The twenty-ninth day of the eighth month, in the eighth year of Yonghe, bingxu.
That morning, strictly speaking, Xue Zhen must have crossed the Ba River first-or, more broadly, the right wing commanded by Liu Cheng, Xi Chao, and Xue Zhen had crossed first. But however the story was told, history would certainly record that Deng Xia had crossed the Ba River first and made straight for the Small City of Chang'an to the southwest.
This was not merely because Deng Xia, commanding the central vanguard, had crossed on the main battlefield under the eyes of all, but more importantly because, once across, he had immediately force-marched toward the Small City of Chang'an to the southwest, striking straight at a vital point.
This move forced the main Di force, encamped opposite Huan Chong and north of Du City, to make an immediate choice: follow him, or stay and proceed north according to their established strategy, striking Huan Wen's main force halfway across the river?
Surely they could not split their forces yet again to counter this move?
Inside the Di camp, almost all the generals, armed and ready to depart, turned toward Fu Xiong on horseback. Not only Fu Chang, Fu Jing, and Fu Huangmei, but also Lei Ruo'er, Yu Zun, Mao Gui, Liang An, Liang Leng, Qiang Ping, and Yang Ping-even the powerful Di leaders who shared surnames with that latter group but had grown up locally in Guanzhong.
Such was his prestige. Ever since the chaotic wars at the end of Later Zhao, triggered by the Gaoli Army's rebellion, Fu Xiong had fought his way from Fangtou to Chencang, then turned back and marched out of the passes to defeat Xie Shang and Yao Xiang. Apart from the Murong Xianbei, he had crossed swords with almost every noteworthy