back by a joint Long-Shu counteroffensive.

Niu Han also heard from those who surrendered after him that Wei Ao had not made things difficult for his family, but had settled them properly and was waiting on his mother as if she were his own.

This left Niu Han somewhat ashamed. Since Wei Ao had not been "heartless," he himself could hardly be faithless.

"Better to preserve this still-useful body and see how the situation develops."

Though this was merely a psychological comfort to ease the shame of surrender, a thorn had been planted in Niu Han's heart. He spoke and acted with extreme caution, terrified that his thoughts might be seen through.

But Diwu Lun would not let him sit back and watch the outcome in peace. Instead, he appointed Niu Han "Colonel Protector of the Qiang" — yet gave him not a single soldier, ordering him to follow Wu Han's command!

Niu Han and Wu Han had a grudge, and a deep one at that.

First, when Wu Han personally crossed the line into Longxi, Niu Han had seized the moment while the army was without its commander to launch a counterattack, killing and wounding several hundred men of the Independent Division and retaking Jingyang City.

After that, Wu Han, acting on Diwu Lun's orders, advanced from Tianshui to attack Xiao Pass. Mindful of his enmity with General Wu, Niu Han shut the south gate tight and instead surrendered to Geng Bozhao's force north of Xiao Pass…

This sent Wu Han into a towering rage. He had meant to annihilate Niu Han and wash away his shame — who could have guessed the wretch would turn around and surrender to an allied force!

Had the army supervisor not held him back, he would have stormed Niu Han's camp, surrender be damned, for a proper fight!

Now that Niu Han was accompanying Wu Han on the western campaign, his heart could not help but pound. He had heard plenty about this fierce general's cruelty and love of killing. Would Wu Han find some excuse to do away with him?

On Niu Han's very first day at the encampment, Wu Han actually prepared a banquet and invited him to attend.

"Once the army marches, there will be no more heavy drinking. Before we break camp, let me share a hearty drink with Colonel Protector Niu today."

Niu Han was forced to accept. He had no idea what Wu Han was playing at — they even ate from the same table. For a time he felt as though he were sitting on a mat of needles.

Seeing this, Wu Han grew displeased at once. "I have always heard that General Niu is a man of courage, strength, and talent, one who dominated the frontier. Today you are not on the battlefield, only at the drinking table — why all this coy maidenly posturing?"

Stung by these words, Niu Han threw caution to the wind. He drank the wine, gnawed the meat, and traded cups with Wu Han.

Wu Han said, "That's more like it. I have always admired the people of Liang Province, especially the women of Longyou — truly fierce and unyielding. I had a few worthless subordinates who ignored military orders and tried to force themselves on them. Guess what happened? Moments after they entered the house, their bellies were slit open, their guts spilling across the floor."

As he spoke, he pushed the roasted, golden-brown horse-intestine sausage toward Niu Han, urging him to try some.

These words shamed Niu Han, who prided himself as the finest of Longyou's sons. Had he fallen short of a mere woman, willingly becoming a concubine to the Wei Emperor? Yet he secretly consoled himself: "I am only feigning surrender…"

Just then, Wu Han suddenly spoke again — and nearly scared Niu Han to death.

"If only Ruqing were still in the Long army! How fine that would be!"

Niu Han stopped eating, raised his head, and eyed Wu Han warily. He had said Wu Han was not like the rumors — could it be that Diwu Lun had given him instructions, that this was a probe? He merely replied, "Why does the General say this?"

Wu Han laughed loudly. "Back at Haoshui River in Anding Commandery, Ruqing's troops advanced recklessly and I routed them, taking over a thousand heads."

"Later, when I was away from the main camp and my subordinates proved incompetent, Ruqing launched a surprise raid and seized Jingyang City, inflicting several hundred casualties."

"Each army had its victories and defeats, but Ruqing and I have never faced each other rampart to rampart, formation to formation, in a proper fight."

"It is only a pity that the General saw which way the wind was blowing and surrendered so quickly — now there will never be another chance."

Wu Han's tone suddenly hardened. "But why did Ruqing not surrender to me, and instead surrendered to the Bing Province troops? Does he look down on Wu Han?"

Niu Han stammered, at a loss for an answer. At that moment, the cook brought out a large, steaming chopping board, and upon it lay an entire ox head, boiled to tender perfection!

"A fine ox head!"

Wu Han held it steady with his knife while gripping an ox ear with his other hand, carving the meat with deliberate ease. At the same time, he narrowed his eyes and studied Niu Han's own head. "Campaigning far from home does have its perks. Otherwise, how would a plow ox that normally cannot be slaughtered ever end up in our mouths?"

Niu Han, an eight-chi hero, felt the hairs on his arms stand on end at the murderous intent in Wu Han's words!

"Ah, yes — where was I? I truly do wish that Ruqing and I could each serve our own master and fight one more battle! What does Ruqing think?"

Niu Han could only stare at the small carving knife before him. If he seized it and lunged forward, he might take Wu Han down with him — but he made no move, only bowed his head to Wu Han and begged forgiveness.

"The General jests." Niu Han laughed awkwardly. "This humble officer is already a subject of Wei."

"I and Wei Ao were once friends, but Wei Jijiang's actions have disappointed people time and again. It was Wei who was faithless first. The sons of Longyou cannot all follow Wei Ao to total destruction, ending up worse off than at the end of the Han — someone must lead them, seek a path to survival. I am willing to be that man, to pledge loyalty to His Majesty, and to preserve some blood and bone for Longyou."

Compared to his earlier evasions, now that he spoke these words, Niu Han himself no longer knew whether they were true or false.

"It had better be so!"

Wu Han took another swig of wine, frowned, and cursed at his attendant. "Why does this water have no taste?"

He slammed the table. "That's it! Without a satisfying, bitter battle to accompany the wine, nothing you drink has any kick!"

The feast ended. Wu Han rose to his feet — for all his capacity for drink, he showed not the slightest hint of drunkenness. He merely smiled and said, "Ruqing, remember: you owe me a fight. Once we reach Jincheng, you had better win over the Qiang chieftains properly. When we strike at Longxi, help me destroy Wei Ao — only then will the debt be settled!"

Niu Han acknowledged the order. Only after returning to his quarters did the lingering terror set in. Wu Han had put him in his place — with one round of wine and one board of meat, he had made everything crystal clear.

As things stood now, the moment he showed the slightest crack, Wu Han would not hesitate for an instant to finish him off!

Niu Han knew this journey would not be easy. He had best cooperate obediently; otherwise, Old Niu's head would be sent back by Wu Han for Diwu Lun to inspect. He could only sigh to himself:

"So be it. For now, I must put on the appearance of a genuine surrender! Deceive Wu Han first, then we shall see."

……

There was another person with a minor grudge against Wu Han, one who seized every chance to stir up trouble for him — none other than Zhang Yu, the Embroidered Robe Commandant, who had rendered great service in intelligence and rumor-mongering.

After Wu Han led his army out on campaign, Zhang Yu returned to Chengji. Upon hearing of this matter, he was greatly alarmed and sought an audience with Diwu Lun. After reporting on the pacification of the various Di tribes in Tianshui, he brought the matter up:

"Wu Han is narrow-minded, arrogant, and hard to control. He already harbored deep hatred for Niu Han, yet Your Majesty has sent Niu Han along with the army. This subject fears…"

"You fear that at the first cross word, he'll butcher Old Niu?"

Diwu Lun laughed. "Wu Han may seem rash, but in truth he has cunning and understands the bigger picture…"

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After the battle of the Long Mountains, Diwu Lun had thoroughly grasped Wu Han's temperament. When the man was playing second fiddle or had to coordinate with others, he always kicked up his heels.

But if you stroked this fiery horse's mane, went along with his wishes, and let Wu Han take full command of a front — then his intelligence would once again seize the high ground!

In short, he was suited to operating independently, a first-rate hammer for tough nuts.

This kind of man was exactly the right one to send to Jincheng, to open up a "second front" in Longyou!

While wargaming scenarios with Wan Xiu and the others, Diwu Lun had remarked: "Wei Ao is timid. Even though he has received Shu reinforcements and, together with his remaining forces, still has over thirty thousand men, our army has deliberately left several openings around Tianshui, yet Wei Ao dares not march north to recover lost territory. He is dead set on dragging this out until winter!"

Once winter sets in, the grain shipments from Guanzhong to Longyou will be cut off entirely, making things even harder for an expeditionary army.

Since luring the enemy out has failed, if he does not want to withdraw from Longyou in frustration after winter, then only one path lies before Diwu Lun: attack! End the war before the twelfth month!

"Longxi commands the natural defenses of the upper Wei River's mountains and gorges. Longxi's terrain is even more mountainous than Tianshui's; even if we commit all our forces to the front line, we cannot deploy them fully, and it will be difficult to break in."

This godforsaken place — poor and mountainous. Fighting a war here is damnably hard.

In that case, it would be better to dispatch a detached force to bypass these mountain defiles and cut in from the flank!

On the specially made terrain map, the situation was clear at a glance: Jincheng Commandery is the area of later-dynasty Lanzhou in Gansu and Xining in Qinghai, its main body the He-Huang Valley. This commandery uses the river as its rampart, lies between the Rong barbarians and the Xia heartland, and occupies a choke-point position.

The reason Diwu Lun had Niu Han assist Wu Han was that this fellow Niu was a great magnate of Didao in Longxi, had also held office in Jincheng Commandery, and was quite familiar with the local Qiang and Lesser Yuezhi peoples. He was not asking these barbarian chieftains for help — only that they refrain from continuing to cause trouble at Wei Ao's side.

"While the main force forces a crossing of the Wei River and attacks Longxi from the front, a pincer from both sides — only then can we seal Wei Ao's fate!"

It was now mid-September of the first year of Wude. Diwu Lun gave Wu Han a month and a half to circle around, build up strength, and strike.

"The decisive battle will be in the first ten days of the eleventh month!"

……

In the first few days after Diwu Lun appointed him General at Long Mountain, Wu Han grumbled privately that his title was General of Valiant Cavalry, but he was really a "General of Strange Roads."

Why was that?

"Because I have no horses!"

After seizing Tianshui, Diwu Lun allocated a batch of captured horses to Wu Han, allowing a little under half his men to ride in rotation. Since their speed was not slow, on the seventh day of the march, the Independent Division at last saw the Yellow River.

The great river twisted and wound, flowing between arid mountain ranges. Yuzhong County (present-day Lanzhou) lay in a long, narrow river valley, its northern wall built along the river.

And when Wu Han turned around, he saw that outside the southern wall at his back there was also a huge mountain, blocking the sky.

"That is Gaolan Mountain."

Niu Han, who often traveled through Jincheng, told Wu Han: "General of Valiant Cavalry, in the second year of Yuanshou under Emperor Xiaowu of the Former Han, Huo Qubing led over ten thousand horsemen out of Lintao, traveling west from Longxi to Gaolan Mountain, and fought the Xiongnu fiercely here."

"Huo the Swift Cavalry General took the exact opposite route from the one we must follow." Wu Han nodded. Gaolan Mountain was the southeastern shield of Jincheng Commandery, stretching for over twenty li along the Yellow River's southern bank, shaped like a coiling dragon, tall and thick, winding like outstretched wings. It was now late September, and Gaolan Mountain was bleak and desolate.

But once they rounded this mountain, they could follow the Tao River along the great valley road that Huo Qubing had taken on his expedition, and thrust straight into Longxi!

Yet before them lay not only the Longxi army stubbornly holding Jincheng County, but also countless Qiang tribes, large and small, all along the route. As Wu Han marched through the river valley, Qiang warriors on their short but sturdy He-Huang horses stood atop the towering mountains, watching in secret, their eyes full of hostility toward the outsiders.

"General of Valiant Cavalry." Niu Han's scalp itched again. He deliberately questioned Wu Han, wanting to know how this rough, unlettered, reckless general would handle such a complex relationship.

"With the Qiang tribes, do we pay gold to buy passage? Or fight our way through?"

……

PS: Second chapter in the middle of the night.