Chapter 619: Is Striking Mid-Crossing Not a Bit Inauspicious?

At this time, the county seats of Pingxiang County in Xingzhou and Jize County in Mingzhou were very close to each other — roughly less than thirty li apart.

The Zhang River passed between the two county seats, with Pingxiang County northeast of the Zhang River and Jize County southwest of it.

Of course, the locations of these two county seats also differed considerably from what they would be in the later republic era.

Pingxiang County in particular was still a fairly long distance from the later Pingxiang County of Xingtai City.

The greatest difference, of course, was that the Zhang River's channel was completely unlike its later course. In later times this stretch of the Zhang River was called the Fuyang River, but at present the Fuyang River did not even exist yet.

Thus Liu Zhiyuan had no way to use the slightly rolling terrain of Pingxiang County to block Zhang Zhao. He could only cross the Zhang River and encamp his army north of Jize County, where the ground was flatter; otherwise he could not hold a standoff across the river.

In truth, encamping at Jize County was not the best choice, and even making Xingzhou his main base in Hebei was not the best choice. If one were operating in Hebei from Hedong, the best place would be Hengzhou.

Hengzhou — the area that in later times would be Shijiazhuang — offered the convenience of the Hutuo River and Mianman River by water from Hedong, and the natural defenses of Jingxing Mountain and Jingxing Pass by land. It had always been the best route from the Hedong mountains out onto the Hebei plain.

Moreover, the Zhengding and Changshan region where Hengzhou lay had produced fierce generals since ancient times. Of the so-called heroes of Yan and Zhao, this place produced the most.

If Liu Zhiyuan could have established himself in Hengzhou and gathered Hebei's finest troops, that would truly have been a viable path.

It was just that Zhang Zhao understood the place's importance even better than he did. The moment he entered the Eastern Capital, he had elevated Huangfu Yu of Zhengding into the number-one great loyal subject under heaven, and had richly rewarded the Zhengding heroes who had fought the Khitan alongside Huangfu Yu.

Setting aside that Zhang Zhao's financial resources were beyond anything Liu Zhiyuan could match, the mere signboard of Huangfu Yu as the number-one great loyal subject under heaven was extraordinary — it was practically a passport for the heroes of Zhengding!

Now in Zhang Zhou, as long as you said you were a fellow native of the Loyal and Meritorious Prince of Changshan, people would look up to you wherever you went, assuming that you too must naturally be a great loyal subject.

All the more so because in this age the concept of one's native place was extremely strong. Zhang Zhao had treated the loyal subject Huangfu Yu with great ceremony, and that gilded signboard glittered brightly. Many stalwart men of Zhengding were all the more unwilling to stain that signboard.

So even when Liu Zhiyuan went in person to Hengzhou to take charge and recruit, still very few men of Hengzhou followed him.

It was only as a last resort that Liu Zhiyuan chose Xingzhou. Although Xingzhou's geographic position was inferior to Hengzhou's, it still had the natural defense of Junji Pass, which could seal off the roads in and out of Hedong. It was the second choice after failing to hold Hengzhou.

What he had not expected was that the Zhou cavalry would be so troublesome. Once they latched on, there was simply no shaking them off.

At the same time, Hedong's mounted scouts had also discovered that the Zhou main force had reached the area south of Nangong.

The Hedong army had only a little over seven thousand cavalry, and roughly thirty-five thousand infantry.

The Zhou army, by contrast, was more than sixty percent cavalry, and even its infantry rode horses or mules. The two sides' marching speeds and the soldiers' loads were completely different.

Even if both sides marched on foot, the Hedong army, which did not even have many donkey carts, would have to march with armor rolled up and carried, while the Zhou army could have warhorses, mules, ox carts, and donkey carts carry the armor. The Hedong army's burden was more than twice as heavy.

With such a disparity, the Hedong army would sooner or later be caught, and then the Zhou army, full of vigor, would give the Hedong army a savage beating — and then everything would be finished.

So Liu Zhiyuan could only stop. He stopped to let the army rest for a few days and directly force a decisive battle with the Zhou army.

On the twenty-third of the fifth month, Zhang Zhao led an army of twenty thousand to Pingxiang County. The county seat, which had originally held three or four thousand residents, was now like a ghost town — not a single person remained.

Because thanks to Zhang Zhao, they had all long since fled out of sight.

That was not sarcasm — they truly had Zhang Zhao to thank. Otherwise, given the Hedong army's character, after fleeing in disgrace for over a hundred li, their resentment would have boiled over long ago, and Liu Zhiyuan would have had no choice but to allow plundering to keep up morale.

But Zhang Zhao pressed them so closely that the Hedong army simply had no time to harm the local people, and so most of Pingxiang County's residents were able to escape successfully and save their lives.

As soon as Zhang Zhao reached Pingxiang County, he took Zhang Cheng, Zhao Kuangyin, and other guard officers to the banks of the Zhang River. As expected, the pontoon bridges for more than ten li up and down the river had all been burned, and the ferry boats had vanished without a trace.

More than a dozen fishermen along the river had been killed, and the rest had fled out of sight. Zhang Zhao found only one old fisherman who was on the verge of dying of illness — so sick that even the Hedong army had not bothered to kill him.

Zhang Zhao pitied him and truly could not bear it. He had the army physicians find two auxiliary soldiers to carry him back to camp to see whether he could still be saved.

"Sage, your servant is a strong swimmer. Tonight I can slip across to the far bank under cover of darkness and scout the Hedong army's dispositions!"

Seeing Zhang Zhao frowning, Zhao Kuangyin immediately came forward in his most ingratiating manner and directly volunteered for a difficult mission.

This was no easy task. Who knew how many open and hidden sentries the Hedong army had posted along the riverbank? It could well cost him his life.

Had anyone else volunteered like this, Zhang Zhao would certainly have hesitated — but Zhao Kuangyin? Hmph. If he died, I, Sage Zhang, would not grieve.

If he succeeded? If he succeeded, all the better, of course.

Of course, Zhang Zhao still had to put on a somewhat worried expression. "Are you confident? If not, do not force it. Liu Zhiyuan is as frantic as a dog that has lost its home — he is not worth the loss of one of my great generals."

Hm? Not able? How could a man say he was not able? And having heard the Sage show such concern for him, Zhao Kuangyin, just turned twenty, sprang up with a yelp.

"Rest easy, Sage! Your servant will certainly complete the mission!"

Very well — you said it yourself. Zhang Zhao nodded. "Good. Then when you return, pick your braves and cross the river to scout the Hedong army's camp."

After speaking, Zhang Zhao turned to Zhang Cheng beside him. "Zhang Cheng, what do you think Liu Zhiyuan is waiting for?"

On the surface this was a pointless question, but in fact it was a question meant to unify thinking.

Zhang Cheng turned and said to Zhang Zhao, "Sage, Liu Zhiyuan is a cornered dog about to leap a wall — he is desperate to force a decisive battle with us. He is in a hurry, so we should be unhurried!"

No sooner had Zhang Cheng finished than Zhao Kuangyin immediately picked up the thread. "Sage, the reason Liu Zhiyuan can put on a show of standing against you as an equal lies in his reputation.

But now that he has withdrawn from Beizhou, his decline is immediately plain to see. Your servant expects that once word reaches Taiyuan, there will be people scheming to hand over his whole family for a reward. We can indeed afford to delay before giving battle."

As a man born into a typical Five Dynasties military family, Zhao Kuangyin naturally understood the temper of the warriors of this age better than Zhang Cheng, a Hexi Han whom Zhang Zhao had rescued from among the Wenmo, and he had precisely identified Liu Zhiyuan's greatest danger.

Zhang Zhao turned his head. Zhao Da, just turned twenty, was still a little chubby, his complexion somewhat fair, and in his eyes flickered the look of a child gazing at his father, longing for praise.

Ah! The thing about Zhao Da was that he truly was an agreeable fellow. Time and again he could match his leader's intentions, his judgment was decent, and he appeared utterly loyal.

More importantly, as a military officer he could overcome the greatest flaw of the warriors of this age — greed — while still possessing their ferocity, and at critical moments he dared to step forward.

Damn! No wonder Guo Rong in history had trusted him so deeply, almost treating him as a son.

Zhang Zhao in fact also thought highly of Zhao Kuangyin. The reason he was now somewhat stringing him along was that Zhang Zhao had not yet figured out how to arrange for this fellow.

Zhao Da was good in every way, except that the ambition in his heart was simply too great. Zhang Zhao would never dare use him in a key post in the personal army, and if sent out to a field command, he was still a bit young.

"Dalang is right!" Faced with that look, and with a subordinate who risked his life so readily, Zhang Zhao had no choice but to appear very warm — even if it was Zhao Da.

"So we are in no hurry to fight them. Liu Zhiyuan wants us to cross the river, so we will simply not cross it!"

That night, Zhao Kuangyin led thirty braves upstream and swam the Zhang River under cover of darkness to reconnoiter. The river water was cold, but it was far less hot than Zhao Da's eagerness to climb upward.

Meanwhile, spread by Zhang Cheng and Zhao Kuangyin, Zhang Zhao's plan to hold off crossing the river for now and first maintain a standoff with the Hedong army won the support of the whole army.

Although the Hedong army could continuously obtain supplies through Xingzhou, half of their grain and baggage was in Guo Wei's hands at Shexian. Relying on transport through Junji Pass alone would not sustain them for long.

Zhang Zhao's side was also in difficulty, but with the siege of Beizhou lifted, supplies from south of the Yellow River could be sent continuously up the Yongji Canal to Beizhou and then moved overland.

In terms of transport difficulty, the two sides were roughly equal, but in abundance of materiel — to say nothing of Hexi and Guanzhong — Hedong simply could not compare with Henan alone. The longer it dragged on, the more favorable it was for Zhang Zhao.

All the more so because, exactly as Zhao Kuangyin had said, the fate of the Hedong bloc had been sealed from the moment Liu Zhiyuan left Beizhou.

No — one should say, from the moment Zhang Zhao personally led twenty thousand iron cavalry and smashed the Khitan, the fate had already been sealed.

So Zhang Zhao ordered Shan Zhuer Luo Shande to serve as vanguard formation commander, leading four thousand men to camp at the narrowest point of the Zhang River channel.

He himself led fifteen thousand men back to Pingxiang County town, quartering the main army there. The common folk of Pingxiang County still had not returned, and the empty houses served the army perfectly.

Once everything was settled, Fu Yanqing came to see Zhang Zhao.

Before the siege of Beizhou, although Fu Yanqing had already become Zhang Zhao's father-in-law, their relationship could hardly be called close. But by this point, they had finally become completely inseparable.

Fu Yanqing had demonstrated his loyalty. Zhang Zhao, it should be known, had mentally prepared himself for Fu Yanqing failing the test and Beizhou being seized by Liu Zhiyuan.

The eight thousand men under Feng Hui and Shan Zhuer Luo Shande were there precisely to guard against that eventuality.

If Beizhou were seized by Liu Zhiyuan, then Feng Hui and Luo Shande would occupy Linqing County in Beizhou. The camel whirlwind catapults of the Divine Machine Battalion were all under Luo Shande's command, enough to hold Linqing, and then wait for Zhang Zhao to return with the army and fight a decisive battle against the Hedong army at Beizhou.

But Fu Yanqing had not only shown sufficient loyalty, he had also perfectly displayed his strategic skill, running Liu Zhiyuan around in circles.

And historically, this professional imperial father-in-law was indeed no simple man.

In military matters especially, building on the methods of ancient famed generals like Wei Qing, he improved the infantry-defeats-cavalry wagon formation.

He selected common farm wagons, bound wagon and plow ox firmly together with stout ropes, then draped coverings over the oxen so they could not move on their own, helping the foot soldiers overcome their fear in the face of cavalry charges.

Because it was simpler and easier to produce, it remained in use all the way into the Southern Song, and was the treasured weapon of the two Songs—especially the Northern Song garrisons of Hebei—against Liao cavalry.

When Zhang Zhao heard Fu Yanqing had arrived, he hurriedly invited him in. Fu Yanqing's face was all smiles.

Because he had bet right. Zhang Zhao was indeed a heroic sovereign capable of unifying the realm. Twenty thousand cavalry had easily shattered forty thousand Khitan riders, and once again slain a Khitan emperor in battle. From this point on, the Khitan threat could basically be said to be completely lifted.

"Would the Sage be willing to force the Hedong army to surrender? I still have some standing in Hedong and would be willing to act as intermediary for the Sage. Now that they are at the end of their road, they surely have long known their own situation."

Zhang Zhao understood Fu Yanqing's feelings. He was, after all, of Hedong and Daibei origin, and certainly could not bear to see the Hedong and Daibei military clique come to a complete end.

Moreover, Hedong was a land girded by mountains and rivers. If pressed too hard, they could hold out in the natural strongholds, and that would not be something settled in a short time.

Fu Yanqing saw that Zhang Zhao had not ordered a river crossing for a decisive battle, and assumed he was pursuing a strategy of winning hearts first and fighting battles second.

But Zhang Zhao slowly shook his head. He did not yet want to accept the surrender of the Hedong and Daibei military men.

These fellows might seem to have reached a dead end, but they were no kindly lot. Nearly two hundred years of arrogance would absolutely not fade away just because they had once fallen into dire straits.

Given the character of military men in this age, accepting surrender could be called the worst of all options—a measure to be used only when there was truly no other way.

If Zhang Zhao accepted their surrender now, they would think Zhang Zhao was merely rich, well-armored, and well-horsed, and would absolutely not be fully convinced.

Accepting surrender now would merely turn one great decisive battle into one small punitive campaign after another.

Only after Zhang Zhao had beaten these men into submission with thunderous means, killed and wounded them terribly, would they come over with sudden enlightenment to cling to his thigh, with the sigh of "Big Brother, you beat me so hard—so you were the fiercest man under heaven all along."

Recalling that Japan was in the middle-to-late Heian period, and that in another one or two hundred years the first shogunate, the Kamakura shogunate, would emerge, Zhang Zhao strongly suspected that the dog-like character of the Japanese samurai was learned from the Five Dynasties military men of this very era.

So Zhang Zhao decided to fight first. The Hedong military men did need to be brought to surrender, but not now—only after they were already on their knees.

And from a practical standpoint, in this age when productivity was not particularly developed, wars of annexation were essentially collective activities of seizing other people's cakes, eating the biggest piece oneself, and distributing the rest to the little brothers under one's command.

If the Hedong military men were all accepted in surrender, where would the fine fields, wealth, beauties, and official posts for Zhang Zhao's own officers and soldiers come from?

These men had followed him across half of Hebei and were on the verge of winning great merit. If he suddenly announced there would be no decisive battle, no one would feel comfortable.

So they still had to fight—kill off one batch, win over another, and finally relocate the core among them to the Eastern Capital before Hedong could truly be stabilized.

So Sage Zhang pondered for a moment, then looked at Fu Yanqing and said: "The Hedong military men are tigers and wolves! They followed Emperor Wu, the Zhuang Temple, the Ming Temple, and even Shi Jingtang in enjoying wealth and honor to the fullest. How could they yield easily? Only by making the tiger fall to the plain, and turning wolves into dogs, can their use be fully realized."

Fu Yanqing thus understood Zhang Zhao's mind, and turned away from these topics, exchanging a few more words with Zhang Zhao before taking his leave.

Zhang Zhao did not move, but Liu Zhiyuan could not afford to. And in just these few days, Liu Zhiyuan had run into big trouble—during his hurried retreat, he had caught a chill and fallen ill.

Do not underestimate catching a chill. In later ages it would be a matter of a few pills, but in this time it was a somewhat troublesome illness, and without proper rest it could be fatal.

As the saying goes, sickness comes like a mountain collapsing and leaves like drawing silk. Cold and flu were exactly like that—once contracted, the illness was a process of constant intensification, and it could drag on for ten days or half a month without subsiding.

For an old man like Liu Zhiyuan, an old man who had left behind the root of illness in his youth, it was especially terrifying.

Liu Zhiyuan had been sick for only two days when he felt his chest burning as if on fire, his head heavy and muddled, his body shunning cold and weary, and it was steadily worsening.

He could only hurriedly summon Liu Yun, the eldest son of his half-brother Liu Chong, into his service as Commander of the Personal Guard, to prevent word of his illness from leaking out.

But with this sort of thing, the more you conceal it, the more easily it spreads everywhere. After only two days of lockdown, word outside was already spreading that Liu Zhiyuan was gravely ill beyond cure.

So Liu Zhiyuan could only force himself to rally his spirits and come out to preside over the war council.

In the Jize County government office, when the Hedong generals saw Liu Zhiyuan come out with a stern face, they all breathed a sigh of relief without exception. Only Wang Jun's heart kept pounding.

It was already the fifth month, yet Liu Zhiyuan was still dressed so thickly. Though he claimed he had a slight indisposition, a slight indisposition that required cutting himself off from the outside world and not daring to announce it openly clearly was not as light as he made it sound.

At today's war council there was one new face—Wang Jingchong, who had broken out of Fuyang City.

This man could be considered quite fierce and valiant. In the middle of the night he had led more than ten men down the walls on ropes, forcibly broken through the three blockade lines laid by Yan Jin, and made his way to Liu Zhiyuan to deliver his report.

"Great King, the Zhou general Yan Jin is in command, directing thirty thousand troops in an assault from all sides. Three days ago he used Hexi demon fire to shatter the southern wall of Fuyang. It was only thanks to Young Lord Guo leading his troops in a desperate stand that the Zhou army was beaten back.

Though the grain and fodder in the city are still ample, the troops number no more than four thousand. The officers and men fight day and night, many of them without closing their eyes for days on end. They are utterly exhausted, and the situation is desperate!"

Guo Wei had been appointed by Liu Zhiyuan as Military Governor of Zhangde Army in Xiangzhou and Defender of the Ye Capital. Guo Rong was naturally the Zhangde Army young lord Commander of Cavalry and Infantry, and so was also called Young Lord Guo.

In this defense of Fuyang, it appeared that Guo Jin was in command, but in fact, after Guo Jin had been driven from his post as Military Governor of the Baoda Army in Fuzhou by Yin Zhengqi (Yin Yaozi), he no longer had troops of his own.

He simply could not command Guo Wei's Zhangde Army, so the actual commander of Fuyang's defense was certainly Guo Rong.

Liu Zhiyuan nodded with satisfaction at this report. He had originally worried that Guo Rong, having served as a general under Zhang Zhao for more than a year, might well sell out Fuyang City. But as things now appeared, he was worthy of trust.

Yet satisfaction aside, the peril of Fuyang's situation was not something his satisfaction could resolve. He had to find a way to lift the siege of Fuyang.

And the best way to lift the siege of Fuyang was, of course, to send troops directly.

But he now had only a little over forty thousand men in hand. Sending too few would be useless; sending too many would surely invite an attack from the Zhou army across the Zhang River.

So there was now only one option: first defeat the Zhou army across the river, then march south to lift the siege of Fuyang.

Just at that moment, scouts came galloping in with word that Shi Hongzhao, Commander of the Wujie Army, was coming from She County escorting large quantities of grain, fodder, and military equipment.

She County to Jize County was roughly three hundred li. It seemed Guo Wei had received Liu Zhiyuan's order and dispatched Shi Hongzhao east with troops.

This time, besides escorting a large amount of supplies, Shi Hongzhao had also brought the Wujie Army and part of the Fengguo Army—over four thousand men in all. With this, Liu Zhiyuan's force was strengthened to nearly fifty thousand.

More men meant greater consumption, but it was still a good thing. Liu Zhiyuan immediately felt the cold pain in his body ease a little. And at that moment, the officers and soldiers below also began clamoring.

It had now been more than five months since Liu Zhiyuan marched out of Hedong. Most of the officers and men had not even spent the Lantern Festival at home. Their feet had padded all the way from Taiyuan in Hedong to Hengzhou in Hebei, then from Hengzhou to Beizhou, and now they had come to Xingzhou.

They had campaigned across several thousand li! Now many of them were unwilling to run any farther. They only wanted to have a good, hard battle with the Zhou army—if they lived, they would enjoy wealth and honor; if they died, then it was fated that they should die here.

This was the classic Five Dynasties yabing guards mentality: win, and there's meat in big chunks, wine in big bowls, silver and girls aplenty; lose, and your head falls leaving a bowl-sized scar — you just continue in the next life.

Who had the patience for defending cities? For standoffs? How could any of that compare to the thrill of white blade in, red blade out?

Liu Zhiyuan now found himself in a bind — not that he was unwilling to fight right now, but the problem was the Zhou army on the opposite bank wouldn't come over.

Shi Hongzhao, who had marched the whole way seething with resentment and had lost his younger brother at the mouth of Hezhang Valley, jumped out and said to Liu Zhiyuan.

"Then let's strike camp and pull back three li, leave the ground open for the Zhou men. If they still don't dare cross the Zhang River after that, then the Son of Heaven of Shao tomorrow needn't bother leading troops to war."

Su Fengji very much wanted to roll his eyes at Shi Hongzhao — who ever heard of stupidly yielding a natural barrier like that? But he wouldn't open his mouth, because Shi Hongzhao despised literati most of all, and if he dared speak up, he'd absolutely get caught and blasted.

What Su Fengji didn't expect, however, was that the moment Shi Hongzhao made this proposal, the officers and soldiers in the room actually roared their approval.

Even Liu Zhiyuan was somewhat moved, and Murong Yanchao cried out even more wildly: "We'll just pull back three li, and then when the Zhou army is halfway across the river, I'll personally lead the stout lads of Hedong and strike the Zhou army with the force of a thunderbolt. With half their men still in the water, they're doomed for certain!"

Wang Jun couldn't help being a bit dumbfounded. Being chased off in panicked flight before this battle was even fought was bad enough, and now here came a strike-at-half-crossing plan — wasn't that a little too inauspicious?

The Hedong army's movements were immediately reported to Zhang Zhao by Shan Zhu'er Luo Shande.

The Hedong army had withdrawn their camp more than three li, and were also loudly cursing the Zhou army by the Zhang River as soft eggs who didn't even dare cross.

Zhang Zhao couldn't help scratching his head. Damn it all, I'm still racking my brains over how to get across, and you just hand me a way out?

"My lord, the Hedong bandits may look like they're opening the door to invite a thief in, but they've surely got a strike-at-half-crossing scheme in mind. Your son requests to take the Right Yulin Guard's own troops as the vanguard to cross first and cover the main army."

Li Cunhui had been utterly bored, and the moment he heard there was a fight to be had, he immediately jumped out.

"Sage, my Silver Spear Unit's six hundred heavy-armored soldiers have long been yearning to win merit and kill the enemy. The Duke of Shouchang's Right Yulin Guard are mounted elites — using them for foot combat would be a waste. This old minister requests to cross first!"

Feng Hui, having gained no merit at all the whole way, also hurried out to request the assignment.

"Sage, my Shenwei Garrison has always been the vanguard of the great army — we should cross first as the vanguard!"

Xue Huairang, Commander of the Shenwei Garrison's Left Battalion who had delivered the message, saw the vanguard assignment about to slip away and also hurried to request it.

Then all the generals began contending for it. Zhang Zhao waved his hand — these fellows had all seen that the Hedong group's prospects were failing and wanted to go pick up easy gains.

That wouldn't do. The Hedong army was only at a disadvantage right now, but they hadn't been defeated yet. Treating the Hedong army as a soft persimmon now was clearly inappropriate.

"Generals, be at ease. Let Liu Zhiyuan stew for one more day. The day after tomorrow, We shall have Our own arrangements!"

Hearing Zhang Zhao say this, everyone understood at once — because yesterday, the Left and Right Army Commanders of the Hanshan Capital Foot Soldiers, Zhang Zhaozhong and Zhang Zhao, had arrived with three thousand elite infantry. The Emperor still intended to use his trump card at the most critical moment.

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