Chapter Sixty New Territory

  (Thanks for the support from "Zhao Wu Xie 2014", "Parrot Shell Child", "12.22", "Iron 18 Sword" and "Fascinating Shadow - Bing Xin".)

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  Bailang Mountain, located ten miles east of the old site of Guangcheng (now Jianchang, Liaoning), has a huge white stone on the watershed west of the main peak. From a distance, it looks like a crouching white wolf, hence its name. The mountain is over 1,000 meters above sea level, with clouds and mist surrounding the mountains, dense forests and deep valleys, and many tigers and wolves, making it easy to enter but difficult to exit.

  The Bailang River (now the Daling River) flows gently and majestically on the north slope of the Bailang Mountain. This is the most important river in western Liaoning, formed by three tributaries from the west, south, and north, converging eastward, traversing hundreds of miles, and emptying into the Liaodong Bay. The Bailang Grand Canyon on the west side of the Bailang River is a must-pass place for entering Liaoning from the northwest, with a very important geographical location. Meanwhile, the Bailang Mountain stretching across the south side of the Bailang Valley has extraordinary military significance.

  During the Western Han, this place belonged to Youbei Ping Prefecture. By the Eastern Han, it was assigned to Liaoxi Commandery. After Gongsun Du occupied Liadong, Liaoxi naturally became part of his sphere of influence. Since Liaoxi had been a place where Wuhuan people roamed since the mid-Eastern Han, the local government was in disarray and difficult to control. By the end of the Han Dynasty, after Gongsun Zan rose to power in Youzhou, it bordered with the territory of Youbei Ping Prefecture. At that time, Gongsun Zan's name shook off Youyan, and Gongsun Du, in order to avoid his sharpness, coupled with the Wuhuan people's disturbance in Liaoxi, tacitly regarded this place as a buffer zone between Liadong, Youzhou, Xianbei, and Wuhuan.

  As the western barrier and strategic buffer zone of Liaodong, Gongsun Du could not abandon it, but he was unable to effectively govern it. As a result, Liaoxi became a piece of "chicken rib" that Gongsun Du found distasteful to swallow but pleasant to spit out.

  How to deal with this piece of chicken rib, it really made Gongsun Du scratch his head, and he was entangled for several years until the appearance of Ma Xian and Han Guo's department, which allowed him to see a glimmer of hope. Gongsun Du adopted the most trusted two confidant strategists: Liaodong Zhizhong from Yang Yi and Chief Clerk Liu Yi's strategy of driving out tigers and wolves, generously took out a cavalry captain and a White Wolf City to win over Ma Xian.

  Gongsun Du's purpose was obvious, to use Ma Huan and his Han Goguryeo as a wedge, pinning them on the land of western Liaoning which nominally belonged to him but in reality was out of control, laying down a force for him to truly control western Liaoning in the future.

  This plan had been thought of by Gongsun Du long ago, but none of his subordinates were capable of carrying it out. To the north, he was blocked by Wudayan King Duan, and to the south, he was blocked by White Horse General Gongsun Zan. It would take a great deal of power and prestige to accomplish this, and even if Gongsun Du himself tried, he might not be enough. So although he had a good strategy, he lacked capable generals, and no matter how good his plan was, it could only be put on hold.

  Gongsun Du valued Ma Qiu not because he thought Ma Qiu could restrain the White Horse General Gongsun, but because of Ma Qiu's enormous influence among the Xianbei and Wuhuan peoples. In this era of the Three Kingdoms where reputation was more important than anything else, sometimes a person's influence alone was enough to rival an army of ten thousand men.

  Granting a title of riding commander, adding a small city, and providing some money and grain can win over a strong cavalry force. Establishing a foothold in western Liaoning is too good a deal to pass up. Gong Sun Du won't miss it unless his head gets kicked by a donkey.

  Gongsun Du's terms were very generous: Ma Dun, the leader of the Han Goguryeo department, would be appointed as the commander of the riding army (the so-called "Jingzhi" meant that he had to report to the imperial court and receive a seal, which was an officially recognized officer by the imperial court, not a private appointment by the state or county), in charge of defending Baitou City, and could appoint his own civil and military officials, with the list reported to Liaodong County. The Liaodong side would provide one million coins for military expenses and supplies for Baitou City, 10,000 shi of military grain per season, 3,000 dan of fodder, and other equipment such as armor, helmets, and horses would be supplied according to the treatment of county soldiers.

  Ma Xian was to follow the command of Gongsun Du whenever there were military affairs, and the Han cavalry would participate in battles as guest troops, which meant they would listen to commands but not to proclamations.

  At that time, the three kingdoms were like this, and it was common for guest armies with semi-independent nature to exist, such as Liu Bei under Gongsun Zan, Zhang Bao under Tao Qian, and Sun Ce under Yuan Shu. You provide me with money and food, I fight for you, but my army is not something you can interfere with, similar to a mercenary army.

  Ma Xun and the leaders of the Han Gou department quickly agreed after a brief discussion - to have a territory city that belongs to them, for these rootless drifting Han people, it is simply a dream come true.

  Ma Huan's idea was slightly different, he clearly knew that Gongsun Du had never participated in the Central Plains warlords' melee throughout the Three Kingdoms period, at most just fighting against peripheral ethnic minorities. In other words, becoming a guest army of Liaodong could gain valuable opportunities for rest and recuperation, borrowing chickens to lay eggs, borrowing grain to raise troops, with a view to development. Compared to the benefits obtained by the Han Gou Department, becoming Gongsun Du's "wedge" was nothing. In the vast land of Mo Bei and Liaodong, where many ethnic minority forces were densely packed, wherever the Han Gou Department settled, wasn't it a thorn in the side of local tribes? If so, then just be a "thorn in the eye" with a strong backing force and good benefits!

  An agreement was reached, and Liu Yi returned to Liaodong to report back, leaving behind his deputy, a certain Zheng Gao, the governor's attendant, to receive and follow Han Gu's troops to Baitou City.

  In September, Ma Xian led more than 4,000 Han troops from the north branch of the Bailang River to march south and arrived at Bailang City.

  Bailang City is located two miles east of Bailang River, with a nearly square shape, 220 meters long from east to west and 180 meters wide from south to north, equivalent to the size of two standard football fields. The main road in the city forms a "well" shape, and the government temple (county government office) is located at the center of the intersection. The city wall was built with rammed earth, about three zhang high, and has not been repaired for a long time, making it more rugged under the sunset. There are two large gates on the east and west sides of the city, each with a drawbridge, and there is a moat outside the city, 30 meters wide, which is connected to Bailang River. Its defensive capabilities are no less than those of Ning County that Ma Han has seen before.

  Along the way, through Zheng Gao's introduction, Ma Yun initially understood the importance of this White Wolf City. This city is a strategic location for the Central Plains to enter the Northeast region, and it is also an important place that must be passed through in the later "Lulong Road". The geographical location is particularly dangerous. The surrounding White Wolf Mountains form a natural barrier, making White Wolf City a strategic location that can be attacked but not defended. Whether it is entering Liaodong from Youyan or defending the Northeast gate of Liaodong, White Wolf City is a crucial place for military strategists to compete for.

  It is not known whether Gongsun Du wanted to show goodwill to Gongsun Zan, indicating no hostile intentions, or to avoid provoking the Wuhuan people, or both. This important city had only 300 infantrymen from the Liaodong garrison, mostly old and weak soldiers with incomplete armor. The highest-ranking civil official was a chief clerk, while the highest-ranking military officer was a marquis.

  All this only proves one thing, their existence is just a gesture of Gong Sun Du's affiliation with Liao Xi. And when Ma Han took over the garrison order from the military marquis who was stationed in White Wolf City, he already understood that from this moment on, he would have to work hard to transform Gong Sun Du's gesture in Liao Xi into a tough one, and that is his value.

  Under the afterglow of sunset, Ma Xianyu halted his horse on the north slope of White Wolf Mountain, gazing down at this new territory that belonged to him.

  Mountain ranges overlap, the great river rushes, the plain is vast, and the city is high and deep. To the west lies the White Wolf Gorge Pass, a key route to the north of the desert; to the southeast lies the Lulong Pass, which guards the way to Youyan; to the north lies the White Wolf North Road, leading to Liu City.

  This is a treasure land and also a dangerous place. How to eliminate the danger as much as possible and make this treasure land produce golden grains depends on his courage and wisdom.

  The distant White Wolf Castle's castle head transmitted the cloud board sound of the city gate about to close.

  "Go back to the city!"

  Ma Xun let out a long sigh, his whip striking the air, the silver arrow swiftly turning its head, the iron hooves lightly tapping the mountain path, quickly galloping down the mountain slope. Behind him, Wu Zhui and more than ten guards urged their horses on, closely following.

  (End of Volume 1)