Chapter 504: Who Is the True Master of the Horse

Zhang Zhao's original intention was to slip into the village quietly — no firing of guns.

After building another hundred large warships at Hezhong Prefecture, he would sail straight downriver and charge directly to the vicinity of the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, for a decisive battle with Yelu Deguang.

But who could have guessed the Khitan would turn out to be so utterly useless — Zhang Zhao led his army out of Tong Pass, saw not a single enemy, and first Zhao Kuangzan and Hou Renbao came over with the strategic stronghold of Hezhong Prefecture.

Next, Zhao Hui, Acting Military Governor of the Baoyi Army at Shanzhou, killed the Liao troops and surrendered.

Later still, Wu Xingde, Chief Commander of the Ningguo Army, killed more than two thousand Xi infantry and came over as well.

At this point, the main force of the Yong army had not yet fully reached Hezhong Prefecture, but everything west of Shanzhou had already submitted — there was no hiding it now even if he wanted to.

Zhang Zhao could only leave Cao Yanming behind to oversee the building of warships while he personally led the main force straight down the river.

As they sailed downriver, Zhang Zhao summoned Zhao Hui, Zhao Yanjin, Wang Yan, Hou Zhang, Wu Xingde, and the others, granting them high office and generous rewards.

At the same time, after hearing the story of how Zhao Yanjin had seized the books, and his judgment that Zhao Kuangzan had gone over to surrender,

Zhang Zhao was overjoyed, feeling he had discovered a talent. He immediately brought Zhao Yanjin to his side and tested him, discovering that this young man truly had unique insights and perspectives, and his abilities were quite impressive.

Zhao Yanjin, for his part, immediately seized the opportunity, declaring that he had long admired Zhang Zhao and wished to serve him with the rites of a son.

You ask how Zhao Hui felt? He was naturally beside himself with joy!

This old man was fifty-seven this year and a famously prolific baby-making machine — he had no fewer than nine sons, among whom the three Zhao Yanjin brothers were an exceedingly rare set of triplets.

With so many sons, what did it matter to give one away? Zhao Hui even wanted to give all three of the triplets to Zhang Zhao as adopted sons.

Zhang Zhao rubbed his chin, looked at the eager, handsome young man before him, and nodded with satisfaction.

This fellow's ability to seize an opportunity was truly formidable! And he was a military man who was willing to read books — a complete talent! Take him! Take him in and train him well.

And so Zhang Zhao immediately accepted Zhao Yanjin as an adopted son. By now, Great King Zhang's five adopted sons had become seven.

The eldest was Zhang Liecheng, the second Murong Xinzhang, the third Li Cunhui, the fourth Zhe Deyuan, the fifth Zhao Yanjin, the sixth Li Congyi, and the seventh was Lord Yang, Yang Jiye.

This... apart from Li Congyi's lack of ability, this was a proper all-star lineup!

At Shanzhou, Zhang Zhao convened a simple military conference. The topic was simple but crucial: where to fight the decisive battle against the Khitan.

The great traitor Geng Chongmei had now been defeated by Wu Xingde and had fled downriver in a small boat — there was certainly no time to pursue him.

From Shanzhou down to the Zhengzhou area, a small boat going with the current could arrive in just over a day.

No matter how Zhang Zhao hurried, he could not block the Khitan army at the Bian River mouth before Yelu Deguang learned the news.

So the original plan of setting the battlefield at the Bian River mouth and the Guangwu Mountain area was definitely unusable and had to be redrawn.

Zhao Yanjin, who had gambled correctly in one stroke and become the adopted son of the Prince of Yong, was extremely excited and now had the right to attend Zhang Zhao's inner-circle meetings.

He first sat in and listened for half the day, then spent another half day studying the sand table and maps before finally mustering the courage to speak to Zhang Zhao.

"My lord, the Liangzhou iron cavalry is the sharpest under heaven. Why not send an elite force as the vanguard, march at double speed around Luoyang, seize Sishui Pass, and use this natural barrier to bottle up the Khitan east of the Western Capital?

If I could have a thousand crack horsemen as support, I would personally lead my own five hundred elite troops and take this natural stronghold for you, my lord."

Zhang Zhao nodded. This had been one of the second-set plans all along.

There was just one problem: the Western Capital, Luoyang, was currently in Khitan hands. To seize Sishui Pass, they would have to bypass the entire city of Luoyang — an extremely risky move.

Moreover, Sishui Pass could defend against the east but not the west. If the Khitan arrived faster than Zhang Zhao's main army and first attacked Sishui Pass from both east and west, then lay in wait outside Luoyang, the trouble would be enormous.

Before Zhang Zhao had even responded, Zhao Yanjin's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood that Zhang Zhao did not want to take the risk. He was about to speak when Li Cunhui stepped forward and said,

"Our army of a hundred thousand, with both infantry and cavalry fully equipped and many warships, sailing downriver as a grand and proper host, is fully capable of crushing the northern caitiffs.

But if the seizure of Sishui Pass were to fail and damage our elite troops, the loss would outweigh the gain."

In this world, there are those who like to fight proper, head-on battles and steamroll the enemy — Yan Jin and Li Cunhui were of this type.

But there are also those who like the unexpected. In history, the Champion Marquis Huo Qubing was the classic example, and under Zhang Zhao, Murong Xinzhang, Ma Yaozi, and Ma Shacai were all of this type.

Zhao Yanjin was young and clever, accomplished in both letters and arms, and in fact also one who liked the unexpected.

But this "unexpected" did not mean reckless improvisation based on imagination. It required thorough preparation — at least a fifty percent chance. He thought for a moment, and suddenly a person came to mind.

"My lord, Li Jianchong, the Acting Military Governor of Heyang under the Jin, is honest and steady, and his soldiers trust him deeply. If he could turn his coat and serve as our inside man, the Khitan's Western Capital garrison commander Mada would certainly be unable to resist.

Then we first take Luoyang, then seize Sishui Pass, and this campaign is already half won."

Zhang Zhao's interest was piqued. If they could drive the Liao army out of the Western Capital, Luoyang, then even if they could not immediately crush the Khitan, they could still hold them at Sishui Pass and slowly wear them down.

"Then how do we get Li Jianchong to turn his coat? Does Brother Jin have a clever plan?" Zhang Zhao asked with an encouraging tone.

Zhao Yanjin smiled with easy confidence. "To persuade Li Jianchong, only two people are needed.

Commander Zhao once served alongside Li Jianchong, and Li Jianchong knows Commander Zhao's character well. If they could meet and talk frankly, it would surely move him.

Moreover, in years past, the Emperor of the Ming Temple showed Li Jianchong great kindness. They once served together under Emperor Wu, jointly commanding the yabing guards, and after he became emperor, there was further kindness in promotion.

If my lord has Brother Yi write a letter, appealing to emotion and reason, Li Jianchong would rise in arms even if it meant staining his robes with blood."

Zhao Hui, standing to the side, listened to Zhao Yanjin going on and on with "Commander Zhao" this and "Commander Zhao" that, his eyelids twitching violently. If Zhang Zhao had not been present, he would certainly have taught this unfilial son a lesson.

What Zhang Zhao did not know was this: men like Zhao Yanjin, who loved reading, or the loyal and righteous Huangfu Yu and Wang Qing, were extremely rare among the military men of the Five Dynasties — but someone like Li Jianchong was practically an endangered species.

Because this gentleman was an honest man. The history books describe him as loyal, pure and generous, poor with words, and ignorant of political maneuvering.

And this was a Five Dynasties yabing officer, for heaven's sake! To actually receive the appraisal "pure and generous" — it was absolutely one of a kind.

This Li Jianchong had followed Li Keyong from his youth, starting as a common soldier, and had participated in every battle from the Jin to the Later Tang, following Li Keyong, Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan, and Shi Jingtang across several generations of emperors.

Before every generation of emperors, he had rendered meritorious service. He piled up achievements and was covered in wounds, yet he could not even manage to become a Military Governor.

This was because he did not know how to curry favor or make a fuss, and naturally could not win over the yabing guards or form his own power base.

When the various emperors assigned official posts, they always had to placate the troublemakers first, and by the time it came to Li Jianchong, there was nothing left.

That he was able to rise from a yabing officer to positions like Prefect and Defense Commissioner was only because Emperor Mingzong, Li Siyuan, knew his character and specially promoted him.

That was why Zhao Yanjin said that with a personal letter from Li Congyi, Li Jianchong would certainly honor it.

Zhang Zhao did not know Li Jianchong's story, but he now had quite a few Daibei military men around him, and others would naturally tell him. After learning the situation, Zhang Zhao said to Li Congyi,

"Brother Yi, write a letter. When it is done, give it to Old He to polish. Tell Li Jianchong: kill the northern caitiffs and come over, and you will not lose the rank of duke or marquis."

Li Congyi hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his hands, and acknowledged the order. Having been with Zhang Zhao for a while now, he was no longer so afraid, because he could feel that Zhang Zhao truly did not regard him as any kind of threat.

Although it was inevitable that his adoptive mother would sooner or later end up in Zhang Zhao's bed, he himself had already become Zhang Zhao's son — and was it not perfectly normal for a father and mother to sleep in the same bed?

After giving Li Congyi his instructions, Zhang Zhao turned back to Murong Xinzhang. "Since it was your father-in-law who showed kindness to Li Jianchong, you will make the trip yourself. Travel day and night without rest to Luoyang together with Military Governor Zhao, Jin Ge'er, and the others."

Having said this, Zhang Zhao turned to Li Congyi and Qiong Re Duojin. "Cunhui'er, transfer five hundred elite cavalry from the Right Yulin Guard to Xinzhang. Duojin, select three hundred elite riders from the Hanshan Du's mounted troops and send them along as well."

While Zhang Zhao was deploying his forces, just as he had expected, the upheavals in Hezhong Prefecture and Shanzhou quickly reached Yelu Deguang's army.

At this time, Guang Ge's great army had only just passed Zhongmou, still several dozen li from Zhengzhou.

Still, this could not be blamed on the Khitan army moving slowly. In fact, more than seventy percent of the Khitan forces were cavalry, and when they moved, they could move very fast.

Unfortunately, their enemy this time — Zhang Zhao's Yongliang great army — was likewise famed for its numerous and powerful cavalry. This was no Jin state that had to scrape together even ten thousand cavalry.

Yelu Deguang did not dare let his cavalry run wild and loose. If they were caught by the Yongliang iron cavalry, it would turn into a pure cavalry clash.

Of course, a cavalry clash was nothing to be afraid of. Were not the men of the steppe supposed to fight in exactly this way?

But there was one big problem: Guang Ge was already forty-three this year, and had lived in wealth and ease for more than ten years. He was no longer the mounted lord of old who could endure bitter cold and stay in the saddle for dozens of days without touching the ground.

His opponent, on the other hand — his good younger brother Zhang Zhao — was not only ten years younger, but also a muscle-bound warrior who could campaign continuously for thousands of li.

If Yelu Deguang chose a pure cavalry clash, the most likely result would be Zhang Zhao personally leading his great army and directly smashing Yelu Deguang's Khitan cavalry, who could not move together with the main army.

So for the sake of safety, to deny his younger brother Zhao such an opportunity, Guang Ge chose to advance with infantry and cavalry together, using the combined armies of the Jin and Liao states as a grand, imposing host to defeat Zhang Zhao.

But this too had a problem: the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, was not actually on the banks of the Yellow River at this time.

At this time, after passing Luoyang, the Yellow River turned directly north, passing through what would later be Xinxiang and Hua County, and did not pass by Kaifeng.

Kaifeng's connection to the Yellow River relied on the Bian River — the Tongji Canal built back in the day by Emperor Yang of Sui.

After the late Tang, the Bian River had suffered repeated destruction. The Zhu Liang dynasty dredged it once; by the Later Tang it was ruined again. After the Later Jin was established and once more made Kaifeng its capital, dredging began again.

But the Later Jin's national strength was limited after all. Since its founding it had been fighting wars everywhere, and corrupt officials ran rampant, so the dredging of the Bian River was far from adequate.

This badly screwed over Yelu Deguang. His Khitan troops plundered for forage everywhere they went, leaving the Bian River mouth from Kaifeng to the Yellow River a thousand li of desolation with no one to be seen, making it impossible to obtain supplies. Everything the great army needed had to be shipped from Kaifeng by water along the Bian River.

This was equivalent to dredging the Bian River while marching at the same time. It would have been strange if they could move quickly.

The forcibly conscripted river laborers, too, died or fled in droves because of the Khitans' brutality.

In six days since the great army set out from Kaifeng, they had barely managed to reach Zhongmou — only a dozen or so li a day.

Now, although the distance from Shanzhou to Luoyang was about the same as from Kaifeng to Luoyang, at the speed Yelu Deguang was moving, Zhang Zhao might very well be able to block him right at the mouth of the Bian River.

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