Chapter 345: In the End, Strength Is What Speaks

What does it feel like to watch helplessly as the enemy slips away right before your eyes?

The feeling is complicated. At the very least, when Zhang Zhao saw several thousand Fengxiang troops retreating eastward into the high mountains under cover of night, he did not know what to say.

The Guiyi Army was still too weak. If they insisted on keeping every last Fengxiang soldier here, the price they would have to pay would be enormous.

Zhang Zhao looked at the cheering officers and men around him — whether fierce generals like Man Xiong, or the Tangut light cavalry who had been used as support troops.

Every face wore an expression of profound relief at still being alive.

Four double-hours of seesaw fighting had already pushed them to their limit.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhao understood that devouring the four thousand most elite troops of the Fengxiang Army was already the best result he could achieve. Going too far was worse than not going far enough; if he grew greedier, he would very likely be bitten back.

Zhang Zhao had received Pei Yuan's letter at the end of the fourth month, telling him to prepare to enter Guanzhong to put down the rebellion. At the beginning of the fifth month he had set out with more than six thousand troops, several thousand civilian laborers, and six units of light cavalry. More than three months had passed since then.

In those three months, the soldiers of the Guiyi Army had marched more than fifteen hundred li with him, and they would have to march the same distance back. There and back made three thousand li, and the road alone would take months.

Some of the men had wives pregnant when they set out; by now the child might already have been born, and those not yet born would be due by the time they got home.

Some had left elderly parents who were ill, with no way of knowing how the illness had progressed — or whether they were even still alive.

Some had already arranged a marriage before leaving, and without even remembering what their bride-to-be looked like, had followed him, Zhang Zhao, to Guanzhong.

Some had taken their pay and wanted to go home and buy land for their families; some wanted to hurry back and marry a beautiful wife.

Some, when they left, had their parents weeping and crying out that they must come back alive — those faces and voices were still vivid before their eyes.

Some had promised their childhood sweethearts that they would marry as soon as they returned.

Some had friends and kinsmen killed in battle, and feared dying themselves before they could bring the ashes and rewards home.

They were all living, breathing people — not NPCs who never tired and needed no comfort for the heart.

From the start of the campaign until now, the Guiyi Army had marched out from Liangzhou, subduing the Tangut of Huizhou, Qingzhou, and Yuanzhou one after another.

Then they had fought a bloody battle against more than ten thousand rebels, thrashed Li Congzhao below Mawei Slope, and now had knocked down Li Congyan as well.

They had not paused their horses or turned back from death — but their hearts longed for home.

They wanted to take their rewards and go joyfully home to share them with wives and parents. This was what was meant by an army whose spirit could no longer bear battle.

"Surround the Xiongwu Army! Don't let them get away! I will go to the court and demand rewards — great rewards! I will make sure my lads return laden with spoils!"

Zhang Zhao spurred his horse back and forth across the battlefield, his personal guards following behind him, shouting across the whole field.

"Victory! Victory for the Sikong! Victory for the Guiyi Army!"

Sure enough, once Zhang Zhao made the decision to stop while he was ahead, the cheers on the battlefield were louder than at any other time. They were genuinely happy that they would not have to fight to the death again.

More than a thousand cavalrymen went roaring off in pursuit of the Xiongwu Army, which had not managed to flee and had been left stranded by the Wei River.

The reason Zhang Zhao chose to pursue the Qinzhou Xiongwu Army rather than mainly chase the Fengxiang Army was one he had thought through carefully.

Because Qinzhou (Tianshui), in the time of the Great Tang, had been territory under the Military Governor of Longyou.

Between Qinzhou and Lanzhou, which Zhang Zhao controlled, lay only Weizhou (Longxi) from the Great Tang period. Qinzhou was therefore naturally regarded by Zhang Zhao and the Guiyi Army as territory belonging to themselves.

Moreover, Kang Fu, the Military Governor of the Qinzhou Xiongwu Army, was old and had repeatedly asked to return to Kaifeng to retire. The Xiongwu Army had no one who could hold the field. This was practically territory tailor-made for Zhang Zhao!

Even if he defeated the Fengxiang Army, he could not swallow the Fengxiang Military Governor's territory — but he could swallow the Qinzhou Xiongwu Army's territory.

And Zhang Zhao also harbored a private thought: in both feeling and reason, he did not want to let Li Congyan go.

But right now, after several days of bitter fighting, the Guiyi Army could no longer bear another battle. Yet acting as a rear-line supervisory force, herding these thirty-five hundred Xiongwu troops to attack the few thousand frightened birds Li Congyan had led away — that might still be possible.

Seeing themselves surrounded, the Xiongwu Army panicked. In cold-weapon warfare, what you fight with is spirit.

The Xiongwu Army were no weaklings, but they had not dared to go up and fight earlier. Now that their nerve had broken, they would not dare to fight.

Song Zhong, the young lord of the Xiongwu Military Governor and Chief Commander of the cavalry-infantry, was also helpless.

He had thought he was following the King of Qi to crush a soft persimmon. Who could have imagined it would be a vicious battle that made a man's calves cramp?

He, Song Zhong, was not Li Congyan's subordinate, and his unwillingness to fight such a vicious battle was perfectly understandable.

His only mistake was that he had not expected the Fengxiang Army to retreat so resolutely and so swiftly, which left him cut off by the Guiyi Army.

In Chang'an, An Shenqi felt as though he had been struck by five thunderbolts. He had still wanted to wear down Zhang Zhao and Li Congyan a while longer.

But he had never imagined that in just six days, Zhang Zhao would first defeat Li Congzhao, then defeat Li Congyan — in six days, driving the Fengxiang Army's twenty thousand men to the end of their rope.

Zhang Zhao must absolutely not be allowed to swallow the Fengxiang Army!

That was the only thought in An Shenqi's mind. His plan of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf had gone wrong. Now, as long as he could get Zhang Zhao back to Hexi, any price was worth paying.

At that very moment, Li Congzhao in Xingping County dispatched fast riders to make contact with An Shenqi.

And the Fengxiang Army in Xingping County summoned up their last courage, organizing several thousand men to march out of the city toward Mawei Slope.

The eight hundred men led by Hu Cile and Guo Guangcheng had already given twelve-tenths of their fighting strength, but the gap in numbers was too great, and Li Congzhao kept pressing them steadily westward.

By the Wei River, the surrounded Song Zhong was considering whether to send someone to ask the Hexi Army's Sikong Zhang for terms of surrender, or to break out toward Zhouzhi County, or... simply to take his personal followers and flee on his own.

But soon he no longer needed to consider it, because someone had already made the decision for him.

Just after sunset, the Xiongwu Army, under enormous psychological pressure, erupted in mutiny. It began with dozens of soldiers shouting that they had been deceived by Song Zhong and demanding that he come out and explain himself.

Fortunately for Song Zhong, his yabing guards were still loyal. They went out to suppress the disturbance, and cut down two of the shouting soldiers on the spot.

But this only provoked greater fury. Hundreds upon thousands of soldiers surged out, shouting "We ask the Commander to take his meals elsewhere," and rushed toward Song Zhong's tent.

What did "take his meals elsewhere" mean? Song Zhong knew perfectly well. It was damn thieves' cant — it meant his head was to be moved to another place, to find somewhere else to stay.

As a Five Dynasties warlord with rich experience in rebelling against others, Song Zhong also had equally rich experience in how to deal with rebellion from below. And that was: run!

As long as you ran fast enough and were not caught during the mutiny, you would afterward have the capital to advance or retreat as you pleased.

Because mutinous yabing guards did not have the ability to govern a region. In the end they would still have to put forward a man of reputation to stabilize the place — and that was how yabing officers like them made their way in the world.

Only today, Song Zhong, who had vaulted onto his horse and fled at top speed, was immediately blocked and driven back.

He saw several hundred familiar figures — that distinctive cotton-padded armor unique to the Hexi Army.

In an instant Song Zhong understood: the ones who wanted to kill him were not the mutinous Xiongwu soldiers, but Zhang Zhao.

That night, the Xiongwu Army mutinied and killed more than twenty officers, from the young lord of the Military Governor and Chief Commander of cavalry-infantry Song Zhong on down. The remaining officers, great and small, led their troops in surrendering to Zhang Zhao.

The next day, Zhang Zhao personally supervised the battle with the Hanshan Capital guard, ordered the surrendered Xiongwu Army troops into action, and began a three-sided assault on Li Congyan up on the mountain.

It was only a pity that after barely half a day of attacking, just when Li Congyan and his men had been trapped in a temple on the mountain and at most one more day would have brought success, Guo Guangcheng personally arrived with a man in tow.

The man who came with him was a valiant general surnamed An, a kinsman of An Shenqi, sent specifically to plead Li Congyan's case before Zhang Zhao.

In an era when military men held power, they liked to lay everything out in the open, unlike the literati of the later Song and Ming dynasties, who wrapped everything in clouds and mist.

An Shenqi's terms were simple, but enough to move Zhang Zhao.

The valiant general flew down from his horse and dropped directly to one knee before Zhang Zhao. "The Acting Grand Tutor, Military Governor of Jinchang Army, and Acting Metropolitan Prefect Lord An has sent this humble general to report to Minister of Works Zhang.

Though the King of Qi has committed grave errors, he is still a king enfeoffed by the Son of Heaven. His life must by no means be harmed!

The Hexi Army has rendered meritorious service in quelling the rebellion. The Grand Tutor is willing to memorialize the throne to grant Minister of Works Zhang the title of Duke, with the additional appointment of Military Governor of Longyou. For all posts below Prefect in the lands of Hexi and Longyou, the Minister of Works shall make the appointments."

Zhang Zhao nodded inwardly. A dukedom, plus the Military Governorship of Longyou — now his grand title of Guiyi Army Military Governor had finally taken shape.

The power to appoint all posts below Prefect was tantamount to tacitly acknowledging that Zhang Zhao held the same princely-domain authority as Li Congyan.

But this was still not enough. Surface benefits alone would not do — there had to be practical benefits as well!

The valiant general was quick on the uptake. It seemed An Shenqi had already given him instructions before sending him.

"As for the rewards for the army's quelling of the rebellion and the grievances between the Zhang and Li families, the Grand Tutor is willing to act as mediator. Let everyone meet at Mawei Post Station and settle matters there!"

Mawei Post Station was in Zhang Zhao's hands, but An Shenqi would certainly not come alone — he was bound to bring the Jinchang Army and Zhenguo Army with him. Still, choosing Mawei Post Station was giving Zhang Zhao considerable face.

After much deliberation, his mind turning it over a thousand times, Zhang Zhao finally nodded.

With his few thousand troops, a third of them Tangut, the terms before him were already the best he could get.

For he could not possibly withstand a combined assault by the Jinchang Army and Zhenguo Army. Even the current Fengxiang Army had been defeated only by the narrowest of margins, and he still could not quite swallow it.

If he had fifty thousand troops in hand, would An Shenqi dare act this way? In the end, everything still came down to strength.

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