Ahoy!! We are the Zhang Ran Expedition Team 2

The Hetao region, embraced by the Yellow River flowing in the shape of the character 几, is later collectively called Ordos when it becomes the land of nomadic peoples, but it is precisely divided into two regions.

These are the Ordos Plateau and the Loess Plateau.

Hetao, Ordos, Loess Plateau. These names don’t refer to exactly the same area, but they share a significant portion of their territory and are often used as nicknames for each other.

However, strictly speaking, it was correct to view the Loess Plateau in the south and the Ordos Plateau in the north as separate zones.

The Loess Plateau, surrounded by the Taihang Mountains to the east forming the border with Jizhou, and the Qinling Mountains located between Guanzhong and Hanzhong, had an extremely diverse coexistence of terrains.

The fertile plains of Guanzhong, the mountainous areas continuing from the foothills of the Taihang Mountains at the eastern end, hills with lakes here and there, and valleys formed by erosion…

The combined area of these three regions is precisely Bingzhou of the Later Han. Although there’s a strong perception of it being barren land after severe soil erosion in later eras, surprisingly, Bingzhou of that time was suitable not only for pastoralism but also for farming. This was because tributaries branching out from the Yellow River surrounding the area extended into the interior, making it rich in water.

Water resources are essential for both pastoralism and agriculture. With abundant water, grasses necessary for animal husbandry grew well, and it was also easy to farm by laying irrigation canals.

It’s not for nothing that nomads and settled people, Xiongnu and Han, have long fought over the Hetao region. Bingzhou is a land that is both the boundary between agriculture and nomadism while also inherently containing both lifestyles.

The vast grasslands that unfolded before us as we entered Bingzhou after passing through mountains and deserts even evoked admiration for nature.

“It’s amazing. I didn’t realize when we saw just the Beishan Mountains, but this is truly fertile land.”

The Beishan Mountains were the mountain range located north of Guanzhong, forming the border with Bingzhou.

To Jiang Wei’s words, Fei Yi said:

“Indeed. They didn’t establish Bingzhou for nothing.”

Even for me, with a general knowledge of the area, it was somewhat surprising.

I had only viewed it negatively thinking it was the source of yellow dust, but the lands we had seen so far were fertile as Jiang Wei said.

‘Since yellow dust had the effect of improving soil quality in the old days, maybe it’s not so strange.’

I understood the records of Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Guangwu sending 700,000 immigrants to establish Shofang Commandery, Xihe Commandery, and Shang Commandery in the Hetao region and trying to turn it into farmland.

From the perspective of Emperor Wu, who ground down the Xiongnu using famous generals like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, or Emperor Guangwu who conquered the world, letting the Hetao region lie idle must have felt like too much of a loss.

Anyway, although we had just passed Yongzhou and entered Bingzhou, the army’s morale was still not bad.

The atmosphere created by the beautiful and vast natural scenery even made us momentarily forget that we were marching to wage war.

Looking at the harmony of hills, grasslands, and large and small lakes under the endless blue sky, there was no room for worry to creep in.

Fei Yi, immersed in the scenery, spontaneously composed a short verse to express his feelings. As almost the only civil official among the company, and also possessing considerable literary talent, Fei Yi seemed to be receiving inspiration from nature.

Then Fei Yi came up to me and whispered. It was like seeing him come with a Go board.

“It seems the General of the Guards’ judgment was correct.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the method of passing through Yongzhou instead of the Beishan Mountains. It was good for maintaining the soldiers’ morale as well.”

“We couldn’t climb mountains while pulling carts anyway, so what’s the big deal.”

I retorted while glancing at the carts loaded with military supplies.

They were not just supply carts, but also carts that would double as battle chariots.

Carts that could serve as cover for infantry facing cavalry were more important than anything. Above all, even in Zhuge Liang’s Eight Array Diagram, the use of carts was central.

“We’ll soon reach the Wuding River.”

It was Tuoba Pigo, who had volunteered as a guide, who spoke.

Wuding River (無定河). The name came from the meaning that it has no fixed water level or flow rate due to its low water volume. There was the name Siyan River, but those who knew the surrounding geography well preferred the name Wuding River.

It’s true that Bingzhou is a region rich in water and easy to obtain water. However, with an army of 60,000 plus horses, the amount of water needed was enormous.

Any ordinary stream wouldn’t be enough, so I first chose the Siyan River as our primary base where we could obtain water stably.

Next to the Siyan River, there was also the site of a now-vanished village called Siyan County, and a fairly large lake called Siyan Lake.

‘It’s quite suitable as a base.’

After several more days of marching, we set foot in the area of the former Siyan County.

“Let the horses loose and set up camp.”

If it was easy to obtain wood, we would have built a wooden stockade or deer horn formation, but the distance to forested areas was quite far.

Before extensive agricultural development and deforestation damage, forests were also widely distributed in Ordos. Obtaining timber wasn’t such a difficult task.

However, the problem was that they were mostly concentrated in the eastern part of Bingzhou close to Jizhou, not on the way from Ordos to Yongzhou, so there were various difficulties for us to use them.

Even while setting up tents and building the camp in Siyan County, we sent out scouting parties for reconnaissance.

Except for a very small minority, the ethnic minorities had almost all finished choosing between Han or Wei, so Cao Zhang would also be launching a full-scale offensive.

They wouldn’t do something stupid like entering enemy territory in Xiliang with enemy forces in their rear, so they would also be preparing for a decisive battle with us.

‘Even if we use the terrain, it’s just taking advantage of the slope by positioning on a hill. But it’s questionable whether they’ll engage in such a fight. We should assume a battle on flat ground.’

For the time being, I planned to stay here to relieve the fatigue of the long march while focusing on grasping Cao Zhang’s movements.

While checking on the soldiers to see if measures like frequent washing and boiling water before drinking were being well implemented, I also held regular talks with our army commanders and ethnic minority leaders.

Today too, as I was returning after finishing talks as usual, Ma Dai, who was assigned as my guard, spoke gruffly.

“You know that Xianbei guy just now.”

“‘Guy’? They’ll hear you.”

“I apologize. That Tuoba Yiyi fellow, in my view, he’s definitely a sinister one inside. Those snake-like eyes, the way he looks at you, General… Don’t you think so, Chongdan?”

“He certainly feels different from the others. I was already annoyed by how that Tuoba Pigo keeps circling around the General, but Tuoba Yiyi is even worse.”

It was true that while most of the Qiang stayed around Fang De, the Xianbei generally gathered around me.

Especially Tuoba Pigo and Tuoba Yiyi, whether out of a pride battle between half-brothers, often showed their faces trying to curry favor with me.

Still, unlike Tuoba Pigo who moved independently, I thought Tuoba Yiyi, being a guest under Tubin, was less so, but it seems the two didn’t see it that way.

Hearing my opinion, Ma Dai dropped his earlier light tone and said:

“How should I put it… he feels like he’s cut from a different cloth.”

“A different cloth?”

“Tuoba Pigo hangs around, but he doesn’t go beyond treating you as a superior who can back him up. But Tuoba Yiyi has a more sinister feel to him.”

“I agree.”

Ma Dai and Fu Qian chimed in perfectly, exchanging agreements as they gossiped about the two.

Originally, they weren’t the type to spread rumors behind my back, preferring to speak directly if at all, but Ma Dai and Fu Qian were particularly sharp towards those two.

In Ma Dai’s case, he acts like he’s met a very old friend with the Qiang, and Fu Qian also gets along fairly well with the ethnic minorities.

“Hmm, perhaps there’s something only we men can sense?”

What nonsense is this now.

It’s absurd that they say I can’t sense something only men can feel.

Even though I’ve lived as Zhang Ran for well over 10 years, I have memories of living as a man for more than twice that time. How could I not know such things?

I was about to say something to the two while inwardly scoffing, but I closed my mouth at Ma Dai’s next words.

“When I talked to Bai Yue the other day, he said it was strange too.”

“…Bai Yue?”

“Yes. I haven’t asked Zi Jun or Xu Yuan who lead separate forces… Oh, I forgot about Wenwei too. That guy is just so good-natured.”

If Jiang Wei said that, am I really the strange one?

Thinking about it carefully, it might indeed be so.

‘Maybe I didn’t make a proper judgment because I was thinking of him as the one who becomes the founder of Northern Wei later…’

I felt the need to seriously reflect on this later.

“Still, ask Wenwei once.”

This is the final verification. If even Fei Yi, who is so good-natured that you might think he’s oblivious, agrees with their opinion, then I really must have been mistaken.

“I’ll do that.”

But hearing Fei Yi’s opinion was postponed to a later date.

A more urgent matter came up.

“It’s reported that Cao Zhang has entered Shang Commandery.”

The Shang Commandery Jiang Wei mentioned was one of the nine commanderies established in Bingzhou during the Later Han period. It was also the commandery to which Siyan County, where we were staying, belonged.

Considering that their army is mainly composed of cavalry, it won’t take long for them to get here.

“Immediately inform the leaders of each army and issue a summons for them to gather here.”

“Yes, General.”

After glancing at the lieutenants quickly dispersing, I looked at the map of Bingzhou spread out in the tent.

And over it, the battlefield overlapped.

The day of the decisive battle was approaching.