After consultation between Cao Rui and Cao Zhen, they decided on the reply to be sent to Zhang He. It is no more than one hundred and forty miles from Qishan to WuDu, and the cavalry could deliver the message in a day.
Zhang He received the imperial edict and immediately summoned Dian Man to his large tent, preparing to order him to lead his department's two thousand horsemen and proceed to Xuanbian the following early morning.
The edict did not specify how many troops Zhi He was to dispatch. In Zhi He's view, sending two thousand horsemen was no different from sending five thousand.
Zhang He sat in the tent with a stern and dignified expression, his eyebrows and eyes exuding authority, and he ordered, "His Majesty has decreed that I, as the military governor, am to send a detachment of cavalry to investigate Xianbin and Hechi. Dian Man, you will lead your unit to precede this tomorrow."
"I will comply with your command, Sir!" Dian Man's expression was filled with joy.
Before turning away, Zhang He gave a piece of advice: "If you encounter the enemy in front of you, avoid engaging in battle. Simply report the information back to me, and that will also be considered a merit of yours."
Last year during the battle in Huai Nan, Dian Man merely fought alongside the main force of the central army; he had no opportunity to lead troops independently.
During the southern expedition in Huang Chou 2, Dian Man was merely a 1,000-stone Marshal. It was only after he returned from the expedition that he was promoted to a Duke. In the two subsequent campaigns against Wu, he did not even engage in combat.
Last year in Luoyang, Dian Man even had to curry favor with Mai Qiu Jian to hope for the day he could lead troops independently. Even with the chance to attack the stronghold in Lueyang, Dian Man felt satisfied.
Today's order to lead the vanguard of the army was a source of immense joy for Dian Man.
More than being pleased at the mention of battle, it can be said that Dian Man, son of Dian Wei, understands the logic of winning military merit on horseback even more clearly.
Father Dian Wei sacrificed his life to save Emperor Wu, securing for him a position as a Military Advisor. At the age of forty, Dian Man himself is already twenty years old and has not yet achieved any official status.
He must surely earn a fortune for his family!
Although Dian Man is full of ambition, his years of military training in the central army have allowed him to lead his troops cautiously, with a daily advance of only fifty miles, which can be considered overly conservative.
After returning from Huai Nan to Luoyang last year, the emperor had several times visited the central army camp personally, often discussing military strategy with the generals.
These military teachings are of secondary importance, after all, Emperor Wu had explained them many times within the central army after completing his book "New Military Methods." Most of the military strategies the emperor mentioned were mainly based on "The New Book."
However, what is different this time is that the emperor, when departing from Luoyang, would always explain the current situation, enemy-friendly comparison, strategic and tactical goals to each of the two thousand stone generals during any deployment or battle.
Therefore, even Dian Man, who holds the title of "Summer Vigil Commander", understands that Xiahou Ruzhu will arrive at Hechi in more than twenty days. Zhi He has not issued a time limit for the dispatch of troops, so Dian Man is not in a hurry.
Troops were dispatched on the sixteenth, and Dian Man did not arrive at fifteen miles outside of Xianbian City until noon on the eighteenth.
"General Feng, why are there so many abandoned camps and forts here?" Dian Man asked with a look of confusion, addressing his adjutant Feng Hua who was standing beside him.
During the Battle of Xianbian, General Feng was also present here, sent by Cao Zhen to Zhang He's army, and followed Zhang He's orders to proceed with Dian Man's army together.
Feng Hua replied, "Commander Dian may not know, about a hundred years ago, there was a governor named Yu Xu in this region of Xianbian. He led his troops to regain control of the WuDu region from the Qiang people and built many fortifications within the area to defend against them."
"The abandoned camps here, I saw them when I came before, and they were not so dilapidated. Perhaps they were put to use again by the local people after another Qiang rebellion decades ago."
As the event happened a hundred years ago, Dian Man was curious: "How many people lived in WuDu County back then?"
Feng Hua thought for a moment, frowning, and replied, "Before the troops departed from Luoyang, Emperor Wu ordered the Secretary of State to review old records from ancient texts and told us many old news about WuDu County."
"I'm not sure of the exact number, but it was something like 40,000 households?"
"Four thousand households in WuDu alone?!" Dian Man exclaimed in disbelief. "I heard when I was in Qianzhou that the newly established Qin State has only 30,000 households!"
"If it were not for these self-protecting bandits, we might have already unified the lands, why did Emperor Wu have to relocate the residents of WuDu in the past?" Feng Hua replied.
Dian Man snorted in contempt: "This time, I intend to establish merit by taking the heads of these Shu bandits!"
As they were conversing, a scout reported back, saying that the four gates of Xianbian City were tightly shut, but there was no knowledge of whether there were people garrisoned inside.
Dian Man clicked his tongue and said, "If there is any ambush inside, it would be like in the past when we built strong defenses at Xianbian and WuDu cities. They were all empty!"
"Send orders for Shi Marshal to lead five hundred cavalry as the advance guard. If there are no guards on the city walls, immediately search the entire city!"
The scout left on his mission, and after an hour, Dian Man also entered the city of Xianbian.
Feng Hua bowed and asked, "Commander Dian, should we report to the military governor first? We have been on our way for three days now."
"General Zhi has ordered me to investigate Xianbian and Hechi cities. I just captured Xianbian today. I will wait until Hechi is recaptured before reporting back together!"
Feng Hua could only comply with the order.
The next day, or the 19th morning, when dawn broke, Dian Man continued to lead his troops eastward. On the 21st, after returning, mid-afternoon, the scout of Dian Man's army discovered that the gates of Xianbian City were wide open and had been attacked by Shu troops!
Dian Man entered the city with a frown, only to find that nearly half of the 500 cavalry garrisoned there had been killed, and their bodies were lying in the empty official residence.
The rest of the cavalry were nowhere to be found.
Dian Man was greatly alarmed and quickly led his troops to exit through the city's Gate 2 and attempt to retreat westward. However, before they had traveled more than three miles, they discovered a Shu army array emerging from a cleft in the mountain to block their path, not much more than thirty fathoms wide.
The main general of the Shu Han infantry was Wei Yan, the General of the North Commandery.
Wei Yan spat and muttered, "The Prime Minister ordered me to use Xianbian as a lure, to ambush with eight thousand men here, but I didn't expect to only encounter these few Wudi dogs."
"I will issue orders, beat drums, and sound the bugles. Let the troops hidden in the city all come out to fight. What can these horsemen do?"
Xianbian faced the river to the south and the road to WuDu to the west, while the east and north were both flat lands.
Now with the road to the west blocked and the two thousand soldiers in a hidden ambush in the city blocking the retreat of the Wei troops, Dian Man was clearly surrounded by the Shu army.
"These Shu bandits are blocking my way? There must be enemy forces inside the city. It looks like a dangerous situation." Dian Man frowned and cursed, saying so.
"What should we do now?" Feng Hua asked anxiously.
As the two were speaking, the gates of Xianbian City had been closed, and the gap between the city and the foot of the mountain to the northwest was being gradually occupied by Shu foot soldiers emerging from within the city.
"I don't know who the Shu bandits opposite are led by, and yet they have driven me to this extent. General Feng, when you ask me what to do, I ask you instead!" Dian Man said, gripping the reins tightly.
Feng Hua sighed deeply, "Are we doomed to die here?"
Dian Man stared at Feng Hua for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Are we really at such a pass? Look how scared you are, are you almost crying?"
Feng Huo was shocked, "What road is there? Both the way forward and the way back are blocked."
Dian Man snorted coldly, "Don't forget that I am the General of the Tiger Guard and my cavalry are the old tiger cavalry!"
"Charge through, and isn't that a way out?"
Feng Huo was about to ask again, but Dian Man turned his horse around and walked backwards, shouting orders to the sentries: "Switch front and rear ranks to form a sharp-edged arrow formation!"
"Tell Liu Marshal! The General of the Tiger Guard is following him as the vanguard of his army. Marshals Chen and He will be at the rear!"
Before Feng Hua could react, Dian Man snarled, tightened his grip on the long spear, and lightly struck his horse's belly. The brown horse under him gradually picked up speed.
When Dian Man arrived at the rear rank, Liu Marshal's rear rank had also become the front rank, and they were starting to walk eastward in small steps.
The horse gradually increased its speed, first walking briskly and then trotting at a small gallop. It had not traveled more than one li when the horse's speed had increased to the swiftness of a charge.
Feng Hua was caught up in the midst of the troops. The central cavalry, who usually showed great respect to him as an adjutant, now paid no heed to his fear and panic.
Just like the training ground in the outskirts of Luoyang, the mounted soldiers followed their unit leaders, who in turn followed the battalion leaders, who in turn followed the general. The general looked at the flags of the generals and followed the flag bearer.
With 1,500 well-trained cavalrymen at hand, no matter what the situation is, how can we easily admit defeat?
The sound of horse hooves rang like distant thunder, and the Shu foot soldiers' army formation that had been hastily set up between Xianbian City and the mountains showed some signs of instability.
Wei Yan's own Hanzhong troops had already been depleted at Lueyang, and the foot soldiers under his command were now those taken over from Wu Yi's forces.
The commanders were not men of personal trust, and the soldiers were not those personally led by him.
Although there were 8,000 foot soldiers, they were divided on both sides. The 6,000 foot soldiers on the west side who had blocked Dian Man's way had already formed an army array, but how could they possibly catch up to the speed of the mounted soldiers when Dian Man led his entire army to charge eastward?
The camp and open ground to the east, where the officer Gou Fu was arrayed for defense, had been set up by him after hearing Wei Yan say that there was a great opportunity for a hidden ambush here.
Who could have known that they would encounter a charge by Wei troops' cavalry?
These troops that Wu Yi had led, who had not participated in the Battle of Lueyang, had a large number of spears, as well as bows and crossbows.
However, the bows and crossbows only managed to fire three rounds randomly, killing only over one hundred riders. The Wei cavalry then charged at the Shu army array like a wave.
Dian Man led the charge, bending his right arm forward and holding the long spear horizontally, with its point as the leading edge, and inserting it straight into the formation of Shu foot soldiers.
As the distance shortened to two zhang, the soldiers at the front end of the Shu formation, who were holding their long spears tightly according to their previous training and leaning them against the ground to prepare for a cavalry charge, saw Dian Man's furious face and roaring mouth.
As the son of Dian Wei, he had served in the central army for nearly twenty years. Though he had always been frustrated and had not had the chance to lead his own troops alone.
But who would slight his martial prowess would certainly taste the consequences.
Almost in an instant, this Shu foot soldier, who was less than twenty years old, had his resolve shaken by the imposing aura of Dian Man's charge and stood frozen in place with stiff muscles and no idea what to do.
In the next instant, the spear point sliced across the throat of the Shu foot soldier, taking the life of a teenage boy who was not yet twenty years old.
While the central cavalry were well-trained, they were not meant to charge into foot soldier formations like this.
But now it was a matter of urgency. If they did not charge forward and break through the Shu army formation in a clash between their cavalry array and the Shu, where would there be any way out? (End of this chapter)
