Chapter 661: Hanzhong

In the second month of spring, the tenth year of Wude (AD 34), after the ice melted and snow thawed on the Qinling Mountains, Ren Guang, the Grand Minister of Agriculture of Wei, set out from Yongcheng in Right Fufeng, turned at Chencang to travel west, crossed the ancient ford of the Wei River, advanced south through Dasan Pass, and passed along the Gudao road into Wudu Commandery.

This route was the exact reverse of Han Xin's northern campaign against the Three Qin two hundred years earlier, and no army had traveled it for many years: during the reign of Empress Lü of Han, the great Wudu earthquake not only altered the course of the Western Han River, but also caused mountains to collapse and the land to split in this area, destroying the plank roads and severing the Gudao road for several generations. It was not repaired until the time of Emperor Wu of Han, but because the river had changed course, it was no longer suitable for large armies to march through.

When the realm had just split apart at the end of the Xin dynasty, both Wudu and Hanzhong were controlled by Gongsun Shu, so at that time the two emperors of Wei and Shu could only glare at each other across the Qinling Mountains. The two sides traded blows along the Qishan road, which allowed grain transport by water, but maintained a fragile peace on the Gudao road — Diwu Lun and Gongsun Shu both knew that on the eight-hundred-li Gudao road, troops carrying their own rations could only sustain a force of under a thousand men; sending any more would just be handing military merits to the other side for nothing.

But after Wudu Commandery was seized by Ma Yuan, the situation changed completely!

When he crossed the Qinling Mountains and reached a place called "Yellow Flower Stream," Ren Guang dismounted, turned to look back from the mountain, and praised: "Over the past five years, to retake Wudu, Gongsun Shu disregarded the people's strength in Shu and constantly sent great armies to contest it. Yet His Majesty, on one hand, ordered General Ma to defend, while on the other, he dispatched thirty thousand laborers from Guanzhong to repair the Gudao road — this is why the three armies can advance south so swiftly today!"

On this Yellow Flower Stream, there was also a stone stele with an inscription as proof, presented by the elders of Wudu Commandery in praise of Diwu Lun's road-building work. It recorded a eulogy: "This Gudao road lies on the right of Han. Mountain streams race swift and fierce, their pillars laid across the way. When autumn rains soak the land, floods overflow the fields, the Han River reverses and yields, delaying the army's march."

"Only our sage sovereign, able to illuminate lofty virtue, true in war and true in peace, personally frugal and restrained in habit, his transforming influence flowing like the divine. In the sixth year of Wude, the second month, he issued an edict: soldiers and civilians built the road, plank paths reaching to heaven. Even Lu Ban of old could not have matched its likeness. At once travelers rejoiced, the hundred surnames were glad, and so they chanted this eulogy. Once Yu channeled the rivers to pacify the four seas; now the sage Wei continues his work, bringing peace to ten thousand li…"

Though not without words of excessive praise, the improvement to transportation after the Gudao road was rebuilt was obvious to all: compared to detouring through Longyou, the journey to and from Guanzhong was shortened by nearly a month.

To make up for the grain transport problem caused by the lack of rivers, Diwu Lun allocated a full three thousand of the mules and donkeys bred in the Shanglin region of Guanzhong to Ma Yuan in one go. These beasts excelled at carrying heavy loads over mountainous terrain, crossing hills and fording streams with ease. The Privy Treasury also manufactured single-wheeled carts called "Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses" that could carry grain sacks, and Ren Guang was escorting them to the front lines — ever since Diwu Lun had set the strategy of "advancing south" around the New Year, war had already begun!

When a great river — the Western Han River — appeared before his eyes, it meant that the Wei army's forward command post for the Hanzhong campaign, Ju County (present-day Lueyang County), had been reached.

Ju County was very small, just an unremarkable little county town in Wudu Commandery. Mountains encircled it on all sides, as if it were ringed by giant walls towering into the clouds, which made the light in the town rather poor. Though it was clearly noon, it still seemed dim in the mountain shadows, and with the rivers flowing all around, the moisture was quite abundant — it was said that for half the year, the place was shrouded in mist.

And the Governor of Wudu, who had come to welcome Ren Guang, took one look at the endless stream of mules and single-wheeled carts behind him and began to complain: "Grand Minister of Agriculture, there's no room left to store the grain."

Having managed logistics for so many years and traveled to so many places, Ren Guang had never heard such an absurd complaint — ordinary local officials, colonels, and generals, when meeting a grain officer, would only mutter "wishing there were more"! Now here was someone actually complaining about too much supply!

But one only had to look at this pitifully small Ju County to understand: its size was no more than that of a village in Guanzhong, just a few streets behind its walls. To empty houses for grain storage, people had been forced to move outside the city to set up camps.

"This Ju County is indeed unsuitable as a staging ground for a great army," Ren Guang frowned along with him. But small as Ju County was, its geographical position was extremely critical.

Directly north of Ju County was, naturally, the Gudao road by which Ren Guang had come; to the northwest, one could follow the Western Han River to reach Mount Qiuchi, and further north was the seat of Wudu Commandery where Wei Ao had met his death, from which one could then glimpse Mount Qi and enter Longyou.

South of Ju County, following the Western Han River, one could enter the famous Jinniu road, but after traveling a little over three hundred li, the way would be blocked by a towering, precipitous pass — this was the "Bai Shui Pass," the foremost of Yizhou's three great strongholds. Ever since losing Wudu, Gongsun Shu had stationed heavy troops at Bai Shui Pass year-round, repairing its perilous fortifications to guard against a Wei sneak attack.

And traveling east from Ju County? One could follow the Mian River into the Hanzhong basin…

From this, one could see that though this place was small, it was a vital hub, connected in all directions.

That being the case, the only option was to move Ju County's grain further forward to the most advanced areas — this was why Diwu Lun had sent Ren Guang south to coordinate.

But Ma Yuan was nowhere to be seen inside or outside the city. Upon asking the Governor of Wudu, Ren Guang learned that Ma Yuan had left the county the day before and gone east…

"The Grand General of the Agile Cavalry has gone in person to Yangping Pass to reconnoiter the enemy!"

…

After traveling east from Ju County for three days, Ren Guang discovered that the way ahead was impassable.

The Hanzhong basin was a long, narrow basin hemmed in by the Qinling and Ba Mountains, no more than a hundred li from north to south, and this area was the narrowest part. A thin gap, barely several li wide, barely existed among the undulating peaks, and even that was blocked by earthen ramparts and stone walls. With the Mian River flowing across, it was easy to defend and hard to attack.

This was Yangping Pass, the western gateway to Hanzhong.

Ma Yuan's camp was situated west of Yangping Pass, spread out along the Mian River valley for several li. Ren Guang had to walk from the tail of the camp to its head before he finally met Ma Yuan atop a tall watchtower.

Ma Yuan had always been a late bloomer, only meeting Diwu Lun and following him to conquer the realm after he turned thirty. Now, more than a decade later, at the "advanced age" of forty-eight, Ma Yuan's beard and hair had gained a touch of white, and his eyes had grown world-weary from years of campaigning — yet none of this made him look old; instead, it made his whole person seem even more compelling.

Ma Yuan was very pleased to see Ren Guang arrive. General Ma handled only military matters, while Ren Guang was to make civil governance preparations for controlling Hanzhong after its capture. Anyone would be delighted to have such a capable assistant who also knew his proper bounds.

"Boqing, come take a look at this Yangping Pass."

Ma Yuan handed his telescope to Ren Guang, and in the extended field of view, the enemy's strengths and weaknesses were laid bare.

Yangping Pass was bristling with banners and flags, garrisoned by a large number of Shu troops. Behind it lay the main base of the Shu army in Hanzhong: Mianyang City.

Ma Yuan spoke from the side: "The mountain range north of Yangping Pass is called Tiandang Mountain, and the mountain to its south is Dingjun Mountain!"

"Two mountains and one pass, like three folding screens, firmly protecting the western entrance to Hanzhong — worthy of being one of the three great passes of Yizhou."

The so-called three passes of Yizhou were Bai Shui Pass on the Jinniu road, Jiang Pass guarding the Three Gorges, and this Yangping Pass in Hanzhong.

"This place controls Chuan-Shu to the south, connects to Qin and Long to the north, leans on Jing Mountain behind, has Dingjun and Zhuobi towering before it, straddles Baima and Jinniu on the right, embraces Yunwu and Baizhang on the left, with the Han, Hei, Jin, and other rivers winding and enfolding it — the ultimate peril under heaven. With this, Gongsun Shu can advance to threaten and encroach upon Yong and Liang, expanding his territory; or he can hold fast to this strategic point for a protracted defense."

Ma Yuan was not sparing in his praise of Yangping Pass. After lowering the telescope, Ren Guang smiled and said: "In that case, when the court officials all believed that the General could be ordered to lead his troops south from Wudu, strike straight for Bai Shui, and follow the momentum into Shu to destroy Gongsun Shu, why did the General submit a memorial saying we should first strike Yangping and must not force an attack on Bai Shui Pass?"

"The peril of Bai Shui is no less than Yangping Pass."

Ma Yuan said: "What's more, even if we took Bai Shui Pass, there are still two more natural barriers behind it. The first is Jiameng Pass, and the second is the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains. The terrain there is a chain of mountains of absolute peril, with flying walkways spanning the thoroughfares. After losing Wudu, besides sending troops year after year to try to retake it, Gongsun Shu also built a fortification among the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains, called the Sword Pavilion — it is a place where one man can hold the pass against ten thousand…"

He shook his head: "Though Gongsun Shu is a frog at the bottom of a well, he is quite stubborn. In his death throes, even if the Chengjia regime is exhausted, a single decisive stroke to finish him will still not be easy."

Gongsun Shu and Ma Yuan were not only both from Maoling, but their families lived close together. They had played together since they were bare-bottomed kids, and Ma Yuan knew this childhood friend very well. The "residence" Diwu Lun had built for Gongsun Shu in Chang'an was probably going to go unused.

Ma Yuan pointed east: "Yangping Pass is different. Once we take this pass, for a thousand li of Hanzhong, there will be no more great obstacles — it will be like a hollow bamboo tube that can be pierced straight through! Furthermore, Gongsun Shu has placed surrendered generals in Hanzhong, dividing it into three. In the west, Mianyang and Nanzheng form Hanzhong Commandery, garrisoned by Jing Han; in the middle, Xicheng forms 'Chengxing' Commandery, garrisoned by the surrendered general Yan Cen; and in the far east, Shangyong, Fangling, and other places form 'Shangyong Commandery,' held by Deng Feng and Jia Fu."

Ren Guang immediately understood and added: "The General means that, compared to Ba-Shu, which Gongsun Shu directly controls, the three commanderies of Hanzhong each act on their own. With a great army at their gates, they will inevitably have their own selfish calculations…"

"Moreover, the Jinniu road is already cut off by our army. For communication between Hanzhong and Chengdu, they must first take the Micang road to Ba Commandery and make a detour. Our army can currently use the Gudao road to move troops and grain directly from Guanzhong, while they must detour a thousand li. As one side wanes and the other waxes, striking Hanzhong will exhaust the Chengjia regime, keeping it constantly on the run!"

Ma Yuan nodded: "Is this not precisely His Majesty's intent?"

"Since we cannot destroy Shu in a single blow, we shall emulate the jackal wolf hunting an ox: first bite out a wound, make it bleed without cease, until finally its strength fails and it collapses to the ground."

"Wudu Commandery was the first wound, and it has been bleeding for over five years. Now we can go a step further, aim for the bone and the joints, and bite down again!"

Ma Yuan seemed to see the end already. How cruel — Gongsun Shu's petty court, secluded in Yizhou, would be destroyed by Diwu Lun in this manner. Yet Ma Yuan was also grateful to Diwu Lun for entrusting this matter to him to carry out.

"In the end, it will be I who severs his throat!"

This was the greatest respect he could show his old friend!