The Fall of the Zhong Dynasty
Cao Cao’s army had already swelled to nearly one hundred and fifty thousand men.
That was more than enough to encircle Shuchun completely. From this point forward we could settle into the slow business of starving Yuan Shu’s forces to death.
“Load the fire arrows and loose them at the walls! Burn every last one of them!”
At the northern gate, Xiahou Yuan had positioned his archers and crossbowmen at the forefront. A storm of shafts poured down like black rain, turning the enemy lines into a sea of flame.
“Damn it, where are the battering rams? We are the ones who must break Shuchun! Keep pushing!”
At the western gate, Cao Hong roared at his soldiers while ladders rose and siege engines hammered the gates in rhythmic thunder.
The defenders of Shuchun fought with genuine desperation, raining arrows and stones upon us. These men had held the walls firm for months, and their stubbornness was beginning to fray even Cao Hong’s nerves.
“Cavalry, charge!”
The thunder of hooves rolled across the field.
It seemed madness to hurl horsemen at city walls, yet that was exactly what Guan Yu’s troops did at the eastern gate. Of course they were not trying to smash the stone itself. Each rider carried two sandbags; they galloped to the edge of the moat and hurled them in.
Splash after heavy splash, the bags landed, slowly choking the ditch. Then the cavalry wheeled away.
In their wake came the heavy infantry, shields locked overhead to blunt the arrow storm while ladders surged upward behind that living roof.
I could only think how fortunate we were that Guan Yu fought on our side.
Last came the southern gate.
“Zixiao, Uncle! It’s Ziye.”
“Ah. Good.”
Xiahou Yuan held the north, Cao Hong the west, Guan Yu the east, and Cao Ren commanded the assault on the south.
Like Guan Yu, Cao Ren orchestrated a complex dance of siegecraft. First his armored infantry advanced to absorb the enemy’s missiles with their shields. Behind them, ballistae hurled bolts at the watchtowers, blinding the defenders to our true strength. As ladder after ladder rose, the enemy, unable to gauge our numbers, exhausted themselves trying to block every threat they could see.
While the four gates roared with battle, my own task was to ride between them, keeping the flow of supplies unbroken.
The fighting continued without pause.
And slowly, it was Cao Cao’s side that began to tire.
BANG!
“This is becoming truly tiresome. I never imagined that fool Yuan Shu could hold out so long.”
Even Cao Cao’s legendary composure cracked; he slammed his fist on the table hard enough to make the maps jump. From his perspective the campaign should have been simple: the man who had stolen the Imperial Jade Seal and dared to declare himself emperor deserved a swift death. Instead the war had settled into a stubborn stalemate, and his impatience grew daily.
“It has already been half a year since we left the capital. I have fought long wars before, but the opponent has never been Yuan Shu.”
“My lord, the enemy has mobilized every scrap of material in the Huainan region. They are curled up like a turtle in its shell. We must hammer them until the shell cracks.”
“Cheng Yu, I know that. The knowledge only makes it more infuriating.”
Siege warfare was one of the few things the great Cao Cao could not end in a single stroke. The longer it dragged on, the higher the enemy’s morale seemed to climb.
“What news from inside the city?”
“Reports from the merchant caravans still moving in and out of Shuchun.”
Even in the middle of a siege, merchants continued to slip through during lulls in the fighting. I had doubted it until I saw it with my own eyes. Caravans from the Central Plains and Jiangdong moved under the wary gaze of both armies. Weapons-grade iron and bulk grain were of course forbidden, but luxury goods flowed freely.
Why luxury in wartime? The answer was simple. Those trapped inside were selling heirlooms and valuables at ruinous prices to prepare for flight, whether they won or lost. The buyers would resell them at enormous profit in safer regions.
“Their military stores are still abundant. They claim they can hold out for another year.”
“Damn them all.”
“Yet a strange rumor is circulating.”
“Speak.”
“It is said that Yuan Shu has already begun preparations for the Mandate of Heaven, styling himself Emperor of the Zhong Dynasty from within the city.”
“What?”
The tent filled with murmurs. I asked, incredulous, “The entire purpose of this campaign is to behead the traitor Yuan Shu. If the man is not even here, then…?”
“It remains only a rumor. No one who has actually laid eyes on Yuan Shu has been seen for some time, which is why the talk has begun.”
“How long?”
“At least three months, according to the merchants.”
Cao Cao’s face twisted like a man chewing bitter herbs.
A thought struck me.
“Uncle, may I speak?”
“Say it.”
“This is only a suspicion, but… what if Yuan Shu was never inside Shuchun to begin with?”
The command baton slipped from Cao Cao’s fingers and clattered to the ground. His eyes widened.
“What… what did you just say?”
“It seemed strange to me. A man who created a rebel state called Zhong, who raised an army as brainwashed as the Yellow Turbans—how could he fail to show his face even once in half a year?”
“Ziye, what are you suggesting…”
“Cheng Yu, be silent. Let him finish.”
“If Yuan Shu is the sort who grows drunk on declaring himself emperor, he should be parading before his soldiers right now in golden armor. A single glimpse of their ‘Son of Heaven’ would send their morale soaring. Yet we have seen nothing.”
Sighs rose from every corner of the tent. At first I thought only Cao Cao had been struck by the idea, but then I saw the same realization dawning on Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Guan Yu, and even Cao Ang.
Cao Cao retrieved the baton with a trembling hand. His voice was low, almost a whisper.
“How… how did I fail to see it? That coward would never stand at the front. If he has turned even Shuchun into a shield for his own survival and fled elsewhere…”
He struck his own forehead several times, muttering.
“Zisu, bring the map.”
“Yes, Father.”
Cao Ang hurried to spread the map across the table. Cao Cao’s eyes swept over the terrain around Shuchun.
“East of Shuchun lies Huiyin… farther still, Guangling.”
“My lord, Lujiang and Huancheng lie to the south as well.”
“Both are within Yuan Shu’s sphere. That is the problem.”
One man had remained silent through the entire discussion: Jia Xu. After delivering supplies and reinforcements, the shrewd strategist had quietly taken over the entire logistics command.
“Jia Xu, I know you are a veteran of many battlefields. Speak your mind.”
“You honor me, Chancellor.”
“Enough modesty. What do you think?”
Jia Xu scratched his head lightly, studying the map, then spoke in his calm, measured tone.
“Colonel Cao’s suspicion may be correct, or it may not. If Yuan Shu has truly abandoned the city, there is almost no one left inside capable of sustaining such high morale. They should be nearing their limit.”
“Exactly.”
“Yet if he truly has left, we must consider another possibility. His family remains inside—crown prince, empress, princess—encouraging the generals and soldiers in his stead.”
“That makes sense. He may have left his son behind.”
Cao Cao rubbed his temples, thinking hard. Then his eyebrows twitched as a new idea took shape.
“What if… we deliberately loosen the siege of Shuchun and move elsewhere?”
I understood at once. “You mean to split the army, send pursuit forces east and south, and make the encirclement appear thinner?”
“Precisely. I will remain here in Shuchun. If the real Yuan Shu is inside, I will take him myself.”
The plan was clear. Cao Cao had weighed both possibilities—Yuan Shu present or absent—and crafted a strategy that covered either outcome.
“Yunchang, can you continue to move for me?”
“This one came at the command of His Imperial Majesty and at the wish of my sworn brother, Inspector of Yuzhou. Issue whatever orders you require for the suppression of the traitor.”
Guan Yu’s reply was exactly as one would expect.
“Then Yunchang and Zixiao will take the eastern pursuit. Miaocai and Zilian will lead the southern force below the Yangtze.”
“Understood, Brother.”
“As you command, Chancellor.”
If Guan Yu, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Hong all left Shuchun, the enemy would surely react.
I offered one final refinement.
“If we organize separate eastern and southern pursuit columns, perhaps we should let the defenders hear it—loudly. Let them know we are marching to seize the eastern and southern cities. Their reaction will reveal the truth.”
“Haha! The final dot on the dragon’s eye!”
Cao Cao clapped once, laughing with genuine delight.
With the pursuit forces dispatched, only Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, Cao Ang, and I remained with the main body.
“Watch their reaction closely. Especially strengthen the night patrols.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
The opportunity arrived only a few nights later.
We waited in the dark forest. The southern gate of Shuchun creaked open.
“Ziye, look…”
“Just as we expected.”
With the four generals gone, a line of palanquins slipped out under cover of darkness. At first they appeared to be merchant wagons, but soon it became obvious they carried persons of high station.
“Wait until they are fully clear and the gates have closed behind them.”
We had prepared everything in advance. At dawn the rooster would crow, and ten li away a cavalry detachment waited to intercept them.
When the procession had moved far enough from the walls, I drew my bow and loosed a fire arrow.
Cao Ang and the hidden troops rose as one.
“Now! Take them!”
We made the signal deliberately loud. While the enemy panicked, swift horses burst from the trees.
“Colonel, take this mount!”
“You’ve done well keeping their mouths shut.”
I swung onto the horse and raced after the fleeing column. Enemy soldiers tried to block me, but my spear cut them down in a blur.
The procession split in two.
“Ziye, they’ve divided! Which one?”
“Choose first!”
“Then the left!”
Cao Ang’s men veered after the left group. I pursued the right.
Three carriages raced desperately, but they could not outrun the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
Then it happened.
From one of the palanquins, silks, gold, and jewels spilled out in a glittering cascade.
“!?”
They were trying to slow us with treasure.
“You think I can be bought so cheaply?!”
I ignored the riches and spurred forward with everything I had. The twenty riders behind me were the finest I had hand-picked from the hundred Tiger and Leopard horsemen Cao Cao first granted me. At their head rode Yue Jin, my loyal lieutenant who performed every duty without complaint.
“Yue Jin!”
“Colonel! We’re almost on them!”
One carriage overturned as its horse stumbled. Yue Jin hurled his spear at the final carriage; it struck the wheel perfectly. The vehicle lurched, then collapsed and rolled.
“We have them!”
I reined in and dismounted at once. Yue Jin and a dozen officers followed, swords drawn.
“Colonel, the second wagon holds only servants.”
“Then let’s see what this one contains.”
I kicked aside the beaded curtain blocking the entrance.
Inside was a woman.
“Your Highness… you must flee…”
“Chief Maid! Chief Maid!!”
“Princess?”
Bloodied old palace maids trembled as they tried to shield her. The young woman’s eyes met mine, wide with terror.
“N-no…”
Her face had gone deathly white. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes.
She was possessed of a beauty I had rarely seen. Luxurious ornaments adorned her hair; she wore the purple silk reserved for royalty, the fabric shimmering even in the dim predawn light.
“I… I am the daughter of the Emperor of… the Zhong Dynasty…”
“A princess…”
Even while shaking, she tried to maintain her dignity. There was no doubt who she was—Yuan Shu’s cherished daughter.
“Colonel, she appears to be Yuan Shu’s daughter. Shall we behead her at once and present the head to our lord—”
“Eek!”
“No. We take her alive. Yue Jin, secure anyone still breathing in the vicinity. The Chancellor will want them intact.”
“Understood.”
I stepped closer. She tried to shrink away.
“D-don’t come near—mmph?!”
“You’re lighter than you look.”
Since she was a princess, I lifted her in the proper princess carry. She struggled like a furious cat, but I simply placed her on my horse and galloped back toward Cao Cao’s position.
We had captured the princess.