Wen Chou Shall Die in This Gorge
The second wave of Yuan Shao’s army had crossed the Yellow River. Their forces now poured down through the narrow pass at Yanjin.
“I’ve charged at the vanguard in countless battles, but this is the first time I’ve ever played the role of bait.”
Officially, the vanguard commander was Xiahou Dun. Yet instead of elite cavalry or the crack Qingzhou troops, he had been given only supply wagons loaded with provisions. Any general unfamiliar with the plan would have exploded in rage—“You expect me to fight with this trash?”—and in truth, Xiahou Dun had done exactly that at first.
But after hearing the full details of the mission, his attitude had changed completely. He now carried it out with calm resolve.
“Gongda and Ziyang both said that only you, Uncle, could fulfill this role.”
“Tsk. So I’m being told to play the supporting actor just to win.”
Even while grumbling, Xiahou Dun moved to carry out his duty. The strategy had been proposed by Xun You: “How to deal with Yuan Shao’s army at Yanjin.”
Wen Chou was every bit as formidable as the late Yan Liang. His cavalry corps possessed terrifying power. If they clashed head-on, our side would suffer devastating losses. Therefore, they had to lure Wen Chou out and kill him. Fortunately, the terrain at Baima and Yanjin was completely different.
“As you can see, Uncle, Baima is wide open. The enemy can surround us from three directions. But Yanjin, on the other hand…”
“The road is narrow. If they push up through it, it becomes extremely troublesome.”
“That is why we need a lure to draw them deep inside. These wagons will serve as that bait.”
“Very well! Let’s do it!”
And so Xiahou Dun had taken the supply train and deliberately made himself the bait to lure Wen Chou’s forces. If everything went according to plan, history would repeat itself and Wen Chou would fall right into our trap.
If everything went according to plan, that is.
“But there is an even easier way to fight this battle.”
I immediately headed for Cao Cao’s main camp and reported what I had learned through intelligence.
“Is the report that Liu Xuande is among the second wave of Yuan Shao’s army accurate?”
“It’s only fifty percent certain, but I believe it is. There are many signs that Liu Bei fled to Hebei after his defeat in Xuzhou.”
“Not only that, but Guan Yu’s sudden withdrawal to the rear is also suspicious.”
Liu Ye and Xun You moved the black and white stones across the campaign map, deliberately placing two stones together. One represented a general. They had instinctively sensed that someone besides Wen Chou was present, and had labeled that second stone “Liu Bei.”
“Is fifty percent truly certain?”
“If I were to be more confident, I would say sixty percent.”
I nodded at Xun You’s words.
“Then it’s settled. This battle just became much easier to win.”
“What?”
“All I need is two thousand cavalry and one master horseman who wields the crescent blade with perfection and excels at disruptive warfare.”
I explained the situation to them.
Yuan Shao’s army had moored at Yanjin. Thirty thousand soldiers. The five thousand cavalry at the front were elites even within Hebei.
“Yan Liang was like a brother to me! That such a man could fall so meaninglessly is unacceptable!”
“General Wen, that is precisely why I have come. A warrior over nine chi tall, with a long beard and wielding a crescent blade? Until I see him with my own eyes, I cannot believe it.”
The man who had landed alongside Wen Chou was none other than Liu Bei.
After his crushing defeat in Xuzhou, Liu Bei had fled to Yuan Shao bearing the Emperor’s secret decree. To Yuan Shao, he was both a powerful justification for attacking Cao Cao and an opportunity to seize the entire realm. Thus he had been received with great hospitality.
Moreover, although Liu Bei had once allied with Gongsun Zan, he had also recommended Yuan Shao’s eldest son, Yuan Tan, for office—creating a debt of gratitude. Of course, how much that debt would matter in this great war would be decided entirely between Cao Cao’s and Yuan Shao’s armies.
“Report! Urgent report!”
“What is it?”
The scouts rushed forward and spoke urgently to Wen Chou and Liu Bei.
“General! Several thousand supply wagons are approaching the area around Yanjin. They must be Cao Cao’s rear logistics train.”
“These bastards are practically begging to die, showing their supply unit right in front of me!”
“Furthermore, three thousand cavalry are galloping down from Baima to escort them! The enemy commander is said to be a tall general with a long beard wielding a massive crescent blade, leading the cavalry himself.”
“What?!”
Both Wen Chou and Liu Bei were stunned. Wen Chou gripped his spear so tightly that his hands trembled.
“The bastard who killed Yan Liang…!”
“General Wen, wait.”
“Wait for what?!”
“General Wen, if the mysterious warrior who slew General Yan is indeed the Guan Yunchang I know, then he is my sworn brother. I will go and stop him myself. My brothers and I would never betray one another.”
“You expect me to believe that?!”
“I will go personally! Since supply wagons are right in front of us, General Wen, you may destroy them and claim the merit. In the meantime, I will take only the infantry and go to block that man.”
“Damn it, do as you please!”
When Liu Bei took the infantry and departed, Wen Chou paid him no further mind. He burst out of the gorge and charged straight toward Yanjin. Every detail of this scene was reported back to Cao Cao’s army.
“Wen Chou’s army that landed south of the Yellow River numbers thirty thousand, but they have split in half midway. Liu Bei has gone to intercept the three thousand cavalry coming down from Baima.”
“O-ohhh?!”
“To split their forces in half before the battle has even truly begun—this is incredible.”
“Zayul, how did you come up with such a scheme?”
As cheers erupted throughout Cao Cao’s camp, I answered lightly.
“The moment intelligence mentioned that Liu Xuande was coming down, I moved immediately. Yuan Shao’s camp must have learned that it was Uncle Yunchang who killed Yan Liang, so they deliberately sent Liu Xuande. I simply let him pass.”
A cavalry commander descending from Baima, wielding a crescent blade similar to the Blue Dragon, leading a cavalry unit. I had not lied. Liu Bei would probably realize too late that the man he thought was Guan Yu was actually Zhang Liao, and that he had been thoroughly deceived.
I shouted loudly toward the gorge in front of Yanjin.
“Imperial Uncle! You’ve been hooked! And hooked magnificently at that!”
“Hahaha, hahahaha! To cut the enemy’s numbers in half before the battle even starts! At this rate, that Xiahou Dun fellow leading only supply wagons might end up causing an accident.”
“While Brother Wenyuan ties down Liu Xuande’s forces, we must strike Wen Chou quickly.”
“Of course. That goes without saying. Dian Wei! Xu Huang! Assist Zayul and attack!”
“Yes, Lord Chancellor!”
In place of the fallen Song Xian and Wei Xu, Cao Cao had assigned Xu Huang and Dian Wei to my left and right. It was his way of saying, “Do not die.”
Of course, I still had some lingering aftereffects. Every time I rode hard, my bones ached, and wearing heavy armor made my wounds sweat. But I endured it all for the thrill of battle.
As expected, Wen Chou’s army that had emerged from the Yanjin gorge spotted Xiahou Dun’s supply train and attacked wildly. Naturally, the logistics troops pulling the wagons could not fight properly. They abandoned their cargo and fled.
If Wen Chou had used his head even a little, or if he had maintained strict military discipline and executed a few soldiers who ignored the enemy to loot supplies, then ordered the rest to continue advancing, it would have been truly troublesome. But Wen Chou’s army did not deviate from expectations at all. They were completely distracted, scrambling to seize the supplies they had just captured.
“It’s exactly as Sir Gongda predicted! They’re so obsessed with armor and grain that their entire formation has collapsed!”
“I cannot understand how a general could allow this. If it were me, I would have beaten several of them to death on the spot for touching the supplies.”
Xu Huang was thinking the exact same thing as me.
“That’s why the Minister of Personnel said it—both Yan Liang and Wen Chou are nothing but ‘common brutes who rely solely on their own strength’!”
Watching Wen Chou’s army lose their minds over the supply train, I raised my spear high. Before any battle between armies, greetings are always exchanged with arrows.
“Fire!”
Countless arrows flew and rained down without pause on both the supply troops and Wen Chou’s soldiers. Caught in a sudden ambush, Wen Chou’s men panicked and scrambled behind the wagons to prepare a counterattack.
“Colonel, take the left wing! Lord Du Ting, take the right! I will command the center!”
“Understood!”
“Got it!”
While Xu Huang and Dian Wei formed the two wings and began to encircle the enemy, I loosened my shoulders once and gripped my spear. I had spent more than a month lying in bed groaning, but now I would fight my comeback battle.
I charged straight at Wen Chou’s army with spear in hand.
“Cavalry dismounting to pick up grains of rice? What a bunch of worthless degenerates! Wipe them all out!”
Already down by nearly half their numbers, Wen Chou’s troops had been completely hooked by the supply wagon bait and were half out of their minds. Wen Chou himself rode forward desperately, cutting down our approaching officers one by one, but I used that very behavior as my target.
“Bow!”
“Here!”
I immediately nocked an arrow and fired at Wen Chou. The shaft sank deep into his side with a dull thud. While he was still stunned, I discarded the bow, grabbed my spear, and thrust it straight at his throat.
Clang—!
“Hm?!”
“You bastard!”
Boom!
The moment Wen Chou spotted me, he charged like a wild boar, swinging his crescent halberd. As I deflected his blows, he suddenly staggered from the pain in his side. Without hesitation, I drove my spear into his thigh.
“Aaaargh!!!”
Wen Chou screamed as blood gushed from his leg. He staggered, unable to stop the bleeding.
“How does it feel to be shot by an arrow and forced to fight while surrounded? I felt exactly the same way!”
“You… you fake son of Cao Cao… how are you still alive…?”
Clang!
“You gathered your men for a group fight just to catch me? But when I meet you one by one, you’re all just common thugs.”
“Shut your mouth!”
With severe blood loss and his blood pressure soaring to his head, Wen Chou attacked me again. I also poured every ounce of strength into a downward strike aimed at his skull.
“Ugh!!!”
He blocked it with raw power, but the bleeding from his leg and side only grew worse. His movements began to show openings as his vision blurred. The moment I saw my chance, I thrust my spear for the finishing blow.
At that instant, Wen Chou caught the shaft. As I tried to wrench it free, he raised his own weapon.
“Hah!”
In that split second, I let go of the spear entirely. Having been pulling with all his might, Wen Chou staggered on horseback the moment I released it. I instantly drew the sword at my waist.
Slash—!
With a single stroke, I severed Wen Chou’s head. The enemy general’s wide-eyed head spun through the air before thudding to the ground. His headless body slid limply from the saddle.
“I have taken the head of enemy general Wen Chou! The enemy commander is slain!”
The moment I raised my sword and shouted, both Dian Wei and Xu Huang transformed into even fiercer demons, slaughtering the remaining Yuan Shao troops. With this, both Yan Liang and Wen Chou were dead. And Wen Chou, in particular, had paid the price for ambushing me four-on-one—I had taken his head with my own hands.