Chapter 672: Sudden Changes in Yiling (Part 1)

The assassination of Linghu Fei enraged the faction led by Crown Prince Li Xi. Li Xi submitted a petition to his father, the emperor, demanding another state of emergency be declared throughout the city to capture the murderer at all costs. However, Li Hen did not accept his suggestion. Instead, he remained indifferent to the incident and merely posthumously honored Linghu Fei as the Duke of Jian, ordering a grand funeral.

It seemed the matter would be left unresolved. Soon, news came from the palace: the emperor had secretly summoned Prince Peng, who admitted to being the one who assassinated Linghu Fei.
“The emperor is quite pleased,”
was Li Fuguo’s assessment of Li Hen’s attitude. This filled Crown Prince Li Xi with terror. The death of Linghu Fei had cost him his most crucial support among court officials; now he only had Li Fuguo and the empress dowager’s backing. Meanwhile, Prince Peng had the support of the imperial court, the royal family, and the military governor of Jiannan. Now even the emperor praised Prince Peng for his courage—what did this mean? It meant the emperor had made up his mind to replace the crown prince.

Crown Prince Li Xi was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan. Fortunately, the emperor had agreed to withdraw Yu Chaosen’s army to Shu, who was his only hope—after all, he still had Yu Chaosen’s 200,000-strong army at his disposal.

But just then, bad news arrived: a sudden crisis had erupted at Yiling, a strategic pass essential for Yu Chaosen’s retreat.

…

In the darkness of the night, an army marched swiftly through the vast mountains. It was a summer night, with dark purple clouds covering the sky, though no rain fell. The ground was damp but not muddy. The army moved silently, with only the occasional sound of horse hooves heard.

This was an army of 20,000 men, set out from Hanzhong, passing through Jinzhou and Fangzhou. They had now entered the territory of Xiazhou. Another hundred miles, and they would reach their destination—Yiling.

This was undoubtedly an army of Northern Tang. Leading them was General Zhao Chongjin. By now, Li Siyue’s 50,000-strong army had arrived in Hanzhong, and Li Sheng’s troops were also deployed in Ruzhou and Yuzhou. The Northern Tang army was ready to launch an attack on Southern Tang, waiting for the right moment. On both the eastern and western fronts, all Northern Tang forces were awaiting an opportunity—this opportunity was Zhao Chongjin’s army, tasked with capturing Yiling and cutting off the Southern Tang forces’ retreat route to Xiangyang.

Yiling is today’s Yichang in Hubei. The name comes from the fact that the water here flattens the land, and the mountains form mounds—hence the name Yiling. The Battle of Yiling from the Three Kingdoms period took place here.

This is the gateway to the Three Gorges and also the most strategic location for Jingxiang to enter Bashu. By controlling Yiling, the 200,000 Southern Tang troops in Jingxiang would be unable to retreat to Bashu. Yiling is also a vital logistics hub for the Southern Tang, where they have stored millions of bushels of grain, arrows, tents, and other military supplies. Currently, 20,000 Southern Tang troops are stationed here as well.

Capturing Yiling has become the key to the entire Southern Tang campaign, and this task has fallen on Zhao Chongjin, who was once the commander of Yiling. Zhao Chongjin is the elder brother of Zhao Chongjie, the General of Divine Archery from Anxi. He is also a veteran general from Anxi. Back then, he participated in the Battle of Xiao Bulu together with Li Qingan. He served as the military commander of Shule and, along with Xi Yuanqing, became one of Gao Xianzhi’s most trusted generals.

Later, when Li Qingan took control of Anxi and Gao Xianzhi was transferred to be the governor of Jiannan, Zhao Chongjin followed Gao Xianzhi to the mountains and rivers of Bashu, remaining loyal to him throughout. When Gao Xianzhi was imprisoned by Li Heng and later released under pressure from the Northern Tang, Zhao Chongjin became the commander of Yiling, while Xi Yuanqing became the commander of Zigui. With no other choice, and advised by their brother Zhao Chongjie, the two led their troops into Hanzhong and surrendered to the Northern Tang.

Zhao Chongjin is about forty years old, tall and dark-skinned with broad joints, giving him a strong military appearance. However, he is a rather quiet person whose emotions are not easily visible, making it difficult to gauge his thoughts. It was Li Qingan who suggested that Zhao Chongjin take charge of capturing Yiling. Li Guangbi originally intended to assign this task to Xi Yuanqing, as he knew Xi better than the usually reserved Zhao Chongjin. But Li Qingan wrote to Li Guangbi, saying that Xi Yuanqing might be able to capture Yiling but not protect its supplies, while Zhao Chongjin could achieve a complete victory. Although Li Guangbi still had some doubts, he did not dare disobey Li Qingan’s orders and instead had Zhao Chongjin sign a military pledge, ordering him to lead 20,000 of his troops to capture Yiling. “If you capture Yiling and its supplies, you will be recognized for your merit and promoted to general. If you fail, bring your head!”

At this time, Zhao Chongjin had just received the news that his family had been rescued by the intelligence agency in Chengdu and was now safe, which relieved him greatly. Without his family as hostages, he could now go all out. Zhao Chongjin looked at the sky—it was already the first watch of the night. There was still about a hundred li to Yiling. His guide told him that the road ahead was difficult to navigate. At their current pace, by the fourth watch, they would still be about fifty li away from Yiling, an area with high mountains and dense forests, ideal for concealment. “Order the troops to speed up their march and camp for rest at the fourth watch.”

Twenty thousand soldiers set out lightly, without food or supplies; each soldier carried only three days’ worth of rations. Most of them were infantry, but there were also two thousand mountain horses, mainly used to carry wounded soldiers and some essential weapons. The army did not take the main roads but instead used hidden mountain paths. These winding and rugged trails could only be traversed by a few mountain horses; larger vehicles like supply carts could not pass. Having marched continuously for two days since leaving Hanzhong, they were already quite tired.

This army consisted of Zhao Chongjin’s former troops, most of whom were locals from Shu. They were part of the elite forces in the Jiannan army. Though not good at riding, they excelled in mountain warfare and could endure intense marches through rugged terrain.

Although it was still late at night, the soldiers remained spirited and sped up, heading further into the difficult mountain paths. After climbing two mountains over about fifty li, they finally reached a canyon area. From there to Yiling, the terrain was mostly canyon-like, allowing them to follow a river called Huangbai Water straight to the back of Yiling City.

The army stopped marching. Soldiers rushed to the river to fetch water and eat their rations. Many spread out their sleeping bags; without tents, they rested directly in them. After two days and nights of marching, the soldiers were utterly exhausted. They fell into deep sleep as soon as they got into their sleeping bags, leaving only a thousand soldiers to patrol the area.

The valley was humid and hot, with countless mosquitoes. The exhausted soldiers, plus the protection of their sleeping bags, were immune to the mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the two thousand mountain horses had nowhere to shelter and became targets of the mosquitoes, which made them scream and thrash in pain. Forced to act, Zhao Chongjin ordered them to be led back up the mountain, where there was a bare rocky area with few mosquitoes.

After the fourth watch, the sky began to turn blue. Zhao Chongjin showed no signs of fatigue. He sat on a flat rock, studying the map in the faint morning light.

Zhao Chongjin’s map was different from others’—it showed the defensive layout of the Yiling area. He knew it intimately, especially the grain storage in Xialao Town, which he had personally supervised the construction of. It brought back some memories for him. Initially, he wanted to store the grain inside Yiling City, but the city was too small and had no space. He considered relocating some of the city’s residents to Xialao Town, but the people of Yiling were stubborn and refused to move, leading to a confrontation. As a result, the supervising official Yu Chaoen accused him to Li Hen, resulting in a half-year salary cut. With no other choice, he built the grain storage in Xialao Town, where there was an abandoned earthen city.

At that time, he was still resentful toward Gao Xianzhi—how could there be any reason to place the granaries twenty li away from the main city? This not only scattered the troops but also made it easy for the enemy to launch a surprise attack on the granaries. Gao Xianzhi merely replied that no one would launch a surprise attack. Unexpectedly, circumstances changed—today it was Zhao Chongjin who came to attack the granaries. This incredible turn of events made him realize how unpredictable life could be. Although Zhao Chongjin was quiet, his mind was as clear as a mirror. He had already formed a rough plan when he received the mission, and now his strategy was very clear. To fully capture Yiling, it was best to use a combination of surprise attacks and clever tactics, making full use of the distance between Xiulaozhen and Yiling City. The commander of Yiling was named Yu Baobao, a rather interesting name—he was Yu Chaosen’s adopted son. Zhao Chongjin knew this man well; he was quite mediocre and had no experience in leading troops into battle. He had risen to his position solely because of Yu Chaosen’s influence. Dealing with him wasn’t difficult. But Zhao Chongjin had given Li Guangbi a promise of total victory. What did total victory mean? It meant capturing Yiling, preserving supplies, and capturing as many prisoners as possible to turn the enemy forces into his own, thereby greatly increasing the size of his army and truly cutting off the retreat route for the 200,000-strong enemy force. Moreover, having served in the Jiannan army for many years, Zhao Chongjin didn’t want to kill too many of its soldiers. At that moment, faint horse hoof sounds came from afar. Zhao Chongjin immediately stood up. Judging from the sound, it seemed to be the scouts he had sent back. Moments later, several soldiers brought in one scout. The scout knelt on one knee and saluted, “Scout Wang Ping, reporting to the general!” “Where are the others?” Zhao Chongjin was worried. He had sent ten scouts to Yiling—why was only one back? “Reporting to the general, we encountered members of the Intelligence Hall returning from Xiangyang in the north of Yiling. The team leader went into the city with seven of his men, while Li Fang went to Xiulaozhen. I returned first to report.” Zhao Chongjin was overjoyed and quickly asked, “How did you meet the Intelligence Hall members? How many people are returning? Explain in detail!” “Reporting to the general, many people have fled from Jingxiang. Many are the families of the troops stationed in Xiangyang. Rumors say a major battle is coming to Xiangyang, so their families fled to Shu first. There are nearly ten thousand of them. The Intelligence Hall has about sixty people, hidden among the fleeing crowd. They said they were ordered to go to Chengdu. They recognized us first, and the team leader asked them for help, so they all went into the city together.” Zhao Chongjin examined the map carefully and asked, “Is the beacon fortress ahead still there?”

At the exit of the valley ahead, there was a beacon fortress built by Zhao Chongjin to prevent the troops of Northern Tang from emerging from there. Zhao Chongjin knew that the fortress was small, capable of housing at most twenty soldiers, which was also a source of his concern.
The scout shook his head and said, “The beacon fortress is still there, but there are no soldiers stationed there anymore. It’s overgrown with weeds.”
“Damn it!”
Zhao Chongjin cursed inwardly. This Yu Baobao hadn’t even considered basic defenses.
Everything was going smoothly so far; the key now was to assess the troops stationed in Xiaolao Town.
Xiaolao Town had five thousand troops, led by General Li Yunshu, a native of Chang’an. When Yang Guozhong was defeated in his attack on Nanzhao, Emperor Li Longji was forced to transfer Gao Xianzhi from Anxi to Jiannan and send tens of thousands of Guanzhong troops there as well. Li Yunshu was then a military officer who followed the troops to Jiannan and made significant contributions to suppressing the Nanzhao rebellion. He was promoted to general by Gao Xianzhi and had a close personal relationship with Zhao Chongjin, remaining in Nanzhao ever since.
After Zhao Chongjin and Xi Yuanqing defected to Northern Tang, Li Heng transferred Jia Chongguan’s troops to Nanzhao and stationed his own troops in Yiling, making him the commander there. However, not long after, Yu Chaoen seized his military power, appointed Yu Baobao as the commander, demoted Li Yunshu to deputy commander, and soon further demoted him to the governor of Xiaolao Town.
Thus, the key to seizing Yiling lay with Li Yunshu. Xi Yuanqing had a feud with Li Yunshu during the attack on Nanzhao; the two nearly clashed over credit for their achievements, holding deep personal grudges. Li Qingan possessed this important information, while Li Guangbi was unaware of it.
“Xi Yuanqing can take Yiling, but not achieve a complete victory!” This was Li Qingan’s conclusion, for exactly this reason.
……
Among the ten scouts sent by Zhao Chongjin was one named Li Fangzheng. He was just a low-ranking soldier in the Tongguan army. Li Qingan specially transferred this soldier from Tongguan to Hanzhong. Intelligence reports revealed that this Li Fangzheng was actually Li Yunshu’s nephew—more precisely, his biological son, who had been given in adoption to his uncle as a child, allowing him to serve as a liaison and negotiator.
Li Fangzheng was 26 years old, from Chang’an, tall and chubby, with a good appearance. He had originally been a small merchant but joined the army last year in response to the call to resist An Lushan. He was assigned to serve as a low-ranking soldier in Tongguan. Yet he never imagined that he would be received by Li Qingan, who encouraged him to serve the country and rewarded his parents with five hundred silver coins. Li Qingan also promised to promote him to captain if he could successfully persuade his biological father.

Having achieved both fame and wealth, it felt like a dream to him. What excited him even more was that after two days of emotional training at the Intelligence Hall, he set out on a journey to reap fame and fortune.
Just as dawn broke, Li Fang arrived in Xiailao Town, located about twenty miles west of Yiling City. It was a small town with just over a hundred households, situated near the exit of the Xiling Gorge on the north bank of the Yangtze River. The townspeople made a living by ferrying people and fishing. About a mile north of the town, there was a flat area where an earthen city had been built. Originally intended for military use, it now served as a major storage site for grain, holding millions of bushels. To protect this grain, General Yu Baobao ordered his deputy, Li Yunshu, to lead five thousand soldiers to guard it.
In reality, it was to keep an eye on him and remove him from Yiling City.
Li Yunshu’s camp was next to the earthen city. At dawn, a young peddler dressed in coarse gray cloth arrived at the camp gate with his load on his shoulder.
“Stop!”
the camp guard shouted. “This is a military zone. Leave immediately!”
But the peddler replied calmly, “Please convey a message to General Li Yunshu—say his nephew has arrived.”