Chapter 467: Do Not Imitate the Hegemon-King in Pursuing Empty Fame

Let us turn our gaze to the eastern end of the battlefield. Since autumn began, Yang Guang, defending Shanggui (present-day Tianshui), has had an impossibly hard time!

As an opponent, Wan Xiu was completely different in style from young Geng, who liked to make his own decisions, or Wu Han, who charged like a whirlwind. Apart from the occasional risky venture, he was extremely cautious at all other times and would resolutely carry out orders from Diwu Lun, content to serve as the Emperor's instrument.

Shanggui, on the southern bank of the Wei River, was an extremely important grain and millet base for Longyou.

The Wei army crossed the Wei River very early, attacking in mid-August, yet they showed no interest in the sturdy city of Shanggui itself, instead focusing their energy on harvesting the autumn grain or preventing the Long army from going out to collect it.

To protect the grain, Yang Guang sent men out to fight more than a few times. The land around Shanggui is flat, perfect terrain for the elite cavalry, but Diwu Lun had also transferred part of the Bingzhou cavalry south. The two sides tangled in skirmishes outside Shanggui, mostly small engagements of a few hundred men, fighting back and forth over a single ripe field.

The remaining elite cavalry were as fierce as ever, but their numbers dwindled with every fight. The casualties were mainly horses. The horse-breeding regions of Longyou had largely been seized by the Wei army; the enemy could replenish their livestock, but for every horse they lost, they lost it for good. If this kept up, they would end up like a certain "Yao Qi General," their cavalry turning into infantry.

After several incidents where Wei troops disguised as Long soldiers tried to infiltrate the city, Yang Guang decided the risk was too great and simply gave up, ceasing to send anyone out of the city.

And so the Wei army swaggered in to harvest the millet. Five thousand men watched Shanggui while five thousand bent their heads to the reaping. A skilled worker could harvest one mu a day, and after just a few days, the grain outside Shanggui was gone, while the frontline Wei troops had enough provisions for several months.

Eating one zhong of the enemy's grain is worth twenty zhong of one's own. Both Diwu Lun and Wan Xiu understood that how long the Longxi campaign could last depended, to a great extent, on how long each side's supplies could hold out.

In his campaigns now, Diwu Lun liked to unleash bold generals like young Geng and Wu Han on the flanks to create miracles, while on the main front he appointed a cautious commander to pit national strength against the enemy.

In a letter to Wan Xiu, he gave these instructions: "Though the Long Mountains are hard to cross, and transporting grain into Liang Province will be difficult after midwinter, Ren Guang has already shipped grain over several times, stockpiling at least over a hundred thousand shi, enough for our great army's winter needs."

"And for Gongsun Shu to send troops and grain to relieve Long is even harder than it is for us!"

Diwu Lun's base area of Guanzhong and Longyou are separated by only a single mountain range, but Gongsun Shu's central Shu plain and the Long region are divided by two natural barriers: first, the narrow, constricted path from Great Sword to Little Sword, the Sword Gate road, which is the only way into the Han River basin; after heading west from Hanzhong to reach Wudu, one must then take a route called the "Qishan Road" to enter Longxi.

However, the terrain around Qishan is extremely complex. The Tibetan Plateau, the Loess Plateau, and the Hanzhong Basin — three major geological zones — converge here, crisscrossed by countless ridges. The so-called Qishan Road is actually a series of basins, valleys, mountain gullies, and hills. Marching troops is barely possible, but for transporting supplies, provisions, and fodder, it is an utter nightmare.

Diwu Lun heard from Long defectors that the Shu army had sent some rice and grain, but because wheels could not climb the steep slopes, they could only use donkeys and horses for transport, with losses along the way reaching as high as four-fifths.

Diwu Lun asked them, "Isn't there the Western Han River at the foot of Qishan? The elevation drop isn't large. Even though the river flows from north to south, having trackers pull against the current would still be better than going overland."

"The Western Han River is full of large rocks and giant logs, making it difficult to travel by boat. During the Han dynasty, when the Di of Wudu rebelled, the court sent Long troops to suppress them, all by overland transport. No one has ever used the water route."

With this, Diwu Lun was reassured. He told Wan Xiu to go ahead and wear the enemy down, hoping to lure more Shu troops into Long and coordinate with Wu Han to fight a great battle of annihilation!

Unfortunately, there were also talented men in Shu who saw through Diwu Lun's intent. Gongsun Shu decided not to stake his kingdom's fate on a decisive battle with Diwu Lun in Longyou, choosing instead to play it safe and only help Wei Ao a little.

Wei Ao abandoned the two counties of Didao and Angu, retreating south to Lintao.

Wu Han sent back word that Lintao was likewise a place easy to defend and hard to attack. Although his troops had solved their shortage of winter clothing by seizing supplies from surrendered soldiers, their grain was also nearly exhausted, and the surrounding area was all poor land with nowhere to raid. Though Wu Han was brave, after penetrating deep into enemy territory and taking two cities in succession, he too was a spent force and could only remain in Angu for the time being to rest and regroup.

As for Yang Guang, when he abandoned Shanggui, it was with a sense of immense relief. Under the cover of the Shu army and the elite cavalry, he retreated to West County (present-day Li County, Gansu) near Qishan.

With the Wei army gaining Shanggui so easily, all the ministers congratulated Diwu Lun: "Gongsun and the Long rebels, fearing Your Majesty's might, fled at the mere sight of dust. The Longyou campaign is a complete victory."

Diwu Lun, however, could not be happy. "No, it is not yet a total victory."

With this retreat by the Long-Shu allied forces, the Wei army's supply lines were pointlessly lengthened, while Shu grain could travel over a hundred li less. At the same time, the terrain around West County was highly unfavorable to the Wei army, which now held the cavalry advantage.

Diwu Lun thus traveled to Shanggui to discuss the subsequent battle strategy with Wan Xiu. Just after crossing the Wei River, he discovered that Wan Xiu's subordinates were distributing grain in the villages and townships to relieve the common people.

The colonel in charge reported: "General Wan said that the grain we harvested in autumn originally belonged to the people of Shanggui. We were forced to take it due to wartime necessity. Now that the Long and Shu forces have retreated, the General has kept enough for the army's needs and believes the rest should naturally be distributed, so the locals can have rations for this winter and seeds for next year."

This had been cleared with Diwu Lun. Wan Xiu reasoned thus: "If the people of Shanggui have no clothes and no coarse garments, their bellies growling with hunger, then after winter, incited by others, they will surely rebel!"

"For every additional household that receives relief and can barely scrape by, our army has one less enemy in Longxi."

Not only that — as one side wanes, the other waxes; we might even gain an extra laborer!

In contrast, when the Long-Shu allied forces retreated, they still employed a "strengthen the walls and clear the fields" approach, burning granaries along the way and even filling in wells. The local gentry cursed Wei Ao and Yang Guang endlessly. After Diwu Lun's policy of conciliation was proclaimed, the middle and upper strata of Longyou began to tentatively cooperate with the new rulers. If you can't beat them, join them — there's no shame in it.

And Wan Xiu's relief policy also considerably weakened the lower classes' hostility toward the outsiders.

Diwu Lun was quite satisfied and thought to himself, "To break Long, one must use Wu Han, but to hold Long, one needs a general like Junyou."

Upon arriving at Shanggui city, Wan Xiu led his men out to welcome him. Diwu Lun told him to dispense with the formalities. "How is your back injury?"

Wan Xiu, who had grown much thinner, said, "Thanks to the care of Your Majesty's imperial physician, it is much better."

Diwu Lun observed that Wan Xiu's movements were still not very free, and the imperial physician had also reported that Wan Xiu often suffered such pain he could not sleep all night, yet the next day he would still rise early to handle official duties.

But before Diwu Lun, Wan Xiu's expression did not change, which made Diwu Lun even more distressed. At the same time, he sighed inwardly: "Jing Dan is chronically ill, Geng Chun has an injured shoulder, and now Junyou's back is failing him. Aside from Ma Yuan, who grows sturdier with age, the generals and old friends who first followed me are mostly covered in scars."

That fellow Wu Han, on the other hand — last time in Hebei he injured his foot and could barely walk, yet now he's leaping about lively as ever. Truly thick-skinned and tough, able to take a beating.

The two discussed matters in the commandery office of Shanggui. Diwu Lun saw that the hall was furnished with portable charcoal braziers, steam rising hotly to dispel the winter chill. On top of the braziers were spread some wheat cakes and the like, all already cooked, placed there to warm up.

He had heard that Wan Xiu was most compassionate toward his subordinates, always keeping a few cakes warming in the hall. When scouts and couriers came and went, he would have them eat something hot before leaving, and also made sure the sentries standing guard outside all day did not go hungry to the point their stomachs growled — no one should disdain the simple food; the front lines were hard, everything kept simple, and General Wan himself usually ate just this.

His style of leading troops was evident from this one detail; no wonder many soldiers wished to be assigned to his command.

Wan Xiu had forgotten these were still in the hall and awkwardly wanted to have them removed, but Diwu Lun, without standing on ceremony, sat down with a smile, reached out and picked up a piece. It was scalding hot, and he blew on it and tossed it in his palm. "Junyou thinks of everything. I've traveled all day in the cold and am just hungry."

Seeing that Diwu Lun did not disdain it, the two of them sat around the brazier eating the dry, plain cakes and began discussing the campaign.

West County, to which the Long-Shu allied forces had retreated south, was also called Xichui — the ancient homeland of the Qin people. It was precisely the entrance to the Qishan Road, flanked by Qishan and the remnants of the Qinling range, which restricted the flanking and infiltration tactics cavalry excelled at. Added to this were many hilly slopes and numerous small gullies and rises. Placing the battlefield here was tantamount to neutralizing the Wei army's cavalry advantage.

Instead, it was the Shu army, adept at mountain warfare, that could rely on its crack crossbowmen to hold the passes.

Diwu Lun said, "Many of the ministers say a forceful assault would be difficult and urge me to stop here. What do you think?"

Over the past half year and more, the Red Eyebrows had swept across the Central Plains, growing fiercer with every battle. It seemed that as long as there were enemies to fight, they would not collapse.

Liu Xiu had taken Pengcheng Commandery and entered the Si River region — from the third month to the tenth, over half a year, and he had only taken a single commandery. What was he dawdling for? Diwu Lun had reason to suspect Liu Xiu was slacking off. Where was your cheat? Subscription expired?

But this also meant that Liu Xiu could control his desires very well, focusing his energy on consolidating his base in the Two Huai and Jiangdong regions, cautiously avoiding conflict with the Red Eyebrows and the King of Qi. The King of Qi, Zhang Bu, on the other hand, showed no hesitation, swallowing several commanderies in Yanzhou in one breath and gorging himself fat.

As for the previously overweening Liang Han, they were already as good as destroyed; there is no need to recount it in detail.

Ma Yuan had seized Chenliu Commandery and had minor skirmishes with the Red Eyebrows, but according to Diwu Lun's plan, merely blocking them east of the Hong Canal was sufficient. Old Ma's main focus was on drilling troops and consolidating the Central Plains.

The east was full of troubles, and Diwu Lun had already invested over half a year of energy in Longyou. Now that the fighting was mostly done, the ministers believed that since annihilating the Shu army was hopeless and the war had become a protracted one, His Majesty the Emperor need not linger in the west. He should take the main force back to Chang'an and leave a small number of men to garrison the area.

"Otherwise, once heavy snow seals the mountain passes, our main army will be stranded in Long, unable to return east until the start of spring next year."

This meant that for the next three months, if trouble arose in the east, Diwu Lun would not even be able to transfer Guanzhong troops to support it.

Wan Xiu firmly opposed this, urging strongly: "Your Majesty, in planting virtue, let it spread; in rooting out evil, let it be thorough!"

"In the past, when Fuchai's troops reached Kuaiji but did not attack, in the end Goujian slept on brushwood and tasted gall."

"Today, Wei Ao's forces are stronger than the three thousand remnant troops at Kuaiji, and behind him he has Gongsun Shu's support. They control both West County and Lintao precisely because they want to wait until Your Majesty returns east, then march north again to retake Longxi and advance on Tianshui."

Wan Xiu believed that in the struggle for Longyou, either one did not fight, or one had to fight to the very end! If they could not cut the tangled mess with a sharp knife, once the Di and Qiang stirred, Longyou would become a festering sore impossible to heal, rotting away forever!

Diwu Lun pondered in silence. His eyelid had been twitching lately; he kept feeling that something major would happen in the east, and he did indeed have the intention of returning. Just then, someone came to report that an envoy from Shu had arrived, delivering a formal declaration of war.

"A denunciation? Only now you come with it?"

Diwu Lun was immediately amused. Earlier he had made use of Wang Yan, having her send down a letter harshly rebuking Wei Ao and, by the way, in the name of the "former Empress Dowager," abolish the infant Ying's imperial title — thus achieving his original aim of "holding the Empress Dowager hostage to abolish the various Han claimants."

Wei Ao was originally a renowned scholar with considerable literary talent. Back when every faction issued denunciations against Wang Mang, Wei Ao's denunciation had an even wider reach than Diwu Lun's — after all, it stood on the position of the Han house, and so it was widely circulated by scholars everywhere. In contrast, when Diwu Lun raised his troops, his proclamations never once mentioned "Han," and his ambition was laid bare — what a disgrace!

It was just that Longyou was forced to respond to battle in haste and had no time to react in the war of public opinion before it was defeated. Now, just as Diwu Lun was about to take all of Long, it was Gongsun Shu who sent someone to write a "Denunciation Against Diwu" as a counterattack.

"The second year of Longxing of the Chengjia dynasty, the tenth month, ji-you day, new moon."

"The former Governor of Wei Cheng commandery of the Xin dynasty, Diwu Lun, curried fame and cultivated a false reputation, recklessly claiming filial piety and righteousness. Yet as a subject he was disloyal, and as a son he was unfilial…"

The opening passage harshly denounced Diwu Lun for stabbing Wang Mang in the back, and added that, being unlearned and ignorant, and wielding power without skill, he had the gall to proclaim himself complete in the Five Virtues — an act that insulted Heaven and Earth and defied the Dao and reason. It also took the opportunity to publicize the auspicious omens of the Chengjia regime. Reading this, Diwu Lun shook his head: "Wenyuan said that Gongsun Shu is a frog at the bottom of a well, arrogantly overestimating himself — he was not wrong at all."

Yet on one point, Gongsun Shu and Diwu Lun coincided without prior agreement: he actually acknowledged the legitimacy of the Xin Dynasty. Yellow succeeds Red, and White succeeds Yellow; metal occupies the west as the White Virtue — Gongsun replacing the Wang clan conformed to the orthodox sequence.

But next, in the denunciation, Gongsun Shu positioned himself as the agent of the great powerful families, fiercely condemning Diwu Lun for his harsh treatment of the Guanzhong powerful families and the Liu clan of Hebei, while Gongsun would come to demand justice on their behalf!

Diwu Lun saw it clearly now — Gongsun Shu wanted to be the one who picks up the pieces! Seeing that the various Han claimants had fallen one after another, the Chengjia house was quite eager to absorb their legacy. Where did that leave Xiu'er down in the southeast?

And the most interesting part came after that: Gongsun Shu accused Diwu Lun of bullying the widows and orphans of the Han house, defiling the rear palaces of both Han and Xin, and in particular imprisoning the Empress Dowager Xiaoping and the Huangshi Princess Wang Yan in the palace, forcing her to abolish the infant Ying, and so on.

The assembled ministers held their breath, but Diwu Lun read it with a smile, and with great relish — not a trace of a headache in sight.

How exactly did I bully them — can you be a bit clearer?!

Was it spending the night on the dragon bed, or sharing one big quilt?

A pity it was just one ambiguous line, utterly devoid of detail.

After finishing the reading, Diwu Lun said with a solemn expression: "If the body is upright, the shadow is upright; if the body is crooked, the shadow is crooked. What this denunciation says is so absurd that any wise man will see it clearly."

The attendants traveling with him, as well as Wan Xiu and the others, all murmured their assent, only exchanging glances when they lowered their heads. Some even chuckled quietly. The myriad things of the world are born from being, and being is born from non-being — some of those rumors and whispers were not entirely fabricated out of thin air.

When the group suggested whether they should also write a denunciation in retaliation, Diwu Lun shook his head: "Gongsun Ziyang is just like Wang Mang — he dwells in the flower but not in the fruit. I am exactly the opposite. I won't imitate him. He dares not cross blades with me, the Second Emperor, and only dares to hide in the south and indulge in a war of words."

Diwu Lun turned his gaze to Wan Xiu and agreed with his assessment: "Pushing the blade's edge to the foot of Mount Qi — having gained Long and now gazing toward Shu — that is the best response to the Gongsun clan!"

That line of verse — Diwu Lun was not worthy of copying it, but the lesson of history within it he had to keep reciting in his heart:

"Use your remaining courage to pursue the desperate foe; do not fish for fame by playing the Hegemon-King!"

……

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