Volume Three: Southern Campaign and Territorial Expansion Chapter 107: The Jingnan Army Becomes Ruì

Worldly affairs are indeed unpredictable. While Wei Fufeng focused his attention on the movements of the Tongguan army, he had not anticipated a sudden shift from his enemies in the south.

Cheng Rui, the Jiedushi of Jingnan, had unexpectedly formed an alliance with his rival, the Jiedushi of Wuzhen, Lei Man. Lei Man, who occupied Langzhou and Yanzhou to the south of the Yangtze River, reached an agreement with Cheng Rui to launch a joint military campaign. As part of the terms set by Cheng Rui, Lei Man personally led ten thousand troops to take over Shizhou, with the subsequent goal of both armies capturing Kuizhou. Should Cheng Rui succeed in retaking Kuizhou, his next move would be to assist Lei Man in capturing Qianzhou. Once achieved, the two would respectively control Badong and the northern regions of Qian, allowing them to jointly oppose Southern Sichuan and Jinzhou.

In the biting cold of winter, thirty thousand Jingnan troops moved upstream against the Yangtze. Ten thousand elite soldiers traveled by boat, while twenty thousand marched along the riverbanks. Standing on the deck of his flagship, Cheng Rui, clad in gleaming armor and a heavy mantle, looked toward the upper reaches of the river with a grave expression. A man of formidable stature with thick brows and tiger-like eyes, he had not originally intended to go to war, but the dire situation forced his hand. Born into a military family, he had once become a monk while on the run after killing a man during a drunken brawl, later gathering hundreds of fellow villagers to seize territory. He eventually joined the Jingnan Jiedushi Chen Ru as a subordinate general, but due to Chen Ru’s suspicion, he was forced to flee with his men to occupy Guizhou. Years ago, when Qin Zongquan sent troops to raid Jingnan, the regional forces suffered heavy losses; observing the chaos, Cheng Rui seized the opportunity to capture Jiangling Prefecture.

Cheng Rui’s decision to mobilize in winter was driven by a crucial intelligence report: scouts had confirmed that the troops stationed in Badong originated from Southern Sichuan, and that a large-scale replacement of officials had occurred, with the names of the prefects of each prefecture differing from those previously recorded. A seasoned veteran of countless struggles, Cheng Rui understood that Badong had fallen under the control of the Southern Sichuan army. Combined with intelligence from Jinzhou, he realized that the Wei clan of Jinzhou was indeed the power behind the Southern Sichuan forces. Wei Fufeng, knowing he could not deceive Cheng Rui indefinitely, had planned to capture Changsha Prefecture (Tanzhou) in Hunan, then surround Jingnan on three sides to slowly plot its conquest. Upon learning the truth, Cheng Rui could not allow the Southern Sichuan army to remain in Badong, knowing that once the Wei clan’s influence solidified, they would inevitably attack Jingnan. He reached out to Lei Man, and by explaining the stakes, formed an alliance.

Lei Man had always been content to hold Langzhou and Yanzhou, but the entry of the Southern Sichuan Jiedushi into Qianzhong Circuit threatened his interests. Although he lacked the strength of a major warlord and was reluctant to provoke Southern Sichuan, the confirmation that Badong was occupied by them forced his hand—the expansionist momentum of the Southern Sichuan army had reached his doorstep. Cheng Rui sought the alliance for two reasons: to bolster his military strength and to execute a surprise attack. His plan was to launch a main assault on Guizhou, forcing the upstream garrison of Kuizhou to send reinforcements, thereby allowing Lei Man to cross the Yangtze from Shizhou and capture the weakened Kuizhou. Cheng Rui knew well that Lei Man was a rapacious wolf, greedy and devoid of virtue, but the situation left him no choice; dancing with a wolf was better than being devoured by the tiger of Southern Sichuan. He had spent years building his foundation and was unwilling to lose his base in Jingnan.

...

While the Jingnan army was still in transit, Guizhou received urgent reports from its scouts. Prefect Tian Wen and the garrison commander Gan Fengchi, after conferring, issued a joint plea for reinforcements while preparing for a disciplined defense of the city. Beacons were lit along the Badong region to relay the intelligence. These were the watchtowers of the border garrisons, each manned by a squad, constructed after the occupation of Badong as an extension of the Southern Sichuan military defense model. Upon receiving the signal, the garrisons of Kuizhou, Wanzhou, Zhongzhou, and Fuzhou were immediately mobilized. Kuizhou reinforced Guizhou, Wanzhou reinforced Kuizhou, and so on. Furthermore, ten thousand combat troops stationed in Fuzhou were ordered to board ships, with Commander Zhao Yidou authorized by Wei Fufeng to sail downstream to provide support as the situation demanded.

...

In Qianzhou, Prefect Zhang Wencheng received intelligence from scouts lurking in Shizhou. He met with garrison commander Wang Wentao, and together they issued a joint notification to Fuzhou and Yuzhou, mobilizing Qianzhou for war. Wang Wentao, formerly a captain of the Northern Huben Guard, had been promoted to commander and sent to the Qianzhou military prefecture after Lu Qing was transferred to Rongzhou. In his notification, Zhang Wencheng suggested that once the Wuzhen army crossed the Yangtze, the Qianzhou garrison should proactively strike to block Lei Man’s retreat.

Upon receiving the report in Yuzhou, the Governor’s Office, the White Tiger Hall, the Transport Commission, and the Lady of the Seal, Lin Qingsue, held a joint deliberation. Acting on behalf of Wei Fufeng, Lin Qingsue served as a crucial link in the power balance. Adopting the military advice of Old Feng, the Governor’s Office issued a decree ordering the Qianzhou garrison to deploy fifteen thousand troops. If the Wuzhen army crossed the river to attack Kuizhou, they were to launch a direct expedition against Langzhou to seize the Wuzhen army’s base, while Yuzhou would dispatch five thousand troops to reinforce the defense of Qianzhou.

The slightest movement affected the whole body; the peaceful atmosphere of the New Year was shattered by the sudden outbreak of war. The Southern Sichuan army, prepared for such an eventuality, moved rapidly despite the grumbling of the soldiers. A fast messenger from Kuizhou arrived in Jinzhou in a single day and night. Wei Fufeng, standing on the outer city wall, was the first to receive the intelligence; he was surprised, yet he did not order the Jinzhou troops to prepare for support. Before leaving Yuzhou, he had anticipated the Jingnan army’s potential hostility and had already authorized the necessary military deployments. Of course, had he known of the alliance between Lei Man and Cheng Rui, he would have been deeply concerned. He sent a letter to his fifth uncle, informing him of the situation and reminding him to watch the movements of the Tongguan and Zhongyi armies. Worldly affairs were indeed volatile; Cheng Rui’s mobilization might yet lead to alliances with other warlords.

...

At Guizhou, Cheng Rui stood before the city walls, looking upon the stronghold he had occupied for so many years. A hint of bitterness touched his lips, but it was quickly replaced by a cold, sinister expression as he ordered the assault. The city now held five thousand reinforcements from Kuizhou, bringing the total to over ten thousand—though their equipment was average, their numbers and morale were high. At Cheng Rui’s command, the thunder of war drums echoed through the hills, and several thousand Jingnan soldiers launched the first wave. Hundreds of men rushed toward the walls carrying sixty scaling ladders, while two thousand archers provided suppressing fire. A rain of arrows filled the sky, met by a patchwork of shields—mostly door planks—on the ramparts.

The Jingnan troops reached the moat and used thirty ladders to bridge it. Then, more soldiers followed, rushing the walls and erecting their ladders. Armored sword-and-shield men climbed relentlessly, undeterred by death. Pots of boiling water were poured down, causing the attackers to shriek and plummet. The Southern Sichuan defenders on the walls were struck by arrows, but any who fell were immediately replaced. Prefect Tian Wen, clad in armor, personally directed the defense. A veteran soldier himself, he watched the carnage with a cold, steady face, accompanied by Commander Gan Fengchi. Gan remained silent; he was a guest commander, and the Southern Sichuan army followed the rule that guests must obey their hosts unless the host was incompetent or a major failure occurred, or unless authorized by higher command. The siege lasted for half an hour, with both sides suffering roughly a thousand casualties.

...

Cheng Rui, watching from outside, wore a grim expression; the losses were among his most skilled elite troops, while the defenders, despite their crude equipment, fought with stubborn tenacity and showed no signs of cowardice. "My Lord, shall I lead a charge to take the city?" a heavily armored officer shouted. Cheng Rui recognized the voice of Bingma Shi Xu Cun, a man of formidable martial prowess. "Very well," Cheng Rui replied. "If you take Guizhou, you shall be its Prefect."

Xu Cun led five hundred men toward the walls, his movements nimble despite his heavy armor as he wielded his shield and sword. The Jingnan archers kept up their pressure. Tian Wen, looking down, spotted Xu Cun’s unit. Gan Fengchi remarked, "Prefect Tian, that man is a fierce warrior; do not underestimate him." Tian Wen nodded and signaled for orders to be relayed. Soon, ten armored warriors emerged from the gatehouse, each carrying a long spear. They were of massive build, resembling mighty heavenly generals.

Xu Cun crossed the moat, leaping onto the scaling ladder with the agility of an ape. He easily dodged the logs thrown from above and, just as he was about to vault over the parapet, three of the giant figures surged up through the arrow fire, their long spears striking at him from three different angles. Xu Cun’s expression changed in alarm; he slammed his shield against one spear, and with a decisive kick against the battlement, launched himself backward, falling in a parabolic arc into the moat.

Cheng Rui, watching from outside, changed his expression and ordered the retreat. After falling into the moat, Xu Cun swam back to the shore, climbing out to glare back at the wall, where he saw the ten iron-tower-like warriors watching him. On the ramparts, Tian Wen turned to Gan Fengchi and whispered, "The armor for those ten men was a gift from Commander Wei Fufeng. We lacked soldiers truly suited for them; they only have some brute strength." Gan Fengchi nodded, smiling faintly. "I can see that. If they were true martial generals, that enemy commander would be dead. Their movements are slow, and they cannot sustain a long fight." Tian Wen nodded, then laughed, "I forgot, Commander Gan, you once campaigned in Hedong with the Commander; you would know more about this armor than I." Gan Fengchi did not reply. There were dozens of suits of armor captured from the Hedong cavalry that were too heavy for the average soldier to use effectively; truly strong warriors were rare. However, heavy armor was suitable for siege defense—it could deflect arrows, and soldiers could rotate out when fatigued.

...

After the initial assault, the Jingnan army waited outside the city for news of the Wuzhen army. Cheng Rui did not trust Lei Man, fearing he might pay lip service while failing to act, and he was unwilling to lose too many troops on a siege. If Lei Man encountered resistance in capturing Kuizhou, Cheng Rui would immediately retreat and turn his forces to seize Lei Man’s own bases of Yanzhou and Langzhou. Cheng Rui’s campaign was a strategy to kill two birds with one stone; for years, Lei Man’s banditry had been a blight on Jingnan.

...

Following the Jingnan assault, the Wuzhen army’s hidden scouts quietly departed for Shizhou to report to Lei Man. Convinced that Cheng Rui had indeed attacked Guizhou, and hearing reports of the heavy reinforcements sent from Kuizhou to aid the city, Lei Man decided to cross the river and launch his attack on Kuizhou.