Chapter 645: Traditional Art

No matter how many schemes Diwu Lun and Liu Xiu wove from afar, what truly decides victory or defeat in war is never ink on state letters, but cold steel and real blades!

In early October of the fourth year of Wude (AD 28), a chill had already settled over Hexi in Liang Province, but inside the government offices of Lude, the seat of Zhangye Commandery, the assembled commandery officials of the two-thousand-dan rank, Commandants, and lieutenant generals stared at one another, some even breaking into a sweat — for the rift between the two civil and military leaders had heated the atmosphere to a swelter.

General of the Rear Wu Han and Inspector of Liang Province Diba Jiao, who moments before had been sitting side by side with perfect courtesy, smiling as they discussed the next military moves, had now suddenly fallen out!

Diba Jiao had not wanted this. He had originally planned to "treat Wu Han with all courtesy" and unite their efforts to resist the barbarians, but just now a colossal disagreement had erupted between them, forcing Diba Jiao to break his word and lock horns with Wu Han.

"General Wu!"

Maintaining his composure, Diba Jiao cupped his hands toward Wu Han. "In the ninth month, Bing Province's cavalry rode north to reinforce Zhangye and lifted the siege of Lude. Wherever the great King of Wei's royal army marched, the people of Hexi welcomed them with baskets of food and pitchers of drink, wholeheartedly. Morale is soaring. The Xiongnu Right Division, never expecting our troops to be so fierce, has retreated in steady defeat, already withdrawing from Jiuquan and pulling back north of the Heli Mountains. We ought to seize this golden chance to deal them a heavy blow — why does the General demand the entire army rein in their horses and halt their advance?"

Wu Han, unhurried, sat sideways on a folding stool and chuckled. "His Majesty ordered my Bing Province troops west precisely to relieve Hexi's plight. Now Wuwei has been recovered, and the barbarians have withdrawn from Zhangye and Jiuquan. Our duty is fulfilled — why must we chase them hard beyond the frontier? As the art of war rightly says, never press a desperate foe!"

"But His Majesty also often says, 'With strength to spare, pursue the desperate foe'!" Diba Jiao refused to back down.

Their disagreement centered on a single point: the Xiongnu Right Division was retreating toward Juyan — should the Wei army pursue and fight them there?

The Juyan outpost (Ejin Lake) belonged to Zhangye Commandery, but it lay far from the Hexi heartland. One had to follow the Ruoshui River across the desert, marching six or seven hundred li north, to reach a vast lake amid rich pastures and waters. This oasis, nourished by the Qilian snowmelt, hung solitary in a desolate region, fit for both farming and herding — the only place within a thousand li that could sustain a large force. When Emperor Wu of Han expanded the frontiers, after driving out the local Qiang and Hu, he dispatched officials with civilian laborers and garrison troops to build fortifications here, causing beacon towers, pavilions, and ramparts to rise one after another across the oasis, and settled migrants to farm and garrison — thus Juyan County came to be.

Diba Jiao seized on this point relentlessly. "Does General Wu believe that the Juyan outpost beyond the Jian River and Jinguan Pass is not Hexi's land, not within the jurisdiction of the Inspector of Liang Province, and has already been carved away from our great Wei's territory?"

Wu Han, however, was not the least bit afraid. For this campaign, Diwu Lun had granted him flexible discretionary authority — how to fight, where to fight, Wu Han could decide entirely on his own, with no need to heed Diba Jiao or anyone else.

"The Inspector of Liang Province need not use that to pressure me. Guarding the land is the duty of a territorial grand minister. Wu Han's sole concern is winning battles. I suspect the Xiongnu are retreating to Juyan precisely to lure the Bing Province troops deep into pursuit. Inspector of Liang, though you are a top graduate of the Imperial Academy, well-versed in the Five Classics and adept at governance, you are, after all, no expert in military affairs."

Ignorance of warfare — that was Diba Jiao's greatest weakness. Over the past months of maneuvering against the Xiongnu, he had been forced to delegate authority to Dou You and others. Now, with Wu Han striking this sore spot, Diba Jiao's gaze shifted to his subordinates, signaling Dou You to persuade Wu Han from a military standpoint.

Since the Governor of Zhangye had died in battle, Dou You now temporarily held the two-thousand-dan rank for both commanderies, a considerable honor. But compared to these two men, he was a minor figure. Wu Han was a general who held military power, fierce in battle — it was only a matter of time before he rose to "Grand" General and caught up with Ma, Geng, and Cen. And Diba Jiao was an imperial kinsman, an Inspector, the man Diwu Lun valued most among the imperial clan, and Dou You's direct superior — he could not afford to offend either!

But if forced to choose, Dou You would still side with Diba Jiao. His elder brother, the Right Chancellor of Wei, Dou Rong, had written to say: though he himself held the highest ministerial rank, this chancellorship would likely not last long, nor could he aggressively promote his own brother. For Dou You's future career, he must stick close to Diba Jiao...

So after weighing his words, Dou You rose and said, "General Wu, when the Xiongnu Right Division invaded Hexi from the south, they had only two routes: to the east, Xiutu, facing Wuwei directly; to the west, Juyan, facing Zhangye and Jiuquan. One hundred and twenty years ago, Emperor Wu of Han dispatched General of Wave-Subduing Lu Bode to build fortifications there. Over the following generations, beacon towers, smoke-signal stations, pavilions, ramparts, and military farming colonies were gradually completed."

The Dou family, having lived in Hexi for generations, was indeed a great clan of the region. Dou You casually cited an example to highlight Juyan's importance: "In the fifth year of Yuanfeng under Emperor Zhao of Former Han, the Xiongnu Chanyu ordered the Liwu King, who pastured north of Juyan, to probe the border, vainly attempting to reclaim the lost Hunye lands. But Juyan's defenses were so tight that the barbarians could not break through and had to risk the desert. The Right Worthy King and the Liwu King led four thousand cavalry, split into three columns, and attacked Zhangye through the Heli Mountain passes. The Governor of Zhangye and the Commandant of the Dependent States sent troops to strike and routed them utterly, shooting the Liwu King dead during the pursuit. After that, they never dared invade the border again. This amply shows that with Juyan in hand, Xiongnu cavalry are severely constrained."

"But if the Xiongnu gain Juyan, the barbarians can herd and raise troops at Juyan Lake. Once autumn heightens and the horses grow fat, they can drive straight south into Hexi. If this thorn is not plucked out in time, even if General Wu drives the Xiongnu out of Zhangye and Jiuquan ten times, the barbarian raiders can comfortably return ten times! It is a nail in the eye, a sting in the back — it must be removed. Better to ride our high morale and retake it in one stroke, repair troops and horses at Juyan, drill in battle and archery, and set beacon warnings. Then, should the Xiongnu invade south in the future, the four commanderies of Hexi will know in advance and can prepare early."

This was also why Dou You sided with Diba Jiao and vigorously supported the campaign. If Wu Han fought to this point and then simply dusted off his hands and left, Hexi would sink back into endless war. With the wolf's den right at the border, ready to bite at any moment, no one could endure it. They urgently needed the court's protection, to rebuild the fence at Juyan — they could not let Wu Han stop.

After hearing Dou You out, Wu Han seemed to sink into thought. "There is indeed some sense in that. But what if the barbarians are deliberately luring me into deep pursuit?"

Dou You smiled. "The Xiongnu royal court is tied down by General Geng in Bing Province. At Juyan, there is at most the Right Worthy King's division. After recent engagements, the Xiongnu have been out of war too long, their fighting strength far inferior to Former Han times, and they have suffered repeated defeats. If the General now strikes with over ten thousand cavalry, it will be like a wolf driving a flock of sheep! Add five thousand local Hexi auxiliaries to assist, and victory is assured."

With that, Dou You shot Diba Jiao a meaningful glance. The Inspector of Liang Province caught on and, drawing on his learning, began to heap praise on Wu Han. "In this campaign, the General crossed the desert, struck Xiutu, and lifted the siege of Wuwei — already a feat of great valor. But if you can drive forward in six more thrusts, with whirlwind valor swirling, like lightning striking and thunder crashing, driving the Xiongnu beyond the Juyan frontier, then your glorious merit will be even more manifest — enough to rank alongside Huo Qubing of Han, who crossed Juyan, passed the Lesser Yuezhi, attacked the Qilian Mountains, and seized the Hunye lands!"

These words made even Diba Jiao himself cringe with their sycophancy, but Wu Han received them rather well. His tone softened further, and gradually he agreed.

Afterward, even Diba Jiao found it incredible, thinking to himself: "The Sage said, 'In judging by words, I missed Zai Yu; in judging by appearance, I missed Ziyu.' Could it be that I was simply too disgusted with Wu Ziyan in the past? Today, it seems that though this man is rash and bloodthirsty, if you reason with him, he can still understand human speech!"

But what Diba Jiao and Dou You did not know was that Wu Han, who "understood human speech," returned to his camp and, when alone, recalled the day's events — and could not help bursting into loud laughter.

"Diba Jiao is truly easy to fool. I deliberately pretended to be unwilling to fight for Juyan, and he and Dou You actually believed it!"

So Wu Han had been putting on an act all along, deliberately taking the opposite stance from Diba Jiao!

He had garrisoned Liang Province for a year and a half — how could he not have studied the region's terrain? How could he not clearly understand Juyan's importance?

Wu Han was not one to expound grand principles or grand strategy. He simply tilted his head and looked at the map: Hexi truly deserved its name, "the Empire's Arm." Wuwei was the forearm, Zhangye the crucial wrist, Jiuquan the palm, and Dunhuang, with its silk road routes stretching beyond the frontier, the four fingers. Only Juyan stood out like the thumb of Hexi's hand, cocked high and thrust deep into the Xiongnu heartland.

Because Juyan had been completely built by the Han dynasty into a fortress and beacon complex, the Xiongnu could gnash their teeth to splinters and still not uproot it, forced to let this thorn in their flesh fester for a hundred years. Instead, the Han army seized the initiative from there, and Juyan repeatedly served as the springboard for Han cavalry offensives against the Xiongnu.

Apart from Huo Qubing, whether it was Li Ling's northern strike against the Xiongnu in the second year of Tianhan under Emperor Wu of Han, or the five generals' campaign beyond the frontier under Emperor Xuan of Han, Juyan was always a vital passage.

Indeed, Wu Han valued Juyan not because it was easy to defend, but for future offensives!

When Wu Han first followed Diwu Lun, it was merely an instinct to follow the strong. But Diwu Lun had not initially figured out how to use him. After a long detour through the Central Plains, Wu Han had finally returned to what he knew best: guarding the frontier.

In his early years, Wu Han had killed a man and fled, drifting to Yuyang in You Province to settle. Ostensibly a horse trader, he was in truth a part-time bandit, often skirmishing with Xiongnu and Wuhuan raiders beyond the frontier. Now he commanded the Bing Province shock cavalry, doing much the same thing.

Wu Han also vaguely sensed that Diwu Lun disliked indiscriminate slaughter and valued military discipline. But even if Wu Han could suppress his inner brutality, could he control his soldiers' hands? Diwu Lun perhaps understood this too, and so preferred to fight poison with poison, using Wu Han against the Xiongnu beyond the frontier — then there was no need to worry about humanitarian concerns...

Knowing that he would be locked in a long struggle with the barbarians going forward, Wu Han wanted to do it brilliantly. So his ambition burned high.

"Sealing Langjuxu, watering horses at the Hanhai — if Huo Qubing could do it, why can't Wu Han?"

That being the case, Juyan must of course be contested! But since Wu Han had no real disagreement with Diba Jiao, why deliberately oppose him and take such a roundabout path?

Because Wu Han knew full well that Hexi was exhausted, the Xiongnu Right Division's main force was still intact, and leading troops hundreds of li out of Zhangye to strike the Hu was a gamble. Success meant becoming another Huo Qubing; defeat meant becoming another Li Guangli! Even the proud Wu Han did not have absolute confidence.

A skilled warrior, before considering victory, first considers defeat. If he were careless and lost, even if the honest Diba Jiao did not deliberately shift the blame, men like Dou You in Hexi would surely attack him behind his back and wash their hands of responsibility. Their true faces — Wu Han had seen them clearly the last time he slunk away from Liang Province in disgrace!

So Wu Han deliberately took the opposite stance, making Diba Jiao beg him! Only then could he secure maximum manpower and material support from Hexi, and trick Diba Jiao into writing to the Emperor to explain the situation. Then, if Old Wu failed to achieve total victory, Diwu Lun could not punish him too harshly.

When Wu Han was recommended to Diwu Lun by his old superior Ren Guang, the appraisal was "fierce and valiant, with wisdom and cunning."

His fierceness and valor were for the enemy; as for his wisdom and cunning, they were now entirely deployed against his own side... After all, it was the Wei army's traditional art — friendly forces were the greatest hidden danger!

If Diwu Lun knew that Wu Han, this "promising talent," had, after the minor setbacks of recent years, developed such scheming and calculation, would he be gratified, or would he not know whether to laugh or cry?

In any case, Wu Han had now duped Diba Jiao into giving full support. Apart from the Bing Province troops, the entire military strength of Hexi was also placed in his hands. General Wu could arrange things at his leisure, letting those motley sacrificial troops fill the ditches while his own direct core forces won the ultimate glory.

And when he stepped out of the command tent and stood before his officers, Wu Han put away his petty cunning. His fierce, valiant, and proud spirit revealed itself fully as he swept his hand and slammed his palm onto the map.

"Pass the word to all brigades: in three days, strike camp and leave Zhangye. Follow the Ruoshui River, cross the shifting sands!"

"Fight our way to Juyan, and feast on the barbarians' cattle, sheep, and horseflesh through the winter solstice!"