Jinting Han people

Zu Ti's intelligence was like a boulder thrown into a lake, instantly creating huge waves in Li Ju's heart.

After defeating Liu Zhongdao, Li Ju led his troops back to the walls of Daxing City. He then set up his command tent and negotiated with envoys from various fortified villages in the Central Plains. Just as Zu Ti's envoy arrived, five other envoys from the fortified villages of Xuzhou were waiting outside for a reply. Their stares at Zu Ti's envoy made him somewhat uncomfortable, so he lowered his eyes to look at his mud-splattered boots, waiting for Li Ju to speak.

Zu Ti's letter was short. After reading it twice, Li Ju felt very depressed. He put it on the table and asked the messenger, "Lord Zu's letter is very short. Is there any message he wants to convey?"

The messenger replied, "Our ancestor only told me to ask the Marshal not to harbor any illusions and to act according to the one-month deadline."

Li Ju felt displeased, but he didn't have the habit of putting pressure on his subordinates. In addition, since there were outsiders in front of him, he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he sent the messengers of the other fortress lords out first and fell into a brief period of contemplation.

Before setting off, he had already discussed with Zu Ti that Shi Le, as a third party who could intervene, was someone whose movements could not be ignored in this surprise attack on Daxing. However, upon closer analysis, Shi Le's possible actions were twofold: one was to take advantage of Daxing's siege to conquer cities and seize territory in Hebei, and the other was to take the initiative to lead troops to rescue Daxing in order to maintain the balance of power between the north and the south.

Although Li Ju was unfamiliar with Shi Le, based on Shi Le's past military achievements, he felt that Shi Le was adept at avoiding the most difficult situations and focusing on immediate gains. In the current situation, conquering Hebei was undoubtedly much easier than rescuing Daxing. At present, there were only signs of troops being dispatched from Yecheng, which did not necessarily mean that Shi Le would come to Daxing. However, Zu Ti's instruction to Li Ju not to forget the one-month deadline clearly implied that he judged Shi Le would inevitably come to fight Li Ju.

Should we trust this judgment? Li Ju stared at the letters on the table and suddenly asked the messenger, "Have you seen Shi Le's army?"

Upon hearing this, the envoy was somewhat puzzled by the marshal's meaning, and could only reply: "Last year, Shi Le attacked and captured Ye City, and his army once reached Hanoi County. I did indeed see Kong Chang's troops."

The envoy paused for a moment, and seeing that Li Ju was still bowing his head, he added, "Kong Chang was one of Shi Le's eighteen most trusted riders. At that time, to guard against our army crossing the river to fight, he seized Heyang City in Mengjin. Envoy Zu sent General Gongsun Gong to attack the city, and I followed him into battle. I saw him set up a large cauldron on the city wall of Heyang, heating soup and pouring it on people..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ju finally raised his head and sized up the envoy before him. He saw that the man was tall and thin, with a young face, a slightly dark and gaunt complexion, and a short beard that extended from his chin to his temples. He was dressed in a black military uniform, the standard attire of a warrior. He must be a seasoned soldier who had fought many battles in Luoyang. Li Ju waved his hand slightly to interrupt him and asked, "What is your name?"

The messenger replied, “My name is Dong Zhao, from Lintao in Longxi. I am currently serving as a commander under my ancestor.”

"Oh? You're from Longxi, so how did you end up in Luoyang?"

"During the Qi Wannian Rebellion, my father led my family to seek refuge in Guandong, and eventually we followed my grandfather in Xuchang."

Upon hearing the words "Qi Wannian's Rebellion," Li Ju stared at the envoy for a long time, seemingly lost in memories of the past. He felt a surge of goodwill towards Dong Zhao and directly inquired, "So, you've been in the Central Plains for quite some time now. Do you know the style of the Eighteen Riders? Could you tell me a thing or two?"

Dong Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Shi Le's Eighteen Riders were mainly bandits he and Ji Sang gathered in their early years. There were a total of eighteen people. Later, when Shi Le rose to prominence and built an army, he made the Eighteen Riders his military unit, as the Yuan Cong Eighteen Camps, to show that he would live and die with them and share wealth and honor. Even if someone died, a blood relative would take their place, and the position would be passed down through generations. For example, after Kong Tun died in battle, his brother Kong Chang was promoted to one of the Eighteen Riders."

"Now that Shi Le has established his kingdom, the eighteen riders have all taken up important positions. Whether they are good generals is hard to say, but they are undoubtedly veterans who have fought in many battles. Among them, the most outstanding are undoubtedly Kong Chang, Tao Bao, Zhi Xiong, Kui An, and Lu Ming."

"My grandfather once told me that these five men were comparable to the Five Elite Generals of Cao Wei. Kong Chang was resolute and resourceful, good at managing his subordinates, and could be compared to Xu Huang; Tao Bao was unpredictable and full of ingenious strategies, and could be compared to Zhang He; Zhi Xiong was brave and fought to the death, leaving no room for retreat, and could be compared to Zhang Liao; Kui An knew how to recognize and appoint people, and was good at advancing and retreating, and could be compared to Yu Jin; Lu Ming was strong and aggressive, and often took the lead in climbing, and could be compared to Yue Jin."

"Besides these, Shi Le also had nine adopted sons, known in the army as the Nine Princes: Shi Kan, Shi Ta, Shi Cong, Shi Sheng, Shi Qian, Shi Tai, Shi Tong, Shi Pu, and Shi Lang. Some were brave warriors, others were shrewd strategists; all were Shi Le's henchmen and wings. Marshal, you must not underestimate them!"

Li Ju remained silent upon hearing this. However, he had inwardly raised his opinion of Shi Le, because based on Dong Zhao's words, although Shi Le appeared cunning, fickle, and greedy to outsiders, he was very capable when dealing with internal affairs.

Because monarchs generally place great emphasis on the distinction between ruler and subject. There's an old saying: "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?" When Chen Sheng posed this question, it's hard not to wonder: what truly distinguishes a monarch from an ordinary person? If it were based on ability, wouldn't everyone be able to become a king? Therefore, a monarch must establish an authority that ordinary people lack in order to ensure the imperial throne is passed down through generations.

Authority, though seemingly ethereal, is actually extremely important. All those vying for power choose their own ways to establish authority: Liu Yuan relied on Confucian classics and morality, Liu Baigen on religion and destiny, Li Xiong on his powerful family, and Chen Min on his military prowess.

These established authorities each had their flaws. For example, Liu Yuan's morality couldn't restrain his clansmen, Liu Baigen's divine mandate was questionable, internal strife still existed within Li Xiong's family, and Chen Min's prestige couldn't withstand a defeat. What exactly constitutes unbreakable authority? Perhaps no one will be able to answer this even two thousand years later, but the distinction between ruler and subject is absolutely essential.

Liu Xian established his authority in a different way than the others mentioned above; he relied on integrity and trustworthiness. Perhaps it was difficult to get started, but his decades-long adherence to this principle made Liu Xian's reputation for integrity and trustworthiness known throughout the world, and he also gathered a group of like-minded people around him. Therefore, Liu Xian did not need to deliberately emphasize the relationship between ruler and subject in establishing his authority.

Now, upon learning of Shi Le's situation, Li Ju realized that both the eighteen riders and the nine princes revealed a relationship between Shi Le and his subordinates that was not that of a typical ruler and subject, but rather more like the bond between kin. This was no easy feat, for friends are not like blood relatives; blood ties are innate. And the bonds between friends can easily crumble over a small conflict of interest. Yet Shi Le could use this art of managing people, seemingly without restraint, to unite diverse groups from all walks of life, making them appear as one family—a style reminiscent of the founding emperor. Thinking this, Li Ju was already somewhat agreeing with Zu Ti's assessment; one could never be too cautious around such a person. And if Shi Le chose to come to the aid of Daxing, then the conditions for their eventual annihilation of Qi and Han would likely no longer be ripe.

However, Li Ju couldn't hastily lift the siege because of this. He assessed the potential consequences. If Shi Le marched south and the Han army withdrew without engaging him, they risked being branded as cowards. This would greatly enhance Shi Le's prestige, ruining the Han army's plans to demonstrate its power in the Central Plains. Therefore, even if the Han army intended to retreat back to Xuchang, Li Ju had to ascertain Shi Le's movements and engage him in a direct confrontation to uphold the Han army's reputation for invincibility.

Therefore, Li Ju did not intend to return to his army immediately. Instead, he continued to contact the local fortified villages and deployed scouts in the Chenliu and Puyang areas further north to closely monitor the next moves of Shi Le's army.

Shi Le's army moved extremely fast. Even in the freezing cold, he still marched at a speed of 100 li per day. Li Ju's scouts had barely been sent out when, three days later, they reported to Li Ju by fast horse that Shi Le's vanguard had crossed the river at Fangtou and entered the territory of Puyang.

However, he did not immediately head straight for Daxing. According to subsequent scout intelligence, a day later, Shi Le's vanguard reached the Jiyang area and made a brief stop there. Not long after, Liu Zhongdao's defeated army, which had been resting in Dingtao, went to join Shi Le's Zhao army. Two days later, Shi Le's central and rear armies also arrived in Jiyang. The two armies combined their forces of 100,000 men before continuing their southward march. The entire process took only seven days.

Jiyang is only two hundred li away from Daxing, which means that war is imminent. Upon learning the news, Li Ju immediately ordered the Han army besieging the city to lift the siege, allowing the soldiers to return to their camps for rest and recuperation, and rewarding the entire army to maintain their best condition for battle.

During this period, Li Ju also convened a military council and made urgent appointments for the troops to fight. He appointed Zhang Guang and Zhuge Yan's troops as the left army, which also included the troops of Jin Miao, Yang Chu, Mao Meng, Du Zhengchong, and Tian Hui. He appointed Guo Mo and Meng Tao as the right army, which also included the troops of Wei Zhan, Liu Rui, Zheng Xiong, Guo Zhi, and Yin Qiao. He and his brother-in-law Guo Fang led the central army, which also included the troops of Wen Shuo, Yan Yi, Duan Xiu, Gou Yuan, Mao Bao, and Chen Chuan.

With battle imminent, Li Ju instructed his generals: "Although Shi Le is of Jie Hu origin, he has fought in countless battles and has a long history of fighting against the Xianbei people, and he has even won many battles. He should not be underestimated. I heard from our ancestor that the north now regards him as the number one general in Hebei. When you fight him, you must not be careless."

Guo Mo clearly didn't take this to heart. He bluntly said to Li Ju, "Marshal, you're being a bit too cautious. It's true that Shi Le has fought countless battles, but most of them were defeats. Who doesn't know that? What's so great about losing so many battles? If the number one general in Hebei is this kind of scum, then when our army raises its troops to sweep across the north, it will be like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves!"

"I've heard that there are Xianbei people in their army, so they shouldn't be underestimated!" Li Ju emphasized patiently.

"They are just a few petty thieves. Please rest assured, Marshal, we will surely serve the court!"

The formidable reputation of the Xianbei did not intimidate the Han generals. Although, judging from past battles, the Xianbei cavalry were the undisputed masters of the plains, galloping across Henan and Hebei with few able to falter, the Han army was equally invincible. Since Liu Xian's entry into Shu, the number of times they had even drawn a battle could be counted on one hand, and Li Ju himself had never suffered a defeat in a major campaign. The Han army had this confidence to face and defeat any opponent.

The day of battle between the two armies arrived quickly; it was the Bingyin day of the first month of the seventh year of Qiming (312 AD).

Originally, Shi Le's army had already arrived in Meng County at the end of the year, only a dozen miles away from Daxing. However, probably in order to alleviate the fatigue of the forced march, Shi Le's army chose to rest and celebrate for a day on this important day, and even personally performed operas to boost the morale of the soldiers.

Upon learning this, Li Ju immediately dispatched scouts to gather intelligence and assess any weaknesses in the enemy forces, hoping to launch a night attack. However, the scouts reported that the enemy had deployed sentries outside their camp, and the scouts were discovered before they could even approach the enemy stronghold, forcing them to retreat. The Han army also discovered the enemy scouts and drove them away. Therefore, before the battle, neither army knew anything about the enemy's troop formation.

At dawn, a faint ray of light broke through the thick clouds in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the dark earth. Suddenly, the urgent whistling of scouts pierced the night, jolting the half-asleep Han soldiers to their feet. Those who had been waiting knew what this meant: the enemy had made their move!

Li Ju had already fallen asleep, fully armed, but suddenly rose from his bed, slammed his sword to the ground, and loudly ordered, "As planned, assemble the entire army! Form up the eastern camp!" He had realized that the enemy intended to strike first, taking advantage of their inability to form ranks before launching a preemptive attack.

As soon as Li Ju finished speaking, the resounding bugle call echoed throughout the camp, followed by the hurried footsteps of the soldiers. The orders had already been communicated to all units in the army, and they all knew where they should be. In just a quarter of an hour, nearly 60,000 troops had assembled outside the camp and quickly formed ranks from north to south.

As they formed ranks, the sound of galloping hooves could be heard from the dark fields not far away. The Han soldiers could vaguely see countless cavalry formations arrayed three or four miles away, facing west with their backs to the east. Their dark shadows formed a hazy outline, which, though indistinct, was still a shocking sight.

Both sides completed their formations almost simultaneously. At that moment, it was as if two surging waves had frozen on the snowy field, forming two black walls stretching for miles. Both sides were astonished; the Han army was surprised by the speed of the attack, and Shi Le's army was equally surprised by the Han army's swift response. In such darkness, neither side could engage in a formal battle, so they remained where they were, eating and drinking, awaiting dawn.

Li Ju rode his horse among the various Han troops, scrutinizing the faces of his soldiers and boosting their morale with a confident smile. He couldn't help but notice that in the dim, graveyard-like silence, Shi Le's army was watching them silently, like ghosts.

"A formidable opponent," Li Ju silently assessed in his mind, waiting for the sun to rise so he could properly observe the enemy's military bearing.

Just then, without any prior warning, Li Ju saw the opposite wall of men seem to sway slightly. The crimson sunset overhead was still shrouded in mist, yet the earth rumbled like thunder. Even though visibility was still poor, experienced generals already realized that a sizable cavalry unit had launched its initial charge! (End of Chapter)