No Way Out
Anyway, I made thorough preparations, stocking up on ample provisions before setting out.
When I left Chenliu in Yan Province, the refugees from Xu Province were using timber and tools provided by Wei Hong’s merchant group to repair houses and build livestock pens.
“There is quite a demand even within the city walls. After all, it’s the autumn harvest season.”
It was currently September. The harvest had arrived, but all the able-bodied men inside the walls had been conscripted and sent away, so they were indeed short on labor.
In this way, the people from Xu Province were naturally assimilating into Yan Province.
“Chenliu has just begun its harvest, and soon the lands around Puyang will be harvesting as well, so we shouldn’t have any problems with supplies.”
“Thank you, Uncle Wanyang.”
After receiving Xiahou Dun’s farewell, I headed back to Xu Province with a mountain of provisions. The front line was now one I could traverse freely, and I arrived at the camp where Cao Cao was stationed.
“Halt. Where are you soldiers from?”
“We come from Chenliu, bringing supplies of provisions.”
The man who came rushing out was Xiahou Yuan.
“From Chenliu? Have the supplies already arrived?”
“Uncle Miaocai, it’s me!”
“Ah, aah! So Zilie has come? Come inside the camp first!”
In the short time I had been away, Xiahou Yuan’s entire body was caked with dried blood, and cloths were wrapped around his arms and legs where he had clearly been wounded.
It seemed there had been ferocious fighting in my absence.
“My lord, Zilie has brought the provisions.”
“Send him in.”
When the door opened, an overwhelming stench rolled out.
It was the smell of blood—rotten blood that had been spilled over days of brutal combat.
My face reflexively twisted, but I forced myself to maintain composure in front of Cao Cao.
“Uncle, I have accommodated the people from Xu Province around Chenliu and brought back military rations.”
“Ah~ Yes, you’ve worked hard.”
Cao Cao was wringing a towel in a basin and using it to wipe the blood from his face and hands.
“Anything else to report?”
“Uncle Wanyang asked me to relay something.”
“What is it? Speak quickly.”
“Patriarch Bian Yang of Puyang has passed away.”
“!”
For an instant, the wet towel stopped moving across Cao Cao’s face. My mind was spinning with countless thoughts, but I had to watch his reaction. He quietly set the towel down and fixed me with a piercing stare. As always, that gaze carried an overwhelming killing intent.
“You say Sir Bian is dead?”
“Y-yes. Uncle Wanyang received the news while in Puyang.”
“What a… pity. A great star has fallen.”
Cao Cao finished wiping his face and pointed at me.
“Cheng Yu, go with Zilie here and inspect the newly arrived provisions.”
“Yes, my lord.”
With his usual stern demeanor, Cheng Yu called me over and we stepped outside together.
“You accommodated the Xu Province refugees properly?”
“Yes. The head of the Wei Merchant Group in Yan Province purchased a large quantity of rice seeds, farming tools, and livestock and distributed them to the people.”
“Well, that’s at least something.”
I asked him directly.
“How is the war situation?”
Cheng Yu spread all five fingers toward me.
“You fought five times? Then the victories…”
“Of course we won all five.”
Oh, as expected of Cao Cao’s army.
Even though this was an expedition and their numbers were smaller than the defending force, the army led by Cao Cao continued to march from victory to victory.
But if they were winning, why did Cheng Yu’s expression look so dark?
“That bastard Tao Qian has shut himself inside Xiaopei and refuses to come out. We lack siege equipment, so we’re hastily building ladders and battering rams here.”
They won every field battle without exception, but once the enemy barricaded themselves inside the walls, there was nothing they could do.
“From the very beginning I advised that we should strike Xiaopei with a swift, decisive battle rather than wasting time attacking villages…”
Cheng Yu clicked his tongue repeatedly, his face full of dissatisfaction. It seemed that even during the initial invasion of Xu Province, he had favored a blitzkrieg strategy to seize Xiaopei and Xiapi first.
Yet that plan had not been adopted. He was clearly unhappy with my suggestion and the population relocation strategy that Xun Yu had reinforced.
“If we had simply taken the castle and beheaded Tao Qian, the whole affair would have ended. We have wasted far too much time.”
“But if that approach had failed, it could have led to an even longer war of attrition.”
“!”
Since I was being treated as a staff officer in this situation anyway, I decided to speak my mind to Cheng Yu.
“Our soldiers have achieved continuous victories thanks to Uncle’s outstanding military talent. But if we had targeted only Xiaopei from the start and engaged solely in siege warfare, we would have been hindered even more by the lack of siege equipment, just as you said.”
“That was before Tao Qian came out of Xiapi. Once we hold Xiaopei and take Pengcheng, Xiapi will be surrounded.”
Xiaopei—Pengcheng—Xiapi.
The three castles stood in a neat line running eastward. If we seized Xiaopei and handled Pengcheng, the rest would follow.
“With my limited insight, doing so would have caused all the forts and civilian houses we occupied to converge on Xiaopei, creating an even more troublesome fight.”
“They’re nothing but farmers and militia. Leaving them behind wouldn’t have created any major variable… No. This was a decision made by the lord. Now we can only focus on winning from this position.”
Cheng Yu looked ready to say more but finally shook his head. Continuing would only amount to criticizing Cao Cao’s strategy.
After that, I inspected the provisions I had brought together with Cheng Yu. Since they were still in the middle of the harvest, more would arrive steadily, but for now we had to use these sparingly.
“Combined, it’s only about twenty days’ worth. Even with additional shipments, two months at most.”
Cheng Yu’s mind worked with frightening speed. While I was there, I looked over the camp. The twenty-thousand-strong army showed clear signs of exhaustion after five battles.
War truly wore down the men who fought it.
“Urgent report! Urgent report!”
“What is it in the middle of the night?”
Cao Cao came out to receive the messenger’s report. I had been organizing a nearby tent when I heard the commotion and hurried over to listen.
“My lord, there is large-scale military movement in the Huainan region.”
“Why there?”
“Yuan Shu’s army is marching from Shouchun in Huainan. Their numbers approach forty thousand.”
“Forty thousand!”
Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren’s eyes widened, their mouths hanging open.
“Is that fool Yuan Shu coming after me?”
“My lord, the distance from Shouchun to this Xiaopei front is only three days.”
The defending force at Xiaopei was roughly twenty thousand, while Yuan Shu was bringing forty thousand. That alone was already triple our strength.
Moreover, our twenty thousand was only on paper; subtracting the wounded left us with perhaps sixteen or seventeen thousand.
“Urgent report! Urgent report!”
“What now? Is there something more urgent than Yuan Shu coming?”
Cao Cao received the next messenger with an irritated expression.
“My lord, it is terrible. Large armies are descending from Youzhou and Qingzhou.”
“What is this about? Speak in detail at once!”
“Gongsun Zan of Youzhou is personally leading ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry. They will reach Xu Province in three days.”
“Aigo~”
Cao Cao clutched his head and collapsed into a chair.
This was truly an insane situation.
In the current circumstances, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu were coming to aid Tao Qian against Cao Cao’s army? If Gongsun Zan brought thirty thousand, Yuan Shu forty thousand, and Tao Qian scraped together another thirty thousand, the enemy would field a hundred-thousand-strong army.
“Are these damn bastards gathering to catch this Cao Cao? Impudent fools!”
“My lord, the situation is unfavorable. If we remain, we risk being surrounded and suffering a catastrophic defeat.”
Cheng Yu urged an immediate retreat. Yet even while clutching his head, Cao Cao’s eyes burned with life. That gaze made it clear he would never flee in disgrace.
“Cheng Yu, how much provisions do we have left?”
“Why do you ask…?”
“Just answer the question!”
“With the original ten days’ worth and the twenty days’ worth brought from Chenliu, we can hold for a month.”
“Then it’s settled. Starting tomorrow morning, feed the soldiers double rations.”
Was he really planning to fight? Against the combined forces of Tao Qian, Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shu, even Cao Cao would struggle. It was a hundred-thousand-strong army.
Even though Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan were destined to fall in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, their numbers were simply too great. What frightened me more were the generals serving under them. In this era, Gongsun Zan had Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, while Yuan Shu had Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.
Honestly, even with my future knowledge, this was a situation that called for retreat. I knew what was coming, but I was no munchkin with cheat powers who could fight ten thousand men alone.
“My lord, we are in checkmate.”
Cheng Yu shouted urgently. Though Cao Ren and Cao Hong kept their expressions neutral, it was obvious they also wanted to request a withdrawal. Yet Cao Cao calmly tapped his command baton and addressed the generals.
“We will return to Yan Province—after four days.”
“My lord, by then Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan’s forces will already be at Xiaopei.”
“Exactly. We are going to face them and fight! Does this Cao Cao want the world to say he ran away without even fighting when bastards like Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu came for him?”
“!?”
Cao Cao spoke with absolute certainty.
“This war began because we came to punish the thieves who tried to kill our family and plunder our wealth. It nearly cost my father in Yan Province his life!”
“My lord, that is true, however…”
“Yuan Shu from the south and Gongsun Zan from the north, you say? I will gladly face them. And I will clearly show that old thief Tao Qian hiding in Xiaopei exactly what happens when he dares to call such rabble against me!”
Cao Cao genuinely intended to confront and defeat the allied army of Tao Qian, Yuan Shu, and Gongsun Zan.
The four-day timeframe meant that once Yuan Shu’s and Gongsun Zan’s armies arrived at Xiaopei, he would crush them all in front of Tao Qian before withdrawing—just as Xiang Yu in the Chu-Han contention had fought and defeated Liu Bang’s three separate armies one after another.
“Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cheng Yu, Cao Xiu. I ask all of you. Do I, Cao Cao, look like a petty coward who would tuck tail and run without fighting?”
“Certainly not, Brother Mengde!”
“My lord, this Miaocai will follow you even to the gates of the underworld.”
“Whether those bastards bring a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, let them come. I will go and take every enemy general’s head.”
“Then it’s settled. We will decide the outcome within four days, so everyone eat your fill tonight!”
This was the real Cao Cao.
Here and now, I had no choice but to stake everything and fight.