Chapter 231: Recovering The Three Commanderies
Taishi Ci spurred his horse into a gallop, charging ahead at the forefront, igniting the blood of every cavalryman. “Kill!” they shouted as they charged fiercely, brandishing their spears. Two thousand cavalry galloped across the wilderness, with three thousand infantry close behind. They discarded their heavy shields, drew their blades, and pursued the surrendering enemy soldiers.
The two thousand cavalry were like fierce tigers descending the mountain, already charging ahead of the enemy army and cutting off the retreat of most of the enemy forces.
Although most soldiers had escaped the sea of fire, they were in utter disarray, without armor or weapons, and even many had lost their shoes, kneeling barefoot on the ground and begging desperately for mercy.
But most of them still carried a cloth bag on their backs—that was their personal property. Originally covered by their armor, the cloth bags were now exposed after they shed their armor.
Faced with the danger of being burned alive or killed by the enemy army, what soldierly duty, what military rules—all of that could go to hell. Escaping with one’s life and protecting one’s property were the top priorities. If escape was impossible, then surrender—that was the natural order of things.
But not all soldiers surrendered. Two thousand Southern Yi troops, under the command of Great General Wan Kang, continued to resist the Chu Army. They were mountain Yi troops. Though poorly equipped and short in stature, they were far tougher than the Han army. Each one was fierce and fearless of death, with no intention of surrendering.
Taishi Ci flew into a rage and ordered, “Two thousand cavalry, full assault on the Southern Yi!”
He personally led the two thousand cavalry in a fierce, storm-like offensive. They charged into the crowd, slashing with battle sabers and thrusting with spears, while warhorses trampled and collided, instantly carving out a bloody path.
The two thousand Southern Yi troops were like a flock of sheep fallen into a pack of wolves’ trap, utterly unable to resist the cavalry’s slaughter. Apart from feeble counterattacks, it was a one-sided massacre. Everywhere were groups of Southern Yi soldiers being slaughtered and driven off, with corpses strewn across the field and rivers of blood.
Taishi Ci had been in the army for over a dozen years but had never killed so freely as today. He gripped his spear, riding through the crowd and slaying, when he suddenly came face-to-face with Great General Wan Kang.
Wan Kang roared, swinging his saber, desperate to cleave the enemy general in two at the waist, spilling entrails across the ground…
Unfortunately, it was just his delusion. His first saber swing missed, and before he could swing the second, Taishi Ci’s spear pierced his throat.
Often, refusal to surrender stems not from courage, but from ignorance.
The Southern Yi soldiers were facing cavalry for the first time and were ultimately terrified into collapse by the cavalry’s momentum. With their commander Wan Kang slain, the remaining soldiers shouted and fled in both directions, only to encounter the infantry’s blockade. The infantry hacked with blades and thrust with spears, instantly killing and wounding great numbers. Countless Southern Yi finally began kneeling like Han people to beg for mercy, but they received no pity. Those who refused surrender were to be killed without mercy; they had to pay a heavy price for their earlier defiance.
In the end, the two thousand Southern Yi soldiers were slaughtered to the last man, with no survivors.
………..
Wu Ju fled back to Bushan County with several hundred men in panic. With pursuers closing in, he dared not linger in Bushan County. He gathered his family, took several hundred head of livestock and several hundred shi of grain, and continued fleeing northwest toward Yizhou.
Wu Ju had prior ties with Liu Bei; now he could only go throw himself on Liu Bei’s mercy.
Two hours later, the Western Chu pursuers also arrived at Bushan County. Prefectural Assistant Liu Yi led the officials out of the city to surrender. With the surrender of Bushan County, the most populous county, Yulin Commandery fell to the Western Chu Army.
Yulin Commandery was vast in area, equivalent to nearly half of modern Guangxi, comprising nine counties in total, though most were small counties. Only two county towns had populations exceeding ten thousand: the commandery seat of Bushan County, today’s Guiping, and Tan Zhong, today’s Liuzhou. The two large counties were situated along both banks of the Tan River, which was naturally the Liu River.
Soon, the county chief and county assistant of Tan Zhong County hurried to meet Bu Zhi and pledged their loyalty to Western Chu.
Bu Zhi promptly appointed Prefectural Assistant Liu Yi as Prefect of Yulin Commandery and garrisoned three thousand troops in Bushan County. The main army then returned to Guangxin County.
At this time, Nanhai Commandery Prefect Wang Chuan sent a carrier pigeon letter, expressing his willingness to pledge loyalty to the Marquis of Chu.
This was also due to Li Jin’s persuasion taking effect. Li Jin’s carrier pigeon letter was simple: “Zhang Jin is dead. Gan Ning’s army has advanced south, replacing Zhang Jin. The three armies and all officials have surrendered. If Younger Brother surrenders and hands over military power, he may continue as Prefect of Nanhai Commandery.”
Crucially, Wang Chuan had no ambition to seize power with his own troops. As long as his interests were not harmed, he was of course willing to surrender. The five thousand troops had never been his anyway, so he would not object to the Marquis of Chu taking them back.
At this point, Colonel Wang Xi arrived at Guangxin County with five thousand logistics troops, along with massive grain and supplies transported by thousands of ships, especially a large quantity of fire oil.
The easy bones had been gnawed clean; now it was time to tackle the hard bone: the local emperor of the Three Commanderies of Jiaozhi, Shi Xie.
The Three Commanderies of Jiaozhi included Jiaozhi Commandery, Jiuzhen Commandery, and Rinan Commandery—today’s northern Vietnam, bounded by Da Nang to the south, where Lin Yi Kingdom lay. Since the Han and Tang dynasties, it had always been Central Plains territory.
The commandery seat of Jiaozhi Commandery was Longbian County, located in the Red River Delta. The land there was extremely fertile, with ample water and heat, allowing two or even three harvests of grain per year. The delta supported a large population, with ten counties arrayed around central Longbian County, home to several hundred thousand people.
Ruled by Shi Xie and his sons over this fertile land, Shi Xie was undoubtedly a local emperor, but he was politically astute. He paid tribute to the Imperial Court and pledged loyalty to Cao Cao, giving the court full face. In return, he got the substance, and the court tacitly allowed his seclusion in the Three Commanderies of Jiaozhi.
Cao Cao could not reach Shi Xie with his whip and had no control over him, but this time Shi Xie had encountered a vassal lord who could rein him in: Marquis of Chu Gan Ning.
At this time, Shi Xie was not in Jiaozhi Commandery but in Hepu County of Hepu Commandery. Upon learning of Zhang Jin’s death, he did not head north to Yulin Commandery. Instead, he transported ten thousand troops by ship along the coast to Hepu Commandery and absorbed its five thousand troops. Hepu Commandery Prefect Qian Yi was his son-in-law, recommended to Zhang Jin as a condition of alliance between the two families.
Now that Zhang Jin was dead, Hepu Commandery naturally belonged to him.
In the afternoon, Qian Yi hurriedly found his father-in-law Shi Xie and said urgently, “Father-in-law, I’ve just received news that Gan Ning’s army has occupied Cangwu Commandery, and all of Zhang Jin’s troops have surrendered.”
This news left Shi Xie dumbfounded. He had planned to lead his army north to capture Cangwu Commandery, but Gan Ning’s army had gotten there first.
After standing stunned for a moment, Shi Xie anxiously asked, “Any other news?”
“There’s one more piece of news, not sure if it’s reliable. Wu Ju’s large army encountered Gan Ning’s forces north of the Yu River. Wu Ju’s army was defeated, but this might just be rumor, with no confirmed intelligence.”
Shi Xie shook his head, sighed, and said, “It’s probably true. Wu Ju was even more eager than I was. With Zhang Jin dead, he rushed to Cangwu Commandery to seize Zhang Jin’s troops. It’s normal to encounter Gan Ning’s army en route.”
“Will Gan Ning’s army come to Hepu Commandery next?”
Shi Xie gave a wry smile and said, “Once Gan Ning takes Cangwu Commandery, Nanhai Commandery will be within easy reach. Defeating Wu Ju means Yulin Commandery is his too. The next step is inevitably Hepu Commandery.”
“Father-in-law, what should we do next?”
Shi Xie paced with hands behind his back a few steps, then decisively said, “Abandon Hepu Commandery. Take the troops, supplies, and grain back to Jiaozhi. Once Gan Ning’s army discovers I’m in Hepu Commandery, his main force will head straight to attack Jiaozhi.”
“But… just abandon Hepu Commandery like that?”
“What’s the use of a barbaric place like Hepu Commandery? They won’t garrison here either. Once we defeat Gan Ning’s army in Jiaozhi Commandery, we can return anytime.”
Qian Yi nodded. “Son-in-law understands. I’ll go pack the grain and supplies right away.”
