Chapter 692: A Two-Pronged Thrust

One year later, in the eleventh year of Wude (AD 35), which was also the twelfth year of the Chengjia Longxing reign…

The once-prosperous Brocade Official City now lay bleak and desolate. The unending war with the State of Wei had wrecked the Chengjia economy — iron coinage collapsed first, grain harvests failed next. In the past, they could still "keep the enemy beyond the borders," and the Shu heartland remained roughly at peace. But lately, from the humblest commoner to the highest official, everyone felt with growing clarity the footsteps of war drawing ever closer to Chengdu!

A year ago, the Han army suffered a catastrophic defeat at Dangyang, losing its main force. The Wei army swept across Jiangbei, and Liu Xiu soon lost Huainan and Jiangdu as well.

Just when the world expected the State of Wei to destroy Han in one stroke, Diwu Lun did not focus solely on hammering Liu Xiu. Instead, he turned his spearhead and began targeting Gongsun Shu!

After the Wei Grand General of the Agile Cavalry, Ma Yuan, seized Hanzhong, he used it as a base to constantly send troops to harass the Jinniu Road, Micang Road, and other routes, his forces pressing toward Baishui Pass.

To add frost to snow, the Wei Grand General Who Conquers the South, Cen Peng, advanced to occupy Jiangling and Yiling in Nan Commandery, using them as a springboard to march toward the Three Gorges.

Diwu Lun clearly intended to attack Shu on two fronts and annihilate Gongsun in one blow. With Wu-Shu communications severed, Liu Xiu was too busy defending himself to fulfill the alliance and coordinate with Gongsun Shu. In the howling wind, the house of Chengjia was gradually becoming too weak to stand alone.

Since the start of this year, all Gongsun Shu heard from the east was bad news.

In the third month, calamitous tidings came from the front: "Your Majesty, Cen Peng has broken through Jingmen Pass!"

Jingmen, the "foremost pass of Chu's western frontier," lay at Xiling Gorge, the easternmost of the Three Gorges. Above loomed the twelve rocky peaks of Jingmen Mountain, coiled and crouching; below churned the Tiger's Teeth Rapids, like the Milky Way pouring upside down — a true natural barrier that even birds found hard to cross. Gongsun Shu had placed great hope in blocking the Wei army's westward advance here. He dispatched the entire Chengjia navy, not only building pontoon bridges and watchtowers but also planting obstructive piles underwater and ordering the river sealed with wooden barricades, believing this would cut off any possibility of the Wei army sailing upstream.

Yet the result was that Jingmen and Huya, the two passes, held out against Cen Peng's assault for only a few short days…

The Emperor's younger brother, Gongsun Hui, who had been ordered to Jiangzhou to oversee the battle, returned to Chengdu and reported the situation to Gongsun Shu:

"After Cen Peng entered Nan Commandery, for half a year he drew his bow but did not release. He merely built towered warships, collision vessels, and nearly a hundred swift-oar ships at Jiangling. In the third month, when he attacked Jingmen Mountain, his ships also employed fire-weapons…"

"Fire-weapons?" This was not the first time Gongsun Shu had heard of such things. It was said that relying on them, Diwu Lun had thoroughly routed Liu Xiu at the decisive battle of Dangyang.

But because the Wei army in Hanzhong had not yet been equipped with these devices, the Shu army had never witnessed their power firsthand, relying only on hearsay from Han envoys and traveling merchants.

"One blast from a fire-cannon reduces everything to pulp for several li."

"When the divine fire erupts, it flies chaotically through the sky and can pierce three layers of armor."

These accounts were too terrifying — no one knew if they were true or false. Fearing they would unsettle his own troops, Gongsun Shu quickly banned such talk: "Anyone who praises the enemy to frighten the masses and boasts of fire-weapons shall be punished for the crime of spying for Wei!"

Until this day, the Shu army finally tasted the fire-weapons for themselves…

According to soldiers who fled back from the front, the Wei army first sent warriors steering boats upstream to charge the pontoon bridge. But the warships were blocked by the obstructive piles in the river, and the wooden barricade ahead had been doused with water, so it could not be set alight for a time.

The Wei assault was stalled — yet on those large ships, several small-caliber fire-cannons were revealed. At close range, they aimed and fiercely bombarded the river-blocking wooden barricade. Earthen walls and stone ramparts might have withstood it, but the wood was blasted to splinters. A breach was quickly torn open, and the Wei troops surged through…

Just then, an east wind sprang up. Cen Peng committed his entire army, advancing with the wind, unstoppable. The Shu army fell into chaos; thousands drowned. The rest were either captured by the Wei forces or fled westward in rout…

In this single battle, the Shu navy was nearly annihilated. Consequently, Jiang Pass and Baidi City at Qutang Gorge became impossible to hold. Gongsun Shu's favorite traveling palace, along with the grain and fodder stockpiled there, thus fell into Cen Peng's hands.

Blocking Cen Peng's path ahead was the capital of Ba Commandery: Jiangzhou (present-day Chongqing). If Jiangzhou fell, Cen Peng's army could drive straight into the Shu heartland plain. In great alarm, Gongsun Shu ordered Gongsun Hui to take reinforcements to the front and defend Jiangzhou to the death!

Jiangzhou city was built by Zhang Yi after he conquered Ba in the Qin era. Situated at Jiangbeizui, where the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers converge, its walls followed the mountain contours, with houses stacked layer upon layer like stair-steps from the foot to the summit — a true mountain city. It faced water on three sides; in spring and summer, the rivers swelled and flooded, stretching as far as the eye could see, impossible to cross swiftly. Although the Wei army had gained naval superiority, mounting an uphill assault on Jiangzhou would be no easy task.

As expected, Cen Peng's force was checked at Jiangzhou. Just as Gongsun Shu breathed a slight sigh of relief, in the fifth month, Cen Peng carried out a series of maneuvers that left the Chengjia ruler and his ministers dumbstruck.

He bypassed Jiangzhou without attacking, sailed directly up the Qingshui River, a tributary of the Yangtze, force-marched two hundred li, and struck straight at Deyang County in Guanghan Commandery — capturing it in one blow!

Guanghan Commandery lay east of Shu Commandery and served as Chengdu's eastern gateway. Guanghan County was north of Deyang, barely three hundred li from the capital. If Guanghan County fell, Cen Peng would be at the city walls! For a time, the Chengjia regime scrambled in panic. Gongsun Shu hastily conscripted the commandery troops of Shu Commandery to rush to Guanghan and set up defenses, while also ordering his younger brother Gongsun Hui at Jiangzhou to pull his forces north, intending to use the armies of Ba and Shu to crush Cen Peng's isolated deep thrust in a pincer attack…

But Cen Peng made a feint. After staying a few days in Deyang County, he abruptly turned south, routing Gongsun Hui's forces with heavy casualties. The Qingshui River practically became the Zhuoshui River. Gongsun Hui could only flee in utter disarray.

With this, the Shu army in southern Ba Commandery was completely destroyed. In the sixth month, Cen Peng moved south again and easily seized the now-vacant Jiangzhou.

When the news reached back, Shu was shaken. Gongsun Shu himself was even more aghast. Thumping his staff on the ground, he cried, "What kind of divine being is he!"

The situation was already dire, yet worse was still to come. While Cen Peng was expanding his gains, Ma Yuan in Hanzhong had not been idle. Taking advantage of the Shu army massing its heavy troops to block Cen Peng, Ma Yuan captured Baishui Pass in one stroke, then took Jiameng. Fifty thousand Wei troops pressed toward the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains!

…

"Neither Ba nor Shu can be held."

Upon learning that the Wei army was blooming on two fronts and Ma Yuan's force had already taken Jiameng Pass, the Chengjia Chancellor Li Xiong lamented thus. He immediately went to the palace that very night to seek an audience with Gongsun Shu.

Yet the attendants said Gongsun Shu was in a meeting with someone else. Li Xiong waited anxiously for a long time. As the sky began to lighten, he saw the Chengjia Grand Marshal Yan Cen emerge from the palace chambers.

Yan Cen was a surrendered general, originally tasked with defending Hanzhong. After Ma Yuan broke through Yangping Pass and killed Jing Han, Yan Cen fled without fighting, escaping back to Chengdu. But according to his own account: "Your servant was unwilling to bow and surrender to Wei. I had to cut a bloody path through the enemy lines to return alive and see Your Majesty!"

Gongsun Shu believed Yan Cen. Not only did he not punish him, he commended him as a loyal subject, gradually giving real power to what had been an empty-title "Grand Marshal."

Li Xiong ordinarily had no conflict with Yan Cen, but at this juncture, Yan Cen might sway Gongsun Shu's intentions. Sensing trouble, Li Xiong exchanged courtesies with Yan Cen. The two men exchanged a few words, each harboring his own secret schemes, and then Li Xiong immediately entered the hall.

Gongsun Shu looked as though he had aged twenty years. His beard and hair had lately turned white and even begun falling out in clumps. Dressed in plain robes, with heavy bags under his eyes, he seemed not to have slept for days. Ma Yuan and Cen Peng's two-pronged thrust had pierced him to the bone.

Seeing Li Xiong arrive, Gongsun Shu asked directly: "Did the Chancellor just see the Grand Marshal?"

The Gongsun Emperor's tone was urgent: "Marshal Yan advises Us to commit all our elite troops, dividing the sixty thousand remaining men in Shu Commandery into three: thirty thousand to reinforce the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains, twenty thousand to defend the eastern gateway of Guanghan, and ten thousand to guard the southeastern gateway, Zizhong. Perhaps this can keep the Wei army at bay."

The reason Gongsun Shu had so many troops was that this year, facing the perilous situation, he had resorted to even more extreme militarization, conscripting almost one able-bodied man from every household.

Yan Cen's suggestion pleased Gongsun Shu greatly: "The Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains are a chain of sheer cliffs and impassable terrain, with plank roads spanning the gorges. Since last year, Your Majesty has reinforced the thirty li of most perilous plank roads and again stationed commandants to guard them. With such a natural barrier, why worry that Chengdu cannot be protected? Your servant is willing to share Your Majesty's burden, lead troops to resist the enemy, and hold this ground. I will surely be able to stop Ma Yuan and await a turn of fortune."

Yes, with two Wei armies already battering down his doors, Gongsun Shu knew in his heart he could not drive them out. So he pinned his hopes on a "turn of fortune" — perhaps Diwu Lun, swollen with pride, would sink into debauchery and die young? Or perhaps Liu Xiu would rally his forces for another northern campaign, tying down the Wei army?

However slim the chance, Gongsun Shu had no intention of surrendering with his hands bound. So he was quite stirred by Yan Cen's argument for "fighting to the utmost."

But he still wanted to hear what Li Xiong thought.

Li Xiong prostrated himself deeply and said: "It is true, as the Grand Marshal says, that the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains are indeed perilous and towering, surpassing even Baishui Pass and Jiameng Pass."

"But Your Majesty, even if our army can hold Sword Pavilion, the Wei forces can still reach the walls of Chengdu!"

Li Xiong pointed at the map on the wall and said: "Since Ma Yuan has already taken Jiameng Pass, he can follow the Bailong River downstream to reach Langzhong in Ba Commandery, and from there proceed to the Jialing River. In this way, he can link up with Cen Peng at Jiangzhou and attack Shu from the east — there is no need to fight to the death at Sword Mountain."

"Alternatively, Cen Peng could take the initiative to move north, continue along the Qingshui River, break through Guanghan County, press toward Zitong City, and seize all of Chengdu's eastern gateways. If that happens, the heavy troops at the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains will be caught in a two-sided Wei pincer — how could they hold out for long?"

In short, the Wei army had now essentially broken through the outer wall and barged into Gongsun Shu's courtyard. Yan Cen believed that as long as the front door was firmly blocked, they could continue living as before. But Shu Commandery was flat — windows, back doors, the Wei army had countless ways to enter the hall and take the inner chambers.

Li Xiong spoke from the heart, but his words shattered Gongsun Shu's last shred of hope. The Emperor suddenly flew into a rage: "Since the Chancellor deems this plan unworkable, what brilliant stratagem does he have to defeat the enemy?"

Gongsun Shu gritted his teeth and voiced his counsel: "Your Majesty, by now, Diwu Lun's power is fully formed. Never mind a two-front attack on Shu — even with just one army, Chengjia would be hard-pressed to resist. Since Shu Commandery cannot be held, in your servant's humble opinion, it would be better to make a southern tour of inspection!"

"What?"

Gongsun Shu's expression changed drastically. This was truly a path he had never contemplated.

Li Xiong began to describe the fallback route he had been arranging since last year: "The year before last, the Second Prince was enfeoffed in Zhuti, Qianwei Commandery (present-day Zhaotong, Yunnan). Why does Your Majesty not go there on an inspection tour?"

Gongsun Shu, however, did not think this was a good idea. Frowning, he said: "South of Shu, Yizhou Commandery in the Dian region has already rebelled, raising the five-colored banner in response to Diwu Lun. The Kingdom of Gouding is also raiding and disrupting Zangke. If We retreat to defend Zhuti, We would be abandoning Chengdu and Sword Pavilion to trap Ourselves in a jar!"

Li Xiong, however, remained confident: "Previously, Chengjia threw its full strength into contending with Wei and had no time to attend to the south. Now, Your Majesty need only dispatch one general with twenty or thirty thousand men, and he will surely be able to sweep the Dian region clean, drive the King of Gouding out of Zangke, and, together with Yuexi Commandery, use the Bo Road and the Dadu River as barriers. The Wei army would find it difficult to pursue deeply."

"Though the Nanzhong region is small, it spans a thousand li and holds a million people. With some development, it would be enough to sustain our cause and preserve the altars of the Gongsun clan…"

Gongsun Shu hesitated, wavering between the two proposals — fight or flee. If he fought, truth be told, he no longer had much confidence in Cen Peng and the Shu army. As Li Xiong had said, the Great and Little Sword Mountains alone could not stop the Wei army.

If he fled, he had heard the southern lands were damp and sweltering, thick with miasma, crawling with snakes and vermin. It was precisely Wang Mang's campaign against the Gouding that had exhausted Yizhou and thrown its people into chaos, giving Gongsun Shu his chance to carve out a domain in the first place.

That cursed place — he could bear to send his sons there to establish fiefs, but he himself was old, his health failing by the day. Could he even survive the journey to Zhuti? And if the campaigns against Dian and Zangke went badly, they might instead join forces with the Wei army to hem him in. Better to die defending Chengdu than to perish in the wilds; at least he could savor his final days of wealth and honor and preserve the dignity of the Son of Heaven…

Clutching the Imperial Heirloom Seal in his hands, Gongsun Shu, in his inner turmoil, had already made his choice. Yet he still decided to leave the final decision to Heaven.

In short, when you cannot decide, cast a divination…

In matters of prophecy and superstition, Gongsun Shu outdid even Liu Xiu. He delighted in mandate omens, spirits, and auspicious signs to prove his legitimacy — carving the words "Gongsun Emperor" onto his own hand was a mere trifle.

The "State Preceptor" Gongsun Shu relied on was a man named Ren Wengong, a remarkable figure versed in the celestial offices, wind-corner divination, and other esoteric arts. He could predict storms, flash floods, and calamities. When Wang Mang first took power, Ren Wengong foretold the Xin dynasty's inevitable downfall and led his family up into the mountains to escape the coming wars — and so it proved.

After Gongsun Shu declared himself emperor, Ren Wengong could not refuse his repeated summons. Gongsun Shu appeared to honor worthy scholars, but in truth he was extremely narrow-minded. Many recluses in Shu longed for the Han; once the authorities invited them and they declined, Gongsun Shu was quite capable of sending them poison.

Regrettably, Ren Wengong had died a few months earlier. It was said that a great stone at Wudan in Shu Commandery suddenly split in two. After casting a divination, Ren Wengong sighed and said, "Alas! A wise man of the western provinces shall die — I am the one it means." From then on, he often gathered his descendants for feasts. Three months later, he indeed passed away. Another version held that Ren Wengong, seeing the Cheng family regime could not last much longer and fearing that the rosy visions he had once divined for Gongsun Shu would collapse, bringing brutal retaliation, took poison to end his own life.

Gongsun Shu therefore had to settle for second best and had Ren Wengong's disciples perform the divination. After much trembling and hesitation, they produced the very prophecy Gongsun Shu's heart desired…

"The caitiff dies beneath the sword?"

Gongsun Shu was overjoyed at the sight. To him, the Wei army were the thieving caitiffs! Did this not mean that Ma Wenyuan would be defeated at the Great and Little Sword Mountains, perhaps even lose his life?

Thus Gongsun Shu threw himself entirely behind the war faction. He immediately summoned Cen Peng, handed over the thirty thousand newly recruited men from Shu Commandery, and adopted Cen Peng's strategy: he opened the treasury and lavished gold amassed over twelve years upon the Sword Mountains troops, sparing no expense.

As for Li Xiong's "southern hunt" strategy, Gongsun Shu cast it to the far corners of his mind.

After personally seeing Cen Peng off with cartloads of gold to march north, Gongsun Shu's mind began to turn once more.

"Ma Yuan's vanguard can be defeated, but how do we hold off Cen Peng?"

"Ah, 'the caitiff dies beneath the sword'… there is another interpretation. This sword need not only be the Great and Little Sword Mountains — it could be a real, sharp blade!"

Gongsun Shu steeled his heart and issued an order to the Gongsun death-sworn warriors on Mount Qionglai, now reduced to just over a dozen men.

"You will pose as defectors from Shu, hasten to Jiangzhou, find a way to meet Cen Peng, and then assassinate him at the first opportunity! Once Cen Junran is dead, the Jingzhou army will surely fall into chaos."

Yet the very day after the assassins set out for Jiangzhou, Gongsun Shu received a piece of catastrophic news that turned his face pale with shock!

"Ma Yuan is leading the main army against Sword Pavilion, and has also dispatched several thousand Di troops to slip through the Yinping track from Wudu Commandery and launch a surprise attack on Jiangyou County!"

This was a surprise raid no one had anticipated. The Yinping track was nothing like the main road along the Bailong River — there was no road at all! It was all towering peaks, sheer cliffs, dense forests, and raging torrents, over seven hundred li of uninhabited terrain. Only the most seasoned hunters dared travel it; how could an army slip through?

To put it another way, it was as if Gongsun Shu had a band of stout men bar all the doors and windows, lock them tight, and think himself utterly secure — only for the enemy to descend from the sky through the chimney overhead!

And Jiangyou County in Guanghan Commandery lay just three hundred li north of Chengdu. From there, one could threaten the capital to the south, or strike northeast at Zitong and sever the main supply route of the Shu army at the Great and Little Sword Mountains. The Cheng family regime was now in imminent peril!

Gongsun Shu was struck speechless for a long moment. Only after a while did he think to ask: "Who commands this Wei surprise force?"

Chancellor Li Xiong reported with deep worry: "The Jiangyou County Magistrate's report says that, judging by the banners, it appears to be a Di lieutenant-general — the very one who captured and killed General Jing Han last year. His name is…"

"Yun A!"