Volume Three: Southern Expedition and Territorial Expansion Chapter 135: Feint East, Strike South

Page 1/3

Li Xuerou remained dejected for a long time until two attendants of the Liao people tribe slaves entered. She stared at them in sudden fear.

Each attendant carried a snow-white naked woman. Approaching, they gently set the women down, bowed silently, and then retreated.

The women stood gracefully; they were two beauties clad only in bellybands. They looked toward Li Xuerou and knelt simultaneously.

“We have come to accompany Miss Li,” the two beauties said respectfully in soft voices.

“Peony, Yulan,” Li Xuerou whispered, her fright beginning to ease.

“Miss Li, the master is busy preparing for the wedding. In a few days, you may be married off. We have come to keep you company,” Peony said softly.

Li Xuerou gave a faint “oh,” and Yulan added quietly, “The master has recently purchased five new handmaidens, each as beautiful as you, Miss Li.”

A bitter smile flickered at the corner of Li Xuerou’s lips. Her heart settled somewhat as she realized the tribal girls were merely her two attendants taken by the barbarians.

Yulan continued, “Among the handmaidens is Tao Ji, who is even more seductive than you, Miss Li. Tao Ji has been bred by men.”

Li Xuerou listened helplessly. In this barbarian land, masters treated slaves like cattle, and slaves themselves accepted their status as such.

Though Peony and Yulan were slaves, they considered themselves incredibly fortunate. Compared to the serfs outside, they were like canaries in gilded cages, a hundredfold more blessed.

“Those two brought back, what are their names?” Li Xuerou asked, melancholy in her voice.

“They are Hong Xing and Furong. The others are Tao Ji, Zishao, Bai He, and Cha Xian,” Qingmei replied.

Li Xuerou’s delicate face fell into loneliness, once thinking she would never see her chief maid again.

...

Wei Fufeng arrived secretly at Fuzhou. Zhao Yidou, the commander guarding Fuzhou, received military orders and discreetly arranged for Wei Fufeng and his group to stay in Fuling County.

Zhao Yidou met Wei Fufeng in secret, ostensibly a visit but really an audience. In the main hall, he found Wei Fufeng sitting alone and respectfully saluted, “I pay my respects, sir.”

“Old brother, sit,” Wei Fufeng said warmly.

Zhao Yidou nodded and sat down, “Why did you return secretly without announcement, sir?”

“We obtained intelligence that the Yang clan of Bozhou and the Tian clan of Sizhou have allied, intending to attack Yuzhou,” Wei Fufeng explained.

Zhao Yidou was momentarily stunned, then questioned, “Is that likely? Yuzhou has twenty thousand garrison troops. The Jingnan Military Headquarters southwest of Yuzhou holds nearly thirty thousand. Fuzhou’s forty thousand troops can support Yuzhou at any time. If Bozhou’s army attacks Yuzhou, they can only muster thirty to forty thousand at most.”

“If I withdraw ten thousand troops from Yuzhou, half the forces from Jingnan Military Headquarters, and twenty thousand from Fuzhou, won’t Bozhou’s troops take advantage of the vacuum?” Wei Fufeng asked.

“So you mean to lure Bozhou’s army to attack Yuzhou, perhaps to seize Bozhou?” Zhao Yidou said.

“This time I returned under an alias, passing through Chenzhou, Jinzhou, and Sizhou. In Sizhou, I learned the Tian and Yang clans were recruiting and preparing for war, targeting Yuzhou. This wasn’t mere hearsay. The Tian clan deliberately leaked the information, hoping to watch Yang’s attack fail and then seize Bozhou in the chaos,” Wei Fufeng said.

“Have you infiltrated the Liao people’s territory?” Zhao Yidou exclaimed in surprise. As a warlord, going behind enemy lines was perilous indeed.

“I was forced to. When five thousand troops from Shaozhou and ten thousand from E’yue attacked, I retreated to Wuling County. Surrounded and heavily assaulted, I had no choice but to detour through Chenzhou,” Wei Fufeng explained briefly, not wanting to appear reckless.

Zhao Yidou nodded, asking, “What pretext will you use to redeploy the troops?”

“To defend Tanzhou and cultivate the Dongting Lake plains, then advance to seize Jingzhou,” Wei Fufeng replied.

Page 2/3

“Seizing Jingzhou suffices. More would be excessive,” Zhao Yidou said.

Wei Fufeng agreed, “After concentrating the troops in Fuzhou, they will march east, then turn west via Wanzhou to the Dazhu Military Headquarters. Upon arrival, we will deploy Dazhu’s elite troops southwestward, crossing the river from Rongzhou, bypassing Luzhou, crossing the Chishui River, and blocking Bozhou’s invading forces’ rear.”

Zhao Yidou nodded, “That plan works. Even if Bozhou’s forces don’t come, it will serve as a military exercise.”

Wei Fufeng understood Zhao Yidou doubted Bozhou’s likelihood of attacking Yuzhou.

In fact, without internal betrayal, Bozhou’s army was unlikely to attack proactively—its forces were smaller than Southern Sichuan’s, and its Yang clan faced enemies on all sides, requiring heavy garrisons.

Wei Fufeng kept the betrayal secret from Zhao Yidou to avoid unrest and leaks.

He had informed Zhang Wencheng to reinforce his authority as military commissioner, but with Zhao Yidou commanding heavy troops, it was easy to be misunderstood.

The military orders from the Southern Sichuan commissioner arrived in Yuzhou, officially sent from Tanzhou, leading to troop redeployments.

Suddenly, the calm in Southern Sichuan was broken.

Ten thousand troops from Yuzhou marched out, ten thousand from Jingnan Military Headquarters, five thousand from Shunan Military Headquarters, and thirty thousand of Fuzhou’s forty thousand advanced eastward.

Southern Sichuan’s military system was based on soldier-farmers; in peacetime, nearly half the troops were farmers, called up only in wartime.

The commissioner’s call to assemble caused unrest, as soldiers prepared to bid farewell to their families.

Li Chenggang’s post in Jingnan Military Headquarters saw ten thousand troops withdrawn, leaving ten thousand behind.

The remaining forces had to continue farming, with only two thousand guarding the city walls.

Southern Sichuan’s main enemies were the Eastern Sichuan and Fengxiang armies; defenses north of the Yangtze could not be neglected.

The commissioner’s troop redeployment south of the Yangtze to campaign eastward aligned with Southern Sichuan’s strategic situation.

Half a month later, Wei Fufeng led thirty thousand elite troops to Rongzhou’s Shunan County.

The army encamped there, and Wei Fufeng summoned all officers for inspection but revealed no plans.

...

Heishenya (Loushanguan), at the border between Bozhou’s Zunyi and Tongzi counties, was a vital mountain pass connecting Bashu and central Guizhou, a strategic chokepoint fiercely contested in war.

Yang Duan, a native of Taiyuan, volunteered southward in the third year of Qianfu (876). At that time, Bozhou’s Liao people had rebelled, with Nanzhao troops invading and occupying the region.

Responding to the Tang court’s call, Yang Duan led a coalition of seven surnames’ forces and, along with Luzhou’s Luo clan, retook Bozhou.

The Luo clan, originally rulers of Bozhou for a century, had fled to Luzhou after the Nanzhao invasion. After Yang Duan’s reconquest, he became Bozhou’s governor, with Luo clan as assistants, and the coalition earned land.

Page 3/3

In other words, after Yang Duan entered Bozhou, he established a tribal chief's rule over the Liao people. Everything within the territory belonged to the ruling family, much like the Tian clan in Sizhou.

Now, Yang Duan led an army of forty thousand, a seemingly endless serpent, passing through Heishenya.

Most of these troops were Liao people, poorly armed—mostly wielding long spears, half wearing rattan armor—but the Liao troops fought fiercely and fearlessly like wild beasts.

Yang Duan had been in Bozhou for nearly twenty years, battling the Liao tribes for over a decade. To subdue each tribe, he employed both benevolence and severity, even using marriage alliances. Ultimately, he gained recognition and became the local emperor of Bozhou.

Among the forces marching, fifteen thousand Liao troops belonged to Sizhou.

Yang Duan’s true desire was not to conquer Southern Sichuan—not for lack of ambition but because he understood the pros and cons. Taking Southern Sichuan was easy; holding it was difficult. Greed would lead to losing both.

After more than ten years of struggle, he had finally established himself in Bozhou as overlord. He feared losing this foundation.

The Liao people were notoriously rebellious. If oppressed, they would revolt. Moreover, the Liao in Yachi River (southern and western Guizhou) and the Nanzhao kingdom to the southwest loomed threateningly.

Yang Duan’s campaign was driven mainly by his subordinates, who saw a rare opportunity. They agreed that Southern Sichuan’s forces should not be allowed to grow stronger and sought to strike while their foothold was still new, to crush the enemy in its infancy.

After weighing the situation, Yang Duan sought an alliance with the Tian clan of Sizhou. If the Tians agreed to join the campaign, he would attack Yuzhou; if not, he dared not leave Bozhou vulnerable.

The Luo clan’s lord, Luo Taiwang, volunteered as envoy and secured the alliance with the Tian clan.

Yang Duan decided to march but remained wary of the Tian clan’s possible surprise attack on Bozhou. He arranged a marriage alliance in Feizhou: his heir married the Tian clan’s legitimate daughter as fourth consort, and the Tian heir married Yang’s legitimate daughter as sixth consort.

With worries eased, Yang Duan gathered his troops, ready to depart.

Soon, Li Chenggang sent urgent dispatches, and Yang’s scouts returned with news: Southern Sichuan’s military commissioner had withdrawn many troops south of the Yangtze, with half the Fuzhou garrison marching east.

Li Chenggang’s envoy reported that the commissioner had seized Tanzhou and Shaozhou and planned to continue advancing south to Hengzhou, aiming to control all of Hunan.

Troops had been redeployed to defend against E’yue and Jingnan armies. Once the main force marched eastward, returning in the short term was unlikely.

Yang Duan acted decisively, leading his army along Heishenya, glancing around.

Heishenya was a natural fortress formed by the Daluo Mountains: sheer cliffs and towering peaks, like blades and halberds, a gate so narrow and steep that one man could hold it against ten thousand.

Yang Duan paused beneath the pass, looking up with emotion. He had once used stratagem to seize this stronghold. Now, Heishenya stood as the bastion of his realm, needing few troops to defend.

“Lord Marquis,” a black-armored general respectfully saluted—Lou Dianbang, commander guarding the pass.

“General Lou,” Yang Duan smiled. Lou Dianbang was leader of the Lou clan, one of the seven surnames in the coalition. After entering Bozhou, the Heishenya area belonged to the Lou clan.

“I wish you victory, Lord Marquis,” Lou Dianbang said with a smile.

Yang Duan stroked his beard, smiling, “Victory is uncertain. A good commander first contemplates defeat, then victory. General, you must guard the pass rigorously. We cannot lose our retreat route.”

“Rest assured, Lord Marquis. I will be vigilant,” Lou Dianbang promised.

Literature Network

Page 3/3