Chapter 593: The Snake of Mount Chang

In mid-eleventh month, as the great army marched toward Pengcheng, Diwu Lun received an urgent report from Donghai Commandery — it turned out to be a memorial from Fu Long.

"Fu Long is truly a talent, able to discern the smallest signs. If the Donghai Commandery armory falls entirely into Wu troops' hands, then the armored soldiers defending Pengcheng are not to be underestimated."

Even old stockpiles from ten or twenty years back are better than nothing.

After praising Fu Long, Diwu Lun shook his head and added, "Young General Geng has grown arrogant."

The only person beside Diwu Lun at that moment was the "Grand Music Director" Huan Tan. Huan Tan had, one could say, inherited his family's old trade. Though the post was modest — merely a thousand-bushel official under the Chamberlain for Ceremonials — Diwu Lun had added the title "Palace Attendant" to Huan Tan's position, bringing him into the inner court officials, so that he could discuss state affairs and handle matters by imperial decree.

This was because Huan Tan was a native of Longkang north of the Huai, and after being captured by the Red Eyebrow Army, he had long drifted about this region. He had even seen the true state of Liu Xiu and his lieutenants, and so was specially summoned to accompany the imperial progress.

Hearing Diwu Lun evaluate a great general this way, Huan Tan understood the Emperor did not treat him as an outsider, and he laughed too. "To conquer a province and over ten commanderies leading troops alone within half a year, sweeping all before him — anyone would grow arrogant. Never mind that Young General Geng is only twenty-five. I am fifty-two this year, and were I in his place, my nostrils would already be turned up to the sky, and I would no longer look anyone straight in the eye."

After this jest, Huan Tan added, "Yet one man's heart mirrors the hearts of thousands. From Geng Bozhao on down, the Yuyang and Shanggu shock cavalry, and the thirty thousand Ji Province armored troops — all are likely the same. That is what truly merits concern. An arrogant army is doomed!"

"It is not only the eastern route army," Diwu Lun sighed again. "From myself on down, the hundred thousand soldiers from the Central Plains, and even the civil and military officials of the Wei court, the magistrates and officers of every commandery and county — all have been swept off their feet by the victories of the past few years. They think the Wu army is easily broken, that if Cen Peng could destroy two armies and kill a general at Xiangyang, they can do the same. I have more than once heard people mention Liu Xiu in the same breath as Xiang Yu, as if this land north of the Huai must be Liu Xiu's burial ground, as if we can finish the whole task in one battle and unify the southeast in a single stroke."

These were words Diwu Lun spoke only to Huan Tan. "But Liu Wenshu is my great foe. Though I disparage him outwardly, when it truly comes to facing him in battle, I dare not underestimate him for a moment. The ancients said, 'A journey of a hundred li is only complete at ninety.' I have now walked only sixty steps. Of the forty steps remaining, I can allot thirty of them to Liu Xiu!"

As someone who had met Liu Xiu, Huan Tan was qualified to judge the man. "Liu Xiu truly does not resemble Xiang Yu."

He offered an analogy. "He is more like Liu and Xiang merged into one. In wisdom, intelligence, and breadth of mind, he surpasses the likes of Gongsun Shu and Zhang Bu by an immeasurable degree. In magnanimity, in disregard for petty details, in bending and stretching as needed, he is indeed a descendant of Liu Bang. Yet he also possesses Xiang Yu's early invincibility in battle — the Battle of Kunyang rivals the Battle of Julu."

Diwu Lun nodded. "Junshan, you praise Liu Xiu so highly I am growing jealous. Do not forget, since I first raised troops, I too have never been defeated in battle!"

But soon he reflected on himself. "That said, Liu Xiu can be called an outstanding practitioner of the School of Strategic Form — swift as thunder, sudden as wind, striking late yet arriving first, dispersing and regrouping, transforming without pattern. I, on the other hand, excel in the School of Strategic Planning, strong in grand strategy rather than battlefield tactics. Every major battle I have won, aside from sound institutions, victory in the court, and soldiers who fight to the death, has relied more on calculating the enemy in the temple beforehand."

Huan Tan seized the chance to ask what the Wei generals and officers had always wanted to know. "Then this time, how much has Your Majesty calculated?"

For the sake of pre-battle secrecy, Diwu Lun had not yet fully disclosed exactly how this great Xu-Huai campaign would be fought. Most civil and military officials were responsible for only one part of it, and so remained in the dark.

By tomorrow at the latest, the great army would arrive at the foot of Pengcheng. It was time to lay the entire battle plan before the key generals and officers. Diwu Lun merely laughed heartily. "Quite a lot indeed."

After keeping Huan Tan for a meal, Diwu Lun issued several edicts in succession. One of them was sent to Geng Yan.

"In the time of the Former Han's Emperor Wu, there was the General of Chariots and Cavalry Wei Qing, who raided Dragon City from a thousand li away. Now Wei's own General of Chariots and Cavalry has taken Qing Province in three months and broken Donghai in twenty days — his speed is no less than the Han chariot-and-cavalry general. Even His Majesty, upon hearing of it, sighed, 'How swift he is!'"

"Yet Wei Qing's glorious achievements began at Dragon City, but their weight lay in defeating the Chanyu in the north. Xu Province is the Mobei of today! I hope the General will sharpen his blade once more. On the day of victory, when our forces rendezvous, I shall build a platform and personally honor the General as 'Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry'!"

After a round of florid encouragement for Geng Yan, Diwu Lun's order to him was: "Advance south from Donghai along the Yi River and strike Xiapi City!"

Xiapi was a sister city to Pengcheng, linked by a single waterway. It connected to Huainan via the Si River. If young Geng seized this place, it would be equivalent to pinching the Han army's lifeline shut, leaving Pengcheng isolated and helpless. If Liu Xiu wished to relieve Pengcheng, he would first have to pass through Xiapi and could not possibly escape the Wei army's eyes. This would buy time for the main army to prepare for the decisive battle.

Young Geng might be arrogant, but his sharpness could still be put to use.

As for the other cavalry general, General of Tiger Teeth Gai Yan, Diwu Lun transferred him, along with the Yuyang shock cavalry, to Pengcheng to join the combined battle.

That night, Diwu Lun convened an emergency council. General Who Conquers the East Zhang Zong, Embroidered Uniform Commandant Zhang Yu, and several others attended.

At the council, Diwu Lun stood before the map of Xu and Huai and announced his true plan.

"Not counting logistics laborers, our forces total one hundred sixty thousand troops, divided into three corps."

The men looked at one another. Those good at arithmetic had already worked it out: they had at most one hundred forty thousand men. Diwu Lun had counted at least twenty thousand extra — was he including the laborers?

But no one dared raise the point. Diwu Lun, as if oblivious, continued.

"The center corps is the main force: one hundred thousand elite guards and three thousand Yuyang shock cavalry, accompanying me personally on the campaign against Pengcheng."

"The eastern corps, under Geng Bozhao, comprises the Shanggu shock cavalry and Ji Province troops, over thirty thousand men in total, striking Xiapi."

For secrecy, all attendants had been driven from the tent. Embroidered Uniform Commandant Zhang Yu had to assist Diwu Lun, placing the colored and red troop markers and their counts in the corresponding positions for the two armies.

And Diwu Lun, holding a wooden pointer, began the war game.

"If Liu Xiu personally leads his main army north to relieve Pengcheng, General Geng can continue pressing south from Xiapi with his troops, emulating Zhou Yafu's suppression of the Wu-Chu Seven Kingdoms rebellion, cutting off the Huai-Si confluence so that Liu Xiu finds it hard to withdraw and can only fight a decisive battle with us north of the Huai!"

That would naturally be the best outcome, but Diwu Lun believed the war would never be so simple.

"But Liu Xiu is not like his elder brother Liu Bosheng. He employs troops with considerable wisdom and cunning. From what I know of him, Liu Xiu will try to relieve Pengcheng, but not by a direct route. Putting myself in his place, the Wu army can conscript at most fifty to sixty thousand men for this campaign. If he wants to break the deadlock, the best method would be to strike where I store my provisions!"

Diwu Lun tapped a spot southwest of Pengcheng. "Right here! Lingbi!"

Between Lingbi and Pengcheng, a hundred thousand laborers shuttled back and forth, all conscripted by Dou Rong from the Central Plains. They had little combat capability and were the weak point in the campaign.

"On the surface, Lingbi has only ten thousand combat-ready troops. If Liu Xiu sends men to raid it and burns my provisions, leaving the hundred thousand soldiers at Pengcheng without food in the dead of winter, I would have no choice but to withdraw without a fight."

This was precisely why, when Diwu Lun had stubbornly insisted that Dou Rong leave only ten thousand troops to defend Lingbi, the assembled ministers and officers had pleaded bitterly to no avail. Only now did it dawn on them: the Emperor had set a trap here.

Diwu Lun, not without smugness, revealed the answer. "I have already ordered General Who Sweeps the Field Zheng Tong to advance east and enter the Huai North region. Twenty thousand Yu Province soldiers, disguised as laborers, are stationed near Lingbi. If Liu Xiu dares raid Lingbi, he will certainly go in but never come out!"

Those good at arithmetic did another mental calculation: with this unplanned "relief force" added, the combat strength came to exactly one hundred sixty thousand.

"So that's it!"

As the ministers were still digesting the information, Zhang Yu was the first to praise it. "The art of war says: 'One skilled in using troops is like the Shuairan. The Shuairan is the snake of Mount Chang. Head and tail are indistinguishable; its body bears five-colored patterns. Strike its head and the tail arrives; strike its tail and the head arrives; strike its middle and both head and tail arrive.'"

Though he was an orphan by birth, these past years working for Diwu Lun, under the Emperor's admonition to "read more books," he had crammed quite a bit of knowledge. At the very least, he could now cite the classics when flattering.

"And now, in Your Majesty's deployment of troops, Lingbi is like the snake's tail, Xiapi like its head — just like the snake of Mount Chang, perfectly capturing the subtlety of the art of war!"

Zhang Yu was usually quite good at saying things that pleased the Emperor, but this Mount Chang snake analogy struck Diwu Lun as rather odd. Yet the assembled ministers had already chimed in one after another. Even the best fighter among them, General Who Conquers the East Zhang Zong, strongly approved of the strategy. Diwu Lun could hardly spoil the mood and slap faces. A snake it would be, then.

"Although the key to constraining the enemy lies at the head and tail — Lingbi and Xiapi — the real striking power must still come from the waist and belly."

"Tomorrow we advance on the city walls, coil around Pengcheng, and strangle it!"

Pengcheng, though situated on the great Yellow-Huai-Hai Plain, actually sat in a small basin when examined closely. The endless flat terrain here gained a slight undulation. Mount Chuwang, Mount Shizi, Mount Tuolan, Mount Beidong, Mount Gui, Mount Dongdong — they encircled Pengcheng on three sides. The Si River flowed through the middle, adding to the defensive advantage.

The awkward part, however, was that though the Si River was large, it was not counted among the Four Great Rivers. In the dry season, men and horses could easily cross without boats. It could serve as a main north-south transport artery, yes, but relying on it to block invaders? No.

As for the hills encircling Pengcheng, the tallest was only a bit over a hundred zhang, and they were spaced far apart, making it difficult to build passes to lock them down. So the hills of Pengcheng could serve to bury successive generations of Liu clan Chu kings, as scenic spots for outings, for hunting deer and roebuck — yes. But to rely on them as a natural barrier? That was no different from a fool's daydream.

The Wei army advanced unhindered to the foot of Pengcheng. Ten divisions, backed against the hills, surrounded Pengcheng on three sides, leaving one open.

Pengcheng had long since strengthened its walls and cleared the fields. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians defended within the city. According to Fu Long's estimate and the confessions of captured prisoners, the city had stockpiled at least a year's worth of grain, and a large quantity of armor, weapons, and arrows had been transported from the Donghai Commandery armory. A prolonged siege was unlikely to work, and a rash direct assault would inevitably exact a huge cost.

What was more, inside the city was the man who could be called a "famous general" on the Han army's side — the Grand Marshal Lai Xi, Lai Junshu!