Chapter 465: The Water Here Runs Deep

In truth, Jia Fu's surrender to Shu was also a feigned surrender.

It is called feigned because his submission was made under duress.

In former days, Jia Fu rebelled against Xin in Nanyang as a bandit. He was recruited by Liu Bosheng and joined the Greenwood western expedition army. When they seized Hanzhong, he proved exceptionally valiant and earned considerable merit. Later, when Liu Bosheng entered Guanzhong, Jia Fu remained behind to serve under the King of Hanzhong, Liu Jia.

But after Liu Bosheng perished on the Wei River, Jia Fu became utterly disillusioned with the Greenwood. He believed Liu Xuan was incompetent, the feudal lords ran rampant, and collapse was only a matter of time. He even urged Liu Jia to declare independence.

But the King of Hanzhong lacked the nerve for that. He clung to his small commandery, merely getting by day to day. He regretted only that Jia Fu's talents could not be put to use under his command, so he wrote a letter intending to recommend Jia Fu to the King of Wu, Liu Xiu, in the southeast, urging him to seek his fortune elsewhere…

But before Jia Fu could depart, the Shu army attacked Hanzhong via the Jinniu Road, and Liu Jia could not hold his own. Jia Fu, a man of honor and loyalty, could not bear to abandon him, so he stayed to defend Yangping Pass, holding back the Shu army for a full half year. Unfortunately, a turncoat within Hanzhong cut off their rear line. Liu Jia then surrendered, and Jia Fu, left with no choice, submitted to Shu along with him.

Gongsun Shu put on an excellent show of courtesy, honoring the worthy and humbling himself before scholars. He enfeoffed Jia Fu as a marquis and treated his old master Liu Jia well enough. With Green Han all but dead and the "Wu Han" in the southeast cut off and unreachable, its situation unknown, Jia Fu entertained the thought of "staying to see how things go." Under orders, he led his old troops and garrisoned the remote Wudu Commandery.

But now, he somewhat regretted it.

Gongsun Shu appeared to cherish talent but could not employ men properly. He sent his younger brother as the commander-in-chief to relieve Longxi. That man, Gongsun Hui, understood little else but loved to meddle with the frontline generals, preventing Jia Fu from fully exercising his talents as a commander.

Before marching north, Jia Fu had proposed to Gongsun Hui: "West of Lintao (present-day Min County, Gansu) lies a perilous path through Rong territory, deep into Qiang lands. It is well known that Wei Ao is on good terms with the Qiang chieftains. If we can recruit the various Qiang tribes, and I lead three thousand men by this byway to circle behind, emerging at Fuhan County in Jincheng Commandery, beyond Didao, we can surely sever the Wei army's rear supply line in one stroke!"

The route Jia Fu proposed was extremely remote, penetrating deep into the highland grasslands. Though the terrain there was flat and open, vastly different from Longxi, few Han people had ever crossed the border that way, and the Wei army would never anticipate it. It was a risky gambit.

But the Shu general hesitated and wavered, ultimately rejecting Jia Fu's proposal. He ordered him only to lead his troops north along the main north-south road for a frontal relief advance.

Even so, Jia Fu still advanced rapidly to the vicinity of the battlefield. North of Angu County, using the terrain, he fought a brilliant ambush, annihilating several hundred enemies and rescuing Wei Ao, averting the disaster of the Long army being utterly routed and driven by Wu Han to the foot of the Min Mountains.

This battle convinced Jia Fu that although Wei army morale was high, not every unit was elite. The result of rapid expansion was a mix of good and bad troops.

"If we can gnaw through the hardest bone, the rest are nothing to fear."

But when Jia Fu spoke these words, Wei Ao, who had just narrowly escaped death, could only feel that his own side was the meat bone about to be gnawed by a vicious dog.

"Didao is lost, and with so many defectors aiding them, Wu Han has gained a firm foothold in Longxi."

Jia Fu said, "Angu County must be held."

In terms of geographical position, this tiny Angu County was actually more important than the commandery seat. Because of Longxi's mountainous terrain, apart from the rivers and narrow basins, everything else was mountains. The Angu basin happened to sit at the intersection of Longxi's two main roads: southward, it led directly to Lintao, where Wei Ao had settled the child Emperor and his family dependents.

Eastward, it led to the other front in Longxi: Shanggui.

But Wei Ao had lost Didao in a mere seven or eight days, and he had absolutely no confidence in holding Angu County, whose walls were even lower.

Yet this General Jia was brimming with enthusiasm, eager to fight a major defensive counteroffensive battle here.

"I have heard that Wu Han's army discipline is utterly abysmal, sustaining itself by plunder. After occupying Didao for so long, the various clans and commoners there must harbor deep-seated hatred."

"If we can again use my stratagem, taking the Qiang-Rong trails from Lintao to strike their rear, then it is Wu Han who will be encircled!"

But once again, Jia Fu was disappointed. His proposal was urgently sent south to the Shu army's main camp at Lintao. Gongsun Hui again refused, and instead ordered Jia Fu to take Wei Ao and the remaining Long troops and withdraw south to Lintao!

The reason was actually that Angu County was too far north, making it inconvenient for the Shu army to transport supplies and provide support?

This left Jia Fu deeply dissatisfied: "From what I observe, Wu Han's use of troops favors relentless pressure. To retreat step by step like this—how is it any different from the Six Kingdoms ceding land to Qin, only to be destroyed by Qin in the end? Abandoning Angu today will allow Wu Han to drive straight in and, together with Wan Xiu's forces, pincer Shanggui. I say within a month, Shanggui will be untenable as well!"

But Wei Ao actually supported the southern withdrawal. The battle of Didao had utterly shattered his confidence. Angu might be a vital communication hub, true, but they not only had to guard against Wu Han in the north, they also had to watch the eastern road, always fearing that the Wei army would cross the mountains and outflank them again.

Jia Fu, after all, could not make decisions on his own. He could only carry out the orders from the rear.

But Wu Han had already completed his rest and reorganization at Didao, a mere thirty li from Angu. His vanguard scouts were nearly touching the city walls. The retreat of nearly ten thousand Shu and Long troops would stretch into a long, drawn-out column in the narrow river valley. Once Wu Han pursued, what then?

Yet Jia Fu had a plan: "I have a stratagem. Perhaps we can even use this to counterattack Wu Han. If we can destroy this scoundrel, there will be no need to retreat!"

…

Wu Han felt that, after rampaging across Long for half a year, he had finally met his match.

He kept his main force at Didao and only sent out roving cavalry scouts frequently to the south, attempting to infiltrate behind Angu County and ascertain the enemy's numbers and deployment.

But first, the mountains and rivers obstructed them; the river valley basin was only so wide, making it very difficult to bypass. Second, Jia Fu's defenses were extremely tight. He also dispatched a large number of scouts, who tangled with the Wei roving cavalry everywhere, preventing them from fully grasping the Shu army's true situation.

The Wei army colonels had a habit: whenever the advance stalled, they liked to exaggerate the enemy's strength. They all said that the arriving troops must be Gongsun Shu's elite. Wu Han, however, was angered by their lack of initiative and cursed, "My independent division exists precisely to fight elites!"

Thus, the enemy's exact numbers became a mystery. They could only rely on scouts climbing the flanking high mountains to peer down at the campfires and cooking smoke inside and outside Angu city to make a judgment.

"The combined Long and Shu forces inside and outside Angu city number at least twenty thousand, perhaps even as many as thirty thousand."

The scouts reported this upon their return, because the smoke and fires they had seen were simply far too numerous.

The enemy was numerous and his own forces few, but instead of worry, Wu Han was delighted: "Could it be that Gongsun Shu, just as His Majesty anticipated, has dispatched a large army north?"

Although Shu's intervention would delay the plan to fully seize Longxi, possibly even dragging the war into the next year, Diwu Lun felt that if Shu became too deeply entangled in this conflict, the war's drain on the Cheng regime would be far greater than on their own side. And if they could annihilate the Shu main force in Longxi, the future campaign to conquer Shu would be much easier.

At the time, when Diwu Lun was setting strategy with Wu Han and the other generals, he used this phrase to mock himself: "Having gained Long, I now gaze upon Shu—I truly am insatiable!"

There, he had stolen yet another idiom from Xiu.

But Wu Han felt, shouldn't a man be insatiably greedy? After tasting the five flavors, one craves a sixth. After becoming a miscellaneous-titled General, one thinks of a substantive title, even a dukedom that no one has yet attained. Wu Han came from humble origins. Wasn't the reason he could serve Diwu Lun—whom he privately considered "not quite heroic"—precisely because he saw the Wei's rising power and wanted to win wealth, rank, and renown across the land?

So the more enemies came, the braver Wu Han became. Jia Fu's stratagem of increasing cooking fires might work on others, but it was useless against Wu Han. Far from becoming conservative out of fear of the enemy's numbers, this fellow dispatched even more scouts and crack troops, practically riding right up into the faces of the Shu-Long allied forces!

Jia Fu inevitably had to send out more men to drive them back. And when they evacuated Angu County, they never managed to conceal it from Wu Han's reconnaissance patrols.

"Thirty thousand men and they still retreat? Am I, your father, really that terrifying?" Upon hearing the news, Wu Han mocked their timidity, but also felt some disappointment. He had thought the opposing general had some skill, but it seemed it was nothing much after all.

He then mustered his troops to pursue, while not forgetting to bring Niu Han along with him—Wu Han's cautious and meticulous nature was only apparent in his bearing; in his heart, he was deeply suspicious, afraid that old Niu and the Didao defectors would stir up trouble behind his back.

At the same time, he ordered the vanguard to remain vigilant and instructed the roving cavalry scouts to reconnoiter the path first, not to pursue too hastily.

But the enemy's speed somewhat surprised Wu Han. His own troops were renowned for forced marches, yet after pursuing for ten li, they only just caught a distant glimpse of the enemy's rear column! It seemed they were traveling light, without much baggage. But how could they cross the river ahead so quickly?

South of Angu County, the basin gradually disappeared, replaced by a narrow river valley. The road became even more constricted. At one crossing point, the path ahead was abruptly cut off by steep cliffs, forcing a crossing to the opposite bank before a road resumed.

"General of the Valiant Cavalry!"

The vanguard colonel was quite delighted: "The water is shallow! At the center, it only reaches the soldiers' thighs. Though a bit icy, we can simply wade straight across!"

Wu Han raised his head to look. Indeed, in the twilight, he could see the unending column of troops on the opposite bank! And there was that banner bearing the character 'Jia'! It seemed the enemy general Jia Fu was personally commanding the rearguard.

A voice in his heart said to him: "Force a crossing, and the enemy general can be captured!"

But Wu Han's keen battlefield instincts kicked in again. He lowered his head to look at the Tao River water, already bearing some shards of ice, then gazed upstream. The mountain blocked his view; he could not see the situation beyond the river bend. He had someone summon Niu Han: "Ruqing, you are a man of Didao and know this river extremely well. Is it normal for the water to be this shallow and low in mid-October?"

Niu Han no longer harbored any illusions. With the war having reached this state, Wei Ao was no longer fighting for Longyou, but only for himself. True surrender it would be, then! He reported: "Normally at this time of year, one would still need boats to cross. For it to be this strangely shallow now—perhaps there is a trick!"

The several advisory Palace Gentlemen Diwu Lun had assigned to Wu Han also belatedly reacted, recalling a famous battle precedent: "Could Jia Fu be imitating Han Xin's battle at the Wei River?"

Back then, Han Xin faced the allied Qi-Chu army at the Wei River. He had over ten thousand sandbags prepared and used them to block the Wei River upstream. Then he led half his force across the river to attack the Chu army, subsequently feigning defeat and fleeing back. The Chu army pursued, but once they entered the river, the Han army released the dam, causing a great torrent of water to rush down and cut the Chu army in two. Han Xin seized the opportunity to counterattack, slaying Long Ju, and thus exterminated Diwu Lun's ancestor.

Although the Tao River had an extremely large and swift current in summer and autumn, it diminished considerably after the onset of winter. If the enemy had enough manpower, it was indeed possible to temporarily block it with a sand dam.

But precisely because of this small misgiving, waiting on the opposite bank was no solution either, so Wu Han called out the Di Battalion by name.

"A Yun, you're up — lead your men across the water!"

……

A Yun, who had just been promoted a few days earlier, took the newly formed Di Third Battalion. The Di soldiers could endure hardship, but looking at the icy river, their legs trembled, and on the far bank, the Shu army's rearguard had left powerful crossbows on the riverbank.

Yet Wu Han's discipline was iron; to refuse the order meant severe punishment. They could only steel themselves and wade in, trudging through calf-deep freezing water toward the opposite bank over a hundred paces away. The only thing protecting them was the small shields in their hands. The current knocked them staggering left and right; men fell and scrambled up again from time to time, tears and snot streaming from the cold.

And as they drew near, crossbow bolts came flying at them from time to time. Those who fell this time never rose again; the wounded were swept downstream by the river.

A Yun moved with extreme care — if he, an assassin from Shu, were killed by a Shu army crossbow bolt, he would become a colossal joke.

Watching the Di soldiers draw closer and closer to the riverbank, the Shu soldiers on the bank urgently asked Jia Fu, "General Jia, do we release the water or not?"

Jia Fu had indeed used Han Xin's old stratagem. Unlike Wu Han, who was unlettered and fought purely on instinct, Jia Fu had read the classics in his youth, served as a county clerk, and knew the line from the art of war: "He who uses water to aid his attack is strong."

Damming the river would let his own men cross without boats, saving a great deal of time in the withdrawal, while also tempting the enemy to wade across.

But when it came to putting it into practice, he realized that Han Xin's victory had not come easily either. Right now, for instance, Jia Fu had to judge the situation before him — a hair's breadth of error could lead a thousand li astray.

Though the enemy pursued fiercely, they had not sent a large force splashing across the river to attack, but had dispatched a small unit to probe.

If Jia Fu wanted to emulate Han Xin and win a great victory by striking when the enemy was halfway across, he had to hold back, fight a grinding battle on the river shoal, and so lure Wu Han into sending another two or three thousand men across the water — only then could he achieve total victory.

But if he misjudged the timing, as time dragged on, his own side's already low morale might collapse at the first charge. In a major rout, such petty tricks would be of no use at all.

Yet just as Jia Fu hesitated, on the makeshift watchtower upstream, a fire was lit!

That was the signal to release the water. Several li upstream, Wei Ao, fearing that the Wei troops would pursue across the river and seeing that the Long-Shu allied forces had all crossed, ordered the Long troops to release the sandbags. In an instant, the Tao River waters, long held back, came crashing down, scattering the several hundred Di soldiers in the river in utter disarray.

A Yun himself did not escape. Fortunately, he had only just entered the water and was not far out; he immediately dashed back. As the torrent surged toward him, he grabbed a low-hanging tree branch and at least avoided being buried in a fish's belly.

The Long-Shu allied forces cheered wildly, but Jia Fu burst out cursing: "Wei Jimeng, were you not supposed to obey my orders? Such cowardice — you have ruined my great plan!"

Jia Fu was still paying the price of youth. Now that his side's greatest trump card had been thrown, there was no way to fight on, so he led the rearguard in a hasty retreat.

Turning his horse to gaze north, Jia Fu sighed with deep regret. He felt constrained by his superior, the Shu commander, and sabotaged by Wei Ao, this "friendly force." All his offensive ideas could not be carried out — he was thoroughly dissatisfied. This battle was fought far too stiflingly!

"If I were allowed to command independently, I would surely defeat Wu Ziyi!"

On the opposite side, Wu Han was equally displeased. The Tao River had temporarily risen waist-deep, and in the center of the river it even reached the chest. No one knew when it would subside again, and fording across was now even harder. He could only watch helplessly as the enemy departed.

He had swept all before him along the way, yet in this small place he had suffered two setbacks. Though the Di soldiers were not regarded as human beings and thus counted as no real loss, it was still far too stifling, and he cursed several rounds of profanity.

Yet he had to admit that retreating was harder than advancing. That the opponent could manage it so composedly made him a foe truly worthy of respect.

"Jia Fu, is it?"

Wu Han made a point of remembering this man. As it happened, they were both from Nanyang — fellow townsmen!

"If I meet him again, I will surely capture this Jia Junwen alive!"

……

The two generals who in history would rank second and third on the Cloud Terrace fought a battle of wits and courage on the small flatland by the banks of the Tao River. Meanwhile, the Chengjia Emperor, Gongsun Shu, had also arrived at Nanzheng in Hanzhong Commandery with the third wave of reinforcements.

"Cheng and Wei have fallen out. Since the Wei sovereign has gone to Longyou in person, how could We remain in Chengdu, anxiously awaiting frontline military reports?"

……

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