My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 561 Each Gains Their Own Success
The Yelang Road differs from the Five-Foot Road. The Five-Foot Road was an official road, equivalent to a national highway in later times, and on par with the imperial roads of the Central Plains. Although its conditions were not as good as those of the imperial roads, it was still about 1.2 to 1.5 meters wide, which was a fairly high standard road in the mountains. It could even easily pass through wheelbarrows and animal-drawn vehicles, and there were also post stations along the way to receive officials, merchants and travelers.

But the Yelang Road was different; it was merely a local road. As Mr. Lu Xun said, as more people walked on it, a road naturally formed.

The Yelang Road is a typical example of a road worn into existence by footsteps. Its dimensions are only 0.9 to 1.2 meters, making it much more difficult to walk on than the Five-Foot Road. Many sections of the road are quite dangerous, and there are no post stations along the way.

Yelang Road is also known as Zangke North Road. It is the main road in the northern part of Zangke County. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a first-class road in Zangke County and can be considered a provincial road.

Tangao County was an important transit port in Zangke Prefecture. It could transport goods by warm water and also transport them by land through the Yelang Road. The local area also produced cinnabar, and its commerce was quite prosperous, even surpassing that of Qielan County, where the prefectural government was located.

Before setting off, Lü Dai left Qian Bo with personal instructions.

Securing the draft was not difficult; the challenge lay in maintaining tight control over the news to avoid alerting neighboring counties like Weixian, Tongse, and Tonglao. At the same time, it was crucial to ascertain the current situation in Weixian, which would be vital for Lü Dai's strategic choices.

Lu Dai had previously received a message from Lu Xun, informing him that Lu Xun had captured Longxia Pass and the large stronghold of Liding Mountain, establishing a foothold at the border of Yizhou County and Zangke County, and was waiting for reinforcements and accumulating strength in preparation for the opportunity to march north to Yizhou County.

Lu Dai certainly didn't want to cooperate with Lu Xun. In the vast mountains of the southwest, relying solely on human communication could easily take more than ten days to send a letter, and there was always the risk of not being able to find the person at all.

In this situation, to cooperate would be tantamount to treason.

Lu Dai only wanted to make a slight strategic response, either by helping Lu Xun to divert Yong Kai's attention or by launching a bold attack while Yong Kai was being held back by Lu Xun. That was all.

Qian Bo immediately accepted the order and led his troops westward from the city.

Tangao County has over 1,100 households, with a population of approximately 4,500 to 5,000. Of these, fewer than 2,000 are Han Chinese, and the rest are Baiyue ethnic minorities.

Some of these Baiyue people were actually descendants of the Yelang tribe, while many others were related to the Yelang tribe. Therefore, Lü Dai offered so many benefits to the Yelang descendants not only for their manpower, material resources, and military strength, but more importantly, for their network of relationships, connections, and influence.

Tangao County controls navigation on the upper reaches of the Wenshui River. The Wenshui River is more than 200 meters wide from north to south in this section, with a depth of 3-5 meters. The current is slow (40% slower than downstream), there are few reefs, and it is safe to navigate. Ships with a load capacity of 1000 shi can pass through, as evidenced by the ship planks unearthed in Panzhou City from the Han Dynasty.

At the same time, there are many natural terraces along the warm riverbank, which are extremely convenient for building wharves and warehouses, making it a natural good harbor location.

Tangao County was a prosperous trading center with a large population. It was located in the central area under the actual control of the Eastern Han Dynasty. To its right was Yelang County, to its left was Wei County, to its south were mountains, and to its north was Zhuti County, the capital of the Shu Kingdom. There were few barbarian tribes in the area, and there were very few instances of barbarian invasions and raids.

Thanks to its natural harbor location in the middle reaches of the warm water, the wharves and warehouses built by the Han court, and its safe location away from indigenous threats, Tangao County became a core hub for the Eastern Han Dynasty to control the southern water system. During the Shu Han period, under Zhuge Liang's planning, it was further upgraded into a military logistics base for "floating ship grain transport," and its status was comparable to Jiangling on the Yangtze River and Aocang on the Yellow River.

Whoever controls Tangao County can effectively control the water system in the south and use it to mobilize troops and resources, making its strategic core position even greater than that of Yelang County.

Qian Bo traveled lightly and simply. The distance from Yelang to Tangao was about 120 li. Although the road was not as easy to travel as the Five-Foot Road, it was still a rare and readily available road in Zangke County.

Qian Bo arrived at the outskirts of Tangao County in just three days.

Instead of immediately approaching the city, Qian Bo chose to temporarily set up camp in a valley about seven or eight miles outside Tangao County. He then asked Cuan Yang, an elder of the Yelang tribe, to go to the city to gather intelligence.

Within the Yelang clan, the clan leader was Zhu, a direct descendant of the former Yelang King. The clan also comprised three other powerful factions: the Xie clan, allied with Yong Kai, and the Long clan, allied with Zhu Bao. The Long clan, previously destroyed by Lu Xun at Longxia Pass, shared some kinship with the Yelang Long clan.

Because Yong Kai was stronger, the Xie family's relationship with him was more like dependence, while Zhu Bao was relatively weak. Therefore, the Long family, who sided with Zhu Bao, was more like an equal partner, and their relationship was more like an alliance.

As the patriarch of the Yelang tribe, the Zhu clan, the former royal family of Yelang, was in a state of division, wavering between the Han court and the powerful clans in the south, while the powerful members of the tribe also had their own agendas.

The Cuan clan was a newly emerging major clan among the Yelang people. Although its strength could not compare with the royal Zhu clan or the Xie and Long clans, it still ranked fourth among the Yelang people.

Most importantly, the Cuan clan historically pursued a pro-Han policy and was the most pro-Han force among the Yelang people and the Han court.

This time, Lü Dai went to great lengths to win over the powerful clans of Yelang County, among whom the Cuan clan responded most enthusiastically. They not only offered Lü Dai supplies such as grain, cloth, and salt, but also provided him with a great deal of intelligence and information about the surrounding areas of Yelang.

Don't underestimate these intelligence and information. If you don't gather them from locals, it will often be a waste of time and effort. Moreover, a single oversight can lead to being misled by false information, resulting in very serious and disastrous consequences.

Moreover, with such a close ally as the Cuan clan, the intelligence that Lü Dai obtained from other sources could be verified by the Cuan clan, which undoubtedly greatly improved the accuracy of the intelligence.

One of the most important pieces of intelligence was provided by the Cuan clan, namely the close relationship between the Xie clan and Yong Kai. Furthermore, a large number of Xie clan members resided in Tangao County, which was also one of the Xie clan's main strongholds.

It was this intelligence that prompted Lü Dai to decisively order Qian Bo to launch a surprise attack on Tangao, striving to capture the city before the Xie family could react.

For this reason, Lü Dai did not hesitate to deploy his main force, along with the Cuan clan, the Zhu clan who were willing to cooperate with Lü Dai, and five hundred Yelang soldiers gathered by a group of Yelang minor clans, making a total of two thousand elite troops, which was a considerable force in the land of Nanzhong.

It should be noted that at this time, Lü Dai only had five hundred men left. If it weren't for the fact that all the able-bodied men in Yelang County had come out to fight, he probably wouldn't have been able to sleep at night.

Two hours later, Cuan Yang returned from Tanggao County.

Qian Bo immediately met with the other party, and Cuan Yang's face was full of joy. Upon asking, he obtained a very important piece of information.

The county seat of Tanga is now empty!

"Is this really true!?"

Cuan Yang nodded excitedly, "I don't know why, but three days ago, the Xie clan summoned their troops, leading 1,400 clan soldiers and more than 600 southern barbarian soldiers from the surrounding area of ​​Tangao County westward. Now there are only 200 Han soldiers and 100 Xie clan soldiers in the city, a total of no more than 300 soldiers." Qian Bo was incredulous. How could there be such a coincidence? He was just about to attack, and Tangao City was already empty?
It should be noted that Tangao County has a large population, and with the addition of the tribes outside the city, the Xie clan chief in Tangao County can conscript one or two thousand soldiers in a single day.

These people may not be good at open field battles, but they are more than capable of ambushing, flanking maneuvers, harassing supply trains, and defending cities.

While he was still racking his brains about how to launch a sneak attack without alerting the Xie clan, Cuan Yang came back and told him that all the Xie clan soldiers in Tangao County had left, leaving only an empty Tangao City waiting for him to conquer.
For a moment, Qian Bo even suspected that the Cuan clan might be deliberately trying to deceive him with false information, so as to join forces with the Xie clan to betray him.

But Qian Bo quickly came to his senses and realized that this was unlikely.

If Cuan Yang really colluded with the Xie family and wanted to ambush him, then he would have to use bait. With the fighting strength of his subordinates, Qian Bo was very confident that the other side would not only fail to defeat him, but would also break the bait along with its teeth.

After a moment's thought, Qian Bo asked again, "Does Master Cuan know why the Xie family left?"

Cuan Yang shook his head: "This matter is highly confidential. The Xie family has blocked the news, making it very difficult to find out. However, judging from his leading troops westward, it seems that he is heading to Wei County. If so, this unexpected move is likely to be closely related to Yong Kai."

Qian Bo's eyes lit up immediately, and a thought involuntarily arose in his mind: Could it be that General Lu's troops in the Southern Route had attracted Yong Kai's attention, even forcing Yong Kai to contact allies and vassals?
If that's the case, then the outcome of this battle is already decided. Not only will it be easy to take Gao County, but perhaps I can also investigate the situation in Wei County.
If Weixian County is as empty as the draft, then this would be a great blessing from heaven.

Thinking of this, Qian Bo couldn't help but get excited, feeling that the weather was a bit too hot and making it hard to breathe.

Although Qian Bo was excited, he remained clear-headed when it came to making actual plans.

Using the pretext of connecting with inside agents, he positioned Cuan Yang and his Cuan clan troops as the vanguard, allowing them to enter the city first.

In this way, if the other side has a problem, it will be less likely to set a trap at the city gate, otherwise it would be a trap for one's own ally.

If the other party has no problems, then being the first to enter the city can be considered a reward for our efforts.

Afterwards, Qian Bo arranged for his own clansman, Qian Zhuang, to be the second vanguard, leading 300 elite troops to closely follow Cuan Yang's forces. At the same time, he secretly instructed the other party to be careful and wary of Cuan Yang, and to take over the city gates and defenses after entering the city, and not to be careless or rash.

Although Tangao County is important, it is located in the south, far from being comparable to the major cities of the Central Plains.

Even in places like Dianchi Lake and Weixian County, the city walls were only about 1.5 to 2 zhang high. The city walls of Tangao County were also a standard 1.5 zhang high, with a simple gate tower on the city gate, and it was already a well-known city.

Let alone a barbican, they wouldn't even dare to think about a heavy gate.

As long as Qian Zhuang closely follows the Cuan clan soldiers, there is no need to worry about being divided up within the city.

Next, he would lead his main force of eight hundred men. Once Qian Zhuang had control of the city's defenses, they would immediately rush into the city. Regardless of whether Cuan Yang had any problems, as long as his main force entered the city, even if the enemy outnumbered him twice as many, Qian Bo would have no fear whatsoever.

The last hundred men joined three hundred Han soldiers to hold the rear and provide support outside the city, serving as the general reserve force.

Qian Bo had made all sorts of preparations and carefully instructed his officers, but he did not expect that entering the city would be so smooth.

The inside agent opened the city gates almost without bloodshed, and the three hundred soldiers left behind didn't take the city defenses seriously at all.

Tangao County has not been attacked for more than 20 years, and the Yelang tribe still lives in the city, so there is no need to worry about barbarian attacks, let alone the elusive Han army.

The capture of the city went very smoothly, especially after the Han army flag was raised, two hundred Han soldiers were the first to surrender.

The remaining hundred Xie clan soldiers, seeing the Han army pouring into the city and the Han soldiers from Tangao County in the same camp surrendering, dared not resist any longer and fled directly back to the Xie clan mansion. Finally, after receiving a guarantee from the Han army that they would not slaughter the surrendered soldiers or plunder the women, they opened the gates and surrendered.

Even now, Qian Bo still couldn't quite believe how convenient and successful this raid had been. The only drawback was that most of the boats in Tangao County had been requisitioned by the Xie family, leaving only a small number, which was better than nothing.

After settling things in Tangao County, Qian Bo immediately sent a message to Lü Dai, who was in Yelang County, informing him of the city's sparse population and Cuan Yang's speculations.

After receiving the news, Lü Dai quickly came to agree with Qian Bo and Cuan Yang's guesses.

It is very likely that Lu Xun had already begun his offensive in the south, and even achieved great success, forcing Yong Kai to contact allies and vassals to gather more troops to counterattack Lu Xun.

No matter how optimistic Lü Dai or Qian Bo were, they could never have imagined that Lu Xun's forces had already completely captured the Dianchi Plain in the south. Now, Lu Xun's army was pointing directly at Wei County. Yong Kai was not trying to fight back, but rather making a last-ditch effort.

Lü Dai immediately summoned Qian Bozhen back to guard Yelang. He personally went to discuss the matter and dispatched a large number of men and Cuan family members to gather intelligence in the direction of Wei County.

The first three routes were progressing smoothly, while the two routes along the Yanjiang River were far less successful in comparison.

However, this inferiority is only compared to the previous three routes; in fact, they have all made considerable progress.

Lu Meng's route went north along the Yan River and captured Pingyi County, which later became Bijie, a crucial point on the Five-Foot Road.

The entire Zangke County has three major strategic locations: Qielan controls the Yuan River, Tangao locks the Wen River, and Pingyi guards the Wuchi Road.

These three strategic locations essentially lock down the most important parts of the South China Sea water system. Controlling these three locations is equivalent to controlling the three major water systems and land transportation in the South China Sea.

(End of this chapter)