The Land of the Peerless Hero of the State
The peerless hero of the state had withdrawn. No matter how much people called him Lü Bu among men, the greatest warrior under heaven, war was never something one fought alone. He had inflated his thirty thousand troops to fifty thousand, scraped together every last man he could find, and assigned Zhang Liao as his deputy—Lü Bu himself attacking while Zhang Liao defended. Yet in the art of commanding soldiers, he was still far behind Cao Cao.
“The wounded boar has fled. Now all that remains is to drive it into its cave and finish it off, yes?”
Cao Cao wore a deeply satisfied expression as he studied the map, already preparing to seize every corner of Xuzhou.
“My lord, we have received word that Xiaopei has still not fallen.”
“What? Even with Xuande’s sworn brothers—Yunzhang, the unmatched warrior under heaven, and Yide—at his side?”
“This report comes directly from General Xiahou. They are laying siege to Xiaopei, but it appears it will take considerable time.”
Gao Shun was holding Xiaopei with his Camp Crushing Unit. The faces arrayed against him were dazzling: Xiahou Dun and Xun You from Cao Cao’s side, along with the three sworn brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang. Yet Gao Shun was desperately holding out within the walls of Xiaopei.
“Is this Gao Shun truly so formidable? Even with Xuande’s brother and Yuanyang there?”
“His troops are among the elite of Lü Bu’s army, and his command ability is said to be exceptional.”
At Cheng Yu’s words, Cao Cao clicked his tongue in mild disappointment.
“Hah… How does that scoundrel Lü Bu manage to gather so many outstanding men beneath him? Truly, he possesses far more capable generals than his own talent deserves.”
From the perspective of a man afflicted with talent-collecting fever, Cao Cao coveted not only Chen Gong but also Zhang Liao and Gao Shun from Lü Bu’s camp. If he could claim both, Cao Cao’s army would become incomparably stronger. And personally, if it were possible, I wanted to spare Gao Shun as well. Of course, that was a matter for after the complete conquest of Xuzhou.
“Right, then. Shall we see what remains to be taken?”
Cao Cao examined the map of the entire Xuzhou region while Cheng Yu offered counsel.
“My lord, Lü Bu has fled to a small city called Xiaoguan, east of Pengcheng.”
“Then this is the perfect moment to pursue him and at least cripple one of his legs. Xu Huang! Yu Jin!”
“Here, my lord!”
“Take your elite troops and chase down Lü Bu.”
“Understood, my lord!”
Xu Huang and Yu Jin would lead the pursuit of Lü Bu.
“Cao Ren, prepare to march straight for Xiaopei at once. If that fellow Gao Shun is holding out so stubbornly, you must go yourself and bring the matter to a close.”
“Understood, elder brother!”
“Dian Wei and Cheng Yu, after occupying Pengcheng, you must purge the remaining Lü Bu forces that have seeped into the city. Begin preparations to expand and reinforce Pengcheng immediately. We will bring manpower and resources from Yanzhou.”
Each man received his role one by one. Only I remained.
“Zayul.”
“Yes, uncle.”
Lü Bu was being pursued, Xiaopei was under siege, and Pengcheng was being stabilized. What task could possibly be left for me?
“If you head south from here, you will reach the Huaiyin fortress on the southern bank of the Huai River. I will give you five thousand troops. Go and capture Huaiyin yourself.”
“!”
“You should be more than capable by now, shouldn’t you?”
Five thousand soldiers to capture Huaiyin. It wasn’t the number of troops that mattered. Until now I had always served as a deputy under Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun, Cao Hong, or Xiahou Yuan, or fought jointly with Cao Ang, Dian Wei, and others. This time was different. I was being sent as an independent commander, leading my own detached force. Moreover, the Huai River region held only a handful of Lü Bu’s scattered troops. It was quite literally the easiest target—a literal “appetizer.” Cao Cao had deliberately granted me the sweetest, most effortless assignment in the entire Xuzhou campaign.
“I shall devote my full heart and strength to capturing Huaiyin.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!”
With Cao Cao’s orders given, each of us prepared to move. After reorganizing the army, five thousand troops were assembled. Together with my lieutenant Yue Jin, I set out southward to strike Huaiyin.
“Huaiyin, Huaiyin! Huaiyin of all places! Hahahahaha!”
On the road to capture Huaiyin, I couldn’t stop laughing. Cao Cao had actually ordered me to take Huaiyin!
“Military Colonel, why do you laugh so? Is there something special about Huaiyin?”
“Huaiyin is quite the interesting place.”
“In what way?”
Yue Jin looked genuinely puzzled as he asked.
“Is it not called Huaiyin because it lies on the land where the Huai River flows? It sits at the southernmost edge of Xuzhou, with Wu territory to the south and Chuxian to the west.”
“That is correct. But how does that…?”
I possessed a fair knowledge of not only the Romance of the Three Kingdoms but of history in general, and I had always been fond of the Chu-Han Contention. Anyone familiar with that period knew the name of the great general Han Xin.
Guoshi Wushuang—the peerless hero of the state. That was the nickname given to the heavenly commander Han Xin, meaning there was no other talent like him in the entire realm.
“Huaiyin is the very land where Han Xin, the renowned general who performed great deeds under Emperor Gaozu during the Chu-Han wars, met his final end. Is it not?”
“Ah, is that so? I have heard of the Chu-Han wars and of Han Xin, but I did not know this land held such a connection.”
“In the past, after establishing his base in the region once called Qi—roughly the area of modern Qingzhou—Han Xin grew greedy for kingship. He asked Emperor Gaozu to enfeoff him as acting King of Qi so he could command the people there.”
“Occupying territory and then demanding to be made a fake king right in front of his own lord, Emperor Gaozu?”
“To anyone’s eyes it was a deed deserving death. Yet Emperor Gaozu merely laughed and said, ‘If a man is to be king, let him be a true king. What use is an acting king?’ and genuinely enfeoffed him as King of Qi. However, later Han Xin had his military authority stripped away before the emperor. He was demoted from King of Qi to King of Chu—here in Xuzhou—and eventually lost even that title due to some unsavory incident.”
“Is this not the story of ‘the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked’?”
“That is how it has been remembered. After losing his title, the last place Han Xin chose as his residence was his birthplace—Huaiyin in Xuzhou. He became the Marquis of Huaiyin and was thereafter known as Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin.”
“Then the Huaiyin we are heading to is exactly that Huaiyin?”
“Precisely. That is why I cannot help but laugh at the thought of going to such an interesting place.”
Setting out on a campaign while recalling historical tales naturally brought laughter. Only then did Yue Jin understand the meaning behind my mirth and nodded.
“To think I would hear such an entertaining story before battle. In my eyes, Military Colonel, your own abilities seem comparable to those of the great Han Xin of old.”
“Vice-General Yue, I am not some fool who cannot navigate the world properly.”
“M-my apologies. But when it comes to military talent, are you not truly no different from Han Xin?”
“I personally prefer Chen Ping and Kuai Tong from the Chu-Han period.”
“It seems the Colonel possesses not only outstanding military talent but also profound knowledge of the ancient texts.”
While conversing like this, we continued marching south until the waters of the Huai River sparkled before us and the land of Huaiyin came into view. Huaiyin was not protected by towering walls. Instead, it resembled a vast collective farm filled with merchants and cultivated fields. Such a place might boast high population and economic activity, but its defensive capabilities were abysmal.
“Military Colonel, I have gathered information.”
A messenger had been sent ahead to scout Huaiyin’s situation, and the report came promptly.
“Huaiyin currently holds only three thousand infantry. The enemy commander is a man named Cheng Lian. His bravery is legendary—he once broke through Zhang Yan’s hundred-thousand-strong army with only a few dozen cavalry during the suppression of the Black Mountain bandits. A true valiant general.”
“Cheng Lian, you say? With that level of bravery, he must indeed be skilled in combat.”
Cheng Lian was one of Lü Bu’s Eight Valiant Generals, alongside Cao Xing, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, and Hou Cheng. I set up camp before the walls of Huaiyin and prepared for battle inside my tent.
“Military Colonel, how shall we fight?”
At Yue Jin’s question, I examined the map and nodded.
“In this situation, the straightforward approach is best.”
“You intend to strike the enemy head-on?”
“Correct.”
Even though I had come to the Three Kingdoms era with knowledge of the future, there were clear limits to what I could do. I was not like Zhuge Liang from the Romance, capable of saying, ‘Place five hundred soldiers here, a thousand there, and lure the enemy here at the end.’ I could not summon a southeast wind or invent new weapons to crush the foe. When I first fell into this world, I had simply trained my body to survive. To survive the coming turbulent age and the battlefields where tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of soldiers clashed, I had studied martial arts and reached this point. Now that I served my lord and uncle Cao Cao, I would simply become his spear and sword, fighting exactly as ordered.
“When I think about battle, I consider only three things.”
“Three things, you say…”
“Do our forces outnumber the enemy? Are our soldiers’ morale and training superior to the enemy’s? And can our logistics sustain a much longer campaign than the enemy’s?”
Having stated the absolute fundamentals expected of any commander, I made clear my intention to press forward with brute force through the straightforward method.
“Vice-General Yue.”
“Yes, Military Colonel.”
“You began as a common soldier, gradually rose through the ranks as an army clerk and then as Gate Colonel, and have experienced countless battlefields along the way.”
“You flatter me.”
“Having risen from the bottom like that, I believe you are more than qualified to lead the vanguard in this battle. Can you do it?”
As I had said many times before, Yue Jin was not someone who would remain my lieutenant forever. He was a general who needed to achieve greater things under Cao Cao.
“Can you do it?”
Yue Jin brought his hands together and looked at me with eyes burning with determination.
“I am grateful for the opportunity the Military Colonel has given me. I will ensure there are no mistakes.”
“Thank you.”
Yue Jin put on his helmet, took up his spear, and left the tent to prepare the attack. And so, Yue Jin stood in the vanguard in my place and assaulted Huaiyin.
Though Cheng Lian was brave and his three thousand troops fought fiercely under his command, they were now isolated with no reinforcements or supplies, forced to sustain themselves. After Pengcheng had fallen, any support for Huaiyin would have to come down the Huai River from Xuzhou city, but who remained to send it? Lü Bu himself was already being chased by Xu Huang and Yu Jin at Xiaoguan, while Gao Shun at Xiaopei was surrounded by Liu, Guan, Zhang, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, and Xu Chu.
Yue Jin had his men cut down nearby trees to build a battering ram, then fastened ropes with hooks to scale the relatively low walls and send soldiers climbing over. It was a straightforward frontal assault, nothing but honest, stubborn pressure. Yet that very stubbornness allowed him to overwhelm the enemy with raw force.
Crack. Creak.
“The bar on the gate is breaking! The gate will fall soon!”
Watching from afar, I too lifted my spear.
“Military Colonel, are you finally moving to the front?”
“I cannot simply sit and twiddle my fingers. Vice-General Yue must be exhausted by now. Shouldn’t I go help?”
Though my side still ached, I mounted my horse with spear in hand and galloped toward Huaiyin’s walls. When I broke inside, the scene was utter chaos. Men killed and were killed in turn, floundering in a sea of blood as a fierce melee raged. Inside the city’s government office, Yue Jin had dismounted and was fighting the enemy commander Cheng Lian.
“You bastards! How dare you set foot in Huaiyin!”
“Today I will take your head!”
“A mere nameless soldier like you!”
Cheng Lian, famed for his bravery against the Black Mountain bandits, was struggling greatly before Yue Jin. Of course Yue Jin was also panting heavily from exhaustion, yet his eyes burned with fierce light. Even while gasping for breath, his gaze remained sharp. Whenever an opening appeared, he struck like lightning at the enemy’s vital points.
“Yue Jin will win.”
With his solid frame, Yue Jin swung his iron staff like a charging armored wagon. Cheng Lian continued to block desperately until, in one decisive exchange, he took a heavy blow to the ribs.
“Guh!”
The moment the several-dozen-pound iron staff smashed into his side, Cheng Lian’s ribs shattered with a crunch and his innards were torn apart. He vomited blood. As Cheng Lian staggered, unable to even stand straight after a single hit, Yue Jin stepped forward and delivered the final blow to his head.
Crunch!
That was the end. Cheng Lian’s skull was smashed open. Yue Jin staggered slightly, then raised his iron staff high. With this, they had slain Huaiyin’s defender Cheng Lian and captured the city.
Clap, clap, clap—
As the commander, I could not refrain from applauding. And with that, Huaiyin—the hometown of the peerless hero of the state—also fell into the possession of Cao Cao’s army.