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Setting out from Yingchuan Commandery and heading south through Nanyang Commandery, one could reach Xiangyang. Indeed, Yuan Shu was currently in Nanyang Commandery, but Fei Qian chose not to visit him, mainly because he saw little point in doing so. Moreover, it was said that when Yuan Shu first arrived, he had been quite active—inspecting the livelihoods of the people, repairing roads, visiting military camps, and so on, all to make his presence felt. Unfortunately, during one of these activities, he fell from his horse and was injured, and was now recuperating in his residence...
Fei Qian had some doubts about this rumor. After all, while an ordinary person might not be accustomed to riding horses, Yuan Shu, as the eldest son of the Yuan family, had been around horses since childhood. How could he have been so easily injured? Although such an accident wasn't impossible, Fei Qian thought another explanation might be more plausible: it was said that Yuan Shu and Zhang Zi, the Governor of Nanyang, had clashed several times, leading Yuan Shu to simply retreat to his residence and stay there...
Fei Qian couldn't confirm which version was true, but these matters were beyond his control, so he decided not to visit Yuan Shu. After all, they didn't have much of a relationship to begin with.
Thus, without stopping, Fei Qian passed straight through Nanyang Commandery.
If the journey from Luoyang to Yingchuan had involved some mountainous terrain, the route from Nanyang to Xiangyang was almost entirely flat. Apart from a few rivers, it was a straight path, and Fei Qian encountered no obstacles along the way, arriving in Xiangyang without incident.
The terrain from Nanyang to Xiangyang resembled a massive treasure basin, with numerous waterways converging, providing abundant irrigation. As a result, the region was rich in resources and densely populated, making it one of the most valuable areas in the land.
However, Xiangyang's location also destined it to be a strategic stronghold during times of division, fiercely contested by various states.
Indeed, without seeing Xiangyang in person and understanding its geography, Fei Qian would never have fully grasped the importance of this place.
In ancient times, strategic locations were typically either key transportation hubs, areas rich in resources, or places with natural defenses such as mountains and rivers.
Xiangyang, unfortunately, possessed all of these attributes.
As Fei Qian traveled through the region, he summarized the key features of Xiangyang:
"Transportation": To the north lay Nanyang, to the northeast was Yingchuan, and to the northwest was Luoyang. The terrain was mostly flat, allowing a fast rider to travel from one place to another in a single day.
"Resources": Xiangyang was a land of abundance, known for its fish and rice, and remained a major grain-producing area even in later generations.
"Geography": To the east lay the Dabie Mountains and the Tongbai Mountains, beyond which was the Huai River. To the west were the Qinling Mountains, and further west were the mountains of Sichuan. These natural barriers made the area easy to defend and difficult to attack.
More importantly, if one wanted to bypass these natural mountain ranges to move south or north, Xiangyang was the best option. Located on a basin plain, it sat in a large gap between the Dabie Mountains, Tongbai Mountains, and Qinling Mountains. Whoever controlled this area held a significant advantage. Moreover, Xiangyang was situated at the confluence of the Tang River and the Bai River, which then flowed into the Han River. The city itself was built at the junction of these three rivers, with waterways in front and small mountain ranges like Xian Mountain and Hutou Mountain at its back. In the entire Xiangyang region, the city itself was the only viable point of attack.
Thus, whoever controlled Xiangyang held a strategic chokehold.
In later generations, Fei Qian had always thought of Xiangyang as just another city. Why was it so fiercely contested? Why couldn't armies simply bypass it and use some kind of leapfrogging tactic? Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he realized that it wasn't that the ancients were foolish—it was simply impossible to bypass.
Zhuge Liang's original plan had been to attack Wei from two directions. One route, which had been attempted six or seven times without success, need not be discussed. The other route, starting from Xiangyang, would involve capturing Wancheng and Fancheng, after which the path to Xuchang would be wide open, with no major fortresses to block the way. This would be like kicking open the door to the Central Plains, driving a dagger straight at Cao Cao's throat...
If Cao Cao were to station heavy defenses here, then the western front would surely collapse...
What Zhuge Liang hadn't anticipated was that while he was focused on dealing with Cao Cao, Xiangyang was equally important to Eastern Wu. If an army set out from Xiangyang and followed the Han River south, they could directly threaten Eastern Wu's heartland. How could Sun Quan, with Liu Bei constantly threatening him, rest easy in Jiangdong? How could an alliance be maintained when one side was constantly being strangled?
Thus, Eastern Wu was willing to sacrifice a favorable situation to stab Guan Yu in the back... It's worth noting that after Guan Yu captured Fancheng, Cao Cao's first reaction was to consider fleeing the capital...
Such a piece of land was bound to be coveted.
No wonder the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu fought so fiercely over this prized territory, resorting to all sorts of tactics—pulling hair, kicking groins, stabbing kidneys—whatever it took...
As Fei Qian gazed at the towering gates of Xiangyang, he couldn't help but reflect on Guan Yu's rise and fall in this very city. Guan Yu's flooding of the seven armies had indeed shaken the land, but his fortunes had risen and fallen all too quickly...
Along the way, Fei Qian had encountered some suspicious individuals who eyed his party with ill intent. However, upon seeing that Fei Qian was protected by Zhang Zhao and his well-armed soldiers, they seemed to think better of it, deciding that there were easier targets to pursue. Thus, Fei Qian's journey had been relatively uneventful, and he arrived safely in Xiangyang.
With their arrival in Xiangyang, Zhang Zhao's mission was complete. As they approached the city gates, he bid farewell to Fei Qian and, with a carriage and his soldiers, turned toward the military camp west of Xiangyang to report and exchange official documents.
Fei Qian and Uncle Fu then drove their own carriage leisurely into the city.
Just as Fei Qian and Uncle Fu had paid the city gate tax and entered the city, they heard a commotion outside. In the distance, a cloud of dust rose from the direction of Nanyang, and a group of disheveled soldiers, looking like refugees, came running in disarray.
Panic also broke out on the city walls, as the defenders of Xiangyang were unsure whether the approaching group was friend or foe. They quickly ordered the drawbridge raised and the gates closed.
This only added to the chaos among the already frightened civilians. Those near the gates rushed into the city, while those further away pushed and shoved to get inside.
A carriage that had been about to exit the city now found itself caught in the chaos. The driver tried to turn the carriage around, but the frantic crowd left no room for maneuver. The driver could only shout and pull on the reins...
Whether the horse was spooked by something or simply startled, it suddenly reared and bolted sideways, knocking over several people. Then, perhaps because the wheels hit something, one of the carriage's wheels lifted off the ground, causing the entire carriage to tip sideways and crash directly into Fei Qian and Uncle Fu's carriage...
In that moment, Fei Qian could only think to himself, 'I never expected there to be carriage accidents in the Eastern Han Dynasty too...'