The seventh year of Emperor Gao of Han's reign, winter.
Pingcheng, Mount Baideng. Snow fell thick and fast.
Inside a tent sheltered from the wind halfway up the mountain, Liu Bang sat leaning beside a fire pit, holding a bowl of hot water and sipping it as though savoring fine wine, his brow slightly furrowed.
He and more than ten thousand Han Army cavalrymen had been trapped on this mountain by the Xiongnu for four days.
Over the previous three days, Zhou Bo and Guan Ying had repeatedly led elite cavalry against weak points in the Xiongnu encirclement, hoping to break through, but every attempt had failed.
Now the army's provisions were nearly exhausted, and little remained on the mountain that could be burned. He and these ten thousand-odd Han Army soldiers stood on the brink of ruin.
Judging solely by his words in the Rebel Army Group, no one would have imagined that this was the predicament he faced.
Zhang Jiao truly deserves to be someone chosen by this Rebel Army Group, just like me. He caught on so quickly and wouldn't readily tell me how long I'll live... I was too impatient.
If I can get my lifespan out of him, I'll know whether I can escape this Siege of Baideng. I might even ask him outright how to lift the siege!
Surely I don't die here on Mount Baideng?
The worst possible conjecture surfaced, and Liu Bang immediately forced it out of his mind.
Over the preceding days, he, Chen Ping, and the others had already analyzed the situation. Although he and more than ten thousand Han Army cavalrymen were surrounded on Mount Baideng by four hundred thousand Xiongnu horsemen and seemed trapped in a death ground, that was not truly the case.
First, Modu's four hundred thousand cavalrymen were a greatly inflated figure.
He might not actually have four hundred thousand. Even if there were two or three hundred thousand riders, that figure likely included the women, children, and elderly of the various Xiongnu tribes. Among them, a hundred thousand bowmen capable of fighting the Han Army would already be the absolute limit.
Judging by their observations over the past few days, there were probably only tens of thousands of Xiongnu bowmen around Mount Baideng who could truly fight.
Second, the Han Army's main force of three hundred thousand was closing in on Mount Baideng.
Granted, most of this "main force of three hundred thousand" consisted of garrison soldiers and civilian laborers conscripted from the northern commanderies, along with troops belonging to various regional lords. Only a few tens of thousands were elite soldiers directly under the imperial court.
But those tens of thousands of elite soldiers had fought their way through the wars among the lords at the end of Qin. So long as the main Han Army arrived before the Xiongnu overran Mount Baideng, they could seize the opportunity to inflict a crushing defeat on the Xiongnu!
Finally, this heavy winter snow was unfavorable to the Han Army, but even more unfavorable to the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu brought their herds along as provisions when marching to war. With hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu now gathered around Mount Baideng, the various tribes' herds would soon have no grass left to eat.
If the two sides kept dragging this out until cattle and sheep from the Xiongnu tribes died in great numbers, the Xiongnu would suffer a devastating blow to their strength.
By then, even if the Xiongnu wiped out him and the ten thousand-odd cavalrymen on Mount Baideng, Modu's losses would likely outweigh his gains.
Still, all of this was merely the analysis and projections he, Chen Ping, and the others had made. Battlefields held too many unforeseen turns, and events might not unfold as they expected.
Many Han Army soldiers on the mountain now suffered from frostbite; some had even lost fingers to it. Most importantly, they were cut off from all outside news. They had no idea where the main Han Army actually was, or whether it really was approaching Mount Baideng.
Thus, the morale of the Han Army on the mountain sank lower with each passing day.
They could still hold out for now, but once everything edible in the army had been consumed, the Xiongnu elite might storm the mountain in a single assault!
At that thought, Liu Bang felt all the more strongly that he should find a way to obtain useful information through this Rebel Army Group.
Right, there's also Zhu Yuanzhang, a rebel leader from the Late Yuan, in this Rebel Army Group. Yuan must be a dynasty after my Han.
Even if this man is illiterate, has never studied, and knows no history, he can ask a scholar-someone chosen by the Rebel Army Group and called a rebel leader surely has at least one capable scholar by his side?
With that thought, and seeing that Zhang Jiao still seemed to be waiting for his answer, Liu Bang immediately entered text by silently reciting it.
[Liu Bang: Is Zhu Yuanzhang, the rebel leader from the Late Yuan, here? You should know how long your old man lives too, shouldn't you? Tell me, and your old man can have Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and Chen Ping devise strategies for you and help you claim dominion over the realm-these three are all outstanding advisers who helped your old man establish Great Han!]
The Three Founding Heroes of Han?
No, the Three Founding Heroes of Han were Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and Han Xin. Chen Ping wasn't one of them.
Still, Chen Ping was exceptionally skilled at intrigue. At times, he might be more useful than Zhang Liang or Xiao He.
It could be said that the moment Zhu Yuanzhang saw Liu Bang's offer, he was tempted.
Although many advisers had helped him establish Great Ming, including Li Shanchang, Zhu Sheng, and Liu Bowen, these men were now either dead or demoted, and none remained at his side.
With men like Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong, he also had to guard against them deceiving their superiors, concealing matters from those below, and eroding his authority.
If he could have Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and Chen Ping devise strategies for him, he would have no need for such concerns.
Tempted though he was, Zhu Yuanzhang did not rush to accept Liu Bang's offer.
He considered that although Zhang Jiao had not founded a new dynasty as he and Liu Bang had, being chosen by the Rebel Army Group meant he must possess something exceptional. At the very least, he had some merit among the many rebel leaders throughout the dynasties.
The nature of this Rebel Army Group remained unclear. There was no need to offend the man right from the start.
During those few moments of consideration, something stirred in the Rebel Army Group.
[Zhang Jiao: If you're willing to have Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and Chen Ping devise strategies for me, I can tell you how long you'll live.] [Liu Bang: Now you want to talk? Your old man doesn't want to hear it from you anymore. Zhu Yuanzhang, are you willing to tell me?]
Zhu Yuanzhang was not surprised to see Liu Bang refuse to "trade" with Zhang Jiao.
Under these circumstances, accepting Liu Bang's offer would not offend Zhang Jiao too greatly.
He immediately tried entering text by silently reciting it.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: Historical records state that Han Gaozu died of illness in Changle Palace in the twelfth year of Emperor Gao of Han's reign.]
Elsewhere, Liu Bang was briefly stunned upon hearing this. Then relief washed over him, followed by delighted laughter.
The twelfth year of Emperor Gao of Han's reign was still five years away.
That was not long, but he would be sixty-two by then. His life certainly could not be called short.
Most importantly, Zhu Yuanzhang had also supplied the information that he died of illness in Changle Palace. That undoubtedly meant he had successfully survived the crisis of the Siege of Baideng!
Coming back to himself, he immediately sent another question.
[Liu Bang: Then do you know how your old man lifted the Siege of Baideng?]
Lift the Siege of Baideng?
Seeing Liu Bang's newly posted words, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Jiao froze.
Then the same suspicion arose in both their minds: could Liu Bang be experiencing the Siege of Baideng right now?
Nothing in Liu Bang's earlier remarks had conveyed the anxiety of someone surrounded by enemy troops and teetering on the brink of ruin.
This made both men admire Liu Bang's remarkable composure, especially Zhang Jiao...
The First Year of Zhongping, seventh month.
At dusk, Zhang Jiao stood atop Guangzong City's walls. He appeared to be gazing at the Han Army camps outside the city, but in truth he was looking at the strange thing before his eyes, the "Rebel Army Group."
When he first saw this thing earlier that day, he too had been somewhat alarmed. But when the "Liu Bang" within it asked him about his lifespan, he immediately realized that this was an opportunity.
Although he still did not believe this "Liu Bang" was necessarily the real Liu Bang, that did not stop him from giving it a try.
After all, he and over a hundred thousand Yellow Turban Army soldiers had been besieged in Guangzong City by the Han Army under Lu Zhi for more than half a month.
Before launching his uprising, he had deliberately stockpiled grain in various places, and Guangzong was one of the major storage sites. Thus, Guangzong faced no immediate danger of a grain shortage.
But there were over a hundred thousand Yellow Turban Army soldiers in Guangzong. Even with meager daily rations for the elderly, the weak, women, and children among them, the grain stored there could sustain them for only around two months at most.
Moreover, Guangzong City was small, capable of accommodating only tens of thousands.
Although his third younger brother, Zhang Liang, had led tens of thousands of the Yellow Turban Army's main troops to establish camps outside the city against its walls, allowing the camps and city to support each other like a beast's paired horns, they were still trapped within a radius of two or three li.
As for how long their firewood would last, he did not know.
Most importantly, an epidemic had now broken out within the city.
Though he knew some medicine and had temporarily steadied people's hearts with spells and Talisman Water, these measures ultimately treated only the symptoms and could not root out the epidemic.
Amid these many crises, if he and these hundred thousand-odd Yellow Turban Army soldiers could not break out soon, they would surely meet defeat and destruction here.
It could be said that he and these hundred thousand-odd Yellow Turban Army soldiers also stood on the brink of ruin.
For this reason, he had spent these days thinking so intensely that he had no appetite for food or tea, trying to find a way to break the encirclement. Unfortunately, several attempts had all failed. The Han Army's construction of encircling trenches had even cut off contact with the outside world.
Although he appeared calm before everyone, in truth his heart burned with worry!
Years ago, while traveling and associating with members of certain gentry families, he had heard that Han Gaozu once led over ten thousand cavalrymen and was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu on Mount Baideng for seven days and nights, yet ultimately escaped. He had thought it a distorted tale, an exaggeration that could not possibly be true.
Now, judging by what this "Liu Bang" in the Rebel Army Group said, the story was most likely true.
If the Xiongnu besieging Liu Bang truly numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and he had yet to find a way out, such excellent composure was genuinely worthy of admiration.
Compared with him, Zhang Jiao fell far short.
Still, Liu Bang's escape from the Siege of Baideng back then had most likely depended on his advisers.
If he could get the advisers at Liu Bang's side to devise strategies for him, perhaps he could break the Siege of Guangzong too!
At that thought, Zhang Jiao immediately recalled what those few gentry members who had mentioned the Siege of Baideng years ago had said. Hadn't they said he escaped by bribing the Xiongnu?
Was that possible?
Hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu trapped Liu Bang on Mount Baideng, yet merely because of a bribe, they opened their encirclement and let him leave?
However he considered it, Zhang Jiao found that answer implausible. But he could think of no more reasonable answer, and he worried that Zhu Yuanzhang from the Late Yuan would answer first. He immediately entered text, deciding to give it a try...
[Zhang Jiao: It's said that you had someone bribe the Xiongnu at the time, which allowed you to leave.] [Liu Bang: Bribe the Xiongnu? Four hundred thousand Xiongnu have surrounded your old man here on Mount Baideng for four days and nights and still refuse to withdraw. If your old man sends them some gold and silver as a bribe, they'll open the encirclement? Zhang Jiao, do you think your old man is that easy to fool?!] [Zhang Jiao: I can swear to Heaven that when I heard several members of the gentry discuss this matter, that was exactly what they said. I haven't deceived you in the slightest!] [Liu Bang: Bullshit! Some petty scholars who know nothing of warfare must have fabricated stories about your old man to sully his reputation!]
Zhu Yuanzhang could not help laughing when he saw this.
Is your reputation so good, Liu Bang? Why would those scholars need to invent stories to tarnish it? (This was Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding of Liu Bang in his own era.)
Then Zhu Yuanzhang realized that even if he did not explain the solution to the Siege of Baideng, Chen Ping would soon tell Liu Bang anyway.
Since Zhang Jiao's knowledge was incomplete and his answer could not satisfy Liu Bang, he might as well answer and earn another favor from him.
With that thought, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately recited silently in his mind, entering text into the Rebel Army Group.