Chapter 675: Favorable Terrain

Liu Chengzong also felt that Gao Yingxiang's move into Sichuan now was a good opportunity.

Sichuan Regional Commander Hou Liangzhu was trapped in Hanzhong with twenty thousand troops — the Chuang King's Eight Camps to the north and the Shaking Heaven Thirteen Clans to the south.

Knock out Hou Liangzhu, then with luck slip past Qin Liangyu, and Gao Yingxiang could drive straight south into Sichuan.

Nothing surprising there.

Only, the Marshal's headquarters had just dealt with the mess of Henan Regional Commander Zhang Yichuan fighting a disastrous battle.

On top of that, Sichuan was the Land of Heavenly Abundance, a realm born for separatism — so Liu Chengzong's decision-making had to be exceptionally cautious.

He therefore did not immediately agree to Gao Ying'en's request. He merely asked about the situation north of the Han River, then had Prince Han from the Rites Office come over to escort Gao Ying'en and settle him in Xi'an city. He needed a little time — after discussion, he would give his reply.

Gao Ying'en had barely left when Zhang Xianzhong stepped forward, looking thoroughly reluctant.

Cupping his fists, he said, "Marshal, the Chuang King's sincerity in submitting is meager. Better to be polite first, then use force."

Liu the Lion asked, puzzled, "Polite first, then use force?"

"Right."

Zhang Xianzhong cupped his fists with a straight face: "Dispatch me with twenty thousand troops south into Sichuan. I'll clean up all those Eight Camps, Thirteen Clans, and Sichuan Regional Commanders for you, Marshal!"

What kind of bullshit was this guy spouting.

"Polite first, then use force" — meaning the Rites Office Minister rides a horse out front, with twenty thousand soldiers right behind him?

The setup made it sound as if Liu Chengzong had already ascended the throne and become emperor.

Liu the Lion looked at Zhang Xianzhong and laughed. He waved his hand. "I actually think the Chuang King's sincerity is plenty."

"Back in the day, brother, you dared to seize my Zhuanglang River Valley with just two camps and declare three years of tax exemption."

"Give you eight camps, and not only would you never voluntarily hand over Hanzhong and request an official post — you'd probably be itching to fight me right in the Xie Valley."

Zhang Xianzhong was first stunned by these words, then broke into a simpleton's laugh with startling speed: "That was your subordinate having eyes but failing to recognize the true dragon. Besides, if you really gave me eight camps, Marshal, you'd handle me as easily as catching a chicken — your subordinate wouldn't dare throw his life away."

Having said that, he shifted tone: "But Gao Yingxiang is different. His forces have been split between two places for years without reuniting. Let him into Sichuan, and trouble will surely follow, Marshal!"

Trouble will surely follow?

Truth be told, Liu the Lion thought that wasn't necessarily so.

Gao Yingxiang was a superstitious man.

And among all the warlords, he himself was probably the one who could intimidate Gao Yingxiang the most on the level of superstition.

Of course, that was not the main factor influencing Liu Chengzong's decision. The main factor was still his assessment of the situation.

First, Gao Yingxiang was very forthright.

He sent the Central Dipper Star to negotiate face-to-face and made concessions.

The Central Dipper Star came to convey the Chuang King's intent: to request a Sichuan official post, nominally becoming one family — that was giving face; to request the Marshal's headquarters to send officials to Hanzhong, to take Hanzhong and hand it over — that was giving substance.

And by giving both face and substance, what Gao Yingxiang naturally sought was the freedom to advance or retreat at will.

This was telling him very plainly.

If everything went smoothly, his Chuang King's Eight Camps would march into Sichuan under the Marshal's headquarters' banner, and what they practiced would absolutely be de facto separatism.

And if things did not go smoothly? The situation would change, and Gao's forces would become passive.

In the end, it still came down to ability.

If he could enter Sichuan on his own ability, then they'd be one family in name, but in reality allies, with Sichuan carved out independently.

If he lacked the ability to enter Sichuan, then when the time came he could accept his fate.

Liu Chengzong did not consider this a bad thing.

To put it bluntly, the current situation was exactly like when Baidar Taiji entered Tibet back then.

It was because Liu Chengzong's stature was too large. If Gao Yingxiang did not want to lose his independent status, he had to keep his distance.

So far that Gao Yingxiang didn't even dare to stay in Hanzhong.

As for what Zhang Xianzhong suggested — sending him with twenty thousand troops to wipe out Gao Yingxiang, Shake the Heavens, and Hou Liangzhu all at once — that was complete bullshit.

It wasn't that he doubted Zhang Xianzhong's ability.

If properly staffed, given his original Western Camp troops plus two more camps of crack soldiers, Liu the Lion estimated Zhang Xianzhong could probably pull off that mission.

The problem was whether Gao Yingxiang entering Sichuan would really be trouble — Liu Chengzong remained skeptical.

A supercharged version of Zhang Xianzhong, who'd been at his side for so long, marching into Sichuan — now that would be a goddamn dagger at his heart.

If it really came to a bloody showdown with Gao Yingxiang, only Liu Chengzong personally leading three brigades could do it.

Wasn't that insane? The conflict hadn't escalated to that point.

Zhang Xianzhong's suggestion was worthless. He just wanted Liu Chengzong to let him out to play.

For real advice on this matter, he still had to call out the old man.

Before long, the Old Master from the Personnel Office, Chengyun from the Revenue Office, and Shi Chengwo from the Works Office all arrived at the front hall of the headquarters.

Liu Chengzong laid out the Gao Yingxiang matter and said, "I think this is a good thing. The only pity is that the only land left for Master Gao is Sichuan."

"If he were in Huguang, even if he sought my conferral of the so-called wealthy Jiangnan, I could grant it without blinking. But Sichuan is different."

At these words, the Old Master Liu Xiangyu stroked his beard, unable to suppress a laugh.

The Old Master thought his son was laying a trap for Rites Office Minister Zhang Xianzhong: In the future, if I can't keep you penned in, I'll confer Jiangnan on you.

But in truth, Liu Xiangyu knew all too well — no matter who it was, if they ran off to Jiangnan and dreamed of carving out their own territory, they'd be courting death.

Anyone with a bit of knowledge of astronomy and geography knew that Jiangnan was simply not a place where one could hold out independently. Every attempt to divide the realm along the river had ended in ruin.

It wasn't that Jiangnan was bad, nor that Jiangnan's troops were weak — it was that the geography dictated that a Jiangnan regime was extremely prone to collapse.

The Suzhou-Songjiang-Changzhou belt around Lake Tai was indeed the wealthiest under heaven; Zhejiang and Fujian had the profits of maritime trade and commerce — it all looked utterly perfect.

The problem was, this was advantageous terrain only when the enemy came from the sea.

When the enemy came from the north, that advantageous terrain reversed itself.

As the saying goes, to hold the Yangtze you must hold the Huai. That natural moat of the Yangtze River, given the terrain to its south, might as well not exist — it was impossible to defend.

The Huai River plain itself is fundamentally indefensible — northern troops can easily push their battle line across the Huai and reach the river's northern bank.

The northern army need only mass its forces north of the Yangtze; the Huai River basin alone can sustain the troops, with the North China Plain and the Central Plains providing additional provisions and pay. Their staying power is ample — they can endure a war of attrition.

South of the Yangtze is a different story.

South of the Yangtze's advantage lies in the wealth of the Taihu Plain, but the greatest flaw of that region is also that its wealth lies in the Taihu Plain.

Because on the surface it seems like a geographical advantage for the south, yet in practice it often becomes a geographical advantage for the northern regime during wartime.

Zhejiang — seven parts mountain, two parts water, one part field; Fujian — eight parts mountain, one part water, one part field. These two fine places, nestled between mountains and waters, if they could even feed their own locals, wouldn't have sent so many people risking their lives at sea to scrape a living.

Counting on the rear to supply provisions is clearly wishful thinking.

The wealthy Taihu Plain, even if it could yield eight harvests a year, cannot withstand becoming the frontline of battle — the impact of war on the farming calendar.

Miss three harvests, and gaps appear in the defense line. Once a gap appears and cannot be held, northern troops easily break through, and once they break through, driving them back out becomes difficult.

If they cannot be driven out, it inevitably forces the remnants of the southern regime, retreating into Zhejiang and Fujian, to fight the northern army holding the Suzhou-Songjiang-Changzhou Taihu Plain.

Exploiting that wealth from north of the Yangtze is all too easy.

But for the south to leverage the Taihu Plain's advantage in abundance, it must at the very least ensure the Yellow River defense line remains in southern hands.

Then again, if you already hold the Yellow River, whether you eat five extra wheat pancakes or three fewer bowls of rice hardly matters.

Sichuan is different.

Its suitability for separatist regimes lies precisely in reversing the south's geographical advantage.

The wealthy Chengdu Plain is wrapped protectively within, well shielded, while the outside consists of mountainous terrain similar to Zhejiang and Fujian, providing ample buffer zones.

He can't get out once he's in, and you'll find it even harder to fight your way in. More critically, even if you do fight your way in, it's very hard to gain a firm foothold, because the peripheral prefectures either cannot supply large quantities of army provisions, or if they can supply them, the transport capacity cannot keep up.

Add to that the mountain ranges cutting off the other regions from one another, which imposes a terrifying command cost on any force attacking Sichuan. Apart from the commander-in-chief leading the campaign in person, there seems to be no other good option.

And if the Sichuan separatist force puts in even a little effort and avoids misfortunes like a coup, it forces the attacking commander-in-chief to prepare to spend half a lifetime bogged down in Sichuan.

The more it demands half a lifetime, the less willing anyone is to touch it; the less willing they are to touch it, the more time the Sichuan separatist force has to entrench itself.

This is what established Sichuan's status in the final championship round of the realm's strategic terrain.

At the Marshal's headquarters, during this council on Gao Yingxiang's request for an official post, the chief officers of the six bureaus each had their own views.

Zhang Xianzhong wore the expression of a loyal minister destined for the history books, saying that letting Gao Yingxiang enter Sichuan would inevitably bring future calamity.

Watching this gave Liu Chengzong a strong sense of déjà vu.

If in the future he himself fell into this pit and ended up fighting Gao Yingxiang, who held Sichuan, and then lost — Zhang Xianzhong would be remembered as an eternal master strategist, his intellect boosted by ten points in a game.

The Works Bureau's Shi Chengwo, however, was far less talkative, speaking only two lines in total: "If the Grand Marshal opens hostilities now, fully equipping each brigade with arms and gear will be delayed by another six months."

His second line was: "The three Guanzhong brigades lack full complements of warhorses; they are all out to pasture in Pingliang and Gongchang. Transferring mounts risks alerting Gao Yingxiang, making a surprise attack difficult to achieve."

Shi Chengwo was no Zhang Xianzhong — Zhang Xianzhong had no particular bond with Gao Yingxiang.

Shi Chengwo and Gao Yingxiang were old acquaintances. The two had cast cannons together in Shanxi. Though they had not seen each other for years, he knew that Gao Yingxiang's relationship with Liu Chengzong was not poor.

The conflict between the Marshal's headquarters and the Dashing King's Eight Camps had not yet escalated to the point where a fight to the death was inevitable.

Chengzong, who knew Liu the Lion best, stood to the side with his hands tucked in his sleeves, watching — now squinting at Zhang Xianzhong, now raising his brows at Shi Chengwo.

He thought to himself: My brother, the kind of man who calls everyone to council, is clearly asking people to come up with a way to defuse this awkward situation.

If he really wanted war, would my brother need to ask anyone else?

He would issue the general's order directly and lead the troops on campaign — everyone else would only have the role of cooperating.

Arms and gear not ready, provisions insufficient, warhorses lacking — then make do with whatever there is, the rest going bare-chested with blades in hand. First, use speed as the essence of war to reach the designated position and fight with superior numbers, winning one battle before anything else.

Chengzong said, "The point of our council is precisely to discuss how to avoid war. Future calamity — that doesn't necessarily mean fighting."

"The Central Dipper Star is right here in the city; we can still talk. Never mind whether they enter Sichuan or not — they haven't even taken Hanzhong yet, and we start killing each other over an uneven split of the spoils? Wouldn't that be a joke?"

Liu Chengzong, who had seemed almost asleep, suddenly perked up and applauded: "Chengzong speaks rightly. If there is future calamity, then do your utmost to avert it."

Zhang Xianzhong, seeing his dream of going out to play shattered, finally put his brain to work for Liu the Lion and offered a serious suggestion.

He said, "Grand Marshal, since we are not fighting, in this subordinate's humble opinion, it would be better to divide them."

"Gao Yingxiang's forces may be numerous, his followers many, but they have not fought any hard battles against the court. His position as the big chief is unsteady — that is precisely why he needs the Marshal's headquarters to grant him an official post, so he can forcibly suppress the various commanders before entering Sichuan."

"The Grand Marshal would do better to have that Central Dipper Star submit a full roster of the eight camp commanders and subordinate stalwarts under Gao's division, and grant every one of them titles like Regional Commander and Prefect, each stationed in a separate place. Confer many titles, establish many commands, and give Gao Yingxiang the grandest title of all — then you may rest easy."

Halfway through his own words, he started laughing.

To say nothing of Liu Chengzong and Liu Chengzong.

Wasn't this exactly the method Liu the Lion had used against the Western Camp officers back then?

Director Zhang had learned to apply it quite adeptly.

The suffering our Old Zhang endured — his Old Gao won't escape it either.

"That was then, this is now."

Liu Chengzong, however, shook his head and said, "When I granted titles to the Western Camp officers, I knew each of them had real ability. Whichever one I appointed as a commander was a stout fellow who had fought across thousands of li at my brother's side."

"On Master Gao's side, the personnel are a mixed bag. Many of them likely lack the ability to hold and defend a single post. They haven't even fought their way into Sichuan yet — we cannot start pulling at their legs."

Liu Chengzong now understood Zhang Xianzhong even better, and made up his mind: when he later turned to campaign eastward, he could let Zhang Xianzhong out to wage war.

As long as he himself kept watch from behind.

Zhang Xianzhong was fierce and battle-worthy, bold and astute, exceedingly cunning, possessed a strong capacity to learn, and was bursting with drive.

But he was severely lacking in overall strategic vision.

His flaw was determined by his mental state.

Zhang Xianzhong bore the very distinct traits of a desperado — heedless of consequences and devoid of responsibility, instinctively refusing to consider problems from a holistic perspective.

Right now, for instance: hearing Liu the Lion say that the Marshal's headquarters must not pull at Gao Yingxiang's legs before he had fought his way into Sichuan, he was thoroughly unconvinced.

One look at his expression told Liu Chengzong exactly what this fellow was thinking.

'If Gao Yingxiang can't fight his way into Sichuan, that's his own incompetence. Not pulling at his legs — once he does fight his way in, what good does that do us?'

But for Liu Chengzong, Hanzhong was the good — and an immense good at that.

After all, even if Gao Yingxiang offered up Sichuan, he still couldn't collect taxes there — it would just be a matter of stationing troops in the heart of Sichuan and recruiting soldiers from there.

But honestly, those are all minor gains. The greatest benefit he could truly maximize and mobilize is this stretch of Shaanxi.

Liu Xiangyu said, "No need to hold him back. Just avoid Chengdu Prefecture and enfeoff him southward. What's wrong with making him Supreme Commander of the four prefectures of Chongqing, Zunyi, Xuyong, and Mahu?"

"At the same time, send word to Feng Shuangli at Kangning. Once Yingxiang crushes Hou Liangzhu, have him come down the mountain and attack Chengdu Prefecture. Take Chengdu first and garrison it, then dispatch a capable general to follow Gao's forces into Sichuan."

As he spoke, Old Master Liu noticed Liu Chengzong shaking his head slightly and said, "What, you think it's not a good idea?"

"Father, it's not a good idea. Taking Chengdu would create too much hostility. Even if they submit for a time, a battle will inevitably follow."

"If necessary, I wouldn't mind fighting a battle, but generating hostility too early is pointless."

Liu Chengzong shook his head slightly, studied the map for a moment, and said, "My thinking is to give Chengdu and most of Sichuan to Master Gao. Let him carve out his own territory there. As for Guizhou and Yunnan, if he has the ability, he can take those too — no harm."

"Only one thing — he must not be my enemy. And for that, the authority to appoint officials and station troops in the three northern Sichuan prefectures of Baoning, Long'an, and Kuizhou must be mine."

These were the key routes from Shaanxi into Sichuan and from Sichuan into Huguang, and they were also Liu Chengzong's bottom line.

As long as he held these three prefectures, it would be like hanging a knife over Sichuan's head.

"As long as these three prefectures and Hanzhong belong to me, the Chengdu prefectures and the rest can all go to the Eight Battalions of the Chuang Army."