Jinting Han people

Chapter 761 Restraining the Whale and Salamander

About 45 minutes later, the noise on Caizhou gradually quieted down, and clouds began to accumulate in the silvery-gray moonlight. As Liu Xian heard the sound of flowing water again, his mood finally calmed down.

After Tao Kan led his troops ashore and surrounded the Qi army, Cao Yi led the Qi forces in a desperate last stand. However, Tao Kan, a seasoned warrior, naturally wouldn't give them that opportunity. Instead of landing, Tao Kan used his ships to continuously harass the Qi with arrows, preventing them from abandoning their flanks and allowing them to launch another attack on the hill where Liu Xian was located. Unable to advance or retreat, Cao Yi knew he had failed, and the Qi army followed suit, wisely choosing to surrender.

Faced with Cao Yi's surrender, Liu Xian, unusually, did not let his opponent go. Instead, he said to everyone, "Since the founding of the country, there has never been such a dangerous situation. How can we comfort the fallen soldiers if we do not kill this man?" So he made a demand: surrender was acceptable, but Cao Yi had to be beheaded.

At this moment, Cao Yi had no bargaining power. Although disappointed, he quickly accepted this reality, mocking himself, "Having toiled half my life, I never imagined it would all be a fleeting dream," before committing suicide. His bloodied head was presented to Liu Xian, almost symbolizing the victory and end of the Battle of Caizhou. The soldiers who had survived the fighting cheered and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

But after a long examination, Liu Xian felt little joy. The reality was just as he had predicted: the losses in this battle had far exceeded initial estimates.

By now, more than half of the Han soldiers who fought alongside him had been lost. Under the firelight, many faces had lost their color and vitality. They were all Liu Xian's Imperial Guards, still very young. Most of these Imperial Guards were descendants of meritorious officials and former subordinates. Liu Xian originally wanted to cultivate and train them well, but he did not expect to encounter such a brutal battlefield. In less than an hour, more than three hundred people had died in battle.

In addition, almost all of Liu Xian's accompanying ministers, such as Meng He, Huan Yi, and Lu Yun, were wounded, and several of the Imperial Secretaries were killed. If Han Huang had been able to charge forward a little longer, the number of dead and wounded would probably have continued to increase.

It has to be said that this was the most dangerous moment for Liu Xian since he entered Bashu to restore his kingdom. It should be noted that Han Huang's troops were only thirty paces away from Liu Xian, while both Zhao Ran and Qiao Deng were a hundred paces away when they charged. The last time anyone could break through to such close range was probably eight years ago when he faced Zhang Fang in Luoyang.

Judging from this perspective, among the enemies Liu Xian encountered, the Qi people, while not the most courageous and skilled in battle, were certainly the most cunning and difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, at least for now, the battle of Jianye is coming to an end. Liu Xian struggled to his feet and then squatted down to check Meng He's injuries. He was shocked to see the angle at which Meng He's arms were bent. Meng He was groaning and could hardly stand up. Liu Xian felt extremely sorry for him and whispered to Meng He, "Your brother has risked his life to help me many times. I really don't know how to repay you."

He turned to comfort Lu Yun, Huan Yi, and the others, but by this point, his energy was at its limit. He had only taken a few steps when he nearly collapsed. Liu Xian had been on edge the entire time. Although he didn't know the outcome of the battle on Stone Mountain, the enemy had focused their elite forces on this night raid, which would determine the Qi army's victory or defeat. If the raid failed, the Qi's offensive on Jianye would likely falter.

Upon realizing this, Liu Xian's nerves relaxed, his vision blurred, and he was about to collapse. Zhou Xie, who was nearby, reacted quickly and grabbed him. Then, together with the guards, they laid the emperor across his horse and, half anxious and half happy, slowly led him back to the camp. Along the way, the crowd was in an uproar. Having survived the ordeal, people mourned the dead, but they were even more proud of their victory.

By this time, Liu Xian was extremely tired. He felt he might fall asleep at any moment while being jostled on horseback. Later, when he arrived at the original command tent, he originally wanted to meet with Tao Kan, but as soon as he got into bed, he couldn't stay awake any longer and had to postpone the matter, only arranging for his second son, Liu Wei, to rest in the next room.

Upon hearing that the emperor was going to rest, a group of generals and officers went to the camp gate to guard him. Zhou Xie, Tao Yu, Ma Tui, Zhao Ji and others stood guard at the gate. Tao Kan himself did not rest either. He sent someone to inform Wang Dun that the emperor was safe and sound, while he tidied up the Caizhou camp, which had been reduced to a mess.

Outside the tent, people were coming and going, footsteps echoing everywhere. Coupled with Liu Xian's own turbulent emotions and deep thoughts, he found it difficult to fall asleep. Just as he was tossing and turning, he heard someone outside the door say, "Consort Li has returned!"

Liu Xian was taken aback upon hearing this. He opened his eyes and turned his head, only to see Li Xiu returning with her sword. She was covered in blood. She took off her helmet and threw it on the ground, revealing a head of flowing long hair. Her face was radiant, like snow on a mountain peak. She smiled at Liu Xian with a rather proud expression and said, "Your Majesty, I have also beheaded thirteen people!"

Liu Xian had just glanced at everyone and hadn't seen Li Xiu. He thought she had been killed in battle, but he was overjoyed to find her safe and sound. He said to Li Xiu, "Now that you're here, I have no more worries."

It turned out that after killing the enemy, Li Xiu, seeing that the battle was over, rushed to treat the wounded, which delayed her. When she returned to her tent, she took off her armor and hadn't even had time to bathe when the Emperor asked her to sit on the couch, resting his head in her lap, and then she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Unconsciously, all his fatigue disappeared. When Liu Xian woke up at dawn the next day, he found that Li Xiu was still in the same position as before he went to sleep, holding him in her arms. However, she was leaning against the table and resting. The warm feeling made him feel refreshed.

As soon as Liu Xian moved his head, Li Xiu woke up. Her face was still covered in the blood from the previous night's battle, but Li Xiu scolded Liu Xian, "Your Majesty, you haven't told me about your achievements yet!" After a pause, she added, "The entire army is waiting for you to tell me about your achievements!"

Liu Xian thought she was joking, but after a good night's sleep, he felt his body had regained its vitality. Without anyone's help, he stood up, washed his face with hot water, and then opened the tent door. He found that the camp was densely packed with people. Not only were there officers who had guarded the gate the night before, but also soldiers from Stone Mountain and soldiers from the city walls, including Wang Dun, Du Tao, Zhou Qi, Liu Lang, and others. There were about a hundred people, all armed, sitting or standing. Regardless of their expressions, whether they were anxious or calm, they all had excited looks on their faces, clearly indicating that they had not slept all night.

By this time, it was already broad daylight, and the golden winter sun shone brightly over the entire land. One could hear a continuous snoring sound, like waves, echoing from Cai Zhou's camp. This was the soldiers' sleep, and the sound of their snoring drowned out the waves, which was the echo of victory.

A feeling of joy welled up in Liu Xian's heart, like the warmth of sunlight. He asked his generals, "How is the battle going?" The generals had been waiting for this question for a long time. Wang Dun, being very reserved, did not take the initiative to claim credit, and Du Tao and Zhou Qi naturally did not want to do so either. They all gave the opportunity to Liu Lang, the Prince of Longxi, who then loudly reported to his father, "Father, your sons have utterly defeated the enemy!"

"Good! Good!" Liu Xian was overjoyed. He patted his eldest son's shoulder and noticed that Liu Lang was grimacing, realizing that he had injured his shoulder.

However, this did not diminish Liu Lang's heroic image at this time. Unlike the setbacks he encountered in the previous battle of Huainan, this time he truly made great contributions to the Han army's victory. In the Battle of Jianye, after breaking out of the city, he first crossed the Qingxi Bridge, and then led his army to ride across Zhongshan Mountain as if it were flat ground. The Qi army along the way was routed, and none of them could resist him. He even broke through five more battle formations in succession, killing two false kings of Qi and Han, Wang Yan and Zhang Song. His bravery impressed the entire army. After this battle, the soldiers called him the Wing King, because they believed that Liu Lang's bravery was as unstoppable as Zhang Fei, the legendary ancestor of Chinese mythology.

After Liu Lang captured Zhongshan, the exhausted main force of the Qi army was naturally demoralized. Seeing that Cao Yi had failed to capture Caizhou, their morale collapsed, and soldiers scattered like an avalanche. Wang Dun and Du Tao seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Wang Dun first forced the surrender of all 30,000 Qi naval troops on the river, and then Du Tao and Zhou Qi's forces joined forces to annihilate them, killing and capturing nearly 20,000 more. Adding to the nearly 20,000 Qi soldiers killed and captured earlier at Ma'anshan, the total number of kills and captures approached 80,000. The elite of the Qi army was almost completely wiped out, making this a resounding victory.

Unfortunately, just as Liu Lang had feared, the darkness of the night and his lack of knowledge of Wang Mi's appearance allowed him to escape. Furthermore, the Han army, having fought a full day and night, was exhausted and unable to pursue the fleeing Qi soldiers. Consequently, they were unable to capture all the Qi troops, and nearly 30,000 Qi soldiers escaped, disappearing south without a trace.

However, this is not a major concern, because the Qi navy has been almost completely wiped out. Without ships, how can the Qi people leave Yangzhou? If we can blockade Jiangcheng and Jingkou next, the remaining Qi people will have no chance of escaping. Even if Wang Mi survives, he will be trapped in Yangzhou and can only wait to die in the Wu region.

However, the Han army also suffered considerable losses in this battle. Not only did the defenders on Caizhou lose, but the 50,000 Han troops engaged in the main battle also suffered over 10,000 casualties, a loss rate approaching 20%, which was considered high among the battles Liu Xian had experienced. Bodies piled up like mountains at the foot of Qingliang Mountain. More than thirty Han officers and generals died in the battle. The losses of the Huainan army were slightly lighter, mainly due to the Jiangzhou army, including Wang Dun's cousin Wang Yi, general Li Heng, and the barbarian king Xiang Can, all of whom perished in this battle. Adding to this the previous losses of Zhou Qi's troops and the devastation caused by the Qi army's arson attack on Jianye, it cannot be said that this battle proceeded very smoothly.

Therefore, Wang Dun took the initiative to ask Liu Xian, "Your Majesty, the people of Qi have committed many evils. Should we collect their corpses and build a Jingguan (a mound of corpses) in Jianye to serve as a warning to others?"

Building a mound of skulls to display military achievements is an old practice dating back to the pre-Qin period. It became extremely popular during the Wei and Jin dynasties. Although Liu Xian never built mounds of skulls in his life, he did not explicitly prohibit it either. However, with the recent southward invasion of the Qi people and the repeated betrayals by the Wu people on a large scale, the impact was extremely negative. Therefore, Wang Dun wondered if it would be possible to build a mound of skulls to demonstrate his power.

This move was approved by many soldiers, but Liu Xian still shook his head and said, "There is no need for that. As for the ringleaders and villains, they should be killed without consequence. But those ordinary soldiers are just pitiful people driven by others in this chaotic world. Let's collect their corpses. Don't bury them in a big pit. One person, one pit. They are all subjects of our Han Dynasty. Our soldiers should erect a monument, and the Qi people should just plant a weeping willow."

After saying this, he summoned Lu Yun and ordered him to issue a formal decree that no army should build any Jingguan (a type of mound of corpses) in any future battles. All Jingguan built in the past and present should be leveled and the skeletons buried. He also ordered Fan Ben to send people to chant sutras to appease the souls of the dead.

Of course, no Jingguan (a mound of skulls) should be built, but something should still be left to commemorate the battle. Liu Xian thought for a moment, wasn't a temporary white stone fortress already built on Baishi Weir? Why not simply build a tall building in the fortress and name it Jijing Tower? It would both boast that this battle was comparable to subduing whales in the sea and also express the hope that the Yangtze River would be at peace from now on, so that the soldiers who died in battle would no longer suffer from war and separation in the afterlife.

However, Liu Xian was unlikely to wait here for the building to be completed, so he had someone find a large wooden board and carved eight characters on the front with a knife: "Clouds cover and rain falls, all directions come together," and then covered it with ink. On the back, he wrote in smaller characters: "The soldiers of the Great Han Dynasty fought with utmost loyalty and effort, and defeated the enemy army in Jianye. This was witnessed by both gods and men, and will forever glorify our martial prowess. Winter of the sixth year of Qiming." This wooden board could serve as the plaque for the Jijing Tower and would be hung at the mouth of Xuanwu Lake for generations to come.

Thus, the Battle of Jianye came to a successful conclusion. After a day of rest, the Han army led its troops out of Caizhou the following day and officially entered Jianye Taicheng. Not long after, just two days later, news came from Gu Zhong in the south that he had encountered the southward-moving Qi army in Lishui and defeated them again. The Qi people continued to flee eastward, seemingly heading towards Qiantang.

Upon receiving the news, Liu Xian deployed Liu Lang to lead 5,000 cavalry south to pursue the remaining Qi troops. He also seized this opportunity to begin repairing Jianye City and restoring order within Yangzhou. From this perspective, while the arrival of the Qi people was undoubtedly a disaster for the Wu region, needlessly adding to the casualties, sometimes disasters also mean opportunities. This provided Liu Xian with a legitimate reason to reorganize the court's order in Yangzhou.

Liu Xian even joked with Zhou Qi about this, asking him, "Can Xuan Pei still teach the villagers about the rites of Zhou?"

Zhou Qi was a straightforward man. He sighed to Liu Xian, "As long as the world is at peace and the country is safe, why bother with the Zhou and Shang rites?"

That's what he said, but Liu Xian's heart was not completely at ease, because he had not received any news from Li Ju in the past few days, and he did not know where Shi Hui had led his troops to attack.

Logically, with limited troops remaining in the heart of the Qi-Han region, Li Ju's advance should have been very smooth. After all, as predicted, while the Han army won in Yangzhou, it was also severely weakened. At most, they could seize the opportunity to reclaim land in the Huainan area and perhaps capture a few more cities in Huaibei, but it would be difficult to expand their gains further. Therefore, Li Ju's progress would determine how much real benefit the imperial court could ultimately gain from this war.

Liu Xian hoped everything would go smoothly for Li Ju, but nothing is absolute. Given the current political situation, there was indeed a possibility that Liu Xian didn't want to see—something that might interfere with Li Ju's progress. But Liu Xian was thousands of miles away, and could only wish Li Ju good luck. (End of Chapter)